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  • 08 N2005P70039CAs of the end of March, Cumberland County had 24 positive COVID-19 cases, according to Health Director Dr. Jennifer Green. That is the fewest of North Carolina’s largest metropolitan areas. Mecklenburg County had the most reported cases in the state, with 420. Wake County had 186, and Durham County reported 122. The Cumberland County Department of Public Health is conducting contact investigations and will notify contacts who fall under the guidelines for additional monitoring and testing.

    Meanwhile, Fayetteville Mayor Mitch Colvin has imposed a 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. daily curfew in the city. Police officials say they are prepared to enforce the curfew but urge voluntary compliance.

    The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention defines a “close contact” as being within 6 feet for 10 minutes or more. Avoiding close contact with sick individuals requires frequently washing hands with soap and water; not touching the eyes, nose or mouth with unwashed hands; and practicing good respiratory hygiene. These are preventive measures but there is no vaccine. The health department has suspended a drive-thru testing pilot program.  The department is following CDCP and North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services guidance that most people do not need a test.

    The Health Department is prioritizing testing for symptomatic patients in high-risk settings like nursing homes or long-term care facilities, health care workers and first responders such as EMS, law enforcement and firefighters on a case by case basis. Individuals in these categories should call 910-433-3655 for assessment and screening.
    “In general, patients in noncongregate settings who have mild symptoms that are not worsening do not need testing for COVID-19 and should stay home,” Green said. “When you leave your home to get tested, you could expose yourself to COVID-19 if you do not already have it.”

    There is no treatment for COVID-19. Health care providers recommend getting enough fluids. Water is fine. So are fruit juices and electrolyte beverages. You may want to stay way away from caffeinated drinks, because caffeine is a diuretic. Herbal tea with honey can soothe a sore throat. And yes, chicken soup has value. Mild symptoms are defined as fever and cough. If one suffers from shortness of breath, difficulty breathing, chest discomfort, confusion or blue lips, he or she should call the doctor or 911 right away and tell them about your symptoms and any potential exposure to COVID-19.

    North Carolina had at least 1,512 reported coronavirus cases as of March 31, and eight people have died. Researchers at the University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation are predicting that 1,721 people could die of COVID-19 in North Carolina before the outbreak subsides and that the need for hospital beds statewide should be sufficient in the coming weeks.

    “This is a great example that if you implement social distancing, you will see the impact,” said Dr. Ali Mokdad, a professor at Washington’s Institute. The pandemic’s peak is still weeks away in North Carolina. University of Washington’s latest model predicts the North Carolina peak will be April 22.

  • Step up 4 health Cape Fear Valley Health Foundation is back with an all-new fundraiser for 2022, the Step Up 4 Health and Wellness Expo. The race and health festival will be held from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, April 9, at Festival Park in downtown Fayetteville.

    The new fundraiser is based on their previous annual event, Ribbon Walk for Cancer. The organizers increased the scope of the legacy event to inspire the community with more race day activities and additional ways to support local healthcare services.

    “For many years, the Ribbon Walk for Cancer has been a fantastic fundraising and awareness event that has profoundly benefitted patients seeking care at Cape Fear Valley Cancer Centers,” said Sabrina Brooks, vice president of the Cape Fear Valley Health Foundation, in a press release. “We think we can use our rich history of providing well-executed fundraising events like this and create a new event that will benefit patients in even more of our service lines.”

    The expanded event includes a 4k or 1-mile race through downtown. Participants who sign up for the trek can raise money for one of six organizations that support patient healthcare and make a direct impact in the community: Friends of the Cancer Center, Children’s Services, the Community Alternatives Program, Cumberland County Medication Access Program, Heart Care or Pediatric Endocrinology. The race will both start and end at Festival Park.

    The Ribbon Walk was canceled in 2020 and held as a virtual event in 2021. Organizers saw the opportunity to celebrate its return in 2022 in a big way.

    “This is going to be one of the most important fundraising events in our community since we have the opportunity to support several different patient-care areas at Cape Fear Valley Health,” said Brooks. “After two years of being unable to have an event like this in person, we’re back, and it’s going to be bigger and better than ever.”

    In addition to the race, this year’s event will feature a Wellness Expo to provide health-related education and information to the community. Attendees can get a free wellness check and learn about hands-only CPR. Vendors will include informational booths of Cape Fear Valley Health services and sponsor tables. The expo will also have food trucks on hand and music during the event. Admission is free, and no registration is required.

    Registration for the 4k or 1-mile race is $30 for adults and $25 for children, and participants receive a t-shirt. Race participants can run in honor or remembrance of a loved one.

    The event organizers encourage people to create teams with their colleagues, running clubs, churches or other community groups. To register, visit www.cfvfoundation.org/stepup4health.

    Companies interested in supporting the event as a sponsor can contact Kristen Sellan at (910) 615-1514 or ksellan@capefearvalley.com.

    Cape Fear Valley Health Foundation is the philanthropic arm of Cape Fear Valley Health System, a private, not-for-profit organization comprised of 1000+ beds across eight regional hospitals that provide care for more than one million patients
    annually.

  • 12Hope Mills Lake It only figured that since the town of Hope Mills has been fighting so long to get its beloved lake back, the celebration to welcome its return couldn’t be limited to a single day.

    Ralph Molina, chairman of the Lake Celebration Committee, said the upcoming lake celebration is important for many reasons. “I think it’s important that we celebrate this and include everyone in the community,’’ he said. “This cost a lot of money, twice. It’s been a long process. Now that it’s completed, everyone should come together.

    “They get to see what progress was made, and they’re looking to the future to put the Hope Mills area at a higher level.’’

    The final plans aren’t completely in place, and the lake committee is tentatively scheduled to meet through the latter part of May, but enough of the plans for the event have been announced to give folks an idea of what to expect.

    The dates have been tentatively set to run June 30 through July 4.

    It will open with a street dance and gala June 30 and a Heroes on the Water kayaks and canoe event July 1.

    That same day, church on the lake will be observed, followed by jazz on the lake on July 2. July 3 will feature beach music and kayak races.

    The July 4th events are still in the works but could include the annual parade, vendors, bands, fireworks and a Miss July 4th contest. There will also be patriotic decorating of the piers by lakefront homeowners, as well as pontoon rides.

    One event Molina is excited about is a plan to have people construct cardboard box boats and hold a regatta with them. “The lake becomes front and center in the cardboard regatta,’’ he said. “I’m sure a lot of families and businesses are going to have fun sponsoring boats.’’

    Another event that is still in the planning stage is the gala. “The intent is to have a formal event where the city’s members can come, participate and raise funds,’’ Molina said. He’s also excited about the involvement of Heroes on the Water in the celebration, an organization founded in 2007 that provides active-duty and retired members of the military and their families no-expense kayak fishing trips. “It’s important we do activities for those guys as well,’’ Molina said.

  • uac042413001.gif Each year, Fayetteville residents shake off their winter blues with a huge celebration that we all know as the Fayetteville Dogwood Festival. Held in historic downtown and Festival Park, the three-day festival welcomes more than 200,000 visitors to the city center, all with one thing in mind — having a good time.

    The festival, which kicks off on Friday, April 26, features live music, a street fair, food, friendly competitions and a midway. In years past, the festival has brought some of the top names in entertainment to the area and given local performers a chance to share their talent with visitors to the festival.

    On Friday, the festival opens with the Bloom and Boom Kick-off Party featuring country musician, Joe Diffie. Diffie, best known for his songs “Pickup Man” and “John Deere Green,” gained success in the ‘90s, including 12 number one songs, 20 Top 10 songs and four gold and platinum albums.

    Beyond his own successful recording career, Diffie is a successful songwriter, having written songs for Holly Dunn, Tim McGraw, Tracy Lawrence, Conway Twitty and Jo Dee Messina. At the conclusion of Diffie’s concert, the skies over Fayetteville will bloom with one of the best fireworks shows of the year.On Saturday night, Southern Rock will rule in Festival Park, as the Dogwood Festival welcomes not one, but two of America’s favorite Southern rock bands — Blackfoot and Molly Hatchet.

    Blackfoot, known for hits like “Train, Train” and “Highway Song,” is keeping the legacy of Southern Rock alive by touring and sharing its music with a whole new generation. Blackfoot will hit the stage at 7 p.m.

    Molly Hatchet is best known for its hit album Flirtin’ With Disaster. Still fronted by two of its original members, Dave Hlubek and Steve Holland, the band has toured all over the world and has held fast to its hard-rocking ways. The band will hit the stage at 9 p.m.

    On Sunday, the Festival Park stage will be fi lled from 1-4 p.m. and will feature four sets. The opening set will feature 45 RPM, a local all-female band. The band will be followed by B. Smyth, a 19-year-old native of Flordia, who gained national notoriety through YouTube posts of his work. He is an up and coming R&B singer who recently signed with Motown.

    Kayla Brianna, another R&B singer, will also grace the stage. An Interscope Records performer, Kayla Brianna is the daugher of former UNC and NBA star Kenny Smith.

    The final act of the day is Prince NeFew and Da Mill. The group is made up of 11-year-old rapper Prince NeFew, his 9-year-old brother T-man, and their sisters Moda and Libby and cousin, Lulu. Their debut EP, Bookbags to Briefcases features the song “Bully” which is gaining national attention.

    In addition to great entertainment and three days packed full of downtown fun, the Fayetteville Dogwood Festival sanctions events throughout the community throughout the month of April and throughout the Dogwood Festival weekend.04-24-13-doogwood-1.gif

    • The Mid-Carolina Senior Games run through April 27. The event is part of a network that promotes health and wellness for seniors statewide. There are 53 local games in which seniors compete involving more than 25 sporting events and visual and performing arts as well. Events include: basketball, track events, billiards, line dancing and more. Drawing, oil painting, essays, short stories, basket weaving, quilting, stained glass and woodcarving are just a few of the heritage arts included in the senior games. The performing arts segment of the event includes comedy, drama, vocal, dance and instrumental pieces. There are still a few days left. Visit www.ncseniorgames.org or call at (919) 851-5456 to find out more.

    • The Fayetteville-Cumberland Crimestoppers Barbeque is scheduled for Friday, April 26 at 2800 Raeford Rd. in the Highland Center near Harris Teeter. It runs from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. and costs $6 per plate. Proceeds from this event benefit Crimestoppers Fayetteville/Cumberland County. The crimestoppers program was brought to Fayetteville in 1984. Since coming to the community the program reports that it has “provided information resulting in the arrest of more than 3,108 felons and recovered more than $6.7 million in property and narcotics and have paid out more than $312,000.00 in rewards.” Find out more about crimestoppers at www.fay-nccrimestoppers.org.

    • Guys, break out your seersucker suits and ladies, don those spring dresses. There is a Garden Party at Cross Creek Park on Friday, April 26. It’s the Boys and Girls Club of Cumberland County’s 4th Annual Garden Party — an event that is fast becoming a cherished part of the Dogwood celebration. Enjoy wine, beer, heavy appetizers and dancing. There is a best hat/sharp-dressed man contest, too. The event runs from 3-7 p.m. and costs $50 per person. It’s an adults-only party. Call 484-2639 for more information.

    • Fascinate-U Children’s Museum will celebrate the Dogwood Festival on Friday, April 26. The museum will be open from 7-9 p.m. Admission is free that night and visitors are invited to make a dogwood fl ower to take home with them. Admission will be half price at Fascinate-U on Saturday and Sunday as part of the Dogwood Festival celebration. Find out more at www.fascinate-u.com.

    • Watch as Fayetteville’s finest compete from 1-4 p.m. at Festival Park on Saturday, April 27. It is the Fayetteville Police Department vs. the Fayetteville Fire Department in a variety of events including a doughnut-eating contest, ladder-climbing contest, hot-wing eating contest and a tug-of-war contest. The winners will choose a high-ranking official from the losing team to take a “walk of shame” around Festival Park.

    • The City Market/Farmers Market is in full swing and will be open from 6-9 p.m. on Friday, April 26 and from 9 a.m. -1 p.m. on Saturday, April 27. The market is located in the Fayetteville Area Transportation and Local History Museum parking lot on Franklin Street. Vendors include not only farmers selling things like produce, eggs and honey but other merchants selling soaps, woodworking items and more. Call 433-1457 to find out more.

    • On Saturday, April 27, the Hogs & Rags Rally leaves the Airborne & Special Operations Museum and ends at Landry’s Seafood in Myrtle Beach. Funds from this event benefit Shriners Hospitals for Children, Kidsville News! and the American Cancer Society. Registration costs $50. Call 876-7272 for more information.

    • After a fun day downtown, enjoy an Evening of Jazz at the Cotton Club Saturday night. The event takes place at the Metropolitan Room on Green Street from 8 p.m. to 1 a.m. and is hosted by the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority. It costs $35 to attend. Call 797-1539 to find out more.

    • Saturday, April 27, don’t miss The Last Kings at the Crown Coliseum at 7 p.m. Hip-hop and R&B fans are in for a treat. The Last Kings showcases the work of four rappers that are sure to entertain. Tickets cost $37.50. Call 484-4123 for more information.

    • Learn to save a life at Hay Street United Methodist Church’s Hands Only CPR class on Saturday, April 27. The event is organized by Cape Fear Valley Health System, Chest Pain Center, Cape Fear Valley Health Foundation, Cumberland County EMS and Pine Forest Academy of Emergency Medical Services and is free. It starts at 6 p.m. Call 633-8301 for more information.

    • FTCC graphic design students 28th Annual Portfolio Showcase: A Free Display of Graphic Design opens at the Arts Council on Saturday, April 27 at 5 p.m. Visitors to the event will enjoy photographs, illustrations, design layouts, and more. This exhibit runs from 5-8 p.m. for one night only. Call 678-9841 for more information. While you are there, check out the Public Works exhibit, which will also be at the Arts Council and hangs through May 18. Public Works is the one time a year that the Arts Council invites the public to submit artwork and displays all of the entries. Call the Arts Council at 323-1776 for more information about Public Works.

    • Don’t miss the Cape Fear Harley Davidson Experience downtown on t04-24-13-dogwood-map.gifhe 400 block of Hay Street on Saturday, April 27. From 1-4 p.m. Cape Fear Harley Davidson will be on hand for a round robin, including a Jump Start Harley simulator, fit shop, merchandise and more. There will also be a display of antique, new and Cape Fear Hog Chapter favorite motorcycles.

    • From 1-6 p.m., also on the 400 block of Hay Street, Lafayette Ford presents the Lafayette Ford Classic Car Show. Check out Antique cars and trucks, restored classic vehicles and custom hot rods. Don’t forget to vote for your favorite while you are there.

    • Snyder Memorial Baptist Church hosts comedian Dennis Swanberg on Sunday, April 28 at 6:30 p.m. Sometimes called America’s Minister of Encouragement, Swanberg delivers every time. The event is free. Call 484-3191 for more information.

    Find out more about the Dogwood Festival at ww.faydogwoodfestival.com.

    Photo top right: Joe Diffie, country’s original “Pickup Man,” will open the Dogwood Festival during the Bloom and Boom Party in Festival Park.

    Bottom left: 2013 Festival Map. 

  •  Justin McClintock

    Gray’s Creek  • Swimming/football • Senior

    McClintock has a 3.95 grade point average. He was first team All-Patriot Conference in football and led Cumberland County Schools in tackles with 188. He also swam a leg on Gray’s Creek’s conference-winning 200 and 400-meter freestyle relay teams.

    Ryan Dukes

    Gray’s Creek • Swimming/soccer/track • Senior

    Dukes has a 4.35 grade point average. He is in the Academy of Information Technology, the National Honor Society and the Academy of Scholars. He does volunteer work for a number of community organizations.

  • 10 IMG 7411In his role as emergency management director and fire marshal for Hoke County, Bryan Marley spends his typical work days in front of a computer dealing with planning and coordinating emergency-related matters.

    But as a career firefighter who has worked in close proximity with fellow fireman and other first responders, the member of the Hope Mills Board of Commissioners appreciates the challenges his peers in the field are facing now as they cope with the COVID-19 pandemic while serving in frontline roles.

    “You don’t know what’s happening day to day,’’ he said. “Stuff changes. Numbers fluctuate. You get executive orders handed down.’’

    The biggest problem for rescue workers in the field is the nationwide shortage of what’s called PPE, personal protective equipment.

    “Nobody can get their hands on masks, gloves and gowns,’’ Marley said. “You call your suppliers and they don’t have it and don’t know when they will be able to get it. Everybody is sold out of everything. It’s a crazy time.’’

    With protective gear in short supply, Marley said first responders have been forced to reuse what used to be disposable items, learning how to disinfect masks and gloves so they can be worn in multiple situations. 

    In some cases, first responders may resort to unusual alternatives, like punching armholes in large garbage bags and using them as gowns, or wearing coffee filters as breathing masks.

    While this may not be perfect, Marley compared it to the difference between eating a steak sandwich versus a bologna sandwich.

    “When you’re hungry, a bologna sandwich is like a steak sandwich,’’ he said.

    Concerns over COVID-19 have changed the way fire departments are handling emergency calls these days. There was a time when a fire truck routinely accompanied paramedic rescue vehicles on calls. Because of the virus, calls are handled differently now and fire trucks often don’t respond.

    When someone calls 911, Marley said, the dispatcher asks a series of questions. If the caller replies yes to them, they meet the protocol for a COVID-19 response and the fire truck won’t be dispatched on the call. 

    Marley said this is to prevent the amount of people exposed to someone who may be infected with COVID-19. The dispatcher will also warn the paramedics going out on the call that they need to take all necessary precautions for working with someone who may be carrying COVID-19.

    But as big a challenge as dealing with the virus directly is, Marley said that’s only part of he problem for first responders. “You listen to this stuff all day long, then you go home and everything is closed down,’’ Marley said. “You can’t go anywhere or do anything. 

    “Everything you used to do to relieve your stress levels when you get off, you can’t do. You’re cooped up at the house.’’

    There’s also the anguish of loading a COVID-19 patient onto the ambulance and watching them say goodbye to their family, who can’t even go to the hospital to be with them and could be saying goodbye to that person for the last time.

    “Stuff like that weighs on you after awhile,’’ Marley said.

    Marley’s advice to everyone is to follow the orders of Gov. Roy Cooper and stay home as much as possible. “Limit where you go and what you do, and we’ll get through this thing a whole lot quicker,’’ he said.

    “Listen to what the experts say.’’

  • 13 01 IMG 3740While the COVID-19 pandemic has brought the entire athletic world to a halt, it’s done nothing to slow the recruiting of one of Cumberland County’s hottest football prospects, Gray’s Creek High School running back Jerry Garcia Jr. 

    Garcia made a huge splash for the Bears during his junior season, rushing for 2,085 yards, an average of 10.2 per carry, and 23 touchdowns.

    He also pulled in 10 pass receptions for another 279 yards and four scores as he earned first team All-Patriot Athletic Conference honors as running back.

    This is normally the time of year when college football coaches would be showing up at high school campuses, hitting the recruiting trail as 13 02 Jerrygarciajrspring football games across the country wrap up.

    But because of the pandemic and quarantine rules set in place across the country, the recruiting process has been reduced to a new normal of virtual recruiting, with coaches having to rely on video they’ve been sent, while they keep in contact with potential recruits via telephone and text message.

    Gray’s Creek head football coach David Lovette said Garcia ranks among the three most-recruited football players in the history of the Bear program. As far as number of direct contacts from coaches and actual scholarship offers, Lovette added Garcia is in a class by himself at the school.

    Late last year, Lovette sent film of Garcia to some 40 coaches. A few made stops at Gray’s Creek before the pandemic set in.

    There was some buzz out about Garcia because of his performance in camps. He was timed at 4.5 seconds electronically in the 40-yard dash at a Nike camp. Before the Bears had to shut down weightlifting, Garcia maxed out with a 275-pound bench press.

    There are some things about Garcia that can’t be measured in numbers. One of them is his desire to improve. When he scheduled a recruiting trip to Furman before the pandemic, Garcia had to leave at 6 a.m. for the trip to Greenville, S.C.

    Lovette said Garcia rose at 4 a.m. the morning of the Furman trip, so he’d have time to get in his weightlifting for the day at a private gym in Hope Mills.“He’s a hard worker, a great kid and a likeable kid,’’ Lovette said. “He’s fun to be around and fun to coach.’’

    There’s one other part of Garcia’s resume that has so many schools interested in recruiting him. Unlike some prospects, Garcia has solid numbers in the classroom, where he enjoys studying math and working with numbers. He carries a weighted grade point average of 3.75. He plans to continue working on his grades and hopes to have a 4.0 average when fall arrives.

    His high grades are reflected in the types of schools that have already offered him scholarships. All three of the service academies, along with the Citadel, have made him offers. So have Princeton and Penn, as well as Dartmouth. At last count, some 13 schools have made firm offers to Garcia.

    If there’s one thing about Garcia’s recruiting to date that has disappointed Lovette, it’s the lack of offers from North Carolina schools. He had none until just days after this interview was conducted when Gardner-Webb in Boiling Springs near Shelby finally stepped up and made him a scholarship offer.

    “There are some good schools in North Carolina he’d be good enough to play for,’’ Lovette said. 

    But even with only one offer from inside the state so far, Garcia feels he’s been getting plenty of attention in spite of the problems caused by the virus and coaches not being able to make in-person visits.

    “The coaches do build a bond with me,’’ he said. “They call me on the phone a couple of times a week and check on me.’’

    Garcia isn’t letting the free time he has because he's not going to school go to waste. He has weights in his garage, and he has regular workouts with a neighbor who is also on the Gray’s Creek football team. He’s hoping to gain some weight by the time football season starts in the fall.

    While there’s no guarantee that’s going to happen, Garcia said he’s remaining optimistic.“I’m hoping we’ll be able to play,’’ he said.

    He is in no hurry to make a decision where he’ll attend school. He had planned to decide on a school before football season started this fall. The virus is behind the reason for not rushing the process.

    He said the college coaches have talked to him in detail about what their schools have to offer, but Garcia wants to pay an in-person visit to the campuses he’s looking at so he can see for himself what each school is like.

    He wants to major in engineering and said that most of the schools he’s gotten offers from have an engineering program.

    He doesn’t seem committed to playing running back in college, noting that some schools have told him he’ll likely play a slot position for them while others have said they may put him in the offensive backfield and use him in motion where he can get the ball on pitches and run it.

    “They’ve tried to explain to me how they want to use my versatility,’’ Garcia said.

  • 09 IMG 1441The town of Hope Mills got a piece of good news recently when it was announced the pedestrian bridge at Hope Mills Dam passed a first-ever safety inspection with flying colors.

    Don Sisko, head of the Hope Mills Public Works department, said the pedestrian bridge, which is a little more than 10 years old, had never been inspected as far as he knows. Sisko added the bridge is actually not subject to any statutory requirement that it be inspected.

    “We did it as a prudent measure to help ensure resident safety and make sure it is a sound structure,’’ Sisko said.The town hired the engineering firm of Vaughn and Melton out of New Bern to handle the inspection, which was conducted on April 8.

    Sisko said Vaughn and Melton is a firm used by the Department of Transportation toconduct roadway bridge inspections around the state.

    The Hope Mills pedestrian bridge is what’s known as a truss bridge and spans 126 feet, 3.5 inches across the creek bed below the dam.

    Sisko said national bridge inspection criteria includes a variety of things like superstructure, substructure, the deck, the channel, waterway adequacy, approaches and alignments. 

    The bridge is largely used by people who are visiting the Hope Mills Lake Park, Sisko said, and there’s no measure available of the number of people who walk across it during the course of a year. The bridge is meant to be used only by pedestrians, not by anyone on a wheeled vehicle like a bicycle.

    The lifespan of the bridge is largely dictated by the weather and the maintenance that is performed on it, like fixing a broken weld on one of the trusses that help provide the bridge’s support.

    Sisko said the engineering firm put a ladder in the creek bed below the bridge to examine it from underneath. 

    All of the various aspects of the bridge Sisko listed earlier were examined by the inspectors and given a number grade from zero to nine. A nine is usually reserved for a new bridge in excellent condition. 

    Sisko said the Hope Mills bridge got grades of seven and eight across the board.

    Looking ahead, Sisko said the town will schedule inspections of the bridge biannually, meaning the next one will occur in 2022.

    “It will help us keep on top of things,’’ Sisko said.

  • 13 Mark KahlenbergThe local sports scene took another hit last week as state American Legion baseball officials announced there would be no season for the sport this summer in North Carolina due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

    That followed an earlier announcement by the American Legion that regional and national playoffs were also canceled.

    Mark Kahlenberg, who coaches the lone Cumberland County entry, the Hope Mills Boosters, said discussions had been ongoing about the fate of the season in recent weeks, with state Legion officials announcing they would reach a decision on baseball this summer somewhere around April 13.

    While no official American Legion baseball season is planned, there has been talk among coaches of some of the teams coming up a non-Legion baseball alternative that would provide those programs around the state that wanted to participate a chance to have something.

    Kahlenberg said he’d seen a list of some 10 to 12 teams interested in the alternative season. He also said some teams from the northern part of South Carolina had expressed interest in joining the North Carolina teams if South Carolina should decide to cancel its American Legion baseball season.

    But Kahlenberg had multiple reservations about the possibility of a non-Legion baseball league. To begin with, he’s not certain the backer of the Hope Mills Boosters, the Massey Hill Lions Club, would be willing to fund something not affiliated with American Legion baseball.

    Further, there would be more expense involved than just paying for officials and travel. Any Legion teams that played in the alternative league would not be allowed to use their official American Legion baseball uniforms or even the official baseballs stamped with the American Legion logo.

    Another big concern would be providing for insurance for the players. Kahlenberg said he’s almost certain any policy the teams could purchase would be unlikely to include coverage for the COVID-19 virus. “If something did come up with the virus, I don’t think I would want that on my plate,’’ Kahlenberg said.

    Finally, he expects there will be a problem for many teams finding a place to play. The Boosters traditionally play their home games at South View High School. As part of the Cumberland County Schools, South View’s facilities are closed because of the virus, and Kahlenberg doesn’t think they will be opened just for a team that’s not affiliated with American Legion baseball.

    The Boosters were also scheduled to play two games at Campbell University, which is also currently shut down.

    Kahlenberg is about a month away from the time he would normally have been organizing this year’s team for its first game. According to longtime American Legion baseball coach Doug Watts, who retired in 2018 after 51 years with the program, this will be the first time since 1965 that Cumberland County hasn’t fielded an American Legion baseball team.

    Kahlenberg had planned an ambitious 25-game schedule, about five or six more regular season games than Hope Mills normally plays.

    A change in the enrollment numbers meant Hope Mills might have been able to add another school to its base this season.

    The thing he will miss most, Kahlenberg said, is the camaraderie with the players.

    “You have your late nights on the road,’’ he said. “That’s a lot of stories we still talk about. That’s the fun part of it.’’

  • 11 sonriseThe SonRise evangelistic outreach ministry based in Hope Mills has had a simple philosophy since it went into operation six years ago.

    Scotty Sweatt, one of the founders of SonRise, said the purpose of the organization is to meet people where they are and show them who Jesus Christ is.

    Since the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic, SonRise has added another role to its outreach purpose, one that’s more hands-on than just sharing the message of the Gospel.

    They recently instituted a program called Adopt-A-Granny. In a nutshell, it’s aimed primarily at senior citizens who are wary of getting out and shopping for themselves because of risk to exposure to infection by the COVID-19 virus.

    To help that group, SonRise will go and do the grocery shopping for at-risk people who would prefer to remain home bound then deliver the purchases to their door in a safe manner, observing proper social distancing restrictions.

    While the SonRise operation is based in Hope Mills, it has no physical location by design. The headquarters for SonRise is a converted school bus that includes a chapel and a kitchen inside. On the outside, the bus is decorated with the words “The Church has Left the Building” on front and back.

    Membership of SonRise includes people who represent a variety of denominations. Sweatt was a youth minister for nine years at a small country church.

    The concern for the elderly started weeks ago when Sweatt began to realize some of his elderly neighbors didn’t have family available to check on them. His wife also began checking on people in need. That led Sweatt to get the entire SonRise team involved.

    Currently, the SonRise team tries to reach out to anyone in the general Cumberland County area, but they are limited by whether or not someone involved in the ministry actually lives where people who reach out to them are located.

    Sweatt said he recently got a call from a woman in Spring Lake. They weren’t able to send someone directly to help with shopping, but Sweatt said the woman was actually just glad to talk to someone who would listen to her and offer words of comfort.

    While SonRise isn’t actively seeking donations, Sweatt said anyone who would like to contribute to the ministry to help with the Adopt-A-Granny outreach is welcome to do so.

    In order to arrange a delivery, the number to call is 910-960-7786.

    The process is fairly simple, Sweatt said. The caller provides SonRise with a list of the items that they would like to have purchased. SonRise then sends someone to buy the needed food and deliver it to the home. The food is wiped down with disinfectant and the person who delivers it wears a mask and drops it off outdoors, standing a safe distance away to confirm delivery was made and to speak briefly with the person who the food was delivered to.

    While the emphasis of Adopt-A-Granny is on senior citizens, Sweatt said the SonRise team is happy to talk with anyone regardless of age who is homebound or at risk and would rather not venture out during the pandemic.

    “We are not going to rule out anybody,’’ Sweatt said. “We’ll give them a smiling face if nothing else.’’

  • 14 01 Ashton FieldsAshton Fields
    Jack Britt  • Volleyball/softball/unified bowling • Junior
    Fields has a grade point average of 4.375. She is student body vice president. She is in the National Honor Society, Key Club, Britt Life and co-editor of the Jack Britt yearbook. In volleyball, she led Cumberland County Schools with 140 blocks last fall. She was on the 2019 North Carolina American Legion softball state championship team.

     

    14 02 Carlie MyrtleCarlie Myrtle
    Jack Britt • Softball • Junior
    Myrtle has a grade point average of 4.450. She was chosen as a Junior Marshal for graduation. She is editor of the Jack Britt yearbook. She is a member of the Student Government Association and Britt Life. When softball season ended she was 5-0 with 62 strikeouts and a.600 batting average
    .

  • 12 IMG 2087Restaurants aren’t the only food-related enterprises who’ve had to change the way they operate because of COVID-19.

    The ALMS HOUSE ministry in Hope Mills has had to alter how it helps the underprivileged in the area and is in need of extra support during this difficult time.

    Delores Schiebe, executive director of the ALMS HOUSE, said people are still coming in to get food, but new restrictions have been put in place to safeguard both the staff and the clients.

    The only part of the ALMS HOUSE that is completely shut down is the organization’s clothes closet.

    Another major change involves access to the ALMS HOUSE’s popular food pantry.

    Clients can no longer just show up to browse the shelves. The food pantry is only open Tuesday through Friday from 9 a.m. until 11 a.m., and all those planning to visit must call ahead for an appointment.

    They will need to bring their Social Security card and proof of residence, preferably a current utility bill that includes their physical address.

    The ALMS HOUSE can still only be accessed by people who live in the general area of Hope Mills. Schiebe said that basically covers what she described as a big circle around the town, except for a few odd twists and turns. Generally, it includes the area as far out as Raeford Road and almost all the way to the Robeson County line.

    People who aren’t sure if they live in Hope Mills area can call Schiebe at the same number to make appointments to visit the food pantry, 910-425-0902, to confirm if they meet the residency requirements.

    From noon until 12:30 p.m. and from 5 until 5:30 p.m., the ALMS HOUSE is still serving meals to anyone in need, but they are now strictly takeout.

    Schiebe said the ALMS HOUSE has been helped greatly by local businesses that have donated meals for them to distribute. Among them are Fayetteville Realtors, The Diner by Chef Glenn, Sammio’s on Raeford Road, Superior Bakery, Marci’s Cakes and Bakes, Robin’s on Main and Big T’s.

    Grandson’s Buffet also donated meals until the restaurant had to shut down because of the additional restrictions imposed by the governor’s executive order, but Schiebe said she hopes they will be able to resume in the near future.

    One critical part of the ALMS HOUSE outreach, the Kids Assistance Program, is in danger of having to shut down due to a lack of items. The KAP was designed to provide school-age children with a source of food they could prepare on their own in their homes to make sure they had something to eat over the weekend.

    Even though school is currently closed, Schiebe said school social workers are still coming to the ALMS HOUSE and picking up prepared bags of food to deliver to children in the areas where their schools are located.

    But Schiebe said supplies of the kind of food used in the bags have been wiped out at local grocery stores. She especially mentioned things like ramen noodle soup and Chef Boyardee products in microwaveable containers.

    ALMS HOUSE will accept those donations during regular hours, she said, with no need to make an appointment to drop them off. “We are eager to get it,’’ she said, “especially our need for items for the kids program.’’

  • 04-02-14-india-fest.gifFayetteville is a diverse community. People from all around the world and from all walks of life have come to this thriving community and embraced it. Often cultural organizations look for ways to share the cultures of their native lands. On April 12, the Southeastern North Carolina Asian Indian Association (SENCAIA) presents a showcase of the Indian community.

    Dancing is an art form that every culture has embraced. Indian dancing in particular has a strong cultural significance as a method to pass on religious and cultural traditions. It is a method of storytelling. “It gives a glimpse into the culture and into the cuisine. We will have entertainment all day. There will be someone on stage at all times. There will be dancing and singing. Some of the performers will be local and some will be from out of town,” said Dr. Sumedha Dalvi, who has been involved in the festivals organization from its inception.

    Entertainers of all ages will showcase their talents. The sheer effort that is put into the dances that are performed is astounding. “When you see the kids perform a five minute dance, that dance took weeks of practice, it is impressive. These kids are busy with school, sports, homework and things, but they still make the time to practice. Those five minutes take so much work because they want their performance to be perfect. The parents and the kids have a great time and they get to show off their talents. They’ll even invite their friends from school to come support them,” Dalvi said.

    Another important aspect of any culture is its food. People can experience Indian food in several different ways at the festival. “There will be two food vendors. People can purchase all different kinds of Indian food.

    There will be vegetarian and non-vegetarian options. You can get a snack or a whole platter. This is always very popular. We will also have Indian drinks like chai and fruity drinks like mango and lychee,” Dalvi said.” There will be cooking demonstrations every hour on the hour as well. “People from our community will demonstrate how to cook traditional Indian dishes. People always like this because they get to learn how it is made and sample it. We also have a spice garden that is a booth that will be selling Indian spices. If people try a dish at a vendor and ask what is in it and want to make it at home, the booth will have spices and recipes and things.”

    The traditional clothing of India is also a distinctive and beautiful aspect of the culture. “There will be three fashion shows. First, we have the kid’s fashion show, then a youth fashion show and finally, a ladies and couples fashion show. The theme for our adults fashion show is a wedding — so they will all be dressed as a bride or groom or as someone in the bridal party. We will have a bridal procession leading up to it and a fashion show on stage,” Dalvi said. Additionally, vendors will sell beautiful and traditional Indian clothing and jewelry. Two women will also help with the wrapping of the clothing. There will also be a bargain corner for donated and lightly worn traditional Indian clothing and jewelry available to purchase at a lower price.

    The India Festival is a lot more than just a festival. It is a celebration and benefit the entire community. “All of the proceeds, after the cost is covered, go to local charities. This is our way of giving back to the community. We’ve been here 15 years, but coming from India and getting settled here... the community has really embraced us. This is a way to show our culture and to give back,” Dalvi said.

    The event is on April 12 from 11 a.m. until 7 p.m. at the Crown Arena. The Arena is located at 1960 Coliseum dr. Admission is $2 per person and kids under three get in free.

    Photo: The India Festival is a lot more than just a festival. It is a celebration and a beneጀt to the entire community. 

  • 13 01 IMG 0067Ravyn Rozier

    Gray’s Creek • Bowling • Junior

    Rozier has a grade point average of 4.25. She is a member of the National Honor Society, the Thespian Honor Society, Future Farmers of America, 4-H, Girl Scouts, musical theater, chamber choir and the journalism and yearbook staffs.

     

    13 02 IMG 0068Savannah Lindsey

    Gray’s Creek • Basketball • Junior

    Lindsey has a grade point average of 4.0. She is in the Thunder Hooves 4-H Club, the Volunteer Youth Leaders County Council, Future Farmers of American and National Honor Society.

  • 10 IMG 0889Here are some items taken from the latest reports compiled by Hope Mills Town Manager Melissa Adams and other town officials.

    The Town of Hope Mills announced that the collection of recycled materials was suspended effective Monday, April 13.

    Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, town sanitation crews have to focus their efforts on an increase in household trash caused by people staying at home more due to the current shelter in place order.

    Recycling trash containers, the ones with yellow lids, can be used for regular trash and placed curbside with the regular trash container.

    The town will notify citizens as soon as possible when recycling will resume.

     A temporary hold is likely to be placed on new sculptures for the town that have been previously provided by the UNC-Pembroke art classes of Professor Adam Walls. Walls informed Parks and Recreation director Lamarco Morrison his classes will likely be held online for the rest of the current semester.

    Even if face-to-face classes started immediately, Walls said he didn’t think students would have sufficient time to create new original pieces.

    Walls is hopeful if the fall semester starts on time, his students will be able to produce new pieces by the middle of the term.

     The town is working on holding a video virtual meeting of the Board of Commissioners on its next scheduled meeting date, April 20. Plans are being developed to allow members of the Board of Commissioners, town staff and the citizens of Hope Mills to take part via Zoom.

     The process of putting together the town budget for 2020-21 is on schedule despite the quarantine. Finance Director Drew Holland has gotten all the requests from the town’s department heads. Holland and Melissa Adams began meetings with department heads last week. Adams plans to have her recommendations back to the department heads by April 27. Following input from the full Board of Commissioners at their April 20 meeting, a budget workshop will be scheduled in May.

     Two public hearing items are currently on hold. They include the Sign Ordinance Amendment and the initial zoning for Caliber Collision.

     The physical work on moving the Hope Mills Police Department to its temporary headquarters at South Main Street began the week of April 4-10. There will be some temporary disruption of administrative services during the move but no interruption in patrol operations. Call 911 for anything requiring a police response.
     
  • uac042314001.gif As spring continues to tempt our region, Fayetteville is pulling out all of the stops to welcome the season with its annual celebration of spring that we all know as the Fayetteville Dogwood Festival. Held in the historic downtown and Festival Park, the three-day festival welcomes more than 200,000 visitors to the city center all with one thing in mind — having a good time.

    The festival, which kicks off on Friday, April 26, features live music, a street fair, food, friendly competitions and a midway. As in year’s past, the festival has brought some of the top names in entertainment to the area, as well as giving local performers a chance to share their talent with visitors to the festival. This year is no exception.

    On Friday, the festival opens with the Bloom and Boom Kick-off Party featuring southern rockers, The Marshall Tucker Band. The Marshall Tucker Band is a tried and true Southern rock band that meshes rock, blues, country and jazz.

    From their first album in 1973, to their powerful stage presence today, The Marshall Tucker Band has played countless concert venues around the world, performing classics like “I Heard It In a Love Song,” “Can’t You See,” and “Fire on the Mountain.” A recent edition of GRAMMY magazine named The Marshall Tucker Band as one of the top 10 bands that “need no introduction.” After The Marshall Tucker Band takes the crowd on a trip down memory lane, the skies over Fayetteville will bloom with one of the best fireworks shows of the year. The Bloom & Boom Kickoff Party begins at 6 and ends at 10 p.m.

    The festival remains true to its southern roots on Saturday night, when country icon John Michael Montgomery takes over the Festival Park stage.

    Montgomery’s career caught fire in the ‘90s, when his romantic ballads owned the air waves, country dance clubs and weddings. Montgomery’s debut album Life’s a Dance, set the stage for his climb to the start. Montgomery’s string of successful hits include: “I Love the Way You Love Me,” “I Swear,” “Be My Baby tonight” and “Grundy County Auction.” The concert begins at 9 p.m.

    On Sunday, the Festival Park stage will be filled from 1-4 p.m. and will feature a mini-beach music festival with music from Classic Soul, The Entertainers and Liquid Pleasure. Grab your partner and head down for an afternoon of dancing and fun.

    The weekend is filled with other entertainment and events on various stages and entertainment areas. Check out the Street Fair Stage in the parking lot between Hay Street Church and the Cumberland County Library.

    Saturday

    Noon - 1:30 p.m. - Cape Fear Music Center Student Showcase04-23-14-cover-story-pic.gif

    1:30-2:30 p.m. Seal the Deal

    2:30-4:30 p.m. Cape Fear Music Center Student Showcase

    4:30 - 6 p.m. Big Daddy DriveSunday

    12:30-3:30 p.m. Cape Fear Music Center Student Showcase

    3:30 - 6 p.m. Fayetteville Jazz Orchestra The CenturyLink Performance Area, located in the 100 block of Hay Street at the Market House, will also offer great entertainment.

    Saturday

    12:30-1 p.m. Shadows of the Fire Belly Dance

    1-1:30 p.m. Musha Dojo

    1:30-2 p.m. Shadows of the Fire Belly Dance

    2 -2:30 p.m. Musha Dojo

    2:30- 3 p.m. Kidsville Kids

    3-3:30 p.m. Shadows of the Fire Belly Dance

    3:30-4 p.m. Musha Dojo

    4-4:30 p.m. Kidsville Kids

    4:30-5 p.m. Yvette’s Dance

    Sunday

    12:30-1 p.m. Shadows of the Fire Belly Dance

    1-1:30 p.m. Musha Dojo

    1:30-2:30 p.m. Roland’s Dance

    2:30 -3 p.m. Shadows of the Fire Belly Dance

    2:30- 3 p.m. Musha Dojo

    3:30 - 4 p.m. All American Fencing

    4 - 4:30 p.m. Shadows of the Fire Belly Dance

    4:30 - 5 p.m. Musha Dojo

    5 - 5:30 p.m. Roland’s Dance

    Disabled parking is designated in the Hay Street United Methodist Church parking lot and the Bank of America on Ray Avenue. Dowtown parking is available. Suggested areas include: Franklin Street Parking Deck, which is free weeknights and weekends, Cumberland County Courthouse, city lots on Person and Olde streets, Paid parking in the Masonic Lodge, Systel Parking lot and at the Up & Coming Weekly office at 208 Rowan Street.

    No coolers, pets, weapons, bikes, roller blades or skateboards are allowed in Festival Park. The Dogwood Festival Committee has a zero tolerance for bad behavior.

    Find out more about the Dogwood Festival at ww.faydogwoodfestival.com.

    Photo: John Michael Montgomery headlines on Saturday night.

  • 12 IMG 7034The COVID-19 pandemic has created the worst possible situation for high school coaches and their athletes. They are prevented from even seeing each other for the most part, much less engaging in any kind of organized workouts.

    Athletes who want to try to stay in some semblance of competitive shape as they await the day they’ll be able to return to the practice and game fields have to do the best they can with working out at home.

    Sheri Squire, who has been an athletic trainer for nearly 20 years, almost a decade of that time at Terry Sanford High School, said it’s important to set limits and follow common sense guidelines when doing any kind of home workout for any sport.

    Squire suggests limiting yourself to about five days of working out a week with a maximum of 30 minutes of workout per day. It’s important to vary the type of workout so the body doesn’t get used to a routine of what to expect. “That’s why three-sport athletes are wanted by the pros,’’ Squire said. “They learn to adjust their muscles for different sports. Don’t do the same exercise each day.’’

    One critical part of working out at home, especially now, is to make sure all the muscles have been properly warmed up before beginning. This will help prevent the possibility of injury, which is the last thing an athlete needs with access to proper care limited by the quarantine and an already overly taxed professional healthcare system.

    When putting together a home workout, Squire said the safest thing to do is remember what coaches have taught in the past. Many coaches are sending their athletes home workouts that involve exercises the athletes have already done, or minor variations of those exercises.

    “They’ve been taught how to do them and do them safely,’’ Squire said. “They’re not going to say jump on the roof and let’s see what your vertical is.’’

    Workout clothes should fit properly and be suited to the weather you’ll be working out in if you’re outdoors. Check your workout shoes to make sure they are in good shape and ready to wear.

    It’s also vital that the athlete eat well before working out and make sure he or she is fully hydrated.

    One of the biggest problems with home workouts is coming up with equipment for weightlifting if the athlete doesn’t own a set of weights. Makeshift weights an athlete can try are soup cans, which weigh about a pound each. A milk jug filled with water or sand weighs about eight pounds. Filled paint cans are about 11 pounds.

    Squire said athletes need to be careful trying to lift heavy objects that are not uniform in shape and weight. She compared it to trying to lift barbells with 30 pounds on one end and 80 on the other.

    To make sure your weight is evenly-balanced and works well, she suggests getting in front of a mirror to see what it looks like in use.

    Working out at home with family can be a good experience, but Squire issued caution about asking family members to help with spotting heavier weights when doing weightlifting.
    Parents and siblings who don’t have experience spotting for someone lifting heavy weights shouldn’t be put in that position and risk getting someone injured.

    In some cases, it may be better for the athlete to look into something safer. As Squire said earlier, stick with basics and things you know rather than trying to push the limits.
    Another suggestion on heavy equipment is to decide if it mimics something actually used in normal workouts, like the blocking sleds used in football practice.

    Squire has seen athletes tie a rope to farm equipment and try to pull it. “It is similar to the sled they try to pull or push?’’ she said. “Be smart about it.”

    Some athletes use family pets, like dogs, to lift, but Squire said you shouldn’t assume the dog is going to like that. “Make sure the dog isn’t going to freak out and scratch you,’’ she said.

    When using things like resistance bands, if you attach them to something make sure the bands are in good shape and that the attachment is secure so it won’t break free mid-workout and cause injury.

    Some athletes may be able to work out with friends if they can get outdoors to a large open area and practice social distancing. Squire said she has seen residents of an assisted living facility gather in a cul-de-sac while moving to music to stay loose.

    The biggest worry about working out at home in the time of COVID-19 is doing something that will result in any kind of injury. Squire said it’s crucial that athletes listen to their bodies and be aware of the signals they’ve gone too far.

    “If you are pushing beyond the limit, your body will tell you,’’ she said. “You’ll have pain, swelling or fatigue.’’

    Once that happens, the athlete needs to stop working that area of the body and give it time to recover. The basic rules of dealing with injury are set down in the acronym PRICE: protection, rest, ice, compression and elevation.

    If an injured area like an ankle becomes sore or red, you can use ice and elevation to give it a rest. If it doesn’t subside, you can seek medical advice. In the current situation, some professionals are doing tele-medicine and offering advice via smartphone images.

    If there’s deformity in the injury, you can’t move it or you feel nerve damage, it’s time to try to schedule an office visit.

    Above all, Squire said listen to your body. “You can tell when you’re tired,’’ she said. “You know to back off.’’

  • 09 Wesley HolmesLike ministers across the country, Pastor Wesley Holmes of the Hope Mills Church of God has been making major adjustments in how he relates to his congregation as everyone copes with the challenges presented by the COVID-19 quarantine. But in  many ways, Holmes thinks the situation has pulled church members even closer and helped increase the sharing of the message of the faith.

    Once it became clear that traditional church operations were going to have to be drastically curtailed, Holmes divided up the names in his church’s directory and shared them with a handful of families in the congregation. Each family was asked to stay in regular contact with the members on the list they were given.

    The church also has a phone tree, typical with many congregations, that allows Holmes to spread messages with everyone. Holmes said the leaders of his denomination have stressed since the start of the pandemic, the more contact with the membership, the better.

    Before the quarantine was put in place, Holmes had been using things like Facebook and YouTube to share video presentations with his church.

    Initially, Holmes was doing his Sunday worship service live on Facebook, but he soon encountered a problem. The internet speed his church was using was not adequate enough for the task. Too many people were trying to log into the live feed and Holmes and his videocast kept getting bumped offline.

    Since then, he’s decided to tape his services in advance. He does a weekly Bible study on Wednesdays that he uploads the same day as the study. The Sunday morning worship service is normally uploaded on Saturday night.

    Facebook controls allow him to schedule the time on Sunday morning when the worship service will become available for public viewing.

    He’s kept the services fairly simple, usually doing them from the sanctuary at the church. He takes care of the majority of the service, with his wife Heather contributing the children’s message. His teen-age son Isaiah is off camera handling the music and sound for the broadcasts each week.

    “It is a challenge,’’ Holmes said. “Talking with other ministers, they are having to step out of their comfort zones.’’

    Some churches don’t have the live streaming capability that Holmes does, so he’s heard of other congregations that are doing drive-in church in the parking lot, keeping their members sequestered in their cars with windows rolled up, which the minister broadcasts the sound of the outdoor service over their FM radios in the car.

    Holmes said there have been positives to the live streaming church sessions. “They can share it with their families that don’t go to church,’’ Holmes said. “We’re getting a lot of people we don’t minister to regularly on a Sunday morning.’’

    People are also able to watch the Sunday service over and over during the week when it’s posted on Facebook. The only major downside Holmes sees to the video services is people might have distractions in the home setting versus the typical peaceful scene Sunday morning in the sanctuary.

    Like many pastors, Holmes said his sermons in the initial days of quarantine have focused on positive, uplifting themes trying to help people deal with the situation. But he plans to move forward from that in the coming days and share more about the major themes of the Gospel message.

    “I truly believe we can still get the message across, even though we are not gathered in the sanctuary,’’ he said. “We have to continue getting the message out.’’

    There have been isolated reports of ministers in some congregations refusing to honor the quarantine and holding large meetings of their members. Holmes doesn’t agree with that practice, especially because of the number of elderly members in his congregation. “We don’t want to do anything that may cause them to get sick,’’ he said. “I want to be part of the solution and not part of the problem.

    “I’d rather scale back and not have services for several weeks than to try and have services, say we are going to do it no matter what, and some people get sick.’’

    In some ways, Holmes feels what is happening now is a return to the church as depicted in the second chapter of the book of Acts. 

    “A lot of people were having to do church at home,’’ he said of the stories from Acts. “I think it’s brought the church back to its roots.’’

  • 14 kendallKendall Macauley

    E.E. Smith • Basketball/softball • Senior

    Macauley has a 3.98 grade point average. She is captain of the varsity girls basketball team and member of the National Honor Society and the Cumberland County Academy of Scholars. She volunteers with Backpack Buddies and works at a youth basketball camp sponsored by the parks and recreation department.

     

    14 holley johnsonHolley Johnson

    E.E. Smith • Track and field • Sophomore

    Johnson has a 4.04 grade point average. She is a member of the Math and Science Academy and the National Honor Society. She volunteers in the summer, working with younger members of the Fayetteville track team. She is a member of E.E. Smith’s traveling show choir, The Golden Singers.

  • Hope Mills town manager Melissa Adams has had to deal with two hurricanes as a member of town staff, one of them after she was serving as town manager.
    But that experience was only a small taste of the challenge she and the rest of town staff are facing now as they try to navigate the variety of challenges all of us face from COVID-19.

    “It’s unprecedented for many managers, I’m sure,’’ Adams said of the current situation. “It’s been very trying and very difficult throughout.’’

    As much a part of trying to deal with all of the problems COVID-19 causes, Adams said, is the official face the town puts on when deciding how to react. “You want to do it in a calm, reasonable manner and not panic people,’’ she said. “You have to maintain your composure.’’

    That’s why Adams is applying some advice she got from a friend when she first took over the town manager’s job in Hope Mills.

    “They told me flow like water and you’ll be fine,’’ Adams said. “That’s kind of what I’ve tried to do.’’

    Adams said her biggest concern in the current situation is making sure what she and the town are doing it best not only for the citizens, but for the various members of town staff who are on the job while still trying to keep themselves safe from being infected with COVID-19.

    She called the safety of staff and citizens paramount.

    “Virtually everyone’s job has been disrupted by this event,’’ she said. “People have lost their jobs and their livelihood. For self-employed people it’s been extremely difficult trying to manage.’’

    In the meantime, Adams has been trying to keep town services running uninterrupted while at the same time having the proper amount of concern for the safety of all those people who have to be out in the field or in the office.

    When news first started to develop about the safety precautions that might be put in place because of COVID-19, Adams began having regular staff meetings with her department heads to try and assure all contingencies were covered. This was long before the official order came down from North Carolina governor Roy Cooper that the state was declaring its citizens needed to stay at home as much as possible.

    “We already had things in place,’’ Adams said. Many steps have been taken to cut down on public interaction. The town took a major one last Monday when it decided to close the Hope Mills Lake park to the public but still allow boaters and kayakers to use the lake for recreation. Adams hopes the citizens will be cautious using the lake and not force the town to take more drastic measures.

    If people have specific needs or concerns, Adams said they can visit townofhopemills.com or any of the town Facebook pages for updates. There are also contact numbers there. The main town number is 910-424-4555. In the event of a life-threatening emergency, people should still call 911 to reach the police or fire departments.

    “We are a strong community,’’ Adams said. “We are small but pretty good at backing each other up and supporting each other. I would ask that people continue to do that.’’

  • 15aPlaners, joiners, bandsaws, table saws, computer numerical control machines and Harley, the light-blond Golden Retriever, soak up every square inch of floor space. Boards of different types of wood lean stacked against the walls.

    It’s drafty and loud. The smell of stained wood is pungent, but the whir of the machines is reassuring.

    Intricate works of student art such as inlaid tables and plaques are strewn about, some completed, some in the process of being finished for a public showing at the Fayetteville Arts Council from May 4 to 20.

    The woodshop is a world away from the grind of daily life for the kids at Falcon Children’s Home.
    The program started in 2015 when he offered to teach a wood-working class, Head Instructor John DeGreef says.

    Falcon Children’s Home liked the idea and at the end of a trial run wanted to make woodshop a high school elective. However, there was no money for equipment. And DeGreef couldn’t continue to trailer his personal tools to school for every class.

    He says a friend suggested reaching out to the United Way for grant money. And during their first year, they gave $15,000. “That’s pretty much where we started,” DeGreef said.
    After moving to its present location, gaining Woodturning Instructor Carl Sanders, CNC Instructor Derek Feely and state-of-the-art machinery that includes two CNC laser cutters, the program has become a crucial part of Falcon Children’s Home.

    “Basically, seven years later,” DeGreef says, “We’re close to $180,000 raised through grants.”

    All of the equipment in the shop was either purchased using grant monies or donated. In fact, Falcon Children’s Home relies on donations for everything from toilet paper to paying employees.
    There are young people up to 21-years-old living in cottages on the grounds, Houseparent Magdeli Alexandra Lopez says. Right now, there are eight kids and two house parents per cottage.

    There are a total of 13 cottages on campus, separated by gender. Each one can hold a maximum of 12 kids and two house parents. The children live there year-round.

    “It’s a foster home,” DeGreef says. Kids come and live here until the court system deems it’s okay for them to go home.

    This nearly windowless woodshop building, its power tools and stalwart instructors focus the kids’ minds around something positive and rewards them with lifelong skills.
    Woodshop is a safe space for these young people.

    “We don’t know why they’re here or what they’ve been through, and we don’t get in to that,” Feely says. “Our job is to make an escape for them.”

    Foster care is a “protective service” for children who have been abused, neglected or maltreated, in which they’re given a family environment in an agency-approved home for a planned and temporary period of time.

    “There’s about 90 [to] 95 kids that live [up here] full time,” DeGreef says.

    Falcon Children’s Home has been “providing a home for children who... are unable to live with their parents in a regular home setting for over 110 years.”15b
    Lopez tells the students to treat woodshop like a real job, he says. It’s more therapeutic for them. Some of our children deal with a lot of anger, and the shop has helped them process their emotions.

    “When you’re pushing the wood through the machines,” 16-year-old Marquasia says, “Just hearing the noise releases some anger.”

    As Marquasia speaks, Harley materializes out of thin air and lays her head in her lap, as if to say everything’s alright.

    “It’s like hands-on therapy for me,” Marquasia adds.

    The woodshop is chock-full of pieces of student art that will be displayed and up for sale at the Fayetteville Arts Council in downtown Fayetteville.

    “[The kids] are selling a lot of these things,” Lopez says. A lot of people think they come to shop, but they’re actually selling it.

    All money from items sold goes to the student artist who created them. If you’d like to meet the kids of Falcon Children’s Home, observe their wonderful woodwork and potentially buy something special for your home, and for a good reason, please come on down to the Fayetteville Arts Council, located at 301 Hay Street, May 4 to 20. Thursday, May 4, is the grand opening night, and the kids will be there from 4 to 9 p.m., DeGreef says.

    John DeGreef, Carl Sanders and Derek Feely are military veterans. Harley is a rescue animal and belongs to DeGreef.

    “For all of us, this is our give-back,” DeGreef says. “We served our country, and we want to continue to give back to our community.”

    Falcon Children’s Home is located in Falcon, straight up I-95, a few miles north of Fayetteville. Falcon Children’s Home has “opportunities throughout the year” for people interested in volunteering. If you would like to volunteer, please visit www.falconchildrenshome.org/volunteer. If you would like to donate money to the home, please visit www.falconchildrenshome.org/donate.

  • 13 vernon copyWhile many high school coaches and athletes in North Carolina deal with the frustrating routine of not being able to play their chosen sports during the COVID-19 pandemic, Vernon Aldridge and other athletic leaders around the state are holding conversations and looking ahead to the time when everyone will be able to return to the fields and courts to resume competition.

    Aldridge is the Student Activities Director for the Cumberland County Schools, but he also wears important hats at the state level.

    He is one of the leaders of the North Carolina Athletic Directors Association, a role that also landed him a spot on the North Carolina High School Athletic Association Board of Directors.

    In recent days, Aldridge has been involved in video conferences with other athletic directors and also with high school principals, partly as a wellness check, but also to see how everyone is dealing with the current situation and looking ahead to a time when play will resume.

    “The biggest thing with the pandemic is things are fluid,’’ Aldridge said. “Things are changing hour by hour. It’s the hope of everyone that at some point we are able to come back and play in the spring.’’

    The NCHSAA has suspended all play and practice for its member schools until May 18. Cumberland County’s school year is currently scheduled to end on May 22 unless county or state officials decide to extend it.

    Aldridge said the fate of athletics hinges on whether or not Cumberland County and the rest of the state returns to school first. “It’s going to be hard to justify playing athletics if the kids aren’t in school,’’ he said.

    Even if they are, students won’t be thrown onto the athletic field or court immediately when school reopens. They’ll have to be given a few days, maybe more, to practice.
    Que Tucker, commissioner of the NCHSAA, has already said the NCHSAA will not extend the spring athletic season into the summer months. If athletics resumes on May 18, Aldridge isn’t sure how much of a spring season Cumberland County could play, especially schools in the nine-team Patriot Athletic Conference.

    The dates for state championships in boys golf, track and field, boys tennis and lacrosse will have already passed.

    The only championship dates left would be girls’ soccer on May 30 and baseball and softball June 5-6.

    “A conference season would be difficult,’’ Aldridge said. “I’d love to see us be able to to play a couple of games so we could have senior nights and acknowledge our seniors the way they should be acknowledged.’’

    A growing worry is the pandemic could continue and extend to football season. Football gate receipts pay the way for the total athletic program. Losing all or part of it would be a huge hit to local schools.

    Aldridge said when sports do resume, it’s critical that fans support the program. “Come out and support teams, get involved with booster clubs at the schools, get involved with what we are doing,’’ he said.

    For now he hopes coaches are checking in on their athletes and offering emotional support.

    “The bigger picture is the health and safety of people,’’ he said. “It’s more important than what we’ve got going on on the field.’’

  • 11 hope mills strongFamilies are a big deal in a small town like Hope Mills, and it was family ties that were behind the recent display of a sign at Hope Mills Lake aimed at boosting town morale.
    Valerie Reed who, with her husband Matthew, operates a sign business called Sign Gypsies, was behind the actual posting of the sign near the lake that featured the words "HOPE MILLS STRONG."

    Reed said the inspiration for the sign came from her in-laws, Cylinda and Jerry Hair, both longtime residents deeply involved in the town.

    Reed said the Hairs contacted her about putting up some kind of greeting that would offer an inspirational message to the town’s citizens.

    It was right in line with the kind of work Reed, who primarily works as an occupational therapist in the public schools, is geared to do. She and her husband bought the local franchise for Sign Gypsies last November. Since then, they’ve done a variety of signs for various occasions, including birthdays, anniversaries, retirements, welcome home, baby greetings and sports accomplishments.

    Reed and her husband, both South View High School graduates, moved back to the town six years ago feel and feel a strong attachment to it.

    “We have tons of friends who are small business owners,’’ she said. “We understand what a detriment  (COVID-19) can be, and we wanted to do something to brighten everyone’s spirits.’’

    Even though Hope Mills is much bigger than it was during Reed’s South View days, she said there is still a lot of camaraderie and hometown spirit in the community. “We know people here have faced hard times before,’’ she said. “We hope (the sign) will provide strength and make people think we are in this together.’’

    Reed said she first reached out to Hope Mills mayor, Jackie Warner, with the idea of putting the sign at Hope Mills Lake, an idea Warner was readily supportive of doing.
    “It’s just something to show support and let people know we can get through this,’’ Warner said.

    When Warner first thought of where to put the sign, she was thinking of a long-term location. But Reed’s signs are designed to be 24-hour rentals under normal circumstances. Since it was going to be in a central location at the lake, it was decided to take it down after dark to avoid someone coming back after hours and removing some of the letters or other decorative parts of the display.

    Reed said she would be willing to put the sign back up from time to time since Warner said the response to it first being displayed was so tremendously popular.

    In addition to the sign, the town has decided to temporarily turn on the lighted star that’s on the far bank of the lake and is normally only used during the Christmas season.
    Warner said the star is on a timer, and will come on at dusk each day and shut off at dawn.

    Warner compared it to the lights being used to illuminate the interior of the Thomas Campbell Oakman Memorial Chapel on South Main Street.

    Warner feels the lights at the church and the light of the star help illustrate the town is pulling together for the good of everyone. She feels both are signs of hope and love.
    “There’s life there,’’ she said. “They are all ways of showing we’re committed, we care and we’re tied together.

    “They work together for the good of all.’’

  • Poetry offers a unique way to express emotions, ideas and experiences through language. It can explore complex themes and ideas in a concise and powerful way while inspiring readers in profound ways. Poetry also has the ability to connect people across cultures and time periods, offering a window into different perspectives and ways of seeing the world.

    April is National Poetry Month, and what better way to celebrate than by exploring the rich poetry scene in your local community? Local poetry can offer a unique perspective on the people, history and culture of your area. Fayetteville has a thriving poetry community with several open mics a month and poetry events happening downtown.

    The Poetry Community

    14aLeJuane “El’Ja” Bowens has been a part of the local arts community since 2007, shortly after leaving the Army. Bowens tells Up & Coming Weekly that he remembers when the poetry community got so huge, there used to be 13 open mics in one week. However, he says that now is a moment of transition due to a resurgence following the shutdowns of 2020.

    “Now we’re at a point where there is a resurgence of open mics and that’s because of what happened during the pandemic when a lot of open mics went away and then they came back. But it brought in a lot of new energy because a lot of people started building upon that,” Bowens said.

    Bowens is the founder and CEO of Poetry-N-Motion, a local company that specializes in writing workshops, mentoring and event hosting/planning. Their mission is to serve as a change agent to provide an alternative for individuals who are faced with challenging situations where a different outlet can be utilized to decrease and/or diffuse emotional distress. Their target audiences are youth, veterans, community leaders and aspiring artists.

    “[The arts are] very important not only for that creative outlet, but most people also look at that as a way of healing and coping with trauma. Because one of my mentors told me, ‘If no one will listen to you, the page will or the art will.’ So when you have that as an outlet to help with so many things, it makes it very important as to why we need [the] arts, not just in this community, but also in every community that we can make that space possible.”

    Last month, Bowens published a new book, “Before: A Collection of Poems,” which is semi-autobiographical. The topics range from life, heartbreak, love, joy, pain and a variety of emotions you can go through as a person.

    Each poem starts with the word “Before” and then is expanded on in the poem itself. In the first month of its release, he sold over 400 copies.

    “I’m very excited that the book has done so, so well,” Bowens said.

    Bowens says the community plays a huge role and it’s important for all artists to support one another, especially in our own community.

    “Some of the local players or local artists here in the city go on to do big and better things. There’s phenomenal writers that started here in Fayetteville that are now published authors or motivational speakers and just going out there doing and hosting a lot of other events, not only in Fayetteville but outside of the city or the state. I think it’s very important for a community to get behind it because these artists are the future of what happens within any industry form. And it becomes disheartening when we don’t get the community support because we do so much to represent our community,” Bowens said.

    “So it’s very important for us to get behind the artists in the community and the poets, while we can support everything they're doing, because everybody still finds it hard to believe that we have a poetry scene here in the city of Fayetteville, North Carolina when it’s been here for going on 24 years.”

    Upcoming Poetry Events

    TAP on Thursday

    Winterbloom Tea, in collaboration with Poetry-N-Motion, are bringing an open mic, free to everyone. This Tea And Performance happens every third Thursday of the month. If you are a poet, comic, songwriter, musician, they encourage you to come out for this awesome event. The next event will take place on May 18 at 7 p.m.
    Winterbloom Tea is located at 238 Hay Street. For more information call 910-491-3526.

    14cArts in Motion Trolley

    In celebration of National Poetry Month, Cool Spring Downtown District invited North Carolina Poet Laureate Jaki Shelton Green to Downtown Fayetteville to take part in Arts in Motion on Friday, April 28 at 7 p.m. on their District Trolley.
    Green is the ninth Poet Laureate of North Carolina. She is the first African American and third woman to be appointed as the North Carolina Poet Laureate and reappointed in 2021 for a second term by Governor Roy Cooper. She is also a 2019 Academy of American Poet Laureate Fellow and has been recognized on the Forbes Magazine 50 Over 50 Lifestyle List for 2022.

    “We're excited to have Jackie Shelton Green for the poetry trolley, and we think it's going to be an amazing event. It's probably a once in a lifetime event to actually be able to sit with our North Carolina poet laureate and be able to pick her brain and just understand the wisdom that she has and how she got to this place and how to become better,” Lauren Falls, Director of Marketing and Events for Cool Spring Downtown District, told Up & Coming Weekly.

    The trolley will pick people up at the Gaston Taproom located at 421 Chicago Drive. Tickets are $30 and can be bought at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/arts-in-motion-trolley-featuring-nc-poet-laureate-jaki-shelton-green-tickets-605040140347.

    14bArt Meets Life

    Art Meets Life is a show where not only will you get to see art in motion, but also get to know more about the artists that perform as well.
    This show, which will be featuring the Detour Slam, will take place at The Sweet Palette on May 5. Doors open at 7:30 p.m. The Sweet Palette is located at 101 Person Street. For information call 910-489-7342.
    Fighting Fathers

    This special series will consist of three performances featuring Southern spoken word artists whose work explores the intersections of military service, fatherhood, and life as Black men in the American South. The Fighting Fathers will give voice to an intersection of our local community that is often overlooked.

    The accompanying free workshops will teach attendees how to use the art of spoken word poetry to tell their own story and engage in a creative experience that gives them a deeper understanding of their own emotional journey. The third and last session will feature Bowens. The last two featured Boris “Bluz” Rogers and Neil Ray Donnell. The performance will take place at the Cape Fear Regional Theatre on May 20 at 7:30 p.m.

    Cape Fear Regional Theatre is located at 1209 Hay Street. For information call 910-323-4234.

    By engaging with local poetry, you not only support your community's arts scene but also gain a deeper appreciation for the place you call home. So this National Poetry Month, and throughout the year, take some time to explore the poetry in your own backyard.

    Editor's note: In the next issue of Up & Coming, read about Fayetteville's own Detour Slam Team, a poetry group competing in the Southern Fried Poetry Competition this year.

  • 16The process of jurying a national art competition most often results in a juror, or jurors, viewing a myriad of images online. While studying each image on a monitor, the juror is able to read the artist’s description of the size, the year the work was created, the medium, as well as a brief explanation of intent.

    When I was asked by Ellington White Contemporary Gallery to be the juror for a feminist art competition, I particularly looked forward to seeing works by contemporary female artists whose works related to the exhibition title: Feminist Insight: Continuing Her Story.

    The results can be viewed during a visit to the Rosenthal Gallery on the campus of Fayetteville State University. One hundred and ninety-six (196) works were studied to be included in the exhibition while knowing the gallery can accommodate 40 to 50 works of art depending on size and location in the space.

    In selecting works for the exhibit, first and foremost, each work must communicate an essence of what the artist is trying to convey in a particular style, using material that emphasizes meaning, and the work is well-crafted. While viewing so many individual artists, an overall theme begins to emerge.

    As a result, 46 entries were selected for the exhibition. The majority of works in the exhibit explore or reveal themes still with us since the second wave of feminist art in the late 60s and 70s: body identity, violence against women, a deep-rooted and historical connection to textiles to express meaning, and the recontextualization of everyday objects to create new meaning.

    In the process of deciding which works will be a part of the exhibit, many strong works of art are eliminated simply because they will not fit the overall aesthetics of the larger group of works selected. Although it may vary, visitors should unknowingly sense or experience an underlying cohesiveness of a body of work by many different artists when they visit Feminist Insight: Continuing Her Story.
    When the actual works selected for the exhibition start to arrive at the gallery, either shipped in boxes or hand delivered by artists driving in from various parts of the region, another layer of the exhibition is revealed. What can look good on a monitor, can be even more powerful or disappointing in actuality. For the most part, over 90% of the works in the exhibit are more powerful than the images on the monitor when you experience their physicality and their presence.

    After the exhibit was hung, I had time to experience all the selections as an experience. Although there are beautiful works in the exhibit, I realized the majority of the work expresses a continued sense of unrest or dislocation for women in contemporary culture. This unsettling truth makes sense in today’s third and fourth wave of the feminist movement which questions, reclaims and redefines the notion of self and challenges traditional power structures in the postmodern cultural shift that is taking place.

    “I am Creation” by Joyce Morrow Jones took first place in the competition. The 20”x18”x18” mixed media sculpture, made from a clay body, beads, metal wire, and dried grasses, immediately evokes a sense of time and multiculturalism in its relationship to women and their history. For each of us, our experiences, and even knowledge, influences how we respond or bring meaning to a work of art after it has left the artist’s studio.

    For me, “I am Creation,” and the material Jones used to create the sculpture immediately related to the earliest Gods — women. Most often known as Earth Goddesses, it was the Greeks who dethroned the woman Goddess from being the most significant and put Zeus at the top of the God hierarchy.

    Second place went to Jeanne Ciravolo for work titled “Woman.” An actual dish towel hangs on the gallery wall with threads sewn into the higher section of the surface to create a face. In an irregular amorphic pattern, the strings hang independently of the design off the surface of the worn striped material. On the bottom right section, she has sewn parts of what looks like to be a red plastic mesh bag, the type one might purchase at the store with potatoes or onions in it.

    Understanding the traditional hierarchy for what we value in art is a construction perpetuated by the politics of art, whoever is in power, and who has access to education. Ciravolo recontextualizes everyday objects which are very familiar to the role of women throughout history, as well as today, and elevates them to an ‘object of art’ — she has created a new meaning of a dish towel, as a political object for us to interpret. When we compare a dish towel to a sculpture or painting, Ciravolo is in full feminist mode — we are to examine what a work of art is and especially when women were historically restricted from studying art, much less making it.

    “Untitled (Stepfamily)” by Rebecca Chappelear, earned third place with her large 30”x40” photograph of a young woman. We cannot see her face since the photograph ends below her head, she wears a tight T-16ashirt. The close-up view blurs the background of a figure sitting, arms crossed in an ordinary room, if anything the environment seems familiar. As we scan the image, we soon discover the subtle hand mark left on her upper arm. It is at that moment we become mesmerized: the familiar becomes unfamiliar, then it reverses, and we experience the unfamiliar becoming familiar. We are caught in a type of circular looking which leads to the circle of violence against women that was relevant in the second and third phases of the feminist movement.

    So many exceptional works in the exhibit, visitors will have their own opinion about which artists should have earned awards. But a juror also has to make choices. Honorable mentions went to the following artists:

    “Emergent,” by Beverly Henderson, is a life-size portrait in clay and stone; “Diabla Leon” is a large relief print by Linda Behar; and “Somniferous Bliss” by Johanna Hoge is an 11”x14” ink drawing with embroidery.

    I invite visitors to the Rosenthal Gallery to experience the depth of the collective voice in Feminist Insight: Continuing Her Story. The exhibit will be up until April 22 for visitors to discover the many ways in which the artists are expressing diverse views about power, gender, self, inclusivity, and intersectionality.

  • 4For more than a decade, Gallery 208 has been providing space to showcase local and regional artists.4b

    Earlier this month, we opened The Visual Conversation: Artists Who Teach, an exhibit allowing us to highlight local artists who also teach their craft. This exhibit of 24 prints is the result of a group of public-school art teachers who attended a workshop using non-toxic printmaking techniques.

    The workshop was sponsored by a grant from the Fayetteville and Cumberland County Arts Council and reflects the artists’ exploration into expanding their regular ways of working. The artists include: Chantel Dorisme, Alfie Frederick, Kyle Harding, Beverly Henderson, Rick Kenner, Soni Martin, Tiara Siner, Manuela Smith, Adrian Solomon and Angela Williams.

    To learn more about the workshop and the exhibit, read the article at www.upandcomingweekly.com/arts/9669-the-visual-conversation-artists-who-teach-new-exhibition-opens-at-gallery-208 The exhibit is free and open to the public through May 30. Gallery 208 is located at 208 Rowan St. and open Monday — Thursday from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. For more information call 910-484-6200.

  • 13aThe Visual Conversation: Artists Who Teach exhibition opens at Gallery 208 on April 6. The exhibition is the result of a group of public school art teachers who attended an eight-hour enrichment workshop using non-toxic printmaking techniques.

    For this exhibition, artists who teach have shared their voices in an experimental medium that they are able to share with their students in the classroom.

    After registering for the workshop, the artists/teachers only brought their sketchbooks, some basic tools, a lot of creativity, and an opportunity to meet the demands of a printmaking marathon. A day filled with experimenting and new processes resulted in successful prints for the exhibition to share with the public.

    Sponsored by a grant from the Fayetteville and Cumberland County Arts Council, the workshop enabled yours truly to have the supplies and durables available needed for each participant to create up to 30 monoprints while working through the processes.

    The exhibition reflects a group of artists’ courage to explore ways to expand upon their regular ways of working while applying new processes and expanding upon their ideas.

    The creative stages of preparation, incubation, insight, evaluation, and elaboration have been replaced with an open-ended collaborative period of time in which each artist’s work evolves from improvision, experimentation, and adapting to technical challenges.

    The group (Nameral Graybeal, Alfie Frederick, Angela Williams, Kyle Harding, Manuela Smith, Adrian Solomon, Tiara Siner, Rick Kenner, Kathleen Fair and Chantel Dorisme) all met the challenges of the workshop: let go of preconceived ideas about how their work should look; instead, adapt to immediacy!

    Preconceived relationships between composition and scale, structure and space, tone and color, shape, and line were replaced with a new perceptual awareness of the potential of each formal relationship in the new works.13b

    Collaborations in the workshop played a critical role in supporting and stimulating the creative process since dynamic dialogue and exchange between artists took place. Each artist took advantage of the opportunity to experiment with technical processes in a medium they are not accustomed to while embracing different modes of using the material, new ways to conceptualize their work, and getting feedback from the class.

    Not only was the workshop an occasion for teachers to learn new techniques for the students in their art classes; but, equally important, it was an opportunity for teachers to give themselves the gift of what they give to their students: the joy of exploring their individual ideas in a safe and encouraging creative environment and having the opportunity to explore image making processes in a different way.

    Each artist can now practice using non-toxic materials and printing without a press in their own studio or classroom and has benefitted from a health movement in traditional printmaking that took place in the 1980s. Keith Howard, a pioneer in safer printmaking techniques in printmaking developed a gelatin-based photo etching technique, known as the Howard process, which helped to reshape a paradigm shift towards a safer work environment.

    13cHoward’s influential book titled “Non-Toxic Printmaking Techniques” in the 1990s influenced the “green” professional printmaking studios and for artists to be able to practice printmaking in their homes. Even today the research continues, and a significant number of manufacturers have developed soy and acrylic-based alternatives.

    The Visual Conversation: Artists Who Teach is evidence of the transformative power of process and experimentation. Each artist began with an open-minded way to rethink visual structures and ended up with a new way to convey meaning and intent. Visitors to the gallery will hopefully experience the same transformation that took place with each artist during the workshop — to experience something outside of themselves and then reconnect on a very personal level.

    The public is invited to the opening reception of The Visual Conversation: Artists Who Teach exhibition at Gallery 208 on April 6 from 5:30 to 7 p.m.

    The exhibition will remain up until May 30. The hours at the gallery are Monday — Thursday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. For information call 910-484-6200.

  •      Fayetteville’s connection to the military is a strong one — one that the city embraces and celebrates. On Saturday, May 9, as a part of Glory Days, the Downtown Alliance will present once more the Field of Honor to the community. A sea of hundreds upon hundreds of American flags will grace the grounds of the Airborne and Special Operations Museum and flow out into the future site of Veteran’s Park, honoring those who have served, are currently serving and those who have died protecting our nation and securing our freedom.{mosimage}
         Although this event is largely about the military, there is something everyone can take away from this exhibit. The impact is sure to be impressive...think Arlington or Normandy and the emotional awe that comes with being in the presence of heroes and honoring our nations service men and women.
         “It is just an amazing, amazing feeling going through the Field of Honor,” said Carin Savel, the event coordinator. “We are honoring not just our military heroes, we are honoring who we are as a community, which is the most important thing. This is who Fayetteville is... come to the Field of Honor and see what Fayetteville is all about.”
         The public is invited to join in and recognize a service member with a flag, which will be adorned with a yellow ribbon and the name of the honoree, and then placed proudly with the others in the field where it will fly through Memorial Day. Based on last years’ participation, Savel is anticipating a great response.
         “We did 1,500 flags last year...and we are going to have 2,000 flags up this year,” she said.
         The fact that the families are so supportive of their service members is quite touching to Savel.
         “The stories are unbelievable...families that have two and three children who were KIA (killed in action) and they take out flags for them...we had a woman call to order a flag for her ex-husband and say ‘We are divorced...we don’t do anything together, but I wanted to honor him anyway.’”
         Another family had flags representing four generations of service.
         “Last year we got flag orders from not just around the country but we had flag orders from as far away as Russia...it was unbelievable what was going on,” said Savel.
         The opening ceremony is at 11 a.m. and will be presided over by Joanne Chavonne and Dawn Mansfield at the 9/11 Memorial. The flags are an impressive size at 3’ x 5’ and will stand 8’ tall in a tight formation of rows and columns. Savel was sure to point out that all of flags were made in America. If you can’t make the ceremony and just happen to be downtown in the next month or so, take a few minutes, recharge your batteries and take a walk through the Field of Honor. Surely, whatever problems are on your mind will seem much smaller when you leave.
  •      Walking the grounds of Fox Hollow with owner Daniel Fitch, the sheer luxury and tranquility of the place is astounding. It is 22 acres of Eden like bliss. The lush greenery and finely sculpted shrubs perfectly complement the elegantly placed fountains and statues. Garden rooms of different styles and eras reside within yards of each other yet each one has its own ambiance and ability to transport whoever visits to another place and time. The historical period represented is 16th century: the serenity is timeless. {mosimage}
         The garden and two out buildings have been 10 years in the making, well researched, well thought out and painstakingly and lovingly brought to life by Fitch and his wife Kathy. They aren’t done yet-and may never be. You see, Fitch’s love of historical gardens, for all the joy it brings, has been as much about his soul as it has been about his passion for beauty. In his quest to create this sanctuary, he has had permit officials laugh at him, zoning officials and developers tell him it can’t be done, and according to Fitch, his own wife has called him crazy.
         Still, the desire to keep going would not leave. At one point, he asked God to either take this yearning from him or help him bring it to fruition, because money was tight and it there was no obvious answer as to how Fox Hollow could ever become a reality. The desire never left, so Fitch plodded along, sometimes purchasing the shrubs for the landscaping one at a time because that was all he had enough cash to pay for. “I was determined that if I stuck with it, it would eventually happen,” he said. And it did. “When I see young people I want to encourage them to reach inside and find what fires them up, what makes their blood run. When I finally did that, this is what happened.”
         Now, with countless hours of toil behind them, and beautiful gardens before them, the Fitches are ready to share their property with the community. “This was built to inspire and benefit people,” said Fitch. The setting is perfect for creating memories of that perfect wedding day, which several lucky couples have already done.
         Charity events are also welcome. There are a few on the calendar already. The Foreign Affair to benefit Children’s Charity International, is slated for the garden on April 30. There will be champagne and wine-flights with aperitifs. For more information, call 578-6154.
         The Fayetteville Wine Society is hosting its Spring Gala at Fox Hollow on May 2. Proceeds will benefit the Children of Fallen Soldiers Relief Fund and Children’s Charity International. There will be wine tasting, fabulous food provided by some of Fayetteville’s top restaurants, and the Fayetteville Jazz Orchestra will be setting the mood with their 18 piece band. Tickets are $75, and can be purchased at Luigi’s and Grapes and Hops. For more info, check out www.fayettevillewinesociety.com.
         Check out the Fox Hollow Web site at www.foxhollowdesign.net, or give them a call 964-0104.
  • uac040412001.jpg Take the TV show Dancing with the Stars, add swords, a father/son rivalry and people being forced onto the stage by family members and you have the powerhouse fundraising event, Dancing with the Fayetteville Stars.

    Good-hearted volunteers have hurled themselves into the spotlight to raise money for the Center for Economic Empowerment and Development, which is hosting Dancing with the Fayetteville Stars on Saturday, April 14 at the Crown Expo Center.

    This fun, energetic event was voted best fundraiser in 2011 by Up & Coming Weekly readers and has been an instant hit for volunteers, guests and entertainers alike since its inception.

    This year, 21 couples have volunteered countless hours, choreographing a dance, rehearsing to perfection, creating costumes, planning the special surprises and guaranteeing a great time for the audience. If there is any doubt guests would enjoy themselves, these couples promise not to leave you wanting.

    Mother/son duo Tracy Huff, director of the Art of Self Defense Academy and her high school son, Stephen Huff, bring their fully charged energy to stage with the fun pop song “Sexy and I Know It” by LMFAO. The dance promises to be entertaining from the first beat to the last. “Be ready for the unexpected,” Tracy Huff said.

    Looking for something a little less pop but still high action, maybe a little Asian fusion? Richard Martin, chief catalyst at International Business Fuel/Shifu Taijiquan and Deb Belles, owner of Reliable Signs and member of Shadow of the Fire dance troupe, are adding a little excitement to their dance through the use of swords. According to Martin, the people who know him best think it’s hilarious he’s dancing; but he added that Belles told him he had to do it. Luckily, Martin shares Belles’ love for the community and agreed to participate. They would both like to take the same thing away from the experience … all of their appendages. But don’t let the promise of flashy music and exciting theatrics take away from the amazing dancing. John Hodges, retired Hope Mills police chief and Army veteran is dancing with his dance instructor, Lacy Kraft. Kraft has a special place in her heart for military men since both her husband and her dance partner are military. Hodges and Kraft share a love of dance, having danced and competed together for years winning numerous awards. Kraft explained that dance is an extension of the soul. In the music, a dancer is transformed. Although Hodges enjoys more saucy dances like the rumba or tango; however, they decided to go with something a little less expected. They are ready to dazzle the audience with a fun, playful routine.

    Max Mahlke, a retired pharmacist and Jimmy John’s franchise owner, was described as a “ freak of nature” by his partner Marcy. “I took that as a high compliment thinking it meant I had a lot of energy for and old man. But maybe she just meant I’m not very mature.” Mahlke said. Either way Mahlke is taking away new friends and the satisfaction of doing something that will help CEED.

    The participants agree, beyond the fellowship they are most excited to assist CEED in the lease to home mission.

    Nadine G. Miller-Bernard, physical education teacher in the Cumberland County Schools explained that as an immediate past president of the local alumnae chapter of Delta Sigma Theta, her organization is a “sisterhood called to serve, transforming lives, and impacting communities,” and it is her pleasure to participate and help fundraise for CEED. 04-04-12-dancing-with-stars.jpg

    Jo Ann Ruff, business manager for Dr. J. Michael Ruff, Periodontics & Implants said, “I believe CEED is giving families a helping hand in our community and doing a great job.” Ruff is excited to dance for a good cause. “My family thinks it’s wonderful when I’m dancing and I’m not shopping, and my friends think dancing is a great way to stay young,” Ruff said.

    Miles Norsworthy is attending school in Illinois this fall but not before he dances on stage with beautiful and talented women. Of course, he’s “happy to help out a good cause and to find the time to work on something more important than me.” Norsworthy doesn’t like the early mornings, but dancing is one of his favorite hobbies. “His mother has her own studio,” said Catherine “Cat” Bersh, his partner. She added that she is “thrilled to be using my talents to help the community and guarantees a professional routine that you would see on the show Dancing With the Stars.” While working hard to deliver that promise, she broke her finger in practice and had to be in a cast for the last three weeks. But that didn’t discourage her.

    “It’s for a great cause and Sharon made me” is the reason Scott Epperson, retired police detective and professional Barney Fife impersonator/ actor signed up to participate in Dancing with the Fayetteville Stars. Participating in this event has his family thinking. “He’s a great entertainer but him dance?” Still, he’s not nervous a bit. “You should see some of the things I have done on stage, then again maybe not…” said Epperson. Whether he can dance or not, this entertainer is sure to put on a show.

    When asked to participate, Jessica Elizabeth McCain, full-time student and model said, “Yes I’d love to. It’s more than helping a friend out, I’m dancing to give back to my community that I love and have grown up in.” McCain said the worst part of the experience has been finding a dress because they are all gorgeous.

    “The hard work by the dancers, not only on their fabulous routines but by their fundraising efforts is what makes the Dancing with the Fayetteville Stars so successful and thankfully continues to grow each year,” said Teresa M. Dagaz, of CEED.

    To date, the program has successfully helped 46 families become homeowners. With the money raised from the fundraiser, CEED hopes to rehabilitate and provide safe, affordable housing for families in need. The goal is to raise $160,000 at this year’s fundraiser.

    People can vote for their favorite dancers by going to the www.ncceed. org and clicking on the Dancing with the Stars link that says VOTE. It will take you to a Facebook Page where folks can like CEED and see all of the dancers. People can continue to vote through the night of the event. It’s only $10 each to support your favorite dancer. All donations are tax deductible and all proceeds after expenses go directly to the Lease to Home program.

    Photo, middle right: Local volunteers team up and dance to raise funds for the Center for Economic Empowerment and Development’s lease to home program. 

     

  • 04-03-13-cos.gifAs any great musician knows, it takes time to master an instrument, and the oldest musical instrument in the entire world is the human voice. For centuries people have used their unique vocal cords to sing for many different reasons. This natural instrument could be used for religious praise, passing on history or for entertainment purposes. On April 13, at Methodist University the Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra and the Cumberland Oratorio Singers will come together with college and community choirs for a spring performance that is sure to energize the soul. In recent years the FSO and the Cumberland Oratorio Singers have combined forces to bring first-class performances to the community.

    The Cumberland Oratorio Singers consists of 75 adults, all of whom are unique in their backgrounds and experiences; and each has mastered their God-given instrument, their voice. There is more to oratorio than just singing. By definition oratorio is “a musical composition for voices and orchestra, telling a sacred story without costumes, scenery or dramatic action.”

    This style of performing is of Italian origin, and can be traced back directly to an Italian concert hall from the 16th century. The Cumberland Oratorio Singers embrace their centuries-old musical roots, but are not limited in performance style. The group has an extensive repertoire that includes classical secular styling’s, contemporary classical works, masses and traditional oratorios and show or pop music.

    The Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra was founded in 1956 and is the oldest continuously-funded orchestra in North Carolina. Under the direction of Dr. Fouad Fakhouri, the orchestra performs throughout the community several times a year, including several free performances.

    On April 13, the members of the orchestra will perform The Symphony of Psalms, which was created by the composer Stravinsky. This piece was composed in the 1930s and is named after the verses of the book of Psalms that are used in the choral pieces of the performance.

    The program will culminate with Gustav Mahler’s powerful Symphony No. 1 in D Major.The joint performance the Cumberland Oratorio and the Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra will be held at Reeves Auditorium on the campus of Methodist University, which is located at 5400 Ramsey St., on April 13 from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. Tickets are $20 at the door.

    For more information about the event or about ticket availability, contact Margarette Kelly at 482-0006. She can also be reached by email at mkelly5733@nc.rr.com. Further event information can also be found at the website www.singwithcos.org. Find out more about the Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra at www.fayettevillesymphony.org.

    Photo: Gustav Mahler

  • Since 1915 Kiwanis Clubs have worked to bring communities together through service. Kiwanis Clubs04-24-13-kiwanis-talent-night.gifare dedicated to improving their cities and working together to make a positive difference in the lives of as many people as possible. One of the biggest ways that Kiwanis is known for making an impact is through its support of children. The Fayetteville Kiwanis Club supports this community’s kids through its annual talent night, which takes place on May 10 at Cape Fear Regional Theatre. Admission is $5, and the tickets are available at the door.

    For 62 years, the Fayetteville Kiwanis club has invited the young talent of the area to come out and perform for a chance to compete for cash prizes, trophies and scholarships. The competition and prizes are broken up into divisions by age. 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. The third place winner in each division will receive a trophy and $25. Additionally, there will be four music scholarships awarded for the categories of voice, strings, piano and band instrument. These scholarships are $150. The overall winner of the competition will receive a trophy and $200.

    Talent night supports the community in many different ways. It brings the community together to celebrate the young competitors and their abilities. It gives the children a chance to step out and try performing. Events such as these often spark a lifelong love of performing and often inspire the youth to further pursue their passions. One of the prizes that Kiwanis offers is a scholarship, so it goes directly to furthering the education of the Talent Night winners. Education is the key to the future, and the Kiwanis Club has always been dedicated to creating a brighter future for the entire community. Perhaps most important, from the contestants’ perspective at least, is that the Talent Night Showcase is fun.

    Jason Poole is a Talent Night Committee member and has been a part of this event since 2003. “I like that this gives kids a chance to showcase what they can do — to get on stage and perform,” he said. “This is a great place for young people to get the experience of being on stage in a friendly environment. We all want to see these young performers do well. In fact, there are a few people who have done this and are now performers on Broadway.”

    All performers are welcome to try out. Dancers, singers, entertainers and musicians of any kind have a chance at winning funds for school. It’s not too late to take part in this year’s event. Kiwanis Talent Night auditions will be held on May 4 at the Honeycutt Recreation Center, which is located at 4665 Lakewood Dr. The deadline for submitting an application is May 1. The application can be found online at upandcomingweekly. com or fayetvillekiwanis.org. The categories are preschool - 2nd grade; 3rd - 5th grade; 6th - 8th grade and 9th through 12th grade.

    To all those potential contestants deciding whether or not to take the stage, Poole says, “Go out and do it — take the chance don’t be shy.”

    The competition takes place on May 10, and starts at 7 p.m. Contestants must arrive 30 minutes early in order to prepare. For more information, visit fayettevillekiwanis.org.

    Photo: Kids preschool through high school are invited to participate in the Fayetteville Kiwanis 62nd Annual Talent Night Showcase. 

  •      As the country’s First Sanctuary Community For Soldiers, Fayetteville/Cumberland County is dedicating the entire month of May to honor soldiers, vets and their families who have put it all on the line to defend our country.
         {mosimage}During a reception to open the United We Stand Art Exhibition on April 24, Mayor Tony Chavonne officially unveiled 31 Days of Glory, a new series of events for anyone who wants to experience the area’s military heritage and honor our brethren in the services — past and present.
         The event officially kicked-off at the announcement during the opening of the United We Stand exhibit, and it will encompass a lot of annual events, as well as events planned specifically for this month-long celebration of our military.
         On May 1, the opening of the Fort Bragg fair will ignite the frenzy of activities planned, with the culminating events occurring during Glory Days, the annual Memorial Celebration hosted by the Fayetteville Downtown Alliance. In between, you’ll find a lot of other really cool events that you are not going to want to miss out on.
         Through the efforts of more than 10 community organizations, activities are planned for every single day of the month. Venues around the county will host events, ranging from Chester Biggs discussing his years in China as a POW to family-friendly hands-on activities like creating Blue Star Banners for wartime military families to re-enactments of different time periods and demonstrations using Civil War ammunition. A number of concerts, author readings, parades and art exhibits will also be staged throughout the area.
         “While everyone else celebrates Memorial Day, we devote an entire month to thank the military, vets and their families,” said Chavonne. “We invite the world to do what we do every day — show our enthusiastic appreciation, respect and support for those who have and are putting it all on the line for us.”
         Intended to be an annual event, 31 Days of Glory is the result of the collective vision of the Fayetteville Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, USO North Carolina, Fascinate-U Children’s Museum, Museum of the Cape Fear, Fayetteville Downtown Alliance, Fayetteville Symphony, Cumberland County Public Library and Information Center, Fayetteville Museum of Art, Airborne & Special Operations Museum, Fayetteville Independent Light Infantry, 82nd Airborne Division War Memorial, The Arts Council, Fort Bragg MWR, Fayetteville Area Transportation and Local History Museum, Cape Fear Botanical Gardens and J.E.B. Stuart Chapter 483.

  • 10 Cape Fear Studios opened its seventh annual Alpha Romeo Tango art show with a reception and awards ceremony on April 21. The exhibition features work from active and retired military and their families. The exhibit will run through May 24. The exhibition opened with a People’s Choice Award, with the first, second and third places chosen by gallery visitors. State Rep. John Szoka, a graduate of West Point and an Army veteran, announced the winners.

    “As a supporter of the arts, I’m delighted to have been asked to be the speaker at this special exhibit,” said Szoka. “Art can be an important activity for the individuals and the families of those who have served in the armed forces, as it promotes camaraderie and encourages healing throughout the community.”

    The first-place winner was Sandra Ross for her oil painting “Foxy.” Second place was awarded to Lani Dickey for her painting “Grace Marsh.” Third place was given to Annette Szczektek for her piece “Chinese Lantern.”

    Alpha Romeo Tango represents the letters in the word “art” in the military phonetic alphabet, a system of words used in place of letters when communicating via radio.

    “Seven years ago, I was a new member at the Cape Fear Studios, and they wanted to do something to highlight and showcase the artwork of local military-affiliated artists,” said Steve Opet, Cape Fear Studios board president.

    “The artwork itself does not have to be military-themed,” he said. “The show is open to active duty, army reserve, National Guard, retirees, veterans, their spouses and all branches.”

    Opet joined the military after going to art school, so he has always considered himself an artist. Many of the people who enter the show have had an interest in art, but he discovered that some use their creativity as a form of therapy to help with issues like post-traumatic stress disorder. Several years ago, Opet saw an entry that stuck with him. The entry was from an Army Special Forces veteran who struggled with alcoholism due to PTSD.

    “His piece (was) a 3-D piece: a whiskey bottle being shattered by a rifle bullet,” he said. “It represented his battle with alcoholism because of PTSD. He credited most of his recovery from discovering his artistic ability and being an artist.”

    Cape Fear Studios is a non-profit arts organization in downtown Fayetteville. They have a main gallery and retail space with paintings, photography, sculptures, pottery, woodwork and more. They also offer classes to adults and children in the community.

    “As our statement says, we’re into bringing the arts and the art experience to our local community. We encourage people to come down and visit,” said Opet. “Some people (are) intimidated about an art gallery. You don’t have to buy (anything); we just are happy that people come in and look at all the art.”

    The Alpha Romeo Tango exhibition will be open for public viewing through May 24. The gallery, which is located at 148 Maxwell St., is open Tuesday to Friday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Visit www.capefearstudios.com for more information.

  • 6 Brian Harlan Brooks leans forward against the table. He’s passionate about the storytelling process, but more than that, he’s passionate about his most recent artistic effort. It holds a special place for him.

    “The color is a metaphor for what’s inside of everybody that often gets ignored,” he clasps his hand together and continues. “The color purple represents a part of every human that we don’t acknowledge. We don’t understand its brilliance. That idea of purple — being the essence of the people is my favorite character. It’s the intangible.”

    Brooks is directing “The Color Purple” at Cape Fear Regional Theatre, debuting in May.

    Just two days into rehearsals, Brooks sits beside Amitria Fanae and Toneisha Harris, who play Celie and Shug Avery, respectively. The three laugh and joke but ultimately become deeply engrossed in each other’s inspirational words, nodding along as the others talk. This story means a lot to each of them. They all recount the ways it has touched them.

    “The color purple is not a major color. It’s something that you have to create from other colors. I think it’s so important in life. Our lives are made up of pieces that we take from so many other things, and it helps us to discover who we are,” Harris said.

    Harris plays the “sexy, fierce” but equally “broken and fragile” Shug Avery. Harris said she went to her closet upon receiving the role and wondered what could help her embody the character best; in the end, she felt that embodying the authenticity of Shug was the true journey into the character and the key to successfully playing this part. It was a sentiment that Fanae shared.

    “Even if this story was not a story I could connect with personally, it’s someone else’s story. I owe it to the writer and the individual’s whose story it might be, to tell the truth,” Fanae said.

    The musical is based upon the book by Alice Walker, “The Color Purple.” It tells a story about a Black woman, Celie, who is often abused by the men in her life and surrounded by other Black women in her community going through some of the same struggles. It is a story about resilience. It is a story about love. While the subject matter might be tough at times, the actors want it also to give a message of hope to the audience.

    “I’m hoping that telling this story today, it’ll help someone know they don’t have to stay in a story like that. It’s not pretty at all. It’s very ugly. Art is the imitation of life. There’s a journey through it,” Harris said. “That’s what I hope that we can accomplish.”

    The story, Brooks said, “balances the sublime and the disgusting” but the message of hope is always there. The joy is laced throughout the story. The belief in self, he said, was in the story from the beginning. For Brooks and the other actors, purple itself is a journey inside oneself — one the audience can take as well.

    “My favorite words [in this play] are God is inside you and everything else,” Brooks said. “It allows you to understand the ‘it’ you are looking for is a part of you. Purple is an inward journey. When you are looking outside of yourself, you’ll never find it … I think it’s a message that can change people just from hearing it.”

    “The Color Purple” debuts May 5 and runs through May 29. Tickets are on sale at Cfrt.org. Military appreciation night will be May 11 and teacher appreciation night will be May 13. The musical is rated M for mature.

  • Sticks and Reeds by Katey Morrill You're an artist first, and then you marry an artist? So, how does that work? Is there a second when two "firsts" are involved? On April 12, Gallery 208 in Fayetteville opens an exhibit by two "firsts" in Situation and Location: Works by Katey and Dexter Morrill.

    Katey and Dexter Morrill, both work in higher education, are professional artists and are happily married with one very young son. Anyone who knows the Morrills will readily report they live in harmony, share similar values and their co-parenting skills appear to be honed to perfect timing in all aspects.

    The distinction is their choice of creative expression. Katey is a painter, schooled in the University of North Carolina -Greensboro figurative tradition — focusing on color as structure. Dexter's creative world is filled with his invented cartoon characters; "Game Night in Titan Towers," they are playing an electronic video game on a bright green couch.

    Having an artist for a partner has its advantages. Katey shared how they both "were able to share their undergraduate and graduate experiences." During the long-quarantined COVID period, Katey decided to get out of the studio and go into nature to start a series of landscape paintings. For Katey, Dexter became a "major sounding board … when I questioned my landscape painting. His opinions challenged my perspectives, and while I do not always agree, his input made a huge difference in how I approached the landscape. We are each other's greatest critics and advocate."

    Visitors to the gallery will enjoy the way Katey creates mood with color, mark-making and a pictorial push and pull. In an intuitive response to nature, Katey stated: "my mark-making investigates a combination of applied moments that exist as defined shapes while other strokes blend atmospherically. With attention towards intricate surfaces found in nature, I want the viewer to exist within the foreground of surface texture, searching for visual paths of contrast, chroma and illumination to guide them back towards the horizon."
    Dexter echoed Katey's sentiments, how having an artist as a partner is special. "Especially someone with very different preferences and an alternate approach to creativity. It means you have someone that not only understands you and your creative impulses, but they also have a better perspective of your strengths and weaknesses."

    Game Night in Titan Tower by Dexter Morrill As an illustrator and sequential artist, Dexter uses his talents to create characters who inhabit an unexpected and creative whimsical world. In sharp contrast to Katey, Dexter creates story narratives in his work. He shared: "I use my work to tell stories of adventure and heroism that evoke childhood nostalgia. My work is shaped by the stories that I experienced in the popular comics, animation, and video games of my childhood. I build my own stories and characters through my view of 1980's and 1990s pop culture aesthetics. Passing my ideas through this 'retro filter' allows my work to connect with others of my age group but also to reach out to inspire and inform future generations."

    Visitors to Situation and Location will enjoy seeing what inspires Katey and Dexter and their approach to image-making. Their work is very different, but one has to be different to create what they do. At the end of the day, their commitment to share life and raise their child is a balanced creative lifestyle. It benefits them both, sharing all aspects of their life and having creative feedback and support for each other.

    Both attended the University of New Hampshire. Katey earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Painting and Drawing and an Master of Fine Arts in Painting at the University of North Carolina. Dexter earned a Bachelor of Arts in Studio Art (Drawing) and a Master of Art and Design degree in Animation and Interactive Media from North Carolina State University.
    Katey is the full-time painting instructor in the Fine Art Program at Fayetteville Technical Community College. Dexter shares his professional training by teaching a full load of classes between Fayetteville State University and Methodist University.

    Dexter has recently co-published an anthology with V. Santiago titled "Jack & Beans" in Breakneck Fantasy Anthology #1, published in February. Katey has participated in several one-person exhibitions in 2022: The Horowitz Gallery, Howard Community College, Columbia, Maryland, titled "Wandering Towards Ipseity;" The Wayne G. Basler Art Gallery at Northeast State Community College, in Blountville, Tennessee, and the Jeanne Hastings Art Gallery in Pinehurst, North Carolina.

    Situation and Location: Works by Katey and Dexter Morrill opens April 12 at Gallery 208 on Rowan Street. The reception is between 5:30 to 7 p.m., and the public is invited to attend and meet the artists – two real-life superheroes!

    The reception is always a pleasant time to meet the artists, listen to a short presentation by the artists, ask questions, and meet other artists and art advocates in the community. The exhibit will be in the gallery until June 20. Gallery 208 hours are Monday to Thursday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. For information, call Up & Coming Weekly at 910-484-6200.

  • The Fayetteville Police and Fire Departments have taken up the mission to keep the residents of the City of04-23-14-battle-of-the-badges.gifFayetteville as safe and secure as possible. They are always no farther away than a call to 9-1-1 and can be counted on to come to our aid at any time, day or night. The men and women that make up these departments put their lives on the line every day in an effort to protect us.

    In the line of duty, situations often arise where the two, usually separate, departments have to work together to properly serve the public. As a result of this, the two departments have developed a camaraderie and bond between them; almost like siblings. As with any other pair of siblings, a rivalry can also form out of that closeness.

    On April 26 from 12 to 4 p.m., Festival Park and The Dogwood Festival will play host to a competition between the two departments that has been dubbed The Battle of the Badges. Teams from each department compete in a series of challenges that test both squads physically, mentally and emotionally. Plates of chicken wings will be devoured, an obstacle course be conquered and the teams will go toe-to-toe in a match-up of strength and endurance that is the tug-of-war.

    The event last year saw the Police Department escape with victory by the narrowest of margins. This year, the Fire Department will try to even the score with the Police Department. In the end, the team that is left standing will be named champion and have bragging rights for 2014.

    Assistant Chief Richard Bradshaw of the Fayetteville Fire Department said that he expects the Battle of the Badges to, “showcase a lot of what we have to offer our community. We hope that the community recognizes what fine public safety organizations they have.”

    When asked about a prediction for the event, Bradshaw was clear about his expectations, “The Fire Department is going to win. I have a group of very dedicated individuals that take pride in, and feel the pressure of, this competition… We want to walk away from the park that afternoon being the victor. I want their chief to have to cater to my chief. There is a lot of pride on the line. I want our guys to be able to say we won. We lost by one point last year due to a piece of equipment breaking; we feel like we owe them one.”

    In addition to the competition, each department will have some of their best equipment on display for the community to see and interact with; Ladder trucks, SWAT gear and much more will all be onsite. Bradshaw said that the city will have on display, “some of the finest equipment in the state of North Carolina.”

    The Fayetteville Police Department band, The Rollerz, will also perform for those in attendance.

    Bradshaw summed up the event by saying, “We are both two very professional organizations. We hope the community sees that in us by our actions in this charity event. We all get along very well, it is all for fun and a good cause.”

  •      {mosimage}Okay, so either from the movie or from the television show of the same now, you know the backstory behind The Odd Couple. Two friends, polar opposites, are both divorced. They move in with each other and mayhem ensues.
         One guy, Oscar, is a total slob. The other guy, Felix, is a neat freak. Oscar cares about what makes him happy. Felix worries about being worried. How the two got to be friends is beyond me, but watching the two work out their differences is sheer comedic genius. That, of course, is something Neil Simon is known for.
         In this rendition of The Odd Couple, Cape Fear Regional Theatre Artistic Director Bo Thorp brought two New York actors down to carry the leading roles. She was then savvy enough to surround them with some of the CFRT’s local talent, and what she wound up with was a show that left the audience laughing out loud.
         Dan Teachout, a long time member of New York City’s Drilling Company, brought the role of Oscar Madison to life. Teachout managed to do what many other actors probably couldn’t have. He didn’t try to mimic or repeat the role as reprised by Walter Matthau or Jack Klugman, instead he took it and made it his own. Yeah, there were some places where your mind flashed back to the original, but that has more to do with the integrity of script than Teachout’s performance. He made Oscar both sympathetic and lovable, not an easy task, and he did it flawlessly.
         Evan Palazzo, also of New York, is an actor/musicians who has quite a few credits to his name. Palazzo put a perfect spin on Felix Ungar. He was just neurotic enough, without going over the top, which would have been fairly easy to do. Felix’s role is written for just that kind of performance. Think Tony Randall and you’ll know what I’m talking about.
         Even though the two actors have never played opposite each other before, there was a great chemistry between them. They played off of each other’s comedic timing in a very smooth manner. The tongue-in-cheek writing allowed the play to be funny in a sophisticated manner, but not so sophisticated that it went over your head. The two were a force to be reckoned with... until you met the storm of the Sisters Costazuela.
         Originally written as the Pigeon sisters, a set of English sisters who reside in the building, the Sisters Costazuela were an add on to a rewrite Simon did. Most people tend to stick to the original script, but in a flash of insight, Thorp made the switch to the rewritten script. It took some effort on the part of the actors, and it forced Nicki Hart and Rebekah Wilson, the two actors who brought the roles to life, to polish up their Spanish accents, but I think all of the effort was well worth it.
         The Sisters Costazuela brought a different kind of comedy to the show, some of it a little sexual, but most of it from the misinterpretation of English customs and words. The girls, the hot upstairs chicks, that Oscar hopes to spend some time with, add a great deal of color to the smoke-filled poker game that set the stage for the majority of the play.
         Having seen Hart in numerous productions, and most recently having worked with her on a very special project for the John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School’s symposium, I have got to say, that without a doubt, her performance was.... priceless.
         The rest of the cast, comprised of James Dean, Jonathan Flom, Scott Shelton and Paul Wolverton, all veterans of the CFRT, put in a stellar performance as always, but for a play about guys, the girls certainly managed to steal the show.
         The play runs through May 10. You don’t want to miss it. For more information, visit the CFRT’s Web site at www.cfrt.org.
  • 04-27-11-oratio-logo.jpgSaturday, April 30 marks the endof the Cumberland Oratorio Singers and the Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra 2010/2011 season. The two are teaming up to present Ralph Vaughn Williams’ Serenade to Music at Reeves Auditorium on the Methodist university Campus .

    While there are indeed some purists who perform this piece with only 16 soloists, there are also full choirs that perform this piece with feature soloists. Cumberland Oratorio Singers Director, Michael Martin has chosen to audition singers from the Cumberland Oratorio Singers membership as well as the greater Fayetteville area to come up with a group of 28 amazing singers who will perform to the talented musicians of the Fayetteville Symphony Orche04-27-11-symphony-logo.jpgstra.

    Martin considers Vaughn Williams a standard bearer of choral music, and Serenade to Music the perfect piece for a collaboration with the symphony.

    “This is not a large piece or all that diffi cult to put together. What is remarkable about it is that is does show a willingness by the Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra and the Cumberland Oratorio Singers to start partnering to do choral works together,” said Martin. “I think this is a fi rst step in a much larger process. Next year we are going to be working on Beethoven’s 9th Symphony, so I will be looking to coordinate several choirs from all over the area to come together as a mass choir and sing with the Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra. We are trying to build the idea of a large choral work with the Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra on a regular basis and bring that kind of experience of art to Fayetteville. I think you always have to start with small successes and build to larger ones. that is what Fouad Fakhouri and I are trying to do.”

    While bringing great choral music to Fayetteville is Martin’s goal, there is always room to grow. In fact, the group is hoping to add a few more men to their ranks. “I would like to have more men join this group,” said Martin. “I can’t understand how in a demographic our size we can’t fi nd an additional 15 or 20 men who can sing. Not to say the men we have don’t sing well, they do, but the proportion from man to woman is high on the women side right now. We want basses. We want tenors.”

    Fouad Fakhouri, conductor of the Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra is excited about including the COS in the orchestra’s season finale and considers it the perfect ending to an artistically strong season. “I am very much looking forward to working with Michael Martin on this,” said Fakhouri. “It has been a great season, a very gratifying season in terms of the artistic products that we produced. This is going to be a great fi nale.”

    In addition to collaborating with the COS, the symphony will perform Symphony No. 4 in E-flat Major Romantic by Anton Bruckner.

    “I would just encourage anyone and everyone who has ever thought of going to a symphony to attend this concert,” said Fakhouri. “You seldom hear this piece performed in the United States. It is a little bit longer, but it is a very powerful work and I wanted to fi nish the season with a substantial work.”

    As has become the custom, audience members are invited to come early and enjoy a pre-concert chat with Fakhouri. In this session called Know the Score Fakhouri discusses the music that will be performed and talks a bit about the composers of the pieces. “I am hoping that Michael (COS director) will join me on stage with a few musicians and we will talk about the music,” said Fakhouri.

    The pre-concert chat starts at 6:45 p.m., while the show starts at 7:30 p.m. COS season tickets will be accepted at the door or tickets may be purchased at the Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra price of two tickets for $15 for the fi nal concert of the season. Find out more at http:// cumberlandoratoriosingers.org or www.fayettevillesymphony.org.

  • 10 Close up New Kelp Cityi by Skylor SwannThe process of duplicating images goes back several thousand years to the Sumerians (c. 3000 B.C.), carving designs on
    ceramic cylinders made of dried clay or stone, then rolling the cylinders over clay tablets to leave impressions. In lieu of clay tablets, the artists in Off the Wall: An Approach to the Print were asked to combine an illusionary printing process with, or as, a 3-dimensional form.

    Off the Wall: An Approach to the Print opens May 4 at Gallery 208 in Fayetteville. Artists from various disciplines (photography, ceramics, printmaking, painting and the graphic arts) were asked to take the medium they usually work in, but successfully integrate 2-dimensional, reproductive print imagery with a 3-dimensional form.

    One of the eight artists, Shane Booth, a professional photographer, has been exploring the cyanotype photograph for several years and decided to explore the cyanotype image as a sculptural form for the exhibit. Booth noted, “as a photographer I’m attracted to pattern, negative space and texture- visual texture, not the physical tactile. In thinking about how to integrate my latest cyanotypes of animals into a sculptural form, it was necessary to think about space in a very different way than I usually think about it.”

    After experimenting with ways to create a sculptural form, Booth’s prints are rolled into cylinders as reliefs on the wall. The projected blue and white surface has cut-out shapes, that relate to the animal in some way, attached to the surface. Booth noted, “the result of rolling the print as a relief actually enhanced the character of each animal. The 3-dimensional photograph tells a better story to emphasize the whimsical aspects I want the viewer to see – even more than if they were framed and hanging on the wall framed behind glass.”

    In comparison, ceramicist, and sculptor Skylor Swann, revisited an idea he had abandoned twenty years ago – how to integrate ceramic decals with his sculptural forms. As an undergraduate student studying ceramics at Southern Utah University, Swann briefly experimented with the process, but abandoned the idea to focus on and practice the sculptural form in clay.

    Visitors to the gallery will see how the artist, years later, has integrated ceramic decals with his mature style of working with clay. “New Kelp City” is a stoneware sculpture combined with laser printed decals. Swann refers to his 22”x 23” x 10” sculpture in the round as “a type of fractal form, organic in nature, also a symbolic city scape or neighborhood emerges.” Swann refers to his architectural form as a “colony of skyscrapers.” The ceramic decals are fired into the glazed surface, silhouettes can be seen within the miniature images of office windows placed upwards along the tubular skyscrapers.

    Artists Angela Stout and Beverly Henderson both practiced integrating their prints into folded forms using matboard and is exhibiting two early works, “Arbor Day” by Henderson, and “Torn” by Stout, to compare how both artists moved to permanent material for their final works. Henderson, a sculptor raised in Colorado, has always been fascinated by nature and the science of nature. Seeing “form first” Henderson stated, “my printed patterns from nature are natural combinations with the intricacy and repeating patterns of organic chemistry.” The original paper sculptures resulted in Henderson interfacing her printing her organic patterns on folded metal wall reliefs.

    After bending matboard to create forms with hard edges, painter and printmaker Stout envisioned combining her images with curvilinear forms. As an artist, Stout sees the possibilities of light and illusion to create meaning in her work and is always inspired by the portrait as a subject.

    After experimenting with malleable material, Stout stated: “the hard edges of the plane and the printed image did not evoke the emotion I wanted to convey, it became evident I needed to research material I could easily bend, and the material would hold its curvilinear shape. I purchased material rigid enough to go through the printing press but could become malleable with heat to support the expressive qualities of the portrait images. Material, image and form now have the potential to convey a feeling and evoke emotions.”

    Artists Shani Lewis and Alfie Frederick collaborated on a work titled “Insert 2020.” A shadow box is filled with a collection of COVID-19 masks individually stamped with the letters of a different state and the number of people infected with the virus during March 2021. Both artists have an art background, yet their “non-art” career path influenced the sculpture.

    Lewis, a graphics designer, left her art career and is enrolled in school to become a physical therapist. Frederick, with a background in printmaking and painting, is employed in the field of Geospatial Information. Lewis’ background in health services and Frederick’s career in statistical tracking influenced the direction of their work titled “Insert 2020.”

    Both artists were asked how combining imagery and a 3-dimentional form influenced the way they could express themselves. Frederick quickly responded by saying, “I realized mixed media was another way to view ideas about the multiple print.” Both agreed, “in the mixed media sculpture they created, meaning in the work is more readily interpreted instead of an image illustrating the narrative image.”

    Due to Jonathan Chestnut’s background in sculpture, digital arts, 3D printing and the laser printer, he effortlessly resolved the combination of image and form. In the sculpture titled “Fatherhood,” Chestnut combines stacked children’s building blocks with laser printed images. Depending on the viewpoint, the viewer will see a changing image on both sides of the form.

    For the print element, Chestnut cut the individual blocks on a table saw, then using the laser printer, cut a letter from the alphabet on each block to create stamps he could use repeatedly.

    Although juxtaposing image and the 3-dimensional form was not new to Chestnut, he said, “due to the challenge, I now have an inventory of lettered stamps to inspire
    future works.”

    Art educator Cornell Jones is a painter and mixed media artist. Inspired by Faith Ringgold and Pacita Abad, Jones’ resolved the challenge by silk-screening one graphic image of a female on pieces of fabric, each piece of fabric hangs from mounted wall hooks.

    Jones creates an alternating rhythm between three images screened on a flat black background of muslin and six images screened onto hanging red fabric. His title, “An A and B Selection from the Choir,” invites interpretation and the symbolism of using black, red and white.

    Jones stated he was “inspired by the works of assemblages of Faith Ringgold and Pacita Abad. My approach to making this work was to think of it as an assemblage and to present the print as an object. I thought about the content of the work as I decided on using fabric as my support.”

    The unifier between the eight very different artists is a contemporary trend since modernism: artists continually alter their materials, techniques and processes. Off the Wall: An Approach to the Print is an exhibition that combines traditional and new print techniques with innovative ideas, printing on nontraditional surfaces and using digital technology to convey meaning. In contemporary art, there is no one way to make a work of art or establish what a work of art should be made from.

    Visitors to Off the Wall: An Approach to the Print will not only see successful works of art, but they will also experience contemporary trends and theories in art since the early 20th century. There are no discernible features for what a work of art should look like or what it should be made from; instead, value is dependent upon a complex open-ended system of possibilities and a work of art, quite simply, is experienced.

    The public reception for Off the Wall: An Approach to the Print is May 4 from 5:30 – 7:00 p.m. and the exhibit will remain up until mid-July.

    Gallery 208 is located at 208 Rowan St. in Fayetteville. Guests are asked to wear a mask at the reception. For information call 910-484-6200.

  •      {mosimage}The term “brotherhood” is not used lightly in certain circles. It is a bond that is forged not from birth, but from a shared experience; through blood, sweat, and yes, tears. In Cumberland County, that word is particularly sacred to the members of the Special Forces Regiment, and in this case to a band of brothers who take their passion on the road.
         The Special Forces Brotherhood is a motorcycle club that is open only to men who have donned the Green Beret and worn the tab. They ride American motorcycles and throughout the year conduct a number of rides.
         On Saturday, April 11, the brotherhood will sponsor its annual Spring Poker Run. This year, the funds raised will be used to construct a 3rd Special Forces Group Memorial Walk.
         The event kicks-off at noon at M & M Leather on Bragg Boulevard. The first bike out is at 1 p.m.    Throughout the afternoon, the riders will stop at many of the area’s favorite watering holes to receive another card for their hand. Stops along the way include Aviator’s Grill & Pub, Charlie Mikes and Louies Sports Pub. The ride will end at Poindexter’s Saloon, where participants will be treated to free food and live music featuring Abandon Solatude and The New Machine.
         Registration is $10 per bike, with a $5 fee for additional riders. There will also be a 50/0 drawing, raffle and door prizes.
         For more information, visit the group’s Web sit at www.specialforcesbrotherhood.com

     

  • Closing out another stellar season, Community Concerts welcomes the incomparable Patti LaBelle to the04-04-12-patti-labelle.jpgCrown on Friday, April 13.

    LaBelle spent her early years singing in a Baptist choir. She launched her professional career in 1960 when she and Cindy Birdsong formed a group call the Ordettes. By 1962, the group, which was then known as the Blue Belles, had scored Top 20 pop and R&B hits with “I Sold My Heart to the Junkman.” That was the start of a hit-filled career that spans more than 50 years. From pop to funk to romantic ballads, LaBelle has made a career of wowing audiences. This concert promises a great ending to a spectacular season.

    Community Concerts delivered another great group of performances this year with concerts by Darius Rucker, LeAnn Rimes, REO Speedwagon and the talented cast of Rock of Ages.

    “This has been our biggest season so far,” said Michael Fleishman, attractions director for the Community Concerts series. “There are so many people throughout the community who are dedicated to this program and very supportive of our mission and I want to thank them for helping to make this such a great year.”

    When the non-profit organization booked Patti LaBelle, event organizers knew she would be a hit, but they didn’t realize how big.

    “Patti LaBelle is the consummate diva. She is bigger than life and fi res on all cylinders when she gets in front of the audience,” said Fleishman. “It looks like this is going to be the biggest concert of the season. In fact, I would recommend that anyone planning to see the show go ahead and buy their tickets because there aren’t that many left.”

    In addition to providing great entertainment, Community Concerts is focused on doing good in the community. From music clinics and scholarships to supporting the Boy’s and Girls Club to the Fayetteville Hall of Fame, Community Concerts strives to continue to build on the momentum they’ve established over the last 76 seasons.

    This year’s Hall of Fame inductees were Wesley Pritchard and Betty Howie. They were recognized for their contributions to the community and honored at the REO Speedwagon concert in January.

    Wesley Pritchard is a two time Dove Award winner who has produced hundreds of gospel music projects for many regionally and nationally prominent gospel artists. An accomplished singer, bass player and producer, Pritchard is also the pastor and music minister at Fayetteville Community Church.

    Betty Howie is an accomplished concert pianist, composer and music teacher to the children of the Fayetteville community. Howie’s dedication and work with the North Carolina Symphony, various Methodist College musical education and entertainment projects and her dynamic work with production and writing for area performances in both the adult and children’s venues are renowned for their quality, and demonstrate the wide scope of her gifts.

    The Hall of Fame came about as a way to thank those who contribute to the music scene in Fayetteville. Past inductees include teachers and performers who invested time and effort to educate and entertain the community.

    While the Community Concerts organizers are already hard at work planning next year’s concert season, Fleishman is excited to have one more chance to show the community a good time, and offer a great night of entertainment with a musical legend before this season ends.

    “Patti LaBelle puts on an amazing show,” said Fleishman. “From the moment she walks onto the stage she offers a top-notch performance that covers a wide range of genres, from disco to funk to pop.”

    The concert begins at 7:30 p.m. There are a limited number of tickets still available.

    Visit www.community-concerts.com to learn more about Community Concerts and the many programs offered to the community and the its surrounding area.

    Photo: Community Concerts presents the legendary performing artist Patti LaBelle at the Crown on April 13. 

  • It’s a birthday party for the prince! Prince Siegfried, that is, in Act 1 of Swan Lake at the Crown Center Theatre04-18-12-charlotte-blume.jpg on April 22, when North Carolina State Ballet presents Act 1 and Act 11 of Swan Lake in the Ballet Classics.

    The production is directed by Charlotte Blume and will feature 30 plus dancers and actors. Guest art-ists, Melody Staples Hammell and John Tabbert, dance the roles of Odette the Swan Queen and Prince Siegfried.

    Charlotte Blume and Assistant Director Wei Ni have staged Act 1 of Swan Lake for the first time since the North Carolina State Ballet presented a full four-act produc-tion of the piece in 1993. Additionally, Ni will present his new choreographed piece, Venus from Holst’s The Planets. Completing the program, Blume has re-staged the colorful dances from the prologue of Sleeping Beauty, which will star Annemarie Strickland as the Lilac Fairy.

    Guest artist John Tabbert is currently with the Charleston Ballet Theatre and Melody Staples Hammell was formerly principal dancer with that company. In addition to Swan Lake, Hammell’s many dance roles include the sugar plum fairy in the Nutcracker, Cinderella and Romeo and Juliet. This is her seventh season with the North Carolina State Ballet as Odette.

    In Act I of Swan Lake, the prince is celebrating his 21st birthday with friends and members of the court. The Queen Mother presents him with a cross bow for hunting as his birthday gift. She reminds him it is time to choose a bride. The prince leaves on a hunting trip with friends. Act I of Swan Lake will feature Ashley Watters, Daniel Rivera and Mary Maxton Fowler in the Pas de Trois and Anne Talkington and Thomas McGill in the Waltz. Assistant Director, Wei Ni, will dance a cameo role.

    In Act II, the hunting party finds a mist-covered lake in the forest where they see swans circling and landing. Just as Prince Siegfried is about to shoot a swan she magically turns into a girl. She has been transformed into a swan along with the others by the evil Rothbart, who assumes the form of an owl. If Rothbart dies, the girls remain swans forever. Only true love for the Swan Queen can break the spell. Siegfried promises his love. With hope renewed, dawn approaches and the girls return to the lake.

    Tickets for the Ballet Classics April 22, may be purchased at the Crown Center Box Office or through ticketmaster.com. This is a military discount at the box office with ID. Curtain time is 3 p.m.

    Photo: The Ballet Classics is directed by Charlotte Blime and features more than 30 dancers.

  • The Fayetteville Swamp Dogs, will host the 3rd Annual Big Bite on Saturday, April 20 from 1 to 7 p.m. This04-10-13-big-bite.gifcommunity event will take place at J.P Riddle Stadium, a.k.a. “The Swamp.” The event is designed for local restaurants and caterers from all over the Sandhills region to showcase their fare and share their offerings with the community. The participants will have one day to put their specialties on display for the public.

    “We have a good group of participants this year,” said Phillip Sims, SwampDogs outside events and community relations coordinator. “The restaurants this time are Off the Hook: a Taco Emporium, which was recently opened by the Invisible Chef; The Parkton Grill, Trade Street Café and Elite Catering, Royal Grill, Fazoli’s, Roly Poly Sandwiches, Honey Baked Ham Company, Crystal’s Sweet Treats, Heavenly Ice, which serves sno cones and shaved ice treats and there will also be an organic coffee set up.”

    While entry to the event is free, some of the activities are not. “Food sampling tickets cost $1 each,” said Sims. “Pricing at each vendor is up to them. They will have sample-sized servings. For example, a sample taco may cost 2-3 tickets or people may be able to get half a sandwich or wrap for two tickets, but that is determined by each vendor.”

    At the end of the day, the tickets are counted, and the vendors get to keep 80 percent of the money they raise. “The other 20 percent goes into the SwampDogs community fund,” said Sims. “We use that fund to help out the many nonprofits that we support in the community. In the past we have given to charities like the Karen Chandler Trust Fund and the Wounded Warriors. It doesn’t benefit just one cause, we partner with many organizations.”

    Being a family-oriented team, the SwampDogs plan to have kid-friendly activities on site, including bounce houses and face painting. “Hot Rod Tattoos is partnering with us to do face painting. They are really good,” said Sims.

    Like most events at The Swamp, there will be plenty to see and do. Attendees can look forward to some of the community’s best food, fun activities and live music. The Cumberland County Cornhole Championship is scheduled to take place at 3 p.m. The entry fee for the Cornhole Championship is $25 per person and includes three food-sample tickets. The first place team will receive a cash prize, two season tickets to the SwampDogs and the opportunity to throw out the first pitch at a home game.

    “We have four bands that are scheduled to play,” said Sims. “They are going to play music on the beer deck on the left field side.” At 1 p.m. Autumn Nicholas will kick-off the music. Each band will play about an hour or so. At 2:30 p.m., Essential Elements will perform, followed by Chris Hurst at 4 p.m. and Python at 5:30 p.m.

    Ring Wars Carolina professional wrestling will be on hand providing live wrestling exhibitions. Sims said that the wrestling ring will be set up on the field and that the matches will take place between the music sets.

    “The Big Bite started as a way to give local restaurants a venue to showcase what delicacies they have,” said Sims. “We are all about supporting local businesses. Last year we hosted between 700 and 800 people. The goal is to grow each year and put on a bigger and better event every year. So that is what we are hoping to do.”

    Email Phillip Sims at Phillip@GoSwampDogs.com or call 910-426-5900 for more information.

    Photo: Visitors to The Big Bite can sample food and enjoy good music and other activities.

  • 04-17-13-pride-&-pred.gifSet at the turn of the 19th century, Pride and Prejudice remains near the top of the “most loved books” in the world. The story, which explores the social issues of manners, upbringing, education and marriage in England, remains relevant and intriguing today. That’s one of the many reasons, the play was added to the season at the Cape Fear Regional Theatre. And, over the next two weeks, the theatre invites you to step back in time and enjoy this classic story as Pride and Prejudice comes to the CFRT stage.

    “I love this story,” said Tom Quaintance, artistic director of the CFRT. “In a season where ‘Great stories told here’ was the guiding principle, Pride and Prejudice was an obvious choice for the season. This is one of the great romantic stories of all time.”

    Quaintance said the story becomes real and remains relevant because of the strength of the characters that people it.

    “There are such great characters in this story,” he said. “And one of the things we do well, is to produce shows that give us the opportunity to highlight the talent within our community and this show allows us to do that. We started the seasons with the modern, political story of Jesus Christ Superstar, so ending it with the faithful telling of this beloved story gives the season great balance.”

    Quaintance explained that there are a number of adaptations of the book for theatre, but he is particularly fond of the version that will be staged at the CFRT.

    “I love this adaptation. This is a very theatrical play, much like Around the World in 80 Days, this play demands the use of your imagination,” he explained.

    Quaintance said that Elizabeth Bennet, the main character in the play, only leaves the stage once, and scenes flow quickly from one to another.

    “This gives us the opportunity to tell the story in a different way,” said Quaintance. “It is also a very fast-paced story, where a character may talk about something and then you jump right into the middle of it.”

    The period setting lends itself to a faster pace. Within 20 minutes of the play’s start, six or seven period dances happen. Quaintance said that it has been a lot of fun researching and integrating these pieces into the story. He noted that the story is very faithful to the period etiquette.

    “This story has been told so many times that there is a lot to live up to,” said Quaintance. “It’s a great challenge.”

    The play opens on Thursday, April 18 and Friday, April 19 with two preview performances. These performances give the cast, many of whom are New York based, to work out the kinks in the show. The preview shows have special ticket pricing of $10. The opening on Saturday, June 20, includes a reception with the cast. For tickets and information, visit www.cfrt.org.

  • 12 blue marlinWhat is the big news in North Carolina?

    For some, it is not the bad news that the coronavirus has shut us up in our homes for weeks and weeks and undercut the economic lives of so many.

    It is, instead, the good news that, starting April 21 with the release of Lee Smith’s latest book, “Blue Marlin,” there will be something to ease the discomfort of our confinement.

    “Blue Marlin” is short, about 120 pages, each filled with Smith’s warm and sympathetic storytelling gifts and characters who reach out and remind us of people we knew growing up.

    Smith confesses in an afterword that for all the stories she has ever written, “this one is dearest to me, capturing the essence of my own childhood — the kind of unruly, spoiled only child I was; the sweetness of my troubled parents, and the magic essence of Key West, ever since January 1959, when these events actually occurred.”

    Smith then explains that not all the events in her book happened. The book, she says, is “autobiographical fiction, with the emphasis on fiction.” She explains, “I can tell the truth better in fiction than nonfiction.”

    In the book, the “Lee Smith-like” character, Jenny, age 13, discovers her small-town lawyer dad — think Atticus Finch — is having an affair. Soon everybody in town knows. Her dad moves out of their home. Her depressed mom seeks treatment at a hospital in Asheville. Jenny is sent to stay with her mom’s cousin Glenda in South Carolina. Jenny fights this placement. Glenda is tough and deeply and out-front religious. Soon Jenny feels at home, adjusting and then thriving under Glenda’s no-nonsense orderliness.

    Meanwhile, her parents decide to try to put their marriage back together on a trip to Key West. When they pick up Jenny at Glenda’s, Jenny brings a white New Testament that Glenda gave her, a necklace with a cross that Jenny stole from Glenda’s daughter and a growing interest in Jesus and boys.

    Riding to Key West in the back seat of her dad’s new Cadillac, Jenny begins a list of good deeds she will do on each day of their monthly trip “which ought to be enough,” she thought, “to bring even Mama and Daddy back together.”

    But the question is, will the time in Key West do the job?

    Things get off to a good start. Their hotel, the Blue Marlin, is a positive, not just because of its swimming pool and water slide. The motel is full of a movie crew, including actor Tony Curtis. 

    “Mama and I were crazy about Tony Curtis,” says Jenny. Both were big movie fans and read the fan magazines together. About Curtis, they “squealed together.” Then they learn Cary Grant is part of the movie’s cast, and things are off to a good start.

    Jenny settles into Key West. She walks the streets, visits the old Catholic church, reads the texts in the graveyard, gets to know a group of strippers, and does her good deeds every day. Still she asks whether they were working. “My parents were endlessly cordial to each other now, but so far they had never slept in the same bed. I knew this for a fact. I checked their room every morning.”

    To find out whether Tony Curtis’s help and Jenny’s good deeds can bring about real marital reconciliation, you will have to read the book.

    But, here is a clue from Smith’s afterword. After the real trip to Key West to help her real parents’ troubled marriage, Smith writes that the Key West cure worked. “Mama and Daddy would go home refreshed, and stay married for the rest oftheir lives.”

  • 13Town HallThe town of Hope Mills will hold its annual observance of National Day of Prayer on Thursday, May 2, at noon at the flagpole at Town Hall.

    In the event of inclement weather, the ceremony will be moved indoors to the nearby Parks and Recreation Department building.

    Clergy and lay people from various denominations in Hope Mills will participate in the ceremony, according to the Rev. Bob Kretzu of Hope Mills United Methodist Church.

    “I think we tend to forget the spiritual aspect of our national life,’’ said Kretzu. “We watch the news or listen to news or read the news, and we complain. We think, what can we do?” 

    Kretzu suggested the answer is prayer. “We can have a huge influence through prayer,’’ he said. “I think most Christians believe that. You can accomplish things in prayer long before they are manifested physically.’’

    The theme of this year’s National Day of Prayer is “Love One Another.’’

    “That is such a need for both our community and our nation, to stop being divided and treating each other like enemies and pariahs, to love one another as Americans, whether or not people are Christians,’’ Kretzu said, “to start showing that by the way we respect each other.’

    Kretzu said anyone who believes in prayer, regardless of their faith, is welcome to attend the Hope Mills event. “I’ve joined in worship services at mosques and synagogues,’’ he said. “I think people of faith in prayer have a lot in common, even if they’re not members of the same religion.’’

    Pastor Wesley Holmes of the Hope Mills Church of God agreed with Kretzu that prayer brings people together and helps unify both the community and the nation.

    “I think a lot of times we can learn from one another and see we don’t have as many differences as we think we do,’’ Holmes said. “We’re serving the same God, coming together to pray to the same God. We may use different methods of doing that, different backgrounds we come from, but we’re praying to the one, true God.’’

    Holmes is also appreciative that local government leaders come to take part in the National Day of Prayer observance in Hope Mills. “It’s on our money: In God we trust,’’ Holmes said. “If we don’t trust in God, we’re never going to make it in this life.

    “Jesus said to love your neighbor as yourself. If you serve God, you’re going to have love in you. In 1 John it tells us that God is love. I think loving one another brings unity to the faith and understanding that God is all about love. We need to love one another as well.’’ 

    Hope Mills Mayor Jackie Warner signed the proclamation recognizing the National Day of Prayer in Hope Mills. She has been a regular participant in the event since she was first elected the town’s mayor.

    “The National Day of Prayer in Hope Mills is significant because of the number of denominations that participate,’’ she said. “We have a great turnout of all the churches in the area as far as pastors that are leaders.’’

    Traditionally, prayers are offered at the Hope Mills observance for a variety of things, including the town’s mayor and Board of Commissioners, first responders, the military and schools.

    “As a leader and as a Christian, I think it is important we take the time and opportunity any time we can to pray and also to be an example for others,’’ Warner said.

    “I’m a United Methodist, but the Baptists are there, the Catholics are there, the Episcopalians, Presbyterians, Church of God, we have everything. We’ve had a rabbi before. We represent all religions in Hope Mills, and that’s what I think is important, too.

    “I think that show of strength in prayer is one way we can come to some solutions for some of the issues we are facing.’’

  • Meetings

    For details about all meetings and activities, including location where not listed, call Town Clerk Jane Starling at 910-426-4113.

    Festival Committee Monday, May 6, 6 p.m., Town Hall

    Mayor’s Youth Leadership Committee May 6, 6 p.m., Town Hall (in conjunction with Festival Committee)

    Board of Commissioners Monday, May 6, 7 p.m., Luther Board Room, Town Hall

    Citizens Academy Tuesday, May 7, 6-8 p.m., Town Hall

    Historic Preservation Commission Wednesday, May 8, 5-6 p.m., Parks and Recreation Building

    Activities

    Hope Meals Food Truck Rodeo Thursday, May 2, 5-8 p.m., Town Hall rear parking lot

    Veterans Outreach Day Friday, May 3, 9 a.m.-1 p.m., VFW Post 10630

    Hazardous waste collection, shred event and spring litter sweep Saturday, May 4, 9 a.m., Town Hall

    Good 2 Grow Farmers Market Saturday, May 4, 9 a.m., Town Hall

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

    Hope Mills Parks and Recreation Senior programs at Parks and Recreation Building. Senior programs are for those ages 55 and up who are residents of Cumberland County. Various activities, especially Zumba classes, are scheduled Monday through Sunday throughout the day. For details on times and days, check the schedule at townofhopemills.com. You can call the recreation center at 910-426-4109 or email Kasey Ivey at kivey@townofhopemills.com.

    Promote yourself

    Email hopemills@upandcomingweekly.com.

  • 09 Greg 01When Greg Weber and his wife Marge Betley decided to move to the East Coast from their home in Tulsa, Oklahoma, they knew precisely the kind of community they were looking for. They sought an energetic, dynamic and hospitable community brimming with opportunity. With more than three decades of nonprofit management and development experience, Weber was eager to use his know-how and talents to make a meaningful impact on the community by advancing local cultural and artistic initiatives.

    After countless weeks of researching major towns and cities, most were not poised for growth. But when Weber saw the position for the president and CEO at the Arts Council of Fayetteville/Cumberland County, he was intrigued. And, he liked what he saw — a vibrant community bursting with potential and a perfect opportunity to use his training, education, experience and passion for supporting and developing the arts and the artists. His resume matched his enthusiasm with his qualifications for this newly chosen endeavor. Weber earned a Master of Fine Arts degree in Theater Technology from the University of Missouri in Kansas City and a bachelor’s degree in theatre design and technology from Ball State University in his native Indiana. He also completed a residency in technical theater from the Moscow Art Theater in Russia. Weber has served as managing director to general director and CEO of the Tulsa Opera, Inc. Before that, he worked as the director of production for the San Francisco Opera Association and as technical director for the Houston Grand Opera Association. And, he is already putting these talents to good use.

     Artistic Director of Cape Fear Regional Theatre Mary Kate Burke commented: “Greg Weber has been a welcome addition to the arts scene here in Fayetteville. Greg is passionate about marketing the arts and has increased Fayetteville’s visibility as a tourist destination through his strategic efforts. We look forward to seeing how the economic engine of the arts in Cumberland County thrives under
    his tenure!”
    Weber hit the ground running. After a short transition period with outgoing president, Deborah Mintz, who spent 25 years at the Arts Council, the last 17 years at the helm leading the organization, Weber and his wife received a warm reception from the Fayetteville community. “We loved Fayetteville from the very start.... When we came to visit, what impressed us most was the love and care shown by the front-line folks — the artists I met, the creative talent that manages the theaters and galleries — these folks are dedicated and working hard to make the community better. They put their self-interests on the shelf and push forward for the benefit of the greater good.”

    Fayetteville’s creative community is one that radiates a genuine and refined appreciation for the arts and encourages and supports economic growth endeavors, impresses visitors and guests and enhances the quality of life of the residents of Fayetteville, Fort Bragg and Cumberland County.

    From festivals to gallery openings and craft shows to theater performances, you will likely find Weber in attendance in support of the local artists. Arts development is his passion, and he generously shares his education and experience developing raw artistic talent while leveraging support and goodwill to the benefit of the arts community. Considering the amount of cultural activity in the community, the number of local artists and galleries and the enthusiasm for visual art, Weber was surprised that a city the size of Fayetteville was without a museum of art. The success of the public art program demonstrates Fayetteville and Cumberland County residents’ value and desire visual art in their lives. Weber hopes with the help and guidance from community leaders that there will be a museum of art in Fayetteville’s future.

    It’s been a little over a year since Weber took the helm of the Arts Council, implementing creative initiatives, nurturing existing relationships and creating new ones that can grow and strengthen the awareness of cultural arts. He is a constant cheerleader for the community and puts forth a convincing argument that a healthy arts community is a worthwhile investment that pays big dividends. He is also not shy about telling people that in addition to art, Fayetteville is a community that has something to offer everyone: culture, history, sports, family-friendly entertainment and an overabundance of great restaurants serving international cuisine from all over the globe. 

    “My colleagues from around the world, when they found out I moved here, said ‘Fayette what? Where is this place and why are you going there?’ It piqued their interest in wanting to know more about Fayetteville,” Weber said. He found Fayetteville very easy to talk about, admitting that there is so much more here than people realize. He boasts about the many working studios, galleries, talented artists and the local commitment to arts education at all levels — public/private schools, Fayetteville Technical Community College, Fayetteville State University and Methodist University. Weber is not shy about his enthusiasm for Fayetteville and continually invites people to come and experience it firsthand.

    Weber’s brand of optimism, enthusiasm and passion for the arts is hard to come by, even on the best of days. Now, throw in a global pandemic, and maintaining that level of spirit and commitment can be a real challenge. But he sees it as just another opportunity to be creative. Weber was forthcoming in his opinion that this worldwide COVID-19 pandemic makes people rethink their position on a lot of things. “My favorite movie is ‘Miracle on 34th Street.’ said Weber. “At the end, the little girl thinks everything is going to collapse around her — and she is mumbling to herself as the world is collapsing – ‘I believe … I believe … it’s silly, but I believe.’” Well, that is exactly where he and his commitment to the arts stand in Cumberland County. He believes in innovative ideas, hard work and, most of all, he believes in humanity. And, he believes we will all bounce back from this crisis.

    It is this kind of positive and progressive thinking that inspires an artist’s creativity. One example of this is the Arts Council’s newly launched initiative, Hay Street Live, which is a virtual jam session created by Weber and his staff. According to Weber, they select local artists and art venues to share with the general public. Visit https://www.wearethearts.com/hay-street-live to learn more. They also invite other local special guests to add more fun and variety and to support other local businesses through the crisis. One popular idea was to reach out and connect with local restaurants and bars to bring on their top mixologists to showcase their signature drink and share their recipe with the audience while and promoting the mixologist’s restaurant.

    The Arts Council is not the only arts organization using innovative ways to connect with and serve their audiences. Online art and music classes, online watch parties and digital gallery tours are a few other vehicles closing the gap between creators and consumers. Singers, songwriters and bands use apps to come together (separately) and make music and then share it for free. Nationally, celebrities from all art disciplines welcome their fans into their private homes via social media and online streaming. It’s an intimate and entertaining experience, much more so than a recorded studio performance. The Arts Council hopes more local artists will do the same.

    Weber will be the first to admit that during the COVID-19 crisis, it was the outpouring of support, encouragement, attitude and the neighbor-helping-neighbor  community  that attracted him and his wife to Fayetteville in the first place.  It’s times like these, though uncomfortable and frightening, that bring out the best in people. Art enhances our lives. “This crisis will not last forever,” said Weber. “I want people to remember that during this time, many of the things that kept us sane, happy and moving forward were not political, mathematical or cynical. What kept us going was talking to our neighbors, our kids and interacting with our families.”

     Art is one of the soothing amenities that will help humanity through this crisis. And in the end, it is people like Weber who will ensure that the arts continue to grow and prosper in the Fayetteville and Cumberland County community.

  • 12Food Truck RodeoThe response to the monthly Food Truck Rodeos in the town of Hope Mills has been overwhelming, and that hasn’t been lost on Chancer McLaughlin, the town’s development and planning administrator.

    “We did hear the response of the community with the last event,’’ said McLaughlin. The most recent Food Truck Rodeo near Town Hall drew close to 1,400 people, nearly triple the size of the regular crowd at the rodeos.

    “The lines were very, very long,’’ McLaughlin said. In some cases, people were waiting upward of 25 to 30 minutes to be served by the six trucks that were on the scene.

    At the next Food Truck Rodeo, Thursday, May 2, the town will add three food trucks for a total of nine that will serve the public.

    In addition, instead of a DJ playing recorded music, there will be a live jazz band.

    The nine trucks at the next rodeo will include some that are familiar to people who have attended the event before, along with a few new ones. Following is a list and brief description of each food truck coming to the rodeo this week.

    R Burger is one of Cumberland County’s most popular food trucks, featuring a variety of special hamburgers.

    Kona Ice features shaved ice treats. 

    32 Degrees is a unique truck specializing in two kinds of ice cream, one for people and one for their dogs. “A lot of people don’t realize puppies can’t eat regular dairy products,’’ McLaughlin said.

    Big T’s is the mobile version of the popular food stand at Hope Mills Lake. Big T’s usually features items like funnel cakes, boiled peanuts and lemonade, to name a few.

    A Catered Affair by Chef Glenn is another Hope Mills-based truck. Chef Glenn offers items like fried green tomatoes and pineapple chicken stir-fry.

    Cedar Creek Fish Farm One word. Catfish.

    Nannie’s Famous offers selections like wings and crab legs.

    One Nine Drive is a newcomer truck from Aberdeen. It features specialty items like smoked beef brisket, curry chicken bowls and sweet potato wedges.

    Rome N Round, also new to the redo and hailing from Aberdeen, features pizza.

    “What typically happens at these rodeos is people will hit multiple trucks,’’ McLaughlin said. “If I’ve got to wait 30 minutes in each line, I might not be able to get everything. The easiest way to possibly make the line go faster when you have a much larger crowd is to have more options.’’

    McLaughlin is mindful of balancing the need for more options with the need to avoid having too many trucks at one time so that each truck won’t make too little money.

    McLaughlin said the town is having discussions about how to handle the potential growth of the Food Truck Rodeo. He said if necessary, it may eventually be moved to the nearby baseball fields at Municipal Park.

    In addition to food trucks, the town will also have vendors present to share information about local service and charitable organizations.

    As always, the rodeo will include the opportunity to donate nonperishable food items to the ALMSHOUSE.

    If anyone would like to be a vendor at a future rodeo, or if there is a food truck the public would like to see come to the rodeo, McLaughlin welcomes suggestions. Reach him via email at cmclaughlin@townofhopemills.com.

  • 15Pat EdwardsHope Mills Commissioner Pat Edwards doesn’t understand the fascination her fellow board members have with preserving the aging parish hall that a previous board voted to demolish.

    At last Monday’s meeting of the commissioners, the board voted to hire a structural engineer to evaluate the chances for restoring the building, part of the property donated to the town by the local Episcopal Church seven years ago.

    Edwards questions the interest in the building given the town’s history of turning over many of its historic buildings to private entities.

    She noted two prominent downtown buildings not far from the parish hall that are both currently owned by private businesses.

    “They’ve given away or sold all the mills,’’ Edwards said. “Why all of a sudden is this parish building so important when they let other more historical buildings go? Why spend money we don’t have?”

    Jeff Adolphsen, a senior restoration specialist with the North Carolina State Historical Preservation Office, recently inspected the parish hall. He said as buildings he’s inspected go, it was in better shape than many of them — but, he added, repairs will be needed in a number of areas.

    Adolphsen said the building needs a new roof. There has also been water leaking down a chimney that was not flashed.

    He indicated the aluminum siding on the building could be removed. He also found termite and water damage, and added the structural integrity of the timbers in the building appeared to be decent but could be improved.

    He said the building likely needed to be treated for termite, fungus, mildew and mold problems, adding that the crawl space under the building appeared to be fairly dry.

    Many of the problems were related to the fact that mechanical systems in the building had been shut off for some time. In addition to repairing problems associated with age and wear, Adolphsen said if the town plans to make the building available for access by the general public, it will have to made handicapped accessible.

    He said that includes having parking spaces that meet certain size requirements, along with an unobstructed path to the front door and handicapped-friendly access to the building, the bathroom and other main areas.

    He did not inspect the bathroom regarding modifications needed for handicapped access, but he did note the door to the bathroom was narrow and would need to be widened.

    “As a preservationist, you try and minimize the changes or minimize the effect of the changes,’’ he said. “Ninety-nine percent of what we look at is what we call rehabilitation, where you are taking a historic building and you’re fixing it up for modern, efficient, contemporary use, but you’re keeping those features and finishes that make that building historic.’’

    Adolphsen did not offer any figures on the cost of restoring the building. He did say some things would require a licensed contractor. “I told them I’ve seen buildings like that get rehabbed before,’’ he said. “I think it could be rehabilitated. They might be able to find some grants somewhere. They may be able to do some volunteer labor.’’

    Edwards would like to hear from town staff before spending more money on the project. “We have qualified staff that could tell us if it could be saved or not,’’ she said. “It’s going to cost a lot of money regardless.’’

    Photo: Pat Edwards

  • 14Drew MenscerWhen Drew Menscer was assigned a project as an officer in the National Honor Society at Gray’s Creek High School, she had loftier goals than baking a cake to sell or getting a few items together to auction.

    “I’m pretty athletic and I’m really into sports, so I decided to combine all of that,’’ the senior member of the school’s softball team said. “I wanted to give back to my community through that.’’

    And give back she did. Menscer, with an assist from her mother, Nena Menscer, organized a charity golf tournament at nearby Cypress Lakes Golf Course.

    The tournament was held on March 30 this year and drew a field of 17 teams, about 66 players. Menscer was also able to line up 22 sponsors for the tournament, with all the money they donated going to Menscer’s chosen charity, Rick’s Place.

    Rick’s Place, according to a brief history on its Facebook page, was founded by the Rick Herrera Foundation. It’s a 50-acre park in Fayetteville that features fun high-quality activities for soldiers and their friends and families.

    Menscer’s golf tournament raised $5,000, which she donated to Rick’s Place.

    She said she got the word out about her tournament by posting fliers on social media and also sharing them with people in her neighborhood.

    The whole project took about six months from the time she had her initial idea for a golf tournament until the tournament was held last month. 

    Being a full-time student at Gray’s Creek plus playing softball, she admitted making the whole thing happen wasn’t easy.

    “The hardest part was trying to get everything organized,’’ Menscer said. “If it wasn’t for my mom, I wouldn’t have been able to pull it off. It was tiring to work with my schedule, trying to pick up donations and figuring those things out. My mom had to help me a ton.’’

    But Menscer hinted that business acumen runs in her family. “I have a lot of entrepreneurs in my family,’’ she said. “I just decided to do it.’’

    Menscer said she doesn’t have strong ties to the military in her own family, but she was drawn to the project because of her friends with parents who are military-connected. “I know how hard it is for them,’’ she said. “That’s what influenced me the most.’’

    As for her future, Menscer plans to enroll at Elon University this fall where she’s earned a scholarship to play softball. Not surprisingly, she wants to major in business.

    “I’m grateful for the experience,’’ she said of the successful fundraiser. “We raised $5,000 for Rick’s Place, which I’m really proud of. I hope they can use it.’’

    Photo: Drew Menscer

  • Meetings

    For details about all meetings and activities, including location where not listed, call Town Clerk Jane Starling at 910-426-4113.

    •Veterans Affairs Commission Thursday, April 25, 6 p.m., Parks and Recreation Center

    • Citizens Academy Tuesday, April 30, 6 p.m., Town Hall

    • Festival Committee Monday, May 6, 6 p.m., Town Hall

    • Mayor’s Youth Leadership Committee May 6, 6 p.m., Town Hall (in conjunction with Festival Committee)

    • Board of Commissioners Monday, May 6, 7 p.m., Luther Board Room, Town Hall

    • Citizens Academy Tuesday, May 7, 6 p.m.-8 p.m., Town Hall

    Activities

    • Hope Meals Food Truck Rodeo Thursday, May 2, 5-8 p.m., Town Hall rear parking lot

    • Veterans Outreach Day Friday, May 3, 9 a.m.-1 p.m., VFW Post 10630

    • Hazardous waste collection, shred event and spring litter sweep Saturday, May 4, 9 a.m., Town Hall

    • Good 2 Grow Farmer’s Market Saturday, May 4, 9 a.m., Town Hall

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

    Promote yourself

    Email hopemills@upandcomingweekly.com.

  • 13VetsMany elder veterans and their families don’t have access to the internet and can’t tap into the many resources available to veterans and their families. That’s why the Veterans Affairs Committee of the town of Hope Mills is sponsoring a one-day Veterans Outreach on Saturday, May 3, to help get the word out.

    The event is open to veterans anywhere who would like the chance to meet face-to-face with people who can provide them information about benefits available to veterans and their families and how to get them.

    The event will be held at the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 10630 at 3226 Davis St. in Hope Mills.

    Jim Blevins, a member of the Hope Mills Veterans Affairs Committee, said many elderly veterans and their spouses aren’t computersavvy and aren’t aware of benefits that might be available.

    “That’s what our main goal is, to try to reach out to those who don’t have a computer, or (to) widows who didn’t serve in the military, to understand what their benefits are.’’

    There will not be a formal presentation or lecture about what benefits are available, Blevins said.

    Various organizations will have representatives on hand to provide information, and those attending can come at their convenience and speak with the people who represent the various groups involved to ask specific questions and get information about the subjects they are most interested in.

    A short list of those who will be present includes representatives of the Army and Air Force offices of mortuary affairs, the Lone Survivor Foundation, the American Red Cross, and the Cape Fear Veterans Medical Center.

    “This is mainly to get phone numbers and contacts so we can move through as many people as possible,’’ Blevins said. He said there will be a total of about 15 different organizations on hand.

    Blevins stressed that the event is not limited to veterans from the Hope Mills area. “It’s open to any veteran,’’ he said.

    Grilley Mitchell, chairman of the Hope Mills Veterans Affairs Committee, said the intent is to “empower veterans and family members, make them aware of the benefits and services available that they qualify for.’’

    In addition to the people connected with providing benefits, Mitchell said a number of local political leaders will be on hand.

    “Many individuals don’t know who their local representation is in the event they need some help,’’ Mitchell said. “I want them to put a face with the name so when they do reach out they’ll have some familiarity with those individuals.’’

    If anyone has questions about the event prior to May 3, they can contact Blevins at 910-853- 4587 or Mitchell at 910-476-3719.

  • Meetings

    For details about all meetings and activities, including location where not listed, call Town Clerk Jane Starling at 910-426-4113.

    Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee Monday, April 22, 6:30 p.m., Parks and Recreation Center

    Citizens Academy Tuesday, April 23, 6 p.m., Town Hall

    Appearance Commission Tuesday, April 23, 6:30 p.m., Parks and Recreation Center

    Veterans Affairs Commission Thursday, April 25, 6 p.m., Parks and Recreation Center

    Citizens Academy Tuesday, April 30, 6 p.m., Town Hall

    Festival Committee Monday, May 6, 6 p.m., Town Hall

    Mayor’s Youth Leadership Committee May 6, 6 p.m., Town Hall (in conjunction with Festival Committee)

    Activities

    Hazardous waste collection, shred event and spring litter sweep Saturday, May 4, 9 a.m., Town Hall

    Good 2 Grow Farmer’s Market Saturday, May 4, 9 a.m., Town Hall

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

    Promote yourself

    Email hopemills@upandcomingweekly.com.

  • 12Heritage ParkWhile the Hope Mills Board of Commissioners considers spending money on a temporary fix for the ongoing project to develop the former Hope Mills Golf Course, Commissioner Pat Edwards would like some money spent on the permanent completion of another town project.

    Edwards recently toured the proposed Heritage Park land with town director of public works Don Sisko.

    She took the tour a couple of days after the board debated spending $100,000 on what Edwards said would be a temporary fix of the golf course property.

    “After we got through talking about it, I asked Don Sisko what $100,000 could do at Heritage Park as a permanent fix,’’ Edwards said.

    Heritage Park is located near the Hope Mills dam and lake area and has historical ties to the community’s rich history as the home of textile mills. Edwards said Sisko replied that the $100,000 applied to Heritage Park would allow the town to do a lot of things.

    To get a first-hand look at the potential for Heritage Park, Edwards said she reached out to Hope Mills town manager Melissa Adams to arrange a tour of the property for herself, with Sisko as her guide.

    What she saw impressed her. Two members of the public works staff were working on the trails and greenways that the area offers.

    “It’s the first time I’ve been all the way through it,’’ Edwards said. “He took me down to where the creek is. It’s just beautiful. The serenity.

    “It’s wonderful.’’

    Edwards said Sisko showed her four or five greenways leading through the park, along with an area that could be leveled out to accommodate picnic tables.

    “For something like this, we wouldn’t have to consult or pay for an engineer to design it,’’ Edwards said. “We have staff that are very qualified to do this.’’

    She added that Sisko has a lot of foresight and ingenuity when it comes to developing the park to its fullest potential. “He’s like a visionary,’’ she said.

    There is also potential to share the history of the town’s roots as a mill village, Edwards said, while using it as an opportunity to bring more art to the community.

    The old gates from the previous dam are still there on the grounds of the future park. According to Edwards, Sisko said they could be refurbished to be put on display. He also talked about the possibility of storyboards to tell more about the town’s past.

    “There is a lot of history there, and a lot of work to be done,’’ Edwards said. 

    While some of the area is rough and steep in places, Edwards said she managed to navigate it without a major challenge.

    She would love to see Heritage Park completed and linked with the walkingareas at the dam and the lake, and eventually with the town museum that’s also being discussed.

    “It would be so nice to walk from the lake over to Heritage Park,’’ she said. “I think the citizens of Hope Mills would rather see the money used that way than in a temporary fix somewhere else. That’s just me thinking.’’

    While the existing trails in Heritage Park would need some work, Edwards said an effort should be made to keep the area as natural as possible. “It needs to stay like Mother Nature,’’ she said. “You don’t want to change too much.’’

    For safety purposes, Edwards doesn’t think grilling should be allowed in the area because of the potential fire hazard.

    Edwards encourages interested citizens to take a look at the property themselves by reaching out to town manager Adams about arranging a guided tour of the area. She said people should not try and visit the property on their own without permission. “I wouldn’t want anyone to get hurt,’’ she said.

    “Maybe they can see the possibility of what’s going on, how beautiful and how quiet,’’ Edwards said. “The scenery around it is just beautiful.’’

  • 11Hazardous waste illustrationIt’s that time again for residents of Hope Mills to get rid of hazardous waste and outdated sensitive documents. Saturday, May 4, the town holds its annual shredding and hazardous waste collection event, along with the annual litter sweep.

    The shredding and hazardous collection will be from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m., and the litter sweep takes place from 9 a.m. until noon. There is also a registration period for the litter sweep only beginning at 8:30 a.m.

    Beth Brown, stormwater technician for the town of Hope Mills, said all the events will be basically the same as last year.

    She reminds people coming to the shred event that the actual shredding of documents won’t take place on-site.

    They will be picked up either later Saturday or as late as Monday to be transported elsewhere for the shredding.

    If the material to be shredded has to be kept overnight before being removed, it will be locked inside containers and then stored in a secured, locked location in Hope Mills.

    Residents may bring up to five boxes of material to be shredded. Paper products should be brought for shredding, but paper clips, binders and staples are also acceptable.

    That Saturday will be a busy one for the town as the first Good 2 Grow farmers market will be taking place on adjacent property at the Town Hall complex.

    For the shred event, the easiest point of access is the road between the police department (5776 Rockfish Rd.) and town hall (5770 Rockfish Rd.).

    There will be sandwich boards in place to direct people coming as to the best place to enter the area off Rockfish Road.

    Brown said the people collecting the hazardous waste prefer that those bringing material to drop off do not get out of their cars or trucks.

    They should leave their material in the trunk or somewhere the workers collecting the material can easily access it. This is to keep traffic moving as smoothly as possible.

    Those who would like to get out of their cars are asked to park in the back area of town hall and visit the farmers market.

    To participate in the litter sweep, people need to sign up in advance at the Hope Mills Parks and Recreation Department, or at the 8:30 a.m. signup period the day of the event.

    Children are welcome to take part in the litter pickup, but they need to be accompanied by adults, Brown said.

    The parks and recreation staff will provide materials needed to help with the litter sweep, including gloves, bags, bottled water, safety vests and other items.

    The town will identify specific areas that need to be cleaned up, or those participating can agree to clean up their own street or neighborhood.

    “Most folks focus on a stretch of the larger streets,’’ Brown said. “We would like to get the whole town, townwide, cleaned with different groups of people.’’

    For questions about the hazardous waste pickup and shred event, call town hall at 910-424-4555. For questions about the litter sweep, call the parks and recreation department at 910-424-4500.

    WHAT TO BRING

    From the workbench:

    • Adhesives, glues, resins

    • Hobby supplies, artist supplies

    • Latex

    • Oil paints

    • Stains, thinners, stripper

    From the garage:

    • Car batteries, dry cell batteries

    • Engine degreasers, brake fluids

    • Transmission fluids

    • Waste fuels (kerosene, gasoline)

    From the yard:

    • Insecticides, weed killers, poisons

    • Pesticides

    • Propane cylinders

    • Swimming pool chemicals

    • Wood preservatives

    From the home:

    • Aerosol cans

    • Cleaners, spot removers

    • Computers, electronic equipment

    • Hearing aid (button-style) batteries

    • Ni-Cad batteries

    • Photo chemicals, chemistry sets

    DO NOT BRING

    • Ammunition, fireworks, explosives

    • Infectious and biological waste

    • Syringes

    • Radioactive waste

    • Unknown compressed gas cylinders

     

  • Meetings

    For details about all meetings and activities, including location where not listed, call Town Clerk Jane Starling at 910-426-4113.

    Historic Preservation Commission Wednesday, April 10, 5 p.m., Parks and Recreation Center

    Mayor’s Youth Leadership Monday, April 15, 6 p.m., Parks and Recreation Center

    Board of Commissioners Monday, April 15, 7 p.m., Luther Meeting Room

    Citizens Academy Tuesday, April 16, 6 p.m., Parks and Recreation Center

    Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee Monday, April 22, 6:30 p.m.,

    Parks and Recreation Center

    Citizens Academy Tuesday, April 23, 6 p.m., Town Hall

    Appearance Commission Tuesday, April 23, 6:30 p.m., Parks and Recreation Center

    Veterans Affairs Commission Thursday, April 25, 6 p.m., Parks and Recreation Center

    Citizens Academy Tuesday, April 30, 6 p.m., Town Hall

    Activities

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

    Promote yourself

    Email hopemills@upandcomingweekly.com.

  • 12Chief Joel Acciardo copyMoving day is a big enough headache for the average family. Try to imagine the challenges involved with moving a police headquarters.

    Hope Mills Police Chief Joel Acciardo and his staff don’t have to imagine it. They are preparing for it, as they’ll have to relocate for an estimated two years while a new headquarters for the Hope Mills police and fire departments is being constructed.

    “If you boil it down to its simplest form, you are basically setting up a facility that’s not intended to be permanent but has to operate a minimum of 24 to 26 months,’’ Acciardo said. “You are talking about moving your records, your administrative people, personnel issues and your operating environment for your road officers to come in and do interviews.

    “That’s no small undertaking.’’

    The good news is the town has located an almost perfect location for the temporary headquarters of the police, the vacated Ace Hardware building on South Main Street.

    The new location offers several positive attributes. It has roughly twice the square footage indoors as the current police headquarters.

    It includes parking in the front of the building, plus a secure lot on the side of the building that opens via a gate to a street behind the temporary location. That will give officers an option from driving directly onto South Main Street or exiting from the rear when traffic is heavy.

    Possibly the best advantage of the former hardware store is that the interior is an empty shell. This will allow the town to modify the interior walls or other elements.

    One of the biggest challenges in getting the temporary location ready to occupy will be setting up a variety of secure areas inside, Acciardo said.

    There will be no need to install any cells for holding prisoners. There are no cells in the current Hope Mills police station as all people requiring incarceration are taken to the Cumberland County jail in nearby Fayetteville.

    But secure areas will be needed at the temporary location to take care of records. There will also have to be an area where juveniles are taken so they can be separated from other people brought into the police station.

    How long the transition process will take from current station to temporary location is difficult to predict.

    Drew Holland, finance director for the town, said the lease to occupy the temporary location begins May 1.

    Acciardo is hopeful that once work on the temporary facility is finished, the move to the new location can be completed by late November or mid- December.

    “That’s a very fluid time,’’ he said. “A lot of that could depend on contractor work.’’ That will include things like installing fiber optic lines along with heating and air conditioning and setting up the work spaces. In those cases, the speed of the contractor’s work will dictate how soon the move can take place.

    The move won’t be done in a rushed manner. “You move one department area at a time,’’ Acciardo said. “That way everything is in an orderly transition.’’

    He anticipates there will be a brief window where the police department will have to work out of both locations.

    Once the old police station is vacant, Holland said it will be demolished and the property fenced in to become a staging facility for the construction of the new combined police and fire headquarters.

    The fire station will continue to operate from its current location but will only be able to use the rear of the bays in the station, Holland said.

    When the temporary station is ready, Acciardo said the public shouldn’t notice a lot of difference from the way the current station is set up.

    “There will be a lobby and front staff,’’ he said. “It will be the same methodology that we do here, but at a different location.’’

    Photo:  Hope Mills Police Chief Joel Acciardo

  • 11RecGerald Pone said his late brother John Dove “J.D.” Pone wasn’t an exceptional athlete, but that it never stopped J.D. from being an avid promoter of opportunities for Cumberland County young people to take part in a variety of sports.

    At a ceremony held Saturday, March 30, Cumberland County honored Pone for his years of work on behalf of the county’s youth. The county officially renamed the Gray’s Creek Recreation Center the John Dove “J.D.” Pone Recreation Center in his memory. The center is located at 2964 School Rd. in Hope Mills. In addition to having his name placed on the front of the building, a plaque was unveiled inside.

    Delivering remarks during the ceremony were Dr. Jeannette Council, chair of the Cumberland County Board of Commissioners; Helen Brockett of the Gray’s Creek Ruritan Club; and Dachia Pone Davis on behalf of the Pone family.

    The ceremony was hosted by the Cumberland County Commissioners. The naming of the center was unanimously approved by the commissioners in memory of J.D. Pone, who passed away in April of 2016.

    Pone worked as a volunteer with various youth organizations in Cumberland County, including the Gray’s Creek Youth Association, and served as chairman of the Fayetteville-Cumberland Parks and Recreation Advisory Commission. He was also a member of the board of directors for Communities United for Youth Development.

    In addition to his work with youth programs, Pone was deputy chief of the Gray’s Creek Fire Department Station 24 and chaplain for the Cumberland County Fire Chiefs’ Association.

    Gerald Pone, J.D.’s brother, was a basketball player for Ron Miller at South View High School. He remembers 30 years ago when the Gray’s Creek community began to organize sports opportunities for young people.

    He and J.D. both had sons who were old enough to play recreation sports, and J.D. became a coach.

    “He just fell in love with it,’’ Gerald said of J.D. “They asked him to be on the advisory board for Cumberland County. He’s the kind of person who hated to say no to anything. He became involved in that as well.’’

    Gerald said his brother showed no special allegiance to any particular sport.

    “It didn’t matter if it was baseball, basketball, football soccer or whatever,’’ Gerald said. “As long as the children participated, he wanted them involved in something that  off the streets, keep them focused on athletics.’’

    Gerald said the options to play sports that his brother helped promote were a large vehicle for young people in the Gray’s Creek community to take them other places in life.

    He said his entire family was deeply honored by the ceremony put on by the county to rename the recreation center for his brother.

    “It was overwhelming,’’ he said. “My family and I appreciate all the support, everyone who showed up, even those who didn’t show up but thought about us. It was fantastic.’’

    Gerald added that it’s important that the name of someone like his brother will live on at the recreation center.

    “Young people need to know there are people in the community that really care about them,’’ he said, “not only to see them in sports, but to see them involved in anything that’s going on to help them succeed in life.

    “That’s where his heart was,  wanting to see the growth of young people.’’

  • Meetings 

    For details about all meetings and activities, including location where not listed, call Town Clerk Jane Starling at 910-426-4113. 

    Citizens Academy ProgramTuesday, April 9, 6 p.m., Town Hall 

    Historic Preservation CommissionWednesday, April 10, 5 p.m., Parks and Recreation Building 

    Mayor’s Youth LeadershipMonday, April 15, 6 p.m., Parks and Recreation Building 

    Board of CommissionersMonday, April 15, 7 p.m., Luther Meeting Room 

    Citizens AcademyTuesday, April 16, 6 p.m., Parks and Recreation Building 

    Parks and Recreation Advisory CommitteeMonday, April 22, 6:30 p.m., Parks and Recreation Building 

    Citizens AcademyTuesday, April 23, 6 p.m., Town Hall 

    Appearance CommissionTuesday, April 23, 6:30 p.m., Parks and Recreation Building 

    Activities 

    Food Truck RodeoThursday, April 4, 5-8 p.m., Town Hall rear parking lot. Enjoy music, an assortment of food trucks, bouncy house and games for kids, and presentations by various public service vendors. 

    Breakfast with the Easter Bunny/Easter egg huntSaturday, April 6, 8:30 a.m-11 a.m. and 11:15 a.m., Hope Mills Recreation Center. Registration for the breakfast is now closed. The Easter egg hunt, however, is free and does not require registration. Call 910-426-4109 for more information. 

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

    Promote yourself 

    Email hopemills@upandcomingweekly.com. 

  • 14RunShineLight, a Fayetteville-based organization that offers services for individuals with autism, will hold its 5K Shine Your Light run and one-mile fun run Saturday, April 27, at Town Hall in Hope Mills. The address is 5776 Rockfish Road. 

    Nikki Creecy, chief executive officer of ShineLight, said the organization is 13 years old and was previously called Genesis, A New Beginning of Fayetteville. 

    “We rebranded in 2014 and decided to specialize in autism,’’ she said. Creecy said the rebranding was done because the majority of people the organization was working with suffered from autism. 

    The services provided to individuals with autism are of a behavioral nature, she said. The services deal with skill development that allows autistic individuals to replace maladaptive behaviors and function in society, the community, at home and in school. 

    Recently, ShineLight has added applied behavior analysis to its services. 

    The run is an annual event that was held in Fayetteville last year. Creecy said it’s held in April because that’s autism awareness month. 

    “It’s all about shining the light on autism and ShineLight, as well, so people will know who we are for the purpose of educating the community,’’ Creecy said. 

    All proceeds from the race will go toward funding the services ShineLight provides. 

    The race is open to both serious runners and to those who just want to get out and support the cause. 

    There will be official timing for those who want to compete. The first 300 finishers will get medals, Creecy said, but there will be separate prizes for the first-, second- and third-place overall finishers. There will also be awards presented in various age groups. 

    In addition to the race, there will be a raffle for wireless ear buds, a Go Pro camera and a Fitbit. Raffle tickets are $1 each, and those buying tickets don’t have to be present to win. 

    There are three entry fees. For the Shine Your Light 5K, the cost is $35. The one-mile Fun Run is $17. Teams of five runners can participate for $30 each. 

    Registration for the race is day-of from 6 a.m. until 7:30 a.m. The 5K race starts at 8 a.m. and the Fun Run starts at 8:15 a.m. 

    Sponsorship opportunities are also available. There are five levels of sponsorship, from $5,000 to $250. Each offers combinations of race entries, event T-shirts, logo recognition and vendor space. 

    For those not interested in the sponsorship option, in-kind donations or direct contributions are available. 

    Creecy said volunteers are also welcome to help out, and if any food trucks would like to set up at the race site, they are welcome to contact the ShineLight offices. In order to be assured recognition in printed race materials, sponsors must finalize their deals by April 12. 

    Creecy can be reached at nikki@shine-light. org, 910-323-1335 or in person at the ShineLight office, 203 Rowan St. 

  • 13Vanessa WadeThe first thing Vanessa Wade says about her job as a social worker at Gray’s Creek High School is there’s no such thing as a typical day. 

    “I can start at 8:30 and think I’ve got all day to get this done,’’ she said. “By noon, all of that has gone out of the window. Every day is completely different.’’ 

    Yet in the face of that kind of challenge, Wade is apparently doing her job well. Evidence of that fact came last month when she was named the social worker of the year by Cumberland County Schools. 

    It could be her early life as a self-described Army brat that helps her deal with the variety of situations she has to work with. She lived all over the world, she said, moving about 18 times before landing in Fayetteville in 1994 and spending 14 years with the Department of Social Services. 

    In 2008, she got the call to come to work as the social worker at Gray’s Creek High School, and that’s where she’s been ever since. 

    For those who don’t know exactly what a school social worker does, Wade described it as being like the parent a child doesn’t have. If they do have parents, then she’s the aunt or uncle. 

    “You are there when things are falling apart,’’ Wade said. “You are there when things are great. As a school social worker, you get to deal with the whole realm, the rainbow of kids, high academic to low, high socioeconomic to low.’’ 

    One of Wade’s biggest battles is trying to help students overcome the barriers that prevent them from regular school attendance. 

    This includes a host of issues, such as making sure the students are getting food and have clean clothes to wear. 

    Much of Wade’s job is done on school grounds so she can have regular contact with the students who are in the greatest need. But she also makes regular home visits to deliver food and check on the living conditions of the students under her charge. 

    She said she sees barriers to students getting the education they need that are different from those faced 20 or 30 years ago. 

    She finds many children are forced to become independent quickly because they lack needed support at home. “I think the teenagers need their parents more than ever,’’ Wade said. 

    Despite facing a lot of challenging situations in her work, Wade said she tries to remain as positive as possible when working with young people. “Even though I’m having a rough day, they don’t need to know that,’’ she said. 

    She feels she’s reached a level of peace and is able to provide better service to her students. 

    Wade never went into social work for personal glory, but she calls the award from the county an incredible honor, and she’s proud to be part of a team that extends beyond the walls of Gray’s Creek High School to help the area’s youth. 

    “We have an incredible faith-based community in Gray’s Creek that allows us to be more creative,’’ she said. 

    She praised Rev. Scott McCosh, pastor at nearby Mount Pisgah Baptist Church, for helping with a variety of services and outreach for young people. 

    Wade said if someone gave her control over the purse strings, she’d like to see the schools offer more hands-on training in skills for those young people who aren’t going to enter the military or enroll in college. “For some kids, it’s not in their family culture or mindset, but they will go on to be great kids doing hands-on skills,’’ she said. 

    Wade thanked the staff and administration at Gray’s Creek, her husband, her parents and her son for helping her do the best job she can. 

    “I tell my kids every day, I don’t have a job without you,’’ she said. “I tell them they are never bothering me, and they smile.’’ 

    Photo: Vanessa Wade

  • 04-23-14-river-people.gifThe Givens Performing Arts Center, as part of its annual season will host The 4th Annual River People Music and Culture Fest.This is a gathering of both nationally-renowned and local artists that showcase American Indian music and culture. The performance will feature The Ulali Project known for its contributions to the soundtrack of the film Smoke Signals and their musical appearance on the Tonight Show. Charly Lowry, who is a member of Dark Water Rising, Layla Locklear, a member of Lakota John and Kin are local performers who will also perform.

    One of the most exciting new performers this year is Star Nayea who has won multiple awards for her powerful and moving music. Nayea began her music career at an early age. It was born from struggle, but is incredibly positive. “When I was 5, I started with music because it made me feel uplifted, happy and, in a way, untouchable. When I was young I suffered abuse but the music saved me and enabled me to latch on to who I was truly supposed to be. I was adopted by a family of non-natives and they were abusive. The music removed me and healed me. I loved the way music made me feel and I knew that the rest of the world must have probably caught on,” she says.

    Nayea uses her music as far more than entertainment. She uses it as a tool to reach out and help heal struggling Native people, children in particular. She brings the healing and uplifting power of music to the communities through music camps. She explains her approach by saying, “Not every native child will have my life, but sadly many native children who live on reservations have things that they are battling. Some have trouble at home, bullying at school, depression or families that are not functioning correctly. These problems are heavy on a child. Also in Indian Country we have a high rate of suicides, so I try to concentrate on communities that are reeling from suicide. Some of the communities are traditional and some are very religious, but despite differences, music is one thing that connects us all. It heals all and brings joy to all.”

    During her performance, Nayea will be joined by a group of local Lumbee youth.

    “I am coming to the community one week before the festival and working with the Lumbee youth. We will have a daily music camp where I will work with them on writing and recording.

    “We will work together to craft one song. I wish we could do more, but we have limited time and I think it would be better for us all to join together to create one beautiful song that embodies who they are and what they want to say. Then they will get on stage and sing this song with me,” she said.

    The festival is on April 26 at 6 p.m. at the Givens Performing Arts Center. The center is located at 1 University Drive in Pembroke. Children under five are free and tickets are $10 for adults or $5 for students with a valid ID. For more information visit www.unc.edu/gpac of call 910-521-6634.

    Photo: Star Nayea, who has won multiple awards for her powerful and moving music, is set to perform at the event.

  • 17Personal trainers design exercise programs to gain better strength, mobility and cardiovascular endurance. Fitness centers offer equipment to implement many types of exercise available from group fitness classes to functional training.

    Corrective exercise takes a slightly different approach. A specialist in corrective exercise analyzes movement patterns. This can help identify muscle imbalances.

    We all have muscle imbalances. It means you can have musculoskeletal issues from the way you have trained for sports, injuries, chronic pain, surgeries, broken bones, sprained ankles, arthritis, and plantar fasciitis.

    Muscle imbalance can begin at an early age, especially with repetitive motion and improper form when exercising or playing sports.

    My emphasis for personal training is on active aging. How we move now indicates how we have been moving in the same patterns for a while. Our muscles have adapted to patterns over the years and may have compensated with adjustments that now can cause pain or discomfort.

    As an example, if you play tennis regularly and you have that same serve primarily on one side, through the years your body begins to compensate with imbalances. The same goes for a mother that might carry her child on the same hip or a person that carries heavy books or a purse on the same side, wears high heels daily, sits at a computer, or is seated for long periods such as long-distance driving.

    Corrective exercise is designed in three progressive phases for muscle imbalance.
    The assessment begins with a verbal consultation and discussion used to acquire a health history. Discussion includes the client’s movements, past and present work. Lifestyle, sports played, areas of discomfort, and what generally causes your discomfort are topics discussed. It also includes any diagnosed conditions that may influence the musculoskeletal system.

    The visual and hands-on assessment is an observance of movement and how the client feels during brief motion phases. The visual assessment engages movement and observes the way we move, beginning at the feet and ankles and continuing up to the neck and shoulders.

    When we have an imbalance in one area it travels up the entire kinetic chain. For example, if you overpronate, that can cause an imbalance in your knees, hip and pelvis region and travel up to your shoulders and neck. The body quickly adjusts to imbalances and finds a way to compensate for movement.

    It is important to remember that an assessment does not take the place of a medical diagnosis.

    Myofascial release is the next part of the exercise program. Myofascial release is a massage foam rolling technique for muscle soreness in broad areas. A tennis or golf ball is used for targeted areas. Areas may include scar tissue, tightness, restrictions or flexibility. The massage stimulates blood circulation to the area and helps to heal soft tissue.

    After targeted muscles have been identified, stretching is the next phase for muscle groups for static, passive and dynamic stretching. Stretching exercises are used to increase flexibility and range of motion.

    Once muscle groups have been addressed the program design includes exercises that balance weak and over-lengthened muscles that work together. With an effective program, the client will begin to see improvement and be able to enjoy daily activities and movement with strength, flexibility and balance.

    Live, love life with movement and corrective exercise.

  • 08MarianThe arrival of spring brings a fresh array of opportunities to enjoy the warmth and beauty of the outdoors before the summer heat sets in. A taste of this worth savoring, April 25- 28 and May 2-12, is “Maid Marian,” the latest production in the Honey Series at Sweet Tea Shakespeare. The Honey Series celebrates the work of women in theater and this year, tells a classic story from a new perspective.

    “Maid Marian” focuses on the title character and her family, left behind during the Crusades, as they search for resourceful solutions to difficult situations. Those familiar with the Robin Hood stories will find some of their favorite characters as well as new ones to love.

    Fans of the Honey Series will recognize actress Jen Pommerenke from previous productions, including “Saint Joan” and “Jane Eyre.” Pommerenke, who plays the title role, describes Maid Marian as “a story about learning to stretch yourself and facing your fears — not just life and death fears, but fears of not being enough and the consequences of doing too much or too little.

    “It also deals with knowing when your time is done and how to humbly pass on the gift of service to another. The more we rehearsed this story, the more we saw in it the message of doing what you can, where you are and with what you have.

    “The women in this story saw a problem and didn’t stop when it looked like they could only do a small amount. They saw the people and the needs in their own backyard and said, ‘I can do something.’”

    For audiences familiar with STS, there are several other returning actors, including Linda Flynn and Laura Voytko, seen earlier this year in “The Comedy of Errors.”

    Voytko, who plays Marian’s sister, Emma, said working on “Maid Marian” has been liberating because of the ways she’s been able to push herself out of her comfort zone and share that experience with friends.

    Flynn, who has always loved the Robin Hood tales, knew early in the season that she wanted to take part in telling Marian’s side of the story. Her character, Joan, is a new addition to the narrative. “The thing I love about (this character) is that we are very similar,” Flynn said. “Joan has a big family, she does everything she can to take care of them, and she doesn’t hesitate to help her friends in doing what she thinks is right.”

    For other actors, this is their first STS production. Nelson Soliva, who plays Adam, Marian’s brother, is making his theatrical debut. Soliva, originally from Guam, never had the opportunity to be involved in theater as he grew up, but after seeing his first Broadway show, he put being in a play on his bucket list. “I thought it was amazing,” says Soliva. “I wanted to be a part of something like that.”

    Audiences have three weekends to be a part of this world premiere production. “Maid Marian” runs April 25-28 at Fayetteville State University (tickets available through FSU) and May 2-12 at the Museum of the Cape Fear Historical Complex. Preshow begins at 6:45 p.m. and the play starts at 7:30 p.m. For more information, visit www.sweetteashakespeare.com/ tickets or call 910-420-4383.

    Photo:  Jen Pommerenke (left) as Maid Marian and Laura Voytko (right) as Emma Fitzwalter, Maid Marian’s sister.

  • 6 Today’s lesson will explain why you should be careful what you wish for. Just ask Jiminy Cricket. There are many famous lovers in history: Frankie & Johnny, Romeo & Juliet, and The Donald & Melania, just to name a few.

    As we know, the path to true love seldom runs smooth. We are going to spend the rest of this blot on literature going undercover into the lives of two semi-famous lovers in Greek Mythology. Remember our old friends Eos and Tithonus?

    What? You don’t remember? Pull up a chair, grab a cup of coffee, and learn this sad story. It may make you feel better about your own love life. Misery loves company.
    Once upon a time in Greek Mythology, Eos was the Rosy Fingered Goddess of the Dawn. She had a big responsibility as she made the sun come up each morning like Karen Carpenter to light up our lives. As a result of a spell put on her by Aphrodite, the Goddess of Love, Eos had an unquenchable thirst for making whoopee.

    Not to put too fine a point on it, but Eos liked the laddies. Even though she was a Goddess she preferred dating handsome young mortal men. A lot of mortal men. What man in his right mind would just say “No” to a beautiful rosy fingered Goddess? Nobody, that’s who. Eos was pretty successful in the partying down mode with mere mortals.

    Eos dated more men than Taylor Swift. But she was a love ‘em and leave ‘em kind of gal. Once she had her way with them, she would banish them to foreign lands where they would pine away for her.
    Eventually, she got bored with endless dating. She found her soul mate in a very eligible dude named Tithonus. As Andy Griffith once sang: “Sure as the vine twines round the stump/ You are my darling Sugar Lump.” Eos was smitten by Tithonus the Sugar Lump. When a Goddess is smitten, she stays smitten, until a better looking guy comes along.

    Eos was ready to settle down and make Tithonus her permanent steady feller. There was one problem, a fly in the ointment so to speak. Goddesses are immortal. Men are not. Eos wanted to be able to hang out with Tithonus for all eternity. However, at some point Tithonus being mortal was going to croak. What to do?

    Eos put on her Thinking Tiara and came up with the perfect solution. She asked Zeus to make Tithonus immortal as a wedding present. Zeus could do anything.
    However, Zeus has a dark sense of humor. Eos was so excited about the prospect of eternal connubial bliss that when she asked for eternal life for Tithonus she forgot to ask for eternal youth for him. This was a big oops.

    Zeus realized Eos had screwed up. He chuckled and granted her wish exactly as wished.

    Things went great for the happy couple for years. Every morning after a night of ecstasy, Eos would get up from the marital bed to bring dawn to the Earth.
    Inevitably, Tithonus began to get older. When Eos realized what Zeus had done, the wish warranty like all car warranties had expired.

    Tithonus would never die but he would keep getting older and squishier. Yikes! This was bad news for all. Eos still loved her guy but all he wanted to do was to sit in a rocking chair and yell at kids to get off Olympus’ lawn.

    It got worse as Tithonus' age increased. Eventually, he could not move and just babbled incessantly. Death was not going to come to release him from his verbose jelly like state.
    After a particularly bad day, Eos did what any frustrated caretaker Goddess would do. She turned Tithonus into a cicada. Ancient Greeks believed that when cicadas shed their shells, they resumed their youth and lived forever. Cicadas are particularly loud at dawn which Greeks believed was due to their genetic inheritance from Tithonus and Eos’ job of bringing the dawn.

    Franz Kafka stole the transmogrification of Tithonus into a cicada in his novella “The Metamorphosis” in which a human wakes up to find he has turned into a giant roach. Shame on Franz for swiping Eos’ idea.

    So, what have we learned today? Once again, very little. But if you make a wish, first consult with a Board Certified Attorney who specializes in drafting wishes. Spend some money up front to avoid eternal problems. Just dial BR 549 and ask for Junior Samples. He can hook you up with the right lawyer to draft your wish.

  • 09LionWho doesn’t enjoy a story where children are heroes, good triumphs over evil and animals talk? The Gilbert Theater delivers all that and more with its production of “The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe,” playing through April 21.

    The show is based on C.S. Lewis’ classic tale from “The Chronicles of Narnia.” This story is the second in the series but the first that was published. It introduces us to the four Pevensie children: Peter (Adam White), Susan (Helen Steffan), Lucy (Mia Buracchio) and Edmund (Joshua Brunson).

    When young Lucy explores an old wardrobe, she finds a magical entrance, marked by a lamp post, to the land of Narnia. In Narnia, the White Witch (Nicki Hart) rules with fear and makes it “always winter and never Christmas.” Declaring herself Queen of the Realm, the White Witch turns anyone who betrays her to stone.

    The good inhabitants of Narnia, including talking beavers and a faun, unicorn and centaur, live in fear and wait for the return of the lion Aslan, the true king of Narnia, who can make things right.

    When “daughters of Eve and sons of Adam” (humans) arrive in Narnia, the White Witch tries to capture the children to prevent them from fulfilling a prophecy that they will sit in the four thrones in the castle of Cair Paravel and end her reign. In the process, the White Witch tricks young Edmund into helping her.

    When Aslan (Ja’Maul Johnson) arrives, he leads the children and Narnia animals in a fight against the White Queen. There are chases, sword fights and battles — all carried out on the Gilbert stage by a cast of all ages. 

    Director Brian Adam Kline brings together this exciting story with an exceptional cast, demonstrating that for Fayetteville talent, there is no age limit. The collective cast is to be commended for bringing the fantasy to life.

    Hart, as the White Witch, steals every scene she is in. She is wicked and marvelous at the same time. Hart brings to her portrayal a steady fierceness — whether acting opposite Johnson’s Aslan or Brunson’s Edmund. Nine-year-old Brunson gets kudos, for sure.

    Also impressive are Buracchio, Steffan and White as Lucy, Susan and Peter. The trio collectively have quite a bit of stage experience, and it shows, despite their ages that barely reach double digits.

    Also noteworthy is Cheleen Sugar’s performance as Fenris Ulf, a talking wolf and chief of the White Witch’s secret police. Sugar brings a slick and stylish quality to her portrayal — what I imagine it would be like if Lewis had written a rock star into Narnia.

    Other highlights of the show include Quentin King and Jane Moran as Mr. and Mrs. Beaver, and Brandon Bryan as Mr. Tumnus, the faun.

    The story hardly slows down from beginning to end. Battles are fought, sacrifices are made, and kings and queens are crowned. Forgiveness and courage are highlighted in this family-friendly show. Audiences of all ages will enjoy the production.

    “The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe” runs through April 21 at Gilbert Theater. Call 910-678- 7186 or visit www.gilberttheater.com for tickets and information.

    Photo: Nicki Hart, as the White Witch, steals every scene she is in.

  • 5Gun violence is not new in the United States.

    We have been a gun-loving, gun-toting nation since our inception. The right to bear arms is enshrined in our Constitution, although scholars debate to whom that actually applies.

    In 1994, Congress passed a ban on civilian ownership of military grade assault weapons. That ban expired 10 years later, and ever since we have been beset with a flood of such weapons and an accompanying wave of mass shootings.

    The mayor of Louisville lost a close friend in the recent mass shooting at a bank there earlier this month, an event now so routine this one feels like months ago. The mayor himself had been the victim of an assassination attempt a year ago. He escaped with only a bullet hole in his sweater, unlike so many other Americans permanently felled by gun violence.

    Mr. Mayor is hardly alone. Millions of Americans have personal experience with gun violence, and some like the mayor, more than once. A recent poll by the University of Chicago and the Associated Press found that 1 in 5 Americans report they or someone close to them have experienced gun violence of some sort from threats to murder. University of Chicago Professor Jens Ludwig dubs that a “strikingly high number.”

    And, ponder this for a moment. The leading cause of death of Americans between 0 and 18 years old is, in fact, gun violence. Let that sink in. Several decades ago, even after the advent of seat belt and baby seat regulations, the leading cause of childhood deaths was vehicle accidents. No more. We are now literally shooting our children dead. The rate of childhood gun deaths has soared from 10% in 2000 to 19% in 2023.

    The ban on civilian ownership of military assault weapons expired in 2004 … hmmmm.

    Most gun violence does not involve mass shootings, of course.

    Most incidents are personal, some accidental and some intentional. Many are suicides. What they all have in common are guns, and the reality that — accidental or intentional — without the gun present, many of those people, including children, would not have died.

    Mass shootings, generally defined as shootings in which 4 or more people are killed, garner national attention, as they should. There have been at least 160 of them so far this year, and we have 8 more months to go. They are changing our daily routines. Many people, including this writer, sometimes avoid large gatherings of people unknown to us and evaluate escape routes when we do go out. Many of us have sought out weapons to protect ourselves and those we love and many have tried to learn how to handle and shoot a gun.

    More and more, public safety experts are giving advice on what to do if we do find ourselves in an active shooter situation. This advice usually includes several components.
    Always be aware of your surroundings and quickly determine how you would leave the area or the building if you need to go.

    If there is an active shooter, run if you can. Hide if you cannot, and fight if you have no other option. If you hide, try to barricade yourself with furniture or whatever is around. Be quiet.
    After you ponder the fact that guns kill more children than any other cause, ponder this. While several southern American nations have higher gun death rates than the United States, we have set ourselves far apart from our international peer nations in terms of both gun ownership and gun deaths. According to U.S. News & World Report, American civilians own 120.5 firearms per 100 citizens, making us the only nation on earth with more guns than people.

    Political arguments aside, all I can think is hmmmm.

  • 08cumberlandOratorialSingersFriday, April 26, the Cumberland Oratorio Singers close their 2018-19 concert series. At the Matthews Ministry Center in Huff Auditorium on the Methodist University campus, COS, under the direction of Jason Britt, presents “A Night of Screen and Stage.” COS wraps up its 27th performing season by highlighting musical numbers from Broadway and Hollywood productions.

    “This concert marks the end of my second season (as director) and a season where the COS have done works that aren’t their usual fare,” said Britt. “We’ve included jazz, Broadway works and movie themes to try and connect with our audience, offering them options of a lighter fare.”

    According to the COS website, musicals originated in France in the 1800s where they were called “Opera Comique,” distinguishing them from the traditional opera of Wagner et al. George Bizet and Jacques Offenbach were notable among those composers who contributed to the genre that would become the modern-day musical.

    Wikipedia gives credit to the 19th century works of Gilbert and Sullivan in Britain and Harrigan, and Hart in America, for contributing many structural elements to the genre, as did the later works of George M. Cohan. In the 20th century, musicals moved beyond comedies and revues. Modern-day musicals such as “West Side Story,” “Les Miserables,” “Rent” and “Hamilton” call for considerable character development in addition to memorable musical scores.

    Featured in Friday night’s performance will be well-known songs from “Man of La Mancha,” “Singing in the Rain,” “Chicago,” “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” and “White Christmas,” among many others. Soloists are yet to be determined and will be selected from the choir before the evening’s concert.

    The 2018-19 COS concert season has been sponsored in part by The Arts Council of Fayetteville/Cumberland County; Cumberland Community Foundation; Cumulus Radio; Rebecca F. Person, attorney at law; Florence Rogers Charitable Trust; Rimtyme Custom Rims and Tires; and Lafayette Lincoln. Lafayette Ford is the presenting sponsor for “A Night of Screen and Stage.”

    “Next season,” said Britt, already looking ahead to rehearsals, “we will be going on a musical excursion, making musical stops at the opera (in) London and eventually returning home to America.”

    In the interest of continuing professional caliber choral music in Cumberland County into the next generation and beyond, under the COS umbrella, the Campbellton Youth Chorus is open to all Cumberland County and Sandhills region youth ages 9-14.

    “The CYC provides vocal development, music literacy and unique performance opportunities,” according to the COS website, where further information about rehearsals and other opportunities can be found.

    “A Night of Screen and Stage” begins at 7:30 p.m. Tickets may be purchased at the door for $15 for adults and $5 for students with ID. Season tickets will also go on sale for the 2019-20 concert series at $45 per ticket.

    Visit www.singwithcos.org for more information.

  • 4When the North Carolina House of Representatives approved its state budget plan a couple of weeks ago, the proposed pay raises for public employees, tax relief, and policy changes found within the budget bill commanded the lion’s share of public attention.

    No surprise there. Still, please allow me to offer at least a kitty cat’s share of attention to another item in the House version of the budget: a transfer of $4.2 billion over the next two years from the state’s General Fund to the State Capital and Infrastructure Fund. This represents a wise investment in North Carolina’s growth and quality of life.

    Yes, I know capital budgeting is unlikely to produce big headlines or fuel passionate arguments on social media. But it’s important. Bear with me and I’ll do my best to explain why.
    To a large extent, state agencies, regional authorities, and local governments are in the property-management business. They own and administer a vast array of buildings, facilities, public lands, and other infrastructure.

    Managed well, these assets provide ongoing returns to taxpayers in the form of revenue, population inflows, and services rendered. Managed poorly, such properties become distractions and money pits.

    The temptation to defer routine maintenance and costly repairs is universal. I’ve done it. I bet you have, too. We delay getting our vehicle’s oil changed or tires replaced. We keep putting off that dirty job or expensive retrofit, telling ourselves it can wait until it’s more convenient or we have more money in the bank, only to regret it after a catastrophic failure.

    For public decision makers, the temptation can be much stronger. At least I must confront the reality that if I let problems fester on property I own, I must foot the bill for the resulting catastrophe. Government assets are owned by everybody — which means, in a practical sense, by nobody. There’s less incentive to plan ahead and economize. Today’s managers won’t necessarily be around to have to deal with tomorrow’s catastrophic failure. And because future costs are spread across a large base of taxpayers, there isn’t much of an incentive for an individual to worry about them.

    This is a classic collective-action problem requiring an institutional remedy. In some cases, the right answer might be to sell public assets to private owners who will then face stronger financial incentives to manage them more efficiently.

    For such properties as school buildings, university classrooms, maintenance facilities, and critical infrastructure, however, a more palatable and practical remedy is to require governments to set aside dedicated funds for repair and replacement.

    That’s one of the reasons the North Carolina General Assembly voted several years ago to create the State Capital and Infrastructure Fund, or SCIF. By statute, it automatically receives a portion of state revenues and unspent money from a previous year’s budget. That comes to $1.4 billion for FY 2023-24 and $1.5 billion for 2024-25. The House has voted to transfer an additional $1.3 billion into the SCIF over the next two years.

    Now, just to be clear, SCIF funds go to more than repairs and renovations. They’ve been used to pay down North Carolina’s bonded debt by hundreds of millions of dollars as well as construct new public buildings and facilities.

    While it makes sense to finance some long-lived assets with borrowing — especially during periods when construction costs are surging — paying cash has benefits, too. It minimizes future interest payments and forces policy makers to be more disciplined about which capital investments to make, and when.

    That having been said, the repairs and renovations financed by SCIF represent prudent government at its best.

    I know why North Carolinians might just prefer to pocket state budget surpluses as personal income, either as pay raises for public employees or higher take-home pay for taxpayers.
    But by ensuring the proper upkeep of state assets — and constructing new ones with cash instead of debt — we’ll keep long-term capital costs lower while delivering better-quality services.

    To that, I offer a loud meow.

  • 01coverUAC041719001Instead of receiving unwanted catalogs and junk mail, imagine going to the mailbox and finding an original artwork the size of a postcard, addressed to you, from someone who lives in Bulgaria. Now imagine receiving five to six postcards each day, until you have more than 80, from strangers who live in our region, nationally and internationally. That’s the process that took place for “STOP IT! An International Mail Art Exhibition,” opening Tuesday, April 23, at Gallery 208, 208 Rowan St.

    The exhibit is traveling from Fayetteville State University’s Rosenthal Gallery, where 85 works were exhibited this March after a call for art went out in December 2018.

    The call for art invited women from around the world to participate by creating an image on a postcard that illustrates any local, national or international issue of their concern. They were then directed to send it through the mail to its destination: Fayetteville, North Carolina.

    The work was not sent to the gallery in an envelope. Instead, artwork had to go through the postal system in the postcard format and have an authentic postal stamp on its front or back upon arrival. As it went through the postal system, coming from another country or locally, every postal employee whose hand touched the card could see the work before it arrived at the gallery. In this way, all those postal employees were part of the mail art process.

    Creating works of art on postcards and sending them in the mail to someone, a practice that started in the 1950s, became known as mail art and had grown into a movement by the ’60s. Although social media can appear similar in some ways to mail art, what makes mail art different is the tactile experience of opening your mailbox and the surprise of receiving something created for you. It is not considered mail art until it is delivered to the post office.

    The purpose of mail art, then and now, is the creation of an inclusive scope that allows any artist to participate. Mail art artists appreciate the challenge of working on the limited postcard size along with the interconnection with other artists within a medium that promotes an egalitarian way of creating. The mail art process sidesteps entry fees, the art market and galleries.

    “STOP IT!” is a different type of gallery experience. The exhibit represents the voice of a collective coming together to have their voices heard in an art form.

    All the participants in the exhibit became part of a nonhierarchical, uncensored call for art and social activism by addressing any concern they have for a local, regional, national or international issue that needs to be stopped.

    Visitors should plan on spending time in the gallery. The works are small, and many artists have written text on the stamp side (which is also displayed).

    As the postcards arrived at the gallery, it became evident there were repeated issues of concern. At the discretion of the curator, liberty was taken to group the work into themes to create a sense of order in the gallery space. Eightyfour works are grouped by themes and also by geographic location — regional (Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina), national and international.

    As a collective, the concerns of the women in “STOP IT!” fall into the following categories: stopping violence against women and children; environmental issues; the empowerment of women and individuals; cultural awareness; politics; mental and physical health; and the influence of technology on identity.

    Whether it is Suzanne Coles from Michigan, who addresses homelessness through the medium of photography, or Shennaire Williams from Jamaica, who addresses human trafficking with a computer-generated image, each artist is part of the collective voices of women.

    Many artists, like Radosveta Zhelyazkova from Bulgaria, focused on stopping violence against women and children. Zhelyazkova sent in two acrylic paintings, each a portrait of a woman. The figure on the card reflects on stopping violence against women. Six local artists created original works in a variety of mediums to address this same issue: Angela Stout, Ria Westphal, Tracy O’Conner, Missy Jenkins, Leslie Pearson and Jacqueline Caldwell.

    Many artists in the exhibit addressed the issue of saving the environment. Alexandra Uccusic from Vienna sent an original drawing to illustrate stopping the exploitation of the seas. Katsura Okada from New York created a mixed-media collage addressing the problem of the way plastic kills sea life. Several local artists sent in beautifully crafted works about saving the environment: Susanna Davis, Rose-Ann San Martino, Nordea Hess, Manuela Smith and Martha Sisk.

    Many national and regional artists addressed themes of empowerment and identity. Two high school students, Bryanna Rivera and Alyssa Mincey, addressed discrimination toward identity and how technology influences a sense of identity. Kyle Harding, a high school art teacher, also addressed the issue of technology’s influence on a student’s identity.

    There are too many wonderful works within many themes and too many artists to mention them all in this short article. There will be plenty of time for visitors interested in seeing “STOP IT!” at Gallery 208, since the exhibit will remain up until mid-June 2019.

    The public is invited to the opening reception of “STOP IT!” Tuesday, April 23, at Gallery 208, located at 208 Rowan St. The opening reception will be 5:30-7 p.m., and many of the local artists who participated in the exhibit will be there. The gallery hours are Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information, call 910-484-6200.

  • 18Stress poses a significant public health problem. Though work is often cited as a primary cause of stress, in 2022, socioeconomic issues contributed to a spike in stress levels, which serves as proof that there's no shortage of potential stressors.

    According to the Stress in America Survey 2022 from the American Psychological Association, 81% of respondents indicated they were stressed out due to issues affecting the supply chain.
    Inflation proved even more troubling, as 87% of participants in the survey indicated they were stressed out by the rising cost in living. That’s especially noteworthy, as it marked a nearly 30% increase from the year prior.

    Stress is more than an inconvenience. Though the APA notes the human body is well-equipped to handle stress in small doses, chronic stress poses an entirely different problem, affecting various parts of the body.
    Musculoskeletal system

    The APA reports that muscle tension is almost a reflex reaction to stress. However, muscle tension for long periods of time can trigger a host of problems, including tension-type headache and migraine headaches, which are each associated with chronic muscle tension in the shoulders, neck and head.

    The APA notes that work-related stress in particular has been linked to musculoskeletal pain in the lower back and upper extremities.

    Respiratory system

    Stress can present problems affecting the respiratory system as well. Shortness of breath and rapid breathing can occur when a person is feeling stress. Though the APA acknowledges this is often not a problem for people without respiratory disease, the group notes it can exacerbate breathing problems for people with preexisting respiratory conditions, including asthma and COPD.

    Cardiovascular system

    Chronic stress can contribute to long-term problems affecting the heart and blood vessels, which the APA notes are the two elements of the cardiovascular system that work together to provide nourishment and oxygen to the body’s organs.

    Chronic stress has many hallmarks, including a consistent and ongoing spike in heart rate. As a result, long-term ongoing stress increases a person’s risk for an assortment of cardiovascular problems, including hypertension, heart attack and stroke.

    Gastrointestinal system

    The APA notes that hundreds of millions of neurons in the gut are in constant communication with the brain. This is why feelings of nervousness or anxiety often produce the sensation of butterflies in the stomach.
    When a person is dealing with chronic stress, that can affect communication between the gut and brain, potentially leading to pain, bloating and other discomfort in the gut.

    Stress is a public health problem that affects people from all walks of life. Individuals feeling excess levels of stress are urged to speak to their physicians and visit apa.org for more information.

  • nc flag The three most-trusted social institutions in North Carolina are the military, the police, and small business. Make of that what you will. I made the following column.
    Last month, the polling unit of High Point University presented respondents with a list of 15 institutions. Mirroring a long-running Gallup question for the nation as a whole, HPU asked whether North Carolinians had “a great deal, quite a lot, some, or very little” trust in each of the institutions.

    Only the military and small business earned a high level of trust from a majority of North Carolinians. The same was true for Gallup’s latest national sample.

    As for the police, 48% of North Carolinians said “a great deal” or “quite a lot,” vs. 47% who said “some” or “very little.” For the nation, those shares for the police were 45% and 54% respectively.
    For all other institutions on the list, a plurality or majority of both groups expressed low levels of trust. Examples from the North Carolina poll results include banks (54% “some” or “very little”), public schools (56%), the U.S. Supreme Court (58%), the presidency (63%), television news (68%), Congress (69%), big business (69%), and, alas, newspapers (66%).

    If political partisans squint really hard at these results, they may see patterns they find reassuring. Democrats can point to declining levels of trust in the U.S. Supreme Court (from 36% in 2021 to 25% in 2022) and blame the court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade. Democrats can also cite public suspicion of big business as a justification for the Biden administration’s ramped-up antitrust investigations and tax-increase proposals.

    For their part, Republicans can point out that, despite all the attention on specific cases of police misconduct, most North Carolinians don’t hold law enforcement as a whole responsible for them. “Defund the police” remains both a preposterous public policy and a disastrous electoral message.

    Republicans can also take comfort that the public largely agrees with their suspicion of the mainstream media.

    As I pondered the survey findings, however, I found myself drawn to a different set of questions.

    First, when it comes to the public institutions on the list, do people truly distinguish between trust in the institution and support for what its current occupants may be doing? I suspect the answer is no.
    If Democrats tend to express distrust in the presidency when a Republican is in the White House, and vice versa, that doesn’t really tell us what they think of the institution.

    Second, when it comes to the media institutions, did they always have such low credibility? The answer is no.

    In the 2022 Gallup poll, 49% of Americans said they had very little trust in television news, while 43%
    said the same about newspapers. Before the turn of the century, those percentages typically stayed in the teens or 20s.

    That suggests it may be possible for the news media to recover their footing. Partisan cheerleading won’t do it, however. I think there remains plenty of room in the market for straight reporting, and for providing audiences with balanced diets of news, analysis, and commentary.

    As for outlets with a philosophical lean, I think they can build credibility, too, by being transparent about their leanings while demonstrating a willingness to call strikes against batters with whom they might normally agree.

    Finally, is there anything new about the public’s evident preference for small business over big business? No — but like some of the other polling gaps, it’s gotten wider. In 1997, just 24% of Americans said they had very little trust in big business. In 2022, 40% did. During the same period, the public’s view of small business barely changed.

    Now, a healthy skepticism of large institutions is entirely consistent with the preservation of freedom, order and self-government.
    What troubles me is the extent to which healthy skepticism has in recent years evolved into a corrosive cynicism. Does this trouble our leaders, too? If so, actions would speak louder than words.

  • 07LibbyNo matter which side of the pro- or anti-gay marriage fence you fall on, “The Cake” is an entertaining and touching look at how people can disagree and still treat each other with respect and love. “The Cake,” showing at the Cape Fear Regional Theatre through April 21, introduces us to Della (played by Libby McNeill Seymour), a sweet, Southern woman who owns a bake shop in Winston- Salem. When Jen (played by Jessica Giannone), the daughter of Della’s deceased best friend, returns home to North Carolina to get married, she asks Della to bake a wedding cake. Della is thrilled — until she finds out that Jen is marrying another woman, Macy (played by Olivia London).

    First, let me say — it’s not about the cake. Second, it is refreshing to see a production like “The Cake” that shows the struggle on both sides of the topic of gay rights. The public discourse on disagreeable topics has turned so ugly and disrespectful, it often results in outright dismissal of another’s beliefs simply because we don’t believe the same.

    We see a little piece of that in “The Cake,” when one character uses coarse language to unsettle another character’s almost biblical sense of propriety. Onstage, it’s a good thing, because it gets us thinking. It gets us talking about how rude or how spot-on it can be to unsettle someone or disparage their belief system.

    Since I’m a big believer in theater as a venue for opening public discourse on tough topics, I applaud CFRT’s willingness to continue to do just that. Unlike last season’s “Disgraced,” which took a serious look at Islamophobia, “The Cake” offers a dash of laughter and a pinch of self-reflection.

    Seymour does an outstanding job of portraying Della, who is forced to question her religious beliefs as she struggles with deciding whether or not she should make a cake for a gay wedding. Her decision could jeopardize her relationship with Jen, who is like a daughter to Della. Also spotlighted is Della’s marriage to Tim (played by Greg King), who is opposed to his wife participating in a gay wedding.

    Seeing Seymour and King onstage together again is a treat. Both are CFRT veterans and last appeared together in “Sense and Sensibility.” I give readers fair warning, no matter how much you’ve enjoyed King’s performances in the past, after “The Cake” you will not be able to look at him (or mashed potatoes) the same again.

    Giannone and London bring vulnerability couple who want to love and be loved being judged.

    Playwright Bekah Brunstetter doesn’t try to present an answer to the hot-button topic of gay marriage in 90 minutes. What she does is deftlypresent the dilemma on both sides of the topic. Brunstetter, who is from Winston-Salem, has publicly discussed how the play reflects her own dilemma of reconciling her Southern Baptist upbringing with her adult life in New York and Los Angeles, where her political beliefs are often pitted against a vilified version of the kind and caring people she grew up with in North Carolina.

    Don’t expect any big, dramatic character shifts that fix all the problems and settle all the disagreements. That is not how real life usually works. Sometimes, the biggest, most difficult step is just finding enough common ground to begin the conversation.

    “The Cake” is directed by David Hemsley Caldwell and runs through April 21. For tickets or information, contact the box office at 910-323-4233 or visit www.cfrt.org.

    Photo: Libby McNeill Seymour as Della in “The Cake” 

    Photo credit: Ashley Owen

  •   uac041614001.gif It’s not too late to adopt a duck for the 4th Annual Fayetteville Duck Derby on May 3. The grand prize is a 2014 Toyota Scion XD. There will be prizes for second and third place, as well. In the end, everyone wins because the money raised goes right back into the community.

    As the big day approaches, Ducky is on the move visiting local schools and businesses to spread the word about The Duck Derby.

    “The Quack Attack Tour is active and in full effect,” said Brandon Price, event spokesperson. “Quacky has been to Chick-fil-A, J.W. Coone Elementary School, Mary McArthur Elementary, Long Hill Elementary and he is going to the Special Olympics. He’s been at the North Carolina welcome centers at the Virginia border and in Lumberton. Quacky is all over the place — look out for him.”

    One of the things that makes this event different from other fundraisers is that it benefits so many local organizations. Fayetteville Urban Ministry hosts the event, organizes the activities and manages the duck adoptions, but there are many nonprofits that have signed up to participate and to raise money for their causes.

    To participate in The Duck Derby, the public is invited to visit www.duckrace.com/fayettevilleduckderby and adopt a duck. If you want to be sure that your adoption helps a particular organization, once you click the “adopt a duck now” button, click on the “teams” tab and choose a team or teams to support.

    This year, the Cumberland County Schools system is participating, which gives the community an opportunity to support a particular school or schools. Several participating schools are sponsoring fun events to get kids and families excited about The Duck Derby. “Some of the uniform schools are allowing a dress down day for students if parents buy a duck and some of the schools are holding classroom competitions,” said Price. “The class that sells the most ducks will get a Quack Attack from Ducky during lunch.

    ”Price sees the Cumberland County Schools’ participation as a great fit because the big day features so many kid-friendly events. “It will be all about kids this year at The Duck Derby,” said Price. “We are going to have games set up — much like a field day. There will be a lot of Zumba and a band called 45 rpm will perform. It is an all-girl band.”

    There will be live entertainment, food vendors and a Kids Zone where youngsters can play and enjoy activities04-16-14-duck-derby-pic.giffor free. Many of the nonprofit teams will be there to share information about their causes and to answer questions. The event starts at noon and ends at 3 p.m. The Corporate Duck Race is at 2 p.m. and is followed by the main event.It costs just $5 to adopt a duck. If you choose to support a team, the team will receive $1for each duck adopted under the team. At the main event all of the adopted ducks are dropped into the Cape Fear River. The first duck to cross the finish line wins and the person that adopted this duck will get the grand prize. Companies are invited to adopt ducks for the corporate race, as well.

    Proceeds from this event that go to Fayetteville Urban Ministry are used to support the outreach programs at the organization. Fayetteville Urban Ministry is built around four programs: Adult Literacy Program, Emergency Assistance Program, Find-A-Friend Program, and Nehemiah Home Repairs Program. The organization serves people from all types of backgrounds. It serves a number of veterans, active military service members, single parents, grandparents, dual parent households, and the list goes on. Not everyone it serves is poor or a single parent. Many of the people Fayetteville Urban Ministry serves are in crisis, or they moved to the area due to natural disasters. Fayetteville Urban Ministry is a place people come to when they need help. The programs are designed to give a hand up not a hand out and continue to exist because people continue to support the organization and events like the Fayetteville Duck Derby. Whether it is teaching someone how to read, tutoring or mentoring a child, helping with food or clothing, or helping to make homes safer, Fayetteville Urban Ministry does it 100 percent free of charge. While the need is great and sometimes resources are scarce, the staff at Fayetteville Urban Ministry knows that no one can do everything, but everyone can do something.

    Find out more about Fayettville Urban Ministry at www.fayurbmin.org. Sign up a corporate team or purchase ducks at www.fayettevilleduckderby.com. It costs just $5 to adopt a duck and the money goes right back to the community. There is still time to schedule Quacky for a visit, too.

    Photo: On May 3, thousands of ducks will race down the Cape Fear River to support local nonprofits.

  • 16 Everyone understands the value of good eyesight and its importance in terms of quality of life. It’s important to do our part to take care of our eyes and to turn to qualified medical staff for proper treatment and care.

    When the time comes to seek care which might involve surgical procedures on our eyes, it’s assuring to know there are professionally trained individuals we can trust for help.

    Fayetteville Technical Community College offers a program of study designed to equip qualified ophthalmic personnel with the educational preparation necessary to assume the role of Ophthalmic Surgical Assistant. The three-semester certificate program, designed for Certified Ophthalmic Assistants and Certified Ophthalmic Technicians or Certified Ophthalmic Medical Technologists, provides a convenient pathway for these certified ophthalmic personnel to enhance their career opportunities by obtaining the certification to become an Ophthalmic Surgical Assistant.

    The need to develop OSAs is nationally recognized, with ophthalmologists agreeing that the training could provide significant assistance with the mechanical and technical aspects of ophthalmic surgery.
    OSAs work under the direction of an ophthalmologist. In addition to assisting during surgery, the OSA assists with preparing surgical instruments and preparing patients for procedures.

    The OSA may also assist with administering evaluations and tests before and after surgery. In some cases, the ophthalmic surgical assistant may assist patients with follow-up after surgery.
    The employment opportunities for graduates of FTCC’s Ophthalmic Surgical Assistant Program is expected to grow, and successful graduates of the program are eligible to apply for the Ophthalmic Surgical Assistant national certification exam. Employment opportunities include hospitals, clinics and educational institutions. The program will provide current COAs and COTs with another unique career option in the health care industry.

    The didactic portion of the program is taught online, and the laboratory portion is taught during the evenings. This format combining online and evening instruction provides a way for interested candidates to continue working while completing the educational requirements for the program.

    This program is designed for entry during the fall semester, and individuals entering the program must currently be employed as a Certified Ophthalmic Assistant, Certified Ophthalmic Technician or Certified Ophthalmic Medical Technologist.

    Graduates of FTCC’s Ophthalmic Surgical Assistant program may be eligible to sit for the OSA sub-specialty certification administered by the International Joint Commission on Allied Health Personnel in Ophthalmology.

    During the course of the program, students will apply theoretical knowledge to the care of ophthalmic surgical patients and develop the skills necessary to prepare supplies, equipment and instruments, maintain aseptic conditions,

    prepare patients for ophthalmic surgery, and assist ophthalmologists during surgery.

    Registration for fall classes is open, and fall classes begin Aug. 21. For more information about FTCC visit www.faytechcc.edu. To learn more about the OSA Program, please search “ophthalmic” at the website or call 910-678-8358 or email herringt@faytechcc.edu.

  • 5Spring has finally arrived here in the Sandhills, and the warmer weather is not the only reason to rejoice. For many, Easter Sunday was spent with family hunting for Easter eggs and celebrating Jesus defeating death and rising from the grave. I enjoyed sharing the story of Jesus’ resurrection with my son, Lane, and “losing” in our Easter egg hunt.

    Every Easter I spend time reflecting on the sacrifice Jesus made for our salvation and how, even out of despair, there is life. The same can be said for our nation. Even during this season, it is hard to ignore the challenges you and your family continue to face including inflation, sky-high energy prices, and attacks on the values we hold dear. However, House Republicans are working to solve these issues while delivering on our “Commitment to America.”

    House Republicans passed the bipartisan Lower Energy Costs Act, which will unleash American energy production, reverse President Joe Biden's anti-energy policies, and lower your costs. The United States is the largest oil producer in the world, yet gas prices in North Carolina spiked 20 cents last month. This pain at the pump must stop.

    Additionally, House Republicans are working to protect children by recently passing the Parents Bill of Rights. As the father of an elementary aged child, I will not stop fighting for parents' rights to know what our children are being taught in school.

    While it is important to deal with the obstacles we see, it’s also a priority to prepare for challenges ahead. That’s why I have spearheaded legislation like the Nancy Gardner Sewell Medicare Multi-Cancer Early Detection Screening Coverage Act to increase seniors’ access to early cancer detection technology through Medicare.

    Too many families are devastated by a cancer diagnosis every day in our region. By increasing access to world class technologies, we can detect cancers sooner and save lives.
    Last month at FirstHealth Cancer Center in Pinehurst, I toured their state-of-the-art facility that is now accepting patients. I am working to make sure everyone has access to quality and affordable health care like we do at FirstHealth. I am also fighting for those who do not receive the proper care they deserve, such as Master Sergeant Richard Stayskal.

    Rich Stayskal lives in Moore County. He served our country honorably and was wounded in combat. But while stationed back at Fort Bragg, a missed cancer diagnosis changed his life. In response, I helped change the law in 2020 so he and other military families could receive support when facing non-combat medical malpractice while on active-duty. However, over two years since the Rich Stayskal Medical Accountability Act was signed, Stayskal and hundreds of other heroes have had their claims delayed or denied.

    That’s why I called on the Department of Defense to fix this immediately or step aside. As Fort Bragg’s Congressman, I will continue to speak out, not only for Rich and his family, but for every military family and veteran.

    Master Sgt. Stayskal’s example reminds us that unexpected challenges can appear for any of us at any moment. However, I am working on solutions to address as many obstacles as possible in Congress.
    And especially at this time of year, I am reminded of God’s grace and His many blessings. As Psalm 33 states, “We wait in hope for the Lord; He is our help and our shield. In Him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in His holy name.”

    I hope you are able to find comfort in your faith and remember that brighter days lie ahead. May God continue to bless you and our great nation.

  • 09TheCakeCape Fear Regional Theatre introduces “The Cake” to the stage April 4-21. “The Cake” tells the story of a Southern belle named Della (Libby McNeill Seymour) who owns a bake shop in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Della’s worldview is brought into question when Jen (Jessica Giannone), the daughter of Della’s deceased best friend, travels from New York to request a cake for her wedding. When Della learns Jen is marrying another woman (Olivia London as Macy), she must choose between her traditional values and the love of an old friend. “The Cake” was written by NBC’s “This Is Us” supervising producer and University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill alumna Bekah Brunstetter. It is directed by David Hemsley Caldwell. 

    CFRT is one of the first regional theaters to present “The Cake,” which will wrap up its acclaimed off-Broadway run at the Manhattan Theatre Club in New York City just a few days prior to its debut in Fayetteville. 

    “The story is so relevant and so timely and also so funny,” said Ashley Owen, marketing director for CFRT. “Today, it’s so easy to (attack) people’s beliefs. This play is the opposite of that — it’s really kind to everyone.” 

    According to the actors, this is a show for all people, but don’t expect to leave without first considering your neighbor’s point of view. “The themes of the show are acceptance, trying to find a middle ground, coming to terms with people who might think differently than you,” said Caldwell. Like Della, who, according to Seymour, must “(think) about alternative points of view in the world,” audience members may experience a shift of perspective. 

    Greg King, who plays Della’s husband, Tim, emphasized this middle ground alongside Caldwell and Seymour. “Everyone that comes to see the show is going to feel that they can identify with an opinion that they see onstage,” he said. 

    Regardless of beliefs, most play-goers will enjoy that “The Cake” is being catered by The Sweet Palette, who will provide cake for the show itself and then for audience members following each performance. London looks forward to the conversations the post-show desserts will accommodate. “(It’s) an opportunity to talk about what they just saw, (which) opens up the opportunity for them to talk about different opinions or a different takeaway,” she said. 

    This “common ground,” according to Giannone, brings people together. “A lot of people like cake no matter what you believe in.” 

    CFRT welcomes service members and their families, along with the public, to its Military Appreciation Night performance Wednesday, April 10, at 7:30 p.m. Playwright Brunstetter will attend the show and stay afterward for a talk-back with the audience, in which she’ll answer questions about the show and her career. Though military discounts are available for every performance at CFRT, the Military Appreciation Night discount will be 25 percent, the lowest of the year. 

    CFRT is located at 1209 Hay St. For tickets or for more information, contact the box office at 910-323-4233 or visit www.cfrt.org. The performance runs Wednesdays through Fridays at 7:30 p.m., Saturdays at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., and Sundays at 2 p.m., with tickets at $25. Preview nights are April 4-6, with tickets at $15. 

  • Food Entrepreneurs Resource DayCalling all Food Entrepreneurs! The Women’s Business Center at CEED is hosting its first local Food Resource Day for all aspiring restaurateurs, food truckers, and food-based business owners. If you have been wanting to dive into the world of food but don’t know where to start, we have a day tailored just for you. We will have back-to-back presentations, networking, and one-on-one sessions with food industry leaders. Come out and learn from the best in the city and learn what it takes to run a successful and profitable food business.

    The Food Resource Day on April 24 will delve into the technical and hands-on information food-based entrepreneurs need to take their business to the next level. The event will run from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and the itinerary includes three Knowledge Sessions from 11:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. concerning food regulations, “What I Wish I Knew” from mentor panelists, and a “How to Price your Menu” workshop, as well as speed dating rounds with local resource experts. A range of vital topics will cover how to develop menus and recipes, what is menu pricing, resources for financing your food truck and/or equipment, establishing a brick and mortar, working with suppliers and so much more.

    Among the attending mentors are Julius Cook, owner of Bezzie's Home Style Foods; Chef Alan Dover, chef, and teacher with FTCC; Edna Irizarry co-owner of Elite Catering, Got Chew Grill Restaurant and mobile Food Truck owner; and lead facilitator Dani Black from Bigger Tables Culinary & Consulting.

    We Some of the resource experts include WBCFay staff and their local partners from First Citizens Bank, Lee Insurance, NC Department of Agriculture, and more.

    Concerning any business or financial questions, attendees will have the chance to speak with bankers, insurance agents, accountants, bookkeepers, and professionals in payroll and HR services. The event hosts will also share funding opportunities for equipment, food trucks, and/or commercial property.

    The event will take place April 24, 2023, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Fayetteville-Cumberland Regional Entrepreneurial HUB at Fayetteville State University located at 1073 Murchison Road in Fayetteville. Tickets cost $30, and seating is limited. To register visit linktr.ee/wbcfaync or https://www.eventbrite.com/e/food-entrepreneur-resource-day-tickets-551621022327

    Editor’s note: CEED is the Center for Economic Empowerment & Development. It is funded in part through a cooperative agreement with the Small Business Administration.

  • 19 “Hallelujah, Thine the glory! Hallelujah, amen! Hallelujah, Thine the glory! Revive Us again!”

    A lone voice sung out — reverberating off weathered walls and white, plastic tables. For weeks the twelve of us gathered together. To hope. To dream. To pray. Twelve men and women. Twelve believers and seekers. Twelve disciples untied in the hope that the Holy Spirit might descend among us and answer our longing souls as we prayed the prayer we had each been praying as pandemic restrictions eased and we found ourselves peering into a world that did not look like we thought it would: “God, what do we do now?”

    No tongues of fire descended that night. No unlearned languages were uttered. Despite our earnest prayers and hopes, God’s Holy Spirit did not speak. It sang. It sang through the voice of one of us gathered, a voice I had not heard in song, in words to a hymn written before our nation celebrated its hundredth birthday: “Hallelujah, Thine the glory! Revive us again!”

    This was the moment I knew that the God-sized dream we found ourselves discussing was more than a hopeful vision, but something we were called to make tangible and real — even if none of us had ever seen anything like it before: Not a Revival, but a Revive All. A full week of nightly gatherings of churches, of neighbors, of the faithful and the seeking, all united together regardless of denominational, racial or theological differences to call out to God in one voice asking God to revive all. All of our neighbors. All of our burdens. All of the things that still need reviving.

    Throughout these last difficult pandemic years, there are so many things in our lives, and in our lives of faith that have become strained, broken or have all but died.

    Spirits are battered and in need of hope. Relationships have become strained under the weight of divisiveness. Holes of grief persist as we have mourned losses not only of loved ones, but significant life events like graduations, births, weddings and even funerals that did not occur in the ways they should have.

    The loving communities that we all need as human beings linger under deep shadows of isolation that no Zoom meeting can correct.

    For so many, hope seems like a quaint, naïve notion, joy remains a distant memory, and faith feels hollow.

    In so many spheres of our lives, revival is needed. Only God can revive all of it. The Bible is filled with examples of God reviving what is barren, broken, and even dead. I do not believe that God has gotten out of the revival business. Our lives can be revived. Our spirits. Our churches. Our city. The Revive All is a chance for us to seek this renewal, and to do so together.

    Every night of the Revive All will be different, with each one focusing on a single aspect of our lives that we are seeking God to revive.

    One night will be filled with music and art as we ask God to revive our joy in worship.
    Another night we will focus on asking God to revive our families and our ability to share our faith with our children. This service will begin with bouncy houses, arts and crafts, Bible story time and free hotdogs and snow cones.

    Another night we will focus on asking God to revive our hope by having a memorial service to name and grieve all the things that we have yet to mourn.
    There will be a night where we turn to God asking for a revival of the unity between our churches. Local ministers from many denominations will preach together.

    The Saturday of the Revive All will be a day of service where our collective churches will turn to the Almighty asking God to revive our commitment to love others as we blanket our city with acts of care.

    The Revive All is a God-sized dream, but it is a dream worth pursuing. It is a dream only possible with God’s help and with other Christians and churches willing to boldly dream together.

    What began with twelve people in prayer has now grown to participating churches including: Hay Street United Methodist Church, First Baptist Church (Anderson Street), First Presbyterian Church, One Church Covenant Fellowship and St. Luke AME Church.

    There is certainly room for many, many more! If you or your church are interested in being a part of the Revive All contact me at 910-483-0477. May God revive us all as we pray together, serve together, grieve together, build together and sing together in one voice — joining the song the Holy Spirit has already begun among us: “Hallelujah, Thine the glory! Revive Us again!”

    The Revive All will take place May 14 to 21 and most services will begin at 6 p.m. under a tent in the grass parking lot of First Baptist Church on the corner of Maiden Lane and Anderson Street (across from the Headquarters Library).

    Editor's note: Rev. Robert M. James, Jr. is the pastor of First Baptist Church on Anderson Street in downtown Fayetteville where he has served for six years.

  • 08FSOFayetteville Symphony Orchestra will perform “Ode to Joy,” the last concert of its 2018-19 season, Saturday, April 13, at Methodist University. The inspiration for the concert title is Ludwig van Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy,” which is embedded in the final movement of his last symphony, Symphony No. 9. This symphony, which FSO will perform in its entirety, is considered by many to be one of the greatest works in Western music. Beethoven was the first major composer to include human voice within a symphony. For that reason, this work is sometimes referred to as the “Choral Symphony.” 

    Beethoven composed “Ode to Joy” in 1824. The premiere for this work took place in Vienna May 7, 1824. In an article titled “Beethoven’s ‘Ode to Joy’ Lyrics, Translation, and History” at www.thoughtco. com, Aaron M. Green, an expert on classical music and music history, said, “despite its unpracticed and under-rehearsed presentation, the audience was ecstatic. It was the first time Beethoven had appeared onstage in 12 years.” 

    Green continued, “At the end of the performance (though some sources say it could have been after the second movement), it was said that Beethoven continued conducting even though the music had ended. One of the soloists stopped him and turned him around to accept his applause. 

    “The audience was well aware of Beethoven’s health and hearing loss, so in addition to clapping, they threw their hats and scarves in the air so that he could see their overwhelming approval.” 

    Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy” lyrics are a slightly modified version of a poem by the same name written by Christoph Freidrich von Schiller in 1785. It is a poem celebrating the unity of mankind. 

    According to Christine Kastner, president and CEO of FSO, “‘Ode to Joy’ is a magnificent choral work, and it’s a great way to end a season. It’s one of those very special experiences.” It was previously performed by FSO in March 2012. 

    Kastner said the vocal parts will be performed by a choir that will include members from several local singing groups. Michael Martin, the choral music director at Methodist University, coordinated the participation of the choirs, including the Cumberland Oratorio Singers and choirs from Campbell University, Fayetteville State University and Fayetteville Technical Community College. 

    There are vocal soloists who will perform along with the choir. Soloists include Erin Murdock, Angela Burns, Melvin Ezzell and Jeffrey Jones. 

    The concert will last approximately two hours, with Symphony No. 9 lasting a little more than 45 minutes. The first half of the concert will introduce other pieces that led Beethoven to develop the Ninth Symphony. 

    According to FSO Music Nerd Joshua Busman, for composers who came after Beethoven, it was not a question of whether or not they would follow in his footsteps but simply how they would do so. He went on to say that the “legacy of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony is so long that it extends well into the 20th century.” 

    As one example, he explained that the reason CDs needed to be 120 millimeters across was to allow them to hold approximately 80 minutes of music — which satisfied a mandate to Sony engineers that new audio technology be able to contain the entirety of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony on a single disc. 

    FSO will perform “Ode to Joy” Saturday, April 13, at 7:30 p.m., at Methodist University’s Huff Concert Hall. A Pre-Concert Talk with Busman will begin at 6:45 p.m. To purchase tickets, which range from $10-$26, visit www.fayettevillesymphony.org. 

  • 19With spring already underway, humans aren’t the only ones that are taking advantage of the nicer weather. Here are some wildlife encounters you may experience and pro tips from the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission for handling each:

    Unattended young rabbits, deer fawns and songbirds

    Wild parents can’t hire a babysitter and it is normal for many species to leave their young unattended for long periods. Never assume young wildlife has been abandoned or orphaned just because you don’t see a parent nearby. If your instinct is to stand guard until its parent returns, be aware that wild animals will avoid approaching if a potential predator (i.e., you) is nearby, to avoid drawing attention to their young. Often the best way to help young wildlife is to leave them alone so their parents can return and care for them.

    Young squirrels fallen from their nest

    Windy weather during the nesting season puts young squirrels at risk of falling out of their nests. Squirrel mothers don’t abandon their young easily and will search the ground for missing young to carry back to the nest. If the whole nest falls out of the tree, a squirrel will build a new nest before retrieving her young, so it’s important to give her the time and space to do so.

    Foxes, skunks, raccoons or squirrels making themselves at home — in yours

    In early spring, wild parents are looking for sheltered, out-of-the way spaces to raise their young for the season. Crawlspaces under buildings can offer a safe and comfortable nursery for foxes and skunks while their newborn young are most vulnerable. Climbing species like raccoons and squirrels may try to access your attic. Even chimneys can become an entry point for flying species like bats and chimney swifts. To avoid having uninvited guests living under or above your building, now is a good time to make repairs to the exterior (e.g., vents, eaves, chimney caps) so wildlife can’t find their way in.

    Spotting snakes on the move

    As cold-blooded animals, snakes rely on temperature for energy to move, so warmer weather means more will be out and about, regardless of the time of year. Most snakes in North Carolina start to become active after several days at or above 60 degrees, so an early spring means early snake activity while temperatures stay warm. The best way to handle a snake encounter is to give it space. Snakes only bite humans in self-defense, so bites can be prevented by avoiding situations that force a snake to defend itself from you. Never pick up or harass a snake, and avoid surprising one by watching where you step or reach, especially in areas with thick ivy or leaf litter on the ground, or piles of wood or rocks where snakes may be seeking shelter.

    Regardless of the wild species you encounter, seek advice from a wildlife professional, such as a licensed wildlife rehabilitator, before moving
    or attempting to care for any young wild animal to avoid causing unintentional harm.

    For handling unwanted wildlife encounters, a licensed wildlife control agent may be able to help. When unsure of what to do, call the NC Wildlife Helpline at 866-318-2401 for assistance or visit ncwildlife.org/have-a-problem for answers to commonly asked questions about preventing wildlife conflicts, injured/orphaned wildlife and more.

  • 18 Wild strawberries have been eaten for thousands of years, but the cultivation of them began in Europe as early as the 1300s. Wild strawberries were transplanted into gardens in France. In the 1600s colonists discovered wild strawberries in Virginia.

    They are indigenous in the northern and southern hemispheres found by the seaside, woods and mountain tops. Strawberries were described in literature in A.D. 1000 and the first drawing of the plant was printed in 1484. The first mention of strawberries occurred between 234-149 B.C. in the writings of a Roman senator. The first mentions were for medical use, and it was believed that they aided in the treating of depression.

    During the 12th century they were deemed unfit to eat because the plant grew close to the ground and became contaminated by reptiles that may have touched them such as snakes and toads.

    Eventually, the consumption became popular and they were being sold at marketplaces in London around 1831, but were still not produced commercially. Commoners and aristocrats would have patches of strawberries in their gardens. France became the primary forerunner of strawberry production.

    The name has myriad possible origins. The word straw may have been derived because it was used to mulch the plants and keep them clean. In London children would collect the berries stringing them with straw and sell them at markets as “Straws of Berries.” The Latin meaning of the fruit is known as “Fragra” or fragrant. The French, Italian and Spanish referred to the fruit as “Fraise” or fragrant berry and the Narragansett

    Indians of North America called the fruit “wuttahimneash” or “heart berry.”

    The berries began to be cultivated and the first hybrid, “Hudson” was grown in the U.S. in 1780. In 1843, Cincinnati, Ohio, growers were the first to ship using refrigeration by placing ice on top of the boxes for shipment.

    There are more than 600 varieties of strawberries that have been cultivated from the five or six original wild species and surprisingly they are a member of the rose family. Camarosa strawberries are one of the most common with a delicate sweet flavor. The alpine strawberry is smaller in statue but bountiful in a sweet flavor. It comes in a variety of colors.

    When we feast our eyes on market selections, we do not realize there are hundreds of types and the flavor and size depend on the region and amount of sunlight. The state that produces the most strawberries is California and the largest farm in the U.S. is Wish Farm on 2,100 acres with the land stretching almost four miles. The strawberry capital of the U.S. is Dickson in Galveston County, Texas.

    Strawberries are rich in vitamin C and other antioxidants and has other benefits for those with insulin sensitivity and osteoarthritis. They are also low in calories and contain a substantial water content.

    Below are some interesting facts about strawberries.

    • The average berry has 200 seeds.
    • The first fruit to ripen in the spring, Americans consume about three to four pounds in a year.
    • One acre can grow about 50,000 pounds per season.
    • Plants are individually hand picked every three to four days.
    • The plants are perennials.
    • Strawberry colors can be white, blue/purple, yellow/golden , red/pink.
    • Once they begin bearing fruit they are productive for five years.
    • They are sweeter at room temperature.

    Live, love life and strawberries.

  • 17The subject of alcohol and its effects on overall health is complex. Alcohol figures prominently at many social functions and even in situations where individuals are operating in a professional capacity, such as at business dinners or conferences.

    As a result, many adults find it hard to avoid alcohol, even if they have concerns regarding its potential effects on their short- and long-term health. The issue of alcohol and overall health has garnered additional attention in recent years thanks in large part to the COVID-19 pandemic.

    Researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital utilized data from a national survey of adults in the United States and found that excessive drinking increased by 21% during the pandemic.
    Those researchers, whose findings were published in the journal Hepatology, estimated that a one-year increase in alcohol consumption during the pandemic will result in 8,000 additional deaths from alcohol-related liver disease.

    Such research highlights the link between alcohol consumption and overall health. Individuals interested in learning more about recent research into that link can consider the following information.

    According to the Dietary Guidelines for America, which are jointly developed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Department of Health & Human Services, emerging evidence indicates that even drinking within the recommended limits for alcohol consumption can increase the overall risk of death from various causes. Such causes include various types of cancer and cardiovascular disease.

    The notion that moderate consumption of alcohol can have protective health benefits is increasingly being questioned. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention notes that various studies have suggested it’s impossible to determine if improved health outcomes among moderate drinkers are due to moderate alcohol consumption or other differences in behaviors or genetics between people who drink moderately and people who don’t.

    A 2022 study of binge drinking published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine found that binge drinking increases the risk of experiencing alcohol-related harm in the short-term and in the future.
    The CDC defines binge drinking as consuming five or more drinks on an occasion for men or four or more drinks on an occasion for women.

    The link between alcohol and overall health is significant. Individuals concerned about their alcohol consumption are urged to speak with their physicians.
    Individuals in need of immediate help in the U.S. can contact the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration helpline 24/7/365 at 1.800.662.HELP (4357).

  • 16In honor of National Patient Experience Week happening April 23 to April 29, the students, faculty and staff of Fayetteville Technical Community College would like to express their sincere gratitude to all the wonderful health care professionals who care for us when we are most in need.

    If you appreciate the work done by healthcare professionals, consider celebrating National Patient Experience Week by taking the first steps towards joining the ranks of our healthcare providers.

    FTCC can help you become a healthcare provider. Doctors and nurses can only do their jobs with the support of an often-invisible army of support staff who ensure that supplies are in stock, bills are paid, and patients are heard.

    FTCC is now accepting applications for the highly competitive healthcare management program.

    Do you enjoy helping people?

    Can you remain calm in stressful situations?

    Would you like to earn a high salary with excellent benefits in a rapidly growing industry?

    If so, a career in healthcare management might be the right fit for you. The healthcare management program at FTCC prepares students to become a vital member of a healthcare team and to improve the lives of patients. Graduates of this program often work as customer service specialists, healthcare financial specialists and medical office managers.

    You might earn an associate’s degree in Healthcare Management Technology or pursue a certificate in healthcare customer service, healthcare finance or medical entrepreneurship.
    In this program, you will take courses in important topics including medical insurance, healthcare law, and leadership.

    Healthcare managers work in a variety of settings including hospitals, clinics, and long-term care facilities, and medical offices. Some healthcare managers even start their own businesses.

    According to the United States Bureau of Labor, the typical Medical and Healthcare Services Manager in the U.S. earns $101,340 each year.

    The federal government estimates that jobs in this field will grow by 28% within the next ten years, which makes it one of the nation’s fastest growing fields.

    Are you worried that you don’t have enough money to pay for college? FTCC is one of the most affordable colleges in the region. We also offer numerous scholarships, and many students earn college degrees at no cost to them.

    Are you ready to learn more?

    If so, please contact FTCC today. Staff are eager to help you join the ranks of some of the nation’s fastest growing and most financially rewarding career fields.

    The next time we celebrate National Patient Experience Week, we might be celebrating you.

    For more Information, please contact the Curriculum Chair Larissa White at 910-678-8518 or email whitel@faytechcc.edu.

  • 10a Baking and the art of baking has increased in popularity in the past few years. With shows on Netflix dedicated to show-stopping creations that are a mixture of art and food, the surge of artistry bakers has been on the rise as well.

    Manisonh Geddie, the owner, baker and cake artist of Cultured Flour, has always been interested in baking, but didn’t get into the art side of decorating until after COVID.

    “I had visited a friend in D.C. and we had these ube pancakes and I fell in love with the flavor and I thought,I really want to make an ube cake. And so I tried to search YouTube for a recipe and instructions on how to make this cake. But what I actually came across was a bunch of decorating videos. I've always been into art, and so that really intrigued me. So I kind of went down a rabbit hole watching all of these decorating videos on YouTube. So that’s really how it started,” Geddie said.

    She didn’t kick off her business right away. Geddie started to post cakes and cupcakes online on her own social media and people started to reach out to her. They were asking if she made cakes for birthdays, bridal showers, gender reveals, all of it. Her love for decorating the cakes soon overtook her interest in just baking.

    “I’ve always loved creating art. Ever since I was younger, my dad would paint these watercolor paintings. So I think that’s where I get my appreciation of art from. I just like creating and experimenting with colors,” Geddie said.

    That was the beginning. But then she had a child and took a break for over a year. Geddie started to get back into baking at the end of last year.

    “At the beginning of this year I told myself that I wanted to get back into it and I wanted to start selling them, like proactively,” Geddie told Up & Coming Weekly.

    Very shortly after making that decision for herself, someone reached out to Geddie about the #HerPitch competition in March.

    “The idea was giftable, edible art. So the cakes that I make are petite painted cakes or cupcakes, and they come in different flavors other than your traditional vanilla, chocolate, strawberry. I wanted the flavors to be botanically and culturally inspired.” Geddie said.10

    The flavors she proposed wouldn’t normally be found in a bakery. She wants to work with flavors like strawberry rose water, ube, lavender and guava. But it’s not just the flavors that would be unique. The artistry on the cakes would be precise and beautiful enough to be bought and given to a person as a gift — all on its own. Ideally, Geddie would love for these cakes to be given out as a gift for Mother’s Day or an anniversary.

    Geddie presented her idea as a part of #HERPitch. Out of a dozen business owners, Geddie was one of the four winners who received a grant for $2,500 from CEED Capital and the Women of Power Society of NC. Geddie will be using the grant money towards supply costs.

    “When you’re baking, a lot of the supplies individually aren’t super expensive. But it requires a lot, especially the decorating portion of it. And it just adds up really quickly. I think it would have taken me months and months to accumulate supply wise. [The grant] is allowing me to go ahead and get everything I need now, basically wiping out all of my start up costs,” Geddie said.

    She hopes to launch these edible, beautiful gifts online sometime before summer kicks off.

    Looking towards the future, Geddie says she is taking it all one step at a time. Perhaps she will open up for commissions for a wedding cake one day. But at the moment, she is excited to launch her new project and get her business started.

    To learn more about Geddie and her company, Cultured Flour, visit her instagram page, @Cultured_Flour, or email her at culturedflower@gmail.com.

  • 6 At first glance it appeared to be a floating nursing home, except all the patients were ambulatory. It was in fact, a Viking cruise down the Rhine River. I am a member of a certain age demographic that takes river cruises. We got a cheapo deal with a galley slave cabin on the Swan Deck. That means when you look out the porthole, you see the bottoms of water fowl.

    Here is the Captain’s Log of floating through Germany. We had one prior trip on a large cruise ship with 5,000 of our closest strangers. The river cruise has only 195 fellow travelers which is preferable to a floating city. On the smaller boat you actually get to know some of your fellow sailors.

    We traveled all night on the Dead Eye Flight to Amsterdam. Not much had changed since my last visit 50 years ago except for some new signs. Apparently, some visitors to Amsterdam have to be reminded of their manners. One sign said “No Public Peeing. It’s illegal” with a stick figure relieving himself. Another sign said “Don’t buy drugs from street dealers. The drugs can be poisoned.” Marijuana is highly legal in Amsterdam, but the government wants a cut of the revenue. Despite the signs, the streets smelled like 1968.

    I went on an academic fact finding mission to the Red Light district to see if the ladies had changed their sales methods. Fifty years ago, hookers sat in the windows looking bored. In 2023, the granddaughters of those original hookers sat in the windows looking bored playing with their iPhones. I suspect the cooties remained the same.

    Back on the boat while consuming adult beverages we were treated to a passenger karaoke chorus singing “How Deep is Your Love” and “Memories” from “Cats.” The horror. The horror.
    We sailed into Cologne making the mandatory visit to the Cathedral which was impressive and cold. My wife, Lani, went to see a palace. I went to see the Ludwig Modern Art Museum. The museum’s overall collection was quite good. Unfortunately, for reasons only known to the curator, about half the museum’s walls were dedicated to a special exhibit by someone named Ursula. I like weird. I almost always find weird to be good. Ursula demonstrated that weird can be bad. I became trapped on a floor that was all Ursula all the time. For a few soul freezing moments it appeared I would never get out of Ursula Land.

    Next port of call was Koblenz. We wandered into the excellent Hannelore Bar starring a one-man band alternating singing and playing a saxophone. When we walked in he was singing Johnny Cash’s “Ring of Fire,” followed up by “Take Me Home Country Roads.” Until you can say you have heard these songs sung with a Bavarian accent, you cannot truly say you have lived. It was a peppy and cheerful place, far from home.

    Shipboard is a challenge to self-control. There are 24-hour-a-day German pastries next to the free coffee. I failed miserably. Germans know their baked goods. They are delicious. (The pastries, not the Germans themselves). What mortal can resist apple strudel and coffee? Weight gain abounds. Each day featured a piano player tickling the ivories for our listening pleasure. One selection was the theme from the “Titanic,” seemingly an awkward choice for a cruise boat. I kept waiting to hear “Just Call Me Angel in the Morning” from “The Poseidon Adventure” but it didn’t happen.

    Our ship’s social director was unfailingly polite and competent. However, in a World War II context, I would not have wanted him to be the commandant of my POW camp.

    There are many locks on the Rhine. We passed the first one at night. The ship bounced sideways waking me up. At the time I did not realize it was a lock. I suspected an ice berg. The rest of the night I got up periodically to put my feet on the floor to see if it was wet and time to abandon ship. The floor remained dry.

    Lani had an unhappy experience with a crab cake. It resulted in her breaking her 40+ year no vomit streak. It reminded me of when Seinfeld looked for the Black & White Cookie and tossed his cookies. Bigly sad. She did recover after a day. I went solo into Strasbourg, France, which has bounced like a ping pong ball between Germany and France for centuries. Now there is not even a sign on the bridge when you pass from Germany into France. Strasbourg supplied an excellent parade with weirdly dressed marching bands celebrating the end of winter. Bikers playing drums. Skeletons dancing. Dinosaurs prancing. Ghosts passing out candy to the kinder. It was groovy.

    The procedure to go home was finely tuned and heavily Germanic. If you miss a check point, you stay in Europe. Our flight was out of Basel, Switzerland. Luggage had to be in the hallway by 3 a.m. On the van to airport at 4:30 a.m. Flight leaves at 6:30 a.m. It was not a night conducive to unfettered sleeping. However, all is well that ends well. We would go on Viking again.

  • This year marks the 53rd anniversary of the environmental movement commemorated annually as Earth Day. Since 1970, billions of people worldwide have come together on April 22 to take action towards a more sustainable, equitable and resilient future for our planet.

    9Greater awareness of our environment as well as climate crises comes at a critical time when the just-released Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, known as IPCC, report warns of the urgency in strong, rapid and sustained reductions in the greenhouse gas emissions that are accelerating widespread temperature and weather extremes as well as ecological, social and economic unrest.

    United Nation’s Secretary General Antonio Guterres calls our environmental and climate crises “the defining issue of our time.” And what we do, or fail to do, today will have significant implications for generations to come.

    IMPACTS

    Whether globally or locally, these challenges connect and affect us all. Historical hurricanes such as Matthew in 2016 and Florence in 2018 impacted thousands of lives, homes and businesses not only in Fayetteville, but in surrounding communities, states and beyond.

    According to our state’s budget office, these extreme flood and weather events cost over $20 billion in damages, clearly telling us that the cost of inaction is far more destructive and expensive than the life-promoting benefits of sustainable action.

    RESPONSE

    We are living in unprecedented times when our human and environment calls for sustainable action are loud and clear. In response, in 2016 nearly every nation on earth signed the Paris Climate Agreement that addresses climate change mitigation and adaptation.

    In 2022, the U.S. federal government enacted the largest environmental, climate and renewable energy legislation in U.S. history. Leading in the south in renewable energy jobs and green innovation, North Carolina has a State Climate Risk Assessment and Resilience Plan.

    Also joining forces, with sustainability and climate initiatives, are the major and growing cities of Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, Winston Salem, Asheville, Cary and others.
    Fort Bragg, our nation’s largest military installation, not only has comprehensive waste reduction and recycling initiatives but also energy efficiencies that include the largest floating solar array in the southeastern United States.

    SUSTAINABLE FAYETTEVILLE

    As the momentum of sustainability is rapidly increasing across cities and nations around the world, our city of Fayetteville has a distinct opportunity to benefit and lead by example.
    With greater environmental awareness, unified leadership and bolder climate action, a City of Fayetteville Sustainability Master Plan is inherently defined by meeting the needs of our city today without 9a compromising the regenerative needs of nature or the generational needs of the future. A Sustainable City of Fayetteville would also strive to carefully balance social equity, environmental stewardship, as well as economic prosperity — known as sustainability’s triple bottom line.

    SOLUTIONS

    The success of our city’s social, environmental and economic initiatives requires a whole-community approach in implementing cleaner, greener solutions. These include:

    • 1). Leading by example through integrating sustainability best practices into our city’s decision making thereby maximizing environmental benefits and minimizing negative environmental impacts.
    • 2). Cultivating collaborative partnerships with community stakeholders that encourage sustainability education and innovation — not only in city and county government, but also in homes, small businesses, large corporations, school districts, colleges, universities, churches and more.
    • 3). Promoting and improving city-wide waste reduction and recycling initiatives that move us beyond a linear material economy and into a circular material economy that reduces, reuses, recycles and composts waste thereby reducing the burden on our rapidly-filling landfills.
    • 4). Promoting and incorporating clean and renewable energy efficiencies that include expansions in community solar opportunities, carbon offsets, as well as cleaner multimodal transportation systems that help reduce carbon emission objectives that are aligned with our federal and state priorities.
    • 5). Protecting and preserving vital water resources, including the Cape Fear River, which is already bearing the impacts from industries, pollution, and competition, according to researchers.
    • 6). Preserving neighborhoods, providing affordable and efficient housing, innovating with greener buildings, and supporting local and small businesses that all collectively support an equitable, sustainable and resilient community and economy.

    BENEFITS

    Investments in the health and wellbeing of our environment are investments in the health and wellbeing of our community and economy — as they are all connected.

    Climate-change evidence and environmental-pollution lessons derived from the ongoing prioritization of economic profits over the detrimental impacts on people and planet clearly demonstrate the justice and “rightness” of world-wide, sustainable policies and practices.

    Today’s All-American City is a sustainable city that reaps the benefits of greener, innovative action that includes greater environmental awareness, improved resource efficiency, lower waste, cost savings, resident and visitor affinity, brand enhancement, strengthened resiliency, climate adaptation, and more.

    In Fayetteville, we can deepen our appreciation for our unity with Mother Earth by harmonizing our Can—Do Carolina mindset with our environmental calls for action as we affirm: “We find a way. We care for one another. We protect the world. We always go further.”

    Editor’s note: Anne Schrader is the owner of Eco Solutions, a local company providing sustainable-living services for business, home and community. For more information visit www.ecosolutionsnc.com.

  • 5 I recently attended a “sprinkle,” and, no, it was not raining.

    A sprinkle, I now know, is a small baby shower for a mother-to-be who already has at least one bundle of joy at home but who still needs a few little things for the new member of the family. This is especially true if the new arrival is a different gender than earlier kiddos.

    I was, as far as I could discern, the oldest guest at the sprinkle. The honoree and her friends, most of whom were in some stage of pregnancy from undetectable to bursting at the seams, oohed and ahhed at all the sweet baby clothes and cuddly toys, and as the mother of three, the whole thing triggered all sorts of warm memories for me.

    That said, the young mothers and mothers-to-be attending the sprinkle seemed at the time like a booming generational representation, but, in fact, it is my generation and those just behind me that are booming.
    If life falls into 3 different stages — one’s individual childhood, the period when we have children, and when our children have children, it is the last group that is growing, not the first or second.

    There are numbers to prove it.

    According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the United States is joining the growing number of nations with significantly aging populations. Japan has the world’s oldest population with one out of every four people 65 or over, and some European nations, notably France, Spain, Germany and Italy, are fast heading in that direction.

    Census data report that in 1900, a mere 4% of Americans were 65 or over. Currently, about 56 million Americans, or nearly 17% of us, are 65 or over, and projections are that we will reach the Japanese statistic of one in every four people by 2060.

    High quality food coupled with a better understanding of nutrition as well as accessible health care have produced seniors who are healthy and active, with some on second or even third careers, playing tennis, and generally enjoying life in ways prior senior generations did not. We are living much longer than Americans of the past, with a life expectancy of around 76.

    The babies coming to the mothers at the sprinkle can expect to reach 74 for the boys and 80 for girls. This is two decades longer than most Americans lived in the 1960s.

    Clearly, old age is not what it used to be, but all this good news comes with bumps in the road. Younger working Americans are paying into Social Security for today’s pensioners, the same situation that pushed France to raise its retirement age from 62 to 64, causing riots in the streets.

    Politicians, both Democrats and Republicans, are terrified to discuss this issue in public, but those chickens will come home to roost eventually.
    In addition, not all seniors are healthy and playing tennis. Millions of us are in declining health with few options for care and profoundly lonely.

    The precarious nature of old age is why Americans are concerned about the two geriatric frontrunners for President of the United States in 2024. Should we actually elect a leader staring down 80?
    Old age is a concept, just like youth. It is also a fact. Just as we have begun to rethink what constitutes adulthood — is it age, physical size, or maturity of the human brain, we need to consider what constitutes old age.

    The world is shifting around us, and it is time we figure out how to use all our human resources both appropriately and fairly.

  • 8 The Cumberland County Tax Administration is gearing up for the 2025 Tax Revaluation.

    Per North Carolina general statutes, each county must conduct a reappraisal of all real property at least every eight years. Cumberland County’s previously conducted county-wide revaluation was Jan. 1, 2017.

    During a reappraisal, the county aims to re-establish equity among properties that may have appreciated or depreciated at different rates since the last revaluation. The primary goal is to be equitable. This is accomplished by updating the tax values to reflect the estimated market value as of the revaluation date, which is set for Jan. 1, 2025.

    It is not the purpose of a reappraisal to increase revenues or to provide tax breaks. The Cumberland County Tax Administration uses mass appraisal methods to analyze data and establish values.

    Mass appraisal differs from individual property appraisal that is typically performed by an independent fee appraiser in that appraisal standards, schedules and models are developed and then applied to each individual property within a similar group of properties. This is done using a Computer Assisted Mass Appraisal System.

    A variety of data analysis is performed to assist in establishing fair market value models. Many factors are reviewed and considered such as property type, use, age, size, quality, style, condition, and location, as well as reviews of recent market sales, trends and replacement costs.

    The value models developed and used to value the different property types are cost, sales comparison or income approaches. For example, residential houses are typically valued using the sales comparison approach, which will establish market value based on a comparison to qualified sales of similar properties.

    Market value is generally determined from sales between unrelated and unbiased parties and where the property was not sold under a distressed situation. The Tax Administration appraisal staff reviews properties using the Real Property Listing forms, mapping programs, site reviews of neighborhoods, individual properties that have permits, and recent sales of properties to attain accurate listing information which will help develop better market values.

    Citizens of Cumberland County may notice an increase in appraisal staff and data collectors in the field conducting site reviews as we prepare for revaluation. These staff will be wearing a county issued identification badge and driving a vehicle that displays a county emblem.

    Owners are also encouraged to visit the website at www.cumberlandcountync.gov/departments/tax-group/tax/real-estate-gis-mapping to learn more about Revaluation and to review their property listing information to be sure it is correct.

    If any changes are needed to the listing, owners can download a 2024 Real Property Listing form to submit any changes. The form can be found in the Forms and Publication section and can be submitted to the Tax Office by several methods which are noted at the bottom of the form. Citizens may also contact our Customer Service office for additional information or any questions at 910-678-7507 or email any questions to taxrealestate@cumberlandcountync.gov.

  • 4 How often do the majority and minority leaders of any legislative chamber in America agree on a significant policy change? You can probably count those occasions on your fingers without putting down your coffee cup.

    But one such example is unfolding right now in our state capital. Rep. John Bell (R-Wayne) and Rep. Robert Reives (D-Chatham) are two primary sponsors of House Bill 346, which would loosen some state controls on the operations of Blue Cross NC. Bell and Reives are also, respectively, the majority and minority leaders of the North Carolina House.
    Critics of the bill argue it represents a back-door attempt to transfer the value of the nonprofit health insurer into private hands.

    Back in the late 1990s, some of these critics helped block a major effort to convert Blue Cross into a for-profit entity. The result was a 1998 law that requires the proceeds of any such sale to private owners to flow into a charitable foundation.

    That was my position in 1998, too. While Blue Cross NC had by then become a fully taxed entity, much of its assets had been accrued during an earlier period when it benefitted from sizable tax breaks and other state assistance. If it were sold to private firms or shareholders, who would the buyers pay? Surely not themselves, the state, or the former executives or directors of the nonprofit.

    It seemed prudent at the time to require any such for-profit conversion to result in an independent foundation dedicated to the health and wellbeing of North Carolinians.
    It remains the prudent policy today. The bill Bell, Reives, and dozens of other state lawmakers are sponsoring this session wouldn’t change it. If the leaders of Blue Cross NC decide to sell, the proceeds will go to a foundation. Where I differ from the critics is that I see House Bill 346 as making a sale less likely.

    Right now, Blue Cross is the dominant player in North Carolina’s market for private health plans. Indeed, it’s the only insurer selling policies in all 100 counties.

    But health care is undergoing rapid change. Both federal legislation and industry trends have created increasing returns to scale. Local hospitals and other providers are merging, becoming parts of national chains. Insurers are also scaling up, in part to compete for the business of employers who operate across the country.

    Among other benefits, these scaled-up companies can invest productively in new technologies, massive databases, artificial intelligence, and other lines of business that enhance their ability to control insurance premiums and promote wellness.

    Generally speaking, however, the insurers don’t make investments directly, which would quickly run up against state-imposed caps on the investment of their assets.
    Instead, they are organized as holding companies that own both the tightly regulated insurance company as well as affiliated subsidiaries.

    Under current law, Blue Cross NC can’t do that. Moreover, as a “hospital service corporation” under state law, it faces not only a 10% cap on how much of its assets can be invested in non-insurance ventures but also an automatic trigger to convert to a for-profit company if it ever sold a significant interest in such a venture.

    House Bill 346 would permit it to reorganize as a nonprofit holding company that would continue to own the nonprofit Blue Cross insurer as well as other affiliated companies and investments. The bill also stipulates that no current executives receive equity-based compensation from any subsidiaries created by the holding company and that any subsequent sale of Blue Cross would still put all the proceeds of that sale — from all lines of business — into a foundation.

    The way I see it, the critics are mistaken about the bill. It would reduce the probability that some out-of-state entity will end up owning and controlling North Carolina’s largest health insurer.

    That’s one of the reasons both Republican and Democratic leaders in the General Assembly have lined up behind it. They see it the same way.

    Editor's note: John Hood is a John Locke Foundation board member. His latest books, Mountain Folk and Forest Folk, combine epic fantasy with early American history (www.FolkloreCycle.com).

  • 11Fed up with size-exclusive fashion, Fayetteville cousins Mary Conrad and Alex Shoup have made it their mission to bring style and confidence to every woman that walks through their doors or logs into their app — no matter what size they wear.

    2313 Glitter Ave., Fayetteville’s first fully size-inclusive boutique, is located at 1009 Marlborough Road. Carrying sizes ranging from small to 3X in nearly every clothing item, the unique boutique encourages women of all shapes and sizes to “Wear the Whatever.” From miniskirts to crop tops, 2313 Glitter Ave.’s brand of body positivity extends to every woman and every body.

    Established as an Etsy shop in 2015, the online boutique was originally in the cute accessories business before venturing into fashion. Selling items like vinyl decals, stickers and drinkware, the shop added clothing in 2018 to increase its revenue — but soon ran into an all too common issue.

    “Ordering a small, medium or large package of clothing is really limiting,” Shoup explained. “If I’m not technically plus-sized, but I’m struggling to fit into these clothes — what about everyone else?”

    In an industry where “plus size” is marketed as an entirely different section with completely different styles, 2313 Glitter Ave. bridges the gap between what fashion has been and what it needs to be.

    By 2019, the online boutique was fully inclusive. After going viral in 2020, Shoup and Conrad purchased their first warehouse and launched the 2313 Glitter Ave. app. Despite the uncertainty surrounding the pandemic, the ladies of Glitter Ave. knew they had something special and took a leap of faith — selling out their inventory in a matter of weeks.

    While fearlessness is certainly one ingredient in the boutique’s recipe for success, it’s also the dedication Shoup and Conrad bring to the business that has made it such a hit with shoppers worldwide.
    Not content to simply have size-inclusive items in stock, 2313 Glitter Ave. goes live for its customers daily with a full slate of size-inclusive models ready to show real inventory on real bodies. Their various social media platforms, which boast over 200,000 followers, have garnered a reputation for being body-positive and uplifting — a mantle the owners carry with pride.

    “Wear the whatever — that’s our motto,” Shoup explained. “Whatever you think you can’t wear — wear it. We try to go above and beyond to help women find clothes that make them feel confident and comfortable. We’re trying to build self-confidence and self-love while selling clothes on the side.”

    The two women, who’ve now been in business for over eight years, are excited to bring the same thoughtful experience their shoppers receive online to their new storefront. Brick-and-mortar Glitter Ave. will have the same flair as its internet presence but with little touches that speak to a unique understanding of its customers. Flattering lighting and large air-conditioned dressing rooms bring dignity and comfort to an experience many women can find frustrating.

    “We really try to step back and see that we’re a comfortable space for everyone to try on clothes,” said Shoup.11a

    2313 Glitter Ave. officially opened its doors on March 25 and will run on a limited schedule for now. Featuring many of the same styles, including an all-inclusive line of swimwear, found on their app and website, the clever boutique is a one-stop shop for Fayetteville’s most fashionable shoppers. Additionally, the boutique offers convenient local pick-up on Blount Street through their app for those who can’t find what they’re looking for onsite.

    While they’re more than happy to provide such an important service, Shoup hopes 2313’s success opens the door for more boutiques to widen their selections.

    “We’re just a boutique, but it’s so much more than that,” Shoup shared. “We’re changing lives. We want to break stigmas and let women know, small or large: they can wear anything they want. It’s one of the main reasons we do what we do, and we really want to bring that to Fayetteville. I hope more stores and boutiques will expand their sizing, but we’re happy to be the first.”

    To shop, visit https://2313glitterave.com/.

    2313 Glitter Ave. is located at 1009 Marlborough Road. Business hours are Wednesdays, 12 p.m. to 8 p.m., and every 2nd Saturday, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

  • 18How challenging can selling a business be? On the surface, the prospect appears simple. First, you have a business and want to sell it, then you share that information and wait for a buyer. But the reality is both more complicated and more nuanced. Using a broker takes the pressure off you so you can focus on your business operations.

    Few business owners understand everything involved in selling a business. Even fewer have the time in their busy schedules to manage the process. That's why working with a professional business advisor can help you sell your business with ease and confidence.

    Have All Necessary Documents

    To begin the process of selling your business, you need to gather all the appropriate documents for your advisor. You'll need to show the history and the potential growth of the company. Items to include are: tax returns, all leases and contracts, YTD financials, vendor and supplier information, current inventory, accounts receivable aging.

    This information provides insight, allowing the advisor to create a potential buyer profile. It can also show the potential buyer their benefits.

    Market Your Business

    The next step is to determine how to best reach the right buyers for your business. There are many avenues a business advisor can use to successfully market a business for sale. This can range from using buyer lists or posting on digital platforms. Strategic research about other companies in the same industry will offer insight into the types of buyers you want to target; individual or expansion buyers who want to merge their businesses or acquire new ones.

    Essential to the marketing process is only sharing information as needed for each stage of the process to potential buyers. The process begins with a 100% confidential advertisement to pique interest. Then targeted advertising efforts and outreach targeted toward buyer databases. Once a potential buyer expresses interest and signs an NDA, you can share a limited package of summary financials. The timing of the release of certain details is a successful strategy to keep the buyer intrigued.

    Submit Your Paperwork

    The final stage of due diligence involves releasing the last of the financial information once an offer letter of intent has been accepted by both parties. This is when you release full details like property information, bank statements, payroll reports, employee lists, job descriptions, and a full inventory. The bank will also order tax transcripts from the IRS directly.

    Once you submit the paperwork and all parties sign off, you can celebrate the successful sale of your business and prepare for your next stage — whether it is a new challenge, retirement, or something else.
    Business advisors can walk you through every step of the selling process. They can help you determine the market value of your business, assist you in gathering your assets and financial documents, find a buyer, work with the professionals such as wealth managers, accountants, attorneys, lenders, inspectors, and appraisers, and finish the sale. After all, you want the best price with the best terms for your years of hard work and effort.

    Using an advisor and having all your paperwork in order can only help maximize the profit on your business sale.
    Editor’s note: Ashley Kelsey is a Business Broker at Transworld Business Advisors of Eastern North Carolina.

  • 10a A man, a plan and a van launched Gill Security on April 1, 1983. It was April Fool’s Day but there was nothing foolish about Dick Gill’s plan.

    Forty years later he oversees a company that protects thousands of families and businesses in the Cape Fear region.

    In a twist of fate, it was a burglary that inspired Gill to go into the security business. There was a break-in at his father’s real estate office and Gill installed a burglar alarm. He quickly realized there was a need for this service in his hometown.

    Gill had already established his reputation as a hard worker and had a passion for tinkering with electronics.
    Following his graduation from Terry Sanford High School in 1971, Dick received his associate degree in electronics from Robeson Tech. He put himself through school working in the shipping department at Sears.

    Once he obtained his degree, Sears moved him into television repair. After the break-in, he was inspired to get into the security business and started working nights and weekends at Maximum Security.

    Local Start, Regional Expansion

    His first official security system installations were for Ken Ritter’s Exxon Station, Bryan Pontiac’s new building on Raeford Road and Valley Motors. Ritter later founded Ken’s Muffler Shops and Gill's systems protected all of them. After working for other security companies Gill made the decision to launch Gill Security.

    Today Gill Security employs almost 40 people and protects some of the largest commercial businesses in the region including health care facilities, public utilities, correctional institutions, government entities, churches, day care centers, fast food chains and restaurants. The primary focus has always been on protecting what you can’t replace and keeping families, homes and businesses safe. 10b

    The Gill name is synonymous with customer service — whenever you call the office you always get a live person to talk to and the firm is proud of their 4.9 Google review rating. Gill Security has been blessed with loyal customers and many have trusted Gill for over three decades.

    JoAnn Bishop and her late husband Richard, were among Gill’s early customers. The Bishops chose Gill Security to protect their home after Bishop worked with Gill on installing a large security system for their church, Mt. Sinai Baptist.

    Mrs. Bishop has stayed with the company for almost 40 years because they are reliable, professional and offer a personal touch. She said she feels like she is calling a friend when she calls Gill Security.

    The life-safety company has expanded over the years, acquiring other companies, and extending their reach far beyond Cumberland County.
    In addition to doing business in all adjacent counties they have multiple accounts in Wake County and several coastal communities. Many local customers have entrusted Gill to protect their second homes at the beach.

    Family and Community Ties

    Protecting those in the community is not just about business for Gill.

    10cHe and his wife, Mary Adcox, have always been active in the community attending First Presbyterian Church and later Snyder Memorial Baptist. They have been heavily involved with the As One Prayer Walk, Youth for Christ, Fayetteville Academy and Cape Fear Valley Health Foundation.

    The Gills have two daughters and one granddaughter. Their oldest daughter, Melodi Borkowski, is a social worker at Pine Forest Middle School and her husband, Thomas, is Gill Security’s IT expert. Their granddaughter, Caroline, is a junior at Pine Forest High School.

    The Gill's youngest daughter, Mary Margaret Lovette, works for a digital marketing firm in Wilmington . Her husband, Ty, is a football coach for Topsail High School and they live in Porters Neck.

    In the past four decades, Gill and his team have witnessed many changes in the alarm and fire industry including technology that have allowed customers to interact with their home security systems on their smart phones. The company strives to keep pace with new technology. The installation of camera equipment and fire systems represents a large percentage of the company’s growth.
    Recently, the company installed one of the area’s first Bi-Directional Amplifier (BDA) Systems at Cape Fear Valley Hospital which allows emergency responders enhanced communication via public safety radios.

    Still Going Strong

    Dick Gill has no immediate plans to retire and still does installations and trouble shoots while acting as the company visionary.

    Day-to-day operations are managed by Eastover native Alan Buffaloe who joined the company in 2009 as the general manager.

    Together, Gill and Buffaloe have inspired the company’s six core values of (1) God first — team second— me last; (2) We honor an old fashion work ethic; (3) the customer is our priority; (4) Can do attitude; (5) Work and life balance and (6) Continuous improvement.

    That set of values has guided Gill and his team for forty years, and it seems to be working.

    For more information on Gill Security call 910-433-2868 or visit www.gillsecurity.com.

     

  • 5What would the Founding Fathers think if they were here today?

    In my opinion, it wouldn’t be self-driving cars or the internet that would surprise them the most. I think it would be the size of our government.

    The entire executive branch used to fit inside of the White House. Yet today, executive departments, independent agencies, and other boards and commissions fill hundreds of buildings with millions of bureaucrats constantly seeking to expand their power.

    Our government is meant to be responsive to the people. Our system of checks and balances was not set up to have un-elected bureaucrats making laws and rules that impact the everyday lives of you and your family.

    Earlier this month, President Joe Biden presented his budget to Congress. This reckless budget will grow the size of government even further and proposes trillions in new spending and higher taxes for you and families across the country. It will further increase our national debt and your cost of living — at a time when we suffer a $31 trillion debt and an inflation crisis.

    This radical budget spends $16.5 billion on the climate and $3 billion for gender equity, yet just $40 million to combat the fentanyl crisis that is killing thousands of Americans. It also contains a staggering $1.9 billion to fund the ATF — directly declaring war on your Second Amendment rights.

    I was proud to introduce a resolution last week to prevent the ATF from enforcing an unconstitutional pistol brace rule that targets law-abiding citizens and combat wounded veterans. As this bill is considered by the House, I will continue to support efforts to defend your constitutional rights, just as I continue my work to expand school safety and mental health.

    In the Energy and Commerce Committee last week, I had the opportunity to question the CEO of TikTok and express my concerns with the social media app. As a parent, I'm very concerned about the ways in which social media companies impact our children’s behaviors and mental health. While many might consider TikTok to be just another video-sharing app, in reality it’s likely it has been functioning as a massive Chinese Communist Party surveillance program — and it is all in the palm of your hand.

    As Fort Bragg’s Congressman, I have serious concerns about the opportunities TikTok gives the CCP to access non-public sensitive data from our military families.

    I asked the TikTok CEO if the company can access other devices on your home Wi-Fi to collect data. He could not give me a straight answer. It should concern every American that his answer wasn’t “No.” I look forward to further addressing the threat this app presents to our national security in order to create a strong national data privacy standard that will put you back in charge of your data.

    From reckless spending, to threatening your constitutional rights, to refusing to stand up to the Chinese Community Party, the Biden administration is a threat to the freedoms you hold so dear.

    As your Congressman, I never stop working to solve problems facing you and your family.

  • 9Carelon, the healthcare services subsidiary of Elevance Health, opened a new healthcare facility in Fayetteville April 5 with a ribbon cutting ceremony.

    The integrated healthcare center — the first of its kind for the company — will offer advanced primary care services, behavioral health services and non-clinical employee assistance program counseling under one roof.

    The Carelon care center is staffed by a multidisciplinary team of primary care and behavioral health clinicians.

    “Our first physical Carelon care center location offers a new choice for complete care for military, Medicare and Medicaid patients in and around the Fayetteville area,” said Pete Haytaian, Executive Vice President, Elevance Health and President, Carelon.

    “By offering both physical and behavioral health support in one location, we can provide easier and more comprehensive access to care that meets the unique needs of our patients,” Haytaian said.

    The center will accept scheduled appointments, same-day appointments and walk-ins for most primary care services. The center will also offer support for complex, chronic health conditions, wellness coaching and education, and clinical behavioral services, with both in-clinic and virtual options.

    Patients must have insurance plans with TRICARE, BlueCross BlueShield of North Carolina (Medicare), Healthy Blue (Medicaid patients 14 years old and up), or Original Medicare.

    The facility is located at 1590 Skibo Road and is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. To make an appointment, patients can call 910-717-0676 or visit www.carelon.com/health-clinics.

    Carelon, part of the Elevance Health family of brands, is a healthcare services organization that serves one in three people in the United States by offering connected capabilities that include research; an integrated, whole-health approach to care delivery; pharmacy; and digital platform and technology services.

    The Carelon companies support whole health by turning data into insights, insights into action, and action into personalized, innovative, and meaningful outcomes. By collaborating with clients and partners,

    Carelon provides a personalized, streamlined, end-to-end experience that connects each individual with the technology, data, and expertise needed to address and solve complex health challenges.

    For more information, please visit www.carelon.com or follow Carelon on LinkedIn.

  • 4For the first time in my 30-year history of being associated with Fayetteville/Cumberland County youth baseball,

    I was greatly disappointed that out of 17 combined city and county elected officials, no one representing this community’s residents felt it necessary enough to show up at the Kiwanis Recreation Center’s ballfields to participate and celebrate the excitement of Youth Baseball’s Opening Day.

    Hundreds of people gathered together last Saturday morning when the Fayetteville Kiwanis Club welcomed the “children of summer” onto the baseball field. Where were our Cumberland Commissioners, Fayetteville Mayor Mitch Colvin, and any member of the Fayetteville City Council?

    The most glaring absence was that of Councilman Johnny Dawkins since the ballpark and all that Opening Day excitement was taking place in his home District 5. Oops! Or, perhaps we should refer to this as his other home in District 5. His real home, where his wife resides, is in the Raleigh-Garner area, as recently reported by the news media. I doubt living part-time elsewhere would qualify as an “excused absence.”

    However, it does speak volumes to the adage “out of sight, out of mind.”
    Like many others elected, Dawkins likes to get out of Fayetteville as often as he can. A disturbing circumstance for someone elected to represent ALL the residents of Fayetteville full-time.

    But this editorial is not about Dawkins. This local newspaper believes that elected city and county officials are responsible for representing their constituents and promoting their community's interests.
    Elected officials cannot do this if they are constantly absent from major public events, meetings and local social gatherings.

    Our present elected officials constantly shield themselves from the public. And, rightfully so. Why? Accountability. They know all too well that by making themselves more visible and accessible to their constituents, they would be held accountable and responsible for their actions and decisions. And, since many of them are oblivious to what is happening in the community, they cannot intelligently explain their actions or behavior, which makes this matter even more egregious.

    We, as responsible citizens, want to get to know our elected officials. We want them to see our support, yet we intend to hold them accountable for their actions. But, there are other reasons they should make themselves accessible. They should want to build trust and relationships with residents. Getting out in public allows elected officials to connect with constituents personally, which builds confidence, trust and promotes transparency.

    Elected officials should want to raise awareness of important city and county issues and initiatives and engage the community by asking for their input.
    Effective elected officials demonstrate leadership by appearing at public events like Opening Days, Dogwood Festivals, Karen Chandler Concerts, and Chamber of Commerce events, etc., taking advantage of the opportunity to demonstrate and endorse their commitment to the community while taking an active and genuine role in representing Fayetteville/Cumberland County constituents to promote positive change and enhance the quality of life.

    In closing, I feel being out in public and promoting constituents' interests is their overall responsibility. Attending public events and mingling with the people is integral to an elected official’s role in serving the Fayetteville and Cumberland County community.

    They need to stop trying to communicate with us through ineffective websites, social media and Constant Contact email blasts. Nothing works better than transparency and face-to-face interaction.

    Thank you for reading Up & Coming Weekly.

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         Fayetteville’s annual celebration of spring is just around the corner. The dogwoods are getting ready to bloom and local residents, tired of cold winter days, are just itching to get outdoors and soak up some sun and enjoy one of the best weekends of the year — The Dogwood Festival.
         Celebrating its 27th year, the festival continues to grow and is on its way to becoming one of the largest events in the Southeast. More than 100 arts, crafts and food vendors will fill the streets around Festival Park while local and national headliners are set to grace the main stage throughout the weekend of April 24-26.
        {mosimage} The festival was founded in 1982 by former Fayetteville Mayor Bill Hurley, along with several other city leaders. Their goal was to improve the image of the city and to create a unified force for community events. Hurley dubbed the city the “City of Dogwoods,” and Fayetteville residents have been celebrating the bloom and the fun it brings since then.
        Over the years, the time and location of the festival have changed, but the intent hasn’t. It is designed to offer Fayetteville residents and visitors to the community a chance to celebrate Spring and their city.
         This year will be no exception, Carrie King, the director of the Dogwood Festival, thinks this year’s event is going to be the best ever. Those are some strong words, particularly if you attended last year’s event, but King has no worries.
    “The staff and board have worked hard all year long with the idea of making this the best festival ever,” she said. “We have grown the festival, we are offering more music, we have more vendors and we think people will agree with us.”
         Last year the festival was held for the most part in Festival Park and up and down Ray Avenue. This year, the street festival will move back on to Hay Street, as well. King said the sheer number of participants made keeping everything within the Festival Park footprint impossible. She also wanted to give the local merchants on Hay Street an opportunity to benefit from the traffic at the festival. She thinks the move will be a win/win situation for festival goers and local business owners.
         While you can stroll the streets to shop from the vendors, you can stay within the footprint to take in the music, exciting displays and the midway, all of which kicks-off on Friday night at the Bloom and Boom party.
         The Bloom and Boom event coincides with Fayetteville’s 4th Friday, but organizers believe having the events run together will bring more visitors to both venues. So, you may need to call in sick on Friday in order to rest up for the marathon of activities on Friday night, but make sure your boss isn’t coming to the event first!
         Before you head down to Festival Park for the party, you may want to stop off at the Harris Teeter parking lot to buy a plate, or two or three, of some of the best BBQ in the city at the Crime Stoppers annual BBQ plate sale. Plates are just $6, and all the money goes back into the community. If you decide to do that, make sure you eat the BBQ before you get to the festival because no outside food or coolers are allowed in Festival Park.
         Once you get downtown, take some time to check out all of the fabulous art venues offered throughout the historic city center. In particular you’ll want to hit the Arts Council of Fayetteville/Cumberland County and check out the annual exhibit of Public Works. You might just see something you made in third grade that you’re mother couldn’t help but enter.
         Then head on over to the midway to ride some of your favorite carnival rides, and as night falls, make sure you are in Festival Park to hear the rocking sounds of .38 Special. That’s one concert you’re not going to want to miss.
         The same can be said of the two concerts that follow on Saturday and Sunday. King said that the festival’s office phone has been ringing off the hook about the concert lineup for this year’s event. She said there are folks coming from as far away as Atlanta to take in the concerts. So be sure to get there in plenty of time to reserve your spot on the lawn. On Saturday, Collective Soul will take the stage. This is a group that King admits has her a little star struck.
         “I would love to be able to meet them,” she said. “I’ve been a big fan for a long time.”
         On Sunday, Ray J will take the stage for what King calls a “short set.”
         “Having three national music groups play this year has been a really big deal,” said King. “This is the only festival in the Southeast where these kinds of concerts are offered free to the public, and we’re excited that our community gets behind the festival and sponsors help us make that possible.”
         After the last notes are heard on Friday night, make sure to keep your eyes on the skies, as the Boom part of the party gets underway with a fireworks display. King said that this particular event is one of her favorites.
         “It’s one of the few times I actually sit back and take a moment to take it all in,” she said.
         On Saturday morning, if you’re an early bird you can enjoy the spectacle of hundreds of motorcycles and convertibles roaring down the city streets as the Hogs and Rags Spring Rally gets underway at the Airborne and Special Operations Museum.
         At noon, you can start shopping. If you are looking for arts and crafts, look no further. Visitors can expect to find virtually every kind of arts and crafts vendor possible. Vendors signed up to participate include pottery, paintings, jewelry, sculptures and much more. Once you’ve shopped ‘till you’ve dropped, be sure to follow your nose to the highlight of most festivals — the food court! You can expect to find some of your favorite foods on hand: gyros, funnel cakes, ice cream, ribbon fries and pineapple chicken will all be on the menu, as well as many of your other favorites.
         In addition to all the arts and crafts that adults love, the Partnership’s Kidstuff, presented by the Partnership for Children of Cumberland County, will feature a Two by Two Zoo, the Zoo with the Roo, and the Toddler Zone, which is an inflatable maze of castles and tunnels that the toddlers will love, face painting, interactive games.
         Sponsor booths will be located on the Festival Park promenade and will feature fun giveaways and much more.    With all of that in mind, you may want to take a deep breath and just plunge into the spirit of the event, and the best place to do that is at Festival Park. The Dogwood Festival will kickoff with the Bloom & Boom Kickoff Party on Friday, April 24, at 6 p.m. On Saturday, April 25, the street festival starts at noon and runs through 10 p.m., and on Sunday it begins at 1 p.m. and runs through 6 p.m.
         Anyone who has ever attended an event at the park knows that parking is at a premium, but don’t worry, a park and ride shuttle service will again be available. Free parking is available in city lots on Person Street and Hay Street, as well as other various downtown locations. Parking is also available in the Systel Parking Lot on Green Street for a $5 fee.
         Free off-site shuttle service will be available at the Fayetteville Parks and Recreation Center on Lamon Street. The shuttle service will run approximately every 15 minutes to transport passengers to the festival footprint.
         Disabled parking will be designated in the Bank of America parking lot at the corner of Ray Avenue and Mason Street and the Hay Street United Methodist Church parking lot. Availability is on a first come, first served basis.   Organizers remind people that animals and coolers are not allowed. Service animals are permitted.
         There’s a whole host of events occurring in conjunction with the festival, and you don’t want to miss even one of them. For complete information and a schedule of events, read on.

  • 8School choice would continue its growth trajectory in North Carolina under a budget passed by the House April 6 in a bipartisan vote of 78 to 38.

    Nine Democrats joined Republicans in supporting the spending plan for the new biennium, which expands school choice by growing private-school choice programs and charter schools.
    The budget makes three changes to the Opportunity Scholarship Program, a means-tested scholarship designed to allow low- and moderate-income families to attend the private school of their choice.

    First, it would eliminate the requirement that students in grades third through eighth attend public school for at least a year prior to receiving the scholarship. Under the current structure, the requirement is only waived for students in kindergarten, first grade, and second grade.

    Second, beginning with the 2024-2025 fiscal year, the budget allocates an additional $392 million to the program’s reserve fund over a seven year period. Third, the budget removes a requirement that private schools participating in Opportunity Scholarships submit student test data to the state government each year.

    “We applaud leadership in the North Carolina House of Representatives for passing a budget that seeks to expand parental school choice,” said Mike Long, president of Parents for Educational Freedom in North Carolina. “While we believe more can be done to fund students over systems, we are hopeful that through the budget process, we will see a state budget that expands access to educational options like North Carolina’s Opportunity Scholarship Program and funding equity for our state’s public charter schools.”

    Gov. Roy Cooper had proposed a budget that would eventually phase out Opportunity Scholarships. On April 5, Rep. Lindsey Prather, D-Buncombe, offered an amendment to the budget on the House floor that would have halted increases in funding for the program and restored the reporting requirement for test data.

    “The state has a constitutional obligation to ensure every student has access to a sound basic education. Unfortunately, the Opportunity Scholarship Program provides public funding to unaccountable non-public institutions for the education of our students,” said Prather.

    The amendment failed 69-44, with two Democrats — Reps. Cecil Brockman, D-Guilford, and Garland Pierce, D-Scotland — joining Republicans in voting it down.

    The budget also removes the State Board of Education’s oversight to authorize or shutter charter schools, shifting this responsibility to the Charter Schools Advisory Board.

    Republican lawmakers have proposed two measures — House Bill 406 and House Bill 420 — that would expand school choice to an even greater degree. H.B. 406 would grow eligibility for Opportunity Scholarships to even higher earning households, while H.B. 420 would phase out Opportunity Scholarships and ultimately replace them with Education Savings Accounts, available to parents regardless of income level.

    The Senate is likely to releases its budget in May.

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         For the past 10 years Mona Powell has been reaching out to the women of Fayetteville, both as a mentor and as an example. She started her own business in 1996, and has been an advocate of professional women ever since. In that time, her premier educational and outreach effort, the W.O.M.E.N.’s Expo, has become not only a resource for, about and by women, but it has also become an event that is about the community. On Friday, May 8 from 10 a.m. - 8 p.m. and Saturday, May 9 from 10 a.m. - 1 p.m. at Cross Creek Mall.
        {mosimage} It is an obvious boon for the vendors, because this expo does more than provide a space in which to sell merchandise.
         “The reason we have the expo is so that women in business can gain exposure. We come together every year to pool their marketing money,” said Powell. “Most shows they just set up their space, they pay their fee, they go out and they sell and they go away. We don’t do that. With us we guide them every step of the way. We show them how to vend, how to deal with their customers and how to sell.”
         A traditional Mother’s Day weekend endeavor, the expo has fun and exciting activities planned with moms and daughters in mind.
         “Because we do the grand tribute to mom we get a lot of moms coming out with their daughters in tow,” said Powell. “just to come out and spend a fun weekend with their daughters.”
         This year is no exception, in fact, there is a new twist this year for the folks that come out and participate.
    Powell is really excited about her special guest who is coming to join Fayetteville in its 10th year of celebrating girl power. HGTV’s design star Kim Myles is going to be on stage Saturday afternoon. She will spend an hour talking about design looks for less, followed by a question and answer session. Submit your design dilemma to the Color Me Angel web site www.colormeangel.com. Questions will be chosen ahead of time and presented to Myles at the seminar. While you are online, register to win a $1,000 home office makeover. Along with the cash, the winner will receive a consultation with Myles, so send in your pics, the deadline to register is May 1.
         The treasured favorites are still on the agenda. There will be a mother/daughter team scavenger hunt. The winner gets a prize package valued at $200. The list will be available online at www.colormeangel.com at 2:30 p.m. on Thursday. Meet back at the finish line Saturday at 3 p.m. with the assigned items to see who the wins. Got talent? The mother/daughter talent show is Friday at 5 p.m. near the food court. Saturday has a fashion show at noon with the theme — Great Style on a Budget! The silent auction begins at 1 p.m. and the mother daughter look alike contest starts at 2 p.m. Go to the Web site to register. There is a $200 prize package for the winning team. There will be 71 vendors at Cross Creek Mall ready to wow you with their products and ideas.
         Don’t forget, 10 a.m. on Friday......see you there.

     

         UCW: In our community a big part of this expo is about women taking chances, following their dreams and striving to be successful. Do you have any words of wisdom for these ladies putting themselves out there and basically stepping out on faith?
         KM: Definitely, I have a couple of things to say about that. I think the most important thing is really believing in yourself. Sometimes that is hard to do. You are going to come up against road blocks, you are going to come up against haters, doubters, things that you don’t expect to come up that might be stumbling blocks for you. It is really important in all of those moments to find your center, focus and be your own best cheerleader. If the world is telling you ‘No you can’t’ you’ve got to be the one to say ‘Yes I can.” Perseverance is 90 percent of the battle. There is always talk about talent and drive and opportunity, and yes all of those things are important, but the most important thing is showing up over and over and over again. Never giving up is really one of the keys. If you do that then what you have to offer the world has a chance to shine because you are always stepping up to the plate to put it out there. That can be hard. It can be draining. Its got its ups and downs, but there is no feeling like even the smallest success, and you string a few of those moments together and pretty soon you look up and it’s like “Wow, look where I am!”
         UCW: On your path to success was there a woman in your life who really inspired you?
         KM: I have a few. I am a woman who loves women. I have a very strong relationship with my sister and my girlfriends, my grandmother. I enjoy the company of women and I think sisterhood is really, really important. I was lucky to have a few influences in my life. My grandmother and my mother both had the patience and willingness to nurture my artistic side. My grandmother is a seamstress, my mother is an artist. They handed down that DNA and really nurtured it. Also Oprah: huge inspiration. What I really connected to with her is that she always wore her heart on her sleeve and she continues to. I liked her brand of fearlessness because it didn’t feel aggressive it just felt very authentic — like her. And then I am always inspired by Coco Chanel. What I love about Coco’s story is that she is a self made woman. She was orphaned, she was left to her own devices and she really had to depend on her own inner compass and her own sense of self. She is a testament to what can happen when you never lose faith no matter what life throws at you. I am inspired by strong women, smart women, women who go for it, whatever that is.
         UCW: Things are pretty tight all over financially. I was curious what is your favorite low cost design tip? If someone says to you I’ve got $50 and a long weekend, what do you tell them?
         KM: I always fall back on two things. One and it’s a broken record; but there is a reason: paint. It always works. If you have a weekend and you have friends paint is an instant high impact thing that costs about $40. You can make a huge difference for your home, but also what I love about paint is color therapy. You can make a huge difference in how you feel in your home. Paint is always my number one tool, it is not the sexiest, but it is fool proof. The other thing I love is window treatments. I see it all the time on my show where people are totally missing an opportunity. Would you go to a black tie event where you’ve got the gown and you’ve got the shoes without a stitch of jewelry and no bag? It just completes the look. For so many, windows are an after thought. I feel like if you have a window the simplest thing to do — again for under $50 – is buy two new panels…..and I feel like no matter where the window is on the wall you never see me hanging lower than the ceiling. I always hang at the ceiling and the curtains always go to the floor. That is adding grandeur and luxury and it is acting as a beautiful frame it is not just an afterthought. It gives the room a finished look. It is a small price to pay for something that has huge impact.
         UCW: Is being a design star everything you thought it would be – is it as fun as it looks?
         KM: It is as fun as it looks girl! It is so much fun I can’t even tell you. It has been a year and a half since I won. The time has flown. It is everything I dreamed it would be and more. It has come with challenges of course. But I just feel so blessed I get to do what I love every day of my life. That is what I am hoping to say at this expo is that not a lot people get to do what they love and I want to say that we all have the option if we choose to pursue it. We all have that little voice and it is all about finding that and getting quiet enough to hear it and then just honoring it.
         UCW: What do you to do recharge and relax?
         KM: I am on hiatus right now which is really fun. It is how I am able to come to the expo. My schedule improved immensely this third season. The first two it was crazy and hectic — 80 hour weeks…really insane and very intense. I didn’t see my friends, I didn’t see my family. I barely saw my husband. That is not a complaint, that is just part of getting your dream. I feel like it was worth it. I had a lot to learn and it was really important to be dedicated to that. I feel like it was an investment. Now I am like ‘Okay, I know what the show is. I know how this life works.’ I have more time to hang out with my friends, have dinner with my husband and go to my exercise class. I have a life again which feels really good and important.
         UCW: On your show this season, what can we look forward to?
         KM: I feel so proud of this season. I feel like this season I am firing on all cylinders. I have a fabulous team that I am working with and talented people. I have all the right support. It just is a lot of fun — a lot of fun. I think what you are going to see is more documentary style so there is a lot more behind the scenes like real conversations with me or conversations with the homeowners. It is much more really and you still get the great make-overs and you still get the great projects except it is a lot more fun. You get to see the camera men in the background; you kind of get to be a fly on the wall which I think is really cool for the viewers. The makeovers are eye popping and beautiful. I just feel so proud. It is a lot of fun this season. We have a new day; we are on Friday nights at 8:30 p.m.
         UCW: What is something you wish people knew about you?
         KM: No one has ever asked me that let me think….Maybe they know it and maybe they don’t but I would love for people to know just how much joy I am taking in getting to have this job. I am getting to live the fantasy but I really feel like the heart of it for me is that I get invited into people’s homes. That is a big deal. They trust me enough to say “Hey Kim, come into my house. I am going to open my house to you and these 30 people. Take over the house”…It is huge. They are so gracious and so willing to trust me. I am always so overjoyed and honored that people feel like they can trust me enough to let me help them that way. That is not a skill that I have myself. It is such a gift that I am given each time I am invited in. I hope that is part of what makes it so fun to watch.
         UCW: Do you miss being a hair dresser?
         KM: I do! I do! I do! One of the reasons I think I feel really blessed in my life…I have had a couple of moments — light bulb moments — where I had an epiphany of what I want to be when I grow up and one of these moments was when I became a hairdresser. I had been doing my aunties hair and anyone who would sit still my whole life. I cut my dad’s hair starting when I was 12, but I didn’t get my license until I was almost in my 30s. I loved being a hair dresser; it is the same thing I love about my job now. I love having people trust me to listen to them and hear them and to guide them into their best selves. I used to donate two of my haircuts a week when I was working in New York to locks of love and you meet all kinds of people, people who would not have been able to afford me any other way. Yeah, I miss it, I do. It was a good job. It was something I loved and now this is one of my loves. That is why I think this expo is important. No matter how big or how small or trivial that dream may seem, if you go for it you will probably get it .It is always there for you if you choose to pursue it.
     

  • Hand Guns Since 2019, the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office has denied more than 6,000 requests for permits to purchase handguns. Action by the state legislature last week has put an end to that permit process.

    The legislature overturned a veto by Gov. Roy Cooper of S.B. 41, which repeals the requirement that anyone buying a pistol get a permit from a county sheriff.

    Sheriff Ennis Wright said in a statement last week that people who want to purchase a pistol in Cumberland County are, effective March 29, no longer required to get a permit from the sheriff.

    Since the beginning of 2019 and through March 29, 6,006 pistol permits were denied by the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office, according to data provided by that office. The number of denials each year is as follows: 974 in 2019; 1,942 in 2020; 1,494 in 2021; 1,303 in 2022; 293 in 2023.

    Even with passage of the new state law, a permit will still be required for concealed-carry weapons.
    Under the now repealed system, North Carolina sheriffs were able to evaluate the mental health and domestic violence history of someone seeking a pistol permit. The federal background system through the National Instant Criminal System, or NCIS, is still in place, but Wright said in an emailed statement to CityView that he does not believe that system is adequate.

    “I wasn’t for repealing the pistol purchase permit applications. I am concerned that the (NCIS) background check process is not as complete as safety would require and is not as thorough as the background investigation that the Sheriff’s Office conducted for pistol purchase permits,” Wright said.

    Wright emphasized that other federal and state laws regulating firearms are still in place.

    “Citizens must know that anyone obtaining or transferring any gun must comply with federal and state laws,” he said.

    The overturn of Cooper’s veto of S.B. 41 fell along party lines with all Republicans voting to overturn it and all Democrats voting to sustain the veto. Republicans in the General Assembly have a supermajority in both the House and Senate, allowing the legislative body to overturn any veto by the governor if no Republicans buck the party.

    Democratic lawmakers are concerned that the repeal will make it easier for violent individuals to access a firearm.

    “As an educator and former magistrate, I am concerned about gun violence and the state of mental health across our country. As a result, I voted to uphold Gov. Cooper’s veto,” said Rep. Frances Jackson, a Democrat from Cumberland County.

    Democratic representatives are also concerned about people with a history of domestic violence having easier access to firearms.

    Of the 44 homicides in Fayetteville in 2022, nine were attributed to domestic violence as a possible motive, the most of any other classification, CityView has reported.

    “Eliminating strong background checks will allow more domestic abusers and other dangerous people to own handguns and reduces law enforcement’s ability to stop them from committing violent crimes,” Cooper said in a statement when announcing his veto.

    Democratic Rep. Charles Smith of Cumberland County echoed the governor in an interview with CityView.

    “I just don’t think that we should be loosening or repealing what I would consider a common-sense gun regulation that keeps guns out of the hands of potentially dangerous individuals,” Smith said.

    Republican Rep. Diane Wheatley of Cumberland County said in an emailed statement that the sheriff permitting system is redundant.

    “This repeal does not stop any federal or state background check when purchasing a gun,” Wheatley said. “Instead, it will only save local sheriff’s offices from having to run redundant background checks on law-abiding citizens wishing to purchase a gun.”

    Wright, who opposes the repeal, said that private sales of guns don’t require sellers to utilize background checks, making a purchase easier for those not legally permitted to possess a firearm.

    Other members of the Cumberland County state delegation could not be reached for comment.

    Tim Moore, the Republican speaker of the House, said in a press release that the permit system infringed on Second Amendment rights.

    “This legislation preserves the Second Amendment rights of North Carolinians by repealing the outdated pistol permit system,” Moore said.

    “These have been long-standing goals of Second Amendment advocates in our state, and we have finally brought this legislation over the finish line,” the speaker continued.

    The passage of the bill, which also allows individuals to carry guns into churches attached to schools, comes after a shooter entered a private Christian elementary school last week in Nashville, Tennessee, and killed six people, including three children.

    In Cooper’s news release, the governor cited a report by the 2023 North Carolina Child Fatality Task Force that found gun deaths of children across the state increased by more than 230% between 2012 and 2021.

  • nc flag The news of Rep. Tricia Cotham, Mecklenburg County, changing her party affiliation from Democrat to Republican has sent shockwaves throughout the North Carolina politics, even making national headlines.

    The move now gives Republicans a veto-proof supermajority in the General Assembly. The proverbial question is, how does it affect the state Democrat Party moving forward, including Gov. Roy Cooper?

    “As a former Democrat, I understand her feelings about being thrown under the bus, and I think this sends an important signal to the statewide Democratic Party that if they want to be a big tent party, they have to make room for moderate centrist Democrats to have a place,” political consultant Brad Crone, president of Campaign Connections, told Carolina Journal in a Wednesday phone interview.

    He said he has followed her career since she began serving in the State House and believes her when she says she is a public servant. Cotham first served in the House from 2007-2017.

    At a press conference Wednesday morning at NCGOP headquarters, Cotham said she felt unwelcome in the Democrat Party from the time she ran in the 2022 Primary. The attacks on her and her family, including her two young sons, only increased on Twitter and in person, prompting her change of political affiliation.

    “There's no place for that in our political system or in political speech there's just no place for it at all,” said Crone. “I have seen it personally and understand it, and we have got to be respectful of people who may not agree with us in our political discourse. I thought (U.S. Sen. Dan) Bishop, whom I do not agree with probably on 80% of the issues, but I respect, I thought his comments were most appropriate.”

    Bishop spoke at Cotham’s press conference.

    House Minority Leader Robert Reives and others had begun their take on her and others on March 29 after she, along with Reps. Michael Wray, D-Northampton, and Cecil Brockman, D-Guilford, had missed voting on overriding Gov. Cooper’s veto on S.B. 41. Reives said in a press release “Elections have consequences” and said the only avenue to change would be through the primary and general elections of 2024. Reives and others called for her resignation after her announcement.

    NCDP Party Chair Anderson Clayton called for Cotham’s resignation at a press conference Wednesday afternoon.

    “This is about honesty and accountability to the people who elected her and serve in their best interests,” Clayton said. “I'm from a place where honesty means something, where folks are going to take you at your word. Your word ain’t good for a hill of beans if you’re not going to stick to it.”

    Clayton, a 25-year-old progressive, was elected in February to lead the state party over establishment candidates. Cooper and Attorney General Josh Stein both endorsed former Democratic Party Chair Bobbie Richardson, but party leaders elected Clayton instead. In the press conference, speakers questioned Cotham’s loyalty and policy positions, particularly on abortion access.

    “It is now our fervent hope that her vote on this issue, and so many other issues important to women across this state is not up for political grab,” said Elizabeth Goodwin, President of the Democratic Women of North Carolina."We ask of Rep. Cotham that she let the same values that voters believed she possessed when they elected her, guide her future votes even if she no longer sticks to the same party.”

    “The question of course remains will her voting patterns change along with her party affiliation?” said Chris Cooper, professor of political science & public affairs at Western Carolina University, in a phone interview with CJ Wednesday.

    “Abortion is an obvious example,” he said. “She's been at the forefront of it because she made it clear that she was Pro-Choice in the past. Will she agree for some restrictions? Will she follow along with the Republican Party more often? I think these are the questions we all want to know the answer to.”
    Regarding Gov. Cooper’s veto power, Cooper says “It has no teeth,” making him a lame duck in most instances.

    Cooper said there’s also the question of her political future and if a Republican primary electorate will want to support a candidate who has been so vocally Pro-Choice and vocal on other issues that run counter to the mainstream of the Republican Party.

    So, what do Cotham’s chances to win re-election look like in the future now that she has changed parties?

    “Cotham would have difficulty winning as a Republican in her current district,” said Dr. Andy Jackson, director of the Civitas Center for Public Integrity at the John Locke Foundation. “Locke's Civitas Partisan Index rates it (House District 112) as safely Democratic (D+12). However, if the North Carolina Supreme Court rules in favor of the General Assembly in Harper v. Hall, she might find herself in an R+1 tossup district.”

    Jackson said in either case, she could expect a lot of money to be thrown against her re-election bid.
    “The Democrats say, well, we'll beat her,” said Crone. “They are so ill-informed that they don't realize there will be new maps, and with (Rep, John R.) Bradford leaving that's going to give him some flexibility, so she could very well end up with a very nice district that will probably be competitive or lean a little R and give her an advantage, and she if she elects to run again, can stay in the General Assembly.”

    Bradford said he is considering running for state treasurer now that State Treasurer Dale Folwell is running for the Republican nomination for governor.

    Another Raleigh political insider told CJ, on the condition of anonymity, that centrist voters of any race really do not have a place in today’s North Carolina Democratic Party, adding that (former Governor)

    “Jim Hunt Democrats” no longer exist in the state.

    Crone says the Democratic Party has to do a lot of self-inspection as to whether or not they want to have moderate centrist voters with voices and leadership roles in the party.

    “Otherwise, you will not be able to build a coalition to govern in the governor's position or ever think about taking back the legislature,” he said. “You cannot disenfranchise center-of-the-road, middle-of-the-road voters and expect to build the governing coalition. They have to decide if they want to be competitive in the legislature and competitive in statewide races by drawing middle-of-the-road centrist voters back to supporting Democrats.”

    Party switching may not end with Cotham. Chris Cooper said there might be a couple of other Democrats who are considering a similar move, and it is something to keep an eye on moving forward.

    “Party switching does happen, usually not with such critical short-term implications for public policy,” he said.

  • 16aEvery year in April for the last 13 years, Fayetteville and surrounding areas have been festooned with bright blue pinwheels in honor of Child Abuse Prevention Month.
    The pinwheels represent “the bright future every child deserves to have,” Faith Boehmer, Prevention and Volunteer Coordinator for the Child Advocacy Center of Fayetteville, explained. As they spin and flash, the pinwheels remind all who see them that not every child grows up in a secure, stable or nurturing environment.
    According to the American Society for the Positive Care of Children, over 4 million child maltreatment reports were made in 2021 involving over 7.2 million children. Of that number, only 2.9 children received prevention and post-response services.

    Though the numbers are smaller, they are no less startling when viewed a bit closer to home.

    “In 2021-2022, we had 808 [child abuse] referrals,” Boehmer shared. “Of that, 569 cases were followed by forensic interviews. Though our cases have doubled over the past 14 years, so have our efforts to educate the community.”

    To bring awareness to the very real issue of child abuse and neglect in Cumberland County, the CAC has launched a month-long campaign to inform the community about resources, support and prevention.

    As April gets underway, concerned community members can show their support in a number of ways. Community Pinwheel Kits containing 25 pinwheels and a yard sign are available on the CAC website for $50. Pinwheel vases, pins, jewelry and decals are also available for sale. All purchases must be made through the CAC website and picked up from the office during regular office hours. A portion of all sales supports the CAC and its continued effort to be “a voice for the children.”

    There are seven scheduled pinwheel plantings around Cumberland County throughout April to increase the visibility of this ongoing crisis. Cumberland County Schools, Fayetteville State University, FTCC, the Town of Spring Lake, Methodist University, and the Town of Hope Mills will each hold a ceremony to plant 400 pinwheels in high-traffic areas to show their support for abused and neglected children.

    Fayetteville is also encouraged to #ShopBlueDowntown for child abuse awareness in April. Twenty downtown merchants are raising awareness and funds on behalf of the CAC by offering special blue-colored items at a discount on select days throughout the month. A full list of participating merchants can be found on the CAC website, https://www.cacfaync.org/.

    On Thursday, April 20, Cumberland County and Fort Bragg community partners will host their Annual Child Abuse Summit from 8 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. at the John D. Fuller Sr. Recreational/Athletic Complex on Old Bunce Road in Fayetteville. This year’s summit will cover topics such as the dangers of sexting, human trafficking, the WORTH Court, the integration of clinical hypnosis and child abuse, and other areas of concern.

    Filmmaker and child sexual abuse survivor, Sasha Neulinger, will be featured on the panel’s list of speakers to screen and discuss his documentary “Rewind” about the traumatic abuse he suffered at the hands of a family member.

    The free summit is designed with professionals who work with at-risk children.
    For more information and a full list of activities, speakers and programs, visit https://www.cacfaync.org/.

  • 9bOver the next few months, a number of streets will be redesignated as part of the Fort Bragg redesignation to Fort Liberty.

    In total, nine streets will be named to commemorate and recognize the selfless services of U.S. Army Soldiers who share a special connection to the installation, according to a media release from Fort Bragg.
    The “redesignation of the streets, and the name Liberty honors the heroism, sacrifices, and values of the soldiers, service members, civilians and families who live on and serve alongside this installation,” the release stated.

    “We view this as the next chapter in the post’s history and look forward to honoring the stories of the military heroes of every generation and walk of life.”

    The streets that will be redesignated are Bragg Boulevard, Reilly Road, Randolph Street, Armistead Street, Alexander Street, Pelham Street, Jackson Street, Donelson Street and Mosby Street.

    Bragg Boulevard will change to Liberty Boulevard. The well-known street, Bragg Boulevard, that will change to Liberty Boulevard will only pertain to the portion of the road that runs through the installation. Bragg Boulevard is Highway 87 and only the portion on the installation will be redesignated.

    Reilly Road will change to Rock Merritt Avenue. Kenneth “Rock” Merritt was a WWII and Vietnam veteran who jumped into Normandy on D-Day June 6, 1944. He earned a Silver Star for disabling a German machine gun nest at Hill 131 near La Cuiroterie. Merritt went on to serve during Operation Market Garden and the Battle of the Bulge. He was also Command Sergeant Major of the XVIII Airborne Corps, twice.

    Randolph Street will change to R. Miller Street. Staff Sgt. Robert J. Miller received the Medal of Honor, posthumous, for actions conducted in Afghanistan in January 2008 while serving with 3rd Special Forces Group. Miller’s extraordinary valor during that battle in which he was mortally wounded ultimately saved the lives of seven members of his own team and 15 Afghanistan National Army soldiers.

    Armistead Street will change to Stiner Road. Gen. Carl Stiner was the former commanding general of USASOC, JSOC, XVIII Abn. Corps, and the 82nd Airborne Division. With his extensive background in special operations, he was heavily involved in the capture of the terrorists in the Achille Lauro hijacking, the Panama invasion and the capture of Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega, and all special operations activities during Operation Desert Storm.9a

    Alexander Street will change to Gandara Street. Pvt. Joe Gandara received the Medal of Honor, posthumously, for actions conducted on June 9, 1944 in Amfreville, France. While serving with Company D, 2nd Battalion, 507th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Abn. Div., Gandara’s detachment came under devastating enemy fire from a strong German force that pinned the men on ground for a period of four hours. He advanced alone firing his machine gun from his hip destroying three hostile machine guns before he was fatally wounded.

    Pelham Street will change to Conde-Falcon Road. Staff Sgt. Felix M. Conde-Falcon received the Medal of Honor, posthumously, for actions conducted in 1969 while serving as an acting platoon leader in an operation near Ap Tan Hoa, Vietnam. While serving with Company D, 1st Battalion, 505th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 82nd Abn. Div., Conde-Falcon moved ahead of his platoon heaving grenades towards a first bunker. Without hesitating, he proceeded to take out two additional bunkers in the same manner. Rejoined with his platoon, they came under heavy enemy fire. He single-handedly assaulted the nearest fortification carrying a machine gun killing the enemy before running out of ammunition. He retrieved an M-16 rifle and concentrated on the next bunker — within 10 meters of his goal, he was shot by an unseen assailant and soon died of his wounds.

    9cJackson Street will change to Merriweather Road. Staff Sgt. Daniel Merriweather was killed in action on Jan. 13, 2010, during Operation Enduring Freedom while serving with the 503rd Military Police Battalion, 16th Military Police Brigade (Airborne) at Fort Bragg. Merriweather’s vehicle was attacked by enemy forces with an improvised explosive device. He is survived by his wife, Rachelle, and his two sons.

    Donelson Street will change to Benavidez Street. Master Sergeant Roy P. Benavidez served with the XVIII Abn. Corps and 82nd Abn. Div. and earned a Medal of Honor for actions conducted in 1968 while serving as a staff sergeant in Vietnam with 5th Special Forces Group. Benavidez voluntarily joined his comrades, who were in critical straits, to expose himself constantly to withering enemy fire. He refused to be stopped despite numerous severe wounds, and ultimately saved the lives of at least eight men.

     Mosby Street will change to Shachnow Lane. Maj. Gen. Sidney Shachnow survived imprisonment, the Nazi Holocaust, and the Second World War to become one of the most influential Army Special Forces officers of the post-Vietnam era. He is a Distinguished Member of the Special Forces Regiment as well as both the Psychological Operations and Civil Affairs Corps Halls of Fame. He served as the Honorary Colonel of the Special Forces Regiment from 2008 to 2011 and was the only General in the U.S. Army to have survived the Holocaust.

    The street names selected were based off input from units on the installation. The new names honor the heroism, sacrifices and values of those who have a unique connection to Fort Bragg.
    According to Fort Bragg officials, all streets will have new signs in place over the next few months and no later than Dec. 31.

  • 6bThe City of Fayetteville encourages residents to participate in Fayetteville Beautiful to reduce the amount of litter and other pollutants on city streets and in stormwater systems.

    Fayetteville Beautiful is scheduled for Saturday, May 6 from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Volunteers should meet at the open lot at 447 Murchison Road. Litter bags, gloves, water and snacks will be provided to volunteers.
    Registration, an interactive map, rules and photos from past events can be found on the Fayetteville Beautiful webpage at https://www.fayettevillenc.gov/city-services/parks-and-recreation/fayetteville-beautiful.

    The city-sponsored program is dedicated to encouraging others to take greater responsibility for improving their environment through litter abatement, waste reduction and beautification programs.

    Fayetteville Beautiful aligns with the city’s “Put Waste in its Place” campaign that reminds residents and visitors of their role in ensuring Fayetteville remains a desirable place to live, work and recreate. Here are a few ways residents can help with putting waste in its place: Use reusable containers; recycle bottles, cans, paper, plastics; adopt a street/site and keep it clean; provide adequate trash and recycling containers, place conspicuously and empty often.

    Fayetteville Beautiful happens twice per year, in the spring and fall. Volunteers collected 1.3 tons of litter at the Spring 2022 event.

  • 16Nyielah NickNyielah Nick

    Seventy-First • Basketball • Junior

    Nick has a 3.9 grade point average. In addition to playing basketball for the Falcons, she participates in Find-A-Friend with Fayetteville Urban Ministry and the Student 2 Student organization, which welcomes incoming military students to their new school.

     

    17Trenton Finley copyTrenton Finley

    Jack Britt • Soccer, lacrosse • Senior

    Finley has a weighted grade point average of 4.36. During soccer season, he recorded three assists for the Buccaneer soccer team.

  • 6aThe U.S. Army Airborne & Special Operations Museum will again host the Field of Honor from Sept. 11 to Nov. 12. All flags will proudly be displayed on the Museum’s Parade Field.

    The 2023 Field of Honor is brought to the public by the Cool Spring Downtown District and the Airborne and Special Operations Museum Foundation.

    Each flag comes with its own story and displays a tag identifying both the flag sponsor and honoree.

    This living display of heroism flies as a patriotic tribute to the strength and unity of Americans, and honors all who are currently serving, those that have served, and the men and women who have made the ultimate sacrifice for our nation’s security and freedom.

    Flags are now available for purchase. Sales will close on Aug. 1. This year, a limited number of flags are available around the Iron Mike Circle for a special price.

    To purchase a flag, visit: https://shop.asomf.org/field-of-honor/.

  • 15Tiffany DampierWhen transfer student Tiffany Dampier first came out for track at Seventy-First High School, coach Jay Jackson wanted to make her into a runner.

    “Just looking at her, she looked like a runner,’’ said Jackson, a 2001 Seventy- First graduate. “I didn’t know she did field events.’’ He soon learned she did them exceptionally well.

    Dampier, a sophomore who came to Seventy-First from El Paso, Texas, was the only winner of two individual events, male or female, in the 20th annual William Carver Invitational Track Meet held recently at Reid Ross Classical High School’s John Daskal Stadium.

    Dampier, who has been competing in the shot put and the discus since she was in eighth grade, won the shot with a throw of 35 feet, 1.5 inches, a personal best. 

    Her winning throw in the discus was 113-2.5.

    Jackson said his strength in coaching track and field is in the running events, so with the field events like shot and discus, he tries to focus on making sure his athletes have the right form and that they have fun.

    “She needs to have fun,’’ Jackson said. “She’s real hard on herself. Once she started having fun, she started increasing her throws every week.’’

    Dampier said a coach in El Paso first introduced her to both the shot and the discus. She finds the shot more of a relaxing event, although adding it requires her to focus.

    Dampier thinks she can have fun and be serious about the sport at the same time. “My seriousness comes from my dedication and leadership in the sport,’’ she said. “Not only can we have fun, we can put in the work too.’’

    Her favorite event is the discus, which she describes as being more free-flowing. She feels there’s more pressure in the shot because you throw it a shorter distance and there’s more weight involved.

    She doesn’t think athletes who compete in shot and discus can be placed in any particular body type. “Not all throwers have a particular size or appearance,’’ she said. “I’ve been with girls who were taller and skinnier. I don’t take it personally.’’

    Jackson said Dampier’s performance in the shot at the Carver meet was a surprise because it was her personal best. He thinks she has a shot to be competitive at the state and regional levels in both events, but he feels her best chance of winning will be in the discus.

    “If she has fun, she’s going to win,’’ he said.

    Dampier thinks she’s got a fair chance, but she’s not trying to get her expectations up too high. “There are different divisions and competition I haven’t seen,’’ she said. “I’m going to keep pushing myself and continue to enjoy the sport.’’

    Photo: Tiffany Dampier

  • CAC April is Child Abuse Prevention Month, and to raise awareness, gardens of bright blue pinwheels are being "planted" in various locations across Cumberland County. The pinwheel represents a happy, safe and carefree childhood that every child deserves. More than a million pinwheels have been displayed nationwide since the campaign started in April 2008, adopted by Prevent Child Abuse America.

     The Child Advocacy Center is leading the campaign locally, coordinating with schools, organizations, businesses and agencies to sponsor the "gardens." This is the 13th year that the CAC has coordinated the campaign in Cumberland County, and each year, the numbers have grown.

     Pinwheels for Prevention started as a grassroots campaign from Prevent Child Abuse America. The blue pinwheels serve as a reminder of the bright and happy future that every child deserves. The purpose of planting the pinwheels is to raise awareness and change the public's belief and behavior about child abuse and neglect.

     The CAC is partnering with seven other places within the community for pinwheel garden planting ceremonies. Join them during your lunch break at any of the following locations:

    • Town of Hope Mills, March 30 at noon
    • Festival Park, March 31 at 12:30 p.m.
    • Fayetteville Technical Community College, April 3 at noon
    • Methodist University, April 4 at noon
    • Cumberland County Schools, Central Services, April 4 at 2 p.m.
    • Town of Spring Lake, April 5 at noon
    • Fayetteville State University, April 6 at noon

     The CAC is also decorating several black flowerpots downtown with pinwheels and signs about April being Child Abuse Prevention Month.

     Downtown Fayetteville merchants are coming together to help the CAC spread awareness about Child Abuse Prevention Month this April. Visitors can #ShopBlueDowntown on select days in April and help 20 businesses raise awareness and funds for the CAC in various ways.

     The CAC is hosting 'Monday with a Book' each week of April. Parents and children can visit their website or social media outlets on Facebook or Instagram to listen to the body safety books.

     Pinwheel garden kits and more pinwheel gear are still available at www.cacfaync.org.

     "We hope that during the month of April, you will find ways to celebrate the children in your life," said a representative from the CAC. "As you see, the pinwheels spinning in the sun this April, be reminded that the pinwheels represent the bright future for our children and our community. We want all children to live in stable, loving and stimulating environments – at home, at school and in the community."

     For more information on the CAC or to get involved, please visit the website at www.cacfaync.org

  • 14Brad AllenNeil BuieBrad Allen will begin his fifth year as a referee in the National Football League this fall. He’s one of a select group of full-time officials working for the NFL. But when he learned his old friend and mentor Neil Buie was pondering retirement as the regional supervisor of baseball and softball officials for the Southeastern Athletic Officials Association, Allen wanted to honor Buie by joining him on the field to call a final game together.

    It happened April 22, on the second day of the annual Bulldog Invitational Baseball Tournament at Terry Sanford High School.

    The Bulldogs faced South Caldwell in the day’s final game. Allen registered as a baseball official with the SAOA so he could call the game behind the plate while Buie worked as the field umpire.

    Buie said the final hurrah with him and Allen calling together just kind of happened. “I was talking to Brad about this being my last year, and he told me, ‘if you’re going to retire, I’m going to register. Because when you go out, I want to be on your staff.’’’

    Allen and Buie have been working together since 1989, calling some 150 games at the high school, college and American Legion level. They’ve called multiple state championship events.

    Allen described his relationship with Buie as being like family. “I got started in high school baseball at 19 with Neil and Leon Maynor, my mentor in Robeson County who is no longer with us,’’ Allen said. “This is very, very special to me to work with someone who taught me so much.’’

    Allen recalled some of the great baseball umpires he’d worked with in addition to Buie, men like Angus Watson, Jimmy Ratley, Charlie Council and Mike Parnell.

    He recalled Buie taught him about the six things you’re there to do in a baseball game: Fair, foul, safe, out, ball, strike. There were also things like character, mechanics, philosophy and hustle.

    “All of those things epitomize what Neil Buie has meant to me,’’ Allen said. “But away from the field, it’s also a lot of life lessons about how to be a man, how to be a good father.’’

    Buie said he was encouraged to get into officiating by a college classmate, when he realized his days as a player were ending.

    “My first game ever was with Greenville Parks and Recreation,’’ Buie said. That was in 1967. He’s been hooked on it ever since.

    One of Buie’s most memorable nights of officiating took place at a game where he wasn’t even scheduled to work. It was in the late 1980s, and the Fayetteville Generals minor league baseball team had just started operation.

    J.P. Riddle Stadium, the team’s eventual home, wasn’t finished when the regular season began, so the Generals played their first few games at what is now Arnette Park on old Highway 87. The game had to be played in the afternoon because the lights at the baseball field didn’t meet South Atlantic League standards.

    Buie was a spectator in the stands when the late Calvin Koonce, general manager of the Generals, called him down to the field.

    The umpires hadn’t been told about the switch in game time and weren’t there. Could Buie call the game behind the plate?

    They scrounged up umpiring gear for him, found someone else in the stands to call bases, and off they went.

    During the game, the base umpire and the manager of the Asheville Tourists got into a heated argument about a call, and the base umpired ejected the Asheville manager.

    He initially refused to leave the field. Then, Buie walked up and said he’d give him 60 seconds to leave or he’d forfeit the game. The manager told Buie he couldn’t do that. Buie replied, “You’re down to 45 seconds. It’s up to you.’’

    He left. Buie said Fayetteville won 10-9 in 10 innings. His pay for the day was some tickets to future Generals games.

    When the current baseball and softball season ends, Buie will step down as regional supervisor but will continue in a similar role in football. He said he may return to umpire again, if his health will allow it, but that’s a decision he’s yet to make.

    Buie said he’d been pondering giving up the regional supervisor role because the weather has been so bad the last few years, especially this one. He estimates that leading up to the Easter break this season, he’s had to reschedule officials some 400 times because of the weather.

    “When the weather’s 75 degrees and the sun’s shining, it’s pretty easy to do what I do,’’ Buie said. “But when it rains three days out of five, it makes it very difficult and makes for long hours.’’

    Buie said his biggest thrill over the years is seeing young officials like Allen come out of high school and college and develop into good officials. “The training part is what I’ll miss the most,’’ he said.

    He’s especially proud of an official like Allen who has risen to the highest level of officiating as a fulltime NFL referee. “I’m so proud of Brad and what he’s done,’’ Buie said. “If I had some very small part in it, even better.

    “It’s my belief that whether Brad had chosen baseball, basketball or football, he could have reached the highest of professional levels in any sport.’’

    Photo: Brad Allen (left) and Neil Buie (right) called their last baseball game together April 23. Photo credit: Ken Kassens

  • 18Mariyah WakefieldMariyah Wakefield

    Seventy-First • Track • Sophomore

    Wakefield has a 3.7 grade point average. She participates in Upward Bound at Fayetteville State University. She volunteers at True Vine Ministries and is a member of the Seventy-First orchestra.

     

    19Justin CroomJustin Croom

    Seventy-First • Track, wrestling • Sophomore

    Croom has a 3.4 grade point average. He was 6-18 as a wrestler for the Falcons last season. He currently has a best time of 22.99 in the 200-meter dash

  • 17ChappellTed Chappell touched countless lives during his many years as a coach and administrator in the Cumberland County Schools. All those years of service to the young people of the county was recently honored when the baseball field at Seventy-First High School was renamed in his honor.

    For years after his retirement from the school system, Chappell was a regular spectator at local sporting events, especially high school baseball games.

    But he hasn’t been on the sidelines for many months, not since he was admitted to a skilled care facility in Moore County. He is being treated there for Alzheimer’s disease.

    His daughter, Susan Chappell, is herself a veteran teacher for Cumberland County Schools. She said her father doesn’t have a lot of clarity, but every so often there will be a spark and he’ll recognize a familiar face.

    Susan said the family was approached last October by supporters who wanted to have the field named for her father. “I wish it had come sooner, when Daddy was able to understand,’’ she said. “We were very honored and humbled.’’

    Ron Phipps, Cumberland County Schools associate superintendent for evaluation and testing, was one of those who pushed for the field to be named for Ted.

    Phipps first got to know Ted through Susan, who taught with Phipps’ wife years ago at Pine Forest Middle School. Phipps was also a school bus driver when Ted headed transportation for the county schools. He later worked with Ted again when the two were administrators at South View High School.

    Phipps said he had to educate the people involved in getting the field named for Ted since much of Ted’s career took place as far back as the 1960s. Ted came to Cumberland County from his native Chowan County in 1962. He coached at Seventy-First and led the 1965 Falcon baseball team to a state runner-up finish.

    He went on to handle transportation for Cumberland County Schools. After retirement, he served as an interim assistant principal at various local high schools.

    “He was an all-around great guy,’’ Phipps said. “Anybody you talk with talks about how nice he was and (how he) would help anybody.’’

    Doug Caudill and Greg Killingsworth both played for Ted at Seventy-First. Both later became coaches and school administrators themselves, and both spoke about the huge influence Ted had on their lives and their career decisions.

    “Without a doubt, he became like a father figure to all of us,’’ Caudill said. “He took care of us and cared about us.

    “He could be tough at times when he needed to be, but most of the time he had a very calm demeanor.’’

    Both Caudill and Killingsworth recalled that Ted used to open the gymnasium at Seventy-First Elementary School on Saturday mornings and let the local youngsters come in and shoot basketball.

    “In those times there weren’t a lot of places you could go to play basketball,’’ Killingsworth said. “He kept me in line and made sure I wasn’t in (bad) places I could have been.’’

    Killingsworth said Ted never raised his voice and never cursed. “He was a Christian man and he led by example,’’ he said. “I had the utmost respect for him.’’

    Caudill agreed. “He was a really special person in all of our lives,’’ he said.

    Photo: L to R: Ron Phipps, Ted Chappell

  • 16TrioHere are a few odds and ends from the high school world over the last couple of weeks:

    • Two Cumberland County high school football players and one head coach have been selected to take part in this summer’s North Carolina Coaches Association East-West All-Star football game at Grimsley High School’s Jamison Stadium in Greensboro.

    The trio includes players Dante Bowlding of Terry Sanford, Kyler Davis of Seventy-First and Davis’ head coach with the Falcons, Duran McLaurin. All three will be on the East All-Star team this summer.

    Bowlding, who was chosen to the team as a defensive back, was voted the defensive player of the year in the Patriot Athletic Conference last season. According to NCPrepsports.net, he led Cumberland County Schools in tackles with 172. He tied for the county lead in pass  interceptions with five.

    Davis made first team at quarterback on the All-Sandhills Athletic Conference team along with Caleb Hood of Richmond Senior.

    Davis was second in Cumberland County Schools in total passing yards last season with 1,977. He completed 152 of 282 passes, with 18 touchdown passes and eight interceptions. He rushed 140 times for 999 yards and scored 12 touchdowns.

    Since coming to his alma mater as head football coach, McLaurin has turned the Falcons into a consistent contender for conference titles and state playoff berths. Last season he guided the Falcons to an 11-4 record and a tie for second place in the Sandhills Athletic Conference. His team reached the 4-A Eastern Regional finals before losing to Scotland.

    McLaurin will serve as an assistant coach on the East All-Star football staff this summer. The head coach will be Sport Sawyer of Manteo High School.

    This year’s East-West game, which is a part of the annual North Carolina Coaches Association clinic in Greensboro, will be held Wednesday, July 17, at 8 p.m.

    • Terry Sanford High School recently made wholesale changes to its varsity coaching staff for next year. The changes resulted from the departure of head boys’ basketball coach Darren Corbett, who returned to his native Greensboro to coach at Grimsley High School.

    Terry Sanford principal Tom Hatch announced that Karl Molnar, who has been successful coaching girls basketball and boys and girls soccer for the Bulldogs, would be moved to take over the boys basketball coaching position vacated by Corbett.

    To fill the soccer vacancies created by moving Molnar to boys basketball, Steven Barbour was named varsity boys soccer coach while Jared Kaiser was selected to take over the girls soccer team. Both Barbour and Kaiser were already on staff at Terry Sanford as teachers and serving as coaches in the soccer program.

    Replacing Molnar as girls basketball coach is Michael Joiner. Joiner was a star high school player at Seventy-First and also played college basketball at Florida State. He also spent some time as a professional basketball player before returning to Fayetteville.

    “We are excited to watch our coaches continue the winning ways,’’ said Hatch in a prepared statement.

    • The final team was selected last week to complete the field for this December’s Cumberland County Holiday Classic Basketball Tournament.

    Last season the format for the tournament was changed to create multiple tournament brackets and multiple champions, causing a need for more teams to complete the field.

    Vernon Aldridge, student activities director of Cumberland County Schools, had been working since last year’s tournament concluded to strengthen the field for this year’s event.

    Joining the 10 Cumberland County Schools teams in this year’s event are the following teams:

    Boys — Wilmington Hoggard, Wilmington Laney, Southern Lee, Wendell Corinth Holders, Apex Middle Creek and one South Carolina team — Marlboro County High School from Bennettsville.

    Girls — Wilmington Hoggard, East Bladen, Union Pines, Garner, Scotland and Wendell Corinth Holders.

    The pairings for the tournament will be announced at a later date.

  • 15Adrian Davila RamirezAdrian Davila- Ramirez

    Douglas Byrd • Baseball/Indoor track/ Cross country • Senior

    Davila-Ramirez has a 3.5 grade point average. He is a battalion commander in junior ROTC. As a member of Delta Phi Iota, he volunteers in the community. He is captain of the Douglas Byrd drum line and is student body treasurer. He has enlisted in the National Guard.

    16Stephanie Davila Ramirez copyStephanie Davila- Ramirez

    Douglas Byrd • Softball/Cross country • Sophomore

    Davila-Ramirez holds a 4.2 grade point average. She currently serves as the sophomore class president. As a member of Alpha Omega Rho, she participates in community service both at her school and at Second Harvest Food Bank.

  • 14Jaden PoneJust weeks after being named the Patriot Athletic Conference softball player of the year in 2018, Gray’s Creek High School’s Jaden Pone saw her athletic world come crashing down.

    During a summer travel softball game, she collided with another player while trying to catch a ball. The result for Pone was a broken tibia and fibula in her right leg, and at least six months away from full participation on the field.

    Fast forward to early April of this year. A tough but successful rehab process behind her, Pone has quickly risen to the same level of play she displayed last season.

    She’s sporting a gaudy .722 batting average, 65 points higher than she was hitting a year ago. She leads Cumberland County players as of April 10 with 29 RBIs. Although she’s not the ace of the Gray’s Creek pitching staff, she’s currently 5-1 with 21 strikeouts in 20.2 innings pitches and a 2.71 earned run average.

    “She dealt with it pretty well,’’ said Gray’s Creek softball coach Stuart Gilmer of Pone’s battle to get back to health. “At first she was discouraged she couldn’t pick up where she had left off the year before.’’

    Pone was in Gilmer’s weightlifting class, and he saw her commitment to getting well. “She did the physical therapy and exercises she could do in class to try and regain strength in that leg,’’ he said.

    “She’s one of the hardest-working kids I’ve seen. She was determined to get back to the place she was playing and the level she was playing the year before. She worked really, really hard to get back to that place.’’

    For Pone, the hardest part was realizing how long she’d have to wait before she could play again.

    “My whole life has been going to the field, going to practice, going to a tournament,’’ she said. “When you’re injured and you’re going to be out for six months, it’s like a punch in the face.’’

    She still went to softball tournaments while wearing a protective boot on her injured leg, watching the other players.

    It was in December that Pone first began to feel that she was turning a corner in the recovery process. “My dad and I would go to practice,’’ she said. “Even when I had my boot on, we would do little stuff. Sometimes I would doubt myself and be sad.’’

    She worried about not being ready when her rehab was complete. “This could change my whole life,’’ she said.

    But in December, she finally started to run a little. “It opened my eyes and motivated me to keep doing what I was doing,’’ she said.

    Running proved to be the biggest challenge in coming back from the injury. “I consider myself fast,’’ Pone said. She said some doubted she would be as fast as before the injury.

    There was also pain, but Pone said her father helped her push through it. “He made me realize we’re always going to go through stuff, but you have to power though it,’’ she said.

    Now the only lingering problem from the injury is some pain she feels in her knee from time to time.

    “My mom tells me everything happens for a reason,’’ Pone said. “Instead of looking at it as I broke my leg and I can’t play, I tried to look at it as you’ll get better and you’ll grow and learn from this. You’ll appreciate the game more.

    “I have such an appreciation for the game, and this can push me to do better.’’

    Not only is Pone doing better, so is her Gray’s Creek team. The Bears recently handed perennial Cumberland County softball power Cape Fear a rare conference loss. As of April 10, the Bears were tied with the Colts in the loss column in the Patriot Athletic Conference standings. Gray’s Creek is 12-1 overall, 10-1 in the league, to Cape Fear’s 11-1 in both.

    “I think we’re connecting really good as a team,” Pone said. “On and off the field we’re really close, so that helps. I’m just really excited for what we have in store.’’

    Photo: Jaden Pone

  • 13Sam Guy

    Editor’s note: Due to a schedule change that took place after this week’s edition was published, the schedule in this week’s print edition for the Bulldog Invitational Baseball Tournament is incorrect. The correct schedule is posted at the end of this story.

    The tangible reason Terry Sanford’s Sam Guy likes to host an Easter break baseball tournament is to raise money for his program.

    But there’s also an intangible side, and that’s to size up how the Bulldogs measure against good teams from other parts of the state.

    With the field Guy has assembled for this year’s Bulldog Invitational, set for April 20-23, Guy should have no trouble finding out how good his team is.

    The field includes five teams that already have at least 10 wins this season as of April 10 and one club, Midway, that’s unbeaten at 12-0.

    Every team in the tournament is at least five games above the .500 mark, save for West Bladen, which at 6-8 is the only team in the field with a losing record.

    Guy said the primary reason Terry Sanford holds the baseball tournament is to raise funds for the program. The money raised over the last few years of the event allowed Guy to construct an indoor batting facility just beyond the outfield fence of the Terry Sanford field.

    “We make about $5,000 or $6,000 profit over those three days, which is awesome,’’ Guy said. He added the revenue from the tournament not only pays for special projects like the batting complex, but for things the Bulldog baseball team needs on a regular basis.

    As for bringing in a variety of teams, Guy said it expands the experience for his team beyond the limits of regular-season play in the Patriot Athletic Conference.

    Guy said it’s helpful that the conference is so geographically compact; member schools don’t have to spend a lot on transportation and travel time to get to games.

    But with a nine-team conference, that means Terry Sanford has to play 16 conference games, which cuts deeply into the opportunity to face nonconference opponents. The Bulldog Invitational gives Terry Sanford a better read on how it stacks up with schools of various sizes from across the state who also have successful baseball programs.

    The big headache for Guy every year at tournament time is the weather.

    This spring has been a nightmare for baseball coaches with the heavy amount of rain that has completely disrupted the weekly schedule.

    “Going into the year, we had three weeks where we had two games,’’ Guy said. “The rest were three or four-game weeks. Now, we’re getting ready to play eight games in eight days.’’

    If inclement weather does come at tournament time, Guy has a tarp he can put on the field that will hopefully keep it from becoming unplayable.

    He is holding Wednesday, April 23, in reserve as a possible makeup day if rain stops play on a regularly scheduled day.

    If absolutely necessary, Guy said, he could squeeze the tournament into just two days. But that would require starting the first game at 9 a.m. and drastically cutting the time between games so six games could be played per day.

    “If it rains multiple days, we’ll just see,’’ he said. Guy said one other change might have to be made in the schedule if either Northwood or Pinecrest have to play an early consolation bracket game on the final day of the tournament.

    Both Northwood and Pinecrest will be in school Tuesday, April 23. Should either school fall into the consolation bracket and be scheduled for a game before 4 p.m., Guy said he would have to flip the game they are in to a 4 p.m. start so they would not be playing until their school was dismissed.

    Here is the complete schedule for the tournament, barring any rainouts or postponements.

    BULLDOG INVITATIONAL 2019

    CORRECTED SCHEDULE
    Saturday, April 20
    10 a.m. - Midway (12-0) vs. Northwood (9-4)
    1 p.m. - Terry Sanford (9-2) vs. West Bladen (6-8)
    4 p.m. - South Caldwell (13-2) vs. Cape Fear (10-5)
    7 p.m. - Pinecrest (13-2) vs. East Bladen (10-3)
    Monday, April 22
    10 a.m. Loser 1st game vs. Loser 3rd game
    1 p.m. - Loser 2nd game vs. Loser 4th game
    4 p.m. - Winner 2nd game vs. Winner 4th game
    7 p.m. - Winner 1st game vs. Winner 3rd game
    Tuesday, April 23
    10 a.m. - Loser 5th game vs. Loser 6th game
    1 p.m. - Winner 5th game vs. Winner 6th game
    4 p.m. - Loser 7th game vs. Loser 8th game
    7 p.m. - Winner 7th game vs. Winner 8th game

    Photo: Sam Guy

  • 16Abel Abraham Terry SanfordAbel Abraham 

    Terry Sanford • Golf/ swimming • Junior

    Abraham has a 4.76 grade point average. He is a member of Science Olympiad, Mock Trial, Mu Alpha Theta, Vision Club and Tutoring Club.

    17Jason Chay Jack Britt copyJason Chay

    Jack Britt • Tennis • Senior

    Chay has a 4.0 grade point average. According to the latest statistics on MaxPreps through April 3, Chay is 6-1 in singles and 5-1 in doubles this season.

  • 15Mattie DavisTerry Sanford lacrosse coach Jennifer White said Bulldog junior standout Mattie Davis has been playing the sport since she was born.

    It shows.

    Recently, the University of Jacksonville recruit reached a milestone in her young career with the Bulldogs, scoring her 100th career goal.

    According to the North Carolina High School Athletic Association record book, she’s one of less than 10 players in North Carolina high school lacrosse to reach that number.

    Davis comes by it naturally. Her dad is Wes Davis, who is Terry Sanford’s assistant coach and who helped start lacrosse at the recreation level in Cumberland County.

    White said Davis, a midfielder, does a little bit of everything for the Bulldog team. She plays offense and defense and takes the draw to start each possession.

    “She has incredible stick skills,’’ White said. “She catches the ball well and keeps the ball on her stick well. Her shooting is amazing. She knows how to throw fakes and when to throw them.

    “She sees the field very well. She’s got incredible defense skills. She’s like a ground ball machine.’’ White said it’s rare for a junior to already be at the 100-goal mark for a career. “In 2 1/2 seasons she’s got that number,’’ White said. “She’s got a whole year and a half to grow that number.’’

    Although she’s being singled out for her individual accomplishments, Davis said she loves lacrosse because it’s a team sport. “There’s no way you can play lacrosse individually,’’ she said. “You have to rely on your teammates, and it brings people together. I like it because every team I play on feels like family. It’s also a really fast sport, so it’s always going.’’

    Aside from game skills, Davis likes to think she’s got good people skills as well. “I think I’m a good leader, on and off the field,’’ she said. “I love to encourage people. I don’t like to see anyone get down on themselves. I feel like I’m really good at picking people up.’’

    Her love of team and family are big reasons why she chose to commit to Jacksonville. “I love the coaches down there and the environment,’’ she said. “They revolve everything around family, which I’m big on. They are like a top 30 team in the nation. All of those things feed into it.’’

    Davis has obviously had a lot to do with Terry Sanford’s success this season. As of April 3, the Bulldogs are 6-4 overall. They play  April 12. The regular season ends Monday, April 15, at Jack Britt.

    The Bulldogs are in contention to make the state 3-A lacrosse playoffs again. As of April 3, they are ranked No. 14 among 3-A teams in the state, according to MaxPreps.

    White said it’s a continuing struggle to grow the lacrosse program at Terry Sanford. “We have some travel teams around here, but Raleigh has them everywhere and year-round,’’ White said. “They’ve had a program for 12 years, and we’re on our fourth year. It’s easier for them to be part of a travel team.’’ 

    Davis said it’s a matter of commitment. “It’s a  she said. “Running around with a stick is not the easiest thing in the world. People need to become more interested in it, willing to try and (be) committed to it.’’

    Photo: Mattie Davis

  • 14Caleb Long copyHere are the top wrestlers from the Sandhills Athletic Conference 2018-19 based on won-lost record.

    106 — First team: Matthew Rowland, Pinecrest

    Second team: Jabrial Andres Sanchez, Richmond Senior

    113 — First team: Justin Kelly, Lumberton

    Second team: Joseph Nicholson, Richmond Senior

    120 — First team: Kevin Wanovich, Jack Britt

    Second team: William Caden Scott, Purnell Swett

    126 — First team: Caleb Long, Jack Britt

    Second team: Richard Guzman, Seventy-First

    132 — First team: Yakemiean Johnson, 

    Second team: Corbin Kumor, Hoke County

    138— First team: Austin Lowery, Lumberton

    Second team: Dane Matthews, Pinecrest

    145 — First team: Parker Corwin, Pinecrest

    Second team: John Baker, Jack Britt

    152 — First team: Austin Gallop, Richmond Senior

    Second team: Monroe Payton, Pinecrest

    160 — First team: Hunter Hillis, Pinecrest

    Second team: Denzel Carrucini, Jack Britt

    170 — First team: Chad Jernigan, Jack Britt

    Second team: Jeremiah McRimmon, Scotland

    182 — First team: Latrell Havner, Seventy-First

    Second team: Ali Shahbaz, Lumberton

    195 — First team: Erick Martinez, Jack Britt

    Second team: Edward Brock, Lumberton

    220 — First team: Alex Hammond, Lumberton

    Second team: Aidan Alston, Pinecrest

    285 — First team: Tray Regan, Lumberton

    Second team: Chase Godwin, Pinecrest

    Photo: Caleb Long

  • 13Austin Hunt and Earl Early Bird Horan IVThree Cumberland County high school athletes are among 31 from North Carolina who have been named this year’s winners of the Heart of a Champion Award by the North Carolina High School Athletic Association.

    The three from the county are Austin Hunt and Chloe Arnette of Cape Fear High School and Earl “Early Bird” Horan IV from Gray’s Creek High School.

    Each of the three was nominated by their respective schools for outstanding displays of sportsmanship.

    Hunt and Horan have a direct connection in their respective awards. Horan is a special needs student at Gray’s Creek who competes in both wrestling and Unified Track. Unified Track is a recent addition to the Cumberland County athletic program that offers track and field competition for the special needs population.

    Hunt plays football and wrestles for Cape Fear. He and Horan met in a preliminary match between Cape Fear and Gray’s Creek this season, and Horan came away with the victory.

    “What a great guy,’’ said Horan’s father, Earl Horan III, of Hunt. “He always has time for Early Bird.’’

    Hunt praised the younger Horan for never holding back. “He always tries to do the best he can,’’ Hunt said. “The only thing that can stop him is himself. He goes out and chases his dreams.’’

    The senior Horan said he was moved to tears when he received the letter from the NCHSAA informing him that his son had been named a Heart of a Champion winner.

    Horan IV was honored earlier this year at the Patriot Athletic Conference wrestling meet as the most inspirational wrestler. He received a similar award at the NCHSAA regional wrestling competition.

    “People appreciate his spunk and his bravery,’’ the senior Horan said. “He’s very driven to win and tries his hardest. He doesn’t understand he wins just by showing up.’’ Horan said he also appreciated the way other people in area treat Early Bird.

    “I see his chest fill up with air and (him) walk down the hallway with a sense of pride,’’ Horan said. “He gets phone calls from friends and everything.’’

    Including Hunt, some of younger Earl’s telephone friends include former Pine Forest football standout Julian Hill, now at Campbell University, and Payton Wilson, Hillsborough Orange football standout who’s now a freshman at North Carolina State.

    “Without sounding pious, it’s reaffirming of the human race,’’ senior Horan said.

    Cape Fear’s Arnette was honored for her diplomatic approach on the tennis court in dealing with lesser opponents in an understanding way.One of the best players in the Patriot Athletic Conference, Arnette never looks down on the opposition or makes them feel inferior.

    “I make sure the growing teams are doing their best,’’ Arnette said, “that they’re having fun and need time to grow.’’ She adopts the same attitude toward her teammates. “If they are down I always try to pick them up, no matter what the situation or circumstances,’’ she said.

    Hunt, Horan and Arnette will be honored with the other Heart of a Champion winners at a luncheon Saturday, April 13, at the Sheraton-Chapel Hill Hotel.

    “We are honored to pause and recognize this group of 31 student athletes that have consistently demonstrated the values and traits that we hope all student athletes learn through our programs,’’ said Que Tucker, NCHSAA commissioner, in a prepared statement. “This group of award winners are to be commended for their commitment to excellence in sportsmanship and citizenship.’’

    Photo:  Austin Hunt (L) and Earl “Early Bird” Horan IV (R)

  • uac041311001.jpg Each Spring the Fort Bragg Fair serves as a welcoming sign that summer is on its way, as families flock to the Fort Bragg Fairgrounds to frolick. This year’s fair will bring great rides, food and entertainment to the area from April 28 to May 15.

    The fair, which is held annually, kicks-off on Thursday, April 28. Fort Bragg fairs have become a tradition in the community, and many missed October Fest last fall. That’s why organizers are pulling out all the stops to bring a top- notch event for families to the community this spring.

    A new addition to the fair this year is a special attraction known as the Sea Lion Splash. The show was established when Marco and Kathi Peters began adopting and providing a permanent home for beached sea lions who were unable to be returned to the wild due to age or injuries. Because many of these injuries were direct effects of human carelessness, the Peters decided to educate the public on the plight of these incredible marine mammals and how we, as humans, need to coexist together in harmony. So, they took their show on the road.

    Thus began the journey of the Sea Lion Splash, which travels all over North America entertaining thousands of people each year with their spell-binding show. The 30-minute show is geared around educating the audience on the habits and nature of the sea lions and brings out the inherent comedic behavior of these animals: catching and retrieving objects, balancing, handstands, dancing, singing and interaction with the audience. The show schedule is: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday at 6 and 8 p.m.; Thursdays at 5:30 and 7:30 p.m.; Saturdays at 4, 6 and 8 p.m.; and Sundays at 2, 4 and 6 p.m.

    In addition to this unique show, the fair also offers a wide mix of musical entertainment each day of the fair. A mix of country, rock, rhythm and blues and pop will be offered throughout the fair’s run, with many local bands getting some stage time. A full entertainment schedule is available online at04-13-11-fair.jpg www. fortbraggmwr.com.

    And if the entertainment isn’t enough to get you out of your seat and down to the fairgrounds, there is always the thrill of the midway. The Fort Bragg skies will be lit up with the glow of the ferris wheel, the Himalayan, the swings and a whole host of other rides for thrill seekers. Of course, there is also a kid’s section for the less adventurous in the family. After all, who can resist a spin on the carousel?

    And then, of course, there is the food. A fair is a good excuse to wave goodbye to your diet — at least for one night — and sample some unique food from the zest of a bloomin’ onion to the sweetness of a funnel cake. This year is no exception, so when you head out, bring your appetite and your wallet.

    This year there are two special ways you can take advantage of discounted ticket prices. The fi rst is attending Customer Appreciation Nights, which are Monday- Thursday from 5-7 p.m. Anyone entering the fairgrounds during these hours is admitted for a reduced ticket price of $5. The second special admission day honors mothers, and is scheduled for Mother’s Day. All mothers are admitted at a reduced rate of $7 when accompanied by a paying child ages 3-17.

    The fair admission is inclusive of rides. Regular admission Monday through Thursday is $12; military and Department of Defense civilians, $10; children ages 3-9, $10; handicapped non-riders, $7, and those aged 50 and over, $7.

    Admission Friday through Sunday is: $17; military and Department of Defense civilians, $15; children ages 3-9, $15; handicapped non-riders, $7, and those aged 50 and over, $7.

    Children under the age of 3 and shorter than 3’ are admitted free.

    The gates open Monday through Friday at 5 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday at 1 p.m. Parking is free. For more information, visit www.fortbraggmwr.com.

  • thumbnailEditors Note: Breakfast with the Easter Bunny is SOLD OUT but the Easter egg hunt is still free and open to all.
    When it comes to big happenings in the town of Hope Mills, there are few days more important each year than the start of youth league baseball and softball.
     
    This year’s opening day ceremonies are scheduled Saturday, April 6, at the town’s Brower Park fields.
     
    The event is returning to Brower Park this year after being held at the Fayetteville SwampDogs home field, J.P. Riddle Stadium, last season.
     
    Bruce Armstrong, who is president of the Hope Mills Youth Association, said the main reason for coming back to Brower Park is to hold a ceremony dedicating a multipurpose building at the location in memory of the late Gary Dove.
     
    “We’ve put up a big plaque and photo of Mr. Dove and we’re dedicating the clubhouse building in his memory,’’ Armstrong said. “We thought it would be appropriate to have the opening day ceremonies there so we can recognize him at the park where he gave so many years of his service to being a field supervisor and a coach.’’
     
    Mayor Jackie Warner will read the official proclamation from the town of Hope Mills that approved the memorial for Dove. Armstrong will share his personal remembrances as well.
     
    Dove coached in the Hope Mills Youth Association for more than 20 years in addition to his years of service as field supervisor and two-time president of the youth association. He was also chairman of the Parks and Recreation advisory board for the town of Hope Mills.
     
    “He basically dedicated a lifetime of service to the recreation program in Hope Mills and did it in a very loveable, friendly manner,’’ Armstrong said. “He resolved conflicts with great skill. That’s part of what a field supervisor does.’’
     
    Warner called Dove a fixture in the Hope Mills youth recreation program. “It’s wholly appropriate that some part (of the recreation program) is named for him to keep his memory alive,’’ Warner said. She noted Dove was heavily involved pushing for the construction of the building that will bear his name.
     
    Warner said she has attended opening day ceremonies regularly since 1983, first as the parent of children involved in the youth programs and later in her capacity as mayor.
     
    “I love being in the crowd and watching those opening games,’’ she said. “I love getting involved with the kids, especially the little ones. I look forward to it every year.’’
    Armstrong said this year’s opening day ceremonies, except for the special recognition of Dove, will follow a typical pattern. The parade of teams, with roughly 45 teams and some 500 youngsters, will begin at 9 a.m.
     
    Town dignitaries will be recognized, followed by an invocation and the ceremony for Dove.
     
    It will be a busy day at the Rockfish Road complex as breakfast with the Easter Bunny and an Easter egg hunt will be taking place across the street at fields one and two at Municipal Park. Breakfast with the Easter Bunny requires advance reservations but the Easter egg hunt is free.
     
    To find out if tickets are still available for Breakfast with the Easter Bunny, call 910-426-4109.
     
    Because of the breakfast and Easter egg hunt, the normal starting time of the day's first games has been moved back to noon so the younger children can take part in opening day and the events at Municipal Park.
     
    Maxey Dove of the Hope Mills Parks and Recreation Department said parking at the two ball parks will be tight. He encourages families who will have children playing in games on fields 3, 4, 5 and 6 at Municipal Park to park in one of the back lots toward Main Street and behind the public library, then walk over to Brower Park for opening day to help ease traffic.
     
    The Hope Mills Police Department and members of the Hope Mills Community Emergency Response Team will be helping to direct traffic.
  • 04-20-11-beguiledagain.jpgLooking for something to do on your next date night? Need an excuse to get the gang together? Why not experience the nostalgia reminiscent of the Golden Age of Radio by attending Temple Theatre’s upcoming production, Beguiled Again? The musical, which highlights some of the greatest popular music from the 1920s through the 1940s, is sure to get your fingers snapping and your toes tapping!

    Performed by six entertainers and a live band, Beguiled Again features more than 50 songs by the famed songwriting duo, Rodgers and Hart. In their 20 year partnership, the pair wrote the music and lyrics for 26 Broadway musicals. Peggy Taphorn, Temple Theatre’s Producing Artistic Director, describes the show, “It is set up in two distinct acts. The first act has a bit more structure to it and goes through their songs throughout their career. It begins with some of their biggest hits: “Bewitched,” “The Lady is a Tramp,” “Thou Swell,” “This Can’t Be Love” and “Johnny One Note.” She goes on to explain that the story traces their careers from their humble beginnings, to their early radio success, through their Hollywood years, and finally, back to their roots in New York City.

    The second act, according to Taphorn, “deals with their favorite topic, love, and is broken into four categories of love: love through humor, unrequited love, a fine line between love and hate and the search for true love.” Some of the big hits in this portion are: “My Romance,” “It Never Entered My Mind,” “Isn’t It Romantic,” “To Keep My Love Alive,” “Falling in Love with Love” and more.

    Returning to the Temple for a starring role in Beguiled Again is Dr. Ken Griggs of Fayetteville. Other familiar favorites are Galloway Stevens and Peggy Taphorn. Hailing from New York City and new to the Temple, are Daniel Robbins, Megan Rozak and Melody Baugh.

    If the musical scores aren’t enough to motivate you to buy a ticket, consider this. The Temple Theatre was built in downtown Sanford in 1925 and was a frequent stop of Vaudeville shows as well as a bit of Burlesque in the 1930s. Despite being refurbished in the early ‘80s, audiences can still appreciate much of the architectural charm of that era.

    From the richly painted walls in the lobby to the twin staircases leading to the balcony and its restored tin ceiling, what better locale from which to experience a musical than in a theater erected in the same period in which many of its songs were written! B

    eguiled Again runs from April 28-May 15 at Temple Theatre located at 120 Carthage Street in downtown Sanford. The box office hours are Monday- Friday from 2 p.m.-6 p.m. and tickets range from $16-$20. For more information or to view the theater’s seating chart, visit the website at www.templeshows.com. You can reach the box office by phone by calling 919-774-4155.

  • 18Taryn OConnor Jack Britt copyTaryn O’Connor 

    Jack Britt • Softball • Senior 

    O’Connor has a 4.2 grade point average. She was a member of Jack Britt’s 2018 state 4-A champion fast-pitch softball team. She scored 18 runs for the Buccaneers last season. 

     

     

    19Abby Heitkamp Jack Britt copy

    Abby Heitkamp 

    Jack Britt • Soccer • Senior 

    Heitkamp has a 4.0 grade point average. Last year she was a Sandhills Athletic Conference all-conference selection in soccer. So far this season, she has one goal and one assist for the Buccaneers 

  • We’ve all been there. Those heady fi rst days of a relationship when absolutely everything the other person does is wonderful and everything they say is amazing. We’ve all ridden the wild ride from wonderful and amazing to irritating and intellectually challenged. Romance is indeed a rocky road and “relationships” are really minefi elds that must be carefully navigated. It is this tricky route to happily ever after that the Cape Fear Regional Theatre will tackle when some of its brightest and best bring I Love You. You’re Perfect. Now Change. to the stage.04-27-11-cfrt-pic.jpg

    Opening on Friday, April 29, I Love You. You’re Perfect. Now Change is sure to be another runaway hit for the theatre, which has had an exceptional season to date.

    In this dizzying trip into the chaos that is love, four actors play more than 40 roles in a collection of scenes and songs scaling the dizzying spectrum of relationships. Bringing this roller coaster ride to life are some of the CFRT’s funniest and most talented performers.

    Cassandra Vallery, who has played in a host of productions at the CFRT and other theatres will be joined on stage by Lynne Rosenbert, fresh off the runaway hit Rumors. Playing their male counterparts are veteran CFRT performer Greg King and Tommy Foster, who was last on stage at the CFRT in The Full Monty.

    Throughout the two-week run, the theatre will ofer a number of special events:

    • Girls Night Out - Gather your girlfriends for a night at the theatre that you won’t soon forget. Come for wine and cheese following the performance on Thursday, May. Admission is $20 for show and soiree!

    • Couples Night – Every night is couple’s night at I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change; however, May 13 is the night to bring your special someone for champagne, and chocolates with the cast following the performance. Friday, Admission is $22.

    CFRT’s production of I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change runs from April 29-May 15. To purchase tickets, you can go online at www.cfrt.org or call the box offi ce 323-4233.

  • 20TSHS BulldogHere are some odds and ends of news from the Cumberland County high school sports scene. 

    Vernon Aldridge, student activities director of Cumberland County Schools, recently released this year’s senior high school football schedule. View it on the page adjoining this one. 

    The biggest news on this year’s schedule is that Terry Sanford will be playing all of its home games this fall at Reid Ross Classical High School’s John Daskal Stadium on Ramsey Street. 

    After years of debating about what to do with Terry Sanford’s huge but aging brick stadium complex, school officials finally decided to tear it down over the summer and start construction on a new facility that won’t be ready until after the 2019 season is over. 

    The Bulldogs will start the 2019 season with three road games and one open date, not playing their first game at Reid Ross until Sept. 20, when they take on Cape Fear. The Bulldogs only play four regular-season games on their temporary field at Reid Ross. Aldridge said when the Bulldogs open their new stadium in 2020 they hope to play seven home games. 

    Elsewhere on the schedule for the other county teams, there are no major surprises. Gray’s Creek has a couple of nonconference meetings with Johnston County teams, South Johnston and West Johnston. Both Douglas Byrd and E.E. Smith will play an old county rival, Lee County. 

    • In other news for Terry Sanford, last week, Bulldog basketball coach Darren Corbett announced on Twitter that he’s headed back to his hometown to coach at Grimsley High School in Greensboro. 

    In just three seasons at Terry Sanford, Corbett compiled a 58-26 overall record, including 34-10 in the Patriot Athletic Conference. 

    He guided Terry Sanford to three consecutive conference tournament championships and one regular-season title. 

    His final Bulldog team compiled a 20-8 record and lost to Durham Hillside in the second round of the North Carolina High School Athletic Association basketball playoffs. 

    There is no word yet on how quickly Terry Sanford will begin the search to find Corbett’s replacement. 

    • Reminder: Up & Coming Weekly’sRocket Fizz Scholar Athlete award is open to any senior high athlete in Cumberland County. 

    The minimum requirements are an athlete must be a member in good standing of a varsity athletic team at his or her school and enrolled in grade 9-12. The minimum grade point average to be nominated is 3.2 unweighted. The athlete does not have to be a starter, just a current member of a varsity team. 

    The award will continue until the end of May. To nominate an athlete, confirm the student’s grade point average with the school guidance department. Then email earlucwsports@gmail.com. Include the student’s GPA, sports played this year and year in school. Also include information about any clubs, extracurricular activities or community activities the student is involved with, along with a high-resolution picture of the student taken with a smartphone or digital camera. 

  • 16Cumberland County Schools Football Schedule

  • 15Jeff Nance Grays CreekWhen most people reach career milestones, they take a little time to reflect and celebrate. Not Gray’s Creek High School baseball coach Jeff Nance. When Nance reached the 400th career win in his head coaching career recently, he observed it in an unusual way. He unveiled signs that were placed on the fence at the Gray’s Creek’s baseball field honoring two coaches who made a big impact on his life: Randy Ledford of South View and Brad Barbour of Douglas Byrd, both deceased. 

    Nance said he began planning the recognition a year ago, long before he got his 400th victory. 

    “I grew up watching both of them coach,’’ Nance said. “I played for Brad, (at Byrd and in American Legion baseball, and I coached against Randy. Coach Ledford was such good friends with my brother, Ronnie Luck.” 

    Luck was the former athletic director at South View during Ledford’s tenure as the school’s baseball and football coach. 

    Nance said both men taught him the value of taking good care of baseball facilities. “Coach Ledford and Coach Barbour were meticulous about their fields,’’ Nance said. “They took pride in the small things, cared about how their kids felt when they played. They wanted it to be a good experience.’’ 

    Barbour was like a second father to Nance, picking him up to take him to practice and making sure he and the other players on the team had things they needed like shoes and gloves. “He made it nice for us and he loved us,’’ Nance said. 

    Ledford had a great sense of humor and was as fundamental a baseball coach as they come. “I always loved his baseball signals,’’ Nance said, laughing. “I’ve seen him — when he wanted a guy to steal, he’d shake his head and nod toward second base. When he wanted a pitcher to pick a runner off, he’d just yell, ‘Now!’ He didn’t get complicated with the game. 

    “He really taught fundamentals. He made his kids hustle and play the game the way it was supposed to be played. That’s what I respected about him most.’’ 

    Now, with 28 years as a head coach behind him, 12 at Byrd and the last 16 at Gray’s Creek, it’s obvious Nance is a capable coach, too. 

    “I’ve never dreaded coming to work,’’ he said. “I’ve always enjoyed teaching school and coaching.’’ 

    But he sees the game changing, and not all of it is for the best. “The team concept has kind of gone away,’’ he said. “It’s my at bats, my earned run average, my batting average and all that.’’ 

    He sees benefits in the travel ball explosion that allow more players the chance to play. But there’s a downside. “We’re seeing more arm and overuse injuries,’’ he said. “Kids are specializing and playing so much. 

    “Parents are paying a lot of money to get kids playing time, investing in them to get better.’’ 

    Nance said sometimes when travel ball youngsters arrive on the high school field, they are convinced they’ll be college stars or future major leaguers. “When they get to high school, it seems like the high school coach is the only voice of reason they’ve heard in awhile,” Nance said. 

    He said he’s concerned about some of the changes being discussed in the game at the major league level, including putting in a clock for pitchers to speed up their delivery and talk of moving the pitcher’s mound back further. 

    “I don’t want the game to change,’’ he said. “I want people to respect the game and what it teaches. I hope our kids can look back at our program 20 years down the road and say, ‘we had some coaches at Gray’s Creek that cared more about us and the game.’ “I hope they say, ‘he loved us and taught us about being a better man as well as a baseball player.’’’ 

    Photo: Gray’s Creek baseball coach Jeff Nance

  •      A revenue-neutral tax rate is a priority for Cumberland County Commissioners, along with safe water and public safety for our citizens.
         At our retreat on March 2nd, the Commissioners were unanimous in their request to the County Manager to provide for us a revenue-neutral tax rate. The tax rate and the revenue it will generate must be weighed against the responsibilities of county government to provide for schools, libraries, law enforcement and other imperatives. Please keep in mind that a revenue-neutral tax rate will allow for the taxes of the County residents to be reduced from the present 86 cent rate.  Be assured that the Commissioners will deliberate carefully before establishing the tax rate for the coming fiscal year.
         Jeannette Council
         Chair, Cumberland County Board of Commissioners 

         {mosimage}First of all let me be clear-it is premature to talk about taxes atthis point. We do not even know our revenue stream. Once we get a clear picture of where we are then this question can be addressed. NO COMMISSIONER wants to raise taxes,but to tell people that we know where we are heading would not be truthful. The picture is too murky for us to say.
         Breeden Blackwell

         I favor a revenue-neutral tax rate.  County Commissioners have made this one of their three priorities.
     
         I will encourage the Fayetteville City Council to do the same.
          Marshall Faircloth

         The County Commissioners have instructed the County Manager to bring us a budget that represents a revenue-neutral tax rate. Personally I plan to support a revenue-neutral tax rate just as I did during the last re-evaluation when the commissioners reduced the tax rate 4 1/2 cents.
         The County Manager has sent a memo to all agencies requesting funding from Cumberland County. He has asked all county departments to reduce spending by  eleminating non-essential travel, training and other discretionary expenses in the current fiscal year. For FY 2010, basic operating expenditures for County Departments are being reduced. The 2010 budget will call for no salary increases (COLAs), no new positions or new capital expenditures. Personally, my hope is that we can keep all current employees working and keep their benefits. Our employees do a tremendous job and work very hard, but we have to make difficult decisions in difficult times. Since our budget is based on more than property taxes, I can,t be more specific since the budget has not beenpresented.
         Thanks!
         Kenneth Edge
  • Get ready for another great theatrical production as the Gilbert Theater performs As You Like It March 29-April 15.

    This classic production was written by the famous English poet and playwright, William Shakespeare. Shakespeare is responsible for creating some of the most famous and well received plays in the history of theater production.

    Born in April 1564, the famous writer created 154 sonnets, 38 plays, two long narrative poems, as well as several other poems. Producing most of his known works between 1589 and 1613, Shakespeare’s genre of plays ranged from comedies to histories and then later included tragedies. His works are discussed in many different literature and English classes and have been infl uential to the art of theater. Not only have famous and gifted authors, such as William Faulkner, Charles Dickens and Thomas Hardy, been infl uenced by his amazing works, but many painters as well as a vast number of musicians are linked to the works of Shakespeare as well. His expansion on the dramatic potential of the different areas of writing, such as language and plot, has made a lasting impression on theater production. Some of his famous works are Hamlet, Macbeth, Richard III, Romeo and Julietand A Midsummer’s Night’s Dream.

    The Gilbert Theater is pleased to continue entertaining the community with interesting plays. The comedy As You Like It is no exception to the rule.

    Directed by Jeremy Fiebig, the play focuses on the courageous Rosalind as she flees to the Forest of Arden to avoid being persecuted in the court by her evil uncle. Accompanied by her cousin and court jester, she happily encounters an interesting and new way of life.

    “The play is about people falling in love and the interaction of new people,” Fiebig said. “It’s a collision of the world of the courts versus country life.”

    Fiebig says that the audience is sure to enjoy the show and experience a more interactive production.

    “This play is not a conventional production,” Fiebig explains. “We use the audience in a more active way and there is more interaction between the cast and the audience.”

    04-04-12-gilbert-theatre.jpgThe play involves dance and song, which is something that Shakespeare used in many of his productions.

    “Shakespeare was known for including music in his plays but this particular play includes the most.” Fiebig says.

    Fiebig is thrilled to direct a Shakespeare play. He said that it has been a while since the Gilbert Theatre has shown a production by the famous playwright. Fiebig added that rehearsals have been going well and the cast is very diverse. They contribute much of the success of the future production.

    “Our cast has many different backgrounds and we use every bit of their talents,” Fiebig said. “We have a great group of folks that have made the process fun.”

    Fiebig noted that the play is told in an interesting way that will be very entertaining.

    As You Like It has continued to remain popular among audience members throughout the world and in different media such as radio, film and musical theater have adapted to Shakespeare’s work of art.

    Founded in 1994 by Lynn Pryor, this theater has allowed the Fayetteville community to view many contemporary and classical plays and productions. The theater is unique in the sense that they cater to all walks of life. Diversity is vital to the Gilbert Theater. Local residents are given the opportunity to use the venue to produce and showcase their own plays and production for all to see. The theater has shown the works of many playwrights such as Edgar Lee Master, Dylan Thomas, and of William Shakespeare, to name a few. The theater has been an active member with excellent standing in the American Association of Community Theaters since 1999. Gilbert Theater also includes children’s puppet shows, staged reading, and they have even created a standing company of Commedia dell’Arte. The Gilbert Theater continues to entertain and service the diverse community.

    For more information on ticket prices and show times for Shakespeare’s play As You Like It at the Gilbert Theater visit www.gilberttheater.com.

     

  • Music, a uniquely human phenomenon, exists as a cultural influence dating back to the earliest of civilizations. From sim-ple farmers gathering after harvest for celebration and bonding to European monarchs housing masters for the court’s enjoy-ment, music has always inspired and entertained.

    Snyder Memorial Baptist Church continues this grand tradition by with a tradition of its own — The Festival of Keyboards. On April 29, Snyder Memorial Baptist church invites the community to enjoy a free concert played on four grand pianos by pianists from the Snyder congregation and Music Academy Faculty. Joy Cogswell the music academy director at Snyder, recalls the beginning of this tradition.

    “Our minister of music Larry Dickens knew of a church in Virginia that had done something similar to this and we started the first year as a Christmas concert.”

    Cogswell recalls that in conjunction with the Singing Christmas Tree, the events were overwhelming so they decided to join this concert instead with the Dogwood Festival.

    “That was a wonderful move that helped us to have just great crowds and I think we’ve been able to reach the community a lot better by partnering with the Dogwood Festival,” Cogswell says.

    As part of the Dogwood Festival series, which includes more than 30 sanctioned Dogwood Festival events,04-18-12-keyboards.jpgSnyder helps to provide family fun and foster Fayetteville pride. The concert’s wide range of music also supports the Dogwood Festivals philosophy of “something for every-one” and gives the community a chance to celebrate its many talented members.

    The concert features six pianists who are active in the Snyder congregation. In the past, music academy faculty have also performed.

    “We’ve had as many as nine or 10, but this year we are using just church members or church musicians. This year we decided to go back to our roots with our church members, and let them share their God-given talents,” Cogswell explains.

    This concert also provides a unique opportunity for the musicians preforming, Cogswell, being a pianist herself explains, “Being a pianist is a pretty lonely job because you practice by yourself. You normally play by yourself and perform by yourself, so this is a really neat thing to be able to play with other pianist, to enjoy being together, to enjoy playing together, to enjoy working out the ensemble between the instru-ments.”

    The concert demonstrates the versatility of the piano as well as the great skill of the performers as many different styles of music will be performed, including sacred, classical, patriotic and pop.

    “There will be music for everybody. We will also have at least one thing the congregation will be able to join us in singing. We have a mens ensemble, 12 or 14 men who are going to sing one of their pieces because they use two piano accompaniments in their piece. So that will be something new this year,” said Cogswell.

    Whether a piano enthusiast or unfamiliar with the piano this concert provides the perfect venue to renew or freshly inspire a love for this classic yet versatile instrument.

    This free concert will take place within Snyder Memorial Baptist Church, 701 Westmont Dr. at 6:30 p.m. For more information, contact Joy Cogswell at 484-3191 or email at music@snydermbc.com.

    Photo: On April 29, Snyder Memorial Baptist church invites the community to enjoy a free concert played on four grand pianos

  • 19The interior of a home may be where homeowners and their families spend the majority of their time, and there’s no denying that a well-planned interior goes a long way toward making a house a home.
    However, the exterior of a home, including its landscaping, can serve as a source of pride and catch the eye of prospective buyers when the home hits the market.

    It’s easy to walk past a home with an eye-catching exterior and assume the homeowner has a green thumb or has spent lots of time and money working on the landscaping. Though that may be true, oftentimes it's the simplest strategies that make all the difference.

    Homeowners can keep these strategies in mind as they look to transform the exterior of their homes.

    Dress up the walkway. A longer walkway can give guests a strong first impression of a home and won't break the bank. Create new planting beds and plant bright plants and flowers along each side of the walkway.

    If it’s necessary and within budget, lengthen the walkway to create the feel of a more grandiose entryway.
    Make things more symmetrical. A messy landscape can give a poor first impression, even if the area features some beautiful plants. In such instances, a little effort to make things more symmetrical, with equal parts grass and vegetation, can create a cleaner, more inviting look.

    Mulch your flower and tree beds. Mulch is a relatively inexpensive but effective way to add aesthetic appeal to a landscape. Freshly mulched beds beneath trees and flowers creates a clean and organized look, and the mulch also serves a practical purpose, as it reduces weed growth and helps the soil retain moisture so plants stay healthy and look better throughout the warmer months when rainfall may not be steady or significant.

    Plant shade trees. Shade trees can be especially useful when selling a home. The shade provided by trees can shield grass from blistering summer sun, potentially helping it stay green. A lush green lawn appeals to buyers and gives the impression the home has been well maintained. In addition, shade trees can be used to create the look of a backyard oasis. A well-placed bench beneath a large shade tree can entice buyers who want a relaxing spot to enjoy warm summer days outdoors without getting a sunburn.

    Consider maintenance. The more exotic an exterior landscape is, the more maintenance it's likely to require. Lawn and garden enthusiasts may not be turned off by landscape features that require steady maintenance, but homeowners who don’t have much time for such work should keep things simple.

    A poorly maintained landscape, even if it includes exotic plants and elaborate designs, will adversely affect curb appeal.
    Another feather in the cap of low-maintenance landscape features is they could prove more appealing to prospective buyers, who may view elaborate, exotic landscaping as a lot of extra work they won’t want to do.

    Some simple landscaping strategies can help homeowners transform their home exteriors without requiring a significant investment of time or money.

  • DW7 Nearly 14 years after his death, Michael Jackson is still the undisputed King of Pop. From a precocious child star to one of the world’s most polarizing celebrities, Jackson’s 40-year career forever changed the face of music and made him one of the most culturally prominent figures of his lifetime.

    Jackson’s musical legacy will close out the Dogwood Festival’s three-night concert series on Sunday, April 30, when Who’s Bad: The Ultimate Michael Jackson Experience takes to the stage at 7:30 p.m.

    Founded in 2003 by Vamsi Tadepalli in Charlotte, — six years before his tragic passing — Who’s Bad is now the longest-running Michael Jackson tribute in the world.

    The Ultimate Michael Jackson Experience is created from meticulous research of Jackson’s tours, videos and live performances to perfect the showmanship that sold out arenas for decades. Having performed nearly 3,000 shows worldwide, Whose Bad has gotten the tribute game down to a science, impressing generations of fans, friends and industry insiders.

    Remembered for certified diamond hits like “Billie Jean” and “Thriller,” the invention of the moonwalk, and his larger-than-life persona off stage, Jackson’s contribution to music and pop culture are both still seen and felt in the entertainment industry.

    In his lifetime, Jackson produced 13 number-one singles, won 15 Grammy awards and sold over one billion records — making him one of the best musical artists of all time. As far as legacies go — it’s a tough act to follow, but Who’s Bad has made it their mission to elevate their craft to meet that challenge consistently.

    According to their website, “Each individual show is designed and constructed through an unparalleled study of the artists’ original performances, and infused with new energy so that they can be brought to life….”

    Not content to perform only a portion of his catalog or emulate a particular era, Who’s Bad: The Ultimate Michael Jackson Experience is an exciting kaleidoscope of Jackson’s most iconic looks, moves and tunes. From his rakish fedora, singular white glove and the loafers that seemed to glide on air — Who’s Bad has distilled all the moving parts of the Jackson juggernaut into a performance that pays respect to his fans, his craft and his memory.

    Though “Michael,” whose distinctive dance moves and vocal style are eerily brought to life by James Till III and Taalib York, is the clear star of the show, an impressive roster of singers, dancers and entertainment professionals propel the kinetic, dance-driven performance to a level of magic befitting the King of Pop.

    Who’s Bad: The Ultimate Michael Jackson experience is free and open to the public.

  • DW6This year’s Dogwood Festival lineup is the living embodiment of “a little bit country and a little bit rock ‘n’ roll.” Music lovers of Cumberland County will be able to boot scoot, head thrash and moonwalk with the best of them at Festival Park.

    Saturday night will take the All-American City back to the halcyon days of early 2000 with California alternative rockers Lit at 7:45 p.m. and Buckcherry at 9 p.m.

    Coming off the scuffed-Converse navel-gazing grunge which dominated the airwaves throughout the 90s, Lit, Buckcherry, and even the bubble-gum pop of their Billboard contemporaries were a welcome change to the post-grunge musical landscape as Y2K approached.

    When Lit leaped onto the scene with their hit single “My Own Worst Enemy” in 1999, it was clear to anyone with access to MTV or a Discman that rock had gotten fun again. The song charted at number one, undoubtedly on the power of its accompanying video — a delightful homage to the cult film, “The Big Lebowski.” It stayed for 11 weeks, earning the band a Billboard Music Award. Their album, “A Place in the Sun,” spawned two more hits, “Ziploc” and “Miserable,” and went certified platinum.

    In the intervening years, Lit, comprised of brothers Jeremy and A. Jay Popoff (lead guitar and vocals; lead vocals), Kevin Baldes (bass), and Taylor Carroll (drums) have gone through some lineup changes, most notably due to the cancer-related death of their drummer, Allen Shellenberger, in 2009. Since “A Place in the Sun,” the band has released five studio albums; the latest, “Tastes Like Gold,” was released in 2022.

    Also on stage Saturday is rowdy party band Buckcherry, whose catchy hit single, “Crazy B—” held the public captive for a significant portion of the mid-2000s and garnered the band a Grammy nomination in 2006.
    Buckcherry, whose current roster now hosts Josh Todd (lead vocals), Stevie D. (lead and rhythm guitar), Kelly LeMieux (bass), Francis Ruiz, and Billy Rowe (rhythm and lead guitar), has released 10 studio albums between 1999 and 2023 and continues to tour extensively.

    Together, these two bands invite the audience back to a simpler time — a time just before smartphones and Tiktok. The slick guitar riffs and forever-young feel-good lyrics are sure to be the perfect punctuation to a day filled with good food, games, vendors and community.

  • DW5Headlining the kickoff of the Dogwood Festival on Friday night this year are country singers Ashland Craft and David Nail.

    Nail has had number one hits like “Let It Rain” and “Whatever She’s Got.” While Nail has been to Fayetteville, this will be his first time performing at the Dogwood Festival.

    “It gets us excited any time we play something with a little bit of history,” he said. Nail’s set will include a soon to be released single, “Best of Me.”

    “That’ll be the first time we’ve ever played it live,” he said.

    From Greenville, South Carolina, Craft’s debut album “Travelin Kind” is out now.

    Festival concerts will be free to the public and attendees will have access to both food and drink vendors.

    For those who want to get closer to the action, “Best Seat in the House” tickets are available for $25 for each festival day — thrifty music lovers can purchase a weekend pass for $60 at www.thedogwoodfestival.com/.

  • DW4The Dogwood Festival kicks off this year with its premier food and wine event, Cork &Fork.

    This celebration of food brings together local chefs and restaurants in one place for people to try out their tasty offerings. Wine pairings will also be available as part of the event.

    Cork &Fork will be held at Festival Park in downtown Fayetteville, April 27 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Single tickets purchased before April 27 are $40. A “date night” couples’ ticket is $75. Day of tickets are $45.

    Guests can visit the different food and beverage vendors and sample hors d’oeuvres created especially for Cork & Fork. Included in the cost of the ticket are unlimited food tastings and 10 wine sample tickets. Each ticket is worth a 2 ounce sample pour of wine. Three tickets can be used for a full 6 ounce pour or a 16 ounce beer.
    Vendors include Bees & Boards Charcuterie, Guatemala Centro America, Burney’s Sweets and more, and Gaston Brewing Company, as well as several others.

    “This is the third year that we’ve been doing Cork & Fork,” said Troy Rasmussen, owner and president, Gaston Brewing Company.

    “Last year we did a spinach and feta stuffed ravioli in a pesto Alfredo sauce. It was a huge hit, so we are probably going to be doing something similar this year.”
    Rasmussen said Gaston Brewing Company will also be providing beverages for the Dogwood Festival as a whole. Their blackberry ale, Velvet Art, will be available as well as their New England IPA State of Lunacy. Their Namaste Lavender Ale will also be served.

    “We think it’s a great collaborative relationship to partner with these different festival organizers and organizations within our downtown space,” Rasmussen said. “The more successful these festivals and events are, the more it brings people downtown, and that benefits all of us. For us, it’s an opportunity to be a part of something and hopefully our little contribution helps to add to the success of the event.”

    Tickets to Cork & Fork can be purchased day of, or in advance at www.thedogwoodfestival.com/cork-fork.

  • DW3 The addition of the mobile axe throwing trailer from the Axes & Armor Hatchet House adds to the fun and excitement of the Dogwood Festival.

    The Axes & Armor Hatchet House will be up Saturday and Sunday from noon to 6 p.m. on Gillespie Street.

    The free attraction provides festival patrons a chance to try axe throwing in a safe and controlled environment. All patrons must sign a waiver before throwing an axe.

    You do not want to miss out on the opportunity to try your hand at axe throwing while testing your throwing skills and aim.

    Throwing an axe can be an excellent opportunity to bond with friends or family. It’s also a chance to meet new people and learn a new skill you can show off to your friends later.

    So, stop by the mobile throwing trailer while visiting the Dogwood Festival, and have some fun while testing your skills.

    The Axes & Armor Hatchet House has two locations, one in Fayetteville at 4005 Raeford Road, and one in Spring Lake at 409 N. Bragg Blvd. For info visit www.axesandarmor.com/.

  • DW2The Fayetteville Dogwood Festival is bringing back the excitement of pro wrestling this year. Ring Wars Carolina is an independent professional wrestling company based out of Hope Mills. They will host multiple wrestling matches at the Ray Avenue and Hay Street intersection.

    For festival patrons, this is an opportunity to see professional wrestling up close that you want to take advantage of.

    The matches will occur on Saturday and Sunday and show times are noon, 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 p.m.
    Ring Wars Carolina has been providing quality entertainment since 1996, with a focus on the Carolinas since 2002. Their mission is to provide quality entertainment that is fun for the entire family. They are sure to deliver at the Fayetteville Dogwood Festival.

    The best part of this event is that it is completely free. It provides an excellent option for families and anyone looking for great live entertainment. It is also a chance to experience the Fayetteville Dogwood Festival and meet new people who are also fans of pro wrestling.

    Experience the thrill of live wrestling, cheer on their favorite wrestlers, and meet new people in a fun and family-friendly environment.
    For more infromation on Ring Wars Carolina, visit www.ringwarscarolina.net/.

  • DW1 Shadows of the Fire and Air Born Aerials will be in the Performance Area near the Market House on Hay Street. Debbie Belles, who helps coordinate all the logistics of the space for the performers, said that all the dancers are looking forward to the event.

    Shadows of the Fire will host four dancers, including Belles herself, during the festival.

    The group has been entertaining at Dogwood Festival since the early 2000s, Belles said. “It’s always a fun time.”
    Air Born Aerials will perform Saturday only at 1, 2, 3:30 and 4:30 p.m. Performance Area entertainment runs from noon to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

  • 13bGet ready for a night of “music, fun and frivolity” as Fayetteville’s Ultimate Lip Sync Showdown returns for its fifth year on May 6 at the Crown Center Ballroom in Fayetteville.

    This epic event will benefit the Child Advocacy Center and is considered “one of the most fun fundraisers you can attend in Cumberland County.” Up & Coming Weekly spoke with Tim Edwards, co-chair for the CAC’s fundraising committee, about how this special event came to be.

    “We were trying to come up with a new event that people would get excited about,” Edwards explained. “Lots of people can’t sing or dance—but they can entertain.” With the popularity of “Dancing with the Stars” and “Lip Sync Battle,” a friendly competition seemed like just the ticket.

    For Fayetteville’s Ultimate Lip Sync Showdown, acts sign up to perform songs of their choosing, design their sets, gather their costumes, and set their sights on super stardom. Over the years, “people have really taken it and run,” Edwards joked.

    This year’s stage will include performances from Ursula the Sea Witch, Elvis, the legendary pairing of Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers, the cast of “Matilda,” and a group of young performers who go by the rather intriguing name of Alien Horse Hotwheels.

    “Every year, this event keeps getting bigger and bigger,” said Edwards. It’s been an exciting fundraiser over the years. “You get to raise money for a nonprofit and have a good time.”

    Cocktail hour will begin at 6 p.m. with the showdown set for 7 p.m. Tickets for the event are $75 for standard seating and $99 for VIP. Groups of eight can call and arrange a table to enjoy the action together.

    The ticket price includes a menu of heavy hors d'oeuvres, live music, a round of desserts, and coffee service during intermission.
    Though entertainment is high atop the list of priorities for the evening, fundraising is the ultimate goal. A combination of efforts accompanies this aim as groups compete not only for bragging rights but also to see who can inspire the most charitable giving on behalf of the CAC.

    Performers sell raffle tickets before and during the showdown. Those funds go toward their final contribution, and local groups or businesses can choose to sponsor an act from various sponsorship tiers.
    After the show, the audience will have an opportunity to vote for their favorite act. Groups will be awarded prizes in three categories: Top Overall Prize for Performance, Top Prize Overall for Fundraising, and the People’s Choice.

    “The acts get excited about bragging rights; the competition is fierce but fun. Our acts hit the stage and really... go all out. They really want to raise as much money as possible,” Edwards explained.
    To purchase tickets, visit the CAC’s website at https://www.cacfaync.org/.

    “I really want to encourage people to come out,” Edwards said. “I give it the Tim Edwards Guarantee. If you go and don’t have a good time — come see me after the show.”

  • 13Members of the community looking for a fun family event can head to Dirtbag Ales on May 6 for Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra’s Movie Night.

    The double feature event will begin at 8 p.m., and is free to attend. “The Tramp” starring Charlie Chaplain will be the first movie shown, followed by Buster Keaton’s “One Week.” The films will be accompanied by a live ensemble, with music arranged by Peter B. Kay.

    “The FSO started Symphony Movie Nights in 2021 along with our Symphony on Tap series,” said Meghan Woolbright, Marketing and Office Manager for FSO.

    “Every October since 2021, we've held our fall movie showing of ‘Nosferatu,’ a 1922 gothic silent film at Dirtbag Ales. These movie nights have been really well received, so why not do another in the spring?”

    “Community” is what the FSO is all about. Several events throughout the year are held for free, all for the benefit of the Cumberland County community.

    “The FSO loves engaging with our community. One way we do that is by offering free community concerts like our various Symphony on Tap events, and our Independence Day concert held at Festival Park on July 4,” said Woolbright.

    The FSO has been a staple in Fayetteville since 1956. A group of musicians who dreamed of sharing their passion with the community came together to create the first Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra.
    The main orchestra is currently comprised of about 70 musicians. FSO has had six music directors since its inception. Dr. Stefan Sanders is the current director. He is in his fifth year.
    The orchestra provides several free concerts to the community throughout their season, and Movie Night is just one more way the musicians give back to Fayetteville.

    “These events allow our beloved community of Fayetteville to come together and enjoy a free movie and listen to a small ensemble perform in a comfortable environment like a restaurant or a taproom,” said Woolbright.

    “The Tramp” is one of Charlie Chaplin’s most well known silent films. Chaplain, as the character of the Tramp, has several misadventures in the 26 minute runtime. It debuted in 1915.

    “One Week,” also a silent film, has a runtime of 19 minutes. Starring Buster Keaton, the story centers around a newly wed couple as they build a house together using a do-it-yourself kit. It debuted in 1920.

    The two comedies will be accompanied by an ensemble from members of the Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra.

    The event on May 6 is open and free to the public. For more information, visit https://www.fayettevillesymphony.org/.

  • 12b His Outreach Worldwide will host a barbecue fundraiser May 5. The food will be provided by Southern Coals and live music will be provided by Currie Wayne Clayton Jr.

    The HOW BBQ Fundraiser will take place at 2770 Breezewood Avenue in Fayetteville from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. The cost is $10 per plate, with all proceeds going toward the HOW Ministry School in Tamu, Myanmar.

    The goal of His Outreach Worldwide is to share the good news and love of Jesus with all children. The organization does this through several ministry efforts that help local church food banks, helping children with critical health concerns, delivering water filters around the world, and running a women’s ministry and children’s school in Myanmar and India.

    The ministry’s book “Sharing Jesus With Children Around The World” has been translated into 69 languages and distributed in more than 159 nations. It is transforming lives all around the world. One such place is the HOW Ministry School in Tamu, Myanmar.

    HOW’s Founder and Director, Lynne O’Quinn, says that much love and support is needed in that area of the world. The city is considered to be the drug, prostitution, smuggling, trafficking “capital” of Myanmar as it sits on the border of India and shares “trade” with twin city Moreh, India. HOW’s goal is to change the area by sharing the love of Christ with the children in the community.

    “We now have 238 students — preschool through 4th grade with plans for higher classes as soon as possible,” O’Quinn shared with Up & Coming Weekly. “These students are all Hindu and Buddhist. They are learning English through scriptures, Bible stories and Christian songs. We are the only English teaching school in the region.”

    O’Quinn went on to say, “We have 22 extremely qualified staff. HOW’s leader of the school is ACA University's first woman to graduate with a theological degree, one of two to graduate with the highest honors. She speaks eight languages. Our principal has an engineering degree but chose to serve God through our school. Charis English Primary School is fully accredited by the Burmese government and has the government’s — as well as the community’s — support. This fact alone is amazing and of God.”

    “As you can see, God’s hand is all over this,” she said. “There are so many miracles that have surrounded this. God is truly amazing!”

    O’Quinn points out that for HOW’s mission to be successful, it takes the work of many people, and fundraisers such as the May 5 event are invaluable to continuing the effort. She invites the entire community to the event to learn more about HOW.

    “I sincerely desire our Fayetteville area community to be made aware of the good and service HOW does throughout our community and the world,” she said.

    For more information on His Outreach Worldwide and the ministry school in Tamu, Myanmar, visit http://hisoutreachworldwide.org/.

  • 04-17-13-ft.-bragg-fair.gifThere are a few sure fire ways that natives to the area can gauge the coming of spring. First, the dogwood trees bloom. Second, the Fort Bragg Fair comes to town. This Fayetteville tradition has been a staple of spring for more than 30 years, and it has only grown as time has passed. This year the Fort Bragg fair will be as fun and family friendly as ever.

    As in years past, this exciting and lively fair will offer carnival rides and entertainment galore — there will be something for everyone. Rhett Stroupe, special events coordinator said, “People should expect family fun in a safe and secure environment.”

    The admission fee to enter the fair is $12 for general admission on Mondays through Fridays after 7 p.m. and $17 for the weekends. On weeknights after 7 p.m. the cost for military members with I.D. and children up to age 9 is $10. Senior citizens and the handicapped will be charged $7 for admission. On weekends military with I.D. and children up to the age of 9 will be charged $15, but the price remains the same for the handicapped and senior citizens regardless of the day. Additionally any children under the height of 36 inches will get into the fair free regardless of the day. The fair will be having a special on Mother’s Day, May 12. Mothers will be admitted for free when they are accompanied by a paying child who is over 36 inches in height, up to the age of 17 — all in celebration of the sacrifi ces and hard work that mothers go through. The price of admission includes unlimited rides on all carnival rides and tickets to any show that is happening at the fair. Parking is free.

    This year the fair has an incredible line up of live entertainment. Shows are subject to change, but all of the entertainment opportunities at the fair are astounding.

    “This year the fair will have added value entertainment acts including the Marvelous Mutts. These are rescue dogs who do tricks and acrobatics and the BMX who ride bikes and do aerial stunts and tricks,” Stroupe said.

    The Marvelous Mutts, which is a performance that showcases the amazing intelligence and athleticism of man’s best friend, the dog, will perform at several different times. This family-friendly event will be sure to impress all who watch it, as both the trainers and dogs in this show have been nationally recognized for their skills. This can’t-miss opportunity includes in the price of admission, and the dogs and their trainers are planning to have shows every day the fair is open for patrons to enjoy.

    The fair will also have the American BMX Stunt Team performing. Watching the professional trick riders from American BMX Stunt Team perform is guaranteed to entertain and astound. The team is North Carolina-based, but their skills are nationally renowned. The riders professionally ride and perform daring tricks on bicycles, scooters and inline skates.

    The gates to the fairground open at 5 p.m. on weekdays and 1 p.m. on weekends. The fair is located at the Fort Bragg Fairground, F-4208 Howell St. and Bragg Boulevard. For more information or directions, visit the MWR website at www.ftbraggmwr.com or call at the number 396-9126.

    Photo: The Fort Bragg Fair is an event that the community looks forward to each year.

  • 12See the enchanting world of fairy tales come to life on May 7 as the World Ballet Series presents “Cinderella” at the Crown Theatre in Fayetteville.
    With the dulcet tones of Sergei Prokofiev’s enduring score wafting from the orchestra pit, audiences are sure to be awed by the lush hand-painted sets, gorgeous costumes and breathtaking choreography of Marina Kessler.

    “Rhodopis” in Ancient Greece, “Yeh-Shen” in China, the story of Cinderella has gone by many names dating back to the first century. Today, there are as many as 1500 different versions of “Cinderella” in circulation.

    Though the tale of a young woman who undergoes an extraordinary reversal of fortune exists in some form or another throughout many different cultures, literary versions such as “Aschenputtel” (“The Little Ash Girl”) by The Brothers Grimm of Germany and the story of “Cendrillon…” by French author Charles Perrault, are perhaps the most well known.

    Perrault’s version is the basis for Walt Disney’s 1950 animated feature, “Cinderella," whose singing mice and bibbidi-bobbidi-boos have charmed audiences for generations.
    Adapted for the stage in the early 19th century, the earliest ballet of “Cinderella” dates back to around 1813. The addition of Sergei Prokofiev’s score in 1945 has since become the industry standard. Of the composition, Prokofiev said:

    “... I see Cinderella not only as a fairy tale character but also a real person, feeling, experiencing and moving among us … What I wished to express above all in the music of Cinderella was the poetic love of Cinderella and the Prince, the birth and flowering of that love, the obstacles in its path and finally, the dream fulfilled.”

    The plot, familiar to many, centers on the young Cinderella who, with the aid of her fairy godmother, works to out scheme her wicked step-mother and two evil step-sisters to achieve her “happily ever after.” Though many versions of “Cinderella” serve as cautionary tales on the evils of classism, the World Ballet Series’ production infuses the classic story with humor and the magic fans have come to expect — without any of the words.

    On stage at the Crown Theatre, the audience will see Cinderella leap and twirl away from her life as a cinder-coated housemaid to the beautiful, worthy princess she was always meant to be.

    The multi-city U.S. tour features “sparkling” Principal dancer Ekaterina Malkovich in the titular role and invited soloist Leonardo Celegato as her Prince Charming. The Wicked Stepmother, portrayed “stunningly” by dancer Angelina Zgurskaya, promises to tickle audiences as she and her two equally wicked daughters are repeatedly foiled. Rounding out the company is a cast of dancers plucked from every corner of the globe, making this bold vision of "Cinderella" one you won’t want to miss.

    “Cinderella” opens at 6 p.m. on May 7. Tickets range in price from $38 to $98. To purchase, visit the Crown Complex website at https://www.crowncomplexnc.com/. No food or drink is allowed into the theatre; concessions are available at the venue.

    The Crown Theatre is located at 1960 Coliseum Drive in Fayetteville.

  • 7aWhen exploring Fayetteville’s social scene, few people would consider looking to a nonprofit. Sometimes though, the most fun can come from the unlikeliest of sources. If you are looking for a night to remember, keep an eye out for The CARE Clinic’s Toast of the Town — Wine, Beer & Spirits Tasting. This event has much to offer guests, but the best part is that it is all for a good cause.

    The CARE Clinic first broke ground on Robeson Street in 1993 after a needs assessment report across Eastern North Carolina highlighted a lack of accessible medical care for low-income individuals. Under the guidance of Sister Jean Rhodes from the Daughters of Charity, a Catholic religious community whose mission is to serve the poor, The CARE Clinic found its footing. Now, the clinic is federally qualified under the National and North Carolina Associations of Free and Charitable Clinics. Its mission is to provide free, quality healthcare to uninsured adults in Cumberland and bordering counties. It is an overwhelming task to undertake when considering the problem’s scope — over one million people without health insurance in North Carolina.

    As an independent nonprofit clinic, it relies on donations and sponsorships to support daily operations as they care for thousands of patients annually. Three yearly fundraisers help reach financial goals, but they are also welcomed as opportunities to step beyond the clinic’s walls into the community.

    Located close to downtown, The CARE Clinic links up with the Fayetteville social scene. The Toast of the Town started as a low-key event on the top floor of the Prince Charles Hotel. For those familiar with Fayetteville, you will recognize that the jump from this single room to the entire Cape Fear Botanical Garden expanse is quite sizable. Organizers are overjoyed by the continually growing popularity of this event.

    If you missed the 2022 Toast of the Town, let me walk you through our night in the garden.

    The Toast of the Town begins in the front entrance hall of the Botanical Garden. Guests filter through check-in and can be photographed in the “Step-and-Repeat” photo center sponsored by the UPS Store. They are then handed complimentary wine and beer glasses for tastings throughout the night. These glasses are available thanks to the contributions of some of the major supporters, including Cape Fear Valley Health System, the Waren Investment Group of Wells Fargo Advisors and Player McLean, LLP.

    With glasses in hand, guests are guided into the Orangery room. This room houses reserved tables saved for sponsors to congregate with their teams, staff or clients for a night of social gatherings. Each table is elegantly decorated with greenery and flowers by Debbie Bender Designs.

    Surrounding the perimeter of the room is a variety of silent auction baskets. Each basket contains items valued at over $200; local artists, businesses and organizations around Fayetteville donate these items. Some previous baskets included pre-season tickets to see the Carolina Panthers; an overnight stay at a winery from the Cape Fear Distillery; and massages, facials and pedicures for those looking to get7b pampered.

    The silent auction runs online on a virtual platform throughout the night, so bidders can be alerted via text the second they are outbid. Those looking for that typical pen-to-paper bidding can head over to bid on trips across North America and Europe provided by the American Fundraising Foundation. Some of the winning trips in previous years included Iceland, Greece and Tuscany!

    Once guests have taken a lap around the Orangery, they go outside to find the party. The border of the lawn hosts local beer, wine and spirits vendors from across North Carolina. Each vendor offers a variety of drinks to satiate every palette. Wine, in particular, is provided by Mutual Distributing company and delivers nearly 60 different options to taste and order for pick-up from one of their sellers. Beer and spirits come from vendors closer to home, including Mash House Brewing Company, Dirtbag Ales, Bright Light Brewing Company and Cape Fear Distillery.

    Next to the drink tables stand heavy hors d'oeuvres and desserts served by Two Brothers Catering. Each meal item is unique and delicious, with the Two Brothers servers ensuring your plate is always full.
    The night would not be complete without the opportunity to bust it down on the dance floor with friends. Five Star Entertainment pumps music through the speakers and sets up a photo booth in the corner to commemorate the night’s memories.

    The CARE Clinic sends a massive “Thank You!” to all who make the event possible. They do what they can for neighbors in need and lean on the whole community to support them in their work. Events like this open doors to connect with the community with some fun for a cause!

    The 2023 Toast of the Town is scheduled for May 4. Make plans now to attend. If you are interested in participating as a sponsor or attending as a guest, visit the event website at www.toastofthetownfay.com, follow on Facebook, @thecareclinicnc, or call 910-485-0555 for more information.

    Editor's note: Tara Martin is the Development and Marketing Director of The CARE Clinic. This article appears in the April issue of Women's View Magazine.

  • 18Spring is a season of rejuvenation, and perhaps nowhere is that rebirth more noticeable than in the yard. Each spring, grass begins to grow again as inviting landscapes beckon people outdoors. Extra sunlight and rising temperatures make spring a great time to plant flowers, grasses and trees.

    To ensure successful planting, homeowners must take steps to prepare the soil. Healthy soil can provide the ideal conditions for roots to take hold, helping plants establish themselves before potentially harsh summer conditions arrive.

    Preparing soil might seem like an extensive job, but a simple approach may be all that’s necessary to create conditions that promote plant growth this spring.

    Clean up the previous months’ mess. Whether homeowners live in regions marked by year-round warmth or places where winter typically features heavy snowfall, it’s a good idea to clean up an area prior to spring planting. Fallen leaves, rocks, grass clippings, and other debris can contribute to compacted soil that makes it hard for plants to establish strong, healthy root systems. Clear away any debris prior to planting before taking the next step in your soil preparation routine.

    Loosen the soil. Once debris has been cleared away, loosen the soil. Depending on the size of the area where you’ll be planting, you may need to invest in tools like a shovel, spade, spading fork, and/or a lawn edger.

    If you’re planting in a small area, such as a deck planter box that still has soil from last year’s planting inside it, you can either clean the box and replace the soil entirely or dig around with a handheld trowel, cultivator and/or weeder.

    It’s important to loosen all of the soil around where you will ultimately plant prior to planting to ensure water can reach the roots and help them establish themselves once planting is completed.

    Test and, if necessary, amend the soil. A simple pH test can help determine the acidity or alkalinity of the soil. This is an important step as soil that is too acidic or alkaline can decrease the availability of nutrients the plants will need to thrive.

    In addition to conducting a pH test, which can be purchased at little cost at a local home improvement store, homeowners can contact their local Cooperative Extension Service to test their soil quality. These tests will reveal soil pH, but also can shed light on the texture of the soil and other components.

    Once the test is conducted, the local Coop Extension Service may recommend amendments to improve the nutritional quality of the soil so new plants can thrive.
    Soil conditions go a long way toward determining if new plants will thrive. Preparing the soil prior to spring planting can ensure a successful season.

  • 15aThe April showers are working overtime to usher in May flowers in downtown Fayetteville, and with the new blooms, some beautiful weather should also be on the way. In celebration of spring and the new market season, this Earth Day, April 22, Fayetteville’s City Market at the Museum will be supporting the mission of caring for the planet in full force. The City Market is hosted by the Fayetteville History Museum and Fayetteville/Cumberland County Parks and Recreation’s Historic and Natural Resources District.

    An ever-present opportunity to support environmentally healthy habits, the Fayetteville City Market at the Museum is a year-round farmers market that pops up in front of the Fayetteville History Museum every Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. It is a rain or shine event.

    City Market at the Museum, like all farmers markets, is a fantastic way to help protect the environment. Shopping locally reduces food miles as food purchased from local resources travels less distance and leaves a smaller carbon footprint.

    Shopping small helps to support Fayetteville produce growers, and its farming community, by creating accessible community consumer options.
    Buying from local farmers markets also serves local shoppers fresher vegetables and meat. Shopping within the community can also help protect local land and wildlife by keeping farmlands in the hands of farmers.

    In addition, shoppers can help to build and support a local craft industry and workforce. The City Market at the Museum provides visitors with ample environmentally sound options. The market boasts not only a well-stocked greengrocer and local meat vendor but also showcases vendors of local honey, microgreens, baked treats, woodcrafts, candles and so much more.15

    In celebration of Earth Day and to kick off the market’s fine weather busy season, museum staff will have a booth set up with giveaways and coloring sheets.
    Local Park Rangers will also be on site, offering an educational and scientific experience and sharing all of their upcoming free programs and some fee-based summer camp opportunities.

    Fayetteville’s Public Works Commission will be in attendance sharing valuable ways to protect the environment and tips to make your home and community energy efficient.

    “We are very excited to welcome all of our new and veteran vendors to kick off what will be a fun season of local shopping opportunities at the market,” said Historic and Natural Resources Manager, Heidi Bleazey.

    “And we are overjoyed to have our very own park rangers and PWC here in support of Earth Day. Everyone is welcome downtown to celebrate our planet, experience the City Market and explore the museum.”

    In addition to a selection of local growers, makers and farmers, the market anticipates hosting a food truck on site each Saturday throughout the spring and summer, making the market a fantastic Saturday morning and afternoon adventure for the whole family.

    Visit the Fayetteville History Museum’s City Market at the Museum at the front of the museum grounds at 325 Franklin St., every Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. The Museum and Annex are also open for visitors, Tuesday through Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and are always free.

    Editor's note: Emily Sussman is the Historic Properties Coordinator for the Fayetteville History Museum and the North Carolina Veterans Park.

  • 13When Warren Hahn propped a blue Soap Box Derby car in the back of his red pickup and strapped it down to drive around town, he never imagined whose attention would be grabbed by the children’s gravity racer.

    Dining at Zorba’s one Friday morning for breakfast, Hahn’s advertising stunt garnered the attention of an elderly gentleman also dining at the restaurant.

    “Who owns the truck out there?” the older man asked those sitting in the restaurant.

    Hahn reluctantly admitted it was his car — assuming he had parked his truck wrong or some other small offense. The man asked Hahn to join him outside and go look at his truck. And that is how Warren Hahn met Billy Spears, the winner of the 1947 Cape Fear Soap Box Derby.

    “We got to talking,” Hahn said. “He’s a great gentleman. He won the first race after World War II.”

    While Hahn didn’t intend to discover the boy turned grandfather that won the race 76 years ago, he did gain a grand marshal for the Cape Fear area’s first Soap Box Derby since 1973. The event, which takes place April 29 at the Charlie Rose Agri-Expo Center, marks 50 years since the area hosted a Soap Box Derby race. Spears, as grand marshal, will join others at the festivities including another winner, Terry Faircloth, who won the derby in 1972. At this year’s event, Faircloth’s derby will be on display.

    “Everyone is used to pinewood derbies,” Hahn, Race Director for Cape Fear Soap Box Derby, says. “Blow it up, make it 6 feet long and put your child in it.” 13a

    Hahn laughed a little about the gritty explanation of a Soap Box Derby but added that they don‘t have any motors so the racers only get up to speed around 20 miles per hour. The event, which is put on by the Kiwanis Club of Cape Fear, will have two types of racing categories: Stock for ages seven to 13 and Super Stock for ages nine to 18. Kiwanis Club of Cape Fear also began a donor program for derby kits to children in need. Two of the donor kits this year will be gifted to children of Gold Star families.

    “This is a program we wish to bring back every year … we are hoping to have 15 to 20 racers this year,” Hahn said.

    The races will be free to the public and feature a double elimination until four racers remain — winning prizes for 1st to 4th place. Indoor restrooms, a food vendor and free parking will all be available on the day of the races.

    “The thing that is most interesting is from 1936 to 1971, the Soap Box Derby was for boys only,” Hahn said. “In 1971, a girl here in Fayetteville built a derby.”

    That little girl, Sandra Sosa, and her family ended up in legal action fighting for her right to compete. Eventually, they won in the courts and Soap Box Derby began to be both a boy and a girl’s sport.

    “The courts said, ‘A girl cannot get into a Soap Box Derby in a ladylike manner,’” Hahn said, chuckling.

    If Hahn and the Kiwanis Club have at least 10 participants, the winner from this year’s competition will be eligible to go to the Soap Box Derby in Akron, Ohio, for the national Soap Box Derby.
    Bringing these events back to the area was a pitch Hahn made to the Kiwanis Club.

    “Pure stupidity, I volunteered,” Hahn jokes about gaining his title as the Race Director.

    For Hahn, Soap Box Derby doesn’t just have long term ties to Fayetteville but has personal significance for himself. He raced in derbies himself.

    “The way I got the money to build my derby is my grandfather said I had to go to Akron Savings bank and ask for the money to put my derby together,” Hahn said. “I had to ask for $25 to build my derby.”

    Children within the permitted age ranges are welcome to enter the race through the Kiwanis Club. The kits are around $900, according to Hahn, and can be reused and improved upon
    each year.

    The public is invited to the Cape Fear Soap Box Derby at the Charlie Rose Agri-Expo Center on April 29 to cheer on racers of all ages.

    “It’s going to be a lot of fun.”

  • 15Grab a leather jacket, a helmet, clean off the motorcycle and gear up for the Riding for Hope Bike Run fundraiser on April 22.

    April is Autism Awareness Month and this fundraiser will spread awareness on the subject and support a good cause.

    This event is not just for motorcyclists, because the community can come out and enjoy it. Those interested in riding can register the day of the event from 8 to 9:30 a.m. The fee is $20 for riders and $10 for passengers.

    This is the Jarred Bryan Sparks Foundation’s annual fundraiser that assists with funding for The School of Hope, a private school for autistic children.
    Salina Medlin, a teacher’s assistant at The School of Hope, is also on the Jarred Bryan Sparks Foundation. She thought of the motorcycle run in 2020.

    According to Medlin, the foundation has helped raise $40,000 for the school over the years.

    This year's Bike Run will help raise money for The School of Hope expansion. Right now, they are near capacity. Once the modular buildings are up, the school can provide more space for additional students.
    The class size is small at the school — 10 students or less to one teacher.

    Another reason this fundraiser is important is because when a child is diagnosed with autism, The School of Hope wants to be top of mind when parents seek help.

    “As a mother with children with autism, I understand the frustration and fear parents go through. Cumberland County Schools doesn't have the resources needed to provide the one-on-one each [autistic] student needs,” she said. “The School of Hope has smaller classrooms, Applied Behavior Analysis and Registered Behavioral Technicians. This allows us to meet the individual needs of our students.”15a

    Fundraiser History

    The inaugural ride was in November 2020. They did not have one in 2021 and got back into action in 2022. This is the third ride.

    Because of COVID, the foundation could not have its annual spring festival in 2020. Medlin was thinking of how to fill the void for funding. She thought of a bike run because it hit all the marks — social distancing, riders could bring their own motorcycle, it's outside and folks could wear masks.

    Medlin said it was an amazing hit. She said she never had a bike run before and the community came together strong for it.

    The motorcycle community — riders and clubs — go around and find communities that might need help fundraising and do the bike runs.
    John Larson, Fort Bragg Hog Chapter, led the bike run in 2022. Medlin said he was helpful with leading the run and creating the route.

    “It came out well and I couldn’t have done it without the community’s help to spread awareness about autism,” she said.

    Larson told Medlin that typically bike rides have an honorary rider. She thought of her son, Julian.
    Julian is autistic and has always wanted to have a motorcycle. She knew this was perfect for him to do the ride.

    “I thought, ‘This would be a great opportunity for him to get out in the community and socialize with other people and have a great time by riding on the back of John’s bike throughout the ride,’” she said. “It was real good for him.”

    Medlin said they are looking for this year’s honorary rider. Medlin says being an honorary rider helps the child socialize and have a good time.

    Learn and Have Fun

    15bThose interested in attending the fundraiser may be wondering what to expect.

    “We’re always there to help educate parents who have young children with autism. Maybe they’re not sure what direction to go to help their child,” she said.

    Other happenings at the event: the foundation will sell T-shirts, have free food and a raffle for a 60-inch smart TV. Each rider that is registered in the ride will get a free raffle ticket. Sponsors of the event get a raffle ticket, too. Additional tickets can be purchased. The raffle tickets go into a jar and at the end of the bike run, a ticket is drawn. The winner can pick up the smart TV from the school the following Monday.

    The Riding for Hope Bike Run will start at 3950 Sycamore Dairy Road in Fayetteville.

    The School of Hope

    Amy and Rob Sparks created The School of Hope for autistic children. Their son Jarred Bryan Sparks lived with autism and died in June 2011 at the age of 19. In 2017, the Sparks started the nonprofit Jarred Bryan Sparks Foundation to spread awareness about autism. The foundation advocates for autistic children and provides financial support for the school. Students with the diagnosis of autism can attend grades K-12.

    For more information about the Riding for Hope Bike Run call 910-339-5683.

  • Fayetteville-Cumberland Parks and Recreation offers a variety of locations around town to enjoy the outdoors and learn about local flora, fauna and wildlife.

    In addition to park facilities, there are a number of activities scheduled for April and May. Below are just a few, so be sure to check https://www.fcpr.us/facilities/recreation-centers for more information.

    Earth Day at the City Market

    Kick off the 2023 season of the City Market at the History Museum. Shop and chat with City Park Rangers about the area’s plants and animals, and outdoor adventure close-to-home at the best spots to enjoy nature. Do a kids’ craft or two at one of our vendor tables. Fresh, locally grown vegetables, fruits, eggs, honey, and other products are offered for sale. Purchase seasonal offerings along with plants, flowers, wood crafts, knitted goods, soap, candles, jewelry and other handcrafts. Market season runs from April to December, but a number of vendors appear year-round. For all ages, Saturday, April 22 from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. Entry is free.

    14aJ. Bayard Clark Nature Center, 910-433-1579

    Animal Feedings!

    Alligators chomping, snakes swallowing and turtles snapping - come see what is for dinner at the nature center. Free for all ages; Wednesdays 4 p.m. and Saturdays 2 p.m.

    Arbor Day Tree ID Walk

    Come out to the park and learn why trees are important and useful. Identify some common species you might have in your backyard. Learn how to log the species you find in iNaturalist for the City Nature Challenge. Call or register online. Free for all ages. Friday, April 28 from 4 to 5 p.m.

    One Foot Challenge

    See how many different species you can find in a one foot by one foot square and log them in iNaturalist for the City Nature Challenge. You might be surprised at how many things you can find once you take a closer look! Call or register online. Free for kids 5 and up. Monday, May 1 from 4 to 5 p.m.

    14bLake Rim Park, 433-1018

    Great Pinecone Scavenger Hunt-Plant by Numbers

    Woody plants teem with wildlife and can be numbered based on species that depend on them. These “Tallamy Numbers” can guide you to selecting the most wildlife-friendly plants for your landscape. Learn about this concept as you follow clues to discover six plants marked with numbered, golden pinecones. Game sheets are located outside the office. Saturdays though Wednesdays through April 26, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

    Tuesday Tar Kiln Tour from Bill Crisp Senior Center

    Listen as rangers and historians reveal the significance of a local archaeological site. Discover the importance of the naval stores industry and find out why we are known as “The Tar Heel State.” Move across the road to remnants of a century-old turpentine factory that left kilns on the landscape. Meet staff at the new Senior Center at 7560 Raeford Road, across from Lake Rim Park. Call or register online. Ages 15 and up welcome for the free program. Tuesday, April 25 from 2 to 4 p.m.

    April Lake Rim Kayak Tour

    Lake tours are perfect for those trying kayaking for the first time and seasoned paddlers looking to relax. All equipment and basic instruction provided. We recommend beginners participate in a lake tour before going on a kayak trip. Tours are dependent on the weather. Register early, space is limited. For ages 10 and up. Participants under 16 must be accompanied by a participating adult. Friday, April 28 from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Cost is $15 per participant.

  • 13 The Fayetteville Beach Music Festival is returning with a bang after a successful relaunch last year. The day-long festival will be bringing beach music and family fun to downtown Fayetteville in May, perfect to kick off the upcoming summer season and warm weather.

    The festival is a fundraiser for the Karen Chandler Trust — a local nonprofit charity that started more than 20 years ago. Karen Chandler Trust helps support cancer patients that are currently undergoing treatment. That support ranges from car rides to treatments and doctor's appointments to paying off utility bills, car payments, mortgages and rent.

    “We've been around 24 years and we've given away over $1.3 million,” Mike Chandler, a founding member of the Karen Chandler Trust, said.

    Chandler helped form the Karen Chandler Trust in honor of his late sister. Karen Chandler, a mother of two and a local musician, was diagnosed with breast cancer. Local musicians held a benefit concert to raise money to help pay off medical bills while she was fighting cancer. After she passed away in 1999 at the age of 44, the leftover money was used to form the Karen Chandler Trust.

    Helping Others

    All proceeds given to the Karen Chandler Trust, will, in turn, be given out to people in the community who need it.

    “One hundred percent of what we raise goes to residents of Cumberland County that are being treated for cancer. We have made 1,200 transportation calls taking patients back and forth to doctor appointments,” Chandler said.

    In order to qualify to receive help from the Karen Chandler Trust, the cancer patient must be a resident of Cumberland County and have a letter from a social worker or a provider explaining that they are being13a treated for cancer.

    The music festival, which is a fundraiser for Karen Chandler Trust, will take place at Festival Park in downtown Fayetteville. Last year, the foundation was able to raise a little over $20,000 and according to Chandler, over 10,000 people came to the festival.

    “They came from all over the state. We have encountered [guests from] as far as Jacksonville, Florida,” Chandler said.

    The goal this year is to raise between $25,000 and $30,000.

    “One of the things that did happen last year that I really like was there was a lot of folks that didn't know us. And as a result, we have a whole lot more folks and referrals where we were providing seats for all the cancer patients that are currently being treated here in Cumberland County,” Chandler said.

    “It's a special event. And we can tell everybody about what we do and we can help more people and it's really what we're after.”

    Six local bands

    The bands who will be performing are all local musicians. Reflections II, featuring Mike Donald, will kick off the festival at 1 p.m. Classic Soul is scheduled to go on at 2 p.m. Autumn Tyde will perform at 3 p.m. with Rivermist following them at 4 p.m.

    Chairmen of the Board, featuring Ken Knox will play out during the sunset and when it’s finally dark, The Tams, featuring Little Red, will close out the fundraiser with their performance starting at 7:30 p.m.

    “I think this event will be a joyous occasion, be fun, and we will help a lot of people,” Chandler said.

    The festival will be a family-friendly affair with games, sponsor tables and auctions. Food will also be available for purchase.
    The food trucks confirmed so far to be at the festival are Nothin Fancy, Fry Papi, American Cravings, Philly Me Up, Latin Flavours Street Cuisine, C&S Ice and Cavity Connection.

    There will also be a wholesale beer tent where the Karen Chandler Trust will receive all proceeds.
    A 12-stringed guitar is being auctioned off. The guitar will be signed by every band and their members that are participating in the Beach Music Festival. All the proceeds will be going to the Karen Chandler Trust.

    Bidding will begin at $500 with a minimum of $10 bid increments. Bids will be taken through out the day of the festival.

    The festival will take place on May 7. Gates open at noon, and the music will start at 1 p.m. It’s scheduled to last until 9 p.m.
    General Admission to the festival is $20, and children under 12 get in for free. Tickets can be bought at https://bit.ly/43fFSPd.

    Donate, Volunteer

    For more information about the Karen Chandler Trust, whether to donate or to volunteer, call 910-578-3382 or visit their website www.karenchandlertrust.com.

  • 12bThe Fayetteville Technical Community College Foundation is having its 3rd annual Trojan Fit 5K Color Run/Walk on April 22.

    The Trojan Fit 5K Color Run/Walk “is a great event for the whole family,” said Sandy Ammons, the Executive Director of the FTCC Foundation. The event will be at the FTCC’s Fayetteville campus on 2201 Hull Road.

    Check-in starts at 8 a.m. and the race begins at 9 a.m. Two routes will be available: a 5K run and a fun walk, well-suited for families with strollers.

    It costs $35 plus a $3.10 sign-up fee to race or walk, including the Trojan Fit 5K Color Run T-Shirt. Those wanting to participate can register and pay online at https://runsignup.com/Race/NC/Fayetteville/FTCCTrojan5KRunWalk. The same link can be used for those that want to sponsor or volunteer at the event.

    The race map for the event can also be found on the website. The race map will show you the paths available, color station locations, water stations, parking, and more. The race shirt pick-up will be available from April 17-21 at the FTCC Foundation Office at the Harry Shaw Virtual College Center at 2225 Hull Road.

    The money from this event goes towards the FTCC Foundation. “The FTCC Foundation is the fundraising arm of the college,” said Ammons. The FTCC Foundation supports FTCC scholarships, grants and various programs that help with the unfulfilled needs of FTCC.

    For example, during the pandemic, the FTCC Foundation used its funds to support multiple students in need to pay for things such as groceries and rent. That is one of the ways the FTCC Foundation continues to provide FTCC students a chance at a brighter and more prosperous future.

    The FTCC Foundation is a nonprofit organization, and all donations are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law.

    The Trojan Fit 5K Color Run is a 3-mile untimed run inspired by Holi, the Festival of Colors, that also celebrates the start of spring. The throwing of colors is a symbol of love and happiness. There will be multiple color stations where participants will have the option to participate in throwing colors.

    The annual FTCC Foundation Trojan Fit 5K Color Run "is also sanctioned as a Dogwood Festival event." said Ammons.

    Take advantage of this fun and meaningful event! Register today and help support FTCC students through the FTCC Foundation.

    For more information, please visit https://www.faytechcc.edu/foundation-events/or https://runsignup.com/Race/NC/Fayetteville/FTCCTrojan5KRunWalk.

    For more information email an FTCC Foundation representative at foundation@faytechcc.edu or call 910-678-8441.

  • 12aThe upcoming Gilbert Theater production will induce laughter and comedy like no other play this season.

    “All in the Timing” is a collection of one-act plays by David Ives, and was written between 1987 and 1993. Four of the six one-act plays will be performed at the Gilbert Theater.

    Lawrence Carlisle III, the artistic director of the Gilbert Theater, is excited to showcase this production at the Gilbert. He tells Up & Coming Weekly that the comedy of these short plays are similar to sketches one would see on “Saturday Night Live.”

    “Just think of it almost like a sketch show, like a sketch comedy show. They're a little longer than normal sketches, but it’s kind of quick like that or they're all pretty short. I don’t think any of them is longer than 40 minutes.”

    Sandra Walker will be directing two short plays with Carlisle directing the other two. He actually was able to direct the same plays in college.

    “I knew that when I got this job that I wanted to do more of them from ‘All in the Timing.’ So that was the basic reason that I put it in the season.” Carlisle said.

    Carlisle says the past few productions have been more on the serious side so this sketch-like comedy is a breath of relief.

    “The last couple of years and up to and including this one have been kind of a bummer. So I figure anything that I can do to bring a little levity to people I think is a good thing. We’re just coming off ‘Shakespeare Abridged,’ which was really funny. And this one is, to me, just as funny, but in a different way, because this one is a little bit more cerebral and the wordplay comedy, which ties into the title because when it's with that kind of comedy, it is all about timing.”

    In “Sure Thing,” a couple on a first date has the opportunity to reset the date each time they say the wrong thing.

    “Words, Words, Words” is a take on the “infinite monkey theorem,” which is the idea that given enough time, three monkeys in a room could eventually write any given text.

    In “The Philadelphia,” a man discovers that he’s entered a strange pocket of the universe where the only way to get what he wants is to ask for the opposite. In the last short play, “Variations on the Death of Trotsky,” the audience is treated to the famous Marxist waxing poet dying, and dying, and dying over and over and over again.

    The show will kick off on April 21, when there will be a special announcement by Carlisle right before the production starts. The production of “All In the Timing” will run through May 7, with performances on Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m.

    Ticket prices are $18 for non-season holders. There are discounts available for military members and students. This production is rated PG-13 for swearing and adult themes. To buy tickets, contact the Box Office at 910-678-7186 or go to https://ci.ovationtix.com/36002/production/1151812.

  • uac041713001.gif If you’ve never been to the Duck Derby, this year’s event is something you won’t want to miss. It is with great excitement that Fayetteville Urban Ministry and Rick Hendrick Toyota Scion present the 3rd Annual Fayetteville Duck Derby.

    The event takes place at Campbellton Landing on May 4. Located on the banks of the Cape Fear River, with shade trees and plenty of space to run and play, Campbellton Landing is the perfect place for such a community-centered event.

    The Duck Derby promises to be a day filled with fun and excitement. From noon to 5 p.m., Fayetteville Urban Ministry and Rick Hendrick Toyota Scion will host this family-friendly festival that includes free admission and kid-friendly attractions like boat rides, train rides, craft stations, local merchandise, food vendors, live entertainment and a Kids’ Zone with lots of fun. The whole family can enjoy live music, dancing, the Duck Derby Hat Contest and a high school drum-line competition. While entrance to the Duck Derby is free, there will be food available for purchase and activities that cost money, so plan accordingly.

    There will also be activity and information booths sponsored by more than 30 local non-profits. The content at the booths promises to engage, entertain and empower citizens of all ages. People will have a chance to learn about many of the organizations in the community that work to help make Cumberland County a better place.

    While there is plenty to do all day long, the main event of the day is the actual duck races, and these take place later in the afternoon.

    The first duck race features large rubber ducks that have been adopted by local businesses and organizations. A representative from each business will throw their duck into the river. This is a great way for local businesses to support the work of Fayetteville Urban Ministry as well as the community.

    The main duck race will require more than people throwing rubber ducks off the bridge. This one involves dump trucks dropping more than 15,000 ducks into the Cape Fear River. It’s thrilling to watch, and even more exciting when you have a duck in the race. The grand-prize winner will receive a Toyota Scion xD. Other prizes include a bedroom suite from Restore Warehouse, a 60’ TV and a Cape Fear River cruise.

    Each and every duck that floats down the river will benefit one of the local nonprofits that are participating in the event. Some of the organizations include the Fayetteville Urban Ministry, Special Olympics Cumberland County, Fayetteville Animal Protection Society, Child Advocacy Center, Cumberland County 4-H, Great Oak Youth Development Center, Camp Dixie, Unchained Cumberland County, The Haven Friends for Life, CONTACT of Fayetteville, Visions Resource Center, Cumberland Disaster and Recovery, Myrover-Reese Fellowship Homes, Better Health, American Red Cross, Dance Theatre of Fayetteville, Falcon Children’s Home, Partnership for Children, Cumberland County Communicare, Rockfish Camp and Retreat Center, Kids Peace, Enlighten the World Ministries, Fascinate-U Museum, Mount Carmel Pentecostal Holiness Church, Second Harvest Food Bank, Cape Fear Heroes, CEED, Fayetteville Family Justice Center, Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra, Gilbert Theater, Give an Hour Community Blueprint, Karen Chandler Trust and TIGAPA Village Foundation.

    With so many worthy causes to support, there is something for everyone when it comes time to adopt a duck. In fact, many participating organizations are hoping that people will adopt several ducks and support more than one cause on derby day.

    Last year this event raised about $48,000, according to Johnny Wilson, Fayetteville Urban Ministry04-17-13-duck-derb.gif executive director.

    In addition to making sure everyone has a good time, one of the things that Wilson loves best is watching everyone enjoy themselves.

    “When I get a chance to stop and look around an see the families and people standing there laughing and dancing and having fun, you can see our community connect and it represents what Fayetteville is,” said Wilson.

    There is yet another fun way to participate in the Duck Derby. In the weeks leading up to the Duck Derby, the community is invited to participate in the appetizer and drink competition that is taking place among nine local restaurants. Visit Chris’s Open Hearth Steakhouse, Circa 1800 Restaurant & Bar, Hilltop House, Huske Hardware House Restaurant & Brewery, IT’Z Entertainment City, Luigi’s Italian Restaurant & Bar, Marquis Market, Morgan’s Chop House or The Wing Company and sample an appetizer or cocktail (specially concocted for the Duck Derby) and then visit www.duckrace.com and vote for your favorite. The competition has ended, and the winner will be announced at the Duck Derby and has bragging rights for a year.

    There is still time for grown-ups to adopt a duck. It costs $5. Just go to www.duckrace.com and click on the adopt a duck tab.

    Photo: Volunteers retrieve the ducks from the Cape Fear River after last year’s race.Cover photo credit: Rick Hendrick Toyota Scion and Fayetteville Urban Ministry presents Fayetteville Duck Derby 2013.

  • 17Cumberland County Extension Master Gardeners will hold its annual Plant Fair on April 15 at the Cooperative Extension Center at 301 E. Mountain Drive.

    From 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., novice and experienced green thumbs can peruse a variety of native plants, herbs, vegetables and harvested seed packs. As visitors browse the bounty of locally grown greenery, they can also talk a little shop and get some gardening advice.

    “We have noticed that a lot of people have a lot of questions about plants,” shared Linda Myers, former president of the Extension Master Gardener Volunteers. “Our goal is to help the citizens of Cumberland County make smart decisions about what to plant in their yards or how to take care of their house plants.”

    Funds raised from the event will go toward several horticultural programs that serve the community. The Second Harvest Food Bank Garden, horticulture scholarships, Cape Fear Botanical Garden, Extension Master Gardener Education programs, and similar initiatives will benefit.

    In addition to its function as a major fundraising event, the Plant Fair also serves as an educational opportunity for people in the community. Major topics on the day’s agenda include sowing and saving seeds, home gardening, house plants, attracting bees, birds and butterflies, and much more.

    Educational displays, demonstrations and Extension Master Gardener volunteers will be on hand to answer questions. The fair will also offer information on Cumberland County Extension Consumer Horticulture, Extension Master Gardener Volunteers, 4H, and Junior Master Gardener programs.

    Horticulture is the art or practice of garden cultivation and management, dating back thousands of years. According to the annual National Gardening Survey, around 77% of Americans garden and spend over
    $45 billion annually on gardening supplies.

    As concerns about the environment increase and conversations surrounding the importance of sustainability maintain a foothold in the national discourse, the ability of the individual American to grow their own food and grow their own plants is seeing a surprising resurgence.

    Entities such as the Extension Master Gardener Volunteers of Cumberland County provide valuable information and hands-on support for those looking to dig in the dirt.

    “Horticultural Education is so important,” Myers shared. “Sometimes there are things you just don’t know. For instance, some plants will not grow in Cumberland County. If you end up planting something that likes cold weather here in the south — you’re wasting your money.”

    In addition to raising much-needed funds to support such important work, Myers is excited about the opportunity for connection events like this provide. After two years of social hibernation brought on by the pandemic, many organizations are trying to get back to where they were before everything stopped.

    “Coming out of the pandemic when we didn’t meet for a year and then only by zoom, we need to reinvigorate our organization and the whole program,” Myers stated. “The Plant Fair is a way for master gardeners to engage with each other and a way for us to reengage with the public.”

    For more information about the Plant Fair, call 910- 321-6882.

  • 14COSJason Britt has been a part of Cumberland County’s music community since he played cello in the strings program at Eastover Elementary School. These days, he serves as director of the Cumberland Oratorio Singers. Britt and the members of COS are currently preparing for the final show of their season, “We Sing to Experience,” set for Friday, April 27, at 7:30 p.m.

    With “We Sing to Experience,” Britt, who has a bachelor’s degree in music from Methodist College (now Methodist University) and a master’s degree in music education from East Carolina University, will wrap up his first year as director of the COS. He was notified in March 2017 that he would be serving as the new director, and to hear him talk about his time with COS is to recognize how much he loves working with the ensemble. 

    “My favorite aspect of working with COS is that I get to work with people who – down to their core – really enjoy music and have a deep interest for singing in a choir,” he said. “I love working with like-minded people who want to strive toward a common goal.”

    The upcoming “We Sing to Experience” will feature performances from the COS, the Cross Creek Chorale, and the Campbellton Youth Chorus. According to Britt, the concert is “comprised of works all choirs should do or have in their libraries. These would be works that are a sort of ‘who’s who’ of choir music.”

    The program will feature arrangements of “Sing unto God” by G.F. Handel, “Sicut Locutus Est” by Johann Sebastian Bach, “Achieved is the Glorious Work” by Joseph Haydn and many other classic and familiar choral selections.

    Britt is also excited to announce the theme of the Oratorio Singers’ next season – “The Night Was Meant for Music.” The 2018-19 season will include “A Night of Jazz” on October 19; “A Night with the Masters” on March 8, 2019; and “A Night of Stage and Screen” on April 27, 2019.

    The 2018-19 season will also see the return of the Fayetteville tradition – a December performance of Handel’s oratorio, “Messiah,” with full orchestra. Between Cole Porter and arrangements of popular Broadway works, the COS’ upcoming season promises to be a crowd-pleaser.

    “We Sing to Experience” is scheduled for Friday, April 27, at Haymount United Methodist, 1700 Fort Bragg Rd. The show begins at 7:30 p.m. Tickets can be purchased at the door for $27. All student admission is free with school ID. The COS also offers discounts for groups of 10 or more.

    For more information, email Jason Britt at cumberlandoratoriodirector@gmail.com or Matthew Franks, the president of COS, at cumberlandoratoriosingers@gmail.com. For more information about the COS, visit www.singwithcos.org. Individuals or businesses interested in any of the COS’ many sponsorship levels can contact Mary Potter via phone at 910-822-4447 or by email at claymary25@gmail.com. 

  • 16b Cape Fear Valley Health Foundation and Methodist University are teaming up this year to celebrate health and wellness along the tranquil banks of the Cape Fear River.

    The second annual Step Up 4 Health and Wellness Expo will take place on Saturday, April 15, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Methodist University’s campus.

    An expansion of Cape Fear Valley Health Foundation’s long-standing Ribbon Walk, the expo, presented by Cumulus Media, was introduced last year and held at Festival Park.

    “This year’s move to Methodist University’s campus is an exciting opportunity to reach more people in the community and have more patients benefit from the event,” said Kristen Carpenter, Cape Fear Valley Health’s Development Coordinator for Community Engagement.

    Continuing in the tradition of the Ribbon Walk, registrants can sign up to participate in either a one mile race or a 4K (around 2.5 miles), which will send them on a course through Methodist University’s beautifully landscaped, 600-acre campus. The fundraiser, which brought in more than $70,000 last year, offers support to various services directly impacting the lives of patients in the community.

    Opening ceremonies for the walk will kick off at 9:30 a.m., followed by a survivor’s lap. All survivors are welcome and encouraged to join. Both the walk and the expo will officially begin at 10 a.m.
    The Health Expo, located at the university’s newly-renovated Duggins Soccer Stadium, is free and open to the public.

    The family-friendly community event promises to have a little bit of everything. Attendees are in for a fun and informative afternoon with around 60 vendors and booths from various community organizations and Cape Fear Valley Health service lines. During the expo, participants will have an opportunity to learn hands-on CPR, get wellness checks, and snag a goodie bag or two. The hope is that people will leave just a bit healthier and more informed than they came.

    With a Healthplex membership raffle, kid’s area, music, food trucks, and some pulse-pumping Zumba — the expo has all the makings of a fun Saturday out with the family.

    “It’s a great opportunity for the community to come out and learn more about the different services we offer, get their wellness checked, and learn more about other organizations in the community as well,” Carpenter commented.

    The registration fee to either walk or run is $30, and all participants will receive a T-shirt. Participants can register as individuals or as teams representing various organizations, local businesses or in remembrance of a loved one.

    Registrants can stick to tradition and apply their registration fee to Friends of the Cancer Center or to support the following: Children’s Services, the Community Alternatives Program, Cumberland County Medication Access Program, or Heart Care. The fee can be split amongst all of these service lines as well.

    There is no cost or registration to attend the Wellness Expo.
    To register for the walk, visit www.cfvfoundation.org/stepup4health.

    Methodist University is located at 5400 Ramsey Sreet.

  • 09EyreSweet Tea Shakespeare and its company of performers are readying the stages at The 1897 Poe House at the Museum of the Cape Fear for an upcoming run of the classic and widely beloved “Jane Eyre.” “Jane Eyre” is a stage play adapted from the popular Victorian novel of the same name by Charlotte Brontë. The show opens Thursday, April 26, at 7:30 p.m. and runs through May 6.

    “Jane Eyre” tells a sort of coming-of-age story about a woman named Jane, a young orphan in Victorian England. Much of the earlier sections of the novel show the many trials Jane faces as an orphan trying to make her way in the world. As Jane ages into adulthood, the novel focuses more on her complicated relationship with Mr. Rochester – the lord of Thornfield Manor where Jane is employed as a governess.

    The original novel is typically printed in editions that top out at 400 pages. Adapting that for the stage is no easy task, but according to Jessica Osnoe, associate artistic director for Sweet Tea Shakespeare, the adaptation serves the source material well without being overwhelming. 

    “The adaptation captures the essence of the novel in its characters and themes and, like other adaptations, focuses primarily on Jane’s time at Thornfield,” said Osnoe. “Our guiding lens became Jane’s search for home. So, we focused our production on the events in the novel (that) best tell that story.” 

    Osnoe pointed out that Sweet Tea Shakespeare’s 2017-18 season has explored themes of homecoming in a variety of ways. “Sweet Tea Shakespeare creates a home for beautiful, wondrous storytelling, so ‘Jane Eyre,’ the story of an orphan in search of love and home, makes perfect sense for us,” she said.

    Sweet Tea Shakespeare truly offers a unique experience to its patrons. Performances can happen in a variety of venues around the city. According to Osnoe, “Our shows are not static. We perform at several locations in and around Fayetteville; we play indoors and out, and we seek to bring the party to our audiences. We want both our stories and our delight to be accessible to everyone in the community.” 

    Cape Fear serves as the Sweet Tea Shakespeare’s primary spring and summer performance space, while Holy Trinity Episcopal serves as the company’s winter venue. 

    General manager of Sweet Tea Shakespeare, Jennifer Pommerenke, is also looking forward to the run of shows and wants those who plan to attend to have the best possible experience. It is recommended that patrons arrive around 45 minutes earlier than the 7:30 p.m. start time. 

    According to Pommerenke, “All of our shows begin with a musical ‘What you Will’ pre-show. The music always reflects the themes of the story we are about to tell.” Additionally, Pommerenke said, patrons are responsible for their own seating since the performance will occur outdoors. There will be food and drink available the night of the performance. Otherwise, patrons should “be ready to see a beloved, timeless story told with care and heart.”

    There are performances each evening from April 26-29 and from May 3-6. General admission tickets are $15 in advance and $20 at the door. Senior citizen and military tickets are $13 in advance and $18 at the door. Admission for students and children ages 6-12 costs $8 in advance and $13 at the door. Children under five are admitted for free.

    For more information or to order tickets, visit www.sweetteashakespeare.com. Sweet Tea Shakespeare can also be reached at 910-420-4383.

  • 15Easter Sunday is one of the most significant days on the Christian calendar. It celebrates the resurrection of Jesus from the dead and is a time of reflection, celebration and renewal.
    In many parts of the world, Easter is also associated with the Easter Bunny, a figure who brings Easter eggs and sweet treats for children to enjoy.

    However you chose to celebrate Easter, be reminded that the center of it is family.

    There are several area churches that are prepared for special services during Holy Week — from Maundy Thursday and Good Friday to Resurrection Sunday. Call or visit the websites listed for more details on the programs being held during the week leading to Easter Sunday.

    Epicenter Church, 2512 Fort Bragg Road, Fayetteville, 910-485-8855. Will conduct an Easter egg hunt on Saturday April 8. The event is called “Hop Around Town — Fayetteville” a free Easter event tailored for the whole family. The event will include egg hunts, inflatables, pizza and more. Epicenter will conduct “Hop Around Town” at three additional locations: Anderson Creek, Linden Oaks and Grays Creek. You can register for the event at any location at www.hoparoundtown.com. Service times on Sunday are 9 and 11 a.m.

    Northwood Temple, 4250 Ramsey Street, Fayetteville. Sunday service times are 9 a.m. Sunday School, 10 a.m. Worship Service and 6:30 – 7:30 p.m. Wednesday Family Night. Services are held in Spanish at Iglesias Northwood (Spanish) HORARIOS: Domingo 11 a.m. & Miércoles 8 p.m. online, https://northwoodtemple.org/events/live-easter-egg-hunt/.

    Highland Baptist Church, 4456 Legion Road, Hope Mills. Join Highland Baptist Church for their annual Easter Dash fun run, celebrating Easter! Children (up through 5th grade) will be racing to various stations that will teach them about the meaning of Easter. Like a Color Run, this run will include obstacles and clouds of color. Additional festivities will include music, face-painting, food, and bounce houses. Open to the public. Pre-registration required. www.highlandbaptistnc.org. Service times on Sunday are 9:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m.

    Manna Church, 5117 Cliffdale Road, Fayetteville, presents an epic love story beyond comparison. Manna invites you to an Easter celebration that walks you through the final weeks of Jesus, the Creator of the World. Beginning on Maundy Thursday, April 6 at 6:30 p.m., come share in the Last Supper through the tradition of Communion. Continue to Good Friday April 7, when the church will hear how Jesus paid the cost of sin on the cross. On Saturday April 8 at 5 p.m. and Sunday April 9, Manna Church will conclude the week by celebrating the Resurrection of Jesus. Families can download an Easter Activity Kit at www.fayftbragg.manna.church that include crafts, games, coloring and recipes. Visit the churches website for date, times and eight locations.

    Village Baptist Church, 906 McPherson Church Road, Fayetteville. Join the Village for a special Maundy Thursday service April 6. It’s the day to remember the Last Supper, when Jesus celebrated the Passover with his disciples the night before his betrayal, arrest, and the events leading to his crucifixion. Resurrection Service Sunday April 9 at 9:30 a.m. and 11 a.m. Come celebrate the Good News of Christ's victory. For more information visit https://www.thevillagebc.church/easter.

    Holy Trinity Episcopal Church, 1601 Raeford Road in Fayetteville, will follow the life of Jesus from Palm Sunday on April 2 at 8:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. to Easter Sunday. Maundy Thursday April 6 (Holy Eucharist), Good Friday April 7 (Solemn Liturgy with Communion) noon and 7 p.m., and Easter Sunday on April 9 at 10:30 a.m. and Annual Easter Egg Hunt following the morning liturgy. Visit https://www.holytrinityfay.org/ for info.

    First Presbyterian Church, 102 Ann Street in Fayetteville, invites all to worship on Easter Sunday morning April 9 at 6:30 a.m. for Community Sunrise Easter Worship Service in Lafayette Park. Visit the website for registration and more information. http://events.r20.constantcontact.com/register/event?oeidk=a07ejocwprodc541032&llr=6avwukjab.

    The Fayetteville Church, 1700 Elliot Farm Road in Fayetteville. Join Fayetteville Church on April 9 for an early morning devotional and Easter Sunday Service followed by an Egg Hunt. Sunrise Prayer 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 a.m., Easter Sunrise Devotional 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. Visit the website for additional information - https://www.thefayettevillechurch.org/event-details/easter-sunday-2

    Victory Outreach Word Ministries, 4814 U.S. 301 in Hope Mills. Join the VOW Church family for Easter Service on April 9. Service times are Sunday at 11 a.m. and Wednesday at 7 p.m. Visit the website for more information. https://www.facebook.com/thevowchurch/about.

    Balm in Gilead Ministries, 3110 Doc Bennett Road in Fayetteville. All are welcomed to attend Balm in Gilead Ministries for Good Friday Communion Service held on Friday April 7 at 6 p.m. Easter Morning Worship service begins at 10:30 a.m. Please visit the link for more information http://www.balmingileadnc.org/.

    Covenant Love Church, 420 Dunn Road in Fayetteville. Join CLC for an Easter weekend celebration. Friday, April 7 will be celebrating Good Friday with a Worship Service as we Behold Jesus together! Everyone is welcome to attend and join us, doors open at 6 p.m. and worship begins at 7 p.m. in the Main Sanctuary in Building B. The Easter Weekend continues in the Prayer Room on Saturday, April 8 from 5 to 7 p.m. as we come together to pray over our Easter Service and community. Saturday's Prayer Room will take place in Building D Mission Control. Easter Sunday takes place on Sunday, April 9. We will be having one service at 10 a.m. with the Campus opening at 9 a.m. Please visit the link for more information https://covenantlove.churchcenter.com/registrations/events/1552507.

    Fayetteville Christian Church, 4308 Rosehill Road in Fayetteville. Join FCC church family for Sunday morning service at 10:30 a.m. for an Easter Sunday celebration. Please visit https://www.fayettevillechristian.org/for more information.

    Saint Ann Catholic Church, 357 N. Cool Spring Street in Fayetteville. Father Michael Coveyou and congregation invite you to Holy Thursday, April 6, (no 9 a.m. Daily Mass), Mass of the Lord’s Supper 7 p.m. The church will remain open until 10 p.m. for Adoration at the Altar of Repose. Good Friday, April 7, (no 12:15 p.m. Daily Mass), Stations of the Cross 3 p.m.; Commemoration of the Lord’s Passion 7 p.m. Holy Saturday, April 8, Blessing of the Easter Food Baskets 10 a.m. (no 5 p.m. Mass), The Great Easter Vigil 8:30 p.m., Easter Sunday, April 9, 8:30 a.m. Mass and 11 a.m. Mass. Visit website for more information - https://www.stanncatholicchurch.org/.

    U.S. Army Fort Bragg All American Chapel Services, Bldg. C-7242. Sunday morning Worship Service — live stream at 11 a.m.; Catholic Mass Saturday at 5 p.m. and Mass Sunday at 9 a.m.
    Additional Protestant Religious Education Programs:
    Friday at 7 p.m. — LDS Religious Education, Protestant Women of the Chapel, Tuesday 9 a.m. — live stream Tuesday 6:30 p.m. (Nightly Study) 2nd and 4th Thursday at 9 a.m.
    Spanish PWOC Reconciliation (30 minutes prior to every Mass), Saturday 4:30 p.m. and Sunday 8:30 a.m.

    Visit the website for additional chapel locations and times, https://home.army.mil/bragg/index.php/about/garrison/religious-services/al.

    Editor's Note: Due to space, we can not list all Church Easter activities. If your church would like Up & Coming Weekly to help publicize your events, please contact us at editor@upandcomingweekly.com.

  • 08CollinsIt can be hard to put a name on the genre of music the Andrew Collins Trio plays, but regardless of label, the music resonates. Thursday, May 3, the winner (seven times) of the Canada Folk Music Awards and nominee (five times) of the JUNO awards – Canada’s Grammy – brings its award-winning sound to the Cameo Art House Theatre on Hay Street.

    Collins fell in love with the mandolin when he was 18. “But I’d had guitars before and didn’t think I would have it in me to practice,” he said. “It kept me from getting a mandolin. 

    “I went to a fest with a friend. I like music played at a high level, and bluegrass is a technical music. That is what I like about it. At 23, I was living a ski bum’s life. (Then) I quit skiing and sold my gear to buy my first mandolin. It took over my life.”

    Now, he writes and plays, enjoying the growth that comes from performing onstage with the band. It’s challenging, he said, but fun to see hours of playing together yield synergistic energy in performance venues. It’s musically technical and soulfully touching. 

    “Our music draws from jazz, classical, folk, swing and blue grass,” said the group’s namesake. “There is usually enough of a musical memory and feeling of familiarity for people to feel comfortable and appreciate it, but it’s also new and fresh.” 

    The playlist includes the band’s double album “Tongue & Groove.” It’s 11 vocal cuts, or tongues, and 11 instrumentals, or grooves. 

    We do a few covers of things including jazz and traditional bluegrass,” Collins said. “The instrumentals move around several styles, too. These two albums are a real mix, which is really fun.

    “Our show has a lot of storytelling and jokes within the show as well. The idea is to make it musically fun but also entertaining.”

    The trio is composed of Collins, who plays mandolin, fiddle, guitar, mandola, mandocello and croons smooth vocals; Mike Mezzatesta on the guitar, mandolin, fiddle and mandola; and James McEleney on bass, mandocello and vocals. 

    The Andrew Collins Trio pushes for technical prowess matched equally with soul and personality. “The genre that we play – a lot of people refer to it as new acoustic music,” Collins said. “Often when we play, it is like we are educating, too.”

    This year marks the band’s first tour in the U.S. Collins noted that lately it seems the band is playing more in the U.S. than in their native Canada. 

    “So far, we’ve been very well received. And it has been a lot of fun for us, but also the audiences seem to really enjoy it, too. Often, we are playing to audiences that are very familiar with this genre.”

    The May 3 show starts at 7:30 p.m. at the Cameo Art House Theatre, 225 Hay St. Tickets cost $12 in advance or $15 at the door. Call 910-486-6633 or visit www.theroosterswife.org/shows/andrewcollins-trio-cameo to purchase tickets.

    Learn more about the band at www.andrewcollinstrio.com.

  • 14 The upcoming spring and summer season of Sweet Tea Shakespeare will include plays in both Fayetteville and Raleigh. “Shakespeare in Love,” “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” “The Illusion,” and “The Little Princess” will take audiences to a realm of grand drama and intense emotion.

    Tickets for all plays continue to be among the most reasonably priced entertainment alternatives in the area, as Sweet Tea Shakespeare embraces its purpose to make theater accessible to everyone.

    A chance to see all four plays at a discounted price has been made available for those looking for a genuinely entertaining spring and summer event.

    “The Illusion” and “Shakespeare in Love” will run consecutively in Fayetteville April through early July. “A Little Princess” will run in June and “A Midsummer Night's Dream” will run in late July, both in Raleigh. To see all four shows, it’s only $50. For students of any age, it is $25.

    Sweet Tea Shakespeare’s production of Tony Kushner’s “The Illusion” will sprinkle some magic across Fayetteville. This comedy drama, which is an adaptation of “L’Illusion Comique” by French writer Pierre Corneille from the 17th century, is sure to amuse audiences this spring.

    “The Illusion” focuses on Pridamant, a worried parent frantically looking for his son Clindor. When he meets Alcandre the Magician, whose promise is to reveal Clindor’s location through a vision, this story takes an unexpected turn. It serves as a reminder that travels are genuine, even if some of what we see in life may not be, as it unfolds with stock characters from commedia dell’arte and full of illusions that confound even Alcandre himself.

    Jeremy Fiebig, Sweet Tea Shakespeare Artistic Director, is in charge of directing the play.

    This outdoor performance will run from April 21-23, April 28-30 and May 5-7 starting at 7:30 p.m. at the rustic amphitheater at Gillis Hill Farm. There will be a live music pre-show 45 minutes before show time.

    Many call “Shakespeare in Love” a testament to storytelling. In this story, the Queen demands a comedy and every word the playwright pens leaves him perplexed. To have the opportunity to voice her opinions, a noblewoman challenges the established quo. In Sweet Tea Shakespeare’s production, the most tragic love story ever written is re-imagined.

    “Shakespeare In Love,” a theatrical adaptation of the 1999 Oscar-winning screenplay by Marc Norman and Tom Stoppard, will be performed in Fayetteville this summer to the delight of Sweet Tea Shakespeare audiences.

    The play follows a young Will Shakespeare’s struggle to write his next play and how his encounters with Viola DeLessex, a young member of the aristocracy, affect him.

    Viola dreams of appearing in one of his plays despite the fact that doing so is against the law. Their interactions inspire Will to write the tragedy of Romeo and Juliet.

    It is directed by special guest Jim Warren (Founding Director of the American Shakespeare Center, author of Shakespeare's New Contemporaries, and head project consultant for the American Globe Center), and features original music by award-winning multi-hyphenate musician Owen Eddy (www.oweneddy.com).

    Will and Viola fall in love and get into trouble as they try to navigate their star-crossed path to happiness against the humorous backdrop of mistaken identity, cunning plotting and backstage antics.

    What transpires is evidence of the storytelling’s ability to lead us to unexpected locations, unbelievable opportunities, and eventually our magum opus — our great life’s work.

    The venue for this performance is to be announced soon. This show will run from June 23-25, June 20-July 2 with shows beginning at 7:30 p.m. There will be a live music pre-show 30 minutes before show time.

    Guests can purchase the All Four One package or individual show tickets. For more information on productions in Fayetteville and the two to be performed in Raleigh, visit https://sweetteashakespeare.com/.

  • 07Appalachian Spring Artwork Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra’s 2017-18 season, “Gone to Carolina,” ends in the Blue Ridge Mountains. “We began on the coast in October, and we end in the mountains in April,” said FSO president and CEO Christine Kastner. The final concert, “Appalachian Spring,” takes place Saturday, April 21, at 7:30 p.m.

    This season, new music director Stefan Sanders led the FSO in a series of concerts that celebrated and explored the geography, history and culture of the Carolinas.

    “Our final program is not to be missed,” Sanderssaid. “Aaron Copland’s ‘Appalachian Spring’ performed live is an unforgettable experience. The piece encapsulates in music what it means to be American and is perhaps the single greatest piece of American music ever written.”

    While Copland’s composition is the centerpiece of the concert, many other works that evoke springtime and the majesty of the Carolina mountain ranges will also be played. These include two favorites by the renowned romantic Finnish composer Jean Sibelius: “Valse Triste,” which Sanders calls “achingly beautiful,” and the ever-popular “Finlandia.”

    Guest soloist Alex Jokippi, Sanders’ previous colleague and principal trumpet of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, will perform a new concerto composed for him by Finnish violinist and composer Jaako Kuusisto.

    “2018 also marks the 100th Anniversary of Leonard Bernstein’s birth, and to commemorate this incredible legacy, we will perform his vivacious and lovable overture to ‘Candide,’” Sanders said.

    Attendees can also look forward to the announcement of FSO’s 2018-19 season plans. Brochures will be available. Kastner has kept a tight lid on her and Sanders’ ideas, but she did let one big teaser loose: “Star Wars” fans will be pleased with one of the season’s concerts.

    For those who couldn’t wait until April 21 or who will not be able to attend the season’s last concert, FSO held a Season Announcement Party downtown at Park View on Tuesday, April 17, from 5-6:30 p.m.

    “We think there is something for everyone in next season,” Kastner said. “We have thoroughly enjoyed our Carolina-themed season, especially as a way to help Stefan get to know our community and our state, but we are also excited about next season, which will have variety from start to finish.”

    “Appalachian Spring” takes place Saturday, April 21, at 7:30 p.m., at Fayetteville State University’s Seabrook Auditorium. A Pre-Concert Talk will occur at 6:45 p.m., offering audience members the opportunity to learn more about the music they will hear that evening.

    To purchase tickets, which range from $11-$26, visit www.fayettevillesymphony.org.

  • 11aPrivei is a luxury menswear store in Fayetteville that every streetwear lover needs to experience. The store is now located at the Cross Creek Mall, by the Macy’s entrance. They are now on their third location in the city, with plans to expand outside of the store and give customers a different Privei experience.

    “The best way to describe the brand is high-end streetwear,” says owner and operator Nicolino Parisi.

    Privei is a store that holds carefully selected legacy brands, such as Billionaire Boys Club, Comme Des Garçons, Puma Select, and many others. They also sell home goods, shoes and a variety of accessories that you won’t find anywhere else in Fayetteville.

    “I feel like what makes us unique is our ability to not compromise. We’re in the business of service, and I care a lot about the experience, energy, brands and overall feel of everything dealing with the store. Presentation, marketing, all of it,” says Parisi.

    Privei first opened its doors back in 2014, with a location off of Skibo Road. The store stood out on the street with a bright sign spelling out the name, and that location was a home for many art exhibits, music showcases and creatives around the city. Alongside Parisi was former manager of Privei, James Gonzales (also known as musician James Vader).

    Together, Parisi and Gonzales cultivated ideas and organized those events that still have an impact on the community they serve today. Parisi also gives a lot of credit to his father as a huge support system, who has helped Parisi build out his vision at his locations over time.

    The name ‘Privei’ is a unique French spelling of the word “private,” which speaks to the store’s luxurious feel and the unique brands carried. Their brand focuses on concept, market and art. Privei strives to make a unique shopping experience for its customers, as well as be a centerpiece in the community for art, music and culture.11b

    The Fayetteville native always had a love for fashion, but Parisi truly discovered the importance of individuality and standing out, at Douglas Byrd High School. Due to strict dress codes, backpacks could only be grey, black or white. With an urge to stand out and be different, he used his creativity, and started tie dying backpacks for his classmates.

    Parisi then transitioned from backpacks to clothes, where he started creating cut and sew pieces, more specifically jeans. With success from selling his creations, he figured it was time to put his clothes in
    a store.

    11cSlim, owner of a former streetwear store in Fayetteville called ‘Exclusive Game,' gave Parisi his first opportunity to sell his clothes at his desired price point. This act of kindness gave him the belief that his path in fashion was possible.

    It was also from this act, that later birthed Privei’s showcases and market day series, which Parisi credits has kept the store thriving throughout the years. “Ninety-eight percent of businesses close within their first five years, we’ve been able to combat that by opening our doors to the community and artists in our early years, and maintaining that relationship.”

    With Privei’s roots grounded in the city, they plan to keep expanding on their love for community, and giving other businesses a chance to monetize what they love to do. They are looking to partner with bigger entities in the city to make this happen, and are looking to welcome more legacy brands in the near future.

    A visit to Privei is worth a trip to Cross Creek Mall. Their store is open seven days a week,

  •  06SenseCFRTCape Fear Regional Theatre’s production of Kate Hamill’s adaptation of “Sense & Sensibility” is two hours of fun and entertainment full of love, longing, heartache, gossip and a healthy dose of homage to the 1980s.

    CFRT Artistic Director Mary Kate Burke took on the role of director for this production and brings a fresh and charming vision of Jane Austen’s classic tale of the Dashwood sisters and their quest for love. The production stays true to Austen’s story, but Burke livens it up with an ’80s John Hughes movie vibe. Not that you will see or hear things from the ’80s, but the creative team Burke assembled delivers fresh music and costume styling reminiscent of a time when fashion and music were used as additional layers to the story itself.

    You don’t have to be an Austen reader to enjoy the show. The story is easy to follow, and some details are delivered by the gossips. Burke makes sure the action keeps moving, so not a moment is wasted onstage. Scene changes are on-going throughout, making it seem like there is a constant whirlwind surrounding the Dashwood sisters.

    After their father’s death leaves them without the financial means to provide a solid dowry, marriage prospects for Elinor and Marianne Dashwood seem to be in danger. In the late 18th-century English society where status and money govern the rules of love, this becomes an obstacle as sensible Elinor and hypersensitive Marianne fall for men who can’t or won’t profess their own affections.

    Elinor (Robin Galloway) quietly hides her feelings for Edward Ferrars (Elliott Ross) who is engaged to Lucy Steele (Alason Little). Although he has feelings for Elinor, Edward chooses to honor his engagement, which also causes him to lose his inheritance.

    Marianne (Kelsey Milbourn) chases after John Willoughby (Mitchell Stephens), a cad who ditches her when his aunt sends him away after his misbehavior with the ward of Colonel Brandon (Brook North) comes to light.

    Colonel Brandon has feelings for Marianne but bideshis time until she recognizes his loyalty and kindness.

    The entire cast performs well and is full of comedic energy. There are many zany ensemble moments like actors playing multiple characters – sometimes in the same scene, talking to themselves. There are also a few horse scenes, without horses. If you think humans pretending to be horses is funny, wait until you see them racing in slow motion!

    CFRT regulars Libby McNeill Seymour and Greg King round out a cast that also includes Mary Lynn Bain and Michael Thrash. The cast of 10 plays dozens of characters, including the aforementioned horses.

    The story might seem a bit complicated, but the production itself is incredibly efficient. It is a treat to see how Burke’s vision of a story with heavy dialogue and detail is brought to life with minimal costumes, set, props and music – all of which enrich the story.

    The behind-the-scenes crew should be applauded for providing the sights, sounds and movement that help make Burke’s vision a reality. Brian Adam Kline, whose local directing credits include “The Vagina Monologues” and “Venus in Fur,” serves as assistant director. Bob Lavaelle is the scenic designer. Claudia Stephens is the costume designer. Luqman Brown is the sound designer. David Rawlins is the scenic artist. Their contributions make the production a unique and entertaining experience.

    “Sense & Sensibility” runs through April 29 and is appropriate for younger audiences. For more information about the show, contact the box office at 910-323-4233 or visit www.cfrt.org

  • 10To say weddings are stressful is an understatement. With so many people, and so many things to do, members of the wedding party can easily get stressed. From the venue to the dresses, everything should be perfect.

    As a makeup artist, Kristen Brabble helps fulfill a vision many people have on their perfect wedding day.

    “I love making people feel like themselves, the best version of them,” Brabble told Up & Coming Weekly.

    “I love being a part of those really intimate days. These are days where it's just your closest family and friends, and you really get to watch these really special moments. You know, words being said, heirlooms being passed down, gifts being given. And it's just really beautiful to watch someone going through this big milestone and they have so many more milestones ahead of them. And it's just the beginning. It's really beautiful.”

    For her, makeup is not just a superficial thing. Makeup is a superpower that can boost confidence and make people feel beautiful.
    Based out of Raleigh, Brabble owns her own business, Hello Pretty. She often works in and around Fayetteville for weddings and events. She started her aesthetics career in 2007, and became a full-time bridal makeup artist in 2013.

    However, since the pandemic, the wedding industry has changed. Wedding parties are a lot more intimate, and wedding venues don’t allow a large number of guests to enter their properties at one time. That includes makeup artists.

    “Usually, people get ready at the wedding venue. That's just kind of always traditionally been what you do. You get ready at the wedding venue. We used to be able to get into the wedding venues at 8 in the morning, and now it's more like between 11 and 1. So it's cut down on time to get everybody ready drastically,” Brabble said.

    Some venues even placed the makeup artists in a small trailer that had no air conditioning and was often unbalanced. The space was small and crowded, leaving everyone feeling uncomfortable.
    This inspired her to come up with her own mobile makeup and beauty bar.

    “That way, everybody can arrive, and everybody can stay on-site the day of the wedding to get ready. So I would like to take a camper and outfit it to be really cute and fun and something that can fit a bridal party so that everyone can be together and do their hair and makeup the day of the wedding in a nice, timely manner.” 10a

    While Brabble doesn’t have a design drawn out, she does have a vision of what she wants inside this renovated camper. When you walk in, there will be a long U-shaped bench and a long table where people can gather, sit, talk and eat. On the right, she wants two chairs in front of mirrors, which will be perfect for makeup and hair. The kitchen will remain in the camper, so people can have food and drinks while they get ready for their big days. The room in the back of the camper will be redone to have an extra makeup/styling chair as well as an area for photos and selfies.

    “Everyone wants a good photo moment. So there will be a space in there for photographic moments,” Brabble said.

    Overall, the camper will have cute and fun wallpaper, be colorful and just be exciting. But this camper won’t be used just for weddings or special events. Brabble says this camper will be used to start mobile makeup lessons.

    “I get a lot of inquiries about lessons. So in having this mobile beauty bar, it's also going to help me expand greatly on another portion of what I do, and that's the lessons,” Brabble said.
    Brabble recently presented her idea as a part of #HERPitch. Out of a dozen business owners, Brabble was one of the four winners who received a grant for $2,500 from CEED Capital and the Women of Power Society of NC.

    Brabble hopes to launch her mobile makeup beauty bar in six months. She is both excited and nervous, but she can’t imagine this launch not happening.

    “It's definitely one of those things that I think about all day. It's like one of those things that I can't imagine it not happening, if that makes sense. It's like tunnel vision for me at this point and that came through at the end of the tunnel.”

    For more information about Brabble and her company, Hello Pretty, visit www.helloprettyyou.com.

  • 09 CFRTThe Cape Fear Regional Theatre brings to the stage a new adaptation of the Jane Austen classic “Sense & Sensibility” April 12-29. This Kate Hamill adaptation is billed as a playful new version of the story of the Dashwood sisters – sensible Elinor and hypersensitive Marianne – after their father’s death leaves them without financial means to maintain their social status. Set in a late 18th century English society where status and money govern the rules of love, this could be a challenge for the Dashwood sisters, and very entertaining for the audience.

    Hamill’s intent in adapting the classic was to create dynamic female characters. The basic story remains the same. “It honors the pining and repression and missed connections of what Austen wrote,” said Mary Kate Burke, the CFRT artistic director. Burke is also directing this production, her first since she came to CFRT last year. “If you love Austen, you will still love this adaptation,” she said. “It is faithful to Austen but doesn’t get stuck in the world of doilies.”

    Burke admits that her version is influenced by her own coming-of-age watching John Hughes movies in the 1980s. So, audiences can expect it to reflect “the energy people put into a burgeoning romance,” she said. “The fun of the story is how zany it is.”

    Austen loyalists should not be worried – think of it as a movie musical with a fresh approach to style, music and movement onstage. But don’t expect legwarmers and neon T-shirts. “It is a wonderful snow globe of the mirth and the awkward festivities of falling in love,” she said.

    Burke has assembled an ensemble cast and crew with CFRT regulars and a few newcomers. With a cast of 10, most actors will portray more than one character. Robin Galloway, Kelsey Milbourn and Mary Lynn Bain play the Dashwood sisters Elinor, Marianne and Margaret. All three are making their CFRT stage debut.

    Milbourn (Marianne) is an actress, choreographer and adjunct faculty in the theater program at Texas Christian University. She is also the choreographer for “Sense & Sensibility.”

    Galloway (Elinor) is a New York City-based actress with several stage and network television appearances. She is also currently working at CFRT in military outreach, coordinating theater programs such as upcoming workshops at community centers on Fort Bragg.

    Bain is a recent graduate of William Peace University whose credits include shows for Theatre Raleigh and Raleigh Little Theater.

    Diana Cameron McQueen will play Fanny Dashwood and Lucy Steele– both are characters that cause trouble for the Dashwood sisters.

    No stranger to the CFRT stage, Libby McNeill Seymour will play Mrs. Dashwood and Mrs. Ferrars. She last appeared at CFRT in “Arsenic and Old Lace.”

    Greg King, a regular at CFRT, will play four roles – Sir John Middleton, Thomas, a doctor and a servant. King was last seen at CFRT in “Wait Until Dark.”

    Brook North will play Colonel Brandon. Elliott Ross will play Edward and Robert Ferrars.

    The show is appropriate for younger audiences Burke said. CFRT has special events lined up for the production as well. April 12, audiences can join a birthday bash for CFRT’s founding artistic director Bo Thorp. “Sensible” cocktails will be served. April 15, there will be an Austen Talk & Tea with a pre-show conversation about all things Austen while enjoying an afternoon tea. Military Appreciation Night is April 18.

    For more information about the show or special events, contact the box office at (910) 323-4233 or visit www.cfrt.org

     

     

  • FTCC Steel Magnolias3 Fayetteville Technical Community College's Fine Arts Department will present a six-show run of "Steel Magnolias" over two weekends, starting Friday, March 31.

    The comedy-drama by Robert Harling is about the bonds between six women in a southern town.
    The FTCC production will be held in Cumberland Hall Auditorium at 2215 Hull Road on the College's Fayetteville campus. All performances are free and open to the public.

    Performances will be at 7 p.m. Friday, March 31; 2 p.m. Saturday, April 1; 7 p.m. Saturday, April 1; 7 p.m. on Friday, April 7; 2 p.m. on Saturday, April 8; and 7 p.m. on Saturday, April 8.

    "Steel Magnolias" is being presented through a special arrangement with Dramatists Play Service in New York.

     

    Photos courtesy Fayetteville Technical Community College

  • 07 Antigone(Super)heroes traipse across our blockbuster movie screens from the pages of dog-eared comic books. Fools frequent innumerable reality televisions shows on air. And in real-life politics, cowards and tyrants run the same beaten path. These archetypes – the fool, the hero, the tyrant – work precisely because their universality can play toward any place or time or idea. These archetypes are also the baseline of Sophocles’ play “Antigone.” The Gilbert Theater’s recent production of the play invites us here: into the gates of ancient Greece, where the gods, prophecies and civilization are all as one. Yet the play excels best as an emotional testament to how any society responds to civil disobedience.

    The play begins with Antigone (Ashanti Rodriguez) and her sister Ismene (Helen Steffan). Furious that her deceased brother has been denied burial rites by her uncle, King Creon (Michael Carney), Antigone begs Ismene to help her bury the body in secret. Ismene refuses and asks, “What can a girl like me do against a king?”

    It’s moments like these throughout the play that forge a more nuanced response to the idea of civil disobedience. Ismene is a prime example of how the prospect of dying can be an absolute motivator for cowardice or inaction. It’s just as true 2,000 years ago as it was in, say, 1940s Germany, and even today.

    For some, inaction would mean the same as death itself. It would mean paving the way for misguided complacency and tyranny. This is so for Antigone, who decides to bury her brother anyway and fully accept her fate as a “traitor” against the king’s will.

    Rodriguez gives a shockingly level- headed performance as Antigone for one so young. (She graduated from Hoke County High School just last year and is now a freshman at UNCP). Her voice rings out with clarity and confidence, demanding each audience member to listen to their own conscience. As part of the chorus, she also has a tremendously beautiful singing voice.

    Another electrifying life force in the play was the relationship between King Creon and his son Haemon (Justin Matthew Toyer). Haemon attempts to sway his father to not sentence his fiancée Antigone to death. But Creon believes controlling dissension is as necessary to rule as creating peace. By the last act, their tension on stage is so emotionally explosive that you become unsure whether to lean forward or cringe away. It’s one of the best dynamics I’ve seen on a Fayetteville stage.

    The side characters, as well as the original music by Kara Arena, should be credited with not leaving a single down moment to waste. They created the entirety of the play’s ethereal mood. In fact, one scene with the prophet Tiresias (Larry Carlisle) and his assistant (Linda Flynn) had us psychedelically transported to a different realm – in a scene that only lasted five minutes.

    The play is like a 1,000-watt flood light transfixed on the imbalances of power. As a result, it’s impossible not to view our own moment in time within the confines of “Antigone.” I thought of the Black Lives Matter movement when I heard, “A brave corpse answers for all crimes.” And the #MeToo campaign when Antigone said, “We’re not victims. We’re enemies of the state.” I thought of the president when I heard, “Power turns vulgar when it knows it has lost.”

    “Antigone” is a raw and intense looking glass that engages the audience with a very intimate staging experience and potent sense of vive la résistance. Borrowing from Martin Luther King, Jr., Antigone reminds us that “the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.”

    The show runs every Friday through Sunday until April 22. For tickets, go to www.gilberttheater. com.

  • 01cover UAC0040418001Like public school teachers who teach core classes, public school art teachers have many extra duties, too. With so many challenges and duties throughout the year, it is not uncommon for an art teacher to arrive back at home around 7 p.m. after a long day of teaching.

    Although the job is rigorous, many art teachers still find time to practice their craft. In the classroom, they are sharing the information relevant to who they are as an artist. They encourage the creative impulse and help students develop a multicultural aesthetic understanding, learn about the arts in history, and discover the joy of expressing an idea or feeling through the elements of art and design.

    In the spirit of celebrating the public-school art teacher/ artist, Gallery 208 will exhibit a body of work by the senior art teacher at Westover High School in Fayetteville in an exhibit titled “Namera Graybeal: The Sounds of Drawing.” The opening and artist’s reception is Tuesday, April 10, from 5:30-7 p.m. and is free to the public.

    This is Graybeal’s fourth year teaching in the public-school system after earning a Bachelor of Arts in art education with a concentration in ceramics at Fayetteville State University in 2014.

    Graybeal is a full-time teacher. She is married with five children and has five grandchildren. She is an art advocate in the community, has taught ceramic classes for six years in Fayetteville Technical Community College’s continuing education program and has taught during the summer months in the Ellington-White Contemporary Gallery Summer Youth Program. And she still finds time to be a practicing artist. If you ask her how, she will tell you, “I’m an artist that teaches, and I have made a commitment to do something artistic every day.”

    Graybeal creates images of nature that show us what we don’t see. She doesn’t focus on creating pictorial space using mathematical or aerial perspective, making the everyday objects in nature more tangible through color, pattern, black and white and the arrangement of forms that spread over the paper’s surface with a joyful intelligence.

    In a good drawing, we don’t separate the marking tools from the surface; such is the case in Graybeal’s work. Her forms interact with each other with intent – parts of a greater whole. A greater narrative seems to be always unfolding within the complexity of the marks, colors and patterns.

    Graybeal draws with alcohol-based refillable copic pens, using the tip or edge of the pen for line quality. Colors are created with color pencils, ink, watercolors and sometimes a white gel pen. She creates contrast in the works with a variety of pattern and color. Her use of color, like everything on the page, is an intuitive process.

    Although Graybeal is an excellent ceramicist and able to create realistic works of art in painting (portraits, etc.), it is through drawing that she has been able to keep her commitment to “doing something artistic every day.” Inspired by her many books on patterns, Graybeal begins a drawing by making a simple pattern. Without thinking about an end-product, she allows automatism – the process of working intuitively – to guide her creation.

    So, why patterns? Graybeal commented, “Patterns are very popular right now, but I have always been interested in them and used variations of the pattern in my earlier work – in small amounts. For me, there is a consistency in the repetitive process, the repetition is relaxing compared to my busy life. So, I draw to relax. When I’m drawing, there are sounds as the mark-making material moves across the surface of the paper. Like repetition, the sound is also soothing. You can hear the length of a line as you watch the width or darkness of the line diminish or gain in strength.”

    When viewing Graybeal’s imaginative, fanciful and intelligent body of work at Gallery 208, one can readily see how she presents nature as movement and contrast. Variety can be found in the way she combines flat and limited volume, color with black and white, and various thicknesses of line. Pattern is often thought of as movement; but combine that with her placement of objects on the picture plane and the movement she creates results in an implicit or explicit rolling and spinning across the plane.

    With so many patterns on the same drawing, how does Graybeal know when to shift or change her patterns? She answered, “It’s simple; I shift or change the pattern when I feel there is enough. It’s always about balance and weight as I move across the surface, so I intuitively sense the appropriate size of a pattern and when it’s time to shift.”

    She said, further, “My narrative does emerge from the process of drawing. I find that I predominantly draw nature and water as a subject, although I have started to use some architecture in the newer works. I hope viewers will take time with the work. I feel nature is mysterious, but also very healing. Ultimately, I would like people to leave the exhibit feeling happy and believing they could draw too – and will start to practice!”

    Gallery 208 is located at 208 Rowan St., and the public is invited to attend the opening and reception of “Namera Graybeal: The Sounds of Drawing” April 10 from 5:30-7 p.m. Graybeal will briefly discuss her work at 6:15 p.m.

    There will be plenty of time to see the exhibit since it will stay up until June 25. Gallery hours are 9 a.m.–5 p.m. Monday through Friday. For more information, call 910-484-6200.

  • 09antigone splashThe Gilbert Theater is nearing the end of its 2017-18 season and will premiere a 2,000-year-old classic with its penultimate production: “Antigone.” The play, opening Friday, April 6, was originally written by the Athenian playwright Sophocles. You have probably heard his name in any English or world history class.

    But it’s the director of the play, Montgomery Sutton, you might not have heard of – though he’s no stranger to the Fayetteville theater scene. He spoke with Up & Coming Weekly about the history of the play and how he plans to engage a modern audience.

    Sutton has been acting since the age of three. He eventually went on to graduate from New York University’s Tisch School of Arts. He has acted in countless productions in New York City and London, as well as producing, directing and writing his own works.

    Almost a year and a half ago, Sutton portrayed Henry V on the Cape Fear Regional Theatre stage. The Gilbert’s artistic director saw that performance and offered Sutton the chance to not only direct but to freely adapt “Antigone.”

    Antigone is a woman faced with the tough decision of either doing right by her family or doing right by the rule of law. Going against the King Creon will mean unspeakable punishment.

    “To me, ‘Antigone’ is the story of a people who are trying to rebuild themselves in the ashes of a horrific civil war,” said Sutton. “It’s a newly crowned king, who never expected to be in that position again, and a young woman who’s lost everything. These two people are trying to rebuild society in very different ways. It’s the struggle between righteousness, compromise and justice.”

    Sutton researched seven different translations of “Antigone” in his efforts to adapt the play. He wanted to establish a context for the traditional story, one that could be translated even better to a 21st-century audience.

    “As long as an adaptation is really interested in understanding what the moment of the play is, (it) becomes more dynamic, more approachable, more nuanced, and therefore, I find, way more compelling,” said Sutton.

    One way to accomplish the task was enriching the original characters and their storylines. According to Sutton, “Antigone” was written for the Athenians’ Festival of Dionysus. As a result, the stage of the time allowed only three actors, which limited the amount of freedom for character development.

    Eurydice, the queen and mother of the story, is one character Sutton fleshed out. In the entirety of Sophocles’ original version, Eurydice has only eight lines of speech.

    “(Eurydice) is an incredibly interesting character, potentially,” said Sutton. “I think she’s a character that a lot of us today would be able to relate to in terms of her journey and how she deals with coming into power and how she deals with loss.”

    Additionally, Sutton incorporates the historical environment of the play in a very literal way. In place of the standard structure, where the audience faces a raised stage, Sutton wanted to change the Gilbert’s production into a “tennis court arrangement.” Meaning, there will be two rows, each facing the other, with the play action in the middle.

    This, according to Sutton, reflects what the audience would have participated in at the Festival of Dionysus. As a result, audience members will not only have to confront their own reaction to the story but their fellow attendees’ reactions as well.

    “It’s really thrilling. For everyone, at some moment in the play, you are going to be incredibly upclose and intimate with the experience,” said Sutton.

    “Antigone” runs April 6-22. For tickets, contact the Gilbert Theater at 910-678-7186.

  • 08OnGoldenWesley Pines presents “On Golden Pond” by Ernest Thompson Friday, April 6, at 8 p.m. at Givens Performing Arts Center.

    “It is a nationally touring play and a lot of people will remember it from the movie that Henry Fonda and Katharine Hepburn did in the early 1980s,” said James Bass, executive director of GPAC at University of North Carolina at Pembroke. “It is a story about growing old, losing and learning to love through it all, and coping with loss and aging.”

    There is a lot of merit in this heartwarming story.

    “Growing old and aging is something that we all experience and something that we all have to deal with,” said Bass. “We have to deal with it whether it is our own aging or someone in our family is aging.”

    Bass added that aging causes families to learn a lot about themselves and who they are, and that is what this story is about. It is about people coming together through difficult times and the prospect that we may not be here tomorrow. It sends the message that how we spend our time and how we treat our family is important.

    The characters in the play encounter various trials and tribulations

    “People who are up in years have seen and experienced a lot of things in their lives,” said Bass. “These things helped shape and format who they are, and as we get older, we begin to challenge some of those perceptions.”

    The Givens Performing Arts Center is a 1,600-seat performing arts center that has been around since 1975 and sits on the UNC-Pembroke campus. “We were ranked several years ago as one of the top 25 performing arts centers on a university campus in the United States,” said Bass. “We have had a lot of performers here in the past, such as Ray Charles, Vincent Price, James Earl Jones and Dave Chappelle.”

    Tickets cost $21-$36. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit www.uncp.edu/gpac or call 910-521-6361.

  • In a report published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Jan. 10, Lung Cancer Incidence Trends Among Men and Women — United States, 2005–2009, it was stated that, “lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death and the second most commonly diagnosed cancer (excluding skin cancer) among men and women in the United States.” The report also stated that, “80–90 percent of lung cancers are attributed to cigarette smoking and secondhand smoke.”

    It was through years of investigation that researchers were able to find the links between smoking and this particularly deadly form of cancer. Once those links were discovered and properly interpreted, educational programs were established, government regulatio04-23-14-lung-cancer.gifns on tobacco products were instituted and society was able to reap the benefits of that new found knowledge.

    According to CDC data published last year, from 2001-2010, the incidence and mortality rates of Lung Cancer patients steadily decreased year after year. Prevention programs can be credited with much of that success. Even though lung cancer continues to trend at the top of the charts as being a truly deadly form of cancer, victories like the one seen in the declines in diagnosis and death are to be celebrated.

    Despite the positives seen in the statistics, lung cancer is still a very serious threat. The American Lung Association states on its online Lung Cancer Fact Sheet that, “approximately 399,431 Americans are living with lung cancer. During 2014, an estimated 224,210 new cases of lung cancer are expected to be diagnosed.” To put that into perspective, that would be equivalent to every single person in Cumberland County already having lung cancer with every single person in Harnett and Robeson Counties soon to be diagnosed. The American Lung Association website states that once a patient is diagnosed, that “over half of the people with lung cancer die within one year of being diagnosed.”

    The National Institutes for Health currently lists 5,014 ongoing clinical studies regarding lung cancer. Those trials carry the hope for a cure and more effective treatments within them. The hope that those trials can provide requires large amounts of financial support and resources in order to be successful.

    The NIH currently lists lung cancer research funding as coming in fifth behind Breast, Prostate, Colo-Rectal and Brain cancer research. This funding disparity is in spite of lung cancer being responsible for more deaths, from 2001-2010, than breast and prostate cancer combined.

    To help raise awareness of the needs of those who are battling lung cancer, either as a patient or researcher, the Lung Cancer Initiative of North Carolina will hold its second annual Evening of Hope Gala at the Hope Mills Shrine Club on Saturday, May 3. The semi-formal event will consist of drinks, food, music, a silent auction and a Chinese raffle. The proceeds from the event will benefit the Lung Cancer Initiative of North Carolina and its mission, “to decrease deaths and provide support to those affected by lung cancer through research, awareness, education and access programs across North Carolina.”

    More information is available online at www.LungCancerInitiativeNC.org.

  • Over the past 50 years, literally tens of thousands of students enrolled in Fayetteville Technical Community04-09-14-ftcc.gifCollege have discovered that the college’s Success Center can help ensure their academic success. One-on-one and small group supplemental instruction and support have made all the difference to many students in achieving success. FTCC serves a cross-section of the communities within Cumberland County and beyond. Students range from teenagers dual-enrolled in high school and FTCC to recent high school graduates to adults seeking a new career to military service members deployed throughout the world. For many, the challenge of attending college is a dream fulfilled.

    FTCC second-year Criminal Justice student Michael Morrow explains how he benefited from FTCC’s Success Center: “Because of the extra instruction and support that I received from caring Success Center instructors, I made the Dean’s List last semester.” Morrow’s comment echoes those made by many students since 1963, when the original Learning Lab opened in the one-building (Lafayette Hall) campus of Fayetteville Technical Institute. Originally housed in Lafayette Hall, the Learning Lab began with a handful of instructors selected by its first Director, Patricia Nunalee. At that time, the Lab’s “technology” included 33 1/3 rpm vinyl records and filmstrip projectors — cutting-edge technology — at that time.

    During those early years, Learning Lab staff focused on providing one-on-one tutoring. They gained the trust of students and established an enviable reputation among their peers. As the college’s enrollment grew and new courses of study were added, the staff responded by researching and identifying new ways to serve the ever-increasing student body. The first computer was added in the early 1980s, and by the early 1990s, there were more than a dozen computers available to students, along with a range of instructional software designed to help students improve their academic skills, succeed in their studies, graduate and enter their chosen careers.

    In 2001, as a department within the new Learning Technologies Division and under the leadership of its second director (Roger Dostall), the Learning Lab began transitioning from almost exclusively tutoring students one on one to increasing the use of state-of-the-art technology and the instruction of small groups. Today, Success Center instructors are joined by visiting classroom faculty, colleagues who voluntarily share their expertise on a scheduled basis. The focus remains on providing supplemental instruction to meet individual learning needs, with a strong emphasis on helping students recognize and accept responsibility for their own learning, progress, and success. In 2005, the Learning Lab became the Success Center, moving into its first-ever custom-designed facility on the second floor of the Harry F. Shaw Virtual College Center.

    With 40-plus student computers, workspaces for at least 75 students, five small Focused Group Instruction Rooms, and a classroom serving individuals who are studying to maintain their NC Teacher Certification through specially-designed Continuing Education courses, today’s professional staff strives to fulfill the Success Center’s mission of providing “…supplemental instruction and resources to FTCC curriculum and developmental studies students in order to help them succeed academically and become independent learners.”

  • 04-16-14-civil-war.gifWe have all seen the movies and television shows that depict Civil War amputations performed by bloody, dirty and sweaty men in a tent or on the back of a wagon. Most times the men being operated on are provided a shot or two of whiskey and then given a stick or strap of leather to bite down on before the surgeon begins to remove the afflicted limb. Hollywood has shown time after time that field medicine during the Civil War was crude by today’s standards. Or was it?

    According to Dr. Matt Farina, a retired pediatric cardiologist and Clinical Professor of Pediatrics at Albany Medical College in Albany, N.Y., “Civil War medicine has been described as the three Bs; butchery, barbaric and brutal. The Civil War was really a home to medical advancement. Widespread use of anesthesia, the ambulance corps and emergency triage all come out of the Civil War. The field of American nursing was also greatly impacted by the Civil War. Effective pharmacology, orthopedics, prosthetics and clinical cardiology all come out of the American Civil War.”

    Farina is an authority on the Civil War and how it has shaped modern medicine. His perspective and expertise are the result of a love of military history coupled with his training as a physician and years of independent research. His passion for the Civil War came from a series of battlefield tours that he went on with his wife during the late ‘80s and early ‘90s. Since that time, he has researched and learned all that he can about the Civil War’s impact on modern medicine. He has joined and spoken at Civil War Round tables locally and in the northeast.

    On Sunday, April 27, at 2 p.m., Dr. Farina will present Civil War Medicine: Myth and Reality at the Museum of the Cape Fear. The program is hosted in conjunction with the commemoration of the 150th anniversary of North Carolina in the Civil War. This event is sponsored by the North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources and is free and open to the public.

    Farina’s presentation will be a visually interactive discussion complete with period medical items and an amputation kit that he has recreated to demonstrate the tools of the day. His talk will be about many of the commonly held myths regarding Civil War medicine. One of those myths is that surgeries of the time were done without any anesthetic on men who were in screaming pain. According to Dr. Farina, “most were performed after the patient was given chloroform or ether.”

    The discussion also includes how the change in weaponry from the smooth bore musket to the rifled musket resulted in an increase in battlefield amputations and the development of vascular surgical techniques. Notable individuals from the medical community during the time period will be discussed, namely Dr. Samuel Preston Moore who served as the Confederate Surgeon General throughout most of the war and is responsible for many of the advancements in medicine.

    More information about the presentation is available online at www.NCDCR.gov/NCMCF/Events or call the Museum of the Cape Fear at 486-1330.

    Photo: Medical practices during the Civil War were often different than most people would expect.

  • North Carolina is rich in history. A visit to the Fayetteville Area Transportation and Local History Museum or04-23-14-child-advocacy.gifNorth Carolina Veterans Park will convince you of that in just a matter of minutes. North Carolina also boasts of some well-known personalities like Andy Griffith, Elizabeth Dole and Michael Jordan. Another personality familiar to North Carolina is Jason Michael Carroll who performed at Festival Park this past summer.

    Carroll, the son of a preacher, grew up in Youngsville, N.C., in Franklin County — not far from Raleigh. He is probably best known for his debut single, “Alyssa Lies.” “Alyssa Lies” is a song about abuse. In an interview, Carroll said he felt led to write the song but it still took almost three years to craft it to his satisfaction. He understood it was an important message and wanted to perfect it as best he could. Unfortunately, it is difficult to perfect something that is far from perfect itself. Carroll said the song was so emotionally painful that he got migraines while writing.

    “Alyssa Lies” is based on a true story of a little girl that wasn’t saved in time. As the song evolves, the listener realizes the narrator’s daughter met a friend at school named Alyssa, who is suffering from abuse. To explain her injuries, Alyssa lies to the teachers and classmates, so as not to implicate her abuser. As the narrator’s daughter explains all this, she then asks why Alyssa lies about her situation.

    Eventually, the father (narrator) of the little girl, after hearing her pray one night for Alyssa’s safety, decides to report the suspected abuse at school. However, when they get to school on Monday, it is too late.

    This is too many times the case. Concerned people act too late.

    Crime and behavioral studies have long cited child abuse for its devastating impact on society. Child Sexual Abuse (CSA) statistics are startling as well. According to the Fourth National Incidence Study of Child Abuse & Neglect:

    • 95 percent of abuse is by someone the child knows and trusts.

    • 73 percent of children don’t tell anyone until well after the abuse has occurred, if they tell at all.

    • Statistically, approximately 500,000 babies born in the U.S. each year will be sexually abused before they reach age 18.

    For those reasons and many more, Fayetteville-Cumberland Parks and Recreation (FCPR) joined hands with the Child Advocacy Center of Fayetteville to protect children and stop abuse.

    The partnership provides many benefits to both organizations and the Fayetteville-Cumberland community. One benefit of the partnership is training. The Child Advocacy Center’s training curriculum points out that CSA is pervasive in a society where it is repressed and not discussed. Thousands of organizations across the U.S. and Canada are now seeking out a dialogue for prevention and they are sending this message to parents and their communities.

    When a parent leaves their child in FCPR’s care, they are entrusting to us their most prized and cherished possession. We take that responsibility very seriously. So seriously, that FCPR has sought after and achieved “Partner in Prevention” status; a nationally-recognized public standard to end child sexual abuse.

    The designation was awarded for FCPR’s commitment to protecting children by training 100-percent of its full-time recreation staff on how to prevent, recognize the signs and react responsibly to CSA.

    By partnering with the Child Advocacy Center, FCPR hopes to heighten community awareness of CSA. Please accept this as your personal invitation to join the fight as well. Our children need us. Youth can be empowered with awareness and choice, but the real responsibility for protecting children must be shouldered by the adults.

    Don’t wait. You can receive the same training as the staff at FCPR. To learn more about CSA prevention and training, please contact our friends at the Child Advocacy Center of Fayetteville. With your help, we can make North Carolina well-known for yet another reason; protecting our most cherished resource — our children.

  • 13Alms House KAP ProgramThe next Hope Mills Food Truck Rodeo is scheduled for Thursday evening, May 3, at the Town Hall parking lot.

    But the food provided by the various truck vendors won’t be the focus of this gathering – it will be the food brought to the event by the patrons.

    The town of Hope Mills is partnering with the ALMS HOUSE of Hope Mills to help collect food for the charity’s Kids Assistance Program.

    KAP provides free food to children in the Hope Mills community who might not be able to eat over the weekend.

    Delores Schiebe is executive director of the ALMS HOUSE and said KAP has been going on for about five years. ALMS HOUSE stands for Associated Local Ministries in Service Helping Others in Unfortunate Situations and Experiences.

    “We currently are working with 10 schools in and around the Hope Mills area,’’ Schiebe said. She estimates that every weekend about 500 bags of food are being sent out to children in the community.

    Social workers at each of the schools that are part of the program identify the children in need of the food, she said. The ALMS HOUSE has compiled a list of the specific items they need donated to include in the food bags. That list is in the graphic elsewhere on this page.

    The items have been chosen for good reason, she said. “We need to have something that children can open and prepare for themselves if they are left alone and there is no one else to prepare the food for them,’’ she said. “We try to choose things that children like. Believe me, we have tried some things that have not worked for us.’’

    One item that’s not taken to give to the children is peanut butter. “We cannot address all of the allergies, but that’s one of the major ones,’’ she said. “We make sure the milk is milk, shelf-stable milk, and our juice is juice, not sugar water. We want to have something the children will actually eat.’’

    Schiebe said the ALMS HOUSE has been able to reach out to increase funding for the program. 

    “When people realize this is going to children who are not able to eat over the weekend, we get a lot of support,’’ she said. “We’ve received some grants, and we have local supporters and local businesses that work with us.’’

    Events like the Food Truck Rodeo also help increase the profile, and if people can’t make the event this week, they’re welcome to drop by the ALMS HOUSE office at 3909 Ellison St. in the Hope Mills historic district.

    The ALMS HOUSE is open Tuesday through Friday, but Schiebe said the best time to drop off donations of food or money is between 9 and 11 a.m

    “We don’t turn down money because we have to go shopping when we don’t get everything,’’ she said.

    For those who would like to mail monetary donations, the address is P.O. Box 65, Hope Mills, North Carolina, 28348.

    To speak to someone about specific questions, the phone number is 910-425-0902. The website is www.almshousehopemills.com.

  •      You will get exactly what you expect from this much hyped family friendly 3-D hit. Monsters Vs. Aliens(94 minutes) is enjoyable on many levels, so while the kids laugh at the sight gags, their escorts can count the references to other classic movies. Besides the more obvious references to Mothra, The Fly and E.T. the Extraterrestrial; savvy viewers can have fun spotting the more subtle allusions to An Inconvenient Truth, Beverly Hills Cop, The Godfather, Spaceballs and Close Encounters of the Third Kind
         Letterman and Vernon do an okay job directing, but they somehow fail to stamp anything distinctive into the mix. It is a nice touch that the film was filmed in 3D rather than adding the effect later, but it seems like there could have been a little more razzle dazzle in the final version.  {mosimage}
         Susan Murphy (Reese Witherspoon) is ready to marry weatherman Derek Dietl (Paul Rudd) when she is hit in the face by a radioactive meteor. As so often happens when people get smacked in the head with irradiated space detritus, Susan gets a growth spurt and a different hair color. The military arrives to capture Susan. They rename her Ginormica, since Susan doesn’t have the “Wow” factor the military aim for when referring to their top secret projects. They knock her out and take her to the hidden location where all their monsters are stored. 
         Her new friends include Benzoate Ostylezene Bicarbonate, or B.O.B. (Seth Rogen), Dr. Cockroach, Ph.D. (the barely recognizable voice of Hugh Laurie), The Missing Link (Will Arnett), and Insectosaurus. Though her new friends are living comfortably in their gilded cage, Susan only wants to return to normal and reunite with Derek. 
         Meanwhile, an alien named Gallaxhar (Rainn Wilson from The Office) is obsessed with obtaining the radioactive material absorbed by Susan. He sends a probe to Earth, and the President (Stephen Colbert) makes an unsuccessful attempt at first contact, which naturally ends in lots of explosions. In the face of total destruction, General W.R. Monger (Kiefer Sutherland) convinces the President to call in the monsters for help.
         Upon arrival in the battle zone amidst some very nice 3D effects, Susan and company do their best to win a decisive victory. As the third act comes to a close, Gallaxhar has arrived on Earth with serious consequences for our heroes. 
         Nicely complementing the main characters is a cast of well-known cameos. Chief among them are Jeffrey Tambor from Arrested Development playing Susan’s father, Amy Poehler from a million awesome things playing Galaxhar’s computer, Ed Helms as a reporter and John Krasinski from The Office as Cuthbert.  Incidentally, I thought America agreed that Krasinski wasn’t allowed to make any more theatrical movies after the dismal License to Wed.
         As a ‘50s B-movie revival, this light animated comedy is enjoyable without really making an impression.  The effects are nice, but the story is predictable and never really lives up to its potential. With one exception the voice actors never quite find their emotional range. Rogen as B.O.B. gets most of the giggles because he, at least, is playing to his strengths. 
  • Meetings

    For details about all meetings and activities, including location where not listed, call Interim Town Clerk Debbie Holland at 910-426-4113.

    Citizens Academy every Tuesday through June, 6-8 p.m.

    Senior Citizens Advisory Committee Wednesday, April 25, 6:30 p.m.

    Veterans Affairs Commission Thursday, April 26, 7 p.m.

    Activities

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

    Mid-Carolina Senior Games April 11-30 at Hercules Fitness Center on Fort Bragg.

    National Day of Prayer Service Thursday, May 3, at Hope Mills Town Center flagpoles. Noon. All are welcome.

    Hope Meals Food Truck Rodeo Thursday, May 3, at the parking lot between Town Hall and Parks & Rec Center. 5 p.m.

    Promote yourself: Email hopemills@upandcomingweekly.com.

  • 12Golf course photoI currently serve as senior class president at South View High School as well as chairman of the Hope Mills Mayor’s Youth Leadership Committee. I was invited to join the Youth Leadership Committee along with students from South View, Jack Britt and Gray’s Creek. 

    One of the first tasks we were given to explore was what should replace the old Hope Mills Golf Course on Golfview Road. As a committee, we unanimously agreed that one thing Hope Mills needs is a sportsplex.

    The funding for the land has been offered by multiple organizations. We decided that with a joint effort, the most suitable things to put on the old golf course land are recreational facilities such as transitional fields, a disc golf course, a 9-hole golf course and a sportsplex.

    The sportsplex would house things like a recreational gym, an indoor track and, ultimately, an Olympic-sized pool. The Olympic pool would be the keystone to the facility.

    The decision to build a sportsplex comes as recreational sports in Hope Mills have begun to oversaturate the currently allocated space. Not only will this new addition improve sports facilities, it will also allow for growth in local sports and regional development.

    The complex would provide the entire Cape Fear region with additional athletic opportunities, especially in the area of swimming. A quick Google search reveals that a Hope Mills resident currently has to travel as far as the Triangle or southeast to Wilmington to find accessible public indoor swimming facilities.

    An indoor swimming complex would be a boost to competitive swimming locally, which is a growing sport for Cumberland County and other Cape Fear region high schools.

    Students who compete in swimming for Jack Britt, South View or Gray’s Creek have to travel across town to Fayetteville State University for practice at around 5 a.m. This travel creates an extra challenge in both practice and competition for students at the county’s high schools. 

    To help contribute to local sports and increase participation in competitive swimming, we decided that an Olympic pool would best be included in the sportsplex. If students who were interested in swimming only had to travel to a complex at the old golf course – which is between Jack Britt and South View – the sport of swimming would have an even better chance to grow, while also giving the high school swimmers more regular access to a practice facility.

    Creating a sportsplex not only gives a better opportunity for those who don’t have the means of traveling to Fayetteville State, but it also helps those who live close to where the current golf course is located to become more active and involved within the community.

  • Meetings

    For details about all meetings and activities, including location where not listed, call Interim Town Clerk Debbie Holland at 910-426-4113.

     • Citizens Academy every Tuesday through June, 6-8 p.m.

     • Parks and Recreation Advisory Monday, April 24, 6:30 p.m.

     • Appearance Committee Tuesday, April 24, 6:30 p.m.

     • Veterans Affairs Commission Thursday, April 26, 7 p.m.

    Activities

     Hope Mills Area Kiwanis Club at Sammio’s, second Tuesdays

    at noon at and fourth Tuesdays at 6 p.m. For more information,

    call 910-237-1240.

     • Mid-Carolina Senior Games April 11-30 at Hercules Fitness

    Center on Fort Bragg.

     National Day of Prayer Service Thursday, May 3, at Hope

    Mills Town Center flagpoles. Noon. All are welcome.

     Hope Meals Food Truck Rodeo Thursday, May 3, at the parking lot between

    Town Hall and Parks & Rec Center. 5p.m.

    Promote Yourself: Email hopemills@upandcomingweekly.com.

  •  11Hope Mills signIf you live in Hope Mills and you’ve got old cans of paint or other hazardous chemicals cluttering the garage or storage building, your chance to safely get rid of everything is coming up this weekend.

    The town will host multiple events this Saturday, April 21, that are part of the town’s effort to clean up the community and improve its overall appearance.

    Beth Brown, stormwater administrator for the town of Hope Mills, said the town’s commissioners have made beautification of the community a focus for this year.

    “This certainly allows us to clean up and make the town look better,’’ she said.

    The triple effort this weekend will focus on disposing of hazardous waste, shredding old documents and a citywide litter sweep.

    The biggest and most expensive part of the project is the disposal of hazardous waste.

    “Other stormwater departments around the state of North Carolina have used this idea to allow residents to have an opportunity to come out free of charge and drop off any type of household chemicals that are no longer good and can’t be disposed of in the trash can,’’ Brown said.

    The town provides citizens with the chance to drop off their dangerous chemicals at a central collection location in the parking lot between Town Hall and the police station from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. this Saturday.

    The town annually budgets $30,000 toward hazardous waste disposal and hires a firm called Clean Harbor to come in and take care of the job.

    Brown said Clean Harbor has to get permits to do the collection and the town pays the cost to transport the collected waste to a proper landfill, possibly as far away as Virginia, she said. “We provide the service to our residents because it makes it easier for them to get here to Town Hall to drop off their items,’’ Brown said.

    People are asked to arrive at Town Hall with the waste they are dropping off in the original container it came in. All waste should be carried in the bed of a truck or the trunk or back seat of a car. Once they arrive at the collection point, signs and town staff will direct them where to go. They don’t even have to leave their cars as personnel from the collection company will be on-site to take it from their car.

    There’s a wide list of things that are accepted, including adhesives, glues, resins, stains and thinners. Also taken are various kinds of batteries, pesticides and weed killers, propane cylinders, aerosol cans, computers and electronic devices. Things that will not be accepted include ammunition, fireworks, explosives, infectious and biological waste, syringes, radioactive waste and unknown compressed gas cylinders.

    Medications are also on the list of things not accepted. If you have a question about a specific type of waste material, call 910-424-4555 before going on Saturday.

    In addition to the waste collection, the town will also hold a shredding event, but the papers won’t be shredded on-site. Brown said they used to rent trucks that did the shredding but learned from experience that if the truck breaks down, a replacement truck isn’t sent to replace it.

    Now, the town provides collection bins for people to bring their old papers and drop them off. As soon as the shredding event is over, the company that handles the shredding picks everything up and takes it to be destroyed.

    The third aspect of the town-wide cleanup day is a litter sweep. It focuses on areas in the general vicinity of Town Hall, including Rockfish and Golfview roads.

    Kenny Bullock of the Hope Mills Recreation Department said people just need to show up at 8:30 a.m. the morning of the cleanup to register for the litter sweep. Volunteers are needed to make the event the biggest possible success.

    A lot of young people usually take part, he said, especially members of local high school Key Clubs and Girl Scouts, but there are restrictions. To be allowed to clean up along roadways, all participants must be 16 or older. Anyone younger is welcome to volunteer, but those participants can’t go on the roadways and are limited to helping clean up local parks.

    “We try to get all the streets in the neighborhood,’’ Bullock said. “This is the 21st year of the litter sweep.’’

    There will be a second litter sweep in the fall. The hazardous chemical disposal and shredding events are only held once a year.

  • 15 opening dayOne of Hope Mills’ favorite traditions will be getting a new location this Saturday. Opening Day Ceremony for the town’s youth baseball and softball teams will move from Brower Park to J.P. Riddle Stadium, home of the Fayetteville SwampDogs.

    Bruce Armstrong, who heads the Hope Mills Youth Association, said it’s been about 20 years since the town last held opening day at Riddle Stadium.

    “We were approached by the SwampDogs leadership and offered the opportunity to do it,’’ he said.

    “I know the SwampDogs staff is being generous in their offer to help make the event work. They’re doing a lot to make it a special morning for the players, coaches and their families.’’

    While there was certainly a hometown feel to the annual ceremony at cozy Brower Park, Hope Mills town commissioner Jerry Legge said Riddle Stadium offers a lot of obvious advantages over the recreation field.

    “It’s the opportunity to have the kids in a bigger facility,’’ Legge said. “It gives the kids the opportunity to have the atmosphere and memory of being in a professional ball stadium.’’

    For fans and friends of the various teams, it also means a more spacious parking lot.

    As in previous years, each team along with its coaches and sponsors, will be introduced to the crowd. Legge said the town has roughly 50 teams of various ages competing in Dixie Youth Baseball or Dixie Softball.

    When the Opening Day Ceremony ends, those teams that don’t have to play immediately afterward will be treated to a tour of the stadium.

    Also invited to take part in the ceremony are members of some older teams from the town that will begin their seasons later.

    When the Opening Day Ceremony ends, those teams that don’t have to play immediately afterward will be treated to a tour of the stadium.

    Games will be played at various locations in Hope Mills the rest of the afternoon and into the evening.

    Regardless of where Opening Day is held, Armstrong said it’s a special time.

    “It’s the one time you have 500 children, a couple of hundred coaches and a thousand parents and grandparents at one place and one time celebrating youth sports,’’ he said. “Seeing 500 kids on a baseball field is a beautiful sight.’’

  • Meetings

    For details about all meetings and activities, including location where not listed, call Interim Town Clerk Debbie Holland at 910-426-4113.

    Citizens Academy every Tuesday through June, 6-8 p.m.

    Historic Preservation Commission Wednesday, April 11, 5 p.m.

    Mayor’s Youth Leadership Monday, April 16, 6:30 p.m.

    Board of Commissioners Monday, April 16, 7 p.m.

    Lake Appearance Commission Tuesday, April 17, 6 p.m.

    Activities

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

    Mid-Carolina Senior Games April 11-30 at Hercules Fitness Center on Fort Bragg.

    Spring Sports Opening Day Ceremony Saturday, April 14, 9 a.m. at J.P. Riddle Stadium on Legion Road.

    Promote yourself: Email hopemills@upandcomingweekly.com.

  • 14 DodgeballWhile the rest of the nation was caught up in March Madness, a different kind of fever was sweeping the South View campus as spring break approached.

    It was the annual fundraising dodgeball tournament, which celebrated its 10th anniversary this year.

    Sharon Payne is the faculty advisor for South View’s Student Government Association, which coordinates the dodgeball tournament every year.

    “The best thing is our student body comes together and rallies to raise money for a charity,’’ she said. The charities the school chooses to help are carefully screened to make sure the money goes to support the specific cause and not to the people operating the charity.

    This year’s chosen charities, according to senior class president Henry Swartout, were American Suicide Prevention and Backpack Buddies.

    But why a dodgeball tournament? Swartout said that was decided years ago as an activity just about anyone could take part in that didn’t require specific athletic skills like those needed to excel in many sports.

    The fundraising takes place in multiple layers. First, there are five players on each team in the tournament, and they must submit an entry fee of $20 per team. Teams can design their own uniforms and pick their own team names. This year there were about 20 student teams, an administrative team and a couple of last-minute slots left for teacher teams.

    Admission to watch the tournament isn’t free. Each first-period class at the school can attend if it raises $30. For those special classes that have well under 30 students, a fee of $1 per student is requested. If a class comes up a little short in its $30, teachers often chip in to make up the difference.

    There were some side events going on with this year’s tournament. South View students are awarded tickets for doing good deeds around the school, and they could use those to donate toward seeing a favorite teacher get smacked in the face with a pie at the tournament.

    The students also donated money to determine which faculty or staff member would have to attend the tournament wearing a bunny suit. The winner was assistant principal and athletic director Chad Barbour.

    The tournament raised even more money from Barbour as students could pay to pose for a picture with him in the bunny suit.

    As for the tournament itself, Payne stressed the school has taken great caution to establish firm rules of conduct to make it a fun event that’s not designed to hurt or embarrass anyone.

    All students and their parents must read and sign information about the rules, which includes the stipulation no throws can be aimed at the neck or above the shoulders. The penalty is the disqualification of an offender’s entire team. A six-member crew of faculty members is picked to serve as referees.

    All the members of the winning team get a championship T-shirt.

    “It’s amazing the way South View rallies around the dodgeball tournament,’’ Payne said.

    Nautia Carter, student body vice-president, agrees. “It gets everyone excited,’’ she said. “It’s just something fun we do for our community and charities.’’

    Photo: Left, L to R: Danielle Novak, Bailey Lockwood and Raven Camacho.

  • 14Science Night 2Science Night is always a big deal at Gallberry Farm Elementary School, but it was made even bigger this year thanks to a grant from Duke Energy.

    Vicki Smith, a retired Cumberland County Schools principal who works part-time as an assistant principal at Gallberry, wrote the grant proposal that took this year’s event at the school to a new level.

    “I had heard from some other counties about the quality of the Duke Energy grant and the neat science activities they provided,’’ Smith said. “You apply in August, you hear in October, and they send it to you in February.’’

    Gallberry was one of 150 elementary schools around the state that received the grant this year. There is no specific dollar figure applied to the grant, but what it offers is 10 science-related activities with enough supplies to allow 200 people per activity to take part.

    “It gave the teachers some inspiration and energy as we did something different,’’ Smith said. “It also offered us some new ideas.’’

    Gallberry principal Dawn Collins said that’s important when teaching a subject like science.

    “The basic goal is to expose kids to science in a fun way so it’s not looked at as a boring thing, so they’ll know there’s a bit of science involved with just about everything you do,’’ she said.

    Collins gives much of the credit for Gallberry’s science night to third-grade teacher John Harskowitch. “We call him our resident mad scientist,’’ Collins said of Harskowitch, who headed the committee for the science night. “Anything that has to do with science, his hands are all in it.’’

    This year’s array of experiments exposed the students and their parents to a host of different scientific concepts.

    At one display, they got to try out a green television screen like meteorologists use when sharing news about the weather.

    Another station featured the chance to explore buoyancy by building a small aluminum foil boat. They also made their own version of the famous slime made popular on the Nickelodeon television network.

    Some students made pan flutes from straws or built towers out of marshmallows.

    There were also experiments in magnetic painting, building a simple catapult, and constructing paper parachutes and trying to hit a target on the floor with them.

    There was also a special bubble-making demonstration that actually wasn’t part of the experiments, although there was a bubble-making station for the children to experiment with.

    Also on-site was Kelvin, the official robotic mascot of the North Carolina Science Festival, which is held in April. Although the Gallberry event was held about a week before the state event starts, it was still considered a part of the state festival thanks to the Duke Energy grant.

    “I think this kind of event shows kids the breadth of science and how it reaches into every part of their lives,’’ Smith said. “It’s more than just a book or a complicated thing. It’s part of everything we do.’’

    Photo: At one station, students made their own version of the famous slime made popular on the Nickelodeon television network.

  • Meetings

    For details about all meetings and activities, including location where not listed, call Interim Town Clerk Debbie Holland at 910-426-4113.

    Citizens Academy every Tuesday through June, 6-8 p.m.

    Chamber of Commerce Luncheon Monday, April 9, 12:30 p.m. at the Hope Mills Parks and Recreation center.

    Historic Preservation Commission Wednesday, April 11, 5 p.m.

    Mayor’s Youth Leadership Monday, April 16, 6:30 p.m.

    Board of Commissioners Monday, April 16, 7 p.m.

    Lake Appearance Commission Tuesday, April 17, 6 p.m.

    Activities

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

    Food truck rodeo Thursday, April 5, 5:30 p.m., 5770 Rockfish Rd.

    •sThe Crossings at Hope Mills: Open House, Saturday, April 14, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.

    Promote yourself

    Email hopemills@upandcomingweekly.com.

  • 13Food Truck rodeoHope Mills is resuming its successful experience with Food Truck Rodeos this week, hosting the first event of 2018 on Thursday, April 5, in the parking lot behind Town Hall and the Hope Mills Recreation Center at 5770 Rockfish Rd.

    The rodeo will be held from 5 p.m. until 8 p.m.

    The food truck events were held last year starting in August and continued monthly through November until they were shut down for the winter months.

    “It started with us trying to come up with creative ways to bring the community together,’’ said Chancer McLaughlin of the Hope Mills Development and Planning Department.

    Since food trucks are popular in towns all over Cumberland County, town leaders developed a plan to help attract them to Hope Mills.

    “The main goal was to create an environment that would be supportive of food trucks,’’ McLaughlin said. “We don’t charge any fees for the trucks.’’

    McLaughlin said the town also wanted to give them something other than just the lure of a lunchtime crowd. “We felt if we could create a destination or an event out of it, everybody wins,’’ he said. “(If ) we can get people to Hope Mills, more people will come to support the trucks. It’s outdoors, and we facilitate it by putting out lawn chairs and having music.’’

    McLaughlin said a Thursday night was chosen to provide a variety of food trucks an evening that wouldn’t conflict with their plans to be at other locations in the county and increase the options available.

    “There are so many great ones in Cumberland County, we try to rotate them out,’’ he said. “We are very supportive of the food truck community.’’

    This week’s rodeo will follow a traditional structure the town has used in the past. The parking lot behind the recreation center and town hall will be blocked off to allow the food trucks to park and create a pedestrian area for people to visit the different trucks.

    The event will feature attractions for children, including free pony rides and bouncy houses.

    A DJ will provide music. On some occasions in the past the rodeo has offered live bands, but McLaughlin said a DJ will be used for the first event of 2018.

    He’s gotten commitments from six trucks that will appear at this week’s event. They include Fowler’s, formerly the Blind Pig; Babann’s Southern Fried Chicken; R Burger; and California Taco NC.

    McLaughlin always tries to have at least two local food trucks taking part. This week’s participants will be A Catered Affair by Chef Glenn and Big T’s.

    McLaughlin encourages everyone planning to take part in the rodeo to download the Spokehub app for their smartphones.

    “It allows you to chat with people leading up to the event and at the event,’’ McLaughlin said. “We’re trying to get creative with marketing.’’

    There’s also an informational aspect to the event, McLaughlin said. Warriors on the Water, an organization that helps rehabilitate wounded warriors by introducing them to kayaking, has made previous appearances at the rodeos. Now that Hope Mills Lake has been restored, McLaughlin said, they will return to this week’s event to share information about their organization.

    The Hope Mills Parks and Recreation Department will also have a booth at the rodeo, giving out information about upcoming events.

    The best thing about most of the activities is everything will be free, McLaughlin said. “The only thing they have to pay for is the food,’’ he said.

    “We want something that makes it more conducive to families. As opposed to cooking dinner, you can grab something to eat, sit down and relax in a really nice atmosphere.’’

  • 01 COVEREvery spring Fayetteville breaks out into a big weekend-long party that fills Festival Park and several blocks of Downtown Fayetteville with music, food, rides, shows, activities, art and more. It’s been that way for decades. And for the most part it is an event run by volunteers. Volunteers who like to have fun! This year, the Fayetteville Dogwood Festival runs April 28-30.

    The festival kicks off  Friday, April 28 at 5 p.m. with the Bloom and Boom party sponsored by H&H Homes. The evening’s entertainment features Brittany McLamb, LANCO and Parmalee. The opening ceremony is at 5:30 p.m. Music starts at 6 p.m. with Britanny McLamb onstage at the Festival Park CenturyLink Stage.

    A Salemburg, North Carolina, native, Britanny McLamb grew up listening to gospel, bluegrass and country music. As a youngster, she sang in choir at her church and performed in local talent shows and pageants. After high school, she performed on television shows such as Arthur Smith’s Carolina Calling and Jimmy Snow’s Grand Ole Gospel Time. She studied at East Carolina University, receiving a bachelor’s degree in Social Work. 

    From there, she headed to Nashville to chase her dream of becoming a star. McLamb released her first EP on iTunes in 2013. It included “Summer Rain” as well as songs like “Back from Your Goodbye” and “Mr. Right.” Several singles later, “I Like Where This Is Going” was released April 2016, which McLamb penned herself along with band member Phillip Howard and Lauren McLamb.

    LANCO takes the stage at 7:30 p.m. Formed in 2013, LANCO released their EP in 2015 and quickly followed with Extended Playin April 2016. 

    The band’s website explains that Extended Playcontains “three of the same songs as their debut, exchanging “High” for newer track and lead single “Long Live Tonight,” a pop-fused country song with a Kings of Leon undercurrent. 

    Their song “American Love Story” was also featured as the theme for the Netflix series The Ranch. The band is known for its country feel with a touch of classic rock and blues influence.

    At 9 p.m., kick back with Parmalee. The North Carolina natives earned high praises for their first album Feels Like Carolina. In 2014, the band was a semifinalist for the Academy of Country Music’s “New Artist of the Year” Award and was nominated for the 2014 Teen Choice Award “Choice County Group.” The group’s latest hit “Close Your Eyes” was in the Country Radio top three. After touring with Brad Paisley on his “Country Nation Tour,” Parmalee’s new single, “Already Callin’ You Mine,” is currently in the Top 30 at Country Radio. Rooted in bluegrass, traditional country music, southern rock and blues, the band members grew up listening to and eventually playing alongside their families. Eventually, they made their way to Nashville where they lived and worked out of their RV in the parking lot of the Comfort Inn on the legendary Demonbreun Street.

    Friday’s festivities conclude with a firework show immediately following the Parmalee concert.

    Saturday and Sunday are packed with things to do as well, including carnival games, rides, art exhibits and more. This year’s festival features several performance venues as well. The Cape Fear Music Center Stage has performers lined up from noon to 6:30 p.m. Artists include more than 45 performers ranging in age from 7 to 55. Special performers include KasCie Page, Clairice and The Combustibles, Borderland Band, Rivermist and Upscale-N-Casual.

    The Hay Street Stage features local bands from noon to 3 p.m. on Saturday. At 3:30 p.m. Earth, Wind & Fire Tribute will perform until 5 p.m. On Sunday featured performers include Fayetteville Jazz Orchestra, The Fayetteville State University Jazz Express and Reggie Codrington. Check out the wine garden near the stage for refreshments.

    The parking lot beside Hay Street United Methodist church is the performance area that showcases dance troupes. Performers include:

    Saturday

    12:00 Little Gym Jets

    12:15 Dazzling Dolls Pom Squad

    12:30 Shimmy Mob

    1:00 Elevo Dynamics

    1:30 Shadows of the Fire

    2:15 Audience Participation

    2:30 World Dance

    3:00 Aloha Ka’naka O’Hula Halua

    3:45 J’s US Taekwondo

    4:15 Shadows of the Fire

    5:00 Audience Participation

    5:15 Aloha Ka’naka O’hula Halua

    Sunday

    12:00 LS Music & Arts Studio

    12:15 Yvette’s Dance academy

    12:30 Shimmy Mob

    1:00 Dashawn Byron

    1:30 Shadows of the Fire

    2:15 Audience Participation

    2:30 World Dance

    3:00 Aloha Ka’naka O’Hula Halua

    3:45 J’s US Taekwondo

    4:15 Shadows of the Fire

    5:00 Audience Participation

    5:15 Aloha Ka’naka O’hula Halua

    Saturday is a rockin’ good time in Festival Park with a focus on 80s and hard rock entertainment. Violet Smoke is set to perform at 1 p.m., followed by Fourth Hour
    at 3 p.m. 

    At 5 p.m., acoustic band Wood & Steele opens for Winger, who takes the stage at 7 p.m. Wood & Steele’s repertoire is an inclusive one, ranging from The Beatles to Pink Floyd to STP or Johnny Cash. Winger is a hard rock band with roots that date back to 1987. The group is still going strong with recent hits  “IV,” “Karma” and “Better Days Comin’.” 

    Winger has been on Billboard’s Top 100 and in 2016, Grammy nominee Kip Winger hit #1 on Billboard and iTunes charts with his debut classical music album Conversations with Nijinsky

    At 9 p.m. Skid Row takes the stage. Skid Row is a rock band with titles that include “Youth Gone Wild,” “I Remember You,” “18 and Life,” “We Are the Damned,” “Monkey Business” and “Let’s Go.” The band has toured with KISS and has maintained a strong fan base.

    Sunday, blues and soul performer DieDra will grace the CenturyLink Stage at 1:30 p.m. She’s been called the “Blues Diva” and “The Alabama Blues Queen.” Her album Overcoming Hurdleswas nominated for several awards and her song “Hip Swingin’ Blues” went as high as number five on Roadhouse Blues Charts and topped all Beach Music Charts that year. 

    At 3 p.m., the Duck Derby Race releases thousands of ducks into Cross Creek in a race to raise funds for local schools and nonprofits.

    At 4:30 p.m., fusion rock band Lotus Sun performs. The band is a local favorite and a winner of Best of Fayetteville’s “Best Local Band” award. Lotus Sun is a local favorite at music venues like Fayetteville After Five as well as other festivals. 

    All the events are free. Tickets are available for $25 for prime seating at the CenturyLink stage concerts. Local artists and vendors will have items available to purchase, as will food vendors. Tickets for midway rides are for sale and can be purchased at the Dogwood Festival.

    Parking 

    Parking for those with disabilites will be designated in the Hay Street United Methodist Church Parking lot and the Bank of America Parking Lots on Ray Avenue. Availability is first come first served.

    Downtown parking is available. Suggested areas include:

    •New Parking Deck on Franklin Street, FREE weeknights and weekends

    •Cumberland County Courthouse parking lots

    •Paid parking in various Downtown locations

    Event Rules

    •No Coolers

    •No Pets (except service animals)

    •No Weapons of any kind

    •No Bikes, Rollerblades or Skateboards

    •No Drones/Aerial Toys or Equipment

    •No Inappropriate language or behavior

    •Zero tolerance for bad behavior

    Midway Hours (Carnival, Behind AIT)

    Friday Noon - 10 p.m. - All you can ride wristbands $25.00

    Saturday Noon - 8 p.m. Tickets only

    Sunday Noon - 6 p.m. Tickets only

    Find out more at http://www.faydogwoodfestival.com.

  • 09FSO new directorA joint committee of Fayetteville and Cumberland County elected officials, along with the mayors of the County’s small towns, met for the first time to discuss the future of sales tax distribution. At issue is how millions of dollars of local sales tax revenues are distributed annually. 

    City Council had named four of its members to a standing committee, but County Commission Chairman Glenn Adams allowed only two of them at the table. Commissioner Jeanette Council presided at the meeting and intimated her favored outcome was to leave things as they are. After an hour or so of discussion, Mayor Nat Robertson used a parliamentary maneuver to adjourn the meeting. Adams wanted committee members to vote on the controversial issue rather than continue negotiations.  

    County Commissioners have the authority to select from two sales tax distribution methods, one of which is based on population and is currently used. As the city has grown to almost 210,000, it has benefited from that method, which has been used for many years. 

    A caveat that city officials would like to see done away with is a side agreement that the city rebate to the County and the other towns 50 percent of sales taxes collected in areas annexed by the city 13 years ago. The rebate is the heart of the issue. 

    Mayor Nat Robertson wants to phase it out over a period of several years. The County wants to leave the current agreement in place for years to come. While he doesn’t agree with Robertson entirely, committee member Mitch Colvin said there should be room for compromise. 

    Commissioners have threatened to adopt the other method of taxation which distributes revenue by tax district. Because the entire County is its tax district, the County would benefit and the city would immediately lose more than $4 million a year. 

    Spring Lake Mayor Chris Rey suggested that cooler heads meet on another day. He and the mayors of Hope Mills, Stedman, Falcon, Linden, Wade and Eastover also favor the current tax method because they all receive small rebates from the city of Fayetteville.

    The meeting adjourned with most in attendance agreeing that the city should come to the next session with a specific proposal for change that others could agree to. That’s going to be difficult for Fayetteville City Council because not all members agree with Robertson. He believes the city should receive all sales tax revenue in areas annexed during the “big bang” when nearly 50,000 residents were taken into the city. 

    Council member Jim Arp, who was not allowed to speak during the meeting, told Up & Coming Weekly that as Fayetteville’s commercial and business development grows, all units of government benefit from increased sales taxes. “Our council has some work to do to come up with a plan,” said Councilman Kirk deViere. He also attended the meeting but was not seated at the table.

  • 08 baskervilleBaskerville: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery, showing at Cape Fear Regional Theatre through April 25, is playwright Ken Ludwig’s take on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s beloved 1902 novel The Hound of the Baskervilles. The show, carried by CFRT veteran Ken Griggs as Holmes and New York-based Harron Atkins as Watson, runs on playful, imaginative and smart storytelling.

    Griggs and Atkins are supported by James Beaman, Luke LaMontagne and Molly Malone, who between the three of them comprise the rest of the cast they each play at least three different characters throughout the show. 

    Director Sam French said that for Baskerville, he began working with his artistic team even earlier than he normally would. That team includes Scenic Designer Lucy Pope and Costume Designer Lizzie Donelan. French said he loves Ken Ludwig’s approach in the script. “It takes a classic story that’s meant to be read and has been designed to … only use the reader’s imagination, and now invites the audience’s imagination and the creative team’s imagination,” he said. 

    The creative team took that invitation wholeheartedly and created a world that urges audience members to follow suit. Under their vision, the actors create trains, horse carriages and even entire buildings out of almost nothing. Delicate paper-cut silhouettes whimsically dance across the background. The fourth wall is never broken because it never really gets erected. Though I initially resisted, I couldn’t help but be pulled into world-building with them the delight and inventive silliness and of it all was irresistible. 

    The moment that really got me was this: Holmes and Watson are onstage, engaged in heated dialog as they try to figure out their next move. Suddenly, from the shadows stage right, a coil of thick rope is thrown to Holmes. As he continues to talk, he passes one end of the rope to Watson. “I know!” he suddenly cries. “We’ll go to the (office)!” He and Watson have created the outline of a door frame with the rope as he says this, and, bursting with resolution and dignity, they step under the rope and into the “office.” 

    But not everything in Baskerville is created with only imagination. I was impressed with the primary set piece, a sloping, zig-zagging ramp, and the way it believably transformed with only context and perhaps a prop here or there added or subtracted. Scenic Designer Pope and Scenic Artist David Rawlins did a fantastic job.  

    Structure aside, supporting cast members Beaman, LaMontagne and Malone are extremely likeable and often hilarious in all their iterations. Lighting Designer Aaron Porter deserves mention, too, as his artful decisions imbued the whole thing with a sense of beauty and warmth. 

    Maybe you have to be there to understand the glory of that scene I described with the rope. And maybe that’s the point. I’m a firm believer that if it doesn’t make you say, “You’ve got to see it in person!” it probably isn’t worth seeing at all. Baskervilleabsolutely passes this test. 

    Tickets to see Baskerville at CFRT cost $15-$25 and can be purchased by visiting www.cfrt.org or calling 910-323- 4233. Show times fall at 7:30 p.m. or 2 p.m. depending on the day. Baskerville runs through April 25.

  • 001COVERThe world of art can be a complex system with layers and layers of meaning — some much more challenging than others. Depending on how much you’re interested in what’s happening in art nationally and internationally, one may often find oneself asking contemporary questions like “What is art for?” and “Why is that art?”

    Not so with the mixed media works by Dawn Marie Rozzo, a resident of Raleigh, North Carolina. You don’t need to theorize about unsettling postmodern themes, examine underlying constructs about identity or any of the other approaches to understanding conceptual works of art —  Rozzo’s work is simply joyful! 

    There are many reasons to enjoy art; joy and beauty are still highly relevant because of the effect on the viewer. When viewing Rozzo’s work, visitors may find themselves feeling delighted in sunshine and nature: spring fever magnified! So it seems the month of April is a perfect time for Gallery 208 to open with the exhibit titled Dawn Marie Rozzo: Variations on a Theme.

    The opening reception for Dawn Marie Rozzo: Variations on a Theme is April 11, 2017, from 5:30-7 p.m. at Gallery 208, and the public is invited to preview the exhibit and meet the artist. Due to her subject matter, colors and approach to image making, I feel confident everyone who attends the opening or visits the exhibit later will leave feeling a
    little happier. 

    Rozzo’s work is deceptively simple. The gallery is filled with birds, birds and more birds (and some other furry “critters”), all having
    personalities. Rozzo has created characters we can relate to in some
    archetypal way. Her choice of colors evoke meaning, as well as the text she interfaces with her subjects in a collage format. Her work appears
    effortless, yet it is that effortlessness which further supports why the
    work evokes a freshness.  

    Do not be fooled; her “effortless” style is the result of being an accomplished artist who chooses a loose approach, an artist with a disciplined and trained hand and eye. Upon close inspection, visitors to the gallery will find her work has layers of meaning. 

    Rozzo refers to meaning in her work by saying, “The paintings and collages allude to moments of observed beauty, a lightning flash or bird strut. I choose to document these observations with loose transparent washes and gestural brushstrokes to express the surprise experiences in Nature. The collages tell a story of intersections; birds or animals weave between words and images of human endeavors.”

    Rozzo will talk about her work and technique at the opening
    reception, but for those who are not able to attend the opening, the artist’s statement sums up her creative approach: “I love the transparency of watercolor and its fluidity, it influences my work. Loose transparent washes and gestural brushstrokes are employed on canvas, as well as re-purposed papers and cradled board to create densely colored pieces. Watercolor, acrylic, charcoal, colored pencil and oil paint are layered over one another between clear gesso and acrylic mediums.”

    She continued, “My recent collages are a playful intersection between observed natural behaviors of birds, garden creatures and the recording of human endeavors in repurposed pages of old books. I have been
    attracted to fragments of
    beauty discovered in the natural world since I was very young and I am fortunate to have early memories of
    discoveries while exploring the nearby woods, and seeing
    wonders in my Dad’s garden.”

    A trained artist, Rozzo attended Alfred University
    and Empire State College, graduating in 1992 with a degree in painting and graphic design. She has painted, taught and created art programming ever since. In the past 12 years, in addition to her studio practice, she has taught senior adults with disabilities art and enrichment programming. Her philosophy for teaching can be summed up in one of her
    statements: “I know that
    opportunities for creative expression can activate hope.”

    Rozzo’s statement about hope is reflected in her creative teaching programming, but also as an activist in her stated mission as “giving back.” As a supporter of the International Justice Mission (IJM is an organization whose purpose is to fight enslavement and violence against the poor worldwide), for this exhibit, the artist has created the Wall of Positives. The Wall of Positives is an effort to make some of her work very affordable for those who appreciate it and to continue to support IJM. In the Wall of Positives series, the artist has created a group of small 6”x6” collages on a cradled hardboard priced at only $75 each, with $10 from each sale going to the International Justice Mission. Those attending the opening or visiting the exhibit, if you purchase a work off the Wall of Positives you don’t have to wait for the exhibit to end -— just pay for the small work and you can take it with you as you leave.

    Gallery 208 on Rowan Street in historical downtown Fayetteville is excited to present a regional artist and invites everyone to attend the opening reception and meet Rozzo — an artist whose paintings are exhibited and sold regionally in North Carolina and are in private collections across the United States. 

    Dawn Marie Rozzo: Variations on a Themewill remain at Gallery 208 until late June, so there is plenty of time to visit the exhibit. Gallery 208 is located at Up & Coming Weekly, 208 Rowan Street. The hours are Monday through Friday, 9 a.m.–5 p.m. For more information, call Up & ComingWeekly at (910) 484-6200 or visit the artist’s website at www.dawnrozzo.com.

  • PAUL (Rated R) 4 Stars04-13-11-paul.jpg

    Director Greg Mottola is building up an impressive resume of funny films, and he demonstrates his knowledge of the loyal fanboys-and-girls with Paul (104 minutes). Of course, he can’t take all the credit. This tribute to nearly every even tangentially science fiction nerd-friendly film anywhere ever probably owes more to notoriously nerd friendly writing team Simon Pegg and Nick Frost.

    If you’ve seen Fanboys, (and if you haven’t, why haven’t you? Go now. Watch it immediately) then you will know more or less what to expect here. Paul is a road movie that aims to satisfy the movie nerd in us all, referencing Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Aliens, Back to the Future and E.T., among others.

    Unusual for a Pegg and Frost film, the film takes place in America. In 2009 Graeme Willy (Simon Pegg) and Clive Collings (Nick Frost) are attending the San Diego Comic Con, the lucky bums. After they finish geeking out all over California, they plan to take a road trip across the U.S., hitting all the major alien-conspiracy theorists sites (Area 51, Roswell, the Black Mailbox, etc.). After stopping at a diner run by Jane Lynch, they have a close encounter with Todd Packer from The Office (David Koechner) and the Ginger Matt Damon (Jesse Plemons). Eventually, they run into a little green man named Paul (Seth Rogen). Paul sets his phaser to faint and wet yourself, which Clive does. Toilet humor is hilarious!

    The next scene reveals one of the Men in Black, Lorenzo Zoil, (Jason Bateman) is in hot pursuit of the alien. He recruits two local FBI agents (Bill Hader and Joe Lo Truglio) without mentioning that the thing they are looking for can disappear at will, which renders their emergency dragnet utterly useless. The Super Best Friends League ends up safely behind the Pearly Gates, a motor home park run by Buggs.

    Ruth Buggs (Kristen Wiig) is a little old to still be home with Daddy (John Carroll Lynch), but she dreams of travel. Her dreams come true when she is kidnapped by foreigners and initiated into their bizarre cult of unexplained, yet plot convenient, mind-melding. It doesn’t take her long to begin creatively swearing, although her timing needs work. Naturally, she immediately falls in love with the nerd who is not sporting the long greasy hair (even if his chipmunk teeth are incredibly appealing). Meanwhile, the Feebies have caught on to the nature of their prey and manage to track them to a small town.

    After a scene in which Jason Bateman channels his inner Clint Eastwood, I begin to forgive him for Extract. It finally becomes clear where Paul is taking his traveling companions. Zoil is still tracking him, and the Feebies are still tracking them, and Ruth’s father is still tracking them, and of course they all end up at the same farm just in time to head into the climax of the movie.

    There are some lovely cameos throughout the movie, including Blythe Danner, Sigourney Weaver, and Jeffrey Tambor. Overall, I liked this better than Hot Fuzz, but it didn’t quite live up to Shawn of the Dead.

  • 001COVER

  • The Army Ground Forces Band’s 64 soldiers and two officers will be moving permanently to Fort Bragg this June with its parent unit, U.S. Army Forces Command.

    04-20-11-jazz-guardians.jpgEager to become a part of its new hometown community, the band is sending its Jazz Guardians to perform a vanguard concert as part of Fayetteville’s Jazz Appreciation Month at the Fayetteville Technical Community College’s Horace Sisk Gymnasium, 6 p.m., April 22.

    The Jazz Guardians is an eleven-member ensemble whose primary mission is to maintain and promote the uniquely American art form of Jazz.

    The Jazz Guardians pay tribute to the big bands of yesteryear by performing the music made popular by such greats as Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Glenn Miller and Woody Herman.

    Demonstrating great versatility, the group also performs the latest and most innovative sounds of today’s most popular composers.

    “We’re really glad this opportunity to work with WFSS-FM 91.9 came up to introduce the Jazz Guardians during Jazz Appreciation Month as the first of many performances our band will be performing as we establish Fort Bragg and the Sandhills area as our new home,” said Maj. Treg Ancelet, the band commander and conductor. 

    “It is particularly appropriate that we will feature the vocal talents of our Sgt. Shirley Dirden because the Smithsonian Institution has declared 2011 to be the year of the Female Jazz Artist.”

    The Jazz Guardians is just one Army Ground Forces Band ensemble. Other groups, or Music Performance Teams, include the concert and ceremonial bands, a brass quintet and brass ensemble, a woodwind quintet known as the Quintessential Winds, a rock/pop group called the Loose Cannons, a jazz combo, a Dixieland Band and the Brass Brigade, which pushes performance styles with a broad repertoire of music from traditional Dixie to funk and rap and even a little soul.

    The band and its MPTs serve as musical ambassadors of the American combat Soldier to the American people.

    Indeed, one of The Army Ground Forces Band’s major missions is to serve as a community outreach asset for the Army’s largest command, United States Army Forces Command, currently headquartered at Fort McPherson, Ga., but relocating here this summer in compliance with the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) legislation.

    Through parades, concerts, ceremonies and other public appearances, the band offers a positive perception of the U.S. military to diverse publics, promotes good will among its fellow Americans and fosters a sense of patriotism and national unity.

    In addition to traveling throughout the United States, performing at local, regional and national events, the band regularly holds master classes and clinics at middle schools, high schools and colleges, thus providing a valuable, free resource to the rising generation of America’s musicians by exposing them to professional musicians and a possible career path.

    Ancelet has already been in the area twice to meet with school music directors and arts and community organizations.

    “I’ve been very pleased with how enthusiastic everyone I’ve met on these visits has been that we are coming to Fort Bragg. That has given me lots of positives to take back to my Soldiers about what they have to look forward to when we arrive here,” he said.

    “And, as we settle in, I hope to meet with more schools and community organizations to discuss ways that we can collaborate with them.”

    The 64 soldiers assigned to the AGFB have passed highly selective auditions and are among the finest musicians in the United States Army Band Program. The majority of the band’s members have studied music at some of the finest universities and conservatories.

    For more on the band and to request the band, go to www.forscom.army. mil/band.

  • 001COVER

  • 04-27-11-pottery-festival.jpgWhat young kid can pass up a rain puddle, some nearby dirt and the opportunity to fashion that sublime art creation of youth, the almighty mud pie? Such earthy fun is worth the almost certain unhappy parental reaction; a right of passage in childhood.

    Yet some children never give up their love for playing in the dirt and grow into adults who turn their passion for mud into creative careers as potters. The wares of many talented potters who perhaps slipped into the mud and got all fi red up about clay will be on display during North Carolina’s largest pottery festival, the Sanford Pottery Festival. The Special 10th Anniversary Event & Celebration of N.C. Wines take place on Saturday, April 30, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Sunday, May 1, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Dennis A. Wicker Civic Center, 1801 Nash St. in Sanford.

    “In North Carolina, we take our pottery very seriously,” said event organizer and potter Don Hudson. “There are probably about 2,000 potters in North Carolina. Our festival draws potters from all over North Carolina and beyond.”

    The Sanford Pottery Festival has its roots in the Seagrove Pottery Festival, explained Hudson. “The Seagrove Pottery Festival is the granddaddy of them all. It is about to celebrate its 30th anniversary event in November. It was created by a gentleman named Richard Gillson. (Gillson passed away in 2008.) His pottery studio was named Holly Hill, and he created the Seagrove Pottery Festival. I worked with Richard for 11 years to help him produce the Seagrove Pottery Festival. Richard encouraged us to create a festival in Sanford to help project a positive image of the Seagrove-area potteries into the Triangle. He always said if it were promoted correctly, that the Sanford Pottery Festival would be bigger than the Seagrove festival. When it was fi rst held in 2002, it did become the largest pottery event in a state that loves its pottery.”

    Hudson offers a variety of reasons for its growth and notes that 50,000 different people have visited over the past nine years, representing 98 of N.C.’s 100 counties and every state in the union.

    “For one, Sanford has a great location,” Hudson said. “We’re right in the middle of everything, and great roads connect us to all the areas around us. We’re easy to reach, and there is a whole lot of free parking on paved lots. The amazing thing is that people who love pottery come out even in bad weather,” he said.

    The festival features 110 oversized booths and 30,000 square feet of tents in addition to the civic center space. Yet the pottery festival is not all pottery.

    “The goal for the festival is to pull together the very best selection of North Carolina pottery found in one place,” said Hudson. “Twenty percent of the booths are for non-pottery traditional arts and crafts. This goes back to Richard Gillson, who always believed that a pottery festival should have some non-pottery, for people who are dragged along by pottery fanatics, in the areas of jewelry, clothing accents, gourmet chocolates and salsas, sweet breads, leather, woodwork — all the basic non-pottery traditional arts.”

    The event is also very child friendly, notes Hudson.

    “We have a ‘paint your own raku’ that is tremendously popular with children. There’s going to be the National Guard climbing wall there as well, another tiein with the military. During the festival, there will be shuttle service to historic downtown Sanford. There is a bicycle race on Saturday with lots of children’s activities at Depot Park,” he continued.

    Hudson views the event as an opportunity for Sanford to shine as a community in the midst of the military’s ongoing BRAC efforts. The festival is repeating its highly successful military appreciation feature of free admission with a valid military ID, offered at the festival’s first Christmas show this past December, and hinted at a future event in Cumberland County.

    “We are very definitely looking at creating an event in Fayetteville. The Cumberland County population is drawn from all over the U.S.A., and many of them are world travelers, and they have a tendency to want to know something about what goes on where they are stationed at any given time. And they send souvenirs back to friends and family all over the country and all over the world. What better opportunity to popularize North Carolina pottery on a national basis, than to make the military aware of what is in their own back yard!”

    The wine-tasting event, held in a separate venue, features N.C. wines, “from the sweetest sweet, to the driest dry,” Hudson said. For $10 admission, attendees receive a free glass and may sample from different wines and then purchase them by the glass, bottle or case. A selection of health-conscious food will also be available at the festival.

    The timing of the festival is ideal for Mother’s Day and graduation gifts, he noted.

    “We focus on Mother’s Day,” said Hudson. “Bring your mother out. Buy her something for Mother’s Day. We have all sorts of gifts anywhere from $10-20. We have a very broad selection of pottery. There are actually thousands upon thousands of moderately priced gift items that can be used in the house and passed down from generation to generation as much of the pottery is. We also have high-end pottery. We have had things sell at the festival for $15,000.”

    Two of the potters that regularly attend the festival are Phil Morgan of Seagrove and Olivia D. Dowdy of Wagram.

    Morgan established his pottery in 1973 after determining he did not want to work in a routine that required a suit and tie. He fi rst discovered pottery at Montgomery Tech (now Montgomery Community College) and is known as a “world-master crystalline potter.” According to his website, www. philmorganpottery.org, “Phil’s cystalline jewels are in museums across the globe — from the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C., to Europe’s Wedgwood Museum. Phil and his crystalline works of art have been featured in a variety of publications, including The Washington Post, The New York Timesand The Orlando Sentinel and on ABC TV’s Good Morning America and CTV’s Good Morning Canada.”

    “I’m in my 39th year and have been doing crystalline since 1973,” said Morgan. “I strive to do the original art. I do not use computers. I mix my own porcelain. I mix my own glazes. That’s kind of what makes me different than everyone else. I started in the time when there weren’t a lot of companies producing clay and glazes, and I learned to do my own, and I still do it the old way I did way back in the ‘70s. I take pride in that I only allow the best ones that survive through the fi ring into the showroom.”

    Morgan has attended all but the very first Sanford Pottery Festival.

    “I’ve been proud to be in that show every year since. It’s a wonderful pottery event. And if people come to that show and they don’t find pottery they like, then they didn’t like pottery to begin with. It’s a great time for people to meet the potter, the potter takes time to explain what they do and talk to them and they more or less become friends, not just customers. I would just like to invite everyone to come to the show and have a good time.”

    Dowdy reflects fondly back on those mud-pie making times of her youth.

    “As soon as it rained, I was outside in the mud,” said Dowdy, who has been working in mixed media for the past 20 years, but claims pottery as her first love. Her wire and raku jewelry has been featured in Step by Step Wire Jewelry. “There’s something about being an adult where we can just get dirty, and it’s okay.”

    “I didn’t go to college until later in life. I got a visual-arts degree, and I liked everything I worked with, but I didn’t feel like I could make a living using my skill that would let me be a happy person.”

    Dowdy then transferred from Sandhills Community College to UNC-Pembroke. “I was wondering, how would I make a living doing something in the arts, and I stumbled upon the pottery class. I saw Ceramics I, which is hand building with clay. When I went into that class, I mean I fell absolutely in love with the whole process. I felt like I had found my place. It’s a humbling medium to work with because you know what you can and cannot do with clay. You can push it, and it pushes back. If you don’t follow part of the rules, you will work multiple hours and have absolutely nothing to show for it. I have the greatest respect for clay. The clay just feels good in your hands. After you manipulate and pull it and do all these things to it, you get something wonderful, something beautiful, something that speaks volumes just because it came from the earth.”

    Dowdy’s mantra, posted on her site at www.etsy.com/people/Odddesignsnc#, says it all: “My soul would be empty if I did not do art!”

    Which involves, no doubt, playing in the “mud.”

    Admission to the festival is $5, children 14 and under are admitted free and anyone with a valid military ID, active or retired, will be admitted free with an adult guest. Admission to the wine-tasting event is $10 extra for adults 21 and over.

    For more information on The Sanford Pottery Festival, visit www. sanfordpottery.org.

    Photo: Olivia D. Dowdy from Wagram, N.C. specializes in pottery and raku jewelry, like the piece shown above.

  • 04-13-11-ftcc-logo.jpgSummer is indeed an exciting time of year for kids — no school, warm weather, long days and extra time to sleep! This situation can present a dilemma for some parents when they wonder how they can provide fun activities for their kids without having them stuck indoors. FTCC has the solution, and it’s called Summerscapes.

    Kids ages 8-16 can get involved in fun classes at FTCC to express their creativity while they discover new talents. We realize that kids may tend to be more interested in Summerscapes’ fun classes, but parents may be interested to know that Summerscapes also offers academic refresher courses. The academic refresher courses are offered to help students master the grade-level objectives set by the state of North Carolina. Parents can check out the list of classes and register their kids for as many classes as their schedules will allow. All classes are taught by motivated instructors who will provide a positive learning environment. Whether your child enjoys art, photography, reading, cooking or music, we have it all! Some of the most popular Summerscape’s classes include Art Attack, Acting, How Do Airplanes Fly, Chef for a Day, Guitar, Shag, Reading and Math Refresher Camps and Multicultural Arts.

    The Summerscapes program will begin in June to allow year-round students to participate. Classes will begin after school is out in June and will run through the end of August. The classes listed in the Continuing Education Spring II course schedule are only the beginning! There will be additional classes advertised in the summer04-13-11-ftcc-picture.jpg course schedule available in the June 2 edition of The Fayetteville Observer, which will include July and August classes. The community college can offer these self-supporting courses only during the summer, so take advantage of these enjoyable, inexpensive learning opportunities for your child.

    While these courses are offered to the public at a discounted rate, some may require that supplies be brought to class. Additional fees for classes requiring supplies will be kept as low as possible. On the fi rst day of class, please accompany your child to meet the instructor, to discuss supplies and to leave a contact number.

    Classrooms do not open until time for class to start, so parents should not drop off their children early. Also, parents need to pick up their children immediately after the class ends. Parents are welcome to stay in the building where their child’s class is located, but we ask that parents not remain in the classroom. For security purposes, parents are required to accompany their child to the classroom (for every class meeting) and pick up their child from the classroom. If your child is taking a cooking class, parents should inform the instructor about any food allergies. Since class sizes are limited, students must pre-register for all Summerscapes courses. Sign your child up today! It’s easy to get started!

    If you are interested in learning more about FTCC’s Summerscapes program or how to register, please call us at (910) 678-8243/8309 or e-mail to mclamba@faytechcc.edu. For a complete course listing, visit our website at www.faytechcc. edu/con_ed/default.asp.

    PHOTO: Whether your child enjoys art, photography, reading, cooking or music, FTCC has it all.

  • 21 Jump Street  (Rated R) 4 Stars04-04-12-movie.jpg

    21 Jump Street(109 minutes) is funnier than it had any right to be, considering that dumb gross Channing Tatum co-stars, and considering the overall cruddiness of Jonah Hill’s most recent “comedy” (The Sitter). Overall, directing team Lord and Miller manage to find the comedy inherent in sending 25-year-olds back to high school to play at being teenagers, a quality neglected in the classic 1980s crime melodrama. Let’s hope they manage to avoid screwing up the inevitable sequel.

    The film doesn’t waste a whole lot of time playing exposition footsie, quickly introducing Morton Schmidt (Hill) and Greg Jenko (Tatum) and establishing their defining characteristics in short order. Schmidt is the nerd and Jenko is the jock who mocks him. Fast forward seven years later and both are trying to get into police training. One isn’t quite fit enough to get through the physical training and the other isn’t quite smart enough to pass the written test (guess which is which).

    Schmidt decides that quietly forgiving Jenko will do him more good than working out his high-school scars and repressed rage in therapy, so they become best friends and end up as bicycle cops together. They screw up their first big bust, and get yelled at by Captain Hardy (my fictional husband, Nick Offerman). He then reassigns them to a recently revived undercover pro-gram led by Captain Dickson (Ice Cube) that places youthful police into high schools in an attempt to entrap underage students and infringe upon their First Amendment rights. Darn Patriot Act.

    They stay with Schmidt’s parents and promptly mix up their identities, stranding Jenko with the Dungeon & Dragon’s players and honors students while Schmidt ends up goofing around in the academic B-track. They easily establish themselves as high-schoolers, despite having 5 o’clock shadow by noon. After a few minutes in class with Molly (Brie Larson from The United States of Tara), Schmidt finds the drug hook-up he is looking for. That is some remarkably quick detective work. Or possibly kids today hand out contact information for their drug dealers a lot more quickly than they did when I was in high school.

    As the kids do, they text the dealer to score some dope. Naturally, the dealer immediately responds because dealers are nothing if not accessible to unknown buyers within minutes of being contacted. Of course, through the use of sitcom logic the two narcs are forced to dip into the drugs, and hilarity ensues. The track coach (Rob Riggle) nails them in the hallway, which leads to visions of his head melting. After their success in identifying the dealers, the two men-children begin hunting for the supplier. While the smart one is collecting cool kids like flies, the dumb one is getting Mary Kay Letourneau-ed by Ms. Griggs (a shamefully misused Ellie Kemper).

    They decide to cement their in with the dealers by hosting a high-school party. This leads to a major breakthrough in the case and the two officers into a high-speed chase. Hilariously, they keep waiting for things to explode as seen on TV only to be repeatedly disappointed.

    The writers manage to illustrate just how quickly high-school norms change, even if they then fall back in to high-school clichés that were new when Adam Sandler was still culturally relevant (see Billy Madison). Overall, the film works as a comedy, reminding me of Owen Wilson and Ben Stiller transforming Starsky and Hutch. Finally, kudos to Casting for digging original 21 Jump Streetactors Peter DeLuise and Holly Robinson Peete out of whatever TV movie grave they were taking a nap in; I thought they were dead.

    Now showing at Wynnsong 7, Carmike 12 and Carmike Market Fair 15.

  • Looking for affordable entertainment, and a wholesome way to enjoy the gorgeous weather? Then look no further than the Fort Bragg Fairgrounds. Now that spring is here it’s time for one of the community’s many rites of the season — the Fort Bragg Fair.

    From April 26-May 13, come to the Fort Bragg Fairgrounds for rides, games, food, live entertainment and much, much more. Admission includes unlimited rides, of which there are many, and live music and entertainment. Of course, parking is always free.

    The fair is known for its live-music showcase, and this year’s offerings have something to please everyone. There is a great mix of music artists lined up representing many genres, including rock, tropical/Caribbean, pop, salsa and country. Entertainers include The Fifth, Tsunami Wave Riders, Red Trii Band, West End Mambo Band, Fahrenheit, Ryan Daniel and Eric Smallwood. There are multiple shows scheduled each day. A full entertainment schedule can be found on the MWR website.

    04-11-12-fair.jpgThis family-friendly event includes a kiddie section for young children, and children under 3 feet tall get in free. Don’t miss Sea Lion Splash, an educational show that will appeal to all ages. You will be greeted by friendly sea lions that are full of personality and are ready to entertain and educate.

    To keep things safe for everyone, weapons, video equipment, professional cameras, fireworks, pets (except service dogs), laser pointers, knives or gerber tools and other items are not permitted on the Fair Grounds. Find out more about the list of items permitted at the fair at www.fortbraggmwr.com/sportsrec/specialevents/proitems.pdf.

    Monday through Friday the gates open at 5 p.m. After 7 p.m. general admission is $12. Members of the military and Department of Defense civilians get in for $10. Tickets for children 36” or taller (up to age 9) are $10, handicapped non-riders and senior citizen non-riders get in for $7. On Saturday and Sunday, the gates open at 1 p.m. General admission on Saturday and Sunday is $17. Members of the military and Department of Defense civilians get a reduced ticket for $15. Children 36” or taller (up to age 9) are $15. Tickets for handicapped non-riders and senior citizen non-riders are $7.

    On May 13, Mother’s Day, moms are admitted free when accompanied by a paying child 36” or taller up to age 17. Monday through Friday is Appreciation Day with $7 admission for everyone 36” or taller from 5-7 p.m.

    Get your fill of carnival fare, try your hand at the midway games, catch a concert — every day, several times a day and enjoy the festive atmosphere with the people you care about.

    The Fort Bragg Fair is open to the public and is accessible from Bragg Boulevard via Howell Street. For more information about the fair, visit www.fortbraggmwr.com/fair or call 396-9126.

  • 04-18-12-liberty-ladies.jpgMilitary women, and the women behind the military men, Epicenter Church has big plans for you.

    On April 26, at Epicenter Church, an evening of fun, fellowship and inspiration awaits.

    Event organizer, Maj. Deanna Franks, who is in the Air Force Reserves, has lined up two great speakers who are not only connected to the military community, but who are making a difference in the lives of military families every day—Autumn Letendre and Jenny Hartsock.

    “Autumn and Jenny are great speakers who can really relate to the audience,” said Franks. “I think the energy will be a lot of fun and very exciting.”

    Letendre is a country music singer. Her debut album, Raise your Flag is filled with emotion and pride for the United States of America. Her husband was killed in action in Iraq in 2006. The support she received after her husband’s death further strengthened Letendre’s sense of patriotism and her love of the military community.

    Her talent and causes have not gone unnoticed. At Maria Shriver’s Women’s Conference, First Lady Michelle Obama said “I am inspired by Gold Star Wives like Autumn Letendre.”

    In the years since her husband’s death, she’s become a passionate advocate for military families—speaking across the country, attending military funerals to comfort loved ones and working to ensure that her husband’s memory lives on for her young son. In a letter that she sent to military families, Letendre wrote, simply: “I may have lost the love of my life, but I have gained a life and story that few in this great country have.”

    After her husband’s death Letendre started The Gold Star USA Foundation, an organization that provides pre-through post-deployment war support, literature, lectures, financing and education to active-duty and honorably discharged military service members and their dependents. To find out more about The Gold Star USA Foundation visit the website at www.thegoldenstarusa.com.Jenny Hartsock is an Army Brat and a United States Military Academy graduate who served on active duty and is now serving in the North Carolina National Guard. An Army wife and the in-state military liaison to the state of North Carolina for U.S. Senator Kay Hagan, she’s got a heart for service members and their families and understands fi rsthand the struggles they face.

    Hartsock agrees wholeheartedly with Deanie Dempsey, wife of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, who urged spouses to share their stories at the military.com’s 2012 Military Spouse Summit on March 3.

    “I want to echo her message that spouses are ‘resilient, accomplished and experienced women who possess strong values and an even stronger work ethic,” said Hartsock. “In 10 years of war, all of these women have served. Some of the ladies in the audience have tirelessly guarded the home-front. Some have deployed, leaving behind small children. Some of these amazing women have juggled opposite deployment schedules of their husbands, who also serve, which quickly turns a deployment into two years long. Everyone has a story to tell, and everyone can learn from the stories.”

    In addition to the speakers, Franks hopes that women who attend the event leave refreshed, inspired and encouraged. She’s gone out of her way to make it easy to say yes to this fun-fi lled evening. It’s free, childcare is provided, there will be great door prizes and giveaways as well as valuable resources—and most importantly, the opportunity to learn a few things, make some friends and have a great time.

    “It is a girls’ night out for you and your friends,” said Franks. “We have fun speakers, music and free stuff, too. There is no excuse not to come.”

    The event starts at 6:30 p.m. Find out more and reserve your seat at www.fayettevillelibertyladies.com.

    Photo: Autumn Letendre, a country singer, will perform at Epicenter Church.

  • uac042512001.jpg Fayetteville’s favorite festival, the Dogwood Festival, turns 30 this year, and like most things, it’s just getting better with age.

    Slated for Friday, April 27 through Sunday, April 29, the Fayetteville Dogwood Festival is going to bring a whirlwind of activity to the city center, and, if Carrie King, the director of the the festival has her way, a lot of tourist to the community.

    “We are ready to go and we are anxiously awaiting our opportunity to bloom for Fayetteville,” said King.

    King and her crew of volunteers have been working since last year’s festival to get ready for the upcoming festival. The organization consists of one full-time employee and one part-time employee. Most of the work is done by the volunteer board of 21. It operates on a budget of $400,000. In 2011, the festival was voted among the Top 20 Events of the Year by the 2011 Southeast Tourism Society and was a Grand Pinnacle Winner for International Festivals and Events.

    King said these awards are signifi cant, particuarly when you put things in perspective and look at who is in the competion — events like the Kentucky Derby.

    “We competed on a regional and international level against events in the industry that have very big staffs with very big budgets!”

    Winning the awards and recognition helps get the word out about the festival, but this year, King had another means of advertising.

    “We are hoping for a much bigger crowd this year,” she said. “We have done a lot of marketing outside of our community, thanks to a Tourism Development Authority Grant.”

    The grant is designed specifi cally to advertise tourism venues outside of their location. King put the money to good work spreading the word about the Dogwood Festival all over the state. Most recently, she had a big billboard right in the middle of the Azalea Festival footprint in Wilmington.

    “We are expecting to get a lot of out-of-towners,” she said.

    With that in mind, she has worked hard to put together an exceptional festival, and she believes that attendees will be impressed. 

    The annual party starts Friday night at 6 p.m. with the Bloom & Boom Kickoff Party at Festival Park. The party features country crooner Gretchen Wilson. Following her performance, fireworks will light up the sky. King said that food vendors and other participants will be on hand. The Family Foods/Taco Bell Midway will open at 6 p.m. For $20, you can ride all the rides you want during the party. If you bring a receipt totaling $5 or more from any local Taco Bell, you 04-25-12-dogwood.jpgwill receive $5 off the wristband.

    On Saturday, the street festival will start at noon, and will feature more 100 arts and crafts and food vendors, as well as fun activities for the whole family. The midway will open at noon and will close at 6 p.m. on Saturday. It will operate on a ticket-based system.

    On Sunday, the festival kicks off at 1 p.m. and closes at 6 p.m. Admission is free to the public on Saturday and Sunday. Friday’s concert is a ticketed event.

    Free offsite shuttle services will be available at the city parks and recreation facility on Lamon Street. The shuttle runs every 15 minutes and will transport passengers to the festival footprint. Hours of operation are Saturday 3-11 p.m. Disabled parking will be designated in the Hay Street United Methodist Church Parking lot and the Bank of American Parking lots on Ray Ave. Availability is first come, first served basis.

    For more information, visit ww.faydogwoodfestival.com

  • Calling all walkers, joggers and strollers! Join us for Cumberland County’s 24th CROP Hunger Walk on Sunday, April 22, to fight hunger!

    Cities all across the world use these events to raise money “to fight the root causes of hunger around the world through partner programs and initiatives,” according to event coordinator Rev. Laura Lupton.

    “Currently, more than 2,000 communities across the U.S. join in more than 1,600 CROP Hunger Walks each year. More than 5 million CROP Hunger walkers have participated in more than 36,000 CROP Hunger Walks in the last two decades alone,” according to reports from the Church World Service, which sponsors of the walks. “This year CROP Hunger Walks will share almost $4 million with food banks, pantries, community gardens and other local efforts across the U.S.,” according to CWS information.

    And this is not just money to help those far away. Twenty-five percent of the money raised in Fayetteville will go to04-11-12-fight-hunger.jpgFayetteville’s Second Harvest Food Bank to assist those in our community.

    This year every dollar raised will go even further. According to Lupton, “The Feinstein Foundation will divide $1 million among hunger-fi ghting events during March and April, and our CROP Hunger Walk is just such an event. The more funds we raise, the more we’ll receive — so every dollar counts even more!”

    Originally founded in 1947, at the end of World War II, CROP coordinated relief for the suffering populations in Europe. CROP now stands for Communities Responding to Overcome Poverty and “is a cooperative ministry of 37 Christian communions working together to eradicate hunger and poverty and promote peace and justice among the world’s most vulnerable people,” says Lupton.

    There is no registration fee, although participants are urged to register their intent to participate. It is hoped that walkers will raise their own support for their participation or make a donation. Raising awareness is an important component of the hunger walk, so even if participants are unable to raise support, they are encouraged to register and attend.

    Individual sponsors also have the unique option of designating their donations to approved international hunger fighting agencies. Only 14.6 percent of monies raised by CWS will be used to cover management, fundraising and information sharing.

    All walkers and joggers are welcome, including strollers and wheelchairs. For the safety of all event participants, bicycles and wheeled shoes are not allowed.

    CROP walk coordinators also need volunteers to help with water stations, registration and phone calls. Local businesses and other donors help cover administrative costs, such as city permits and police supervision.

    The walk will begin at 3 p.m. on Sunday April 22, with registration opening at 2 p.m. at Evans Metropolitan AME Zion at 301 N. Cool Spring St. in Fayetteville. For informational packets or forms, contact Sara Beth Lytch at sblytch@yahoo.com or (910) 867-0395. You may also visit the Fayetteville Crop Walk website at www.crophungerwalk.org.

    If you are unable to walk this year, but would like to make a donation, the address for contributions can be found on the crop walk website.

  • Each Spring, volunteers hit the streets of Fayetteville with one goal in mind: making Fayetteville beautiful. Last year, 1,471 volunteers participated in the citywide cleanup, picking up more than 31,000 pounds of trash. On Saturday, April 21, a like number of individuals will gather at the Martin Luther King Expressway on ramp on Ramsey Street at 9 a.m., to kick off another cleanup.

    But before you think it’s more of the same old, same old, think again. 04-11-12-faybeau-logo.jpg

    “We have some new and different things we are doing this year,” said Bobby Hurst, the chairman of Fayetteville Beautiful. “We know that we need to keep it fresh and growing.”

    One of the ways Hurst hopes to do that is by making volunteering a little easier. This year the volunteer system went online, with a volunteer map located on the City of Fayetteville and the Parks and Recreation websites.

    “People can go online and see where their group is assigned or they can see what areas are still available and then they can adopt that area,” explained Hurst.

    The map will also show volunteers where their stretch of road begins and where it ends, which is important because the number of volunteers each year continues to rise. Hurst said the volunteer campaign is beginning to wrap up, and they have found that more groups have joined, which greatly enhances the organization’s ability to clean up more roads He added that a large number of the new volunteers are coming from the county’s schools.

    “We are actually going to award a $250 prize to the school that has the most volunteers,” said Hurst. “That money will go to their student government association. So far, Pine Forest has the most volunteers at 62, but there are still a lot of other schools that we haven’t heard from yet.”

    Even with the changes to the event, Hurst wants to keep it true to its roots, which is improving the community. Over the past seven years, the annual cleanup has removed 87 tons of litter from 296 miles of road. All of the work has been done by the hands of 7,389 volunteers.

    Those volunteers are the heart of Fayetteville Beautiful, which was started as a committee of concerned citizens dedicated to encouraging others to take greater responsibility for improving their environment. The key to a long-term sustainable solution for a more beautiful Fayetteville is its success at changing individual behavior and attitudes about litter.

    Over the past several years, Hurst and his organization have been successful at changing perceptions and habits, but this year, the organization saw a slight climb in its annual Litter Index, the measurement tool created by Keep America, which helps communities identify and understand the extent of their litter problems. Hurst’s excitment for the upcoming event was tempered by the latest litter index, which was recently released. Over the past several years, the county’s litter index has fallen, but this year, there was a slight increase to 1.86.

    “We are covering more roads than ever before, and we are, in fact doubling the amount of miles that Keep America says you need for a city our size,” he said.

    He believes a successful Fayetteville Beautiful event will go far to bring the county numbers back in line.

    “We just really want a great turn out and want to get a lot of trash off our roadsides,” said Hurst.

    For more information about Fayetteville Beautiful visit the website at www.fayettevillebeautiful. com or to volunteer, contact Lynn Hughes at 433-1587.

  • Most people have heard of Easter Seals, but some are more aquainted with the organization than others — especially those whose lives have been touched by someone with autism or other disabilities.

    On a broad level, the organization “offers help, hope and answers to more than a million children and adults living with autism and other disabilities or special needs and their families each year. Services and support are provided through a network of more than 550 sites in the U.S. and through Ability First Australia. Each center provides exceptional services that are individualized, innovative, family-focused and tailored to meet specifi c needs of the particular community served.”

    Locally, the Easter Seals United Cerebral Palsy (UCP) North Carolina & Virginia provides services through the Easter Seals UCP Dorothy Spainhour Center.

    Like all children’s centers that work with special-needs kids, the Dorothy Spainhour Center always needs new equipment and updated resources for the many services it provides. On May 5 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Century 21 Family Realty is sponsoring a yard sale/bazaar to raise funds for the center. The bazaar will be held at 2653 Hope Mills Rd., at the Century 21 Family Realty office.

    “Century 21 and Easter Seals are national partners and Susanne Sattelmayer of Century 21 came to us a couple of months back to tour the center,” said Amanda Hurlburt, early childhood specialist at the center. She wanted to do some fundraising for us and wanted it to stay local — specifically for our center.”

    Funds raised are earmarked for playground improvements, classroom improvements and therapeutic equipment.

    “This is actually the third fundraiser she has done for us,” said Hurlburt.04-25-12-dorothy-spainhour.jpg

    In addition to yard sale items, the bazaar portion of the fundraiser includes 31 Gifts, Tastefully Simple, Dove Chocolates, Scentsy, Pampered Chef. The Twisted Jeweler is also scheduled to attend.

    While the Dorothy Spainhour Center does partner with Easter Seals, the center also accepts children without developmental needs, providing a safe educational environment for kids from 6 months to 12 years old.

    “Children receive therapies on site in class room, speech, occupational, physical and developmental, therapies,” said Hurlburt. “We serve kids with I.E.P.s (Individualized Education Programs) through Cumberland County Schools. Some children come here as their classroom placements.”

    Any child qualifi es to attend the Dorothy Spainhour Center. They don’t have to have special needs to take advantage of the great programs that the center offers. Children who attend the Dorothy Spainhour Center benefi t from programs like N.C. Pre-K (formerly More at Four) and Kindermusik.

    The center recently had local dentists visit the school and talk to the kids about dental care. The center also offers before and after care. Prices are based on the services provided and programs the children participate in.

    To learn more about the Dorothy Spainhour Center and its programs, call 483-7283 or stop by for a tour.

    Photo: The Dorothy Spainhour Center meets the needs of a number of children in Cumberland County. Its programs are designed specifi cally to help children succeed.

  • 19Joshua Jose RiveraJoshua Jose Rivera

    Gray’s Creek • Baseball •

    Sophomore

    Rivera has a grade point average of 3.58 for the Bears.

     

     

    20June Kilpatrick Douglas ByrdJune Kilpatrick

    Douglas Byrd • Soccer •

    Sophomore

    Kilpatrick has a 4.3 grade point average. She’s a platoon leader for the JROTC and a member of the drill team and academic team. She participates in the speech and debate clubs. Away from school she volunteers for the American Red Cross.

  • 18UnifiedwinnersThe Carver Classic track and field meet held annually at Reid Ross Classical High School’s John Daskal Stadium has always been a high point of the local outdoor track season.

    But this year it made history, special history. The event saw a new record set for the largest number of special needs athletes competing in an organized track meet. It’s part of a program called Unified Track that was introduced to Cumberland County Schools by student activities director Vernon Aldridge.

    The Unified program is designed to give special needs youngsters with either physical or emotional disabilities the opportunity to participate for an organized high school athletic team. So far, track is the only sport offered in Cumberland County, but officials are looking at the possibility of adding other sports by this fall.

    Aldridge learned about Unified Track during a presentation at last year’s North Carolina Athletic Directors Association annual meeting in Wilmington.

    The presentation was made by a group of Unified Track athletes, and Aldridge said it moved him. “I brought it back to our athletic directors and they wanted to get involved,’’ Aldridge said.

    Currently, Cumberland County has Unified Track teams at seven of its 10 senior high schools. Aldridge estimates there were some 70 to 80 Unified athletes competing at the Carver Classic, which according to Nathan Brookins of North Carolina Special Olympics made it the largest number of Unified athletes to compete in a meet held in this state.

    The team from Gray’s Creek won the Unified division of the Carver Classic meet. Earl Horan, who coached the Gray’s Creek special needs team and has a son on the squad, said the Unified concept focuses on inclusion for the special needs youngsters

    “We want to give them the opportunity to participate in a team sport,’’ Horan said. “We’re trying to get past a sporting event and bring it to the hallways and classrooms and make sure they are seen around the school and get a little more opportunity to be a typical student.’’ Horan said the Unified track athletes wore their medals to school the day after the Carver Classic. “Their chests were bowed out,’’ Horan said. “It gives them a sense of confidence.’’

    The special needs athletes don’t compete alone. They are paired with partners from other sports teams at their school who join them in the competition. The rules of Unified Track require one regular athlete for every special needs competitor. Horan said the wrestling team from Gray’s Creek has stepped up to provide six of the seven partners for the Gray’s Creek special needs athletes.

    As both the parent of a special needs athlete and a special education teacher, Horan has a unique appreciation for the benefits of Unified Track.

    “I see the pride my son has and the enthusiasm from other teachers,’’ he said. “The amount of support we get from students, administration and parents is very heartwarming.’’

    Aldridge would love to see the program grow countywide and thinks the key is getting the word out to parents of special needs children. 

    “Some parents may be leery of turning their child over to us for an athletic team,’’ he said. “If we can get the word out and show how positive the performance has been, we can get more kids involved.’’

    Photo: 4x100 relay teams that took 3rd and 1st. Third place finishers (on left) are Anthony Liszewski, Cord Grimm and Camdon Liszewski (Gabrielle Veauthier not pictured). Champions are Nick Quinn, Andrew Esterly, Devonte Pierce and Trace Bechtol.

  •    Click the Image for UCW's Online Edition!   

         Picture yourself in New York City circa 1970-1980. In that time, and in that place, art ruled. The glamorous people rushed to gallery openings. Artists gained as much notoriety as pop stars. In fact, pop stars flocked to the artists. One man set the tone for that time: Andy Warhol.
         Born the child of Ukrainian immigrants in a city known for steele (Pittsburgh), Warhol reinvented himself as an American painter, printmaker, filmmaker and leader of the pop art movement. His studio, known as The Factory, was one of the city’s hottest spots. Everyone from street people to intellectuals, to Hollywood celebrities to debutantes, sought entry into his circle. He not only welcomed them, he captured them on his prints, turning the celebrity into art.
         {mosimage} Fayetteville residents will get a chance to see the works that defined an era of glitz and glamor as the Fayetteville Museum of Art welcomes 38 Warhol works from the Cochran Collection for a two-week exhibit. The exhibit will be on display at the Festival Park Plaza Building beginning Thursday, April 23 and will remain on exhibit until Saturday, May 2. The event is expected to be one of the highlights of the Dogwood Festival.
         “We are very excited to bring this exhibit to the Dogwood Festival,” said Tom Grubb, the director of the Fayetteville Museum of Art. “We’ve known for some time that we’ve wanted to be a part of the Dogwood Festival. In the past, our exhibits have been sanctioned events of the festival, but being so far removed from the downtown area, we really didn’t feel a part.”
         Grubb said the museum staff had been looking at ways to become a more intimate part of the festival. Their original thought was to host a consignment sale in a downtown facility. The museum made overtures to the Lundy Group, the owners of the Festival Plaza Building, about using some of their unoccupied space for the sale. Once they got a look inside, their ideas began to change.
         The building’s ground floor has more than 3,500 square feet of floor space. The Lundy Group gave the museum permission to reconfigure the space, and with that idea in mind, they began looking for an exhibit rather than a sale.
    “We figured if we were going to be in the middle of the festival, we should make a statement and show the community how we, as a museum, can contribute to the downtown and events,” Grubb explained.
         He noted that when discussions about the proposed construction of a museum facility in Festival Park were underway, it was very  hard for the museum to show people in an abstract way how the museum could benefit downtown.
         “That was an idea that many people found hard to grasp,” said Grubb. “This facility and this opportunity have evolved into a way of showing on a larger stage how the museum fits into the area and what an important cultural asset it is downtown and for the entire community.”
         Grubb started making phone calls, and much to his surprise and delight, he found the touring exhibit of the Cochran Collection was available during the time period surrounding the Dogwood Festival. On Monday, April 13, Grubb and other museum staff packed up and drove to Georgia to accept the exhibit. The exhibit is comprised of 38 Warhol originals. Six of those works will be on display for free in the museum store in the Festival Plaza Building. The remaining 32 works will be on exhibition as a paid exhibit.
         He noted that while many of Warhol’s works deal with celebrity, many others deal with everyday objects and people, like the highly recognizable Campbell Soup print. “I think Andy Warhol would have been thrilled to walk up the plaza promenade and see all of the sights and sounds of the festival,” said Grubb.
         He said the flavor of the festival captures the excitement of Warhol’s works. “He took ordinary things and made them special,” he said. “He had the ability to make the common special, and that’s really what art does. It focuses us on what is unique.
         “We wanted an exhibition that speaks to everyone,” he continued. “and Warhol’s work does that. There are people who loved him, people who hated him, people who didn’t understand his work. His work created dialogue, and our education department is very excited about that because it lends itself to art-education projects.
         The department is planning on offering films, lectures and other educational venues for people to become acquainted with Warhol’s works. One important outreach program the museum is definitely planning is with the schools by making the exhibit free to the schools at various times during its run.
         The Cochran Collection is one of the finest collections of Warhol’s works around.  It contains some of Warhol’s most notable works, including a portrait of John Wayne; two prints entitled Moonwalk that chronicle Buzz Aldrin’s walk on the moon; a print of rock icon Mick Jagger; and a series of prints dealing with the Old West, which include prints of Geronimo, General Custer and Annie Oakley.
         In addition to these works, the museum staff will also complete an installation of sculptures made out of Campbell Soup cans. The soup was donated by the Campbell Soup factory in Maxton. Once the show is over, all of the soup will be donated to the local food bank.
         This is only the first of what Grubb hopes will be many such exhibits in the downtown area. “Our mission is to bring art to the community,” said Grubb. “And if we can do it in the Festival Plaza Building, then we will.”
         Grubb said that while the building had been suggested as a new home for the museum by the city-appointed Fayetteville Museum of Art Task Force, no decisions along those lines have been made.
         Just as the proposed museum was to house a gift shop and a cafe, the temporary museum space will do the same. The museum store will be the site of the free exhibit. The cafe, Uncorked, will offer light refreshments and wine throughout the course of the exhibition. He said they were not going to offer more than that because they did not want to compete with the festival vendors.
         “This is just one step forward,” said Grubb. “Andy Warhol said ‘Time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself.’ By making this temporary move downtown, we are stepping forward to show the community what we can be, and it’s pretty exciting.”

  • The annual Carver Classic track meet didn’t offer a lot of highlights for the competing Cumberland County track teams, but there were some good moments.

    Jack Britt’s boys, despite having no individual winners, used their depth in multiple events to come away with the boys’ team title.

    A pair of local girls, Zinzili Kelley of Douglas Byrd and Djamilla Peterson of Pine Forest, took victories in the long jump and triple jump, respectively. Meanwhile, the 4x200 relay team from Pine Forest, composed of Jonathan Everett, Felix Patterson, Jordan Ferguson and Walter Brown, won that event.

    Here’s a brief look at each performance.

    Britt boys triumph 

    Despite being without his best shot putters, Britt track coach Tyler Hood saw his boys score a victory in the Carver Classic with 85 points, edging secondplace Morrisville Green Hope with 78. The nexthighest Cumberland County entry was E.E. Smith in seventh place with 33.

    “We do have a lot of depth in all areas, throwing events, sprinting events and jumping events,’’ Hood said.

    Leading the individual performance for the Buccaneers was sprinter Deangelo Davis. He took fifth in the 100-meter dash, seventh in the 200 and ran a leg on the third-place 4x100 relay and second place 4x200 relay

    Hood said the key to continued success for Britt is keeping his team healthy and avoiding leg weariness before the postseason starts. “We want to keep them as fresh as possible,’’ he said. He also hopes his squad can get in enough practice time on the rubberized track at nearby New Century Middle School.

    “If we can do those two things, we’ve got a good shot,’’ he said.

    Kelly takes long jump 

    15Zinzili Kelley Douglas ByrdByrd’s Kelley said the Carver Classic is an important event for her and the Eagle track team. “It’s where most of the competition will be,’’ she said. “It’s not like the regular Thursday meets where you run against two schools. There are amazing athletes there, ones that can win the regional and state.’’

    Kelley said she’s been trying to get over knee problems and was still struggling with them at the Carver meet.

    “I’ve been working mostly on my running, not my jumping,’’ she said. “Mostly I was trying to get my speed up.’’

    She recorded her winning jump of 18-feet, 7-inches on her fourth jump. “I was one of the last few jumpers,’’ she said. “I was listening to what everyone else was jumping, so I said I’m good, no one else is close.’’

    She’s not a big fan of the facilities at Northern Guilford, where this year’s 3-A regional meet will be held, so she’s aiming for a top five finish there to assure a berth in the state finals.

    “I’m just training, doing what I know and what I’ve learned so I can win,’’ she said.

    Photo: Zinzili Kelley

    Peterson wins triple jump

    16Djamila Peterson Pine ForestPine Forest’s Peterson said she prepped for the Carver by posting a third-place finish in nationals where she turned in a triple jump of 38 feet, 3.5 inches. She took first in the Carver Classic with a leap of 37-3.

    Although the competition she faced in the Carver was stiffer than what she sees in conference meets, she didn’t try to attach any greater importance to it. “I just read it like every other meet,’’ she said. “I want to qualify and (personal record) every time.’’

    She got her winning leap on her first try. She tried to better the effort in her remaining jumps but said “it just didn’t happen.’’

    As she prepares for the stretch run to the regional and state meets, she has a simple focus. “Just keep practicing hard,’’ she said.

    Photo: Djamilla Peterson

    Trojan foursome captures relay 

    17Pine Forest relay teamPine Forest track coach Terry Wickham said the quartet on his 4x200 meter relay team has been consistently lowering its time in the event as the season has progressed.

    “We have one new guy, Johnathan Everett, who never ran track before,’’ Wickham said. “He’s been a basketball player for the last four years.’’

    Everett ran the third leg for the Carver winning relay team. The other legs were Ferguson first, Brown second and Patterson fourth.

    Pine Forest turned in a time of 1:28.84 to win the Carver despite what Wickham called one of the squad’s worst handoffs of the season. “I think we can go faster than we have,’’ he said.

    The key to the rest of the season is participating in big meets to get the experience of running in front of a crowd.

    “We are ranked first in the 4-A Mid-East and third overall in the state, but it’s really close,’’ Wickham said of the Trojan relay team. “Working on speed and handoffs is why you go to the bigger meets. You don’t want to mess up there. The more you get to run at bigger competitions, the better you get at handling pressure. That’s what it’s going to come down to.’’

    Photo: L to R, standing: Jonathan Everett, Felix Patterson, Jordan Ferguson. Sitting: Walter Brown. 

  • 18Nikki Delmolino Nikki Delmolino

    Terry Sanford • Soccer/cross country •

    Senior

    Delmolino has a 5.4 grade point average. She is president of the Key Club, vice president of the National Honor Society, and a member of the Academy of Scholars, the Mu Alpha Theta math honor society, Technology Student Association, Science Olympiad, Mock Trial and International Club.

     

     

    19John Burton 

    John Burton

    Gray’s Creek • Baseball •

    Senior

    Burton has a grade point average of 3.56 while playing baseball for the Bears.

  • 16Cole Humphrey Larry Ellis, grandfather of former Cape Fear star Cole Humphrey, tells the story that when he was in the seventh grade, Cole lacked the physical gifts of some of his classmates and doubted his athletic skills.

    So Ellis gave him a shirt with the Superman logo and told his grandson he had the determination and work ethic of the Man of Steel.

    As a teenager, Cole became an all-conference athlete in football and baseball, as well as a solid student who was also active in the work of his church.

    Tragically, his life was cut short just five years ago this month when he died in a car accident over spring break.

    But the memory of Cole Humphrey and his contributions to the school continue through the Cole Humphrey Foundation and the annual Cole Humphrey Run.

    The run, which is scheduled for May 12 at Cape Fear High School, is the primary fundraiser for the foundation, in addition to direct gifts people give in Humphrey’s memory.

    Although Humphrey and the students he attended school with have long since departed Cape Fear, principal Lee Spruill said Humphrey’s memory is still alive on the campus. “We have his jerseys up in locker rooms,’’ Spruill said. “We remind kids of the legacy he left behind when he left Cape Fear. It’s maintained with what the family does supporting the school with the run and the foundation.

    “You are never going to forget a Cole Humphrey. He’s just a phenomenal kid.’’

    Money raised through the foundation and the annual run have been put back into the Cape Fear athletic program, mainly in the sports of baseball and football, to provide numerous items beneficial to both programs.

    The run begins at 8 a.m. on Saturday, May 12, and will feature competition in 10K, 5K and 2.5K timed events. Atlantic Coast Timing Systems works with the run to provide certified times for all those who compete. Awards are presented to the male and female winners in the 10K and 5K divisions, and for the age 8 and under top finishers in the 2.5K.

    “It’s just a great event and fun to see all these kids running,’’ Spruill said. “My son has never been a runner and he ran in it last year and won his division.

    “A lot of great things have come from the run. It’s neat seeing people that were at the school four, five or six years ago. It’s like a mini-reunion.’’

    For complete information on the run, go to the website at colehumphreyrun.com where you’ll find a link to sign up for this year’s run.

    For those who don’t have access to a computer, you can call for further information at 910-303-9928.

    Photo: Cole Humphrey

  • 14Sam Guy15Davidjohn Herz Terry Sanford As mid-April approaches, the baseball outlook couldn’t be much brighter for Terry Sanford. The Bulldogs are 13-2 overall, 9-0 in the Patriot Athletic 3-A/4-A Conference, with a two-game lead over their closest rival Pine Forest through April 11.

    But the first thing coach Sam Guy will tell you is this team has yet to reach its full potential.

    “When teams are winning, it’s easy to lose focus on little things that matter later in the year,’’ he said. “When you lose focus on those little things, they become big things when it’s one and done. If you don’t execute them when it’s one and done, then you’re done.’’

    One area where the Bulldogs have improved over previous seasons is hitting. Guy said during the off-season, particularly during workouts this fall and winter, offense was the focus.

    “Andrew Jayne and Justin Ebert have been two really nice surprises,’’ Guy said. The statistics on ncprepsports.net through April 5 showed Ebert and Jayne batting .514 and .452 respectively, with Ebert leading the counting in batting average.

    Andrew’s twin brother, Christian Jayne, is second in the county with a .488 average. One of the team’s biggest surprises at the plate has been Davidjohn Herz, who came into the season known mainly for his pitching skills that made him an early commit to the University of North Carolina.

    Guy said Herz, who got a late start in baseball because he was a member of Terry Sanford’s state playoff basketball team, began the season batting seventh.

    Since then he’s crushed a couple of home runs, boosted his average to .429 and driven in 13 runs.

    “He’s made some adjustments and been our four- hole guy lately,’’ Guy said. “He’s been a nice addition to the middle of the lineup.’’

    His pitching record through April 5 was 2-0 with a 1.12 earned run average and 42 strikeouts in 25 innings.

    Herz talks like his coach – not about what he’s accomplished but about what he needs to concentrate on and fix.

    “I need to start throwing more first-pitch strikes,’’ he said. “I need to get ahead in the counts. I need to start getting fastball command, command of all my pitches and work on my changeup.’’

    Coaches from North Carolina frequently check on how Herz is doing. Guy said visits from college coaches and Major League scouts have been a bonus for other players on the Bulldog team.

    “Guys are coming to our practices and games,’’ Guy said of the various scouts. “I tell my other guys, they’re not here to see you, but you can make them see you.’’

    One example is Bulldog pitcher Logan Brown, who stands about 5-feet-10 and throws consistently in the mid-80 mph range. “He competes every single pitch,’’ Guy said. “I don’t know what coach doesn’t want that.’’

    At a recent game with South View, seven scouts attended and one of them began contacting various colleges on Brown’s behalf. Other players who are getting looks include Will Rosser and Dorian Clark.

    “It’s nice for them and is going to help them in their pursuit of baseball after high school,’’ Guy said.

    Photos: (L) Terry Sanford baseball coach Sam Guy; (R) Davidjohn Herz

  • 13scholarshipsMany parents are trying to live the dream through their sons and daughters – the dream of landing a college athletic scholarship by specializing in a sport yearround. Unfortunately, most of these dreams are never realized.

    The odds of a sports scholarship paying for even a portion of a student’s college education are miniscule.

    The College Board, a not-forprofit organization comprised of 6,000 of the world’s leading educational institutions, reports that a moderate cost for college students who attend a public university in their state of residence is $25,290 per year. The annual cost at a private college averages $50,900.

    Meanwhile, the most recent data from the National Collegiate Athletic Association reveals that the average Division I athletic scholarship is worth only $10,400. More significantly, the same study shows that fewer than two percent of all high school athletes (1 in 54) ever wear the uniform of an NCAA Division I school.

    Even if the dream is realized, parents likely will spend more money for club sports than they ever regain through college athletic scholarships. Thanks to the costs of club fees, equipment, summer camps, playing in out-of-state tournaments and private coaching, youth sports has become a $15 billion- per-year industry.

    There is an option, and it’s a financially viable one: Encourage your sons and daughters to play sports at their high school.

    In education-based high school sports, studentathletes are taught, as the term implies, that grades come first. The real-life lessons that students experientially learn offer insights into leadership, overcoming adversity and mutual respect that cannot be learned anywhere else. Unlike club sports, coaches in an education-based school setting are held accountable by the guiding principles and goals of their school district. And the cost of participating in high school sports is minimal in most cases.

    While there is a belief that the only way to get noticed by college coaches is to play on non-school travel teams year-round, many Division I football and basketball coaches recently have stated they are committed to recruiting students who have played multiple sports within the high school setting.

    In addition, by focusing on academics while playing sports within the school setting, students can earn scholarships for academics and other talents – skill sets oftentimes nurtured while participating in high school activities. These scholarships are more accessible and worth more money than athletic scholarships. While $3 billion per year is available for athletic scholarships, more than $11 billion is awarded for academic scholarships and other financial assistance.

    Without a doubt, your sons and daughters will have more fun, make more friends and be better prepared for life beyond sports by participating in multiple sports and activities offered by the high school in your community.

  • 04282010dscn0631.jpgFayetteville artist Erica Stankwytch Bailey fi nds inspiration in the smallest of details within a larger body — a cell within a plant, a shell in the ocean. Bailey, a metalsmith, found herself within that very context when she journeyed to the Grand Canyon as an artist-in-residence earlier this year. For three weeks in January and February, she lived, worked, hiked and photographed in the Grand Canyon. Bailey will share her experiences on Thursday, May 6 from 7 to 8:30 p.m. in a presentation at the Arts Council, 301 Hay Street, in Fayetteville. The presentation is free and open to the public.

    “It’s a really great program,” said Bailey, a metalsmith, in a phone interview. “Several of the national parks throughout the country do artist-inresidence programs. The cool part is that both the artists and the National Parks have worked hand-inhand for a long time. In the early times of the National Park Service, there was no way to show people what the parks looked like without artists, and that’s how all the national parks shared the parks with the people so that people would support them.”

    Bailey took her fi rst metalsmithing class at Fayetteville Technical Community College when she was 17.

    “The funny part is I now teach at FTCC. I really love teaching. For me as an artist, I work so much in the studio that it’s really nice to get out and interact with people.”

    Bailey draws her inspiration from nature, and many of her jewelry pieces, wrought in materials such as sterling silver, copper, brass, freshwater pearls, jade and recycled paper, evoke images of a piece of coral, an unfolding bloom or the magnifi ed surface of a grain of pollen or tiny ocean plankton.

    “My studio is covered with trays of things,” Bailey said. “I’ll pull them out and look at them or photograph them. I keep a pretty involved sketchbook. It’s always nature, sometimes architecture, and I’ve been looking at a lot of nano and microscopic photography. The last year or so, my work has really started to be about how signifi cant the really small things are within a larger context. That is part of how I chose the Grand Canyon. It is the perfect place to experience the signifi cance of the small in the large. I chose the Grand Canyon because I knew it was a place that would be truly inspiring. 041282010dscn2627.jpg

    “When I fi rst got to the Grand Canyon, it was so big that it was hard for me to take it in. There was visually so much to see. I really started breaking it down into its different parts –– line, shape, texture, form. I’m working on pieces inspired by the trip. It’s a series of pieces based on elements of art. Most of them will be wearable, but I do have a piece that I’m working on that is more sculptural. At the presentation, I’ll talk about the entire experience and plan to have some of the completed works there.

    Bailey’s presentation is part of an outreach program of the national parks’ artist-in-residence program.

    “It was an amazing opportunity,” said Bailey. “I had the best view in the park. They ask very little but that you do outreach to spread the word on how amazing the National Parks are. I also have some great photographs to share and stories about how amazing and wonderful the experience was and how challenging it was. It was such a profound experience.”

  • 18 Alia Ilyar 71stAlia Iyar

    Seventy-First • Senior •

    Soccer

    Iyar has a 4.0 grade point average. She is president of the National Honor Society, secretary of the National Spanish Honor Society and active in Upward Bound Math and the Science Academy.

     

     

     

    18 Josiah Hopkins Pine ForestJosiah Hopkins

    Pine Forest • Sophomore •

    Golf/cross country

    Hopkins has a 4.0 grade point average. He is a member of the Student Government Association and active in Academically or Intellectually Gifted, Campus Life and Friends of Rachel. He’d like to attend Liberty or Campbell University. He wants to major in Christian Leadership and get a master’s in divinity.

     

     

     

    18 Max Canady Terry Sanford copy

     

    Max Canady

    Terry Sanford • Sophomore •

    Golf

    Canady has a 4.33 grade point average. He is the sophomore class representative to the Student Government Association and is active at Haymount United Methodist Church.

     

     

     

     

     

     

    18 Drew Menscer

     

    Drew Menscer

    Gray’s Creek • Junior •

    Softball

    Menscer has a 4.31 grade point average at Gray’s Creek.

  • April 19, 2016

  • Here is the composite Cumberland County Schools football schedule for the 2018 season. The 10 Cumberland County senior high schools are members of two different conferences. Playing in the Patriot Athletic Conference, which is composed of 3-A and 4-A schools, are Cape Fear, E.E. Smith, Douglas Byrd, Pine Forest, South View, Terry Sanford, Westover and Gray’s Creek. Overhills High School is the only non-Cumberland County school in the conference.

    Playing in the Sandhills Athletic Conference, which is composed of 4-A schools, are Jack Britt and Seventy-First. Non-Cumberland County schools in the league are Scotland, Richmond Senior, Pinecrest, Hoke County, Lumberton and Purnell Swett.

    All Cumberland County home games will kick off at 7:30 p.m. Some away games will begin at 7 p.m.

    17 football schedule

  • 17John Myoung 71stJohn Myoung

    Seventy-First • Baseball •

    Sophomore

    Myoung has a 4.0 grade point average. He is involved with speech and the Green Team and is a pianist and drummer at his church.

     

     

     

    18Briana Crosby Pine Forest

     

    Briana Crosby

    Pine Forest • Softball •

    Junior Crosby

    had a 3.55 grade point average. A member of the school band, Crosby is also an Academically or Intellectually Gifted student who plans to attend a four-year university and major in sports medicine.

  • 16Talia Parrous Terry Sanford soccerThrough March 27, Terry Sanford’s girls soccer team had a 10-0 record and had yet to allow a goal this season.

    Bulldog coach Karl Molnar is excited by his team’s success and admits the resume looks good on paper.

    But he also knows his team is far from perfect. “As a coach, I lose sleep at night knowing the little things we’re not doing well,’’ he said. “We are still winning, and that’s great, but I do know until we start doing those things well we’re not going to be competitive in the state tournament.’’

    Molnar thinks problems could start as early as the Patriot Athletic Conference tournament for the Bulldogs if some of their better league opponents show improvement. “They’d have picked up their games and hopefully we will too,’’ he said. “Right now I see us struggling, and I’m very focused on what we need to fix.’’

    The strong points for the Bulldogs so far are a versatile offense and stingy multi-playered defense.

    Molnar said he’s got several players capable of scoring, three of them with 10 or more goals, led by Maiya Parrous with 14.

    “When you’ve got four people who can comfortably put the ball in the back of the net, it makes you tough to defend,’’ Molnar said.

    On defense, Terry Sanford tends to dominate play in the midfield. “We seem to control that area,’’ Molnar said.

    Newcomer Kara Walker has been a major addition on defense, which is anchored by Ally Gustafson.

    The last line of defense is veteran goalkeeper Lindsay Bell. “She’s a phenomenal athlete and catches tough shots with ease,’’ Molnar said.

    Another key player in the midfield is senior Talia Parrous, who has signed to play soccer at UNCWilmington this fall.

    “She is playing like a senior,’’ Molnar said. “I think she is doing all she can to make this a meaningful year of soccer.’’

    As a senior and a captain, Parrous said her main goal with the Bulldogs this year is to be a leader, helping other players find their roles and working to improve team chemistry.

    She agrees with Molnar that the Bulldogs have some things they need to fix. She and Corinne Shovlain are still adjusting to new positions in the middle of the field. “We’re going to have to work on that and our defense a little bit,’’ she said. “Team chemistry is good, but if it was better, it would help us more.’’

    Parrous said her biggest concern looking toward a possible berth in the state playoffs is how the Bulldogs will handle better offensive teams.

    “We haven’t been tested with anything strong offensively,’’ she said. “It’s going to be different when we’re tested by five or six good offensive players coming down our throat. I think we can handle it.’’

    Parrous is focusing on the rest of the season with Terry Sanford, but it won’t be long until she shifts gears to play at UNC-Wilmington.

    She plans to work out over the summer following a fitness regimen sent to her by the Seahawks and continue training with local soccer guru Jimmy Maher. She’ll leave at the end of July to enroll at UNC-Wilmington.

    “I’m hoping I won’t get redshirted,’’ she said. “I need to come in and be humble and modest and try to earn my position. I know every player down there is just as good.’’

    Photos: Midfield senior and captain Talia Parrous, Terry Sanford girls soccer

  • 15South View Keyla Reece and Tylan ReeceBaseball season is always a big deal at South View High School.

    The late Calvin Koonce, member of the 1969 World Champion New York Mets, used to coach there, and the Tiger field shares his name.

    The late Randy Ledford guided the Tigers to a state 4-A championship in 1991.

    Yes, baseball is important for the Tigers, but this season, the game has taken a back seat to something even bigger.

    This year, the Tigers are playing for a teammate and his mom.

    Keyla Reece, who just turned 40 in February, learned last summer she has stage four breast cancer. Since that diagnosis, her world has been turned upside down with regular trips to Chapel Hill for chemotherapy while still trying to work and juggle family responsibilities.

    But she’s not doing it alone. The mothers of her son Tylan Reece’s South View baseball teammates, along with the players themselves, have rallied around Keyla and her family to let them know this is not a battle she’s fighting by herself.

    One of the moms is Elizabeth Person, who along with her fellow team mothers learned last year of the struggles Keyla is facing.

    “My mom and aunt had breast cancer, and I had a couple of scares myself,” Person said. “We want to be there for her.”

    As a gesture of support, T-shirts were made for the mothers to wear.

    The team followed suit, with most of the seniors donning pink baseball cleats. Those who didn’t buy the cleats purchased pink shoelaces to wear at games.

    “Most of the moms have been together at least through high school,’’ Person said, “some of them middle school before that and played a lot of travel ball.

    “We wanted this to be a time of happiness for Tylan. This is his senior year, when things are supposed to be great. Anything we can do to grab hold and love on them, we’re a very close family.’’

    Keyla has remained positive in the face of her struggle and is doing all she can to make sure her son gets the most enjoyment possible from his senior season with the Tigers without worrying about her health.

    She’s told her son to use her struggle with cancer as a source of motivation when he’s on the field.

    “When you go out there and get up to bat, you hit that ball like you’re hitting the cancer cells,’’ she said. “Every time you catch that ball, you catch it as if you’re blocking the bad cells from coming into my body. When you’re running from base to base, act like you’re chasing those cells away.’’

    Tylan has taken his mom’s advice to heart and is further buoyed by the support both he and she get from his teammates. “They text me, they text my mom, they ask if I’m okay,’’ he said. “They come to my house to surprise me. They go above and beyond to make sure I’m okay.”

    South View baseball coach Scott Ellis said the team rallying around the Reece family has given them a sense of what’s truly important in life.

    “This is way bigger than baseball, bigger than the game,’’ Ellis said. “Tylan has a good support system with this team."

    “This is a good place to escape, I think. Baseball has been a tremendous escape not just for Tylan but his mom and dad. They’re able to see him perform and forget about a few things when they see him play.’’

    Jordan Bullard, who starts in the infield with Reece, stressed the same theme Ellis does. “We’re making sure his head is up, even on the sad days,’’ he said. “She’s a fighter, she’s always been a fighter, and she’s going to beat it.

    “We’ve got his back. It’s like one big family. If one person is going through it, we’re all going through it.’’

    The team is planning to hold a special event to recognize Mrs. Reece and her family at its home game with Pine Forest on April 12.

    But she’s already deeply appreciative of everything the players, the other moms and the South View community have done for her.

    The biggest word is thank you,’’ she said. “There is no way we could have done this alone. We never imagined the outpouring of love and support we were going to receive from the South View team itself, which is something important.

    “When you go through cancer, your life changes drastically. Nothing is ever the same. You have a hectic schedule as it is, and you deal with everyday life trying to be a mom. “To have them be so supportive means the world.’’

    Photos: Keyla Reece and Tylan Reece

  • 04-20-11-kidsville-kids-logo-.jpgWhat do Brittany Spears, Justin Timberlake, and Christiana Aguilera have in common? Besides the fact that they are all absolutely gorgeous and super rich (I have decided to leave the tabloid rumors out). They were all members of the ‘90s musical performing group The Mickey Mouse Club. They all gained the confidence, style, poise and grace we see them exemplify on stage by being in a music group in their early teenage years. This is the beauty of performing arts.

    Performing arts is a key component to the development of a child. Research studies have found that the “academic side of schooling only develops one side of the brain, the left side while creative arts develop the right side which is primarily responsible for the social interaction and creativity” of a child. Performing arts “help in the holistic development of a child.” Performing arts can help a child overcome shyness as well as help in their overall development.

    Up & Coming Weekly’s, award-winning sister publication, Kidsville News! created the Kidsville Kids performance troupe; a performing arts troupe for young people ranging in ages 5-12 in the fall of 2009. Director, Joy Cogswell says the group strives to emulate, through singing and dancing, good moral values, literacy and leadership qualities which are the goals of Kidsville News!

    The Kidsville Kids group has seen great success since its initial conception. “They have performed regularly throughout the region and in the Raleigh area” and are “fast becoming known for the excellence of their performances.”

    Each year Kidsville Kids hold auditions for new performers. Auditions for the 2011-2012 group will be held on Monday and Thursday, May 23 and 24 from 6 - 8 p.m., in the choir room at Snyder Memorial Baptist Church. The group is trained through the Snyder Music Academy and is directed by Jog Cogswell and choreographer, Chelsea Carey. Ages for openings vary each year, so call the Music Academy for age opening, as well as tuition information and to schedule an audition time for your child. Children who audition must sing one song, which represents their ability; and although it is not mandatory, children with dance experience are welcomed to perform a dance routine as well.

    On an average, children spend at least eight hours a day in school. Often times parents feel that during those eight hours their child has received every tool they will need to success and become a great person and a successful student. Extracurricular activities are viewed as a distraction from the most important matter — academics. However, is it this “kind of thinking that leads to children who develop in a one dimensional manner.” Creative and performing arts “are equally as important in helping children to develop holistically.” The gift of music is available to everyone including children. Let’s begin to take advantage of this free gift and encourage our children to embrace the never endless possibilities of music. For more information contact Joy Cogswell at 910- 484-1041.

  • 12 With the return of a full-blown Fayetteville Dogwood Festival just behind us, it’s easy to tell Spring has sprung in North Carolina. Let the outdoor everything begin!

    No better way to forget the weirdest summers ever than to simply glance at what lies ahead and make new memories as we embrace all we can. April will go out in a glorious glow as Israel Houghton, Hezekiah Walker and Fred Hammond bring their Festival of Praise to the Crown Coliseum for an amazing night of Gospel music. The month of May holds plenty of promise for us all.

    The annual National Day of Prayer on Thursday, May 5, unites people of faith and gives us an opportunity to come together as friends and neighbors, seeking God and the best way forward for our communities near and far. That same day, Fayetteville’s Festival Park will come alive with touring and Christian recording artists Seventh Day Slumber. As they crisscross the country on their “Death by Admiration Tour,” the band promises a high-energy evening of music meant to turn more than just heads.

    The lyrics of their songs, and the message they bring on and off stage are meant to turn both hearts and minds to a future none of us control. The free concert includes tour mates Decyfer Down, Spoken and Amongst the Giants at Festival Park, beginning at 6:30 p.m.

    Fayetteville Dinner Theatre keeps the summer fun happening again this year with their Gates Four Summer Concert Series. After an exciting kickoff in April, the musical pump is primed and ready to deliver some of the most loved hits of the 70s and 80s with a tribute to the rocking female sister act, Heart, during a lively show on Friday, May 6. There’s an incredible lineup all summer long, making it completely worth being on the mailing list for all they’re bringing to the community indoors and out.

    All of these events provide a perfect backdrop and opportunities to get together as we warm up for summer. In just a few short weeks, we’ll celebrate Memorial Day.

    Our high school seniors will move their tassels from right to left as they cross the stage and receive their diplomas at Cumberland County’s Crown Coliseum. Whether it’s a trip to the beach, a flight across the country, or some of the best local entertainment ever assembled, I hope this will be a summer to remember for all the right reasons. Celebrate life, celebrate family, and celebrate the return of the most exciting season in North Carolina!

    C’mon Summer … you are welcome here!

  • On face value, our Cumberland County Senate District 19 democratic primary election between Senator Kirk deViere and challenger Val Applewhite is pretty boring minus a few misleading mailers and radio ads. Kirk and Val have similar campaign platforms just like most democrats running for State of NC senate seats. They both support increased teacher pay, Medicaid expansion, clean water, supporting military veterans, affordable housing, affordable wages and the list goes on.

    The main differences I see between Kirk and Val for the upcoming democratic primary election are one is a man, one is a woman; one is white and one is black. One is a seasoned State Senator and the other is trying to become a State Senator.

    I served with Kirk and Val on the Fayetteville City Council and consider them friends. Both are extremely intelligent, came prepared to every council meeting and truly cared about Fayetteville citizens. I am not personally endorsing either of them. Kirk and Val both have NC Senate campaign sites and I recommend you review them at www.kirkdeviere.com/ and www.valapplewhitencsenate.com/.

    2B

    I did find a few differences between Kirk and Val's voting records within archived city council meeting minutes. In 2012, Val voted four times against a voter bond referendum for Parks and Recreation projects.

    2A From what I remember, Val was against the bond referendum because city staff was not forthcoming with the “all-in cost” for the bond referendum including interest costs for borrowing the money. This item reemerged in 2015, and Kirk voted yes to allow the voters of Fayetteville to decide if they want to fund General Obligation Bonds for additional parks and recreation facilities. Voters overwhelmingly approved borrowing the money in a vote of 21,323 in favor to 14,785 against.

    Back in 2012 and 2013, Fayetteville was going through the Driving While Black discussions. Part of that discussion was to ask the NC General Assembly to authorize Fayetteville to form a Citizen Review Board. The first step was to adopt a formal resolution and prepare a city ordinance creating the CRB. Val voted against the creation of the CRB in November 2012 and January 2013.

    The CRB came back to council’s attention in 2020 and 2021 from concerned citizens. City council reached out to our local delegation in Raleigh. Kirk introduced Senate Bills 291 and 682 to authorize cities to establish a CRB. Senate Bill 291 was only for Fayetteville while Senate Bill 682 was broader to include all cities in North Carolina.

    These bills are still stuck in the Committee on Rules and Operations of the Senate. Senate Bill 291 can still come back this summer during our General Assembly’s short session should our city council be unanimous on this item and ask our local delegation to once again push for its passage.

    Kirk and Val both ran for the Mayor of Fayetteville position twice and lost twice. Val lost her bids for Mayor in 2013 and 2015. Kirk lost his bids for Mayor in 2013 and 2017.

    Kirk moved on and won the NC State Senate District 19 position in 2018 and 2020.

    Both Kirk and Val are great citizens for putting their names on the 2022 democratic primary ballot. Both were successful members of the Fayetteville City Council and have voting records to examine.

    Val voted to support our new multi-model center in downtown. Kirk voted to support our new baseball stadium.

    Early voting begins April 28 and primary election day is May 17. Please get to know Kirk and Val before you vote if you’re voting in the democratic primary election.

  • 1 This past Thursday, April 21, we were fortunate to host the April Chamber of Commerce Coffee Club. Up & Coming Weekly has been a Chamber of Commerce member and advocate for twenty-six years and sponsoring this event for over fifteen years. It’s always been a fun, enjoyable and worthwhile experience. This year the timing was nearly perfect. After two years of COVID restrictions, local economic and entrepreneurial opportunities are abundant. Organizations like the Fayetteville Chamber of Commerce and established businesses like ours are vitally important to new business development and ultimate success. The Coffee Club is only one example of how our chamber offers value to its members.

    Thursday’s event was graciously hosted by Chamber Board Chairwoman Tammy Thurman, the community relations director for Piedmont Natural Gas. Also in attendance were several other members of their board, though not nearly the attendance you would expect from an organization with twenty-plus board members; members of the business community charged with providing leadership, vision and guidance to this fast-growing business community.

    The chamber’s mission statement outlines its purpose: “Our organization serves as a catalyst in growing a healthy business community through our advocacy of business-friendly public policy, fostering of diverse, innovative business initiatives, and delivering valuable programs and services to our members — all made possible through strong collaborative partnerships.”

    Well, then, they need to get started because much work needs to be done in these areas. And, if the enthusiasm and organization of this last event is any indication of things to come, then I commend Thurman and the few notable board members who took the time to attend: the effervescent Master of Ceremony Gary Rogers, Fort Bragg Garrison Commander Col. Scott Pence, Public Works Commission CEO Elaina Ball, Interim President of the Fayetteville Area Convention and Visitors Bureau Randy Fiveash, and Robert Van Geons of Fayetteville/Cumberland County Economic Development. A scant sampling of the prestigious board charged with the mission statement quoted above.

    Chamber leadership, direction, vision and support are vital for nurturing new businesses and assisting existing businesses in taking advantage of economic opportunities. Thriving and growing communities all have strong and established chambers. And all influential chambers have talented, dedicated leadership with business savvy, vision and respectability. These chambers have little or no dependency on local government agencies for funding. Strong chambers are self-supporting, utilizing local partnerships, effective fundraisers and maintaining a committed and loyal membership base. A strong chamber is best achieved by providing value to the members. Creating value and loyalty is accomplished by setting a good example, being a staunch and vocal supporter, and advocating for all local businesses and organizations.

    For whatever reasons, our Chamber of Commerce has sidelined itself during the past several years, becoming irrelevant to the business community by not getting involved and failing to take a stand on important issues that impact local businesses, chamber members and the community. However, I see this changing for the better. This year we see new faces and personalities on the board. Stepping up are experienced leaders who understand business and, more importantly, the uniqueness of this community and the need to be informed and involved with important issues that affect business and economic growth.

    They understand that the chamber serves all businesses in Fayetteville and Cumberland County.

    It is my hope that they realize and take seriously that Fayetteville and Cumberland County are unique, with business and community environments far different from other cities and towns across the country. To be successful here and to effect positive change, one must recognize and understand the nuances of this community. An effective chamber understands the community’s diversity.

    They know our media (or lack of) impacts businesses; we must stay informed on important issues related to our businesses. They need to know about Fort Bragg’s economic impact on our community and how military turnover influences almost every aspect of our lives.

    Yes, Fayetteville and Cumberland County need a strong chamber. This is a fabulous community with amazing opportunities. With a new chamber board recently installed, I hope we will see an aggressive future vision.

    Thurman gets it, and so do the board members who attended the Coffee Club last Thursday. Let’s hope the rest of the board will follow suit.

    Thank you for reading Up & Coming Weekly.

  • Pitt Excitement is boiling. Here comes Arbor Day. That celestial holiday got me pondering what the Vikings thought about trees. Voila: today’s lesson is about the Vikings’ sacred tree Yggdrasil. What? You say you have never heard of Yggdrasil? Well, listen my children, and you shall hear of the midnight tree called Yggdrasil.

    The Yggdrasil tree is the pillar of Viking theology. It was so big it not only held up, but also connected all the elements of the universe. The Yggdrasil was like the Dark Matter that our modern-day astronomer theologists believe in. Yiggy, as his friends called him, was Norse for Odin’s Horse. Yiggy’s top branches reached somewhere far above the rainbow where only Elon Musk could fly.
    His roots went all the way into the underworld land of the dead. Yiggy was quite the tree. He was a veritable eco-system with a Dragon named Nidhogg and a bunch of snakes at the bottom, and an enchanted eagle at the top. There was also a pesky squirrel named Drill-Tooth who ran up and down the trunk causing mischief by repeating insults from the Dragon and the eagle to keep things stirred up.

    Odin was the King of the Viking Gods who hung out with the other lesser gods in a party treehouse called Asgard at the top of Yiggy. Yiggy’s roots dipped into the bottomless Well of Urd. Three bodacious goddesses called Norns were lounging around, deciding humanity’s fate. The Norns would cut Runes into Yiggy’s bark which dictated what would happen on Earth. This aggravated Odin because he couldn’t read the Runes. Odin cyphered that if he hung himself from a branch of Yiggy, stabbed himself with a spear, and stared into the Well of Urd he would come to understand Runes. After spending nine days hanging around, Odin had a moment of clarity. Eureka, he understood the Runes! But knowing the future does not always lead to safe and restful sleep.

    With Runic knowledge comes the Viking’s version of the end of the world — Ragnarok, in which the gods and man come to a bad end. If the Vikings are right, this is what is in store for us. The Norns bring on the world’s worst cold weather — The Great Winter, which lasts three years. Famine and pestilence stalk the land. Cannibalism becomes the new fad diet.

    The Two Big Bad Wolves Hati and Skoll, who have been chasing the moon and sun like a dog chasing a car, finally succeed in their quest. They chow down on all celestial bodies, including the stars. The sky turns black and empty. Even Yiggy starts to shake. Another giant wolf named Fenrir breaks his chain and runs wild on the land chomping hapless humans.

    Remember Cecil the Sea Sick Sea Serpent? His evil twin, the giant sea serpent Jormungand, rises like the Kraken from the ocean depths and swamps the land.

    The waves break loose the good ship Naglfar — the Nail Ship. The Nail Ship is so named because it is constructed of dead humans’ fingernails and toenails. Not sure what the Vikings were smoking when they came up with this, but you can probably buy it in California. The crew of the Nail Ship is a rowdy bunch of giants, led by Captain Loki, who start acting like drunken homicidal psychopathic sailors on extended shore leave. Fenrir the wolf is so big his upper jaw touches the sky as he eats everyone in his path. Jormungand spews venom all over the world, poisoning everything. Sort of like Putin in Ukraine or the former guy on Fox.

    About this time, the sky cracks open, plopping a bunch of Fire Giants onto the Earth, ready to duke it out with Odin and
    his boys.

    The Viking Gods versus the Fire Giants. Odin gets eaten by Fenrir the wolf. Odin’s son Vidar goes ballistic and shoves his magic shoe into Fenrir’s mouth. While Fenrir is choking on the shoe, Vidar cuts Fenrir’s throat. Fenrir then expires. Thor and Jormungand get into it, resulting in the deaths of both of them. What is left of the world then collapses into the ocean, leaving nothing behind but a giant pool of dirty, bloody, reeking water.

    The end.

    So, what have we learned today? The Vikings were much weirder than we give them credit for. There is a new movie coming out at the end of April called “The Northman” which is supposed to be historically accurate.

    Go see the movie if this column has not turned you off to Vikings. If someone yells Ragnarok in a movie theater, hurry up and finish your popcorn, as time is about up.
    Reading Runes is fundamental. Ragnarok and Roll is here to stay.

  • pub pen Just weeks ago, in March, the Public Works Commission was awarded the 2021 Spirit of North Carolina Award by the United Way of North Carolina for their dedication and consistent community investment in Fayetteville and Cumberland County. This award is earned not only by achieving annual campaign excellence but by demonstrating leadership, engaging volunteers and participating in and organizing events that impact the residents of the entire community.

    I don't think there is another quasi-government affiliated organization that has ever reached this level of success. Out of nearly two dozen United Way organizations in North Carolina, our Fayetteville ”Hometown Utility” has been distinguished and honored with this award 16 times. This success is excellent, born of not leadership, compassion and love of community. PWC's leadership and employees demonstrate what our community is all about every day.

    Just weeks later, the American Public Power Association recognized PWC with the Reliable Public Power Provider Diamond designation for providing safe, consistent and reliable electric service to their customers.

    Competing with over 250 public utilities nationwide, our Fayetteville PWC is the only power utility company that has earned the Diamond level recognition six times. It's hard to hide leadership excellence.

    This excellence was further demonstrated this weekend when PWC leadership under the ”PWC Jaywalkers” flag organized their own Jaywalkers Alzheimer’s Awareness Golf Tournament for retired Assistant City Manager Jay Reinstein, who was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s disease. Reinstein was a dedicated city servant but has become a spokesman and relentless supporter and advocate for Alzheimer’s Awareness.

    The event, held at Kings Grant Golf Course, was a huge success. In just five weeks, PWC CEO Elaina Ball and Communications Director/Community Relations Manager Carolyn Justice-Hinson rallied dozens of PWC employees, community volunteers, and local businesses. Together they successfully raised over $23,000. This money will support Reinstein’s Alzheimer’s medical treatments and benefit the Fayetteville Walk to End Alzheimer’s on April 29th at Segra Stadium. Since Reinstein's retirement in 2018, his team of JayWalkers has raised tens of thousands of dollars for the cause.

    This golf tournament was a fantastic event for a great cause that benefited a great guy. The fun, fellowship and love that radiated from that gathering is inspiring and only reinforces what the Fayetteville community is and should be all about. Ball and her PWC leadership team continue to set gracious examples of how business, professionalism and humanity are achieved by just doing the right things for the right reasons. From this, we all can learn. A special shoutout to City Councilwoman Kathy Keefe-Jenson is in order; she was the only elected official for the city or county to come out in support of one of their own.

    Thank you for reading Up & Coming Weekly.

  • Hood Most states have still failed to recover the jobs lost during the depths of the COVID crisis in 2020. North Carolina is not, however, one of those states.

    From February 2020 to February 2022, we experienced an employment increase of 1.5%, representing a net gain of 67,600 jobs. That ranks us 6th in job growth since the onset of COVID. Only 10 other states are in positive territory over the past two years: Utah (5.1%), Idaho (5.1%), Montana (3.1%), Texas (1.7%), Florida (1.7%), Arizona (1.3%), Georgia (1.2%), Tennessee (1.2%), Arkansas (0.9%), and Colorado (0.3%).

    If we measure the recovery not by employment but by overall output, our state still fares well. According to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, North Carolina’s real GDP has grown by an annualized average of 1.7% since the start of 2020, faster than the Southeast (1.1%) and the nation as a whole (0.8%).

    There’s no question our state suffered mightily during the COVID crisis. Hundreds of thousands of people lost jobs or incomes. Millions suffered unprecedented restrictions on their personal liberty. And more than 23,000 of our fellow North Carolinians lost their lives.

    Whatever you think of the public-health benefits of the stringent executive orders Gov. Roy Cooper imposed during the first few months of the COVID crisis, they certainly had a substantial dampening effect on the state’s economy. I assume the governor would grant the existence of such a downside, arguing that achieving North Carolina’s lower-than-average death rates was worth the cost. Others might question whether the state’s mandates were really the main cause of those lower death rates.

    As an economic matter, though, North Carolina clearly bounced back more strongly from the COVID recession than most states did. Why? I'll offer three possible (and not mutually exclusive) explanations.

    First, our state and local governments were comparatively well-prepared. During much of the past decade, lawmakers had prudently increased state savings while making North Carolina a more attractive place to work, invest, and create jobs by reforming our tax code, regulatory process, and infrastructure programs. These policy decisions served as the equivalent of a giant neon sign with the words “Do Business Here!” and a giant arrow pointing to North Carolina.

    So even as some industries were swooning — and some businesses such as downtown restaurants were closing their doors for good — other industries were in a position to expand once the worst of the crisis was over.

    They were already in place in North Carolina or looking closely at the state for their next major investments.

    A second explanation might be that our economy's exposure to a pandemic-induced downturn was somewhat lower than those of our peers because of differences in structure. A smaller share of our population lives in urban centers, for example. And tourism, while an important part of North Carolina’s service sector, doesn't make up as large a share of GDP as it does in, say, our neighbor South Carolina.

    Finally, our state has what many households and businesses are looking for in COVID’s aftermath. Remote work has finally come into its own, freeing up some workers to choose homes and communities based on quality of life rather than proximity to downtown employment districts. While cross-state relocations don’t yet constitute a flood by historical standards, North Carolina is one of the most popular destinations for those looking to reinvent themselves — and their businesses — in more a more congenial clime.

    To say North Carolina is bouncing back is not to say everyone is coming along for the bouncy ride. Too many displaced workers remain on the sidelines of the labor market. Beyond a couple dozen urban and suburban counties, many other parts of the state continue to face major economic development challenges. Furthermore, increased reliance on remote work brings costs as well as benefits. Some restaurants and service businesses catering to office workers may turn out to be unsustainable in their current form.

    Nevertheless, things could be worse. In most of the country, in fact, they are.

  • Lower back pain is a common reason people visit a healthcare provider. About four out of five people will experience some type of back pain. The causes of back pain can be numerous and either acute or chronic. It can come because of injuries, sprains, discs, sciatica, osteoporosis, age, job-related factors, etc. Proper diagnosis of back pain from a medical exam can usually identify the conditions causing the pain and medical treatment.

    However, one form of back pain comes from our posture and not being physically fit. The spine may not be adequately supported because of a weak back and abdominal muscles. If you spend time sitting or riding, you may start to experience tightness in your hip flexors and weakness in your core, which begin to cause muscle imbalance. Working on your computer and looking at your cell phone can cause the upper back to become weaker and the shoulders to round forward. Other reasons that can contribute to poor posture are heavy purses and backpacks.

    Have you ever caught a glimpse of yourself as you passed a storefront window and noticed that you were slouching? If your parents ever taught you to sit up straight, stand straight or quit slouching those were words of wisdom. Our joints are surrounded by muscles that are controlled and produce our movements. If one muscle becomes tight on the side of a joint, it causes the other side to become weak. Muscle imbalances can result in injury with repetitive movement or overuse. The good news is that posture-related back pain can be improved.

    Knowing how your muscle imbalance is created may help you find the reason, and that, in conjunction with some exercise, could help you eliminate or significantly reduce your back pain. Repetitive motions are one of the first reasons for back pain, and switching it up might be an effective way to start. Ask yourself if you sit the same way every day, carry your purse on the same shoulder, play sports while engaging one side and work out using the same muscles? If you are in a job that requires you to remain seated, look for opportunities to stand up and move around. Slouching while driving, especially on long trips, can contribute to back pain.

    While driving on long trips, get out of the car and stretch or reposition your seat. Exercising in the same plane of motion moves the body through the same repetitive motion, such as running, cycling or doing the same bicep curl each time you work out. Frequent wearing of high heel shoes can also contribute to posture-related problems because it can change the position of your knees and cause tightness in your calves. Exercise that targets our core is beneficial for back health and lessens the chance of injury or pain.

    A healthy back is a result of a stable and strong core. Core strength is not about six-pack abdominals because developing strong core muscles make a happy back. The core is any muscle that attaches to the spine or pelvis. Core exercises can include planks, bird dogs, reverse crunches, cat-cow, bridges and hamstring stretches. Stretching is also good for your back, such as the knee-chest stretches and group fitness classes that include barre, yoga and Pilates. Try to remember to lift by bending the knees and avoiding abdominal crunches because they stress the spine. Not all exercises help back pain; seek medical advice when in doubt. Live, love life with a healthy back!

  • Tis' the season! I was recently invited to support and sponsor a political event. Being totally transparent here, I agreed with a good bit of what the people stood for, but I felt a little like Jesus must have felt when the people around him wanted to push him into the political arena. Like they were searching for the wrong kingdom. Jesus was a hopeful sign to many. The world he worked and walked in was chaotic; the entire region was under the thumb of the Roman Empire, which cruelly and forcefully taxed them to fund their occupation.

    To make matters worse, the religious leaders of the day were somewhat complicit in controlling the people in exchange for a sense of power bestowed on them by the oppressing government. Then along came this man who spoke up against the religious leaders, befuddled the occupying Romans, and went from town-to-town healing people of blindness and physical infirmity while attracting crowds as he taught about peace with God and man. Because of the signs he performed, the crowds grew larger. And as the crowds grew, those who followed him decided that he should have a place in power — that he should be king!

    To them, it seemed natural and fitting that Jesus should be revered and honored among the masses. Why shouldn't he be worshiped on earth like he is in heaven? But Jesus wasn't interested in gaining glory and fame. He had no interest in the kingdoms of this world, just the people who lived within them.

    "Now, when the people saw the sign that he performed, they began to say, 'This one is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world!' Then Jesus, because he knew that they were about to come and seize him in order to make him king, withdrew again up the mountain by himself alone" (John 6:14–15).
    This all reveals something about human nature. Although the crowds wanted to make Jesus king, they weren't necessarily looking to revere him. They were looking out for themselves. They wanted to install a new kingdom—one brought on by force and political revolution. They wanted their immediate physical needs met, but they didn't necessarily consider the great spiritual revolution that needed to take place within.

    In short, they didn't consider the cost of change. Following Jesus isn't something we do because it's somehow convenient for us. Following Jesus requires everything of us—and it will probably look more like a life of sacrifice than a life of power or ease. Jews who followed Jesus were challenged to accept him, not as a prophet or a Messiah, but as the son of God. The same crowd that followed Jesus obsessively, looking for signs, was eventually confronted by teaching that shook their understanding of this Messiah and what God expected from them.

    Here's a challenge as we head into a season where we're asked to (and should) offer a vote for people vying for political titles: Be careful where you place your trust. People come and go from public office, but human nature hasn't changed much all of history. Let your hope rest in things eternal.

  • 04-11-12-fine-arts.jpgCultural and intellectual expansion of the college campus is the future goal of Fayetteville State University. The growing school has been working hard to expand this goal with positive growth of the Department of Performing and Fine Arts.

    Dr. Ernest Lamb, chair of the Performing and Fine Arts Department, discussed new changes and the future goals that the art department has in store for the university’s current student population and those to come.

    “This is my third year at the university, though we have faced some challenges along the way, we are working towards our accreditation,” said Lamb.

    His department is made up of studies which lead to degrees in visual, music, theatre and dance.

    “We just received accreditation in the music department from the National Association of Schools of Music,” he explained, noting that it was “an amazing accomplishment,” adding that the department is working on improvements across the board.

    Lamb said that changes in the current curriculum are going to be made in order for the instituion to receive proper accreditation.

    “Since we have applied for accreditation, we just need to go ahead and work towards making the proper changes and getting it done,” Lamb said.

    Accreditation plays a vital role in the overall success of the Department of Performing and Fine Arts. It helps with the recruitment process and it allows future students to know they are getting the proper education. For those unaware of what accreditation means, it is simply a process where a certificate for the competency or credibility of the institution is presented. Within the department, accreditation focuses on a status bring granted for an educational institution or a program that has met or exceeded state criteria of educational quality. This particular accreditation would apply to the actual department and would be considered specialized or programmatic.

    “We are receiving more support from the administration and it is a great feeling,” Lamb said. “They have come out to events and been overall engaged in the department.”

    Lamb is looking forward to having more events within the department to let the community become engaged in all that the arts have to offer. He was most pleased to discuss his future plans with playwright and television producer Walter Allen Bennett.

    “We are planning to have Walter Allen Bennett come out again and speak with the students about the movie industry,” Lamb says, “They can receive insight from an African-American man in that particular industry.”

    This can be very benefi cial for students wanting to pursue a career in the television and movie industry. Bennett has been to the school before and his recent visit was a reading of his new play that was inspired by Loraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun.

    Lamb plans on having more visual-arts events at the university to help expand the growth and mission of the department, which is producing graduates in the performing and fine arts field as well as building the community through the arts and being a resource for performing and fine-arts pedagogy. Engaging the community with fine arts is vital to the overall success of the department.

    There are several events that the Department of Performing and Fine Arts have in store for the Fayetteville community, its students and faculty including the Senior Exhibition, North Carolina Symphony Orchestra, and a performance by Dianne Reeves.

    Reeves makes her appearance at the university on April 27 at Seabrook Auditorium. The Grammy-award winning jazz vocalist is sure to give the crowd a magnifi cent performance.

    “Definitely having an artist of her caliber coming to the university fits into what’s happening at FSU,” Lamb said.

    For more information about up coming events at Fayetteville State University visit www.uncfsu.edu/arts/index.htm.

    Photo: Dr. Ernest Lamb.

  • 1 Child Abuse has affected so many children around the world. There are many different types of child abuse, such as physical abuse, sexual abuse and emotional abuse. Many children that have been abused are fearful of speaking up about what they are enduring in their daily lives. Many children need someone that will be their voice and advocate for what is right.

    As a school social worker, I have seen first-hand the effects of child abuse, especially in the children that I come in contact with daily. It affects their ability to learn and retain information, the changes in their personalities, how they handle their emotions and their interactions with others in the classroom. The school is a safe haven for many of these children facing adversity.

    For some children, school is where they receive their only meal. School is the only place where they receive love and attention from their teachers and other school personnel. It is the only place they feel safe and secure.

    Being a school social worker means that I use my mind to create different resources and avenues that will effectively meet the needs of the students that I serve.

    I use my eyes to help them see a clearer vision of who they can become and remind them that they are not alone. I use my nose to teach them to inhale and exhale whenever they become overwhelmed, anxious or angry. I use my ears to listen without judgment to the daily struggles and trauma they face. I use my mouth to be the voice for those that cannot speak up for themselves and advocate for what is right. I use my hands to help guide them and show them a better way. I will use my feet to help walk with them along this journey.

    School social workers were created to help people along the way to see that even though you had to endure many trials and tribulations and it left a hole inside your heart, it still does not keep you from becoming the beautiful masterpiece that you are.

  • lip sync Anyone who says there's nothing to do in Fayetteville doesn't have a clue about the town they reside in. Fayetteville offers concerts, live theater, sporting events, art shows, history museum reenactments, wine tastings, parks and walking trails, arts, entertainment and family adventures; the list is practically endless.

    This week my focus is on the wonderful experience several hundred Fayetteville/Cumberland County residents and I had this past weekend when we attended the Child Advocacy Center's annual fundraiser, The Ultimate Lip Sync Showdown. The event was graciously hosted by Michael Thrash and the talented Nicki Hart.

    After a two-year COVID hiatus, this fun and unique annual event raised thousands of dollars for a worthy cause.
    The CAC provides services for the protection of neglected and abused children. In Fayetteville, Fort Bragg and Cumberland County, over 900 children a year are abandoned, neglected and abused. The CAC works diligently to meet the needs of these children and their families. The event was held at the Crown Coliseum Complex. It was well attended by hundreds of local businesses, organizations and CAC supporters. CAC Executive Director Roberta Humphries, the staff and their conscientious and supportive board of volunteers are to be commended.

    It was great to see Fayetteville Mayor Mitch Colvin in attendance, but then extremely disappointing that he was the only city or county elected official in the room. That's the difference between our elected officials' quality, dedication and commitment today compared with a decade ago. Our elected officials today are elusive. You seldom see them mingling with the general public or actively participating in community-related events. There was a time when city and county elected officials prioritized being "front and center" at all the major community events.

    They led by example, mixing and mingling with residents, getting to know them while listening to their ideas and concerns. Now, not so much. It's almost like they're hiding and afraid to face the general public and their constituents. And, given the poor decisions (or lack of decisions) they have made lately, you really can't blame them.

    Specifically, I'm referring to the city council kicking the can down the road on a recommendation to repurpose the Market House. That discussion has gone on way too long with many involved people and agencies. For them not to be able to decide at this point, it becomes apparent they don't want to reveal that they are uninformed, ignorant, incompetent, lazy or all of the above.

    Many feel they are incapable of making sound and reasonable decisions on behalf of the Fayetteville community. The parking meter issue in downtown Fayetteville is the perfect example. Downtown Fayetteville businesses and organizations want and need a friendlier, more accessible downtown. One solution is to reduce the parking fee hours, currently 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. to 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. like most other towns and cities in the U.S. But no, our city council chooses not to follow the regimen of what thriving other towns are doing successfully and decides to suggest a two-hour reduction compromise to 7 p.m. A change that accomplishes nothing has little benefit to the merchants and only serves to reduce the city revenues while not helping the businesses and organizations downtown at all.

    These are near-perfect examples of how the existing city council accomplishes nothing, and why, come election time, they need to be replaced with people who care about the entire Fayetteville community and not just about themselves or their districts.

    I cordially shared these same thoughts with Colvin during our brief encounter at the CAC event, along with the notion that remedies and positive solutions to the city's most complex situations are just a conversation away. All they need to do is listen.

    Thank you for reading the Up & Coming Weekly community newspaper.

  • pexels cottonbro 4034017 On Friday evening, April 15, Jews will usher in the festival of Passover, which celebrates God’s deliverance of the Israelites from Egyptian bondage some 3300 years ago. The highlight of the week-long festival is the Seder, a ritual meal. The Hebrew word Seder means “order,” emphasizing the regularized structure of blessings, prayers, hymns and readings, accompanied by the consumption of ritual foods, all structured around a festive meal.

    The formal text for the Seder is found in a book called the Haggadah, meaning “telling” (i.e., of the biblical exodus). In truth, it is not really a narrative of the biblical events but a series of ritualized experiences intended to explore the meaning and significance of those events for each later generation. The Haggadah text is not intended to be a mere liturgy but a scaffolding around which the Seder participants reflect on and discuss the meaning of the liberation God wrought for their ancestors and, most especially, its meaning for Jews today. Indeed, one of the central Haggadah teachings is to “see yourself as if you personally went forth from Egypt.”

    If one engages the Seder honestly, it will be readily apparent that we are not exactly the same people we were a year ago. While current concerns, issues and experiences are unlikely to be identical to a year ago, we bring them to our confrontation with the same core text repeated each year. This Passover finds Ukraine in the midst of the horrific ravages of war. Most of us are so accustomed to relative comfort and affluence that we cannot truly relate to the cataclysmic upheavals confronting that eastern European nation. Millions are displaced internally, and millions more find themselves foreign refugees.

    Perhaps the images and stories from Ukraine can, in a certain way, help us envision and understand the story of the exodus anew. What were the daily trials, tribulations and experiences confronted by the Israelites during their centuries of Egyptian captivity? What did it mean for them to have limited options, resources and hope? What was it like to depart one’s home at a moment’s notice, with a vague destination, a hardship-filled journey and countless unknowns (even as they were traveling towards a promised land)?
    Perhaps this year, not only can the travails of the Ukrainians help us better grasp the experiences of the ancient Israelites, but maybe the biblical exodus can help us today clarify how we each think we should respond personally to the tragedy unfolding on the northern shores of the Black Sea.

    The Jewish tradition teaches that we should be partners with God in the ongoing improvement of the world. The Seder experiences can be more than merely a time for celebrants to praise God and retell the ancient redemption of the Jewish people. And regardless of our faith, with the guidance of God’s teachings, perhaps we all can use the messages of the exodus to explore what it can mean to be partners with God in redeeming those in need of a present-day deliverance from affliction and suffering.

  • Potato Dickey Alas and alack. I have become part of the fake news. I was suckered into publishing information that clearly was not so. Mea culpa. I would fall upon my sword if that would help recapture the tarnished wonder that is this column. Way back in November 2021, I wrote an article about Doug, the World's Largest Giant Potato, based upon information harvested from the esteemed British paper The Guardian.

    To summarize that column, Doug was a 17-pound potato found in a New Zealand garden by Colin Craig-Brown. Farmer Brown put a hat on Doug, gave him a Facebook page, and hauled him around town on a cart. Doug became an internationally known celebrity potato. The story was beautiful until it wasn't.

    Leave it to Jennifer Calfas of the Wall Street Journal to rain on Doug's parade. In a highly sourced recent article, Calfas blew the whistle on Doug. Tragically Doug turns out not to be a potato. He even was performing under an assumed name. The original story said his name was Doug, but it turns out his name is actually spelled Dug. Shame piled up on top of shame, like the Princess and the Pea. After investigating Dug's genetic heritage, the "Guinness Book of World Records" pronounced him a mere "tuber of a gourd," more specifically known as a part of the Cucurbitaceae family. As Colonel Kurtz, a.k.a. Marlon Brandon, once said at the end of "Apocalypse Now," "The horror, the horror…." Dug, like many others who have submitted their DNA to 23 And Me, discovered, to his dismay, that who you think you are can turn out to be who you think you aren't.

    After a deep dive into Dug's endoplasmic reticulum by Big Potato, the New Zealand Plant and Food Research Department, Dug was drummed out of the potato family, like Chuck Conners in the old TV western "Branded." Chuck was falsely accused of being the coward of the cavalry and booted out of the Army. Recall the Branded Theme song: Dug was marked as one who ran/ What can you do when you're branded/ And you know you're a man (Or in Dug's case – a fake potato). It is unclear if there was a ceremony in which Dug's fake potato eyes were torn off, like Chuck Conner's epaulets in “Branded." (If you remember "Branded," kindly do not drive at night – you're too old to be on the highway after dark.)

    Calfas quotes Dr. Samantha Baldwin saying: "He just wasn't behaving like a potato should. We couldn't identify DNA sequences that are specific to potatoes." Not one to give up on a vegetable mystery, Baldwin sent samples of Dug across the world to the Science & Advice for Scottish Agriculture (SASA) in Edinburgh, Scotland, for further study and advice. Once a would-be potato gets examined by the SASA, there is no holding back the truth. The SASA has ways of making you talk, which included Dug. SASA determined beyond a reasonable doubt that Dug was no small potato with a giant ego but, in reality, was a gourd.

    When Farmer Brown learned the bad news about Dug's parentage, Calfas reports he said: "Initially we were both just gob smacked and quite deflated. … I felt, 'How can they say that about Dug? That's just blasphemy." Brown displayed his adeptness in rebranding Dug, telling the Wall Street Journal: "He's still the world's largest not-a-potato. I refer to him as Dug the Dominator from Down Under. My son said we should call him the 'Gourd Who Thought He Could.'" Dug is presently in Brown's freezer for safekeeping. Dug is chilling in good company. Walt Disney's head is allegedly cryogenically frozen underneath Sleeping Beauty's castle at Disneyland. Baseball Star Ted Williams' head was frozen and last reported resting on a tuna can, waiting for medical science to resuscitate him. If it is good enough for Walt and Ted, it is certainly good enough
    for Dug.

    If Dug is resuscitated, he will be able to defend his good name and biological identity. If Dug says, he identifies as a potato and not a cucumber, who are we to question him? If Elizabeth Warren identifies as a Native American and Schuyler Bailar, the Harvard swimming champion, identifies as a trans-woman, who is to deny Dug's identification as a potato? Potatoes can make a hash of things. Former Vice President Dan Quayle got into trouble by misspelling potato as 'potatoe.' The ancient Chiffon margarine ad warned people that it is not nice to fool Mother Nature. It is equally dangerous and insensitive to fool a potato into thinking it is a cucumber. Once Dug is unfrozen and restored to health, if Dug says he is a potato and not a cucumber, it is incumbent upon us to wake up, smell the coffee, and treat Dug as a potato.

    Would be Tubers of the world, unite! Throw off your chains. Don't listen to the Man. As Ella Fitzgerald almost sang: "If you say potato/ And I say patahto / Let's call the whole thing off." Like a Viking, a potato by any other name would smell as sweet.

  • uac040313001.gif The competition is heating it up and performers are bringing it to semifinals of Huske Unplugged. In its fourth season, round two of the semifinals is tonight and you are not going to want to miss it.The semifinalists in the singer/songwriter competition are competing for a grand cash prize of $3,000, a day-long recording session at Manifold Recording and a scholarship for $15,000 to PCG Nashville. The fi nals are slated for April 17.

    Huske Unplugged challenges bards to share their best pieces with the community, and maybe win a little cash, too. While it’s a great opportunity for the songwriters, the real winners are the people who come to hear them perform. In its short existence, the competition has seen 96 individuals come out to share their work and entertain the crowds with their original pieces.

    When Greg Biltz walked into Huske Hardware two years ago, he had no idea what an adventure this undertaking would be. “Honestly, I was looking for a gig for myself,” said Biltz. “But when I started talking to Josh Collins (owner of Huske Hardware), I told him about programs like this that I had been a part of in Dayton, Ohio, and Columbus, Ga., — and he lit up and said ‘Yeah, let’s do it!’”

    From its inception in 2011 Collins and Biltz took great care to cultivate the right atmosphere for Huske Unplugged.

    “We don’t want this to be American IdolFayetteville,” said Biltz. “From the beginning we knew that if we keep it about the material, we will get the songwriters, not just performers.”

    They were right. The word got out, and the songwriters came. Rockers and country songwriters; R&B songwriters and folk songwriters; metalheads and gospel-music writers came. Some were locals, others happened to be passing through and still others travelled from a state or two away to be a part of it. Some were looking for a chance to be discovered, others just wanted to be heard and share their work with a friendly crowd. The comeptitors come from many backgrounds and life experiences, with different skill sets and signature sounds — a perfect combination for a platform like Huske Unplugged.

    The listeners came, too. And for the fi rst three seasons Collins happily fronted the cash prizes and enjoyed knowing that he was giving songwriters a place to call their own by offering up Huske Hardware as a venue. Dad to performer Summer Collins, Josh knows firsthand the many challenges songwriters and musicians face. This was a fun and easy way to make a difference not only for the songwriters, but it also provided the community with top-notch original entertainment.

    It could have stopped there, but it didn’t. By the start of the fourth season, Summer was making a name for herself in the music world and had been travelling to Nashville to further her career. That’s where Josh met Bernard Porter of PCG Nashville. It is the mission of PCG to apply a customized scientifi c approach to development, producing balance in all areas of the artist’s mind, body and spirit. The organization provides everything from branding, the voice and music lessons to health and nutrition classes — anything to help prepare their clients and give them the best chance at being successful in whatever musical genre they choose.

    Porter admired Josh’s dedication to the community and the songwriters who participated in Huske Unplugged. If the talent was anything like what he’d heard from Summer, Porter could make it work. He offered up a $15,000 scholarship to the winner. 04-03-13-cover-pic.gif

    “We are in the science of artist development. We are set up like a doctor’s office,” said Porter. “It is my job to look into you, do diagnostics and assign what you will work on first to bring your craft to the highest level. Our involvement increases the likelihood of success. We are the musical equivalent of spring training for pro ball.”

    A successful musician in his own right, Porter is dedicated to making sure his clients understand what they are getting into. “It takes more than being a good singer or performer (to succeed) in this business,” said Porter. “That is a very small part of it. You have to be able to sell yourself — you have to have confi dence. If God blessed you with the opportunity to be a role model, you have to act on it. It is about that awareness, being authentic, being disciplined and focused. We are very selective in who we choose to get involved in our programs.”

    On the eve of the final round, PCG Nashville will host a seminar for the finalists. It will be a chance for the songwriters to learn a little more about the music industry. “I want to be able to answer questions and help them as much as we can,” said Porter. Then during the fi nal round, PCG Nashville will judge the event.

    While PCG Nashville coming to Fayetteville is a big deal, Biltz is confident they won’t be disappointed. “I believe they will see talent they have not expected. There are people in this competition that are going to knock them back in their seats. I think they’ll be impressed with what we are doing,” said Biltz.

    With Nashville on board, Huske Unplugged is set to be a bigger success than ever before. But when Biltz heard about Manifold Recording in Pittsboro, he knew there was another call to make. Owner Michael Tieman took Biltz up on his offer to come to an open sign up night at Huske Unplugged. That was all it took for Tieman to sign on as a sponsor and offer a recording session as one of the prizes.

    “I listened to the artists and the ones who ended up winning that night were some of my favorites,” said Tieman. “They (Josh and Greg) were correct in telling me that Fayetteville has some diamonds in the rough.”

    Tieman performed as a boy soprano in Manhattan before moving on to work in the world of computer software. The technical side of the recording business interested him. “As I lamented the continual degradation of the quality of recorded music, I realized that as an entrepreneur this is not something I should complain about. This is something I should do something about. So I built a studio.”

    Like Porter, Tieman sees something bigger than just a songwriter competition in Huske Unplugged. “A lot of people talk about North Carolina in terms of what we have lost … jobs etc. I am also seeing a North Carolina that is building new things as well. I am excited to see how we might build a kind of North Carolina music that 10 or 20 years from now people will recognize. There is a lot of musical richness in North Carolina that needs to be heard and preserved.”

    Biltz is convinced that what the songwriters at Huske Unplugged offer up is worth hearing and preserving. So does local businessman Mike Lallier, who has generously offered to provide the award for the cash prize winners.

    Indeed, Huske Unplugged has come a long way, baby and in a short time, too. But for Biltz the magic is in the music. “The beautiful thing about it is that we didn’t know what was going to happen and now here we are... I tell everybody that ‘if you walk out with money or a slot in the semis, that is great,’ but I am doing this to provide a venue to showcase their material.”

    The show starts at 8 p.m. at Huske Hardware, tonight. The fi nals are on April 17. Find out more at www.facebook.com/ HuskeHardware.

    Photo: Huske Unplugged offers songwriters a chance to be heard. It offers the community first-class
    original entertainment. 

  • uac041013001.gif One of the great things about spring in North Carolina is the great riding weather. As soon as things start to warm up, drivers roll back their rag tops and bikers take to the streets to enjoy some sunshine and fun in the outdoors. Every spring for the past seven years, hundreds of people have turned out to enjoy a ride to Myrtle Beach and more importantly, to support local nonprofi ts by participating in the Hogs & Rags Rally, which is scheduled for Saturday, April 27.

    While participants enjoy the fellowship of the event, the fact that the rally raises funds for several good causes is a bonus. If ever there was a justification for spending a day out in the sunshine, it is knowing that it is to support Shriner’s Hospitals for Children, the American Cancer Society and Kidsville News!

    Don’t let the name confuse you, Hogs and Rags is for all makes and models of motorcycles, trikes, muscle cars and street rods.

    “One thing we want to be clear about is even though the name of the event is Hogs and Rags and hogs usually represent Harley-Davidsons and rags usually mean convertible cars — and that is how the event started — we want all kinds of motorcycles and all kinds of cars to participate,” said event spokesperson Wendy Rogers. “We don’t want the name to mislead people. This is a great event, which supports wonderful causes and we want everyone to know they are welcome.”

    The ride is not only fun, the organizers have gone out of their way to make sure it is a safe ride, too. The ride is escorted by the sheriff’s offi ce in each county that the caravan passes through. “We do a safety briefi ng before we leave to give everyone an idea of where we are going and how to ride safely in big groups,” said Rogers. “They will let us know what to do and what not to do.”

    The day of the ride, registration starts at 7:30 a.m. and runs through 9 a.m. at the Airborne & Special Operations Museum. Kickstands up at 9 a.m. as the caravan departs for Rocking A Ranch in White Oak, N.C. Once they get to the ranch, riders will be treated to a full country breakfast. At 10:45 a.m., it’s back on the road to Chadbourn for a short break and water stop. At 12:15 the ride continues on to Landry’s Seafood at Myrtle Beach. Lunch will be served at Landry’s at 1:15 p.m., where there will be entertainment and a reverse raffle.

    The event officially ends after lunch, but there is still plenty of time left to enjoy Broadway at the Beach and the many other fun activities that Myrtle Beach has to offer.04-10-13-hogs.gif

    It costs $50 per entry and $30 per each additional rider. The registration fee covers a T-shirt, hot breakfast at the Rocking’ A Ranch, a police escort to Myrtle Beach and lunch at Landry’s.

    While the ride itself is a great reason to come out, the charities that are funded by the Hogs & Rags proceeds benefi t greatly from this event. Since its inception, the organization has donated more than $90,000 to these charities: Kidsville News!, The American Cancer Society and the Shriner’s Hospitals for Children.

    The Kidsville News!Literacy and Education Foundation’s mission is to improve literacy, education and character development among America’s youth by providing support for various early literacy and learning-based initiatives nationwide. The foundation approves grants to qualifi ed projects and institutions that endeavor to instill strong reading and education skills and solid character-development traits in America’s Youth. Money raised at the rally benefit children in Cumberland County. Find out more about Kidsville News! at www.kidsvillenews.com.

    According to its website, the American Cancer Society mission statement names the American Cancer Society as a nationwide, community-based, voluntary health organization dedicated to eliminating cancer as a major health problem by preventing cancer, saving lives and diminishing suffering from cancer, through research, education, advocacy and service. Since 1946, the organization has spent more than $3.8 billion on cancer research. Find out more about the American Cancer Society and how to make a difference in the fight against cancer at www.cancer.org.

    Shriner’s Hospitals for Children has proclaimed its mission to:

    • Provide the highest quality care to children with neuromusculoskeletal conditions, burn injuries and other special healthcare needs within a compassionate, family-centered and collaborative care environment.

    • Provide for the education of physicians and other healthcare professionals.

    • Conduct research to discover new knowledge that improves the quality of care and quality of life of children and families.

    This mission is carried out without regard to race, color, creed, sex or sect, disability, national origin or ability of a patient or family to pay.

    Find out more about the Shriner’s Hospitals for Children at www.Shriner’shospitalsforchildren.org.Find out more about Hogs and Rags at www.hogsandrags.com.

    Photo: Hogs & Rags is open to all makes and models of cars and bikes.

  • Sunday, April 21, 2013 will be a day to walk a mile in someone else’s shoes … 4.75 miles to be exact. The 2013 Walk MS: Sandhills will be held at Honeycutt Park on 352 Devers St. in Fayetteville.04-17-13-ms-walk.gif

    On this day, people will come together and join one another in a walk with the common goal of putting an end to multiple sclerosis. Affecting more than 13,500 people in the Carolinas alone, multiple sclerosis is a disease in which significant damage is done to the myelin sheath around the body’s nerves, thus negatively affecting the brain and spinal cord. With an opening ceremony at 1:30 p.m. and a route of nearly five miles, the walk will be held with the intentions to unite those who bravely stand against the disease and to raise $65,000 for research funding. Whether suffering from the disease or showing support for the fight against it, all are welcome to take part in this common goal.

    This walk is one of 13 that the National MS Society hosts in the spring. During the fall, they host two biking events with the same goal. This generous organization, believe it or not, operates as a nonprofit. They understand that funding is a very important part of pursuing their goals and sincerely appreciate all who support the cause.

    The money that is raised through their efforts goes to support critical funding for a variety of programs and services. Including those in the Tar Heel state, the National MS Society serves more than 14,000 people across the United States. Being good stewards of money, a generous portion of funding that the National MS Society receives is used to the benefit of those suffering. Going a step even further with their money, the organization funds research efforts along with several programs to help progress the unending and noble quest to find a cure for this horrible disease.

    Monica Tierney of the National MS Society said that she appreciates all of the support that is shown in the Fayetteville area with regards to finding an end to multiple sclerosis. With a personal connection to multiple sclerosis in her own life, she joined the organization and hasn’t looked back. Seeing hundreds of people coming out and showing their dedication to the cause, Tierney is humbled to see just how far the organization has come. As well, she encourages everyone to come out and show support.

    For those who would like to be a part of the walk, you can go to the National M.S. Society’s website and find the page for Fayetteville’s walk. From there, you will find several ways to get involved including donating to the cause, volunteering, joining or even starting a team to walk. The National MS Society encourages people to get involved in several of their programs and walks. If a great journey begins with a single step, then the greatest will begin when everyone steps together in unity.

    Be the difference in someone’s life because the life that you save could be your own. Go to www.nationalmssociety.org for more information.

  • 04-23-14-jump-tower.gifFunnel cakes, carnival rides and the children’s jump tower can only mean one thing; it’s time for the 22nd Annual Children’s Fest! The fest will open at the Fort Bragg Fairgrounds on April 26. The event runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

    Admission is $8 for access to carnival rides and prize drawings; adults and children under 36” are free. The event is open to the public.

    The first 500 children to attend will receive a free T-shirt.

    The Fort Bragg Fairgrounds are located off Bragg Boulevard across from Stryker Golf Course. Admission through a checkpoint is not required.

    Attendees will enjoy children’s carnival rides, a children’s jump tower, climbing wall, face painting, as well as Pallabar the Clown and the Fort Bragg Fire Engine. Activities are planned throughout the day for children of all ages.

    A large tented area with various toddler-friendly activities appropriately named, Toddlerville, will also be available for the young festival attendees. “Activities in the Toddlerville tent will give parents a unique opportunity to get involved in their children’s world for a day and experience some of the activities the children do while attending their Child Development Center during the week. Children will have the chance to show their parents how to play and have fun,” said Dorene Jenkins, Fort Bragg Child Youth and School Services outreach director.

    Food vendors will be on hand with everything from hot dogs to funnel cakes. Drawings for prizes will take place throughout the day.

    The Month of the Military Child was created in 1986 by former Defense Secretary Casper Weinberger to highlight the importance children play in the Armed Forces community. From deployments to new schools, military children face unique challenges that civilian children their age do not. The recognition of this month is meant to celebrate the resilience and strength of military children in dealing with these difficult aspects of military life.

    Event Coordinator Gudrun Blackmon says, “For the past 21 years, Fort Bragg Child, Youth and School Services (has culminated April’s activities with the Children’s Fest. Historically, 3,000-3,500 people attend. In addition to age-appropriate carnival rides, the most popular activities have been the Kiddie Jump Tower and military static displays.”

    On Tuesday, April 15,people were asked to wear purple in support and appreciation of military children. Purple is the color that represents all branches of the military, as it is the combination of Army green, Coast Guard blue, Air Force blue and Marine red and navy blue.

    Blackmon says, “The event would not be as successful as it always is without the unselfish support and assistance of the Fort Bragg Special Events Team, the Family, Morale, Welfare and Recreation Marketing Team, the outstanding sponsors in the Fort Bragg and Fayetteville area and most of all, the outstanding support from our Soldiers.

    For more information about Children’s Fest, please call 910-396-8110 or 910-396-5128.

  • 04-24-13-hogs-n-rags.gifIf you’ve never attended the Hogs & Rags Rally that happens each spring, this is a great year to join in the fun. This is the eighth year that the event has been a part of the Dogwood Festival festivities and it’s a fun way to make a difference by doing something good.

    This day-long adventure involves a ride to Myrtle Beach, with stops along the way and at the end fellowship and refreshments. Hogs & Rags is scheduled for Saturday, April 27, and like in years past, the day will surely be a good time. The fact that the event raises funds for several good causes is a bonus. If ever there was a justifi cation for spending a day out in the sunshine, it is knowing that it is to support Shriner’s Hospitals for Children, the American Cancer Society and Kidsville News!

    Don’t let the name confuse you. Hogs and Rags is for all makes and models of motorcycles, trikes, muscle cars and street rods.

    “One thing we want to be clear about is that even though the name of the event is Hogs and Rags and hogs usually represent Harley-Davidsons and and rags usually means convertible cars — and that is how the event started — we want all kinds of motorcycles and all kinds of cars to participate,” said event spokesperson Wendy Rogers. “We don’t want the name to mislead people, this is a great time, it supports wonderful causes and we want everyone to know they are welcome.”

    Local authorities from each county escort the hundreds of participants along the way. It’s been said that it is better to see the police lights in front of you than behind you, but on a serious note, the event organizers take safety seriously and do everything they can to make sure each and every rider is not only safe but has a good time, too. There is a quick talk about safety and riding in large groups before the ride starts, so if you are new to travelling in large groups, this would be a great fi rst ride.

    Registration starts at 7:30 a.m. and runs through 9 a.m. at the Airborne & Special Operations Museum. Kickstands up at 9 a.m. as the caravan departs for Rocking A Ranch in White Oak, N.C. At the ranch, riders will be treated to a full country breakfast. At 10:45 a.m., it’s back on the road to Chadbourn for a short break and water stop. The ride continues on from Chadbourn to Landry’s Seafood at Myrtle Beach. Lunch will be served at Landry’s at 1:15 pm., where there will be entertainment and a reverse raffl e, too.

    The event officially ends after lunch, but there is plenty to do at Myrtle Beach, and a big part of the day is left to enjoy the local attractions.

    It costs $50 per entry and $30 per each additional rider. Of course, donations are always welcome and are tax deductible. The registration fee covers a T-shirt, hot breakfast at the Rockin’ A Ranch, a police escort to Myrtle Beach and lunch at Landry’s.

    While the ride itself is a great reason to come out, the charities that are funded by the Hogs & Rags Rally proceeds benefi t greatly from this event. Since its inception, the organization has donated more than $90,000 to charities. Kidsville News!, The American Cancer Society and the Shriner’s Hospitals for Children all work to make the world a better place.

    Find out more about Hogs and Rags at www.hogsandrags.com.

  •     With the Dogwood Festival just behind us, there has been a lot of opportunity to soak up free music — largely of the pop genre. If your ear is a bit more discerning, you might want to check out The Fayetteville Symphonic Band’s performance at Reeves Auditorium on the campus of Methodist University, May 1 at 7:30 p.m.
        “Symphonic” is kind of a scary word that can be a little intimidating. Not to worry. A symphonic band is a performing ensemble consisting of several members of the w family, b family and p family. Its various repertoires include original wind c and arranged c items. The Fayetteville Symphonic Band exists to pursue quality band literature with community members who are interested in the same thing. The life-long instrumentalist has a place to perform great band music with this community minded group. The group had been on and off for a period of time until it met Director Jonathan Andrews. He resurrected the band two years ago, and since that time, the band has solidly picked up steam.
        The evening will offer a delightful variety of musical compositions. Dr. Larry Wells, assistant director of the FSB, calls the selections a “Smorgasbord.”
        “We will feature everything from older turn of the century music from the British Isles to traditional March music,” he said.
        There is no set theme to these concerts, which is why the FSB is excited to feature The Methodist University Chorale in conjunction with its musical selections. The Methodist University Chorale is a select group of individuals chosen for their personality, moral character and leadership qualities, as well as for their exceptional talent in music. Wells would like to see a large turnout for the evening.
        “This is our final performance of the season, we’ve gained a lot of talented players, and the band is doing phenomenally,” he said.  “We expect next year to be even better.”
        The event is free and open to the public.
        If you’d like more information about the FSB, either in regard to this specific performance, or if you are interested in joining the band, please contact Dr. Larry Wells at 910.630.7602 or at lwells@methodist.edu. You can also visit the Web site at www.fayettevillecommunityband.org.

  •      Fresh off their headlining North American tour in support of their platinum album Indestructible, Grammy-nominated hard-rock band Disturbed will launch the Music As A Weapon IV Tour — a music, tattoo and lifestyle festival .
         {mosimage}Although the Chicago quartet conceived Music As A Weapon in 2001 and have headlined the previous three tours, this is the first time that it has been expanded into a complete lifestyle festival. In addition to presenting the best in rock music, Music As A Weapon IV also features a collection of the greatest tattoo artists from around the country offering their talents to attendees in each city, including the world-famous Oliver Peck (seen on Miami Ink and Bam’s Unholy Union on MTV), Las Vegas’ Hart & Huntington Tattoo Company (founded by freestyle motocross legend Carey Hart).  Attendees will also be able to check out an extreme sports complex where freestyle motocross, BMX and Skate teams will perform, a Technology and Gaming Zone, and a Vendor Village, all for a fan-friendly ticket price. 
         “We really wanted to make sure fans attending Music As a Weapon this year got the most bang for their buck,” says Disturbed frontman David Draiman, “so we decided to bring in the tattoo artists, the extreme sports complex, the gaming, and the vendor village to go beyond the usual live music experience and give the concerts the feel of a true event. If they are going to part with their hard-earned money, we need to honor that and give them our all in return.” 
         Disturbed will be joined by Killswitch Engage on the main-stage, as well as Lacuna Coil, Chimaira and other acts to be announced on the second stage.
         The Music As A Weapon tour will make a stop in Fayetteville on Thursday, April 24 at the Crown Coliseum. Tickets are $39.50. Military tickets are $34.50, and are available at the Crown Box Office and at Ticketmaster.com.
  • 04-09-14-march-babies.gifEvery year in North Carolina, 1 in 8 babies are born premature. Prematurity  is the leading cause of infant death in North Carolina with the highest rate inf African-American and Native American infants, so that is why the March of Dimes sponsors the March for Babies on Saturday, April 12, at 10 a.m., at Methodist University.

    “We have been walking since 1970 and have raised more than $2.3 billion for healthier babies,” said Stephanie Benson, Cape Fear Region community director. “Our goal for the 2014 March for Babies campaign is to raise $150,000 through community involvement and mission connected families.”

    Benson added that the organization is anticipating 700 to 1,000 families to participate this year. This year’s 2014 March of Dimes national ambassador is Aidan. He was born 12 weeks early weighing just 3 pounds. He is described as an adventurous 6-year-old who loves soccer, baseball and gymnastics. To honor the nurses and doctors who saved his life, he visits the newborn intensive care unit on his birthday every year. Aidan and his parents will travel the country and help raise awareness of premature birth.

    “This year we wanted to reach out to the military and I am a military spouse who understands the stress that a military marriage endures,” said Benson. “This family is amazing and they have a heartfelt story to share.” March of Dimes is the leading nonprofit for pregnancy and baby health.

    For more than 75 years, the March of Dimes has worked to help babies get a healthy start in life. 76 percent of the money is used for research and programs that support solutions for babies that are born prematurely or have birth defects. Premature babies suffer lifelong consequences such as mental retardation, blindness, learning disabilities and cerebral palsy. The cytomegalovirus (CMV) causes birth defects in 8,000 babies each year. Moms can pass the virus on to their baby before or during birth. The March of Dimes is funding the development of a vaccine that can prevent the infection in women of childbearing age.

    The programs educate women on how to increase their chances of having a healthy baby. There is also a great push for newborn screening and health insurance for all women and babies.

    The walk is held in 900 communities across the United States and involves more than 7 million people.

    “Our walks are a family affair,” said Benson. “Everyone is connected to our mission and there are many ways to support our mission.”

    For more information, call Stephanie Benson at 910 778-5670.

    Photo: March of Dimes presents March for Babies on Saturday, April 12, at 10 a.m., at Methodist University. 

  • 04-16-14-physical-therapy.gifI was so close to becoming a human vegetable that my wife was planning ways to serve me up as a side dish. She will tell you, even now, that I had become rooted to my recline.

    rI couldn’t argue her point. Pain in my shoulders from shredded rotator cuffs and tendons had virtually ended my long-time love affair with golf and, when I retired for a second time in May of 2013, I pretty much quit moving. I used the DVR to record shows and movies and spent most of the day watching television, reading or working crossword puzzles. I would go to bed around midnight, get up between 9 and 10 a.m. and begin the cycle all over again.

    I became noticeably weaker, began suffering bouts of feeling light-headed and took on the traits of an elderly semi-invalid. I shuffled my feet, walked with my head down and without moving my arms. Putting on a pair of pants was a daunting task and, by the time I had struggled to get my socks and shoes on, I was pretty much exhausted. Just going out to dinner became something I dreaded.

    That’s when a friend intervened. He had suffered his own share of physical problems, including a hip replacement, and he suggested I pay a visit to a physical therapist where he was receiving treatment.

    I was reluctant at first. I had been to physical therapists before for the shoulder problem and a knee replacement. Those sessions had helped greatly at the time but that had been a few years ago when I was younger, stronger and spent a lot less time in the recliner. So this was different. How do you rejuvenate a vegetable?

    Well, the first thing these therapists did was to make me feel like a human being again. They greeted me with smiles, made me feel they had a real interest in my well-being and that perhaps I might even be able to improve enough to play golf again. They worked on my balance, taught me how to hold my head up when I walked and put me through a series of strengthening exercises.

    Their patience with my stumbling and fumbling was incredible. They led me through a series of exercise routines and showed me how to help myself. They even forgave me on the days I forgot to wear my hearing aids and they were forced to virtually shout the instructions in my ears.

    Despite my original Doubting Thomas attitude, they won me over. After a few sessions, I could tell a difference. I was moving quicker and walking up steps without having to hold on to something. The recliner got less use and the wife took me off the vegetable menu.

    One thing I had to learn was to do some of the exercises at home between sessions. The therapists can help you through the exercises during a scheduled session, but they’re like school teachers in that if you don’t do your homework you’re going to fail some tests.

    I still slack off on some of the homework, but I’m trying and it’s paying dividends. The dizziness has virtually disappeared and I’m walking with firmer steps and with my head up. Hey, it’s been days now since I stumbled into someone.

    I’m nowhere near being in the shape I’d like to be, but I do see progress. And as long as those therapists keep smiling and telling me how proud they are of that progress, I’m going to keep keeping on.

    In fact, I’ve already started chipping and putting again. Can a drive be too far in the future?

    Photo: Staying active is an important part of being healthy.

  • 04-23-14-ftcc.gifFTCC’s Continuing Education Division is constantly striving to meet the training needs and interests of our community by developing new courses and providing new locations that are convenient for our students. We are excited to announce a new program for 2014, Natural Hair Care, at our newest location, Tallywood Shopping Center on Raeford Road.

    The Natural Hair Care Program is a 300-hour course that prepares students for licensure as a Natural Hair Care Specialist. Students will learn the techniques of hair braiding, locking, weaving and styling. Upon completion of the course, students must pass the state exam and pay the license fee to become a licensed Natural Hair Care Specialist.

    In addition to the Natural Hair Care Program, FTCC will also offer classes at Tallywood in Esthetics and Skin Care and Manicuring and Nail Technology.

    The 600-hour Esthetics and Skin Care Program provides future skincare specialists with the practical skills and knowledge necessary for success in the salon/spa industry. Students will learn how to perform popular esthetic services, such as facials, waxing and body treatments. This program prepares the students for the North Carolina State Cosmetic Arts Licensing Exam.

    Nail care is one of the hottest specialties in the beauty profession today! The Manicuring and Nail Technology state-approved 300-hour course develops skills in all facets of manicuring, pedicures, nail extensions and artificial nails. This program prepares the students for the North Carolina State Cosmetic Arts Licensing Exam.

    Students are taught by qualified, state-licensed instructors and gain their knowledge and skills through classroom instruction and practical application. In addition, our students will have the opportunity to provide their services to clients at a discounted fee!

    Students are responsible for the FTCC registration fee, cost of textbooks, a program kit and their uniforms. Day and evening classes are offered for all three programs. Due to class size limits, pre-registration is strongly encouraged. For more information about upcoming class dates, times and fees, call Kimberly Allen, business services coordinator, at 678-0033.

    Don’t delay; begin a new career today! Learn more about this program and about FTCC by visiting our website at www.faytechcc.edu. Or visit us in person! We have three campus locations: Fayetteville, Spring Lake and on Fort Bragg.

    Photo: FTCC  offers natural hair care, esthetics and skin care programs.

  • uac043014001.gif When Michael Martin, the director of Cumberland Oratorio Singers, chose John Rutter’s Mass of the Children to close out this choral season, he had several reasons for doing so. He claims some of it was selfishness but it’s not likely that everyone would see his desire for Fayetteville to have a youth choir as selfish. Martin has been an advocate for choral music and music in general since he arrived in Fayetteville in 2008. Under his direction, the group has grown in membership and has partnered with several musical groups throughout the community, including the Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra and the Fayetteville Symphonic Band. The Cumberland Oratorio Singers’ May 3 concert featuring John Rutter’s Mass of the Children is another example of musical collaboration and looks to be a good time for kids and grown ups alike.

    “I heard this piece quite a few times. Rutter writes so well for the voice and it fits well for the local choir,” said Martin. “Combine that with the fact that I had never conducted it before and it just seemed like a good fit.”Martin knew that the Cumberland Oratorio Singers could carry their weight and invited the Cross Creek Chorale to join in the effort. From there, it was a matter of finding talented youth to perform. He reached out to several local schools, both public and private, in the community. Several responded bringing more than 50 youthful voices to the project. “Part of the reason for doing this is that I wanted to impress on people that a youth chorus is something this city needs,” said Martin. ”Charlotte has a good one, as do many other cities. I would like to see a community chorus for youth for the City of Fayetteville, too. I think Fayetteville needs one and I have impressed on the teachers that I think it is wonderful to watch students come together and sing something they otherwise would not be able to sing with adult professionals. I would be very happy if this causes someone to have the idea to start a youth chorus here.”

    Martin pointed out that many times people enjoy singing in choirs as children but once they are out of school they move on to other things. “I really think that people should not think of music as something they did when they were a child,” said Martin. “I support technology and we need good consumers of music but that is not all we need to be. I try to bring the community together with events like this. You can’t buy this kind of experience and feel this kind of intergenerational experience from something you bought online. Those are things you can only get through experiences. This is not difficult. If you did it in your youth and it was a great experience, keep doing it.”

    In bringing several age groups together for the event, Martin finds himself working with six schools that bring more than 50 voices to the production and the adults add more than 60. They range in age from 9 years old to 80 something. “We have every age accounted for from third and fourth grade to someone basking in their late retirement years,” said Martin. “It is truly intergenerational. It makes the music almost secondary.”

    There are several parent/child partners participating in the concert. For many of the children it is just as much04-30-14-cos-cover-story.giffun to be doing something with their parents as it is to sing and perform on stage. Martin says this has been a positive experience for the performers so far, including his son, who will participate in the Mass of the Children. “He does well in the Fayetteville Academy Chorus and his teacher does a great job,” said Martin. “Part of it is that he is excited to be able to do something with me and I am enjoying that aspect of it, too.”

    For Martin as well as many members of the Cumberland Oratorio Singers, the group is indeed about music, but that is just a piece of it. The music is what brings them together to share their passion, it is what they love to share with the community. That is what makes Fayetteville better — people sharing their passion and investing in their community. The Mass of the Children is on May 3 at 7:30 p.m. at Methodist University’s Reeves Auditorium. Visit http://www.singwithcos.org/ to find out more about the Cumberland Oratorio Singers and the Mass of the Children.

    Photo: Several parent/child pairs are set to perform in the May 3 Cumberland Oratorio Singers’ production. Above, from left to right are Arline Porter with daughter Linda good, Dr. Michael Martin with son David, Donna Jo Mangus with daughter Jenna Jo, Jeanne Ennis with son Luke Ennis.

  •      Gallery 208, located in the corporate offices of Up & Coming Weekly at 208 Rowan Street, has welcomed artists from all walks of life since opening its doors. The gallery, which is a partnership with the Fayetteville Museum of Art, has hosted international artists, but there’s something special in hosting the works of one of Fayetteville’s own.{mosimage}
         On Thursday, April 16, the gallery will again throw open its doors for a grand party to celebrate the works of Silvana Foti, an artist and educator who calls Fayetteville home.
         Foti, originally from the midwest, graduated from St. Mary’s College, Notre Dame, with a Bachelor’s of Fine Arts in 1978. She received her master’s in 1980, also from Notre Dame, with printmaking being her major area of study.
         These days, Foti can be found teaching at Methodist University, but you can also find her works in locations throughout the state.
         Traditionally, her works are collaged prints, enhanced with brass composition, hand printed through an intricate process of etching, intaglio and relief.
         In her artist’s statement, she notes, “Like Mondrian, I want to express in my work ‘What every artist seeks to express: harmony through equivalence of relationships of lines, colours and planes, but only in the clearest and strongest way.’ The images that emerge are meant to suggest my interpretation of a particular experience, emotion or idea.”
         She noted that “the imagery involves my fascination with the unique archietectural structures of Venice, Italy. My artistic goals traditionally and in “experimental” works is to create balance and harmony through th euse of basic design elements.”
         The party begins at 5:30 p.m. and will continue to 7 p.m. As is always the case with Up & Coming Weekly parties, there will be wonderful food and your favorite beverages.
         Spend some time becoming acquainted with the artist’s works and then hear her discuss them.
         The exhibit opening is free and open to the public. The works will remain on exhibit throughout the month of May. For more information, call 484-6200.
  • The 6th Annual Indian Festival will take place on Saturday, April 17 at the Crown Arena from 11 a.m. – 8 p.m. This fun filled day is for thelocal community to enjoy various activities while learning about the Indian culture.

    “We want to feature our Indian culture and give the local community a glimpse of our Indian performing arts and cuisine,” said Sumedha Dalvi, chairperson of the India Festival. “Our focus is mostly on entertainment and food.”

    Entertainment will be featured all day long on the stage.

    04_07_10-india-festival.gif“The big feature this year is our fashion show,” said Dalvi. “We are going to do three different kinds of fashion shows.”

    Dalvi added that the three fashion shows will feature teenagers, children 12 and under and adults showcasing Indian fashions.

    Three different vendors will showcase Indian food.

    “The vendors will feature food from different regions of India,” said Dalvi. “It is very flavorful food that is spicy or mild.”

    Dalvi added that there will be a drink booth and an authentic Indian ice cream booth.

    “This is the first year we are bringing in an ice cream booth,” said Dalvi.

    Other booths will feature Henna tattoos, arts and crafts creations, Indian clothing and jewelry. There will be a Kid’s Corner that will consist of games and snacks. Various artists, from Raleigh and Cary, will sing and play instruments.

    “We will also have some classical Indian dances,” said Dalvi. “Later on in the day we will have open fl oor folk dancing.”

    The Indian culture is rich, diverse and unique in its own way. The family component is about joy, love and sharing. Manners and ways of communicating with one another are important components of the Indian culture. The Indian culture treats guests as if they are a part of the family by serving and taking care of them. Respecting one another and helping one another are key components. The children are taught to help one another in need and through cooperation better living subsequently makes this world a better place. Respecting elders is a major component of the culture.

    Proceeds from the event are donated to various local charities during the time of the Maharaja Banquet in the fall. The organization has donated more than $80,000 to various charities such as The Wounded Warriors, The Falcon Children’s Home, The Cumberland County Education Foundation and many more local organizations.

    “This is our way of giving back to the local community that has embraced us and made us feel at home,” said Dalvi. “We call this home now.”

    Ticket cost is $2 and the event is free for children age 4 and under. For more information call 824-0095.

  • 04142010acsrelayforlife.jpgFayetteville Technical Community College (FTCC) will host the Cumberland County American Cancer Society Relay for Life. FTCC’s President Dr. J. Larry Keen is the honorary chairperson for the Relay for Life that will be held at the Tony Rand Student Center, beginning at 2 p.m. on Friday, April 30, and concluding at 2 p.m. on Saturday, May 1. The purpose of the event is to increase awareness of cancer and raise money for cancer research.

    The Relay for Life began in 1985 when Dr. Gordy Klatt, a colorectal surgeon in Tacoma, Wash., ran and walked around a track for 24 hours to raise money for the American Cancer Society. Since then, Relay for Life has grown from a single man’s passion to fight cancer into the world’s largest movement to end the disease. Each year, more than 3.5 million people in 5,000 communities in the United States, along with additional communities in 19 other countries, gather to take part in this global phenomenon and raise much-needed funds and awareness to save lives from cancer. Thanks to Relay for Life participants, the American Cancer Society is creating a world with more birthdays and a world where cancer can’t claim another year of anyone’s life.

    FTCC nursing instructor Sharon Ellis is leading the college’s Relay for Life efforts. FTCC became involved with Cumberland County’s Relay for Life over 10 years ago when a faculty member and student from the Associate Degree Nursing program formed a Relay for Life team. They named the team “Vital Force” based on their belief that FTCC students are a vital force in supporting quality healthcare within the community. For additional information Sharon Ellis can be contacted at ellissh@faytechcc,edu.

    The American Cancer Society Relay for Life is a life-changing event that gives everyone in communities across the globe a chance to celebrate the lives of people who have battled cancer, remember loved ones lost, and fight back against the disease. At the Relay for Life, teams of people will camp out at FTCC and take turns walking, running or participating in overnight events for 24 hours.

    The theme for this year’s event is “Stayin Alive in the ‘70s and Streakin’ Toward a Cure in the Future.” Be sure to Google “The Seventies” and learn about the movies, music and dress of the time, and decorate your campsite based upon the ‘70s. Awards will be given for best event-theme campsite.

    The Relay for Life is a 24-hour overnight camp-out, fund-raiser, family oriented, smoke-free, alcohol-free and no pets time of celebration and rememberances. So, bring your tents, lounge chairs, sunscreen and tennis shoes, and participant all night.

    In addition to the walking events, there will be a Celebrate the Survivor’s Lap, a Luminary Ceremony to celebrate the lives of survivors and remember those who lost their lives because of cancer and a Fight Back Ceremony, where participants make a personal commitment to save lives by taking up the fight against cancer.

    The only requirement to participate in Relay for Life is the $10 registration/ commitment fee (per person) that is due upon registration. After that, any donations that are raised through individual, team, or online fundraising are graciously accepted. It is recommended that each participant set a personal goal to raise $100. Even if you do not raise $100, all are welcome to participate.

    For more information about the Cumberland County American Cancer Society Relay for Life, please visit www.relayforlife.org/cumberland.

    Fayetteville Technical Community College was established in 1961 and serves over 34,000 students annually by providing150 affordable occupational, technical, general education, college transfer, and continuing education programs to meet students’ needs and desires as well as the community.

  • 04282010cp22.jpgThe encouraging and inspiring story of a Tony and Grammy Award nominated musical, The Color Purple, is coming to the Crown Coliseum in Fayetteville for the fi rst time On May 5 at 7:30 p.m.

    The Color Purple is an inspiring family saga that tells the unforgettable story of a woman, who — through love — finds the strength to triumph over adversity and discover her unique voice in the world. Set to a joyous score, The Color Purpleis a story of hop, a testament to the healing power of love and a celebration of life.

    The musical tells the story of Celie, a woman who triumphs through adversity and fi nds her voice in the world. The musical is set in 1911 and spans approximately 40 years in Celie’s life, beginning when she is 14. The character of “Celie” will be played by Dayna Jarae Dantzler, who is from Michigan.

    This musical is based on the novel, The Color Purple, by Alice Walker. The Color Purplewas Walker’s most famous novel winning the Pulitzer Prize, the American Book Award and a fi lm production, in 1985, by Steven Speilberg. The script to the musical was written by Marsha Norman and the songs were composed by Brenda Russell, Allee Willis and Stephen Bray. The show was choreographed by Donald Byrd.

    The Color Purplefirst came to Broadway on December 1, 2005 and was nominated for 11 Tony Awards, including Best Musical. The musical was also nominated for a Grammy Award based on its gospel, jazz, pop and blues music. The Color Purple played on Broadway for two successful years then began a national tour with cast members from all over the country. One of the cast members, Traci Allen, who plays “Nettie,” Celie’s sister, is a native of Winston-Salem, N.C.

    Cast members for The Color Purple tour the country by plane or bus and props, sets, wigs, costumes, etc., are driven to the various locations of the play by truck. This particular tour began in March of this year and will be returning to North Carolina at the Durham Performing Arts Center, in Durham, on May 25-30.

    There will be a 15 to 20 minute intermission during the play and snacks are available outside the main theatre area. Ticket prices range from $28 to $45.50 and both group rates of 15 or more and those with a military ID can get $3 off ticket prices.

    For more information contact the Crown Coliseum at 910-438-4100 or visit the Web site at www.atthecrown.com.

  • Snyder Memorial Baptist Church provides a lot to our community. Not only is it a place to worship and serve, it also provides musical training, after school care and a venue for top notch performances like the upcoming performance of Elijahon May 2 at 6:30 p.m.

    Elijah is considered the greatest work of Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (1809- 1847), a German composer of the Romantic era, born in Hamburg, Germany. Elijahis a dramatic story of the prophet Elijah as he summons the people to righteousness, performs miracles and struggles against idolworshipping. He confronts the wicked queen Jezebel. It ends as Elijah rises to heaven in a fiery chariot. The oratorio, written in two parts, was fi rst performed in August of 1846.

    The Snyder performance is a joint project with the Campbell University Choir and the University Choral Society. Choral Society personnel include students, faculty and a core of community singers. The University Choir is comprised of students, most of who are majoring or minoring in music. The Campbell musicians will be joined by the Snyder Memorial Sanctuary Choir and Orchestra. This performance features a 140-voice choir and a 30-piece orchesta.

    Dr. Phil Morrow, director of choral activities at Campbell University and Dr. Larry Dickens, minister of music at Snyder Memorial are coordinating and conducting the oratorio.

    Some of the local talent includes Sara Barefoot and Faith Dickens. Elijah will be sung by Dr. John Blizzard, professor of voice and artist in residence at Wingate University.

    It was quite an undertaking for the church due to the sheer numbers required to fill the choral and musical slots, but the church staff working in concert with the Campbell staff has put together a performance that they believe is not to be missed. According to Dickens, Elijah is one of the most famous and dramatic prophets of ancient Israel. He lived in 875-848 BC. The oratorio focuses on the prophet’s bold stand against the rampant idolatry that had gripped his nation under the corrupt leadership of king Ahab and his wife Jezebel.

    “I would say that other than Messiah it is the best known major oratorio — and if you have seen Handel’s Messiahbut maybe never been to a performance, this is a great way to do it,” said Dickens. “If you have ever wondered what an oratorio is like, the music here is highly dramatic and engaging. Even if you are not a classical music enthusiast you will be pulled into the experience because of the dramatic nature of the music.”

    The work is so powerful in fact, that Dickens has had the pleasure of watching it impact the performers as they have worked putting the piece together. In fact, one of the things he has enjoyed the most has been exposing some people who have never done a major work like this to the joys of classical music and introducing people to classical music that have never really studied it before.

    “Sacred classical music, well, much of our classical literature evolved from the church. This experience helped them understand church music history, said Dickens. “Although it is a whole lot of work, seeing the joy of those who get it, who actually get it fi gured out has been great. There is also the deep spiritual element of the life of Elijah he is the best known of all the prophets and seeing the spiritual impact of studying the life of this great prophet I think this has had a spiritual impact for a lot of folks as well.”

    For more information visit www.snydermbc.com.

  • uac050212001.jpg A successful portrait photographer, Jonathan Starling shares his experiences of a popular and historical Italian celebration in the exhibit titled The Colors of Carnevale. Visitors to the Gallery 208 opening on May 10, and during the exhibit, which runs through June, will have a glimpse into the artist’s interpretation of the Carnevale di Venezia (Carnival of Venice). Carnevale is a celebration where the streets are filled with people in elaborate costumes and masks.

    Starling has been a professional photographer for more than 25 years and is most well-known for his award-winning images of families and children placed in traditional settings with natural lighting. As a photographer he has captured images of families, children, high-school seniors, and business professionals for many years. His artistic approach has been to create images that say something about the person or capture their interests, their hobbies and people they love.

    Gallery 208 is excited to exhibit his latest body of work from his trips to Venice, Italy during the carnival. Different than his traditional portraiture, the mood in The Colors of Carnevale is heightened to a dramatic stage of mystique, intrigue and exceptional beauty.

    Starling feels the exhibit is a gift he can to give to Fayetteville. “I have combined my passion for travel, beauty, Italy and its culture with the creation of beautiful images. If I am able to share my experience and the happiness it brought to me with my viewers, I will have accomplished much. I am always interested in sharing my Italian culture with others and all of these factors combined created a desire to present this body of work.”

    A change from his portrait commissions, Starling’s approach to his fine-art photography in Venice is personal and an open ended interpretation of his traveling experiences, interfacing with places, people and the affects of light on a subject or place. While the commercial work results in satisfying his customers, this body of work is a private experience he can share. While in the fine-art frame of mind, Starling refl ected upon the creative state as “a floating or mixing of the atmospheres of reality and an altered creative state.”

    So when a portrait photographer travels to another country and decides to create a body of work centered on the Carnevale event, what is his approach? Does the experience in any way shape how he views his commercial work?

    I found Starling’s answers to the questions helpful in understanding the practicality of his approach as well as the aesthetics. He stated: “I had limited communication and limited identity with the carnival culture in Venice; yet photographing the event was an evolving experience as an artist. Most of the masked people I photographed were from France (people from all over the world visit Venice for Carnevale). Since I can’t speak French at all, communication developed from a smile or kind look at first, and then evolved through approaching the subjects from a professional approach by using gestures and body language to get the subject to pose. At first I approached them as inanimate objects, a costume, a mask; I progressed to realize that the subject was really the person or the persona behind the mask. Once that connection was realized, I found myself intrigued with the eyes and the body language presented at that point, the inanimate came alive with life and energy and beautiful images flowed.”

    He continued, “There were so many people there photographing at the same time, the conditions were very cold and the crowds were large. I wanted to show the costumes and masks but also show Venice and present it without the crowds of tourists and photographers. The limited time spent with the models was very rewarding often resulting in the exchanging of well wishes, business cards and email addresses.” 

    As a photographer, Starling is literally, a “student of light.” He applies his knowledge of light skillfully in his commercial work and in his fine-art approach. For the works in The Colors of Carnevale note how he concentrated on early morning light and late afternoon light. “I prefer the quality of light during these two times of the day. I often found myself working with a flash to bring out the subject and adjusting my exposure settings to create the look of the ambient lighting conditions,” said Starling.

    But, why go to Italy routinely to photograph? Starling responded he “goes to Italy regularly for personal reasons.” He is proud of his Italian heritage — a place he found a deep connection to after his first visit. Although raised in Fayetteville, he often felt he was missing a part of his spirit. He connected with that missing part after traveling to Italy.

    Starling currently possesses dual citizenship in both the United States and Italy and feels equally welcome and at home in either country. He is so comfortable that he conducts several tours a year to Italy — and he feels equally comfortable as a teacher. He has been teaching photography for many years, fi rst on a professional level, which is how he earned the degree of Craftsman from the Professional Photographers of America. In the last four years he has started teaching photography from the beginning level and through advanced classes at FTCC, and in his own pri05-02-12-starling.jpgvate classes. Starling stated: “Leading groups in Italy was the next step to sharing my love of travel, photography and Italy with other photographers.”

    Starling’s students enjoy traveling with him since he bridges the gap for them between their experiences in the U.S. and the food and customs of Italy. He prefers to travel as a “traveler,” not as a “tourist” — stating there is a huge difference.

    “A tourist only sees a small glimpse of the place they are visiting while keeping their identity as an outsider. A traveler experiences the culture and tries to assimilate themselves into the culture and place they are in,” Starling explained. “Being a traveler causes you to look at yourself and your life experiences in a way that can lead you to see other points of view and other ways of doing things. I find the results are personal and life altering growth experiences that will change you for life.”

    He continued, “It is rewarding for me to see the looks on the faces of my students when they get it. They often wonder why I highly encourage them to dress for dinner, why we eat late meals and try different food. Sure, the tourist stuff is fun; but our missions are always centered on chasing light and being in the right places to create beautiful images at the right time and taking the time to photograph the beauty. One of my students said how nice it was to be on a trip where no one was constantly asking “Are you still taking pictures?”

    Starling takes pictures in Venice because he feels there is no other city in the world as beautiful and unique as Venice. The photographs in The Colors of Carnevale all exude this feeling and reflect Starling’s philosophy: “When you mix beautiful, artistic, and historic costumes in a historical and beautiful city, a synergy of beauty and color explodes.”

    The public is invited to the opening of The Colors of Carnevale on May 10, from 5 to 7 p.m. at Gallery 208, located at Up and Coming Weekly at 208 Rowan St. The exhibit will remain up until June 29.

    Photo (right): As a photographer Starling is, literally, a “student of light.”

  •     {mosimage}

        Reflections on family and history will dominate during the opening of a new exhibit by artist Dwight Smith at Gallery 208 on Thursday, April 17, at 5:30 p.m.
        Smith, a Michigan native who now resides in Fayetteville, has been working on the art in the exhibit since the late ‘80s. To him, the works reflect his thoughts and ideas on family.
    “Since the late 1980s, I have been creating artwork thematically described as Ancestral Reflections or Ancestral Dialogues,” he said in his artist statement. “The works were personal reflections about family and history. These works, while adhering to philosophical and stylistic tenets of abstract expressionism, significantly draw inspiration from elements of design visible in African masks, multistrip textiles, shields, body cicatrizations, ideograms and other material manifestations of African folkways. Such inspirational sources have become metaphors for my rich cultural heritage and the catalysts for making art.”
    While Smith’s collection is varied, this grouping is more personal.
        “The works in this exhibition are very special to me. They represent my artistic voice at various stages of my creative growth and development,” he explained. “When showing a large body of works at any given time, I always enjoy showing a variety of works. The visual harmony between the paintings, drawings or works on paper becomes a choir of visual voices that help me keep my artistic dialogue fresh and always interesting. I like listening to my inner responses evoked by the compositions and following the path to where they will lead me.”
        He added that many of the works are “celebrations of life or tributes to artists I know or have been fortunate enough to meet,” while others tackle “social realities concerning the world of African-American art histories and global perspectives.”
        Smith has shown both nationally and internationally. His 30-year career has allowed him to work in a variety of media, with concentration on four very different and distinct themes: abstract imagery, landscapes, textiles and mask-life forms.
        “I am fond of using the Adinkra symbols (found in the culture of West Africa). They are a visual language and each of the symbols has a message,” he said. “Such inspirational sources have become metaphors and guides for grounding myself in my rich cultural heritage and the creation of my art.”
    Along with exhibitions in the United States, Smith’s works have been seen worldwide with shows in Dakar Senegal and in 1996, his work was included in a touring exhibition North Africa. In 1999, he received critical acclaim for his solo exhibition, Peintures (Paintings) held at the L’Escalier Gallery in Aurillac, France.
    Smith is a member of the National Conference of Artists (NCA) a national organization of African American artists, art educators, curators and historians. Smith has held positions with NCA as the national president, president of the Michigan Chapter and Board member of that Chapter.  He is also a member of the Fayetteville Arts Guild.
        Smith is the president and chief executive officer of the Ellington-White Community Development Corporation, a community-based visual arts organization for young people located in Detroit and now in Fayetteville. Its mission is to promote the cultural arts and provide healthy lifestyle programs that offer young people mentoring, job training, work experiences, career exploration and leadership skills which are vital to the growth and development of a healthy community.
        “Up & Coming Weekly is delighted to have Dwight’s artwork on exhibit at Gallery 208,” said Jean Bolton, general manager of Up & Coming Weekly. “He has become an integral part of our arts community since his move to Fayetteville and we are fortunate to be able share his work with the community.”
    Gallery 208 is the downtown gallery of the Fayetteville Museum of Art. It is located in the corporate headquarters of Up & Coming Weekly. The exhibit opening will feature not only great art, but great food and excellent company. The event is free and open to the public.
        Gallery 208 is located at 208 Rowan Street. The Up & Coming Weekly offices are open from 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

  • Battle: Los Angeles  (Rated PG)     3 Stars

    04-06-11-movie-review.jpgYes, we can all agree that Skyline was awesome, or, at the very least, awesomely bad. It was an honest B-movie filled with D-List actors with no pretensions to greatness. Battle: Los Angeles (116 minutes) is the film that the special effects guys Greg and Colin Strause worked on before/during/after creating Skyline. Sony Pictures Entertainment planned to sue when their movie came out before Battle: Los Angeles, with the idea that the Strause Brothers had gotten their ideas while doing the special effects for this other movie. Well, both movies employ the ever-popular, ever irritating, cinema verite shaky cam. Both films focus on an alien invasion in La La land. Beyond that, the films are pretty different. I would say that Skyline is an enjoyable, nerd-friendly monster flick while Battlefield: Los Angeles is a one-dimensional action movie with sci-fi trimmings.

    In August of 2011 gas prices in California will apparently settle around $2.96 per regular gallon. So we have that to look forward to. Also, there will be meteors that turn out to not be meteors, but aliens. Much like Independence Daythe government brain trust figures that out when the so-called meteors start slowing down.

    Some U.S. Marine beefcakes assemble at Camp Pendleton to get their marching orders, while the exposition fairy sprinkles backstory over their uniformed heads. Our hero-by-default is Staff Sergeant Michael Nantz (Aaron Echkart). Nantz is getting ready to retire (Of course. Of course he is.) when he is called back into action by the alien invasion.

    Gosh, there sure are a lot of dudes in the Marines. Except that one blonde girl with the nice smile and the freckles, but she is basically playing the role of the one lady in uniform from the “Citizen Soldier” video, so it’s not like we’re gonna see her again.

    So, anyway, there are hostile aliens. The government, reasoning that California’s economy sucks anyway, decides to nuke the coast, killing the alien invaders and balancing the budget with a single stroke. Whoops … that’s how I pictured it working out. Instead, they send a handful of Marines with mental health issues to rescue hypothetical civilians from the LAPD. Their mission has a three-hour time limit, but instead of a helicopter drop to a nearby location, they head in on foot and start looking at shiny things.

    They make enemy contact several times and finally settle in to figure out what has gone wrong with their strategy of walking straight down the middle of the street making lots of noise. Arriving just in time to help them figure out that particular mystery is an Air Force Intelligence Technical Sergeant Elena Santos (Michelle Rodriguez). They regroup and head to the police station where they find a grand total of five civilians. Which, really? That hardly seems worth the effort, even if one of the civvies is played by Bridget Moynahan. After all, the other one is played by Michael Pena, and his skill set is pretty much limited to looking befuddled. See if you can guess which one survives and which one is used for an emotionally manipulative death scene!

    The plot begins to wander at this point. The movie goes on, which I’m gonna blame on the writers having no idea how to end it. If you can picture enjoying Black Hawk Down with aliens instead of insurgents, this one’s for you. If not, then do yourself a favor and rent Skyline.

  •     For those of you who only associate the Army and music with Reveille or The Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy From Company C, prepare to have your minds blown and your horizons expanded by the Jazz Ambassadors when they play the Crown Theater on May 1.
        The Jazz Ambassadors are an elite, 19-piece touring jazz orchestra representing the United States Army that plays a wide variety of music: big band, swing, bebop, Latin, military anthems and marches, jazz standards and patriotic standards.
        {mosimage}The Jazz Ambassadors are the Special Forces of the military music set, with rigorous requirements almost on a par with their Green Beret brethren.
        "We’re not like typical military bands," said Sgt. 1st Class David Bullman, the Jazz Ambassadors’ tour coordinator. "You can’t ‘just join.’ First, we have to have an opening, then you have to send us an audition tape. If your tape is better than everyone else’s, then we’ll call you in for an audition.
        "You’ll play for us and if we like you, we’ll send you to an Army recruiter and you’ll go through everything else a regular recruit does, including basic training," Bullman said.
        Members accepted into the Jazz Ambassadors are automatically assigned a rank of E6.
        Bullman says all members of the orchestra have advanced music backgrounds and many are former music teachers, with all having been tutored in the discipline of jazz.
        A typical set list for the Jazz Ambassadors includes songs such as Duke Ellington’s Rockin’ in Rhythm,       Rodgers and Harts’ Blue Moon, and the traditional torch song, Smoke Gets in Your Eyes.
    Other artists covered by the band include Leonard Bernstein, Irving Berlin and even pop chanteuse Cyndi Lauper.
        The band also performs its own compositions.
        "We have several members who have written and scored music," said Bullman. "So we like to play some of their original pieces."
        The band has appeared in all 50 states, plus Canada, Mexico, Japan, India and throughout Europe. Typically, the band will play around 100 gigs a year. When not playing in theaters and civic centers and coliseums, the Jazz Ambassadors entertain high school kids.
        Bullman says the Jazz Ambassadors’ popularity is "amazing."
        "You wouldn’t believe all the e-mails we get from appreciative fans," said Bullman. "People are especially complimentary of our patriotic songs; many simply can’t believe soldiers can play with the high level of musicianship this band does."
        Instruments played by the Jazz Ambassadors include trumpet, trombone, guitar, drums, saxophone, bass and piano.
        Vocals are provided by Master Sgt. Marva Lewis.
        "Our vocalist, Lewis, and drummer (Staff Sgt. Todd Harrison) seem to be our most popular performers," said Bullman.
        As an example of the sort of musical background found among the members of the Jazz Ambassadors, Lewis served as principle vocalist for the Jazz Knights at the United States Military Academy, the Soldier Show and the Wiley College A Cappella Choir.
        Harrison has performed professionally for more than 22 years with greats such as Kirk Whalum, Bill Watrous, Marvin Stamm, Clark Terry and Paul Gilbert. Harrison studied composition at San Jacinto Junior College and percussion performance at Houston Baptist University.
        "I promise a great show for everyone who comes," said Bullman.
        And you can’t beat the price: the concert starts at 7:30 p.m. and is free to the public.


  • 4th Friday started as a gallery crawl sponsored by the Arts Council of Fayetteville/Cumberland County. Over the years, the event grew and more and more of the downtown businesses became involved, adding extra events and performances to the monthly celebration that has become a downtown tradition that so many people look forward to with anticipation. It got so big that the Arts Council and the Downtown Alliance decided to split the responsibilities. The Arts Council handles Arts Alive and the information regarding the local galleries and the Downtown Alliance coordinates the concerts, themed events like costume competitions and other downtown events.

    Arts Alive takes place on Maxwell Street (the street between the Arts Council building and Beef Obrady’s). It lasts from 6-10 p.m. and features artists performing, exhibiting their works and interacting with the public. If you have ever wanted to watch a basket weaver in action or learn about the secrets of throwing pottery, come on down and ask the artists yourself. They are there not only to entertain, but to educate and inspire, too.

    4th Friday takes place from 6-10 p.m. all over downtown and includes not only Hay Street, but reaches down the side streets and even over to the Cumberland County Headquarters Library.

    “While the both 4th Friday and Arts Alive are from 6-9 p.m. each business and/or gallery determines their own schedule,” said Sheri Collins, 4th Friday coordinator, Fayetteville Downtown Alliance. “For instance, the Arts Council hosts a reception for their new exhibit each month from 7-9 p.m. But there is defi nitely plenty to do for anyone who can make it downtown between 6 and 9 p.m.”

    This month, 4th Friday falls on April 22 and promises to be as full of fun and excitement as ever. The Arts Council of Fayetteville/Cumberland County will host the opening reception of the Public Works Exhibit featuring the work of local artists from Bladen, Cumberland, Harnett, Hoke, Lee, Montgomery, Moore, Richmond, Robeson, Sampson and Scotland Counties, Fort Bragg or Pope Army Air Base. It’s open to everyone and gives remarkable insight to the different perspectives of the artists in the area.

    It is a chance for all local artists to showcase their talents and share their passion with the community, not to mention a wonderful way for the folks in the area to see some of the great talent that resides locally. The exhibit will hang through June 18, so if you don’t make it to 4th Friday, be sure to stop by the Arts Council building at 301 Hay St. and check it out.

    04-13-11-4th-friday.jpgCity Center Gallery & Books is pleased to host a “meet and greet” with the new president of Methodist University, Dr. Ben Hancock, and with author and former newsman Bill Billings, who has written a history of Methodist University. Copies of From Cotton Field to University will be available for signing.

    Also showcasing local artists this month is Cape Fear Studios. Located at 148 Maxwell St., Cape Fear Studios is the only visual-arts cooperative in Fayetteville. They’ve recently featured the work of international glass artist Robert Levin and just hosted an exhibit titled Create: The Mysterious Art of Wood which showcased the works of artists from North Carolina to Hawaii to England. The Create exhibit can be viewed until April 20. When their newest show is presented to the public on April 22, it will be the Annual Member Show. The exhibit will include the works of 2-D artists who paint in water color, acrylics, oils and more, as well as the works of 3-D artists who work in fused glass, wood-working, basketry, pottery and jewelry. The styles range from classic to modern to eclectic. You’ll have the chance to meet some of the artists and even catch a few of them at work during the evening’s celebration, too.

    PHOTO: 2010 Public Works 3rd place winner Blue Zwartkop by Drota Quiroz

     

  • Insidious(Rated PG-13)   • 5 STARS04-20-11-movie-review.jpg

    Insidious(103 minutes) slid in completely under my radar. I keep alphabetized lists of upcoming horror movies, and somehow this marvelous little gem completely escaped my notice. Director James Wan (Saw) does an absolutely fantastic job of terrifying the audience, somehow managing to reinvent overused clichés that shouldn’t still be scary, but are. Of course, Wan is directing from a script by long-time collaborator Leigh Whannell (Saw), so that might have something to do with how awesome everything turned out.

    The film begins with some pretty nifty opening credits. If you have an eye for detail you can play spot the spooky shadowy person shape in almost every shot. The music sets just the right tone, with jangling discordant notes introducing the larger than life title cards in way that is usually only accomplished with classic Spaghetti Westerns. The soundtrack is nicely atmospheric throughout the film, especially the use of “Tiptoe through the Tulips.”

    Renai (Rose Byrne), who pretty much deserves what happens to her because of the way she spells her name, and her husband Josh (Patrick Wilson) move into a new home. How they can afford the rent on the near mansion that they are renting is a bit of a mystery, even if these troubled economic times are causing below market prices. Perhaps public school teachers and out of work composers make more money than I think they do?

    Well, in this case suspension of disbelief might be worth a little extra effort, because the extra-large house offers extra-long curvy stairs and lots of secret nooks to conceal creepy-crawlies. And too bad for the kids, the creepy-crawlies are everywhere.

    One of the kids, Dalton (Ty Simpkins) heads up into the attic. He falls off a ladder and ends up in a mysterious coma, not that there was any cause and effect to that sequence of events. Once Dalton is brought home, weird dudes with claws begin appearing all over the house. After some terrifying scenes in which Renai and her stupidly spelled name hear strange stuff over the baby monitor, Josh begins to stay late at work. Why she does not immediately divorce him for leaving her alone with three kids in the haunted house is unclear. Instead of counseling, they decide that a new ghost-free house will solve their non-coma related issues.

    Once in the new house we meet Josh’s mother, Lorraine (Barbara Hershey, fresh off her success in Black Swan). Like, Renai, she “feels” that there is evil following the family around, and since women are so intuitive and feel things so much more than men do, she manages to convince her more skeptical son to call in the Ghostbusters. The Ghostbusters (Leigh Whannell and Angus Sampson) arrive with homemade toys, but it turns out they are just the opening act. Once they have verified the spooky goings on are not the product of anyone’s imagination, they call in the real psychic.

    Tangina, I mean, Elise (played here by Lin Shaye instead of Zelda Rubinstein) is apparently an old friend of Loretta’s. How did Loretta find her? Well, I am sure it is an interesting story, but we don’t get to hear it. Elise wanders around muttering to herself in an intensely spiritual way, and finally tells them why their son is in that mysterious coma.

    Although Josh tries to give her the boot at first, he finally allows Elise to work her mojo in the house, which leads to some very Baroque set pieces. I am from the section of the audience that Loved, Loved, Loved, every second of the final scenes in all their ostentatious glory. There is, however, a whole other section of the audience that will do nothing but complain about the seeming hard left taken by the filmmakers. You know what? They should stop whining, because the movie, and its ending, is awesome.

  • The 50/50 Rule Part Three 04-13-11-senior-corner.jpg

    As mentioned several weeks ago, we are sharing a series titled The 50-50 Rule. Home Instead, Inc. conducted a study to assist siblings’ collaboration in caring for their aging parents. Today we will discuss birth order and the Top Five Sibling Caregiver Hot Buttons.

    Birth Order

    According to research conducted for our network, 64 percent of youngest siblings are primary caregivers compared with 57 percent of oldest siblings and 49percent of middle siblings. Furthermore, 43 percent of youngest children say they have the closest relationship with their parents, while 70 percent of oldest children describe themselves as the responsible ones and 40 percent of the middle children as the peacemakers of the family.

    The Cornell University gerontologist Karl Pillemer, learned that mothers ages 65 to 75 were willing to name favorites and express a preference for their primary caregiver. Mothers generally desire the one to whom they feel most emotionally close. Another significant bit of criteria for selection of primary caregiver is who lives the closest to the parent. That particular child is more likely to know the current history of the parent so he or she might be the best choice.

    Discussions among all of the family members, prior to any caregiving needs, can help to pave the way for good decision making. A parents’ desire should weigh heavily in this process.

    Top Five Sibling Caregiver Hot Buttons

    Family caregivers know all too well the sensitive issues that can send brothers and sisters into turmoil. Family caregiving can be stressful under any circumstances. But certain situations are hot-button triggers. These events can make the life of caregiving siblings more difficult and lead to family conflicts.

    • ILLNESS: A senior loved one who becomes ill or faces declining health can leave a family facing all sorts of potentially difficult issues. Who provides the additional care? Is there a team approach or does one sibling bear the brunt of the caregiving? Family members’ differing opinions and the changing needs of a senior can exacerbate the situation.

    • MONEY: Money matters often complicate life for seniors as well as their adult children. The recent recession left many older adults depleted of their savings while others may be outliving their nest eggs. Families can be forced to make tough caregiving decisions when their love ones’ finances factor into the equation.

    • INHERITANCE: While some families contend with a lack of funds to provide care for their loved ones, others have the temptation of a family inheritance influencing their decisions. If one sibling is encouraging a parent to spend the siblings’ inheritance and another is coaxing that parent to save the money, trouble is sure to ensue.

    • DISTANCE: While absence may make the heart grow fonder, it certainly doesn’t make life easier for a family caregiver. The siblings who live in the same town or city as their parents may be stuck with most of the caregiver work. According to research, one sibling is responsible for the bulk of the care of Mom and Dad in 43 percent of US families. Siblings who live far away can feel left out or, if they do speak up, they are viewed as intruders by the primary family caregiver.

    • STRESS: Life is stressful and family caregiving oftentimes makes it more so. Adult caregivers who have started a new job, are raising children or caring for their own spouse can soon become overwhelmed when senior family members need help. Those who are bearing the brunt of caregiving may resent siblings who are unable or unwilling to help. In fact, 46 percent of caregivers who say their sibling relationships have deteriorated say their brothers and sisters are unwilling to help.

    For more information including a guide to real-life situations that address the issues above and more, visit www. Solving family conflict. com, call 910-484-7200 or visit the local Home Instead Senior Care office at 2825 Arlington Avenue, Fayetteville, N.C. 28303.

    PHOTO: According to research, one sibling is responsible for the bulk of the care of Mom and Dad in 43 percent of US families. 

  •     Area university art students have filled two downtown art galleries with a wide range of subjects, styles and media. The Fayetteville Art Guild invited Fayetteville State University art students to exhibit with many of its members in an exhibit titled City Image at the Arts Council on Hay Street. One block behind the Arts Center, on Maxwell Street, Cape Fear Studios is hosting an exhibit titled Paintings by the Students of James Biederman, a University of North Carolina at Pembroke professor of art.
        In the interest of fairness to both universities, I want to highlight the strengths of both exhibits and how art students, no matter where they attend, are faced with very similar problems. In the case of Biederman, it is not easy coming into a region where artists predominantly prefer the narrative and the representational to exploring non-objective abstraction.  {mosimage}
        Biederman, an abstract artist from New York City, is exhibiting a small painting with his students. Fifteen of his students are showing works that range from landscape interpretations to non-objective paintings.
    UNCP student Storm Faith has incorporated the landscape with her investigation of abstract spatial properties. Still recognizable, the tree line interprets qualities of nature and color theory. Bright in hue and dense color saturation, the viewer will read across the surface of her painting pausing in the contours of the tree shapes.
        Faith’s classmate, Scotty Thompson, investigates the potential of color as pattern, texture and surface. In the painting titled Unititled by Thompson, the artist moves the viewer across the surface of her painting with thick application of paint, her composition broken up into units and outlines.
    Kiatl Godwin uses primary and secondary colors to move us across the surface of her paintings like a broken surface. Like Thompson, Godwin breaks her paintings up into units, sections of color and texture with defining boundaries.
        Unlike the flatness of Thompson and Godwin, Shelly Romero is an example of what many of the other students were working towards—how to create depth and spatial movement with color. A difficult task for young painters, it is easy to see how Biederman works with each student individually to try and get them to grasp the concept of recession and advancement in space with color, degrees of definition and ways of working with a limited range of hues.
        Like Biederman, the faculty at Fayetteville State University is working with students to use color as a major source of energy, emotion and expression. Faculty at both institutions know color immediately communicates and heightens expression. Colors are never emotionally neutral. {mosimage}
    Rick Kenner, a painting major, uses color, value, his own x-rays and hard edge painting to evoke a sense of heightened expression in the painting titled Pathways.
        Kenner builds his Masonite forms and framing with meticulous detail, his color choices are no less meticulous in selection and application. In Kenner’s work, color is often used in contrast to a neutralized dark background.
        Twenty-five FSU students are exhibiting work, from six different studio areas: painting, drawing, computer graphics, photography, printmaking and sculpture. From the politically challenging computer graphics by Shantel Scott, to the mixed-media sculpture by Amanda Stevens (her work titled Mixed Nature is a life size fish, painted red ready to be scanned, the computer scanner in covered in fur), all the works in the FSU student exhibit show stages of development and a range of subject matter, technique and message.
    Techniques and subjects are as varied as the differences in the students in the program. Daryl Evans’ painting focuses on an oversized, magnified still life of a yellow flower next to a watch — stillness and silence exudes. In contrast, Ann Vaeth paints from life using the placement of a single chair and vegetables to construct her composition. Mike Romangano explores color, surfaces and integrating anatomy; while April Bell applies an actual ladder, constructed of branches, to the front of her painting.
        Printmakers Jonathan Diaz, Maria Marois and Dominique Johnson all investigate the possibilities of relief printing and the monoprint. Self identity dominates as a subject in their work. Diaz explores club life as a subject; for Johnson it is beauty and the African-American female, Marios focuses on the figure as part of a family construct or in abstracted space.  
        Whereas the UNCP exhibit is restricted to their painters, it is difficult in City Image to know which works are students and which are members of the Fayetteville Art Guild.
        Starr Oldorff, Fayetteville Art Guild president, was very happy with the turn out of FSU students. As best stated by Oldorff, “This exhibit gives students a venue to display their works and is an opportunity for citizens of Fayetteville to see the wealth of talent the Fayetteville Art Guild and FSU art students bring to the area.”
        Many of the long-standing members of the Fayetteville Art Guild are exhibiting. Alphonso Peppers and Rose-Ann San Martino both have interpreted the skate board tree, Peppers in the medium of photography and Bryda as an abstracted painting.
    Visitors to City Image will see the diversity within the membership of the Fayetteville Art Guild: welded steel by David McCune, textile wall hangings by Romana Gennaro, a realistic pastel portraiture by J.D. Blanton and many more styles and varied subject matter.
        One of the more striking works is the painting of a downtown cityscape by Brian Steverson titled Springtime in Fayetteville. In an impressionistic style, Steverson captures a moment of beauty and stillness in the downtown area.
        Visitors to City Image will also see work by new members to the organization. New guild member Vicki Rhoda is exhibiting a painting from a series she is presently working on titled I Look to My Family and My Family Looks Down on Me. Behind a small chair with a mask on the seat, trees in the background reach upward in a flattened space of earth colors and pattern. The title speaks to the significance of family, narration and the voice of a painter.
        Like Biederman, several FSU professors are exhibiting with their students: Shane Booth, Jonathan Chestnut and yours truly. In the spirit of a “teaching moment” please indulge me while I list all those who participated in the exhibit, yet not mentioned above, to encourage those who made the effort to get work framed and to the galleries and for their effort to share their voice with you in the discipline of visual arts.
    Additional UNCP students exhibiting include the following: Malinda McKoy, Lynwood Cox, Amber Ragland, Alenander Sauners, Daniel Webb, Themla Lou Gaines, Jason Young, Kevin Locklear, Matthew Wilson and H. Locklear.
        Additional FSU students in City Image include the following: Kimberly Anderson, Chris Boyd, Marcus Davis, April Harmon, Cathy Johnson, Lindsey Loewen, Mike Lopez, Casasndra Ortiz, Robin Jade, Lovell Pulley, Decorris Smith, Paul Smith, Angela Williams, Jasmine Wilson and Carmen Yeager.
    Additional Fayetteville Art Guild Members include the following: Stan Bryda, Peggy Hardiman Carter, Ruth Hatcher, Noreda Hess, Cathy Johnson, David McCune Sr., Grace McGrath, Starr Oldorff, Merle Prewitt, Martha Sisk, and Helen Pat Zumbahlen.
  •     The public, in general, has a tendency to stereotype artists. Myths have been perpetuated about the sullen suffering artist, the artist as a misfit, the artist as anti-intellectual and even the idea that having money is not important to artists. This famous quote in the early part of the 20 century “Don’t talk painter, paint,” further perpetuated the idea that artists should not concern themselves with the verbal, only the visual.
    The truth is that artists today are as diverse as the many styles you see in galleries. There is no one temperament; there is no one purpose for why an artist immerses themselves in the creative process. Mohammed Osman, who’s work is on exhibit at the Architect’s Gallery, is the best example of breaking all the rules about how we stereotype artists. {mosimage}
        Not only is Osman a prolific artist, he is one of the most talkative, open and upbeat individuals I have ever meet. Whereas some artists don’t like to talk about their work, he loves to engage in the art of talking and discussing his work at great length. With ease, he can describe or write about each of his works. His passion is ever present in his work and evident while in his presence.
        A physician by profession, Osman’s paintings express states of being; color, scale and figurative expression exude meaning about the human psyche and the human experience. The subject of his paintings range from emotional disorders to the supernatural — the overriding theme is the art of healing.
    Osman is very clear about art and healing. He stated, “Over 3,000 years ago the ancient kemetic (Egyptian) physicians suggested that healing is an art that addresses a level of being: body, mind and soul. This notion still holds true today. Art is a complementary medicine, capable of healing patients in conjunction with conventional medicine.”
        A native of Merka, Somalia, (now practicing and residing in Fayetteville), Osman is very clear about the direction his work has always taken. “My works of art follow a continuity of traditional African art, further advanced to capture the psychosocial, political, cultural, ethnical and medial concepts that are deep, difficult to express in words and philosophically intriguing. Like any other African artist in the world today, I strive in my work to rediscover the definition of contemporary African art.”
        His statement above best describes his clear purpose in why he is involved in the creative process of being an artist. Anyone interested in seeing his work online and interested in his extensive explanation of each of his paintings, should go to his Web site: www.osmanart.homestead.com/onlineartexibitionbyhuandmo.html. He explains each painting in the manner of a healer. Medical information and references to the medical are blended with prose, poetry and personal philosophy. His subjects vary and range from themes of isolation, disease, states of being and the supernatural.
        In the painting titled Loneliness, a lone female figure stands in profile, her hands raised to her head as she faces the bare wall in front of, her shadow is created by the open window behind her, another opening in the wall is located at the end of the room, painted in yellow and crimson red. Emotion exudes as the blue shape of a landscape pushes against the outside of the wall.
        Like all of Osman’s work, Loneliness is painted in a classical expressionistic style. “Loneliness affects everyone indiscriminately. Refugees and immigrants are not excluded. I was raised in Africa. Loneliness lives far away in the West. Here people care. People communicate. People talk. Family ties are strong. Loneliness becomes a matter of choice.”
        If you don’t have time to see his work at the Architect’s Gallery on Burgess Street in downtown Fayetteville, then the above Web site extensively represents his work. The website is linked to an online exhibit titled The 2nd Annual African and American Sketchbook 2008: Works by African and African American Artists born in 1930-1961.
        What you will be seeing in the Architect’s Gallery exhibit are examples of what inspires Osman — what he “sees, feels, thinks and remembers.” Just be mindful, the Architect’s Gallery is only open Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. - 5 p.m., closed on Saturday and Sunday. The exhibit closes the end of the third week in April.

  •     This 4th Friday, people participating in the downtown gallery crawl will be able to view the new work of Robin Gahr and Eric McRay at Green Light Gallery on Hay Street. This particular exhibit is an example of how a collaborative effort and networking can work for artists, musicians and businesses.
        It all began with the opening, less than a year ago, of Green Light Gallery on Hay Street. A full-service frame shop, Green Light, like most framing businesses, has both fine art and commercial art; but framing is their main source of income. Nancy Studer and Garry Dixon opened their business in the downtown area in an effort to be a part of the wave of creativity that exudes in the downtown art venues. In short, Studer said, “When we were looking at different areas to open our business we decided on the downtown, we wanted to be involved in the community, we loved what was going on downtown, and we just wanted to be a part of it.”
    Entering Green Light you first go through the front part of a narrow space that extends to the rear of the building, two bubbly fountains and greenery are near the exit. That long narrow space has become Nancy Studer’s effort to be involved in the arts downtown. The space has been converted into a gallery where she has made a commitment to exhibiting artists. {mosimage}
        Then Studer’s path crossed with Starr Oldorff, the president of the Fayetteville Art Guild. Oldorff is not only an individual who passionately seeks out new venues for members of the guild to exhibit, she has also been exploring the possibility of representing artists and networking with galleries to show their work locally and in the region. For Green Light Gallery it was a perfect match. Oldorff was looking for a venue to show the new work of Robin Gahr and Eric McRay; Studer was open to exhibiting new artists.
        Being familiar with both artists, I was very interested in seeing new works by Gahr and McRay. Neither artist disappointed me; their new work is upbeat, colorful and full of energy.
        After returning to Fayetteville several years ago, Gahr has exhibited in several of the downtown art venues. In this exhibit Gahr’s subjects are varied, but the dominant theme is music. Drums and guitars swing in patterns of color and movement; images are inundated with color and energy. Her familiar style of line, shape and the overlay of shapes and often symbols have emerged into even more movement and energy than her past works.
        So where did the musical theme come from? Gahr addressed this question with ease. “After taking the time to attend the local music venues regularly, and having a passion for music, the theme emerged. I love music and I enjoy the variety of live music being played in the area during the week and on weekends.”
        Knowing Gahr is such a music fan; it seems predictable that she would team up with a musician for the reception on 4th Friday. Musician Edward Protho will be playing new age sound-scape on the keyboard, along with some soft singing.
        An eclectic musician, Protho moved to Fayetteville from Atlanta to perform with a local band. The band disbanded, but Protho stayed to try and make a living as a musician in the area. Protho commented he is “happy to be participating in an event that celebrates the visual arts and Robin Gahr.”
        McRay is an artist from Raleigh who is widely known for his Jazz paintings and depictions of the North Carolina landscape; he can be seen regularly working at Artspace in downtown Raleigh. A fulltime artist, McRay is represented by several galleries in North Carolina, and has exhibited locally at the Architect’s Gallery. He has been featured in Southern Living Magazine.
        McRay is exhibiting a new body of work that incorporates the heart as an icon, as well as exhibiting a selection of small mixed-media works. Double VV Heart is an example of his style of mixing pop with abstraction.
        Similar to Double VV Heart, the hearts in each painting are a dominant shape that fills the canvas, the negative space around its contours creates a curvy boundary between the foreground and background. His line is ink on paper, press type is obscured inside the heart from brush marks; acrylic and metallic paint are oozy contrasts to the hard edge black vinyl ellipses which have been glued onto the surface. McRay commented, “I am always trying to build a special foreground, middle ground and background with textures and forms.”
        Being familiar with his success at painting in a larger format and how popular his Jazz series continues to be, I wondered if the shift to incorporating such a large iconographic symbol in a much smaller scale work was a new direction for the artists. Not so for McRay, he commented, “I have been working on the heart theme for several years. I work on various themes simultaneously to avoid creative block, so I switch up painterly abstraction with other themes, and mix collage and painting at times.”
        Gahr is similar in her approach to painting. In the small mixed-media titled Vibes, she uses mixed media to express an idea through the use of abstraction and the use of symbols. For Gahr, the moon, sun or both are always present symbols in her work, yet subordinate to the energy, movement and color around it. Gahr commented on how the symbols represent a time element in her work. She stated, “I paint motion and movement and energy, yet I am also mindful of the cycles of day and night. We have to go to sleep in order to be able to get up – constant time.”
        Gahr reflected on influences in her work, “What people say and do are my influences. Although the relationship I have with people is in my work, you won’t see the representation of a person in the work. As well, the act of creating is a very physical activity for me; those that see me at work in the studio are somewhat surprised at the pace at which I work. While in the moment of the work, I don’t think about similarity, each area is complex and different for me.”
        {mosimage}The energy in Gahr’s work is similar to the energetic style of McRay; an exhibit by these two particular artists is a perfect match by Oldorff. Gahr refers to the physical when she works and how her relationships with people influence her. McRay addresses his moments of painting as self discovery.
        He stated, “Abstract painting is self discovery, you must tear down mental barriers and prejudices before you can feel the sensation that comes from good abstract painting. One should get a surge from a painting just as you get a sensation from making love or a spiritual awakening.”
        Join the artists this 4th Friday gallery crawl in downtown, it starts at 7 p.m. and ends around 9:30 p.m. Green Light Gallery is two doors down from the Huske Hardware building on the 400 block of Hay Street. For information on the artists call Nancy at Green Light Gallery, (910) 321-1542.







  • 04-18-12-fsu-dianne.jpgShe is intrinsically gifted, her voice makes for the soulful jazz harmony that has captivated so many. Dianne Reeves continues to move people with her music. She makes her first appearance at Fayetteville State University on April 27.

    Reeves is performing at Fayetteville State’s Opus II: A Benefit for the Department of Performing and Fine Arts. Dr. Earnest Lamb, the department chair, is thrilled to have the jazz artist come to the benefit.

    “She is a great singer. Period,” Lamb says. “Seeing her perform live should be on everyone’s bucket list.”

    “She is a world class jazz singer who has won Best Jazz Vocal Performance for three consecutive recordings … a Grammy first in any vocal category,” said Lamb.

    Reeves’ stop in Fayetteville is just prior to her peformance at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. This cultural festival lasts for 10 days, and is a celebration of the culture and music of New Orleans and Louisiana. Not only does the festival feature lots of jazz and blues, but it also features everything from folk, to Latin to rap to country. The festival is held from April 27 to May 6.

    “We are fortunate that she could fit FSU into her schedule,” Lamb said. Reeves’ career dates back to her high school years, where she performed in a big band. The band had their talents showcased at a music festival, where they won fi rst place.

    Before moving to Los Angeles, Calif., in 1976, the artist studied at the University of Colorado. Reeves experimented with different genres of music and developed a keen interest in Latin American music. She knew that she wanted to pursue a music career and had the opportunity to audition for the group Caldera, a band that was known for fusing rock, jazz and funk with Latin music. From singing in Billy Child’s jazz band Flight Night to touring with Sergio Mendes, Reeves has been able to work with many talented artists.

    Reeves sang lead while touring with Harry Belafonte. She was the first ever vocalist to be signed to the Blue Note/EMI label. She won four Grammy awards for Best Jazz Vocal Performance.

    The Opus II benefit begins at 7 p.m., in the Seabrook Auditorium on the campus of Fayetteville State University.

    “There will be a Performing and Fine Arts Showcase featuring a silent auction of works by FSU faculty and students,” Lamb explains. “Also look for performances by two of our best vocal ensembles Mane Attraction and Men of Distinction and, of course, our faculty jazz band.”

    Lamb is also hoping that Chancellor Anderson will join them for a selection or two.

    Last year’s feature performer for the Opus I benefit was the Dance Theatre of Harlem, a leading institution of dance.

    “All proceeds for the benefi t will contribute to the scholarship endowment for performing and fine arts students,” Lamb says.

    The benefit is open to the public. Lamb noted that ticket sales are brisk, so it is important to get your tickets early. General admission is $30 and $10 for students with ID. For more information about the benefit, call 672-1724.

    Photo: Dianne Reeves to perform at FSU fundraiser.

  • The Story Behind Mercy Me’s New Song

    This week in The Buzz we find out what’s been going on with several Christian artists, get the story behind Mercy Me’s new song “The Hurt & The Healer” and let you know about a free song download.

    Where in the world is…Jonny Diaz?04-25-12-the-buzz.jpg

    Recently Jonny helped lead worship at the home church of fellow art-ist Heather Williams. While there, he also shared a couple of his new songs including “Beauty Of The Cross” and “Scars”. About “Scars”, he said, “You know, as Christians, so many times we think we have to have it all together — or at least appear that we do. But one of the best ways to show the power of our Savior is by showing what it is that we’ve been saved from. When we’re willing to admit we’re an absolute mess without the blood of Jesus Christ, that’s when people can see what it is He has done in our lives. We all have scars — whether emotional or physical, self-inflicted or caused by others. Because of what Jesus did on that cross, because He took our place and rose again on Easter, we don’t have to hide our scars!”

    What is happening with … Mercy Me?

    Evidently there’s this really huge Christian music festival in Australia. It’s called Easterfest. Mercy Me decided they needed to head down under and take part in the experience. Naturally, one of the tunes they played was their latest radio hit, “The Hurt & The Healer.” The song, like so many from Mercy Me, comes from a couple of experiences the band had over the last year. One of those experi-ences was the death of a cousin of lead singer Bart Millard who was a firefighter who was killed in the line of duty. Bart helped the newly widowed mother of two in the days after the tragic loss of her husband. He saw once again how God is faithful even in the darkest of times and “The Hurt and The Healer” was born. The new CD of the same name will be available May 22.

    Was that Sara Groves singing at the White House?

    As you may know, the President hosts an Easter prayer breakfast every year the week before Easter. This year, among many clergy and Christian leaders, Sara Groves was asked to share a song. After President Obama gave some opening remarks, Rev. Cynthia Hale of Ray of Hope Christian Church offered the opening prayer. She then introduced Sara Groves, who sang “He’s Always Been Faithful To Me.” The President and all those in attendance genuinely enjoyed Sara’s musical contribution to the annual event.

    How would you like some free music?

    Moriah Peters debut CD I Choose Jesus has just been released. A free download of the title track, as well as performances and interviews, is available at HearItFirst.com.

  •     One of the most popular art shows of the year is here! This Fourth Friday, the Arts Council of Fayetteville/Cumberland County opens Public Works!, an exhibition sponsored by the Fayetteville Public Works Commission. The Arts Council building at 301 Hay St., will be bursting at the seams with works of art from around the region. All two-and three-dimensional art will be displayed regardless of the age or ability of the artist. If they made it, we are showing it and it all starts at 7 p.m. on April 25. {mosimage}  
        With such a broad range of work, we know you will have something to say. So, what is better than expressing your opinion as you vote for your favorite work of art?  Everyone is encouraged to cast a ballot for the Public’s Choice Award.
        For the third year, the Arts Council has partnered with PWC for this exhibition. Communications and Community Relations Manager Carolyn Justice Hinson of  PWC says, “We enjoy sponsoring this Fourth Friday and the Public Works exhibit, both are a wonderful reflection of our diverse community.”
    PWC representatives will be on hand to talk about water usage and to offer tools to help with water conservation. “When you buy a product, you usually get an owner’s manual. With utilities, PWC is your guide to the most efficient use,” Hinson explains.
        Kids can meet Willy Water Drop and Art the Public Works Guy who will be offering kids their very own hard hat.
        Who knows what you may learn or what undiscovered masterpiece you may be able to acquire at this Fourth Friday. Just think… that new artist that no one has ever heard of could be tomorrow’s phenomenon. It’ll be fun and fantastic. Don’t miss it.

    April Fourth Friday Venues
        Arts Council – Public Works Exhibit sponsored by PWC. Live entertainment by Ethan Hanson. Refreshments.
        Cape Fear Studios – Annual Member’s Anniversary Show celebrating the 17th anniversary of Cape Fear Studios. Works from our over 40 local artists including paintings, pottery, jewelry, stained glass, and more!
        City Center Books & Gallery – New art exhibition by WINHOUSE (Lisa Lofthouse and Suzie Godwin). Photographs and multi-media pieces of our revitalized Downtown.
        C.J. Designs – Enjoy the smooth jazz of Fayetteville’s own national recording artist Reggie Codrington. Refreshments.
        The Cotton Exchange – Live music inside The Cotton Exchange and in the courtyard to kick off the grand opening of The Livery. Refreshments.
        Cumberland County Headquarters Library – In celebration of The Big Read and The Dogwood Festival, The Parsons perform their brand of “uptown hillbilly swing,” a combination of ragtime, old-time blues, bluegrass, swing and folk music. The evening will also include dramatic readings from Fahrenheit 451 and recognition of The Big Read essay contest winners. Refreshments. 
        Fayetteville Area Transportation Museum – Exhibits and artifacts of transportation from days gone by.
        Fascinate-U – Create and decorate your own kites using construction paper, fabric, ribbons, yarn, markers, and glitter. All materials will be provided and refreshments will be served.
        Green Light Gallery – Beyond Borders 2 featuring the works of Robyn Gahr and Eric McRay. Enjoy the soft jazz stylings of keyboard player Edward Protho, and refreshments. 6 – 10 p.m.
        Market House – View the latest exhibit The Freedom of Religion: Fayetteville’s Early Historic Churches on the second floor of the Market House.
        Olde Town Gallery – Presents Beholder of Mine Eye, their first annual photography competition.  Winners will be announced at 8 p.m.
        Rude Awakening – Dogwood art by Greg Hathaway.
    sfL+a Architects – Eugene Wright - On The Road with Sketchbook, Graffiti Art, & Photography. Live entertainment. Refreshments.
        White Trash – Collage pendants by Sally Jean Alexander.
  • 04-04-12-nursing.jpgWith more than 35 years as a critical care nurse, Mary Hall knows a few things about the profession and what is expected of nurses. When she was offered the opportunity to put together Methodist University’s nursing program — from scratch — she jumped at the chance.

    Ask her if it is all a tad overwhelming and she doesn’t mention the stress or the work involved. Instead her face lights up as she talks about the many wonderful things she is looking forward to once the new building opens and how humbled — and thrilled — she is to have an opportunity like this.

    “I try hard not to think about how huge this is, because it is just so big,” said Hall. “But the chance to build a program like this and to design and work in a facility of this nature — that’s exciting!”

    It is no wonder Hall is excited. A tour of the partially completed facility reveals a well thought-out plan for hands on simulation-based training, to accompany all the book work that nursing students face, efficient high-tech equipment, an Americans With Disability Act-compliant and earth friendly establishment designed to benefit the more than 30 nursing students who will make up the first graduating class when the doors open in September.

    The program has invested in six high-fidelity mannequins (two adults, a child and an infant) in addition to a number of medium fidelity mannequins. Not only will students learn to take blood and change colostomy bags, they can deliver babies, monitor medication doses and perform minor procedures on the mannequins which are programmed to respond appropriately to the care they are given. Instructors can program relapses, allergic reactions and other common, but unanticipated reactions to treatment.

    Drawing on her experience, Hall presented a few examples of how the technology could be used to better train the nursing students.

    “I’ve seen many new nurses in my time, I know what is expected of them and this program is designed to give them the skills they need to succeed and provide good care when they graduate,” said Hall. “There is a big difference in reading about something and actually putting it into practice. We want to send our graduates out with a higher level of hands-on experience.”

    Say a nursing student is about to change shifts. It is 2 a.m. and they’re tired. They stop to chat with another nurse before leaving. The building is wired with 360 cameras that are monitored all the time.

    “We can see this and using the technology between the mannequins and the computers so that we can simulate having one of their patients fall out of bed,” said Hall. “It will show them what it is like to have to function under stress while you are exhausted.”

    While the nursing program is mainly concerned with producing nurses, there are plenty of opportunities to get creative and include other departments for some mutually beneficial training. The facility will be run like a hospital, complete with a reception area, which will be manned and run by health-administration students. The mannequins’ capabilities of exhibiting a variety of symptoms provide potential for a joint training exercise between the fitness training students and nursing students (picture an athlete injured during a game). Other scenarios include disaster relief (think last year’s tornadoes) and will include Methodist University’s Physician Assistant’s Program students.

    The ADA-compliant building strengthens the program’s appeal to another local population, heroes who have already served once but are looking to continue making a difference. “The Wounded Warrior Program transitions soldiers and one of the programs they are offered is pre-nursing,” said Hall. “The circular driveway and the way the building is designed make this a safe and accessible facility for everyone.”

    The N.C. Board of Nursing says the state is facing of shortage of more than 8,000 nurses right now and predicts a shortage of 32,000 nurses by the year 2020. Numbers like that make it clear that programs like this will make a difference — a difference in the state’s economy, education system and most importantly in the lives that will be saved because we have a source of well educated, well trained professionals.

    Find out more about this and other programs at Methodist University at www.methodist.edu.

    Photo: The new nursing building is scheduled for completion next month. 

  • uac041112001.jpg Now in it’s seventh year, Hogs & Rags is not only a great time for everyone involved, it supports a great cause — several, in fact. It’s not just for Harleys and muscle cars either. It’s for everyone; and it benefits the American Cancer Society, Shriner’s Hospitals for Children and Kidsville News!. This year, Hogs & Rags takes place on April 28. It’s a sanctioned Dogwood Festival event that people look forward to each year.

    Wendy Rogers is one of the event organizers. She got involved about three years ago and had such a great time that she plans to be a part of the event for the foreseeable future. She loves to ride, and as President of the Steele Angels, a girls-only motorcycle club known for it generosity and compassionate works in the community, it was only a matter of time before she got involved with Hogs & Rags.

    “I saw what a good group it was, so I started going to the meetings to help with advertising,” said Rogers. “The quality of the people who come to this ride is just great — fun, social and friendly.”

    The day starts at 7:30 a.m. at the Airborne & Special Operations Museum, where riders have a quick breakfast of doughnuts, coffee and juice. Registration lasts till 9 a.m. Novices have nothing to fear, the ride is broken up nicely to allow for water breaks, nourishment and leg stretching along the way.

    “We leave the museum and ride to the Rocking A Ranch for a buffet breakfast,” said Rogers. “And then we leave the ranch and ride halfway to Myrtle Beach — we stop in Chadbourn for a water break.”

    The next stop is Landry’s Seafood House at Broadway at the Beach in Myrtle Beach, S.C., where live music, entertainment and a reverse raffle await. Once everyone makes it to Landry’s, there is something new added to the event this year — a bike show. According to Rogers, riders are invited to enter their bike in the show and be a part of the fun at the end of the ride.

    “That is something we just started this year. It will probably be around 2 p.m.,” said Rogers. “But this event is for more than just Harley riders and convertibles. We want all makes and models of cars and all make and models of motorcycles to come out and enjoy the event.”

    Because this is such a popular event, the organizers have coordinated with police departments and sheriffs along the way. The ride is fully escorted and Rogers noted that there is a briefing at the beginning, which covers standard safety procedures for riding in large groups. It’s organized and well run, so that even new riders feel safe being a part of something this big. In fact, the event has become known for its size in towns along the route.

    “They stand out there and wait for us and wave,” said Rogers. “Especially the kids. It is like a big parade to them.”

    In addition to a great time, participants can feel good knowing that they are supporting several worthwhile causes.

    Shriners Hospitals for Children has a mission to: 04-11-12-hogs-and-rags-pic.jpg

    • Provide the highest quality care to children with neuromusculoskeletal conditions, burn injuries and other special healthcare needs within a compassionate, family-centered and collaborative care environment.

    • Provide for the education of physicians and other healthcare professionals.

    • Conduct research to discover new knowledge that improves the quality of care and quality of life of children and families. 

    This mission is carried out without regard to race, color, creed, sex or sect, disability, national origin or ability of a patient or family to pay.

    Find out more about Shriners Hospitals for Children at www.shrinershospitalsforchildren.org.

    The American Cancer Society:

    Together with millions of supporters, the American Cancer Society (ACS) saves lives and creates a world with less cancer and more birthdays by helping people stay well, helping people get well, by finding cures, and by fighting back.

    The American Cancer Society is a nationwide, community-based voluntary health organization dedicated to eliminating cancer as a major health problem. Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, the ACS has 12 chartered Divisions, more than 900 local offices nationwide, and a presence in more than 5,100 communities. Find out more about The American Cancer Society at www.cancer.org.

    Kidsville News, Inc. is a fun, educational resource for children grades K-6th grade, parents and teachers. With nationwide circulation of over 1.2 million, Kidsville News is sweeping the country. Kidsville News! is a monthly children’s newspaper with all of the typical features you would expect in a paper-articles, recipes, movie reviews, an art column, plus activities such as word searches. There is also a monthly “Finish the Story” contest that encourages kids’ creativity. The paper is published in more than 30 regions across 16 states. Most of the articles are of interest to a general children’s audience, and each issue contains locally specific content as well, including a community calendar. The newspaper is free of charge, and is funded by family-friendly advertisements for local businesses. It’s a nice resource for people in the areas served and others who are able to get their hands on an issue. Kidsville News! was awarded Parent’s Choice Award in 2008 and again in 2012. It is the first children’s educational resource to ever receive this award.

    Hogs & Rags organizers are excited about having a great time, but in the end, they are looking forward to helping others. “We hope to raise $40,000,” said Rogers. “We have to pay out for food and things, so that won’t be what we can give away, although it would be nice if we could.”

    It costs $50 for each entry, $30 per additional rider. Contributions are welcome. All makes and models of bikes and cars are welcome and encouraged. Find out more at www.hogsandrags.com.

    Photo: Hogs & Rags starts at the Airborne & Special Operations Museum with coffee and doughnuts. 

     

  • uac041812001.jpg What do a flock of ducks and Cumberland County nonprofi ts have in common? If you guessed the second annual floating of the Fayetteville Duck Derbythen you were right on the money.

    The derby, which was one of the most exciting events to occur last year, is set to return to the banks of the Cape Fear River on Saturday, May 5, at Campbellton Landing. For those who attended the event last year, expect things to be bigger and better.

    You may be asking yourself, “What is a duck derby?” The folks who organize the derby can explain it best.

    Patrons just like you adopt a duck through the organization for $5. Each adoption has a registration number that is tagged on a duck. Depending on adoptions, 15,000 to 20,000 ducks will race down the Cape Fear River. The duck that fi nishes fi rst wins the grand prize, the following four ducks will also receive prizes.

    The prizes are not too shabby. The first prize winner receives a 2012 Toyota Scion TC, courtesy of Rick Hendrick Toyota. The second-place winner gets to go on a Las Vegas Getaway. Third prize is a catered Cape Fear River Cruise. Fourth place is a set of tires from Goodyear, and fifth place is a year membership at the Spa Fitness & Wellness Center, along with gift certifi cates to the Renaissance European Day Spa.

    So now that you know what is in it for you, it’s important to know what’s in it for the community. Fayetteville’s Flock is comprised of local non-profi ts, led by Fayetteville Urban Ministries, that will receive a portion of the proceeds04-18-12-duckderbylogo.jpg from the Fayetteville Duck Derby. It’s the goal of the organization to involve as many local nonprofits as possible. Each non-profit is asking its supporters to purchase ducks in support of the specific non-profit. To date, there are 39 local non-profits who have signed up to participate and benefit from the derby.

    The organization is also looking for corporate sponsors to organize corporate teams to raise money for their favorite non-profit. There are more than 30 corporate sponsors on board, and there is still time to sign up if youwant to work to make the community better. 

    To create more excitement about the event and to get more ducks adopted — to date, more than 5,500 ducks have been adopted — local restaurants are also getting in on the act. The second annual Duck Derby Drink and Appetizer Competition will continue through the end of the month. You can visit any of the participating restaurants, try their specialty appetizer and drink designed specifi cally for the Duck Derby and vote for your favorite. If you have the time, you can try them all!

    Participating restaurants include: Blue Moon, Chris’s Open Hearth Steak House, Hellas Restaurant & Sports Bar, Hilltop House, Huske Hardware Restaurant & Brewery, IT’Z Entertainment City, Luigi’s Italian Restaurant & Bar, Mash House Brewery & Chophouse Restaurant, Pierro’s Italian Restaurant and The Wing Company. Ducktivities that take place on the day event have something to offer for the entire family. The event kicks off at noon at Campbellton Landing. Events throughout the day include wagon rides on the river trail by Jenkins’ Place, live music on the amphitheater stage, boat rides by Cape Fear River Boats and performa04-18-12-ducks-swimming.jpgnces by the Kidsville Kids and the Falcon Children’s Home Choir.

    Of course, there will be a number of food and merchandise vendors on hand so you don’t have to worry about eating before you come, you can simply come out and spend the day. A number of wineries will also be on hand, as well as the Budweiser Girls.

    There will also be a Kid’s Zone set up complete with bounce houses, Rattler Jake, a train, arts and crafts and visits by several local mascot celebrities including the Duck Derby’s own Quacky and Kidsville! News’ Truman.

    Of course, the main event of the day is the release of the ducks into the river and the race to the fi nish line.

    For more information about Fayetteville Duck Derby or to adopt a duck or volunteer, please visit the website at www. fayettevilleduckderby.com.

  • 04-25-12-31-day-salute-logo.jpgAs the First Sanctuary for Soldiers, Fayetteville/Cumberland County relishes the opportunity to celebrate soldiers, vets and their families. The month of May is chock-full of events, bargains and exhibits as the community rallies to lift up the men and women of the armed services and their families.

    The month opens with the Fort Bragg Fair, which runs through May 3. There is live entertainment every day. Admission includes unlimited rides.

    Local exhibits include The Animal Call POW: U.S. Special Forces Prisoners of the Vietcong. This exhibit opened in February and will run through January of 2013. It features U.S. Army Special Forces and men who served in the Military Assistance Command-Vietnam prisoners of war.

    Treasure rescued from Blackbeard’s flagship, Queen Anne’s Revenge is on display at the Museum of the Cape Fear through the end of the month. Visitors can expect to see iron shot for cannon small caliber lead shot for firearms, a grinding stone used for sharpening tools and weapons and a small piece of gold. The ship, which was formerly known as La Concorde and used as a slave ship, ran aground in what is now Beaufort Inlet in 1718.

    Children are invited to make Blue Star flags at Fascinate-U Children’s Museum. All military families get in for half price and the families of deployed soldiers get in free through the entire month of May.

    The Fayetteville Transportation and Local History Museum commemorates the bicentennial of the War of 1812 with the exhibit Fayetteville and Cumberland County in the War of 1812. Learn the local military, political and social history of the early 1800s.

    Don’t miss the Fayetteville Duck Derby at Campbellton Landing on May 5. Thousands of ducks race down the Cape Fear River to support Fayetteville Urban Ministry and other non-profits. Several prizes will be given away.

    Visit Headquarters Library on May 8 and join N.C. author Sarah Shaber for a discussion of Louise’s War. The novel is set in Washington, D.C., in 1942 and offers murder, intrigue and suspense.

    The U.S. Army Soldier Show comes to town on May 11-12. This 90 minutes musical production is held at the Crown Coliseum and is free and open to the public. The performers are active-duty soldiers who spend six months touring with the show.

    Spring Lake Spring Fling Movie in the Park on May 11 is offered in conjunction with Operation Ceasefire. Bring a blanket and a chair and enjoy the show. The movie is free and open to the public

    Join the 2nd Annual Ride for the Warriors on May 12. Proceeds benefit Helping Hands for Heroes. Registration is $15 per single rider, $20 with a passenger. The ride starts at 8:30 a.m.

    Join re-enactors at the Museum of the Cape Fear for Military Through the Ages: A March Through Historyon May 19. Re-enactors will portray different historic periods in military history. Learn about the different uniforms, weapons and customs.

    Also on May 19, Ride to Honor hosted by The Army’s Army, features 34- and 61-mile bike rides. It costs $35 and starts at Mendoza Park. Registration begins at 8:30 a.m.

    Find out more about the events at 31daysalute.com.

  • 11 Daily we are inundated with a barrage of advertisements that target how we look and ways to look better. The fitness industry reaches into our wallets frequently with ads for weight loss, gyms, equipment, dieting, supplements, clothing and tech-related items. It is a billion-dollar industry. One of the primary reasons people join a fitness center is to tone up, lose weight, build muscle and improve health and well-being.

    Fitness centers are not the only resources the consumer seeks for health and well-being; companies promote well-being and diversified products directed toward the consumer. Did you know that rapid weight loss commercials are at least 57% of media advertisements? In some cases, weight-loss ads claim that you can lose eight to ten pounds per week with their products.

    The diet industry takes in about sixty billion dollars per year, and the sad part is the failure rate averages about 90% for participants. The reason is that there is no long-term sustainability. Minerals, botanicals, vitamins and supplements are another huge industry with average spending of thirty-five billion. Millennials spend significant money each year on vitamins and supplements, including protein shakes and vitamins, averaging $56 to $80 per month.

    It is not uncommon to see ads targeting the miraculous results of taking vitamins and supplements. As of 2022, there are over a hundred thousand fitness and health clubs in the U.S. Before the pandemic, more than sixty-two million people visited health clubs with an average attendance of 108 days per year. Twenty-four-hour fitness is the largest privately held chain in the U.S., with more than 400 clubs. The most expensive gym in the U.S. is EXOS, costing thirty thousand dollars per year, located in Phoenix, Arizona.

    The average cost of a gym membership is $58, $78 for higher-end gyms, but it can vary depending on the size of a city. Budget-friendly gyms include Planet Fitness, Golds Gym and L.A. Fitness.

    Before joining a gym, one of the top considerations is location, followed by equipment, value, cleanliness, amenities, group fitness classes and atmosphere. The online virtual fitness industry is a rising star due to the pandemic. The availability of apps and smart devices for home workouts and mobility are skyrocketing the market to an expected 79 billion dollars by 2026.

    A mounting 14.5 billion dollars was spent on exercise equipment in 2020, with aerobic and exercise equipment being popular items for the home offering cardio and resistance training. Today’s home gym comprises more than dumbbells and a pull-up bar with the convenience of working out safely at home.

    Popular items such as the Nordic Trac, Peloton Bike, vertical climbers, smart home gyms and Mirror Pro have found their way into homes. Technology also prevails with home exercise equipment, apps, smartwatches and tracking devices to monitor our exercise progress.

    Finally, the apparel industry, which includes shoes and clothing, generated 167 billion in sales in 2018 and is expected to reach a global market of 248 billion by 2026. The amount of revenue that the fitness industry takes in is mind-boggling, and now I can see why so much advertising targets this market. As a final footnote, North Carolina ranks 30 in the U.S., with 76.9% of residents who exercise.

    The number one state is Colorado, with 83.8%. The U.S., Germany and the United Kingdom have the highest number of fitness club memberships.

  • 9 The Fort Bragg Fair will return to the area on Wednesday, April 27. It will be the first time the event has been held since 2019. The fair, a long-running staple for the Fort Bragg community, had been put on hold for two years due to Covid restrictions. However, the fair is back this year and looks to welcome upwards of 30,000 people throughout the event.

    “We get a good crowd, and it’s a great event because it’s open to not just Fort Bragg but the surrounding communities that we try to be involved with,” said Jennifer Fayson, special events coordinator, Directorate of Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation.

    This year’s fair boasts 28 rides, including the Zipper, a Ferris Wheel, and special rides for younger children. Twenty-five vendors and concession stands will be on hand with fares such as funnel cakes, fried Oreos and loaded french fries.

    “Our entire office is most excited about the fair food; we are looking forward to our funnel cakes around here,” Fayson said.

    The fair will run from April 27 to May 8 at the Fort Bragg Fairgrounds on Bragg Boulevard. Gates open at 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and at 1 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. Admission to the fair costs $16 for the general public and $14 for military and DoD civilians, Monday through Friday. The fair costs $21 for the general public and $19 for military and DoD civilians on Saturdays and Sundays. Children under 36 inches are free.

    Admission includes all rides and entertainment throughout the event, although concessions are an additional fee. Mothers will be able to attend the fair for free on Mother’s Day, May 8. Mothers must be accompanied by
    a child 17 years old or younger to receive the discount. Civilians coming to the fair can park along Bragg Blvd, heading toward Stryker Golf Course. DoD cardholders will be asked to park along Watson Street on Fort Bragg. Parking is free.

    “We do encourage that if you have a DoD ID card, come park on base because parking on Bragg Blvd. will be limited,” Fayson said. “Fort Bragg, in general, is really excited about the fair because this is our chance to get back to that word, normalcy. With the covid restrictions lessened, we are able to [hold the fair],” said Sharilyn Wells, media relations, Fort Bragg Public Affairs Office.

    No outside food or beverages are allowed at the fair. For more information and a list of prohibited items, visit https:// bragg.armymwr.com/calendar/ event/23406.

  • 8Heart Breaker, a Heart and Led Zeppelin tribute band, will play at Gates Four Golf and Country Club Pavilion on May 6. This event will be the second in the Summer Concert Series held at Gates Four. The band is led by Staci McBeth and Joan Burton and plays venues up and down the East Coast. Last summer, they were part of a concert series held at Rock’n On the River on Person Street.

    “These two girls look and sound like Heart; they are unbelievable. This crowd is going to be set back by this great band,” said Greg Adair, one of the organizers for the Summer Concert Series.

    The Summer Concert Series has grown in popularity as the music scene around Fayetteville has developed. This year, organizers added a sixth concert to the schedule.

    “The whole concept of the concert series is to create a quality entertainment venue on that side of the county, the Hope Mills area,” said Bill Bowman, publisher, Up & Coming Weekly. Bowman is also a sponsor of the event.

    Jackie Warner, the mayor of Hope Mills, attended last month’s concert and told Adair how much she enjoyed the event.

    “These bands coming up will knock your socks off,” said Adair. “You’ll think, ‘oh wow, I’m sitting here listening to Heart, or Lynyrd Skynyrd,’ or ‘I’m sitting here listening to AC/DC’.”

    “There are so many really good bands going out there this year; it’s just phenomenal,” he said. “To be able to have a quality concert in a classy environment like Gates Four is wonderful,” he added. “The bands appreciate the atmosphere as well.”

    Heart Breaker won’t be the only musical act to take the stage. As a unique concept, the concert will open with a local, up-and-coming singer/songwriter chosen every month before the show.

    “The acts are chosen from a singer/songwriter event held every month at the Fayetteville Bakery and Cafe,” said Bowman. “It’s to give these young singer/songwriters an opportunity to perform in front of a good audience in association with a great band.”

    The concert will conclude with an after-party at the Sand Trap, a bar on Perdue Street in Fayetteville. The opening act from the concert will perform at the afterparty as well.

    “The whole evening is centered around fun, good music, contributing to the community and giving young artists a chance to be seen,” said Bowman.

    The concert will be free to attend for lawn seating. VIP tickets can be purchased for table seating within the pavilion itself. A single-seat VIP ticket is $38. An all-inclusive VIP ticket is $68 and includes food and beverages.
    Part of the event proceeds go to the Kidsville News Literacy and Education Foundation, which provides education and reading resources to elementary-aged school children in Cumberland County.

    “One of the reasons we are able to keep the concert series free is because of our sponsors who are helping fund all these quality bands,” said Bowman. “Our Title Sponsors are J. Dowdy from All American Homes and Kim Evers from OVM Financial. Without their help, it wouldn’t be possible.”
    For more information and tickets to the event, visit https://www.fayettevilledinnertheatre

  • 7 Holly Whitley may not have set out to be a legend in Fayetteville when she bought a bar and named it Legend’s Pub, but she certainly has become one. Her giving nature and willingness to help friends is well-known in Fayetteville and among the readers of the Up & Coming Weekly.

    Whitley bought Legend’s in 1996 with several years of bar management under her belt. She took her father’s advice that she was not just buying a building; she was buying good faith that people would come through the doors. She has built its reputation as a place where everyone is welcome, and it is more than just a bar to its regulars — it is a home away from home.

    You may not find Whitley behind the bar anymore, but her passion for her business can be felt throughout the pub. She honors people they have lost over the years with a memorial wall of pictures of family and friends. She also recognizes the many active-duty military and veterans in the area by proudly flying a U.S. flag outside and displaying a huge wooden American flag inside the bar, complete with painted stars and stripes.

    “The customers will say ‘hi’ as soon as you walk up on the deck,” she said. “It’s a very welcoming atmosphere..”

    Her good faith in the Fayetteville community has paid off, not only for her business but for the people she has helped over the years with her annual Spring Fling fundraiser. The event started in the 1980s when Whitley and a group of good friends who called themselves the Gypsy Women had get-togethers in her home.

    “When I bought the bar, we decided to have Spring Fling (there),” said Whitley. “A friend of ours had gotten in a motorcycle accident, so we just said (let’s) do it as a benefit.”

    Spring Fling has grown from a small private event to a community benefit that has helped hundreds of people and organizations in Cumberland County over the last 26 years and raised an estimated half a million dollars.

    In the early days, she was surprised by the amount the community chipped in each year. As the event became more popular, the amount they raised doubled and then tripled annually. She credits its success to people who offer to help organize it and the people who come to support it.

    “We’re just a little dive bar on the Boulevard that’s got a big heart for our community,” she said. “I have people that have literally supported every event every year that I do it. It’s something that people have found to be very proud of to be a part of.”

    This year’s Spring Fling is for Whitley’s good friend Emma Roberts, who was diagnosed with breast cancer and is currently undergoing chemotherapy. The event will be held Friday, April 29 to Sunday, May 1 and will have something for everyone.

    A pre-party pool tournament will kick off the event Friday, with registration starting at 7 p.m. Players can compete for $10.

    The next day, participants can join the poker run, where motorcycles (and other vehicles) will head around town from one stop to the next to pick up one playing card to create their hand. Participants can ride and play for $10. There will be a pig pickin’ and auction after the poker run.

    The fundraiser will wrap up with a bike show Sunday afternoon. Onlookers can pay $1 a vote for their favorite ride, and the bike with the most votes is deemed best of show. The money collected from all three events and the auction will go towards this year’s beneficiary.

    She believes everyone should give back what they receive, and her customers and friends seem to agree. They always step up to help organize events, whether cooking for the crowd, setting up tables and chairs or participating in the activities. She knows she can count on them.

    “They walk through the door,” she said. “And they say, ‘What can I do to help?’”

    The Spring Fling is one of many events she holds throughout the year. If there is a holiday, Whitley has probably turned it into a fundraiser, or at least a special “fun day” for her regulars.

    She has also held baby showers and weddings at the bar to help celebrate her friends’ milestones. She says people will bring in their children or grandchildren when they turn 21 to have their first beer at Legend’s.

    Raised in the mountains of western North Carolina, Whitley may not be a Fayetteville native, but she has made it a home for herself and many in the community.

    “We’re very family-oriented,” she said. “Sometimes you are born into a family, and sometimes you go out make your own.”

    Take part in the Spring Fling by stopping by Legend’s Pub at 4626 Bragg Blvd. from April 29 to May 1. You can follow their Facebook page at www.facebook.com/legendspub910.

  • 5 Cora’s Community Foundation is hosting “The Rollout,” an event that seeks to bring local and state politicians together with their constituents for a night of skating and fun.

    “The Roll Out” will be held Tuesday, May 3, from 5:30 until 8:30 p.m. at Round-A-Bout Skating Center.

    “This event is an open invitation to all candidates, no matter their affiliation, to come under one roof and interface with the public. We want people to be able to put a face to the names on the ballot,” said Rakeem “Keem” Jones, Cora’s Community Foundation’s co-founder and executive director.

    “The Roll Out” is part of an initiative to engage more voters aged 18 to 35 to register 1000 new voters.

    “I want to engage the area where people don’t go. We already know where the voters are, so I want to engage the young dude from Murchison Road who maybe doesn’t know the importance of voting in local elections or voting at all,” Jones told Up & Coming Weekly.

    “Now that I know how voting affects us, I want to be a bridge between candidates and the community in a setting not so formal. It’s hard to skate in a suit and tie,” he joked.

    There won’t be any speeches on the night of “The Roll Out,” nor any big political ideas or agendas. Candidates will have on nametags and are encouraged to meet and engage in fellowship with potential voters.

    “So far, the response from candidates has been great,” Jones stated. Any candidate interested can participate in this event.

    “I want people to take away knowledge of the people they’re voting for instead of voting for the sign they see the most. I want people to ask the questions that help them make a more informed decision,” Jones said.

    Though Cora’s Community Foundation does not endorse any particular candidate, Jones speaks a great deal about accountability when it comes to politics.

    “If you don’t know who you’re voting for, you don’t know who to hold accountable,” he said. “You don’t have to be rude, but you can be informed and push back where it matters. This event is about bringing power back to the people.”

    “The Roll Out’s” mission is two-fold. Along with the candidate meet and greet, the event also hopes to bring some awareness to the rising violence in Fayetteville.
    Co-founder of Heal the Ville, Demetria Murphy, will attend to spread her message of peace and healing for the city.
    Jones, whose sister was murdered in 2019, feels strongly about this message and is always eager to partner with those who seek to uplift the community.

    Getting his start in social activism by leading a protest on Scarborough Road in 2020, Jones felt compelled to do more for the city of Fayetteville.
    Jones founded Cora’s Community Foundation in 2021 along with his fiance Grace Pelt, Alexis McLaurin and Shea and Christian Mosely.

    Cora’s Community Foundation, named after Jones’ late mother, Cora Denise Jones, is a grassroots organization dedicated to addressing systemic inequalities and providing solutions that benefit everyone.
    Since forming in May of last year, the Foundation has led or participated in several outreach projects that directly empower, support or celebrate the people of Fayetteville.

    Teaming up with big names in the community, such as Grammy-nominated Fayetteville rapper, Morray, celebrity barber Vic Blends, and the Fayetteville Woodpeckers, to name a few, Cora’s Foundation has wasted little time in getting to work for its community, serving thousands thus far.
    Jones is hopeful that the “The Roll Out” event will be equally beneficial to the community.

    “Everyone likes to skate, and everyone likes to eat,” Jones said. “We want people to come out and have a good time, good food and a good vibe. We want people to get to know each other in a family-friendly atmosphere.”

    Round-A-Bout Skating Center is located at Eutaw Shopping Center at 880 Elm St.

    For more information, contact CCF at 910-709-0826 or corascommunityfoundation@gmail.com.

  • 4 Antiquing and thrifting have always been Sherri Coultrup’s passion, even when working in consulting and marketing research. She decided to sell her items online through eBay and Poshmark and continued traveling and finding new and unique items.

    “I travel internationally, and just going to the Murano factory in Italy to get Murano Glass is exciting,” Coultrup said.

    “It’s just something that I really enjoy doing. A hobby and a pastime became my passion. So my passion is now going to be my store.”

    Her store, The Piccadilly Circus, is named after one of London’s most popular tourist destinations.
    Coultrup says she decided on this name as her Piccadilly Circus will be a unique shopping destination for Fayetteville locals.

    “We’re going to give you wine or water and then cookies and sweets to try to show you how much we care, not only about you as a person, but you as a consumer and for you to actually enjoy your time there instead of being rushed in and rushed out,” Coultrup said.

    Every item in Coultrup’s shop has been personally chosen by her. Her inventory and selection of merchandise will change daily, giving visitors, guests, and customers a unique shopping adventure and experience every time they enter the shop.

    “I hope they enjoy treasures as much as I love finding them. Everybody needs a new, unique treasure in their life.” Coultrup told Up & Coming Weekly.

    “I went out of my way to procure things for the store that I normally would not, like porcelain and a lot of ceramics and homemade pottery, which a lot of people really enjoy... I went out of my way to make sure that we have unique items,” she said. “They’re one-of-a-kind items.”

    She also wants to make the store accessible to everyone so anyone going in can find something they are interested in.

    She will be working with five local vendors to bring in unique items that she may not be familiar with — for example, military memorabilia and furniture.

    Opening the store has been a challenge for Coultrup because of the pandemic and supply shortages. She says they should have opened last year, but construction and getting permits took longer.

    “They have done a fantastic job gutting the building and completely redid it. So it’s brand new. Everything is brand-spanking new.”

    The store will be located at 2828 Raeford Road in the remodeled former location of Sheree’s Wine Shop.

    The soft opening of the store will be on May 2. The Grand Opening and Ribbon cutting will be on May 19 at 5 p.m.
    The Grand Opening will feature giveaways, door prizes, food and drinks, and elected officials will be there.

    More information about hours and the store can be found at www.fayettevillepiccadillycircus.com/.

  • From Stage to Screen The Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra will be closing out their 2021-2022 season with one last concert at Seabrook Auditorium at Fayetteville State University in a performance that will be sure to bring in film lovers of all ages.

    The concert, "From Stage to Screen," will feature composers that began their careers writing for the concert stage but then shifted to writing for the silver screen. Some of these iconic pieces include Nino Rota's "Waltz and Love Theme" from "The Godfather" and Max Steiner's theme from the 1959 film "A Summer Place."

    "It'll be a good show. We're really looking forward to finishing out the season strong, and we hope to see people there," Anna Meyer, community engagement manager for the FSO, told Up & Coming Weekly. "It will be the last opportunity to see us perform a large concert for a few months."

    Looking at the 2021-2022 season, Meyer says that the season was very successful, especially in the latter half of the season. The "Too Hot To Handel" performance sold out, and the "Bohemian Rhapsody" concert had a strong audience turnout.

    However, the FSO isn't taking a break during the summer. They will continue to perform at Symphony on Tap events scheduled throughout June. There will also be a planned community concert at Festival Park for the city's Fourth of July Celebration.

    Summer camps will also be on offer for students of all ages. There will be three camps for elementary, middle school and high school-aged students. Registration for the camps is open and more information can be found at fayettevillesymphony.org.

    The next concert season is currently being planned out and will start in September.

    "We are currently planning our 2022-2023 season and hope to announce it within the next couple of months. You can expect to see a variety of chamber concerts, exciting programming and collaborations, and due to popular demand, a John Williams program," Meyer said.

    From Stage to Screen will occur on April 9 at 7:30 p.m. Before the concert starts, the musicians will talk about the music they will be performing and explain the background of the composers. The pre-concert talk will begin at 6:40 p.m. The total concert run-time is an hour and 20 minutes.

    A shuttle service will be available from Highland Presbyterian Church, 111 Highland Ave, to Seabrook Auditorium. Although reservations are not required, they are appreciated. To make a reservation for the shuttle bus, please call 910-433-4690. The shuttle will depart at 6:20 p.m.

    Tickets may be purchased online, over the phone at 910-433-4690, or in person.

    Tickets range from $5 to $25, and anyone five and younger can attend for free.

  • Styx Approved Photo 2017 Jason Powell Classic rock band Styx is playing the Crown Theatre on April 23 as part of the venue's 86th season of community concerts.

    The band will perform the chart-topping radio hits everyone knows, like "Come Sail Away," "Renegade," and "Mr. Roboto," but hardcore fans need not worry. They plan to take a deep dive into their catalog to play lesser-known songs their longtime listeners will appreciate. With a career spanning more than 50 years, they will have no shortage of songs to choose from for the setlist.

    The six-piece band includes James "JY" Young (lead vocals, guitars), Tommy Shaw (lead vocals, guitars), Chuck Panozzo (bass, vocals), Todd Sucherman (drums, percussion), Lawrence Gowan (lead vocals, keyboards) and Ricky Phillips (bass, guitar, vocals).

    Gowan spoke with the Up & Coming Weekly on a stop in Boston during this tour. He joined the band in 1999 — nearly 27 years after they formed —and with 23 years under his belt, he is no stranger to the music or the fans, but he does like to be surprised by the setlist.

    "My first five years in the band, I used to get really involved in what the setlist was going to be. And for the last 18 years or so, I take myself right out of that equation," Gowan said.

    "I prefer to just be surprised by what the other guys decided we're going to play that night and walk on stage and play whatever's in front of me like a menu where someone else ordered it for me."

    One thing he does know is that Styx will play new songs from their latest studio album, Crash of the Crown, which hit #1 on the Billboard rock chart within a few weeks of release. The band started writing the album in 2019, recording it during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in the spring of 2020. Little did they know, the album's theme of hope and survival would mirror the events of the world.

    "If there's one theme that runs through Crash of the Crown, it's that it's an album of songs that hint at renewal, and most importantly, renewal after a cataclysmic event. You could put that to a lot of instances, but particularly though, I think the pandemic would be the most obvious one that people can (relate) to," said Gowan.

    "It's funny that we wrote most of the songs — all but two of them — prior to the pandemic."

    Even with 17 studio albums under their belt, Styx still tries to stretch their creative muscles to make new music that resonates with fans. Their distinct sound leans heavily on melodies and lyrics that fans can relate to, regardless of their age or how long they've listened to the band.

    "The classic rock era is now so ingrained in people's musical vocabulary, and Styx being from that era, we need to come up with records that kind of straddle the difficult balancing act of being relevant to today but yet sounding authentic enough to stand alongside the classic records that Styx made in the past," said Gowan.

    "(That's) the balancing act we're looking to achieve with the mission of Crash of the Crown."

    Fans are undoubtedly excited to see live music after the hiatus of the last two years, and the band is just as eager to get in front of an audience again. They usually play around 100 shows a year, but the 2020 shutdown forced them to take a break from the stage. So instead, band members live-streamed at-home performances for fans and virtual conventions, which Gowan found was a great way to stay connected to the music he loves to perform and the fans.

    Styx played a handful of shows in 2021, but now that venues are open to events, they have booked themselves solid for most of 2022.

    They will also be on the road with REO Speedwagon and Loverboy this summer for what Gowan calls four hours of classic rock with all the bands' hit songs on the "Live and Unzoomed" tour, an obvious nod to the era of Zoom calls during the pandemic.

    "It's going to be so great to re-embrace the epic adventure that we have at every single Styx show, with the audiences there that are probably starved of this (type of) entertainment for far too long," said Gowan.

    "And we've been seeing that on the faces of the audiences. There's kind of an extra layer of emotion that we encounter when we come up and see these audiences that we haven't seen now for a couple of years. It's great to just kind of rendezvous again and reignite that flame — that musical flame that's connected us for so long."

    Ask a fan of live music what they missed the most during the shutdown, and they will likely say it was concerts. Even musicians like Gowan are eager to be on the other side of a performance. Not being able to see live music was just as difficult for him as a fan because he likes to see his favorite musicians in concert. He believes a live rock show is the greatest form of entertainment, whether he is on stage with Styx or watching from the crowd as a fan.

    "I remember the last show I saw before the pandemic was Elton John, and I was so grateful that I went to that show that I didn't put it off and go, 'oh, Nah, I'll be able to catch it a little further up the road,'" said Gowan,

    "And that (show) carried me in a lot of ways through the whole (shutdown) — the desire to get back to that ourselves."

    Gowan is eager to return to North Carolina this April and remembers the area from previous tours.

    "I love being in the Carolinas in springtime. It's just a fantastic place," he said.

    "(The) atmosphere is just so beautiful and particularly at that time of year. That's what I get excited about because I like to walk around if we've got any time at all, even an hour where we get away. I love to go, and kind of absorb the areas that we're in, and North Carolina's definitely high on that list for me."

    Tickets are on sale now. General seating prices range from $55 to $100. VIP tickets are on sale for $225. The show starts at 7:30 p.m. For more information, go to crowncomplexnc.com.

  • Poetry in Motion 01 Cool Spring Downtown is bringing poetry to Fayetteville. In celebration of National Poetry Month, the organization will host Poetry in Motion, featuring poet Nick Courmon on Friday, April 22.

    The event will take place onboard downtown Fayetteville’s “Can Do” Caldwell Banker Trolley and depart from Bright Light Brewing Company at 7 p.m., then again at 8 p.m.

    International poet and spoken-word artist, Nick Courmon, will bring his poetry to a moving stage as ticket holders enjoy a relaxing ride around the city, perhaps with a beer in hand.

    “In celebration of National Poetry Month, we want to highlight one of the many talented local poets in Fayetteville,” said Lauren Falls, director of marketing and events for Cool Spring Downtown District. “We are excited to have Nick Courmon perform his pieces on the ‘Can-Do’ Coldwell Banker Trolley.”

    A native of Greensboro, Courmon’s poetry focuses on social issues, mental health and African American history. Widely published, Courmon has been featured in the Los Angeles Times, and his work can be seen in BROAD magazine, and Teen Ink magazine, to name a few.

    Cool Spring Downtown, a non-profit organization dedicated to sustaining the arts and entertainment district in downtown Fayetteville, is excited to host this unique event and invites anyone and everyone over the age of 21 to come out and enjoy.

    Falls wants ticket holders to “experience the vibe as you take a ride on the ‘Can-Do’ Trolley through Fayetteville and savor the powerful poetry from Nick Courmon. Alcohol will be available for purchase, and you’ll be able to bring your drink on the trolley.”

    National Poetry Month, founded in 1996 by the Academy of American Poets, is intended to celebrate the lyrical expression of experience by honoring the presence of poetry and poets in our everyday lives.
    Cool Spring Downtown District wants to bring that effort to Fayetteville and introduce poetry to those unfamiliar with the art form and its established presence in the city.

    “We would like for those who participate in the Poetry in Motion event to get plugged into the poetry scene in Fayetteville and are also encouraged to join in on the fun events Cool Spring Downtown District hosts,” Falls said.

    In addition to Poetry in Motion, Cool Spring Downtown’s Fourth Friday Fayetteville will also be in full swing from 6 to 9 p.m.
    This event is free and open to the public every fourth Friday from March to October. On these evenings, Downtown Fayetteville plays host to live performers, musicians, artists, makers, food trucks and vendors along Hay and Person Streets.

    “Our mission for Cool Spring Downtown District is to continue building the arts and entertainment in downtown Fayetteville. We strive to program inclusive events that cater to a broader arts community in downtown Fayetteville,” Falls said.

    Tickets to the Poetry in Motion trolley are $25 and can be purchased at www.eventbrite.com/e/poetry-in-motion-tickets-304081896137.

    The “Can-Do” trolley leaves from Bright Light Brewing Company, located at 444 West Russel St.

    For information about Nick Courmon and his poetry, visit www.ndcpoetry.com/.

     

  • Othello Brochure I recently had the pleasure of seeing one of William Shakespeare's most controversial plays, Othello, performed beautifully at The Gilbert Theater in downtown Fayetteville. The charming theater, found on the second floor of Fascinate U Children's Museum, cleverly transformed into Cyprus. In this seaside city, mischief lurks around every corner.

    Though simple, the show's set, designed by Vicki Lloyd, is highly effective in creating a sense of claustrophobia and urgency throughout the show. While the story's events take place over several days and move throughout different locations, the minimalist set design suggests a shorter timeline, making the play's tragic end all the more shocking.

    At the play's start, Barbantio (played by Michael Ormiston) is informed that his daughter, Desdemona (played by Brianna Little), has eloped with a Black Moor, Othello (played by Josh Anderson), and he is none too pleased. Othello, a general and decent man with a good reputation, falls victim to the evil machinations of Iago (played by Michael Carney), a lower enlisted soldier driven by petty jealousy. Using no other weapon save for defamation, rumor and psychological manipulation, Iago is a poison that destroys all who run afoul of him.

    True to Shakespeare's tragedies, a few characters provide much-needed comic relief. The play hosts enough soldiers, suitors and servants to keep the audience entertained.
    While each actor in this play is worth noting, standouts include Anderson as Othello and Carney as Iago. This central relationship is riveting and, at times, challenging to watch. Anderson and Carney have a natural ease with one another on stage, making Iago's betrayal of Othello difficult to witness. Anderson brings an emotional vulnerability to the tragic-hero role. Carney's turn as the duplicitous Iago is nothing short of chilling.

    Directors Lawrence Carlisle III and Montgomery Sutton have put together a fantastic show with a clear focus and biting commentary. The language screams "Shakespeare," but at no point does the play seem unapproachable or hard to understand. Issues of race, misogyny and the corrosive nature of envy are approached boldly but thoughtfully. The audience is left with a lot to ponder by the show's end.

    In addition, the lighting design of Vicki Lloyd skillfully supports the drama unfolding on stage. Her clever use of light and color is a rich accompaniment to the play's darker themes. The costumes feel purposeful as each character is dressed to suit the nature of their position while remaining accessible. The characters' khaki pants, suit jackets and skinny jeans remind the audience that they're not so different from the people up on stage.

    I wholeheartedly encourage you to see this production. Sutton and Lawrence create a taut psychological thriller that pulls you in from the first scene. If you're looking for something thought-provoking, culturally relevant and just plain entertaining, then come out and support these fine actors!

    Othello runs Fridays at 8 p.m., Saturdays at 2 and 8 p.m., and Sundays at 2 p.m. through April 10th at The Gilbert Theater, located at 116 Green St. For tickets, call 910-678-7186 or visit their website at https://gilberttheater.com/.

  • Clue It's a dark, rainy and ominous night at Cape Fear Regional Theatre. The mansion has been cleaned. The dinner has been prepared. The weapons have been purchased. What is about to occur right in front of a packed audience is a murder … well, five of them to be exact — in the kitchen, in the billiard room and most definitely in the study.

    And the audience will have the opportunity to guess if it was Mrs. Peacock or perhaps Colonel Mustard or Miss Scarlett that did the dastardly deed.

    This week through April 10, "Clue: On Stage" appears at Cape Fear Regional Theatre. The most significant difference for usual theatergoers is that this production has a unique seating arrangement that immerses the audience in the play and makes them feel like part of the board game. The stage is surrounded on three sides by the audience's seats, with the actors being close enough to touch audience members in the bottom row during many scenes. Each row of seating has been built a bit higher than the next, and it gives the audience a great view of the action as the night unfolds. There's little chance of someone's head blocking any portion of this 90-minute, fast-paced production. However, the seating arrangement itself does have steep steps.

    Due to the nature of the show, the crew at Cape Fear Regional Theatre had to get innovative. They created rooms that opened out of the walls or other rooms built on a turnstile. This set build allowed the entire audience to view various areas and rooms in the mansion while the actors ran around and the dead bodies stacked up. Parts of the stage would move while the actors dashed from one area to another -- speaking to the actors' precise movements. The actors do not take a break during the entire performance since the show has no intermission (a bathroom break would be well-advised before the show's beginning).

    The show is quirky, humorous, and enthralling, just like the original 1985 movie, "Clue." Each of the actors delivered their lines well and really embodied the parts they played, down to how they would move across the stage or rush from one room to the next.

    Wadsworth, played by Marc De la Concha, was a perfect match for his part. While he depicted a jollier version of Tim Curry's iconic character, it was a welcomed addition to this play. It did not seem like the humor of his role was outside the day-to-day norm for De la Concha. His part came across very naturally.

    Miss Scarlett, played by Jennifer Newman, and Mrs. Peacock, played by Lynda Clark, were also notable characters in this production. Newman did well playing an upscale, sexy vixen who carries a biting wit to the party. Her character plays coolly against Mrs. Peacock's screams and hysterics, which often caught the entire audience's attention. Clark did not fail to deliver the theatrics of her character's role and embraced the neurotic and eccentric tendencies of Mrs. Peacock. While Mrs. Peacock's character is often ridiculous, the audience always wanted more lines from her or flops onto the floor, bloomers showing.

    Colonel Mustard, played by Ryan Eggensperger, and Wadsworth's banter throughout the play was light-hearted and funny and kept the dialogue flowing. Wadsworth often took digs at Colonel Mustard for his general aloofness. It was hard to tell if it was just the characters or if the two actors were made to play on stage with each other. Colonel Mustard was the male embodiment of a Marilyn Monroe character and just as lovable.

    This play is a must-see for anyone looking for an entertaining night out filled with many laughs. While those who have seen the movie "Clue" may think they know how this show ends, it certainly was worth taking the trip to watch this murder mystery unravel right before your eyes.
    "Clue: On Stage" will run until April 10. Tickets are $25 each. More information about the play and tickets can be found by visiting www.cfrt.org.

  • Fay His Museum logo The Fayetteville History Museum will be hosting a Facts or Foolishness Scavenger Hunt through April 23. This self-guided hunt will include clues throughout the museum and the museum annex.

    “We love to do scavenger hunts through the museum to make it a bit more interactive and provide a special activity for parents to bring their kids to do while they are off on spring break,” said Catherine Linton, Museum Specialist, Fayetteville History Museum. “We do something like this for Cumberland County spring break every year.”

    The scavenger hunt is best suited for elementary and middle school-aged children, although younger kids are encouraged to join in on the fun.

    Participants can pick up a clue sheet at the museum’s front desk.

    “The scavenger hunt will have clues all around the museum and annex, and it is up to the participants to decide if the clues are ‘fact’ or ‘foolishness.’ Once completed, the answers will be revealed, and they can pick up a spring break prize while supplies last,” Linton said.

    The Fayetteville History Museum has two floors of exhibits, ranging from prehistory to the present.

    Artifacts from Revolutionary War hero Marquis de LaFayette’s visit to Fayetteville in 1824 are displayed on the first floor.

    Fayetteville owes its name to the man who fought alongside General George Washington throughout the war and was the only city named for him that he visited on his tour throughout the U.S. years later.

    Across the hall, in the Cape Fear River Gallery, visitors can learn about the ship stores industry and how the Cape Fear River played a pivotal role in the creation and continuation of Fayetteville.

    Visitors can then venture upstairs to find Civil War exhibits, World War I and II exhibits, the role baseball played in Fayetteville and information about black artisans in the area.

    The creation of Fort Bragg is also included in the information found at the museum.

    Participants in the scavenger hunt will be looking through all of these exhibits to answer the clues given to them. According to Linton, one such possible question could ask for a “fact” or “foolishness” about LaFayette’s visit to Fayetteville.

    “We are hoping people come out to enjoy the museum and what downtown has to offer during spring break," she said. "Hopefully, we get some new visitors to the museum, and returning visitors learn something new about our history.”

    The Fayetteville History Museum, located at 325 Franklin St., is open Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more information call 910-433-1457 or visit www.fcpr.us/facilities/museums/fayetteville-area-transportation-and-local-history-museum.

    The museum and scavenger hunt are both free to the public.

     

  •      Harper’s Island is darn scary

         Scary series don’t usually work on broadcast TV, given the frequent interruptions by Burger King commercials. But Harper’s Island (Thursday, 10 p.m., CBS) got under my skin. It’s about a wedding party that boats into Harper’s Island, the scene of shocking murders seven years ago. The bride (Katie Cassidy) is a millionaire’s daughter from the island, the groom (Christopher Gorham) a poor boy who grew up washing her dad’s boat. The groom’s best friend (Elaine Cassidy) is jumpy about returning to her childhood home, since her mother was one of the murder victims. But the killer is dead, right? Right?
         {mosimage}Harper’s Island works because it doesn’t just try to scare us. The pilot takes its time with exposition, creating an absorbing soap opera that features lots of characters and subplots. We meet a group of randy bachelors and bachelorettes, the groom’s psycho brother and a creepy little girl who’s way too obsessed with true crime. Director Jon Turteltaub expertly manages the tonal shifts from sunny to spooky — so expertly that the horror scenes really are horrible.
          The pilot’s shocking conclusion had me diving for the safety of a Burger King commercial.

    The Unusuals
    Wednesday, 10 p.m. (ABC)
         Meet a wacky bunch of New York City cops who chase cat killers and criminals in hot dog costumes. They can also be serious, as when a fellow cop’s bullet-ridden body turns up in a park.
         The Unusuals is filled with allusions to the Robert Altman movie M*A*S*H, as if it were the TV reincarnation of that eccentric masterpiece. Sadly, it’s more like M*U*S*H. If you want to combine the silly and the serious, throwing in sex and social commentary for good measure, you’d better have the genius of an Altman. But this production just throws in something for everybody in a strenuous attempt to attract an audience. A gorgeous detective (Amber Tamblyn) dresses up as a hooker for viewers interested in T&A.     Her partner provides the rugged leading-man looks. A suicidal cop (Adam Goldberg) and his overly cautious partner (Harold Perrineau) handle the farcical elements.
         The Unusuals? The Desperates is more like it.

    Thrilla in Manila
    Saturday, 8 p.m. (HBO)
         This is a candidate for the most infuriating documentary ever made. Thrilla in Manila is purportedly about the 1975 heavyweight title fight between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier, but a more accurate title would have been Ali Hurt Frazier’s Feelings! In the film’s perverse perspective, Ali deserves censure — still, 34 years later — for the things he said about Frazier before the match. He called his opponent dumb, ugly, even an Uncle Tom.
         Yes, those are fighting words, but the filmmakers forget an important point: This was a fight. For Ali, a boxing match began months beforehand as he attempted to get under a foe’s skin. The humorless Frazier was an easy target — and hey, if you were set to fight an indomitable killing machine who’d beaten you in the past, wouldn’t you press for every advantage?
         Told from Frazier’s point of view, Thrilla in Manila takes a somber, prosecutorial tone, as if it were investigating war crimes. But its thesis is undermined every time it shows pre-fight footage of Ali — those marvelous press conferences that are still funny after all these years. With a sly grin, Ali boxes a gorilla doll, recites poetry about whupping Frazier and mugs in a display of mock vanity. Every move signaled that this was an elaborate joke: a way of boosting the rivalry and promoting the fight.
         Minutes after he won, Ali apologized to Frazier for any comments that might have crossed the line, and he’s been gracious to him ever since. You can’t say the same for Frazier, who, in a horrifying contemporary interview, delights in Ali’s current disabled state and his own part in causing it.
         That’s shocking, because everybody knows Ali meant no harm in the run-up to the Thrilla in Manila. Everybody except Joe Frazier. And these filmmakers.

  • comic con Fayetteville Comic Con is coming to the Crown Complex Convention Center from April 23 to 24 and promises two days of fun for self-proclaimed geeks of all ages.

    Fayetteville stands out because it draws people interested in all pop culture, not just comic books.

    “We're just fans who found that Fayetteville has an amazing collective of people interested in superheroes, movies, anime, cosplay, gaming, video gaming, tabletop role play (and more),” said organizer Keith Gibbs.

    “We're more of a homegrown community of geeks and nerds, and we think that there's a little bit of geek in everyone.”

    The guest list includes 30 voice-over actors, comic book legends and stars of television and screen, ready to meet fans, sign autographs, participate in Q&As and pose for photographs.

    Anime fans can meet Joshua Seth, one of the voices behind “Digimon Adventures,” and Wayne Grayson, a favorite from “Yi-Gi-Oh!”
    Guests representing "Power Rangers: Wild Force,” “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin” and several actors from action and horror movies will also be there.

    The Fayetteville convention is one of the most interactive iterations of Comic Con, according to Gibbs, because attendees can participate in multiple events during the show. There will be a spoken-word rap battle, a cosplay lip sync contest and specialty panels with topics chosen by fans.

    Attendees will also have a chance to compete in a trivia game show called Nerd Slam, where they can test their knowledge of geek culture. Contestants will be selected from the audience in a lottery-style drawing similar to “The Price is Right.”

    Attendees who come dressed as their favorite characters (known as cosplay) will have the chance to enter costume contests. Kids will have their own competition on Saturday.

    “We really like to celebrate the families who bring their kids in on the first day, so everybody walks (the) stage,” Gibbs said. “But that's really designed just to encourage cosplay among kids so that it's more of a celebration.”

    Adults will have a chance to enter one of two contests on Sunday. One is geared toward people who purchase pre-made costumes, and the second contest, the Master Class Competition, is for cosplayers who have crafted their own regalia. They will have a chance to win a $500 first-place prize for their craftsmanship.

    Cosplay is a big part of all Comic Cons, and the Fayetteville convention will be no different. Several local cosplayers will have interactive presentations that will educate and entertain onlookers, including an experience in creating a mythical land through set dressing and prop building.

    Special guest Karen Whitfield, who has been cosplaying since the late 1970s, will chat about her experience traveling to conventions as Bronze Batgirl with Adam West and Burt Ward, the actors better known as Batman and Robin from the 1960s television series.

    Since it started, Rocky Melvin, a cosplayer from Goldsboro, has attended Fayetteville Comic Con. He is debuting a new “Transformer” costume this year: Blue Angel. Melvin has been working on it for two years and spent one year training to wear the gear and learning to walk on stilts. He is 6’4” but will be an astonishing 10 feet tall when he is suited up.

    “I absolutely love getting in costume just to see kids’ (faces) light up and not know if what they are seeing is real,” he said.

    Wrestling will be returning to the Fayetteville Comic Con this year. The 2-6 Wrestling Academy will present live wrestling with Fayetteville-based performers and stars from the independent circuits on the East Coast.

    There will be many opportunities to shop for those looking to score unique souvenirs. More than 90 vendors will display and sell items like vintage toys, prop weapons and comic books, plus artisans showcasing handcrafted items and artwork.

    Fayetteville native Joe Covas, a comic book and pop culture fan artist, looks forward to sharing his work at the event.

    “I think what makes Fayetteville (Comic Con) special for me personally is that it's my home. Having a venue for fans of pop culture and comic books means a lot to me because growing up here, there wasn't anything like this,” he said. “It's also a great way to help support many of the local artists and offer them exposure.”

    The Fayetteville Comic Con started in 2015 as a one-day event but has expanded to a twice-yearly, two-day convention in the spring and fall. Gibbs expects upwards of 10,000 people for this year's spring show.

    Tickets are $25 for adults and $20 for young adults 13 to 20 and are valid for one day of admission. Costumes are encouraged but not required. Visit https://fayettevillecomiccon.com for more information or to purchase tickets.

     

  • Having a ruff week? Stop by Dog Day in the Garden on Sunday, May 1, from noon to 5 p.m. at the Cape Fear Botanical Garden.
    The seventh annual event is a fundraiser for the garden and Fayetteville Animal Protection Society, the only non-profit, no-kill animal shelter in Cumberland County. This year the event is presented by Riverbark Veterinary Hospital. Organizers have an afternoon of fun planned for people — and pups — of all ages.

    Dogs can participate in a pup pageant, obstacle course or get a free nail trim. Their human companions can opt for a family photo in front of a balloon backdrop and decorate a picture frame for their new snapshot. A caricature artist will be on-site to sketch families and furry friends.

    Both pups and their owners can visit nearly a dozen vendors with crafts, foods, jewelry, fragrances and home décor. Live music will be provided by Whiskey Pines, an Americana band from Southern Pines.
    Blood Connection is hosting a blood drive for those wanting to support multiple organizations in one day.

    Food truck Alamo Snow will have snow cones, cotton candy and lemonade, and Jaz-N-Soul will have Caribbean and soul food for sale. Grapes & Hops will be a vendor at the event with dog biscuits and a special dog “beer” for pups to sample.

    The event has grown in popularity over the years. In 2021, an estimated 900-1200 people stopped by throughout the day.

    Dog Day in the Garden began when both organizations had common board members who wanted to combine efforts to raise money for the garden and the animal shelter.

    “The partnership (with FAPS) has grown so much over the years, and it (has become) one of our favorite events,” said Meghan Woolbright, Cape Fear Botanical Garden Marketing Coordinator.

    Families looking for a canine companion can meet with dogs from FAPS looking for their fur-ever homes. After a meet and greet with the pets up for adoption, the potential new owner will need to go through the regular application and vetting process after the event.

    Jackie Stickley, executive director of FAPS, shared a story of Dodger, a husky and pit bull mix, surrendered to the shelter after his owners did not properly socialize him. He needed lots of support and love to adjust to his new surroundings. Stickley decided to take him to Dog Day in the Garden during his training.

    “We expected that he wouldn’t last through the entire event, as he was overstimulated easily. We expected this outing to just be a part of his training,” said Stickley. “(But) it ended up being the outing where he met his forever family. Dodger now is living life with people that love him in a home that he can call his own.”

    Garden members can attend for free. Tickets for non-members are $10. People over 65 and military receive a discounted rate of $9. Tickets for children 6 to 12 are $5, and kids under 5 get in free.

    The first 250 guests will receive a “sWAG” bag filled with goodies from event sponsors.

    For more information, visit www.capefearbg.org/event/dog-day-in-the-garden-3.

  • Sigmas at EC Step Show 2015 The 16th Annual Eastcoast Stepshow returns to Fayetteville on Saturday, April 16, at the Crown Theater.

    Founded in 1998 at Fayetteville State University, the show has grown in scope and reach over the past seventeen years and is dedicated to showcasing: "Steppin' at Its Finest."

    Member of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity and one of the show's founders, Ernest Smith, states the show's original concept, "Steppin' for Success," began as a mentorship program for children in the community.

    "Different members would become instructors for kids attending Cumberland and Moore County schools in hopes that the kids would see us and aspire to go to college," he said.

    The show, focused initially on local step teams in the panhellenic community, now features high-caliber step teams from all over the country and offers various entertainment for a full evening of family fun.

    Richard Smith, co-coordinator for the event, says the show's main objective is to put on something "new and diverse for the community."

    "With a variety of Greek performers and routines, we offer great choreography, great entertainment, and great fun," Richard Smith said.

    For those not familiar with step, it is a "high energy series of synchronized rhythms and beats. Each step is performed in unison by all members. It's not dancing, and it's not cheerleading — it's somewhere in-between," Ernest Smith explained. "If you've never seen a show, you're in for a treat."

    With step teams from Maryland, Virginia, Connecticut and Pennsylvania, Richard Smith is especially excited about the diversity of The Eastcoast Step Show.

    "Most local step-shows just have local teams. It's a passion for me to show how different stepping is all over the country," he said.

    The event is hosted by comedian Emmanuel Hudson from "Nick Cannon's Wild n' Out." The show's coordinators have put together an evening that keeps everyone in mind. With comedy, seven collegiate step teams, one dance team, a middle school step team and music, there's plenty to excite everyone in the audience.

    Ticketholders can also look forward to a special appearance by Grammy-nominated R&B artist Tank, performing some of his greatest hits to close out the show.

    "The ladies love him," Richard Smith joked.

    In addition to creating exposure for local entertainment, the show donates a portion of its proceeds to College and Alumni Fraternity & Sorority Step Teams to assist with their various endeavors throughout the year.

    Due to scheduling conflicts and the difficulties of the pandemic, The Eastcoast Step Show hasn't been to Fayetteville in several years. Still, the community remembers it fondly, and the show is eager to return to its roots.

    When guests walk away on Saturday night, Richard Smith hopes they " had a great and enjoyable night, full of variety."

    Adding to that sentiment, Ernest Smith said he hopes to hear, "that was amazing; I can't wait to go back."

    The show starts at 6 p.m. with doors opening one hour before showtime.

    Tickets for the event are $25 to $65 and can be purchased at the following locations: The Crown Box Office, Leisure Travel Service-Ft. Bragg, FSU Box Office, and Page Talk- Lumberton NC.

    Those interested can also purchase tickets online at capefeartix.com. For more information, call 803-619-0172.

  • 03 Pitt dinosaurToday we are going to visit the wonderful world of Tyrannosaurs courtesy of Mr. Peabody’s Way Back Machine and Mr. Science. Let us begin with a song: “Pack up all your cares and woe/ Here you go/ Singing low/ Bye-bye Tyrannosaurs.”

    Sometimes life is stressful. Sometimes life is disappointing. Sometimes life is dangerous. Today’s lesson is intended to lift both of my readers from their Slough of Despond into a happier place. A place without a pack of hungry Tyrannosaurs on the look-out for human sushi. That’s right boys and girls, things could be worse. Right now you are probably asking yourself: “Self, how could things possibly be worse?” Well, they could.

    Suppose you had been born in the late Cretaceous period, which was 95 million to 75 million years ago? The Grim Reaper says you would be dead by now. Mr. Science says you might have achieved your demise by being eaten by a pack of Tyrannosaurs.

    Some may say, “Wait a minute. People weren’t around in the Cretaceous period, so dinosaurs could not have eaten them.” Au contraire, as the French say. No less an authority on ancient times that the enormously talented Raquel Welch proved people and dinosaurs occupied the same time zone. In her excellent documentary “One Million Years B.C.,” Ms. Welch played Loana the Fair One while co-starring with multiple
    dinosaurs.

    The film opened with “This is a story of long, long ago, when the world was just beginning. A young world, a world early in the morning of time. A hard unfriendly world. Creatures who sit and wait. Creatures who must kill to live. And man, superior to the creatures only in his cunning.” Raquel existed due to her beauty as well as her cunning.

    A recent article in The Washington Post by Juliet Elpirin blew the lid off the long-held rumor that Tyrannosaurs not only bowled alone but also hunted alone. Paleontologists had believed that T-Rex was so cranky he wouldn’t associate with other T-Rexes except during the Cretaceous form of the Dating Game. While one T-Rex could ruin your day, imagine what a pack of Tyrannosaurs hunting together would do to your usual sunny disposition not to mention your bone structure.

    Paleontologists are never happier than when they are digging in rocks or dirt. It’s a paleontologist thing that mere mortals can never understand. Just accept that premise. Super star paleontologist Alan Titus and his buddies were out digging in the “Rainbows and Unicorns Quarry” in the Utah desert when they discovered the Tyrannosaurs equivalent of the Brady Bunch dinosaur burial grounds. The Quarry got its name because lots of groovy dinosaur bones discovered there. It doesn’t take much to excite a paleontologist. The recent Quarry find got a whole lot of shaking going on among dinosaur diggers.

    They found the bones of four or five T-Rexes who had been caught in a flood. Their bones ended up in a lake where Alan found them millions of years later. Using Mr. Science’s tool, they determined that the pack of T-Rexes ranged in age from 4 to 22 years old at their demise. Just like the Brady Bunch, these T-Rexes were all in the same place at exactly the wrong time. It is unclear which T-Rex was Marcia Brady but the implications were clear to Alan. They had all been out hunting together in a pack.

    Alan said: “A lot of researchers feel like these animals simply didn’t have the brain power to engage in such complex behavior.” To quote Al: “There it is, a very sad day in Southern Utah 76.4 million years ago.” A paleontologist with the soul of a poet, reflecting on the unhappy ending of a pack of dinosaurs millions of years ago. After 76.4 million years, it may still be too soon to make jokes about the death of these particular dinosaurs. So, I won’t.

    On top of the unnerving knowledge that T-Rex hunted in packs, Science magazine just reported that North America was the happy hunting ground for many T-Rex families. The report estimated that “20,000 T-Rex lived at any one time and about 127,000 generations of T-Rex lived and died. Those averages imply that a total of 2.5 billion T-Rex lived in North America.”

    That is a lot of Tyrannosaurus whoopee making. Any way you look at it, 2.5 billion T-Rex are a major passel of hungry meat eaters. The T-Rexes didn’t have Uber Eats. They hunted other dinosaurs and cave men just like in Raquel’s movie.

    So why should any of this paleontology lore make you feel any better about your life in these times of The Rona? Allow me to retort. Cheer up, Binky. Look on the sunny side of dead T-Rexes. When you leave your house are you going to face up to 2.5 billion T-Rex? Not very likely. Or even if you only had to face 20,000 T-Rex on your way to work, would you like those odds?

    All you have to deal with is the traffic on Ramsey Street or Raeford Road. As bad as the traffic is, it cannot compare with a pack of five hungry Tyrannosaurs deciding you looked like lunch. That alone is something in which to take heart. You are not going to be eaten by a dinosaur today no matter how bad things may be going.

    Put on a happy face. Let a dead T-Rex be your umbrella.

  • 02 royals pic from instagramEditor's note: The original version of this article ran 10 years ago this month. Columnist Margaret Dickson updated it for those of us who have recently been thinking of the royal family.

    The Windsors were a part of our household when I was growing up. I saw them frequently and viewed the Windsor children who were close to my age as my chums. Our mothers dressed us in much the same ways, and it seemed to me that we had common interests and experiences as “baby boomer” children growing up in the decades following World War II. It did not register with me that the Windsor children’s mother was Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain and all its dominions, and mine was, well, my mother.

    My father had been an Army medic in England, and he and another soldier boarded in the home of an English widow. My father, a personable and courtly southerner, struck up an acquaintance with the widow, Mrs. Fox, which endured until she died many years later. I suppose because the two young families, the Windsors and mine, were in the same stage of life, she sent us many books about the British Royal Family.

    I did not recognize this then, of course, but the books were well-crafted public relations efforts to portray the Royal Family as — almost — regular folks. Like similar books about the Kennedy family during the Camelot years, these books were filled with wonderful and charming family photographs. Some were formal portraits involving crowns, scepters, and robes trimmed with ermine. Most, though, were family scenes, concocted I am now sure to garner and keep the affection of the Queen‘s subjects. The Queen’s son Charles, who much later would be humiliated when a recording of him expressing a wish to be in his mistress’ “trousers,” was actually a cute little boy and her daughter Anne had Shirley Temple-like yellow curls. They and their younger brothers were pictured swinging, playing with their dogs, and, occasionally, getting into some slight mischief.

    I loved these books and once asked my father to ask Mrs. Fox to invite the Windsor children to visit us in Fayetteville. I imagined they would enjoy running around with the children and dogs in our Haymount neighborhood as much as my sister and I did, and they probably would have. Maybe they would even have gotten dirty. Needless to say, they never showed.

    There has been much water over the dam since then for both the Windsors and my little family, but I still have a soft spot for the Windsors, and a special and enduring fondness for the Queen who reminds me of the mother I continue to miss 46 years later.

    The Queen has remained unruffled and serene for well over half a century as she presided over everything from the final dismantling of the once-global British Empire to the toe-sucking antics and infidelities of my long-ago imaginary playmates and their ever-wacky spouses. Think of watching your empire shrink as the European Union took hold. Imagine what it felt like to see the monetary system adorned by your own face and those of your ancestors be eclipsed by the drab but convenient Euro.

    Now, she is marking both the death of her husband of more than 7 decades and her own 95th birthday the same month.
    Queen Elizabeth has done all this and more with dignity and a constant and unwavering hairdo that could have been styled at a downtown Fayetteville beauty parlor in 1965.

    I have a favorite Queen Elizabeth story that pretty much sums her up, at least my vision of her. It seems the Queen was out walking her beloved Corgis one day, her security detail at a discrete English distance. One of her subjects approached and cluelessly observed, “My, you certainly look like the Queen.” To which Her Majesty, Elizabeth II, Queen of the United Kingdom and Defender of the Faith, replied serenely, “That’s reassuring.”

    As she stays calm and carries on, I wish I could send my own birthday greeting, coined long ago by a toddler who could not quite get it all out.

    “Hap to you, your Majesty.”

  • 01 NextGenHere we go again. Fayetteville, hold on to your wallets. Fayetteville's Public Works Commission, our Hometown Utility that provides water, electricity and sewer services to about one-third of the Cumberland County population, is again the proverbial Holy Grail of efficient revenue-producing utilities.

    Our city leadership is intrigued at the thought and prospect of looting and pillaging its coffers with the assistance of Bernhard Capital Partners of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, a private equity management company with NO track record in successful utility management.

    Yet, they scour North Carolina for municipalities that are incredibly desperate for money or overly staffed with fiscally ignorant and incompetent leadership. This being the case, no wonder Bernhard has planted themselves firmly in Fayetteville with their rapacious sights set on our Hometown Utility.

    I'm just an average Fayetteville resident. I don't fully understand the complicated and complex negotiations that go into making up multi-million dollar transactions like this; however, I can recognize the elements of a potential ruse.

    The Bernhard Capital group has all the signs that shout out, "DANGER, WILL ROBINSON, DANGER!!!" Let's hope our city officials hear that precautionary warning because selling PWC could have them dancing with the devil and living with a poor and costly decision for the next three decades.

    Yes, all the signs are there: Unpublicized meetings with Fayetteville city officials, the restrictive non-disclosure agreements Bernhard makes everyone sign, promises of utility rate reductions and ratepayer rebates, financial contributions to local and state politicians, the hiring of a local law firm and out of town PR firm, appearances on local radio shows expounding on the benefits of such a deal, and the promise of relocating the Bernhard headquarters in Fayetteville with additional pledges of many more Bernhard companies to follow suit. Wow! Those are the kind of enticements a city and economic development office can really get their arms around. Right?

    One central question remains, and it's the hardest one to answer and always seems to come back and haunt the negotiations. That is: Why would the city of Fayetteville sell a utility asset organization that leads the state and nation in low equable utility rates, profitability, customer service, community responsiveness, and is an award-winning model of effective and efficient corporate management, proficiency and fiscal responsibility?

    Good question, huh? Well, I'm sure many of you can answer that question in one word: Greed. In two words: Immense greed! Unfortunately, the attributes PWC seems to enjoy the city of Fayetteville has found to be elusive to them. Significantly, over the past decade. If you need evidence, look no further than services provided by City Hall.

    Look at our elevated crime rate, the filth, and litter that carpets our streets, the hordes of homeless panhandlers menacing our businesses, destroying our property, defecating in our storefronts, and running off our customers. And, when it comes to fiscal responsibility, Fayetteville taxpayers need only to look across the street from City Hall at our new parking deck we paid PCH $18 million to build. Of course, it came in years past due and millions of dollars over budget. Recently, our Mayor and City Council then paid PCH another $500K of taxpayer money for a practically useless concrete corner in the same building. Incredible.

    Again, I'm a taxpaying citizen, not a rocket scientist, but is this the responsible leadership you would entrust to negotiate the sale of one of our most valuable assets? I think not. With Bernhard's track record of having No Track Record in utility management, placing hundreds of millions of dollars in their hands would be the height of irresponsibility and recklessness.

    I hope that the Fayetteville community speaks up loud and clear on this issue before we get stuck with another PCH parking deck fiasco. Only this costly mistake is guaranteed to be around, haunting us for thirty years. Everyone must demand answers from Mitch Colvin and their ONE Fayetteville City Council member.

    Ask why they would consider selling such a valuable asset like PWC when it is recognized as one of the most well-managed, profitable and responsive utilities in the nation. Not to mention having the lowest consumer utility rates in the state.Fayetteville needs to ask that question before it is too late.
    Thank you for reading Up & Coming Weekly.

  • Night with the Stars Book Black Women, Inc. is hosting a Night With the Stars, Saturday, April 23, at 7 p.m. Three films will be screened during the event. Attendees should dress all in white.

    "I read that the color white, in African cultures, symbolizes peace, good fortune, creation and the spiritual realm of the ancestors. I thought that was beautiful and falls in line with the Book Black Women brand," said Ayana Washington, founder of Book Black Women, Inc.

    "Aside from that super deep aspect, I believe white in contrast with the green landscape is a gorgeous concept."

    The venue for the event will be the backyard of the 1897 Poe House, located on Bradford Avenue in the Haymount Historic District. The house, owned by E.A. Poe, a local businessman and owner of the Poe Brick Company, was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982 and is a part of the Museum of the Cape Fear Historical Complex.

    The three films being shown during the event are all directed and created by black women. The first, "Experience of Black Women of Cumberland County Vol. 1," was created by Michele Falls. In the documentary, Falls tells the story of thirteen local black women and their cultural, professional and personal experiences within Cumberland County.

    In an interview with the Fayetteville Arts Council, Falls said, "This documentary is a love letter to myself as a child, and to my beautiful Black American baby girl. I began this project to better understand my Black heritage and to give my daughter a foundation I never had."

    The second film, "The Race Against Race," created by Nattalyee Randall, is about her experience using running as an act of protest during the Black Lives Matter movement. The film has been accepted to four film festivals: DOC NYC, Trail Running Film Fest, Africa World Documentary Festival and Love and Hope International Film Festival.

    The final showing is "I'm a Star," directed by Alason Little. The episode follows a dancer preparing backstage for a dance recital, a future star. It is the fifth episode of the series Dogwood, a digital Yellow Beanie Project.

    "I did not choose the films, if you can believe that," said Washington. "I let the artists come to me organically, and their films were presented to me. I know that sounds super artsy, but it's true. I started talking to friends about the type of event I wanted to put on, and they, in turn, put me in touch with incredibly talented black female directors."

    A Night With the Stars is open to the public. Wine and theater-based snacks will be offered, and a red carpet will be rolled out with a Hollywood step and repeat backdrop for photos.

    Tickets cost $40 for standard seating or $60 for VIP lounge seating. For tickets and more information, visit www.eventbrite.com/e/a-night-with-the-stars-tickets-296378715717.

  • 11 HandsPlaningWoodHC1403 sourceI added a new table to the WCLN studios. Nothing fancy. It was crafted from rough and flawed pieces of walnut boards I picked up somewhere.

    I decided to leave many flaws untouched and even finish it with raw steel hairpin legs as a nod to my oldest son – an artist whose chosen media was metal before passing not long ago. Seeing the table each day has caused to me think about what craftsmanship means to me in the first place.

    Like many people I know, my life is busy. My calendar would be full of gatherings of all shape and form if I dared to keep one. In fact, not acting surprised when I'm reminded of a birthday, anniversary, dance recital or social gathering I should have remembered is something I've developed into almost an art form. And as much as my wife and I are able to participate, we do. But I love to retreat, too.

    More often than not, a retreat for me doesn't mean a getaway to the beach or the beautiful North Carolina mountains. Instead, it's more likely to involve an invitation for the family dog to join me on the short walk to the workshop behind our house.

    In that calm respite from the busyness of daily life, I create things. Sometimes I work in the quiet with just my thoughts, and other times I'll turn the music up to drown them out. I work with a number of materials, but wood is easily my favorite medium.

    The wood in my shop is comprised largely of castoffs. From exotic hardwoods to common lumber, I gather small or otherwise insignificant pieces from industries which see no need for them. To others they are scraps, but to me, each piece is nothing less than a treasure.

    More than a hobby, woodworking has become a reflection of the life I've been given to live.

    Occasionally I'll make something on commission, but rarely sell what I create. The whole idea changes the game.

    Woodworking is about seeing the individual beauty and usefulness of each piece of wood — large or small — and starting a process of preserving, preparing and giving that piece a new purpose. In short, it's about redemption.

    Without the grace and redemption I found in Jesus Christ, my life would be nothing. I was probably considered a castoff by many when Jesus found me, but He saw something useful and has been preparing and preserving me since 1981, and even in the times when I feel I have nothing to offer, He assures me there is a greater purpose for my life. For every life.

    It's difficult to convey all of that when I offer someone a simple gift made from those redeemed pieces of wood. But each item I place in someone's hands is more than an object to me.

    It's the fruit of many labors. No item is perfect, and each one is absolutely unique. Just like
    you are.

  • 05 FCC City TAG 4CFollowing a protest downtown Friday, April 16, Up & Coming Weekly asked Fayetteville Mayor Mitch Colvin to respond to claims that little has been done in the last year to address discrimination and local policing practices. Mayor Colvin's response is printed below.

    As millions of people across our nation grapple with the loss of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and countless others at the hands of injustice, the call to stand together as a community grows louder. The tragedies we have all witnessed across this nation are heartbreaking, and we must find a way to bring meaningful change. Meaningful change calls for unity, and unity takes work.

    Whether you serve as a teacher in our community, elected official, health care professional, small business owner or union worker, I encourage you to consider how you can help our community unify in your everyday work. As we listen to the call for equal justice, both in our community and in our nation, I encourage you to think of your neighbors as yourself. We must love our neighbors, and we must treat each other as we ourselves want to be treated.

    I am encouraged by the new generation of leaders who have joined together to exercise their first amendment right to peacefully protest, and I am extremely proud of the changes we have seen in the City of Fayetteville’s policing and operations. I challenge those who are protesting, help us build the community we all desire, one that works for all of us, not just a few.

    While our city has certainly had its problems with racial and social bias, to include aggressive policing in predominately Black communities, we have come a long way over the last 8 years. The city began revamping its policing policies after the rebuke of the DOJ, in 2012/2013. Because of this, many of the changes made were proactive and allowed us to get a head start on the necessary changes long before many of these national tragedies we see today.

    Over the last year, our city council has taken an internal and external review to ensure diversity inclusion in our hiring practices, economic policies and the systemic policies used to serve our community.

    •We have established the Fayetteville Citizens Advisory Board to assist in building better relationships with law enforcement and the communities they serve. We passed the 4th resolution requesting of the North Carolina General Assembly to allow for the establishment of a Police Review/Oversight Board.

    •In addition to increased training we have implemented body cameras, and impressed upon the city manager to enforce a zero tolerance policy for racial discrimination or racial motivated policing throughout our city.

    •We have also established a local and minority participation policy for the entire city’s contracting and spending. We have invested and/or committed to investing over $15 Million dollars into underserved communities, such as Murchison Road, B Street, Campbell Avenue and others.

    •We have invested $100,000 in restoring and the revitalization of Orange Street School (Original location of the city’s Historically Black High School) and requesting $1M from the state of NC.

    •We have invested nearly $400,000 in restoration of the E. E. Smith House, home of the first President of Fayetteville State, our local HBCU.

    •We have increased our support for community development programs such as increased home ownership and working to strategically address the city’s Tier 1 status.

    •We have engaged the Department of Justice to implement the City Spirit Program to improve race relations.

    While we have come a long way as a nation, 2020 and 2021 have reminded us all that we must continue to work together to bridge the racial divide in America. I am grateful to God that we are a community willing to accept and address our shortcomings, and we are a community willing to unify.

    Because of this, I stand confident that Fayetteville, North Carolina, will continue to advance as an All American City, by name and by deed.

  • 04-03-13-march-of-dines.gifFour million babies were born last year and the March of Dimes was there for each and every one of them. One in nine babies are born too soon. The mission of the March of Dimes is to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth and infant mortality. It is in support of this mission that the March of Dimes will host its “March for Babies” walk on Saturday, April 13 at 10 a.m. at Methodist University. This is the 75th anniversary of the March of Dimes. Founded in 1938 by FDR, the organization’s original goal was to eradicate polio. When March of Dimes fulfilled the mission, the new challenge became helping to prevent birth defects and premature births.

    “This exciting event is a celebration of the fundraising that takes place year round by our teams and sponsors in the area,” said Catherine Heindselman, director of the Cape Fear Division of March of Dimes. “There will be 1,000 participants who will come out for the event and they consist of family teams, company teams and individual walkers.”

    The money is raised through online fundraising or the various events the groups have during the year. The agency has set a goal of $140,000 for the event.

    The event will consist of food, fun and entertainment. Dance teams, step teams and singing groups from Methodist University and the community will perform. Food vendors will be on hand to sell subs, pizza and breakfast items. There will be a Kid Zone with many activities for the youngsters to enjoy.

    The March of Dimes’ Ambassador Family, the Poulks, will speak along with Dr. Ben Hancock, president of Methodist University. Their twin children, aged 2, were born prematurely. They were born at 25 weeks and 5 days and weighed 2 pounds, 14 ounces and 2 pounds, 14.5 ounces. One child spent six weeks in the neonatal intensive care unit and the other one spent seven weeks in the NICU at Cape Fear Valley Medical Center. They are doing incredibly well today. Each year an Ambassador Family is selected to tell the story of how the March of Dimes impacted their children’s lives and the successes of their birth.

    “We encourage everyone to come out and support us as we take on this challenge,” said Heindselman. “We are recruiting teams so please come out and register.”

    Registration for the event begins at 9 a.m. The opening ceremony will start at 9:40 a.m. and the walk will begin at 10 a.m. Visit www.marchforbabies.org or call (910) 483-3691 for more information.

    Photo: The mission of the March of Dimes is to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth and infant mortality.

  • IMG 9286 The Bright Light Brewing Company, located in the heart of downtown, is hosting two days of community fun, and the whole family is invited.

    The Dogwood Festival weekend at Bright Light kicks off at noon on Saturday, April 23, and continues Sunday, April 24, starting at 1 p.m.

    The site for many events throughout the year, the veteran-owned and operated nano-brewery takes pride in being able to celebrate Fayetteville and its citizens.

    The goal for Bright Light Brewing Company is a simple one, fellowship.

    "All we want is people to have a good time, enjoy the fellowship, enjoy the brews and have a desire to come back again," Mike Ray, master brewer and owner, said.

    The Dogwood Festival, a regional event now in its 40th year, is a popular one. Featuring four days of local fun and flavor, the festival has returned after a two-year hiatus due to COVID-19.

    "We enjoy the Dogwood Festival," Ray said. "We see a lot of regular customers and quite a few new people. We think these festivals are fun for all, and people seem to really enjoy downtown get-togethers."

    Showcasing food and talent native to Fayetteville and surrounding areas, the brewery is steadfast in its commitment to local business and sees the Dogwood Festival as an opportunity to provide even more support.

    "We offer space for vendors who otherwise might not be able to grab an available space downtown. It also offers our customers a few more vendors to purchase from and having a good beer to go along with it," Ray said.

    The event will host various local vendors on Saturday and Sunday, along with good food and good fun for the entire family.

    In addition to shopping, there will be plenty to do, drink and eat over Bright Light's festival weekend.

    "I think we try to leave an impression of being 'special.' From the brews to our staff, and family-oriented events, we try to be a standout amongst quite a few great breweries in the area," Ray said.

    Kids in attendance can look forward to face-painting and a bounce house, while adults may choose to try their hand at some ax-throwing, courtesy of Axes & X's.

    The Grazing Buffalo will have brats, burgers and fries on offer Saturday from 3 to 9 p.m. From 2 to 8 p.m. on Sunday, guests can enjoy hot dogs, "Baja California style," from the Baja Dogs food truck.

    No stranger to the Bright Light scene, North Carolina musician Brooke McBride will be in-house entertainment on Saturday from 7 to 9 p.m.

    "The main thing we hope people take away from us is they had a good experience and an enjoyable beer. Hopefully, the family-friendly atmosphere will have them returning and possibly be more part of our downtown," Ray said.

    The Dogwood Festival Weekend at Bright Light will be held in their brewery taproom at 444 W. Russell St.
    For more information, visit their website at https://www.brightlightbrewco.com/.

  • 02 Nyrell and Joy Melvin"I have a dream," Martin Luther King Jr. said one August day in 1963, with Abraham Lincoln looking over his shoulder. "I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed. We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal.

    "I have a dream that one day out in the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slaveowners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.”

    "I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.”

    "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character."

    The dream that Martin Luther King laid out enthralled a generation of Americans who were in the most significant fight for civil liberties since the Civil War itself. No, they weren't fighting slavery, but they were fighting the same thought process that allowed racism to happen - that one race is superior to another race.

    Today, I am here to enthrall you once again. I have a dream that race will not play a part in whether or not someone is accepted into college! I have a dream that critical race theory and the lies it propagates would cease to exist in our public discourse! I have a dream that America will wake up to the fact that we are all one race!

    MLK and men like him fought for these ideals, but the modern-day Left and the Elite Democratic Party are trying to drag us backward by promoting critical race theory and the idea that the United States was founded in racism, is racist, and will always be racist.

    The buzz term used by leftist activists and the mainstream media is "systemic racism." The belief that all of America's systems are inherently racist, and anyone or anything that is a part of the system is racist out of complicity. According to this radical ideology, all white people are a part of the system and therefore racist; and the founding of America was not 1776, but 1619 when the first African slaves made their way to the continent.

    This lie —perpetrated by the Elite Democrat Party, the mainstream media, academia and Hollywood — brought about the anarchy and destruction we witnessed throughout the summer across America and right here in Fayetteville.

    This lie is destructive and corrosive, and if left unchecked, will lead to the fall of the United States of America as we know it.

    This lie is why the Fayetteville Police Department was told to stand down while people destroyed our beautiful city. "The police are a vestige of racism," they say. That is false! If I am elected, we will not be defunding the police! I will make sure that the Fayetteville Police Department is wholly equipped and funded to protect our community, to protect you and me.

    The police are not perfect, but to think the solution is the abolishment of our police departments is sheer lunacy. We want to build and improve; the Left wants to destroy and abolish.

    This was very clearly seen last year when South Carolina Senator Tim Scott introduced the JUSTICE Act to address police reform. Senator Scott is a Black man who has given multiple anecdotes of being racially profiled and stopped by police officers in the nation's capital. Despite this, the Democrats would not even consider his bill. Why? Because Senator Scott is a Republican, and the Democrats don’t really care about police reform.

    Another example of the Left's wanton desire to destroy comes from May 30th of last year when violent anarchists and rioters broke windows and set fire to the Market House right here in downtown Fayetteville.

    Now, I know that the history of the Market House is not pure. There once was a time when slaves owners’ properties were liquidated and as a result slaves were auctioned primarily under estate liquidation or to pay a debt. The actual number of slaves auctioned is ambiguous, but it happened, on the steps surrounding the structure. Does that make the Market House a slave market? No, certainly not. Does that warrant destruction? No, certainly not.

    Author George Santayana once said, "those who do not learn history are doomed to repeat it." This is the attitude of the Left. The history they speak of is the revisionist, anti-American narrative — that will not be taught in our schools, by the way — of Howard Zinn and the 1619 Project.

    But the Left wants to either destroy or rewrite our history. We see this in the "canceling" of historical figures like Thomas Jefferson and even George Washington. Because these great figures don't hold up to today's woke standards, they must be done away with. Their names must be taken off schools, their stories scrubbed from the history books, and their statues toppled. Not here in Fayetteville! We will not allow the stories of our forefathers to be scrubbed away by the leftist mob.

    I am running to be your mayor because I believe in this city. I believe in Fayetteville, North Carolina, and I believe in its citizens.

    You may wonder why I am discussing these larger cultural issues as a mayoral candidate. You may wonder why I am not talking about fixing bridges or roads, or other infrastructure. All that stuff is extremely important, and we will be working on those issues as well. But if the metaphorical and ideological foundation of our city is rotted to the core, the physical foundation of our city will crumble as well.

    It is time we take back the culture, starting right here in Fayetteville, North Carolina. I have a dream!

    May God bless Fayetteville, and May God bless America. Thank you.

    Photographed above: Nyrell and Joy Melvin with their daughters. 

  • 04-10-13-local-food-can-serve.gifLocal food, as an economic driver, is on track for the revitalization of urban communities across the country. This new “Home Front” locomotive has arrived at the station in Fayetteville.

    All aboard! Calling entrepreneurs to get your tickets to Edible Entrepreneurship, a special opportunity for veterans, of any status, to learn about emergingfood business opportunities on Tuesday, April 16, at the Cumberland County Extension Auditorium, 301 E. Mountain Dr., from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.

    Learn about emerging business opportunities like food trucks, becoming a personal chef, black gold composting, niche food ventures, ag biz insider tips, urban/small farmers and more.

    Fayetteville residents are getting on board the local food train as the “ticket” to better health and reduction in the costs of healthcare. But that’s not all.

    People are learning to invest a percentage of their food dollars in the local and sustainable track that keeps more money circulating in our local community while supporting local farmers and food businesses of all kinds. This entrepreneurial “home front” action is also helping to build a secure local food infrastructure.

    Our country is now aware of the realities of a national economy that is in deep trouble. But there is also the reality of opportunity in this situation and vitalizing a local economy starts with entrepreneurs.

    Have you ever entertained the thought of having a food business or of becoming a farmer? Agri-Entrepreneurship is springing up across the country as people are responding to the consumer demand for local produce and food products. There is significant headway being made at the grassroots and regional level to develop local food systems with infrastructure to keep up with the growing demand.

    There is a “new dollar” to be made in creative entrepreneurship. People are so used to measuring value, assets, financial security and economic viability in dollars only. If that’s all we do, we are short changing ourselves. Let’s put our heads together and invest our talents, skills, relationships and knowledge into the local network that can sustain us.

    Let’s build businesses that are well connected with one another where the success of one promotes the success of all. We are told to diversify our portfolios and not put all our eggs in one basket, so let’s invest more in the local food network and look to match skills and relationships to multiply the benefi ts of our collaboration and build a secure local economy.

    There is a lot of opportunity here.

    The event includes a BBQ lunch. Registration is $20 and the deadline to register is Friday, April 12. To register call Sharon Valentine or Marsha Howe 910-630-6232 Or e-mail: mhowe@ncfarmcenter.org.

    Anyone interested in collaborating with N.C. Farm Center and its partners in local food action, please contact Marsha Howe 619-807-6839 cell ; 910-630-6232 offi ce or email: mhowe@ncfarmcenter.org.

  • 01 ElephantDonkeyHC1211 sourcePublisher Bill Bowman yields his space this week to contributor Karl Merritt.

    To our country’s detriment, power-hungry politicians and a cooperative media are manipulating Americans. Democrats have mastered manipulation as a political strategy. Republicans have allowed, and continue to allow, this Democratic strategy to be successful. They enable this destructive strategy by failing to instruct the public regarding governmental processes, sensible reasons for their policy and legislative positions, the basics of economics, and a multitude of similar considerations.

    As bothered as one might be by this Republican failing, the fact of life is that Democrats have, very likely intentionally, created a societal atmosphere where it is nearly impossible for Republicans, or anybody else, to do the educating and informing of the general public called for in that first paragraph. That near impossibility is rooted in Democrats: robbing millions of Americans of the capacity for critical thought; promoting focus on self and on group identity; from government, giving just enough to certain groups to gain and retain their support; pitting enough supportive groups against others so that there is a winning Democratic coalition (Identity Politics).

    The end result of all of this is that citizens are manipulated into strongly supporting policies, legislation, and societal standards that, in my estimation, make no sense and even contribute to the looming destruction of this nation as a place of tremendous opportunity and simply an amazing place to live.

    What has been presented to this point plays out in real life through the recent passage of the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan. Consider the high level of public support for that legislation, the reasons for that support, and the public’s understanding of what is included.

    There was overwhelming support for the legislation. An article at democrats.senate.gov titled “Americans Overwhelmingly Support The American Rescue Plan Because Families Still Need Relief From The COVID Pandemic — But Republicans Say They Just Don’t Know What’s Good For Them” included the following
    statements:

    “In the poll, which was conducted Feb. 19-22 among 2,013 registered voters and has a margin of error of 2 percentage points, 76 percent said they back the stimulus package, including 52 percent who said they ‘strongly’ support the bill. Only 17 percent of voters said they oppose it.” [Morning Consult, 2/24/21]
    “Small Business for America’s Future: “69% of small business owners — including 46% of Republican business owners and 61% of independent small business owners — support the American Rescue Plan.” [Small Business for America’s Future, 2/23/21]

    The following is from an article by Samantha Chang, titled “Biden Voter: The Bombs in Syria Are Kinda Expensive for a Dude Who Owes Me $2,000”. Ben Calvert, age 27, who is referred to in the article, is a Democrat and lives in Minnesota:

    “A lot of my friends are really frustrated because they were like, ‘We’ve got to elect these two senators in Georgia! We’ve got to get Joe Biden in office and then everything’s going to be better!'” Calvert told CNN last week. “It’s not a $1,400 check, it’s $2,000 checks.'”

    Many Americans interpreted Biden’s promise to mean they would receive a separate $2,000 check — not $1,400
    plus $600.

    The focus on self that is reflected in Calvert’s statement is rampant across America. One only has to look at comments from some individuals as to why they vote as they do to see the success of the focus-on-self political strategy. Concern for one’s personal circumstance is reasonable, but it now seems at dangerous levels in our society.

    Then there was this revealing post on Next-door, a neighborhood social media site: “How many Republicans are giving the stimulus check back?” It is reasonable to conclude that this statement was driven by the fact that no Republicans in the House or Senate voted for the legislation and public support for it was far less among Republicans than among Democrats. I contend that statements, such as referenced here, point to a lack of thoughtful examination of facts and to the harmful partisan divide that is so present in America.

    These three accounts, although limited, reflect the condition of our country. That condition is one of: individuals making decisions based on tremendously insufficient and faulty thought; allowing short-term personal impacts to blind their ability to see and consider the bigger picture; simply following the dictates of a group with which they identify. This condition leads many Americans to wholeheartedly support policies, legislation, and even societal standards, that are unfair, often defy reason, are sometimes unconstitutional, and jeopardize the very continued existence of America.

    Passage of the American Rescue Plan is proof-positive of the argument made to this point. In an article titled “American Rescue Plan (Biden’s $1.9 Trillion Stimulus Package)”, Erik Haagensen writes: “The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 is a $1.9 trillion coronavirus rescue package designed to facilitate the United States’ recovery from the devastating economic and health effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.”

    Given the reason for this legislation, the thoughtful approach would be to ask if it is needed and, if so, how will the need be best addressed? A starting point for addressing this question might be unemployment. The February 2020 unemployment rate was 3.5%, March 2020 14.7%, and February 2021 6.2%. Even though unemployment is down dramatically from the March 2020 devastating high, there are clearly Americans who still need assistance.

    It does not appear that Democrats in Congress gave sufficient attention to who really needed assistance. The U.S. Treasury Department’s website states this regarding disbursements under the legislation: “In total, this first batch included approximately 90 million payments, which are valued at more than $242 billion.” This was just the first batch of payments. Simply considering the unemployment rates, even in March 2020, there is no way 90 million payments would be required. Payments were definitely authorized for many people who had not missed a paycheck and faced no financial hardship.

    Depending on whose reporting is considered, there is a half-trillion to a full trillion dollars remaining unspent from previous COVID relief bills. There are various explanations as to why this is the case. However, one would think this situation would have been made known to, and explained to, the American people before committing to another $1.9 trillion.

    The listing of questionable funding items in this legislation seems almost endless. Among these are payments in an amount up to 120 percent of the outstanding indebtedness of each farmer or rancher to the Department of Agriculture, or guaranteed by the department, and is a member of a socially disadvantaged group as of January 1, 2021. From 7 U.S.C. 2279(a)(6): “The term ‘socially disadvantaged group’ means a group whose members have been subjected to racial or ethnic prejudice because of their identity as members of a group without regard to their individual qualities.” How is this related
    to COVID?

    Then there is millions in funding to Gallaudet University, Howard University, National Technical Institute for the Deaf, and Institute of Education Sciences. Why these specific institutions? There is $50 million for family planning. Addressing what comes under this heading, 42 U.S.C 300 says in part, “… effective family planning methods and services (including natural family planning methods, infertility services, and services for adolescents).” Consider one billion available until September 30, 2025, to carry out the purposes of the Technology Modernization Fund (TMF). Regarding TMF, the General Services Administration (GSA) website says, “… gives agencies additional ways to deliver services to the American public more quickly, better secure sensitive systems and data, and use taxpayer dollars more efficiently.” COVID related?

    Finally, $350 billion is allocated to states, the District of Columbia, local governments, territories, and tribal governments to mitigate the fiscal effects stemming from the public health emergency with respect to the Coronavirus disease. Most of this total will be distributed to states and the District of Columbia based on each state’s proportion of seasonally-adjusted unemployed individuals for the three-month period ending in December 2020. In assessing this provision, one has to consider that, as stated above, unemployment rates were much improved from the height of the pandemic. Further, state revenues did not experience the expected decline. This from an article by Mary Williams Walsh, titled “Virus Did Not Bring Financial Rout That Many States Feared”:
    A researcher at the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center, a nonpartisan think tank, found that total state revenues from April through December were down just 1.8 percent from the same period in 2019. Moody’s Analytics used a different method and found that 31 states now had enough cash to fully absorb the economic stress of the pandemic recession on their own.

    This allocation of funds to states certainly appears extremely questionable at best. Congressional Republicans raised thoughtful opposition, but were lambasted and dismissed by Congressional Democrats and a majority of American citizens.

    The fact of life is that, to the detriment of this country, far too many Americans are being manipulated into supporting policies, legislation, and societal standards that are moving America along a dangerous path. Public support for, and passage of, the American Rescue Plan is just one of many glaring indications of this truth.

  • No matter how many attractions or opportunities a city may offer, a dirty city is an unhappy city.04-17-13-fayetteville-beautiful.gif Fayetteville is a rapidly growing city and is budding with opportunities in business and the arts alike. Every citizen of Fayetteville has a right to be proud for all the city has to offer, but it can be hard to see the greatness of the place if the aesthetics do not match. As Bobby Hurst, the chairman of Fayetteville Beautiful says, “A clean city attracts new business, increases property values and even creates a safer city.”

    The beauty of Fayetteville is something that every citizen can be involved in. The 100 percent volunteer-based organization, Fayetteville Beautiful, has been improving the city for years. “Fayetteville Beautiful began on September 6, 2006 — the birthday of General Marquis de Lafayette, the man for which this city was named. We started with a logo, tag line and a small core group of volunteers and now have expanded to a volunteer base of over one thousand citizens. Fayetteville Beautiful has played an active role in creating new ordinances and strengthened current ones related to litter abatement and waste reduction for the City of Fayetteville. We have assisted in the development of the recycling program, initiated Fayetteville’s fi rst electronic waste drive, worked with the Cumberland County Schools in educating our children in the value of recycling and preserving our environment. We revitalized the downtown black pots with plants and flowers and that is an ongoing project. We have taken the lead in beautification projects that included tree plantings at Ben E. Martin Elementary School devastated by the 2011 tornado to beautification projects on public properties scattered throughout the city. Each year we participate in cleaning along the banks of several of our lakes as well as cleaning out Cross Creek,” Hurst said.

    Fayetteville Beautiful has been recognized for its tremendous contributions to the city as well. The organization became a Keep America Beautiful Affiliate in 2010. There are only 32 similar organizations in North Carolina, and Fayetteville Beautiful is the only 100 percent volunteer based affiliate.

    Unfortunately, despite all of the work accomplished by volunteers, there is still a long way to go. On the official KAB Litter Assessment Tool Fayetteville rated a 2.94 in August 2006 — this is one of the worst ratings in the state. The current score is better at a 1.94, but there is still progress to be made. This progress can only be made by the participation and support of the community.

    This opportunity to join in the effort to create a better Fayetteville is readily available to any and all who wish to help.“The Citywide Cleanup is held the third Saturday during the month of April and offers people the opportunity to participate in a community effort to remove litter along our roadsides and in parks and streams. There are no requirements and registration is very simple. Sign up online at www.FayettevilleBeautiful.com and complete the Volunteer Form, then automatically your location will be pin pointed on a city map. This will make it easy for police to view where patrol coverage should be alongside youth groups and for the Parks and Recreation staff to know where the orange bags will be placed for pickup early that afternoon. If you do not have computer access then contact Lynn Hughes at 433-1587 and she will assist you,” Hurst says.

    Participating in a Fayetteville Beautiful rally is a great way to support, protect and connect with the community. Hurst said, however, that the best part is “... joining others who genuinely love their hometown, take pride in their community and desire to make a beautiful difference. I know that the more people get involved in our effort, the more ownership they will have in protecting the natural beauty of our community.

    Photo: Fayetteville Beautiful volunteers rally to clean up local roadways.

  • FDWF Map 2022 4 Every spring, the Fayetteville Dogwood Festival brings the community together to celebrate the diversity and uniqueness that make Fayetteville so special. This year the festival will be a four-day weekend event, with official festivities kicking off Thursday and continuing through the weekend. The festival will begin with Cork & Fork on Thursday, April 21, from 6 to 8 p.m. at Festival Park, and boasts new attractions to include the Carolina Ring Wars, Sweet Valley Ranch's Where Nature Meets Adventure alongside tried and true entertainment such as the BMX Bike Show and Airborn Arials.

    The Fayetteville Dogwood Festival Hours:
    Thursday, April 21
    6 to 10 p.m.
    Friday, April 22
    5 to 11 p.m.
    Saturday, April 23
    noon to 11 p.m.
    Sunday, April 24
    noon to 9 p.m.

    Thursday, April 21
    6 to 10 p.m.
    Cork & Fork is signature event and includes an evening of chef-inspired gourmet creations paired with elegant complimentary wines. A silent auction will be held as a fundraiser for United Way of Cumberland County. Tickets are $40 per person and $75 per couple and are available online at www.faydogwoodfestival.com.

    Friday, April 22
    5 to 11 p.m.
    Festival Park
    ROCK 103 NIGHT
    HOOBASTANK & MARCY PLAYGROUND
    5 p.m. park opens
    6 p.m. opening ceremony
    6:30 p.m. Council Ring
    8 p.m. Marcy Playground
    9:45 p.m. Hoobastank
    BOOM & BLOOM FIREWORKS
    11 p.m.
    Festival Park


    Saturday, April 23
    Noon to 11 p.m.
    Festival Park, Plaza and Downtown Fayetteville
    COUNTRY NIGHT
    TYLER FARR, KAMERON MARLOWE &
    DILLON CARMICHAEL
    2 p.m. Jarett Raymond
    4 p.m. Driskill
    6 p.m. Dillon Carmichael
    7:45 p.m. Kameron Marlowe
    9:30 p.m. Tyler Farr

    Sunday, April 24
    Noon to 11 p.m.
    Festival Park, Plaza and Downtown Fayetteville
    TRIBUTE NIGHT
    THE PURPLE MADNESS - A TRIBUTE TO PRINCE
    2:30 p.m. Jarett Raymond
    3:45 p.m. 87 & Pine
    5:30 p.m. Will McBride Group
    7:30 p.m. Purple Madness

    ADDITIONAL ATTRACTIONS
    Saturday, April 23, Sunday, April 24
    Downtown Street Fair,
    Midway (ALSO ON FRIDAY, APRIL 22),
    Kidzone,
    Downtown Stage Powered by Piedmont Natural Gas,
    BMX Bike Show,
    Sweet Valley Ranch... Where Nature Meets Adventure
    Ring Wars,
    Airborn Aerials
    and much more!

  • 03 galatic lumpSomething is really big out there. And it is hungry. It may be coming for us. Today we are going to visit the Astronomy Desk to see what Ms. Science has to say to scare us.

    Having spent a fair amount of time in the back yard pondering the stars over a fire pit in the winter of The Rona when there was nothing much else to do, I learned to look up at the night sky. Johnny Horne’s excellent columns about astronomy in the local paper made me realize how little I know about the Great Beyond. My basic understanding about the sky is slim. The sky is pretty big. It gets dark at night and light during the day. Stars are far away. The ancient people who named the constellations were inhaling something pretty strong when they looked up and saw Orion and his buddies in the sky.

    Your phone can tell you everything including what stars you are seeing. There is an app called Sky View which when you point it up shows the stars’ name and draws the constellations.

    Your phone also can find colorful articles about anything including astronomy. A recent article in Vice got my attention. The title was “Something Huge and Invisible is Making Nearby Stars Vanish, Scientists Propose.” From the title I was unsure if Scientists were proposing to Something Huge or to each other. Intrigued, I read the whole thing so you don’t have to. This is what I found.

    We all know what are the five most frightening words in the English language: “according to a new study.” This article was no exception. It began “An invisible cosmic behemoth might be tearing apart the closest star cluster to the Sun, leaving one side of the cluster eerily dark and devoid of stars, according to a new study.” Uh oh. A hungry Cosmic Behemoth is in the neighborhood. Like those nice young men in their clean white coats, it may be coming to take us away. It’s something called a “dark matter substructure” with the mass of 10 million suns made of “a mysterious non-luminous substance.” That did not sound good to the unpracticed ear. The scientists called it a Galactic Lump. This is not to be confused with Lumpy Rutherford from "Leave it to Beaver" who was a big guy himself. Somewhere out in the Cosmos there is a Galactic Lump hanging out in the Hyades star cluster. This is not to be confused with Goo Goo Clusters w hich hang out at the Grand Ol’ Opry.

    Ms. Science Tereza Jerabkova spotted the Galactic Lump in the Taurus constellation using the Gaia satellite to spy on the Hyades star cluster. At the head of the Taurus constellation there is a V shaped cluster of stars called tidal tails that flow backwards like the wake of a speed boat. Most of these V shaped clusters are equal in size on both wings of the cosmic wake. But not Taurus. Something is awry. Something invisible and really big — the Galactic Lump is tearing apart one of the tidal tails.

    Ms. Science proposes the Galactic Lump a big mess of Dark Matter which has an alias of “sub-halo” in polite society. I prefer Galactic Lump. As this is my column we will just call it Lumpy after Lumpy Rutherford.

    Ms. Science says that the tail stars aren’t being eaten by a Black Hole rather that Lumpy is somehow blocking them from sight through its clever use of Dark Matter. Dark Matter is a big deal in Astronomy — the Dark Matter in the Milky Way Galaxy is thought to be “more than a trillion times the mass of the Sun.” So, should we be concerned about Lumpy eventually eating up our solar system and blacking out the Sun? Like Bob Dylan almost warned, “Will we have darkness at the break of noon, eclipsing both the Sun and Moon?” Instead of climate change will we have solar system change? The mind boggles. As we all know, a boggling mind is a terrible thing to waste.
    Well, so as to not keep you in suspense, Ms. Science says not to worry. Lumpy will not eat our Galaxy. Apparently the Milky Way Galaxy is too small and too far away for Lumpy to be concerned with us. Why would Lumpy want to eat the Milky Way which is the equivalent of MRE’s when he can keep chowing down on the much larger Hyades star cluster? We are small cosmic potatoes to Lumpy. He is going to stay at the Hyades Big Buffet in the sky.

    Ms. Science explained that sometimes star clusters like the Milky Way enter the Transfer Portal like One & Done college basketball players and swap planets and players among themselves. Our solar system is safe from the Transfer Portal because she explained “The Sun is a lonely star that left its natal cluster long ago.” I guess that should make us feel better about ourselves but it kind of makes me sad for the Sun. Poor thing, the Sun left its natal cluster and has been on its own for a very long time. Our sun is an orphan, booted out of its natal cluster at a tender age. Isolated from its brother and sister stars without hope of swapping planets. This is Bigly Sad.

    But not to leave you on a morose note. Lumpy won’t eat us. Let us not forget what Hemingway wrote: The Sun also rises. Be like Martha White self-rising flour. Get your biscuits out of bed and go face the day.

    Pictured above: Lumpy Rutherford is not to be confused with the Galatic Lump recently discovered by scientists. 

  • This past school year, 10 North Carolina Community Colleges, including FTCC, joined forces to form the North Carolina Advanced Manufacturing Alliance to educate and train unemployed and dislocated workers to enter the workforce with specific training and credentials needed by North Carolina employers. In addition to traditional certificates, diplomas and associate degrees, students will earn Career Readiness Certification as well as industry credentials valued by employers.

    The alliance was successful in securing a federal grant through the U.S. Department of Labor and partnering with North Carolina’s leading employers to provide resources for changing the way workers are trained and students succeed. This change will offer a comprehensive skills assessment, provide a network of student support, implement state-of-the-art technology and match student internships with industry, creating a pipeline of students trained to meet the needs of employers and putting our friends and neighbors back to work in high-quality careers such as machining.

    The FTCC Computer Integrated Machining Program prepares students for a career that moves a concept to reality through the design process to produce a final product. A wide variety of metalworking equipment from manual machinery to new computerized CNC (Computer Numeric Control) and EDM (Electrical Discharge Machine) machinery in the newly-equipped FTCC Machining Lab are provided for training. Computer Aided Design (CAD) and Computer Aided Machining (CAM) software are used in our new classroom computer lab to prepare students to meet employer standards.The Computer Integrated Machining Program provides:

    • Flexible learning options

    • Structured student support services04-24-13-machine-shop.gif

    • Mobile learning programs promoting access to online courses and learning applications using iPads and a new Mac Lab.

    • Curriculum enhanced by iTunes University, digital content and manufacturing career guidance

    During the month of April, FTCC hosted a Manufacturing Awareness Week with activities centered on occupations related to manufacturing for middle school, high school and college students to become familiar with and aware of the opportunities that are available locally. Displays about FTCC programs were available, an open house with business and industry representatives was held, campus tours were conducted by local middle and high schools and Collier Cropp (Labor Relations Manager at Goodyear) met with our students at the first Lunchbox Speaker Series to discuss closing the skills gap in manufacturing, a presentation that was informative for our students and faculty.

    FTCC is proud to be a part of the N.C. Advanced Manufacturing Alliance and work with our sister community colleges to educate and train a high performance workforce for careers in advanced manufacturing and meet the employment needs of business and industry.

    For more information or to see how you can become a part of this exciting program, please contact Vanessa Cogdell, NCAMA program coordinator at cogdellv@faytechcc.edu or Gary Smith, Machining program coordinator at smithg@faytechcc.edu or 910-678-8427.

    Photo: FTCC, along with other N.C. colleges joined forces to help train students and displaced workers to take on manufac-turing jobs.

  • Nerd Market 1 Downtown Fayetteville will be swarming with cosplayers, comic-book lovers, artists and people of all ages this Saturday ahead of the annual Fayetteville Comic-Con.

    "What you can expect from the nerd market is lots of vendors selling collectibles from comic books, anime, POP figures. There are going to be some people that sell items, such as crocheted items that are modeled after comic book characters," Lauren Falls, the director of marketing and events for Cool Spring Downtown District, told Up & Coming Weekly.

    "It's just going to be a really good time to support small businesses in the area that are geared toward the comic book/anime community."

    This year, some of the vendors at the Nerd Market include The Dragon's Lair, Game On! and Crime Alley Comics and Collectibles. In addition, Fayetteville Comic-Con will also be featuring a table at the Nerd Market to promote their event the following weekend, April 22 through April 24.

    At last year's event, Falls said that around six to seven hundred people came out and participated in the Nerd Market. She hopes that more people will come out with the local Comic-Con being around the corner.

    One feature of Nerd Market that will be back this year is the Cosplay Contest. The contest this year will be split between two age groups - one for kids and one for adults.

    "A lot of people get really into the spirit of the Nerd Market, and they cosplay when they come out, and you get all different types of characters. We had somebody dressed up as a Halo character. We had several [dressed as] Batman," Falls said. "It's a really good time just to see the families kind of dress up, and it gives them another fun event to go to downtown that is geared towards the kids as well."

    This event will be simultaneous with the Hoppin' Around Downtown Scavenger Hunt, the perfect event for younger kids. If kids want to look for Easter egg prizes in their favorite superhero costumes, downtown Fayetteville on April 16 will be the place to go. The scavenger hunt will occur at over 20 businesses, and Honey the Bunny will be hopping around to take pictures with the kids.

    Scotty's All American Food Truck will also be available at the Nerd Market for anyone who wants a quick bite on the go. However, Falls also recommends that people stop and shop at the local downtown businesses.

    "I also just want to encourage people while they're downtown at both of the events... to shop local," Falls said.

    Nerd Market is scheduled from noon to 4 p.m. at the Arts Council of Fayetteville and Cumberland County at 301 Hay St. The Nerd Market and the Hoppin' Around Downtown Scavenger Hunt will be free and all ages are welcome at the events.

  • 02 RoadWorkSignHC1601 sourceLet’s be honest with ourselves. No one, even the most progressive among us, likes to pay taxes. Nor do we enjoy paying our rent, mortgages, utility and insurance bills, or any other cost of daily living that does not reward us the same way a new car or even a new outfit does.

    We do, however, enjoy having homes with electricity and temperature controls and knowing that insurance can help us cope when adversity strikes. That requires us to pay to maintain these mainstays of American life. Most of us do that routinely, though sometimes begrudgingly.

    Taxes are a different story. It is harder to connect the mainstays of America’s collective life — schools, roads, bridges, mass transit, military services, law enforcement and public safety, and other governmental services — with the checks we write to the U.S. Treasury and the N.C. Department of Revenue and other taxes we routinely pay. Governmental services are big and abstract by comparison with the air conditioning keeping our homes cool all summer and the safety professionals who protect us in our own communities.

    Like so much else in life, changes in the U.S. tax structure have largely snuck up on us. Over the last 6-7 decades, tax rates for the wealthiest Americans, particularly corporate tax rates, have steadily declined while tax rates for the majority of us have remained the roughly same or risen. This includes sales taxes and some government-mandated “fees,” since they impact lower income earners more than those in the upper levels. Most critical is the corporate tax rate. Very few advanced nations maintain corporate tax rates as low as the United States.

    Since the 1950s, the corporate tax rate has steadily declined and is now to the point that major U.S. corporations pay no taxes at all. The New York Times reports that these include Fed Ex (despite all the millions of packages it has delivered during COVID), government contractor Booz Allen Hamilton, Nike and agricultural behemoth Archer-Daniels-Midland.

    You are not wrong if you wonder how these corporate giants keep what they make while you share a hefty percentage of your resources with various levels of government. And, you might note that higher income Americans own more stock in such corporations than lower income Americans do, meaning that they share in bigger corporate profits. The rich are indeed getting richer, and the divide between them and the rest of America continues to grow.

    Our nation has invested very little in our infrastructure since the big highway efforts of the mid-20th century, and it shows. President Biden is promoting a major infrastructure initiative to do what we have not done in decades. Americans want to be safe and secure in our homes and on our roads, and we support this effort. It will not happen, however, without changes in our tax structure, which Biden is also supporting. Over time, both Democrats and Republicans have backed tax reductions for corporations and by extension, wealthy Americans, but there is little to no evidence that those reductions have produced expanded job opportunities or higher incomes. In short, trickle-down economics have failed. They have actually done the opposite. They have trickled — or flooded — upward, accelerating the gulf between haves and have-nots.

    Millions of us want better and safer infrastructures. As politicians debate them and the rest of us listen and ponder, we must keep in mind this truth. In government, as in our private lives, we get what we pay for.

    Pictured above : President Joe Biden is promoting a major infastrusture initiative. Many argue that it will not happen without changes in our tax structure. 

  • 01 GirlHeadDown Blue girlPublisher Bill Bowman yields his space this week to Dr. Shanessa Fenner, who shares an up close and personal educator's perspective on the importance of raising awareness of child abuse prevention.

    I remember my first year as an elementary teacher. I decided that I wanted to sit all of my students in a circle on the carpet and have a discussion about appropriate and inappropriate touching. They sat there and looked at me while listening attentively to every word that I said.

    After the conversation one of my girls walked up to me and grabbed my hand. She told me that she had something to tell me. She told me that someone had inappropriately touched her. I told my teacher's assistant to watch the kids and we ran to the front office. I was so upset. Of course the authorities were contacted but I remember thinking that I am going to talk to my babies on a consistent basis about this because I have to protect them. The years have passed by, but I still think about her from time and time and hope she is doing okay.

    April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month. A report of child abuse is made every ten seconds in the United States. At least one in seven children have experienced child abuse and/or neglect in the past year. The Administration for Children & Families report a national estimate of 1,840 children died from abuse and neglect in 2019 compared to 1,780 children who died in 2018. Rates of child abuse and neglect are five times higher for children in families with a low socioeconomic status compared to children in families with a higher socioeconomic status.

    The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that about one in four girls and one in 13 boys experience child sex abuse at some point in their childhood. Some of the signs of sexual abuse include difficulty walking or sitting, sleeping with clothes on, age inappropriate bedwetting, runs away, not wanting to go to the bathroom, and sexual behavior or knowledge inappropriate for a child.
    Signs of neglect entail being dirty or has a body odor, frequent absences from school, begs or steals food, developmentally delayed, and not having the right clothes for the weather.

    General symptoms of abuse include low grades in school, mental health issues such as depression, anxiety, or low self-esteem, unusual interaction with parent, and slower than normal development.

    The impact of child abuse does not end when the abuse stops. These children may experience depression, anxiety disorders, poor self-esteem, aggressive behavior, suicide attempts, alcohol and drug abuse, post-traumatic stress, and other difficulties.

    Some states require all adults to report suspicions of child abuse or neglect. It is not your job to investigate, just report what you suspect. If you suspect a child is being abused call the National Child Abuse
    Hotline at 1-800-422-4453.

    Pictured above: Child Abuse (n)- pysical, sexual or psychological mistreatment ot neglect of a child by a parent or other caregiver. 

  • 04_07_10-saudia-arabia.gifIt takes a special kind of person to leave the security of what they know and what they are comfortable with and set off for foreign lands. But that is just what Mary D. Kavanwal did.

    On April 13, at 7 p.m., Kavanwal will be guest speaker at the Headquarters branch. As noted on the Cumberland County Public Library & Information Center Web site, after living and working in Saudi Arabia, Kavanwal came face-to-face with the hidden culture and the self-proclaimed righteousness that leads to impulsive and violent aggression toward others. She is convinced that even though the world may want to believe otherwise, a dangerous threat continues to be fostered within infl uential circles inside the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

    Her story provides a detailed look into a culture that many Americans don’t — or possibly don’t want to — understand. What she writes is engaging, frightening, frustrating and enlightening. As interesting as her experience was in Saudi Arabia, how she got there is a story in itself as well.

    After working as an on call nurse for several years, Kavanwal tired of waiting for a permanent position to open up and she became a travel nurse. Then, answering an ad in a nursing magazine, she committed to a job in the Saudi Kingdom. Discounting scary stories and warnings from friends and family, she made her way to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, to work in the King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center for two years.

    In a case of truth being stranger than fIction, Kavanwal found drama and adventure practically the moment that she stepped off the airplane. Not one to be scared off by the arrest and imprisonment of her roommate, or living in a culture that considers women lesser beings than their male counterparts, she stayed in country. As the twin towers fell on 9/11, Kavanwal experienced odd reactions from her host countrymen.

    In her two books, Surreal in Saudi and the sequel Awry in Arabia, Kavanwal shares her insights and adventures in this land that is so different from the country and culture so many of us know and love.

    “Her story is fascinating and probably unlike any we have heard of from a woman, who spent time working in Saudi Arabia,” said Kellie

    Tomita, marketing and communications manager at the library. “I hope many people will attend this program because I think it will provide an insight into the Arab culture that we would otherwise not be able to have.”

    The event is free and open to the public. For more information visit http://www.cumberland.lib.nc.us or call the Headquarters Library at 483-7727. For more information on the author and her writings visit her Web site at www.insidesaudi.com/author.html.

  • 12 DadSonBibleHC1406 sourceIn general, parents tend to fear the things they can't control. We tend to be particularly afraid of the sensational hazards, those that draw unwelcome attention and make for movie-of-the-week melodramas. From the graduation from diapers to pants and first loves to getting caught shoplifting candy from a convenience store, there are plenty of opportunities for parents and their children to feel like they've blown it.

    But the good news is this: you're doing fine.

    The fact of the matter is that life is a lot shorter than we give it credit for, and for parents, that short span of years is made up of a series of firsts.

    That's true for you, me, and every parent on the planet. So let's start by giving each other some room to learn, react and grow.

    If you have more than one child — or any number of siblings — you probably already know how tough life can be on first kids and first time parents.

    So many experiences in life can be deemed traumatizing in growing up and parenting alike, and while we may flippantly attribute some of the most horrendous scenarios to bad parenting in someone else's family, it's not usually how we see it if we're the parent.

    Somewhere near the middle of my military career my wife and I got a call to meet with the commandant of the overseas housing area we lived in. For a military family, that is not a good thing. The commandant is someone whose face is framed in an official hallway somewhere — not sizing you up from across an oversize desk in a quiet office. Whatever our kid had done had put our ability to reside on that installation in jeopardy. In serious cases, families can be ordered to return to the continental U.S. while the military member served out the rest of the tour alone. Not a desirable option. Definitely not the type of thing that gets you promoted.

    Here's the thing: I don't even remember what happened. I can't recall whatever incident led to the meeting, and I don't remember the meeting itself beyond its implications. Gone. Forgotten.

    Yet at the time, it seemed like the end of the world.

    Looking past the truly catastrophic situations that may occur in your life, or the lives of those around you, I want to encourage you with three simple things you need as a parent: License, Love and Forgiveness.

    Your license to parent is like a two-sided coin. One side affords you the power to exercise the discipline needed to steer your children toward becoming the best person they possibly can be.

    The other side of that coin is love. Discipline with love will always yield the greatest results, because in that is care and concern for the outcome.

    And finally, forgiveness. Your child will make mistakes, and so will you. Learn early on to own and accept those things that don't go according to plan, because there will be plenty. Perhaps forgiveness will be a little easier when you pause to realize this – not only is it your first time parenting, but it's your child's first time being your kid.

  • 04142010six-dance-lessons-in-six-weeks-shadowbox.jpgWhat do you get when you mix the Cape Fear Regional Theatre’s artistic director, Bo Thorp, with one of its most talented actors, Dirk Lumbard in one play?

    In the case of Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks, it looks to be a touching,yet humorous comedy that is sure to set your mind thinking and the town talking.

    Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks, directed by John Hardy, is a touching and human comedy about a formidable retired woman, Lily Harrison (Thorp), who hires an acerbic dance instructor, Michael Minetti (Lumbard), to give her private dance lessons —one per week for six weeks — in her gulf-front condo in St. Petersburg Beach, Florida.

    The duo of Thorp and Lumbard are sure to make theatre magic on the stage. The two who have worked together in a number of productions, most recently Peter Pan, have a great chemistry between them, which Hardy believes stems from their friendship and professional respect for their craft.

    “They know each other so well,” said Hardy. “It’s so much fun to watch them work and discover these characters. We’ve been working together for about a week, but in rehearsal time that’s about six months. Everyone I run into in town absolutely loves them and can’t wait to see the show.”

    The play, while centered around dancing is really the story of two very different, lonely people, who, when thrown together develop a rich friendship. What begins as an antagonistic relationship blossoms into an intimate friendship as these two people from very different backgrounds reveal their secrets, fears, and joys while dancing the Swing, Tango, Waltz, Foxtrot, Cha-Cha, and Contemporary Dance.

    Hardy said that for many, the dancing will be a draw, noting that Lumbard explains not only the history, but the mechanics to the dances throughout the play. But he cautions that this is not a musical.

    “The dancing is what brings them together,” he said. “They are two people who seem to have nothing in common, but when thrown together, they find out that they have more in common than they initially thought.”

    The character portrayed by Lumbard is gay, and Thorp’s character is the widow of a minister. That’s the starting point of their differences, but also where they come together and learn to overcome their outward differences and discover an unlikely but profound connection. By the final lesson, Lily shares with Michael her most closely guarded secret and he shares with her his greatest gifts, his loyalty and compassion.

    The production is a comedy with music and dance, but it also addresses the serious issues of ageism and intolerance. There is adult content and language, so leave the children at home.

    On Thursday, April 22 following the performance, there will be a special event – Champagne and Dancing Anyone? Bring your dance chose and join Lumbard and the cast for an after party with food, champagne and dancing on the stage. Reception Tickets are $7.

    Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks runs April 16-May 2. The Box Office for the public opens April 12 at 1 p.m. Tickets are $12 Preview; $17– Wednesdays, Thursdays, Saturday matinees, Sunday matinees & Sunday evenings; $17– Fridays; $23 – Saturday evenings. Show times are 8:15 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays; 7:30 p.m. Wednesdays, Thursdays and Sunday evening. Saturday and Sunday matinees are at 2 p.m. CFRT’s traditional discounts of $1 are available for seniors 55 and older, students 18 and under and active duty military and their dependants on Wednesdays, Thursdays, Saturday matine

  • 04 gunner biden pic by Jim JonesIt is said, watch what politicians do and not what they say. Our country is sideways. We are surrounded by cowards, feel-good laws, guilt marketing and a sense of perverted righteousness. Many representatives get elected, take office, swear to uphold the Constitution. Within minutes, many of them do everything they can to circumvent and destroy the very foundation they swore to uphold.

    In the last few weeks, we have had two highly reported shootings. The president did not miss an opportunity to use these tragic events to push his agendas. The president touted the Atlanta shooting at three massage parlors as "An assault on the AAPI (Asian American and Pacific Islanders) community in Georgia." The shooter has not been charged with a hate crime. Playing the race/hate card, the propaganda machines spread fear to Asians. They failed to mention the victims included six Asians and two whites murdered and a Hispanic man who was injured. The motive does not look like it was racial; the accused said he had a sex addiction.

    Six days later, in Boulder, Colorado, a man entered a grocery store parking lot, killed 10 people, and wounded one. The president and media led people to believe that the shooter used the evil AR-15 rifle. However, he had two pistols — a Ruger AR-556 and a 9mm pistol (believed to not have been used). Both were legally purchased.
    In response to the Atlanta shooting, the president quickly asked Congress to send him the "COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act" to sign, which had nothing to do with the shootings. The very fact that our government leaders think that one group, race, sex, or even one person is better than another is a tribute to their lack of moral character to enforce and uphold our laws.

    In response to the Boulder shooting, the president used the moment to reiterate his campaign promise to go after "assault weapons," saying, "As president, I'm going to use all the resources at my disposal to keep people safe." He went on to say, "I got that done when I was a senator. It passed. It was a law for the longest time, and it brought down these mass killings." He did not mention that studies show the ban did not have a significant effect on firearm homicides. According to the CDC, there is one-half to three million incidents annually where people use firearms for protection.

    A few weeks ago, President Biden fell three times going up the steps to board Air Force One. In America, each year, 12,000 Americans die due to stairway accidents. Each year, there are less than 400 people killed by rifles, including hunting, shotgun, and AR-15 style rifles combined! Currently, there is an estimated 10 to 30 million AR-15 style rifles in the U.S.

    In 2013, during an interview with Parents magazine, then Vice President Gunner Biden said, "Get a double-barreled shotgun... Jill, if there's ever a problem, just walk out on the balcony here, walk out and put that double-barrel shotgun and fire two blasts outside the house. I promise you whoever is coming in is not going to. You don't need an AR-15. It's harder to aim, it's harder to use, and in fact, you don't need 30 rounds to protect yourself. Buy a shotgun. Buy a shotgun."

    Umm, as the VP at the time, what he was saying is, if all of the Secret Service and their weaponry fail, just walk outside and shot two shotgun shells in the air. No responsible gun owner would ever tell anyone to shoot in the air.

    Let me ask you if you are unlike the Bidens and do not have Secret Service protection, and you hear a noise in the middle of the night, and you grab your Gunner Joe double-barreled shotgun and walk into your living room and discover three people breaking into your house? What if you squeeze a blast off and miss? How does that math work for you?

    Why don't our current laws work? There is no deterrent. Death-sentenced prisoners often spend more than one to two decades in jail before being exonerated or executed. That is decades for families to have to deal with a murderer and a criminal justice system. They become victims by a system that never gives them peace or justice.

    We need representatives that are willing to uphold our Constitution before party loyalties and politics. Our law enforcement agencies have to go after real criminals. Our prosecutors have to go after righteous cases. Our judges have to be fair and give out just punishments. Our judicial system must provide sentences that are speedy and respectable.

    Why is the government obsessed with assault rifles when you are 30 times more likely to be killed by a flight of stairs than an AR-15? Is it optics, lobbyists, ignorance, federal agency job security, or something else?

    Why are they gunning for your guns? Probably the same reason that England wished they had gun confiscation back around 1770. The same reason Hitler confiscated guns in Germany. As recently as 1997, England banned firearms and is now known as the "most violent country in Europe." London has a higher crime index rate than New York City, and London has banned people from carrying knives. This is about control so the government can have complete control over your life and give up your freedoms.

    Gun control bills on both sides of the political spectrum have failed in the past. Many times, due to the filibuster rule. If the statistics show that assault weapons are not the problem, that gun ownership saves more lives than not, then it is reasonable to ask why are they using mass shooting events as a tipping point to gun down the filibuster? Without the filibuster, a voting majority by one person could change the Constitution or ram a cockamamie cause down citizens' throats without fear of an uprising?

    The Constitution is framed on checks and balances. The Second Amendment ensures we have a First Amendment, and the First Amendment ensures we have Second Amendment and so forth.

    No matter what Gunner Biden’s intentions are, the first wave of change in the name of gun safety or gun control initiatives can only lead to gun registration and gun confiscation, turning millions of law-abiding citizens into criminals.

    If you, your representatives, and leaders cared about your safety, they would encourage Americans to exercise their God-given right to protect themselves and the Second Amendment.

    It took 58 minutes for the Boulder shooting to happen from start and finish. For some, sadly, that was a lifetime.

    If you find yourself in a life-or-death situation, you will have the rest of your life to figure out if you should have the right to protect yourself with whatever weapon you choose, or if you are willing to bet your life and wait for the police to arrive?

  • uac042810001.jpg May is a special month for Julio Ramirez. Since 2002, he has put on a road race in downtown Fayetteville every May to celebrate Cinco de Mayo. Since that fi rst race, he had a dream for something bigger and better, but his service in the Army prevented him from bringing it to fruition.

    With his military service behind him, Ramirez now has the time (and boundless energy) to bring the Cinco de Mayo Festival that he’s always dreamed of to Fayetteville and to share his Latino culture with the community.

    “Cinco de Mayo, for a lot of people has always been about partying and drinking and that is not what I want to show,” said Ramirez. “There is more than that. It is not about the Mexican Independence day either like so many people think.”

    According to Ramirez, the holiday of Cinco De Mayo, May 5, commemorates the victory of the Mexican militia over the French army at The Battle Of Puebla in 1862. It is primarily a regional holiday celebrated in the Mexican state of Puebla, particularly in its capitol, Puebla, with some limited recognition in other parts of Mexico, and especially in U.S. cities with a signifi cant Mexican population. It is not, as many people think, Mexico’s Independence Day, which is actually Sept. 16.

    As Fayetteville’s inaugural Cinco de Mayo celebration takes off, Ramirez planned a celebration that spanned an entire month. Through out the month of April there was a beauty pageant, held each Friday evening at the Speak Easy Night Club in Fayetteville. The fi nals of the competition will be on May 7. The top three contestants will each receive $1,000. Winners will be crowned during the festival on Sunday, May 9.

    On Saturday, May 8, the John E. Norman road race, which has become a much anticipated event in the Fayetteville racing scene, will kick-off the festival. Named for Ramirez’s friend, a portion of the proceeds will go to the John E. Norman College Fund.

    “John was my friend, and he passed away in 2005,” said Ramirez. “He never asked questions. I asked him for help and he just gave it to me and I thought he deserves to have this named for him.”

    Prior to 2005, the race was known as the Cinco de Mayo Run. The race includes not only a 10K which starts at 8:30 a.m., but also a 5K and a 2 mile fun walk that start at 7:55 am. There will be prizes for the race winners and Ramirez is also planning on providing steak fajitas along with fruit and drinks after the race.04282010ballet.jpg

    “One of the good things about this event is that is draws a lot of people,” said Ramirez. “I hope that local people will show up this year. Believe it or not, this race is the one that draws a lot of people from out of town. Every year we get people from Alabama, Florida, Virginia and Georgia. I’ve had people from Utah and California come, too. We have a great race and a great area to run in downtown.”

    To register for the race or get more information, visit the Web site at www. cincodemayo10k.org or call 578-9680.

    On May 9, the party transitions to Festival Park where there will be music and dancing from 12-6 p.m. With fantastic support from local sponsors, Ramirez says that the Cinco de Mayo Festival will include three Mexican folk dance groups: Los Concheros Aztecas de Octavio Flores, Magestic 4H Club from Sanford and Espíritu Latino from La Grange N.C. The “Charros de México” de Manuel Cerna Mariachi Band will be performing. These groups will perform a variety of dances, starting with Los Concheros Aztecas. The dance troupe’s performance is related to the magnifi cent Mexica culture, known as the Aztecs.

    From Central America, “Conjunto Típico Raíces Istmeñas” will perform with their beautiful polleras (decorative skirts) and unique tocados (hair accessories). Their style is very unique and is from the country of Panama.

    From the Middle East, Qarisma Dance Arts will perform in order to raise awareness of authentic Middle Eastern Oriental dance which is many times confused with Belly Dancing.

    The Fire Antz Cheerleaders “The Heat” will delight the crowd with their moves. Also, the Speak Easy Latino Dance Club will perform outside of its establishment showcasing the riches of unique dancing Salsa and Bachata styles.

    “My goal is to bring all these different groups of people in Fayetteville together,” said Ramirez. “I don’t want to just bring in a bunch of Americans and play Mexican music for them. That is not how it is going to work. You gotta suit your environment. To do that I gotta bring in different bands and entertainment.”04282010espiritulatino3.jpg

    Ramirez is hoping to have the 82nd Airborne Free Fall Team at the event as well. Mayor Tony Chavonne is scheduled to offi ciate the opening ceremonies with a ribbon cutting event. Look for a dominoes competition, a raffle for a fl at screen TV and loads of fun to round out the day.

    All of this fun and excitement will benefi t the community in more ways than one. Ramirez is donating a portion of the proceeds to the Hispanic Latino Center. Located downtown near the Women’s Center, Ramirez is choosing to support this organization for all of the good services they provide to the local Latino population.

    “They have a lot of computers and they teach them (Latinos) how to speak English, work with computers and stuff like that,” said Ramirez. “They connect them with the right people when they are looking for jobs and they put them in touch with lawyers when they need to get their visas squared away. The center guides them the right way to see the right people. One of the things about the center is that they concentrate on prepping Latinos for success in the U.S.”

    To find out more about this extensive and festive Cinco de Mayo celebration visit www. cincodemayo10k.org

  • Pasttimes The Museum of the Cape Fear Historical Complex will be hosting Pastimes and Professions of the 19th Century on April 9, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The event will be held at Arsenal Park, next to the Museum of the Cape Fear Historical Complex.

    The festivities will include music from the Huckleberry Brothers, tintype photographs from fine art photographer Harry Taylor and a "medicine show" from Shades of Our Past, a living history group based in Williamsburg, Virginia.

    "Medicine shows were entertainment acts that toured the country touting 'miracle cures' and other products," said Megan Maxwell, 1897 Poe House education and events coordinator. "These 'snake oil' medicines were promoted by a 'doctor' who engaged the audience with jokes, stories and various entertainers to sell his cures. It is definitely a comedic performance meant to entertain and engage people."

    Shades of Our Past will be performing at 11 a.m., and at 2 p.m. Bill Rose will be playing the role of the traveling salesman for the event.
    In addition to a live show, Harry Taylor, a North Carolina photographer, will be producing tintype photographs for visitors. Tintypes are positive images created on a piece of tin inside the camera and then developed in Taylor's mobile darkroom. A 4x5 photograph will cost $50, an 8x10 is $100.

    The Huckleberry Brothers, a group formed in 2002, performs at historical events throughout North Carolina and will be entertaining visitors throughout the day. The band plays several historical instruments, including bones, harmonicas, accordions, mandolins and a five-string banjo.

    "They may even teach you a traditional square dance," Maxwell said.

    The planning for the event has taken on several different iterations. Initially planned for 2020, the event was shifted to 2021 due to COVID-19. It was once again rescheduled, this time to the spring of 2022.

    "It was a challenge to find new and creative interpreters who were available in April due to the fact that there are so many other Civil War events in North Carolina that month," Maxwell said. "We wanted to do a Civil War-era event that focused more on civilian life during that time period, rather than a traditional military living history event."

    Women on the homefront will be a focus at the Pastimes and Professions of the 19th Century event. The museum will demonstrate everyday tasks and pleasures of the average home in the Cape Fear region during and after the Civil War.

    In addition, Nicholle Young, Fayetteville State University Archives and Special Collections technician will be creating a display detailing the Howard School and black churches of the 19th century.

    "Religion and church life were an instrumental part of supporting communities and encouraging activism during this time period," Maxwell said. "The creation of the Howard School following the Civil War highlights African-American professionals who were teachers, politicians and community activists, such as Dr. E.E. Smith."

    The Culbreth House, part of the VanStory History Village in the N.C. Civil War and Reconstruction History Center, also in Arsenal Park, will be open for visitors to tour. Visitors can learn more about the History Center's mission and current projects, according to Maxwell. The History Village features two other homes, the Arsenal House and the Davis House.

    The Davis House will also be open to visitors.

    Food will be available for event-goers. Scotty's All American Food Truck will be present, as well as Cool Beans Coffee and Ice Cream.

    The event starts at 10 a.m. on April 9 and is free to the public. For more information, visit https://museumofthecapefear.ncdcr.gov/events/pastimes-and-professions-19th-century.

  • 10 AdobeStock 276423886 1024x606Thanks to the fiscally responsible policies of the North Carolina General Assembly, state government has some $5 billion in unspent funds and unanticipated revenues in its General Fund.

    And thanks to the fiscally irresponsible policies of Congress and the Biden administration, North Carolina will receive another $5.2 billion in “COVID-19 recovery” funds that will be borrowed from Chinese investors and other holders of federal treasuries.

    Gov. Roy Cooper and his aides have looked up at that towering, tottering mountain of one-time cash and taken its measure. They think it’s too small.

    So in the 2021-23 budget proposal he just released, the governor is recommending that North Carolina borrow another $4.6 billion for capital spending on schools, colleges, universities, museums, and other government facilities. Some of these projects are clearly worthwhile. Others are pork-barrel giveaways. Still others are somewhere in the middle — nice-to-haves, let’s say, though hardly must-haves.

    I’ll say two positive things about Cooper’s debt scheme. First, it is true that, all other things being equal, it is better to borrow when interest rates are low than when they are high. Second, Cooper proposes that the new debt be issued as general-obligation bonds, meaning that North Carolina taxpayers will get to vote on the package in a bond referendum.

    But even at low interest rates, borrowing is costlier than paying cash. And Cooper proposes to put his massive borrowing spree on the ballot in an off-year, low-turnout election. A better approach would be to be put state government’s current surpluses to effective use, including a concerted effort to pay down the state’s already burdensome debt load.

    While the state currently has $4.1 billion of General Fund debt on its books, that’s not its only fiscal obligation.

    The state has also promised pension and health benefits to current and former public employees. North Carolina’s pension fund is better funded than that of most states, but not yet fully funded. And the unfunded liability for retiree health benefits is staggering: about $28 billion.

    This big hole in North Carolina’s financial position is hardly invisible. Governor Cooper sees it. His budget even included a $150 million deposit into the reserve for health benefits. Given the current surplus, however, this is also pitifully inadequate.

    With more than $10 billion in cash to spend, we don’t need to borrow another $4.6 billion. Instead, the state legislature should convert that one-time surplus into ongoing benefits for North Carolinians.

    First, I recommend that lawmakers put $1 billion into the state’s pension fund, $2 billion into the state’s retiree-health reserve, $500 million into dedicated reserves for disaster relief and the state’s turbulent Medicaid program, and $2 billion into the state’s rainy-day reserve.

    In the latter case, that would take the rainy-day fund to $3.1 billion, which comes to about 12% of last year’s General Fund budget. Most economists believe 2021 and 2022 will be banner years for economic recovery. I certainly hope so. But having a healthy cushion of operating expenses in the bank is a sensible precaution, and will keep North Carolina from having to raise taxes or cut programs with a meat cleaver if bad news comes.

    As for the remaining cash, I think the General Assembly should do a combination of capital investment and debt reduction. We absolutely need to upgrade key state assets, from education and health institutions to prisons and courthouses. We can do that while also paying down some of our $4.1 billion in bonded indebtedness, which consumes hundreds of millions of dollars a year that could be devoted to future operating expenses or tax relief.

    Keep in mind that I’m only talking about North Carolina’s one-time cash. The state is projecting robust revenue growth next year, which can fund essential services and pay raises for public employees.

    Politicians make some of their worse decisions during the “best” of times.

    Fiscally speaking, that’s where North Carolina is right now.

    The governor erred in proposing a new borrowing spree. Lawmakers should pursue a wiser course.

  • 03 clutter downsizeAmong the many unanticipated effects of our year of COVID-19 lockdown at home has been the urge to clean out and, for some, to downsize. Folks of my generation have been pondering downsizing for some time, and many, including moi, have actually done it. The rest are still talking about it.

    Award winning novelist Ann Patchett and her hubby made the clean out, downsize their possessions effort, and she wrote about it recently for The New Yorker. She began by tossing out dishtowels with images of dogs, birds, koala bears, and more, but that was just a warm up. Eventually, out went etched crystal champagne flutes, insect repellant from prior decades, brandy snifters, dolls from her childhood, bottles of dried up glue, and silver trays, vases, serving utensils, and a tea set. Ditto multiple colanders, pencils, old campaign buttons, and a bowl and collar belonging to a long-gone dog.

    Boy, do I relate to Patchett’s article!

    Her cathartic experience seems to have spanned quite a bit of the COVID year. Mine, however, lasted only about 2 frantic weeks, courtesy of Uncle Sam’s military moving schedule. Every day was the same. I awoke and began asking myself the same series of questions about thousands of items, not unlike Patchett’s collection of lifetime detritus.

    1. Do I want to keep this, and if not, who wants it?

    2. If no Precious Jewel or friend wants it, what do I do with it?

    3. Is this something a charitable organization could use, and if so, which one and will it pick it up or do I have to get it there?

    4. If that avenue is closed, is the item recyclable or is it fated to take up space in the landfill?

    It was emotionally and physically exhausting to the point that Precious Jewel and a Tennessee friend who had come to help called in a professional organizer to get me through the last few days.

    That said, I do not miss anything. Occasionally, I wonder what happened to some piece of furniture or kitchen implement I once enjoyed using, but I really do not care. I am not sure I achieved what organizing guru Marie Kondo describes as “sparking joy,” but I am considerably less burdened by my belongings and enjoy using what I have and remembering how individual belongings came into my life. The bottom line is that no one — repeat, no one, needs several dozen pairs of black pants in various sizes and styles, not counting the black leggings that have been my daily sartorial choice during COVID.

    Patchett and those downsizing and clearing out during COVID face a circumstance I did not pre-COVID. Charitable organizations that traditionally accept all sorts of donations are struggling. Many are concentrating on human services — food banks, health clinics, child care, educational needs, to the point that other needs and services are on back burners. In addition, charities need cold hard cash more than they need our household goods and memories. Their in-person fundraising events have come to screeching halts, and volunteers who are only too happy to help have been unable to gather. Charities, like most other aspects of life, will ease back to “normal” over time.

    The year of COVID has focused us on the core of our lives — our families, our health, the overall quality of our lives. It has established yet again that belongings, even treasured ones, do not make us happy. Our relationships do. Unburdening ourselves of possessions confirms that.

  • 05 Hypocrasy WarningIt's becoming outright depressing to witness the gross hypocrisy taking place in America and permeating our daily lives. Many of us try to avoid this disorder, but to no avail, falling victim to mass depression, overeating, alcoholism and untimely suicides. It's horrid, devastating, and it's everywhere! Hypocrisy is present at all government levels, our local communities, our educational systems, businesses and even our churches. With no end in sight, it's spreading unbridled at epidemic proportions.

    The sad truth is that here in America, we have only ourselves to blame. Slowly over the decades, we allowed politicians (both Democrat and Republican) to become much too powerful and greedy, allowing subversive and self-serving corruption to prioritize serving their country and the American people with fairness, justice and even humanity. Our entire political system is corrupt and vile. Americans' welfare and safety are no longer a priority or concern of most wealthy and elite elected political operatives. This is evident in law enforcement's weakening and the disregarding our Constitutional rights and the rule of law. Justice is not being served, and it is evident in the neglect we see in addressing many serious issues such as the southern border crisis, the advocacy and defense of criminals over victims' rights, condoning the inhumane treatment of women and children in the hands of known criminals who beat, rape, abuse, and sell them into sexual slavery.

    The Americans who support and encourage this despicable and inhumane behavior are not third-world despots. They are wealthy, fat and arrogant bureaucrats that we elected and are staying in power by changing, manipulating and ignoring the rule of law. These people are the richest amongst us and can ignore the laws that we have to abide by.

    This situation will not have a happy ending for future generations of Americans unless we come to our senses and start calling out those basking in this hypocrisy. I'm talking about regular everyday citizens in our community. The ones that sit on non-profit organizations and advocate for women's rights, protect them from abuse, support right to life or choice agendas, advocate for children, or any of the dozens of social service programs created to serve the poor and underserved.

    These same people actively support the agencies, parties, people responsible for the policies and actions that are causing these atrocious inhumane acts. Acts that are tearing America apart one Constitutional Article at a time.

    Here's my message: In the end, that uneducated child, that sick and infected migrate worker or MS13 gang member or similar undocumented criminal, child molester, rapist, or murderer will suddenly and without notice change your life forever, and not in a good way.

    America is in a deep state of denial. Nothing good is going to come out of our current situation. So, while we collectively romance the criminals, attempt to disarm the innocent, dismantle our laws, embrace and defend policies of inhumanity on the southern border as the Mexican cartel gangsters continue their reign of terror by throwing six-month-old babies in the river and throwing three- and five-year-old little girls over a fourteen-foot border wall then running away. You may be curious as to why they would do such a hideous act when they could have walked those youngsters into American through an unguarded opening just a few hundred yards away.

    Well, here's why: first, it was an intentional act of hostile aggression by the Mexican cartels who wanted to send a pointed message to America. They intended those children to die from the fall so America would have blood on their hands, giving the anti-border wall folks more talking points.

    Second: the cartels were sending us a pointed message that they were in control of the border and had the power and wherewithal to do anything they wanted, including murdering children at will.

    Those of you who are reading this and still have control of your conscience but are having trouble sleeping at night may want to know of an organization that feels your pain and anxiety. This organization professes that if you think you cannot support the kind of policies and hypocrisy taking place in America, they encourage you to WALK AWAY from it. Walk away from the people, policies and politics that conflict with your American values. There is peace of mind when you surround yourself with people who value others' rights, the Constitution, and American values. Color, creed or ethnicity doesn't matter. Everyone is welcome except the hypocrites. Check it out at www.walkawaycampaign.com.

    Thanks for reading Up & Coming Weekly.

  • uac040914001.gif Motorcyclists and car enthusiasts know it is spring because it is time for Fayetteville’s Annual Hogs and Rags rally. Hogs and Rags has become a staple event for motorcycle and car lovers from across the state. For those who are not familiar with this event, it is a sanctioned Fayetteville Dogwood Festival event and raises money for local charities. Each year, hundreds of motorcycles, classic cars, convertibles, Jeeps and anyone who just wants to drive descend on downtown Fayetteville for a day of fellowship, fun, food and riding.

    This year’s proceeds will go to the American Cancer Society, the Green Beret Foundation and the Kidsville News Literacy and Education Foundation. Also, the Hogs and Rags committee will donate $1,000 to the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office K-9 Memorial fund.

    This year’s event is on Saturday, April 26. The event will begin at the Airborne and Special Operations Museum at 7:30 a.m. City of Fayetteville Mayor, Nat Robertson, will lead the ride and is the Grand Marshall of the event.

    Various police departments provide a police escort the entire way from Fayetteville to Myrtle Beach, S.C. There are several stops planned along the way. The first stop is at the Rocking A Ranch for a big breakfast and door prizes. The group will then head out to the Horry County State Bank at the South Carolina border for a water break and to allow riders who want to take off their helmets to do so. Then it‘s off to Landry’s Seafood Restaurant at Broadway at the Beach in Myrtle Beach for a great lunch and the raffle drawings.

    This year, Ray Price Motorsports of Fayetteville is the premiere sponsor. First Pawn of 3056 North Main Street in Hope Mills has graciously donated for a raffle. There is also a raffle for $2,500 cash. This raffle has turned out to be like a TV game show where five tickets are drawn and those five people decide if they want to split the money or play their luck.

    This year there is a pre-ride welcome party Friday night, April 25, at Speakeasy’s Lounge located at 3986 Sycamore Dairy Road in Fayetteville. This event will start at 8 p.m.

    This is the ninth year for the event. The event was started by Gardner Altman in 2005 and has gotten better each year. Over the years, the event has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for various organizations. The event is planned in such a way that you get two meals, a good riding pace, cover two states, a Hogs and Rags T-shirt and still be back in time to enjoy the Dogwood Festival.04-09-14-cover-story.gif

    If you are not familiar with the Kidsville News Literacy and Education Foundation, it is a great resource that puts a newspaper into the hands of each teacher and student from kindergarten to the sixth grade. Not only does Kidsville News! do a wonderful job helping parents, teachers and the children with education and reading abilities, the company is very involved with the kids and works hard to bring the best out of each student here. Check them out at www.kidsvillenews.com or you can pick up their publications at various locations around town.

    Fort Bragg is the home of Special Forces. Special Forces Soldiers are known as the “Green Berets.” In 1961, President John F. Kennedy authorized a small unconventional unit, the Green Beret, because he believed that their special mission deserved special recognition. In 1962, President Kennedy called the green beret “a symbol of excellence, a badge of courage, a mark of distinction in the fight for freedom". The Green Beret Foundation provides unconventional resources to facilitate the special needs for wounded, ill, and injured Special Forces Soldiers and their families. They provide support to the Special Forces community in order to help the Soldiers and their families uphold the Green Beret traditions and values when they need help. To see more about this great organization please visit them at www.thegreenberetfoundation.org.

    The American Cancer Society provides researchers and health professionals to explore all avenues to stop cancer.

    This event is a win/win event for everyone involved. Although the event benefits local charities it is really about our community and the people that these great organizations touch.

    The ride costs $50 per entry and $30 per additional passengers. This price covers both meals and a T-Shirt. The Mayor is leading the ride and leaving the Airborne Special Operations Museum at 9 a.m., so come with a full tank of gas and an empty stomach and help make this the best ride of the year.

    For more information, you can go to www.hogsandrags.com or call Wendy at 910-818-0458.

    Photo Riders assemble at the Airborne & Special Operations Museum for the Hogs and Rags ride.

  • 04-30-14-all-american-marathon.gifFayetteville has always been a city of heroes, but what sets apart those who do and those who veg out on Taco Bell and Hulu Plus? Fitness. Come and join Fort Bragg’s Morale, Welfare, and Recreation along with Generation UCAN as they host the inaugural All-American Marathon. Answering the call for an official marathon, Fort Bragg and the City of Fayetteville have teamed up to bring this event to the All-American City. This fitness-based initiative aims to help active-duty military and citizens alike maintain a healthy lifestyle and inspire them with this annual event. Happening on May 4 at 6:30 a.m., the event consists of three separate races.

    The full marathon, which will be 26.2 miles, runs from Festival Park in beautiful downtown Fayetteville, past the Iron Mike statue at the Airborne Special Operations Museum, up to Morganton Road, onto the All-American Freeway, through Fort Bragg and ends in the heart of the post at the Main Post Parade Field. The half marathon is known as the “Mike-to-Mike” and is 13.1 miles. It runs part of the same course that the full marathon runners take. However, after entering Fort Bragg, the full marathon runners will split off into a course that will lead them past the “Iron Mike” statue before reaching the Parade Field as well. Finally, the 5K is a 3.1, family-friendly run that welcomes strollers and walkers who just want to be a part of this event. Beginning and ending on the Parade Field, the 5K will remain on Fort Bragg.

    After this event, all of the runners and volunteers will converge onto the Main Post Parade Field for a post-race celebration. All involved will enjoy food, drinks and live entertainment from the 82nd Airborne’s rock band. The U.S. Army Special Operations Parachute Demonstration Team, The Black Daggers, will perform a jump for the audience. Don’t miss your chance to be a part of this amazing event.

    The response from the community has been outstanding. Having advertised nationally as well as locally, MWR has registered more than 2,000 runners thus far. Brittney Vandermoere, assistant race director for MWR, said “We’re very excited with the turnout for the inaugural race. We have a lot of people signed up and need 1,200 volunteers.” The organization hopes to enlist the help of several people who can help facilitate the event by keeping runners hydrated and various other duties. The night before the race, as is customary, the Holiday Inn Bordeaux will host a pre-race pasta party with Olympian Meb Keflezighi for those about to race.

    The cost to attend is only $11.95. The MWR hopes to have many people sign up to race and volunteer. The cost to register per person is only $25 for the 5k, $75 for the half marathon and $90 for the full marathon. Prices include entrance into the party, t-shirts and custom race medals for those who finish the full marathon in seven hours or the half marathon in four hours. Come join the MWR as they host the inaugural All-American Marathon. For more information or to register, visit www.mwr/allamericanmarathon.com.

    Photo: Don’t miss Fayetteville’s first All-American Marathon

  • Music is no stranger to change. Changes can occur with record label executives, producers, managers, and even band managers. It is no surprise for fans to read online or see on television that their favorite bands have broken up. It has happened with music groups from all musical genres; like the R&B group Destiny’s Child, the teenage girl group Dream, and the rock band Blink 182. In the music industry, this is common.

    However, it is not very common for members of the same group to get back together and create a new group; still able to maintain the sound tha04-06-11-elo.jpgt made them popular the first go around.

    Well, both of these scenarios are true for the band The Orchestra. On April 16 Fayetteville will get to witness this amazing groups talent when they come to the Crown Arena. The show is scheduled to start at 7:30 p.m., and ticket prices range from $23 to $37.

    Members of The Orchestra are made up the former rock band ELO and Electric Light Orchestra Part II. ELO was a British rock group that originated in the UK. The group released eleven studio albums and won numerous awards, including the international level. Although the group originated in the UK, the group reached more success in the United States. The group earned the nickname “The English guys with the big fiddles.” Although ELO separated, some of the members regrouped as The Orchestra. A name that “acknowledges each band member’s illustrious former membership with the Electric Light Orchestra and/or Electric Light Orchestra Part II.” Their new name also “forges ahead a future utilizing the spectacular symphonic rock sound for which they are unequalled.”

    The Orchestra consist of six band members, their front man, Kelly Groucutt, suffered from a massive heart attack, that took his life. He was the seventh member. The Orchestra’s sound reaches back into the “70s and 80s with the Electric Light Orchestra,” and dates with the current sound they accomplished in 2001, while still with ELO Part II.

    During their show, the band will perform songs from their latest album (2009) Anthology - 20 Years And Counting as well as their 2001 album No Rewind along with many of their other hits. The Orchestra recorded No Rewind over “a two-and-a-half year period, and are proud because no money was used to record the album from the recording studio.” Fans have stated that No Rewind is an album that you will want to Replay every time.”

    Fans have been well receptive to the new group and their new sound. So, it is no coincidence that when The Orchestra comes to the Crown Arena on April 16, Fayetteville is scheduled to see a treat.

    Photo: The Orchestra featuring the former members of ELO will perform at the Crown on April 16.

  • Imagine soft string instruments playing light melodies that remind you of the cool and soft feeling of spring time. This is the feeling one will experience when listening to the musical sounds of the five-member quintet, Imani Winds.

    Imani Winds is the premier wind quintet in North America. On April 19 this wind quintet will perform on the campus of Fayetteville State University at 7 pm. This event will be held in the J.W. Seabrook Auditorium. There is no cost to attend, and the community is strongly encouraged to come out to enjoy some great music.04-13-11-imana-woods.jpg

    Imani Winds has received recognition for its contributions to the music industry. In 1997, the group was nominated for a Grammy award.

    The name Imani means “faith” in Swahili, and is what the group reflects since first beginning its career. The ensemble consists of five members: Valerie Coleman on the flute, Toyin Spellman-Diaz on the obo, Mariam Adam on the clarinet, Jeff Scott on the French horn and Monica Ellis on the bassoon.

    Coleman formed the group. Coleman stated that the idea came to her during her first year of graduate school. “I wasn’t thinking of just any wind quintet,” she said, “but of a group of virtuoso musicians of color who join together to change the conventional view that classical music is somehow ‘exclusive’ and too stuffy to be accessible.”

    Each member has intense musical backgrounds; they have studied at top schools like; Juilliard and the Manhattan School and Stony Brook.

    Members of the quintet adore artist like; Prince, Herbie Hancock, Manhattan Brass Quintet, and of course, Michael Jackson. They have an impressive background that includes collaborations with jazz artists. However, such collaborations are unique in the musical genre of classical music.

    Adam said, “Classical musicians don’t often get the opportunity to combine so many disparate musical and even visual elements into a performance. So we like to plan each program like a five-course mean. Sometimes it’s all a form of tapas, but mostly it has a structure that opens the ears of new listeners and hopefully prepares them for all different sounds they can hear along the way.”

    The quintet spends a lot of time touring, but in their downtime they love to indulge in some of their favorite things, which include: “eating, exercising, sleeping and more eating.

    They are extremely appreciative of the influence they have received since establishing themselves as “one of the most successful chamber-music ensembles in the United States.”

    They are no strangers to the city of Fayetteville. Their free performance on April 19 in the Seabroook Auditorium will mark the quintets second time performing at the university.

    To learn more about Imani Winds visit the website at www.imaniwinds.com.

    PHOTO: Imani Winds will perform at Seabrook Auditorium on the Campus of Fayetteville State University on April 19.

  • With less than a month to go until the Duck Derby, things are really picking up and Quacky is busier than ever.There have been more than 5,000 duck adoptions so far. Folks have really stepped up to support local charities and at the same time they’ve got a chance to win one of the four amazing prizes that will be given away to the fastest ducks on May 7 at Campbellton Landing.

    Even if you don’t win the 2011 Toyota Camry, Las Vegas getaway, the Myrtle Beach escape or the Cape Fear River Cruise, at $5 a duck it is hard to say no to a chance to reach out and help support the local nonprofi ts that will benefi t from the event.

    The local restaurants are having a blast as they compete for the title or the best Duck Derby Drink and Appetizer.

    “I think it is going really well, all the restaurants are really having fun with it,” said Katie Crenshaw, Duck Derby co-chair. “We feature a different restaurant every week on Facebook and the votes are kicking in on the website, so we know people are participating. And honestly, I think some of the restaurants are shocked at how much they are enjoying it. Some of them are already thinking about next year, so that is great news, too.”04-13-11-duck-derby-logo.jpg

    With only a few weeks left to help choose the winners, Crenshaw hopes that people will be out at the restaurants sampling the many dishes and drinks available and then take time to vote for their favorite at www.fayettevilleduckderby.com (where you can also adopt a duck to compete in the derby if you haven’t done so yet.) Once a vote is submitted, there will be a chance to see where your favorite restaurant ranks in the competition.

    As of this writing the Hilltop House and Latitudes were the favorites.

    “Every restaurant is different. Scrub Oaks has put mini ducks on their tables at different events,” said Crenshaw. “If you walk into Luigi’s they have a feather boa and a little duck hat on their menus, at Chris’s Steakhouse they have the big cow with duck derby specials on it. It is really interesting to see how each restaurant is doing this.”

    Winners of the drink and appetizer competition will be announced at the Duck Derby, but by then it may be too late to get a taste of all of the different concoctions in the competition. Crenshaw is hoping to make the namesake wanna-be’s available only during the weeks leading up to the big event each year. The good news is that next year there will be another round of drinks and appetizers to vote on.

    Don’t forget to adopt a duck (or a few ducks) and then show up at Campbellton Landing on May 7 for the Duck Derby at 1 p.m. While you’re there, stay awhile and enjoy live entertainment featuring Suckerpunch, Summerfi eld, Refl ections II, Kidsville Kids, Falcon Children’s Choir and Taylor Bridges. There will also be wagon rides, boat rides, a kidzone with face painting, bounce houses, arts and crafts, train rides for the kids and plenty of food and drink vendors to check out, too.

    Find out more at www.fayettevilleduckderby.com.

    Duck Derby offerings:

    Vote for your favorite! Drinks:

    Circa 1800; Duck, Duck, Goose

    Chris’s Steakhouse; What’s Good for the Goose Juice

    Hilltop House; One Lucky Duck Martini

    Huske Hardware House; Get Quacked

    IT’Z Enterainment City; The Duck is Happy

    Latitude 35; A Duck’s Life

    Luigi’s Italian Restaurant and Bar; Duck L’Orange

    Morgan’s Chophouse; The Perfect Pear

    Pierro’s Italian Bistro; Skye Ducktini Riverside Steakhouse; Waddle-tini

    Scrub Oaks; All Duck’ed Up Martini

    Appetizers

    Circa 1800; Get the “Duck” Outta Here

    Chris’s Steakhouse; Quacky’s Crabby Cakes

    Hilltop House; Duck Quesadillas

    Huske Hardware House; The Quacky Conch Fritters

    IT’Z Enterainment City; The Duckster

    Latitude 35; Stuffed Plucker

    Luigi’s Italian Restaurant and Bar; Kalamata Kwackers

    Morgan’s Chophouse; Apricat Glazed Pork

    Pierro’s Italian Bistro; Ducktacular Duck Cakes

    Riverside Steakhouse; Daffy Q Tacos

    Scrub Oaks; SeDUCKtion Pasta

  • uac042011001.jpg Hogs & Rags is the traditional Dogwood Festival rally for motorcycles and convertibles (including Jeeps). The riders gather every year, early in the morning, on the last Saturday in April. This year, instead of gathering at the Airborne and Special Operations Museum, they will gather at Cape Fear Harley Davidson on Sycamore Dairy Road. Registration starts at 8 a.m., followed by a southern country breakfast at 8:30 a.m.

    Kickstands are up at 9:30 a.m., and the fun begins. It is a nice, easy, escorted drive from Fayetteville that will end at Landry’s Seafood Restaurant at Broadway at the Beach in Myrtle Beach, S.C.

    Not only is breakfast included, there will be several local dignitaries as well as members of the American Cancer Society serving up the hearty fare. According to Gardner Altman Jr., one of the founding members of the rally, attendees can look forward to seeing Sheriff Moose Butler, Senator Eric Mansfield, Cumberland County Commissioner Ed Melvin, Mayor Tony Chavonne, Senator Wesley Meredith and Judge Billy West among others at the early morning gathering. It’s a great start to a great day and part of what Altman considers the magic of the event.

    “It has grown more than we thought it would, but any time that you have good friends and good food, fun people will come,” said Altman. “Food, friends and fun will bring people together. We’ve noticed that everyone really seems to enjoy it, and that is what we are looking for. It is really low key and having the police escort us is a big hit. People enjoy being able to ride from Fayetteville to Myrtle Beach with a police escort. They enjoy driving through the little country towns and the townsfolk waving at them.”

    Don’t mistake it. Hogs & Rags isn’t just another road rally, it’s a whole lot more than a ride. It’s a04-20-11-hogs-rags.jpg chance to enjoy a ride to the beach; a chance to participate in one of the many Fayetteville Dogwood Festival-sanctioned events; a chance to make new friends, reconnect with old friends and enjoy the camaraderie of some wonderful, caring and high-spirited people. Most importantly though, it is a chance to change lives and better the community. This year, the proceeds from Hogs & Rags will go to the Shriners Hospital for Children, the American Cancer Society and Kidsville News! of Cumberland County’s literary initiative.

    “I think one of the most exciting things about this ride is the charities that we sponsor and support,” said Hogs & Ragsvolunteer Steve Adam. “A lot of times we do these rides, and you are out there collecting for individuals who are fi ghting a battle, which is a great thing, but this is one of those events where you have a chance to get out there and raise a pretty signifi cant amount of money for some great causes.”

    The ride is a great value at $50 per entry and $30 for additional passengers. And, you get a big bang for your buck.

    “I think a lot of people forget when they look at the cost of this. They think ‘Oh man, Hogs & Rags is $50 per driver and $30 a passenger, and they start comparing t04-20-11-hogs-n-rags.jpghat to a poker run that is $10 a hand, and you really can’t compare the two,” said Adam. “This is an all-day event. You get your meals, both breakfast and lunch and a T-shirt. Also, the first 100 people get a $10 raffl e ticket for the Cape Fear Hog raffle on May 7 at their open house. They should also consider what we give to the charities. We get nothing out of this event. Every bit of the proceeds go to the charities. It is a nice ride, and I think everyone really enjoys it.”

    The Shriners Hospital

    Ernie Grooms is a Shriner of the Sudan Temple here in Fayetteville and has witnessed first hand the wonderful work that the Shriner’s do for children. With 22 hospitals throughout the U.S., four of which are burn centers (the rest are orthopedic), there is plenty of goodness that gets spread around.

    “The first child I ever saw when I went to Greenville, his mother was actually pulling him in a little red wagon. His arms and legs were stubs basically,” said Grooms. “He had to have both legs amputated and they gave him prosthetics. He was actually out of Fort Bragg, that is where his father was stationed. We saw him grow up to be a real nice young man. I will never forget when he danced at one of our ceremonies with my wife. He is a real nice young man, and his father actually became a Shriner, too, because of what we did for his child.”

    The Shriners Hospitals for Children has a mission to:

    Provide the highest quality care to children with neuromusculoskeletal conditions, burn injuries and other special healthcare needs within a compassionate, family-centered and collaborative care environment. Provide for the education of physicians and other healthcare professionals. Conduct research to discover new knowledge that improves the quality of care and quality of life of children and families.

    For more information, visit www.shrinershq.org.

    American Cancer Society

    The American Cancer Society is the nationwide, community-based, voluntary health organization dedicated to eliminating cancer as a major health problem by preventing cancer, saving lives and diminishing suffering from cancer, through research, education, advocacy and service.

    The American Cancer Society is a proponent of healthy living and avoiding behaviors that can play a part in causing cancer. They are there for cancer patients and their families from the moment of diagnosis, through the treatments, and when needed, through the healing and grieving process. For more information, visit www.cancer.org.

    Kidsville News! of Cumberland County

    Kidsville News! is Cumberland County’s fun family newspaper and educational resource. It is provided free of charge to all elementary school age children in Cumberland and Hoke Counties, as well as teachers and parents. The goal of the publication is to help children develop reading skills, promote literacy and provide good quality character education.

    Kidsville News! has been continuously published since 1998 and has been recognized and utilized by the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction for its measured progress program and hosts the Character Education Program in Cumberland County Schools plus several literacy, arts, writing and environmental educational programs.

    For more information, visit www.kidsvillenews.com/cumberland.

    Find out more about Hogs & Rags at www.hogsandrags.com.

  • 14 MBB all region collage 768x432Three Fayetteville Tech men’s basketball players were named to the All-Region 10 Division II team for the 2021 season.

    Tyreik McCallum earned second-team honors, while Donte Johnson and JeKael Gay made third team.
    All sophomore forwards, the trio played a key part in the Trojans’ success this season, which ended April 3 with the program’s second straight appearance in the regional quarterfinals.

    “Tyreik has been an all-around producer for us,” head coach Brian Hurd said.

    “Donte turned into a consistent presence on offense and defense. And JeKael has really made the most of his experience at the two-year level, on the court and in the
    classroom.”

    McCallum and Johnson each landed in the top five among all NJCAA Division II players in field-goal percentage, with McCallum’s 68.8 percent landing him third on the list and Johnson holding the No. 5 spot at 65.5 percent.

    McCallum led the Trojans in scoring and rebounding for the season, averaging 14.5 points and 7.5 boards per game.

    The 6-foot-4 Lumberton native’s totals came despite an abbreviated 11-game season, cut short due to injury with five games left to play.

    Johnson scored 10.8 points and pulled down 5.1 rebounds per game. Late in the season, the 6-foot-5 post player showed a penchant for accuracy from 3-point range, going 5-for-6 in the last four games and finishing the season shooting 63.6 percent from behind the arc.

    Gay, who like Johnson is a Greene Central High School product, made perhaps the biggest strides year-over-year of any player on the Trojans’ roster.

    He averaged 13.3 points on the year and 4.3 rebounds and added another dimension by developing his 3-point shot. He shot 45.5 percent on 3-pointers, second in Region 10 DII behind teammate Chance Minott.

    Pictured Above: FTCC men's basketball players (left to right) Tyreik McCallum, Donte Johnson, and JeKael Gey earned All-Region 10 Division II honors for the 2021 season. (imagery courtesy of Fayetteville Technical Community College). 

  • 08 nurses week virtual 5kSince first hearing the word "coronavirus," we have found ways to do just about everything we need to from a distance or virtually. This includes shopping, work, school, appointmentss and even fundraising.

    Cape Fear Valley Health nurses are hosting a virtual 5K from May 1-15 to raise money for the Nursing Education Scholarship to help those pursuing a career in nursing or nurses who are advancing their education.

    “This is the first year for us to hold a 5K,” said organizer Beth Langley, Ph.D., RN, who is a Nursing Quality Specialist with Cape Fear Valley.

    “This will be the biggest fund raiser we’ve ever done in the community. With the pandemic, doing this virtually seemed like a safe place to start. It’s been very affirming to see members of the public get involved.”

    Since its inception in 2017, the Nursing Education Scholarship has helped over 24 Cape Fear Valley Health nurses work towards advancing their education.

    The goal of fundraisers like the Nurses Week 5k is to not only assist current nurses enhance their skills but also to create a permanent source of scholarship funding to continue supporting nurses into the future.

    To sign up for the 5K, go to https://runsignup.com/Race/NC/Fayetteville/NursesWeek5K. The cost to participate is $25. Registration is open through May 15.

    Participants can register as individual runners or as part of a team. Those wishing to help, but not run, can donate to support an individual runner, team, or to the overall fundraising effort.

    Because the event is virtual, participants can walk or run their 5K at any location and can divide their 5K into several days. Particiapants are encouraged to get their family, friends and even co-workers involved in the cause.

    Langley said she is aware of several participants who have mapped out laps around their workplace, which they will use on their lunch breaks to complete their 5K over multiple days.

    Sponsorships opportunities are available for businesses and organizations interested in supporting the Nursing Education Scholarship and the Nurses Week 5K.

    “We’ve also been honored by the level of community support we’ve received from our sponsors,” Langley said. “They help make this event happen.”

    Among the event’s top sponsors are Castle Uniforms, Boone Trail Fit Body Boot Camp, Victoria Baskett Patient Safety Foundation, and Cumberland Anesthesia.

    For more information about the Nurses Week Virtual 5K, contact Langley at mlangley@capefearvalley.com or 910-615-5865.

  • 15 downtown April eventsDowntown Fayetteville will host multiple events this weekend to engage and entertain the whole family.

    Cool Spring Downtown District will host “Make your Mark” and “Find your Zen 4th Friday” events on April 23 and 24. The Downtown Alliance will have its “Spring Open House” on April 24.

    “Make your Mark” will focus on community and giving back. Volunteers can sign up for slots on the 23rd or 24th of April and help paint the Linear Park wall near the Art Park behind The Capitol Encore Academy near Maiden Lane.

    “The 4th Friday program has always encouraged visitors to experience the downtown vibe,” said Lauren Falls, director of marketing and events for Cool Springs. “Whether supporting local or experiencing the parks, museums and theaters, there is something for everyone to enjoy in downtown Fayetteville.”

    The event organizers will provide food and drinks for volunteers. Volunteers can register here www.signupgenius.com/go/805044fa9ac29a6f58-linear

    “Make your Mark” is a community focused beautification project organized by Cool Spring Downtown in partnership with Fayetteville-Cumberland Youth Council, City of Fayetteville, Fayetteville Parks and Recreation, Arts Council of Fayetteville/Cumberland County and the Fayetteville Millennial Advisory Commission.

    16 linear park wall

    On April 24, Cool Spring will host “Find your Zen” free yoga classes for the community from noon to 4 p.m at Cross Creek Linear Park Fountain on Green Street. Classes will be 45 minutes long, and require participants to be socially distant and bring their own yoga mats.

    Slots are limited and sign-up can be found here www.eventbrite.com/e/make-your-mark-and-find-your-zen-yoga-class-tickets-150625122797

    “This program focuses on mindfulness and meditation,” Falls said. “These are free classes, but participants are required to bring their own yoga mat.”

    “The Spring Open House” downtown will happen from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. with several shops having promotions, sidewalk sales and free zinnia flower seed packets. For more information on the “Spring Open House,” visit www.facebook.com/events/745050506195591

    Also on April 24, the Farmer's Market at the Fayetteville Area Transportation and Local History Museum will be outside from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at 325 Franklin St.

     

  • 09 Pic 44You don't want to miss out on the 21st Annual Toast of the Town Wine, Beer, & Spirits Tasting and Silent Auction. A signature fundraiser for The CARE Clinic of Fayetteville, the event arrives May 6 at the Cape Fear Botanical Garden at 536 N Eastern Blvd. from 6-10 p.m. Food, fun and a good cause await.

    Come out for a night out in the beautiful gardens enjoying an assortment of finger foods and desserts served by Elite Catering. Wine Café will have various wines to explore, while specialty spirits will be provided by Durham Distillery and Lizard Lick Brewery and Distillery. Local brewing companies Bright Light and Mash House will be in attendance delivering hometown hops, too. The popular silent auction includes trips to destinations not offered in the past Key West, Canadian Rockies, Sedona Iceland and more.

    A wide range of fun-themed baskets will also be available for bidding during the silent auction, including Escapology Party for 8, The Goddess Basket, The Best Mom Ever Basket, Flowers for a Year, Paint for a Cause Board and Brush, Stud Muffin Basket, Rugged Outdoor Basket, Happy Humidor Basket, Family Fun Basket, Kids' Basket and more.

    Event proceeds benefit The CARE Clinic, a private nonprofit organization that provides free basic medical care and dental extraction services for eligible uninsured, low-income adults living in Cumberland County and surrounding areas. Located at 239 Robeson Street, the clinic opened its doors to the community Nov. 16, 1993.

    The clinic receives no government funding and relies solely on donations, grants and annual fundraising events like The Toast of the Town to provide health care services to the community. Additionally, CARE Clinic patients have assisted in their care by donating more than $306,863 since its founding.

    The clinic serves approximately 1500 patients a year and handles 734,000 prescriptions. Since its inception, The CARE clinic has helped some 37,500 patients with service demands rising sharply during the pandemic.

    The 501c3 entity could not operate without the gift of time provided by volunteer staff: doctors, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, pharmacists, dentists, dental assistants, nurses, pharmacy assistants, chiropractors, social workers, nutritionists, physical therapists and orthopedists. These health care professionals treat patients with the compassion and care they deserve. The clinic also relies on our numerous nonclinical staff who assist The CARE clinic's small staff in performing the tasks needed while also serving on the clinic board and various committees.

    Volunteers are vital at The CARE Clinic, and both medical and nonmedical opportunities abound. When it comes time for fundraising events like Toast of the Town, community volunteers take center stage through sponsorship, prize donations and event planning. Other fundraising events include the winter Evening of CARE dinners, now in its 24th year, and a fall Golf Charity tournament.

    The Toast of the Town has gone through many transformations in its 21 years. The first Toast of the Town was held in Saint Patrick's Catholic Church in 2000. With a smaller variety of wines, food, water and entertainment, the clinic fundraiser netted $4,000 that first year. Within the past two decades, The CARE Clinic has found overwhelming support from sponsors and community members to provide a night ensuring enjoyment. With this support, the event has raised eight times the original event each year since. The CARE Clinic couldn't achieve these goals without those in attendance. Starting with only 86 participants, the signature event now boasts 350-400 people annually.

    Precautions concerning COVID-19 have become a priority over the last year. Due to the extent of the pandemic, the clinic did not host a live Toast of the Town in 2020. CARE clinic staff and supporters are excited to see event-goers in person this year.

    The health and safety of attendees to this year's Toast of the Town are of high consideration. Event vendors will set up on the CFBG lawn to allow space for social distancing. This distancing extends indoors with seating options and at silent auction tables ― touch-free this year via item QR codes. For those not comfortable attending the live event, online participation for auction bidding is an option. For those who do choose to attend, masks will be provided at the door.

    Support is needed each year to make the Taste of the Town a success. To become a corporate sponsor, silent auction item donor, or your name added to the invitation list for next year's event, please contact Monica at The CARE Clinic at 910-485-0555 development@thecareclinic.org.

    Tickets can be ordered at https://www.toastofthetownfay.com/ and are $75 per person in advance and $100 at the door. Find event details and virtual participation options by visiting https://www.thecareclinic.org/.

    Mark your calendars for May 6 for the Toast of the Town event. Enjoy good food and a variety of tasty beverages while contributing to the community.

    CARE Clinic patient information:

    To be eligible for The CARE Clinic's services, you must be 18 years or older; have no insurance, including Medicaid; meet an income requirement; and display proof of household income and a valid, North Carolina DMV-issued picture ID card or driver's license showing your current address.

    Call 910-485-0555 to make an appointment. Appointments are made only by phone; no walk-ins. Medical appointments can be made Monday- Thursday, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Dental appointments can be made Friday from 9 a.m. to noon for the following week.

    The clinic serves patients each Tuesday and Thursday and the second and fourth Wednesday of each month from 5:30-8:30 p.m. Dental clinics are every Tuesday and the second and fourth Wednesday of each month. Appointments are made on a space-available basis.

  • love letter ladiesThe Fayetteville Dinner Theatre will kick off its 2021 season this weekend at Gates Four Golf & Community Club with one showing each day at 7 p.m. on April 9 and 10. “A Sinister Cabaret: Love Letters/Sleight of Hand” is a musical mystery written and directed by Dr. Gail Morfesis, a local performer who has collaborated with Fayetteville State University, Methodist University, Fayetteville Technical University, Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra, among others.

    In “A Sinister Cabaret,” Morfesis takes on the role of Francine Maximillian, a seasoned actress who starts an agency to promote young artists. Francine’s philandering husband, who works at the agency, meets his end under mysterious circumstances early in the show, and through performances by the artists, we learn details of their lives and dealings with the deceased.

    “During the course of the story all of his interactions with different women come out,” Morfesis said. “It’s just a really fun show.”

    The play is interactive, Morfesis said, so before the finale, the audience will be able to ask questions of characters to try to determine who is guilty of the murder.

    Jim Smith plays Sylvester “Sly” Fox in the production and said he has enjoyed working with Morfesis and the other talented performers. Smith said that with multiple plots running between the characters, the audience will be intrigued and entertained by “how all the ladies feel about my character.”

    Smith is a recent transplant to the Sandford and Fayetteville areas. Originally from New Jersey, he performed in regional productions in the New York metro area when his full-time job with the New Jersey Department of Human Services would allow. Smith appeared in “Pippin,” “Godspell,” “West Side Story,” and “Hair” among others. Locally, he has appeared in the Cape Fear Regional Theatre’s “Best Christmas Pageant Ever.”

    Smith hopes to do multiple shows each year now that he is retired and able to devote more time to his craft. Smith said that with each of his past shows, he was able to gain experience in dancing, singing and acting as well as build friendships with other performers. He found the same camaraderie in rehearsals for “A Sinister Cabaret.”

    “It has been a pleasure to work with Dr. Gail, who has a lot of background knowledge in vocal training,” said Smith.

    Tabitha Humphrey, who goes by the stage name Selva Black, plays Percy Barker in “A Sinister Cabaret.” Like Smith, Humphrey is a transplant to the Fayetteville area. She is a military spouse with several moves under her belt which allowed her opportunities to perform in a variety of areas to include Hawaii, Canada and South Korea.

    “I loved to sing and I taught myself how through Disney songs,” said Humphrey. She then decided to try singing on stage and landed a spot in “Little Shop of Horrors” at Camp Humphreys Community Theatre in South Korea. A role as Kate in “Kiss Me, Kate!” followed before a family move to Hawaii. Several performances at the Diamond Head Theatre, a community theatre in Honolulu, followed including “Catch Me if You Can,” “ South Pacific,” “Spamalot,” and “To Kill a Mockingbird.”

    “Hawaii was a wake-up call for me,” Humphrey said. “I learned I had to fight for the role I wanted.” Humphrey soon found an agent and landed a small speaking role in the 2016 movie “Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates” starring Zac Effron, Adam DeVine and Anna Kendrick.

    Another move took the family to Canada where she performed as Mrs. Lovett in “Sweeney Todd” at the Oshawa Little Theatre.

    Now in North Carolina, Humphrey is hitting the local stage with Fayetteville Dinner Theatre, but is looking forward to opportunities for other performances. Like Smith, Humphrey said her experience with FDT has been fun.

    “Dr. Gail gave us creative freedom with our characters,” Humphrey said. Morfesis allowed the performers to improvise many aspects of their characters.

    “A Sinister Cabaret: Love Letters/Sleight of Hand” also features Courtney Parker, Reba Fox, Valerie Humphrey, Kaitlyn Woodrow, Stanley Seay, Gabriel McKern and Vajra Spring. For ticket information visit www.fayettevilledinnertheatre.com or call 910-391-3859.

     

    Pictured above: Fayetteville Dinner Theatre's “A Sinister Cabaret: Love Letters/Sleight of Hand” has scheduled performances April 9 and 10.

    Pictured below: (Left) Jim Smith is Sylvester "Sly" Fox and Gail Morfesis (Right) is Francine Maximillian in Fayetteville Dinner Theatre's “A Sinister Cabaret: Love Letters/Sleight of Hand.”

     Jim Smith as Sly FoxGail M as Francine

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

      

     

       Pictured below: Selva Black is Percy Barker in Fayetteville Dinner Theatre's “A Sinister Cabaret: Love Letters/Sleight of Hand.”

     Selva Black as Percy Barker

     

  • 07 Rex program“Oedipus Rex” opened with a dramatic flair at the Gilbert Theater on March 26 and will continue until April 11.

    Based on the infamous Greek myth written by Sophocles in 429 B.C. about the cursed king Oedipus and his tragic misfortune.

    The story entices the audience with compelling drama, songs and acting. Director and adapter Montgomery Sutton successfully simplifies the language for everyone to understand without taking away its charm.

    The drama takes viewers on a journey through the plague-stricken city of Thebes, where the citizens beg their king Oedipus to find a solution.

    After promising to end their misfortunes, Oedipus receives a prophecy that changes his life. Told to solve the murder of the last king of Thebes which went unsolved, Oedipus sets himself on a path to seek the truth for his people that leads to his own doom.

    Returning actress Deannah Robinson plays Oedipus and perfectly captures his character - slightly arrogant, paranoid, honest, righteous, a loving husband, father and king. Seen before at the Gilbert in productions like “Laramie Project” and “Barefoot in the Park,” she brings to stage a new character.

    Playing Oedipus brought new enlightenment in the rehearsals, and there was more sympathy for him, Robinson said.

    The production showcases an almost trial in search of the truth, and Oedipus becoming more and more paranoid. Tiresias, the blind prophet, played by Ella Mock, tells Oedipus that he himself is the murderer of the last king. Oedipus then blames Tiresias for treason, then his brother-in-law Creon.

    The drama unfolds to when an ambassador of Corinth comes forth and a shepherd to confirm that Oedipus was the abandoned prince of
    Thebes, adopted by the royalty of Corinth and did in fact kill his birth father, Laius, and marry his own mother, Jocasta.

    Mock, who plays multiple characters in the show including Tiresias and Antigone, said they were excited about how the show flows.

    The show sees many of the actors playing various roles with much ease and talent. Mock’s performance of the blind prophet Tirisius was outstanding and leaves the audience at the edge of their seat. Tim Zimmerman did well in his various roles, but stood out as Creon.

    The music is made better with the live instruments being played and the stunning voices of Zimmerman, Mock and Helen Steffan.

    Those familiar with the original Greek myth know that the story ends with heartbreak for Oedipus and his kin, as he gouges out his own eyes, symbolizing his blindness of the obvious truth and his gruesome fate.

    Audiences can expect a night of much drama, and perhaps some sympathy for Oedipus
    the King.

    For tickets and more information about the Gilbert visit, https://www.gilberttheater.com/index.php

  • 06 LAF TRAIL MARKER 1A historical marker was placed March 5 on the edge of Cross Creek Linear Park designating Fayetteville as a stop on the Marquis de Lafayette’s tour of the United States nearly 200 years ago. The placement is part of the Lafayette Trail Project founded by Julien Icher and leads up to the bicentennial celebration of Lafayette’s Grand Tour of 1824-25.

    Lafayette was a French nobleman who fought alongside the American people in the Revolutionary War. His loyalty to General George Washington, his resources, and his alliance with the French king all played an important role in the American people earning their independence from the English crown.

    This Trail marker is one of five in North Carolina that helps map out Lafayette’s tour 196 years ago. Icher, from France, has collected extensive details and artifacts about Lafayette. His multi-year project aims to place a marker at each of Lafayette’s stops during his tour.

    The placement of the historical marker is a notable designation of our city’s connection to Lafayette and the Revolutionary War, said Bud Lafferty, a member of the Lafayette Society.

    When Lafayette arrived in Fayetteville in March of 1825, he visited multiple places during his stop. He arrived in a carriage with a whole entourage that was so big that, instead of staying in the hotel named after him, he actually stayed in the National Banking House (which is the old courthouse today). The carriage that Lafayette came in is still in Fayetteville and is located at the Fayetteville Independent Light Infantry Museum.

    Lafferty said that Lafayette was for the rights of man, as well as an abolitionist. He said that Lafayette received a warm welcome when he arrived in Fayetteville, which had been renamed in his honor in 1783.

    There will eventually be markers in 25 states that Lafayette visited during his tour. Members of the Lafayette Society say the markers will help increase awareness of the story of the Marquis de Lafayette and Fayetteville’s own connection to history.

    For more information on The Lafayette Society and events visit their website at https://www.lafayettesociety.org/.

    For more information about the Lafayette Trail visit https://thelafayettetrail.org/#map.

  •      April is a time of spring festivals including Easter this year! Easter has a variety of customs and legends in addition to the traditional religious activities of the day. If you are looking to celebrate this joyous occasion, join Fort Bragg’s FMWR for plenty of celebrations to remember.
         {mosimage}The celebrations of Easter are as diverse as the holiday itself. The Easter Bunny has been a symbol of the famed holiday for centuries. The most famous bunny, Peter Cottontail, is renowned by children everywhere with the century old children’s song.
         Eggs are synonymous with Easter. The Romans celebrated the Easter season by running races around an oval track with eggs given as prizes to the winners. To this day, eggs play an important part in Easter for children of all ages. Two traditional Easter egg games are the Easter Egg Hunt and the Easter Egg Roll.
         A weekend full of celebrations will take place on Fort Bragg this year. My family is certain to enjoy the various activities. Our first stop will be the Annual Easter Carnival at Tolson Youth Activity Center. Face painting, activities and an Easter Egg Hunt for all age groups will keep my busy little boy engaged for hours.
         On Easter Sunday, we will head over to the Officers’ Club for an all-you-can-eat buffet. The Officers’ Club has been running an Easter brunch buffet from since it opened its doors in 1939. This year the menu includes sausage, grits, eggs, baked ham, carved roast beef, leg of lamb, fried chicken, seafood, wild rice, biscuits and a full dessert station with pies, cakes and cookies and much more.  
         We will round the day out at Dragon Lanes where our son can bowl all day for just $1 a game. Dragon has kid-size bowling balls, children’s shoes and bumpers for the less experienced bowlers. Dragon Lanes will be open all day on Easter.
         If you are planning to stay in the Fort Bragg area for Easter, spend this great holiday weekend with FMWR as we continue striving to be your “First Choice.”

     


    Fort Bragg Easter Activities

    • Annual Easter Carnival - Tolson Youth Activities Center on Saturday, April 11. The facility will open at 2 p.m. with the egg hunt starting at 3:15p.m. Open to the public. For more information, please call 396-KIDS.
    • Teen Flashlight Egg Hunt - Tolson Youth Activities Center on Saturday, April 11. The event begins at 8 p.m. for 7th-12th graders. Teens wishing to participate in the Flashlight Hunt must provide flashlights.  For more information, please call 396-5437.
    • Easter Brunch - The Fort Bragg Officers’ Club is proud to serve brunch on Sunday, April 12 from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. The brunch is open to everyone.  Members pay $14.25 for adults and $7.25 for children. Non-members pay $17.45 for adults and $8.25 for children. Children 5 and under eat free. For more information, please call 907-2582.
    • Easter Bowl at Dragon Lanes - kids play for just $1 a game. Open 1 p.m. to 9 p.m. For more information, please call 907-2695. 

  • 04-04-12-march-at-methodist.jpgOn Saturday, April 14, the March of Dimes hosts its third annual March for Babies event at Methodist University. This 2.5K walk is an exciting way for everyone in the community to get involved and help a great cause. The students of MU have made this a part of their yearly curriculum in an effort to help the MoD meet its goal of $100,000. You can help them meet this goal by being a sponsor, creating a family or corporate team or being an individual walker in the event.

    Hilton Hutchens Jr., of Hutchens, Senter and Britton Law Firm, is serving as the walk chairman this year. The walk is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. following registration at 9 a.m. and the opening ceremony at 9:45 a.m.

    The work of the MoD is made possible by millions of people and thousands of companies volunteering to help in the mission of the MoD. “Our mission is to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth and infant mortality,” says Catherine Heindselman, director of the Cape Fear Division of the MoD.

    There is a headquarters located in Fayetteville, N.C., and from here they service eight counties in the region. In 1970, the first ever charity walk was founded and now the organization hosts three signature events to bring our community together for one walk, one voice and one day to help babies be born healthy. Each year, the MoD chapter awards grants to external organizations across the state in order to address unmet maternal and infant health needs. These community grants are one way that the MoD pursues it mission.

    Nearly 1,000 people are expected to walk in this year’s event and there will be activities for the kids and food and fun for the whole family. March for Babies is the largest fundraiser hosted by the MoD so they would like everyone to come out and be a part of something great. “We are so excited to continue our relationship with MU,” Heindselman stated. MU students coordinate the walk by handling the logistics, the route and all necessary equipment needed to make this a safe and fun event.

    The students have created two sources to promote this event and for anyone to register early. You can also become a volunteer for the event if you visit the site on Facebook at MU March of Dimes Team or on Twitter @ MUMOD. The University is eagerly anticipating this wonderful event and preparing for the year to come in which the school newly inaugurated President Dr. Hancock will be the Fayetteville Regional March for Babies Chairman. This year’s Ambassador Family includes twins Brendon and Cameron Cooper. The twins were born at 23 weeks at the weight of 1.61 lbs and 1.75 lbs respectively. They were born at Cape Fear Valley Hospital’s Neonatal Unit to parents, Lauren and Beverly Cooper.

    Find out more about the March of Dimes and its mission at www.marchforbabies.org.

    Photo: Walkers prepare for the 2011 March for Babies walk at Methodist University. 

  • 04-18-12-children\'s-fest\'.jpgSpring is finally in the air, and children are trying to find some outdoor fun for the entire family, The Fort Bragg Child Youth and School Services has

    just the answer for you as it presents the 20th Annual Children’s Fest.

    The event commemorates the Month of the Military Child and honors military families and their children. “I have watched this event grow over the years from a small event held in a grassy area on Fort Bragg,” said Gudrun Blackmon. Blackmon is the coordinator of the event and has been actively involved in its success and growth since 2001.

    The Children’s Fest is now a garrison command event much like the 4th of July Fest and the Fort Bragg Fair. In 1983, April was declared Month of the Military Child by then-Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger. The Department of Defense recognized the need for quality child/youth care programs as well as the importance of military children and the unique lifestyle they live. Therefore, installations all over the world take this month to honor military children.

    Fort Bragg is very important to Fayetteville and its surrounding areas, so this is a wonderful opportunity to come out and show your support to both the military and their children. Previous year’s attendance at the Fest has been 3,000 – 3,500 and event organizers anticipate the same attendance and participation this year.

    Age-appropriate events and activities are scheduled throughout the day. Military static displays will allow children to interact with Soldiers as well as become familiar with equipment their parents work with on a daily basis. Other entertainment and activities include the Kiddie Jump Tower, Toddlerville, a Climbing Wall, a personal appearance by #9 Robot, Pallaber the Clown, various carnival rides and concessions.

    Parents will get an opportunity to get involved in their children’s world for a day and experience some of the activities that the children do while attending daycare, school or other local kid events. Doreene Jenkins, CYSS Outreach Director noted, “The biggest thing for me is watching the children come out with their parents. I am so accustomed to seeing the parents dropping the kids off before going off to work. But now the parents are in the kids’ world and that is big for me. The kids get to show the parents how play and just have fun.”

    This event is the only time during the year when all nine Child Development Centers, three School Age Services sites and Tolson Youth Center personnel and activities will be together in one place to have a full day of fun and games. There will be additional dimensions added to this event by Fort Bragg and local agencies. The Fort Bragg Fire & Emergency Services will be on site with fire engines, the Throckmorton Library, 4-H, the TUOCS District Boy Scouts of America, Pines of Carolina Girl Scouts, Army Community Services, the Community Health Nurse, Medical Research and Womack Army Medical Center are coming together to help create an amazing time of fun and celebration for the military children in our community. The event would not be as successful as it is without the unselfish support and assistance from the Fort Bragg Special Events Team, the Family, Morale, Welfare and Recreation Marketing Team, and the outstanding sponsors in the Fort Bragg and Fayetteville area.

    The event will be held April 21 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Fort Bragg Fairgrounds off Bragg Boulevard and is open to the public. There is an $8 admission fee to enter the fairgrounds but once you are in the gate, that price includes all carnival rides and a chance to win prize drawings all throughout the day. Adults and children less than 36” will be admitted free of charge.

    Photo: The #9 robot is always a hit at the Childrens Festival. 

  • 04-25-12-pottery-guy.jpg“The roots of pottery and agriculture run deep in the rich soil of North Carolina. Pottery and wine go together very well,” says Don Hudson of D.K. Clay, and so goes the basis for the 11th Annual Sanford Pottery Festival.

    When Hudson created the Sanford Pottery Festival, he may not have realized that in a short amount of time, he would be at the helm of the largest pottery festival in North Carolina.

    “It’s always the weekend before Mother’s Day and we’re coming up on our 11th annual event. That’s special in itself, because a lot of events don’t have that kind of track record,” he said.

    With Mother’s Day falling on Sunday, May 13 this year, that puts the festival the weekend of May 5-6 at the Dennis A. Wicker Civic Center at 1801 Nash St.in Sanford.

    The festival boasts an attendance record of nearly 60,000 visitors over the years. The draw is quality North Carolina craftsmanship.

    “There is said to be more than 1,500 potters in North Carolina. It is a state famous nationally for its pottery. Sanford is part of the famous Seagrove area potteries, including Randolph, Moore, Montgomery, Chatham and Lee counties,” explains Hudson.

    In fact, the Sanford Pottery Festival is an offshoot of the Seagrove Pottery Festival, which takes place in November and is in its 31st year.

    “We regard the Seagrove Pottery Festival as a sister event, and the feeling is mutual,” says Hudson

    .Linda Russell and Alicia Stone are the festival’s featured potters. Both potters were students of Kenneth Neilson of D.K. Clay and have participated in each Sanford Pottery Festival since its inception.

    “Most of our potters have 25 years of experience or more and we are always cultivating new talent. We tend to attract some of the best, most established potters. If you want to see some highly accomplished potters, this is the show,” says Hudson. More than 100 potters are exhibiting their artwork at the show.

    Pottery, like all art, merits a competitive price.

    “Pottery is not the cheapest thing in the world, but you can get good quality pieces for $10 to $50. We’ve had pieces that sold for upwards of $15,000. We have a wide range. And we have more than pottery. Eighty percent is pottery, but there is also traditional arts and crafts.”

    Festival visitors can stroll through the exhibits sipping wine from the Wine Tasting Event. The wine tasting is held in an 8,000 sq. foot tent and features more than 10 North Carolina wineries.

    “North Carolina is famous for its wine as well as its pottery,” said Hudson. “In Colonial times, North Carolina was the largest producer of wines.”

    “North Carolina wine tradition is based on muscadine and scuppernong grapes and those are generally sweet wines. We also have a large selection of dry European wines. But all of them are made in North Carolina,” Hudson continued.

    Hudson wanted to be sure that Sanford’s surrounding military community felt welcome at the festival. As a show of appreciation, all active-duty and retired military members, along with one adult guest, are admitted to the festival free of charge.

    “We have found that military members love experiencing local culture. These are people who have been all over the world. They check out local culture and local food. And when we talk to them in our shop in Sanford, we hear them talking about the ceramics in Germany or the Netherlands and the local wine. So we thought it would be the great idea to invite the military to our event,” says Hudson.Hudson hopes the military community will pay the gesture forward by sharing North Carolina crafts with friends and family.

    “Military members like buying local wine and pottery and sending it all over the United States,” says Hudson.

    “Many would be proud to own North Carolina pottery and use it; because the best pottery is meant to be functional, pure and simple.”

    In addition to the pottery exhibit and wine tasting, there is paint-your-own-pottery for children and a Saturday evening dinner catered by Two Brother Cookin’ and featuring the music of Robert Watson with his band, Fog & Guests. The dinner is $10 per plate and starts at 5:30 p.m.

    Hours for the festival are 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. Saturday, May 5 and Sunday, May 6 from 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. Admission is $5 with children 16 and under free of charge. Wine tasting admission is an additional $1.

    For more information, please visit www.sanfordpotteryfestival.org.

    Photo top: Phil Morgan working on a vase.

    04-25-12-pottery-goblets.jpg 04-25-12-pottery-jugs.jpg

  • 04_07_10-charlie-brown.gifFor several generations, Charlie Brown and his buddies have been a part of everyday life. They are in the funnies every day, Linus and the Great Pumpkin entertain us each October and A Charlie Brown Christmas is a must see every December. The rest of the year we follow Snoopy’s adventures as the Red Baron, Lucy’s crush on the musically talented but emotionally indifferent Schroeder, wait with baited breath for Lucy’s pearls of wisdom from her psychiatrists booth and collectively hold our breath as we wait to see if Lucy snatches the football away from Charlie Brown as he tries to kick it and will he ever get up the nerve to talk to the little redheaded girl that he loves so much?

    While Charles Schulz passed away years ago, Charlie Brown and company can still be found in the daily and Sunday funnies with their timeless humor and always fresh take on life. The gang has been on stage and television in different capacities since 1967 and are still going strong.

    April 15-17 guest Director Elysa Lenzcyk is bringing You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown to Fayetteville State University. No stranger to the production of great theater and big shows in small spaces, Lenzcyk is the stage manager at another local favorite theatrical venue, Fayetteville’s own Gilbert Theater.

    The piece will be choreographed by Avis Hatcher-Puzzo, and musical direction will be provided by Howard Kim. The play tells the story of an average day in the life of Charlie Brown and his friends. It takes place when most of the characters are 5- or 6-years-old (although the cast is adults).

    “The music is fun. The story is fun,” said Director of Theater and Associate Professor at Fayetteville State University Phoebe Hall. “It’s little people responding as little adults to strange situations.”

    The cast is made up of several current and former Fayetteville State University students. Schroeder is played by FSU alum Bruce Cook, Clayton Ridley is Charlie Brown and Linus is played by Amos Smith. Whitney Manns portrays Sally, while Corey Livingstone rounds out the group as Lucy.

    Hall encourages parents to include their children in this very special theatrical adventure.

    “I’m sure they will enjoy it. There will be something for everybody.”T

    he show starts at 7:30 p.m. each evening at Butler Theatre on the FSU campus. For more info visit www.uncfsu.edu/theatre/comingattractions.htm.

  • 04142010lipizzaner.jpgAdults and children are invited to come see the world famous Lipizzaner Stallions at the Crown Coliseum in Fayetteville on April 18. Now on their 41st anniversary tour, they will perform two shows at 2 and 6 pm.

    The Lipizzaner Stallions are best known for their unique jumps and their dressage, harmony between the horse and the rider. Through their dressage, the stallions show their beauty while appearing joyous, magnificent, and proud. They also will perform a portion called the “Airs Above the Ground,” where the stallions will perform leaps and maneuvers that were used as a defense mechanism when riders were on the battlefield. The Grand Quadrille which shows six to eight Lipizzans, with their riders, doing an equine ballet where the stallions prance, march and move gracefully across the floor.

    The tour features 12 to 14 stallions and their show at the Crown Coliseum will be very traditional. The leaps and jumps they do are educational for the entire family because they show the grace and harmony between the rider and horse.

    “I love it when someone says to me, ‘I saw this when I was a child and I had to bring my children to see it,’” said Troy Tinker, narrator and Master of Ceremonies for the Lipizzaner Stallions.

    The Lipizzaner Stallions are a breed of horses that date back to 1562, when Archduke Maximilian began breeding Spanish horses. The ancestor of the Lipizzan is believed to have been bred more than 2,000 years ago in the city of Carthage. In 1580, Archduke Karl established a royal stud farm in Lipizza, in the hills of Karst, near Trieste.

    There will be a merchandise van where hats, T-shirts and other memorabilia will be sold along with the Walt-Disney movie, The Miracle of the White Stallions. This movie portrays General George S. Patton, who saved the stallions at the end of World War II from extinction, and displays the world-wide interest created in the Lipizzaner Stallion breed.

    A lot of work goes into setting up the coliseum for the stallions. The team brings in special flooring that has more bounce to it than traditional floors, in order to protect the stallions’ joints. The stallions’ team also brings in their own lighting and sound system in order to give them an optimum performance.

    “The horses must be washed before the shows in order for them to look handsome,” said Tinker.

    The stallions have performed all around the world including the United Kingdom, Austrailia, New Zealand and all 50 of the United States.

    For tickets to see the Lipizzaner Stallions at the Crown Coliseum call 910-438-4100. Tickets range in price from $22.50 for the upper floors, $29.50 for the ground floor, and $25.50 for the lower floors.

    For more information on the stallions visit www.lipizzaner.com.

  • With spring in the air and the warm days of summer fast approaching, Ft. Bragg is opening its gates once again so that the public can04-21-10-fair.gif come out and enjoy the Ft. Bragg Fair. The fun begins at 5 p.m., April 29 with all the fun rides and entertainment that make this such a popular annual event.

    Look for the fabulous snacks and food that make the fair such a special place, but according to Rhett Stroupe, special events coordinator at Ft. Bragg Morale, Welfare and Recreation (MWR), there is one ride that has thrilled area youngsters over and over again for the past 25 years.

    “The most popular thing that the fair go-ers can get — that they can only get at the Ft. Bragg Fair — is the kiddie jump tower,” said Stroupe. It is a 20 ft jump tower with a zip line. Folks go up the tower, are fitted with a harness, at-tached to a trolley. “We have 30 carnival rides on the grounds, and of course all of the midway games and food. And guess which is the most popular attraction? The kiddie jump tower, by virtue of the fact that this is the only place that they can do that and experience that is here at Ft. Bragg.”

    The entertainment schedule is packed with a variety of bands that cover the country, latin, rock-n-roll, gospel, reggae, Top 40 genres and more. The schedule is rigorous and fast-paced and includes two to three shows each day, usually in the evenings, except on Sundays which include an afternoon show.

    “I can tell you that we have a repeat performance from last year by The Fifth. They are very popular and have a large local draw — a lot of folks follow them,” said Stroupe. “We have a military community here so we are a very diverse com-munity and we try to have diverse entertainment. On Friday, May 7, we have a new group coming called Oak Crest. They are a reggae rock group and are com-prised of soldiers here at Bragg — because they are soldiers we wanted to give them a shot.”

    May 8 is Star Wars Day and will feature Star Wars characters in costumes. Last year was the first year that this was incorporated into the fair and it was quite popular according to Stroupe. There will be photo ops and hand shaking galore whether you are looking for a jedi knight or a storm trooper.

    A new event has been added this year called Sea Lion Splash. Not only will there be performances and entertainment, but the audience will learn a few things too.

    The fun will last through May 16. Gates open at 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and at 1 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. There are plenty of good deals to be had on ticket prices with customer appreciation specials running Monday through Thursday which includes $5 ad-mission for those On Mother’s Day, which is May 9, moms get in for $7 when ac-companied by a pay-ing child between the ages of three and 17.

    Otherwise, Monday through Thursday general admission is $12 after 7 p.m., military/DOD civilians and children 3-9 are $10 and senior citizen non-riders and handicapped non-riders are $7. Friday through Sunday general admission is $17, Military and DoD civilians and children 3-9 $15, handicapped non-riders and senior citizen non-riders cost $7. Parking is free.

    Find out more about this safe, fun, family friendly event at fortbraggmwr.com or by calling 396-9126.

  • 04-03-13-transportation-museum.gifSunset on March 26 began the weeklong celebration of Passover, one of the holiest times in the Jewish tradition. Fayetteville is rich with the contributions and sacrifi ces of the Jewish community, and in celebration of that, the Fayetteville Area Transportation and Local History Museum is hosting an exhibition of Jewish history running from March 15 through early 2014.

    The presence of a Jewish community in Fayetteville coincides with the founding of the county of Cumberland. In fact, Fayetteville was North Carolina’s second largest town in the 1820s. After a devastating fi re in 1831, the town emerged from the ashes and was rebuilt. Judah P. Benjamin, who gained fame as a Confederate leader serving as Secretary of State and War in the Cabinet of Jefferson Davis, lived in Fayetteville from 1815 through 1822. While there was a Jewish presence in Fayetteville early on, numbers remained modest. Despite that, in the early 1900s, Jews would contribute immeasurably to the city’s economic growth.

    The first “skyscraper” in Fayetteville was built by the Stein brothers. Another department store was established by Hyman Fleishman and these businesses became anchors of Fayetteville’s growing economy. In 1910, Jewish families formed Beth Israel. To that point, they had been worshipping in homes for religious services. They met for years at the McKeithan Building on Market Square as well as the Stein Bridge Building. Desiring a more permanent place of worship, Beth Israel’s synagogue was completed in 1922.

    Bruce Daws, director of the museum, shared the importance of the exhibit. “The Jewish population has been a cornerstone in the growth of Fayetteville. This exhibit looks at two primary periods in history primarily, events occurring from Fayetteville’s inception and contributions from the mid-20th century.”

    With the advent of World War II, Fayetteville grew exponentially and the Jewish population was extremely supportive of the military. The Stein brothers offered the top fl oor of their building as an Officer’s Club. The Jewish community was also active in the USO and adopted soldiers with the aim of providing fellowship, a place to worship and some down home kosher food. There were Jewish military members from Fayetteville who paid the ultimate price and the exhibit is one way of honoring their service.

    The museum is located at 325 Franklin Street in downtown Fayetteville. Hours of operation are Tuesday- Saturday from 10 a.m. through 4 p.m. For more information please call 910- 433-1457or visit the museum website at www.fcpr.us/transportation_museum.

    Photo: Beth Israel, Fayetteville

  • 04-10-13-book.gifIn all likelihood, racial tension will continue to be a part of our lives until the end of time. Dr. Martin Luther King dreamed of the day that a man would be judged by the content of his character, not the color of his skin. Sadly, this is not that day.

    The Museum of the Cape Fear Historical Complex has a new exhibit, Fayetteville and the Wilmington Race Riot of 1898, an overlooked piece of North Carolina’s history. The riots, which occured in mid-November 1898 were considered a turning point in North Carolina politics following Reconstruction. Originally labeled a race riot, the events were caused by Democratic insurrectionists who overthrew the legitimately elected local government in an effort to reestablish white supremacy in government and society.

    “This is a very disturbing piece of our state’s history,” said David Reid, administrator of the Museum of the Cape Fear Historical Complex. “It is not a well-known piece of our history and it was not an isolated event.”

    The Civil War ended slavery but it did not end the racial divide between the races. The election of 1898 was dominated in North Carolina by a white supremacy campaign of the Democratic Party, which saw the establishment of white government union clubs and formations of armed gangs to intimidate blacks, Republicans and Populists, and the use of newspapers to fan the flames against the abuses of Republicans and black rule. The impact of this resulted in a “White Declaration of Independence” which led to the burning of a black newspaper office, deadly riots, the eradication of many black and Republican leaders and the overthrow of elected Republican leaders.

    “We have some interesting local connections,” said Reid. “Charles Chesnutt, author, was a prominent figure who was raised in the Fayetteville area.”

    Chesnutt’s response to the race riot was to write a novel, The Marrow of Tradition. He traveled back through Fayetteville during 1901 to do research for his novel and found a brief mention in The Fayetteville Observer. Reid added that the novel really echoes what was being said in the newspapers at that time.

    During the 1898 elections, groups of men wearing red shirts attended political rallies and rode through African-American neighborhoods carrying firearms. Their goal was to intimidate blacks to keep them from voting. Many acts of violence against African-Americans and white members of the Populists and Republican parties were blamed on the Red Shirts.

    “We wanted exhibits and programs that would promote healthy community discussions about intolerance and diversity,” said Reid. “It was important to find events that would pertain to our area.”

    Reid added that Wilmington is 90 miles down the road and he was interested in Fayetteville’s involvement with the Wilmington Riot.

    Author LeRae Umfleet will speak about the Wilmington Race Riot on Sunday, April 14 at 2 p.m. at the museum. Umfleet is the author of A Day of Blood: The Wilmington Race Riot of 1898. The exhibit will run through June 16. For more information, call 486-1330.

  • 04-17-13-sustainable.gifOn Saturday, April 20, PWC and Sustainable Sandhills are teaming up to offer a free viewing of the award-winning documentary Chasing Ice. The film has received more than 43 awards at various film festivals around the world, including the honor of Best Documentary at the Sundance Film Festival and an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song “Before My Time,” by J. Ralph featuring Scarlett Johansson and Joshua Bell.

    When National Geographic sent environmental photographer James Balog to the Arctic in 2005, he was looking to take pictures that would document climate change. Balog was a long-time skeptic of the climate change philosophy, but what he found on that trip was an eye opener for the photographer. Shortly after his fi rst trip to Iceland, Balog came up with an idea he knew he had to act on — The Extreme Ice Survey. Balog and his crew risked life and limb installing timelapse cameras throughout the arctic to record how glaciers change over time. The result is a breathtaking visual on the rapid change taking place in the Arctic.

    PWC Communications and Community Relations Offi cer Carolyn Justice-Hinson is excited to be a part of bringing such a high-quality fi lm to Fayetteville.

    “We were looking for outreach projects and we chose Sustainable Saturday through a forestry grant. This is a win win all around — we are excited that we can also help promote the Cameo and what it has to offer in downtown through this venture. Sustainable Sandhills was great in helping us find the documentary. They suggested Chasing Ice because we had asked them to be on the look out. Once we saw the trailer we knew it was a good fit because it has to do with global warming and trees play a big part in that. So this way we can share our message and it will give Sustainable Sandhills an opportunity to share their message and continue their outreach.”

    PWC is also giving away a Crepe Myrtle seedling to the first 200 people who come to the event.

    “This is an important part of our tree program and Crepe Myrtles are great for our area. They are suitable for our climate and they are low growing so they tend not to interfere with utilities,” said Justice-Hinson. “This is also a chance for us to educate people about trees and how they improve appearances in the community and help the environment.”

    The event is free to the public and after the showing there will be time for interaction and discussion. Representatives from PWC and Sustainable Sandhills will be on site after the showing.

    “There will be time to talk and people can come out to the obby and chat with different reps,” said Kelly Bah, Sustainable Sandhills executive director. “When talking about big concepts, sometimes the best way to get the message out is to present it in a good film and then we are there to help connect people to organizations in the community that deal with this issue, if people are interested in learning more.”

    The show starts at 11 a.m. at the Cameo Art House Theater in downtown Fayetteville. To get a sneak peek of the remarkable imagery that is featured in Chasing Ice, visit www.chasingice.com. Learn more about PWC and its conservation and education programs at www. faypwc.com. Visit www.sustainablesandhills.org to learn more about how this organization is making a difference in the community. For questions about the showing of Chasing Ice visit the Cameo website at www.cameoarthouse.com.

  • 04-24-13-pinwheels.gifI hope you’ve seen the pinwheels that have been popping up all over Cumberland County during the month of April. Gardens of bright blue pinwheels have been “planted” in numerous locations in honor of April as Child Abuse Prevention Month. The pinwheel serves as a reminder of a happy, safe and carefree childhood, one that every child deserves. Adopted by Prevent Child Abuse America, more than a million pinwheels have been displayed nationwide since April 2008 when the campaign began. Locally, the Child Advocacy Center has coordinated with area schools, organizations and agencies to sponsor the gardens.

    The Child Advocacy Center hosted a Pinwheel Garden planting on April 9 in honor of the 487 children served by the center in fiscal year 2012. The pinwheels will remain on display until the end of April.

    As another reminder of Child Abuse Prevention Month, volunteers from the Child Advocacy Center are decorating many of the downtown black flower pots with giant, bright blue bows during the last week of April, just in time for 4th Friday and the Dogwood Festival.

    Pinwheels and bright blue bows also serve as a reminder of the “power of play.” Taking time out to play with our children not only develops bonds of affection and joy but also helps children learn. Through play, children gain communication and social skills as well as developing their abilities to tackle problems and deal with conflict. Adults can reinforce children’s feelings of self-esteem and competence by interacting and encouraging them in their play time. We invite families to enjoy the many fun “play time” events and activities held in our community during April and May to recognize the power of play and to celebrate our community as a place that supports programs and policies that encourage children’s healthy development.

    Joining hands with 19 community agencies, the Child Advocacy Center offers a safe and child-friendly place to interview, investigate and provide support for abused children. The CAC also provides prevention education for parents, professionals and agencies in our community. We look to a future where all children live in a safe and nurturing environment free from abuse.

  • Fay City Council During a 37-minute Fayetteville City Council meeting on Monday, April 25, seven of the 10-member council present unanimously agreed to two significant actions totaling more than $14.8 million in City of Fayetteville improvement projects.

    Only six of the 10 council members were physically present at the City Hall meeting. Those present were Mayor Pro Tem Kathy Jensen, who chaired the meeting. Council members present were Antonio Jones, Larry Wright, Johnny Dawkins, Chris Davis, and Yvonne Kinston. Absent were Mayor Mitch Colvin and council members Shakeyla Ingram and D.J. Haire. One council member, Courtney Banks-McLaughlin, joined the meeting remotely.

    Tucked away in the consent agenda, the City Council voted 7-0 to adopt a resolution accepting American Rescue Plan funding from the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality for $10,550,000. The money is designated for stormwater infrastructure improvement projects. City staff presented the issue to the Fayetteville City Council during an earlier meeting.

    Stormwater improvement projects are slated for Adams Street, North Street, Ray Avenue, Spruce Street and Sunbury Drive.

    The North Carolina General Assembly created the fund, administered by the Division of Water Infrastructure, to assist eligible units of local government in paying for water and wastewater infrastructure needs.

    In accepting the state money, the City of Fayetteville must meet several obligations and requirements. First, the City must submit a bid and design package for the projects by Aug. 1.

    Additionally, the City must:

    • apply for and qualify for all necessary permits as soon as possible
    • have its bid and design package approved by Dec. 1
    • advertise the project, receive bids and have the authority to award contracts by April 3, 2023
    • execute all construction projects by May 1, 2023
    • and submit the last reimbursement for any of the projects by December 21, 2026

    The state warned that failure to meet or adhere to any requirements could forfeit the money.

    Also, on Monday night’s consent agenda was the adoption of a Capital Project Ordinance to appropriate state grant money for pedestrian safety improvements. The $4,319,350 will be used for 29,880 linear feet or 5.7 miles of sidewalks.

    Sidewalk construction includes:

    • McPherson Church Road from Collinwood to Raeford Roads
    • Yadkin Road from Skibo Road to Fort Bragg limits
    • Pamalee Drive from Murchison Road to Bragg Boulevard
    • Brighton Road from Raeford to Belford Roads
    • Old Owen Drive from Raeford Road to Owen Drive
    • Ann Street from Gorham Alley to Gray Street

    Proposed projects also include a Person Street round-about at B Street, citywide wheelchair ramps and the plan and design of a sidewalk on Blanton Road from Bragg Boulevard to Pamalee Drive.

    In other action, the City Council postponed the Fayetteville Airport Administration report to City Council. City staff on March 7 briefed the City Council on the airport’s operations. That report included a peer comparison with Killeen-Fort Hood, Texas and Albert J. Ellis Airports.

    At that meeting, Mayor Mitch Colvin asked for additional peer comparisons with other airports. Recommended peer city airports have demographics equal to or larger than the Fayetteville/Cumberland County area.

    The additional comparison airports include Charlotte International Airport, Asheville Regional Airport, Piedmont Triad International Airport and Raleigh-Durham International Airport. Comparisons include 2021 total passenger enplanements, parking revenue and rental car revenue, among others.

    The report states: “As expected,” the comparison data shows that Fayetteville lags in making money compared to larger airports.

  • Damon Javone Ward Cumberland County deputies are investigating a deadly shooting that left a 29-year-old man dead.

    On Sunday, April 24, deputies responded to a reported shooting at the Coliseum Inn on Gillespie Street. They found Donald Charles Owens III in the parking lot, suffering from a gunshot wound. He was taken to Cape Fear Valley Medical Center where he died Monday morning, according to the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office said.

    Investigators do have a person of interest they want to speak to about the case. 28-year-old Damon Javone Ward of Fayetteville, (pictured to the side), is wanted for questioning.

    Anyone who has information about the case is asked to call Homicide Detective Lt. A. Bean at 910-677-5496 or Crimestoppers at 910-483-TIPS (8477).

  • 3 One-Stop Early Voting in Cumberland County for the primary election begins Thursday, April 28 and runs through Saturday, May 14.

    The races on the Cumberland County ballot will include the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, N.C. General Assembly, N.C. Supreme Court and Court of Appeals and the Fayetteville City primary.

    There will be seven locations people can vote during Early Voting:

    • Kiwanis Recreation Center, 352 Devers St., Fayetteville
    • Cliffdale Recreation Center, 6404 Cliffdale Road, Fayetteville
    • College Lakes Recreation Center, 4945 Rosehill Road, Fayetteville
    • East Regional Library, 4809 Clinton Road, Fayetteville
    • J.D. Pone Recreation Center, 2964 School Road, Hope Mills
    • Smith Recreation Center, 1520 Slater Ave., Fayetteville
    • Stoney Point Recreation Center, 7411 Rockfish Road, Hope Mills

    Early Voting hours during the weekdays are 8 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. On Saturdays, April 30 and May 14, hours are 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., and on Sunday, May 1, hours are 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.

    Residents may register and vote at any one-stop early voting location. When you check in to vote at an early voting site, you may update your name or address within the same county if necessary. Individuals who are not registered to vote in a county may register and immediately vote at that same site. The voter must prove their residence by showing any of the following documents with their current name and address: North Carolina driver’s license, other photo identification issued by a government agency, a copy of a current utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck, or other government document showing the voter’s name and address, OR a current college/university photo identification card paired with proof of campus habitation.

    Curbside voting will be available at all voting sites for those who cannot enter the polling location due to age or physical disability. Voting sites have designated parking indicating curbside voting and an alert system that will notify the election officials. An election official will come to the vehicle to obtain the voter’s name and address. Before a ballot is issued, the voter must swear an oath affirming their qualification to use curbside voting.

    The last day to request an absentee ballot is May 10. The final day to hand-deliver an absentee ballot will be May 17 at 5 p.m. at the Board of Elections office. Absentee ballots sent by mail must be postmarked by May 17, and the Board of Elections must receive them no later than May 20.

    On entering the voting place, voters can give their name, address and party to the election officials. If they are correctly registered, they will be given a ballot to take to the voting booth.

    Unaffiliated voters may choose the Democratic or Republican ballot or, if available, a nonpartisan ballot. Registered Libertarians may only vote on a nonpartisan ballot if available in their jurisdiction since there are no primary contests for that party.

    If precinct officials cannot locate a registration record, voters may be asked to vote on a provisional ballot.

    The primary election will be held on Tuesday, May 17.

    If no state or federal candidate reaches the total necessary to become the nominee in a contest on the ballot in the May primary, a second primary may be held on July 26. The General Election for the City of Fayetteville will be held on July 26.

    For more information about how to vote and to check your voter registration status, or to see which precinct/district you will be voting for, go to www.cumberlandcountync.gov/departments/election-group/elections.

  • The Cumberland County Board of Commissioners voted to earmark $450,000 for a proposed African American museum earlier this week.

    The county appropriation would pay for a portion of the first phase, a feasibility study, with the remaining $895K coming from the City of Fayetteville. The Fayetteville City Council will receive a similar briefing and funding request at its May 2 work session.

    Dr. Dauv Evans, the associate director of the proposed downtown museum, made the presentation, calling the museum a “must-see stop on the Civil Rights Tour.”

    Evans said the museum would be fully interactive as it would tell the story of Blacks in Fayetteville by collecting compelling stories from local African Americans.

    “It will reconceptualize the Market House from a source of division to a point of unity,” he said. The history will span from noted Fayetteville African American author and essayist Charles Chestnutt to locally grown rapper J. Cole.

    The vote was 5 to 1, with Commissioner Jimmy Keefe being the lone dissenter. Commissioner Charles Evans remotely voted by phone; however, Commissioner Michael Boose was absent.

    Before the vote, Keefe said he was not aware of the project. “What’s the process? I was not aware this was in the pipeline,” he said.

    The project was first introduced at the board’s agenda meeting on April 14, just prior to the Easter holiday.

    Keefe said he was uncomfortable fast-tracking a half-million-dollar project using taxpayer money without having more information and discussion.

    He asked what the total amount of the museum would cost. Another presenter, William Cassell, said he could not give Keefe a total dollar amount. “I can’t predict [the amount]. There’s no bottom-line number,” he said.

    He said the museum would bring people downtown and become a “model for how the community reconciles its history with race.”

    Commissioner Jeanette Council motioned to set aside the $450,000, saying she was excited over the proposed museum’s ability to become a teaching tool for young students. Commissioner Toni Stewart seconded the motion. While agreeing that the board was fast-tracking the project, she said it was “way overdue.”

    Commissioner Charles Evans said he was disappointed with fellow Commissioner Keefe for questioning the project, specifically asking how many other African American museums currently existed. He was told there were about 40, and Keefe – a former Army officer – suggested that Fayetteville’s history is heavily centered on the military, and they should look into honoring African American service members of note.

    Sir David Adjaye, a Ghanaian-British award-winning architect, is the proposed architect for the project. His company has offices located in London and New York. The largest project by Adjaye Associates is the National Museum of African American History and Culture, located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., which opened in 2016.

  • 277778816 354331923400568 2469956925103248950 n Natural and cultural resources are inextricably linked to each other and the landscape.

    "Natural resources, for the most part, become cultural resources and serve many diverse life-saving functions," wrote Linda Carnes -McNaughton, curator, Cultural Resources Management Program, Fort Bragg Directorate of Public Works (DPW).

    This is how Carnes -McNaughton opened a National Public Lands Grant application for a Native American Pollinator Garden on Fort Bragg. The grant was awarded in the Spring of 2019 for $9,500. Then COVID-19 lockdowns began in Spring 2020, and the garden project was indefinitely delayed. Eventually, the funds awarded for the garden were reallocated, and the project was in limbo.

    That is until Carnes-McNaughton, and the Fort Bragg Arbor Board breathed new life into the project.

    This new life has seen the project metamorphose into a three-phase plan and be located in a new place. Originally, the garden was to be placed near McKellar's Lodge, but with the inception of the Liberty Trail, a series of parks and green spaces planned to connect throughout Fort Bragg, the garden was moved to the Willow Lakes Park near Pope Army Airfield. A triangular tract of land at a trail intersection was selected, and the final part of what Carnes-McNaughton describes as Phase I was completed.

    Phase I of the project involved the adaptation of the concept, planning, plant selection and purchase, and finally, planting the garden.

    The choice of each plant and the placement of each plant are rife with meaning and importance. Carnes-McNaughton designed the garden with collaboration in mind. The plan was to engage and include local Native American youths and Army communities, building a platform for interaction between the military community and the Catawba nation. The garden will be a place for education, teaching the public about the types of native plants with cultural, historical and natural importance.

    "It was correspondence back and forth with the Catawba nation, and they are one of our geographically closest federally-recognized consulting groups," Carnes McNaughton said. "They have helped us select the plants and narrow it down to the ten we are putting in this special garden."

    While Carnes-McNaughton consulted primarily with the Catawba nation about the plant choices for the garden, this consultation was done in tandem with insights of the Fort Bragg botanist and DPW's Endangered Species Branch.

    The ten plants were chosen, all serve a purpose as pollinators, and all have cultural uses. Butterfly weed, Asclepias turberosa, can be used for cordage, medicine and benefits the Monarch butterfly. American Beautyberry, Callicarpa americana, can treat malarial fever, colic and dysentery. Tea made from New Jersey Tea, Ceanothus americanus, treats upper respiratory illness, is a natural caffeine source, and the roots can be used for astringents. Purple Thistle, Cirsium repandum, is used to make blow darts. Woodland Sunflower, Helianthus divaricatus, is edible and a major pollinator. Blue Wild Indigo, Baptisia australis, is used for tea and is a blue clothing dye. Pawpaw, Asimina tribola, produces an edible fruit and can be made into a yellow dye.

    "[Native peoples] used plants intimately in everything they did all their daily lives. Whether it was a medicinal, ritual or even cosmetically or eating," Carnes-McNaughton said.

    With the help of soldiers, members of DPW and the military community, the garden was planted last Wednesday, April 6. In the next phase, Phase II, Carnes-McNaughton said visitors to the garden would see the addition of trilingual interpretive signage and the addition of a traditional wattle fence. A more prominent ign will be placed at one of the triangle's vertices. This sign will describe the garden. Additional signs will be placed with each plant species that will list the common name of each plant, the Latin name, and the Native American name and detail the plants' function and use within Native American culture.

    "If we have the opportunity on the signage, it might include what I think is cool, illustrations of some of the hand tools that they [Native Americans] used to cultivate and harvest these plants," Carnes-McNaughton said.

    The traditional wattle fencing will also be added and will likely be made using willow saplings. A wattle fence is created by weaving long green and bendable saplings through larger stakes. The result is a basketweave textured traditional Native American style fence. The hope is that Native American youths and perhaps an Eagle Scout group will be able to help build the fence; this would align with the themes of collaboration, education and public engagement central to the garden's inception and design.

    Harvesting and maintenance are Phase III of the garden plan. This will ideally involve the Catawba and the public. The overall goal of the project is education.

    "The educational component, think of it as an outdoor classroom or what we call a demonstration project to educate the public on the types of plants and not only for their wildlife value but their cultural and historical significance," said Carnes-McNaughton.

  • 240986602 4599863756693182 2834177216228375197 n CSX Transportation will be repairing several train crossings in May which will require motorists and traffic to find an alternate route.

    The released schedule listed below is subject to change based on conditions and unforeseen circumstances such as inclement weather that delays maintenance and scheduling:

    May 3-6: Hay Street at Hillsborough/Winslow Street
    May 16: Johnson Street (Hope Mills)
    May 19: Whitfield Street
    May 23: Cumberland Street
    May 23: Moore Street
    May 23: Franklin Street at Winslow Street
    May 23: Russell Street at Winslow Street

    Drivers are advised to plan alternate routes on the above dates and allow for additional travel time to and from destinations while crossings are closed.

  • DBA Pic 1 Last Sunday, April 3, marked the return of the Dirtbag Ales Brewery weekly Farmer's Markets. Vendors set up tables, under fabric gazebos laid their wares out with care. Lines often form before the market has officially opened at some stalls. The markets at Dirtbag began in April of 2016 before completing the facility that houses the brewery and taproom. And they have only grown. Dirtbag Ales Brewery now hosts five different types of markets, and they will run all year long.

    "They have turned into this whole thing," said Shannon Loper, operations manager and event and marketing coordinator at Dirtbag Ales Brewery.

    Weekly Farmers Markets
    The farmer's markets were born from a love of all things local.

    "The Farmer's Market came from our love and desire to source locally for our beers. So, strawberries, herbs and any type of fruit that we can source locally any type of grain, hops, any of that stuff that we can get North Carolina made we purchase, and we put into our products," Loper said.

    This love of all things local is also evident in their Heroes Homecoming Pilsner.

    "It is completely North Carolina-made, from the yeast to the grains to the hops to the label that went on the front of the can that we collaborated with the city of Fayetteville. Every bit of it was done right here in North Carolina," Loper explained.

    Open every Sunday from early April until late November; the Dirtbag Ales Farmers Market boasts a variety of well-vetted vendors. Great care is taken to ensure the vendors and shoppers are well protected, and the items on offer meet all rules and regulations.

    "We have quite a few rules that we established from the beginning," Loper said.

    The market requires relevant health or Department of Agriculture inspections, and all vendors must have liability insurance.

    Dirtbag Ales Brewery Market Manager Michelle Bruening realized early on in her position that certain vendors were no longer participating as their businesses grew and shifted into full-time brick-and-mortar ventures.

    "You have to think of us as like an incubator. People come here … and they grow, and you have to be proud of them when they move into a brick-and-mortar establishment, and you have to say, 'you guys did it, good job,' and now look for somebody to replace them," Loper explained.
    Bruening and Loper have a lot to be proud of; Napkins chef Brian Graybill is set to open Pan, a new restaurant on Hay Street, Ambery Edge, owner of Authentique food truck, is opening Vibe also on Hay Street, Vagabond Coffee opened on Hay Street in November, and Fräulein Pottery is set to open tomorrow, April 7 in downtown Fayetteville, to name just a few.

    Misfit Markets transform into Night Markets
    "We would have all the applications from these beautiful artists and these wonderful vendors that were not necessarily a fit for the Farmers Market," Loper said.

    After many applications from vendors that were not quite the right fit for the farmer's market, Dirtbag decided to create the Misfit Market to offer them a venue to sell, and they have now transformed this market into their new Night Market.

    "The Misfit Markets, we are super excited about this year because we are turning [them] into a full-blown Night Market," Loper explained.

    The new Night Markets will be held on the last Wednesday of every month from April through November.
    Marketgoers ' favorites will be in attendance, and Dirtbag has added café lights to their building and around their pavilion to provide ambiance and light. The vendors will be set up in and around the parking lot and the pavilion.

    Bruening and Loper said they have 27 vendors lined up for the New Night Markets at the time of this interview.

    "I really like how small it is because you feel more like you can talk to the vendor about their passion. It's a lot of people who are very passionate about what they are doing," Bruening said.

    Shop Small Market
    Loper's origins in the Women's Business Center of Fayetteville led to the inception of the Shop Small Market. While at the WBC, Loper helped with their capacity as a Shop Small Ambassador.

    "When I left the WBC, we did a small shop market at the Legion Road location, and then we carried it over to here," Loper said.

    The first year they had 12 to 15 vendors and only used social media to advertise this year, they used radio ads, and Bruening organized 54 vendors. Since its beginnings in 2016, the market has also seen the addition of music and food vendors. All vendors come from within 100 miles of the brewery, and it is held annually on the Saturday after Thanksgiving.

    "The impact on the local economy of what a small shop market does like that is huge, especially right before the holidays for some of these small businesses," Loper said.

    German Christmas Market
    The German Christmas Market originated with Hyatt Hakim, the brewery's long-term yoga instructor. The event started in her yoga studio.

    "Hyatt's German and she was looking for a little bit of home, and Tito [Vernanrdo 'Tito' Simmons-Valenzuela, co-owner and brewer] brews fantastic German-style beers, so it was originally just a natural co-host for us. We were providing the German beers, and she was providing the Germans," Loper Laughed.

    Dirtbag Ales Brewery donated beer for the first event, and the following year the moved it moved to its Legion Road location. This past year marked the sixth German Christmas Market, and it will be back next year.

    Mini Markets
    The Mini Markets have just ended for the year. These Markets run every other Sunday from January to March. They are exactly what they sound like — a smaller version of the Farmer's Market. A small selection of vendor shops in the Dirtbag Ales Brewery pavilion.

    "People still wanted to be able to get their groceries when the Spring and Summer markets went away," Loper explained.

    Markets are busy days at the brewery, and Loper attributes this to the support of the local community.

    "I think that when Tito and I came here, and Jerry and Eric, the partners, it was huge for us to be able to make a space that represented our community … and to try to help as many small businesses as we possibly can. And non-profits, we work with a ton of non-profits as well," Loper said. "It's just the community wanted us to succeed, so they are behind us 100%, I feel like."

    This year the markets will be featuring different non-profits as well. Visitors can learn about Kids Peace, an organization that supports local foster families, the John E. Pechmann Fishing Center, and N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission education facility or Fizzy Friends Bath Bombs, a pair of young entrepreneurs who donate their proceeds to support local school children. Dirtbag hopes to feature a new non-profit in every market. Any non-profits interested in space are invited to email vendors@dirtbagales.com.

    Regardless of what marketgoers are searching for, Dirtbag seems to have a market on their calendar to help them find it. For additional information on the Dirtbag Ales Brewery Markets, visit their website www.dirtbagales.com or their Facebook page, Dirtbag Ales Farmers Market.

  • A special prosecutor announced Thursday that no charges will be filed against an off-duty Cumberland County Sheriff's deputy accused of killing 37-year-old Jason Walker.

    The incident happened on January 8 along Bingham Drive and Shenandoah Drive. Witnesses told police that Walker jumped on the hood of a truck. Inside the truck was Lieutenant Jeffrey Hash, his wife and Hash’s teenage daughter. Walker allegedly tore off the driver’s windshield wiper and started to hit the windshield.

    The windshield was cracked and shards of glass were coming into the truck, which was confirmed by the Fayetteville Police Department.

    One of the witnesses was Jason Walker’s father.

    “He was out here in the daggone street when that fellow drove up. He jumped up on the guy’s hood, the guy got out…started shooting,” Walker told officers. “He pulled out one of the daggone windshield wipers, and he hit the windshield with the wiper.”

    Hash told police that he shouted at Walker to stop and he then got out of the truck. Hash said that Walker lunged at him and had something in his hand. Hash told police that he wasn’t sure whether it was the windshield wiper or something else. Hash pulled his .9mm pistol out and shot Walker four times.

    The Fayetteville Police Department was the first to be at the scene. Police Chief Gina Hawkins shortly turned the case over to the State Bureau of Investigations. The SBI, after conducting the investigation, turned the case over to the North Carolina Conference of District Attorneys.

    The autopsy revealed that one bullet entered Walker’s lower chest and traveled through his chest, hitting multiple vital organs. Another bullet entered the top of Walker’s head and lodged in Walker’s spinal cord. A third bullet entered the front of the thigh and exited the left thigh. The last bullet entered Walker’s left-back and exited the left side.

    The report shows that with the wounds as they were, Walker’s back was not facing Hash when he was shot, rather Walker was standing to the side.

    The SBI report also states that the woman who was at the scene, Elizabeth Ricks, who identified herself as a trauma nurse and applied pressure to Walker’s wounds at the scene, was not and has never been a nurse. Ricks made several public statements following Walker’s death about how she felt a faint pulse when EMS arrived. EMS and multiple other witnesses confirmed that Walker was dead when EMS arrived.

    Other evidence found in the SBI investigation showed that two drops of Walker’s blood was found on the interior of the driver’s door near the door pocket. The SBI concluded that this was consistent with Walker being on the hood of the truck and moving toward the driver’s door when shot.

    The NC Conference of District Attorneys made the decision not to file any criminal charges against Hash after reviewing the state's evidence, according to a letter from Executive Director, Kimberly Overton Spahos.

    "The shooting was indisputably tragic, but based upon these facts, the state of North Carolina will not be able to provide beyond a reasonable doubt that the shooting of Jason Walker was unlawful. Consequently, our office will not be seeking charges related to the death of Jason Walker, " Spahos wrote in the letter to the SBI.

    “While it is possible that Walker’s intent was not to enter the truck or to injure Hash or his family, the analysis in every self-defense case requires that we put ourselves in the position of the person who used deadly force. Hash was driving down a public roadway with his family in the vehicle when Walker charged the truck, mounted it, and began a violent assault upon the vehicle. Hash’s entreaties to stop and get off the vehicle were ignored, and when Hash exited the truck, Walker’s offense shifted from the truck to Hash himself,” Spahos wrote. “We cannot view these events from the comfort of our desks after cool reflection, as Hash was not granted the luxury of time and reflection. Instead, he had to make a split-second decision. Additionally, while it is possible that other alternatives were available to Hash, the analysis is not and cannot be whether his actions were the only option or event the best option. When determining whether criminal charges are filed, the question is whether the State can prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the action he took violated the law.”

    Hash was put on administrative paid leave from the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office the day after the shooting. He will remain on leave until after the Sheriff’s Office conducts its own internal investigation.

  • Fay clean up “Better Together” is the theme of this year’s initiative to clean up Cumberland County.

    Just in time for Earth Day and National Volunteer Week, Fayetteville Beautiful and Cumberland Clean invite volunteers to grab a pair of gloves and a few trash bags for some spring cleaning in Fayetteville on Saturday, April 23, from 8 a.m. to noon.

    These events, which happen twice a year, have only grown in popularity since their establishment in September 2006. In the fall of 2021, the most recent event welcomed over 500 volunteers who picked up nearly five tons of trash from over 100 miles of Fayetteville’s streets.

    “The goal is to attract as many people as we can,” said Jessica Howell, management analyst for the City Of Fayetteville Parks and Recreation Department. “This event is so important because we want to love where we live and take pride in our city. Litter is at an all-time high with the problem steadily growing.”

    For those willing to accept it, the mission is a fairly straightforward one. Volunteers can sign up as individuals or teams with supply pick-up between 9 and 11 a.m. Participants sign up to clean a particular area such as a neighborhood, street or stretch of highway and leave their haul in a designated area for pick up.

    Fayetteville Beautiful and Cumberland Clean volunteers will receive a t-shirt, trash bags and water before getting started. For the first 100 participants, donuts and other goodies await.

    As an added enticement, there will be a photo contest with a prize for those who snap a pic with the most trash bags.
    When speaking about this initiative with Anna Chott, the Waste Management Project Coordinator at Sustainable Sandhills, words like “awareness” and “impact” came
    up often.

    “As an environmental non-profit, we want to be picking up less litter in twenty years,” she said. “We’ve seen other cities and counties get control of their litter problem, and this is what it takes. Volunteers make a difference, but it takes awareness, litter pick-up, enforcement and education.”

    “We recently conducted a survey and learned that much of the litter in this area comes from open trucks and the debris that blows from them. Reusable containers, water bottles, grocery bags, all of those things make a difference,” Chott explained.

    Ultimately, these two events work as a call to action for the citizens of Fayetteville and neighboring areas to make this city the best it can be, which both women feel is at the core of the event’s success.

    “We work closely with Cumberland County, Spring Lake and Hope Mills, which have their events happening, and we’re all spending this Earth Day weekend making our cities more beautiful,” Chott said.

    Howell echoes the sentiment, adding, “everybody from surrounding areas comes together to work toward the same goal: keeping our city and county clean.”

    To register online with Fayetteville Beautiful, visit fayettevillebeautiful.com. Group representatives should include the total number of volunteers in their online form. Volunteers should scroll down to the active map and select a clean-up location before registering.

    To register with Cumberland Clean, email Tim Middleton at tmiddleton@co.cumberland.nc.us or call 910-321-6907.

  • torch The Spring Lake Police Department will host the annual Special Olympics Law Enforcement Torch Run April 23 at 9:00 a.m. at Veteran's Park.

    “We are known as the Guardians of the Flame and we support the athletes who have intellectual and physical disabilities in life,” said Napolean McCormick, Evidence Sergeant and Special Olympics coordinator.

    “Everyone knows about the Olympics that occur every four years, but the Special Olympics summer games occur annually during the first week in June in Raleigh and the funds that we raise goes toward the equipment, uniforms, and other resources they need to help host their games,” he said.

    McCormick added that many of the police officers attend the summer games and the officers present the medals to the athletes at their games.

    The Spring Lake Police Department’s fundraising goal is $10,000.

    “Yes, our goal is $10,000, but I will be happy if we get $7,000 so we can get our name on the back of the Special Olympics t-shirt,” said McCormick. “If we get our name on the back of the shirt it shows that Spring Lake is heavily involved with Special Olympics.”

    The run is approximately two and a half miles long.

    “The runner will start at the flag pole at the intersection of Main Street and Ruth Street,” said McCormick. “Then they will continue up Main Street through town; circle the roundabout on the bridge; go across the bridge; turn left and run towards Lillian Black Elementary School; make a right on the street at the stop sign and run around the back of the school and come back to the flag pole.”

    He added, “If you are walking you will round the bridge and turn around and come back to the flag pole.”

    The Special Olympics is a worldwide movement that was founded in the 1950s by Eunice Kennedy Shriver, the sister of former President John F. Kennedy. She observed that individuals with intellectual and physical abilities were treated unfairly so she decided to take action. She was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom for her efforts.

    The Law Enforcement Torch Run for Special Olympics North Carolina began in 1987 and raises more than 1.3 million for Special Olympics North Carolina each year and serves nearly 40,000 athletes.

    “We are asking for donations or to purchase a Special Olympics t-shirt or beach towel for $20,” said McCormick.

    “If you would like to get your name on the Special Olympics t-shirt, you can do this by becoming a corporate sponsor.”

    “It is not a race, it is a symbolic thing showing the community that we are supporting Special Olympics and these athletes,” said McCormick. “We are asking everyone to come out and support this worthy cause.”

    Join the Spring Lake Police Department as a “Torch Run Warrior.” Runners will receive a certificate of participation.
    Sponsorship information is available at www.sonc.net.

    There is no entry fee. Registration starts at 8:15 a.m. on the day of the run.
    For more information call 910-237-9470.

  • Contaminated Wells CPP The Gray’s Creek community in Cumberland County could receive federal funding to help address the GenX contamination of some residential wells.

    The county Board of Commissioners unanimously agreed Monday to apply for North Carolina’s drinking water reserve and wastewater reserve grant.

    The grant, which has two rounds of funding in the spring and fall, is financed through federal allocations to the state as part of the American Rescue Plan Act, or ARPA.

    The N.C. Department of Environmental Quality will administer the funds and determine which applicants are awarded grant money.

    If accepted, the county could receive up to $15 million to fund construction of a new central water distribution system in the Gray’s Creek area in southern Cumberland County, according to county documents.

    The state’s grant is meant for at-risk water systems for which, among other purposes, the applicant’s intention is to connect residences in disadvantaged, underserved communities to a different water system.

    According to water sampling from DEQ, some residential wells in Gray’s Creek are contaminated with GenX, a chemical substance produced in the nearby Chemours plant.

    GenX is a trade name for one unregulated per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance, or PFAS, used in manufacturing nonstick coatings, among other purposes, according to the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services.

    Last month, Cumberland County filed a lawsuit against Chemours and its predecessor company, DuPont, for allegedly releasing millions of pounds of PFAS into the air above its Fayetteville Works facility in the decades following 1970, as reported by Carolina Public Press.

    To determine how GenX affects the human body, more studies need to be done, according to DHHS. A small, limited study from the state agency suggests the substance, which DuPont started producing in 2009, may leave the human body quickly.

    Previously, the county had allocated $10.5 million for providing an alternative water system for Gray’s Creek. A pending contract is in place with the Fayetteville Public Works Commission, but the board has not yet finalized and approved that agreement.

    The county has until May 2 to apply for the state grant.

    If DEQ doesn’t accept Cumberland County’s application, the department will automatically consider the application for the next round of funding in the fall.

    The state could grant a low-interest loan to supplement funding if Cumberland County accepts, according to DEQ.

    If funding is still available after both application rounds, DEQ will give more to accepted applicants in $5 million increments until all the money is exhausted. DEQ will reward applicants in increments in order of priority, which the agency will determine.


    PHOTO CREDIT: Chemours' Fayetteville Works Plant Manager Brian Long, describes a newly installed mechanism for waste management and emissions reduction in late 2018. Melissa Sue Gerrits / Carolina Public Press

  • rollout logo Cora’s Community Foundation is hosting “The Rollout,” an event that seeks to bring local and state politicians together with their constituents for a night of skating and fun.

    “The Roll Out” will be held Tuesday, May 3, from 5:30 until 8:30 p.m. at Round-A-Bout Skating Center.

    “This event is an open invitation to all candidates, no matter their affiliation, to come under one roof and interface with the public. We want people to be able to put a face to the names on the ballot,” said Rakeem “Keem” Jones, Cora’s Community Foundation’s co-founder and executive director.

    “The Roll Out” is part of an initiative to engage more voters aged 18 to 35 to register 1000 new voters.

    “I want to engage the area where people don’t go. We already know where the voters are, so I want to engage the young dude from Murchison Road who maybe doesn’t know the importance of voting in local elections or voting at all,” Jones told Up & Coming Weekly.

    “Now that I know how voting affects us, I want to be a bridge between candidates and the community in a setting not so formal. It’s hard to skate in a suit and tie,” he joked.

    There won’t be any speeches on the night of “The Roll Out,” nor any big political ideas or agendas. Candidates will have on nametags and are encouraged to meet and engage in fellowship with potential voters.

    “So far, the response from candidates has been great,” Jones stated. Any candidate interested can participate in this event, but they must RSVP by April 22.

    “I want people to take away knowledge of the people they’re voting for instead of voting for the sign they see the most. I want people to ask the questions that help them make a more informed decision,” Jones said.

    Though Cora’s Community Foundation does not endorse any particular candidate, Jones speaks a great deal about accountability when it comes to politics.

    “If you don’t know who you’re voting for, you don’t know who to hold accountable,” he said. “You don’t have to be rude, but you can be informed and push back where it matters. This event is about bringing power back to the people.”

    “The Roll Out’s” mission is two-fold. Along with the candidate meet and greet, the event also hopes to bring some awareness to the rising violence in Fayetteville.

    Co-founder of Heal the Ville, Demetria Murphy, will attend to spread her message of peace and healing for the city.

    Jones, whose sister was murdered in 2019, feels strongly about this message and is always eager to partner with those who seek to uplift the community.

    Getting his start in social activism by leading a protest on Scarborough Road in 2020, Jones felt compelled to do more for the city of Fayetteville.

    Jones founded Cora’s Community Foundation in 2021 along with his fiance Grace Pelt, Alexis McLaurin and Shea and Christian Mosely.

    Cora’s Community Foundation, named after Jones’ late mother, Cora Denise Jones, is a grassroots organization dedicated to addressing systemic inequalities and providing solutions that benefit everyone.

    Since forming in May of last year, the Foundation has led or participated in several outreach projects that directly empower, support or celebrate the people of Fayetteville.

    Teaming up with big names in the community, such as Grammy-nominated Fayetteville rapper, Morray, celebrity barber Vic Blends, and the Fayetteville Woodpeckers, to name a few, Cora’s Foundation has wasted little time in getting to work for its community, serving thousands thus far.

    Jones is hopeful that the “The Roll Out” event will be equally beneficial to the community.

    “Everyone likes to skate, and everyone likes to eat,” Jones said. “We want people to come out and have a good time, good food and a good vibe. We want people to get to know each other in a family-friendly atmosphere.”

    Round-A-Bout Skating Center is located at Eutaw Shopping Center at 880 Elm St.

    Candidates must RSVP by April 22 and can do so at 910-709-0826 or corascommunityfoundation@gmail.com.

    For more information, contact Cora’s Community Foundation at 910-709-0826 or corascommunityfoundation@gmail.com.

  • Spouses in the Mil The Greater Fayetteville Chamber of Commerce is holding an expo and a luncheon with a question-and-answer session for military spouses on April 28, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. The event will take place at the Rudolph Jones Student Center at Fayetteville State University.

    “The lunch and the expo is free to military spouses; male or female, veterans, members of the Gold Star community, anybody who is or has been married to someone in the military is welcome to come to this event for free,” said Claudia Black, events coordinator and sales specialist for the Chamber. “We are really trying to cater to the military spouses.”

    Bronwen Pence, the wife of Fort Bragg Garrison commander Col. Scott Pence, will be moderating a question-and-answer session during the luncheon.

    “We will have a panel of four ladies from throughout different branches of the military. The panel will be giving spouses some insight on what military life is like, anything they feel might be helpful to the spouses,” Black said.

    The panel will include U.S. Army Special Operation Command-wife Kimberly Weimer and Garrison-wife Nikki Loehr.

    The panel will also have a newer military spouse so that the question-and-answer session can be diverse, Black said.
    Paul Mitchell will be providing makeovers throughout the day for the spouses, and Five West Media will be on hand
    to create headshots for the
    attendees. Spouses can receive professional headshots digitally.

    Breakout sessions will occur during the morning, the first being a mental wellness session. It will include office yoga and a discussion with a mental wellness doctor talking about stress and how to cope with spouses deploying.

    The second breakout room of the day will be geared toward extreme couponing, a subject Black said was very well received during the last military spouse event.

    An expo will also be available throughout the day. Thirty-eight vendor booths will be set up in the halls of FSU, and spouses are more than welcome to come and go. If spouses can’t attend the whole event, they can still come to the expo.

    Guests walking through the expo will be able to get free gifts and talk to the vendors. Those who come to the luncheon will also receive a swag bag.

    “We have a lot of great swag bags to give out,” Black said.

    “We still have room for more table sponsors. A business can sponsor a table. They get one seat at the table, and then we put seven military spouses with them, so they get some one-on-one time with the spouses. The business can decorate the table with signage,” Black said.

    “We really want these seats to be filled with military spouses. That’s the whole goal of this, for them to have a fun day and be pampered and hopefully learn some stuff.”

    The expo and luncheon are free to military spouses, but Black said guests should register before the event. To register, visit www.faybiz.com.

     

  • 09 MVIMG 20200402 175323When God closes a door, he opens a window. And, he does this by utilizing his people. Why? Simply put, for their good and his glory. It’s been a tradition each year that many churches in the Fayetteville and Cumberland County area join together for a city and countywide Easter sunrise service. This traditional service is a celebration of love, hope, unity and faith. This year, the grand event, which was planned by several area churches, was to be held at Segra Stadium in downtown Fayetteville. However, because of the COVID-19 situation, and in keeping with the North Carolina and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s health and safety precautions designed to limit the transmission of the virus, organizers had to cancel the event.

    Rev. Robert James of Fayetteville’s First Baptist Church on Anderson Street in downtown Fayetteville was one of the coordinators of the event. He was looking forward to filling Segra Stadium on Easter Sunday morning with a congregation of all faiths for a service that would be a demonstration of unity, God’s love and encouragement as they celebrate the holy day amid the ongoing challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.

    “I was so excited that our churches would be bringing the Annual Easter Sunrise Service to Segra Stadium this year,” said James. “It was a dream that each of the other pastors and I had been pursuing for months.  We saw it as a wonderful opportunity to bring our churches and our community together.  We hoped that by holding the event at the new stadium that even more churches and more of our neighbors would want to join us in celebrating Easter.  Having to cancel this service has been a grieving process for me, and I am sure it has been for each of my colleagues.”

    James and the other event organizers will replace the service with another very special event that will also inspire the community and express a collective sense of hope, love, unity and faith: The Easter Ringing of the Bells. A communitywide church bell ringing event. On Easter Sunday, April 12, at sunrise — 6:47 a.m. — participating Fayetteville, Fort Bragg and Cumberland County churches are invited to ring their church bells and chimes continuously for five minutes as a symbolic gesture of ringing out assurances of hope, love, unity and faith during this time of crisis, social distancing and isolation. All churches are invited to participate. This will be especially meaningful for some congregations because some churches do not ring their bells during the entire Lenten Season — until Easter. This Sunday, they can ring out joyfully, celebrating the greatest Christian event since the beginning of time — the resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!

    Regardless of the weather, the bells will ring, and the prayers for humanity will rise from the hearts of those within their sound.

    For some Christians, these circumstances may not seem so unusual because they believe, as I do, that God sometimes uses events to remind us that when life and things around us seem to careen out of control, his son is the “Christ of the crisis.”

    Even though we may be curfewed, hunkered down, sheltered in place and practicing social distancing, we are still bound together by God’s love. As that old song says, “We’ll be one in the Spirit, one in the Lord, and we pray that all unity will one day be restored.”

    Basil Hume once said, “The greatest gift of Easter is hope.” Well, these are desperate and challenging times in which we live. Dark clouds of uncertainty continue to form on the horizon and threaten our way of life — and possibly our existence. It is during these times that we need chimes and bells, lots of bells, ringing out loud and clear as a gallant call to arms, invoking prayer, hope, love, unity and a firm proclamation of faith. This world may never be the same. The COVID-19 crisis could prove to be a game-changer for all humanity. Only God knows the future. In the meantime, may the ringing of church bells this Easter Sunday morning restore your hope and faith in humanity, dispelling any fears that may be lingering in your heart. Inspiration and hope come from the very one for whom Easter is celebrated, the one who proclaims, “Fear not, for I am with you, for I am your God, I will strengthen you. I will hold you up with my victorious hand.”

    “In a time of so much fear and uncertainty, it brings me hope and joy to imagine church bells all over our community ringing out in unison our faith in God’s resurrection power,” said James.

    Let those bells toll on Easter Sunday morning, not only in Fayetteville and Cumberland County but across America and around the world. Christ has risen and he has risen for all of us, abolishing fear and death and spreading the message that we, too, shall live and become more than conquerors. And that includes the coronavirus pandemic.

    Listen up. The bells will ring for you and your family. I am thankful to live in a community that places such high values on love, hope, faith, unity and humankind. Happy Easter!

     

    Pictured: Rev. Rob James ringing the church bell at First Baptist Church, Anderson Street. 
    Photo credit:  Ryann McKay

  • uac040214001.gif There is nothing more effective to change public policy than public outcry. Duke Energy is learning this truism the hard way — although it should have been aware of it years ago. Duke Energy has 32 coal ash ponds in 14 locations statewide. None of these are lined to prevent seepage of toxic coal ash water into ground water or nearby, canals, streams or rivers.

    On Feb. 2, Duke Energy allowed 39,000 tons of toxic coal ash sludge to be released into the Dan River. In March, Duke Energy was caught red-handed pumping 61,000 gallons of coal ash toxins from storage ponds into canals that empty into the Cape Fear River above Fayetteville. This kind of outrageous disregard for the purity and safety of our state’s water has been demonstrated by Duke Energy time and again and it is because of the company’s well-developed political connections and expensive but effective lobbying that it was overlooked.

    Public outcry has now been heard and Duke Energy’s immunity to our state’s laws regarding pollution may be over. The Department of Environmental and Natural Resources (DENR)-imposed $99,111 fine for unlawful maintenance of storage ponds and dumping was appealed to an appropriate court, by DENR attorneys, for retraction. DENR lawyers realized that they had crossed the line, that the wrist-slap citation and fine to Duke Energy was far too lenient and the public was just not going to stand for it. The seriousness of the Dan River spill has been widely but not under-publicized. The Dan will be polluted not for weeks or months but likely for years.

    How the subject and issue of Duke Energy’s coal ash storage arrived at the current condition is a long story. Some of it could be explained by observing that coal ash is the residue of burning coal and burning coal is what Duke Energy does to provide our state’s businesses and residents with electricity. The state agency charged with the responsibility of policing environmentally harmful activities is the Department of Environment and Natural Resources. Simply put, that state agency did not do its job as it pertains to Duke Energy.04-02-14-coal-ash-story.gif

    The election of Pat McCrory to the governor’s office exacerbated an already out-of-control situation due to lack of adequate attention by Democratic governor appointees to head the agency. When McCrory appointed long-time crony, John Skvarla, to head DENR, there was no hiding the fact that DENR was going to be run by a new sheriff with new policies handed down by Gov. McCrory. As a 29-year former employee of Duke Energy and recipient of multi-million dollar campaign contributions from the utility, McCrory knew where his bread was buttered. “Be kind to business and business will be kind to you,” was his guiding principle and light. Upon appointment,Skvarla announced that his agency was to be “business-friendly.” That policy was laid out by Skvarla’s lieutenants as “Get on board with a policy of helping business overcome environmental regulations or get your desks emptied out.” Some did — including a very vocal lead staffer, Amy Adams, who now works for the environmental organization Appalachian Voice.

    So, Duke Energy continued to operate without restraints. It had its man in the governor’s mansion. Under the McCrory administration, Duke Energy continued (without concerns of interference by DENR) to pollute and operate coal ash facilities without required permits or adequate attendance or maintenance to those facilities. But when the Dan River coal ash pond let go, even a ham-fisted politician such as McCrory recognized that this kind of irresponsible behavior, which demonstrates utter disregard for our state’s environment, is bad for reelection probabilities. DENR has received revised marching orders, no doubt something along the lines of “Continue to be business friendly but make it look as if the agency is really trying to do its job.” DENR could actually do that but it would require putting a few teeth into their enforcement efforts. It may struggle with this until it gets leadership that puts the well-being of the state’s natural resources above the best interests of big utilities and massive hog farms. We shall see, but one thing is without a doubt — John Skvarla will not be heading North Carolina’s Department of Environment and Natural Resource much longer if McCrory has any ambitions of serving a second term.

    Photo: On Feb. 2, Duke Energy allowed 39,000 tons of toxic coal ash sludge to be released into the Dan River.

  • chemours In a lawsuit filed last month, Cumberland County alleges that Chemours and its predecessor companies have, over the past few decades, “secretly pumped millions of pounds of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances,” or PFAS, into the air above its Fayetteville Works facility in the southern part of the county.

    Chemours, a spin-off of the chemical company DuPont, is the maker of GenX, one of the PFAS substances, among others, referred to in the lawsuit.
    Cumberland County alleges that Chemours and DuPont have been polluting the air, groundwater and surface water with PFAS for decades with a “blatant disregard” for residents in the county.

    “As has been widely reported, defendants have used the environment surrounding theFayetteville Works facility as a dumping ground for hundreds of chemicals while assuring the EPA and state agencies that they were doing no such thing,” the lawsuit says.

    The lawsuit alleges that from the early 1970s until 2015, when DuPont owned the Fayetteville Works site, the company “discharged millions of pounds of PFAS.”

    Among these PFAS, the lawsuit alleges, was a chemical called C8, a substance previously produced by DuPont that may be related to health issues such as birth defects and cancer, when exposed at high levels, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

    In 2005, DuPont agreed to pay $16.5 million in EPA fines for violating a requirement to “report to EPA substantial risk information about chemicals they manufacture, process or distribute in commerce,” according to the regulatory agency.

    In 2009, DuPont began production of GenX as a replacement to phase out C8. While C8 has ceased, the production of GenX at the Fayetteville Works site continues, but there is limited information on the effect of GenX in humans, according to the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services.

    In an emailed statement to Carolina Public Press, Chemours said the company was disappointed by Cumberland’s decision to file a lawsuit.

    “Our discussions with the county have included offering different alternative water systems to qualifying county properties,” the company said.

    “We are also working collaboratively with the county and (the Fayetteville Public Works Commission) water to connect impacted Cumberland County residents to public water where feasible.”

    In 2020, the Cumberland County Board of Commissioners voted to allocate $10.5 million in an effort to find an alternative water source for Gray’s Creek, an area south of Fayetteville where GenX was found in N.C. Department of Environmental Quality testing in some residential wells groundwater.

    Last month, commissioners were expected to finalize an agreement in which Fayetteville PWC would provide water to the area, but County Manager Amy Cannon requested more time to work on the contract with PWC.

    Since the Chemours facility is located off State Road 87, south of PWC’s water supply and further down the Cape Fear River, the GenX contamination attributed to Chemours does not affect the PWC, a spokesperson for the utility said.

    The company has also supplied bottled water to students and faculty at Gray’s Creek Elementary, the company’s statement said.

    On behalf of Cumberland County, the lawsuit against Chemours was filed by Crueger Dickinson LLC and Baron & Budd, P.C. Commissioners decided on these firms last June. According to the contract with the attorneys, the firms will receive 25% of any possible recovery for damages.

    GenX effects on humans

    GenX is used in products such as food packaging, nonstick coatings and firefighting foam, according to DHHS.
    The substance is part of a larger group of chemicals called PFAS, known as “forever chemicals” due to their durability and virtual inability to be broken down.

    Exposure to high levels of some PFAS, according to the EPA, may lead to health issues in humans such as high blood pressure in pregnant women, developmental effects in children and increased risk of some cancers.

    For GenX specifically, the link isn’t as clear.
    A study published by the EPA last year suggests that livers in animals may be sensitive to GenX. Other potential effects in animals include developmental issues and some cancers.

    More studies in people are needed to determine the chemical’s effect on the human liver or other organs, according to DHHS.

    A small, limited study from DHHS found that GenX may not stay in the human body for a long time.
    Chemours stands by the safety of the chemical, according to their website.

    “If incidental exposure were to occur, it’s rapidly eliminated from the body,” the company claims.
    Continued research on the effects on humans is ongoing among scientists, including those at N.C. State University’s GenX exposure study.

    State investigation

    The N.C. Department of Environmental Quality has been investigating allegations of GenX contamination from Chemours since June 2017 when the Wilmington StarNews reported that the chemical had been found in drinking water in the lower Cape Fear River.

    In February 2019, DEQ filed a consent order against Chemours requiring them to address current and prevent future GenX contamination.
    Last year, DEQ found Chemours responsible for the contamination of groundwater and water supply wells in New Hanover County and possibly Pender, Columbus and Brunswick counties as well.

    As a result, the state required Chemours to sample the drinking water in those downstream communities. On March 28, DEQ sent the company a letter requiring the company to expand their plan for sampling within the counties.

    In their emailed statement, Chemours said they are continuing to comply with the state’s consent order.

    “We are committed to continued engagement with Cumberland County as we implement the terms of the consent order agreement,” the company said.

  • 04-09-14-green-day.gifWhen the hit band Green Day made its way to Broadway it was a huge success. The high-energy punk rock nature of the songs in combination with the tough topics it tackles makes for not only an entertaining but also a deeply moving show. On April 15, for one night only, the Professional Artist Series brings the tour to the Givens Performing Arts Center on the campus of the University of North Carolina-Pembroke.

    Andrew Humann, who is an ensemble character in the production, describes the show as, “... a big jumble of fun. It is like a rock concert with a heartfelt message. It’s about three men who are trapped in a small town. One escapes to the city and one to the Army. There is something for everyone to relate to, like family members or friends going to war. It also deals with drug addictions, a heroin addiction and the demons that come with that, and the depression of being trapped in suburbia. People should expect a wild night of fun. The show combines all of these motifs and flows with Green Day’s American Idiot album.”

    Modern music often gets a bad reputation as not having enough substance and meaning. American Idiot has no such problems. The focus is on three men who are life-long friends, and each is struggling with his own personal demons in a post 9/11 world. There are multiple struggles and themes within this play, but one of the most potent is on the subject of home.

    “The show deals with the foundation of home and how important it is. They want to get the hell out of ‘Jingletown’ as they call it and branch out and see new things, but sometimes life brings you back to what really matters most like friends and family and what was there in your upbringing,” Humann explained.

    A national tour id an exhausting experience, and because American Idiot is such a high-intensity show it is even more difficult. The constant bus rides coupled with performances is naturally exhausting. But by being conscious of the trials and staying healthy it is an incredibly rewarding experience.

    “The reception at the end is great. We have never not had a standing ovation. The reaction is the greatest reward. No matter how crappy your day has been, whether your dog has died or whatever, the gratitude from the audience just makes you forget how crappy it has been and move on,” says Humann. This positive attitude and excitement that all of the actors have makes the show all the more incredible to watch.

    The curtain rises on Green Day’s American Idiot at 8 p.m. The Givens performing Arts Center is located at 1 University Drive in Pembroke. Tickets range from $34 to $45. Tickets can be purchased from the box office at 910 521-6361.

    Please be advised that the performance contains adult content and language that may not be suitable for all audiences under the age of 14. Viewer discretion is advised. For more information visit www.uncp.edu/gpac.

    Photo: Modern music often gets a bad reputation as not having enough substance and meaning. American Idiot has no such problems. 

  • Thespians in Fayetteville don’t have to look too far to find a place to show off their talents. Between the Cape Fear 04-06-11-river-valley-players.jpgRegional Theater, the Gilbert Theatre, the several strong performing- arts departments at the collegiate level and the River Valley Players, to name a few, opportunities abound for both performers and patrons of theater.

    Jimmy Skenteris, owner of the Haymont Grill, is teaming up with the River Valley Players to bring Fayetteville a dinner theater experience that will surely impress.

    “We have four shows booked up there this year,” said Gerry Cruze, founding member and director of the River Valley Players. “They are offering us the place for our performances and that is really, really good for us. We are glad to have the support.”

    The River Valley Players are set to perform at their new theatrical “home,” on April 15 and 16, opening the season with Not The Wizard of Oz.

    This particular piece came about when the group was trying to decide what they would perform this season.

    “We looked through several scripts and none of them jumped at us, so we all made different suggestions,” said Cruze “Then one of our members, Dale Kalinowski, took them and compiled the whole thing and wrote a script. It is and original script in the process of being copyrighted. It is still kid-friendly, but we try to sort of include some local or current comments where appropriate in this production.”

    For $25 the patrons receive a meal of chicken or steak, a tossed salad, potatoes, a vegetable medley, iced tea and dessert and an evening of entertainment. There will be a cash bar available as well.

    Funds from this performance will be used to finance the upcoming productions for the group. All funds from the next three performances will be put back into the community through charitable donations. It is this charitable mind set that has driven the River Valley Players from their earliest days.

    What started out years ago as a chorus in the radiology department at Cape Fear Valley Medical Center has grown over time into an independent theatrical company whose sole purpose is to raise money for local charities — and have fun in the process.

    “It started the year Katrina came through. I was working at Cape Fear Valley Medical Center. We had a chorus in the radiology department and we would go around and sing to the kids and adults in the hospital,” said Cruze. “Then Katrina came through and we thought it would be nice to do something as a fundraiser. The folks at Cape Fear Regional Theatre were kind enough to let us use the facility for a reduced rate and we put on a variety show and raised $3,000 for kids that had been displaced by Katrina. That is what planted the seed.”

    Three years later, in 2008, the group incorporated into a 501c3 public charity and they’ve been performing around town ever since. One of the biggest challenges that the group faces is that they don’t have a space to call their own, thankfully different events and businesses have provided space along the way, although they hope to have a building to call their own at some point in the future. Until then, they practice at the library and perform wherever they can, storing props and costumes in a rented storage unit. That’s why this dinner theater is such a big deal for them, to have a consistent place to perform and build their audience means a lot to the group.

    On June 4 and 5 look for A Salute to Our Military. Proceeds from this production will benefit the Wounded Warrior Fund. August 19 and 20 the group will perform a series of short skits including a past favorite called Revenge of the Red Feathered Ladies. The group will end their season with performances of their Christmas Show on Dec 9 and 10.

    Call 858-2237 to purchase tickets and make reservations. The show starts at 6:30 p.m. in the Banquet Room of the Haymont Grill and Steak House. Visit www. therivervalleyplayersnc.org. to find out more.

    Photo: The River Valley Players perform at A Dickens Holiday.

  • working dogs 1 With laser-eye focus, combat gear secured and tails wagging, eight military working dog teams launched into their real-world scenario based training lanes for one common purpose — to earn the title Military Working Dog Team of the Year.

    The first Military Working Dog Team of the Year Competition was hosted March 24 by Fort Bragg’s Public Health Activity at the Medical Simulation Training Center on Fort Bragg. Each dog and handler team, specializing in either narcotics or explosive detection, competed in different tasks throughout the cloudy and drizzly day, challenging them on their knowledge and skills.

    Two teams came out on top — Cpl. Taylor Reed and military working dog, Gert, for narcotics detection and Cpl. Jericho Arengo and military working dog, Serif, for explosives detection. Both teams are from Fort Bragg’s 550th Military Working Dog Detachment.

    “I am still astounded being named the Fort Bragg Explosive MWD Team of the Year,” said Arengo. “There were a lot of great MWD teams competing for the title. It was not an easy competition.”

    Arengo added that he and his canine partner worked well together, despite a few deficiencies that they will continue to work through as a team. However, he definitely made sure Serif got a lot of extra treats, belly rubs and free time to run around to be a dog as celebration.

    “We’ve never had anything like this,” said Reed, Narcotics MWD Team of the Year. “We had the opportunity to practice hands-on (training) in a simulated and controlled environment on what we need to know how to do as dog handlers. The entire event was far above and beyond any training I could have dreamed of and it was executed perfectly. I feel very honored and prideful of our detachment.”

    In total, three military installations across the country were represented: Fort Bragg, Fort Polk, Louisiana, and Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Virginia.

    “It’s always nice to get camaraderie with our Army counterparts,” said Senior Airmen Devon Reynolds, whose canine partner is a 2-year-old German shepherd named Bruno from the 633rd Security Forces Squadron, JBLE. “We don’t get to work with them all that often, so when we do it’s a great opportunity to learn from each other and have a little fun while we’re at it.”

    Each team was tested on their ability to detect the scent of either narcotics or explosives, how to administer first aid to both humans and dogs, how to use radio communications, how to operate in a chemical, biological, radioactive, nuclear and high yield explosives environment, and assemble/dissemble their weapon — all the while tending to and protecting their four-legged partner.

    “I like how there’s so much variety while going through the training,” said Pfc. Gabriel Franco, 550th MWD Detachment. “You get a lot more experience and knowledge out of the competition so that we will be prepared
    if anything actually was to happen
    for real.”

    When coordinating the competition, Capt. Heather Weaver, the officer in charge of the event and assigned to the Fort Bragg PHA, said they had direct backing from her command team and their soldiers worked very hard as the main support. The detection, bite and medical lanes had graders from 3rd Special Forces Group, First Year Graduate Veterinary Internship captains and 4th Security Forces Squadron. The 550th MWD Detachment provided detection aids, weapons and basic dog needs like trailers and water. All the units working together provided an Army, Air Force and Special Forces perspective to the scoring of each lane.

    “We were looking for a competition to show us the most well-rounded MWD-handler team,” said Weaver. “These handlers also compete in the Expert Soldier Badge annually, but we wanted a way to tie in detection/bite work and daily tasks asked of these teams, Army Warrior Tasks, and medical training.”

    Weaver added that she frequently provides training to the 550th MWD Detachment teams and 4th Security Forces Squadron from Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, in Goldsboro, North Carolina.

    “Instead of becoming confident and complacent in our training, we wanted to see what the handlers would do in real-life scenarios without my direct guidance,” Weaver said. “This allows us to gauge where the most frequent gaps of knowledge lie, and it also allows us to come up with a course of action to close those identified gaps.”

    With the partnership between the different units, not only competing together but also supporting the event, many of the competitors agreed that they learned a lot.

    “I learned things I didn’t even know I didn’t know,” laughed Pfc. Sheridan Reagin, 550th MWD Detachment. “I definitely put myself to the test. The most challenging was the medical lane. I went in thinking I knew a lot about first aid, but then I sort of panicked.”

    The medical lane started off with a patrol walk through the woods when suddenly, simulated artillery rounds went off and there were human and dog causalities. The competitors rushed to their assigned lane and began to administer first aid to either the human or dog training aide.

    “The dogs that we worked on, they’re so realistic,” added Reagin, looking at Max, her 5-year-old German shepherd partner. “I feel like if I get efficient on the training dog, I will be able to remain calm and perform first aid on my dog if needed. It was a different experience tending to the human casualty than the dog. There’s that added emotional connection with Max. He’s my buddy.”

    The Advanced Canine Medical Trainer, K9 Diesel, is a full-body simulator used by handlers and veterinarians to practice medical aid. The fur covered robot dog whines, growls, breathes, bleeds, has a pulse, makes airway obstruction noises, has a real-time sensor that is customizable to different scenarios and reacts to treatments administered — it looks, reacts and sounds like a real dog.

    Teaming up with the Fort Bragg Veterinarian Clinic across the parking lot from the 550th MWD Detachment has its perks for the local teams that train monthly on different medical scenarios and utilize the K9 Diesel quarterly.

    “We are very fortunate to have (the vet clinic) so close to provide their expertise,” said Reagin. “We are our dog’s primary caregiver, we can’t just call for a medic. It’s up to (us) to apply first aid until (we) can get (them) to the vet.”

    With both winners coming from Fort Bragg’s 550th MWD Detachment, the event solidified that the training is being retained and that handlers are able to apply their knowledge when challenged, said Weaver.

    Arengo added that having both winners from the same unit correlates with the excellent training opportunities and trainers available at Fort Bragg.

    “The 550th Military Working Dog Detachment holds their handlers above the standard,” Arengo said. “That says a lot about the detachment.”

  • 04-30-14-fay-beautiful.gifI like calling Fayetteville home. There’s nothing like walking the streets of Fayetteville and enjoying the beautiful ̀owers, landscape, people and lovely sights,until you look down to see trash and litter. On Saturday, May 3 at 9 a.m., Bobby Hurst and Fayetteville Beautiful will conduct its annual citywide cleanup beginning at the entrance to the MLK Freeway on Ramsey Street.

    “Fayetteville Beautiful is an organized group of citizens who care about their environment and the physical appearance of their community,” said Hurst, chairman of Fayetteville Beautiful. “We were in the top five trashiest cities in the state of North Carolina, and our goal was to get as many citizens as possible to make a beautiful difference in our community.” Hurst added that they did a litter index of the city of Fayetteville to assess the litter in our city and we were a 2.98 on a scale of 1-4 which is pretty trashy.

    Fayetteville Beautiful and Keep North Carolina Beautiful engage and support individuals and organizations to keep North Carolina beautiful. This project addresses three core issues: litter prevention, beautification and waste reduction. The nonprofit organization’s mission is to encourage citizens to create and maintain a cleaner and more beautiful Fayetteville. The results from the nine citywide cleanups include 9,444 volunteers who picked up 111 tons of litter along 216 miles of roadside in less than 3 hours. “Each cleanup we cover anywhere from 212 to 248 miles of roadside during that morning,” said Hurst. “Everybody is usually done within an hour to an hour and a half and that is pretty quick.” Hurst added that it does not take that long to pick up litter and the Parks and Recreation Crew pick up the orange bags that same day.

    The organization has many projects that it has been a part of. It helped Cumberland County Schools when Ben Martin Elementary School was hit by the tornado. “We teamed up with the school system and purchased trees and bushes after the tornado hit,” said Hurst. “Some of our volunteers went out along with Parks and Recreation and planted them with the elementary students.” Hurst added that they have planted centipede at the North Carolina Veteran’s Park and at Cross Creek Park.

    Some of the ways that you can keep Fayetteville beautiful include the following: use reusable containers, recycle bottles, cans, plastics, and paper, use trash containers with tightly fitted lids, adopt a street/site and keep it clean, discourage family and friends from littering, report litter violations, encourage public officials to enforce the litter laws, provide adequate trash and recycling containers and empty them often, support Fayetteville Beautiful with your donations, or volunteer for one of their many projects.

    For more information, to make a donation, or if you would like to volunteer visit www.fayettevillebeautiful.com or call 433-1587.

    Photo: Fayetteville Beautiful addresses three core issues: litter prevention, beautification, and waste reduction.

  • 04-13-11-a-slice-of-saturday.jpgAs an entertainment lover, I find it very relaxing to go home on a Friday or Saturday night and pop in the latest movie to come out on DVD. However, I also love to experience the joy of live theatre. There is nothing like seeing actors perform on stage, making your break for the restroom during intermission or laughing hysterically with the person sitting beside you. All of these things are what one can experience by going out and supporting a live-theatre performance.

    The ‘60s musical: A Slice of Saturday Night will be performed in the Butler Theatre, located on the campus of Fayetteville State University, April 14-16. The shows will start at 7:30 p.m. and tickets range in price from $2 - $10.

    Most of the shows action will be set in “The Club-A-Go-Go” which is operated by Eric ‘Rubber Legs’’ DeVere. Devere is an old rock star who, like most teenagers, is fascinated by the fun-filled action that takes place on Saturday nights. The show’s plot is centered on teenagers, their hormones and their unpredictable behaviors.

    The play will take a look back at an era fi lled with “fast-moving score of doo-wop, soft rock and many laughs (and a few reminiscent sighs) along the way!” called the ‘60s. It is Saturday Night at the provincial “Club A-Go-Go” and with three blokes down and four birds out and ready for pull, these teenagers are about to have some fun.

    A Slice of Saturday Nightwill be the fourth show performed by Fayetteville State University’s theatre department, and it will also be their final show of the season. A Slice of Saturday Night is directed by Phoebe Hall, musical direction is by Howard Kim, and choreography is by Avis Hatcher-Puzzo. Everyone is encouraged to arrive on time, because after the show has started no one will be seated until intermission (this is another added pleasure of live theatre).

    Make it a family affair on April 14, 15 or 16 and take the entire family to relive or experience the action-packed decade of the ‘60s. Go and see A Slice of Saturday Night. Shows begin at 7:30 p.m.

    PHOTO: The ‘60s Musical: A Slice of Saturday Night will be performed in the Butler Theatre, located on the campus of Fayetteville State University.

  • Spring Lake Last week, the Local Government Commission (LGC) wrote a letter to elected officials in Spring Lake, noting several concerns about the Board of Aldermen's choices in the past few weeks.

    Their first concern is the hiring of a new interim manager. The Board of Aldermen held two closed session meetings where the board discussed and then swore in a new interim manager, Joe Durham. The problem lies in that the vote to hire Durham should be public. In addition, Durham was sworn in without having a contract in place. The LGC states that no payments can be legally made for Durham's services without a contract.

    The second concern noted is the discussion of lifting a furlough on town employees put into effect on March 14. The furlough reduced pay for all general fund employees, reduced staff hours and closed Town Hall on Fridays to walk-in traffic. The LGC is concerned the Board of Aldermen did not consult them on lifting the furlough; the LGC still has complete control of the town's financial affairs.

    "The town's board does not currently have the authority to make this decision unilaterally," the letter states.

    The third concern involves the town's attorney, Jonathan Charleston. Charleston submitted a resignation letter on March 23 and provided a 30-day notice. However, the LGC states that the board has not officially accepted his resignation, nor has it determined the last date of Charleston's employment. The LGC asks the board to clarify the final date of Charleston's employment and that the town stipulates a plan for obtaining legal representation.

    A fourth concern noted in the LGC letter is that the Board of Aldermen voted to remove the LGC's presentation of interim financial information at the March 28 board meeting. The LGC states that while the presentation and information were not available when initially requested by the town in preparing the meeting's agenda, it was available that night.

    A fifth concern discussed during the LGC board meeting last week was the legality of a $1 million loan from the South River Electric Membership Corporation to build a fire station. The deal was consummated in October 2020, but work had begun on the construction before funding was in place. The contract was for $1.2 million, but the town only budgeted $1 million. The LGC notes that the original loan terms included an eight-year payback at $125,000 a year; however, LGC never approved the town to get the loan.

    The LGC is requesting the town respond to these concerns by April 13.

    "The LGC and its staff are committed to assisting the town in implementing policies and practices that will restore its fiscal health and establish a path to long-term viability. We ask the board to demonstrate that same commitment," the letter states.

    Alderman Raul Palacios sent Up & Coming Weekly a comment via email stating that he hopes Spring Lake will propel forward.

    "With the help go the LGC, Spring Lake is better off than it was a year ago. Because of their oversight, Spring Lake is in a better position financially. These accomplishments haven't come without their fair share of hiccups, but as a new board, we will work to get these things right," Palacios said.

    However, on his Facebook page, Palacios said that the letter from the LGC was a one-sided condemnation. His post was shared by Mayor Kia Anthony and Alderwoman Soña Cooper.

    In his rebuttal to the LGC concerns, Palacios stated that the board would vote on Durham's hiring when presented with a contract. He also clarified that the board had not accepted Charleston's resignation yet.

    Regarding the March 28 board meeting and the LGC report, Palacios writes that the board did remove the financial report from the agenda because they did not receive the report in advance of the meeting after requesting it three times.

    "The town of Spring Lake is better than it was a year ago because of internal control handling, LGC oversight and a change in leadership. My only hope is that the next town that receives an investigative audit report receives the help they need versus those hoping to gain political points," Palacios wrote.

    At the Board of Alderman work session this past Monday night, Anthony said they would respond to the LGC's concerns this week, and that response will be published. Up & Coming Weekly will publish the response on our website at upandcomingweekly.com.

    The board did hear from the LGC about the town's financials up through February. According to the memo from Susan McCullen, director of the Fiscal Management Commission, as of June 30, 2020, the town's general fund balance was $0. Rebuilding the general fund balance will most likely take years. Between 2014 and 2018, $1.88 million was transferred away from the Water and Sewer Fund to the general fund. This money will need to be paid back. The LGC is currently working on the best course of action to do that.

    "With the LGC and contract oversight during the year, the town may finish the current year well. However, there is significant work to do to improve the town's general fund reserves," McCullen writes in her memo. "We will not consider any new programs, additional positions, or staff raises but will focus on building the town's fiscal health."

    The LGC and Durham are currently working on putting together a budget workshop to go over the 2022-2023 budget and apply for American Rescue Plan Act funds.

    Durham was officially appointed as interim town manager during Monday night's work session with the approval of Charleston for legal sufficiency and approval from the LGC.

    This appointment comes with the approval of the contract between the town and Durham.

  • Fayetteville is making plans to address recurrent flooding in a neighborhood in the southeast part of the city.

    The City Council last week unanimously gave approval for an effort to design a flooding mitigation plan for the Locks Creek area. It’s estimated to cost $8.8 million.

    The project would improve drainage among roadways in the neighborhood, including the primary thoroughfare, Locks Creek Road, which will also be elevated as part of the construction.

    Byron Reeves, the city’s stormwater manager, said the purpose is to give access to emergency help to households in the event of a flood.

    “When you get certain storm events, you can’t get in and out of the neighborhoods, no emergency access, people can’t get in and out to their homes,” he said.

    This is the first phase, the only one approved last week. A second phase would call for a bridge on nearby State Road 53.

    If that second phase is eventually approved, the entire construction, including the initial phase, is estimated to cost $24.5 million.

    Reeves said the primary purpose is to serve the 180 houses in the neighborhood that do not flood. The flooding among the homes along Bombay Drive and Turkey Run, however, would continue.

    At last week’s council meeting, Mayor Mitch Colvin said the plan is a partial fix.

    “You still have Bombay Drive, which is one of the most impacted ones,” he said. “Those are the folks that come in year after year — after the two hurricanes — about flooding.”

    To address the flooding of the homes, Reeves said, little can be done in terms of new construction.

    “We can’t fix everything out there; however, we can do some things out there to improve the infrastructure for some in the neighborhood,” he said.

    FEMA flood plains
    Another option presented to the council was to pay fair market value for the homes that flood and turn them into levees to prevent further flooding in the area.

    However, this buyout cannot be funded federally as the Federal Emergency Management Agency does not consider the area a flood plain, a requirement for FEMA’s hazard mitigation assistance program.

    The current flood designation only extends within the immediate area of the Cape Fear River, miles west of the homes.

    If the houses were in a FEMA flood plain, a buyout could be issued in which the federal agency would pay for 75% of the costs. The rest would be paid by either state or local funds, if the homeowner agreed.

    Since FEMA funds aren’t on the table, however, the council last week was presented with a second option, which includes all the roadway mitigation efforts from the first, whereby the city would front all the costs of property acquisition. It costs much more, $45 million in total.

    If they wanted to consider that plan in the future, council members were encouraged to search for grant funding, as the stormwater budget wouldn’t cover such a price.

    ‘Water always wins’
    Even if the city obtained enough funding for the $45 million option, it wouldn’t stop all the flooding in the area.

    The levees wouldn’t completely stop waters reaching north of the neighborhood around L.A. Dunham Drive.

    “It’s very challenging to mitigate all the flooding out there,” Reeves said. “You’re putting a lot of money in. It’s not solving the problem. You’re mitigating it, but you’re not completely mitigating it.”

    Matthew in 2016 and Florence in 2018 were historic hurricanes for Fayetteville. They resulted in two floods that are typically only seen once in a 500-year span, according to research from the U.S. Geological Survey.

    The study presented to the council last week for the Locks Creek watershed only accounted for 25-year flood events.

    If another hurricane of the same magnitude hit the area, it would likely surpass these expensive mitigation measures, Reeves said.

    “There’s some storm events that you just can’t design your way out of,” he said.

    Mayor Pro Tem Kathy Jensen said at last week’s meeting that further discussion is needed before the council considers paying $45 million to address only a 25-year flood.

    “Water always wins,” she said. “It always winds up taking.”

  • Fayetteville is set to start a grant program next month that aims to reduce the city’s crime rate.

    Police Chief Gina Hawkins and Chris Cauley, the city’s economic and community development director, presented the City Council with plans for the program, known as the Community Safety Microgrant, on Monday.

    Last fall, the council approved $250,000 to go toward the program, to be distributed in four cycles over the next two years, amid concerns of increasing violent crime in the city.

    Violent crimes in Fayetteville increased last year as part of a national trend, Carolina Public Press previously reported.

    The grant program was inspired by a similar program in Charlotte, Hawkins said.

    “Charlotte had ideas of not just community involvement, violence and intervention, but they had microgrant programs as well,” she said. “We wanted to figure out how we could bring it here.”

    Any eligible nonprofit organization or individual with an idea for community crime reduction that needs funding can apply for the program.

    Council member Shakeyla Ingram showed support for the program at Monday’s meeting.

    “Though there is a police effort, there also is a community side as well,” she said. “I believe if we really want to attack or address violent crime, the community has to do with itself.”

    Applications for the program start May 2, and the deadline for submission is May 29.

    How the program works
    The program is limited to any individual or nonprofit organization that has an operating budget of less than $100,000. For-profit businesses cannot participate in the program.

    Accepted applicants will be limited to those who pitch an idea that can be shown to limit community crime, which will be gauged through a scoring system. The details of that scoring criteria will be determined in a future council meeting.

    All ideas for crime reduction will be considered though, Hawkins said.

    “Education, empowerment, history of their community,” she said. “It even talks about family stability. But we’re not just limited to these criteria. When people are having an idea of it, these are just going to give a little bit more weight when the scoring comes up.”

    In each of the four grant cycles, the city has allocated $50,000. Among that funding, three payment tiers are available for each applicant — up to $1,500, $2,500 and $5,000.

    While nonprofits are eligible for the $5,000 tier from the outset, individuals must go through the other two tiers first.

    As individuals progress through the tiers, the city will conduct classes that teach them how to organize and operate a nonprofit organization. The final $5,000 tier requires the grantees to be a nonprofit or be fiscally sponsored by a nonprofit.

    “The nonprofit is a high barrier,” Cauley said. “That it is an IRS tax designation. Paperwork, you have to have an accountant and you’ve got to have an audit.”

    Describing the classes, Cauley said, “We talk about the board composition and fundraising and the organizational development part of it. And then ultimately, we talk about the longevity and how you help your nonprofit continue year over year.”

    Classes are a part of each six-month cycle. That cycle includes the first month when application vetting takes place. For the next four months, the program is implemented, and in the last, grantees report back with results.

    In response to concerns from Mayor Mitch Colvin about the ability to adequately measure the success of the program, Hawkins said determining that isn’t entirely dependent on hard results.

    “We know, it’s difficult to say,” she said. “The bottom line, if you got youth involved in your community, doing something different, that’s success.”

    The council will appoint a committee to determine which applications are accepted.

    Options on how to comprise that committee will be presented to the council in the next few weeks.

  • Fay City Council The Fayetteville City Council officially approved to reduce paid parking Monday, April 11, during a council meeting.

    The new paid parking hours will be 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. instead of 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. This will be in effect Monday through Friday. Parking will remain free on Saturdays and Sundays.

    The rates will remain the same, $1 per hour, and a maximum of $5 daily.

    Lee Jernigan, city traffic engineer, told the council during a work session earlier this month that changing the times on the parking signs would cost about $8,000. 

    The new times will be effective and enforced on May 2.

    Visit parkfayettevillenc.com to see all parking facilities, parking enforcement rules and pay station instructions.

     

  • Fayetteville Police have a suspect in custody following a stabbing that happened early Thursday morning.

    Police officers arrived at Bayfield Loop around 4:05 a.m. to a reported disturbance. While officers could not locate anyone at the scene, they did find evidence consistent with a disturbance. At 4:11 a.m., officers at Cape Fear Valley Medical Center noted that a young man arrived in a personal vehicle with stab wounds.

    24-year-old Alan Trump was pronounced dead at the hospital.

    Detectives have a suspect in custody, however, their identity is being withheld until they are formally charged.

    Anyone with information regarding this investigation is asked to contact Detective J. Olsen at (910) 709-1958 or Crimestoppers at (910) 483-TIPS (8477). Crimestoppers information can also be submitted electronically, by visiting http://fay-nccrimestoppers.org and completing the anonymous online tip sheet.

  • The PWC JayWalkers are asking people to pick up their golf clubs and swing on the greens for a good cause.

    The Jaywalkers Alzheimer's Awareness Golf Tournament will be held at King's Grant Golf and Country Club on April 15. The fundraiser seeks to raise money to support the Alzheimer's medical treatment of Jay Reinstein and benefit the Fayetteville Walk to End Alzheimer's.

    Before retiring as Assistant City Manager, Jay Reinstein was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's in 2018 and has since been a tireless advocate for Alzheimer's Awareness.

    Reinstein, along with his team, the JayWalkers, has participated in the Alzheimer's Association Walk to End Alzheimer's for the past four years, raising tens of thousands of dollars.

    "Jay is about community and moving things forward. He wants people to get along and come together to make a difference, which makes it so easy for us to want to do this for him," Carolyn Justice-Hinson of the Public Works Commission said. "There is no cure for this terrible disease. Even if you don't know Jay personally, this fundraiser brings awareness and support to all people affected by Alzheimer's."

    Alzheimer's is one of the leading causes of death in the United States and the most common type of dementia. It is a neurologic disorder that causes degenerative impairment to memory, thinking, and behavior.

    Over 6 million Americans have Alzheimer's, 180,000 of whom live in North Carolina.

    While there is not yet a cure for Alzheimer's, specific treatments and medications can slow the progression of the disease. However, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services do not grant coverage for all treatments and drugs that manage Alzheimer's Disease. The trials, treatments, and medications can become very costly without coverage.

    "This fundraiser is not only to raise money for Jay's medical treatments," Event Committee Member Mark Brown said. "But to raise awareness and further research for all the promising treatments ahead."

    Though serious in its objective, this fundraiser is chiefly about bringing people together to enjoy golf, beautiful weather, and each other.

    "Jay loves people and camaraderie. This fundraiser epitomizes who he is," Justice-Hinson said.

    Registration for the event is currently open, and those interested can sign up online or at 7:30 a.m. on site.

    A shotgun at 8:30 a.m. kicks off the fun, and participants can play as individuals or on teams. Prizes for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place teams will be awarded. In addition, participants can look forward to awards for the longest drive, closest to the pin, and a raffle.

    The tournament will also feature a Hole-In-One contest where the top prize is a new car.

    The event is open to all; no golf experience is necessary. "If you want to come out, pick up a golf club, and have fun for a good cause—we want you," Brown said. "We just want people to come out and have a good time."

    The entrance fee of $100 covers both breakfast and lunch. Additionally, the tournament will move forward, rain or shine.

    For information regarding registration, contact Mark Brown at 910-223-4224 or Elaina Ball at 910-309-6411.

  • PWC Fay When COVID-19 transformed day-to-day life over two years ago, people across North Carolina were suddenly forced to work and learn remotely to curb the spread of a contagious, deadly virus.

    “The pandemic drove home how urgent access to a high-speed internet connection is to every part of modern life, the ability to work from home, learn from home, complete homework, access telemedicine services, apply for jobs or access government services,” said Nate Denny, secretary for broadband and digital equity for the N.C. Department of Information Technology.

    That access to a consistent, high-speed broadband connection is a service that many in the state, especially in its rural areas, don’t have.

    According to NCDIT’s broadband availability index, more than 92% of the state’s population has access to download speeds of at least 100 megabytes per second, but that’s concentrated in North Carolina’s major urban centers such as Raleigh and Charlotte.

    In the Sandhills’ rural Sampson County, for instance, less than 60% of residents have speeds that high.

    Among households in Rutherford County in rural Western North Carolina, fewer than a quarter have access to speeds of 100 Mbps or above.

    That’s not accounting for upload speeds, which are often much lower than the accompanying download speeds. To get synchronized speeds, the installation of fiber optic cables is often required.

    “Fiber projects can hit those speeds,” Denny said. “Not many other technologies can hit those speeds reliably.”

    The rural-urban gap for fiber technology is even greater across the state, even in counties just below the most populous.

    In Cumberland County, North Carolina’s fifth-most populous county, less than 10% of households have access to fiber technology.

    Some investment in fiber is taking place within the private sector. Metronet recently launched its fiber service in Fayetteville with expansion planned for rural Cumberland County along with other parts of the state, Carolina Public Press previously reported.

    But the state has a long way to go as less than 40% of households statewide have access to fiber.

    State Rep. John Szoka, R-Cumberland, said bringing fiber access to rural North Carolina is an economic problem.

    “There’s a cost involved in running fiber,” he said. “You got to pay for it. So, if you’ve got one house every half-mile opposed to one house every 200 feet, the economics don’t work.”

    For many internet service providers, or ISPs, the cost isn’t worth the return on investment.

    That’s where the American Rescue Plan Act comes into play.

    Public-private partnerships
    To address this gap in high-speed broadband access between rural and urban counties, North Carolina is committing more than $1 billion in federal funds from ARPA.

    Per federal guidelines, ARPA dollars used to invest in broadband infrastructure must have not only download speeds at 100 Mbps but also that level of upload speeds.

    With these federal funds, 98% of households in North Carolina can reach that connection standard, Denny said.

    One part of that goal is the Growing Rural Economies with Access to Technology grant.

    The GREAT grant, which started in 2018, is now revamped to include $350 million of the more than $1 billion in broadband ARPA funds.

    The grant operates as a public-private partnership in which a county or municipality partners with an ISP to use ARPA dollars to fund the construction of high-speed broadband infrastructure in areas that didn’t have access previously.

    One example is the ISP Brightspeed, which is working with Cumberland to bring fiber internet to rural parts of the county.

    Electric cooperatives can also take advantage of the GREAT grant. Blue Ridge Energy, which covers parts of Western North Carolina, is working with SkyLine SkyBest to bring fiber to Caldwell County, much of which is along the eastern slopes of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

    Crystal Spencer, director of marketing for Blue Ridge Energy, said the grant allowed the companies to reach areas that are expensive to cover.

    “It is very cost intensive to have this infrastructure, particularly in our areas where everything is so mountainous and rocky,” she said.

    Another $400 million from the ARPA funding is going to the Completing Access to Broadband, or CAB, program.

    CAB allows counties to partner with NCDIT by matching each other’s ARPA dollars to procure an ISP to reach an area in need of broadband service.

    “Governments need more flexibility to build those kinds of public-private partnerships, and we think the CAB program in particular is a really good new option for county governments to help more proactively address unserved parts of their community,” Denny said.

    More flexibility
    In 2019, Szoka helped pass Senate Bill 310, which allows electric cooperatives to lease fiber space on their electric grids to expand broadband access to their members.

    Szoka said he saw the legislation as a way for cooperatives to reach rural parts of the state with high-speed internet, as they once did nearly 100 years ago with electricity.

    He said internet access should be viewed as infrastructure as opposed to merely a service.

    “We should look at this more like digital infrastructure,” Szoka said. “We have people that aren’t connected. How can they participate in what’s going on in the world? I’m not talking about Netflix and Hulu and all that kind of stuff. I’m talking about emails. I’m talking about running businesses online. I’m talking about things like that.”

    The law from 2019 also allows electric cooperatives to build subsidiaries that service the internet to their members.

    One cooperative that has done that is Roanoke Electric Cooperative, which covers Bertie, Gates, Halifax, Person and Northampton counties.

    Roanoke’s director of broadband sales and marketing, Angela Washington, said that the co-op created Roanoke Connect as a way to bring internet access to the community as it once did with electricity.

    “We saw a need years ago, given the digital divide, especially in rural areas in North Carolina and specifically our rural area, northeastern North Carolina,” she said.

    Another similar bill in 2019, House Bill 431, would have allowed municipalities to lease fiber space to private ISPs.

    That bill stalled in the General Assembly. Szoka, a co-sponsor, said he would have liked to see it passed to give municipalities more flexibility in reaching their rural residents.

    But he said given the political will for broadband access amid the pandemic and the money being invested, he’s confident that many rural areas will start to see more access to high-speed internet.

    “Two years from now, who knows, with all the money that’s coming in, I’m very encouraged that we’re going to be looking at a real different community,” Szoka said.

  • Spring Lake The Local Government Commission (LGC) has written a letter to elected officials in Spring Lake noting several concerns about the Board of Aldermen's choices in the past few weeks.

    Their first concern is the hiring of a new interim manager. The Board of Aldermen held two closed session meetings where the board discussed and then swore in a new interim manager, Joe Durham. The problem lies in that the vote to hire Durham should be public. In addition, Durham was sworn in without having a contract in place. The LGC states that no payments can be legally made for Durham's services without a contract.

    The second concern noted is the discussion of lifting a furlough on town employees put into effect on March 14. The furlough reduced pay for all general fund employees, reduced staff hours and closed Town Hall on Fridays to walk-in traffic. The LGC is concerned they were not consulted on lifting the furlough; the LGC still has complete control of the town's financial affairs.

    "The town's board does not currently have the authority to make this decision unilaterally," the letter states.

    The third concern involves Town Attorney Jonathan Charleston. Charleston submitted a resignation letter on March 23 and provided a 30-day notice. However, the LGC states that the board has not officially accepted his resignation, nor has it determined the last date of Charleston's employment. The LGC asks the board to clarify the final date of Charleston's employment and that the town stipulates a plan for obtaining legal representation.

    A fourth concern noted in the LGC letter is that the Board of Aldermen voted to remove the LGC's presentation of interim financial information at the March 28 board meeting. The LGC states that while the presentation and information were not available when initially requested by the town in preparing the meeting's agenda, it was available that night.

    The LGC is requesting the town respond to these concerns by April 13.

    "The LGC and its staff are committed to assisting the town in implementing policies and practices that will restore the town's fiscal health and establish a path to long-term viability. We ask the board to demonstrate that same commitment," the letter states.

    Alderman Raul Palacios posted on his Facebook page Wednesday afternoon that the letter from the LGC was a one-sided condemnation.

    In his rebuttal to the LGC concerns, Palacios stated that the board would vote on Durham's hiring when they are presented with a contract. He also clarified that the board had not accepted Charleston's resignation yet.

    Regarding the March 28 board meeting and the LGC report, Palacios writes that the board did remove the financial report from the agenda because they did not receive the report in advance of the meeting after requesting it three times. He says the LGC will be presenting the financial report at the April 24 scheduled meeting.

    "The town of Spring Lake is better than it was a year ago because of internal control handling, LGC oversight and a change in leadership. My only hope is that the next town that receives an investigative audit report receives the help they need versus those hoping to gain political points," Palacios wrote.

    Up & Coming Weekly has submitted requests for comments to Mayor Kia Anthony, Durham and Charleston but has not received comments at the time of this publication.

  • Fay City Council After lengthy debate, negotiations, and an offering of a "friendly" amendment, the Fayetteville City Council, on Monday, moved to consider decreasing the time motorists must pay for downtown on-street parking by two hours at the end of a weekday.

    The motion to change the paid parking times from the current 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. to the proposed 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. was made by Mayor Pro Tem Kathy Jensen.

    The Council voted 6 to 4 to accept the idea of reducing the weekday on-street paid parking by two hours during its first work session held in the newly redesigned City Council Chambers.

    Mayor Mitch Colvin and Councilmembers Antonio Jones, Chris Davis, Larry Wright, and D.J. Haire voted in favor of Jensen's motion.

    Council members Shakeyla Ingram, Courtney Banks-McLaughlin, Yvonne Kinston, and Johnny Dawkins opposed the change.

    Ironically, it was Ingram – participating in Monday's workshop remotely – who initially asked that that on-street paid parking be changed from its current 12-hour time frame to 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. She said her request was based on conversations she had with downtown business owners. At first, she considered asking that on-street paid parking ceases at 5 p.m. because it was hurting downtown businesses.

    "Paid parking after 5 p.m. and during events on weekends has a negative impact on the cultural and economic vitality of downtown," she states in her written request to add the issue to the Council's agenda. The Council adopted the on-street paid parking fee structure in July 2021.

    Ingram also asked that the special event parking times be reduced before and immediately after the event, specifically baseball games at Segra Stadium. Currently, a $5 parking fee starts two hours before a baseball game until two hours after the game. She asked that those times be shortened to one hour before the game and a half-hour after the game. Additionally, she asked that the city no longer reserve often unused and remote parking deck spaces for baseball game attendees. Neither of those two requests was considered by the council for inclusion in the upcoming agenda.

    Lee Jernigan, city traffic engineer, said that changing the times on the parking signs would cost about $8,000 to keep them aesthetically pleasing. Before the vote, he told the council that the financial loss incurred by Ingram's proposal to cease charging after 6 p.m. would total $83,000 annually, although the city would incur a savings of $12,900 by not having to pay the third-party contract to enforce parking after 6 p.m.

    Jernigan also displayed a 2019 baseball parking revenue chart totaling $92,799. He said he used 2019 figures because it was the last year not affected by COVID. The chart showed that Ray Avenue and Franklin Street parking were the greatest revenue producers coming in a $23,636 and $24,166 respectively. The city's parking fund provides $158,726 for debt services for Segra Stadium.

  • City Council members unanimously put their support behind a preliminary plan Monday to use federal dollars to fund local businesses, housing and infrastructure.

    The funds are from the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan Act passed by Congress in March 2021, from which the city of Fayetteville will receive more than $40 million.

    The city will receive the funding in two sets. The first arrived last May, and the next round will come next month, according to the city.

    The council accepted a preliminary plan for the first set of dollars at Monday’s agenda session. Once city officials finalize details for the federal funding, a detailed report will be presented to the council.

    ARPA can be used on initiatives involving response to COVID-19, local income loss due to the pandemic and investments in water, sewer or broadband infrastructure.

    According to federal guidelines, ARPA funds must be earmarked for a specific purpose by the end of 2024, and the dollars must be spent by 2026’s close.

    Where the money will go
    Each focus area — business, housing and infrastructure — will get $5 million from the first batch of $20 million from ARPA. The other $5 million will be used for administrative purposes.

    Plans for the business portion include loans and grants for businesses and child care assistance.

    The $5 million for housing would go to nonprofit agencies that service low- to moderate-income households.

    A portion of the housing dollars would also go to a housing trust fund that would, among other things, fund construction of housing for households earning 80% of the area median income or less.

    Council member D.J. Haire asked that city officials focus on housing near Amazon’s new plant currently under construction. The online retail powerhouse is projected to create up to 500 jobs by the time operation begins, Carolina Public Press previously reported.

    Infrastructure funds would be used as contributions to existing construction associated with stormwater mitigation and renovations to public buildings, among other projects.

    Some of the dollars would be used as matching funds with other federal programs, which would allow for increased investment, Assistant City Manager Adam Lindsay said.

    “We are facing an opportunity to make a major, major advancement ahead in those projects if we spend the dollars in a strategic way,” Lindsay said.

    “We can take those same dollars and turn them into a match, which means that leverages those dollars into a potential 5-to-1 ratio.”

  • Hazel Muse While most teenagers are spending their free time on popular social media apps, John McAllister Jr. spent 10 weekends of his spare time clearing and marking a long forgotten cemetery on Fort Bragg training lands.

    “I felt that this was something that would be important to help preserve the history of the area,” said McAllister. “It seemed like a task that no one else was willing or able to take on.”

    McAllister and members of Boy Scout Troop 746 worked together to clean and remap unmarked burials at Muse Cemetery on Camp Mackall during free weekends between February and September of 2021. The overgrown cemetery had only seven known graves, marked with headstones dated between 1912 through 1928. While raking, burning and leaf-blowing to expose the land, the team of volunteers was able to expose burial pits, known because of the linear east to west depressions, some in rows, of 136 new, unmarked grave locations. Armed with just GPS and colored pinflags, they numbered and mapped out the cemetery – updating Fort Bragg’s cemetery map from seven to 143 burials. The troop also cleaned the headstones, installed a new gate and repaired perimeter fencing and posts.

    With the help of the Fort Bragg’s Wildlife Branch, the pinflags were replaced with recycled metal posts and then numbered with permanent metal signage for the burials in January of 2022. To increase the protection of the site during controlled burnings or possible wildfires, the Fort Bragg Forestry Branch created a new firebreak on the perimeter of the cemetery.

    The project significantly helped alleviate the strain on Fort Bragg’s Cultural Resources Program’s budget by helping them stay in compliance with North Carolina State Historic Preservation Office (NCSHPO) regulations, explained McAllister. It also helped with Federal and Army regulations regarding the maintenance of historic cemeteries on Federal land.

    The original 884 acres of land surrounding the cemetery was purchased as part of the Whitehurst Tract in 1985 by the Army as a buffer to Camp Mackall, a large training area for Special Operations and many other units. The cemetery sits on a boundary road between Moore and Hoke counties, near the community of Addor, located just to the north.
    The land, of the now hallowed ground, once belonged to sympathizer, John A. Campbell. In a 1913 deed, Campbell granted the two-acre site to three African-American Churches (one church was the Poplar Springs Baptist Church, still in existence today) in the area to use as their graveyard.

    The three churches appear to have used Muse Cemetery as a graveyard around the 1913 to 1928 era. The Fort Bragg Cultural Resources Management Program plans to conduct more research to determine the families buried here, the local community and why the graves are unmarked.

    According to the earliest known grave marker, Hazel Muse was buried in 1912. Muse died at age six and the 2-acre cemetery is named for her.

    Once the brush was removed from the cemetery, the volunteers discovered that at least 20-30 burial pits were marked with local sandstone, a common headstone seen at other Fort Bragg cemeteries and used when “store-bought” markers could not be afforded. Four graves were marked with temporary metal tags with patent dates but no names. Other burial pits appeared to have no markers or they were removed, deteriorated, burned or stolen - no one can say at this point, explained Dr. Linda F. Carnes-McNaughton, RPA, Program Archaeologist and Curator, Fort Bragg Cultural Resources Program.

    The site was last cleared in 1996. The standing headstones are surprisingly well-preserved and have a new “shine” to them thanks to the volunteers of Troop 746.
    At least two of the readable markers show a 1918/1919 date, which suggests these deaths occurred during the 1918-1920 influenza epidemic. The graveyard is assumed to be a possible pandemic burial place that may have been hastily used, but no one knows for sure - yet.

    “I hope that the fact that we identified so many more graves in the Muse cemetery than anyone thought were there will spur historians to look more closely at their records for the area to help determine how important the Muse cemetery was for previous generations,” McAllister said.

    Carnes-McNaughton hopes that the project will generate interest and possible descendants to come forward to learn more about the known names that are laid to rest at Muse Cemetery, and possibly more about those who are unnamed.

    Descendants of the occupants may be currently living in the surrounding counties of Fort Bragg and do not know that their ancestors are buried on what is now a portion of the military installation.

    “Cemeteries are as much a part of the living communities in an area as they were when they were used,” said Carnes-McNaughton. “Engaging the descendants is how we gain more knowledge and keep the past present.”

    NOTE: If upon reading this feature you realize the possibility of being a descendant or know someone who might be a descendant of one of the seven known buried at Muse Cemetery, please contact the Cultural Resources Management Program at, 910-396-6680. The seven known grave markers are:
    Marker 1. S. V. CORE, Sept. 9, 1873 – Jan. 14, 1919
    Marker 2. SARAH CORE, Aug. 1, 1865 – Aug. 20, 1915
    Marker 7. ABAHARAM L. CLARK, Jan. 30, 1894 – May 30, 1914
    Marker 20. HAZEL MUSE, Feb. 28, 1906 – Feb. 8, 1912
    Marker 21. MARY ANN, WIFE OF D.A. BLUE, Sept. 1876 – Apr. 29, 1914, AGED 38 YEARS
    Marker 30. ELLER, WIFE OF S.F. FERRELL, Mar. 1, 1855 – Aug. 3, 1918
    Marker 33. MARTHA, WIFE OF FRED SHIPMAN, DIED July 15, 1928, AGE 26 YRS


    Photo Credit: Dr. Linda Carnes-McNaughton, Fort Bragg Archaeologist and Curator, cleans around Hazel Muse's headstone, the first known burial at Muse Cemetery located on Camp Mackall, Feb. 16. (Photo by Sharilyn Wells,Fort Bragg Public Affairs Office.)

  • Hope Mills Partnerships with Cumberland County and the YMCA will make an aquatic center possible in Hope Mills, according to the town's board of commissioners.

    Hope Mills Commissioners met with the Cumberland County financial committee members, county commissioners, and the Cumberland County Board of Education to discuss and approve a partnership to build the aquatic center. All of the commissioners and committee members unanimously approved the partnership to help bring the aquatic center to Hope Mills.

    "The YMCA as of today raised close to 2 million dollars to build a structure," said Mayor Jackie Warner. "So it's on and we're looking at about 18 months from when we can break ground. We can't break ground until we raise about 2.5 to 3 million dollars, but it's looking like that's going to happen."

    The majority of the meeting was spent in closed session to hear reports on "investigations of alleged criminal conduct.’’

  • CCA Arts Center Cumberland County came one step closer on Monday to getting construction on a multi-purpose event center started.

    The Board of Commissioners voted in the form of a resolution to establish a capital project budget for the center, and in an affiliated motion to hire a firm to represent the county in all its duties and responsibilities in getting the more than $80 million center built.

    The county voted to contract with MBP Carolinas for “owner’s representative services” for $2.2 million. A Board of Commissioners’ committee, earlier this year recommended contracting with MBP Carolinas for owner’s representation services, but the county wanted to strengthen some of the agreements within the proposed contract before voting to accept the contract at today’s meeting.

    County Manager Amy Cannon told the board that having an owner’s representative is a new approach to government construction and should speed up the construction of the facility. She made those comments after Commissioner Michael Boose complained that government construction projects take too long to complete. The multi-event center is due for completion in the fall of 2025.

    As an owner’s representative, MBP Carolinas will be involved in developing a budget for the project, updating the board and the public on the project, hiring a construction manager and site analysis basically working with the county from inception to completion of the facility, Cannon said.

    In other action, the board agreed to sell a number of county-owned properties, some of which were acquired through foreclosure sales.

    The board approved the sale of ten parcels for a total of $36,369.85. However, some board members balked after realizing that the sales were well below the actual tax value, which totaled $86,001. The county attorney said the offers and acceptances are in keeping with current county policy. Board member Jimmy Keefe, however, convinced his fellow board members to take off the agenda for approval one parcel of the property consisting of 12 acres adjacent to the Cape Fear River until county staff and board members can more thoroughly review and familiarize themselves with the surplus property sale policy. The proposed sale of the property was for $14,368.98 and had a tax value of $62,000.

  • Manley St April 4 The Cumberland County Sheriff's Office is investigating what led up to a son allegedly killing his father Monday night.

    Deputies arrived at a domestic disturbance along Manley Street on April 4 around 10:46 p.m. Deputies found 56-year-old Jason Albury unresponsive outside of his home. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

    The victim's son, 32-year-old Brandon Sessoms, had self-inflicted injuries and was transported to Cape Fear Valley Medical Center. He underwent surgery and is now being charged for 2nd Degree Murder. Sessoms has not been booked into the Cumberland County Detention Center at the time of publishing this article.

    The circumstances surrounding this homicide are under investigation. If anyone has any information regarding this investigation, please call the Cumberland County Sheriff's Office Homicide Detective Sergeant R. Brinkley at (910) 677-5463 or Crimestoppers at (910) 483-TIPS (8477). Crimestoppers' information may also be submitted electronically by visiting http://fay-nccrimestoppers.org.

  • Army Gen. Michael "Erik" Kurilla, the commander of XVII Airborne Corps at Fort Bragg, took over the leadership of U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) on Friday, April 1 in Tampa.

    Kurilla served as the CENTCOM chief of staff from August 2018 to September 2019. He is a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, with graduate degrees from Regis University in Denver and the National War College in Washington, D.C. He has earned two Purple Hearts and a Bronze Star during his military career.

    Kurilla was nominated by President Joe Biden in January and was confirmed to take over CENTCOM by Senate in early February. CENTCOM oversees military missions in 21 countries throughout the Middle East, Central Asia and parts of South Asia. For the past 20 years, it has covered the focus of U.S. operations overseas in Afghanistan and Iraq.

    Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III said running Centcom and its mission is one of the most demanding jobs in the Defense Department. 

    "This region is where we protect waterways so that global commerce can flow. It is where we fight terrorists who threaten our citizens, and it is where we work with our partners to confront instability from Iran and its proxies," Austin said. "Centcom is central to our security, it is central to our readiness and it is central to our mission." 

    Kurilla replaces the outgoing CENTCOM leader, U.S. Marine Corps Gen. Kenneth "Frank" McKenzie Jr. McKenzie was responsible for managing the U.S. military exit from Afghanistan.

    "I can't think of anybody better qualified to lead Centcom's next chapter than Eric Kurilla," McKenzie said. "He's no stranger to the Centcom AOR. He's no stranger to the headquarters." 

    Kurilla will lead more than 44,000 military service and family members overseas, and roughly 5,000 personnel in Tampa at headquarters at MacDill Air Force Base, Florida, in ongoing operations to deter threats from Iran and defeat ISIS in Syria and Iraq.

    Lt. Gen. Christopher Donahue will be the new commander of the 18th Airborne Corps and Fort Bragg while Maj. Gen. Christopher Laneve will take over the command of the 82nd Airborne Division.

  • The Cumberland County Sheriff's Office is investigating a deadly shooting that happened at the intersection of Davis and Holland Streets.

    Deputies responded to the shooting on April 1 around 3:50 p.m. Upon arrival, deputies found a man who had been shot inside the vehicle.

    At this time, deputies believe this shooting was not a random incident.

    If anyone has any information regarding this investigation, please call the Cumberland County Sheriff's Office Homicide Detective Senior Sergeant C. Zwan at (910) 677-5503 or Crimestoppers at (910) 483-TIPS (8477). Crimestoppers' information may also be submitted electronically by visiting http://fay-nccrimestoppers.org.

  • The public can help shape the future of the Murchison corridor and submit transformation ideas during a public forum on April 5.

    During the public event, participants can express thoughts and ideas about future housing in the area. Neighbors will be asked to rank ideas for the Murchison Choice revitalization plan including needs for housing, retail businesses, food stores and restaurants and other services. In addition to City staff, Fayetteville State University representatives will be available to discuss the university's Master Plan which defines and outlines its future growth impacting the area. 

    The event will also be family-friendly for people who want to contribute but have kids. Three little libraries will be on display during the forum along with new Murchison Community coloring books. There will also be free snacks and a chance to win raffle prizes.

    City of Fayetteville Economic and Community Development team members and key community partners in the Murchison Choice Neighborhood Planning project will listen to residents, answer questions and take note of feedback on April 5 at the Rudolph Jones Student Center at Fayetteville State University from 5:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. 

    The forum will take place at the Rudolph Jones Student Center at FSU from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. 

    In December 2020, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development awarded the City of Fayetteville and Fayetteville Metropolitan Housing Authority (FMHA) a $450,000 grant to revitalize Murchison Road between Rowan Street and Pamalee Drive/Country Club Drive. The City and FMHA plan to apply for a competitive $50 million federal grant to implement plans identified for the Murchison Corridor through the Choice planning process.

    The city has set up a website to detail the plans and to get community input. The website can be found here.

  • The Fayetteville Technical Community College Board of Trustees has formed a Presidential Search Committee to lead the process of finding a replacement for President Dr. J. Larry Keen, who will be retiring in 2023.

    The committee comprises representatives of FTCC’s Board of Trustees, faculty, staff and student body. Community input on the preferred qualifications and characteristics of the ideal candidate will be sought through surveys and public forums. That input from the public will be factored into the committee’s development of a Presidential Profile, which will be used in a national search for FTCC’s next president.

    There will be four total public forums - three at the FTCC's Fayetteville Campus and one at the Spring Lake campus.

    The three public forums in the Cumberland Hall Auditorium at 2215 Hull Road on FTCC’s Fayetteville campus are scheduled for:

    • Tuesday, April 26, from 10:30 a.m. to noon.
    • Wednesday, April 27, from 2:30 to 4:00 p.m.
    • Thursday, April 28, from 6 to 7:30 p.m.

    The public forum scheduled for FTCC’s Spring Lake campus at 171 Laketree Boulevard is Thursday, April 28, from 6 to 7:30 p.m.

    Anyone wishing to complete the survey may do so at this link - https://www.research.net/r/FTCC_Search.

  • 04-06-11-hoke100rgb.jpgIn 1911, the counties of Cumberland and Robeson spanned a great deal of territory. The people who lived in the outlying areas of both counties had quite a distance to travel if they had business to conduct at either county seat. Residents in the far reaches of Robeson County had to travel two days to visit the county seat.

    In 1907, North Carolina Senator John W. McLauchlin, a representative of Cumberland County, proposed the formation of a new county in this outlaying area. At the time, he proposed it be named Glenn County in honor of the governor. The bill did not garner the support it needed in 1907 or 1909. Instead he found opposition from people in both counties. But in 1911, he built enough support to pass the bill, and instead of naming the county after the governor, the N.C. Legislature decided to name it in honor of Gen. Robert F. Hoke, a Confederate Army officer.

    Hoke, a contemporary and friend of Robert E. Lee, served the Confederacy with distinction. Hoke, hero of the Confederacy, had captured 3,000 prisoners at a battle in Plymouth. He was a spirited and inspiring commander. North Carolinians had filled his ranks and were proud of the successes they achieved under him. North Carolinians across the state wanted to have General Hoke honored. A new county named for him was a popular concept with people across the state.

    Although the legislation passed the legislature on Feb. 15, 1911, it did not actually go into effect until April 1, and it is that auspicious event that the citizens of Hoke County are celebrating.

    Throughout the month of April, a number of events will take place to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the county. Put together by a committee of local citizens, the Hoke 100 project kicked off March 30 with a carnival and will end on April 16 with a special dinner and celebration of life in the county.

    So if you live in Hoke County, and even if you live in the counties surrounding it, you might want to take a drive over to Raeford to take part in the celebration of this unique event.

    On Friday, April 8 and Saturday, April 9, the Centennial Play, The Music Man, will be on stage at Turlington School. Directed by Beth Walters, the show features some of the county’s most talented citizens. Tickets to the show are $8 and can be purchased at The News Journal or at the Raeford-Hoke Museum. The curtain rises at 7 p.m. each night.

    On Sunday, April 10, the celebration will focus on the museum, with the dedication of the Raeford-HokeEmergency Service Museum. The event will feature an old-fashion singing, carriage rides, a band and the dedication. The fun starts at 2 p.m. and ends at 4 p.m.

    On Friday, April 15, a Family Fun Night will take center stage at the Raz Autry Stadium at Hoke High School. Sponsored by First Health of the Carolina, the event begins at 6 p.m. and is free to the public.

    And while there will be some traditional events, like bands, games and inflatables for children, there will also be a couple of unique events to celebrate life 100 years ago. Men will have the opportunity to participate in the Warm Chins for Charity Beard Contest. Yes, that’s right, men are asked to grow their beards to pay homage to the farmers who worked the area that is now Hoke County, but also to support local charities. The individual with the best beard will win $200 and a $400 prize will be awarded to a charity.

    If growing a beard isn’t up your alley, you can also try your hand at creating a period costume to reflect the styles of 100 years ago. Prizes will also be awarded. You must be 18 years or older to participate in the contests.

    And if you aren’t in the mood to compete, you can just have fun with your family enjoy food from local vendors or play the myriad of games that will be on hand. The night will end with a fabulous fireworks display.

    The closing event will be held on Saturday, April 16, with the burying of a time capsule at the county courthouse at 2 p.m. Later that evening, a dinner will close out the celebration. The dinner will feature guest speakers, entertainment and a glimpse at the history of the county. Raeford Presbyterian Church will host the event in the John Ropp Hall. Tickets for the event are $10.

    For more information and a complete schedule of events, visit www.hoke100.org.

    Photo: Hoke County residents will celebrate 100 Years of History during April.

  • 04-20-11-ftcc-article.jpgThe motto of the Continuing Education Division at FTCC is “life-long learning.” In the Business Services Area, the staff and faculty strive to meet the various training needs and interests of our business and industry customers, as well as the general public.

    FTCC’s Small Business Center is designed to assist prospective small business owners with the knowledge and resources they need to start a business. Free weekly seminars are presented by business professionals from around the state. In addition, small business counseling sessions are available to clients at no charge.

    Special events, such as the Small Business Extravaganza (May 23-25) and Home-Based Business Expo (May 26), provide an excellent opportunity to gain valuable knowledge while networking with other small-business owners.

    FTCC’s Small Business Center is co-sponsoring a Business Plan Competition with nine eastern North Carolina counties, which is intended to stimulate and assist with new startup or expanding businesses. Monetary awards of $5,000, $2,500 and $1,500 will be presented to the winners from the North Carolina Rural Center grant. The deadline to present your business plan is April 29. Don’t delay — start writing your plan today! For more information, call Tamara Bryant at 678-8462.

    Since 1992, FTCC has partnered with the Fayetteville/Cumberland County Chamber of Commerce to offer the nationally recognized American Management Association’s Certifi cate in Management Program. This 126-hour supervisory training program allows students to design their own curriculum, by selecting six management-related courses of their choice. Upon successful completion of the six courses, students earn the Certifi cate in Management and are recognized at the monthly Chamber of Commerce Coffee Club Meeting.

    Evening classes meet at the Center for Business and Industry. AMA inhouse training is also available, and both the Public Works Commission and the Cumberland County Schools System have utilized this valuable training program as a means of professional development for their employees. For more information, call 678-8210.

    In order to meet the preemployment training needs of our community, the Business Services Area offers more than 300 courses each year. Computer-education classes and medical-related classes are popular choices, as well as specifi c job training to become a bank teller, notary public, manicurist, esthetician or barber (coming summer 2011). We also develop customized training programs for local business and industry and offer required certifi cation classes in various fi elds. For more information, call Kimberly Allen at 678-0033.

    It’s time to get down to business: the business of education! We hope you will take advantage of the many training opportunities available through the Business Services area at FTCC!

    PHOTO: FTCC’s Continuing Education has a lot to offer the community from new-business counseling to computer training and even training new barbers.

  • Volunteer: noun; a person who performs a service willingly and without pay.

    It takes a special kind of person to be a volunteer — someone who will give of their time and talents for the benefi t of others never mind that they aren’t getting a paycheck in return. In a day and age when folks are busy running helter skelter, shuffl ing kids here and there and are often overwhelmed with the details of their own lives, volunteering can sometimes be at the bottom of their to-do list, if it even makes the list at all.

    Cumberland County Retired & Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) has a treasure trove of volunteers who make contributions to the community daily, doing a variety of things like delivering meals to the homebound, tutoring, serving as a guardian ad litem, working in the arts community, at local museums and for local government agencies and that is just scratching the surface. In fact, in 2010 alone, 575 volunteers worked 108,903 hours which, had they been paid, would have cost the community $2,270627.50.

    On April 15, RSVP honored Cora Lee Atkins as their Volunteer of the year. The banquest was held in the Snyder Memorial Baptist Church Fellowship Hall. Mary Brymer-Chanza was the mistress of ceremonies.

    “She is an outstanding volunteer,” said RSVP director Judy Dawkins. “All of our volunteers are, they are all priceless. They serve our community so well.”

    Atkins has been volunteering on a local and state-ide basis for years. She joined RSVP in 2003 where she has helped to ensure the highest quality of life not only for seniors but all residents of Cumberland County.

    Her volunteer service includes: rreasurer of the Loyal Seniors for eight years; vice-president of the Coffee Club for one year; Spring Lake Senior Club Board Member for five years; Area A Senior Club president for four years, District II Assistant Treasurer for two years; District II chairperson for two years; and NorthCarolina Association of Senior Citizen Clubs assistant treasurer for two years.

    Atkins is a member of the Senior Road Runners Club in addition to being a Fayetteville- Cumberland Senior Center Ambassador where she plays a vital role in the implementation of the center’s travel program as well as assisting with other primary program facilitation functions.

    She has served in the Cumberland County School System, Fay-Cumberland Chambe04-20-11-rsvp.jpgr of Commerce, Cross Creek Welcome Center, and as a Training Coordinator for Mid- Carolina Council of Governments. However, her major volunteer activities are at the Fayetteville-Cumberland Senior Center, where she participates in the center’s “Hands Thru Time” — a program that works to provide intergenerational programming for Cumberland County youth. She also serves as the caller for the center’s Bingo program and as a club offi cer. Atkins can be counted on to assist by either offering her time or by recruiting fellow seniors to participate at a moment’s notice! She continuously gives of herself, her timeand her talents to help others.

    PHOTO: RSVP volunteers gather each year to celebrate their accomplishments and to honor one of their own.

  •      Left, two, three, four and spin, two, three, four. Get your score cards ready Fayetteville. On Saturday, April 18, local celebrities will be competing at the Crown in the area’s First Annual Dancing With the Fayetteville Stars.
         {mosimage}Come cheer for your favorite contestants and cast your votes as Mayor Tony Chavonne, Congressman Mike McIntyre, Fayetteville Councilman D.J. Haire, Bo Thorpe, Dr. David Schitzer and even the Swamp Dogs mascot, among others, dance the night away to raise money for the Women’s Center of Fayetteville’s Lease to Home program.
         The Lease to Home Program focuses on getting homeless people off the streets and into their own homes. Since its inception, the program has helped 33 families become homeowners. These properties are usually 3 bedroom, 2 bath single-family homes in family-friendly neighborhoods. The program gives priority to veterans and domestic-abuse victims, but they take every call that comes in. The Women’s Center already has a waiting list and fields five to 10 calls a day from people asking for help, said Stephanie Kennedy.
         The Women’s Center started planning for the event last summer and wanted to try something new and different, and this is something that hasn’t been done in Fayetteville before.
         “We were shocked at how quickly people jumped in to support it,” said Kennedy. Although there were some concerns from the contestants that they didn’t know how to dance, Kennedy reminded them that this is not about dancing, really.
         “This isn’t dancing with the stars on TV. This is dancing with the stars (because) you care about your community; you care about this program and what can you do to help raise money for it — and to go and have fun.”
         Dress is semiformal, and with good reason. “Fusion Salon...they’re literally rolling out the red carpet, and people are getting their pictures taken,” said Kennedy. “It is almost like they are walking into a real Dancing With the Stars. Q98 is going to do a live remote.”
         So glam it up ladies, this is your chance to shine. Dinner is a buffet, which is included in the ticket price, and will be served from 5:30 - 7p.m. Then the real fun starts. The competitors will dance for the audience and the judges (Judge Cheri Beasley, Kim Tucker, Rep. Margaret Dickson, Meredith Stiehl and Sandy Ammons) to a vast array of music.
         “It is a good mix of music. We have some disco, some hip hop, and swing. We have all of it going on,” said Kennedy.
         She also hinted at some comedy and tomfoolery from the judges since none of them have a background in dance. “They have no knowledge of dancing or what not so that is going to be the funny part of it. That is going to be hysterical to see them give their comments afterwards.”
         Once the top four couples have been voted on, they will dance again and compete against each other to determine the winner.
         The audience is encouraged to vote, too (it costs $10 per vote). In fact, Kennedy joked “This is the only competition on the planet that you can buy your victory. Right now you can go on our Web site (www.wcof.org ) to buy a ticket, ($150 per person, $200 per couple). You can buy a table ($1,000 for a table of 8) or you can also vote for the dancers,” said Kennedy.
         People can vote from all over the country,not just Fayetteville. If there are enough people across the country that a contestant can get to visit the Web site and vote for them, they can actually walk up into this competition having already won.
         There are plenty of tables to be had, but they are going fast. The Women’s Center is planning for 500-600 people in the audience. “I think the way that the people have really come out to support people less fortunate than them, I really think it could happen,” said Kennedy. “We have been selling a lot of tickets and a lot of tables  — it is for a good cause.”
         Call 323-3377 or visit www.wcof.org for more information or for purchase tickets.
  • April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month. Throughout the year, the Child Advocacy Center04-04-12-child-advocacy-center.jpgencourages the community to play a role in making Cumberland County a place that prioritizes children’s healthy development and safety.

    There has been much media attention on child sexual abuse for the past several months, particularly surrounding events at Penn State University. Sadly, as we learned again from that incident and others like it, silence among those in authority empowered an alleged child abuser. How can this sort of thing happen to children when somany well-meaning adults are around?04-04-12-it-takes-a-community.jpg

    The fact is: Child abuse occurs when adults don’t take the necessary action steps to end the abuse and stop the offenders’ access to children. As awful as such news is, this sort of incident can serve as a teachable moment to empower adults to recognize the signs, have the courage to react responsibly and, ultimately, prevent child sexual abuse before it happens in the first place.

    Children cannot be expected to protect themselves from sexual abuse. Research shows that child victims of sexual abuse fear that revealing the abuse will bring harm to them or those they love. Child sexual abuse is a crime that thrives in a climate of silence, secrecy, shame and fear.

    Research also shows that most child sexual abusers don’t wear trench coats and lure children into dark alleys. Hundreds of thousands of children are sexually violated by adults they know and trust each year. That is why it is crucial for every adult in our community to become educated on how to prevent and recognize child abuse and how to make a report if abuse is suspected.

    Here are some positive actions you can start doing today:

    • Ask if the youth-serving organizations in your community have policies in place that govern how adults interact with youth.

    • Do these organizations offer regular trainings for staff and volunteers so that no one is left wondering what their legal or moral obligation is when abuse is suspected?

    • Do they know how to make a report and whom to call?

    • Do they perform background checks on staff and volunteers? How do they monitor adult/youth interactions?

    • Pledge to not keep silent if you see, hear, suspect or in any way become aware that a child is being abused. Contact your local department of Social Services. In Cumberland County, call 910-677-2450 or 911.

    The Child Advocacy Center offers child abuse-prevention programs free of charge to the community. These programs include: Darkness to Light – Stewards of Children Child Sexual Abuse Prevention, Internet Safety 101 and Recognizing and Reporting Child Abuse. The center will provide trainers for your group or organization. For further information, please visit our website at www.childadvocacycenter.com or call us at 910-486-9700.

    Sadly we cannot change what has already occurred but we can learn from the mistakes made, and we can all pledge to become better educated and more aware of what goes on in our own community.

  • From its humble beginnings in 2004 as an instructor’s idea for a new course, Registered Medical Assisting has developed into a successful and sought-after program at Fayetteville Technical Community College. Dorothy Smith, RN, recognized the need for more diverse health-occupation training programs and approached her coordinator, Susan Reid, about offering the program. Today, this thriving program is preparing students for entrance into one of the fastest growing career fields.

    The course is held at FTCC’s Spring Lake Campus, where RMA students are put through the paces04-11-12-ftcc.jpgof the 724-hour program in preparation for testing with American Technologists. Eligible students can receive certification as a Registered Medical Assistant, and this can be maintained with annual continuing education credits.

    The program is fully supported by FTCC and is offered through continuing education. The program is under the guidance and supervision of the Director of Emergency and Protective Services, Cathy Baxley, and Coordinator, Margo Ogg, RN, and is taught by Allied Health Instructors, nurses, and an EKG instructor.

    Due to the gracious generosity of hospital systems and organizations, such as Cape Fear Valley, Southeastern General, Southeast Regional Area Health Education Center, the Care Clinic and local doctor’s offices and urgent care clinics, students have clinical opportunities to utilize their skills while participating in on-the-job training. These facilities are partnering with FTCC to enrich people’s lives through this innovative program.

    Trained to work for providers in the clinical areas of a medical office, RMA students learn how to perform skills of managing patient triage, taking vital signs, and obtaining patients’ weights and measurements. Students obtain and deliver this patient information to the provider, who then treats the patient. RMA’s also assist physicians with the following: performing EKGs, caring for wounds, setting up for exams and minor surgeries, drawing blood, properly preparing specimens for the lab, catheterizations, giving injections, patient education and other administrative skills, such as insurance processing and coding.

    Registered Medical Assistants do not interpret test results or make diagnoses, since only a provider is qualified to do that. RMA’s are not nurses but have become a valuable asset to many medical offices due to the nursing shortage, freeing up nurses to function in more critical care and managerial settings. While most of the emphasis is placed on the clinical aspect of the RMA’s job, some emphasis is placed on the administrative side of the medical office including reception, medical records, discharge teaching, and referrals.

    Registered Medical Assistants are a valuable asset to any facility or physician who employs them, through their diversified skill training which enables them to perform multi-functional tasks beneficial to both providers and patients. RMA’s provide a more pleasant one-on-one experience, since they are able to help throughout the entire process from the beginning of the patient’s office visit until the end.

    For more information about the Registered Medical Assistant program, please call 910.678.8423.

    Photo: Registered Medical Assisting has developed into a successful and sought-after program at Fayetteville Technical Community College.

  • What if there was a way for parents to be assured that when they dropped their children off at camps, daycare, sports programs, church youth programs, schools or any other place where children might be, their children were in an environment that protected them from potential sexual abuse? Well, there is! Or there can be if the organization chooses to become a Partner in Prevention.

    The Partner in Prevention emblem awarded by Darkness to Light is a way for organizations to set themselves apart and a way for parents to choose youth serving organizations. Think of it like the Good Housekeeping seal of approval or the AAA 4 Star Award — it’s a distinction that people can recognize as a sign of quality. Organizations that have met the criteria for the distinction receive an emblem they can display in their windows, put on their website or print on brochures. The emblem is intended to convey that the organization has met certain standards. Although not a guarantee, this “Seal” can reassure parents that their children’s safety is a top priority for that organization or business.04-18-12-partner-in-prevention.jpg

    The requirements to become a Partner in Prevention are straight forward:

    • At least 90 percent of employees and at least 90 percent of volunteers are trained using the Stewards of Children curriculum on how to prevent, recognize and react responsibly to child sexual abuse.

    • The organization tracks those who have completed the training, and as new employees and volunteers join the organization they are required to participate in the training in a timely manner.

    • Employees and volunteers are required to repeat the training every three years.

    • Background checks are completed for all employees and volunteers.

    • The organization requires that situations where one adult is alone with one child be observable and interruptible.

    An organization or business can apply to receive the Partner in Prevention distinction when they have successfully met the annual guidelines established by Darkness to Light.

    To learn more about and schedule Stewards of Children training, please call the Child Advocacy Center at 910-486-9700 or visit www.childadvocacycenter.com.

    To learn more about the Partner in Prevention program, qualifications, and application process, go to www.D2L.org/partner. For questions or comments, Nickie Miller can be reached at outreach@childadvocacycenter.com.

  • 04-25-12-ftcc.jpgThe sun is just peeking through the trees that line the banks of the Cape Fear River when Lisa Snyder arrives at Fayetteville Technical Community College’s Horticulture Educational Center. She looks forward to working with the many beautiful plants that fill the 4,000-square-foot green-house and dreams of one day owning and operating her own greenhouse. As a student-employee, Snyder receives valuable hands-on experience. Students in the Horticulture Technology curriculum who enrolled in the Plant Propagation class have spent the semester sowing seeds, transplanting seedlings, rooting cuttings, potting, feeding and watering two greenhouses full of plants while experiencing day-to-day operations of producing and caring for plants that will be placed up for sale. The students are given opportunities to apply what they learn in real-life situations.

    Just around the corner, students in the Landscape Construction class are finishing a brick-on-sand walkway and will soon begin constructing a zigzag wooden bridge. Students not only receive class-room material but also experiential learning — they get to practice the skills they are being taught. A few thumbs may get smashed along the way, but even beginners learn how to create the elements used in landscape design. In the Soils and Fertilizers class, students are bent over their calculators computing the amount of fertilizer needed to follow the recommendations from a soil test. Students apply skills they learn in other classes, such as Turfgrass, Greenhouse Operations and Landscape Management.

    FTCC’s Horticulture Technology curriculum has a unique partnership with its next-door neighbor, Cape Fear Botanical Gardens, which allows Fayetteville Tech students access to these beautiful gardens and grounds as part of their studies on plants and landscaping. Cooperative projects exist that benefit both the Cape Fear Botanical Gardens and FTCC’s horticulture students.

    The Horticulture Technology/Management curriculum at FTCC offers an associate degree in applied science as well as three certificate programs: Basic Horticulture, Basic Landscape Maintenance, and Horticulture Science. Students can complete the AAS degree in five semesters by going to school full time; the certificate programs can be completed sooner. A wide range of individuals enroll in the program. Some students have recently completed high school, while other students are retired military or older adults who seek lifelong learning opportunities. Some students are employed by the companies that sent them to FTCC to get valuable training needed for career advance-ment. The Horticulture Technology program covers most aspects of a diverse field of endeavor, and the program’s emphasis on management teaches students about the basics of business and entrepreneurship.

    Careers in horticulture include landscape installa-tion and management, wholesale and/or retail green-house and nursery, retail garden centers, turfgrass manager, private gardener, garden designer and interiorscape technician, just to name a few. Each student receives an opportunity to learn about all these areas and more. In addition, the Horticulture Technology program encourages high school students to participate in dual-enrollment programs available in some schools. FTCC also offers some horticulture classes at no charge specifically for high school students, giving these students the opportunity to earn college credit while still completing high school diploma courses.

    Learn more about FTCC’s Horticulture Technology curriculum by contacting me at webbj@faytechcc.edu or at 910-678-8447

  • Last year, the Fayetteville Wine Society wowed the community with a unique event. This year, the signature garden party is back and04_07_10-wine-society.gif better than ever, as the Fayetteville Wine Society hosts the 2nd Annual Gathering in the Garden on Saturday April 17 on the Estate of Fox Hollow.

    According to organizers, this year more than 500 people are expected to attend the signature event. They’ll gather to taste the award winning wines and sample some of the fi nest food Fayetteville has to offer, all cooked up by local restaurant owners. A few folks may choose to smoke a smooth cigar while they stroll through the gardens of the French-inspried chateau, and many will dance the night away to the sounds of Mr. Coffee and the Creamers. But at the heart of the event is giving. This year, the Fayetteville Wine Society is donating all proceeds to the USO of North Carolina, Fort Bragg.

    Last year, the organization raised more than $11,000 at the event to benefi t the Children of Fallen Soldiers Relief Fund, and they expect to raise even more this year. The United Service Organizations (USO) of North Carolina is a non-profi t organization that relies on the generosity of individuals and corporate sponsors to provide vital services and programs to more than 220,000 active duty, National Guard and Reserve forces, military retirees and family members living in or traveling throughout North Carolina. Fayetteville played a signifi cant role in the history of the USO: The community was the site for the fi rst ever government built USO club which opened on November 28, 1941.While the benefi t will be about giving back, those in attendance will get a lot for the price of the ticket. In addition to the great wines available for tasting, which will begin with a champagne opening, there will also be the aforementioned great food and music. The society has pulled together a number of the area’s top restaurants to provide the food for the event. Participating restaurants include: Luigi’s, Chris’s Open Hearth Steak House, Morgan’s Chop House, Elliott’s on Linden and The Great Harvest Bread Company.

    Mr. Coffee and The Creamers is North Carolina’s premier Motown Soul and R&B ensemble. Featuring an incredibly diverse array of musicians whose backgrounds include everything from punk to funk, hip-hop to jazz, the Creamers bring a unique energy to these classic songs while remaining true to the spirit and soul of the music. Because they play such timeless, well-known music, it is initially easy to write them off as foolish or just plain crazy, but one listen and you’ll agree that it’s undeniably fun. Simply put, it’s hard not to move your feet when the Creamers are on stage.

    The Fayetteville Wine Society is a nonprofi t, members-only group that is dedicated to promoting the appreciation of wine through education.

    Tickets for the event are available at Luigi’s Restaurant, Grapes & Hops and Valley Auto World, BMW. Tickets are $75 per person. For more information, visit the organization’s Web site at www.fayettevillewinesociety.com/charity_wine_tasting.

  • uac041410001.jpg On any given Sunday in the spring, a motorcycle enthusiast can easily fi nd a ride to join. Pick your favorite biker bar or charity, and there’s likely to be a motorcycle event coming up. But not so for classic car owners. Gardner Altman wanted to be a part of the rides for charity that his biker friends participated in, but going on a poker run in a convertible just didn’t fi t.

    “There’s not that many people that have rides for convertibles and muscle cars,” said Altman. As the lead organizer for Hogs & Rags Annual Spring Rally, Altman hoped that a ride with both cars and motorcycles could accomplish even more than either could alone. The combination seems to be successful.

    “We had about 300 plus riders and drivers last year, and we gave $15,000 to our charities,” explained Altman. Now in it’s fi fth year, Hogs & Rags is a sanctioned event of the Fayetteville Dogwood Festival. The ride will take place on Saturday, April 24 from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Proceeds from the annual event benefi t the Autism Society of North Carolina, the American Cancer Society and Our Kids Can Read Foundation. All makes and models of motorcyles, trikes, muscle cars and street rods are welcome to participate and enjoy the escorted ride from Fayetteville to North Myrtle Beach.

    With more than 300 folks on motorcycles and in cars, safety is a top priority for event organizers. There is a police escort for the entire ride and safety briefi ngs are given before the ride begins. The Cape Fear HOG (Harley Owner’s Group) Chapter will provide a detailed group riders course and safety briefi ng, along with a briefi ng from the Cumberland County Sheriff’s department.

    “We give them a safety briefi ng and it covers the route, hand and arm signals and how to ride safely as a group,” according to Steve Adams, with the Cape Fear HOG Chapter. “On big rides like this, you have people coming from all different backgrounds. Not only do you have Harley peole, you have non-Harley owners. You are going to have sport bikes and other bikes on this ride too, and they don’t typically ride in a formal group.”

    “We want to emphasize safety,” said Altman. “It’s a safe ride for the bikes and the cars.” 04142010dsc_0626.jpg.jpg

    The mission, in addition to providing a safe and enjoyable ride for motorcyclists and car drivers, is to raise money for charitable organizations that effect the lives of many in our community. Proceeds from the Hogs and Rags rally are distributed to three organizations.

    The Autism Society of North Carolina assists those with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) which refers to a group of developmental disabilities. Classic autism, Pervasive Development Disorder (PDD) and Asperger’s Syndrome affect a person’s ability to understand what they see, hear and otherwise sense.

    The American Cancer Society has as its goals prevention of cancer, saving lives and diminishing suffering from cancer. The organization fi ghts cancer through balanced programs of research, education, patient service, advocacy and rehabilitation.

    Our Kids Can Read was founded in 2006 as an independent private charity organized to improve literacy among America’s youth. OKCR strives to increase literacy in our nation’s youth by providing support to various early learning and literacybased initiatives across the country that instill strong reading skills and good character traits.

    Registration fee is $50 per entry / $30 per additional rider. Entrance fee covers a collector’s T-shirt, hot breakfast at Rockin-ARanch, police-escorted rally to North Myrtle Beach and lunch at 2001 Niteclub.

    Registration (and coffee) starts at 8 a.m. at the Airborne and Special Operations Museum in downtown Fayetteville. Departure is at 8:30 a.m. heading to Altman’s farm, Rockin-A-Ranch in White Oak, where a full hot breakfast will be served. At 11:30 the group departs from the ranch, stopping for a pit stop in Tabor City, and then on to 2001 in North Myrtle Beach. The ride concludes with a buffet lunch by Bimini’s, entertainment and a silent auction. Riders can stay in Myrtle Beach on their own, or return to Fayetteville to enjoy the other festivities of the Dogwood Festival weekend.

    Registration and contributions can be handled on the Web site at www.hogsandrags.com or call 910-222-8184 for more information04012010dsc_0627.jpg.jpg

  • Make love, not war. That’s the old saying isn’t it? If you were a hippie child of the ‘70s, I’m sure you would have agreed whole heartedly with that statement. If you were an ancient Grecian woman in 411 B.C. though, you may have had a different take on things. Aristophanes’ comical play Lysistrata, which was first produced in Athens, Greece more than 2,000 years ago, follows one Greek woman on her quest to bring peace to the war-tortured Isles by ending the Peloponnesian War.04-21-10-lysistrata-pic.gif

    Her idea is simple; the women of Athens and Sparta are to refrain from making love to their husbands as a means of forcing them to negotiate peace. Her task is more complicated;can she convince the women to control their lustful desires long enough for the men’surges to overcome their purpose at war?

    Lysistrata, played powerfully by Crystal Abbott, seizes the Acropolis in protest of the war, and tries to persuade the nymphomaniacal women of Greece to join her in an oath of abstinence. At  rst, they do not see how this strategy will work, and they declare they’d “rather have war than renounce sex.” With humorous determination though, Lysistrata prevails and the Grecian women, in their saffron gowns, reluctantly and hysterically, vow “not to raise their slippers toward the ceiling” and promise to renounce “The Lioness of the Cheese Grater” (you’ll have to watch the play to find out what this is). Their far-fetched plan ignites an amusing battle of the sexes not only between the soldiers and their wives, but also amongst the old men and women of the village, and the battle endures until the bitter end.

    The Chorus of Old Women, led by Claudia Warga, steals the show with their witty banter toward the Chorus of Old Men, led by Jules Ford. The endless teasing and mocking between the two groups will make you laugh so hard your cheeks will hurt, as they constantly try to one-up each other. After being stripped down to their skivvies, the old men are fed up with the old women’s antics and Forde declares he’ll “give the ol’ bag a sock upon the jaw.” The old women aren’t scared of a fight, and even though half of them are hunched over, and the other half are shaking with possible Parkinson’s, they hold their ground to defend their younger comrades in the Acropolis.

    The battle between husband and wife is showcased when Myrrhine, played by Jennifer Zielinsky Payne, is called upon by her husband Cinesias, played by Danny Woodruff. He shows up at the Acropolis crying out in pain, complaining of his ache for his wife. It’s very clear to the audience what is ailing Cinesias, as his “ache” is quite visible through his robes. Several other Greek soldiers show up in the same “hard” spot, and various phallic references carry the show on to the end.

    I commend the cast for its bravery and the Gilbert Theater for having a phenomenal sense of humor. Is this play risqué? Yes. Does that make it awesome and completely worth seeing? By the beard of Zeus, I say it does.

  • 04-03-13-jim-jones.gifIt was a few years ago, Bill Bowman, the owner of the Up & Coming Weekly and Kidsville News!, called and asked me to help him with an event. If you know Bill, he is such a sweet guy that is hard to say no when he asks a favor. The event is Fayetteville’s annual Hogs and Rags Rally.

    This year will be the 8th annual event — and my third year of involvement — and I have to tell you, everyone does a great job of putting on a memorable and fantastic rally. The Hogs and Rags Rally is an event for motorcycles and convertibles to raise money for a variety of charities. This year, the proceeds will go to the Shriners Hospital for Children, the American Cancer Society and Kidsville News!

    The rally a sanctioned Dogwood Festival event, and it takes place on Saturday, April 27. Registration opens at 8 a.m. The event will start at the Airborne and Special Operations Museum. We will leave promptly at 8:45 a.m.

    Although in the past there has been a great turn out of motorcycles, last year there was a really nice turn out of classic and convertible cars, too (hence the “Rags” in the name Hogs and Rags). Everyone is welcome as long you can keep up with the police. That’s right, we have a police escort from Fayetteville to Myrtle Beach.

    After we leave the museum, we will head out with a police escort to a farm near Chadbourn, N.C., for a wonderful breakfast. From there, we will head toward South Carolina with a water stop at the border and then on to Myrtle Beach.

    Once at Myrtle Beach, the caravan stops at Broadway at the Beach for a lunch at Landry’s Seafood. This will be the third year eating there, and it is a very nice experience. While eating lunch, there will be drawings for raffle prizes and guest speakers.

    The lunch concludes the official ride, so everyone can enjoy the Boardwalk and ride back at their leisure. You will have plenty of time to get back to the Dogwood Festival to see the Saturday night show. This year, the Dogwood Festival will feature Fahrenheit at 6 p.m., Blackfoot at 7 p.m. and Molly Hatchet at 9 p.m. at the Festival Park.

    The ride is $50 per entry and an additional $30 for each additional passenger. The rally includes breakfast, lunch and a T-shirt.

    Remember, this rally is for all types of motorcycles and vehicles. Last year, we had a Jeep and Ferrari fighting it out to be the lead car. I believe the Ferrari came out ahead. If you have a club, please come out and join the fun. Let us know ahead of time, and we will group you all together for the ride.

    This is going to be a great time for a great cause, so please tell your friends and mark your calendar. You can pre-register or make a donation online at www. hogsandrags.com.

    Come with a full tank of gas, come hungry and come ready to ride!

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

  • 04-10-13-methodist.gifThe answer to the question, “Is there a doctor in the house?” will be a resounding, “Yes!” during the second annual Undergraduate Research and Creativity Symposium at Methodist University.

    Dr. Sanjay Gupta, practicing neurosurgeon and chief medical correspondent for CNN, will present Medicine and Media on Wednesday, April 17 in Reeves Auditorium on the university campus. While the event is free and limited seating will be open to the public, advanced tickets are required.

    Gupta’s presentation as keynote speaker of the symposium, which has expanded from a one-day event in 2012 to a weeklong event this year, marks the inaugural lecture of the Presidential Lecture Series. In a recent press release on the event, Methodist University president Dr. Ben Hancock acknowledged that the series, made possible through the generosity of community partners and individuals, “strives to bring renowned national experts to the campus and community, emphasizing signature programs at Methodist University.”

    Pam McEvoy, director of Public Affairs for Methodist University, explained that the series is part of the “MU Journey.”

    “Last year, when Dr. Hancock was inaugurated, it was his vision to bring speakers to campus for the students to engage with the students and the community,” said McEvoy. “This is part of Dr. Hancock’s vision of the MU journey that allows students the opportunity to say, ‘Whoa, Dr. Gupta came my sophomore year!’ And this event falls in nicely with the symposium because we are launching our health sciences program. Dr. Hancock thought Dr. Gupta would be a good fit.”

    The new School of Health Sciences includes the Applied Exercise Science, Athletic Training, Health Care Administration, Nursing and Physician Assistant programs.

    In addition to his lecture, the multiple Emmy-award-winning chief medical correspondent for CNN will be meeting in informal chats with health-science students and potential preceptors and healthcare administrators who are further along in the program, noted McEvoy.

    “Throughout his time with us,” McEvoy said, “we will have students with him. We have what we call Leadership Fellows who will be integrated into what he’s doing.”

    For more information on the lecture and tickets, please contact McEvoy at (910) 630-7043, Director of Marketing and Communications Maria Brunson at (910) 630-7114 or Assistant Director of Marketing and Communications Roxana Ross at (910) 630-7292.

    Photo: Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN’s chief medical correspondent, will speak at Methodist University on April, 17.

  • 04-02-14-cease-fire.gifStarting in April, Operation Ceasefire will host its movie night initiatives in an attempt to reduce gun and gang violence in Cumberland County. All movie events are open to the public and held outdoors. The movies start at 7:30 p.m., and everyone is encouraged to bring chairs, families, friends and colleagues to enjoy a free movie under the stars.

    Operation Ceasefire is an intervention program dedicated to improving the quality of life for all residents of Fayetteville/Cumberland County by reducing gun and gang violence in our community.

    Although Operation Ceasefire is not an amnesty or a gun turn-in program, it does work to reduce gun violence and inform felons of their restricted rights and new responsibilities pertaining to firearms and ammunition. Not only does this program seek to reduce violent crimes in our community by maintaining strategic and effective partnerships, but it also offers to assist individuals in successfully changing their lifestyles.

    There are several businesses dedicated to hiring former felons or assisting them with job placement, ministries that are willing to mentor, admonish, and exhort individuals struggling with changes they undergo in life, and resource organizations designed to help with the daily needs and challenges of successful living.

    Operation Ceasefire is not a program that forgives offenders for their violent acts, but rather a program that meets individuals where they are and helps them to reach the next level of change, if change is something they really want. For those who continue doing harm, it is a promise to bring the full impact of a united community to vigorously prosecute violent crimes.

    Operation Ceasefire has had an 80 percent success rate in intervention. More than 6,000 residents have made connections with law enforcement and one another at a Ceasefire Movie Night events, and more than 1,000 children have made the commitment to stand against gun violence. In 2011, fugitive surrender cleared 200 warrants, peaceably removing over 130 names from the “WANTED” list.

    The plan for Operation Ceasefire is to offer help to former offenders that want to change and need assistance turning from crime and violence, to teach offenders about state and federal firearms laws and Operation Ceasefire’s role in enforcing the same, to respond to future incidents of violence through arrest and prosecution to the fullest extent of state and federal law aggressively and to promote firearm safety and gang prevention throughout the county.

    The national received rate of individuals with criminal record averages 67 percent. Without intervening programs like Operation Ceasefire, most of those individuals would continue to commit crimes again and again, leading them to be incarcerated within three years of their last conviction.

    From Jan. 1, 2011, through June 30, 2011, Fayetteville experienced a 10 percent reduction in gun crime compared with the same time frame in 2010. Of the participants called-in from August 2010 through July 2011, 80 percent have either successfully completed probation or are in good standing with no criminal violations.

    The dates for the movie nights are April 11, May 9, June 6, Sep. 19 and Oct. 10. For information on the event locations, contact Operation Ceasefire Resource Coordinator Lisa Jayne at (910) 433-1017 or LJayne@ci.fay.nc.us.

    Additional useful resource links for investigators, parents, children and community stakeholders can be found athttp://ceasefire.ci.fayetteville.nc.us/links.aspx.

    Photo: Operation Ceasefire is an intervention program dedicated to improving the quality of life for all residents of Fayetteville/Cumberland County by reducing gun and gang violence in our community.

  • 11 aw creative fI TKWjKYls unsplashLife’s been weird, right?

    I don’t know how else to start this article. What do you say? What is there left to say? I don’t even want to really talk about it any more, if I’m being honest.

    Quarantine has been weird; social distancing has been weird. The world — the literal whole world — being shut down has been weird. I guess since this is being published, I should use a 50-cent word and say its “unprecedented,” but let’s be real.

    This. Has. Been. Weird.

    And heartbreaking. Devastating. Frustrating. Intimidating. Scary.

    There will most likely never be another time in our generation — so we pray — where doing absolutely nothing can help save the world.In a society that is used to things changing in an instant, we’ve gone from moving a hundred miles an hour to moving at a snail’s pace as we’ve waited for COVID-19 to pass us by. Waiting is not our strong suit. 

    We’ve lived seemingly invincibly for so long, thinking nothing will touch us here in America — no wars on our turf, no major catastrophes, no major economic downfall — yet here we are, stuck with the great equalizer — rich or poor, tall or short, young or old, no one is immune. 

    For me, it has been a break. I’ve been very fortunate to have the privilege to work from home, and my husband has been able to continue his job. My son has been at home with me instead of daycare, and my dog now favors me over my husband because I get to take her outside so much more and give her treats. For me, it is a big win.

    For others, this pandemic has hit them hard — so hard, they may not recover for a  long while, which brings me back to my first thought. What do you even say?

     Just one piece of dumb advice, if you haven’t done it already — don’t cut yourself quarantine bangs. Put down the scissors, Judy. It just isn’t worth it. You’ll end up looking like you feel and right now — that is, unreliable. Just wait for your stylist or barber, not that I know from experience. Dear God, help me.

    But on a more serious note, I had a realization in all of this that I don’t want this not to change me. I want to remember and honor the elderly. I want to remember that everyone is going through something, so I mind my words and my impatience. I want to spend more time at home. I want to spend less money on nonessentials. I want to cook more at home. I want to remember that whether I realize it at the time or not, my actions do affect the people around me, even people I don’t know.

    I want to remember that just because someone is famous, it doesn’t make them a hero, and that advertising and Hollywood don’t own me. I want to remember what it's like not to hug my family so I’ll never pull away or take another hug for granted. 

     What is normal anyway? Whatever it is, it's overrated, overexpected and just plain over. I’m done with normal. I want keep some of this weirdness and be changed for the better.

  • 04 N0902P33007CColumn Gist: The way politics is practiced in America threatens the survival of our nation.

    Without a doubt, the American form of government has proved to be amazingly effective. The measure of that effectiveness shows in what the nation accomplished in a relatively short period. The political component, as designed, is an asset to our form of government. A Google search yields this definition of politics: “…the activities associated with the governance of a country or other area, especially the debate or conflict among individuals or parties having or hoping to achieve power.” Our problem is that the current practice of politics is an existential threat to this nation.

    It seems that “existential” shows up everywhere now. From grammarist.com, “An existential threat is a threat to something’s survival.” The indicators as to how the practice of politics, not the system as designed, threatens our survival as a nation, are present in abundance. However, how most politicians are responding to the horrendous challenge of COVID-19 lays bare the existential threat posed by America’s current practice of politics.

    In the big picture, governors of many states, members of the House and Senate, mayors and liberal media personalities are railing against the Trump administration for allegedly not providing, in a timely fashion, sufficient ventilators, personal protective gear, virus testing capability and other actions needed by states to combat COVID-19. All of these entities and individuals present their outrage with total conviction that the federal government has a responsibility to provide these items, and other actions, in support of a health threat. Further, they have citizens — voters — convinced that doing all of this is a federal responsibility and, therefore, any failure to deliver can and should be blamed on President Donald J. Trump. None of these people bother to tell the American public that health care is not a federal responsibility under the United States Constitution. 

    I contend that this refusal to tell the people the “real story”— when doing so works against one’s political security and advancement — is the political norm in America. This political practice sets us up for exactly what we are experiencing in America: division, distrust, back-stabbing and far less effectiveness than should be the case. 

    The truth is that, under the Constitution, individual states are responsible for health care in their state. In a federal system, as in the United States, the states and federal government have some powers that are held by one, but not the other. Then there are concurrent powers that are held by both states and the federal government. Article I, Section 8 details the powers of the federal government. There is no mention of health care or any broader category that would include it. The 10th Amendment to the Constitution states: “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.” Again, health care is the responsibility of states … not the federal government.

    A bit of looking back shows that states being responsible for health care was understood and applied. Following is from a research article titled, “The Role of State and Local Government in Health” by Drew E. Altman and Douglas H. Morgan:

    State and local government involvement in public health began with the great epidemics of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. The first of these, the yellow fever epidemic in Philadelphia, struck in 1793, and epidemics of cholera, small pox, and yellow fever were frequent occurrences over the next fifty years. Initially, the government responded to these epidemics by instituting quarantine measures and efforts to improve community sanitation. Generally, these were directed by physicians appointed by the city or state government.

    Note that the yellow fever plague mentioned above occurred after the U.S. Constitution had been ratified on June 21, 1788. The event was addressed by state and local governments. 

    Far more recently, an effort by Michael Bloomberg, while serving as mayor of New York, points to his understanding of local and state responsibility for health care. The following segments from an article by Justin Elliott, Annie Waldman and Joshua Kaplan titled, “How New York City’s Emergency Ventilator Stockpile Ended Up on the Auction Block” summarize what happened:

    In July 2006, with an aggressive and novel strain of the flu circulating in Asia and the Middle East, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg unveiled a sweeping pandemic preparedness plan.

    Using computer models to calculate how a disease could spread rapidly through the city’s five boroughs, experts concluded New York needed a substantial stockpile of both masks and ventilators. If the city confronted a pandemic on the scale of the 1918 Spanish flu, the experts found, it would face a “projected shortfall of between 2,036 and 9,454 ventilators.”

    The city’s department of health, working with the state, was to begin purchasing ventilators and to “stockpile a supply of facemasks,” according to the report. Shortly after it was released, Bloomberg held a pandemic planning summit with top federal officials, including Dr. Anthony Fauci, now the face of the national coronavirus response.

    In the end, the alarming predictions failed to spur action. In the months that followed, the city acquired just 500 additional ventilators as the effort to create a larger stockpile fizzled amid budget cuts.

    I contend that this action by Bloomberg makes his understanding clear that health care is a state, and even local, responsibility.

    Given that, by the Constitution, health care is a state responsibility, the reasonable question is, how did the federal government get so involved? An article at www.khanacademy.org titled, “The relationship between the states and the federal government” opens the door to an answer: “As we noted above, the balance of power between states and the federal government has changed a great deal over time. In the early United States, the division between state powers and federal powers was very clear. States regulated within their borders, and the federal government regulated national and international issues. 

    “But since the Civil War in the 1860s, the federal government’s powers have overlapped and intertwined with state powers. In times of crisis, like the Great Depression, the federal government has stepped in to provide much-needed aid in areas typically controlled at the state level.” 

    Point blank, the answer is that the federal government has repeatedly stepped in to help states when it did not have a constitutional responsibility to do so. As is human nature, especially over years and generations, people came to expect much more from the federal government than is required of it by the U.S. Constitution. 

    COVID-19 comes upon us in this condition where the federal government is expected to solve problems for which it is not constitutionally responsible, not adequately funded and not sufficiently manned or organized to routinely address. States are constitutionally expected to be prepared for health emergencies such as this. The quickness with which so many governors and mayors started calling at the Trump administration to provide equipment and materials that states and cities should have been stockpiling, as Michael Bloomberg attempted to do, screams that they were not nearly prepared for this (or an even lesser event). 

    This is where the existential threat of America’s practice of politics shows through. It is in the actions of governors, such as Andrew Cuomo of New York state and mayors like Bill de Blasio of New York City. These leaders, and others at the state and local level, failed to prepare for a COVID-19 challenge. These people of influence do not acknowledge failure nor educate people as to state and local responsibilities and then work in unity with all who might contribute to solving the problems at hand. Instead, they complain vociferously about the federal government in general, but specifically about Trump’s performance in this crisis. There is an unbelievably high level of finger-pointing at Trump. Granted, as of April 20, Cuomo did make some positive comments over the past few days regarding Trump and federal support. However, this was done while insisting the federal government must provide more funding and support to states.

    This is the state of political practice in America. It divides Americans, including politicians, into destructively, even hate-filled, competing groups, the result of which is a country that finds itself unable to, in an orderly manner, respond to a crisis. More importantly, we are losing the ability to carry on the routine functions of government. All of this poses an existential threat to this nation.

  • 02 UAC042920004 Is it time to reopen America? This week, Publisher Bill Bowman yields his space to our contributing writer, Jim Jones, to discuss just that.

    Did Bernie Sanders win? He ran on a platform for a socialist society. Webster defines socialism as “Any of various economic and political theories advocating collective or governmental ownership and administration of the means of production and distribution of goods.” Although Sanders has dropped from the race, he did influence a majority of our traditional thinking. Then just like that, here comes COVID-19, which brought a socialist society in the name of public safety.

    March 13, President Donald Trump declared a national emergency in response to the COVID-19 outbreak. The origin of the order was to have hospitals and medical facilities surge capacity and capabilities and take additional measures needed to contain and combat the virus. We are living in the Dark Ages with the lights on. Since that declaration, the six-foot “safe zone” has been forcefully defended as the cure — at the cost of civil liberties and almost every constitutional right we are supposed to have — by power-hungry politicians. Government leaders and agencies have decided who can go where? Whose business can open? Who can work and who gets government assistance? Who can get health care? Who can get a stimulus check? Whose business is deemed blessed, I mean essential, to be operated with restricted hours and operational processes.

    We are essentially making them government-sponsored monopolies. All of this leaves the rest of the people to juggle work, kids, bills and rents and find food, find money and keep something called our sanity.

     Our society is moving an inch a month while COVID-19 spreads at the speed of a sneeze, a cough or a touch. In the name of “public safety,” we deal with isolation, self-diagnosis, long lines, food and toilet paper shortages and an unemployment crisis. All of these factors increase crime, violence, suicide, drug use and mental health crisis rates. All of these things are enforceable by force. Our leaders have taken advantage of us and this crisis for their agendas. The U.S. Congress loaded extra spending for their pet projects in the COVID-19 CARES Relief Bill while most small businesses did not get any relief. Facebook is pulling down rallies as “safety concerns.” In concert with the government, Apple and Google have agreed to work together to build contract-tracing technology into their phones that will work with both platforms. In May, they will roll out updates to our phones that will send location data to servers and cross-reference your location with someone who has COVID-19. Of course, they said, all of this information will be protected, and you will never get another spam email again. 

    Why are American’s becoming impatient? America was founded by rebels. It is in our DNA. We come from forefathers who left Europe to find a new land to worship and prosper. We are the country that threw down with the king of England over a tax on tea. We howl, “Give me liberty or give me death.” Except COVID-19. We are a nation of crazy people who swim with sharks, pet bears, land on the moon and can land a plane on an aircraft carrier in the middle of the night. We are the home of the brave!

    If you are alive, you are here because it is your time to be alive. In Bill Bryson’s book, “A Short History of Nearly Everything,” he said, “Not one of your pertinent ancestors was squashed, devoured, drowned, starved, stranded, stuck fast, untimely wounded, or otherwise deflected from its life’s quest of delivering a tiny charge of genetic material to the right partner at the right moment in order to perpetuate the only possible sequence of hereditary combinations that could result — eventually, astoundingly, and all too briefly — in you.” 

    Americans seem to believe that we are immortal. It is true. We are, but for a minimal time. Whether we stay quarantined for another day or years, we have not faced the fact that we will either get this virus or we will not. Not until a vaccine is discovered. Anything short of that is just ideas. We have been scared to death that everyone is going to die or cause everyone to die. This is just silliness. Yes, people have died and that is sad. People die every day. Heart disease is the No. 1 cause of death in America. Not one person has recommended that you cut your heart out to avoid your own heart from attacking you. Not one! 

    As much as we think we own our life, we do not. If a thug can walk up to you and kill you, your body is not yours. Let’s face it; you can die from a mosquito bite. There are 8,000 ways a human can die. We only get one of them. Our life’s Earth-clock started ticking the moment we took our first breath. Whether we think we deserve something or not, that is the way it is. When it happens to someone we love, we only have our beliefs and experiences to hold on too. This virus is getting passed around, and it appears that everyone’s body is affected and reacts differently. Knowingly or unknowingly. 

    With each declaration and law, those orders are backed by force with a person with a gun. Is that socialism or communism? The Philippine President, Rodrigo Duterte, has told his country that “the police will shoot you dead for defying stay-at-home orders.” Nigeria, South Africa and Kenya police have killed more people enforcing stay-at-home orders than the coronavirus has killed in their country.

    The virus will continue to spread until we build our immunity or die. Our best course of action to bring America back to a thriving and free country is to let individuals be individuals. Let them start to rebuild their businesses, jobs, careers and lives. Let us learn to mourn the dead, care for the sick and move forward with our lives. You have the power to choose to rejoice in life or live in fear. How you live should be your choice. At least I still believe that.

  • 03 N2005P70060CEarlier this month, medical professionals seemed to be getting a handle on COVID-19. No cure yet, mind you, but they seemed confident in saying who is most at risk and how the novel virus affects the human body. It was beginning to feel like if we all social distanced, stayed close to home, wore masks when we were out and washed and disinfected frequently, COVID-19 infections would peak and begin a slow decline.

    We were looking at only the tip of the iceberg. We are now learning the hard way what we did not know when COVID-19 first emerged in China and zipped around the world in a matter of weeks. It traveled at a pace unknown in the flu pandemic of 1918 before people routinely traveled between and all over continents. Estimates are that COVID-19 is about five times more lethal than seasonal flu.

    We initially thought COVID-19 appeared at nursing facilities in Washington in late February. Turns out the first death may have been a California woman with no connection to China who died of COVID-19 in early February. Few of us will be surprised if more early victims are identified. We thought the elderly and people with respiratory issues were most at risk. Still, much younger people are dying of it as well, and asthma patients are less affected than initially feared. If more people than originally thought have had and survived the virus — with or without symptoms, could it be more contagious than we imagined and spread more quickly? A reopening of commerce would hasten the spread.

    COVID-19 may have long-lasting effects on some who survive the initial infection. Medical professionals are reporting damage to lungs and other vital organs and finding that while some people emerge on the other side of infection feeling back to normal and with presumed immunity, others have a long recovery to reach their former “normal.” And, perhaps most worrisome of developments so far is what COVID-19 does to the blood of some patients — clotting that can move into the heart and lungs and block blood and extreme bleeding in other patients.

    While we are watching the curve of infections and hoping to bend it in the right direction, we are also watching the course of the disease and working to understand it as quickly as we can.

    Meanwhile, the death toll in the United States and North Carolina continues to mount, affecting families of the well-known and families of ordinary folks just trying to make it through this bizarre and scary time. The pandemic is complicated by the collapse of the U.S. economy and its dire financial toll on individuals and businesses. Intense pressure faces policymakers to let up on some social distancing restrictions and allow certain businesses to reopen — at least partially. Not surprisingly, that pressure is falling along partisan political lines, as does so much in American life these days.

    Blessedly, not all the news is bad.

    Our air and water are cleaner because we are using less fossil fuel and generating less garbage. Wild animals are reportedly rebounding with less human contact in their daily routines. Millions of Americans are learning to cook at home again and are probably healthier for it. Families are spending more time together, and while that is not without tensions, many are getting to know each other in new ways. Millions of American students may be falling behind in academic areas, but so are students in other parts of the world. On the plus side, students and their families are learning flexibility, resilience and creativity, qualities that will help them in ways book learning cannot.

    Very likely, we still see only the tip of the iceberg, but the waters are clearing to give us a fuller picture of what lies ahead.

  • 06 proffittpicThe coronavirus crisis has unsettled every age group, as we are all worried about our health and that of our families and communities. And if you’re in the millennial generation, generally defined as anyone born between 1981 and 1996, you might also be concerned about your financial future, given the sharp decline in investment prices. How should you respond to what’s been happening?

    Your view of the current situation will depend somewhat on your age. If you’re an older millennial, you had probably been investing for a few years when we went through the financial crisis in 2007-2008. And you then experienced 11 years of a record bull market, so you’ve seen both the extremes and the resilience of the investment world. But if you’re a younger millennial, you might not have really started investing until the past few years, if you’ve started at all, so you’ve only seen a steadily climbing market. Consequently, you may find the current situation particularly discouraging, but this is also a lesson in the reality of investing: Markets go down as well as up.

    But no matter where you are within the millennial age cohort, you might help yourself by taking these steps:

    • Enjoy the benefit of having time on your side. If you’re one of the younger millennials, you’ve got about four decades left until you’re close to retiring. Even if you’re in the older millennial group, you’ve probably got at least 25 years until you stop working. With so many years ahead, you have the opportunity to overcome the periodic drops in investment prices, and your investments have time to grow. And, of course, you’ll be able to add more money into those investments, too.

    • Invest systematically. The value of your investments will always fluctuate. You can’t control these price movements, but you may be able to take advantage of them through what’s known as systematic investing. By putting the same amount of money at regular intervals into the same investments, you’ll buy more shares when the share price is lower — in other words, you’ll be “buying low,” which is one of the first rules of investing — and you’ll buy fewer shares when the price rises. Over time, this strategy can help you reduce the impact of volatility on your portfolio, although it can’t ensure a profit or protect against loss. Plus, systematic investing can give you a sense of discipline, though you’ll need to consider the ability to keep investing when share prices are declining.

    • Focus on the future. You’re never really investing for today — you’re doing it to reach goals in the future, sometimes just a few years away, but usually much further out. That’s why it’s so important not to panic when you view those scary headlines announcing big drops in the financial markets, or even when you see negative results in your investment statements. By creating an investment strategy that’s appropriate for your risk tolerance and time horizon, and by focusing on your long-term goals, you can develop the discipline to avoid making hasty, ill-advised decisions during times of stress.

    As a millennial, you’ve got a long road ahead of you as you navigate the financial markets. But by following the suggestions above, you may find that journey a little less stressful.

  •  04 Ernest worrellFollowing in the path of the two Corinthians, here are some more gossamer threads of hope upon which to cling during these highly interesting times. Folklore says the worst curse the ancient Chinese could throw on someone was to wish they live in interesting times. The ancient Chinese may have been right about that, but Chairman Xi and his round-the-clock cover up of Corona Cooties ranks like Avis in a strong second place for misery. But enough about the Chinese Communists. They know who they are.
     This stain upon world literature is written about 10 days before it appears in Up & Coming Weekly. Much can happen between the writing and the publication. There’s many a slip between cup and lip. The news of the day when this drivel was extruded was Dear Leader’s retweet of a Tweet with the hashtag #FireFauci. Dr. Fauci had just committed the sin of saying publicly that if the administration had started preparing sooner, fewer people would have died. The over/under on when Fauci will be fired is April 30. I’m taking the under. The good news is the usual uninformed sources report that Fauci will be replaced by that noted epidemiologist, Dr. Ernest P. Worrell, Ph.D. Old-timers may recall that Worrell used to sell Pine State Ice Cream many years ago.

     Some people think that because Worrell is deceased that he is not a good replacement to be head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. Those people would be wrong. Dear Leader prefers a scientist who cannot contradict his magical thoughts of banishing the Corona Cooties by tweet. As Joe Diffie almost sang, “Prop Dr. Worrell up by the juke box even if he’s dead/ Fix him up with a mannequin, just remember he likes blondes/ He’ll be the life of the briefing room, even when he’s dead and gone."

     A dead Worrell who will keep his mouth shut and not cause Dear Leader trouble is better than a live Fauci who keeps trying to interject science into Fantasy Land. Consider Ernest’s cinematic accomplishments, which have the common theme of him not knowing what he is doing. Worrell starred in such excellent films as “Ernest Scared Stupid,” “Ernest Saves Christmas,” “Ernest Goes to Jail,” “Ernest Goes to School,” “Slam Dunk Ernest” and “Ernest Rides Again.” As the science advisor to Dear Leader, Ernest’s incompetence is a consummation devoutly to be wished.

     To take your mind off being stuck at home, I am once again plagiarizing my Facebook page wherein I post a daily dose of good news. Here are some other happy thoughts for you to ponder as you wait like the Eloi in the movie “The Time Machine” to hear the siren sound the all clear, signifying the Morlocks of Corona have left so you can come blinking out of your homes into the light of a Corona-free world.

      Although barbershops and beauty salons are closed, leaving people looking like Cousin It of the “Addams Family,” it doesn’t matter. Due to excess hair, no one will be recognizable. Let the mighty comb-overs begin. Despite the nationwide lack of Corona testing supplies, Granny of the “Beverly Hillbillies” has whipped up a double still full of Granny’s Spring Tonic, which will cure what ails America. Like Roger Miller sang, one swig of Granny’s Spring Tonic and “Chug a lug, chug a lug/ Makes you want to holler hi-de-ho/ Burns your tummy don’t cha know? Chug a lug, chug a lug.”

    That is exactly what America needs, something that makes you holler, “Hi-de-ho!” Look for Granny in the far corner of your nearest Walmart parking lot.

     Understanding that America has suffered enough, Yoko Ono has vowed not to sing another note until the Corona Cooties have been left behind in the nation’s rearview mirror. Not to be outdone by Yoko, insurance agent Needle Nose Ned Ryerson of “Ground Hog Day” fame has promised not to try to sell any more life insurance policies until Corona is no more. As Ned would say, “Am I right? Am I right?”

    Dear Leader has narrowed his choices for Acting Acting Secretary of the Navy to replace the Bozo who fired Captain Brett Crozier of the carrier Theodore Roosevelt to either Captain Crunch or Captain Kangaroo. Either one would be an improvement over former Acting Secretary Thomas Modly, who walked the plank after he fired Crozier and then told the crew of the Roosevelt that Crozier was either stupid or naïve.

     Finally, and perhaps the brightest light in the gloom of the Corona forest comes the news that the entire medical crew of the MASH 4077th Unit has come out of retirement and reenlisted in the Army to treat Corona patients. That’s right. Hawkeye, Hot Lips, Radar, Col. Potter, Klinger, Trapper John, Frank Burns and Father Mulcahy are coming back to help our real-life medical heroes and heroines save the lives of Americans despite the danger to themselves.

     Heroes still walk among us. Thank you, First Responders. We could not get through this without you.

  • For most Americans, it’s nearly impossible to make it through four years of high school without having at least one healthy dose of William Shakespeare.

    Of all of his famous works, the tragedy of Romeo and Juliet seems to be the one that more frequently appears in educational curriculums across the country. For those of you who cannot get enough of the world’s most famous love story, you’re going to love what’s coming to our area. On the other hand, if you aren’t familiar with this timeless-tale (where have you been?) read further. Your opportunity to catch up with us is coming and you don’t even have to read it!

    The Russian National Ballet, which has performed to sold-out audiences nationwide, is returning to Givens Performing Arts Center (GPAC) on Thursday, April 14 to perform its unique spin on Shakespeare’s classic tragedy. The story is one of forbidden love, as the children of rivaling families meet, fall in love, then succumb to untimely deaths.

    The story is one full of romance, fear, murder and suicide.

    The Russian National Ballet was founded in Moscow in the late 1980s during the transitional time of Perestroika (Soviet Union reconstruction period). It consists of nearly 50 dancers well-known for their performances of classical ballet. Its principal dancers hail from the upper ranks of some of Russia’s most renowned ballet companies and academies.

    When asked about the popularity of past ballet performances, Tasha Oxendine, marketing director for GPAC responded, “We have hosted the Russian National Ballet on several occasions. We have also welcomed the Moscow Ballet and the St. Petersburg Ballet.

    “Our patrons enjoy the ballet and the performances are very well received. We also have a good number of parents who bring their daughters or little girls to see the performances. Last year we actually had a number of little girls who wore their ballet tutus to the performance,” she continued. “It is very special for us to see the excitement in their little eyes as they watch such a regal performance on stage for the first time.”

    For those unfamiliar with GPAC, Oxendine explained, “We are the premier theatre in Southeastern N.C. We offer the Professional Arti04-06-11-russian-ballet.jpgst Series which includes the Broadway and More Series, The Nostalgia Concert Series, the On Stage For Youth Series, and The Distinguished Speaker Series. Our Broadway series includes the Off-Broadway tour. We work to keep ticket prices affordable.

    “For some of the shows you may see some of the same actors that were on stage in Broadway,” she explained. “This season we welcomed The Color Purple and Spring Awakening. Both were huge Broadway hits and well received here at GPAC. Next season is going to be grand as well. The line-up will be released in the summer.”

    Tickets for the show are: $30, $25, $15 and $12 for children and students and can be purchased at the GPAC box offi ce at 910-521-6361 or 800-367-0778. More information can also be found by visiting their website at www.uncp.edu/gpac.

    PHOTO:The Russian National Ballet, which has performed to soldoutaudiences nationwide, is returning to Givens Performing Arts Center (GPAC).

  • 03 margaret picWho knew that anything could overshadow United States presidential politics?

    Every four years, Americans — and many people from other parts of the world — are gripped by the dramas of which presidential candidate said what, who is supporting whom and who will be tapped for the number two spot. We learn about their families and somehow come to believe we actually know them. It is a process that takes months, sometimes years. Some presidential cycles are marked by stunning twists and turns, and some feel more like coronations.

    COVID-19 has upended and eclipsed all of that.

    The only campaigning is online. Political party conventions, including the one scheduled for Charlotte, will very likely be virtual if they happen at all. The legitimacy of our electoral process is in real question, particularly following the controversial primary in Wisconsin earlier this month. Will our states and territories be able to conduct free and fair elections in November? And if so, how? Can we trust voting machines? Can we trust absentee ballots?

    If there is a single undecided, waiting-for-more-information voter in the United States, I have yet to meet him or her or even to see such a voter on television. We are a nation as divided as at any time in our almost two-and-a-half centuries as a country. This is particularly true in a purple state like North Carolina, where political contests are so partisan and bitter that polls struggle to capture an accurate picture. As of this writing, state polling operations favoring Democrats report Democratic candidates ahead of Republican candidates, and Republican polling operations report similar results for their candidates. None of it means anything more than six months ahead of the election.
    The truth is that we simply will not know until voting takes place in November under whatever circumstances that occur. The intervening months of campaigning will be unlike any Americans have experienced. Here are some thoughts on the presidential contest.

    Love him or loathe him, Republican Donald Trump is a known quantity. What we have seen is exactly what we would get during a second term in office. Trump’s shoot-from-the-hip, confrontational and controversial personal style of governing has great appeal to some Americans; at the same time, it repulses others.

    The presumptive Democratic candidate, Joe Biden, is a veteran of half a century of public life and service in the U.S. Senate, but Americans can only speculate about a Biden presidency. His career as a legislator has been one of working across the aisle and inclusion of various constituencies, including selecting a woman as his prospective running mate. Americans could reasonably expect a moderated and traditional presidency from Biden.

    In elections past, Americans have said, “I support candidate A, but I can live with candidate B if that is who voters choose.” No one is saying that now. The contrasts between Trump and Biden are clear and stark. While most of us already know which candidate we support, decisions still loom. What face do we want to show the rest of the world? And what does that choice say about the people of the United States? Will we actively campaign for our candidate? Will we participate with our time and treasure? Most importantly, will we get off our sofas and actually cast our votes?

    COVID-19 will force Americans to stick close to home for months to come, giving us plenty of time to think through such questions. What we decide will not only chart our nation’s course for at least four years. It will tell us who we are at this point in our national and international life.

  • 02 newspaperThis letter was recently sent by Publisher Bill Bowman to Representative Richard Hudson in support of journalism and local community papers.

    Dear Congressman Hudson,

    Nineteen Democratic senators sent a letter to the Senate leadership and the leadership of the Committee on Appropriations in support of local journalism and regarding the inclusion of funding earmarked to support local journalism and media in general. To my surprise, the letter was signed only by Democratic senators calling for support and with no support from Republicans. Were you aware of this? Your assistance in this matter, Congressman Hudson, would greatly help build momentum for including the preservation of the Fourth Estate in the next round of targeted stimulus funding. For many community newspapers, like myself, it could mean our very survival. Nearly everything in the letter pertains to our 25-year-old community newspaper, Up & Coming Weekly, here in Fayetteville, Fort Bragg and Cumberland County. However, I write to you on behalf of the nearly 60 weekly community newspapers in North Carolina and the 1,500+ across America.

    Thank you for the great job you are doing for District 8. Our community could not ask for better representation. Locally, District 45 Rep. John Szoka is serving on the North Carolina House Select Committee on COVID-19 and Economic Support Group. That committee is also working on similar draft legislation that would also assist small North Carolina businesses like mine, and it is needed to help us survive this pandemic. The purpose of this letter is to make you aware of the dire situation that exists here in Fayetteville and Cumberland County as it pertains to local news media. Fayetteville and Cumberland County are critically close to becoming a media and news desert. This is a very serious situation.

    As you probably already know, Fayetteville does not have a local TV station. And now, with Gannett-Gatehouse Media slowly dismantling our only daily newspaper, The Fayetteville Observer, we are treacherously close to creating a District 8 community of 310,000 residents without a local media advocate. This would be devastating to local businesses and would sharply hinder future economic growth and development prospects, not to mention the loss of First Amendment rights and insights into the dealings (or misdealings) of our local government. Cumberland County and Fort Bragg, as a media desert, would be the worst thing that could happen to our community at this time. Or anytime.

    Solutions are not simple, yet they can be mitigated. Like many small weekly community newspapers, Up & Coming Weekly (www.upandcomingweekly.com) is on the ropes, struggling to survive unless we can get financial support and relief very soon. Without financial support, Cumberland County risks losing a 25-year-old trusted conduit for local news, information and the need-to-know and do in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. As a free news publication, we are the key media and information source that reaches all the municipalities in Cumberland County and Fort Bragg, providing truthful, honest and accurate information to all citizens — including the poor and underserved. Local media, specifically newspapers, are in a state of crisis, which is being exacerbated by the COVID-19 situation. For over a decade, companies like Alden Media Group and Gannett-Gatehouse Media have been at the vanguard, destroying local newspapers by closing down offices, selling off assets and laying off reporters and journalists. Now, this public health crisis has made the problem worse. We have lost over 50% of our advertising revenue, as we depended on local restaurants, entertainment venues, nonprofit fundraising events and dozens of other nonessential businesses that have closed as the nation attempts to “flatten the curve.”

    Currently, I have retained all my employees by reducing expenses and cutting everyone’s salary by 20%. I have applied for the PPP funding, but I’m afraid that won’t be enough to survive. This weekend, I received the update from PNC Bank on the status of our PPP loan. I am incredibly disappointed, but not surprised, at the news that the PPP program was out of money — especially since we were one of the very first applications processed by PNC. I did not waste a moment in doing what was necessary to keep my newspaper open and our employees on the job. I want you to know, Congressman, how initially skeptical I was of the process when I found out that even before our local Fayetteville financial institutions (PNC Bank, Bragg Mutual Federal Credit Union and First Bank) were set up and in possession of the resources they needed to process loan applications, Fox News reported that Bank of America had already processed $3.5 billion in loans. Now, while thousands of struggling small businesses receive their “Sorry, out of PPP money” letter, companies like Ruth’s Chris Steak House, which recorded $48 million in profits last year, netted $20 million of PPP funds intended to assist small business. And, American Airlines received a whopping $5.8 billion. Two incredible and disgusting displays of governmental program manipulation and abuse.

    The Up & Coming Weekly newspaper plays an essential and indispensable role in this county. The only reason we exist today is that we have been the county’s most reliable, honest, trustworthy and unbiased source of local news, views, cultural arts coverage and other relevant information. We have been that relentless local government watchdog and business development advocate, as well as the city and county’s biggest cheerleader and quality-of-life advocate. Our newspaper plays a critical role in covering a wide range of issues that impact Fayetteville, Fort Bragg and Cumberland County. Each week, tens of thousands of local readers depend on us for community news, city and county updates, education news, health and wellness advice and information concerning issues specific to their town or neighborhood.

    Social media outlets are fueling fake news with unverified sources and now multiple consumer scams, making it even more difficult for people to find trustworthy and reliable sources of news and information. People in Cumberland County need to have access to trusted local news and reliable life-saving information. Just as important, people need a positive outlook, enjoyment, fun and entertainment in their lives to ease the tensions brought on by the stress, confinement and uncertainty of this terrible crisis. This is the comfort we bring to the community. This is what community newspapers do, and we don’t want to disappear.

    Again, I am not just speaking on my behalf, but for all the community newspapers throughout North Carolina. When this bill surfaces in congress, I hope you will look upon it favorably to support local media and the preservation of journalism and the Fourth Estate. Such a consideration should be tailored to benefit local community media and local newspapers that have made long-term commitments to providing high-quality local news services. It should not be extended to mega newspaper conglomerates like Alden Media Group or large regional dailies like McClatchy or Gannett-Gatehouse Media. These companies are the primary source of the problem and not part of the solution, and they certainly have little respect for journalism and unbiased reporting.

    In closing, Congressman Hudson, please help community newspapers survive to serve local citizens, protect First Amendment rights and preserve journalism and the Fourth Estate. First and foremost, we must prevent Fayetteville and Cumberland County from becoming a news media desert. That would be disastrous for the future of our community.

    We need your advice and leadership in this matter. Please let me know if you need more information or have any questions.
     
  • 05 StayhomeDuring these unprecedented times, I want to reassure all Cumberland County residents that North Carolina is managing a statewide response to COVID-19 that protects the health of our citizens while balancing the well-being of our economy. Gov. Roy Cooper and North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Mandy Cohen have done a tremendous job acting early and aggressively to “flatten the curve” in North Carolina. Gov. Cooper’s administration is actively working through the next steps of preparing North Carolinians and our business community to emerge from this pandemic stronger in this “new normal.”

    While I proudly represent you in the North Carolina Senate, I am also a father and small business owner. I’ve seen the damage inflicted by this pandemic on multiple fronts. I’ve heard from many of you directly, and I appreciate your thoughts, opinions and concerns. Along with my constituent services staff, I have helped people register for unemployment and spent time talking to small businesses across our community and state. I remain committed to ensuring that the voices of all residents and small businesses in Cumberland County are represented, working with Senate colleagues on both sides of the aisle to draft specific COVID-19 legislation for our legislative session on April 28, and staying in constant contact with our local elected officials to make sure we are supporting them at the state level. Please know that I am listening and acting to create solutions. I want to assure you that we will get through this together.

    During this crisis, I am reminded of the resiliency that our community displays time and time again. Community members and organizations are rallying to support our children in need, our small businesses and our at-risk demographics.

    One thing is clear — social distancing works. Because of the stay-at-home and social distancing orders in place, our efforts to flatten the curve and save lives are working. But we know we cannot stay home forever. As the state considers how and when to ease restrictions, there are three important pieces to consider, including testing, tracing and trends. We need a major increase in testing capabilities to isolate and track new cases of COVID-19. This means having the supplies and lab capacity to do more diagnostic testing as well as reliable antibody testing that can tell us who may have experienced mild or asymptomatic illness and has now recovered. We have to boost our public health workforce to trace and track new cases of COVID-19. Contact tracing can be effective at containing new outbreaks, but it requires a lot of people and legwork. When a new positive case pops up, the tracing efforts will work to identify people who have been in contact so they can get tested and take the right precautions. In order to ease restrictions, we have to see COVID-19 trends moving in the right direction. This includes trends in the number of new positive cases, hospitalizations and deaths, as well as available supply of personal protective equipment, hospital capacity and more.

    My wife Jenny and I continue to take precautions such as working remotely, social distancing, washing our hands and wearing masks when we go out to the store or to pick up food from a local restaurant. We are encouraging others to do the same. Please help me make sure we all do our part to help prevent the spread of COVID-19. Jenny and I keep our community in our prayers and ask you to keep us in yours.

    My staff and I are working overtime to handle any and all constituent concerns. I encourage anyone who needs resources to visit www.SenatorKirkDeViere.com/Coronavirus, contact my office at 919-733-5776 or via email devierela@ncleg.net. Stay safe.

    In this together,
    Senator Kirk deViere
    North Carolina Senate, District 19
     
  • 11 marc olivier jodoin TStNU7H4UEE unsplashEnough gloom and doom. The COVID-19 crisis has come to pass. And pass, it will.

    The individual days of the past few weeks have all blended together for so many of us. We've each claimed a share of the thoughts, emotion and uncertainty as we watched schools close, events cancel, and businesses either shutter their doors or repurpose their operation to adapt to a situation that changed daily. All the while, though, hope has been looming before us, beckoning us forward.

    Your first reaction to this crisis might have been much like mine: sheer disbelief. I mean, we're Americans, right? We tend toward a heady resilience that that automatically rejects the notion that any calamity of grand proportion will ever find us. Then the tornadoes. Or the hurricane. Or the second hurricane right behind it. Or this... a  pandemic we are more accustomed to reading about in some distant or third world country. Not in Idaho. Or Kansas. Or Raleigh.

    As a person of strong faith, I try to be keenly aware of the needs around me. Situations like this health-driven economic disaster are where we're to shine, and unfortunately there's plenty of seeming darkness to illuminate. But offering a light of hope isn't limited to the faithful, so let's get to shining!

    Just as we've all had a share of the disaster to call our own, we as a community can all participate in providing our share of light to the shadowy situation around us. As the government-provided economic stimulus has begun to appear for some and promises to for the rest of us, we need to consider how we'll put that to use to the benefit of our community. There are hundreds of small, locally owned businesses operating in some capacity which need your help to survive. They're your neighbors. They're your friends. Their employees have kids in school and on the ball team with yours. Many are offering touchless delivery to your door or curbside pickup. You can shop locally, and you can shop safely.

    For those businesses you frequent in better times — even those temporarily closed — you can help in other ways:

    Buy gift cards today.

    Use those gift cards when they reopen and restock.

    Spread the word on social media about your favorite locally owned businesses.

    Tip generously for delivery or curbside services.

    Please don't overlook the nonprofits and churches supporting our community in so many ways. Whether it's time, money or other resources, your donations and support mean more now than ever before.

    To the people of faith, commit to prayer. Pray that God will use this unexpected downtime for good. The place we're all standing is level ground. Let's pray we see reconciliation and quick resolve to painful situations more often than not as we move forward from this as a acommunity, a country and as citizens of the world population.

  • 05 N2001P52001CScammers come out of the woodwork when people are most vulnerable, and they are certainly crawling out now with this pandemic. What we know about COVID-19 and its repercussions is changing exponentially day by day. With that uncertainty comes fear and vulnerability. We need to be cautious, vigilant and careful of those who would take advantage, seeking to victimize us or our loved ones.

    With the uncertainties surrounding COVID-19, scammers have already adjusted to prey on public fear and vulnerability. Recently the North Carolina attorney general’s office reported a new scam where the caller claims to be from the federal government and asks for bank account information so the stimulus check coming your way can be directly deposited into your account. There have also been scammers selling fake test kits, cures or treatments for COVID-19 and callers declaring you tested positive and offering resources while asking for credit card information. Malicious websites and apps that claim to share vital information about COVID-19 have also been popping up on phones and computers to gain access to your devices — and then lock them up until payment is received. Be wary of emails that claim to come from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) or World Health Organization (WHO) with attachments that will infect your computer, gaining access to your personal information.

    Note: Federal or state agencies will not call or text you with products or information about COVID-19 — hang up on anyone who asks for your bank account information or credit card. Delete strange texts. Delete suspicious emails, and do not click on links or attachments or open apps that you have not researched independently first.

    In the end, keep a few simple rules in mind to prevent yourself from getting scammed:

    1) Be cautious. When something sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

    2) Be vigilant. Your “sixth sense” is there for a reason, listen to it. Trust that your “gut feeling” is right most, if not all, of the time.

    3) Be careful. If you find yourself getting convinced by someone to give your bank account information or credit card number or wire money or purchase gift cards to pay for some service related to COVID-19 — stop and hang up. If you are unsure, call a family member or a friend or contact the North Carolina attorney general’s consumer hotline at 1-877-5-NO-SCAM or 919-716-6000.

  • 04 Daddy playing checkers 5302009Column Gist: It seems that in America, we have created an atmosphere where productive discourse, supported by logical thought, hardly ever happens. Sadly, very few Americans seem to recognize the threat to our very existence that is posed by this condition.

    I find it extremely difficult to identify individuals who disagree with my views but can still have a civil and equally respectful discussion of issues on which we disagree. In my writing, I come back to this topic very often. That is because I see an extremely troubled future for our nation if this condition is allowed to continue.

    Coming to grips with this inability of our nation to get anywhere near correcting this ruinous atmosphere affects me in many ways. My father died in 2012 and, for many reasons, I miss him terribly. One of those reasons is that he and I were able to, despite our differing views, have civil, respectful and productive discussions about divisive issues on which we disagreed.

    Daddy lived in Albany, Georgia, and I was in Fayetteville, North Carolina. Over the last 10 or so years of his life, we talked by phone at least once a week. If I did not call him, he would call me. Anytime he had to call me, I felt sad and guilty because, having been blessed with a wonderful father, he should not have had to initiate the weekly call. Sometimes he would get our voicemail. I still have some of his messages. He would always open with, “Hello, this is Daddy.”

    I feel safe in describing my father as fiscally conservative, but socially liberal. For all of the years we had those weekly conversations, I was, and still am, conservative across the board. In those phone conversations, and in person on occasion, we addressed difficult topics. Even though his life was one of individual struggle from sharecropper to highly accomplished teacher, builder, preacher and pastor, Daddy was far more supportive of governmental assistance programs than I was or ever expect to be.

    These differences in our thinking, and some were miles apart, did not make productive dialogue impossible. By “productive dialogue” I mean where each person is heard and prompted to serious thought regarding the issue and the parties work together toward actions that are fair, supported by reasonable consideration of facts and advance resolution of the issue at hand.

    The great obstacle to this productive discussion process is that people set an agenda based on all the wrong motives, and then, in their discussions, the agenda rules. Because the discussions and interactions are driven by an agenda based on wrong motives, productive discussion is impossible.

    Daddy did not have this problem. His motivation was an all-consuming desire to, as God directed, help people be the best they could be; his motivation was righteous. He focused on loving others, dealing fairly with all people and, above all, working an agenda that he felt called to by God. This approach made it possible for — even dictated that — Daddy to be civil, respectful and thoughtful even in discussions where others disagreed with him. This was my experience with Milton Wayne Merritt, Sr. I miss him.

    Let me give a bit more attention to the danger posed by destructive agendas prompted by unrighteous motives. In our time, the examples abound, but, with me, give some thought to just one. We are in the midst of this devastating coronavirus. Still, reports are coming out indicating there is a move, primarily by Democrats, to start preparations to investigate the Trump administration’s response to this crisis. Consider the following segments from an article by Carol E. Lee, Courtney Kube and Leigh Ann Caldwell titled, “Informal discussions begin on 9/11-style commission on coronavirus response”:

    “Informal discussions have begun on Capitol Hill about the possibility of creating a panel to scrutinize the Trump administration’s response to the coronavirus pandemic that would be modeled on the commission that investigated the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, according to four people familiar with the discussions.

    “They described the discussions as ‘very preliminary’ and involving mostly congressional Democrats.

    “The review would focus on lessons learned about the government’s preparedness and what the administration could have handled better, they said, adding that the goal would be to come up with a better plan to handle a pandemic in the future.

    “House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff says he is working on a draft of a bill to form a commission.

    “’I don’t know that you would get administration buy-in for something like that,’ a senior administration official said. ‘Then, if the Democrats do one, it’s all one-sided.’”

    “The bipartisan 9/11 Commission was created by legislation signed into law by President George W. Bush to review the government’s preparedness for and response to the 2001 terrorist attacks. It was formed a year after the attacks and two years before Bush was up for reelection.”

    Trump is correct when he says that the coronavirus has put America in the midst of a war. After failing to destroy Trump through an extended and financially expensive Mueller investigation, a disruptive, foundationless, failed impeachment coupled with repeated obstruction of his every action on behalf of Americans, now Democrats want to start another investigation in the middle of a war that is raging within our borders.

    I contend this conduct clearly illustrates the danger posed by destructive agendas prompted by unrighteous motives. The totality of Democratic actions, including this move toward an investigation, is motivated by an anything-goes quest for power that has resulted in a one-item agenda. That one item is to not only remove Trump from the presidency, but to destroy him. The result is a total lack of productive dialogue between Democrats and Republicans regarding any of the pressing issues facing our nation. This makes for a grim-looking future. The grimness of our future is compounded by the destructive tension among elected officials having spread to the general American population.

    I contend, as a nation, we have far too little of what was key to Daddy’s productive dialogue with people who disagreed with him, and he with them. Whether spoken or not, he was always able to keep the shared values, interests, beliefs and experiences of discussion participants at the forefront. When he and I talked about issues on which we disagreed, he did not have to remind me of all that we shared: faith, desire to answer God’s call in our life, love of others and love of America. Because all of this, and even more, important positive shared stuff was present — the atmosphere for productive dialogue was set.

    Based on my experiences with Daddy, I recommend that America’s leaders, and all of us, focus on all the important positive stuff that we share. Then, while remembering it, address the difficult issues that we face. My hope is that I can, in my challenging discussions, do a better job of practicing what Daddy demonstrated so well in our conversations. I hope and pray that others will join me.

    Writing this column stirred some hope in me, but I still miss Daddy.

  • 03 andrew neel ute2XAFQU2I unsplashLike every other life experience, we are all going through our quarantines differently.  Some of us are alone and feeling isolated, while others are reading, live-streaming, doing yard work or keeping quarantine journals. Still, others are with our families in varying degrees of harmony. Some are dealing with young children with pent-up energy and school work, and others have responsibilities for elderly relatives.  Some are quarantined with friends, and some are on the front lines in medical arenas fighting the virus. And, for some of us deemed essential workers, life is much the same in service industries — except there are fewer clients and customers, and people are now wearing masks.

    I am old enough to know that almost everything has an end, and I believe that quarantine will end at some point, though it is far from clear when that might be. Researchers will eventually develop a vaccine against COVID-19, and most of us will take it.  National and international politicians and policymakers will reinstate actions to anticipate and combat future pandemics.  Those of us who suffered the virus will try to rebuild our health, and those of us who lost dear ones will mourn as we move forward.

    Post quarantine, life will be different. As much as we may yearn for life as we knew it before the pandemic, we are experiencing massive change not only in public health but in our global economy. Some of it may be long-lasting, even permanent.

    We are going to be much more careful about physical contact, including shaking hands. We will keep more distance than we have done in the past, and hand sanitizer will be on our shopping lists for the foreseeable future. Some of us will have lost our livelihoods, through job loss or the demise of our industries. The future of smaller, local restaurants is worrisome as they are less likely to have long-term resources to tide them over than larger regional and national chain operations. Daily newspapers are gasping for breath as well. Television and various other media are excellent at covering breaking news and keeping us up to date on pandemic coverage. Newspapers give us backstories, deeper and fuller explanations of what is happening, and differing perspectives on why. It is something that is increasingly difficult to find in our current world of niche media, most of which are busily preaching to their own choirs. During this difficult time, a number of daily papers that routinely have firewalls against nonsubscribers have made pandemic coverage available to everyone along with pleas for more subscribers or even simple contributions to support their efforts. The internet and emerging media have ended the days when daily newspapers were licenses to print money and may yet kill them.

    It is possible as well that we will see a renewed appreciation and revival of our communities and our relationships with the people who live around us. In the same way we know where and with whom we were on 9/11, we will know where we endured the pandemic and who was with us and whom we missed. As frustrated as we might be in quarantine, most of us will emerge at some point, grateful to those who helped us that we survived this bizarre and frightening time in world history.

    The New York Times, a newspaper with a storied history and one that remains a force in national life, is hopeful about what post-pandemic America will look like. COVID-19 has pulled back the curtain on inequities in our society — income, educational and health disparities in particular, and The Times is initiating a project aimed at building a nation that is “stronger, fairer, and more free.” Wrote the editorial page editor, James Bennett, “This pandemic offers the same opportunity that Americans have seized in past crises: to set aside petty differences, recognize national priorities and set to work again on creating a more perfect union.”

    Hear! Hear!

  • 02 jon tyson XmMsdtiGSfo unsplashWhile we must grudgingly accept the new normal here in our community for at least the next few weeks, we are determined to make the best of it. So, please be aware that everyone here at Up & Coming Weekly, Kidsville News! and Women’s View Magazine maintains our commitment to providing our readers in Fayetteville, Fort Bragg and Cumberland County with local news, views, arts and helpful, uplifting information that celebrates and defines the community while informing and entertaining our readers. Attitude is everything, and we want to provide local content that gets you joyfully through the week.

    We plan to continue our normal publishing and distribution schedule for all publications. We even added a new dimension by partnering with and supporting local restaurants and eateries. See page 22. These businesses are providing U&CW newspapers with their takeout orders and including it with their delivery orders. It is the perfect solution for those who want the publication but are not out and about. We are advertising and promoting the participating businesses free of charge and allowing them to insert their menus into the publications. It’s a win-win for both the businesses and the community. So, if you have interesting news or stories about what’s going on in your neighborhood, keep us posted. We want to know what is happening in your world. Send your information to editor@upandcomingweekly.com or HopeMills@upandcomingweekly.com. 

    Truth, honesty and knowledge are power for us all, and as we spend less time in face-to-face dialogue and interaction with each other, free weekly newspapers like Up & Coming Weekly help maintain that sense of community we all seek.

    No doubt about it, we need to share the good news with each other so that while we are honestly aware of the challenges everyone is facing, we can still uplift each other and share our joys, successes and accomplishments.

    Accuracy matters more than ever.

    Because the COVID-19 phenomenon is the biggest crisis — and the most talked-about event of our time — it is also the least accurately talked-about event of our time. We encourage you to vet all your news sources and go to and trust only firsthand primary sources of information like these:

    For Cumberland County information, visit co.cumberland.nc.us/COVID-19 and https://coronavirus-response-cumberlandgis.hub.arcgis.com/.

    For details about COVID-19 — symptoms, preventative measures and recommendations — go to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website at CDC.gov.

    For worldwide and national statistics on the numbers of cases and fatalities, visit www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/, which aggregates data and links directly to its primary sources in each country.

    A final word — tomorrow will belong to those who make the best use of their time today. Change, even unwelcome change, brings new and exciting opportunities. New ways of doing things will always present themselves. Those who use this stress-laden and uncomfortable time to observe the changes, resist panicking and prepare for their future will be far more likely to survive and find prosperity when this crisis is over.

    On behalf of everyone here at Up & Coming Weekly, stay healthy, stay vigilant, and never allow yourself to become complacent. Continue to market and promote your products, services and organizations, for they will be desperately needed very soon. And, for heaven’s sake, don’t believe everything you see online. Stick with sources you know and trust.

    We wish good health to all our readers and advertisers, and we look forward to the day we can shake hands again and begin to seize the new opportunities that await us on the other side of this crazy crisis.

    Thank you for reading Up & Coming Weekly!

     

  • uac040611001.jpg Few things are as all encompassing as being a parent. From healthcare to education, healthy food to helpful gadgets, getting that squirming bundle of joy safely to adulthood takes time, effort, tons of love and well, let’s just say it ain’t cheap. So in the name of good networking, education, saving money, encouraging one another and making life a little easier for all the over-extended moms out there who are doing their best to raise happy, healthy, well-adjusted kids, there is a new gig in town. It’s called It’s a Mommy-A-Fair, which is a new and exciting consumer show for parents, grandparents, caregivers and even kids.

    The goal is to provide information in the areas of nutrition, health, fi tness, education, safety, childcare and other important products and services.

    On April 16 and 17, It’s a Mommy-A-Fair: From Birth and Beyond will be at the Crown Expo Center packed with vendors offering information and products designed to make things a little easier for moms and moms-to-be. There will be things that make life more effi cient and just plain better for junior too, which is always a good thing for mom.

    Frances Scott, a journalist, blogger on parenting issues and mother of three will be the Grand Marshall of the event.

    The organizers haven’t forgotten the wisdom in the adage “If Momma ain’t happy ain’t nobody happy” and are including vendors and events that are sure to make mom feel special.

    “The Cape Fear region is home to a large number of families with young children,” said new mom and Event Marketing & Operations Manager Dani Durante. “We wanted to offer families a place where they could come and learn about the products and services that are available right here in our community. As a parent, I know how hard it is to fi nd out what information is available in this area. It’s a Mommy-A-Fair offers parents and children that information in a fun-fi lled atmosphere.”

    On Saturday, the seminars start at 11 a.m. and run through 5 p.m. Visitors to Mommy-A-Fair will hear about things like optomology, potty training, facial anti-aging, non-surgical options for a facial plastic surgeon and everything you wanted to know about pregnancy but were afraid to ask your doctor.

    On stage, look for demonstrations about fi tness, gymnastics and there will be some games too. One of the highlights of the day will be the Q98 Diaper Dash and Parent Olympics.

    Sunday’s seminars open at 11 a.m. and are scheduled to include topics like optomology, cloth diapers, hair laser: removal and regrowth and new advances in long-term contraception. Look for Zumba and fi tness topics to dominate the stage Sunday morning as well, but the afternoon will be fi lled with kid-friendly events like a presentation by Snyder Music Academy, a rolling video game arcade and magic shows that are sure to impress the little ones.

    “There are just so many things to be excited about. There is so much that will be happening on stage,” said Durante. “The04-06-11-pregnant-lady.jpg chance to have the seminars and to be able to listen to the professionals and then talk with them about topics that are interesting to moms is a really important part of the experience we are trying to provide too.”

    Vendors will include many of the area’s businesses that provide services ranging from 3-D ultrasound to autism consulting, kids camp, birth classes, childcare, medical and dental care, educational resources, entertainment, speech therapy, support groups and services and more.

    There will be plenty of products to peruse and purchase, too. Look for things like stork signs, potty training and diaper products, kids clothes, jewelry, fragrances, fun, creative purses and bags and more.

    Feel free to bring the kids. They are sure to enjoy the face painting and games that will be provided. This event was planned with kids in mind, making it easier and more fun for everyone.

    “Being a mom myself, I think it will be fun to be able to look around and then be able to give the kids a break at the games so they can enjoy the day too,” said Durante.

    Saturday the doors open at 10 a.m. and patrons are welcome to stay until the doors close at 6 p.m. Sunday the doors open at 11 a.m. and things will wind down at 5 p.m. Regular admission is $7. Kids 10 and under are free and grandparents can get in for $5.

    Find out more details at www.itsamommy-a-fair.com or visit them on facebook at http://www.facebook.com/ pages/Its-a-Mommy-AFair/ 169677953077531

  • 06 N2004P32005CYou contribute to an IRA and 401(k) to help build the financial resources you’ll need to enjoy a comfortable retirement. But despite these funds being set aside for retirement, many investors use them before they retire. More than half of Americans tap into their retirement savings early, according to a survey from Magnify Money, a website focusing on financial topics. How can you avoid this problem?

    It’s obviously important to leave your retirement savings untouched, as much as possible, until retirement. You could spend two or three decades as a retiree, so you’ll need a lot of financial resources. Of course, it’s understandable why some people touch their retirement accounts early: According to the Magnify Money survey, about 23% did so to pay off debts, 17% to make down payments on a home, 11% to pay for college and the rest for other reasons.

    While you also might consider these needs for taking an early withdrawal or loan from your retirement account, you’ve got good reasons for not touching your IRA or 401(k) before you retire. First, you may face tax penalties if you withdraw money from your IRA and 401(k) before 59 ½, though there are exceptions. Also, if your withdrawals from your retirement accounts are large enough, they could push you into a higher tax bracket. Plus, the longer you leave your money intact, the more you’ll probably have when you need it in retirement.

    Let’s use the survey results to look at some additional points you might evaluate before using funds from your retirement accounts for other purposes:

    Paying off debts — You could consider using a 401(k) loan to pay down some high-interest rate debt, but this move assumes two things — one, you don’t plan on taking on additional high interest rate debt, and two, you plan on repaying the loan from your 401(k) within five years. If you don’t, you could face penalties.

    Making a down payment on a home — The IRS allows first-time home buyers to make a penalty-free withdrawal of $10,000 from an IRA to make a down payment on a home; however, taxes could still be owed. You might be better off by delaying the purchase of a home, giving you time to build up additional savings, held outside your retirement accounts, that could be used for the down payment.

    Paying for college — If you haven’t saved enough for a child approaching college, you might consider withdrawing from your retirement accounts to do so. If the funds are used for qualified education expenses, you may be able to withdraw from you IRA without paying a penalty, but again, taxes could be owed on the withdrawn funds. Alternatively, if you have more time, you could consider opening tax-advantaged 529 accounts for younger children to help pay for their education.

    As the name suggests, a retirement account is designed for retirement, so do whatever you can to protect it. You may want to consult with a financial professional for guidance on meeting the other needs people cite in tapping into their retirement accounts early. The more you know, the better prepared you’ll be to make the best decisions you can for your situation.

  • There are several things that make Fayetteville a great city to live in. We have some of the best southern hostility, wonderful attractions, a rich history of how the city was founded and named and most importantly, we have some of the bravest soldiers to have ever put on an Army uniform. Behind these courageous soldiers stand their spouses, parents, friends and those little ones we often forget; their children. 04-20-11-saving-military-child.jpg

    Children of military parents are not often mentioned. It can be easy to forget that children have sincere feelings about what is happening in our world and to their parents. We forget that military children read the newspaper, watch the news and overhear people talking about the wars their parents are fi ghting. Unfortunately, we forget that when parents are deployed, it not only affects their spouse, but also their children.

    Military children endure great loss with the deployment of their parents. For some children a deployment means that for one year a son may not have a mom to come cheer him on at a ball game, or a little girl may not have dad to shower her with never-ending love. We know that no one person or one thing can take the place of a deployed parent; however, the month of April is the Month of the Military Child, and Fort Bragg is paying tribute to military children with several events, sponsored by the Child Youth and School Services (CYSS).

    Deployment Specialist, Kajsa Blansett says celebrating the Month of the Military Child gives the community “an opportunity to applaud military families and their children for the daily sacrifi ces they make and the challenges they overcome.” This is important because “All children want to feel loved and appreciated when a parent isn’t there the community steps in to fi ll the gap,” she said.

    The center has done several things to kick-off this special month. The theme for the month is “health & fi tness.” They have celebrated this by having a Volks March and by getting the children outside to plant flowers.

    For the first time this year, CYSS is throwing a Spring Block Party. The block party will be on April 23, from 1 to 3:30 p.m., at the Tolson Youth Activities Center. The block party is free and open to the public.

    “Throughout the day children and parents can enjoy activities, games, prizes, face painting, Palabar the Clown and much more,” said Blansett.

    She encourages the community to support the event because it is a chance to enjoy time with their family and the free activities, as well as foster a partnership between the military and the surrounding community.

    Blansett noted that “Military children face many obstacles unique to their situation, such as having a parent deployed for extended periods of time and moving frequently. Deployments and family separations can be stressful times for children.”

    This month-long celebrated is designed to offer them the support they need. CYSS also wants to recognize April 28 as national Bring Your Child to Work Day, an event Fort Bragg is glad to be participate in.

    On April 23 have some fun family time. The block party is available to military families and non-military families. For more information, contact CYSS Deployment Specialist, Kajsa Blansett at 910-396-4481.

  • 05 Over the past two weeks, Gov. Roy Cooper and local officials have imposed a regulatory regime of increasing severity on North Carolinians. Their stated goal is to slow the spread of COVID-19 so the number of cases requiring hospitalization won’t shoot far above the maximum capacity of hospitals and other health providers.

    Their goal is not to contain the spread of the virus in the long run. Most officials grant that a large swath of the population already has been or eventually will be infected. In the vast majority of cases, the infected will experience either mild symptoms or none at all. But some will be hospitalized, and a small share — disproportionately older and suffering from serious preexisting conditions — will not survive their bout with the virus.

    Did Cooper and local officials make the right call? I don’t know for certain. Neither do you, to be blunt. They are acting on limited, incomplete and problematic data. I recognize they are under extreme stress, likely sleep-deprived, and facing a set of unattractive policy choices.

     I don’t envy the position they’re in. I respect their public service and pray for them. You should, too. But that doesn’t mean we should simply accept their decisions without scrutiny or complaint.

    Our government hasn’t just shut down businesses (some potentially for good), thrown hundreds of thousands out of work and disrupted the daily lives of millions of North Carolinians with no clearly articulated standard for when the dictates will be lifted. Our government has also suspended our basic liberties as citizens of a free society.
     I have been ordered, under threat of arrest and imprisonment, to minimize my contact with friends and family who live across town or in another city. I have been ordered, under threat of arrest and imprisonment, not to assemble with others to express our jointly held opinions or practice our jointly held faith.

     If you think I am arguing the government should never have the power to do these things, you are jumping to the wrong conclusion. As an advocate of limited, constitutional government, I grant that infectious disease is one of the few cases in which highly coercive action may be required to protect public health and safety. It is one of the rare exceptions to the rule that private property should be inviolate and that informed consent, not government dictate, is the proper way for people to manage the risks and rewards of life in a civilized society.

     The threshold for government to resort to such measures should be extremely high, however. And I get very suspicious when I see public officials justify actions such as shelter-in-place orders with the claim that “if even a single person’s life is saved, it will be worth it.”

    Let me be crystal clear: anyone who says that should be kept far, far away from wielding governmental authority at any level. They lack the knowledge and judgment to make reasonable public policy. They exhibit a basic ignorance of how free societies work.

    If North Carolina set a maximum speed limit of 25 miles per hour on every road and street, we would see fewer traffic fatalities. If North Carolina prohibited swimming pools, we would see fewer drownings. And if North Carolina issued a shelter-in-place order every year from December to March, we would see fewer deaths from influenza and other familiar but deadly diseases.

     For progressives who don’t yet get the point, try this one: every year, a small but tragic number of murders are committed by people who are living illegally in the United States. If we strictly enforce immigration laws and deport as many unauthorized aliens as we can, many of those murders will not occur.

    The draconian response to COVID-19 has imposed grave economic and social consequences on North Carolinians and other Americans. They won’t shelter in place for months. They can’t. And they’ll become increasingly impatient with leaders who offer them platitudes instead of a practical plan for moving forward.
     
  • 04 IMG 0912Call me Ishmael. Nope, call me Pollyanna. Or maybe call me a taxi. OK, you’re a taxi. Thanks, I needed that. But I digress. The lesson for today is going to focus on good things that are happening. As you may have noticed, there has been a certain C-word that has dominated the news and your ability to go to the grocery store without feeling you are risking your life to buy milk. If you need more mind-numbing statistics or spooky news of the day, kindly go somewhere else. Today we will look at the good stuff that is happening despite the existence of the C-word cooties.

    You have to look around a bit, but there are reasons for optimism. If you are truly bored, you can follow me on Facebook wherein I have undertaken to posting a daily notice of Today’s Good News. Accordingly, I am going to plagiarize myself and steal some of my earlier pieces of fluff, in case you missed them.

    For example, the Creature from the Black Lagoon is immune to Coronavirus. This is good news for fans of 1950s black-and-white horror movies. The Creature is alive and well in the Amazon. The Gill Man continues to lurk, waiting for beauteous maidens to venture near his lagoon, which is much less murky now since oil demand dropped.

    While everyone was hunkered down sheltering in place, a significant political event occurred that passed unnoticed among the clutter of C-word news. An actual very extremely stable genius announced his dark horse candidacy for president of the United States. Mr. Ed, the Talking Horse announced from his stall that he is running for president. He named Wilbur Post as his vice-presidential choice. For those readers who are not chronologically gifted, I recommend a visit to YouTube, which will acquaint you with Mr. Ed. For older readers, please recall that “A horse is horse/ Of course, of course/ And no one can talk to his horse of course/ That is of course unless the horse is the famous Mr. Ed/ Go right to the source and ask the horse/ He’ll give you the answer that you’ll endorse/ He’s always on a steady course/ Talk to Mr. Ed.” See if you can get that song out of your head before the quarantine ends. I bet you can’t.

    Another double plus good thing to be grateful for is that Boy Wonder Jared Kushner is not twins. As Jared seems to be in charge of everything and nothing in the White House, the fact that he is not twins cuts his ability in half to screw things up. Imagine the damage Jared could do if he were twins. It would be a soap opera miracle in that both Jared twins would be the evil twin. Consider the impact of the Winklevoss twins, increase that level exponentially and you would have Jared as twins. The mind boggles.

    On a celestial level of good news, two major events stand out. As a result of the C-word Cooties, Mars has called off its attack on Earth. It’s one thing for Martians to brave the music of Slim Whitman, but no self-respecting Martian is willing to subject itself to the C-word, despite their spacesuits and other personal protective equipment.

    President Trump is safe from having to tell the Martians: “Why be enemies? Think of how strong we could be — Earth and Mars together. There is nothing we could not accomplish. Think about it. Little people, why can’t we all just get along?” That talk didn’t work out so well for President Jack Nicholson and might not work for our current Dear Leader.

    The other cosmic good news comes from 2.37 billion light-years away from our old nemesis, the Andromeda Galaxy. According to Earth’s madcap astrophysicists, the Andromeda Galaxy is scheduled to collide with our very own Milky Way Galaxy a short 4.5 billion years from now. This collision would leave a path of death and destruction on Earth, resulting in the permanent cancellation of all NBA seasons. Fortunately, the Dark Matter in charge of cosmic galactic migration wants no part of the C virus. The Andromeda Galaxy has changed course and is moving away from us. Herein give a big shoutout to Dark Matter.

    Finally, last but not least, to keep up the morale of America despite the endless series of talking heads telling us nightmare scenarios as a result of the C-word, the Federal Communications Commission has stepped into the breach. If you watch too much cable news, you will plunge into John Bunyon’s slough of despond in his cheery book “The Pilgrim’s Progress.” For America to stay out of the slough and avoid a Great Psychological Depression, the FCC is going to require all cable systems to carry the Test Pattern Channel. This channel will show the Indian Test Pattern 24hours a day, seven days a week. If you need comfort, switch off the news and watch the Test Pattern channel. You can then party like it’s after midnight in 1958.

    Now, don’t you feel better already? Can you say Test Pattern? I knew you could.

  • 03 N1003P57004CAs young parents, my husband and I taught our children that while family is the most important thing in life, it is not the only thing. Careers, personal goals, friendships and countless other aspects of life are critical to happiness and satisfaction. Full and rich lives grow in many different ways and depend on various components that change over time.

    The same is true during this frightening and bizarre COVID-19 pandemic. The illness — how it is affecting us as individuals, families, communities and economies — is paramount in the minds of everyone but the most foolish among us. At the same time, other issues need our attention, and here are several that should concern all of us.

    The United States Constitution requires a census — a count of the people who live in our nation — every decade, and 2020 is one of those years. An accurate count is critical to the allocation of tax dollars and other resources for the decade to come. Think infrastructures like roads, schools and hospitals. Think elected representation in the United States House of Representatives and 50 state legislatures. Inaccurate counts mean that some communities and states will receive greater or lesser resources and elected representation than they are due — and that the inequities will continue for 10 years. That is why we all see pleas on television and social media to complete census forms and why we should do so. For me, it took less than 10 minutes online, and I know I have done what I can to make sure my community gets its due.

    The last several decades have witnessed a dramatic escalation in partisan rancor between Democrats and Republicans at all levels from local governments to the office of the president. Gerrymandering, the practice of drawing elective district boundaries to benefit or punish one party or the other, has reached new lows. Most congressional and legislative seats in our country are now safely in the hands of one party or the other, meaning that the individuals holding the seats may change, but the party in control will not. This has led to damaging public cynicism and suspicion of the voting process itself. Many observers believe our democracy is at stake. While some states have taken steps to limit gerrymandering, others — including North Carolina, have not. Our state and nation cannot afford to allow redistricting reform to get swamped in the pandemic atmosphere.

    No matter what happens with gerrymandering issues, the United States is scheduled to have a major election this fall. The presidency is at stake. In North Carolina, both a U.S. Senate seat and the Governor’s Mansion will be filled by Tar Heel voters. Members of Congress will be chosen with several open seats to be filled by a new face, and 120 legislative seats will be on the ballot. While down-ballot races do not draw the voter interest, even excitement, of a presidential contest, they are critically important. Many political observers and historians contend that state legislatures have far more impact on the daily lives of Americans than does a partisanly paralyzed Congress.

    All Americans are going to be affected by COVID-19, whether we or people we love suffer from it or whether we or people we love lose livelihoods in COVID-19’s disastrous economic wake. This time is going to define the first part of the 21st century throughout the world just as the Spanish flu did for the 20th century. Ridiculous declarations of willingness to die for the U.S. economy will do nothing to change the course of the pandemic. Only mature self-discipline regarding social distancing can do that, and even the effectiveness of that remains to be seen.

    The end, however, will come eventually, and we will pick up the pieces and go forward to face the important issues that will still be there awaiting our attention.

  • 02 Gas Pump PIctureThis week, our publisher, Bill Bowman yields his space to Jimmy Jones, a regular contributor to Up & Coming Weekly and a COVID-19 survivor.

     This is a fluid situation. I am not a doctor, and this is my observation and opinion.

     Full disclosure: I tested positive for COVID-19. I am doing fine and have been cleared by the health department. With that, my perspective on this situation is a little different.
     According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s website, https://www.cdc.gov/, “In the coming months, most of the U.S. population will be exposed to this virus.” Scientists are saying that anyone can transmit the virus, and they may not have symptoms.

    “Stay home, stay safe.” “Stay home, save lives.” The stay at home orders issued by government leaders are telling us that life will be good if we do what they say. This virus is here, and it will continue to spread until a vaccine is created or our bodies can fight it off and build immunity. Scientists also believe warm weather may weaken the virus’s chemical makeup.

    The president’s COVID-19 task force estimates 100,000 to 240,000 deaths in the next few weeks as the projected curve peaks before flattening. Staying in place and social distancing have been put into place to slow the mass numbers of victims that would overload first responders and the health care systems and protect and preserve resources. If a medical system gets overloaded, someone will have to make the terrible choice of who gets those resources. Even with medical support, there are no guarantees that you will survive. The flattening of the curve by social distancing is more of a statistical calculation to minimize risk.

    On average, there are 7,500 deaths a day in the U.S. When official count COVID-19 deaths, they do not tell us if there are contributory factors. If a person has pneumonia and gets COVID-19 and dies, they are counted as COVID-19 deaths. That person may have been near death anyway, and the virus accelerated the inevitable. On the flip side, there may be fewer deaths from car accidents with fewer people driving, but we may see a spike in suicides and murders as the stress and economy continue to spiral.

    Where do our civil liberties end and where does public safety begin? If the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is correct and most of us will get COVID-19, why are our leaders closing businesses, shutting down public areas and putting up curfews? If social distancing is the solution, are our leaders just putting ordnances in place because they think that we are not smart enough to judge 6 feet, or are they doing this to show they have authority over us?

    In North Carolina, Governor Cooper decided to shut the state down. As of this writing, Cumberland County has had 18 cases and zero deaths. By the time of print, these numbers will change.
    The city of Fayetteville now has a curfew in place. According to the ABC-11 website, Mayor Mitch Colvin stated this was about addressing “any of the gaps the current order doesn’t address.” Later in the article, he is quoted as saying, “I’ve been getting a lot of people who’ve been sending pictures of social gatherings at ATV parks or other individual activities.” Umm, there are no ATV parks in the city of Fayetteville.

    Hope Mills authorities have closed the Hope Mills Lake, but they are allowing kayaking and boating until 6 p.m. Fishing is not permitted, but you can still get a good hot dog at Big-Ts. Access to the Municipal Park and Golfview Greenway walking trails are opened until 6 p.m. If fishing and walking are such a public hazard, then I suggest they drain the lake and make everyone tie their shoestrings together.

    People are working to be safer. Maybe through this, we can learn how to be a little more considerate by not going to work sick and coughing on people and steering clear of folks when we are sick.

    Stores are starting to install plexiglass to protect the cashier, but you still have to use the credit card machine and touch it. Same goes for ATMs and gas pumps.

    Per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s “Disposition of Non-Hospitalized Patients with COVID-19,” the decision to discontinue home isolation should be made in the context of local circumstances. There are two options: 1) a time-since-illness-onset and time-since-recovery strategy. This means at least 72 hours have passed since recovery, which is defined as resolution of fever without the use of fever-reducing medications and improvement in respiratory systems (e.g., cough, shortness of breath), and, at least seven days have passed since symptoms first appeared. 2) Test-based strategy. If a test is available, it can tell you if you still have an active virus.

    As more people like myself get cleared, and our bodies are considered immune, why can’t we get those people back to work and back to enjoying life? The health department is tracking positive cases. A business should use cleared people to work jobs that are high risk. It would take some of the stress off those not so fortunate and help to get the economy and markets back up and running and instill hope in the American people.

    Over the next few weeks, we will all ride this curve. I hope people will look to the other side of this with a more precise picture so we can move on.

    Fun fact: 6 feet is the same height as a typical refrigerator. Imagine it laid down and stay that far away from someone. OK, we should be able to get on with our lives better.
     
  • 04-04-12-ems.jpgSirens blare, red lights spin, information streams from the radio and tension is high. When tension is high and the stakes are higher, Cumberland County Emergency Medical Services are there to take the call.

    Think your job is high pressure? Thirty minutes into the 12-hour shift, para-medics Crystal Todd and Erin Daly have already made one trip to the hospital and are wheeling their second patient into labor and delivery so she can finish pushing and meet her first born in the hospital instead of the back of the ambulance.

    Calm and confident, the paramedics comfort the patient while gathering necessary information on the computer, getting stats, while getting her exactly where she needs to be.

    All that excitement happened before the paramedics even got their breakfast. But paramedics are used to an unpredictable and grueling schedule. The Cumberland County Emergency Management Services of Cape Fear Valley average about 10 calls per 12-hour shift. There are almost 200 employees supporting 14 trucks scattered throughout the county during the high-risk hours and nine during the hours that have proven to be less busy.

    Not only are Cumberland County EMS members national award winners, they have proven their effectiveness in the field as well. When the tornados tore through Fayetteville and surrounding areas last fall, members of the EMS were there providing medical attention and hope for those affected by the devastation.

    According to Daly, everyone pulled together during the chaos. People kept working far beyond their shift. One paramedic lost his house in the tornado, but he didn’t stop. He just kept working.

    Todd explained it’s the camaraderie and the wonderful team that makes the demanding job easier.

    “In this job you can easily get stressed and burn out, but the people we get to work with are awesome. Having the support of a family to joke around with and de-stress helps.” Todd said, adding, “A day without laughter is a wasted day.”

    The friendships are only a small part of why these paramedics enjoy their job.

    They agree that the adrenaline rush is a part of it, but the bigger part is the opportunity to use their brains in a creative way while treating someone and affecting their outcome.

    “I like being on the road better, instead of confined to the four walls of the hos-pital,” Daly said. “You have a lot more independence — you have to think more often on your own because you don’t have a doctor with you on the road making those judgment calls and giving you the orders.”

    The job requires fast-paced, creative problem solving.

    “You have to be confident in your skills; knowing what you are looking at and what you are doing for patient care,” Daly said.

    The paramedics compare what they do to putting the information available together like puzzles pieces EMS gathers the pieces and finds the missing pieces to help the patient.

    “EMS saved me on my way to nursing school. I was in nursing school and I had gotten out. I was working upstairs in the hospital when I took basic and I loved it, something in my brain just snapped,” said Todd. “With EMS, this is our patient, this is what we do, what we see, how we fix it.”

    There is a certain passion and instinctual skill set obviously needed to be a paramedic because each call is completely dif-ferent requiring different approaches and needs. Just halfway through the day, Todd and Daly had already helped five patients, ranging from assisting the police with a suicidal individual to responding to a patient experienc-ing chest pains. The paramedics quickly set up an EKG in the patients living room to determine if he was having a heart attack.

    “You put the pieces of the puzzle together and then you have this aha moment when your patient says, ‘Oh, that’s better’,” Daly said.

    “It helps that I enjoy coming to work every day. There are defi-nitely hard days but the good days far out weigh the bad.” Daly said. “It’s about “positive patient outcomes because of what you were able to do.”

    Photo: Not only are Cumberland County EMS members national award winners, they have proven their effectiveness in the field as well.

  • Spring Cleaning-Revised for Seniors

    Do you remember what the definition of Spring Cleaning meant to your mother? We bet that it included removing every rug, piece of furniture and set of curtains from the house. Then everything was washed down from top to bottom and returned to its usual spot. That was a tremendous undertaking!

    Well, things have changed in many ways in that regard. Since most people do not open their windows, much of that dust does not get into the houses. Also, we have great vacuum cleaners and cleaning supplies.

    As people age into the senior category, the body just isn’t able to do what was done in the “good ole days.” So let’s decide on a new definition for Spring cleaning that suits the senior citizen.

    Spring cleaning is:04-11-12-homeinstead.jpg

    • Routine cleaning from March through May.

    • Planting new plants in the porch planters.

    • Spraying the pollen off the patio with the hose.

    • Moving winter clothing to make room for the summer clothes.

    • Arranging for a person to clean gutters or power wash the house.

    • Taking woolens to the dry cleaners.

    • Getting fresh pillows for the old sofa in the den.

    • Laundering the old bedspread.

    All of these activities can be done with a family member or by hiring a professional CAREGiver. Home Instead Senior Care has staff to assist with the above listed ideas and many more. In the scheme of important, these items are not life essential. However, these activities are life enriching and help the senior maintain activities they have always deemed valuable.

    Photo: As people age into the senior category, the body just isn’t able to do what was done in the “good ole days.” 

  • In an effort to help spread awareness of Multiple Sclerosis, an unpredictable disease that often disables the04-02-14-walk.gifcentral nervous system and disrupts the ؀ow of information within the brain and body, the Sandhills chapter of Walk MS is asking that the people of the Fayetteville community come together for a walk that will connect people living with MS and those who care about them. It will be an experience unlike any other — a day to celebrate the progress made by the Sandhills chapter of Walk MS. Scheduled for Sunday, April 6, the walk begins at 352 Devers Street at 2 p.m., with a check-in and registration time of 1 p.m.

    Walk MS has fundraising programs in place and the funds its members raise give hope to people living with MS in the Fayetteville community. These efforts help to support the many programs and services provided by the National MS Society for people living with MS in the Fayetteville community, as well as fund critical MS research. There are currently more than 14,600 people living with MS in the Carolinas.

    The success of Walk MS is directly related to the volunteers that help make the event a great experience. Walk MS welcomes volunteers with a wide range of skills, talents, abilities and interests. Anyone who registers as a volunteer online will receive the same fundraising tools that Walk MS walkers enjoy and will be eligible for the same great prizes.

    Some examples of available volunteer positions are: greeters, photographers, medical supporters, finish line celebrators and more.

    Although registering as an individual is highly encouraged, participating in a Walk MS event is more fun when an individual is part of a team. Members of a team get to share the experience of connecting with friends, family, coworkers, neighbors and anyone that wants to put an end to MS forever.

    Teams get to reserve a spot for Team Village, a central location where team members have easy access to the entertainment, food and fun at Walk MS. Team members get to bring a tent, cooler, games, drinks and food. It is the perfect location to hang out and celebrate with teammates before and after the walk.

    With a fundraising goal of $50,000.00, the Sandhills chapter of Walk MS has raised 33 percent of its goal and is currently at $16,708.00. The top individual fundraiser is ‘Vivian Smith’ with $1,020.00 and the top fundraising team is ‘Walking 4 All’ with $2,727.00. There are 13 therapies approved by the FDA and $820M in research funding to date.

    To register for the walk, connect with others, begin fundraising, or learn more, contact Monica Tierney at (919) 792-1020/ monica.tierney@nmss.org, Diane Hartley at (919) 792-1014/ diane.hartley@nmss.org, or visit http://walknct.nationalmssociety.org.

    To register for the event, visit http://walknct.nationalmssociety.org. There are many ways to register for the event. Anyone can register as an individual, start a team, join a team or register as a volunteer.

  • Why stay informed about child sexual abuse? CSA is no stranger to Cumberland County and the surrounding area. Last year, the Child Advocacy Center assisted almost 500 families through the trauma of alleged child abuse. Recently, Chancellor James Anderson of Fayetteville State University, the keynote speaker at the 2014 Human Relations Commission Recognition Banquet, spoke hauntingly about the loss of 5-year-old Shaniya Davis in 2009. He reminded us of our personal responsibility to the children and youth in our community — to keep them safe, healthy and whole.

    Child abuse, in general, and child sexual abuse, in particular, are neither vile subjects that we can wish away, nor can we afford to pretend they do not exist in our community. April is National Child Abuse Month. In an effort to educate the community, the CAC sponsors an annual conference that informs participants about topics of concern regarding children and youth. This year’s event, A Community Cares: Putting Our Children First, is on April 15, at the John D. Fuller Recreation Center. Unable to attend this informative program? Here are three ways you can be an active participant in eradicating child sexual abuse and other forms of child abuse.

    Use Social Media. Follow people and organizations dedicated to preventing CSA on Facebook and Twitter. Personally, I follow Erin Merryn, a tireless advocate for the prevention of CSA and an adult survivor, who details her work to pass Erin’s Law at facebook.com/Erin’sLaw and @ErinMerryn on Twitter. Briefly, Erin’s Law focuses on legislation requiring developmentally appropriate curriculum to increase the awareness of child sexual abuse for children and youth. More details of Erin’s Law are at www.erinslaw.org. Another organization committed to the prevention of child sexual abuse is Stop It Now!, Twitter handle @StopItNow. Locally, the Child Advocacy Center’s Facebook page, facebook.com/CACFayNC and Twitter account, @fayNCcac, share news of local events and information in the fight against CSA.

    Attend Local Events. Recently, the Junior League of Fayetteville sponsored a Women’s Conference featuring Dr. Sharon Cooper, an expert on all areas of child sexual exploitation, as a plenary speaker and workshop presenter. Unflinchingly, Dr. Cooper, in her talk Protecting Girls: A Community Response, presented research and human stories on the sexualization of our society, and of our young girls, in particular. On April 10 at 6 p.m., Cumberland County Schools Student Services, Cumberland County District Parent Teacher Association and the Child Advocacy Center will host a screening of the documentary film, Chosen, at Douglas Byrd High School Auditorium. Chosen is a prevention film produced by Shared Hope International that highlights the true story of two “All American” teenage girls who were tricked into sexual trafficking. Dr. Cooper will be the facilitator. No registration is required to attend this free workshop.

    Be on the lookout for similar events in our community and become an active participant in the work to protect our children and youth.

    Support the Child Advocacy Center. The Child Advocacy Center is a non-profit organization that welcomes volunteer assistance in multiple ways. Interested in volunteering? Call Faith Boehmer, prevention and volunteer coordinator, at 910.486.9700. Another way to champion the work of the CAC is to attend events like the aforementioned April conference, the recent American Girl Fashion Show, or the upcoming Gently Loved Purse Sale. Check the CAC’s website, www.childadvocacycenter.com for information about volunteer opportunities and upcoming events.

    This is our community and it is our responsibility to take care of all of our children and youth.

  •      In anticipation of the Cumberland County School System’s Spring Break, the Museum of the Cape Fear and the Poe House have put together an interactive exhibit for school-age children and their families, as well as anyone else looking for fun and interesting ways to pass the time.
         The best part is, it doesn’t cost a thing.
         “It is the first time we have ever done something specifically for kids in the (Poe) House,” said Heidi Bleazey, Poe House educator. “I guess that there is still a perception out there that history museums are boring, dull, quiet places full of things you can’t touch and things that are old and valuable that would cost a lot of money to replace and I don’t think that is how we want people to think about museums anymore.” {mosimage}
         What better way to bring the past to life than to engage young minds with a challenging and engaging game? The title of the exhibit is Thoroughly Modern Mischief, and the staff has been pulling pranks indeed, looking for ways to outwit museum visitors and possibly even garner a double-take here and there.
         This is how it works: show up at the Poe House for a regularly scheduled tour, and be prepared for some head games along the way. Each visitor will receive a form to record his findings. Look for things that are out of place or don’t belong. Is that a video game in the parlor? An electric can opener in the kitchen? Did they even have electric can openers in 1897 (when the Poe House was built)...or electricity for that matter? Learn about yester years’ counterparts and alternatives to modern conveniences that are so routinely taken for granted. Visitors will be amazed at the differences between now and then.
         There will be more than 30 misplaced items. While some will be obvious, others will not, so pay close attention if you want to find them all.
         “It is those kinds of things that they are looking for if there is something modern out of place,” said Bleazey. “As they discover it, that is when the docent or guide will talk about it. These are strategic items that allow for a now and then type of tour.” {mosimage}
          Rest assured the guides are kid friendly and plan to make the event entertaining as well as educational. So while the kids are out of school and looking for something fun to do and parents want something that is close to home, affordable yet educational and doesn’t require a lot of time or planning keep the Poe House in mind. Come enjoy the thrill of the hunt, April 14-19.  
         Tours are offered on the hour Tuesday-Saturday from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. and Sunday from 1-4 p.m. The Museum of the Cape Fear Poe House is located at 801 Arsenal Ave. Call Heidi Bleazey at 486-1330 for more info www.museumofthecapefear.ncdcr.gov.
  • Children are one of our community’s greatest assets. But each day, many children go home alone, with no one to make them a snack or help them with their homework. For some of these children, a safe haven is the Boys & Girls Club of Cumberland County.

    Several years ago that safe haven was threatened when the club lost funding by the United Way. A reorganization of the club, its staff and board has the club back in the right direction and the support of the community is starting to flow.

    Last year, to help encourage people to support the club, a group of civic-minded individuals got together and planned the community’s first Dogwood Festival Garden Party. The event was a hit, and this year it is back and better than ever.

    The Garden Party will take place on Friday, April 29 from 3-5 p.m. in Cross Creek Park on Green St.

    “It’s a great reason to get off work a little early and kick-off the Dogwood Festival in style,” said Jenny Beaver, one of the organizers of the event. 04-27-11-gardent-party.jpg

    Beaver said that in true garden party style, attendees are encouraged to break out their sundresses and hats and men can pull out their seer sucker suits for the event.

    The event will feature the band Groovetown, heavy hors d’oeuvres and beer and wine.

    Tickets to the event are $50 per person and can be purchased online athttp://gardenparty.eventsbot.com. While you are out having fun, remember that all proceeds benefi t the club, which in turn, benefi ts our community.

    The Boys & Girls Club of Cumberland County, which was established in 1968, consists of four units: the Cumberland Road Unit, 3475 Cumberland Rd., the Rochester Unit, 1018 Rochester Dr., the J.S. Spivey Unit, 500 Fisher Rd., and the Spring Lake Unit, 245 Ruth Street.

    The club’s mission is to inspire all youth, especially those who need us the most to become productive, responsible and caring citizens.

    The organization empowers youth with a Youth Development Strategy which gives them a sense of belonging; sense of usefulness; sense of infl uence; and sense of competence.

    Programs offered by the club can be broken down into five core areas: education and career development, health and life skills, character and leadership development, sports, fitness and recreation and the arts.

    Locally, the club offers several national programs including:

    SMART Moves - To help young people resist the use of alcohol, tobacco and other drugs and postpone sexual activity

    SMART Girls - To help girls develop and adopt a healthy attitude and lifestyle, as well as acquire and maintain a positive self-concept, sound decisionmaking skills and mentor relationships

    Street SMART - Enables participants to counteract the negative lure of gangs, develop effective confl ict resolution and leadership skills and become “positive peer helpers,” or role models, for other adolescents.

    Passport to Manhood - To teach and promote responsibility, reinforce positive behavior and develop character in adolescent males.

    Power Hour - To help young people develop academic, behavioral and social skills through homework completion.

    Project Learn - To reinforce the knowledge and skills youth learn in school by integrating fun, educational activities throughout Club programs.

    Triple Play - To improve Club members’ knowledge of healthy habits, good nutrition and physical fi tness; increase the numbers of hours per day they participate in physical activities; and strengthen their ability to interact positively with others and engage in healthy relationships.

  • uac040710001.gif Fayetteville City Councilman and Chairman of Fayetteville Beautiful Bobby Hurst talks a lot of trash.

    He can tell you to the number the tons of trash that local residents have cleaned up along our city’s streets over the past three years. That would be 62. He can tell you the number of miles — 257 — the volunteers (that would be 5,116) have walked in their endeavour to make our city more beautiful.

    Hurst knows these numbers because making Fayetteville a cleaner and more attractive community is something of a passion of his. And on Saturday, April 17, he’s asking local residents to share that passion and join him for the 6th Annual Citywide Cleanup.

    The event kicks-off with a rally at 9 a.m. at the entrance to the Martin Luther King Jr. Expressway on Ramsey Street.

    “It’s going to be a great day,” said Hurst. “We hope to draw even more volunteers in and clean even more of our city up.”

    On average, more than 1,000 citizens participate in the annual cleanup. For Hurst, that speaks volumes about the community’s stance on litter. “If volunteers do the cleanup, then they take ownership of our community and they have more of a desire to keep it clean. Studies have shown when that happens in a community, as it has and is happening in Fayetteville, then suddenly there is a lot less litter. If we can get more citizens to care about the environment, then they will take care of it.”

    Hurst’s message has gotten through in a big way to the community and local leaders. On April 12, the city will be designated an affi liate of Keep America Beautiful. The national organization has 1,200 affi liates nationwide. The Fayetteville Beautiful Committee’s association with Keep America Beautiful will open doors for grants and other educational opportunities concerning litter abatement for the community.

    “They have a wonderful education program that will work great with our community’s children,” said Hurst. “They have also created a measurement tool that is essential to identify and understand the extent of the litter problems in Fayetteville. The Litter Index will be our way to focus causes and solutions to areas throughout the city.”

    04_07_10-city-clean-up.gifUnlike the majority of affi liates, the Fayetteville program will be manned entirely by volunteers. Hurst noted that statistically for every volunteer hour put into a community, tax payers save $20.25 per hour. If you consider that 1,000 volunteers will be on the job for more than three hours on April 17, the community is getting quite a deal.

    “This year, for the fi rst time, the parks and recreation department is mapping out where our volunteers will work,” said Hurst. “So in thisway, we are getting some support from the local governments.”

    Hurst said that volunteers are still needed, and can register to participate by calling Lynne Huges at 433-1587. He said volunteers come from all walks of life and may come in a large group, like a church group, or in family units.He is excited that this year participation in the cleanup is endorsed by the Cumberland County Schools. “Dr. Frank Till is very supportive of the project and is encouraging schools to participate,” said Hurst. “So I think we will dopretty well with our volunteers.

    For more information, visit the Web site at www.fayettevillebeautiful.com.

  • 04-02-14-macbeth.gifThe Gilbert Theater presents the Scottish play, Macbeth, by William Shakespeare on March 28 - April 13. Showtimes are Fridays and Saturdays at 8 pm and Saturdays and Sundays at 2 p.m.

    “Macbeth is considered to be one of Shakespeare’s great tragedies,” said Jeremy Fiebig, member of the board and actor who plays the character Macbeth. “It is about a saint in Scotland who is an up-and-comer that is told by three witches that he will become King of Scotland.”

    Fiebig added that after the saint receives his prophecy, he and his wife decide to take steps to make the prophecy come true. They conspire to kill the current king of Scotland and they end up killing him. The rest of the play deals with the aftermath of the murder and what they have to do to keep the power once they have it.

    “I am playing the title character, Macbeth, in the play” said Fiebig. “He is an ambitious guy who has many speeches and scenes where his ambition becomes the major theme in the play.” Fiebig added that Macbeth deals with a lot of self-doubt such as wondering if he should go on with the murder and how it would look to other people.

    His wife is equally ambitious but has a different drive and less self-doubt. Behind the scenes, she persuades him to take action. Throughout the play, the lords will have to decide whether or not they will align themselves with Macbeth and his new control or if they are going to rebel against him and his new power. There are some fun and creepy characters in the production as well as witches. This production is a must see.

    The Gilbert Theater is a community-minded theater company and conservatory serving Fayetteville and the surrounding areas. Its mission is to produce creative, innovative plays and events to stir audiences and students of its conservatory to explore and contemplate the human condition through the talents of local and guest artists. A summer acting camp is offered for youth ages 6-17 on Monday, Aug. 4, through Friday, Aug. 8, from 9 a.m.-3:30 p.m. The class includes improvisation, comedy, acting and movement. The camp will culminate in a Saturday performance at 7 p.m. at the theater. The early bird rate is $125.00 and after April 1 the rate is $150.00.

    “Please come out and support our production,” said Fiebig. “It speaks to a lot of things that humans have in common such as ambition and how will you respond to evil when it happens.”

    Tickets for Macbeth are $16 and $14 for students, seniors and the military. The Gilbert Theater is located at 116 Green Street. For more information call 678-7186.

    Photo: The Gilbert Theater presents the Scottish play, Macbeth, by William Shakespeare on March 28-April 13. 

  • 04142010dsc_0860.jpgNow that the pollen is fi nally dissipating I have come to realize I have contracted one of the worse cases of spring fever ever.

    Fayetteville is a great place to be especially in springtime. I love this town!

    Last weekend, sunny skies and mild temperatures enhanced the uniqueness and beauty of this community. From entertainment to intrigue, you can always count on something exciting going on in Cumberland County.

    From the recent murder conviction of Timothy Hennis to the annual April celebration of the Month of the Military Child, Fayetteville offers up a unique “quality of life” as diversifi ed as the population itself. Only the lazy and uninformed would say “there is nothing to do” in this community. Getting involved here is as easy as just showing up.

    So pay attention and plan the next several weeks very carefully or you may find yourself missing out on some great local treasures and opportunities like the Cape Fear Botanical Garden, the Fayetteville Beautiful project, The Big Read, the Dogwood Festival, Cinco de Mayo, Carolina Wine & Jazz Festival, Swampdogs Baseball, Eastover’s Heritage Day, Wade’s Founders Day and of course, Spring Lake’s annual “Spring Fling.” Just to name a few.

    Don’t even get me started on arts events in our community this spring. You can always count on 4th Friday, and this month both the Cape Fear Regional Theatre and the Gilbert Theater have great shows on stage. And, we can’t forget about our local colleges and the cultural arts they bring to the community, with plays on stage at both Fayetteville Technical Community College and Fayetteville State University.

    Our galleries are also full with wonderful art from local, national and international artists. You don’t have to look too far to fi nd great art; it’s right here in your backyard.

    In case you missed it, April is one of the busiest months in this community, so you might want to take a deep breath and jump in with both feet.

    However, you need to do your homework to keep up with all of these options. Unlike other communities, we do not have the benefi t or advantage of a local television station. This is the one media outlet we desperately lack for consistent community communication to keep us updated on local news, views, issues and events that shape our communities personality and way of life.

    Again, if you are new in the area, you are going to have to do your homework.

    Read the daily newspaper, pick up your weekly issue of Up & Coming Weekly, contact the Fayetteville Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, the library or County Parks & Rec department. These are just few places to start your unique Fayetteville experience. The adventure can start as soon as today.

    Enjoy! Thank you for reading.

  • Craig Morgan has a lot to be excited about. The Tennessee native kicked off a huge tour with one of country’s leading ladies, Carrie Underwood, in March of this year. Since the tour started, he’s been on a media whirlwind, making stops on numerous shows, and playing04-21-10-craig_morgan_2.gifjust about every night.

    His latest album is a fan favorite, and work is going nicely on his next album. But even with all of that, one of the things he is most excited about is the tour’s stop in Fayetteville.

    “Of all the shows we’re doing this year, this is the one I’m the most excited about,” said Morgan during a recent telephone interview. “Fayetteville is my old stomping grounds, and I’ve got a bunch of old Army buddies that I can’t wait to visit, so that we can sit down and talk about old times.”

    For those not in the know, before Morgan started topping the country charts, he was a soldier in the United States Army. His tenure in the Army brought him to Fort Bragg, where he served in the 82nd Airborne Division.

    “I jumped out of planes, in fact, I was a jumpmaster,” he said. “We were in Fayetteville during Desert Storm, and it was a great time in our lives and in our marriage.

    “In fact,” he continued. “One of my best memories came from Fayetteville.”Morgan’s oldest son was born at the old Womack Army Medical Center on Fort Bragg.

    “That’s where we had our little paratrooper,” he said. “I have a lot of really great memories and a lot of great experiences that are tied to your community.”

    Morgan hasn’t forgotten those experiences, and has made it a point to visit Bragg frequently to show his support for the troops. This visit will be a little different because he will be performing in one of the hottest tours this year.

    “This tour has been a lot of fun so far,” he said. “We’re just a quarter of the way through it, but we are getting settled in and comfortable. Both bands are really getting into the groove.”

    About Carrie Underwood, Morgan has nothing but great things to say.

    “She’s just a real sweetheart,” he said. “She treats us like we are co-headliners. She makes sure that we get the same respect. It’s really hectic, but every now and then, I’ll join her on stage for a duet. It’s a lot of fun.”

    And while Morgan talks about being comfortable on the tour, he’s defi nitely not laid back.

    Morgan actually does most of his writing on the road. “When you’re on the road 280 days a year, the last thing you want to do when you’re at home is write. I want to spend time with my family,” he said.

    “I’m actually working on a new album as we speak,” he continued. “I’ve had a couple of writers out with me on tour, and we’ve put together some great songs, and when I get the chance to come in off the road, I’m working on the vocals. This may be the greatest record I will ever make. I feel that strongly about the material.”

    While fans have the new album to look forward to, they can enjoy a lot of Morgan’s hits and songs off his last album at the Crown Coliseum on Friday, April 30 at 7:30 p.m. For tickets and more information, visit the Web site at www.atthecrown.com.

  • 04-27-11-stage-at-dogwood.jpgWhat is a festival without great music? Thankfully we won’t have to fi nd out at this year’s Dogwood Festival. The festival runs April 29 - May 1 and is sure to be spectacular. Carrie King, the executive director of the festival, would not accept anything less.

    Country music lovers are in for a treat on Friday night when Jo Dee Messina takes the stage. She has charted nine Number One singles on the Billboard country music charts. She has been honored by the Country Music Association, the Academy of Country Music, and has been nominated for two Grammy Awards. She was the first female country artist to score three multiple-week Number One songs from the same album. Her top hits include “I’m Alright,” “Bye, Bye,” “My Give a Damn’s Busted,” “Bring on the Rain” and “Heads Carolina, Tails California.”

    “She is huge. She’s had nine number one hits,” said King.“The second her name was brought to the table there was no one else to consider. She is an established artist. She has the hits... the recognition. She is a tough woman too, and I love to see a female who can deliver — and she really seems like she can deliver. I think she is going to put on a fabulous show.”

    On Saturday, Everclear will rock festival park. The bands impressive career spans more than a decade with hits like “Learning How To Smile,” “I Will Buy You A New Life,” “Summerland,” “Everything To Everyone,” “Wonderful, Father Of Mine,” “Rock Star” and “The Maple Song.”

    “Each year we are trying to feed a need in our community, and that is a genre, an age group. So obviously it is about bringing out the biggest groups that we can,” said King. “Last year when we gave everyone the opportunity to vote for their favorite band, that really tapped on a genre that we felt maybe we had been missing and that was that ‘90s-era group. So this year Everclear definitely taps into the folks that follow us on Twitter and are a part of the social media scene — a younger audience if you will.”

    Sunday, look for something new in Festival Park as the Dogwood Festival presents “Homegrown Live.” This concert will showcase Fayetteville’s five best local bands. Rock 103 has taken on the daunting task of accepting applications from local bands and having a panel of judges choose the top 15, but it is the fans who have narrowed the category down to five. They’ll be on stage from 1-6 p.m., ready to impress the crowds and let everyone know just why they were voted Fayetteville’s best bands. Visit rock103rocks.com to find out more.

    The Bud Light Stage in Festival Park is not the only musical venue for the weekend though. On Hay Street, Cape Fear Musical Center is sponsoring a stage that will offer everything from a showcase of their talented students Brian Willoughby, the Combutibles, Flynt, Coleman and Stone, a UNCP Faculty Jazz Trio and The Phaxtion. The Hay Street stage will have performers on deck from 1-5 p.m. on Saturday and from noon to 4 p.m. on Sunday.

    The concerts are all free and open to the public as part of the Dogwood Celebration.

    Photo: Jo Dee Messina

  • 10FairEach year, people living on Fort Bragg and in the surrounding communities wait for the announcement of the Fort Bragg Fair. This year, the fair runs May 1-12. There are games, amusement rides for all ages, food vendors and entertainment. The best part about this midway is that the rides and entertainment are all included in one admission price, and parking is free.

    Although the fair is a Fort Bragg event, the Fort Bragg Fairgrounds are open to the public via easy access off Bragg Boulevard. The installation also provides free Americans with Disabilities Act parking for persons with disabilities, which is accessible from Bragg Boulevard through Howell Street.

    Fort Bragg Morale, Welfare, and Recreation has quite the entertainment lineup for carnival goers of every age and background. Children can enjoy a live appearance by a Sesame Street favorite: Cookie Monster will appear live May 2 at 5:30, 6:30 and 7:30 p.m. Various music performers will appear onstage, covering music genres from country to rock and everything in between.

    Bands or performers are scheduled May 2-5 and May 9-12. Weeknight performances start at 5:30 p.m. Weekend performances begin at 3:30 p.m. Performers for this year include Corey Lutchen, the Mango Band, The Fifth, the Island Time Band, Steel Country Express, and the Phaze Band. Also performing is a local Fayetteville band, Rivermist, voted Best Local Band by Up & Coming Weekly for 2017 and 2018.

    “Like always, we’ve got a variety of rides for all ages, (and) food, games and prices providing a fun and safe environment right here on Fort Bragg for our soldiers and their families,” said Keagan McDonald, Fort Bragg MWR event lead.

    Admission varies by day, age and a couple other categories, but each admission includes unlimited rides and the prospect of enjoying the live music and other scheduled entertainment. Children shorter than 36 inches are free when entering with their group.

    Fort Bragg MWR also hosts customer appreciation days each Monday through Friday of the fair from 5-7 p.m. Admission is $9. Or, come celebrate Mother’s Day on Sunday, May 12, when all mothers are admitted for free when they are accompanied by a paying child who is 36 inches or taller, up to age 17.

    Fort Bragg Fairgrounds is located at Howell Street and Bragg Boulevard. For more information, call 910-396-9126 or search “fair” on the MWR website: https://bragg.armymwr.com.

  • 01coverUAC050119001If you’ve ever been to Legends Pub, you probably know something about the Annual Spring Fling, which takes place May 3-5 this year. And if you know about the Spring Fling, it’s probably because a friendly Legends customer told you about it. After all, the little bar on Bragg Boulevard is known for its ever-welcoming environment and has been for the last 23 years.

    “That’s what makes us special. People come to us because we take care of our own,” said Holly Whitley, owner of Legends Pub. “We don’t have problems, we don’t have arguments, we don’t have fights. We’re there to have a good time and enjoy each other’s company.”

    This camaraderie began long before Legends Pub was even in the works. During the 1980s, Whitley and a small group of friends banded together to form the Gypsy Women. As the members of the group have grown and experienced joys and tragedies together, the Gypsy Women have evolved into more than just a collection of friends. Now, the group is dedicated to laying down their time and resources for the benefit of others, particularly through the annual Spring Fling.

    “When we bought the bar, we decided to expand the Spring Fling to an event that we could (put on to) help somebody. The first year it was a benefit,” said Whitley. “That’s the title that a Gypsy Woman has — one that volunteers their work and helps us out. It’s amazing.”

    This year, the Spring Fling will raise funds for Donald “Duck” Schnieders, a loyal friend and customer at the bar. After a serious motorcycle accident in August 2018, Schnieders is starting his ninth month of recovery. “He just now is getting back on his feet,” said Whitley. “We decided to wait until he was mobile until we did a benefit for him. He’s been a customer at Legends for a long time — (he’s) a good friend, a good guy.”

    Whitley has faith that her community will join in the effort to support Schnieders. “We have a strong base. When we come together to do a benefit, people come out, they’re always there to support it,” she said.

    In fact, the people at Legends make a habit of taking care of, and remembering, their own. “We just did the Scott Sather Memorial toast on (April 8),” Whitley said. “It was our 16th year that we’ve gathered together.”

    Sather, a longtime friend of Legends, was killed in an accident in Iraq on April 8, 2003. He was a member of the 24th Special Tactics Squadron, an elite Air Force operations unit assigned to the Joint Special Operations Command at Pope Army Field. “Sixteen years later, this is another thing that makes us timeless — we’re still remembering him by gathering together.” Legends also holds an annual Scott Sather Memorial Run as part of its Spring Fling, to be held Saturday, May 4, this year.

    These gatherings always incorporate a Legendsstyle good time into the mix, in honor of the good times shared with loved ones over the years. 

    “On Friday night, we get together some people (who) bring door prizes by, on Saturday we start off with the poker run … then we have a pig-picking and our auction,” said Whitley.

    But it doesn’t stop there — the weekend will be full of activities all through Sunday night. “Saturday night we usually have live music or a DJ, Sunday we will start out with lunch, and then we’ll have the Ralph Pinney Jr. Bike Show & Rodeo,” Whitley said. 

    The Spring Fling ends with a memorial toast. “We have a wall in Legends where we have people who have passed,” said Whitely. “We’ll be hanging Ralph’s picture on the wall that afternoon.”

    Ralph Pinney Jr., another longtime friend to Legends, died of pancreatic cancer March 6, 2019. “Ralph has been a customer of mine for 22-anda- half years,” Whitley said.

    Despite the growing number of pictures on that wall, Whitley said she remembers every member of the Legends community, both past and present.

    “I can tell you a story about pretty much every person on that wall. Ralph and his wife, Allison, were always a part of the family — we knew what was going on in their lives, we knew what to ask about them personally.”

    Just like family, the relationships at Legends last for generations. “There’s a connection with everybody that comes along, (and) you get to know people’s parents, just like my kids’ friends knew me,” Whitley said.

    The Pub is as timeless as the community it has built. “We’ve got the third generation going up, the grandchildren of all the people that started the bar,” said Whitley. “Our regular customers are legends.”

    Servicemen and women especially call Legends home. “We’re Legends Pub, where deployments begin and end,” quoted Whitley from a favorite Tshirt sold by the bar. As the bar is located near Fort Bragg, many loyal customers are war heroes themselves, with some having faithfully served the U.S. their entire lives. And Legends is proud of it, too. “I don’t care what people’s personal opinions are, that’s what we base ourselves off of,” Whitley said.

    Join the community at Legends Pub to honor heroes and loved ones alike at the Annual Spring Fling the weekend of May 3-5. Legends Pub is located at 4624 Bragg Blvd. #1, and overflow parking is available at Ken’s Muffler and Auto Repair. For more information, call Legends at 910-867-2364.

  • The 50/50 Rule Part Four04-27-11-senior-corner.jpg

    Family caregiving doesn’t typically run smoothly when brothers and sisters caring for seniors can’t agree. In the US, three key factors will influence whether relationships between the adult children will deteriorate and if quality of care will be compromised as a result, according to research conducted for the Home Instead Senior Care network. Those factors are the adult children’s ability to make im-portant decisions together; their ability to divide the caregiving workload; and their level of teamwork.

    “My impression is that parents end up getting help when their children dis-agree, but I think the more common problem is that it’s hard on senior parents to know their children are in conflict,” said Ingrid Connidis, Ph.D., sibling rela-tionships expert from the University of Western Ontario. “I think for most it’s bad enough they already need the help of their children, but if their situation is causing conflict it’s especially tough,” said Connidis, who worked with the Home Instead Senior care network on the 50-50 Rule public education program for sibling caregiv-ers (www.solvingfamilyconflicts.com).

    According to the website Caring.com, family feuds often involve the following areas

    :• Roles and rivalries dating to childhood. Mature adults often find that they’re back in the sandbox when their family gets together. This tendency can grow more pronounced under the strain of caregiving.

    • Disagreements over an older adult’s condition and capabilities. It’s common for family members to have very different ideas about what’s wrong with a loved one and what should be done about it. You may be convinced that your family member is no longer capable of driving, while your brothers argue that he needs to maintain his independence.

    • Disagreements over financial matters, estate planning, family inheritance and other practical issues. How to pay for a family member’s care is often a huge cause of tension. Financial concerns can influence decisions about where the per-son should live, whether or not a particular medical intervention is needed, and whether he can afford a housekeeper. These conflicts are often fueled by ongoing resentment over income disparities and perceived inequities in the distribution of the family estate.

    • Burden of care. Experts say the most common source of discord among fam-ily members occurs when the burden of caring for a senior isn’t distributed equally. “Usually one of the adult children in the family takes on most of the caregiv-ing tasks,” says Donna Schempp, program director at the Family Caregivers Alliance, a national nonprofit organization that provides information and sup-port to caregivers.

    Engaging parents in caregiving issues is important, Dr. Connidis said, and so are family meetings that involve a third party if necessary. A third-party resource, particularly a professional such as a doctor or geriatric care manager, can provide an impartial voice of reason. “Talking before a crisis is best,” she said. “Talk to one another about perceptions of what happens if seniors need help, how available you would be, and the options that you and your family would consider.”Resources:

    • The 50-50 Rule; www.solvingfamilyconflict.com

    • The 40-70 Rule; www.4070talk.com

    • Caring.com; www.caring.com

    • Home Instead Senior Care; www.homeinstead.com

    Stages of Senior Care: Your Step-by-Step Guide to Making the Best Decisions; www.stagesofseniorcare.com

    This is the last of 4 articles which addresses sibling is-sues in caring for their aging parents. If you would like a copy of “The 50-50 Rule” booklet, stop by the local Home Instead Senior Care office at 2825 Arlington Avenue, Fayetteville, N.C. 28303 or call us at 484-7200.

    Photo: In the US, three key factors will influence whether relationships between the adult chil-dren will deteriorate and if quality of care will be compromised as a result.

  • 11Dogwood insert imageEvery spring, the Fayetteville Dogwood Festival brings the community together to celebrate everything that makes this community so special — the people, the food, the music, the diversity.

    The festival boasts an impressive list of well-deserved awards, including four awards from the North Carolina Association of Festivals and Events in 2018 alone. The festival was also named the 2018 Event of the Year in the Southeast by the Southeast Festivals and Events Association.

    Longtime Dogwood Festival Director Carrie King retired last year, leaving the event in the hands of its new director — Malia Allen.

    The Dogwood Festival starts Thursday, April 25, with Cork & Fork. Enjoy appetizers, beverages and entertainment. Proceeds benefit Kids Peace Foster Care. Tickets cost $40 per person. Find out more at www.thedogwoodfestival.com.

    The festival’s activities include fireworks, rides, food, a midway and an abundance of live entertainment. The music stages include local performers as well as national artists.

    Friday’s acts include The Pharcyde, and Tone Loc. The Pharcyde is an alternative rap quartet from South Central Los Angeles, California. The group formed in the early 1990s and has released three albums.

    Tone Loc was a 1980s rap pioneer. His was the second rap act to reach No. 1 on Billboard’s album charts. “Wild Thing” and “Funky Cold Medina” were his first two hit singles and remain his two most popular songs. Tone Loc went on to work in TV and film and continues his music career.

    Friday festival hours: 5-11 p.m.

    5 p.m. — Festival Park opens

    5:30 p.m. — Throwback Collaboration Band

    6:45 p.m. — Opening Ceremony/National

    Anthem — Jill Charles

    7:15 p.m. — Lotus Sun

    9 p.m. — The Pharcyde

    10 p.m. — Tone Loc

    11 p.m. — Fireworks

    Saturday festival hours: Noon-10:30 p.m.

    Hay Street Performance Area

    Noon — King BMX

    12:35 p.m. — Ladysticks Music Performing Arts

    1 p.m. — J’s U.S. Taekwondo

    1:35 p.m. — Shadows of the Fire

    2:25 p.m. — King BMX

    3 p.m. — Aloha Ka’naka O Hula Halau

    3:35 p.m. Shadows of the Fire

    4:25 p.m. Canton of Attillium

    5 p.m. King BMX

    5:35 p.m. Aloha Ka’naka O Hula Halau

    Festival Park Stage

    1 p.m. - TBD

    3 p.m. - Jill Charles & Nobody’s Business

    5 p.m. - Denver Nixon Band

    7 p.m. - Corey Smith

    9 p.m. - Colt Ford

    Country musician Corey Smith has sold more than 1 million concert tickets, 1.5 million digital singles and more than 220,000 albums. He’s got 10 albums to his name, but even more impressive is the fact that he’s written every song on every album he’s recorded. Some of his hits include “Twenty-one,” “If I Could Do It Again” and “I Love Everyone.”

    Colt Ford said he has one goal when it comes to his music, “I’m just trying to bring people together.”

    The Georgia native and former golf pro brings country, blues, rock and rap together for a unique sound and a philosophy of live and let live that resonates with his fans.

    Sunday festival hours: Noon-9 p.m.

    Hay Street Performance Area

    Noon — bKing BMX

    12:35 p.m. — Elevo Dynamics

    1 p.m. — J’s U.S. Taekwondo

    1:35 p.m. — Shadows of the Fire

    2:25 p.m. — King BMX

    3 p.m. — Aloha Ka’naka O Hula Halau

    3:35 p.m. — Shadows of the Fire

    4:25 p.m. — Canton of Attillium

    5 p.m. — King BMX

    5:35 p.m. — Aloha Ka’naka O Hula Halau

    Festival Park Stage

    1 p.m. — Paige Johnson

    3 p.m. — Eastline Band

    5 p.m. — The Guy Unger Band

    7:30 p.m. — Rumours

    A Fleetwood Mac tribute band, Rumours blends perfect harmonies and precise instrumentation while delivering a visually engaging show. The band routinely plays to sold-out audiences and is known as one of the top tribute bands in the country. The band flawlessly recreates the Fleetwood Mac vibe and attitude, drawing in fans far and wide.

    Dogwood Festival sanctioned events

    Friday, April 26: The Fayetteville/Cumberland County Crimestoppers Barbecue is a 35-year-old tradition. For many, the delicious barbecue, potato salad, coleslaw and a roll for just $8 signifies the unofficial kickoff of the Dogwood Festival. The barbecue takes place in the Harris Teeter Parking lot at 2800 Raeford Rd. on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

    Proceeds benefit Fayetteville/Cumberland County Crimestoppers. Crimestoppers provides a safe and anonymous way to report crimes and also offers rewards. Citizens can call Crimestoppers at 910-483-TIPS (8477) or toll-free at 866-542-TIPS (8477) if they have information regarding criminal activity. This number is manned 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and is designated for Crimestoppers information only. All calls are kept in complete confidence. Learn more at https://faynccrimestoppers.org.

    Saturday, April 27: The Hogs & Rags Spring Rally is the largest escorted motorcycle and car rally in the state. Spanning nearly 120 miles, the ride goes from Fayetteville to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. It includes a stop at Rockin’ A Ranch for breakfast and a meal at the end as well.

    The ride leaves the Airborne & Special Operations Museum at 7:30 a.m. It costs $50 per person and includes an official T-shirt, breakfast, lunch, door prizes, a 50/50 cash raffle and 3 gun raffles. Proceeds benefit the American Cancer Society, The Kidsville News Literacy & Education Foundation and The Special Forces Charitable Trust.

    There will be a preparty Friday, April 26, at Mac’s Speed Shop at 482 N. McPherson Church Rd., from 6:30-9 p.m. To register or for more information, visit www.hogsandrags.org.

  • 10Care clinic Mark your calendar for Thursday, May 2. That is the date of the 2019 Toast of the Town Wine, Beer & Spirits Tasting and Silent Auction. Set in the scenic Cape Fear Botanical Garden, the event raises money to help The CARE Clinic continue providing free quality basic medical care and simple dental extraction services to eligible uninsured, low-income adults.

    Cynthia Deere, The CARE Clinic development and marketing director, said, “This year we changed the name to Wine, Beer & Spirits Tasting because we will have assorted liquors to sample.”

    Top of the Hill Distillery, the only certified organic and fully local distillery in the South, will provide samples of their vodka, gin and whiskey. The Brothers Vilgalys Spirits Company, the first to bring Krupnikas, a traditional Lithuanian style of spiced honey liqueur to the American market, will have samples of their unique liquor. Southern Grace Distiller, America’s first distillery in a former prison, will have their award-winning Conviction small-batch bourbon and corn whiskeys flavored with fruit juices

    Those aren’t the only additions to the event this year. “We have added desserts from Burney’s Sweets & More, coffee from Green Mountain Coffee, and dancing to music provided by Five Star Entertainment,” Deere said. “But we’ll also have all of the favorites back; Anstead’s Tobacco Company (and) Rocket Fizz Soda Pop and Candy Shop will be there. We will have wine samples provided by Mutual Distributing as well as beer samples from Bright Light Brewing Company, Dirtbag Ales, The Mash House and Huske Hardware.”

    Always a popular feature, the auction has some exciting items up for bid. There will be some great trips, provided by AMFund. Paris, the Greek islands, Ireland and Costa Rica are just a few of the destination packages available. “As you can see, the evening will be full of food, drinks and fun,” said Deere.

    While The CARE Clinic delivers vital medical services, the organization does not receive any government assistance. It relies solely on donations, grants and fundraisers to raise the nearly $44,000 needed each month.

    To purchase tickets, or to find out how you can support The CARE Clinic, visit www.mkt.com/the-care-clinic. For more information, contact Deere at 910-988-3067.

    CARE Clinic patient information:

    To be eligible for The CARE Clinic’s services, you must be 18 years or older; have no insurance, including Medicaid; meet an income requirement; and display proof of household income and a valid, North Carolina DMV-issued picture ID card or driver’s license showing your current address.

    Call 910-485-0555 to make an appointment. Appointments are made only by phone; no walkins. Medical appointments can be made Monday- Thursday, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Dental appointments can be made Friday from 9 a.m. to noon for the following week.

    The clinic serves patients each Tuesday and Thursday and the second and fourth Wednesday of each month from 5:30-8:30 p.m. Dental clinics are every Tuesday and the second and fourth Wednesday of each month. Appointments are made on a space-available basis.

  • “I’m not sure what I want to be when I grow up.” 04-27-11-ftcc.jpg

    This is a statement often presented to me not only from students in high school, but also individuals who have been working for a while, as well as students who are currently enrolled in college but are considering changing career fields. There was a time when people would decide upon a career field and maintain that same career for 20-plus years until retirement. Today, however, people will change career fields five to six times during a lifetime.

    For many individuals, career awareness is a challenging and difficult activity to engage in. It can often feel overwhelming, time-consuming, and intimidating. Career awareness is an individual process, and individuals should recognize that each person starts at different places when exploring career interests. One should begin the process early to help focus energy towards making better career choices, and this effort will lead to realistic options for success.

    Time spent exploring one’s interest, values and abilities, as well as gaining more insight into what makes each person “unique” is considered to be a key component to career decision- making.

    One of the main functions of the Career Center at FTCC is to help aid individuals in solving some of the crucial problems likely to be faced as they turn their career plans into a reality. We can offer and administer a variety of career interest inventories, which help to link personality types and abilities with careers. These assessments provide valuable background information for career planning.

    Once the inventories are completed, the individual can sit and talk with a professionally trained counselor and work jointly in solving problems associated with career choices, daily living, and educational planning. The goal is to pull all of the relevant information together and formulate a plan of action!

    The services within the FTCC Career Center are free and open to the public. You can contact us at www. faytechcc/counseling/CareerCenter.asp or 910-678-8205 or 910-678-8422

    Photo: Career awareness is an individual process, and individuals should recognize that each person starts at different places when exploring career interests.

  • 09KasCie Page May 2019Four times a year, women from all over the city gather to network and enjoy an afternoon of empowerment, inspiration and celebration at the Fayetteville Ladies Power Lunch. Each lunch features a keynote speaker, a local woman who is making a difference in this community. Thursday, May 9, FLPL welcomes singer-songwriter KasCie Page to share about how she went from a young girl singing in church to a national award-winning recording artist.

    A Shopportunity Expo before and after the meal provides a chance to connect with and learn about dozens of local woman-owned and -managed businesses and organizations. Door prizes, a 50-50 raffle and a wine bar with tasting options round out the experience.

    Born in Conway, South Carolina, Page started singing when she was 3 years old. She started songwriting at a young age, too.

    After college, Page moved to the small town of Red Springs, North Carolina, which is close to Fort Bragg. She started working at a BB&T Bank and continued to sing in church and at weddings and family events, but only when she went home to Conway.

    Then, in the late 2000s, she met Robbie Lee VanHoy at the bank. He owned Soundland Studios in Red Springs and had written a song for which he had still not found the right female vocalist. Out of that meeting was born Black Velvet, the duo of Page and Lee that would launch Page’s professional music career.

    A few years ago, Page signed a record deal with Lamon Records Nashville (Tennessee), and her first full-length album was released in early 2017. Lee worked with Page to write several of the album’s original tracks, and he still serves as her duo partner.

    In the past few years, Page has gained more and more notice from the music industry. She was named 2016 Entertainer of the Year by Florida Country Music Radio. In 2018, she won Female Artist of the Year at the Carolina Country Music Awards. This year, she was nominated for that same title at the CCMA, and was also nominated as Songwriter of the Year for her song “Proud of You.” She was also nominated as overall Entertainer of the Year.

    Page said “Proud of You,” which like the rest of her music is available for streaming on Spotify, Apple Music, Google Play Music and all other standard platforms, represents a great introduction to her as an artist. “It’s a song everyone can relate to,” she said. “I wrote it about my parents.

    “The very first verse of the song talks about a conversation I had with my dad when I was 8 years old. I remember it like yesterday, and those were the exact words he said to me.

    “When I wrote it, I thought, nobody’s gonna listen to this song. This is just about my life. But I went out on a limb.”

    Each Power Lunch opens at 10 a.m. with registration and the exclusive Shopportunity Expo.

    Seating begins at 11:45 a.m. At noon, opening remarks are followed by lunch and the keynote speaker. At 1:45 p.m., there are door prizes courtesy of every vendor, a 50-50 raffle and closing remarks. The formal portion of the event concludes at 2 p.m., leaving an hour for continued networking and conversation before the Power Lunch officially concludes at 3 p.m.

    FLPL takes place at the Ramada Plaza, 1707-A Owen Dr. Registration costs $45. Vendor tables and sponsorships are also available. To learn more or to register, visit FayettevilleLadiesPowerLunch.com.

    Photo:  KasCie Page

  •     In the coming weeks if you’re walking through town and you see a lot of teenagers sporting "I agree with Jeffy" T-shirts, don’t be afraid to ask them about it. That’s what the shirts are designed to do — to get people asking questions, to get people talking.
        The "I agree with Jeffy" campaign is the brainchild of area youth pastors in response to the many confusing messages today’s youth are bombarded with.
        America’s youth are inundated with all kinds of messages. They get them from the media, from the entertainment world and from their peers, explained John McIntyre, the youth pastor at Manna Church.             These messages are often confusing, leaving teens wondering exactly who it is they are supposed to be and what it is they are supposed to do. Even the messages they receive from religious organizations can get confusing. McIntyre, along with a number of youth pastors from area churches decided after much prayer that it was time to do something about that — so they started the "I agree with Jeffy" campaign.
        "We have been talking about doing something to send a strong signal to the younger generation that the church is not divided," said McIntyre. "We want them to see that there are so many things that are central to our faith."
        That idea has formed into a major youth event on Friday, May 2, on the campus of Fayetteville Technical Community College. Called “One Night. One City. One God,” the event is not a festival. It is also not the typical youth event with skits and drama. It is a night dedicated to worship and prayer — with the emphasis on prayer.
        {mosimage}McIntyre said that by putting forth the core central beliefs of the church the young people can see the common ground they have with other people.
        "We are letting these young people see they really are the silent majority," he said
        The Jeffy campaign is central to the event.
        "It’s really a grass roots type of movement in public schools," explained McIntyre.
        Students can wear the Jeffy shirts and then can recognize that there are other Christians around them who they were unaware of. The shirts can also start discussions and lead to questions from others.             McIntyre said those questions will give youth the opportunity to share their faith.
        "We’re not talking about shoving anything down someone’s throat," he said. "It’s simply the start of a discussion on belief."
        Getting to the heart of those central beliefs is a big part of the Friday night event. It is expected that more than 1,000 teens will turn out for the night of worship and prayer.
        "We (the youth pastors) were talking about what could happen if these teens could catch a glimpse of how many of them there are. They are not outnumbered. They get battered by the media and by others who don’t share their beliefs," he continued. "It’s easy for them to get discouraged in their faith. This event is designed to encourage them to take a stand — to gather strength in seeing how many they are."
        McIntyre explained that many of the youth groups in the core churches involved in organizing the event have been praying for quite a while for the event. Some have even been involved in a 21-day "Daniel Fast" to prepare their hearts and minds for the night. The Daniel Fast is based on the Biblical story of Daniel, a young Jewish man taken into captivity. He and three of his friends refused the king’s food, and instead asked to eat only that which was in keeping with their religious beliefs. Their request and their actions were in keeping with their commitment to God. The fast itself requires the eating of fruits and vegetables and the elimination of processed foods, sugars and meats from the diet. It also calls for dedicated prayer.
        Throughout the evening, youth groups will lead the attendees in praise and worship, and then groups will break off into small groups for directed prayer on issues surrounding teens, families and communities.
    All area youth groups, and those not involved in youth groups or churches, are invited to attend. The event begins at 6 p.m. and is expected to end at 9 p.m. For more information, visit the Web site wjeffy.com.

  • 02pubpenLast Saturday was a big day here in Fayetteville, and spring means even bigger and better days are on the horizon. This month, this town is bursting with fun-filled days of carriage rides, music, great food, minor league baseball, Easter eggs, visual arts, local crafts, motorcycle rides, Dogwood queens, hockey games, river concerts, symphony concerts and even live theater performances featuring a Lion, a Witch or a Devil’s food CAKE.

    The warmth and friendliness of this community and the Southern hospitality it radiates make me proud to call Fayetteville and Cumberland County home. The best way to experience it is to get out and immerse yourself in it.

    Last Saturday, April 13, more than 2,500 people came downtown to get their first look at the city’s new baseball stadium and home of the Fayetteville Woodpeckers, our Class A minor league team affiliate of the Houston Astros. Based on the comments and the smiles and laughter of the young and young at heart, this event was a major league home run. Congratulations to our city officials and the dozens of people who made the day happen.

    The AsONE Prayer Walk and festivities took place in Festival Park that same day. There, too, music, food and fun were the order of the day as this annual pre-Easter event reminded us that love, empathy and compassion continue to play a vital role in humanity.

    Across the street from Festival Park, at Gallery 208, Up & Coming Weekly hosted an event of a different nature. The Crown Coliseum board was gracious enough to let us borrow the commemorative photos and plaques documenting Elvis Presley’s visit to Fayetteville in August 1976, when he performed for three nights in a row at Cumberland Memorial Auditorium.

    These mementos also honored him after his death on Aug. 16, 1977, just nine days before he was to return to Fayetteville to a sold-out concert scheduled for Aug. 25. Dozens upon dozens of disappointed, shocked and saddened Elvis fans donated their ticket refunds in his honor to purchase special medical equipment to aid cardiac patients at Cape Fear Valley Hospital. The names of all those dedicated and generous Presley fans are on those plaques.

    Those mementos are very important to our community, and they went missing around 2008 when the complex was undergoing major renovations.

    PWC employee and devoted Presley fan Phil Barnard realized they were no longer displayed in the auditorium. He posed the “what happened to them?” question to longtime Fayetteville Observer columnist Bill Kirby, who made it his quest to find the answer. After talking with several people familiar with the history of the facility, Kirby contacted former Coliseum Manager Paul Beard, who at the time of the Presley concert was the facility manager of the complex under General Manager Rick Reno.

    Beard is a Fayetteville resident and currently the general manager of the Florence Civic Center in Florence, South Carolina. Beard not only knew where they were — he had preserved them and placed them in storage for nearly 11 years.

    Beard knew these Presley mementos represented one of the greatest entertainment performances ever held in Fayetteville, and he didn’t want to risk them being discarded as trash or destroyed. It was more than a decade before anyone even knew they were gone.

    Both Kirby and Beard were on hand at Gallery 208 Saturday. Coincidently, all three of us were in our 20s when this amazing hunka hunka of burning love hit this town like a tornado and spent three days entertaining and honoring our military families in a community he couldn’t wait to get back to.

    The amazing talent of Presley is, no doubt, lost to this younger generation. That’s all the more reason to preserve memories and unique treasures like these. Kirby hopes the Crown Coliseum will work with him to restore and display these mementos to amplify the significance of Presley’s presence here when he came to the Fayetteville community.

    I doubt that Presley, when on tour, did many three-night stands in any one city or town like he did here. So, I’m with Kirby. Let’s build that display and honor the King!

    Special thanks to everyone who came by, especially Robin Johnson, who brought out her mother’s full, lifelong collection of Elvis memorabilia. It included an Aug. 17, 1977, edition of The Fayetteville Observer with an “above the fold” photo of then 24-yearold Hope Mills resident Milton Smith, a talented pianist who was to go on tour with Elvis. Smith never got to meet him.

    Thanks also to Joe Riddle for coming by and checking out the Elvis albums and to Barnard and his wife Mary, who got this party started by asking the question.

    A special thanks to Rocket Fizz Soda Pop and Candy Shop at Marketplace for setting everything up — Elvis style.

    Thanks to all our readers, especially the three gentlemen from Cleveland, Ohio, who came by after reading the Elvis article in last week’s Up & Coming Weekly at the Holiday Inn on I-95. And... thank you for reading Up & Coming Weekly.

    Photo:  L to R: Up & Coming Weekly Publisher Bill Bowman, former Coliseum Manager Paul Beard and Fayetteville Observer columnist Bill Kirby.

  • 09midtown men new copyClosing the curtain on the 2018-19 season, Givens Performing Arts Center brings The Midtown Men to the stage April 15 as part of its Professional Artist Series.

    The Midtown Men brings together stars from the original cast of “Jersey Boys.” It is the first vocal group formed by the principal cast of a high-profile Broadway show. The group, made up of Tony Award winner Christian Hoff, Michael Longoria, Daniel Reichard and Tony Award nominee J. Robert Spencer, pulls out all the stops, bringing onstage chemistry and heartpumping 1960s classics to the stage.

    While “Jersey Boys” is a play that tells the story of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, The Midtown Men is a concert that showcases the most popular hits of an entire decade, celebrating genres from Motown to rock ’n’ roll, beach music, pop, rhythm and blues, country music and more.

    The 1960s was a time of great change and upheaval, and it is reflected in the music of that decade, as are traditional musical themes like coming of age and unrequited love.

    “There is so much diversity in the 1960s music,” said band member and Tony award winner Hoff. “If you look at the groundbreaking things that happened in the 1960s, there was so much going on in the world — and it was reflected in the arts, including music.” The world has changed a lot since the ’60s, but Hoff noted that it is a decade that still has a lot to offer, especially in today’s fast-paced, high-tech world. And that is where The Midtown Men come in.

    “We bring a relevance to today’s digital culture, using live analog music,” said Hoff. “As much as (the show) is a celebration of the past, it is also a celebration of the future. That is what brings audiences of all ages together. We have generations of families that come together to see our shows.”

    The show starts at 7:30 p.m. Tickets for The Midtown Men range between $21-$36 for adults and are $10 for children and UNCP students.

    The Midtown Men is being held in conjunction with the Act I Diner’s Club. Themed meals will be available for an extra charge, and will be served in the Chancellor’s Dining Room before performances in GPAC. Call the GPAC box office at 910-521-6361 for information.

    Visit www.uncp.edu/gpac to see the full list of shows coming this season, or call 910-521-6361.

  • 08HopWith Easter just around the corner, an Easter egg hunt is a great way to have a fun and entertain the family. Festival Park is home to an epic annual event that includes thousands of eggs and much more. Epicenter Church presents Hop in the Park Friday, April 19, from 6-10 p.m. in Festival Park.

    “Several years ago, we had a dream to do something for our community around Easter, and we know a lot of churches did Easter egg hunts. We did not want to do a typical Easter egg hunt,” said Mark Knight, lead pastor at Epicenter Church. “We had an idea to do something called Operation Egg Drop, where we were going to have a helicopter fly over a field and drop over 1,000 eggs — but someone from the city did not like that idea.”

    That didn’t slow down the planning committee, though. Knight added that they planned for the next year and decided to do Hop in the Park. Originally, they planned to have 5,000 people in attendance. Thirteen thousand people showed up.

    Since then, the event has grown every year. There have been as many as 30,000 people in attendance. 

    Now, it’s so much more than an egg hunt. Hop in the Park is a family-friendly festival filled with wholesome activities and entertainment, including a skydiving Easter Bunny, egg hunts by age, huge inflatables, carnival rides, a movie in the park, live music, vendors, games, bouncy houses, food and much more.

    “This event is a way for our church to follow one of the mantras we have, which is ‘save people, serve people,’” said Knight. “That represents victory for people who call themselves Christ followers, and that’s why we do it. The kids can come out to play, and we will have free food, cotton candy, hot dogs, pizza and drinks.”

    Knight added they want to be known as a church that gives things away, which is why this event is free.

    “This is something that we want to do to celebrate with our community. We want to show them there’s love in our community.... We invite everyone to come out and enjoy this event.”

    The event is free and open to the public. To register, visit www.hopinthepark.com.

  • 02ElvisAs a young man enthusiastic and well entrenched in my first real career after leaving the Army and going to work with Fasco Industries, I (Bill Bowman) was oblivious to the fact that the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll was performing a concert in what is now the old Cumberland County Arena. That was in 1976. It would be another 12 years before I realized the significance of that musically historic visit.

    Elvis Presley was live and in person here in Fayetteville, North Carolina. By all accounts, his performance was grand. However, his visit here was pleasantly unusual and unique in several respects.

    The first concert was Aug. 3, 1976. It was a sold-out event. Presley was impressed that Fayetteville was the home of Fort Bragg, and he wanted to do something special to honor the military while also thanking Fayetteville fans for their enthusiastic reception. He requested to do two additional shows on successive days.

    Presley’s manager, Colonel Tom Parker, agreed. All three performances, Aug. 3-5, sold out, according to Paul Beard, who was the Arena operations manager at the time.

    What many fans did not realize was that all three performances were recorded. Graceland Records released a three-disk CD pack titled “Next Stop: Fayetteville.” It was sold with a 44-page booklet of rare photos of Elvis onstage here in Fayetteville. You can find it on You Tube.

    In the video, you can feel the energy and hear the excitement of 6,000 screaming fans. News reports at the time said Elvis and his entire entourage rented the top floor of what once was the Ramada Inn hotel on Eastern Boulevard.

    Elvis’ enthusiastic reception and three days of sold-out performances, complete with live recordings of his music, were such a success that Parker scheduled a return to  Aug. 25, 1977.

    Unfortunately, he never did return. Elvis died of a heart attack at his home in Graceland Aug. 6, 1977, at the age of 42. Local fans were saddened, shocked and disappointed. Anticipating what was expected to be another stellar, sold-out concert, fans had purchased tickets for $12.50 and $15. The

    Arena offered refunds but also provided the option to donate the ticket money to a local charity. Hundreds of ticket holders chose the latter. Their names were placed on a plaque honoring Elvis and put on permanent display in the hallway of the Arena, along with several photos of Elvis’ past performances. Those photos and other memorabilia remained on the wall as a memorial to Elvis for many years — until 2008, when the Arena underwent a significant renovation.

    During this period, Beard, while serving as the facility manager under then-general manager Rick Reno, noticed something. During the interior renovation project, the Elvis photos and mementos had been removed from the wall and placed in a receptacle along with other construction debris. Fearing they would be mistakenly discarded as trash, the quick-thinking Beard, who is an Elvis fan, removed the framed photos and plaques and safely packed them   away in a Tupperware crate. He stored them in his backyard shed. Beard knew the Elvis memorabilia represented one of the greatest performances ever staged in Fayetteville.

    These treasures remained in Beard’s shed for more than a decade — until Fayetteville Observer senior columnist Bill Kirby received several inquiries about what ever happened to the Elvis pictures.

    Beard, who is a Fayetteville resident and the general manager of the Florence, South Carolina, Civic Center, graciously dug them out and turned them over to the Crown Coliseum Complex. Elvis is now back in the house. Well, not quite. The Crown board of directors haven’t yet figured out what to do with the newly recovered treasures. However, what we do know is there is much public interest in seeing these mementos.

    So, to this end, Up & Coming Weekly asked the Coliseum board to loan us the pieces for one day — April 13. We will have them on display for public viewing at our office during the Fayetteville Fans First Look at the new Segra Stadium, where the Fayetteville Woodpeckers will host their first game April 18. Our office is only about a 5-minute walk from the stadium. 

    The Elvis Presley photo display will be in Gallery 208 at 208 Rowan St., Up & Coming Weekly’s corporate offices. Hours are 9 a.m.- 5 p.m. The event is free and open to the public. Both Fayetteville Observer former Arena manager Paul Beard will be on hand during the day to personally share their experiences and walk us down memory lane. Rocket Fizz Soda Pop & Candy Shop will also be present with Elvis signs, posters, refreshments, free gift coupons and assorted souvenirs.

    A very special thanks to Kirby for his excellent Fayetteville Observer reporting and coverage of this story. And, to Beard for his insight, professionalism and quick action that salvaged a part of Fayetteville’s musical history. And many thanks to my colleague, Up & Coming Weekly’s senior reporter, and my friend, Jeff Thompson, who assisted me with this article.

    And, of course, to our readers: Thank you for reading Up & Coming Weekly.

  • 01coverUAC041019001Saturday, April 27, the Hogs and Rags team is turning up the heat on what is shaping up to be their best event yet. This year will be the 14th year of cars and motorcycles coming together for a great day of fun. Spicing things up this year, there will be a skydiving demonstration by the Special Forces Association Parachute Team.

    People often ask, “What is Hogs and Rags?” Chances are, you will never get the same answer twice. For some people, it is the largest car and motorcycle rally in the state. For others, it is a great fundraiser. For some, it is a good start to the Fayetteville Dogwood Festival.

    For the charities that benefit from the event’s donations, it is a blessing. For the volunteers, it is all part of giving back to the community. No matter how people get involved, one thing everyone does say is that Hog and Rags is a great event and a lot of fun.

    At 7:30 a.m. on the morning of Hogs and Rags, downtown Fayetteville will be humming with cars and motorcycles — all heading to the starting point at the Airborne & Special Operations Museum. Here, there is an atmosphere of excitement and energy as anticipation builds for a fun day on the road.

    Bobby Bleecker of Bleecker Automotive Group and a small army of volunteers will be signing up riders, handing out hundreds of Hogs and Rags T-shirts, selling raffle tickets, offering up coffee and doughnuts, and lining up hundreds of cars and motorcycles for the drive to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

    The community support is incredible, with appearances by the Fayetteville Dogwood Queens, community leaders and surprise guests. This year’s grand marshal is David Lane, general manager of the Fayetteville Woodpeckers baseball team, and his wife, Lindsey.

    Fort Bragg Harley-Davidson is again the Hogs and Rags premier sponsor. Tom Evcic of Fort Bragg Harley-Davidson will be this year’s ride captain.

    Before things kick off, Evcic will give a motorcycle safety briefing, and Hogs and Rags committee member David Ross will give a car safety brief. Once the engines roar, the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office will lead the convoy.

    It’s a fast-paced day like no other. Before long, the convoy will be rolling up to Rock’n-A-Ranch, where Hogs and Rags co-founder Gardner Altman and his team of volunteers will greet the riders and serve the best “low-country-breakfast” in the Carolinas.

    After a great breakfast, the Bladen County Sheriff’s Office will have participants off and running toward Columbus County, where the sheriff’s office will take riders on to the South Carolina border for a quick stop and water break.

    For the motorcyclist who enjoys riding without a helmet, there will be an opportunity to take them off here. Then, the Horry County Sheriff’s Office will provide an escort for the final leg to Wild Wing Café at Barefoot Landing in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, for food, fellowship and fun.

    During the evening meal, the Hogs and Rags organizers will keep the fun rolling with raffles and other activities — to include gun raffles, a 50/50 cash raffle and some exciting auction items.

    This year, the Hogs and Rags community will raise money for the Special Forces Charitable Trust, which provides support to our brave Special  Cancer Society, which provides scientific, financial and emotional support to those touched by cancer; and the Kidsville News Literacy and Education Foundation, which donates reading and educational material to every student from kindergarten to sixth grade in Cumberland County.

    The Hogs and Rags community will hold its popular preregistration party in Fayetteville at Mac’s Speed Shop, 482 N McPherson Church Rd., on Friday, April 26, from 6:30-9 p.m. Register at Mac’s and enjoy a night of music and dancing. If you cannot make the Saturday ride, come enjoy the party. You can still support this organization by purchasing raffle tickets and making donations. Admission to the party is free.

    This ride is for all brands of motorcycles and vehicles, and it’s happening rain or shine. Although rain is always a possibility, you can still jump in your car, come on out and enjoy the day.

    Last year was the biggest and most successful event to date. Due to the size of the event, this year’s ride will be limited to 400 participants — so preregistration is encouraged.

    Saturday, April 27, the event starts at the Airborne & Special Operations Museum at 7:30 a.m. As part of the Fayetteville Dogwood Festival, the excitement builds from there. Show up with a full tank of gas and dress appropriately for the weather. The cost of the ride is $50 per person, which pays for the breakfast en route, lunch at Wild Wings Café and the 2019 Hogs and Rags T-shirt. 

    Visit www.hogsandrags.org to preregister, and check out the Facebook page at Hogs and Rags of Fayetteville for more information. You can also call 910-988-3510 to speak with someone who can answer any questions.

  •     There was some fiery debate at the April 21 meeting of the Cumberland County Board of Commissioners over a Sandy Creek Road man’s attempt to seek a conditional-use permit to expand the crematorium on his property.
        Neighbors expressed concerns about the crematorium owned by David Campbell, 6771 Sandy Creek Road, saying the crematorium spews toxic gasses; they were seeking not only to have the conditional-use permit denied, but have the crematorium removed from the property.
    Cape Fear Crematorium has been located on Campbell’s property since 1992, and at the time it was built there was no zoning for that part of the county.
        Neighbors Preston and Margarette Dunn, who have lived adjacent to Campbell since 1972, opposed the expansion, citing the toxicity of chemicals expelled in the burning of human bodies, such as dioxin and mercury.
        At a previous meeting of the Cumberland County Planning Board, which approved the expansion request by Campbell, Margarette Dunn said, “This is the first opportunity that we have had to object to this crematorium or accept it because there was no zoning when it was built. Our land values have fallen and our potential for development has decreased because of these potential emissions. The mercury is a serious issue with residents and children.”
        James McLean III, the attorney representing the Dunns, concentrated on the presence of dioxin, saying it was a major ingredient in Agent Orange, a Vietnam War-era defoliant that was later proven to cause many health problems in veterans, including cancer.
        Neil Yarborough, attorney for Campbell, countered, "This is the first time I’ve ever heard anything about any Agent Orange."
        Yarborough said the crematorium has been inspected and found to be in compliance with rules and regulations put forth by the North Carolina Crematory Authority, the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
        Representatives from the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources told the commissioners that the crematorium has been inspected as recently as December due a complaint the agency received, and the crematorium was found to be in compliance.
        These same representatives said that the Environmental Protection Agency no longer monitors the output of crematoriums because they are not considered a danger to the community.
        "As far as poisons go," said Yarborough, "this is an agricultural area with turkey farms and where many toxic chemicals are used. Environmentally, the crematorium is safer than a lot of what surrounds it.
        "Mr. Campbell wants to install a newer, more efficient furnace that will reduce emissions even further," added Yarborough.
        After much debate, the Dunns agreed to withdraw their opposition to the conditional-use permit if Campbell promised not to build a second crematorium on his property.
        Campbell agreed and the conditional-use permit request was passed 6-1, with Commissioner John Henley the only negative vote. Henley voted no after his motion for more stringent language in the conditional-use permit died due to lack of a second.

  • 11LionWhen Gilbert Theater put together its 2018- 19 season, there was no ulterior motive or special timing involved in the decision to run “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” as the next-to-last show. But now, as the play readies to open April 5 and run through the 21st, Gilbert Theater Artistic Director Matthew Overturf says the timing of this production is perfect. Not only that, it is entertaining and all-inclusive — so bring the whole family. 

    The play, based on the first book in the C.S. Lewis series “The Chronicles of Narnia,” answers the call of the community’s desire for children’s theater. And as Overturf put it, it just seems like the right show for now. 

    “We live in a world where a little bit of fanciful and hope is important,” said Overturf. This play brings hope with its message of good triumphing over evil, but in a fun and quirky way that Overturf describes as “a little off the beaten path.” 

    Directed by Brian Adam Kline, the production tells the story of the four Pevensie siblings, Peter (Adam White), Susan (Helen Steffan), Edmund (Joshua Brunson) and Lucy (Mia Burrachio). 

    It’s set during World War II. The children evacuate from London, England, to the home of Professor Digory Kirke. While there, they discover a passageway to the magical land of Narnia in the back of a wardrobe. In Narnia, the children meet a talking lion named Aslan (Jamal Johnson) and an evil witch (Nicki Hart) — among other colorful characters. 

    “Brian has done work with us before,” said Overturf. “He has a lot of really fantastic experience working with children. … Also, the way he is bringing this story to life is fun and fanciful. He is doing a phenomenal job.” 

    With its cozy space and Off-Broadway feel, the Gilbert turns what some would see as the challenge of bringing a big show to an intimate space into something unique and magical. 

    “We ask the audience to do part of that work,” said Overturf. “In this particular adaptation, you can opt to not even refer to going into the wardrobe. We have kept (that aspect), but it is like the theater itself is the wardrobe. It is like the audience is sitting between the wardrobe door and Narnia.” 

    Overturf added that the battle scenes are interesting and that the final battle is especially fun. He promised that fans of the story will meet all their favorite characters from the book. 

    “If you want a story that will transport you to another place, this story is going to do it,” said Overturf. “If you aren’t familiar (with it), this is the type of show that is accessible to all ages. It deals with classical themes like good versus evil and right and wrong. This has universal themes accessible to anyone.” 

    At the opening night performance, the Gilbert will announce its 2019-20 season. Overturf hinted at a different feel for next season, saying there will be several comedies. 

    The 2018-19 season ends on a serious note with “The Laramie Project,” which runs May 30-June 9. After that, the theater rolls right into summer activities, including the Next Stage summer play fest, which takes place in July. Children’s summer camps fill the calendar as well. 

    “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” runs April 5-21 at Gilbert Theater, which is located at 116 Green St. Call 910-678-7186 or visit www.gilberttheater.com for tickets and information. 

  •     Eastover’s Civic Club President and festival co-chair Sara Piland has had a hand in the planning of Eastover’s Heritage Day celebration every year since its inception. She loves the sense of community it brings to the town.
        "It is a time each year that brings our community together for fun and fellowship and I think it strengthens our community," said Piland. "It bonds our community."
        Piland, along with her co-chair Barry Dugan, have been very busy ensuring that everything is just right for the festival and its attendees.
        The Eastover Civic Club, which is the sponsoring organization for Heritage Day, has been a part of the community for more than 50 years.
        "Four years ago we decided to do a Heritage Day and now it has evolved into an annual event and it has become quite popular," said Piland.
        With more than 100 volunteers ready to make it a special day, Piland noted, “It seems to get bigger and better every year.”
        May 3 is the big day, with festivities ramping up at 10 a.m., with a parade and exhibits.
        "It’s what you call a walking and golf cart parade," said Piland.
        The exception to that would be the Mustangs (of the automotive persuasion) that will be included.
        "Anyone who has a Mustang that would like to come out to Eastover that day and then park their car for display — they are invited to do that," she added.
        Lafayette Ford is sponsoring that event, called "Show Your ‘Stang."
        After the parade, there will be an opening ceremony where special guests are recognized and everyone is officially welcomed.
        "Our most special guest this year is state Rep. Rick Glazier. He is in the North Carolina House of Representatives," said Piland. "He is the legislator who represents our district and the one who successfully managed our incorporation effort. We just became incorporated in July 26, 2007."
        There are more than 60 vendor and exhibit spaces reserved right now, promising to be one of the biggest vendor/exhibit showings so far. Part of that exhibit area is going to include some activities related directly to Eastover’s heritage.
        "For example, we’ll have the Cumberland County Agricultural Extension Service. (They) will be doing an exhibit on the Longleaf pine and the importance of the turpentine industry to our area in years past," said Piland. "They’ll also do an industry exhibit on tobacco and what tobacco used to mean to our community because that’s also part of our heritage."
        Another event, a first this year, is a flag retirement ceremony.
        "Anybody who has a United States flag or state flag that they would like to retire (they can no longer use it because it’s worn), they can bring it and the local Boy Scout troop will be retiring those flags on Heritage Day through a ceremony," said Piland. 
        Of course, no festival is complete without food — and there will be plenty. There will be barbecue plates for $6, and homemade cakes and pies too, along with some raffles and a silent auction. One of the raffles is for a quilt and another is for an original painting by Charles McLaurin, who happens to be the mayor, but who is also an artist.   
        The featured performers that day will be gospel quartet Stillwater. They will perform at 1 p.m.
        "We always have a big crowd around 1 p.m. Everybody loves to come and listen to Stillwater sing," noted Piland.
        Two of the elementary schools will also have student groups performing as well. 
        "t really is going to be a great day. We are especially celebrating this year the incorporation of of Eastover," Piland said, adding that there will be an exhibit space recounting the journey of the town’s incorporation. “"We have some commemorative coins that have been very popular and those will be available that day, too."
        Parking and admission are free, just come to the community center in Eastover.  There will be events and exhibits going on until about 3 p.m.



  • 10EITC 2019 Lady logoBill and Betty Brown, owners of the family-friendly Evolution Ink on Cliffdale Road, debuted their free EvolutionInk Tattoo Convention last year. They said the community response exceeded their wildest expectations. This year, April 12-14, the Browns are bringing the convention back — and going all-out to make it a can’t-miss weekend for tattoo-lovers and their families. 

    All weekend at this year’s free event, attendees will enjoy special pricing of $20 off all tattoos and $5 off all piercings. Up to 19 tattoo artists, about 17 in-house and two guest artists, will be present. Evolution Ink’s piercers, master piercer Nick Perron and Lyn Blevins, will also be there. 

    “Most conventions charge $25-$65 for the weekend,” Bill said. “Ours is free. Our motto is, you take that money you’d spend on other conventions and use it on a tattoo or piercing at the EvolutionInk Convention.” 

    For each day someone attends the convention and gets a tattoo or piercing, they’ll be entered into a drawing to win a grand prize of $2,500 worth of custom Evolution ink or a second-place prize of $500 in body piercing. “Nobody has a prize like that,” Bill said. “I wanted to go really big this year. … And it’s not like the North Carolina lottery where your odds are one in a million to win. You have pretty good chances. Someone is going to walk away with a huge prize.” 

    Regardless of the drawing, everyone who gets tattoos or piercings will walk out with a free VIP Swag Bag containing $65 worth of items, including a T-shirt, water bottle, car decal, magnet and future discount cards. 

    Friday afternoon, Jeff Davis from Q98 will DJ a live show on-site. That evening, locally loved and acclaimed band Rivermist will entertain with live music. 

    Saturday afternoon, local celebrity and Army veteran EJ “Skullcrusher” Snyder will do a meet-and-greet. Snyder is Fayetteville’s own three-time champion of Discovery Channel’s “Naked and Afraid.” All day, the United Service Organization of North Carolina will have a mobile center set up with tablets, big-screen TVs, video gaming consoles, Wi-Fi and casual seating for service members to enjoy. 

    Babann’s Southern Fried Chicken food truck will be on-site Friday and Saturday afternoons, too. 

    The Fayetteville Woodpeckers will be present selling Woodpeckers clothes, hats and other paraphernalia. That day has not been confirmed yet, the Browns said, but it will likely be Sunday. 

    “Kids and babies are welcome; we’re definitely family-friendly,” Bill added, noting that there will be an outdoor face-painting station set up for children. 

    “It’s going to be the big event in Fayetteville. If we have too many customers on a day and someone can’t stay and get their tattoo or piercing done, we’ll give them a raincheck card. Within three months after that date, they can come back and get that tattoo or piercing and they’ll still get the discount and the Swag Bag.” 

    A portion of the event’s proceeds will benefit St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital, the Fort Bragg Fisher House, the Fort Bragg chapter of United Service Organizations of North Carolina, and the Fayetteville Animal Protection Society. Evolution Ink has a heart for giving animals homes and offers a year-round incentive where customers who show their adoption papers for a pet from FAPS, or any local certified shelter, get $50 off their ink. 

    The EvolutionInk Tattoo Convention 2019 runs Friday, April 12, from 11 a.m.-10 p.m.; Saturday, April 13, from 11 a.m.-10 p.m.; and Sunday, April 14, from noon-8 p.m. Evolution Ink is located at 5924 Cliffdale Rd. Visit www.evolutioninkstudio.com or call 910-323-2243 to learn more. 

  • With infrastructure costs spiraling and no ceiling in sight, the Cumberland County Board of Commissioners made an impassioned plea at its April 21 meeting for approval of the 1/4-cent sales tax referendum that will go before the voters on May 6.
    The county needs millions of dollar to pay for schools and school supplies, libraries and computers and a health department building, not to mention BRAC — the Army’s Base Closure and Realignment that will swell the county’s population by estimates of more than 25,000 over the next five years.
    Dr. Breeden Blackwell, commissioner of the board, who says the tax increase would raise about $8 million for the county in its first full year of implementation, said one of the best things about the tax increase is that “everybody pays.”{mosimage}
    “It is probably the fairest tax we have because everybody pays for it,” said Blackwell. “No matter where you live, if you shop in this community you help pay the freight.”
    The 1/4-cent tax increase would amount to about a penny on a $4 dollar purchase, or 25 cents on a $100 purchase. The tax would not be applied to food purchased at a grocery store.
    Dr. Jeanette Council, vice chairman of the board, extrapolated the individual cost to each taxpayer and compared it to the cost of gasoline.
    “We pay for many services for our citizens and the cost is not going down,” said Council. “Things are not getting any cheaper. The overall cost of the sales tax to you for a year will probably be less than the cost for a tank of gas that you use right now.”
    A previous attempt at approving a 1/4-cent sales tax was defeated last November by about 700 votes. The commissioners have tried to sweeten the pot this time around by passing a binding resolution that would lower the property tax rate by 2 cents, if the sales tax referendum is passed. Cumberland County’s property tax is the ninth highest in the state.
    Commissioner Ed Melvin believes the proposed tax will take some of the burden off of property owners.
    “I do support the sales tax referendum,” said Melvin. “I’m a firm believer that 100 percent of the folks in Fayetteville and Cumberland County will help pay for this instead of the 30 percent, roughly, that’s property owners.”
    May 6 also marks the date of the Cumberland County District 2 commissioner’s primary. Commissioner John Henley, who is not seeking reelection, says the key to getting the sales tax passed is to appeal to non-property owners.
    “I think it’s a no-brainer if you own property,” said Henley. “I think the case needs to be made to those people who aren’t property owners on why they should vote themselves an extra tax.
    “I think in my mind that it is fair,” said Henley. “I think that it allows the commissioners to continue to invest in the education of our kids and to protect our children through social services and enhanced public-health issues, to provide more libraries and computers, to help fund the arts to help make this a better county to live in.”
    Blackwell says the voter registration for the referendum is the largest it has ever been.

  • 07Parking Sign 2The question is, will Fayetteville Woodpeckers baseball fans know how to get to the new ballpark? “We will absolutely be ready for our first home baseball game on April 18,” said city of Fayetteville spokesman Kevin Arata. 

    He was asked by Up & Coming Weeklyabout plans the city has to accommodate public parking during games at the baseball stadium on Hay Street. “For the April 13th ribbon-cutting event, parking downtown will be free, as with most other past large events downtown,” he said. 

    “Finding public parking is difficult for visitors,” consultant Jon Martens told Fayetteville City Council during the Feb. 4 council work session. He added that making the public aware of available parking is a major challenge that must be undertaken by city government. Martens said many people he spoke with didn’t know there’s a parking garage on Franklin Street — within walking distance of the stadium. 

    For families who don’t know their way around downtown, Martens suggested pole signs with recognizable logos could be used to locate off-street parking lots. The city has the capability of building signs, but at this point they are not in the plan, according to Arata. 

    The city is depending on social media to help visitors find parking lots. Parking locations can be found on the city’s website, Arata said, and by downloading the city of Fayetteville mobile app and clicking “downtown parking” on the menu. 

    “In a nutshell, we know what we have to do for instituting the parking changes recommended. We just need to figure out the specifics of how to do it,” said Arata. 

    City government has received responses “from firms with expertise in this area to address the suggestions received from our consultant on the recent parking study,” Arata added. He said city staff wants to hear how those in the know can provide implementation plans and costs associated with those plans. 

    City Council will eventually make decisions about parking needs. “I believe the city is prepared to meet the parking demand that will be created by the new stadium,” Fayetteville Mayor Mitch Colvin said. “There are always areas that cannot be fully anticipated, but I have the utmost confidence in our staff to address any issues that may arise.” 

    The Cool Spring Downtown District and the Fayetteville Area System of Transit suggested trollies to shuttle visitors downtown. City traffic engineer Lee Jernigan also liked the idea of shuttle buses. 

    “Park-and-ride shuttles from areas beyond the immediate center city could be adopted,” Jernigan said in October 2018. He stated that additional considerations, such as providing convenient parking for the disabled, “would be available in a month or two.” They were not. 

    “I do have concerns for the elderly and handicapped,” District 2 Fayetteville City Councilman Dan Culliton said at the Feb. 4 council work session. 

    At the same meeting, council members opposed the shuttle trollies and turned down the proposal. Members said they didn’t want to spend tax money for a project that should be offered by private business. 

    The city is spending $40 million to build the minor league stadium. 

  • Lawyer confidentiality rules kept one man improperly on death row for 10 years and a probably innocent man in prison for 26, according to news that surfaced in January (in Virginia) and March (in Illinois). Daryl Atkins (sentenced to death in 1997) was the victim of probable prosecutorial misconduct, according to his co-defendant’s lawyer, Leslie Smith, who said he witnessed the misconduct but could not report it because a lesser sentence for Atkins would have exposed his own client to greater punishment. In Illinois, Alton Logan was convicted of a murder during a 1982 robbery. However, shortly afterward, Andrew Wilson admitted to his lawyers that he was the murderer, but bar association rules prohibited them from revealing that. When Wilson died in 2007, the lawyers went public, and Logan’s case has been re-opened. 


    The Aristocrats! 

    Mayor Art Madrid of La Mesa, Calif., apologized in February for an incident the week before when police found him, along with a female city employee, passed out about 10:30 p.m. Madrid was lying on the sidewalk near an SUV; the woman was in the driver’s seat with her legs sticking out the open door; and vomit littered the area. 

    A patient reporting for an appointment with dentist Norman Rubin in Smithtown, N.Y., in March told the New York Post that Rubin was in the otherwise-empty office, passed out, drooling, with a gas mask on his face. (Rubin later told the Post, in defense, that it was, after all, his lunch hour.) 


    Family Values 

    Sheila and Paul Garcia of Northfleet, England, acknowledged to London’s Daily Mail in February that they invited their 16-year-old daughter’s boyfriend to come live with her in her bedroom, despite the fact that he is 36 and divorced, with one child. The parents said they weren’t thrilled with the situation, but that it was preferable to the daughter’s running away with the man. 

    Cutting-Edge Parenting: Sheriff’s deputies in the Orlando area were on the lookout in March for two women who, according to surveillance video from the Magical Car Wash, had pulled into a stall and deposited coins but then proceeded only to scold and then pressure-wash a small child. 

    Aron Pritchard, 27, was convicted of child endangerment in March in Hutchinson, Kan., after a jury declined to accept his explanation for his girlfriend’s kids, age 2 and 3, being burned in a hot clothes dryer. Pritchard said he was just trying to show them they could have fun without necessarily spending money. 


    Least Competent Criminals 

    Not Ready for Prime Time: Two boys, 12 and 14, were quickly arrested in Port St. Lucie, Fla., in March when they tried to rob a woman who was working at a counter behind protective glass in an office, by picking up the convenience phone and threatening her, implying that they had a gun. The woman was in no danger because of the protective glass, but besides that, the place they had chosen for the hit was a regional office of the Port St. Lucie police department. 

    Donald Baker, 51, was re-arrested in March in Peterborough, Ontario, when he called the police department to request a wake-up call for his court appearance the next morning; amazed at his audacity, police ran a records check and found an additional arrest warrant on him. 


    COPYRIGHT 2008 CHUCK SHEPHERD   

  • 01coverUAC040319001Anticipation for the return of baseball to Fayetteville has been steadily building for more than a year. That wait is finally coming to an end. As announced last November, the team has a name: The Fayetteville Woodpeckers. As of this month, they’ve got a place to play: the brand-new Segra Stadium in downtown Fayetteville. And in the coming weeks, they’ve got two big kick-off events: A chance to check out the new stadium April 13, followed by the Woodpeckers’ first home game April 18. Get ready for a shift in this community that’s something to cheer about — and maybe celebrate with a hot dog and cold beverage. 

    Fayetteville Fans First Look: Saturday, April 13 

    The public is invited to explore downtown’s new $40 million Segra Stadium at a free unveiling and ribbon-cutting event, dubbed Fayetteville Fans First Look, from noon-3 p.m. The stadium features natural grass, a 360-degree concourse, a 25-by-70-foot LED scoreboard, six luxury suites, four field boxes, a premium club level, an outdoor party deck, a kids zone and a seating capacity of 4,700. 

    The city of Fayetteville, owner of the ballpark, collaborated with the Woodpeckers to create and organize this event. “We are the lead (on this event), just as the Woodpeckers are the lead for the opening game,” said Kevin Arata, communications director for the city of Fayetteville. 

    “We want to show off this great new stadium that we’ve built. We’ll have volunteers from around the city in place to point people in the directions of where they can go and what they can see.” 

    Fayetteville Mayor Mitch Colvin will kick things off at noon with a ribbon-cutting followed by brief remarks. 

    Then, Arata said, attendees will be able to go into the batting cages and locker and equipment rooms, along with the concession areas, the outfield bar, the kids zone, the clubhouse area and more. 

    “For those of us, like myself, who are not clubhouse ticket-holders or box ticket-holders, this will be a chance to get up in those areas and see them firsthand,” he said. “This will be a looksee that people won’t otherwise get. It’s not often that you get to go into the locker room of a minor league baseball stadium.” 

    Mark Zarthar, president of the Woodpeckers, described the Fayetteville Fans First Look as an open house of sorts. Visitors will get to sample a variety of food and beverage options that will be offered at the ballpark on game days, too, he said. 

    “Our right field bar is our most prominent concession area; it’s called Healy’s,” Zarthar said. “We’ll have a variety of food and beverages out there, including 24 different draft beers on tap, as well as corn hole, foosball and big-screen TVs. We’ll have a stage with live music and lounge furniture. That’s going to be the coolest party area at the ballpark. It will be open on game days as well as some non-game days.” 

    He described left field as being the family- and kid-friendly area. Along the first baseline and third baseline will be the rest of the concession options. “We will have a home plate bar that focuses on a variety of craft beer,” he said. “We will also have... options such as barbecue, burgers and Mexican, and a variety of other cuisines.” 

    The Woodpeckers drew upon local inspiration in creating themes for and naming the different food areas. For example, the station behind home plate is called 82nd and Hay. Sherwood Steaks is named after Sherwood H. Hallman, a World War II veteran who received a Medal of Honor. “He’s an example of someone who is relevant to Fort Bragg,” Zarthar said. 

    The right field bar, Healy’s, is named for John “Mac” Healy, local owner of Healy Wholesale Company. “(Healy Wholesale Company) played a prominent role in our stadium being developed and bringing to life the beer concept at the ballpark,” Zarthar said. 

    The Fayetteville Woodpeckers retail store will also debut at the First Look. Zarthar said it is one of the largest stores of its kind in minor league baseball, based on square footage. “You’ll be able to purchase merchandise as well as tickets at the Fans First Look,” he said. “There will be a variety of hat concepts, replica jerseys, T-shirts, golf polos, fishing shirts — anything you can imagine, we will have.” 

    First Woodpeckers home game: Thursday, April 18 

    At 7 p.m., Thursday, April 18, the sun will begin to set — but downtown Fayetteville will be lit up with bright stadium lights and filled with fans ready to cheer their team on. The Fayetteville Woodpeckers will take on the Carolina Mudcats for their first home game of the season. 

    The Fayetteville Woodpeckers are the Class A Advanced minor league affiliate of the Houston Astros, the 2017 major league baseball World Series champion. The Woodpeckers spent their last two seasons playing as the Buies Creek Astros in Campbell University’s Jim Perry Stadium, and their transition to Fayetteville brings professional baseball back to town for the first time in 17 years. 

    The last minor league baseball presence here was the South Atlantic League’s Cape Fear Crocs, which moved to Lakewood, New Jersey, following the 2000 season. 

    The Woodpeckers’ new moniker was chosen by Fayetteville citizens via a “Name the Team” contest launched in April 2017 that was followed by an invitation to vote on a favorite out of the top five entries. The Woodpeckers beat out the other top four name suggestions: Fatbacks, Fly Traps, Jumpers and Wood Dogs. 

    And now that the Woodpeckers are here, they’re here to stay. The Astros signed a 30-year lease, indicating their investment in the long-term success of Fayetteville. “We are here; we’re committed,” said Zarthar. “It’s not necessarily just about baseball. It’s about providing a shot in the arm for downtown Fayetteville.” 

    Said Fayetteville City Councilman William “Bill” Crisp, “(In) 30 years, we can expect the Astros to be interwoven into the fabric of Fayetteville’s economic development.” 

    March 20, the team announced details of its official team charity, the Fayetteville Woodpeckers Fund, and its associated Fayetteville Community Leaders Program. The FCLP, functioning at the core of the charity fund, will help guide the team’s investment of time, energy and resources in the areas of supporting local youth sports and military service members and their families. 

    Fayetteville Woodpeckers Fund plans involve investing more than $100,000 into the community this season. Projects include replacing the Massey Hill Buddy Baseball Program field, which was destroyed by Hurricane Matthew; sponsoring 15 youth baseball and softball teams across all seven Fayetteville Parks and Recreation youth sports zones; and partnering with the military nonprofit Rick’s Place to, among other things, send 50 military children to summer camp. 

    “The Astros are a very successful major league baseball business,” Crisp said. “However, when you examine how they mesh in communities where they have minor league teams, you will find they are not solely about making money, but they give back to the communities. 

    “They could have imported someone to head their community relations, but they hired a local lady, Victoria Huggins. (She) is local, and I remind you she was/is Miss North Carolina for last year.” 

    “The other thing to point out,” said Arata, “is there are only 70 home games across the entire year. The rest of those days, (the stadium) is open for other events. The opportunities for what you can do in the stadium are kind of endless.” 

    He added that the stadium’s and the Fayetteville Woodpeckers’ presence have already acted as an incentive for other businesses and entities to invest in this community. He listed the decision of private investor Jordan Jones to revive the historic but previously dilapidated Prince Charles Hotel as a prime example. 

    Ticket prices to Fayetteville Woodpeckers games start at $9, which Arata pointed out is comparable to the cost of a movie ticket. “This is about involving all of the community,” Zarthar said. “We wanted to … ensure that as many people can afford to attend a game as possible.” 

    Zarthar suggested that fans follow the Woodpeckers on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to stay up to date and involved. Visit www.fayettevillewoodpeckers.com for a full 2019-20 schedule, to purchase tickets and to learn more. 

  •     Bill Harrison had some good news, some bad news and more good news to impart at the annual State of the Schools address on April 22.
        “The good news is that our schools are doing a better job of doing exactly what we are designed to do than we ever have before,” he said.
        The bad news was exactly the same.
        “Schools are not designed to do what needs to be done today,” he continued. “We can’t solve tomorrow’s challenges with yesterday’s answers.”
        Having delivered the bad news, Harrison was quick to assure the audience of community leaders and educators that the school system was aware that it could not continue to do things the way they have always been done.
        “We need to start doing some things differently,” he said.
        With the Cumberland County Schools taking the lead in innovation across the state, Harrison’s words carry some weight. He noted that in the past, schools were designed to sort and select students into two categories: the few bosses and the many workers. He explained that the grade “C” stands for compliant, meaning that students who showed up, didn’t rock the boat and put up a minimum effort could succeed. That has changed. He said today’s work force is required to be engaged and to be able to think. It’s comprised of boat rockers.
        “So our schools have had to shift from compliance to a model of engagement,” he said. “We don’t worry about the amount of time they are in school, but what they are doing during that time.”
        He said that schools can either engage students or enrage them.
        Talking about proposed legislation to up the dropout age to 18, Harrison said, “Forcing students who don’t want to be in school is not the answer. We need to reach the point where no student drops out. Raising the dropout age places the emphasis on the wrong place. Rather than forcing them to come longer, we need to find out why they are dropping out.”
        He said the Cumberland County Schools went to the students themselves to find the answers, which has resulted in the county having one of the lowest dropout rates in the state.
        Harrison said they found that there are three reasons why students drop out: they are not connected; they are not performing academically; they have discipline issues.
        “The students who drop out are not connected to a person or program,” he explained. “Students who participate come to school and perform at a higher rate.”
        He noted that a simple connection between a student and a teacher can greatly alter a child’s performance.
        He said that many students who are not performing do not find the work meaningful or engaging. He referred to his own youth, noting that his parents made sure he learned what the teacher thought was important, adding that today many students do not have that type of support system.
        “They have had to assume the responsibility for their own learning at a much younger age,” he said.
        Harrison said the schools are working to make the curriculum more engaging by making it more hands-on. He called today’s students digital natives, in that they cannot learn by listening to lectures — they learn by doing. They need immediate feedback. They need to be challenged.
        Finally, he noted that a student will either be engaged in something positive or negative. If a student is not performing, he is going to have discipline problems. “We realize we need to do things differently,” he said, giving a nod to some Cumberland County initiatives that have made a huge difference in engaging the students.
        He touted the work of the Fuller Academy, the Spanish Immersion Program and the Virtual Public School. He also talked about partnerships with local colleges and initiatives that give students college credit while they are still in high school.
        He noted that while the schools are progressing and are changing to meet the needs of the changing society, one thing will not change — the schools will remain a place where students can achieve their dreams.
  •     Heather Faber, a student at Fayetteville State University, is the first to admit that when she was a teen she didn’t talk about sex with her parents. {mosimage}
        “We talked amongst our friends. Nobody wanted to talk to their parents about sex,” she said. “And I can’t even remember what we heard about sex in class.”
    Faber believes this knowledge vacuum is leaving America’s teens in a lurch. On Tuesday, April 29, she and some of her schoolmates at FSU are putting the topic on the table for discussion by the community at the Let’s Talk About Sex Community wide Forum.
        The idea for the forum came about after the group’s policy class researched the Abstinence Only Sex Education curriculum that is currently in place throughout North Carolina.
        “The Abstinence Only curriculum isn’t working,” said Faber, citing the upswing of teenage pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases across the state.
        The group decided that a good place to start affecting a change was within its own community, so they planned the forum.
        “We aren’t crusading to do away with Abstinence Only, because obviously, teenagers should not be having sex, but we think they need to know how to protect themselves if they are. Our country is spending millions of dollars on teen pregnancies,” she said.
        The forum, which will feature N.C. Representative Rick Glazier, will present the current curriculum along with the statistics; then, attendees will be break into small groups to discuss the issue.
        “We want to have school administrators, social workers, parents and teens,” she said. “Then we want them to discuss these issues and talk about what they think should be taught. We want to hear everybody’s voice because this is too important, we can’t just sweep it under the rug.”
        The group has its own ideas about what they think should be taught. Faber said first and foremost, abstinence should be the central theme. But that should be coupled with information. “We don’t want to teach them to have sex, but if they are, they need to know about STDs and contraceptives,” she said. “But it remains a parent’s choice. Parents can opt out of that portion if they do not think their children are mature enough to talk about it.”
        Faber faults the current program with providing faulty statistics.
        “When they talk about condoms, they only talk about their failure rates — not what they prevent,” she said. “The message is ‘Don’t have sex, if you do, you are going to get pregnant and get an STD.’ We are not giving them valid options, and the truth is, a lot of these kids are already having sex. If you’re going to teach condoms, teach effectiveness — not just failure.”
        Faber said that most teens don’t think about the repercussions of sex.
    “They don’t think about how an unplanned pregnancy will affect their whole life,” she continued. “That one act can stop them from becoming who they are supposed to be. They might have to drop out of school, which will result in their inability to get a good job, which may lead to them getting on welfare. Armed with knowledge, they won’t make the mistake of getting pregnant in high school.
        “Definitiely 14, 15, 15, 17 and 18-year-olds don’t need to have sex,” she said. “They are not mature enough to handle that kind of relationship. Even at 24, some people aren’t.”
        “We invite anybody and everybody to come out — not to talk about sex, but about sex education,” she said. “We aren’t encouraging teens to have sex, but rather a fact-based curriculum that teaches abstinence plus safe sex.”
        The forum, held in Shaw Auditorium in the Business and Economics Building, will begin at 6 p.m. and is open to the public. Organizers hope parents will come with their teens. Representatives of Planned Parenthood, as well as the Department of Social Services will also be on hand.
  •     {mosimage} 

    A couple of years ago when the President was looking around for a Drug Czar and an Education Czar, Fayetteville Mayor Tony Chavonne was looking for a Litter Czar, and he found him in Bobby Hurst.
        Hurst, a Fayetteville business owner and current member of the city council, stepped up to lead the fight against littler in our community through the start-up of Fayetteville Beautiful — a committee of concerned citizens dedicated to encouraging others to take greater responsibility for improving their environment. That’s a job neither Hurst, nor the volunteers who pull on their gloves and grab their trash bags to walk our city roadways, takes lightly.
        Since September 2006, the organization has been taking a hard look at our community, and what they’ve seen hasn’t been pretty. Using the Litter Index, which was created by Keep America Beautiful, Fayetteville’s streets rang in with a 2.95 on the litter scale. Doesn’t sound too bad? Wait, the index goes from one to four, with four being the most littered.
        The organization decided to tackle littler on several fronts — the first being citywide clean-ups, and the second being education aimed at changing personal habits. “We can clean up the roadways, but if people’s behaviors don’t change, then the trash will wind up right back out there again,” explained Hurst. “So we really have to focus on education, because that’s what brings about behavioral change. It has to do with individuals chaning their behaviors..”
        Part of that education is getting people to take ownership of the city. “We believe that if we get rid of the accumulation of litter out there, people are less likely to throw it out again,” he continued. “And the way that works is to involve our citizens. If they don’t feel a sense of ownership, then the litter isn’t going to bother them —  a lot of people take that ‘as long as it’s not on my property’ approach. But if they take a couple of hours of their time to pick up other people’s trash, then they’ve taken ownership.”
        That theory seems to be working. In April 2007, the organization hosted the first citywide cleanup. Ninety-one groups, with more than 1,100 people hit the streets to tackle the litter. Volunteers were to target the trash along the major entranceways into our city. Some volunteers went above and beyond the call of duty, not just picking up the trash along the side of the road, but the trash on the other side of the guard rails along the Martin Luther King Expressway as well. What they found was shocking: stacks of old tires; bags of trash; rusted out bicycles and much more. Working in recently annexed areas of the city, volunteers found illegal dump sites loaded down with old furniture and appliances. In total, they picked up several tons of trash.
        A follow-up clean up in September saw 125 groups and a few more people than the initial group, and they worked just as hard. In total, both cleanups netted 52 tons of trash and covered more than 237 miles of roadway.
        Hurst has equally high expectations for the Spring Pickup, which is scheduled for Saturday, April 19, with the kickoff at 9 a.m. at the entranceway of the Dr. Martin Luther King Freeway and Ramsey Street. The goal of the cleanup is to make sure our city sparkles for the upcoming Dogwood Festival. This will be the only cleanup this year. Hurst explained that people were more excited about the spring cleanup. “It’s that time of the year when people are cleaning up, planting flowers,” he said. “They really are excited about a fresh start.”

         Somelocal residents got a head start on the project, as they gathered on Saturday, April 12 to replant the Hurley pots downtown. The pots, named in honor of former Mayor Bill Hurley, are all spruced up and read to grow thanks to the help of volunteers who didn’t let the torrential rainfall of the weekend damped their enthusiasm. “A lot of people came out to help plant,” said Hurst. “They managed to get 70 pots done despite the rain.” {mosimage}
        Lending a hand to that effort was Chavonne. “Tony really sees this as an important effort,” said Hurley.
    Volunteers who want to participate in the cleanup can contact Jerry and Sue Dennis at 425-4353 to sign up, or they can show up at the kickoff. They will be able to pick up their bags, gloves and vests at 12 of the city’s recreation centers the week prior to the event so no one will need to stand in line to get what they need. Hurst said that a number of people pick up their supplies early, and instead of coming to the official kickoff over on Ramsey Street, they go straight to their assigned area and start cleaning up.
        The results of their work brought about a reduction in Fayetteville’s litter index. It has now dropped to 2.4.
    For more information about Fayetteville Beautiful or to volunteer, contact the group’s Web site at www.fayettevillebeautiful.com. Remember, it all starts with you.

     

  •     The Fayetteville Area System of Transportation and rental housing inspection, took center stage at the Fayetteville City Council Work Session on Monday, April 7.
        In an ongoing series of conversations held by the council on improving the city’s buses, Ron Macaluso, the transit director, reported back to the council on possible sources of revenue to fund more than $600,000 in improvements to the system. Macaluso brought the needed improvements, which include hiring of more staff, training, equipment and software updates and salary increases, to the council earlier this year. While the council was in agreement that the uprgrades need to occur, they could not agree on a means of funding the upgrades, so they asked Macaluso to research funding options.
        {mosimage}He presented the council with seven options: Increase transit fares and authorize a $5 motor vehicle tax to support the upgrades; prepare special legislation (a local bill) that would be required for the Vehicle Gross Receipt Tax or a sales tax increase; authorize fare increases only; authorize motor vehicle license tax only; authorize the Vehicle Gross Receipts Tax only; authorize the sales tax only; or a combination of fare increases and motor vehicle license tax. The council opted for the latter, but also charged City Manager Dale Iman with looking into the possibility of having Cumberland County’s state legislators introduce a local bill into the short session to increase the local Vehicle Gross Receipt Tax (taxes on rental cars) to help fund the system.
        Iman told the council that he was uncertain as to the fate of such a bill because of the short session and the length of time left to get it introduced. He also noted that funds from such a tax would not come into play for at least six to eight months.
        The council is expected to formally approve the fare increases and the $5 additional tax on all vehicles registered in the City of Fayetteville at an upcoming meeting. If officially approved, the move would garner more than $600,000. If the Vehicle Gross Receipts Tax makes it through the legislature at a 3.5 percent increase, it will add more than $600,000 to the funding for the system.
        In regards to rental housing inspection, the council sent Assistant City Manager Doug Hewett back to the drawing board. Inspections for housing that does not meet minimum housing codes were part of the Fayetteville Forward pact. Council members wanted to find a way to bring housing in the city up to code.
    The plan Hewett brought to the work session, would require all landlords who own rental housing to register their homes with the city and to undergo inspections once every four years. The proposed cost of inspections was $125 per unit. Landlords with more than 10 units would be required to inspect 10 units or 20 percent of the total number of units. The proposal had an initial start-up fee of $322,313.
        “We came with a sprained wrist, and we’re getting a full-body cast here,” said Mayor Tony Chavonne following Hewett’s presentation. “That’s a tremendous amount of government.”
        Chavonne’s comments were echoed by other members of the board who feared renters would be unable to bear the cost of the inspections, which landlords would pass on. The council directed Hewett to look at ways of dealing with only the substandard housing. Councilman Ted Mohn suggested beefing up the existing inspections department, and having them focus on areas where housing is considered to be substandard. 

  •     It is unfortunate that we live in a world where the same children who bring light and joy into our lives with their optimistic outlooks and wonder are too often put in a position of either neglect or abuse. Last year in the state of North Carolina alone, 4,618 trained volunteers served 17,701 children who were under petition stating abuse or neglect. These numbers have risen since the previous year, and the numbers do not represent all those who were served. More than 38,000 hearings were scheduled for children. This is an alarming number, and through a court appointed program entitled Guardian ad Litem, or GAL for short, you can help place a child in a permanently safe home.
        The qualifications for Volunteers GALs, as they are called, are simple enough. You must be a responsible and mature adult. You must have a sincere concern for the well-being of children, and a continuing commitment to advocate for a child until a safe and permanent home is obtained. Volunteers should also have sound character, and hold good communication skills. A Volunteer GAL should be nonjudgmental and be able to interact with people of various socioeconomic, ethnic and educational backgrounds.
        {mosimage} As this is a sensitive subject matter, and a court-affiliated program, the volunteer must go through a rather extensive application process before approval as a Volunteer GAL. There is a written application, three personal/professional references are required, and a criminal record check is performed. The process is almost like applying for a job and really, what more important job could there be than placing a child in a safe home? After approval, the volunteer will complete 30 hours of training with GAL staff and finally, commit to working four hours per month on appointed cases. Most volunteers work an average of 15 hours per month on cases, and have full-time jobs as well. The commitment is easy to fill in the evenings, on the weekends or on the phone during the day.
        The GALs visit their assigned children and keep them informed of the court hearings, communicating with the attorney advocate, interviewing the parents, guardians, caretakers, social workers and reading records related to the family. All of this background research allows them to come to an informed decision regarding what is in the best interest of the child. The Volunteer GAL will also be certain the court is aware of the child’s wishes, while also monitoring the court-ordered services for the child. Developing a personal relationship with the child is not recommended. While one may want to take the child to a baseball game or a museum, the courts frown on these activities, as they can be considered a gift to the child and sway the child’s mind regarding decisions about their future.
        The program is in its 25th year in North Carolina, and continues to be an amazing way to serve children. GAL volunteers gave the state 886,656 hours of service in training and casework. This work would have amounted to more than $16.6 million dollars, all done for free to service children in need.
        “It is worth every minute of my time to be a part of the system to find safe, permanent homes for the children I serve. My background is in mortgage banking and I have no experience with the court system or children of my own,” explained Judy Johnson of Brunswick County. “I became a Guardian ad Litem Volunteer at the urging of a friend. I’ve always loved children and I’ve always known I have a mother’s heart.”
  •     Since 1988, the Fayetteville Area Habitat for Humanity has built more than 97 houses in the Fayetteville community. The nonprofit organization partners with low-income families to provide decent, affordable housing. The mission is to work in partnership with “God and people everywhere from all walks of life to develop communities with people in need by building and renovating houses so that there are decent houses in decent communities in which every person can experience God’s love and can live and grow into all that God intends.” {mosimage}
        “We are currently building five houses,” said Ann Griffin, executive director of Fayetteville Area Habitat for Humanity. “The house numbers are 100, 101, 102, 103 and 104 and we are pleased to have built more than 100 houses this year.”
        Home buyers are selected through a process that entails checking their credit history, a willingness to partner with Habitat and a willingness to invest a little sweat equity. Each family approved for a Habitat home must put in 400 hours to help build the house. It may take up to two years to get a home.
    Habitat Village Homes are located on Old Wilmington Road and Neal Street, which is off Cedar Creek Road. The house is sold at cost with no interest. Land for the houses to be built on is donated by the city or by private individuals who have land that they want to donate to Habitat for Humanity. The houses are built in groups.
        “All of our homes are built by volunteers as much as possible,” said Griffin.
         “The electrical, plumbing and carpeting are done professionally.” 
        Griffin added that the volunteers come from all over the country to donate time, skills and materials to implement Habitat’s mission of eradicating poverty housing one family at a time.  
        There are churches that sponsor houses and send out large numbers of volunteers to help build houses.  
        “When our soldiers come back to Fayetteville they automatically call us and want to volunteer,” said Griffin.      “We are thrilled to have them.”
        Habitat for Humanity is located at 310 Green St. For more informationor to volunteer, call 483-0952.  




  • Theatre is going down the toilet

    Irish director-playwright Paul Walker’s production of “Ladies & Gents” opened for a March run in New York City 29 blocks north of Broadway in a public restroom. According to an Associated Press report, the entire play takes place among the porcelain in a bathroom in Central Park, portraying “the seedy underside of 1950s Dublin,” with the audience of 25 standing beside rows of stalls, near “spiders, foul odors and puddles of questionable origin.” Walker proudly admits that he wanted to take the audience “out of their comfort zone” to create “a different energy.” Actor John O’Callaghan recalled that rehearsals were especially difficult: “One man actually came in and had a pee right in front of us. 


    Cultural Diversity 

    In October, the government of Singapore, anxious about the city’s declining birth rate, began teaching its high school polytechnic students in formal courses on how to flirt. Said Isabel, 18: “My teacher said if a guy looks into my eyes for more than five seconds, it could mean that he is attracted to me, and I stand a chance,” according to a March Reuters dispatch. The course includes “love song analysis” and how to chat online. 

    Officials in the Shivpuri district of India’s Madhya Pradesh state, needing a promising program to slow the country’s still-booming birth rate, announced in March that men who volunteer for vasectomies will be rewarded with certificates that speed them through the ordinarily slow line to obtain gun permits. Said an administrator, the loss, through vasectomy, of a “perceived notion of manliness” would be offset “with a bigger symbol of manliness.”  


    The Continuing Crisis 

    Registered sex offender Jason Lee, 28, was arrested in Cincinnati in February and charged with several counts of deception for his seemingly benevolent acts of posting bond for two female strangers who had been arrested. Later, according to police, he had demanded sex and drugs from the women as payback, and a prosecutor said Lee had trolled for names of arrested women on the Web site of the Clerk of the Court. 

    Questionable Judgments: Jason Fife was sentenced to probation and community service after harassing his estranged wife’s boyfriend with a special package delivery. Fife, said his lawyer, now “understands that in a civilized society, a person cannot send (someone) a severed cow’s head....”  

    In December, Sister Kathy Avery of St. Clare of Montefalco Catholic School in Grosse Pointe Park, Mich., held all fifth- through eighth-graders after class in the school’s chapel so she could inform them of the new rules against cussing. According to the kids, Avery held nothing back: She recited a list of the actual, blush-producing words and phrases she was talking about. Said Avery afterward, “It got a little quiet in church.” 


    Least Competent Criminals 

    Krystal Evans, 26, and Denise McClure, 24, rifled through packages on a DHL delivery truck in December in Crescent City, Calif., looking for their urine samples headed for the lab because they were certain theirs would test positive, which would have meant their return to jail. The driver summoned police, and the women were arrested for destroying evidence and violating their probation and in March were convicted and could face two years in prison. Evans’ original sample turned out to be clean, after all, but during the December arrest, she tested positive for methamphetamine. 


    COPYRIGHT 2008 CHUCK SHEPHERD   

  •     Braving cooler temperatures and threatening skies, members of Manna Church turned out en masse to support their pastor, the Rev. Michael Fletcher, at a recent Fayetteville City Council meeting. The pastor was on hand to address concerns he has about a policy by The Dogwood Festival that limits participation by churches.
        The controversy surrounding The Dogwood Festival and its policy has been swirling in the community for several weeks. Fletcher maintains that festival organizers told him and others on his staff that the policy does not allow participation by churches in the festival at all. Festival staffers differ, noting that churches can participate as vendors or as sponsors of sanctioned events. They cannot, however, participate in the festival strictly to dispense information. The festival has two types of booths: those for vendors and informational type booths. Vendors pay $750, while informational participants pay $55.
        Fletcher, the senior pastor at the church, said that the price of the booths was not a point of contention. He noted that his church has participated in a number of festivals as vendors, and has paid the price. He told the council he has the documentation in the form of registration and canceled checks to prove it.
        “I know you are aware of the controversy surrounding The Dogwood Festival,” said Fletcher. “Our intent is never to cause hurt. I do not support any type of boycott. I think everyone should go.”
        {mosimage} He added that he had encouraged his church members to participate and attend in festival activities.
    He explained that the council and the community have received a significant amount of misinformation. Fletcher said that Carrie King, the festival director, told him that the board had decided not to let churches participate in any way.
        “This policy is unconstitutional,” said Fletcher. “This is America. It could be said that our community is the cradle of freedom. How can we tolerate such an unconstitutional stance?”
        He added that if other church groups in the past have offended festival goers, it is those groups that should not be allowed to participate. “Wisdom dictates that the offending party should not be allowed to participate,” he said. “Some Christians are embarrassing and weird. They give the rest of us a bad name. Whoever called and told Ms. King she is going to hell should be put in a box and be shipped far away.”
    He called on the council to use its influence to have the board consider a change in its policy. Fletcher said his church will not try to participate in this year’s festival in any form, and asked that the community not do anything to mar the enjoyment of the festival.
        “I love The Dogwood festival,” he said. “It is a great community event, and I urge people to support it.”
    He hopes to be able to attend a meeting of The Dogwood Festival board in May, when it will take up the issue.
        “It is our hope that they will reconsider this policy,” he said.
        The council took no action on his request, and The Dogwood Festival board has declined further comment until after its May meeting.

  •     Have you ever wondered what happens when blood donor centers and hospitals don’t have blood to give to trauma victims in emergency situations? Probably not. The truth is, most people don’t think about what would happen in those types of situations because the outcome is, for many, too unimaginable. But when hospitals don’t have an adequate supply of blood, people die. {mosimage}
        Recently, the Cape Fear Valley Blood Donor Center was forced to send out a mass appeal to local businesses and donors in the community for Type O Negative blood donations because the center’s current stock has reached critically low levels. While the center normally has a three-to four-day supply in reserve, the current supply has fallen below a single day’s worth of O negative blood on hand.
        “Right now we’re really short on all blood types,” said Mary Fisher, a representative of the Blood Donor Center. “However, the need for O Negative is critical.” She explained that, just for the patients in the areas served by Cape fear Valley and Highsmith-Rainey hospitals, the center needs to bring in at least 1,300 donors a month — from all blood types, but very specifically O negative. O negative can be used for trauma victims when there is no time to type the victim’s blood.
        Fisher suggests there may be a number of reasons that blood levels have gotten so low — including ineligibility of donors. Several factors make a person ineligible to donate bloods, such as: anyone who has traveled or lived in Europe for more than three months between 1980 and 1996 is permanently ineligible, and anyone who has recently had a body piercing or tattoo outside of North Carolina in the past year is also disqualified from donating for one year.
        She said, “Some people think everybody else is doing it, so they don’t really need to. And they’re not.” But added, “We’re just fortunate that every time we go into this critical situation, that there isn’t an accident or trauma that comes in that we don’t have blood.”
        “The same donors always pull through for the center,” Fisher reported, “but we need new people to come in, especially the type O’s to start supporting.” As much as the Blood Donor Center loves and appreciates their regulars, Fisher looks forward to the day when “…we don’t have to keep calling the same donors all the time or making them feel guilty when they can’t come.
        At Womack Army Medical Center, the outlook isn’t much better. “Levels at Womack are not quite as critical as the Cape Fear Valley’s Blood Donor Center, but we still need donations,” said Shannon Lynch, of the Womack Public Affairs Office. “We are constantly trying to find ways to keep our blood donations up.”
    She explained that the hospital maintains a “wartime contingency of blood products,” which are either used to supply the need at Fort Bragg or sent to support Army initiatives abroad.
        Womack does a number of blood drives on post, to which anyone can donate. “If you can get on post, you can donate,” Lynch added.
        One area of confusion, however, is that “People think that if they donate at Cape Fear, that soldiers benefit and that’s not the case,” she clarified. “If a person wanted to donate blood and make sure that a soldier or their family benefited from donating the blood, they should donate at the Fort Bragg Blood Donor Center.” She said that the blood collected at the Fort Bragg Donor Center and the Cape Fear Valley center are really only shared in the event that one purchases blood supply from the other.
        To donate blood at the Cape Fear Valley Blood Donor Center, stop by 3357 Village Drive, Suite 150, in the Bordeaux Shopping Center between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m., Monday through Friday. For questions, or to make an appointment to donate, call 609-6300. All blood donated to the Blood Donor Center remains in the community to serve the needs of patients of Cape Fear Valley Health System.
        The Fort Bragg Blood Donor Center can be reached by calling 907-WAMC. (907-9262.)

  •     Recently, the Fayetteville Dogwood Festival has attracted a measure of criticism for its guidelines regarding religious organizations. Festival organizers have been accused of prohibiting churches from the festival. This is untrue.
        The fact is all churches and political organizations are allowed to apply as food vendors or as hosts of sanctioned events. This information is offered when contacting the Dogwood Festival office, as instructed on the vendor application. {mosimage}
    All groups, including churches, are allowed and encouraged to participate as vendors as long as they are willing to adhere to the festival’s rules regarding the items offered for sale and how they conduct their business.
        These rules are established to make the festival fair to all vendors and enjoyable for all attendees. The vendor applications are made available for download on our website every November and are due at the Dogwood Festival office the first week of February.
    All completed applications are presented to a juried selection committee for consideration. Incomplete applications are not considered.
        Each year at the conclusion of the event, the Dogwood Festival Board of Directors convenes with the goal of evaluating ways to make the next festival even better. For example, the biggest change for this year’s festival is a result of feedback that we received regarding accessibility for people with disabilities. This year, access and parking will be markedly improved, hopefully encouraging even more participation for everyone.
        Next year, there will inevitably be other pressing needs to be discussed and worked out. We are constantly striving to have the best possible festival for all of our citizens and as always we will make     changes to accommodate any areas that need improvement.
        The people responsible for the overwhelming success of the Fayetteville Dogwood Festival for the past 26 years are all around you. They are your neighbors, your friends, colleagues and parishioners.
    The Dogwood Festival is April 25-27 and we are planning the biggest party in Fayetteville and we certainly hope to see you there! For more information about this year’s Dogwood Festival, please contact 910.323.1934 or visit us at  www.faydogwoodfestival.com.
  • China’s societal self-improvement in preparation for the 2008 Olympics continues. The Beijing Tourism Bureau ordered hotels to re-translate English signs, hoping to avoid such notorious past gaffes as “Racist Park,” which is now “Park of Ethnic Minorities,” and a cafe’s attempt to salute Western visitors with “Welcome, big nose friends.” And the Beijing Olympics Committee has been training hostesses for months to stand in military-like precision, straight enough to hold a sheet of paper between their knees, and to smile continuously, showing “six to eight teeth” (even if placing a chopstick in the mouth sideways is necessary for practice). There are height and weight requirements for the hostesses, and each must have an upper- to lower-body ratio of no more than 11-to-13, to eliminate, according to local newspapers, “big bottoms.” 


    Too Much Time on Their Hands


    It struck Leo Hill, 81, of Lakewood, Colo., that he was being shorted sheets of toilet paper (in the 12-pack, whose rolls allegedly yielded fewer sheets than similar rolls in the 4-pack), and he earnestly counted 60 rolls, sheet by sheet, concluding that the shortage amounted to enough paper to service one sit-down session per roll. He took his complaint to the Denver Post (and even to the Better Business Bureau), but the reporter, trying to replicate Leo’s work, found no shortage, in Leo’s brand or eight others. 

    Jonathan Lee Riches is believed to be the most prolific lawsuit-filer ever to operate from behind bars. His “docket” now includes more than 1,000 cases in just over two years (with eight more years to go on a federal sentence for fraud), including claims totaling several trillion dollars from “injuries” inflicted on him by such people as President Bush, Martha Stewart, Steve Jobs, Britney Spears, Tiger Woods (luggage theft), Barry Bonds (illegal moonshine production), and football player Michael Vick ($63 billion for allegedly stealing Riches’ pit bulls and selling them on eBay so that Vick could in turn buy missiles from Iran). 


    Inexplicable


    Prison reformer James McDonough revealed in February the extent of the mess he inherited when taking over the Florida Department of Corrections in 2006 (40 officials charged with crimes, 90 fired, 280 demoted) and said much of the problem centered on inter-department softball. Even though former officials had admitted to contract kickbacks and frequent taxpayer-funded “orgies,” McDonough said, “I cannot explain how big an obsession softball had become. People were promoted on the spot after a softball game... to high positions in the department because they were able to hit a softball out of the park... The connection between softball and the parties and the corruption and the beatings (of prisoners) was greatly intertwined.” 

    Making artistic, themed scrapbooks is a $2.6 billion industry in the U.S. (nearly one-fifth as large as the adult-video industry) and has a “Hall of Fame” as protective of its morals as baseball’s, which has shunned gamblers and steroid-users. According to a January Wall Street Journal report, one “superstar” scrapbooker, Kristina Contes, was recently kicked out of the hall for violating etiquette by displaying another’s photo inside her scrapbook in a competition. Contes said the oversight was inadvertent but that she is now shunned within the community for her grave offense and called “labelwhore.”


    COPYRIGHT 2008 CHUCK SHEPHERD   

  •      Spring is here and the Cape Fear Botanical Garden is gearing up for a fun-filled April with events for the whole family.
         “We are preparing for our fourth annual plant fundraiser sale,” said Angela Dennis, marketing and development officer for Cape Fear Botanical Garden. “We partner with several local garden centers and nurseries that bring items out on Saturday, April 25 from 10 am – 2 pm.”
         {mosimage}Dennis added that the garden also sells unusual plants that are cultivated on the grounds at very reasonable prices. Master gardeners are on the grounds this day, along with the garden’s staff, to give out advice and help customers make their plant selections.
         “The entire month of April is admission free,” said Dennis. “Fayetteville PWC sponsors this month for the community to come out to the garden.”
         Dennis added that the staff has planned activities every weekend in April such as the Urban Farm Tour, Nature Writing Workshop, Hostas and Companion Plants and a Beekeeping Demonstration Workshop. The 79-acre garden, founded in 1989, boasts more than 2,000 varieties of ornamental plants and specialty gardens of Camellia, Daylilies and Hostas. The mission is to preserve agricultural heritage and to solicit engagement and involvement of the community.    
         “We currently have a campaign for natural growth going on at this time,” said Dennis. “We are raising money to build a new visitor’s pavilion complex and make it a centerpiece for the community.”
         Dennis added that the campaign has been going on for more than a year and the goal is to raise $10 million. The pavilion will be rented out for weddings, conferences and events.
         “We want to bring more business into Fayetteville that would normally go to Raleigh,” said Dennis. “We are one of the gateways to the city and it will be a very nice thing for visitors to see when they are coming off of I-95 into Fayetteville.”        
         Some of the garden’s attractions include an authentic 1886 farmhouse featuring period tools, gardens, outbuildings and heritage workshops. The pavilion can shelter a family picnic or host a kindergarten class during story time. The garden staff offers educational programs such as the River Walk, Children’s Garden and the PWC Water Wise Garden for all ages from pre-k to seniors. Nature trails can ring with the laughter of children or the gentle mumur of the quiet talk of adults. The gift shop offers a variety of handmade products by local artists, vendors, garden products, bird ornaments and honey. {mosimage}
         A gazebo and the great lawn hosts visitors, wedding parties and group festivities. Ponds, pools and waterways provide habitat for plants and add a peaceful tranquility to the environment.    
         Cape Fear Botanical Garden has fun year-round opportunities for volunteers. Volunteers include retirees, full-time working adults, high school and college students and Boy and Girl Scouts. These individuals work outdoors with the grounds staff, assist in the office, assist at special events or festivals, shuttle visitors in the golf cart and work with children and adults during educational programs.
         “We look forward to this community favorite event,” said Dennis, of the plant sale. “This is a really big event for the garden.”
         For more information call 486-0221.
  • 04-21-10-smooth-wines.gifOn May 1, J.P. Riddle Stadium will come alive with the sounds of jazz as the second annual Carolina Wine & Jazz Festival takes place. In addition to great jazz, the festival will feature terrifi c local wines and food.

    “The whole idea behind it is that we wanted to focus on wines from North Carolina. We have wines from Duplin Winery, Cypress Bend and J. Wesley Vineyards,” explained Kimberly Durden, one of the event organizers. Vendors will be selling wine at their booths by the glass or by the bottle. Beer and soft drinks are also available.

    No festival is complete without food. The Carolina Wine & Jazz Festival will feature something for everyone

    .“We’ll have a great variety — everything from BBQ to fi sh, low country boil, hot dogs, hamburgers, funnel cakes. A little bit of everything really.There’ll be something for just about any taste,” said Durden.

    And while the wine and food will be great, the entertainment lineup is amazing for a jazz lover. According to Dionne Maldonado, the festival will feature “the absolute best in contemporary jazz.” The headliner artist is Peter White, who for nearly 20 years, has made the acoustic guitar a dynamic and expressive voice in the overall soundscape of contemporary jazz. Bringing a little Latin fl avor to the jazz festival is an up and coming artist, Jesse J. With her sizzling mix of hot beats, Latin and samba rhythms, instantly captivating melodies and model looks, this Mexican-American saxophonist/singer proved quite the sensation with her debut CD Tequila Moon — earning her such accolades as Radio and Records “Debut Artist of The Year” and contemporary jazz song of the year by R&R and Billboard.

    “We also have independent artists. Daniel Davis is a bright young acoustic violin player out of Charleston, S.C. Then there’s American Smooth Jazz Award nominee Cindy Bradley. Marcus Johnson, a jazz pianist from Washington, D.C., was nominated for a NCAA Image Award this spring. Brian Simpson has three releases, and he’s played with absolutely everybody. He’s also an experienced composer and director,” added Maldonado. “David Dyson is an independent jazz basist, as well as a performing member of Pieces of a Dream. And of course, there’s Marilyn Scott — a phenomenal jazz vocalist. This lady can sing. She is a wonderful, wonderful vocalist.”

    Musician Warren Hill is also in the line up.

    The Carolina Wine & Jazz Festival will be held at JP Riddle Stadium at 2823 Legion Rd. Gates open at 2 p.m. and festival entertainment starts at 3 p.m. The festival will conclude around 11 p.m. Advance tickets are on sale now for $45 and can be purchased on line at www.carolinawinejazzfest.com. Tickets are also available until Friday, April 30, on Fort Bragg at the Ticket and Tours offi ce for Department of Defense ID card holders at a discounted price. Tickets will also be available on the day of the event and the box offi ce opens at 12 p.m. Ticket prices are $55 on the day of the event. There will also be an after party at Ambiance Entertainment Venue at 2510 Legion Rd., immediately after the festival.

    “We’re trying to let people know as much as possible that still photography is allowed, but no video recording is allowed. Also, no outside picnic baskets or coolers are allowed,” added Durden.

    The Carolina Wine & Jazz Festival is sponsored in part by Up & Coming Weekly, Bank of America, and Cross Creek Lincoln Mercury. The host hotels are the Hampton Inn and Residence Inn by Marriott.

    For more information about the festival, visit www.carolinawinejazzfest.com or call 867-8779.

  •     Last year at this time, people were looking at the skies and hoping for rain. Gardeners, who lovingly tend their flowers, painstakingly watered their plants just hoping for the blooms. We don’t have that problem this year, as the old saying ‘April showers bring May flowers’ will ring true when the Public Works Commission of Fayetteville and the Junior League of Fayetteville present a May Day Celebration on Sunday, May 4, from 1-4 p.m. at the Cape Fear Botanical Garden.
        "May Day is a celebration of spring and the Earth," said Angela Dennis, development officer of Cape Fear Botanical Garden. "Our focus is on the environment, recycling and the importance of certain things in the environment."
    May Day is a popular event that has been celebrated for thousands of years throughout diverse cultures.
        The educational activities, which will take place throughout the garden, entail making May baskets, headbands, soil painting, face painting, pony rides, carriage rides, dancing around the Maypole, jumping castle, bubble activity, Polaroid picture cards, birding activity, rain sticks and other nature-related activities. The Maypole is the most familiar feature of May festivities. Children perform dances around the pole, weaving ribbons in and out to create a striking pattern.
        {mosimage}"One of the highlights of the event is our milk carton flotilla,” said Dennis.  “This activity teaches kids about the importance of recycling."
        Dennis said the kids will construct boats out of milk cartons, decorate them and launch their milk cartons in the Botanical Garden’s Pond.
        The Dogwood Queens will be on hand to paint the children’s faces. Dr. Waddle will be on site with a variety of snakes for the kids to play with and learn about."
        Local firemen will bring the fire truck and discuss fire safety with the children. The Fayetteville Mounted Police will use the festival as an opportunity to teach the children not only about safety, but also about the care of the animals who are their partners.
        "Kids will learn a lot about nature through these activities," said Dennis. "Everyone plays an important role in taking care of our Earth."
        Food and drinks will also be available for sale. The Boy Scouts will sell hot dogs in order to raise funds for their troop. There will be a bike raffle to encourage children to play outdoors, exercise and stay active.  
        "We encourage people to come early so they can enjoy all of the activities," said Dennis. "This family oriented event has always been a community favorite."
        Admission is free and the public is invited. The event will take place rain or shine. For more information, call 486-0221.  
     

  •     I didn’t know what to expect when I agreed to meet members of Fayetteville’s Rogue Rollergirls – the city’s only female roller derby team – at their home court, the Round-A-Bout Skating Rink behind Eutaw Village Shopping Center.
        The only real knowledge of the sport I possess is what I had gleaned from the 1972 movie Kansas City Bombers, starring Raquel Welch, and the few televised matches I’d watched back in the sport’s heyday of the '70s, where my adolescent mind was rocked and rolled like an off-kilter Roman candle by the sight of girls aggressively throwing other girls around like rag dolls on wheels.
        Those women scared me to the depths of my soul.
        However, after meeting the Rogue Rollergirls, all I could think of was the tag line from the old Virginia Slims cigarette ad – you’ve come a long way baby.{mosimage}
        The Rogue Rollergirls are not the brutish, unfeminine bunch of bruisers I had envisioned. Though all were athletic and toned, a few were actually what I’d call "dainty" in appearance. They reminded me of that Don Henley/Stevie Nicks song, Leather and Lace – tough as an old saddle, but also soft and feminine as the black fishnets, which, along with a military-style camouflage top, they wear into battle against other tough, yet soft girls.
        Mothers, soldiers, wives of soldiers, daughters, girlfriends – the Rogue Rollergirls it turns out, pretty much run the spectrum of Fayetteville womanhood.
        Bull Lee (all the girls use stage names that represent their on-rink personality) who founded the team in October of 2006, is married to a soldier deployed in Afghanistan and a mother of two. She looks more like an aerobics instructor or phys ed teacher than a lady who could crush your skull with a single flying elbow – which, by roller derby rules (yes, there are rules in this seemingly unorganized chaos of estrogen-fueled aggression) you’re not allowed to do during the match.
        Speaking of rules, after talking to Bull and consulting the Internet, this is Roller Derby 101: there are 14 girls to a team, with five on the rink floor. The person who scores is the jammer, who uses her blockers to get around the rival skaters. The jammer scores when she laps the competition. You may block using body parts above the hips, excluding forearms, hands and head. Elbows may be used in blocking, but cannot be swung at other players or used to hook an opponent's arm.
        It’s an aggressive, action-packed sport that hooked Bull and never let go.
        "I was skating in Ohio with the Jet City Rollergirls when I moved here with my husband," said Lee. "I tried out for the Carolina Rollergirls in Raleigh and made the team, but then my husband was deployed. With two small children I couldn’t make the commute two to three times a week for practices.
        "I .did not want to stop,” said Lee. “Once you start derby it’s a lifestyle, not a sport.
        "So in October I had a meet and greet, about 10 girls showed up and we started from there. In about six months or so, we were up to about 20 girls. Our first bout was March, 2007, against ourselves and we had 400 people show up."
        Among the first skaters to show up for Bull’s casting call was Evergrace, a trim, attractive girl who looks … well … graceful.
        Though "grace" had nothing to do with her first real match.
        "During the introduction, I tripped on my first step into the ring and fell flat on my face in front of everyone," said a sheepish Evergrace.
        But she recovered from that first misstep to become one of the “grannies, or leaders, of the team – a team that is 4-0 on the season.
        It is Evergrace’s job to mold and bring along such young talent as Lief Mia Alone, a native of Maine who wears magenta and black make-up around her eyes and sports a scarlet streak in her hair that gives her the futuristic look of Mad Max meets Blade Runner.
        Like Bull and some of the other skaters, Mia was deeply affected by the 2001 documentary Hell on Wheels, an award-winning film that featured a group of Texas women hell-bent on reclaiming the glory days of roller derby.
        "I saw the roller girls show on A&E and I had to do it," said Mia. "Roller derby is the most fun I’ve ever had. The best thing about it is having an aggressive sport that women can participate in. And the girls are great."
        Despite the aggressiveness of the sport, Lee says serious injuries are rare, though she did follow that up with the news that recently, one of the Rogue Rollergirls broke her leg in three places.
        However, the danger to life and limb doesn’t dissuade the Rollergirls, not even the oldest member of the team, Slipknot, whose muscle tone and unlined face betrays her true chronological age. (Side note: None of these girls had any apparent scars. Or blemishes. Which make me think maybe women should just ditch the Curves workout and L’Oreal and strap on a pair of skates.)
        "I’ve been doing it for seven months and I really have to work hard to keep up with the younger girls," said Slipknot, who in real life works as a military contractor. "I always roller skated in the parking lot where I worked and someone told me there was a derby team. I showed up at practice and have loved it ever since.
        "My favorite part of it is the adrenaline rush," said Slipknot. "Pure adrenaline. Once you get the adrenaline, that’s the drug; you don’t want to do anything else."
        In fact, Slipknot carries a lottery ticket around, waiting for the big payoff so she can devote her life to the sport.
        "If I ever win I’ll be gone from my job and doing roller derby every day," said Slipknot. "I’ll build my own rink for the girls."
        You don’t have to wait to win the lottery to watch the Rogue Rollergirls in action. On May 4 at 4:30 p.m., they meet the Reedy River Girls of Greenville, S.C., at the Round-A-Bout, 880 Elm St. Tickets are $12 or $7 for kids ages 6-11. You can save $2 by visiting the Rollergirls’ Web site, www.roguerollergirls, and buying tickets there.
        The after party is at Coaches, where I’m hoping the still attractive Raquel Welch shows up in her Kansas City Bombers outfit.
        Or better yet, fishnets and camo.

  •      The Cape Fear Valley Health Foundation Friends of Children was started in 1991, and is based on the premise that both children and their families are in crisis when a child is ill. Over the years the organization has contributed in a mighty way to help sick kids in our community.
         “We’ve done things such as...we started a pediatric asthma program which is still in place which serves all of Cumberland County and the surrounding area,” said Cape Fear Valley Health Foundation Friends of Children Coordinator Marian Morgan. {mosimage}
         Pediatric asthma is the number one admission to the emergency department.
         “Another thing that we have done is the regional Diabetes and Endocrine Center - we donated about $50,000 to them and they are using that for things that they need with pediatric endocrinology. We’ve also helped out the rehabilitation department with an outdoor playground so that kids could receive their therapy outside like other kids. It looks like a regular playground but it is designed to help the kids with their therapy.
         When an organization is making contributions of that scale on behalf of children, 18 holes of golf may be the last thing that you would think that they would be doing. Au contraire, golf is a big part of how they raise the money to pull it all off, in fact, they’ve raised more than 1 million dollars in the past 13 years.
         On Friday, April 3, Cape Fear Valley Health Foundation is hosting the 14th Annual L.B. Floyd Friends of Children’s Classic at Cypress Lakes Golf Course. This year’s proceeds are earmarked for the purchase of a bed for the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). It is a very specialized bed so that the smallest patients in the NICU will not have to be moved. When the babies are moved they expend energy and get stressed out and burn calories. One of the number one things in the NICU is for babies to gain weight. “This bed is designed so that the babies don’t have to get moved,” said Morgan. It has a radial warmer so that when the top is lifted the heat still circulates, so they stay warm. It has a built in scale so that the babies don’t have to be moved to be measured or weighed. The mattress that the baby is on rotates so the doctors can do procedures without having to move the babies from the bed.
         “We did it 2 years ago and now we see that the need is great, so will want to buy another bed for the neonatal intensive care unit,” Morgan added.
         While the Pediatric Emergency Department sees tens of thousands of kids every year, the Friends of Children consider it their duty to make as many of those experiences as they can good ones. “One of the things we feel is very important is that a child’s perspective is never lost. It is nothing for an adult to go into the hospital and have a procedure because we’ve done it or we have seen it on TV. It is something we are familiar with or we can ask the right questions and get some answers, but for a child the terminology and the machines are scary and a lot of times you have people coming in with masks on,” said Morgan. “Just the little things you take for granted but for a child it is a big deal.
         That fact is not lost on the event organizers. “All these people work really, really hard. They are working together for kids that they’ll never meet,” said Morgan. “Everyone coming together to help kids in our community is what is most rewarding to me and like I said, the kids don’t know we are doing it but that is our responsibility as a community to look after the kids.”
         The adult tournament has various levels of sponsorship but it is $500 per person to play. That includes a shirt, golf shoes, a hat, lunch and dinner, which is provided by Texas Roadhouse. Two tickets to the awards banquet are also included in the registration fee. Trophies area warded for the top performers and there is also a raffle with great prizes like a 42’ flat screen TV donated by Best Buy, a 13 month Healthplex membership, a round of golf for four at Pinehurst #7, 2 tickets to the Coca Cola 600, jewelry items from Carlyle & Co. and Jim’s Pawn Shop, and some Nike items.
  • uac042110001.gif Earlier this year the rest of the state found out what Cumberland County residents already know: the Dogwood Festival is one of the very best events around. In February, the Dogwood Festival was named the Event of the Year by the North Carolina Association of Festivals & Events. The festival’s director, Carrie King, also earned top billing as she was named the Director of the Year.

    “This is a huge honor for our organization,” said King, the festival’s executive director. “It feels good to be recognized by your peers in the industry, community and state. Fayetteville has a lot of great events, and we are pleased to share this honor with our community. We are truly a community produced event — and without everyone’s continued support — we could not produce this award winning event.”

    The kudos don’t stop there.

    In addition to winning these state awards, the Fayetteville Dogwood Festival has also been named a Top 20 Event in the Southeast for April 2010. The best events across the Southeast compete to receive the prestigious “Top 20 Events” designation. Through a nomination process, Southeast Tourism Society chooses the Top 20 events in the Southeast for each month of the year and publishes this list of winners quarterly. The Top 20 Events publication is sent to over 1,600 newspapers, magazines, radio stations, TV stations, AAA publications and others. Nominations were received from twelve different states, and the Fayetteville Dogwood Festival, nominated by the Fayetteville Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, was chosen as one of two winners for the State of North Carolina.

    Bill McMillan, Board President says, “The Fayetteville Dogwood Festival strives to produce quality festivals for Fayetteville and its surrounding counties. Without the day-to-day leadership that Carrie King provides to the staff and Board of Directors, these awards, and ultimately our success, would not be possible. These awards are the result of hard work and dedication by the staff, Board of Directors, and our volunteers. The entire festival organization is excited for the opportunity to again put our best foot forward during the fourth weekend in April 2010.”

    So you don’t have to worry about checking your calendar to fi nd out when that fourth weekend is, let us assure you, Fayetteville’s annual celebration of spring is this weekend — April 23-25.

    Founded in 1982 by former Fayetteville Mayor Bill Hurley, businessman John Malzone and several other city leaders, the festival has continued to grow over the years, and King is proud to announce that it has grown again this year.

    “We are going to go all the way down Hay Street to the Market House — last year we stopped in the 200 block of Hay Street — so our footprint is a little bigger,” said King. “It’s not by much, but it gave us the ability to add more vendors.”

    Last year the festival returned to its roots, moving out of the confi nes of Festival Park, although a large portion of the event is still held in the park.

    “Last year we took the street festival back out to the street, with vendors setting up on Ray Avenue and Hay Street,” she explained. “The community responded very well to having vendors back on Hay Street. The move gave it more of the original feel of the Dogwood Festival. With the addition of the shade on Hay Street, we received a lot of qualifi ed vendors.”

    King noted that over the years, it has been a goal of festival organizers to improve the quality of vendors.

    “We’re trying to get away from the commercial vendors and focus on higher end arts and crafts,” said King. “And we definitely got them this year. We received a lot of applications from very qualifed vendors. They are selling things you defi nitely can’t go to the mall or Walmart to purchase.”

    While you can stroll the streets to shop from the vendors, you can stay within the footprint to take in the music, exciting displays and the midway, all of which kicks-off on Friday night at the Bloom and Boom party.

    The Bloom and Boom event coincides with Fayetteville’s 4th Friday, but organizers believe having the events run together will bring
    more visitors to both venues. In addition to those two events, the Boys and Girls Clubs of Cumberland County is hosting its fi rst annual Garden Party in Cross Creek Park starting at noon on Friday, so go ahead, bite the bullet take the day off, or at least half the day so you can jump in feet fi rst to these incredible activities.

    Before you head down to Festival Park for the party, you may want to stop off at the Harris Teeter parking lot to buy a plate, or two or three, of some of the best BBQ in the city at the Crime Stoppers annual BBQ plate sale. Plates are just $6, and all the money goes back into the community. If you decide to do that, make sure you eat the BBQ before you get to the festival because no outside food or coolers are allowed in Festival Park.

    Once you get downtown, take some time to check out all of the fabulous art venues offered throughout the historic city center. In particular you’ll want to hit the Arts Council of Fayetteville/Cumberland County and check out the annual exhibit of Public Works.

    Then head on over to the midway to ride some of your favorite carnival rides, and as night falls, make sure you are in Festival Park to hear the country sounds of Joe Nichols. That’s one concert you’re not going to want to miss.

    The same can be said of the concert that follows on Saturday: Soul Asylum and the Gin Blossoms.

    After the last notes are heard on Friday night, make sure to keep your eyes on the skies, as the Boom part of the party gets underway with a fi reworks display. King said that this particular event is one of her favorites.

    “It’s one of the few times I actually sit backuac042110002.gifand take a moment to take it all in,” she said.

    On Saturday morning, if you’re an early bird you can enjoy the spectacle of hundreds of motorcycles and convertibles roaring down the city streets as the Hogs and Rags Spring Rally gets underway at the Airborne and Special Operations Museum.

    At noon, you can start shopping. Vendors signed up to participate include pottery, paintings, jewelry, sculptures and much more. Once you’ve shopped ‘till you’ve dropped, be sure to follow your nose to the highlight of most festivals — the food court! You can expect to find some of your favorite foods on hand: gyros, funnel cakes, ice cream, ribbon fries and pineapple chicken willall be on the menu, as well as many of your other favorites.

    In addition to all the arts and crafts that adults love, the Partnership’s Kidstuff, presented by the Partnership for Children of Cumberland County, will feature Pirates In the Sky, and the Toddler Zone, which is an infl atable maze of castles and tunnels that the toddlers will love, face painting and interactive games.

    Sponsor booths will be located on the Festival Park promenade and will feature fun giveaways and much more. With all of that in mind, you may want to take a deep breath and just plunge into the spirit of the event, and the best place to do that is at Festival Park. The Dogwood Festival will kickoff with the Bloom & Boom Kickoff Party on Friday, April 23, at 6 p.m. On Saturday, April 25, the street festival starts at noon and runs through 10 p.m., and on Sunday it begins at 1 p.m. and runs through 6 p.m.

    Anyone who has ever attended an event at the park knows that parking is at a premium, but don’t worry, a park and ride shuttle service will be available. Free parking is available in city lots on Person Street and Hay Street, as well as other various downtown locations.

    Free off-site shuttle service will be available at the Fayetteville Parks and Recreation Center on Lamon Street. The shuttle service will run approximately every 15 minutes to transport passengers to the festival area.

    Disabled parking will be designated in the Bank of America parking lot at the corner of Ray Avenue and Mason Street and the Hay Street United Methodist Church parking lot. Availability is on a first come, fi rst served basis. Organizers remind people that animals and coolers are not allowed. Service animals are permitted.

  • 04-16-14-darius-rucker.gifOn Friday, April 18, The Crown Coliseum plays host to Grammy-Award-winning country music artist Darius Rucker and the True Believers Tour. Rucker will take the stage to perform the hits from his third Country album, True Believers.

    The most popular single from the album, “Wagon Wheel,” is his interpretation of the song that was originally started by music legend Bob Dylan and finished by the Old Crow Medicine Show. “Wagon Wheel” quickly rose to number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 Country Music Songs when it was released last year.

    Rucker’s current single from the album, “Miss You,” was released on Feb. 4 and is currently working its way up the charts.

    True Believers is another sales success for Rucker having achieved Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) Certified Gold status with sales of almost half a million records to date.

    Jim Grafstrom Jr., general manager of the Crown Complex, expressed his pride in the upcoming show, “to have Darius here in the Carolinas where he calls home … we couldn’t be more excited to have him.” When asked about the crowd that he expects Grafstrom said, “We are very happy with the turnout for the show, but there are still great seats available. We certainly feel that we are going to have a great night here in Fayetteville, with Darius Rucker.”

    Rucker is one of the most popular country music performers touring today, but that is not where his story starts. He first achieved success as a member of the rock band Hootie and the Blowfish. Their debut album, Cracked Rear View is one of the top 20 best-selling albums of all time, having reached RIAA Certified Platinum status 16 times. In 2008, the band went on hiatus so that Rucker could try his hand at a solo career.

    Since going solo in 2008, Rucker has reinvented his musical career by releasing three country music albums:

    The first album, Learn to Live, quickly reached Platinum status based on the popularity of three singles from the album that all reached number 1 on the Billboard Country Music charts.

    The second album, Charleston, SC 1966, reached number 1 on the Billboard Top Country Albums based on the success of three singles, two of which reached number 1 on the Country charts.

    In addition to Rucker, fans will also get to see the 2012 Academy of Country Music Song of the Year winner, the Eli Young Band and acclaimed independent artist Corey Smith.

    The Eli Young Band is currently performing music from its Billboard chart-topping album 10,000 Towns. Singles “Crazy Girl,” “Even If It Breaks Your Heart” and “Drunk Last Night” have given the group their three biggest successes, based on chart positions. In addition to their 2012 ACM Song of the Year win for “Crazy Girl”, the group has been nominated for more than 15 other awards since 2009.

    Corey Smith is an independent artist that has found great success in making music on his own. He has purposefully stayed away from the major labels in order to allow himself to stay true to his art. Smith says, “I feel like I owe it to my fans … I owe it to my family and my community to be honest. I am not going to give in to the temptation of sacrificing art to get popularity.”

    Photo: Country Music singer Darius Rucker takes the stage at the Crown on April 18.

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         Gardner Altman likes cars, old cars. He always has. All of his buddies though, they ride Harley’s. Altman tried it, but just never felt comfortable on a bike. He tried to get his friends in to cars, but that didn’t really work out either. Altman wanted to be a part of all of the rides for causes that his biker friends participated in, but showing up for a poker run in a convertible just didn’t seem right. Eventually, they met in the middle.
         The result? Hogs & Rags - a charity event that combines convertibles and motorcycles, good food, good causes and a good time. All makes and models of bikes and trikes are welcome, and street rods and muscle cars are, too.
         {mosimage} “Last year we had all types of motorcycles, convertibles and the street rods,” said Altman. “But really, if anyone came and said they wanted to drive a pick-up truck we wouldn’t exclude them- we’d say ‘Come on!’” 
         The first year, they were off to a really shaky start. It poured rain, and maybe only 75 or so folks showed up. Out of that group Altman says he thinks only about two people actually rode their bikes all the way to Myrtle Beach. No matter, here it is three years later and Altman and his friends have energized the entire community to the point that they are expecting between 450 and 500 people to come out on April 25 to enjoy the day and raise money for charity.
         “The past couple of years with the wars and the economy it seems as if people are saying ‘Let’s just get together for a day and be happy and just enjoy our cars and enjoy our motorcycles together and have a good breakfast and have a good lunch,’” said Altman. “Last year, I was impressed with the fact that it seemed to be a little bit of a relief day for everyone.’”
         Knowing that the ride will benefit others just makes the day that much sweeter. Proceeds will benefit the Autism Society of North Carolina, the American Cancer Society and Our Kids Can Read Foundation.
         Even though there is a police escort for the entire ride from Fayetteville to Myrtle Beach, S.C., the Hogs & Rags organizers know that keeping hundreds of riders safe is a huge undertaking and they have partnered with the Cape Fear HOG (Harley Owner’s Group) Chapter 3743 to ensure that everyone has a fun and safe ride.
         Assistant Director Steve Adam explains, “Being former military, every time you jump out of an airplane you follow a set of procedures and you do what is called a pre-jump. We do the same thing on a ride it is called a group riders course so they know how our HOG chapter rides. Then before each ride we give them a safety briefing and it covers the route, hand and arm signals and things to do in a ride and how to ride safely as a group; and that is what we are doing (for the Hogs & Rags event). I thought I would pass that on because on big rides like this you have people coming from all different backgrounds. Not only do you have Harley people, you have non-Harley owners. You are going to have sport bikes and other bikes on this ride too, and they don’t ride typically in a formal group.”
         And as Adam pointed out safety is always a priority because, “It is always better to have the cops in front of you rather than behind you.”
         While everyone loves a good time, raising money for charity is a big part of the Hogs & Rags mission. For anyone who rides or chooses to donate, this is where your money will go:
         Autism Society of North Carolina. Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) refers to a group of developmental disabilities — including classic autism, pervasive developmental disorder-not otherwise specified (PDD-NOS) and Asperger’s Syndrome — that affect a person’s ability to understand what they see, hear and otherwise sense.
         American Cancer Society. The goal of the American Cancer Society (ACS) is to prevent cancer, save lives and diminish suffering from cancer. They are committed to fighting cancer through balanced programs of research, education, patient service, advocacy and rehabilitation.
         Our Kids Can Read. Despite ongoing efforts to provide reading and educational resources to our nation’s youth, illiteracy is still a problem in the United States. Our Kids Can Read (OKCR) is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization, founded in 2006 as an independent private charity organized to improve literacy among America’s youth. OKCR strives to increase literacy in our nation’s youth by providing support to various early learning and literacy-based initiatives across the country. OKCR approves distribution of its resources to qualified projects and institutions that endeavor to instill strong reading skills and good, solid character traits in America’s youth.
         Registration starts at 8 a.m. at the Airborne and Special Operations Museum, where there will be coffee and donuts. Then the Cumberland County Sheriff will escort the riders to Altman’s farm, the Rockin’ “A” Ranch, in White Oak, where everyone will be served a full breakfast. The next stop is the Food Lion in Tabor City for a water and bathroom break, with the ride ending at 2001 in Myrtle Beach with a Low Country coastal buffet catered by Bimini’s. There will be a 50/50 raffle, with the entire event ending by 3 p.m., leaving plenty of time to make it back to Fayetteville to enjoy an evening of Dogwood Festival activities.
         Registration is $50 per bike or car and $30 for each additional passenger. Register early or make a donation at www.hogsandrags.com, or call 484-0041 for more info.


  • {mosimage}NASCAR races for three consecutive Saturday nights in May, beginning this weekend in Richmond, Va., when Crown Royal presents the Dan Lowry 400. 

    Always an exciting place to watch a race, Richmond International Raceway produces some of the best racing anywhere. Measuring three-quarters of a mile in length, the track is short enough for the drivers to do plenty of beating and banging, yet wide enough for drivers to race different paths all the way around. The result is a short track with superspeedway characteristics. Schedule the race on a Saturday night and you’ve got all the ingredients for some of the best action of the season.

    Jeff Burton continues to do what he has to do to stay on top of the point standings. His three top-five finishes and six top 10’s, along with his win at Bristol have all the other competitors looking up at the wiley veteran. The fact that he is squeaky clean and has the best-looking wife of any driver makes Burton a great choice to stay in the lead.

    Kyle Busch continues to impress everyone with his start this season. He has won in each of the top NASCAR series. In 21 races, Busch has six wins, 12 top-five finishes and has led an incredible 1,100 laps. And it is just the first of May, folks. A couple of weeks ago, Kyle was within a few points of becoming the first driver in history to lead all three series at the same time. The kicker in all this? The kid is only 22 years old. Could he be the next boy wonder?

    The national economic woes that all of us are facing continue to take their toll on team sponsorship. Both of the Fords at Yates Racing are unsponsored. And that’s with both drivers solidly in the top 25 in points. These are teams that are guaranteed to race every week. And yet no one has been found to pony up any dollars to put their logo on a 200 mph billboard. 

    Another team struggling to find sponsorship is the #01 of DEI driver Regan Smith. Armed with only an associate sponsorship, the fourth team here has made things work. They are in the top 35 in points, albeit barely. 

    So what gives? With a team sponsorship price tag in the range of $10 - $15 million per season, there is only a small pool of companies that can afford to stroke that kind of check. Throw in the dreaded “R” word č the recession that our economy is facing č and it forces many companies to stretch all the dollars that are available to spend. 

    Granted, NASCAR fans are the most loyal in all of sports. But some people believe that the air is slowly seeping out of the NASCAR balloon. The recent unification of open-wheel racing could have an effect on the sponsorship pool. And if Danica Patrick wins Indianapolis, watch out. The entire space-time continuum as we know it could skew. Bottom line, if NASCAR does not do something to control costs, then the pool for sponsors will get even smaller.

    If you are looking for something to do this weekend, then check out the ARCA race at Rockingham Speedway. The first race at The Rock in almost four years will have the richest purse in ARCA history and feature a historical name, the Carolina 500. This was the name of the first race ever run at Rockingham in the early 1960s.

    Not too familiar with ARCA? Well, remember all those cars that used to run in NASCAR? They will be running on Sunday, May 4. Kenny Shrader will be running, along with Joey Logano of Joe Gibbs Racing and Bobby Hamilton, Jr. Call (910) 205-8800 for tickets.

  • 10DogwoodlogoEvery spring for the past three-anda-half decades, the Fayetteville Dogwood Festival has brought the community together to celebrate the diversity and uniqueness that make this community so special. This year, the festival won four awards from the North Carolina Association of Festivals and Events and was named the 2018 event of the year in the Southeast by the Southeast Festivals and Events Association. Carrie King, Fayetteville Dogwood Festival Executive Director said of the award, “We are beyond thrilled to bring home this prestigious award for our community. The spirit of the Fayetteville community made the Dogwood Festival a natural choice for the award. We could not do what we do without the continued support of our sponsors, volunteers and patrons.”

    This year’s event embodies the many reasons the festival is a winner both regionally and statewide. Along with the beloved favorites, there are some new events and programming changes this year, including a new event to kick things off. It’s called Cork & Fork and it takes place Wednesday, April 25, from 6-9 p.m. at Festival Park. 

    Cork & Fork is an evening of chef-inspired gourmet creations paired with elegant complimentary wines. It is a fundraiser for KidsPeace. Tickets are $40 each and are available online at www.faydogwoodfestival.com.

    Additionally, the Dogwood Festival is taking its traditional three-day format and expanding it to a four-day weekend, with the official festivities kicking off Thursday and continuing through the weekend to include extended hours Sunday. 

    The festival hours are: Thursday, April 26, from 5-10 p.m.; Friday, April 27, from 5-11 p.m.; Saturday, April 28, from noon-11 p.m.; and Sunday, April 29, from noon-9 p.m.

    The Thursday addition to the Dogwood Festival will feature a band and food vendors exclusively. The Sherman Neckties open Thursday at 6 p.m. on the Compare Foods Stage. From 8-9:45 p.m., Jackyl will perform. 

    No festival is complete without the midway carnival, which will run Friday through Sunday. Other events will run throughout the weekend as well, including the BMX Shows, Airborne Aerials and street performances, the activity zone, and the street fair. 

    Boom and Bloom and the opening ceremony kick-off party take place Friday, April 27. The E.E Smith Marching Band opens the festivities at 5:30 p.m. in Festival Park. The evening concludes with a fireworks display between 10 and 11 p.m.

    The festival’s music stages are filled with quality performers all weekend, covering several genres and including local as well as regionally and nationally recognized acts. 

    Live Music

    Compare Foods Stage

    Compare Foods Stage is located in Festival Park and features a variety of crowd-pleasing performances, from hip-hop to country to cover bands.

    • Friday, April 27

    5:30 p.m. Opening ceremony

    6 p.m. Soul Decree

    8 p.m. Young MC

    9 p.m. Coolio

    10 p.m. Rob Base

    Saturday, April 28

    1 p.m. Avner Clark

    3 p.m. Big Slim

    5 p.m. Will McBride Group

    7 p.m. Chris Cox Band

    9 p.m.-10:45 p.m. Rodney Atkins

    Sunday, April 29

    1 p.m. Matrix

    2:30 p.m. Cool Heat

    4:30 p.m. Rivermist

    7-8:45 p.m. Zoso – The Ultimate Led Zeppelin Experience

    With Zoso – The Ultimate Led Zeppelin Experience closing the festival, it’s fitting that the band brings home one of Fayetteville’s own – Bevan Davies. He’s toured with a variety of musicians, including Danzig and Engelbert Humperdinck. But when he got the call be the drummer for Zoso, it was a nobrainer. “These guys are amazing,” said Davies.

    While his career keeps him from getting back to Fayetteville often, he is thrilled to be playing his home turf. “I love coming back. I never hated on Fayetteville the way a lot of people did. In fact, wherever I’ve played, I’ve always been very proudly from Fayetteville.”

    Cape Fear Music Center’s Street Fair Stage

    Cape Fear Music Center strives to develop the arts scene in downtown Fayetteville by programming the Street Fair Stage. Acts include local musicians and musical organizations, as well as budding CFMC students. Visitors will find exclusively local acts on the Cape Fear Music stage, which is located on Green Street.

    Saturday, April 28

    12 p.m. Big Daddy Drive

    1:30 p.m. UNC-Pembroke Jazz Ensemble II

    2:30 p.m. The Mother Notes

    4 p.m. Reckless Abandon

    5:30 p.m. Affinity

    7 p.m. Black River Township

    Sunday, April 29

    12 p.m. 9th Annual CFMC I-Rock Student Showcase

    4:30 p.m. Chemical Lizards

    Sanctioned Events

    “Sense & Sensibility” at Cape Fear Regional Theatre

    Cape Fear Regional Theatre’s “Sense & Sensibility” is based on Kate Hamill’s fresh adaptation of Jane Austen’s classic 18th-century novel. Follow the misadventures of the three Dashwood sisters in their quests for love and dignity in a show that, according to CFRT Marketing Director Leslie Flom, blends “traditional Austen and an ’80s John Hughes film.”

    “Jane Eyre” runs at CFRT, 1209 Hay St., April 25-29. Showtimes are at 7:30 p.m. April 25-28 and at 6:30 p.m. April 29. There is also a 2 p.m. showing April 28 and 29.

    Tickets cost $15-$25 and can be purchased by calling 910-323-4233 or by visiting www.cfrt.org/ project/sense-and-sensibility.

    “Jane Eyre” presented by Sweet Tea Shakespeare 

    Sweet Tea Shakespeare is an unconventional performance group that focuses on the audience’s holistic experience. April 26-29, arrive at the 1897 Poe House at the Museum of the Cape Fear at 206 Broadford Ave. at 6:45 p.m. for live music before the show. Barbecue, beer, wine and sweet tea will also be available for purchase. 

    “Jane Eyre” is a lush, gothic, intriguing romance based on Charlotte Brontë’s 19th-century novel. The show will also run May 3-6. 

    Tickets cost $8-$20; discounts are available for those who purchase in advance, along with students, senior citizens, military members and children. To reserve your seats, visit sweetteashakespeare.com or call 910-420-4383.

    Capitol Encore Academy Exhibition

    The Capital Encore Academy, located at 126 Hay St. in downtown Fayetteville, is a free, nonprofit, public charter school offering integrated arts and core academic learning.

    Come check it out during the festival; the academy will be open that Friday from 6-10 p.m., Saturday from noon-10 p.m., and Sunday from noon-6 p.m. There will be art stations for kids to create their own art and performances by the academy’s students. For more information, contact Trish Brownless at tbrownless@capitolencoreacademy.org or call 910-849-0888 ext. 115.

    Fayetteville-Cumberland Crimestoppers Barbecue

    Fayetteville-Cumberland Crimestoppers will be set up in the Harris Teeter parking lot in Highland Centre off Raeford Road serving tasty Southern pork barbecue plates for $8 each. The money is used to offer rewards to anyone wishing to report anonymous information regarding any crime. 

    Crimestoppers works with the police departments of Fayetteville, Spring Lake and Hope Mills, and the Cumberland County Office of the Sheriff. Since its inception, it has played a part in more than 4,000 arrests and 5,300 felony charges. It has helped recover more than $4,875,000 in property and $1,893,000 in narcotics. Crimestoppers has issued more than $316,000 in rewards and helped solve 2,477 cases, 67 of which were homicides.

    Call 910-483-8477 to report any information regarding a crime and remain anonymous.

    The barbecue runs 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Friday, April 27. Call 910-624-6922 with any questions.

    Partnership for Children’s KidStuff

    KidStuff is an annual favorite at the Dogwood Festival and will be set up on Person Street this year. It is a free area for infants, toddlers and preschoolers that features: PNC Bank’s Grow Up Great Mobile Learning Adventure; Kids in Sports obstacle course; buybuy Baby nursing and changing stations; characters to meet and greet; hands-on activities; art projects; age-appropriate activities for toddlers; information about local resources; and applications for the North Carolina Pre-K Program.

    KidStuff will be open to the public Saturday, April 28, from noon-6 p.m. and Sunday, April 29, from 1-6 p.m.

    Hogs & Rags Spring Rally 

    Calling all bikers and vehicle enthusiasts: Saturday, April 28, registration begins at 7:30 a.m. at the Airborne & Special Operations Museum for Fayetteville’s premier car and motorcycle rally. Kickstands up at 9 a.m. sharp, then riders will be off on a breezy, police-escorted journey with a stop and Rocking A Ranch for breakfast. The ride concludes at Wild Wings Cafe in North Myrtle Beach. There will be a 50/50 raffle, gun raffles and door prizes.

    You can also party it up at the famous Hogs & Rags pre-registration party at Mac’s Speed Shop on Friday, April 27, from 6:30-9 p.m. Visit the website at www.hogsandrags.org to learn more about this 13-years-and-running event.

    As much as the Dogwood Festival is about entertaining the community and bringing us together, the organization also gives back by supporting other local nonprofits. At the 2017 spring event, the Dogwood Festival donated a portion of its proceeds to Vision Resource Center, E.E. Smith High School Marching Band, and local active duty service organizations JSOC Top 3, Air Force Top 3 and Pope Special Activities Committee. The Dogwood Festival donated over $132,000 in 12 years and $13,860 in 2017 to nonprofit partners.

  • 01cover UAC0041818001 It is time to get your motor running, which means it is time for the Hogs & Rags Spring Rally. This will be the 13th annual ride and is known for being Fayetteville’s largest motorcycle and car rally. The ride is Saturday, April 28, at 7:30 a.m., at the Airborne & Special Operations Museum.

    The Hogs & Rags Spring Rally is Fayetteville’s premier car and motorcycle event. It raises monies for various charities and brings the community a little closer together. Each year, hundreds of volunteers, sponsors and law enforcement officers unite to put on this event. This year, the Hogs & Rags community is raising money for the Special Forces Charitable Trust, which provides help to our brave Special Forces soldiers and their families, the American Cancer Society, and Kidsville News Literacy and Education Foundation.

    This ride was originally started by Gardner Altman and Bobby Bleecker of Bleecker Automotive Group. Over the years, the Hogs & Rags Spring Rally has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for local charities. This event is a win/win event for everyone involved. Although the rally benefits local charities, it is really about our community and the people these organizations touch.

    Hogs & Rags has matured over the years. Starting as a small car and motorcycle ride, the rally has become a sanctioned event for the Dogwood Festival. On Saturday morning, the excitement builds around the town, and hundreds of motorcycles and cars descend on the Airborne & Special Operations Museum. Here, participants meet special guests who stop by – to include the Dogwood Queens. This year’s Grand Marshal is the Fayetteville Astros General Manger David Lane and his wife Lindsey.

    The Hogs & Rags Spring Rally has always been a great community event. No matter what kind of motorcycle you ride or what kind of car, truck or Jeep you have, this event is for you. On this day, everyone just enjoys the ride.

    This year, Fort Bragg Harley-Davidson continues to be a prime sponsor. The Fort Bragg Harley- Davidson staff and the riding community help ensure a great event and provide excellent support throughout the day.

    This year, participants meet at the Airborne & Special Operations Museum at 7:30 a.m. to sign up and start lining up the vehicles. It’s kickstands up promptly at 9 a.m., and the caravan is off on the road to adventure. The Cumberland Country Sherriff’s office will provide an escort to the Rock’n-ARanch in White Oak. There, riders will be greeted by a small army of cooks, volunteers and special guests for the best low country breakfast around.

    After breakfast, it’s back on the road and off to Myrtle Beach with a short stop in Tabor City for a water and a bathroom break. If you like riding without a helmet, this is a great opportunity to tuck it away as the drive crosses the border into South Carolina. This year, the main event will be held at Wild Wings Café at Barefoot Landing in North Myrtle Beach. Here, there will be a 50/50 raffle, gun raffles and door prizes.

    The event organizers will auction a beautiful handmade Hogs & Rags quilt made by Peggy Stanley. Murf’s Pawn of Whiteville has donated a Smith and Wesson, M&P M2.0 9mm pistol that will be auctioned as well.

    The event officially concludes at Wild Wing Café at Barefoot Landing. There, many people will stay and go shop or enjoy Myrtle Beach. Some people come back to Fayetteville in time to make the Dogwood Festival concert at Festival Park. This year’s performers are the Chris Cox Band and country star Rodney Atkins.

    Hogs & Rags will host its famous pre-registration party at Mac’s Speed Shop Friday, April 27, from at 6:30-9 p.m. Mac’s will host live music by Lotus Sun. Guests are in for a treat and for a great night of music and dancing. If you don’t ride, you can still support this organization by purchasing raffle tickets and donations. Admission is free.

    The Kidsville News Literacy and Education Foundation’s mission is to improve literacy, education and character development among America’s youth by providing support for various early learning and literacy-based initiatives nationwide. The Kidsville News Literacy & Education Foundation approves grants to qualified projects and institutions that endeavor to instill strong reading and education skills and good, solid character development traits in America’s youth. The Kidsville News Literacy and Education Foundation works hard to bring the best out in each student. For more information on the Kidsville Literacy and Education Foundation, visit www.kidsvillenewsfoundation.com.

    Fort Bragg is the home of the Special Forces. Special Forces, which is known as the “Green Berets,” have been part of the Fayetteville community since 1952. In 1961, President John F. Kennedy authorized a small, unconventional unit here to wear the Green Beret because he believed their unique mission deserved special recognition. In 1962, Kennedy called the green beret “a symbol of excellence, a badge of courage, a mark of distinction in the fight for freedom.”

    The Special Forces are the unsung heroes of the past and the diplomatic warriors in today’s war on terror. Masters in conducting training and operations with indigenous forces, they conduct the majority of special operations counterinsurgency missions.

    In the war on terror, Green Berets have endured the highest casualty rate of all Special Operations Forces. In addition to the commitments in Afghanistan and Iraq,

    Special Forces are deployed all over the world. These men were deployed in over 70 different countries. Active duty and veteran Green Berets, along with the Special Forces National Guard and all their families, deserve the highest level of support and service. Working with the Special Forces Association, the Special Forces Charitable Trust provides a nationwide network of volunteers, as well as meaningful and sustainable programs and services to support Green Berets and their Families – past, present and future. For more information, visit www.specialforcescharitabletrust.org.

    The American Cancer Society supports researchers and health professionals as they explore all avenues to stop cancer. The American Cancer Society has programs and services to help manage cancer treatment and recovery and find the emotional support patients need. Each year, the ladies from the local American Cancer Society will be up early preparing a wonderful breakfast for the rally. The cost of the Hogs & Rags ride is $50 per person, which pays for the breakfast, water break, the meal at Wild Wings Café and the 2018 Hogs & Rags T-shirt.

    This ride is for all brands of motorcycles and vehicles. Although rain is always a possibility, riders can still jump in their cars and come on out for a great day.

    Last year was the biggest and most successful event to date. Due to the size of the event, the ride will be limited to 400 participants. Visit www.hogsandrags.org to preregister. Check out the Facebook page at Hogs & Rags of Fayetteville for more information, or call Mary at 910-988-3510.

  •  09banquetSaturday, April 21, One Common Bond will host the “Connect” All-American Community Service Awards Banquet. Proceeds from the event will go toward helping One Common Bond provide grief care packages to Gold Star families in North Carolina.

    One Common Bond is a nonprofit organization founded in Fayetteville by Kimberly Franco to assist those affected by sudden loss. One Common Bond offers a variety of services, includinggrief packages tailored to meet individual needs. These packages often include information on dealing with grief in healthy ways as well as journals, children’s books and encouragement cards. The organization often sends these donated packages to the families of fallen service members. Recently, Franco and her team have provided grief packages for each of the families affected by the school shooting in Parkland, Florida.

    Franco’s reasons for founding One Common Bond are personal. “I was a captain in the army with 22 years of service when I lost my brother to suicide,” she said. “It was very devastating for me and my family, which is why I asked the Army for an early retirement. I knew that I wanted to devote 100 percent of my time to suicide prevention.” Her work with suicide prevention in the Army Reserves showed her the deficiencies of that system – specifically the minimal aid that went to military families after the loss of a loved one. “Starting this nonprofit allowed me to do what I felt was lacking and provide muchneeded resources for the grief journey,” said Franco.

    Her focus over the years has remained steady even if her approach has evolved. According to Franco, “I have changed my speaking points from saying ‘suicide prevention’ to saying, ‘life promotion.’ It is important to promote life.” And that, she said, is exactly what the All-American Community Service Awards Banquet is all about – promoting life and promoting people who have a passion for service.

    The banquet will recognize outstanding community service volunteers and leaders at Fort Bragg as well as those who live in Hope Mills, Spring Lake, Raeford, Fayetteville and other surrounding cities. Awards will be presented in the following categories: City Impact, Children Impact, Global Impact and Achieving Community Excellence (ACE) – a category for youth under 18 years old.

    According to Franco, the banquet recognizes those who are doing wonderful work in the field of community service while it also serves as the major fundraiser for One Common Bond. Proceeds from the banquet will help the organization send grief packages those who need them, free of charge. “Our desire,” said Franco, “is to provide the gifts to every Gold Star Family within the state of North Carolina.”

    The evening will kick off with an expo highlighting life-promoting businesses. There will be a keynote address by Jennifer Loredo and music by soloist Aliciah Small, a student at Fayetteville State University. The evening will culminate with the awards ceremony, featuring special awards presentations from Fayetteville Mayor, Mitch Colvin, and Miss Fayetteville, Danielle Herset.

    For more information on the work and mission of One Common Bond, visit www.1commonbond.org. For specific questions concerning the services offered by the clinic or for information on donating, One Common Bond can be reached by phone at 706-304- 7276 or by email at 1CommonBond@gmail.com.

    The “Connect” All-American Community Service Awards Banquet is scheduled for Saturday, April 21, at True Vine Ministries, J Center at 5315 Morganton Rd. The event is scheduled to run from 5:30-7:30 p.m. Tickets cost $25 and can be purchased at www.connectnorthcarolina.com.

  • 08EE Smith Fayetteville State University presents The Founders’ Play “150 Steps to Equality” April 19–21 at Butler Theatre at 7:30 p.m. This historical drama is part of the 2018 Founders’ Day activities and sesquicentennial celebration.

    “The 150 is obviously representative of the 150 years, and I chose the title because of what one of the founders said – that establishing the State Colored Normal School was the first step in moving forward after the Civil War,” said Phoebe Hall, professor with the Performing and Fine Arts Department. “The play is about the founders and not so much the founding of the school because we have heard about the founding many times.”

    Hall added that any time the history of FSU is talked about, people hear about the $136 purchase for the land and how the school came to be. “When I was tasked with writing this play, I started thinking about these founders, and it occurred to me that I did not know the first thing about each one of them,” said Hall. “That’s what (piqued) my curiosity – who were these men and how did they manage to do this thing?”

    This was just after the Civil War stopped, and money was very tight. “Even though the Civil War guaranteed certain freedoms for African- Americans, they were not in place yet,” said Hall. “So how did these seven men manage to save up $136? Because in 1865 that would have been a small fortune.” Hall added that she had to research and find out what the men did for a living and their views on educating black children, which at that time was still illegal. Even though the civil rights movement said it was no longer illegal, people were still being arrested for doing it.

    The first act of the play is about the founders. Each one of them has a monologue that explains where they came from, who their parents were and what they did for a living.

    The second act starts out with E. E. Smith. “E. E. Smith is not one of the founders, but he is credited with saving the school from going under,” said Hall. “It covers all the land purchases he made, deeding the land over to the school and going to bat for state funding.”

    The remainder of the second act is about the students at the school. It focuses on what they were like, the kinds of things they were involved in, the music and dances they were into and their membership in various clubs and organizations as well as their political involvement.

    “We look forward to everyone coming out to see this play,” said Hall.

    The cost is $10 for adults, $8 for staff and senior citizens and $3 for students with ID.

    For more information, call 910-672-1006.

    Photo: E.E. Smith

  • 16 motorcycle“Force majeure” is an uncommon term referring to an act of God, an act of man, an irresistible force, a superior force or Mother Nature. When a tragedy strikes, we often just shake our heads and say, “It was meant to be,” or, “It was God’s will.” In the legal world, “force majeure” is used because, legally, lawyers cannot reference God in a contract or a statement. Lawyers cannot hold God responsible or prove that something was his doing.

    When it comes to motorcycling and car wrecks, we use the term “accident” or “crash.” Although the terms are interchangeable, motor-vehiclists (yes, that is a word I made up) and the automotive/insurance industry use the word “accident” when it comes to motor vehicles. In motorcycling, we hear the word “crash” more often.

    Depending on your point of view, these words often represent a mindset. If I get on my motorcycle and think, “I hope I don’t get in an accident today,” it’s not necessarily the same as if I think, “I better be ready for a crash today.”

    The vehicle industry goes to great lengths to make sure we are protected in case of an accident. Our cars have hundreds of safety features that we take for granted. To name a few, our cars feature airbags, anti-lock brakes, traction control, automatic lights, and seatbelts (although they have not been updated since 1968).

    Road systems are constructed for motor vehicles (not motorcycles or bicycles). Let’s face it, even a drunk person has a decent chance of surviving a crash.

    In contrast, a drunk motorcyclist does not have that same chance of survival.

    Motorcyclists have very few safety features on their bikes. We have lights (front and back, not so much on the sides) and brakes. More modern bikes have an anti-skid braking system and traction control; a few now have airbags. Any other safety measures are pretty much up to the rider.

    Motorcycling is inherently a dangerous mode of transportation. When riders think there is a possibility that one day they might get in an accident or force majeure, they are more inclined to leave their fate to chance. This may be the reason that some motorcyclists just wear the minimum amount of clothing, such as shorts, T-shirts, flip-flops and small, peanut-sized helmets – while others are well armored with protective gear and a full-face helmet.

    I have often said that if a person is hit by another person then they let that person get too close. There are two situations I can think of that a person cannot control. The first thing that comes to mind is animals. Lately, I’ve seen a lot of deer. The weather is getting warmer and fresh grass is growing on the sides of the highways, so keep your eyes open.

    The other situation is weather. High winds, storms, hail, fallen trees and lightning are the most dangerous. There is a saying, “When thunder roars, go indoors.” The best possible solution to these situations is to just avoid them. Like the rules at a swimming pool, if you hear thunder or see lightning, find shelter. Gas stations, restaurants, under bridges or car washes are great places to wait out a storm.

    However, if you ride long enough, you will eventually get caught in bad weather. For these situations, it is best to dress for success and have some good rain gear with you until you can get to a safe place.

    No matter how you ride or what your mindset is, if you have an unfortunate event, then may the force majeure be with you.

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

    RIDE SAFE!

  • 01 coverThe Commodores are no strangers to Fayetteville. Before the band ever produced a record, they were entertaining locals. “We used to play at the Utopia Lounge in Fayetteville,” said Commodore Walter “Clyde” Orange. “We played Fayetteville two to three times a year back then because we had a following there before we even made a record.” Community Concerts is bringing the band to the Crown April 14, along with special guest Landau Eugene Murphy.

    Founded in 1968 when the original members were attending Tuskegee University in Alabama, the Commodores have sold more than 60 million records. Orange said the band’s staying power stems from several factors, one of them being their ability to adapt. “We went through hard rock – we played all kinds of things. We played all kinds of clubs. Then when Motown was looking for an opening act for the Jackson 5, they picked us because we were well-rounded. Michael Jackson was just 9 years old then.”

    Orange joined the group in 1969, replacing James Ingram when Ingram left the band to serve in Vietnam.

    The fact that the band still has fun together plays a big part in its success, too. “When we played with the Jackson 5, we were just as playful and devilish as they were in terms of having fun,” Orange said. “We made sure to have a good time everywhere we went. We still do.”

    Instead falling into the habits that destroyed many of their peers, the Commodores chose to focus on their music as many performers succumbed to drugs and other vices.

    “The hip thing to do is create music,” said Orange. “We wanted to create songs that would last forever. Thank the Lord, we are still here today, doing what he blessed us to be able to do. We were able to weather the storms, stay together and continue to work – and people like what we are doing. Sure, we are older, but we are just as playful as we were when we started.”

    With an impressive play list that includes hits like “Easy,” “Three Times a Lady,” “Brick House,” “Fancy Dancer” and more, the band was awarded its first Grammy in 1986 for “Night Shift.”

    Orange said the band is looking forward to the April 14 concert, promising a high-energy performance with a lot of soul – even with the ballads. “They are going to get a chance to listen to songs like ‘Three Times a Lady.’ And while it may not be of your generation, when JD finishes the song, you will be in love with the person next to you. When I sing ‘Still,’ you will feel the mood and the flavor. We strive for perfection.”

    Community Concerts shares the Commodores’ philosophy of only offering the best entertainment possible. With its 82nd season winding down, the passion for first-class shows and love for community that inspired the founding of Community Concerts is strong as ever.

    “Commodores is an unbelievable show,” said Community Concerts Attractions Director Michael Fleishman. “It’s got a really interesting opening act. We are bringing in Landau Eugene Murphy. He won ‘America’s Got Talent’ four or five years ago. Frank Sinatra is no longer with us, but his voice is back with Murphy.”

    This is a special concert because it is the night that someone new will be inducted into The Fayetteville Music Hall of Fame. In 2008, Community Concerts founded The Fayetteville Music Hall of Fame to honor those who have brought musical distinction to the community. “This program has done nothing but grow in stature and prominence since we created it,” said Fleishman. “The new members will be inducted before the Commodores show. Two people will be inducted this year.”

    The next show this season is The Illusionists: Live from Broadway, which is set for May 10.

    “This was going to be our final show, but it looks like the Charlie Daniels Band and The Marshall Tucker Band will wrap this year up with a concert on June 1.” Fleishman said. “The Illusionists was one of the top 10 shows in this country this last year and is the No. 1 magic show on planet today. It is not one, but five magicians onstage. They are not only fabulous magicians, they are funny. We try to keep it fresh, and there hasn’t been a magic show like this in Fayetteville in, I think, 25 years. The audience will love it.”

    Community Concerts also supports local artists of all ages by providing opportunities to perform. In recent years, teen Christian group Voices of the Heart performed with Gladys Knight onstage at the Crown, and The Linda Kinlaw School of Dance performed with Tina McBride. Local musician Trae Edwards sang with Ricky Skaggs at the Crown as well.

    The all-volunteer organization also offers college scholarships to local high school graduates. The program was initiated in 2004. Since then it has awarded about 30 scholarships.

    For Community Concerts, access to top-notch musical performances is a quality of life issue. So, the group looks for opportunities to bring people to its concerts who might not get to experience them otherwise. Community Concerts has invited several groups to its concerts for free. These include the Vision Resource Center, Fayetteville Urban Ministry, The Sunshine Center as well as local fire and police departments, high school theater and art classes and members of the military.

    Earlier in the season ZZ Top canceled a performance and later, a concert featuring the Charlie Daniels Band and The Marshall Tucker Band was postponed. “This season has had some ups and downs and things we could not control,” Fleishman said. “We hate that this has been a problematic season, but artists are people, too. They get sick and there is nothing you can do except roll with the punches. We really appreciate how people have been so understanding. We want to say thank you to the community for their support and to Jim Grafstrom and the Crown. We are working hard to come up with an extra special season for next year.”

    To find out more about Community Concerts, or to purchase tickets, visit www.communityconcerts. com.

  • 12 FTCCIn 2016, a regional economic impact study declared Fayetteville Technical Community College’s impact on the Cumberland County economy was $697.4 million in added income. Serving more than 40,000 students each year, this powerhouse of a resource strives to help the community thrive by providing more than 200 occupational, technical, general education, college transfer and continuing education programs. The FTCC Foundation, Inc., looks for ways to open doors for students to attend FTCC. While the foundation makes a big impact by funding things like tuition and books, the need is great, and money is often tight. The weekend of April 26-27, the foundation will host a Bluegrass and Barbecue Silent Auction and golf tournament to raise funds to support the foundation. Proceeds benefit FTCC students.

    “Our goal is to raise $55,000 in scholarship and academic program support,” said Lorna Ricotta, FTCC Foundation’s executive director.

    “Last year, the revenue from generous donors and guests permitted the foundation to award $21,322 for general scholarships and $10,000 for emergency student funds. In total, the foundation awarded nearly $200,000 scholarships for the year.”

    While $55,000 may not sound like a lot, Ricotta said having a scholarship can determine if someone starts or completes college – for many it is a determining factor. “It may be a transitioning soldier or a grandmother or a single mom working a couple of jobs. Our scholarships get them that much closer to their goal of getting a degree. We also have a lot of firstgeneration students.”

    The Bluegrass and Barbecue Silent Auction is April 26 at 6 p.m. at the FTCC Tony Rand Center, featuring The Barefoot Movement, a Nashville-based acoustic band. The group won a Momentum Award declaring them “Band of the Year” by the International Bluegrass Association in 2014 and has received several other awards . “They are a crossover with some country and some bluegrass,” Ricotta said. “I look forward to the relaxed nature of this event. This is a fun come-as-you-are jeans and boots event. Enjoy the music, dance and have fun.”

    B&B Catering will provide the food. “B&B owner Bill Pannhoff is a graduate of our culinary program,” said Ricotta. “It is exciting to see where our graduates end up.”

    “Beverages are provided by Healy Wholesale,” Ricotta said. “They are always generous when we ask for help. And we are pleased to have Ebenconcepts as the presenting sponsor.”

    Some of the items up for auction include gift certificates, spa packages, restaurant gift cards, golfing packages, a mandolin and guitar lessons as well as student contributions. “The carpentry students are building a table and bench, and the culinary students are doing custom cakes,” Ricotta said. “Their cakes are beautiful and yummy.”

    The golf tournament takes place April 27 at Gates Four Golf and Country Club. Registration is at 10 a.m. Lunch will be served at 11:15 a.m. Tee time is at noon. There will be awards for first and second place, closest to the tee and longest drive.

    The event is open to the public. Visit https://www.faytechcc.edu/giving/ or call 910-678-8441 to register. Tickets for the silent auction cost $75. Tickets for the golf tournament cost $100.

  • 11 care clinicOn Thursday, April 26, Cape Fear Botanical Garden will be the site of the 18th Annual Toast of the Town Wine & Beer Tasting and Silent Auction. All proceeds from the event will benefit The CARE Clinic, a free clinic that offers health care services to uninsured, lower-income adults.

    Even though The CARE Clinic is located in Fayetteville, the staff at the clinic are proud that their service area extends much further. According to Cynthia Spears, the development and marketing director for the clinic, “We offer services to people all over Cumberland County and the surrounding areas.”

    Those services include access to doctors and other medical professionals who all volunteer their time to work with the clinic. According to Spears, The CARE Clinic utilizes the services of some 500 volunteers at any given time.

    In spite of the large sum of volunteer workers, The CARE Clinic still accrues operating costs of around $44,000 per month. This money is spent on day-to-day operations like paying the phone, electricity and water bills as well as keeping the inhouse pharmacy well-stocked.

    “We like to emphasize that we receive no government assistance,” said Spears. “We rely on fundraisers and grants.”

    The upcoming Toast of the Town is one such fundraiser. For the cost of one $50 ticket, attendees will be able to sample wine from Mutual Distributing as well as beer from three local breweries – Mash House, Dirtbag Ales and Bright Light Brewing Company.

    Additionally, Anstead’s Tobacco Company will have a selection of cigars available for purchase, and Bedlam Vodka will also be on hand. Catering will be provided by Pierro’s Italian Bistro, and the soundtrack for the evening will be courtesy the DJs from Five Star Entertainment.

    The Toast of the Town also features a silent auction with big-ticket items, including trips to New Orleans, Mali, Italy or an Alaskan cruise.

    “We also have several other smaller- ticket items as well,” said Spears. “There will be a variety of items for people to bid on, including several themed packages or baskets.”

    All of the proceeds from the silent auction and ticket sales will directly go toward funding The CARE Clinic and ensuring that low-income adults in the area have the vital health care they need.

    For more information on The CARE Clinic, visit www.thecareclinic. org. For specific questions concerning the services offered by the clinic or for information on donating, The Care Clinic can be reached by phone at 910-485-0555 or by email at care@thecareclinic.org.

    The 18th Annual Toast of the Town fundraiser is scheduled for Thursday, April 26, at Cape Fear Botanical Garden and will run 6-8:30 p.m. Advanced tickets cost $50 and can be purchased at www.mkt.com/ the-care-clinic. Tickets can also be purchased at the door for $55.

  • 10 wedding open houseWedding season is fast approaching, and in anticipation, SkyView on Hay presents its first annual Wedding Open House on Sunday, April 15, from 1-6 p.m. Here, bridesand grooms-to-be will find all things wedding-related, from cake to couture.

    “This event is our first event of this type, and it is a time for the public to see the space that we offer to hold weddings, ceremonies, receptions and things like that,” said Lindsay Salisbury, assistant manager of SkyView on Hay. “It is also a time for the public to interact with local vendors that offer awesome services; this is very different from the usual bridal show.”

    Salisbury added that the aim is to bring brides and grooms the full wedding experience

    The wedding showcase will feature mock setups of the ceremony, reception and social hour that include décor, food, entertainment and vendors who are chosen for those spaces.

    “We are anticipating about 24 hand-selected vendors to participate in our open house,” said Salisbury. “It is a time for potential clients to speak one-on-one with these local vendors as well as myself and our manager, Krista Giles, about what they need.”

    Some of the vendors include Elite Catering, The Belmont Village, Indigo Earth Events, Debbie Bender Designs, ANG Event Management, Platinum Event DJs and Digital Connect to the Digital World. “We are also going to have our table that gives a favor to the early birds that come,” said Salisbury. “They will also be given a chance to sign our wedding guest book and be entered for a raffle prize during the event.”

    Salisbury summed up the appeal of the event: “Instead of going to a bridal show, you will see a booth in which you will be able to walk up and see different mock-ups of what it could look like for your event.

    “It will really give potential clients an idea and a visual as far as what they are looking for, and it gives them time for more one-on-one interaction with these vendors.”

    The Wedding Open House on April 15 is free and open to the public. For more information, call 901-486-4466.

  • 08 Civics eventThe Fayetteville Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated will present a Civics 101 seminar and panel discussion Saturday, April 14, from 4-6 p.m. at the Kiwanis Recreation Center.

    “This is a nonpartisan program that we started thinking about earlier last year. We actually held our first forum in October of last year,” said Amanda Williams, co-chair of the Social Action Committee for The Fayetteville Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. “Our goal is to fill the gap for educating the community on how the government and different branches work by explaining it in very simple terms.”

    Williams added this is an ongoing project that they hope to extend until the 2020 presidential election.

    “Our social action chair, Meta Coaxum, was wondering about civics and whether or not it was still being taught in the public school system,” said Sylvia McPherson, chapter president for Fayetteville Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. “She suggested that we do something around civics so that not only the children know how the government works, but to make sure their parents, grandparents, uncles and aunts understand, so they have an input and a voice in how our government works.”

    The topic of discussion for the event will be the judicial system. “We have seen the different changes that our political leaders are trying to make as far as the judicial system, and that is a concern for us,” said Williams. “We believe that the judicial system should be blind, so we want our young people to understand how the judicial system works.”

    Several individuals will participate in the panel discussion; they are Superior Court Judge Gail Adams, Judge Tiffany Whitfield and Magistrate Frances Jackson.

    “We want our panelists to speak in layman’s terms about the judicial system,” said Williams. “These young people are being galvanized by the whole issue of gun control, so we want to make sure we do our part in educating young people about the government and how it works.”

    Val Applewhite, from Democracy North Carolina, will give an update on what’s going on in the state in reference to voting because of district lines being (re)drawn. She will discuss present court cases regarding voting and how elected officials want to change the way districts vote.

    The Fayetteville Alumnae Chapter is also collaborating with other organizations to educate the community. These organizations are Advance Carolina, Advocacy Fayetteville State University, Fayetteville-Cumberland County Youth Council, Fort Bragg Alumnae Chapter of Delta Theta Sorority, Inc. and Beta Chi Chapter of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc.

    “We also want to make sure young people in our community as a whole understand the importance of going to the polls to vote at every election,” said Williams. “They need to know it is important for them to participate in the process, and they need to know who they are putting in office.”

    The event is free and open to the public. For more information, email fac.saction@gmail.com.

  • 12ftcc bballThe Fayetteville Technical Community College Trojan Athletics Program returned to the basketball court in the fall of 2016 after a 41-year hiatus. Along with men’s basketball, FTCC added women’s basketball and men’s and women’s golf as new sports. Students and members of the community were excited to see FTCC add athletics to the college atmosphere.

    The Trojans worked hard, and it did not take long for them to achieve success. The women’s golf team won an early event at Anderson Creek hosted by Central Carolina Community College in October 2016, and the men won the same event in spring 2017. In addition to this win, the men beat NCAA Division III La Roche College at Tobacco Road.

    Neither team was eligible for the post-season due to National Junior College Athletic Association guidelines for first-year programs; however, each brought home hardware in just their first season of play.

    Coach Eric Tucker, who has a great deal of experience and local connections, leads the women’s basketball program. He pulled together a full roster of players from the greater Fayetteville area and achieved some great wins. From the beginning, Tucker’s goal was to be competitive and constantly build from there. He completed the season with a 9-15 record.

    Recruitment went well for the second season. At the guard position, the team improved but without enough depth in the post to go deep in the strong conference. In their first year eligible, the Trojans finished at 8-18 with a win in the first round of the NJCAA Region 10 Championships.

    The men’s team had a more challenging start. The men were able to succeed in a few early wins before a 20-game losing streak. They broke the losing streak with a win on Sophomore Night as the season ended.

    The men’s second season proved to be much better. Coach Brian Hurd recruited a high-quality team. They won their first two post-season games and made an appearance in the Region 10 Final Four. With an overall 17-13 record, the team set a good course for the future.

    The expansion of athletics teams at FTCC begins in the 2018-19 season with the addition of volleyball, softball and baseball. The coaches are recruiting players for each of these sports, and the teams are starting to shape up.

    The Trojans compete in the NJCAA, in Division II in all offered sports. FTCC is in Region 10. FTCC appreciates the support of students, faculty, staff and the community as the school’s athletic program expands to give students the wonderful elements that sporting programs contribute to the college experience.

    If you are interested in learning more about a particular program, contact the appropriate party as listed below.

    FTCC Trojans Athletics

    • Michael Neal, athletics director: 910-486-3630, nealm@faytechcc.edu

    • Brian Hurd, men’s basketball: 910-678-1038, hurdb@faytechcc.edu

    • Eric Tucker, women’s basketball: 910-678-1039, tuckere@faytechcc.edu

    • John Michael Cole, golf: 910-486-3912, colej@faytechcc.edu

    • Moe Licardo, volleyball: 910-486-7343, licarlom@faytechcc.edu

    • Miguel Justiniano, softball: 910-486-7344, justinim@faytechcc.edu

    • Lee Troutman, baseball: 910-486-3630, troutmah@faytechcc.edu

  • 11jazz and wine 2017 0254 previewAs old man winter makes his retreat and the outdoors beckon, Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra brings music and song to Festival Park for its third annual Jazz Fest, April 6 from 6-10 p.m. The event includes jazz bands and a cappella groups from across the state, creating a casual evening of food, fun and music.

    Because no outdoor concert is complete without refreshments, food trucks will be on-site. “We have Bold Flavors, Sandwich Mike’s, Babann’s Fried Chicken, Dusty Donuts, R Burger and Dahn’s Kitchen,” said FSO president and CEO Christine Kastner. “Beer and wine is provided by Healy Wholesale.”

    A relatively young event, the Jazz Festival came about “after several conversations with people who said that there weren’t enough opportunities to hear jazz in our community,” said Kastner. “At the same time, we had been looking for a signature fundraising event for the symphony. We decided to combine the interest in jazz with our interest in doing an event in Festival Park. Then we took it a step further and decided to provide an opportunity for college groups to participate. Our mission includes education, so we thought this would provide a performance opportunity for the colleges.”

    The a cappella groups were added strategically to the event. “We added a cappella groups because we needed breaks between the jazz bands, and it also provides a different type of entertainment to appeal to more people,” Kastner said.

    The jazz bands are from Fayetteville State University, Fayetteville Technical Community College, Methodist University and UNC Pembroke. They range in size, from big bands to small jazz combos showcasing the talents of the students and, in some cases, the faculty.

    The a cappella groups are from North Carolina State University, UNC-Chapel Hill and Elon University. All are student groups with roughly 15-20 vocalists in each. “Many of them are award winning groups and are a joy not only to listen to, but also to watch,” said Julia Atkins, FSO director of artistic operations and marketing.

    Kastner said the event is designed to be a fun way to get out and enjoy the spring weather, listen to great music, eat, drink and have a good time. “And for those who are suffering from withdrawal from March madness, they can cheer on their favorite local universities!” she added.

    FSO was founded in 1956 and is a professional orchestra. Part of the organization’s mission is to educate, entertain and inspire the citizens of the Fayetteville, North Carolina, region as the leading musical resource. In addition to performing six to eight concerts each season, the orchestra has a youth orchestra, an after-school string program, music summer camps, an elementary string camp and a concerto competition. FSO also sponsors several school programs throughout the year and partners with community organizations.

    Tickets to the Jazz Fest April 6 range from $10-$45 and include military discount prices along with VIP and nondrinking options. The VIP package includes a separate beer and wine service, appetizers and seating in a reserved section of the park close to the performances. VIP is for adults only and is limited to 150 people. Purchase tickets in advance at fayettevillesymphony.org

  • 10BreastcancerBreast cancer is the second leading cause of death in women. About one in eight women will develop invasive breast cancer over the course of her lifetime, which is why it is important to perform a monthly breast self-exam and set up an appointment for an annual 3D mammogram. It’s also important to get educated about breast health. The Fayetteville Area Breast Network presents its third annual Breast Cancer Education Forum, “Journey from Diagnosis through Treatment,” Thursday, April 12, from 5-8 p.m. at Cape Fear Botanical Garden.

    “The purpose of this forum is to educate those in the community about breast cancer,” said Tyler Sutherland, community engagement coordinator at Cape Fear Valley Health Foundation. “There will be vignettes and a video that will feature breast cancer survivors and providers from the very beginning of diagnosis through the psychological aspects through treatment.

    “CFVHF is where funds are held to provide mammograms to uninsured women and breast education bags to newly diagnosed breast cancer patients.”

    The event will feature a fashion runway show, shopping, trunk shows and raffle drawings. The fashion show will showcase breast cancer survivors and community members. The vendors include Betty Kelly’s Gift Shop, Pure Barre of Fayetteville, Knickers, Monkees of Fayetteville, Pink of the Pines, Dash of Chic, Perrique Boutique, Top of the Hill Gift Shop and Monogramming, and An Affair to Remember. Trunk shows are by Stella and Dot, Younique Contractor, Beauty Counter Beauty Products and Rodan and Fields.

    Beauty and wellness vendors include The Clip Joint, Susan Lester Massage and Guiding Wellness. There will be a silent auction featuring art from Kathy Hoffarth Pantele, Stephanie Bostock, Deborah Reavis and Shari Link. Cape Fear Valley Cancer Center, Valley Regional Imaging, Valley Radiology, and Advanced Physical Therapy will provide breast cancer education.

    Fayetteville Area Breast Network was created three years ago by Dr. Bruce Distell of Valley Radiology and his wife, Sally Distell. Dr. Elizabeth Sawyer of CFVH is a breast surgeon and the driving force of the forum. “They are ready to put Fayetteville on the map as being one of the prominent breast care centers,” said Sutherland. “It is incredible to see the amount of work as well as knowledge that is based right here at home to locally support breast cancer patients.”

    Sutherland added that as part of the hospital there are three cancer centers.

    CFVH’s annual Ribbon Walk and Run will take place Saturday, April 21, at Festival Park.

    For more information or to learn about sponsorship opportunities, visit www.bestforyourbreast3.event brite.com.

  • Harley Davidson riders are pretty loyal to their bikes. So it seems only fitting that the Cape Fear Harley Davidson would be just as loyal to their customers. On Saturday, May 3, the Fayetteville business will sponsor its annual customer appreciation day to show just how much their customers, and the men and women of the U.S. military mean to them. 

    The day-long event will feature a bike show, a fashion show, a Dyno Shoot-Out, a stunt show, free food and a mini-carnival for kids. And that’s not even half of what the staff of Cape Fear Harley Davidson has planned. 

    Duke Durham, the parts manager, said the open house is an annual event that not only the community, but the staff of Cape Fear Harley looks forward to. The first event was held in May of 1991, when the dealership moved into its headquarters on Sycamore Dairy Road. Since then, the first Saturday of May has been dedicated to telling the community how proud Cape Fear Harley is of being a part of the community and to thank the community for its continued support.

    “It’s a really big event,” said Durham. “We have something for everyone and it’s just our way of saying thanks.”

    One of the big events of the day is the annual bike show. The show is open to the public. There is a $10 entry fee. Bikes will be judged in seven classes and there will be a Best of Show title awarded as well. The bike show will run from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

    If your bike isn’t quite up to show standards, you might want to stop in at the bike wash sponsored by the Steel Angels, a women’s motorcycle organization. Funds raised by the bike wash will benefit charity.

    Of course, even if you are not a biker, you might want to check out the Ill Conduct Stunt Show, which features bikes performing jumps, wheelies and burn-outs. The show is scheduled for noon and 2:30 p.m. Or, if you do own a bike, you might want to participate in the Dyno Shoot Out. The shoot out, sponsored by Cape Fear Harley Davidson Racing č the store’s in-house drag racing team č would be a favorite of TV’s Tool Man, because it judges the bike with “more power.” There is a $25 entry fee for this event, and the bike with the biggest pull takes it all.

    And of course, we did mention food č hamburgers and hot dogs will be served from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. There is no charge for the food. Kids playing in the carnival area will also be offered the sugar rush of cotton candy. 

    Everyone knows that any bike event is not complete without music, and the Cape Fear Harley staff has you covered there, as well. Fayetteville rockers Motorjunkie will be on hand throughout the day to get your motor running. The band will perform at 11 a.m. and again at 1 and 3 p.m.

    There will also be a bike giveaway, as well as other smaller giveaways throughout the day. So what are you waiting for? Head down to Cape Fear Harley Davidson where they won’t only tell you they appreciate your business, they’ll show you.

  • 11BabyI never really understood the story of Rip Van Winkle — until recently, that is. It seems the more I look around, the less I recognize. It’s not that progress or change bothers me. In fact, I’m a huge fan of many things new and emerging. But I’ve come to regret some of the things we choose to abandon — namely values.

    Back to Van Winkle. When he awakens on a mountain after a 20-year nap, he discovers shocking changes: his musket is rotting and rusty, his beard is a foot long, and his dog is nowhere to be found.

    He returns to his village, where he recognizes no one. He arrives just after an election, and people ask how he voted. Never having cast a ballot in his life, he proclaims himself a faithful subject of King George III, unaware that the American Revolution has taken place. He nearly gets himself into trouble with the townspeople until one elderly woman recognizes him as the long-lost Rip Van Winkle.

    When it comes to music, entertainment and even transportation, I’m completely on board with the changes. I like the new. I like the path we’re taking, and I can still enjoy the fruits of a harvest gone by without bothering anyone else with my sense of melancholy.

    Technology? A little different, but I am usually quick to embrace the latest and keep my eyes peeled for whatever is coming over the horizon. It’s just that the devices we used before become more quickly obsolete.

    Then we come to values. I can’t really discuss values without mentioning how closely aligned they are with the morals I live by. Those morals come from the Bible. Love God. Love others more than you do yourself. Do justice, love mercy and walk humbly. These are not catch phrases to me. They are the basis for the moral code I feel we’ve begun to abandon.

    On a recent Sunday, I found myself having insults bounced off me while I was saluted with a single finger more than once by numerous passers-by. My offense? Holding a sign that simply read, “Pray to end abortion.” Four words. I didn’t speak a word. I didn’t confront anyone. I wasn’t blocking an entrance or a roadway. I was just standing on the public right of way near a closed clinic at which abortions are offered.

    On one side of me was a couple who adopted a beautiful little girl from a young, unexpectedly pregnant mother who had previously considered abortion. On my other side were a couple of young women who had had abortions and who hoped to dissuade others from taking a similar path. They knew the heartache and regret it caused and wanted to intercede on other women’s behalf.

    After a 20-year career standing in the gap for the defenseless as a soldier, standing in a similar way for the unborn is somewhat natural for me. It’s how I pray. It’s how I think. It’s one way I place value on others more than myself. When I observe our legislators considering whether a child in the third trimester of gestation is worthy of drawing its first — or second — breath outside the womb, I am grieved at what we’ve abandoned.

    Our culture lines up for programs promising a better future for children while granting legal access to murder of the very children who could have taken part in that future.

  • 06DebtNew research by two North Carolina State University professors has brought into stark relief the following facts: America is in a debt crisis, our economy is suffering as a result, and politicians of both major political parties bear responsibility.

    Economists Thomas Grennes and Mehmet Caner worked with a third author, Qingliang Fan of China’s Xiamen University, to produce the paper. Published by George Mason University’s Mercatus Center, it examines decades of fiscal and economic data for the United States and several other developed countries.

    Their key finding is that when the indebtedness in a country reaches a certain level, it becomes a drag on economic growth. Low levels of debt don’t necessarily have this effect. If institutions borrow in order to finance valuable investment — to build or expand plants and equipment, improve infrastructure, etc. — that enhances productivity. The resulting gains can more than offset the cost of the debt.

    But investments contain built-in uncertainties. Not all capital projects pay off. We generally borrow to fund the best bets at first, then the next-best bets, and so on. The more we borrow and spend, the less likely the spending will be worth it. What’s worse, we don’t always borrow to invest. We use credit to buy things for immediate consumption.

    That’s not a big deal in small amounts. And it’s not necessarily disastrous even in large amounts if the good we purchase lasts a long time and has resale value, such as a house. But largescale borrowing to fund large-scale consumption is foolish.

    The temptation is particularly strong, and the consequences particularly grave, government. Those who make the initial decision, the politicians, can get credit for what gets funded without getting personal blame years or decades later for the taxes or foregone expenditures required to pay off the resulting debts. And because governments don’t face the same competitive pressures that private institutions do, they are more likely to use borrowed funds either for questionable capital projects or for expenditures that are unquestionably consumption.

    Generally speaking, states and localities are less guilty than Washington, D.C., is. Their rules require that operating budgets be balanced every year, which limits (but does not fully preclude) the use of public debt for consumption. Moreover, bonds that pledge the full faith and credit of state and local governments often require voter approval by referendum, which again serves as a brake, however imperfect, on reckless borrowing.

    The federal government lacks these precautions. Even so, Grennes and his colleagues found that for most of its history, the federal government used debt sensibly. “During wars, spending increased, the government borrowed, and the debt ratio increased,” they observed. “After wars, the debt ratio gradually reverted toward the prewar ratio, without a clear long-term trend.” There may have been no formal constraints, but there was an “implicit contract that functioned as a coherent debt policy.”

    That ended in the late 1960s, as the federal government took on new spending obligations, most involving immediate consumption rather than investment. Each new obligation had a powerful constituency, and often gained popular support (think Medicare). But the total effect was to boost federal spending above projected revenue. Rather than resolve the problem, Washington borrowed. What’s worse, during the same period federal tax and regulatory policies incentivized an increase in private borrowing, too.

    The bill is now due. According to the new study, the annual rate of economic growth in the United States from 1995 to 2014 was more than a percentage point lower than it would have been in the absence of America’s debt explosion. That’s a very large effect.

    What can be done about this? Previous attempts to use moral suasion or legislative pressure, such as the Simpson-Bowles Commission and debt-ceiling shutdowns, have fizzled. Another NCSU professor, Andy Taylor, advocates an intriguing set of federal budgeting reforms that may help. Or we could try devolving federal programs to the states, trusting that their preexisting safeguards will hold. As Johnny Mercer put it, something’s gotta give.

  • 05Jessie BellflowersEditor,

    I am asking your readers to tolerate my response to Hope Mils Commissioner Jessie Bellflowers’ Letter to the Editor in the April 17-23 edition of Up & Coming Weekly concerning the proposed construction of the Hope Mills Lake bulkhead (retaining wall). Full disclosure: I am married to Mayor Jackie Warner and I am her biggest cheerleader. She will not be pleased with my thoughts and opinions that follow.

    Hope Mills Commissioner Jessie Bellflowers or any “stiff necked” politician can rationalize away the reason they sometimes make stupid or illogical decisions in an attempt to regain the confidence and trust of constituents. Unfortunately, for Commissioner Bellflowers it’s “too little, too late” on this bulkhead issue.

    Our Hope Mills summer is all but ruined. Not because of the need for a safe and sturdy bulkhead but because of the irresponsibility and mismanagement of the project by you (Bellflowers) and fellow Hope Mills commissioners. As a result of their inept leadership, disappointed Hope Mills residents had to forego Easter sunrise services at the lake, and they will forego all the traditional family fun-filled events and activities surrounding Memorial Day, 4th of July and Labor Day. Yes, their (the commissioners’) poor decisions have inconvenienced residents and put Hope Mills taxpayers in peril.

    Make no mistake about it, the real issues are not about the construction of the bulkhead, Jessie, so don’t patronize us. Instead, why not address the questions and real concerns we have like: Why is the bulkhead costing Hope Mills taxpayers $500,000 as determined by a single bid? Why was this major construction project request for proposal not sent out for a rebid? Why was this initial proposal hastily approved with very little discussion or empathy for the burden (of the) taxpayers who will be responsible for paying for it? Was this expensive bulkhead in the town’s budget? Who made the recommendation to cover the expense out of the town’s emergency reserve fund and what is the plan to replenish these funds?

    There are so many questions and no sufficient answers. Many of us fear a tax increase is in our future. Yet, very little discussion or due diligence has been done by our elected. So, again, don’t patronize us, Jessie.

    These kind of haphazard, irresponsible decisions, proposals and knee-jerk reactions by you and the commissioners are not sound business practices or decisions. And, they are unacceptable.

    In closing, I want to remind the voters of Hope Mills that, all too often, elected officials become experts at spending other people’s money — like us — the taxpayers. And, I’m not even a C.P.A.

    Alex Warner

    Hope Mills, NC

    Photo: Hope Mills Commissioner Jessie Bellflowers

  • 04LoveThere are no words sufficient to describe the depth of my sadness, dismay, and even anger, in response to how far too many people are reacting to the report by Robert Mueller, special counsel. I think he was assigned to search for Russian interference in our 2016 election and any collusion by the Trump campaign with Russia in that election. I say “I think” because I repeatedly read that the full scope of his mandate has never been made available to the public. A redacted version of the report was released to Congress and the public Thursday, April 18.

    The report clearly stated that insufficient evidence was identified to show collusion with the Russians by the Trump campaign or any American. Given that, for nearly two years, we were told by a multitude of Democrats, and seemingly every liberal media outlet, that Russia controlled our president, it would seem there would be celebration in finding that he did not collude with Russia. Instead, the same people and media outlets that pushed the collusion narrative immediately shifted to arguing that the report gave ample reason for Trump being guilty of obstruction of justice.

    The Mueller report said there were actions by the president that could indicate obstruction, but other actions countered reaching that conclusion. In the end, Mueller said he would not charge the president with obstruction but would not exonerate him. The obstruction decision fell to Attorney General William Barr. In a press conference shortly before releasing the report, Barr explained the process that he and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein went through in deciding not to charge the president with obstruction. What Barr explained made total sense to me.

    However, the rage regarding obstruction goes on full bore. Even as I started writing this article on April 19, The Fayetteville Observer has two articles that reflect this focus on obstruction while hardly mentioning the finding of no collusion. Here are those headlines: “Report provides layers summary could not” and “Analysis … Mueller paints damning portrait of Trump.”

    After listening, on the radio, to the Barr press conference on Thursday and watching TV news reports and commentary, I was in bad shape by 6:10 p.m., when my wife Denise and I headed off to a Maundy Thursday service. The service was at First Baptist Church on Anderson Street, where Rev. Rob James is pastor. This service was filled with meaningful music, instructive and reassuring scripture readings and a sermon that reminded me there is only one way to overcome the division and hopelessness generated by, and reflected in, the Mueller report response.

    James defined “maundy” as referring to a command, of being equal to a mandate. He said, “During Maundy Thursday, we are called to remember the last moments of freedom of Jesus before he is betrayed by one of his closest friends, before he is arrested by people he has seen every day in the temple, before he is mocked and ridiculed, before he is abused and spit on, before he is crucified and killed on a cross, before he is laid in a tomb.

    “The commands that we are called to remember this night, the maundy of Maundy Thursday, are the things that Jesus told his disciples during those final moments of freedom: his commands, his mandates … in a very real way, his last wishes.”

    James followed this by sharing his experience with his father as that father had been told he only had six months to live. His son was just a teenager. Thankfully, despite the doctors’ projection, his father lived three years. Over that time, he took the pastor on rides and talked about his (the father’s) life: the good, the bad, everything. When that father was at death’s door, he requested that his teenage son make some promises to him. James reviewed those promises with us, and then came to the last words his father spoke to him. He said, “Don’t ever forget that I love you and will always be proud of you.”

    James kept the promises he made to his father. The critical point is that he kept those promises not because he expected reward but because he loved his father. This experience with his father clearly gives the pastor exceptional understanding of, and appreciation for, the last wishes of Jesus. One of those wishes appears in John 13:34-35 (New International Version): “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

    I left this sermon profoundly reminded that loving one another is our only hope for healing the divisions that threaten our very existence and for dispensing with the hate in our midst that is so obvious and destructive. However, reality challenged my capacity for believing that we can lay hold of loving one another. That is especially in doubt if our loving one another is to be driven by our recognition of Jesus’ love for us. In a nation where church membership is on the decline, especially among young people, and Christians are being pushed to the fringe of society, it does not seem likely that this “love one another” arrangement is possible.

    Inspired, but still wondering if the “love one another” arrangement is possible in our time, Denise and I headed to the first baseball game being played by the Fayetteville Woodpeckers in our beautiful new stadium. Once in our seats and enjoying the game, we started talking with people seated around us. I was amazed that the atmosphere was so relaxed and welcoming.

    Midway through the game, our team was down 5-2. At that point, there was a sense of concern throughout the stands. Despite being down by three, we kept pulling for our team. By the top of the ninth inning, the score was 5-5. We celebrated throughout the stadium. In the end, the Woodpeckers lost 7-5.

    The point of sharing my baseball game experience is to acknowledge what happened in that stadium and how it speaks to loving one another because we love Jesus. At the low point in the game, when the outlook was not good, we kept pulling for our team. When the score was tied, we celebrated. When the Carolina Mudcats scored two in the ninth and went on to win, the crowd was still appreciative and supportive of our team.

    Granted, this was just an entertainment event, but what happened there highlights the principle that common focus promotes unity. The fact is everybody in that stadium was committed to, and felt a connection to, the Woodpeckers. The result was a kind of unity that is missing in our country when it comes to the difficult issues that we face. A baseball game cannot fix what plagues us as a nation. But, if we have the common focus of loving Jesus because he loves us, we will follow his command to love one another. Therein is our only hope for overcoming the divisions and hatred that are wringing the very life from our nation.

    Do not be fooled; no other focus will suffice. If you doubt the truth in that statement, consider what have become the objects of our focus, the Mueller investigation among them, and the results wrought by focusing on myriad subjects other than Jesus.

  • 03MotherI cannot quite remember how old I was the first time I realized my mother’s words were coming out of my mouth, but it was quite a shock. It was even more shocking when I heard myself telling the Precious Jewels the same advice my mother gave me.

    For example, good manners will take you places money cannot go. Education is a gift no one can take away from you. Pretty is as pretty does. And, this gem attributed to Eleanor Roosevelt: “No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.”

    Nor can I remember not knowing about the importance of thank-you notes, timely RSVPs, please and thank you. Today’s parents have different ideas on this, but my mother was a stickler for “yes, ma’am” and “no, sir.” Apparently, her generation had no angst about class or age distinctions or subservience, although today’s parents of young children may not be as keen on “ma’am” and “sir,” even in the South.

    I can still hear my mother’s admonishment as well to always look an adult in the eye, something I still do — even though I have clearly been one myself for decades.

    Food means love to most everyone, and mothers offer both several times a day. My mother worked in our family business, so gourmet cooking was not really her thing. But she had dinner on the table every night, and some of it was memorable. Red snapper baked with tomatoes, onions and peppers. Tunnel of fudge cake and Japanese fruit pie. She even introduced us to English kippers for breakfast.

    I think my Precious Jewels see my cooking much the way I saw my mother’s — sustenance but generally nothing to write home about. I am gratified, though, that they still want my carrot cake for their birthdays and occasionally request some dish from the past. Their baby sitter definitely won the fried chicken contest, though.

    Few people in life have more influence over us than our mothers, even when we do not know it. The Precious Jewels have no idea that some of the words out of their mouths are actually mine, and very likely my mother’s. Our mothers kept us warm, safe and full, from our first breaths. They were our security blankets from our childhood troubles at school, and they gently let us know when we were in the wrong. Our mothers know us better than almost anyone else. They know our strengths and weaknesses, what we enjoy and what we don’t, how we are likely to react to whatever life throws at us.

    And, if we are lucky, our mothers instilled in us the essence of good manners, not just the outward signs of manners like “ma’am” and “sir” in the South. Good manners mean always treating others with respect and kindness, whether they are princes or paupers, the president or a garbage collector. It means not embarrassing or running down others. Good manners are the epitome of the Golden Rule — do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

    If your mother is around, do something special for her on Mother’s Day. Flowers are always nice as is a meal out, but most precious of all is your time and attention. Nothing means more to a mother than feeling like she is a meaningful part of her children’s lives, no matter how old they are. And, if you really want to hit a home run, make sure to say something that came from her lips and pretend you thought of it yourself

  • 02DowntownHalfwayWith designators that range from “Fayettenam” to “America’s Hometown: History, Heroes, A Hometown Feeling,” Fayetteville’s story is a rich and colorful tapestry. It includes heroism and tragedy, darkness and light and all the shades and colors in between.

    And this community’s journey continues forward. Polls and surveys from outside sources and their wacky metrics and logarithms can throw down whatever claims, ratings and analytics suit their fancies. When it comes down to it, they don’t know Fayetteville.

    They don’t feel the pulse of the crowd when the Dogwood Festival is in full swing. They don’t feel the sense of community and empowerment the International Folk Festival and A Dickens Holiday foster. They don’t come and dance on the promenade at Fayetteville After Five concerts in Festival Park or savor the flavors of the culinary genius that prospers here — in food trucks and in restaurants and at the many farmers markets that dot the landscape.

    Sure, statistics tell a story. So does compassion, innovation, hard work and inspiration. Fayetteville has all that in spades — and it doesn’t always register on an analytics scale. But it does bring flavor and personality to this international city that so many choose to call home.

    People who don’t live here often have no idea about the talented performers and firstrate theaters and music organizations that call the Sandhills home. They don’t see the generosity of the multitude of nonprofits here. They don’t know Fayetteville. And they don’t get to define her or tell her story to the rest of the world. Why would we give them that power?

    It’s time for people actually living and working here to own this community’s narrative, to speak the truth and project it out into the world with pride and confidence. Stop trying to outrun decades-old reputations and fallacies. Stop accepting false information from out-of-town number-crunchers looking for search engine page rankings.

    Fayetteville is undertaking a new initiative to come up with a branding strategy that accurately reflects the goodness that resides here and tells the true story about the opportunities here. This isn’t about a new logo or a new motto. This is about defining what makes this place special and telling this community’s story.

    The Fayetteville Cumberland Collaborative Branding Committee is taking the lead in the effort. It consists of representatives from the city of Fayetteville, Cumberland County, the Cumberland County Tourism Development Authority, Crown Complex, the Greater Fayetteville Chamber, the Arts Council of Fayetteville/Cumberland County, Fayetteville Area Convention & Visitors Bureau, Vision 2026, Cool Spring Downtown District and the Fayetteville Cumberland County Economic Development Corporation.

    The first step in accurately telling any community’s story is to gather information. That’s where we are in the process. The branding initiative wants to hear from you. Tell the committee what you think, what you want and what matters to you. This community’s story is your story, too.

    Visit www.brandingfcnc.com and take the branding survey. It only takes about 15 minutes, and it covers just about every aspect of life in Cumberland County that you can imagine. Be brutally honest. This is our chance to not only counter the misinformation but to shape the future.

    Thank you for reading Up & Coming Weekly.

  • 04BarbarApril is now officially the month of underdogs. Admit it, once upon a time you used to be a kid. If you were lucky, your parents read you stories before you could read. If you were really lucky, you heard the story of Babar the Elephant. To refresh your recollection, here is the Reader’s Digest version of Babar’s story. It gets kind of weepy at the beginning. If you are tenderhearted, you may wish to skip the rest of this column. But hang in there, it has several happy endings.

    Our story begins with baby Babar riding on the back of his Mother through the jungle. Babar was as happy as Bambi was with his Mom before man came into the forest. However, a Hunter is hiding in the bush. The Hunter shoots and kills Babar’s Mother.

    Babar cries but escapes the Hunter.

    Babar runs away and ends up in the City, where he meets a very friendly Old Lady. She buys him an excellent green suit and hires tutors to educate him. Babar becomes quite the sophisticate as he dwells for several years in the City.

    Eventually, his cousins Celeste and Arthur come to the City. They convince him to return to the jungle. Babar gets back to the jungle just as the King of the Elephants has become very sick after eating a poisonous mushroom. As luck would have it, the King dies shortly after Babar’s arrival. The other elephants decide Babar’s education among humans make him the perfect candidate to be the new King of the Elephants. Babar is crowned King. He marries his cousin Celeste because that’s what royalty does; they marry close relatives to maintain a grip on power and to develop hemophilia.

    Fast forward to April 2019 in South Africa. There are still hunters in the jungle. Five of them snuck into the Kruger National Park to illegally hunt rhinos. Earth has a limited supply of rhinos, estimated at about 20,000 in South Africa. Their numbers dwindle each year due to poachers. Most rhinos are not a match for high-powered rifles.

    But on this day, the rhinos had a friend in high places, a cranky elephant. Our poacher buddy, let us call him Slim, was hunting rhinos to sell their horns to doofuses in China, who think the horns are an aphrodisiac. While hunting rhinos, Slim got too close to an elephant whom we shall call Babar Jr.

    Slim’s buddies told authorities that Babar Jr. suddenly attacked Slim. Babar Jr. squashed Slim into the ground doing the old elephant two-step all over Slim’s soon-tobe pancaked body. Yikes. That would leave a mark.

    Slim’s buddies pulled his flattened body out on a road so he could be found by the authorities. His pals then high-tailed it out of the park, leaving Slim like a pork chop in an outdoor meat market.

    Unfortunately for Slim, before the authorities could find his body, the lions found him first. Slim became lion chow. The search party finally found what was left of Slim near the Crocodile River. After the lions got through with him, all that was remained of Slim was his skull and a pair of pants. That was mighty slim pickings.

    But it was a happy ending. Jungle Animals: One. Poachers: Zero. For one brief, shining moment, the animals were the winners. Rhinos, elephants and lions don’t often win against the hunters. But when an underdog wins, we all win. Maybe the next time the Trump boys, Don Jr. and Eric, go big game hunting for elephants, they will meet up with Babar Jr. before they can shoot him.

    In keeping with April being the month of underdogs, Tiger Woods finally won the Masters again after 11 years of wandering in the rough of the golfing wilderness. Huzzah for Tiger. He kept at it.

    The same week, Chris Davis, a member of the Baltimore Orioles baseball team, ended his longest hitless streak for a nonpitcher in the history of major league baseball. Davis had gone without a hit in his last 54 times at bat, stretching all the way back to last season. Thanks to Davis, the Orioles won the game. Don’t feel too sorry for him. Davis is getting paid $161 million dollars as part of a seven-year contract. He will be alright.

    So, what have we learned today? Sometimes karma works and an elephant will caress a bad guy with his toes. Lions don’t require Texas Pete hot sauce when eating a poacher pancake. Tiger Woods and Chris Davis prove that persistence pays in all areas of life. If you give a monkey a typewriter, he will eventually type a column. The very existence of this column is proof of the typing monkey theory.

    Jimi Hendrix once said, “Excuse me while I kiss the sky.” I say, “Excuse me while I go eat a banana.”

  • 02HM Pub Pen1Publisher’s Note: A special thanks to Ms. Blevins for finally explaining our side of the story about the $28,000 partnership Up & Coming Weekly had with Hope Mills. And, it had absolutely nothing to do with the money. Matter of fact, listed below are thirteen main objectives Mayor Jackie Warner, commissioners and Hope Mills staff wanted to achieve for the residents of Hope Mills.

    The graphics below are from June 2017, when the Hope Mills Board of Commissioners initially heard a proposal from Bill Bowman, and from July 2017, when the Board voted unanimously to accept the proposal. But what exactly was the proposal?

    What was presented as the Hope Mills Initiative was a collaborative effort between the Hope Mills staff, the Hope Mills Chamber of Commerce and Up & Coming Weekly publisher Bill Bowman. It was the result of a tremendous amount of work and research by key players in Hope Mills: Town Manager Melissa Adams, Interim Town Clerk Deborah Holland, Mayor Jackie Warner, Hope Mills Area Chamber of Commerce President Jan Spell, and the late Commissioner Bob Gorman, over many months.

    Together they developed a program to “make sure local businesses have time tested, affordable and effective ways available to market, promote and advertise their business, goods and services. We will have open dialog with HM residents, providing them space to promote their events with a weekly up-to-date event calendar hosting local Hope Mills events and other relevant Cumberland County happenings. U&CW will also be providing editorial space for residents to contribute their thoughts and insights,” said Bowman in his proposal. 

    It was heralded as a first tentative step toward developing a marketing strategy for the town with 13 distinct objectives.

    03HM Pub Pen2Three formal discussions were held at Sammio’s, and the public was invited to hear an impressive list of community leaders discuss the initiative.

    The HMI was an opportunity for the citizens, businesses and organizations in Hope Mills to take control of the narrative and tell their story. And it was an opportunity to reach 300,000 readers in Cumberland County.

    Bowman also offered advertising to Hope Mills businesses and organizations at drastically discounted rates to help jump-start economic development in our community. Mayor Pro Tem Mike Mitchell and Commissioner Meg Larson have been quick to reference the roughly $28,000 the town was spending on the project, but they’ve never mentioned the $14,000 Bowman spent to get the program started or that the agreement included him matching the town’s investment and matching the costs for businesses who advertised.

    And they certainly never mention the actual value of this program was conservatively more than a quarter of a million dollars’ worth of marketing.

    Before the initiative had really begun, it was in trouble. This Board was sworn in a week prior to the event at Sammio’s. They balked at tasking the staff with writing articles, then balked at writing articles themselves. The initiative relied on a steady flow of information, so Bowman tasked his new sports writer, Earl Vaughan Jr., with covering Hope Mills.

    Vaughan, who briefly lived in Hope Mills 30 years ago, immediately began building relationships with Hope Mills residents. He managed to plug into our community, familiarize himself with our history and stay two steps ahead of every story.

    During the budget retreat March 3, 2018, the Board discussed the expense of the initiative and their alternatives. Ultimately, they voted 3-2 not to renew the agreement when it concluded on Sept. 6. Commissioners Mitchell and Pat Edwards voted against the motion. You can review the minutes from the meeting on their website, https://townofhopemills.com/agendacenter.

    In the same feckless manner with which they dismiss staff recommendations, doing a feasibility study on the proposed walking trail and the expert opinion of the consultants they hire, they dismissed the HMI. They knew better than the dozen community leaders and the subject matter experts who designed the initiative.

    By August 6, 2018, there was contention. Mitchell was displeased and made a motion to end the contract immediately. At that point, the municipality had already paid the agreement in full and there were already pending articles waiting for publication. Mitchell’s motion passed, but it had no effect on the publication.

    In fact, it continues to have no effect on the publication. Earl Vaughan Jr. began writing about Hope Mills in the early spring of 2018. He writes two to four articles a week, depending on what’s happening and what sports are in season. He is a one-man marketing team for our town, promoting anything and everything that needs promoting.

    Since Sept. 6, 2018, when the gentleman’s agreement with Hope Mills ended, Up & Coming Weekly has published more than 60 positive articles about the town of Hope Mills, including advertising for 21 events; 13 mentions of local schools, teachers and students; 26 general information pieces; and no less than 11 profiles or mentions of local businesses.

    These numbers don’t include the nonstop coverage of local high school sports. They don’t include the handful of stories that were published on the website but not in the paper. They don’t include any of the articles I’ve written for Up & Coming Weekly, and they don’t include the weekly calendar of Hope Mills events. A weekly calendar isn’t published for any other non-Fayetteville municipality. In fact, no other municipality enjoys a dedicated section of the paper.

    The truth is, Bowman never stopped the program he began with the previous Board in 2017. While this Board ignored the hard work of dozens of people and squandered the opportunity provided to them, Bowman quietly kept working. Bowman and Up & Coming Weekly no longer enjoy the benefit of a financial agreement with Hope Mills, but the town very much enjoys the benefit of Bowman’s generosity.

    In an Aug. 10, 2018, radio interview on WFNC 640 AM, Mitchell said, “We basically said — on the last Board meeting — I just asked all media if they would report some balanced reporting — ask both sides their opinions about things — they would have a better outlook on Hope Mills and be in a more positive manner — you know — you’re not gonna accomplish anything by printing all this negative news — has a lot of misleading facts — that aren’t facts at all.

    “And the fact that we cancelled the contract with this publication about 3-4 weeks ago — it loses — that publication loses credibility when they make such negative comments when they’re ‘tooted’ as a positive magazine.... There’s a whole blog dedicated to the destruction of Commissioner Larson and myself and there’s some politics played in there.

    “It kinda loses credibility when we’ve cancelled the contract and then they come back — it’s almost retaliatory in nature.” The transcript is available at https://hopemills.net/2018/08/25/we-are-one-team/.

    Mitchell also said, “If you wanna give one-sided views that’s not reputable — also we did not renew your contract in September for $28,000 a year. In the general public’s eye, everything you’re doing is vindictiveness,” on March 25, 2019. The audio can be heard at www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRPjk79T0Cc&feature=youtu.be.

    And the commissioners still complain. Beginning in August, when Larson and Mitchell were on a local talk radio station, and as recently as the March 25 meeting, Mitchell declared Bowman was simply being vindictive because he was angry the Board cancelled the contract.

    It was never simply a contract. It was a partnership conceived of and implemented by some of the most impressive leaders in our community. And it was another golden opportunity missed by this Board because they choose at all times to dwell in innuendo and conspiracy theories.

    Bowman and I were both at the March 25 meeting. We were prepared to address the Board. But they used their elected seats as a pulpit from which they condemned us without ever giving us an opportunity to speak.

    If Bowman was vindictive, Vaughan would have been reassigned months ago and Hope Mills wouldn’t have dozens of articles announcing its events and promoting its businesses. The Board chose not to pay to participate in the Pocket Guide published by Up & Coming Weekly several months ago, but Bowman waived the fee and included a small section for the town anyway. Does that sound like the actions of a vindictive man?

    I won’t speak for Bowman’s articles, but I will tell you the articles I write are designed to mirror the Board’s actions. When they’ve done good things, I’ve reported that. Unfortunately, so little of what they do is good.

    This situation, like so many others in recent months, has been misrepresented by members of the Board to defend their wretched behavior. While they hurl accusations our way, they’re free to continue misbehaving. We are their red herring.

    Visit www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=oa.2054544537974961&type=3 to see more information about the Hope Mills Initiative, Larson’s comments about Up & Coming Weekly, screen captures from the meetings and more.

  • 10springIsn’t it beautiful when spring arrives? Even that blanket of yellow dust on every surface is lovely. As suffocating as it can be, pollen points to change, to winter coming to an end. Soon after, every tree, bush, flower and blade of grass awakens to the warmth of spring. When pollen season hits, everything lying in wait of warm weather comes bursting forth. The colors are vibrant. Flowers bloom. Grass is green. It’s a stunning sight after the bareness of winter.

    We know what pollen brings. Pollen signals a natural segue to life. Does anyone actually care about that wave of pollen after flowers start blooming? We all know the sights, tastes, sounds and smells of spring. We know the life it brings.

    But eventually, after summer’s warmth and the cool of fall, winter sets in again. Everything that came to life in the spring has run its cycle and dies again. Winter brings crunchy leaves. Pine needles become pine straw, and the colors of fall turn to grays and browns. Trees are bare. Forests seem quite vulnerable, with every branch on display, light touching places it just couldn’t reach in the fullness of summer.

    There’s a certain line of trees on the farm I grew up on that I’m reminded of when I think about winter. Several years ago, I took my dog for a walk down my parents’ road, a road I had walked umpteen times in my life, and I noticed a field I had never paid attention to before.

    My family didn’t own it, so my childhood farm adventures never took me to explore it. The pine trees had shed all of their needles, and I could see straight through to the other side. In the distance, I could see a high school football field, the silver lights shining in the sunshine, matching the height of the trees nearby.

    It wasn’t until winter that I could see clearly just how close we were to the local high school. I never realized it until all the trees were bare.

    I think God created seasons to show us more about our lives. Some things remain hidden until the thick of winter.

    It’s in the winters of our lives — the hardest times, the toughest times, the loneliest times — that everything feels lifeless and stripped bare. We’re vulnerable. Exposed. The tiniest bit of light shining on us displays the hurt, the grief, the regret, the despair, the bitterness we feel. And it seems like those in close proximity can see right through us, no matter how hard we try to hide.

    But there’s always more if we look past the surface. There’s so much good to be found in winter.

    That same feeling of vulnerability can be used as a tunnel to our own heart. Things we didn’t even know we were capable of, whether good or bad, are suddenly uncovered. There’s an unfamiliar clarity we can use to our advantage if we take a moment to see it.

    Winter sets the stage for the life that comes with spring. Ann Bradstreet once said, “If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant.” How true that is. Spring is always right around the corner. You will never see a winter that doesn’t have spring following behind it. Spring is coming. Spring is here.

    If we stay in this mindset that winter will last forever, we’ll miss the glimpses of a new season coming. Change is hard. Especially when winter has become comfortable. But God sends agents of change that make us feel uncomfortable, the “pollen,” if you will, and it sometimes seems anything but lovely. It will make us sneeze, make our eyes water and make us have to wash our car more. It’s a huge nuisance more than anything else.

    But if we can embrace life’s “pollen,” the uncomfortable means by which we make a change, knowing it brings life and life more abundant, we can notice the growth. What we once thought was dead has come alive again, and it’s morebeautiful than ever.

    Spring is here, and it so lovely.

  • 04CriticalAfter much prayer and soul-searching, it is clear that the time has come for me to make a change in my focus and strategy. That is, regarding what should be central in my effort to help build a better world... and how to best pursue that goal. This decision has resulted in two changes thus far — focus on promoting critical thinking among citizens relative to political and social issues and changing my voter registration from Republican to unaffiliated.

    I have struggled, for some time, with thoughts of not being on the right track for doing the task God desires of me at this point in my life. Some serious quiet time, and writing my last four columns, brought clarity far beyond what I have previously experienced. The first three columns constituted a series titled “Developing and sustaining thought deprivation.” These columns addressed how politicians and others who pursue power deprive citizens of the freedom to think critically about issues and policies … about all that affects our country.

    The fourth column was titled “The push for ‘Medicare for All’ is thought deprivation in full view.” It explained how thought deprivation is at work in the championing of Medicare for All as a health care program. All four columns are available under “Articles” at www.karlmerritt.com.

    I had previously given some attention to this thought deprivation process and the resulting manipulation of people through its employment. Doing the research, and thinking through various considerations as I wrote those columns, led me to the need for this finer focus on promoting critical thinking among citizens relative to political and social issues.

    Then there is the decision to change my voter registration to unaffiliated. I was a registered Democrat for more than 40 years. After learning more about Republican values, it became obvious to me that those values aligned much more with mine than those of the Democratic Party. Consequently, eight years ago, I changed my affiliation to Republican and became active in the party.

    Let me be crystal clear in saying my current decision to change affiliation had absolutely nothing to do with any mistreatment of me by anybody in the party. I am well aware that Republicans are routinely accused of being racist and not interested in involving or helping better the condition of black Americans. Whether at a state convention or local party events, I always felt welcomed and respected and that my voice was heard.

    I never got the impression that my being black was a problem for any Republican I encountered. Be reminded ... I grew up in South Georgia in the 1950s and ’60s. I know racism when I see it.

    Here are my primary reasons for the change to unaffiliated.

    First, my observation is that no political party gives anywhere near adequate attention to helping citizens think critically through issues, or candidates, on which they must vote. That is, neither party forthrightly presents facts and allows for honest, reasoned and civil examination of those facts.

    Instead, there are candidate debates where no topic is given this kind of attention. Phone calls are made to voters by individuals or a machine. A script is used, and there is no opportunity for productive discussion. These actions take place in an atmosphere where candidates, along with their supporters and surrogates, verbally attack one another and employ scare tactics.

    Then there are the media ads that, I hold, for the most part, insult the intelligence of voters.

    The ultimate indicator, I believe, that critical thinking is not promoted comes when voters have to survive the gauntlet of people handing out candidate information as voters enter polling places. Having the gauntlet says to me it is assumed people routinely go to the polling place having not decided how they will vote. Add to all of this the fact that media is almost devoid of programming that promotes, or even gives an opportunity for, critical thought.

    The condition described in the preceding paragraph screams “thought deprivation.” No political party appears willing to correct course. That state of affairs is proving extremely destructive to America.

    The second reason for my voter affiliation change is I need to be in a position to reach people of various political persuasions. That is: Republicans, Democrats, Libertarians, unaffiliated, everybody. We are at a level of division, and pure hate, where I no longer think I can reach people if I am affiliated with a political party. The assumptions made about people because of party affiliation, to a sizeable extent, make productive civil discourse impossible.

    I recently had a conversation with a black lady who commented to me that she hated President Trump. I asked why that was the case. She went into a speech about how he was not doing anything good for the country. In those comments, she said that Republicans are “just out for themselves.”

    I stopped her and said, “I am a Republican. Are you saying I am out for myself?” Her response was a resounding, “Yes.”

    She went on to say she could reach that conclusion regarding me simply because I was a Republican. From that one fact, she could identify my innermost motives. As sad as it is, this is where we are. It is unfair but true.

    However, if my effort to promote critical thinking is to stand a chance, the obstacle represented by what that lady said to me must be eliminated or at least lessened in intensity. Even though I will not compromise my values or cease speaking truth as I see it, I hope that the unaffiliated status will lessen the door-closing stereotyping that comes with being identified with a political party.

    Third, individuals who are actively involved in a political party are, as a matter of practice, expected to support candidates of that party. This is especially true of persons who hold office in a party. I am not willing to adhere to that expectation or rule. I first started to realize this was a problem for me when Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., joined in sponsoring legislation to prevent Trump from having authority to fire Special Counsel Robert S. Mueller III.

    Even though the president repeatedly argued that Mueller’s investigation was “a witch hunt,” Trump always said he would allow it to finish. Consequently, I did not view the legislation as necessary. Now that the special counsel’s report is finished, there definitely was no need for legislation.

    I got past the Mueller episode. Then, Tillis said he recognized the illegal immigration emergency on our southern border; however, he would vote for a resolution of disapproval in order to stop Trump from declaring a national emergency and redirecting funds for wall construction and other security measures. At the very last minute, Tillis voted to support the president’s action. That change of heart came too late for me.

    As reported in an article by Brian Murphy titled “Tillis backs Trump on border enforcement. Why he won’t support emergency declaration,” here is the reason Tillis gave for his opposition. “As a U.S. senator, I cannot justify providing the executive with more ways to bypass Congress. As a conservative, I cannot endorse a precedent that I know future left-wing presidents will exploit to advance radical policies that will erode economic and individual freedoms,” Tills wrote.

    As I write this section, news reports this very day say the southern border is being overrun by illegal migrants… there is an absolute crisis. For years, Congress has done nothing to effectively address this matter and is doing nothing now — zero. Zilch. There is pure incompetence, and Tillis wants to protect Congress so it can go on being incompetent on this matter and a multitude of others.

    I realized that I would very likely not support Tillis for reelection. Tillis is just one example. There are other Republicans that I will publicly oppose and persons from other parties that I will support. This approach would not play well with fellow Republicans, or in any other political party and would hinder my ability to do the essential work described here.

    In the big picture:

    1. I will continue writing articles and books. I’ll be available for, and seek, speaking engagements.

    2. I will personally organize and conduct public events that allow for citizens to be heard but also become informed in ways that promote critical thinking regarding the issues of our time. I’ll insist that individuals who speak at, or facilitate, these information-sharing events deal in facts and reason.

    3. I will publish an e-newsletter.

    4. I will personally fund this effort and operate it under my privately owned business, karlmerritt.com, LLC.

    5. I will accept non-tax-deductible donations. This will be the only time I write, in my Up & Coming Weekly column, about this effort. Persons wanting to receive information in the future regarding this effort should visit karlmerritt.com and complete and submit a “Contact Karl” form. You will be put on the distribution list.

    My thanks to Bill Bowman and Stephanie Crider, publisher and associate publisher of Up & Coming Weekly, respectively, for allowing me to share this information in a column.

  • 03Hope Mills Lake Trey SnipesSince the town of Hope Mills press release March 27, regarding the Hope Mills Lake Bulkhead project, folks have been asking questions and scratching their heads. Most ask, “why now?” and “how long will the lake park, boat ramp and community swimming areas be closed over the summer?’ I hear you, so please allow me to weigh in on both questions.

    Let us start with the “why now?” question. During a recent conversation with a friend of mine, I asked him to pick three months out of the year to start the bulkhead project. During our discussion, we decided the winter months would not be optimal because the plan includes about $30,000 of centipede sod. And, the fall months are not optimal because of the active hurricane season. Given the past four years’ fall weather track record, do you really want to risk a $500,000 project to unpredictable weather? No way!

    So finally, we ended up saying, “I guess you are right … there really is no right time of the year to complete this project. So let’s get on with it and perhaps the weather will be favorable over the coming months.”

    The bulkhead project is Phase II of the Hope Mills Lake Park Recreational Improvement Plan submitted by the Lake Advisory Committee and approved by the town board in 2018. The bulkhead structure addresses the erosion controls measures, as detailed in the United States Army Corps of Engineers Dam Permit, dated August 26, 2016. If you notice, there are several areas along the lakeside bank (cliff, as I call it) that are unsafe — mainly due to uncontrolled erosion of the ground areas.

    Also detailed in the Army Corps of Engineers permit is the requirement to improve the lake park area for community recreational use. For example, item 17 states, “The plan should include detail improvements to the public use swimming area, piers/docks, and fishing and boat ramp areas, as well as plans for the museum project.” Therefore, the bulkhead project also includes re-sloping the grade of the lakeside bank/cliff, a new irrigation system throughout the park to feed the centipede sod, new stairs to access the swimming area, an access ramp compliant with the American’s with Disabilities Act and a new kayak/canoe entrance area into the lake. Moreover, more planned recreational improvements that do not require closure of the lake park will be completed once the project is finished.

    Unfortunately, the lake park, boat ramp and swimming areas will be closed to complete the above listed lake park improvements. However, kayaks and canoes are permitted to use the lake — dependent on work progress. In addition, Big T’s and the public pier will remain open during the construction project.

    Like you, I was looking forward to enjoying the lake park this year. Nevertheless, we must address the current and future erosion damage, or we will not have a lake park that is safe, ADA compliant and more aesthetically pleasing to everyone for years to come. After all, we have a first-class, national award-winning dam structure that has weathered not one, but several major storms since it was completed.

    Our town manager, Melissa Adams, said it best: “There really is no optimal time for the lake to be closed for boating and swimming. While we understand there will be some inconvenience to the citizens and the many people that come to use our lake park, the project will result in a safe environment and help mitigate any further erosion damage to the lake embankment. Kayak and canoe access will be allowed to the greatest extent possible, dependent upon work location and progress. The town would like to thank the citizens in advance, for their patience and understanding for the duration of this project.”

    Now the “how long” question. The simple answer here is all the required construction materials have been ordered. Once they arrive, the contractors — M&E Contracting of Fayetteville — have clearly stated they plan to work as “expeditiously as possible” to complete the bulkhead project with high quality standards in place.

    The lake park is really going to look great once these projects are finished. So, cross your fingers and hope for nice weather.

  • 03SnakesHave you ever wondered how a snake wrapped around a stick came to be the symbol of physicians? Probably not. Bear with me anyway.

    Maybe you just wondered how long Dook will keep recruiting One & Dones and not winning the basketball championship. How long before Coach K finally realizes that sending out a different flock of freshman each year into the Big Dance isn’t getting the job done? But that is a story for another day.

    Today, we are going to try to answer Greek mythology’s version of Samuel L. Jackson’s classic statement in the greatest movie ever released in 2006, the immortal “Snakes on a Plane.” In that movie, Sam uttered the immortal words (herein cleaned up, as this is a family newspaper), “I’ve had it with these gosh darned snakes on this gosh darned plane!”

    Today, we shall learn how that gosh darned snake got on the doctor’s stick.

    Once upon a time, a major Greek god named Apollo got up close and personal with the lovely goddess Coronis. From this union they begat their son Asclepius. Because his name was so hard to pronounce, his buddies just called him Asky. Coronis, being a big ole friendly gal, was just too frisky for one man to keep her satisfied. While preggers with Asky, she went off on a long weekend to Myrtle Beach during the high holy days with her old boyfriend, Iskhys.

    A little bird, a raven, told Apollo about Coronis’ dalliance with Izzy. This did not sit well with Apollo. Apollo sent his cranky sister, Artemis, to kill Coronis. She whacked Coronis using a bunch of arrows covered in plague juice.

    Apollo put Coronis to barbecue on the old funeral pyre with Asky still in utero. At the last minute, Apollo decided that his son didn’t need to pay for the sins of his mother. He yanked Asky out of Coronis, saving Asky’s life.

    Apollo felt kind of sorry for having Coronis killed, so he did what men in power always do. He blamed someone else.

    At the time the raven had tattled on Coronis, the raven’s feathers were all white. To punish the raven for ratting out Coronis, Apollo turned the raven’s feathers black. That is why ravens are black today. Bet you didn’t know that.

    Back to our story. Apollo hired the centaur Chiron to raise Asky. Chiron was at least as smart as the famous Mr. Ed. Chiron taught Asky how to heal people. Asky turned out to be an apt pupil. He got so good at healing people that, on occasion, he even raised people from the dead.

    Asky, being a universally kind person, went out of his way to be nice to a snake. The snake turned out to be enchanted and could whisper. In a fit of gratitude for Asky’s kindness, the snake licked Asky’s ears clean. While the snake was licking, he whispered into Asky’s ears many secrets for healing the sick.

    There are other versions about how the grateful snake ended up on Asky’s rod. One version is based on the “worm theory.” Back in the olden days, it was not uncommon for people to have a long, parasitic worm invade their bodies. In order to get the worms out of people, the physician would make a cut in the person’s body in front of the direction the worm was heading. The worm would poke his head out of the cut. The physician would then wrap the worm around a stick —like wrapping spaghetti around a spoon.

    Another version says when God sent fiery serpents to bite the Israelites who had been disobedient to Moses, Moses put up a pole with a bronze snake on it. An Israelite who looked at the bronze snake on the pole would not die from snake bites.

    As a result of all these stories, the snake wrapped around a rod became the symbol of physicians.

    Under the heading of “no good deed goes unpunished,” all of this healing by Asky began to irritate Zeus, the king of the gods. Zeus was afraid that Asky going around healing people and raising the dead might ultimately result in Asky making peoplekind immortal.

    The last straw for Zeus occurred when Asky brought Hippolytus back from the dead and got paid for it. Zeus did not want a bunch of humans becoming immortals as rivals to the existing gods. So, Zeus went to his friendly one-eyed neighborhood lightning bolt fabricator, the Cyclops. Using a coupon, he bought a thunderbolt. Zeus then zapped Asky with the thunderbolt, causing Asky to expire.

    Asky’s dad, Apollo, was not happy that Zeus killed Asky but was afraid to take on Zeus. Instead, Apollo killed the Cyclops for making the thunderbolt.

    Predating the National Rifle Association, Apollo reasoned thunderbolts don’t kill people, Cyclops kill people. As a consolation prize for being dead, Zeus picked up Asky’s lifeless body and hung it in the sky in the constellation Ophiuchus, the Serpent Holder. Asky remains hanging in the night sky in his very own constellation to this very day. Go out tonight and take a look up at Asky.

    And now you know the rest of the story. Snakes on a stick — or on a plane. It’s all the same. Like Roseanne Roseannadanna once said, “It’s always something.”

  • 12KindnessI miss the Sears store. Not because of the big shoe section or tool department, but because it’s where I learned so much about life. 

    I grew up in a Midwest city at a time when Sears was still Sears & Roebuck, children were bused from one side of town to another to achieve integration in schools and parents allowed their kids to come in fourth without a trophy. I have many fond memories of trips to the local Sears store — a multistory giant with escalators, an amazing toy section and pretty much anything you’d ever think to buy. 

    It’s where I learned the value of a dollar — taught one quarter at a time at the enormous candy counter on the ground floor. With my meager weekly allowance in my pocket, I’d circle the glass island, surveying dozens of options to determine which one was worthy. 

    The attendant probably grew weary of me asking “how much would twenty-five cents get me?” of this selection or that. Though I handled the task like a man on a mission, I was merely a boy on a budget. 

    Of much greater significance than a white paper bag filled with chocolate stars or peanut clusters, though, I can also trace my awareness of human compassion back to that same Sears store in Wichita, Kansas. 

    It happened around the Christmas holiday in the shoe department. I was honestly oblivious to the fact I was being raised in a time of segregation. My father was a Navy veteran. He’d been a corpsman and taught us the value of life without talking about the color of anyone’s skin. My mother was schooled in an institution for the blind. Her friends and coworkers were more likely to bond over ability (and disability) than they were skin color. 

    I preface my story with those facts because what happened in the Sears shoe department that particular wintry day is the first time I recall being aware that I rarely saw black people as a young boy. 

    As I dangled my legs over the chair, waiting for the clerk to return with the shoes I’d chosen, I overheard a black lady and her two young boys discussing the fact they could only afford shoes for one of the boys that day. More than that, I noticed the clerks kept walking past them to help other customers as the mother told the boys, “Be patient, we’ll get our turn.” 

    While it sounded like an otherwise normal conversation, I recall wondering why no one was helping them with their shoes. I wanted to say something. I wanted to do something. I wanted them to get shoes for both boys, and I wanted someone to help them. 

    I walked away from the store that day — shoes in hand — never realizing I’d recall that scene hundreds of times in the years since. I know now I was witnessing discrimination. I know now I was witnessing need. And even as a boy, I was moved. Compassion is in us. We all have the capacity to care. And I pray we learn to exercise that capacity to its fullest. 

  • 04HealthcareOver a (just concluded) series of three columns, I contended that thought deprivation has taken a foothold in America. The series examined seven steps employed by power-seeking politicians, and others driven by the same aim, to develop and sustain thought deprivation among people living in America. “Living in America” is used here instead of “American citizens” because the effort even reaches out to noncitizens and illegal migrants. Each column opened with the following statement: 

    “There is a dangerous, but tremendously effective, political approach employed in America. It could be called ‘thought deprivation.’ It’s conditioning people so they do not think with depth regarding the issues that face us as a nation. Sadly, allowing this thought deprivation approach to become routine and embedded in the political process has brought us to a point of real danger in the governing, and very survival, of this nation.” 

    Many actions that should reasonably be taken are not taken. Other actions are taken that adversely impact the well-being of Americans. Finally, gridlock is a frequent consequence of this political approach; nothing is done regarding important matters affecting the people of our country. 

    Examples abound that show how thought deprivation plays out, and so negatively, in American political processes. Among the many examples is what is happening as “Medicare for All” is being discussed and considered in our country. 

    What is presented here is not an argument for or against such a program; it is instead a limited examination of how little depth of thought is being given to this proposal that could dramatically affect American residents for years to come. 

    Let’s start the examination with how little residents know about Medicare for All. This from an article by Katie Mahoney titled “‘Medicare for All’ isn’t the Health Care Reform Americans Want, Poll Finds.” 

    “Many Americans don’t understand what Medicare for All is, and when they do, they don’t like it, a Morning Consult poll commissioned by the U.S. Chamber found. 

    “The poll found only four-in-ten (41%) knew much about Medicare for All. When asked, most voters believe it is a system that ensures that all Americans have access to health care services and insurance through a mix of private health care and government programs such as Medicare and Medicaid.’ 

    “Fewer than one-in-five voters polled could identify it as ‘a government-run health care system, financed by taxpayers that provides essential health care to all Americans and eliminates private health insurance plans, including those provided by employers. 

    When asked if they support just such a program, only 44% supported the idea.” 

    A reasonable question is, how can it be that people know very little about Medicare for All? One reason is that most media have joined forces with the effort to develop and sustain thought deprivation. They simply do not aim to explain issues in detail, and coverage is, most often, slanted to support a particular position regarding an issue. I watch a lot of news and commentary. It disgusts me that most offerings are very short, timewise, on a topic and almost totally devoid of serious, honest analysis of facts. 

    Possibly more disturbing is that politicians and others involved in seeking to gain and hold power are even guiltier of the failing ascribed to media in the preceding paragraph. Any time I hear a member of this group give a straight answer to a question that calls for actually informing the electorate, I am surprised beyond description. 

    A case-in-point came when the following happened during an interview of presidential candidate Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., as reported in an article by Grace Sparks titled “Majority favor ‘Medicare for All,’ but with a catch.” 

    “Harris spoke in Iowa on Monday about embracing Medicare for All, even though in most instances it means eliminating private insurance. When pressed by CNN’s Jake Tapper on whether that means eliminating private insurance, the senator from California answered affirmatively, saying she would be OK with cutting insurers out of the mix.” 

    Note that Harris had to be pressed for an answer, but did, in fact, answer. This kind of avoidance by power-seekers results in the public allowing governmental actions that do not serve the best interest of, or show fairness toward, all Americans. 

    However, the approach survives and is far too successful because there is deprivation of thought. 

    One would also think that cost should be a pressing question from the public in reference to Medicare for All. In that regard, consider the following from an article by Jennifer Earl titled “How much would ‘Medicare for All’ cost? Democrats’ health care plan explained.” 

    “Several independent studies have estimated that government spending on health care would increase dramatically, in the range of about $25 trillion to $35 trillion or more over a 10-year period. Specifically, a study released over the summer by the Mercatus Center at George Mason University estimated it would cost $32.6 trillion — $3.26 trillion per year — over 10 years. For comparison, the federal budget proposal for the fiscal year 2019 was $4.4 trillion, the Congressional Budget Office states. 

    “Sanders blasted the Mercatus Center’s analysis as ‘grossly misleading and biased.’ 

    “‘If every major country on earth can guarantee health care to all, and achieve better health outcomes while spending substantially less per capita than we do, it is absurd for anyone to suggest that the United States cannot do the same,’ Sanders replied, arguing on his website that his plan would cost about $1.38 trillion per year. ‘This grossly misleading and biased report is the Koch brothers’ response to the growing support in our country for a Medicare for all program.’” 

    Sen. Bernie Sanders’ response assumes that America would do a program similar to the other countries, to which he makes a general reference. My research indicates what he and others seem to be proposing is not done by any of the countries viewed as somewhat successful in assuring health care for all citizens. 

    I hold it is very safe to say that nobody has a good idea as to what Medicare for All would cost. It even appears there is not consensus on what the program would offer or how it would work. However, it is a fact that taxes would increase for some American citizens. 

    Interestingly, support for the concept is strong— that is, until people get informed. The following information, from Kaiser Family Foundation Tracking Poll, conducted Jan. 9-14, 2019, appears in an article by Jane Sarasohn-Kahn titled “Americans Are Warming to Universal Health Care, Kaiser Poll Finds”: 

    “Would you favor or oppose a national Medicare for All plan if you heard that it would do the following? 

    “Guarantee health insurance as a right for all Americans — 71% favor/27% oppose 

    “Eliminate all health insurance premiums and reduce out-of-pocket health care costs for most Americans — 67% favor/30% oppose 

    “Eliminate private health insurance companies — 37% favor/58% oppose 

    “Require most Americans to pay more in taxes — 37% favor/60% oppose 

    “Threaten the current Medicare program — 32% favor/60% oppose 

    “Lead to delays in people getting some medical tests and treatments — 26% favor/70% oppose.” 

    As people get more informed regarding Medicare for All, or any issue of importance, interest elevates, and critical thinking happens. 

    This is not an outcome that serves the aims of power-seekers well. Thought deprivation is, therefore, a primary strategy. In general, we permit the deprivation to work. 

    It results in and allows for manipulation of citizens — of how they vote, of what they protest, of what they demand or expect from government and so forth. 

    If we in America do not immediately break free of imposed thought deprivation, not only will current generations suffer harsh consequences. We will impose insurmountable challenges on generations yet unborn. 

  • 03MargI saw it on the news and then read about it online, and I still could not believe it: A United States senator addressing his colleagues in that august and historic chamber, bizarrely suggesting that the only thing needed to combat climate change is for Americans to “fall in love” and have “more babies.” 

    Say what?!?! 

    Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, took to the floor to lambast the House climate change proposal called the Green New Deal with images of Ronald Reagan riding a dinosaur while wielding a machine gun, along with another of Luke Skywalker of “Star Wars” fame. Lee’s idea seems to have been to slam the Green New Deal as if it were as silly as his photoshopped pictures. Said Lee, “Climate change is not a joke, but the Green New Deal … is the legislative equivalent of Austin Powers’ Dr. Evil demanding sharks with frickin’ lasers on their heads.” 

    And where did love and more babies come in? 

    Lee told his colleagues that “more babies will mean forward-looking adults, the sort we need to tackle long-term, large-scale problems.” He concluded his remarks grandly by suggesting that the solution to every problem is to “fall in love, get married and have some kids.” 

    I wonder if he includes overpopulation in his list of big challenges. 

    Green New Deal supporter Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., voiced the thoughts of many when she tweeted, “If this guy can be Senator, you can do anything.” 

    ******************** 

    Many of us know people struggling with opioid addiction, either personally or because someone we love has been upended by it, leaving family members reeling in his or her wake. In my age bracket, I see grandparents who thought their childrearing responsibilities were over doing it all a second time with grandchildren whose parents’ addictions wipe out everything else. 

    There are few pretty pictures in the opioid epidemic still raging throughout the United States, including North Carolina. It’s killed 200,000 over the last two decades. 

    Purdue Pharma, maker of OxyContin, has just settled a case brought by the state of Oklahoma for a whopping $270 million. Speculation is that Purdue decided it was better to pay up than to expose themselves to a televised trial with release of damaging in-house information, which could result in an astronomical jury award. Purdue is also said to be exploring bankruptcy restructuring to insulate itself, at least temporarily, from large judgments. 

    Whatever happens with Purdue and other opioid makers, and whatever damages paid, the reality is that no amount of money can bring back loved ones who overdosed or who are lost to their addictions. It will be generations before the scourge of opioid addiction is over. 

    ******************** 

    Are you wondering what to give your children that will last a lifetime? 

    How about good manners? 

    Myka Meier of Beaumont Etiquette, which teaches manners at the Plaza Hotel in New York City, says etiquette can be taught as soon as a child can speak and that table manners should begin in the high chair. Meier’s top 20 etiquette rules include: 

    Use please and thank you every day. 

    Hold silverware correctly. 

    Chew with your mouth closed. 

    Remember, no elbows on the table … ever. 

    Learn how to write a thank you note. 

    Introduce yourself properly. 

    Always knock on a door before opening it. 

    Don’t point or stare. 

    Always cover your mouth when sneezing or coughing. 

    Know how to invite someone to join a group if he or she is alone. 

    The true meaning of etiquette is always to show respect and kindness to everyone around you. 

    Hear, hear, parents — and good luck! 

  • 02PubpenPICWho would have thought the integrity and competency levels of the Hope Mills Board of Commissioners would fall lower than Hope Mills Lake’s levels? Neither is moving the community forward, and residents are not pleased at all. 

    It’s an understatement to say that Hope Mills residents are agitated over the way the board has treated the town’s beloved mayor, Jackie Warner, and at the prospect of having to lower the water level of the lake to finish construction of the bulkhead. 

    In the case of the bulkhead, residents feel this work could have, and should have, been planned, scheduled and finished in the winter months — not during the spring and summer season, when residents anticipate enjoying the lake most. Citizens are pointing the finger at the commissioners’ lack of vision and poor planning, their penchant for micromanaging staff and their reluctance to allow town employees to do their job. 

    The board is unable to focus on the issues and priorities of the town because of their obsession with unseating and displacing Warner by stripping her of responsibilities. A well-orchestrated conspiracy to render her ineffective by making her appear careless, unapproachable and defiant is in full swing. However, as the warm weather and sunny summer days approach, Hope Mills residents are realizing it is not the mayor who has delayed progress on construction of the bulkhead, the kayak launch, the handicap ramp and the steps in the swimming area. 

    The consensus is that Commissioners Meg Larson, Mike Mitchell, Jerry Legge and Jessie Bellflowers have needlessly caused these delays because of their obsession with micromanaging and controlling every detail of the project. 

    It is the same kind of attention on the wrong things that allowed art sculptures created by students at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke to disappear from the Hope Mills landscape. As a result, residents are disappointed, students lose an opportunity, Hope Mills fails to move forward culturally, and future expectations of growth and economic prosperity dissipate — along with the lake’s water levels. 

    Unfortunately, it gets crazier. 

    The recent situation concerning the town losing its art sculptures because of a failure to renew the agreement is the near-perfect example of the misplaced priorities of most Hope Mills elected officials and their reluctance to take responsibility for their actions — or in this case, their inaction. 

    Larson, Mitchell, Legge and Bellflowers called a special meeting of the board for March 25 to discuss and explain the breakdown in communications with UNC-P professor Adam Walls that had resulted in the loss of the art sculptures from Municipal Park. They also discussed an Up & Coming Weeklyarticle published March 20, written by our writer and Hope Mills correspondent Earl Vaughan Jr., concerning the sculptures. 

    While the meeting was scheduled on the pretense of discussing the disappearing UNC-P art sculptures, as well as the disparaging media coverage, it was revealed to be an excuse to create another event to degrade and embarrass Warner. 

    Additionally, it was an attempt to discredit Up & Coming Weekly: both me (Bill Bowman) as the publisher and our writer Earl Vaughan Jr. 

    Four of the board members arrived with a written resolution to cast a public vote of “No Confidence” against Warner. Mission accomplished — while uninformed Hope Mills citizens are left scratching their heads and wondering what the heck is going on. 

    Those four elected officials got their way; they have the votes. That’s the way the system works. Only Commissioner Pat Edwards had the determination and intestinal fortitude to speak her mind and call out the entire process for what it was — wrong. Even as the pressure mounts, she remains the lone holdout, refusing to accept the “destroy Warner at all costs” doctrine. 

    No doubt, Edwards finds encouragement and strength in the fact that she speaks not for hundreds but thousands of Hope Mills residents who want more and expect more from their town leadership and elected officials. Specifically, the truth. 

    Here is the truth about this situation. By reading on, you can begin to understand what’s going on and get the information you need to make intelligent, responsible and informed decisions about the future of the Hope Mills community. 

    What follows in italics is the kind of information you will only get in this publication and on Hopemills.net. Both are free with open access to the public. We recommend you subscribe to both. 

    The special meeting was held March 25 on the pretense of finding out what happened to the art sculptures and why they were being removed and to discuss Earl Vaughan Jr.’s March 20 article in Up & Coming Weekly. 

    Not true. 

    The real purpose was to present a resolution of “No Confidence” on Warner. The board had no intention of hearing the truth about the matter. If they wanted the truth, they would have invited and/or spoken with Walls, the UNC-P professor who was interviewed for the article; Up & Coming Weekly writer Earl Vaughan Jr., the author of the article; HopeMills.net author Elizabeth Blevins; and me (Bowman), the owner and publisher of Up & Coming Weekly. None of us were invited to attend the special meeting nor reached out to for clarification and productive discussion. 

    However, I showed up and sat there, in the second row, while they slandered me and questioned the integrity of my newspaper. I sat quietly through the barrage of insults and accusations, thinking that they would eventually call on me to respond to the charges and accusations. They did not. They ignored me — as well as the truth. 

    Bellflowers read out loud a paragraph that was said to be from our “deplorable” article. But, interestingly enough, you won’t be able to find the things he read aloud anywhere in the actual article that was published. 

    Next, Legge read a resolution obviously composed by Mitchell and Larson. It was a collection of inaccurate statements and proof that the board members had no interest in learning the truth — only in placing blame. 

    Mitchell, Larson, Legge and Bellflowers voted for the resolution. Edwards voted against it. 

    Here is their resolution. It puts on full display how the board is spending its time rather than securing our art, taking care of the Hope Mills Lake projects, securing commerce and creating economic vitality for Hope Mills — think back to the Lone Survivor Foundation situation. 

    1 - Whereas the Hope Mills Town Board appreciates and supports the cultural arts within our community. 

    Not true.The very board members who voted for this resolution were so uninterested in the single example of art in Hope Mills that they didn’t even notice as it disappeared. 

    Less than two weeks ago, Community Development Planner Chancer McLaughlin requested that the board provide a letter of approval to include in an art grants application. He explained the letter wasn’t required but would be appreciated. The board grilled him for more than 20 minutes before reluctantly agreeing to produce the letter. 

    2 - Whereas the Hope Mills Town Board believes it is important for elected officials to act in an honest, ethical and transparent manner for the citizens we serve. 

    Not true.Mitchell has a longstanding habit of posting questionable comments on his social media. He’s violated the constitutional rights of Hope Mills citizens who spoke against him by blocking them from his social media accounts, and he sent an email to the town manager indicating he didn’t want any member of the staff or the Board of Commissioners to attend a political rally. 

    It’s illegal to prevent members of the staff from attending political events. 

    3 - Whereas it is important for our citizens to trust information that is shared by our town leaders. 

    Trust is important, but the commissioners are not conducting themselves in a way that earns this trust. 

    As one example, Larson continues to share the PWC surveys, which PWC Chief Operations Officer Mick Noland condemned as outdated and irrelevant in July 2018. 

    4 - Whereas it is important for the elected to work together and share information that is important to the smooth operation of the town. 

    This is true, but there isn’t a single example of Larson, Legge or Mitchell having done this. 

    5 - Whereas Hope Mills Mayor Jackie Warner had knowledge of the time sensitive deadline of the Art in the Park agreement with a local university and did not immediately direct the matter to the town manager, who is responsible for the daily operations of the town. 

    Not true.The emails provided by the commissioners prove Warner contacted Town Manager Melissa Adams Aug. 22, 2018, the very day the UNC-P professor contacted her regarding the contract. 

    6 - Whereas Mayor Jackie Warner knowingly withheld the information concerning the time sensitive deadline of the Art in the Park agreement from the board of commissioners. 

    Not true.Every member of this board was present March 19, 2018, and again May 21, 2018, when the sculptures — and specifically, the deadline for renewing the sculptures — were discussed. This information is annotated in the official minutes from those meetings. 

    7 - Whereas Mayor Jackie Warner shared information about the art in the park agreement with the reporter from a local publication without ever bringing the matter before the board. 

    Not true.The responsibility of keeping the board updated on current issues belongs to the staff — not the mayor. Warner and the staff were searching for solutions to the problem; the board was not. 

    8 - Whereas the resulting article from the information shared by Mayor Jackie Warner cast aspersions upon our community and board and was unsettling to a local university, a resident and his students. 

    Not true.The article did not harm the professor, the university or the students. There was one comment in the article that casts doubt on the integrity of the board. It presented the opinion of a citizen — who is 100 percent entitled to his opinion. And while members of the board have reached out to him and claim he never made the comment, article author Earl Vaughan Jr. and Up & Coming Weekly stand by the integrity of the interview and the article. 

    9 - Whereas March 19, 2019, Mayor Jackie Warner shared the article to her official Mayor of Hope Mills Facebook page without any clarification to the readers. 

    True. However, if this justifies a censure, then Mitchell and Larson should be censured as well. They’ve both made a habit of sharing articles that are embarrassing to the town — and specifically to Warner — from another publication. In fact, Mitchell shared an article of questionable content March 27, two days after censuring the mayor for doing the same. 

    10 - Whereas Mayor Jackie Warner has shown a pattern of withholding information from her fellow board members and knowingly sharing misinformation through both social media and in public forum. 

    Not true.This is a thinly veiled reference to Larson’s belief that Warner was privy to more information about an offer from Lone Survivor Foundation than Warner shared with the board. 

    Warner has clarified her responses to their inquiries for 10 months, and the board is funding a formal investigation into the situation. The investigator has not returned his findings, so it’s premature to levy this accusation against the mayor. 

    11 - Whereas Mayor Jackie Warner has been counseled numerous times about such behavior as it misleads the public and is an abuse of her position. 

    Not true.This is another reference to Larson’s misguided belief that Warner colluded with executives of Lone Survivor Foundation. While Larson has attempted to counsel the mayor, it was an abuse of her position to do so. 

    Be it resolved that Mayor Jackie Warner knew about the time sensitive deadline of the Art in the Park agreement. Mayor Warner failed to immediately inform the town manager and never informed the Board, which contributed in part to the loss in art. 

    Not true.Warner knew about the time-sensitive deadline, as did the entire board. They were officially notified on two separate occasions — and it’s a matter of public record. She did immediately inform the town manager. This was established by the same commissioners who wrote the resolution when they provided the correspondence between the professor and staff members and the mayor. 

    Be it resolved that the Hope Mills town Board of Commissioners casts a vote of No Confidence in Mayor Jackie Warner and her ability to effectively work with the elected Board to serve in the capacity as mayor of Hope Mills. 

    It’s ironic that while the commissioners were drafting this resolution to embarrass the mayor, she was actively seeking a solution to the Art in the Park dilemma. And while they failed to prove any of their points, she succeeded in securing more art for our community. 

    Up & Coming Weeklystaff have repeatedly reached out to the Board of Commissioners and extended open invitations for them to comment, respond, clarify or rebut anything we print in our publication. To date, no one has taken us up on that offer. 

    When Mitchell was asked to comment on a Hope Mills issue, he said he was “too busy.” 

    Larson, when asked to comment on a local Hope Mills community event, responded with “I don’t participate with the Up & Coming Weekly.” 

    I again extend the invitation to Commissioners Mitchell, Larson, Legge, Bellflowers, Edwards and Mayor Jackie Warner. 

    Just remember, at Up & Coming Weeklycommunity newspaper, if you write it, you own it. That is why our name and photos are on every article. 

    Elizabeth Blevins and I thank you for reading Up & Coming Weekly

    Photo: Mayor Jackie Warner


  • {mosimage}When I attended Methodist College my professor, Mr. Green, used to ask us every night if we had “any unfinished business.” He asked this after our Death and Dying Class. He told us to make sure we didn’t because we didn’t know if we would ever see each other again. Over time it became more than a phrase or a teaching point. It became a way of thinking because it became clear to me how fragile life is.

     When I get on my bike in the morning I ask myself “Who’s going to try to kill me today?” I say this to get my focus on business. We all know that riding is dangerous not so much because of our skills but because someone else isn’t watching out for us or we don’t see them. No matter what the cause is, if an accident occurs, as riders we have responsibilities which go beyond our riding.

     I wish this was a cool article about riding, but this one is on responsibilities of the worse type. In my wallet I have a piece of paper wrapped around my driver’s license that reads “If you are reading this, I’ve screwed up. Please call╔..”and I give contact information for my family members. I printed this up after seeing a few wrecks and wondered how hard it was for first responders to track down someone’s relatives or next-of-kin. At first I just had it in my wallet but my cousin Jerry, who is a fireman in Raleigh, suggested that I wrap it around my license. That was a great idea.

    My letter goes on to give addresses, home, cell and work numbers where these people can be found. I give them an alternate person to contact, as well as my blood type. I also tell them I am a donor and my last sentence reads “Thank you for scraping me up.”

     It’s pretty funny and my hope is to tell my last joke if this happens to be my final publishing. I’m a funny guy like that, but seriously I don’t want a policeman or first responder spending the day trying to figure out my life story. We live in a military town and because so many people have their licenses and tags registered at their home-of-record it could make finding a loved one difficult. No one would like to see anyone wasting a day trying to find your wife or husband in Biloxi, Miss., only to discover that they actually live off Owen Drive.

     It is also important to have your legal affairs in order in the event of something tragic occurring. Many of us ride with our significant others and if something happens to both of us, it is our responsibility to make sure that our family is taken care of. If you don’t have a will, living will or durable Power of Attorney, you will want to speak with an attorney to make sure that you have your affairs in order. Oh, did I ask you if “there is any unfinished business” before I go? 

    If there is a topic that you would like to discuss, please send your comments and suggestions to

    motorcycle4fun@aol.com. RIDE SAFE!

     

  •     {mosimage}For almost six years, the soldiers and airmen who call Fort Bragg and Pope Air Force Base home have been in a continual state of deployment. Fayetteville and its surrounding communities have gotten into the rhythm of deployments. They have watched their neighbors and friends pack their rucks and leave to defend our nation; and in the interim, helped watch over the families left behind. And in some small, private ways, they’ve welcomed their neighbors home upon their return.
        On Saturday, May 10, the Braxton Bragg Chapter of the Association of the United States Army, or AUSA, is holding a very large, very public Welcome Home Heroes party at Festival Park, and you’re invited.
    The party, one part pure patriotism and the other part pure country, features country music sensation Lonestar. The event is free and open to the public.
        The brain child of Fayetteville music men Terry Shea and Morris Cardenas, the concert has been months in the making. Shea and Cardenas grew up in Fayetteville and take great pride in calling themselves military brats. One night, while talking about news reports concerning the care of wounded soldiers, the idea of doing something to honor the city’s veterans started getting kicked around. As the conversation began to take root in their minds, their thoughts obviously turned to what they know best – music.
        To give the idea wings, they knew they were going to have to find a partner, and that’s when AUSA came into the picture. Cardenas explained that putting on an event the size and magnitude of the upcoming concert takes a lot of people and a lot of organizational skills. They knew they could find it within the ranks of the AUSA membership. They first approached Col. (Ret.) Jim White, an AUSA member who heads up the Wounded Warrior program for the association, with the idea.
        White grabbed the idea and ran with it. “He called us and said, ‘I want to do this thing,’” recalled Cardenas.     “We could not have made this happen without him.”
        “Col. White heard our vision and supported it,” said Shea. “He told us it cost just a little more to go first class, and that’s what he wanted for the troops. Whenever we would get in a rut, he would motivate the troops and get us going.”
        Other than cutting through the paperwork required to use Festival Park, the biggest thing the group had to tackle was finding a band. Both Cardenas and Shea had ideas about what kind of musicians they wanted to play, but wanting doesn’t always make it so. A couple of times they thought they were close with musicians like John Rich and Charlie Daniels but other commitments caused conflicts. They hit the jackpot when they started pursuing Lonestar.
        “The guys in Lonestar do so much for the troops,” explained Shea. “We went after them because of their involvement with the troops. If you look on their Web site, you’ll see all of the military awards they have received for their efforts. They are very in tune with what it is we are doing here. They are with us in wanting to honor our service members, and that’s what is going to make this show so exciting.”
    You only have to mention the word troops to Lonestar lead guitarist Michael Britt to get his attention. Britt, along with Keech Rainwater and Dean Sams, are the original members of the band that formed in Nashville in 1992.
        “We can’t wait to get there to Fayetteville,” said Britt, in a recent telephone interview. “That’s going to be a fun show. We love playing for the troops. Knowing this is a welcome home for the soldiers who have been serving those 12 to 15 month deployments make it even more important and a lot bigger.”
        The band is looking forward to doing a USO tour sometime in the future, but see this as an opportunity to say thanks to the soldiers here at home. “We are huge supporters of the military,” said Britt.
    In the opening days of the war, the band’s song I’m Already There captured the spirit of families who are separated. The song written about the band’s travels touched a special place in the hearts of deployed soldiers and their families. “When we recorded that song, it wasn’t with soldiers in mind, we were talking about our own separations from our families while we toured, but we are proud that it meant something to our military families,” he said. “Our soldiers are out there risking their lives and their families are here – they truly are the unsung heroes of our nation.”
        He said the show will have special meaning to the band’s new front man Cody Collins because his sister recently joined the Marines. “It’s going to be a very special event and memory for him,” said Britt.
    Britt and his wife are both actively involved in the “Adopt a Platoon” program. “For the last four years we’ve participated in that program,” said Britt. “We’ll head out to the store and buy a lot of stuff and box it up and send it over to the soldiers. We have sent a huge amount of packages overseas. It’s a big commitment, but we think it’s very worthwhile.”
        So while the concert will give the band an opportunity to offer its thanks to the troops, it will also give them a chance to introduce Collins, who took the place of former front man Richie McDonald, and introduce a new, edgier sound for the band.
        Britt said the band had been pigeonholed as the “poster boy family band” after a string of hits like Mr. Mom, My Front Porch Looking In and Amazed. The songs written by McDonald were the type of songs the band’s former record label pushed them to record. But they were not in keeping with what the other members of the band wanted to do. “All along there was some internal fighting,” acknowledged Britt. “There was conflict because that wasn’t what the rest of us wanted to put out, but it was what Richey wanted.”
    He said McDonald’s style was more relaxed, while his band mates wanted to put out the kind of music they first started playing when they came together – music with more of a rock edge. “As John Rich (of Big and Rich and a former band member) used to say, ‘It’s country music delivered through a shotgun,’” said Britt.
        Last year, McDonald left the band, opening the door for the band to change direction and embrace the music they had long been wanting to record.
        Britt said that the band hopes the new music’s edgier sound won’t alienate their fans, and asks that they give it a chance. A single, hitting the airwaves now, Le Me Love You, is getting positive play and reviews from fans. A new album is also in the works. “We mainly want to get people to see us and hear us,” he said. “For a while, we were not enjoying what we were doing. But now, we are having fun playing, it’s actually like being a teenager in a garage band.”
        But Britt said long-time fans don’t have to worry about hearing their favorites. The band will perform the majority of their hits during the concert, but don’t expect to hear Mr. Mom.
        "That song was about Richey’s family, and it seems insincere to play it,” said Britt. “We don’t want Cody to imitate Richey – we want him to be Cody. And we think people are going to like that.”
        The afternoon’s events will kick off at Festival Park at 2 p.m., with a parachute jump by the 82nd Airborne Sport Parachute Club, patriotic music by choirs and speeches from military leaders and local community leaders. At 5 p.m. Cardenas’ band, Borderland, will take the stage and will play until 6:30 p.m.
        “We’re really excited about opening for Lonestar,” said Cardenas. “We see this as an opportunity to give something back to the community and to our troops.”
    He noted that it was even more special because the band’s drummer, Cornell Young, is a retired Special Forces soldiers. “We’re going to put on the best show we can as our gift to the soldiers,” he said.
    Lonestar will hit the stage at 7 p.m. “We want all of our soldiers to come out and we want local residents to come out and show their support of our troops,” said Shea. “It’s going to be a great night for Fayetteville.”


  • The Ruins (Rated PG-13/R)

    Rated 5 Stars

     

    {mosimage}Every PG-13/R movie released in the last three months showed the trailer for The Ruins (91 minutes). At first, this movie looked intriguing, then after the sixth time the trailer flashed on the screen, it started looking a little cheesy. Last week, when the trailer appeared in front of Doomsday I yelled at the screen. Of course, for such an overexposed movie, internet buzz and hype from people who read Scott Smith’s novel (he also scripted) guaranteed that I would at least give this one a try. Since the only other movie that looked promising this week was Stop-Loss (and I love Kimberly Pierce╔but that does not look like a movie a reviewer can sum up in 500 words), I wandered in to see The Ruins somewhat reluctantly.  

    Once I got past the slow start (why spend so much time watching the leads drink tequila?  Let’s get chopping!) I was pleasantly surprised to discover a somewhat original, fast paced, horror movie filled with above average characterization. Remembering, of course, that the average horror movie characterization involves creating obnoxious one-note characters the audience is glad to see mutilated.  

    Medical student Jeff (Jonathan Tucker) and his girlfriend Amy (Jenna Malone), along with Eric (Shawn Ashmore) and his girlfriend Stacy (Laura Ramsey) head for an archaeological dig with Mathias (Joe Anderson) and Dimitri (Dimitri Baveas) on the last day of their Cancun vacation. Once at the site, creepy non-talking Mayan children fetch even creepier weapon-wielding Mayan adults, and the group is forced up a vine-covered pyramid. At first, they decide to conserve their supplies and wait for rescue, but supernatural attacks sow panic and dissent among them. Their cell phones prove useless, and various injuries are sustained by several members of the group as they search for a way off the pyramid. Gradually, they realize that help will not arrive in time to save their lives, and the group is slowly whittled down one by one.  

    The usual horror movie desperation occurs, but it occurs alongside some effective character development. Take bets on who will survive, and you may end up surprised, as characters that initially appear strong quickly crack under pressure. For a movie I expected to dislike, I was pleasantly engrossed (with the emphasis on “gross”) with the story. The special effects on the mutilation shots made me groan, and there is nice attention to detail on the antagonists and the dead bodies. The lighting is superb, with the sunlit top of the pyramid creating a nice contrast to the dark inner chamber. Unlike many movies, only one or two bits slowed down the pace, and it felt more like 45 minutes than 91. However, with such a strong original plot, it was disappointing that the female leads spent so much time half naked. The male leads get to wear long shorts and shirts, but at least one of the female leads spent most of the movie stripped down to her panties and covered in dirt and blood.  

    Overall, a nice little movie that made me forgive Jenna Malone for the self-indulgent travesty that was Corn. The Ruins will play well with Stephen King fans, and anyone who liked The Mist, Day of the Triffids, and Hostel. Bravo director Carter Smith, Bravo.

     

  • {mosimage}The trailers for Forgetting Sarah Marshall (112 minutes) did not offer much in the way of originality.  They looked exactly like every other Judd Apatow movie, with a little bit of classic Steve Martin thrown in for flavor.  But then I discovered that Apatow regular Jason Segel scripted this particular rom-com, and relative newcomer Nicholas Stoller directed.  Without Apatow, is Sarah Marshall worth paying money for?  After the first fifteen minutes in the theater, my answer is yes, absolutely!  This is one of the movies that will appeal to groups of guys, groups of women looking for something to do after lunch, and couples looking for the middle ground between Harold and Kumar and 27 Dresses.  Everyone in the theater laughed in most of the right places (although the guys behind me seemed focused on working out their ex-girlfriend issues, using less than polite terms to describe Sarah Marshall, played by Kristen Bell).

    We begin with composer Peter Bretter (Segel) waiting for his girlfriend, television star Sarah Marshall (Bell) to arrive home.  He is a guy’s guy, starting his mid-afternoon with a mixing bowel full of cereal, which he claims is salad when Sarah calls to tell him she is coming over.  After the break up scene (which will either read as unsettlingly real or patently false, depending on what kind of relationships you get involved in), Peter has a series of one night stands culminating in hysterics at his day job. He decides to head to Hawaii, only to find out Sarah is already there with the man she left him for, the pretentious Aldous Snow (Russel Brand).  He stays, and gets to know a simply gorgeous Rachel (Mila Kunis╔was she always this pretty?), who is working on some bad relationship issues of her own.  Amidst several worthy subplots, Wyoma and Darald (played by Maria Thayer and Jack McBrayer) are the standout.  They play repressed and naĢve just marrieds, and the scene where Aldous uses oversized chess players to demonstrate to Darald what he should be doing with Wyoma is hysterical.  The real winner of the movie is A Taste for Love, the Dracula puppet musical that Peter is shown working on throughout the movie.  The Jim Henson Creature shop supplied the puppets and Segel the lyrics, which must be heard to be believed.  In fact, Sarah Marshall almost received the coveted five star rating on the strength of the puppet scenes alone.    

    Overall, this is a lighter movie than Knocked Up, but has wider appeal than Superbad.  Stoller does an impressive job of capturing the honeymoon tourist side of Hawaii, and exploring the dynamics of the service industry there.  Plenty of fun, more than a little bit of nudity, and the cast plays well off of each other.  However, the script does seem a little bloated with subplots, and if Segel had trimmed some flashbacks, and completely left out surfer dude Chuck (Paul Rudd), the pace would improve immeasurably.   


     


  • {mosimage}One of cable’s deadliest traditions is the interview with a faded old star, conducted by a starchy James Lipton type. The only drama in such shows is waiting to see if either interviewee or host lapses into a coma.

    Alec Baldwin’s interview with Gene Wilder inRole Model (Tuesday, 8 p.m., TCM) is altogether different. This isn’t a stiff hour of hero worship, but a lively conversation full of anecdotes and insight. Baldwin is masterful in the interviewer’s role (someone please sign this man up for his own talk show immediately), and Wilder responds with candor and eloquence.

     He admits to being “a very mixed-up fellow” as a young man. Years of therapy straightened him out, and years of training in the Actors Studio and Broadway productions prepared him for a career in movies. Wilder tells memorable stories about makingThe Producers,Blazing Saddles,Willy Wonka andYoung Frankenstein, the latter featuring his own script. It’s startling to hear this gentle man admit that he worked up Dr. Frankenstein’s maniacal frenzy by tapping into “rage at my first wife.”

    Remind me never to marry Gene Wilder.


    Miss USA

    Friday, 9 p.m. (NBC)

    At last year’s Miss Teen USA, Miss South Carolina babbled incoherently in her Q&A and became an instant airhead celebrity. She appeared on talk shows, news shows and awards shows as America paid tribute to her formidable stupidity. Meanwhile, the articulate young woman who actually won the pageant was forgotten within seconds.

    I’m sure the lesson was not lost on the current Miss USA contestants. Don’t expect any of them to make a lick of sense in the interview segment.


    The Memory Keeper’s Daughter

    Saturday, 9 p.m. (Lifetime)

    This TV movie lives up to its dumb title. Based on Kim Edwards’ bestseller, it’s an over-the-top melodrama about a doctor (Dermot Mulroney) who delivers his own twin babies in a howling snowstorm. He’s horrified to see that one of them has Down syndrome, so he orders the nurse (Emily Watson) to take it to an institution, then tells his wife (Gretchen Mol) that the baby died during the delivery. But the nurse smuggles the baby to another city and raises it as her own.

    The movie takes itself very seriously, with an abundance of tears, rain, flashbacks and accusing glances. There’s not a hint of laughter, unless you count your own.


    American Experience

    Monday, 10 p.m. (PBS) 

    Walt Whitman’s words still leap off the page, but Whitman himself doesn’t leap off the screen in PBS’s profile. It’s a solid enough introduction, but when the subject is America’s first great poet, would it be too much to ask for a bit of poetry in the filmmaking? And, no, shots of floating swans and waving grass don’t count.

    We get conventional talking heads discussing the stunningly unconventionalLeaves of Grass, and it’s kind of a letdown. You sense that the filmmakers were afraid to take off their shoes and roll around in the mud, ł la Whitman. Not me, though č I’m sitting naked in the forest as I write this blurb.

  • 13 patient consultThe Commission on Cancer, a quality program of the American College of Surgeons has granted three-year accreditation to the cancer program at Cape Fear Valley Medical Center as an Academic Comprehensive Cancer Program.

    To earn voluntary CoC accreditation, a cancer program must meet 34 CoC quality care standards, be evaluated every three years through a survey process, and maintain levels of excellence in the delivery of comprehensive patient-centered care. Only 13% of cancer treatment programs hold the Academic Comprehensive Cancer Program designation.

    “This accreditation is considered the gold standard in cancer care,” said Cape Fear Valley’s Executive Corporate Director of Oncology Services Kanwar Singh. “It’s a voluntary accreditation with prescriptive standards, and we challenge ourselves to meet these rigorous quality care standards. Because the accreditation is multi-disciplinary in nature, it also acknowledges the teamwork from areas of Cape Fear Valley beyond the Cancer Center.”

    The Academic Comprehensive Cancer Program designation is an advancement from the program’s previous designation as a Comprehensive Community Cancer Program, and further means that the program participates in postgraduate medical education in at least four program areas, and that it participates in cancer-related clinical research as well as offering the full range of diagnostic and treatment either on-site or by referral. Cape Fear Valley Health has residency programs in Internal Medicine, Family Medicine, General Surgery and Emergency Medicine.

    Because it is a CoC-accredited cancer program, Cape Fear Valley Cancer Treatment and Cyberknife Center takes a multidisciplinary approach to treating cancer as a complex group of diseases that requires consultation among surgeons, medical and radiation oncologists, diagnostic radiologists, pathologists and other cancer specialists. This multidisciplinary partnership results in improved patient care.

    The CoC Accreditation Program provides the framework for Cape Fear Valley Cancer Treatment and Cyberknife Center to improve its quality of patient care through various cancer-related programs that focus on the full spectrum of cancer care including prevention, early diagnosis, cancer staging, optimal treatment, rehabilitation, life-long follow-up for recurrent disease, and end-of-life care. When patients receive care at a CoC facility, they also have access to information on clinical trials and new treatments, genetic counseling and patient centered services including psycho-social support, a patient navigation process, and a survivorship care plan that documents the care each patient receives and seeks to improve cancer survivors’ quality of life.

    Like all CoC-accredited facilities, Cape Fear Valley Cancer Treatment and Cyberknife Center maintains a cancer registry and contributes data to the National Cancer Data Base, a joint program of the CoC and American Cancer Society.

    This nationwide oncology outcomes database is the largest clinical disease registry in the world. Data on all types of cancer are tracked and analyzed through the NCDB and used to explore trends in cancer care. CoC-accredited cancer centers, in turn, have access to information derived from this type of data analysis, which is used to create national, regional and state benchmark reports. These reports help CoC facilities with their quality improvement efforts.

    There are currently more than 1,500 CoC-accredited cancer programs in the U.S. and Puerto Rico. CoC-accredited facilities diagnose and/or treat more than 70% of all newly diagnosed patients with cancer. When cancer patients choose to seek care locally at a CoC-accredited cancer center, they are gaining access to comprehensive, state-of-the-art cancer care close to home. The CoC provides the public with information on the resources, services, and cancer treatment experience for each CoC-accredited cancer program through the CoC Hospital Locator at https://www.facs.org/search/cancer-programs.

    Established in 1922 by the American College of Surgeons, the CoC is a consortium of professional organizations dedicated to improving patient outcomes and quality of life for cancer patients through standard-setting, prevention, research, education, and the monitoring of comprehensive, quality care. Its membership includes Fellows of the American College of Surgeons. For more information, visit: www.facs.org/cancer.

    For more information about the Cape Fear Valley Health System and its services visit www.CapeFearValley.com.

  • {mosimage}On May 31, at 11 a.m., Festival Park is going to come alive with the sound of music. This day-long music festival, sponsored by Chapter C of the Special Forces Association, is going to go far to show that art isn’t the only thing that lives in Fayetteville. For one day, music will not only rule, it will reign.

    The association, which is comprised of current and former members of the United States Army Special Forces, has put together a lineup of local talent, as well as international talent, that is sure to please just about everyone. Local musicians have volunteered their time and talents to raise funds to help take care of injured soldiers and to take care of the families of those who have fallen in the line of duty. All proceeds from the show will go into the association’s benevolent and scholarship funds, which are used to support Special Forces families.

    One of the performers who has volunteered his time is fairly young, but he’s already made quite an impression on the Fayetteville music scene. Ethan Hanson, a hugely talented singer/songwriter, is a regular on the Fayetteville music scene. He has been playing in the area since he was 15. His first gigs were at the Coffee Scene and other area open mic nights. 

    Ethan (as he is known on stage), made his first professional appearance at the Highlander Pub, a Haymont institution, the summer after he completed his sophomore year in high school. Armed with homemade business cards and a demo CD, he played his first gig and found that he truly liked life in the spotlight. 

    That love of performing has seen him move out of the Fayetteville music scene, relocating to perform in Chapel Hill, Raleigh and at festivals all over the state. But, he still has a loyal following in Fayetteville.

    Known for a bluesy, acoustic rock sound, Ethan plays popular songs, but he also fills his lineup with his own songs. He said that he uses a lot of different elements to create his own blend of music. His writing style is not ordered, instead, it’s more free-flowing. When he comes up with a melody he likes, he runs with it.

    His music can be found on two self-released CDs, and he is currently working on a third, which is due to be released this year. In an interview with Roy Barnes last year, Ethan noted, “If you feel good about yourself, you don’t need to be famous. It would be nice to get my message out to a lot of people, (but) I wouldn’t want to take anything away from what I do with my own music. The most important thing is the journey, not where you end up.”

    In recent years, Ethan has shared the stage with some people who know a little about fame. In 2006, he was one of the acts that opened for Hootie and the Blowfish at The Dogwood Festival. In 2007, he opened the show for JoJo, and at the 2008 festival he appeared on The Rock Shop stage along with a number of national bands.

    Ethan is one of six local acts that will perform at the SF Association event. The headliners will be Bad Company. Tickets for the event are on sale now for $17 at www.specialforcesassociation.org. They can also be purchased the day of the show for $20. Enjoy a day packed full of music and fun and show your support for the men of the Special Forces.

  • 11 Resized 20210327 1558431Every 73 seconds an American becomes a victim of sexual assault, according to RAINN, the Rape Assault Incest National Network.

    The month of April is recognized as Sexual Assault Awareness Month, or SAAM, and many groups continue to raise awareness of these crimes and prevention efforts. Many organizations offer resources locally for victims and their families
    affected.

    One local organization has been working since 1976 to achieve zero tolerance for crimes of sexual violence and to reduce its trauma. Rape Crisis of Cumberland County was established to provide services to victims of sexual assault, and they now also assist those affected by domestic violence and human trafficking.

    The agency’s team consists of several victim advocates including cold case, sexual assault and domestic violence advocates and the directors and volunteers to provide direct victim services, and a contracted counselor. They offer free services to those in need, and assistance is not contingent upon a police report.

    “We have a 24-hour crisis line that is staffed either with staff members or volunteer advocates, holidays, weekends, 2 o’clock in the morning — whenever someone might need to reach out and talk to us,” said Deanne Gerdes, executive director Rape Crisis of Cumberland County.

    Some of the services offered include hospital calls where advocates respond to victims in the hospital and walk them through the steps of the rape kit, their rights, address what happened, help identify medical needs and more.

    “Since the beginning of the pandemic, the number of cases [reported] has been very low,” said Gerdes. “I don’t think the crime has dropped, but because people in the beginning of the pandemic were unsure who was open, or how to safely make contact and they were stuck at home, there’s been a dip in reporting. But in the years to come we will have those numbers figured out.”

    The organization receives its funds from the Governor's Crime Commission, North Carolina Council for Women, the Department of Justice and donors.
    Board member and volunteer Juaneza Vivian raises money by selling arts and crafts from her business “Cookie’s Crafts 4 Crisis.”

    “When I started the funding was low, and all my proceeds go to RCC,” Vivian said. “My mission is to help eradicate sexual assault the best I know how, selling my crafts to give into RCC is my way of helping.”

    Matthew Kelley, a victim advocate of four years said he responds to emergency room calls and provides support to victims.

    Advocates ask if they have a ride home, if they’re going home to a safe environment, or if they have clothes to leave the hospital with, Gerdes mentioned.

    “Advocacy is really what we do, and it looks completely different for everyone,” Gerdes said. “We explain resources, their rights, what options they have as far as law enforcement or military or job related issues. We do leave it up to individuals to determine their path, we don't create their path for them.”

    The victim advocates also attend court appearances with victims if needed, walking them through the courthouse
    proceedings.

    “It’s scary to even figure out where parking is at the courthouse, it’s scary to walk in and we know that. We actually walk them through, so we’ll meet them in the parking lot or at the agency,” Gerdes said. “We understand the courthouse website and where to be.”

    Rape Crisis currently offers virtual support groups for victims during the pandemic, along with in-person counselling. In situations where the victim doesn’t have a safe place to go to, they offer funds for travel and a short-term hotel stay.

    The organization takes on cold cases as well, where someone doesn’t immediately come forward following an assault. The state of North Carolina has no statute of limitations for rape.

    Gerdes said they helped 560 individuals in the year before the pandemic. While the ratio of men to women survivors differs by location and there are lower reports in men possibly due to stigma, the crisis center sees more male victims from
    Fort Bragg.

    U.S. Air Force units located at Pope Army Airfield on Fort Bragg offer various services and help victims of sexual assault through their Sexual Assault Prevention and Response, or SAPR, program for active-duty members and their family members. These services include restricted reports, medical, mental and behavioral health services, and legal aid.

    The SAPR office does not provide mental health services in-house, but connects victims with those services located at Womack Medical Center and mental health services available outside post, said SAPR Victim Advocate Elenah Kelly.

    “Sometimes victims feel uncomfortable seeking mental health services on post in concerns with their records or further employment,” she said. “So as a victim advocate it is my responsibility to give them options like the Vet Center, and Steven Cohen Military Family Clinic at Cape Fear Valley where there are no records kept and doesn’t require any payment for veterans.”

    Another service they offer is the Special Victims Council, which connects the victim with a legal representative to understand their rights, options if and when they want to report the assault, and launch an investigation.

    “We have two reporting options, restricted and unrestricted,” SAPR Coordinator Karen Smith said. “When we have a restricted reporting option that means a person can make a confidential report, we are not mandated to report to law enforcement or command. Unrestricted type is where the victims choose to report it, they want it investigated, and want to hold the subject accountable.”

    The SAPR program offers an expedited transfer for victims that make a report to relocate them if needed.

    “We also offer protective orders,” Kelly said. “There's the military protective order which covers the military post, mandated by the commander, giving the victim a protective order from their perpetrator.”

    Smith said that a resource offered to all branches of the military is the DoD Safe Helpline, and the app can be found on the app store for military members and
    dependents.

    “It is 100 percent confidential and anonymous, available 24-7, you can call, text,” Smith said. “Sometimes it may be 2 or 3 o’clock in the morning and you can’t sleep and you’re having triggers, that DoD Safe Helpline is a great resource, and that number is 877-995-5247.”

    The SAPR team has been hosting many events as part of sexual assault awareness month. Some of the events include a virtual 5k, promoting wearing teal, the color for SAAM. The Respect the Rock event found members painting rocks teal with messages on them spread throughout the base. They also hosted a door decorating contest, where participants decorated doors to spread the message of sexual assault awareness.

    There was also a kickoff video where several unit commanders joined the SAPR team for a message about being the one, protecting our people and protecting our mission. The video encourages everyone to be the one to step in, to be the one to see something, say something, be the one to help someone in need. On April 28, they are celebrating International Denim Day and encouraging folks to wear denim.

    Smith echoed the message from the video that we all have a responsibility to be the one to help others in the community when possible.

    Gerdes from Rape Crisis Center said often the best thing the community can do in terms of support for the victims is understand them and believe them.
    Victim advocate Matthew Kelley said prevention remains a key when addressing sexual assault.

    “Instead of teaching people when to go out, what to wear, we should be teaching people about what consensual sex actually is and raise and educate people to not commit these crimes,” Kelley said.

    Some of the other organizations that survivors can seek help in Cumberland County are the Care Center, Fayetteville Police Department and the Child Advocacy Center.

    “We have a great sexual assault advocacy team in Cumberland County, and I am really, really proud of it,” Gerdes said. “Law enforcement, prosecutors, district attorneys, legal aid and when I say we are a team, we are absolutely a team — we hold each other accountable. And we are all very victim-centered and that’s wonderful.”

     

    Local Area Resources

    Rape Crisis of Cumberland County
    519 Ramsey St., Fayetteville
    24-Hour Local Hotline: 910-485-7273
    National Sexual Assault Hotline:
    1-800-656-4673

    Pope Army Airfield SAPR 24/7
    Hotline: 910-394-7272
    www.facebook.com/PopeSAPR1

    Fort Bragg Army SHARP Hotline: 910-
    584-4267

    Fayetteville Vet Center, 2301 Robeson
    St. #103, Fayetteville, 910-488-6252

    Cohen Clinic: 910-615-3737

    SAFE of Harnett County
    Crisis Line: 910-893-7233
    www.safeofhc.org

    Hoke County Domestic Violence and
    Sexual Assault Center, 225 S. Main St.
    Raeford Crisis Line: 910-878-0118

    Friend to Friend: Carthage
    Crisis Line: 910-947-3333
    www.moorefriends.org

    12 170405 F CD624 0005

  • 09 N1309P17004HThe Cape Fear Valley Blood Donor Center is holding multiple blood drives this month to combat the continuing critical shortage of donated blood. Officials warn that Cape Fear Valley Blood Donor Center has reached the lowest level of supply for crucial Type O- and Type O+ blood the health system has seen since the pandemic started. The health system is urging residents in Cumberland, Bladen, Harnett and Hoke Counties to donate blood at one of several local blood drives.

    The health system considers a “critical” level of blood supply to be less than three days, but the center currently has less than a one-day supply of Type O+ and Type O- blood. While all blood types are accepted for donation, these blood types are particularly useful because they can be used in emergency situations and for all trauma patients as well as neonatal babies. Type O- is the universal blood type, which can be transfused to all blood types, regardless of the recipient’s blood type. Type O+ is the most common blood type people have in the United States.

    “Because of COVID, we’ve been battling urgent shortages on and off since last year,” said Cape Fear Valley Blood Donor Center Manager Amy Fisher. “But in the last couple of months our urgent shortage has become even more critical. We are the sole providers who supply all the hospitals in the Cape Fear Valley Health system and our blood donors save lives across the region.”

    Cape Fear Valley Health System is the 8th largest regional health system in North Carolina with more than 1 million inpatient and outpatients annually. A private not-for-profit organization, it includes Cape Fear Valley Medical Center, Highsmith-Rainey Specialty Hospital, Cape Fear Valley Rehabilitation Center, Behavioral Health Care, Bladen County Hospital, Hoke Hospital, Health Pavilion North, Health Pavilion Hoke and Harnett Health. For more information, visit www.CapeFearValley.com.

    “At last count, there are only nine units of O positive blood left for patients at Cape Fear Valley Health,” Fisher said last week. “That’s nine units of O positive for the entire health system, which uses the blood in Cumberland, Bladen, Hoke and Harnett counties.”

    Fisher said the Blood Donor Center has 35 units of O-, which is still considered a shortage. One patient could deplete that supply.

    “One person has about 12 units of blood in their body. If only one person needed a total blood transfusion, we would run out of O+ blood to transfuse,” Fisher said.

    Donating blood is a selfless act that saves lives. Blood donors recognize the vital role they play in patient care, but some may wonder if it's safe to donate blood during the pandemic. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, it is safe for anyone who is well to donate blood. That even goes for people who are social distancing due to COVID-19.

    Blood donors can find a blood drive near them by checking www.savingliveslocally.org/blood_drives.aspx. No appointment is needed. Donors can also visit the Blood Donor Center at 3357 Village Drive, Fayetteville, in the Bordeaux Shopping Center. It is open for donations Monday through Friday, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and the third Saturday of each month, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. For more information, please call 910-615-LIFE (615-5433).

    The Blood Donor Center offers enticements to encourage donors to lend a vein, such as a COVID-19 antibody screening. Swag varies by location and event, but donors have recently received a free T-shirt and coupons for a free pizza from Papa Murphy’s in Fayetteville. Local high school students who donate can enter to win a car from Powers Swain Chevrolet. Friends and family members of high school students can also donate on their high school student’s behalf to earn additional entries for their student in the drawing. A winner in the car drawing will be chosen July 26 at Powers Swain Chevrolet.

    Below is a listing of scheduled mobile blood drive locations. Updates are posted on the website.

    April 28: Tony Rand Student Center/FTCC,
    9 a.m. to 2 p.m., 2201 Hull Road, Fayetteville

    April 29: Stoney Point Fire Department, 5-9 p.m., 7221 Stoney Point Road, Fayetteville,910-424-0694

    April 30: American Freight, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., 1240 Ireland Drive, Fayetteville

    April 30: West Park Apartments, 4-6:30 p.m., 5600 Fountain Grove Circle, Fayetteville, 910-779-0580

    May 1: Highland Centre, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., 2550 Ravenhill Drive, Fayetteville, 910-223-0765

    May 4: Anderson Creek Fire Department, 3:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., 6200 Overhills Road, Spring Lake, 910-497-1157

    May 5: South Main Apartments, 1-4 p.m., 4003 William Bill Luther Drive, Hope Mills

    May 7: Chick-Fil-A Ramsey, 1-3 p.m., 4611 Ramsey St., Fayetteville, 910-488-1907

  • 06 recycling cart 2On May 1, curbside recycling in the city of Fayetteville will occur every other week. The city will replace standard 35-gallon roll out carts with larger 96-gallon carts. Residents are asked to place their carts at the curb on their regularly scheduled recycling days for replacement. There will be no cost to Fayetteville residents for the newer 96-gallon carts. Eighty percent of customers currently use the small trash bins. They have to be turned in to receive the bigger ones. Customers who already have 96-gallon carts will also receive the newer carts if they like. City Council approved the purchase of 64,000 96-gallon carts at a cost of $3.3 million. The city expects to realize significant cost savings over time. In just five years following the transition, estimated savings are projected to be $775,000.

  • 05 summer schoolMany North Carolina children are suffering setbacks in their education because of the ongoing pandemic. “The quality of education in North Carolina has been affected,” says State Rep. John Szoka (R-Cumberland). He said students across the state may be unable to advance to the next grade level. “Because of this, my colleagues and I chose to sponsor the Summer Learning Choice Bill.” House Bill 82 was signed into law by Gov. Cooper on April 16. The bill, known as the Summer Learning Choice Bill for NC Families, creates a fully funded, six-weeks, in-person summer program with the goal of addressing learning loss during the pandemic.

    School districts will identify students who are at risk and offer their parents the option to enroll them in the summer program. If space allows, students not considered at risk for failing could enroll in the program. According to the bill, the summer program will not meet for instruction on Saturdays, and meals will be provided to students. For more information on House Bill 82 visit www.ncleg.gov/BillLookUp/2021/H82

  • 04 Bertino coin presentation ASOMRepresentatives from the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands honored World War II veteran Don Bertino on April 17 for his role in the liberation of the Dutch people from Nazi oppression. He was one of several surviving veterans from eight allied countries to receive recognition from the Netherlands in advance of Liberation Day to be celebrated on May 5.

    The ceremony took place at the Army Airborne and Special Operations Museum where Bertino is a volunteer.

    Captain Mark Brouwer, an officer in The Netherlands Marine Corps, presided over the presentation on behalf of the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Brouwer is assigned to Camp Lejeune in Jacksonville.

    Bertino, 96, is a native of Pennsylvania but came to North Carolina more than 60 years ago. He now lives in Fayetteville with his daughter. Bertino was drafted into the Army in 1943 at the age of 18. He would serve as part of a 90 mm anti-aircraft gun team in locations from Normandy, Belgium to Berlin. After World War II, he was again called into service during the Korean War. Bertino reached the rank of Private First Class during his service in WWII. During the Korean War, Bertino reached the rank of Sergeant.

    During his time in the military, Bertino was stationed in several installations from Pennsylvania to Fort Bliss, Texas, then Louisiana and New York before shipping overseas. After his time in the military, he became a bricklayer in his native Pennsylvania, where the weather up north was too cold to lay brick year-round.

    “My brother-in-law left Pennsylvania in 1938 to attend Duke University, and in 1959, he told me if I wanted to lay brick 12 months out of the year, the Carolinas were the place to do it,” said Bertino about his work.

    During an exchange with Brouwer, Bertino mentioned that, of the seven countries in Europe he’d been to, the Netherlands treated him the best. When asked the worst part of his time in the Netherlands Bertino responded with, “one of Hitler’s bombs on Christmas Day,” recalling a moment from his combat service.

    Bertino recalled his first day of service as “fast and furious.”

    “They threw us a bag of clothes, dressed us up, and said get on that train,” said Bertino about that day in 1943. This took place in Pennsylvania, and three days later he said he was in El Paso. Though not everyone Bertino served with made it home, he considers himself fortunate. “I was at the right place at the right time. The enemy didn’t get me, I got them.”

    Bertino left military service in June of 1952 and continues to encourage younger men and women now serving: “Try and stay in for 20 years if you can,” he says. “Stay in, do a good job, and honor our country.”

  • 10 TWO 2 26 21 PopUp Cleanup 3In honor of Earth Day 2021, many local environmentally conscious organizations are making efforts to help the environment in April as well as year-round. Earth Day, celebrated mid-April each year, was first observed in 1970. The movement’s mission focuses on diversifying, educating and activating environmental movements across the world.

    Fayetteville Beautiful, a city-wide clean up drive organized on April 17, by the City of Fayetteville, Fayetteville Beautiful, Cumberland County and Sustainable Sandhills targeted issues like litter prevention, beautification and waste reduction. Volunteers cleaned up litter across various marked points in the city from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.

    Sustainable Sandhills is a non-profit serving Fayetteville and the nine surrounding counties creating resilient environmental, economic and social resources for current and future generations.

    “Sustainability is the ability of a system to continue functioning without compromising or depleting components it needs to function,” said Dr. Iman Moore, Department Chairman, Environmental and Occupational Management at Methodist University. “The concept of sustainability is important because it will improve overall living conditions which leads to improved health.”

    Anti-litter campaign “5 for Friday” was launched by the city along with Cumberland County Solid Waste and Sustainable Sandhills on Feb. 26 of this year, Jonelle Kimbrough, Executive Director of Sustainable Sandhills, said.

    The initiative aims to encourage the community to reduce litter in the city by having people pick up five pieces of trash and recyclable materials every Friday. Solid Waste picked up about 84 tons of litter and dumped waste in 2020.

    The organizers are requesting people to post pictures on social media picking up litter and using the hashtags #5forFriday and #StantheCan to spread awareness about the initiative.

    According to their website, if 25 percent of the county’s population picked up about five pieces of trash on Fridays, it would equal 21 million pieces of litter removed in communities countywide.

    For more information on these campaigns, visit fayettevillebeautiful.com and 5forfriday.org
    In the long-term, sustainability will protect the health and well-being of future generations, Dr. Moore said.

    Another event, a virtual Earth Day Challenge, has participants running throughout the month of April to raise awareness and earn an Earth Day t-shirt and eco-friendly stainless steel straw, she said.

    Dr. Moore highlighted the works of many students and organizations at Methodist University in regards to sustainability like the project by an ENM student that led to elimination of drinking straws in campus dining. ENM students also participate in local events such as the E-waste event hosted by Sustainable Sandhills.

    “Such events serve as an opportunity for them to make the connection from textbook to real life with minimal effort,” she said. “Later this spring and summer, students will have an opportunity to assist several large energy companies in conducting energy assessments on campus.”

    Denise Renfro, science teacher at Douglas Byrd High School, leads the school’s four-year Career Technical Education program focused on renewable energy and sustainability. Students in the program start with learning about sustainability, fossil fuels, different sources of energy and climate change before eventually learning electrical wiring to prepare solar panels. They finish their senior year learning how to install solar panels at FTCC, Renfro said.

    Fayetteville State University’s Green Team organized Earth Week from April 19 to April 23 for students, staff and faculty to learn and support environment protection initiatives, Phavadee Phasavath, FSU’s Sustainability Coordinator, said.

    The Earth Week events include a documentary to educate people on the impact of their behavior on the environment, campus cleanup, bingo-trivia to spread awareness on climate change, and an event to plant trees and flowers around campus. There will also be a picnic.

    Phasavath said her main roles include advising the university on energy management, sustainability and advising the Green Team.
    It's not only to save and reduce the carbon footprint but also to save money. The main role is to make sure we are still meeting our goal of reducing the carbon footprint,” Phasavath said. “Earth Day isn’t just one day, you know, it’s everyday.”

    In a recent study that the Green Team conducted, by anonymously presenting participants with 5 different water choices - four bottled brands and one tap water - the end consensus resulted in people preferring tap water over bottled water, she said.

    “So why would we waste our money and create plastic pollution when we have free accessible tap water at home?” Phasavath asked.

    Some tips to be more environmentally conscious are to reduce, reuse, recycle in order to decrease our impact on the environment. Another simple thing to do to help conserve energy is to turn off lights or shut down your computer when you leave a room or office, she said.

    “Improved overall conditions for all facets of the ecosystem, improved quality of life in terms of mortality, diseases, etc.,” Dr. Moore said.

  • 08 pinwheel ballBased on national best practice and research, the Child Advocacy Center was founded in 1993 by a group of concerned local professionals seeking to coordinate services provided to child abuse victims and their families. The CAC provides a safe and child-friendly environment where professionals from community agencies come together to interview, investigate and to provide support for abused children and their families.

    This results in a collaborative approach of professionals from Child Protective Services, the District Attorney’s office, law enforcement, Guardian ad Litem, Military Family Services, social workers, victim advocates as well as medical and mental health professionals to provide a coordinated, comprehensive response to victims and their caregivers.

    By having a collaborative approach, the CAC reduces the number of interviews for child victims of abuse by providing specially trained professionals to conduct forensic interviews in a centralized location. National research has determined that this type of coordinated approach can help alleviate trauma for children, increase the prosecution rate of perpetrators, and be fiscally beneficial to the community.

    In fiscal year 2020, the CAC served 876 children and their non-offending family members and saved the community an estimated $700,000 through its multi-disciplinary team approach. In addition, the Child Advocacy Center provides education to the public and professionals on preventing, detecting and reporting child abuse.

    Unfortunately, the center has seen an increase in the need for services while at the same time being financially affected by not being able to host their two signature fundraising events during the pandemic in 2020 — the Fayetteville Ultimate Lip Sync Show Down and the Pinwheel Masquerade Ball & Auction.

    As many students have returned back to school in person, we anticipate an even higher increase in the number of cases reported to the CAC. Now more than ever, we need your support.

    The Child Advocacy Center is a local 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization funded through the generosity of corporate, state, organization and foundation grants; corporate and individual donations; in-kind contributions; and event sponsorships. There is no charge for services provided to child victims of abuse referred to the CAC.

    Thankfully, the Child Advocacy Center was recently granted a $10,000 “All or Nothing” challenge grant from the Simply East Anonymous Trust Challenge Grant.

    The challenge grant is for $10,000; however, the challenge is that we must raise at least $10,000 in order to receive the matching grant from Anonymous Trust. If we do not meet the $10,000 in donations, we will not receive the matching challenge grant. The purpose of this grant is to raise funds from new donors, increased gifts from individuals, corporations, foundations and churches.

    The Challenge Grant will run through July 31, 2021. Donors may participate as a new donor or an existing donor. Every dollar that is raised will be matched. New donor donations and existing donors, who increase their giving from the year before, will be matched dollar to dollar. This is another way you can be a part of supporting the work of the CAC in our community.

    There are also additional ways that you can donate to the CAC, such as through our beautiful Tribute Murals.

    Tribute Murals offer a unique way to celebrate, honor or remember special people and occasions.

    Currently we have The Giving Tree Leaves Mural and/or the Twinkle, Twinkle Little Stars Mural. You may make a donation for the children served by the CAC and have your gift recognized as part of our beautiful tribute murals. The murals were created by local artist Cornell Jones, and they are on the walls of the reception area and the board/conference room.

    While April is nationally recognized as Child Abuse Prevention Month, we know that the mission and vision of our work continues throughout the year and as such, communities are encouraged to increase awareness about child and family well-being, and to work together to implement effective strategies that support families and prevent child abuse and neglect.

    To make a donation or to learn more about how you can become involved, please visit CACFayNC.org. We sincerely appreciate your support.

  • 07 MH 3On April 16, about 50 protestors walked around the Market House chanting “no justice, no peace, no racist police,” and “hands up, don’t shoot.” Protesters carried signs and recited the names of Black people killed by police. The event, planned before the City Council voted Thursday to repurpose the Market House, seemed to galvanize the downtown landmark as a hub to assemble and air grievances about continued discrimination against people of color.

    The protest had little to do with the historic landmark itself, but rather recognized the Market House as evidence of what organizers call a lack of action by Fayetteville city leaders.

    Friday’s protest was in response to the most recent death of a Black man — Duante Wright — in police custody, but one organizer said it was also to point out that local leaders have either not accomplished much in the last year, or have not been transparent with the public about what they’ve done since last May when rioters rallied at the Market House before damaging store fronts downtown and in the Cross Creek Mall area following the death of George Floyd.

    “A year later and nothing has been done,” said Bishop McNeill, one of the organizers for the protest. He said continued protests are planned for every Friday through May. McNeill said he and like-minded citizens will gather at the corner of Hay and Green Streets at 6 p.m. to “bring awareness about needed police reforms that were promised by our officials.”

    McNeill called for city officials to make public what police reforms have been enacted since
    last year.

    “If something like that happens here, we want to make sure police officers are held accountable,” McNeill said referencing the deaths of George Floyd and Duante Wright.

    Protesters are calling for city officials to present information to the public about any on-going efforts in police reform and the formation and progress of a Citizens Review Board. In early March, City Council voted to give a CRB the power to look into police personnel records when reviewing disciplinary cases. Few details have been released on a CRB or on the differences in authority between a review board and an advisory board.

    Citizens want officials to make those details known, McNeill said. His comments echo a growing concern that city leaders are either acting too slowly or are not proactively informing the public of what actions are being taken.

    Up & Coming Weekly reached out to Fayetteville Mayor Mitch Colvin following Friday’s protest, asking for comment on McNeill’s call for transparency. Colvin’s emailed response is printed in full on page 10 of this issue.

    McNeill said these Friday “marches for social justice” will address “police reform, Black and brown issues, immigration and Asian discrimination.” He hopes the events will gain public and media attention to ask city leaders “where are we at?” on reform, and on combatting racism and discrimination.

    Speakers will be planned for the events, but there will also be opportunities for citizens to address the crowd, as was the case with the April 16 event. One woman participating in the march asked for the loudspeaker and told the crowd that “racism is systemic, but we have to be introspective … what are you doing at your house… to grow, learn and be better?”

    At least two participants were openly carrying firearms.

    A man who identified himself only as “Rell” was carrying the civilian version of the M4 rifle used by many U.S. Army soldiers in combat. Without alteration, the civilian version is capable of only one round per trigger squeeze, not three-round-bursts or fully auto like the military version. Rell was also carrying a pistol.

    Rell said he was “not here to impose fear on anyone” but to make sure nobody broke windows, vandalized and blamed it on protestors.

    “It’s our Constitutional right to bear arms,” Rell said. “I’m trained on it, and I also have a concealed carry [license].” Rell said he was a military veteran.

    “The police have a lot going on,” he said. “We are here to police up our own so it can be a peaceful demonstration.”

    The April 16 event was peaceful, as most protests in Fayetteville have been, McNeill said.

    “I don’t want people to be afraid, there’s a lot of fear-mongering … meant to further divide us,” he said. McNeill said he understands that many people are concerned about a protest turning into a riot.

    “If you do not want to participate in a demonstration, contact city officials and ask them where they stand, ask them to make a statement,” he said.

    At least one local business owner came out to speak with McNeill. “Protests are good as long as they are peaceful,” said Hank Parfitt, owner of a shop on Hay Street. “You should be able to protest.”

    Others not directly participating in the event showed support with shouts of encouragement to speakers and honking car horns as they drove around the Market House.

    EDITOR’S UPDATE:
    Fayetteville Police Chief Gina V. Hawkins provided the following statement via email, which arrived after the April 21, 2021 issue of Up & Coming Weekly went to press.

    “The Fayetteville Police Department maintains the Gold Standard CALEA (Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies) accreditation. This is a very strenuous process to become accredited, and it holds agencies to a very high standard (and it is also voluntary).

    Our policy and procedure manual is open to the public and is viewable at any time on our website. You can see that our policies and procedures go above what was being requested over the past year. I must note however, the duty to intervene was being taught in our academy/training center, but was added as a written policy last year. Our department continues to attend annual biased based policing and de-escalation training.

    Some of the other demands being sought must be approved through proper legislation, such as Citizen Review Board; which is currently pending in the legislative process. Our Mayor and City Council continue to work on this aspect as demonstrated by passing a Council Resolution that included support for a citizen review board on June 22, 2020. This is a process that takes proper research, planning, and discussions.

    Mayor Colvin has established two separate City Council Committees last summer to internally examine our City organization as it relates to diversity, equity, and inclusion principles and efforts to determine if obstacles to opportunities exist; and externally to identify areas that will improve the equitable opportunity for all residents to succeed - regardless of their race, color, sex, nationality, sexual orientation, religion, disability, income or zip code as well as engage the residents in dialogue about local issues.

    During the March 1, 2021 work session, a motion was passed to formally establish a citizen advisory board (separate entity from the Citizen Review Board that is pending proper legislation). The Council has directed staff to stand up the board in 4 months by July 1st.

    As you can see, much work has been going on in by both the Police Department and our City Council leaders. As a reminder all of our policies and procedures can be found on our website: faypd.com.”

  • 06 JEFF market house slave plaque 3For nearly 200 years the historic Market House has been the focal point of downtown Fayetteville. Its very existence has been an irritant for many African Americans. Its presence has been an object of public debate for many years. On April 15, City Council decided not to tear the building down or move it out of downtown, which would be virtually impossible because of its architecture.

    Council voted 9-1 to repurpose the landmark. Local architects suggested turning it into an art exhibit, making it into a place that displays Fayetteville history with a focus on Black contributors, making it into a marketplace for strictly Black vendors or using it to create an event space. That decision has yet to be made.

    The Market House was built in 1832 on the site of the old State House, which had been where North Carolina delegates ratified the U.S. Constitution. But the state house was destroyed in the Great Fire
    of 1831.

    The Market House is one of only 50 National Landmarks in North Carolina. Architecturally unique, the structure is one of the few in America to use the town hall - market scheme found in England. Household goods were sold beneath the building, while the second floor was utilized originally as the town hall.

    Occasionally enslaved people were sold at or near the Market House. The vast majority of the slaves were sold as a result of indebtedness or estate liquidation. Unlike New Orleans, Richmond and Charleston, S.C. North Carolina cities were not slave markets.

    On April 16, a small group of demonstrators took up a position at Market Square in response to what they called “the persistent injustice facing Black lives.” The group, mostly young, staged the protest which drew some support from passing motorists. Several police squad cars patrolled the vicinity for an hour before the five o’clock session began. The group said members intend to hold similar demonstrations every Friday evening in May.

    The Cumberland County administration closed government buildings in the downtown Fayetteville area at 4 p.m. “to allow employees to leave the area prior to potential protest activities,” as stated in a news release.

    The news release stated all of the county's government buildings downtown, including the courthouse, board of elections office and headquarters library would close early. City administrative staff members were sent home at 4:30, according to a city spokeswoman.

    In 1989, Fayetteville City Council commissioned a plaque to be attached to the exterior of the Market House where it still stands.

    It reads in part: “In memory and honor of those indomitable people who were stripped of their dignity when sold as slaves at this place. Their courage at that time was a proud heritage of all times. They endured the past so the future could be won for freedom and justice.”

  • 04 puppy and kittenThe Fayetteville Woodpeckers are partnering with local animal rescues and pet vendors to host an adoption event at Segra Stadium on Saturday, April 24 from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. This event is free to the public and will coincide with the first opportunity for fans to purchase tickets for May Woodpeckers home baseball games. Interested people can meet available dogs and cats from each rescue and fill out adoption applications.

    The Woodpeckers will also be collecting items for the rescues. Donations of $5 or more will receive 10% off in The Birds’ Nest Team Store. Items requested include: cleaning products (paper towels, disinfectant spray or wipes), canned or dry dog and cat food, treats and puppy pads. Pets are not allowed at this event except for dogs and cats with each respective rescues. The Birds’ Nest Team Store will be open.

    Masks are required when entering the ballpark. The Woodpeckers will release its promotional calendar for the month of May prior to tickets going on sale. The home opener is scheduled for Tuesday, May 11 against the visiting Kannapolis Cannon Ballers.

    A limited amount of tickets for Woodpeckers home games will be available on a month-by-month basis. Fans can purchase tickets for any of the six May games from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. in-person at the BB&T Now Truist Box Office. For anyone not able to buy in-person, tickets will become available online starting April 26th at 10 a.m.

    Individual game tickets for 2021 May home games will be available in safe, socially-distanced pods. Due to local and state health and safety guidelines and socially-distanced seating, Segra Stadium’s capacity is expected to be at 30% to begin the season. For this reason, the best chance for fans to get seats to 2021 home games is to purchase a Full-Season, Half-Season, or 20-Game Membership. Season Members and Ticket Voucher Plans will have first opportunity to purchase tickets for May and to exchange their vouchers.

  • Cape Fear Valley Health has seen an apparent decline in interest in COVID-19 vaccination appointments. Each Friday at 5 p.m. the health system opens appointments for the subsequent weeks through its website, www.capefearvalley.com/covid19. During recent weeks, only about 15% of the appointments were filled by Monday morning.

    “What we’re worried about is the vaccine supply is outpacing demand,” said Vice President of Professional Services at Cape Fear Valley Health Chris Tart. “We need to encourage everyone to roll their sleeves up and be vaccinated so we can continue to put this pandemic behind us.” The available supply of all vaccines has also expanded, with more traditional providers and retail locations such as pharmacies offering inoculations.

  • 03 Cargill black 2c web lgCargill has chosen Cumberland County for a significant expansion of its plant by investing $25 million to improve production capacity. A six-year performance-based incentive grant of $600,000 was approved by the Cumberland County Board of Commissioners. The project, set to begin before the end of 2021, will generate tax revenue and increased economic activity which will offset the incentive, according to county officials. Additionally, the investment will help maintain the 70 jobs currently at the site, which have average salaries of $70,000 a year, well above Cumberland County’s average wage.

    Cargill is a global leader in oilseed processing. These investments are part of the organization’s overall growth strategy in the U.S. and create an opportunity to better serve customers on both ends of the supply chain. All facilities will continue to operate while construction and expansion are underway, Cargill said in a media release.

    “Cargill is a longtime employer in our community and a buyer of the soybeans our farmers grow,” said County Commission Chairman Charles Evans. “We are grateful the company is expanding their agribusiness operations here.” Headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the soybean oil manufacturing business has operated its facility on River Road outside Fayetteville since 1970. The company evaluated competing locations for its investment and ultimately chose Cumberland County for the project which will invest $5 million in real estate improvements and $20 million in new personal property.

    “While we are always excited to bring new companies to our community, our top goal is to help existing businesses grow and flourish,” said Fayetteville-Cumberland County Economic Development Corp. Chairman Andrew Pennink. FCEDC is a public-private partnership designed to enhance job growth and prosperity in the region by attracting new industry and growing and retaining existing industry.

    “Our plant in Cumberland County is an important link in the supply chain for North Carolina farmers and livestock producers, and these investments will help us serve customers more efficiently,” said Don Camden, vice president, Cargill Agricultural Supply Chain North America. “Cargill is committed to nourishing the world in a safe, responsible, sustainable way. We are part of the community and are proud to provide significant support for a number of organizations in the area funding nutrition and education programming projects, as well as COVID-19 relief.”

    In partnership with global and local health experts, Cargill developed safety protocols to promote industry standards for health and safety. “Still, we have not been immune from the pandemic,” the company noted on its website. “When it hurts one of us, it impacts all of us.” The company closed two plants in Canada where employees contracted coronavirus. In addition, Cargill launched the Cargill Cares Employee Disaster Relief Fund to help meet employees' immediate needs during the COVID-19 crisis.

    Cargill has 155,000 employees worldwide. The privately held firm was founded at the end of the American Civil War, by William Wallace Cargill. The company has grown from a grain storage facility into an international producer and distributor of agricultural products such as sugar, refined oil, chocolate, and turkey. Cargill also provides risk management, commodities trading and transportation services. Descendants of William Cargill and his son-in-law John MacMillan have owned common equity in the company for over 140 years. Learn more at www.cargill.com.


  • {mosimage}Whether it’s somewhere in the search for an AIDS cure, fighting the extremes of global poverty or taking a stand against widespread violence and aggression around the world, the David Crowder Band acknowledges that the need for major change is evident and growing.  Knowing that in recent history, popular music has been used to motivate the masses and bring about change, this Contemporary Christian band has decided to lend its voices to a movement of hope and peace.

    The band, originally from Waco, Texas, recently released its sixth full-length albumRemedy, which addresses the need the band sees for an ultimate remedy. Acknowledging that ordinary words and songs can only do a little to create lasting change, the David Crowder Band hopes this newest offering will truly inspire listeners to action.

    “It seems there is always music attached to social change,” said Crowder in a recent interview withChristianity Today. “Music allows a community and individuals within the community to express themselves; and then turn minds to social action.” He said that the band developed the songs forRemedyaround what they felt this “music of change” would sound like in their own church, since movement was an undercurrent there as well.

    “When music finds its way to people who attach readily to lyrics, it pulls on them and they can’t help but participate,” Crowder added. He hopes that this attachment will move people beyond buying products from companies that give to charitable organizations, to actually stepping out and getting involved in the process.

    Remedy, is comprised of 10 of the band’s most pop-centric tunes including their fastest charting single to date, “Everything Glorious” which cracked the Top 10 on its Christian AC Indicator chart in just seven weeks.  The music dives deep into the theology of worship and talks about what it means to be a part of the remedy that people around the world so desperately need. “What we were after here was to make songs that move you to act, rather than present more ideas and dialogue,” Crowder concluded.

    Some other highlights on the album include a special guest appearance by the Motor City Madman Ted Nugent on “We Won’t Be Quiet,” the energetic and driving tune “Neverending” and the synth-laden dance track “Can You Feel It?”

    The David Crowder Band will take center stage at the Crown Arena on Sunday, April 13, at 6 p.m. Ticket prices range from $20 to $38 and may be purchased at the Crown Center Box Office, all Ticketmaster outlets, Ticketmaster.com or by calling 223-2900. The Crown Center’s main box office is located at the Crown Coliseum and is open Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.  For more information, visit www.atthecrown.com.

  • {mosimage}Farmer Wants a Wife (Wednesday, 9 p.m. CW) cooks up a reality-show fantasy about city women finding true love with a hunky farmer. Matt is right out of central casting, with a square jaw, chivalrous manner and 200 acres in the middle of Missouri. The women clomp through his fields on high heels, hoping to be the fish-out-of-water he chooses. They take hay rides, engage in farmwife competitions and giggle inanely. None of them can fairly be called a city slicker. Even Matt’s chickens seem more urbane.

    If all of the contestants are stupid onFarmer Wants a Wife, one of them is stupid and scary. 

    “I fight for men like they do in the Middle East,” says Josie. “Before someone blows me up, I blow them up.”

    Even suicide bombers might find that a sick metaphor for courtship. But Josie is just getting warmed up. She calls the lone black contestant “low class and ghetto,” suggests that the farm be burned down for the insurance money, and urges Jews and Christians to band together to bring on Armageddon.

    Farmer wants a psychopath?


    Secrets of the Dead

    Wednesday, 8 p.m. (PBS)

    Escape from Auschwitz details one of the most extraordinary tales of heroism from World War II, and I’d wager few people have heard it. Rudolph Vrba and Alfred Wetzler were Slovak Jews imprisoned in the Nazi concentration camp Auschwitz. Escape was impossible, as had been proven many times, but these two had the brains and guts to beat impossible odds.

    The Germans had fooled the world about the death camps’ purpose, and Vrba and Wetzler wanted to get out and broadcast the truth. Their ingenious plan involved hiding inside a woodpile in a work area outside the camp gate. They smeared themselves with gasoline-soaked tobacco to mask their scent from the Nazi dogs. They stayed still for three days of intense searching, imagining the torture in store for them if discovered. Then they snuck out of the woodpile and headed south through occupied Poland, dodging Nazis for 85 miles. Miraculously, they crossed the Slovakian border and revealed the horrors of Auschwitz to the authorities.

    No one believed them.

    Folks, if you’re ever approached by two desperate men with shaved heads, prison garb, the stench of gasoline and numbers tattooed onto their arms, please give them the benefit of the doubt.


    Ringo Starr: Off the Record

    Friday, 11 p.m. (HBO)

    Every second of the Beatles’ career has been chronicled in innumerable books, articles and documentaries. But now, 40 years later, someone has just thought to ask Ringo Starr for his view of the matter. The underachieving drummer tells fellow English rocker Dave Stewart what it was like to sit behind three of the most important men in rock.

    Will Ringo shed light on the Beatles’ greatest music? No, but he will take us deep inside the two songs he wrote for the group. “I’d like to be/under the sea” č how did he come up with that?


    The Shell Seekers

    Saturday, 9 p.m. (Hallmark Channel)

    It’s your basic Hallmark Channel movie about an old woman coming to terms with her life. But this one stars Vanessa Redgrave, and that makes all the difference. Redgrave redeems the sentimental story of Penelope, who tries to make peace with her selfish children following a heart attack. First, there’s the actress’ sheer presence. Just standing in the middle of the screen, Redgrave commands your full attention. Then there are her glances, which speak volumes. Then there are her line readings, which reveal all the subtle shadings of the human heart.

    If you were a third-tier TV movie director who’d lucked into Vanessa Redgrave in your cast, wouldn’t you train the camera on her at all times? Maddeningly,The Shell Seekerskeeps cutting to flashbacks featuring some wooden actress as the young Penelope. I’ve never hated the past so much in my life.

  • 13 Cover Story COVID web siteIn just a few short weeks, Methodist University graduates from the class of 2021 are scheduled to walk across the stage at Segra Stadium in downtown Fayetteville. If this happens, it would be more than just a commencement celebration of academic achievement from one of the premier universities in the state, it would close out an unprecedented year of sacrifice, care for others, and unsurpassed vigilance.

    Right here in Cumberland County stands a private, top-tier university that not only rose to the challenges of COVID-19 during this academic year, but worked tirelessly as a united community of students, faculty and staff to achieve excellence while remaining as safe as possible.

    While universities large and small across the state and nation were forced to close their doors to on-campus living, student activities, and in-person classes in the fall and spring semesters, MU was strategic in its planning and protocols and has remained open to its residential students the entire year. There are still a few weeks to go in the spring semester, so the community must remain cautious and determined, but the accomplishments thus far have been remarkable.

    “At Methodist University, we might be 2,000 individuals, but we make up ONE community,” said Alisyn Keating, a Forensic Science major from the Class of 2021. “It’s a community that shows we care for each other by following all safety guidelines and moving forward together.”

    “Forward Together” has been the theme for the university since the beginning of classes in the fall. It has not just been a slogan on t-shirts and flyers, it’s truly symbolic of the teamwork that has led to a year’s worth of success both in the classroom
    and out.

    By understanding and following safety guidelines (wearing masks, social distancing, frequently washing hands, practicing good hygiene, limiting gathering), MU has been able to offer in-person classes — with its expert faculty — throughout the year. Results of extensive contact tracing show that because protocols have been strictly followed, not a single case of COVID has been spread in a classroom or lab.

    While students in majors such as Business, Psychology, Biology, Criminal Justice, Physician Assistant Studies, and Social Work thrived in the classroom, MU kept students active and engaged outside of the classroom, as well.

    More than 100 university-sponsored student organizations, fraternities and sororities, and athletic teams have creatively adjusted to hurdles COVID has placed before them, holding socially distanced events outside and coming together via Zoom for meetings or presenting shows and concerts. While students were sent home from many other colleges, MU students have worked together with university staff and shared in community, worship, and “college life” together.

    “The past year has indeed been a challenging one, but we are still finding ways to help students come together while staying safely apart,” said Dr. Doris Munoz, MU’s Director of Student Involvement. “Socialization is such an important aspect to college life. It’s here where students create lifelong friendships and make unforgettable memories.”

    Success in the classroom, success on campus, but also success in athletic competition have set Methodist University apart this year. Every one of MU’s 20 NCAA intercollegiate sports were able to compete this year, with the football team hosting the USA South Athletic Conference championship and both the men’s and women’s golf teams each being ranked in the Top 2 in the entire nation. Athletes were tested extensively, each week, for the safety of the MU student-athletes, but also the coaches, trainers, officials and opposing teams.

    One of the great advantages Methodist University has over other institutions – not just in Southeast North Carolina, but across the state and region – is an on-campus Health Services Center staffed full time by experienced professionals. It also has a wide array of doctors and other health care professionals on campus who direct MU’s highly regarded undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral programs in health services. Nursing, Physical and Occupational Therapy, Physician Assistant Studies, Health Care Management and Information, are just some of the successful health services programs at Methodist.

    The result of this expertise on campus is careful planning, daily monitoring and reporting, immediate contact tracing, and has even resulted in partnerships to provide full-campus testing and vaccination opportunities for all students, faculty and staff.

    To move forward together in this fashion is unique. It couldn’t happen without the strong connection that everyone in the MU community has. In addition to the students, faculty, and staff, there are the alumni, board of trustee members, and other friends of the university that have stepped up to meet the challenges COVID has presented.

    “I am truly honored to be a part of a community that is so committed and caring,” MU President Stanley T. Wearden said in a message to the campus. “Monarchs wearing masks in class and when in public spaces, practicing social distancing, following gathering guidelines, and self-monitoring on our Green Screen app every day is how we have succeeded with in-person learning and residential living on campus through the fall and spring semesters. We might be 2,000 individuals, but we also are connected as ONE community that continues to move forward together."

    In the final four weeks of the academic year, MU has hosted a championship football game and will compete in other conference tournaments. MU will present its 10th Annual Research and Creativity Symposium. MU will have offered the Johnson & Johnson one-time vaccination to all of its students, faculty, and staff. MU looks to complete the 2020-21 academic year in a way many around the state and nation were unable to accomplish. And, if all goes as planned, MU will hold an in-person (socially distanced, of course) graduation ceremony at Segra Stadium in early May.

    As the weekly presidential messages, hundreds of posters, dedicated resource web site, and dozens of videos have said, Methodist University is made up of students, faculty and staff that have walked alongside each other as ONE community and truly succeeded in moving Forward Together.

  • 11 Excellence story NoBecause Methodist University is a private, liberal arts school that receives top-tier rankings every year, some may believe the cost of attending one of the premier schools in North Carolina is out of their range. But MU is unique not just in its excellence, but also in its value.

    While MU graduates rank among the highest in the state for employment soon after graduation and salary earned, nearly 100% of MU students receive financial aid that makes the cost to attend less than the national average. It’s the high-level degrees that lead to employment and advancement in careers, at a price competitive with the big-box schools.

    “At MU, students are taught by faculty with doctorates, and classes have an impressive 12-to-1 student-to-faculty ratio that few in the entire region can match,” said Rick Lowe, vice president for Enrollment Services at MU. “Combine that with an average financial-aid package of more than $30,000 for residential students, and it’s easy to see why Methodist University is unique.”

    Financial aid packages at Methodist can include federal aid money and there are more than 150 institutional scholarships.

    “These financial-aid opportunities allow us to deliver a highly competitive net price and enables our students to attend a university with top-tier programs that deliver exceptional quality and value. You’re not just a number at MU, and you receive a well-rounded education that expands your career opportunities now and in the future,” Lowe said.

    Methodist University, which also has a campus at Fort Bragg, accepts the GI Bill, which members of the U.S. military, veterans, and their families receive as a benefit for their service. The GI Bill isn’t factored in the average financial-aid package, so it can lower the cost of education at MU even more.

    With this cost comes classrooms run by motivated professors who often practiced in their fields before joining the faculty at MU. These professors bring a wealth of experiential knowledge as well as connections in the working world. While students are learning under the tutelage of expert professors, the staff in MU’s Career Services Office connects them with resources to help them find not just a job, but
    a career.

    “We offer our students a very unique experience,” said Taylor Vann, a counselor in the Career Services Office. “We work with our students to create a career management plan that meets the needs of their personal and professional goals. We discuss trends and labor market information related to their career interests, along with what skills and experiences will make them competitive in today’s global workforce.”

    These efforts, coupled with advanced work in the classroom, is why more than 90% of May 2020 MU alumni reported that they landed a job, or were
    pursuing a higher degree, within six months of graduation.

    “Through Career Services and their local connections in the community, I was able to have a paid internship at a local environmental lab in Fayetteville,” said Nicole Hardin Wildeboer, a graduate of MU’s Chemistry/Forensic Science program. “This internship solidified that the lab setting was what I desired, while also allowing me to gain the hands-on job experience that would make me a more qualified applicant for whatever job I applied for next.”

    Wildeboer now works as a forensic scientist in the Trace Evidence Department of the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division. “My Chemistry advisor and a couple Forensic Science and Criminal Justice professors have proved to be a very helpful resource for me, even after graduation,” she said. “Their desire to see me succeed was apparent throughout my four years at Methodist and has continued on, even after graduation.”

    Wildeboer’s story is one of many proving the value of an MU degree. Graduates have gone on to work at multinational companies such as Merrill Lynch, Marriott Hotels, the NFL Players Association, Johnson & Johnson, Goodyear, the Smithsonian, General Mills, Microsoft and NASA.

    In addition, Methodist is not only affordable and successful in placing graduates in careers, but also accessible. MU’s 617-acre main campus is home to state-of-the-art learning facilities, an 18-hole private golf course for students, athletic facilities for 20 NCAA sports, and more.

    Methodist University serves a wide range of students, from traditional students and working adults, to active members of our military and their families. For anyone seeking excellence and value, MU is an obvious choice.

    For more information about Methodist University, visit methodist.edu or contact the admissions office at 800-488-7110.

  • 10 MMG Middle School ClassroomThe Cumberland County School District is being recognized for its commitment to equity in education, earning two awards in the 27th annual Magna Awards program sponsored by the National School Board Association’s publication American School Board Journal. The Magna Awards honor districts that advance equity and break down barriers for underserved students.

    Across the nation, there were 15 total awards given. CCS was the only district to earn two awards for “Mentored Next Steps in Equity” and “Equity-Focused Classroom Management.”

    An independent panel of school board members, administrators and other educators met in December and selected the winners. This is the fourth year that the awards recognized school districts and their leaders for efforts to bring educational equity to their students.

    Educational equity depends on two main factors — fairness and inclusion. Fairness implies that factors specific to one's personal conditions should not interfere with academic success. Inclusion refers to a comprehensive standard that applies to everyone in the education system.

    “The 2021 Magna Award-winning districts represent the enormous efforts of school leaders during the pandemic to continue removing barriers to achievement for their underserved and vulnerable students,” said NSBA Executive Director and CEO Anna Maria Chávez.

    Cumberland County schools serve a diverse pupil population: “Almost 72% of our population are students of color (45% African American, 14% Hispanic, 9% multiracial, 2.5% Asian American/Pacific Islander, 1.5% Native American),” said Jovan Denaut, CCS Integrated Academic & Behavior Facilitator. In CCS, 78% of the student body receives free and reduced-price lunches.

    The District Equity Team strives to develop comprehensive programs that encourage diversity and excellence in its administrators, teachers and staff and works to ensure that all students are provided equitable opportunities and outcomes. “I've been doing equity work in the district for seven years,” Denaut said. “The Core Values of the CCS Strategic Plan focus on equity. Students have equitable access to engaging learning that prepares them to be collaborative, competitive and successful."

    “We proudly serve diverse student populations at our 89 schools,” said Alicia Chisolm, chair of the Cumberland County Board of Education. “Despite the challenges associated with the global pandemic, we are moving forward with the Cumberland Commitment: Strategic Plan 2024, and are making progress toward accomplishing our goals, which include defining, understanding and promoting educational equity. “

    The growing importance of equity is based on the premise that an individual's level of education directly correlates to his future quality of life.

    “Mentored Next Steps in Equity” was launched after a professional development workshop left participants asking what they could do to promote equity in their respective areas. The other initiative “Equity-Focused Classroom Management,” was an intensive classroom management course implemented to embrace diversity.

    Equity in education usually means fairness. It requires putting systems in place to ensure that every child has an equal chance for success. That requires understanding the challenges and barriers faced by individual students or by populations of students and providing additional support to help them overcome those barriers. While this may not ensure equal outcomes, school systems should strive to ensure that every child has equal opportunity for success.

    The American Academy of Pediatrics believes that race/ethnicity, gender and socioeconomic status are likely to emerge as predictors of adult health status. Socioeconomic status interacts with and confounds analyses of race/ethnicity and gender. The Academy recommends that pediatricians, in collaboration with social scientists, should develop and apply research methodologies that result in careful definitions of the effects of these variables on child health.

    In the context of social systems such as education the terms equity and equality have similar but slightly different meanings. Equality refers to scenarios in which all segments of society have the same levels of opportunity and support. Equity extends the concept of equality to include providing varying levels of support based on individual need or ability. In education, equality means providing every student with the same experience. Equity, however, means overcoming discrimination against specific groups of people, especially defined by race and gender.

    In modern times, usage of the term equity has increased because of concerns about social justice and a desire for fairness for historically oppressed groups. Minority groups often have equal rights but are treated unfairly due to unequal access to resources or opposition from the majority who deny others equal representation while still acting within the law.

    Pictured above: The Cumberland County School District is being recognized by the American School Board Journal for its efforts to advance equity and break down barriers for underserved students. (Photo courtsey Cumberland County Schools ). 

  • 06 learn to fishThe N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission’s Pechmann Fishing Education Center in Fayetteville has released its April workshop schedule.
    All courses will be led by trained volunteers and Wildlife Commission staff. A North Carolina fishing license is not required to take any of the classes. Pre-registration is required. The Center’s COVID-19 policies are stated on their website and must be followed during visits.
    April 13-14: Introductory Fishing for Adults, from 6–9 p.m.
    April 15: Basic Fishing Knots and Rigging, from 6:30 – 8 p.m.
    April 16: Surf Fishing Workshop, 6:30 – 8 p.m.
    April 17: BOW Fly-Fishing Workshop, from 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. ($20 fee, women only)
    April 22: Fly-tying Forum, from 6:30 – 8 p.m. (in-person and virtual)
    April 24: Basic Rod Building Course, from 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.
    Registration for all clinics and classes is available online at ncwildlife.org/learning/education-centers/pechmann, or by calling 910-868-5003.

  • 09 SoldierFamilyHC1405 source 1Many military families who live off post are paying more than $200 a month out of pocket for housing costs beyond what they’re getting in their Basic Allowance for Housing, according to a newly released survey. “For military families, finding housing that fulfills both location and family needs can be a costly balancing act,” stated researchers in the 2020 Military Family Lifestyle Survey. By law, BAH is designed to cover, on average, 95 percent of service members’ housing rental and utility costs in the private sector. Families are left to pick up 5 percent of their housing costs, which according to the Defense Department, should range between $70 to $158 a month in 2021. Researchers recommend that Congress change the Basic Allowance for Housing to 100 percent of the average housing rental costs in the private sector.

  • 08 thermo crosswalkConstruction is under way to change a section of Hay Street between Winslow Street and Ray Avenue. It will be reduced from two lanes in both directions to one lane each way. Hay Street in that vicinity will be closed to thru traffic for one week for construction. The new lanes will be resurfaced and marked for high visibility. An existing crosswalk in front of City Hall will be removed. In mid-May, a new high-visibility, thermoplastic crosswalk will be installed leading to Hurley Way which is the entrance to Segra Stadium. Pre-formed thermoplastic pavement markings provide durability and visibility to increase the life of markings for crosswalks, bike paths and handicap designated areas.

  • 07 I 95 Eastover bridgeConstruction is underway to upgrade and widen 16 miles of I-95 from Murphy Road (Exit 55) in Cumberland County to Exit 71 near Dunn in Harnett County. NCDOT also plans to begin widening the interstate from Exit 71 to the I-40 (Exit 81) junction in Johnston County later this year. The two segments total 26 miles and involve widening the interstate from its present four lanes to a total of eight lanes. The Baywood Road bridge spanning Interstate 95 in Eastover has been closed to be rebuilt in order to accommodate the highway widening project beneath it. The road will reopen early next year. A detour will send drivers to the nearby Murphy Road overpass (Exit 55) to get around the closure. A N.C. Department of Transportation contractor is widening I-95 between exits 55 and 71. Construction is scheduled for completion in 2024. Visit www.ncdot.gov/projects/Pages/ for more information about both projects.

  • 05 fiberoptic construction 2MetroNet has begun a two-year project of installing nearly 1,000 miles of fiber optic infrastructure throughout Cumberland County. The work includes installing equipment underground in public rights-of-way, as well as on utility poles. MetroNet began construction in areas of West Fayetteville between Raeford Road and Stoney Point Road in January. Residents are being notified as construction plans unfold in their neighborhoods. MetroNet says it will minimize any impact to personal property as it works within utility easement areas. The Public Works Commission emphasizes that the work is not managed by PWC. Residents interested in MetroNet construction activity can inquire online at www.metronetinc.com/iwantfiber or by telephone by calling 1-877-386-3876.

  • 04 construction worker by CJ Maya ReaganThe General Assembly will consider a measure to enshrine North Carolina’s right-to-work policies in the state constitution.
    Sens. Carl Ford, R-Rowan, and Jim Burgin, R-Harnett, have introduced a bill — Senate Bill 624 — that would guarantee N.C. workers would not be forced to join a labor union or pay union dues as a condition of employment. Workers also could not be forced to remain apart from a union as a condition of employment.

    In essence, employees have the right — but not the obligation — to join a labor union.

    North Carolina has had such a “right-to-work” law in place since 1947, but it could be repealed by a future General Assembly. Putting this language in the state constitution would all but guarantee that North Carolina would remain a right-to-work state for the foreseeable future.

    Today, 27 states have right-to-work laws, primarily in the South and Midwest. In other states, companies and labor unions can enter into contracts requiring employees to join the union or at least pay union dues. The National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation estimates that such arrangements, known as a “closed shop” and allowed under federal law, siphon off $4.5 billion in employee pay each year.

    In a recent Civitas poll commissioned by the John Locke Foundation, 71% of likely 2022 voters would support such a constitutional amendment. Only 13% oppose the measure.

    But getting to a vote might prove a challenge. In North Carolina, proposed constitutional amendments must pass with three-fifths majorities in both chambers of the General Assembly. This is the same hurdle as a veto override, and Republican leaders have struggled to garner enough votes for their priorities. Only a simple majority of the state’s voters is needed to approve the new amendment.

    Gov. Roy Cooper may also prove an obstacle.

    In 2018, when the General Assembly put forward six constitutional amendments, Cooper sued to block two of them from going on the ballot. Both would have restricted his power — one on his ability to make judicial appointments, and the other on his control of the State Board of Elections.

    Both ended up on the ballot, but neither was approved. The other four passed with strong majorities.

    One of those amendments put a voter ID requirement in the state constitution, but identification is still not required to vote in North Carolina after the courts blocked the law to implement it.

    Pictured above: Senate Bill 624 would guarantee N.C. workers could not be forced to join a labor union or pay union fees as a condition of employment. (Carolina Journal photo  by Maya Reagan). 

  • 18 story noWhile the 2020-21 school year will be one to remember for struggles, disappointments, and frustration for many student-athletes across North Carolina and the nation because of COVID, there is a different story that has unfolded at Methodist University here in Fayetteville.

    •MU had an undefeated regular season and hosted the USA South Athletic Conference football championship game under its newly installed, state-of-the art stadium lights.

    •MU’s golf teams — both the men’s and women’s — are currently ranked in the Top 2 in the nation and the university recently completed upgrades to its private 18-hole, 6,502-yard golf course that is located on the university campus.

    •MU’s soccer teams took to “the pitch” this year at the new Nancy and Murray Duggins Soccer Stadium, a facility already being lauded as not only one of the best NCAA Division III soccer facilities in the region, but as one of the best in the nation.

    As Methodist’s teams wrap up this unprecedented spring season, additional conference tournaments are being held and Methodist teams and individual student-athletes will continue to be honored for their efforts in the classroom and on the field.

    “We are so proud of our staff, coaches, athletic trainers and student-athletes for all they have done and will continue to do on a daily basis,” said Dave Eavenson, vice president and director of athletics at MU. “This had been a tremendous challenge for everyone, but we face challenges head on and work through those challenges together here at MU. It is one of the things that makes Methodist a great place to be. One day at a time we continue to do everything we can to make Methodist proud on and off the fields and courts of play.”

    As all athletic competition was postponed by the NCAA and conference in the fall, just handling the logistics of playing all 20 of Methodist’s intercollegiate sports in the spring has been of championship caliber. A typical Saturday alone — not even considering games each day during the week — could include six competitions at MU’s on-campus athletic facilities and another six on the road.

    MU’s student-athletes have certainly risen to the occasion, following all of the strict testing and safety protocols to keep each other and their on-campus community safe. But they have also pushed each other to succeed in the classroom and against strong competition.
    Multiple Monarchs are chosen by the conference for player-of-the-week awards in their sport and many have already been chosen as all-conference honorees. In addition, the Monarchs remain focused on their classroom assignments and goals, with several MU athletes representing each sport earning scholar-athlete recognition for academic success every semester.

    While hanging national and conference championship banners is nothing new to Methodist University Athletics, this has certainly been an unprecedented season for all. At MU, it will be remembered not for disappointments or frustration, but rather student-athletes facing unique hurdles and excelling at championship levels both in the classroom
    and out.

    To learn more about Methodist University Athletics and its 20 NCAA sports, please visit mumonarchs.com

     

  • 16 JustinScott FirstYearPA 03 12 21 9For an institution known nationally for its world-class liberal arts education, Methodist University’s Health Science programs have for 25 years forged their own reputation of excellence and become an integral segment of the health care community in the state and region.

    MU’s Physician Assistant Program has graduated more than 650 PA’s since the program’s inception with more than half of the class of 2020 remaining in Southeastern North Carolina to alleviate the shortage of health care providers. MU graduates are answering the call by choosing to stay in North Carolina in order to make a difference in their
    communities.

    Justin Scott is from Robeson County and a first year student in MU’s Physician Assistant program. He served as an EMT before deciding to enter the PA Program. He wants to see his patients' recovery journey through to the end and discovered within himself a passion of caring for patients.

    “Being a PA allows me the continuity of care from the initial encounter all the way up if they are being transferred to another center, or being discharged from the hospital,” Scott said. “I like the idea of being able to build relationships with my patients.”

    Scott wants to make an impact in the community, but first he must study hard and get through the difficult, but rewarding, program at MU. Students are introduced to a wealth of knowledge from expert faculty, and in the first two years they will study physiology and anatomy, behavioral medicine, cardiology, OBGYN, and emergency medicine.

    When one classmate is weak on a particular topic, another classmate who may be strong in that area will step in and help. The PA class cohort of students forge close bonds and often become life-long friends.

    “There are days when an exam may be particularly difficult and a classmate will step in to encourage you,” he said. “It’s because they know exactly what you’re going through. It helps build some close relationships.”

    Kara Hiendlmayr knows the challenges to be excellent that Scott is going through. Hiendlmayr graduated from MU’s PA program in 2018 and today is practicing as a physician’s assistant in cardiology at the Fayetteville Heart Center.

    Hiendlmayr, who is from Maine, was a pharmacy student and had a revelation she wanted more out of her health care profession.

    “I wanted a more proximal role in health care and listening to the patient,” she said. “I love patient care and wanted more of a complete role in their care than simply dispensing medication … MU’s PA Program trains you to be many things. After graduation you can go into family medicine, OB-GYN, or cardiology for example. You’ll acquire experience and training to go in any direction. You graduate with options.”

    Today, Hiendlmayr lives in Fayetteville, but also travels to work in Dunn, where she enjoys making a difference in people’s lives providing full comprehensive health care.
    Like Hiendlmayr, Scott loves the options afforded to him through the vast training at MU. He enjoys working with children, but lately has been leaning towards the area of cardiology. He was standing in the MU Cavender Lab and was holding a human heart in his hands when he fell in love with cardiology. He remembers the moment his goals shifted with keen fascination.

    “The human heart is fascinating, the number of things that can go wrong and affect your whole body is numerous,” he said. “How to treat those has been a highlight of study for me so far.”

    Dr. Christina Perry, the PA program director at MU said she remembers that day Scott stood there holding a heart in his hands.

    “The look on his face was one of complete fascination and excitement,” she said.

    It was MU’s experiential learning that opened the door for Scott. “It’s one thing to hear a lecture with a slide show, and another to hold a heart in your hands,” he said.

    The Cavender Lab is one of the strategic assets that sets the MU program apart from many in the region. While dissections are often carried out by professors at other schools, at Methodist the students perform the dissections, gaining valuable hands-on experience.

    Though MU has state-of-the-art facilities, it’s the program’s faculty that Scott and Hiendlmayr credit the most for their passions of giving back and serving the community. The faculty in MU’s PA Program train and encourage their students to love and connect to their community. Giving back and connecting makes them better health care providers.

    To learn more about the PA Program at MU, visit Methodist.edu/paprogram

    Pictured above: Justin Scott is a first year student in the Physician Assistant Program.


  • Twenty-four hours after viewing Good ‘Ol Girls at the Cape Fear Regional Theatre, I found myself heading out to a wedding with my version of good ‘ol girls č my friends Becca and Suzy. They were beside me in the audience the night before watching the play. The whole way to the wedding, we were quoting lines from the play. That says a lot about this{mosimage}{mosimage} play. Not only did it have us in stitches throughout the performance (and sometimes in tears), it kept us in stitches hours later. So, with that in mind, we’re telling you, “Run, don’t walk to see Good ‘Ol Girls.”

    Having seen our share of plays at the CFRT, we’ve seen some that we loved, and some of them not so much. But this play takes the cake. Written by Lee Smith and Jill McCorkle, Good ‘Ol Girls knows women intimately. It speaks to our past, our present and our future. It dives into our hopes, our successes and disappointments. More importantly, it celebrates all of them. Unlike other stories that demand perfection from women, Good ‘Ol Girls treats us gently. It acknowledges our faults, our wiggly pieces, our quirks and weaknesses; and then it celebrates them. Instead of beating us up, it lifts us up. And for a modern woman, that’s quite a change.

    The story, told through monologues and music, touches on many aspects of a woman’s life: her teen years; her yearning for love; her yearning for a spiritual connection; her ability to excuse the faults of others, while beating herself up over her own. It celebrates the iron hidden beneath the velvet of a woman’s character. We don’t think Bo Thorp, the CFRT artistic director, could have found six actors any better to tell the story than Pamela Bob, Kendra Goehring, Libby Seymour, Gina Stewart, Cassandra Vallery and Liza Vann.

    In most plays, there is usually some member of the cast who shines a little brighter than the others. That wasn’t the case. Each of the women brought a unique and important part of themselves to the production. From Pamela Bob’s wild child to Cassandra Vallery’s birthing scene to Gina Stewart’s nursing home resident, each character portrayed resounded with “realness.” It didn’t seem as if they were acting, but rather that they were living the life of their characters. And, that’s when theatre shines.

    The audience was enthralled. Throughout the evening you could hear whispers and giggles as members of the audience identified themselves in the characters. The four “good ‘ol girls” sitting next to us were hugging each other in laughter. The two in front hooting when a line struck a chord. And even the men in the audience found something to laugh about č whether it was the attention they garnered when the actors singled them out or the eye-opening insight they gleaned to the secret parts of their spouses.

    If a play can ever truly be called a masterpiece, this one comes close. Were their some issues with sound? Yes. Did it matter? Not one bit. Did an actor occasionally stumble over a line? Once or twice č but that’s the heart of this play. For all that society expects us to be perfect, we’re not. We, like the play, are perfect in our imperfection.

    So grab your mother, your sisters and your best friends and RUN to get tickets to this play. But leave your children at home. In addition to having big hair, good ‘ol girls also speak frankly about a lot of things č things your children just aren’t ready to talk about yet. 

  • 15 story noThe 2020-21 academic year ushered in a significant growth in the number of entirely online programs at colleges and universities. At Methodist University, six programs began accepting students last year, and an additional eight programs recently began accepting applications and will enroll students for the 2021-22 academic year.
    “Many adult students are looking for a fully-online degree program due to family and work obligations, military deployments, relocations, or current health and safety concerns,” said Dr. Beth Carter, the associate vice president for Academic Affairs at MU who oversees online programs and a satellite campus at Fort Bragg.
    “The online program also allows former students to return to complete a degree they started but were unable to finish, or to continue their education and complete a graduate degree.”
    Serving Our Community
    Methodist University, as a leader in health sciences education, has been graduating health care professionals in its on-campus programs for years. Alumni of the Health Care Administration program can now return to MU’s online Master of Health Administration program, fully online and tailored to working adults.
    Graduates in other majors looking to work in the health care administration field can opt for the Graduate Certificate in Health Care Administration, which can be completed in as little as two semesters. Students seeking bachelor’s degrees in the health sciences can apply to the Health Care Administration undergraduate program, and registered nurses working in the field can apply to the RN-to-BSN program. These bachelor-level health sciences programs are accepting applications now and will begin classes in the fall.
    “Methodist University will offer these four programs fully online to prepare health care professionals to manage, lead, and improve the health of individuals and communities. Internships, field work and clinical rotations will be required in these programs to provide real-world experiences,” Carter said.
    In-Demand Degrees
    In addition to its health sciences programs, Methodist University’s first fully online programs included a Master of Business Administration program and a bachelor’s program in Psychology, with optional concentrations in Human Performance or Counseling/Clinical Psychology. Business Administration, Criminal Justice, and Psychology were the first bachelor’s program to be offered, primarily due to regional and national demand.
    “Psychology was one of the main programs requested from surveys of the surrounding area about interest in online programs,” said Dr. Mark Kline, associate professor of Psychology and chair of the Psychology and Sociology Department at MU. “Nationwide, Psychology tends to be one of the largest majors at most schools.”
    What’s Next?
    An interdisciplinary Bachelor of Arts in Professional Leadership and Ethics and an Associate of Arts in General Studies begin accepting applications this month, and over the past several weeks, bachelor’s programs in Computer Information Technology and Social Work have invited students to apply. Students interested in obtaining an undergraduate degree in a business-related field can now apply to bachelor’s programs in Accounting, Business Administration, and Marketing. An optional concentration in Health Care Administration can be added to any of these business programs.
    “This online program will educate, train and support the next generation of exceptional Social Work practices as does the current in-person program,” said Dr. Carla Fagan, associate professor of Social Work and department chair. “The online Social Work program provides the opportunity for adult learners to earn a degree almost completely from home and complete an internship in their local community. In addition, members of our military community can earn or continue their degrees from Methodist while deployed or when transferred to their new duty stations.”
    Active-duty military and their dependents are good fits for Methodist University Online programs. Dr. Stanley T. Wearden, president of Methodist University, targeted both expanding online programs and improving service to the military community as goals of his administration during his 2019 inaugural address. Advancements in these areas have led to the University’s being awarded gold status as a Military Friendly® School for
    2020-21.
    Taught By the Best
    The COVID-19 pandemic has spurred demand for fully online programs at all levels. Although more and more people have been vaccinated, concerns linger concerning the duration of their efficacy and their effectiveness against more virulent strains. These concerns help fuel the expansion of Methodist University Online’s offerings.
    Unlike many of the major players in online education, though, Methodist University Online courses are taught primarily by MU’s full-time faculty, not adjuncts. In the 2020-21 academic year to date, 88 percent of courses taught in the Methodist University Online program have had full-time faculty at the helm. Full-time faculty usually have terminal degrees, such as a Ph.D., in their field; experience in advanced research; and, often, public and private sector careers in which they have practiced their disciplines.
    Programs are offered in six eight-week terms per year, and complete program information, including how to apply, can be found on Methodist University Online’s microsite, online.methodist.edu.

    Pictured above: For those looking for online options for starting or finishing a degree Methodist University offers 14 degree programs, including health sciences, business administration, psychology and criminal justice. Programs offered in six different eight-week terms per year. ore information can be found on the Methodist website. 

  • {mosimage}There are a couple of sure signs that summer is on the way in Fayetteville. The first is The Dogwood Festival, and the second is the Fort Bragg Fair.

    Held each spring, the Fort Bragg Fair is a Cumberland County tradition. Residents of Fort Bragg and Cumberland County come together to celebrate one of childhood’s favorite memories č a community fair. Yes, there are rides. And yes, there is music, and of course, there is the requisite food that takes the toll on everybody’s resolutions to eat more nutritiously. But none of that seems to matter. The Fort Bragg Fair is all about having fun č and acting like a kid č no matter how old you are.

    The fair runs May 1-May 18 at the Fort Bragg Fair Grounds, located off of Bragg Boulevard. The fair features a wide variety of carnival rides, as well as the above mentioned food. Everything from funnel cakes to Polish hot sausages to barbecue and ice cream are on tap. So don’t worry about getting dinner after work, just grab the family and head over to the fairgrounds, where you won’t quite get a square meal, but you’ll get plenty to eat. Just remember: rides first, food last.

    This year, as in years past, unlimited carnival rides and free entertainment are included in one low admission price. If your spirit of adventure runs more toward a nice paddle boat in a small pool, there is also a non-riders ticket. There will also be several special customer appreciation nights, with reduced prices, as well as a special Mother’s Day admission, with each mother admitted for $5 when accompanied by a child.

    Entertainment has always been a central part of the Fort Bragg Fair. This year is no different. An array of musical styles will be showcased throughout the week, with country, rock, Latino, blues and variety bands all taking to the stage throughout the fair’s run.

    Admission: Monday-Thursday, 5-7 p.m.: $5 for ages 3 and over; after 7 p.m., $10 general admission, $8 for children ages 3-9; $8 for military and Department of Defense civilians; $5 for handicapped non-riders; and $5 for senior citizen non-riders who are 50 and above.

    Friday ą Saturday, 1 p.m.: general admission, $14; children ages 3-9, $12; military and DoD, $12; handicapped non-riders, $5; and senior citizen non-riders over the age of 50, $5. Children under the age of 2 are admitted free throughout the fair and parking is free.

    The fairgrounds can be accessed from Bragg Boulevard via Howell Street. 

    For more information, call 396-9126.

  • 14 51097067233 93575c0d7b oWhile rank signifies hierarchy and chain of command in the military, it can also be a distinction of excellence and superiority for service to those in the military. In relation to the latter, Methodist University is uniquely qualified, distinguished and honored.
    In 2021, MU was awarded Gold Rank status — as a university that sets an excellent example with its programs and initiatives — by MilitaryFriendly® Schools. Methodist is recognized by this national organization annually and is scheduled to receive another superior ranking for its services to military families later this month.
    “Our new Gold MilitaryFriendly® designation, recognizes a university-wide effort and commitment to increase educational opportunities, services, and programs to meet the unique needs of our military-affiliated student population,” said Billy Buckner, director of MU’s Fort Bragg Office. “We are dedicated to serving service members, veterans, and their families with compassion and support they deserve.”
    Annual recognition is telling, but there are other obvious differences that make MU the best choice for military families. For instance, MU’s main campus is just a few miles from Fort Bragg and Pope Army Airfield and the university offers classes on post with its Fort Bragg Office.
    MU’s Fort Bragg Office is staffed with experienced members who understand the military, and faculty at MU’s main campus work with the time challenges often associated with a life spent in service. With an office on post, experienced staff, and educators who understand the unique requirements and needs of service members and their families, MU is uniquely positioned to “Serve Those Who Serve.”
    Methodist University also has a continued commitment to America’s veterans through participation in the GI Bill®’s Yellow Ribbon Program. This significant commitment upholds a long history of MU support for our veterans and their academic and career endeavors.
    MU continues to find ways to enhance its academic offerings and develop military-centric degree programs that best meet the needs of its students. In January 2021, Methodist began offering 100-percent online degree programs at both the undergraduate and graduate levels that best serve veterans, spouses and their families.
    Catalina Jara Hurtado is a wife and mother who drives trucks for the Army. She will graduate from MU this May with a Business Administration degree. She wants to work in human resources and loves to solve problems. She was recently promoted to Sergeant and has the responsibility of leading 10 soldiers.
    The staff at MU’s campus at Fort Bragg helped Jara Hurtado with her classes and transfer credits. She received dozens of transfer credits for her military training and education and academic work at other educational institutions. This helped cut her education time almost in half and enables her to earn her degree in two and half years. Jara Hurtado praises Mara Baker, MU’s Fort Bragg admission’s counselor, with helping her take advantage of transfer credits and tuition adjustments.
    “She was very helpful. Mara answered every question I had and walked me through everything I needed to do,” said Jara Hurtado.
    Jara Hurtado wasn’t surprised to discover MU had earned Gold Rank status. She experienced MU’s commitment to military families first-hand. The nature of her job often calls her away on missions at unexpected times. She knew military life wouldn’t always coincide with university deadlines, but MU’s professors — some who are veterans themselves — are empathetic and helpful.
    “Whenever I have a schedule conflict, I contact the professors and they are very friendly and understanding,” she said. “They’re always trying to help me, and I’ve never had any issues with any professors because of my job.”
    Another benefit for MU students is having access to the nearby Davis Memorial Library with its vast collection of books and research resources. Jara Hurtado said when she started her MU journey, she visited the library often, but then discovered the power of accessing the catalog online, a big benefit when working from home.
    “You can access the library from home with your MU account. I do almost all my homework research online now,” Jara Hurtado said.
    The fully online programs are just one example of MU’s eagerness to bring its world-class education to the military and their families. In addition to new Methodist University fully-online programs, students can continue to attend classes in a variety of modalities to include evening classes where they can earn BS degrees in Entrepreneurship, Environmental & Occupational Management, Leadership Communication, Health Care Administration, Business Administration and Political Science.
    “Methodist University Online is a huge benefit for our military-affiliated student population and affords students the flexibility and convenience they need to balance family, work, and school,” said Buckner. “Also, MU Online truly addresses the needs of our Special Operations Forces and other service members who serve in military occupational specialties who cannot attend in-person classes because of their military duties.”
    For more information, contact MU at Fort Bragg: 910-436-3624 or methodist.edu/bragg. Registration for summer classes is open now, and classes begin May 3.

    Pictured above: Catalina Jara Hurtado, a sergeant in the Army, will graduate in May with a Business Adminitsration Degree. 

  • 13 ManWheelchairHC1403 sourceHave you ever wanted to attend college but felt as if your disability prohibited you from accomplishing your academic goals? If you answered yes, now is the time to pursue your educational dreams. Fayetteville Technical Community College renders its services to students who require accommodations based on mental, emotional or physical impairments through its own Disability Support Services Office.

    The DSSO is an exclusive entity within Student Services at FTCC, and we take great pride in assisting students (online and on campus) who have disabilities since we are a renowned equal opportunity, learning and educational institution.

    The academic rigor of curriculum courses does not change based on the diagnosis or disorder of the student. The services and accommodations provided by our department are implemented to promote fairness within education.

    The purpose of quality education is to retain knowledge and to foster career opportunities through a mastery level of academic retention. FTCC policies and procedures, which can be found on the FTCC website, comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.

    It is essential to FTCC that our students do not undergo discrimination or exclusion from participating in college events and programs and are not denied curriculum or non-curriculum educational activities and opportunities based on any form of a medically diagnosed disability. All prospective students applying to FTCC are welcome to visit the DSSO to obtain information before enrolling into programs that the college has to offer. Our team will be glad to answer any questions regarding ADA compliance and services provided to the public.

    When applying to FTCC, future students are provided with information about where and how to apply for disability services. Once a student submits the proper documentation through the DSSO, accommodations will be granted. The DSSO promptly sends accommodations to the faculty members after the student completes required actions. It is the student’s responsibility to follow a simple step-by-step process to renew accommodations for each semester.

    The appropriate documents to receive and to maintain academic accommodations consist of a valid medical evaluation that must come from a licensed psychological or medical provider within the last five years. If students cannot provide required medical information, some temporary services may be determined and arranged on a case-by-case basis.

    Those receiving services provided by the DSSO should have no concern about their data being vulnerable to public exposure as the department responsibly guarantees secure, ethical and legal protocols for protecting students’ welfare. Students’ medical information is protected under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 and is considered confidential. Our department is located in the Tony Rand Student Center, Room 127. Please do not hesitate to contact the DSSO at any time with questions, comments or concerns regarding student accommodations, ADA compliance, or professional assistance. FTCC looks forward to the opportunity to help you find your way forward.

  • 11 minx 2Minxdiva’s Essentials, a health and wellness boutique, is Cool Spring Downtown Districts’ latest addition in Fayetteville.

    The wellness store located on the second floor of 308-B Hay Street specializes in natural products like sea moss gel, raw organic sea moss, natural soaps and candles.

    “I am a Fayetteville native, and it's always been a dream of mine to be on Hay Street,” owner Ebony McAllister said. “It really just fell in my lap, I wasn’t looking for it so when the opportunity presented itself, I took it.”

    One of Minxdiva’s most popular products is sea moss gel. “Sea moss is a hot commodity now,” McAllister said. “It is a superfood that contains about 92 out of the 100 minerals our body needs. It’s a natural multivitamin.”

    Sea moss, a type of edible algae or seaweed can be primarily found between North America and Europe.

    “You can make it yourself; people can add it to their smoothies, use on hair and face for skin issues,” McAllister said. “I know it works because everyone who comes and gets it, comes back for more.”

    Her discovery of sea moss was made on her journey of finding natural products for herself.

    McAllister calls her brand “The Borderline Vegan” because she’s not fully vegan and still eats certain foods. She is extremely conscious of her body and says her path as an educator teaching nutrition in schools led to her research of the food industry.

    Minxdiva’s Essentials also offers meal planning guides for those looking for natural substitutes to processed foods.

    “I am more anti-chemicals than I am anti-meat,” McAllister said.

    Emphasizing the power of information, she said true change starts from within and so she opened a store to share products that are true to her with the community.

    “Your body doesn't recognize chemicals, whether it's food, lotions, soaps,” she said. “I believe man can’t make anything that can replace nature.”

    For more information about the Minxdiva’s Essentials, visit https://www.minxdiva.com.

  • 02 BSMC 1 inside pageThe history of the Buffalo Soldiers is full of courage, sacrifice and heroism.

    Following the Civil War, Congress passed the Army Organization Act in 1866 allowing African Americans to enlist in the regular peacetime military. All-Black Cavalry and Infantry Regiments were created including the 9th and 10th Cavalry and the 24th and 25th Infantry. Serving on the frontier, these units were at the forefront of our nation’s western expansion —protecting settlers, stage coaches, wagons trains and railroad crews. Much of their time was spent battling Native American Indians who were resisting federal government policies. Black soldiers, some of whom had fought for the Union Army in the Civil War, were now fighting another minority group in the name of the United States government.

    The irony isn’t lost on Anor “Chief” Burnside, a retired Army soldier and member of the Fayetteville Chapter of the Buffalo Soldiers Motorcycle Club.

    “The majority of them were stationed out west to fight Indians and to help build roads and safeguard travelers,” Burnside said. “They had a lot to prove to America, to be brave enough to serve the country at the same time they were being discriminated against in other parts of the country.”

    Burnside retired as a Chief Warrant Officer 5 in 2017 after serving 34 years. He said the Buffalo Soldiers served as inspiration to many people of color who followed their example and served honorably in the military services.

    “Buffalo Soldiers paved the way for folks like me to join the Army and achieve the rank I did,” he said. “We owe a debt of gratitude to them.”

    According to www.history.com Buffalo Soldiers participated in at least 177 conflicts in the Indian Wars, earning a reputation as steadfast and fierce fighters. One legend has it that the name Buffalo Soldiers came from the American Indians themselves, showing reverence to the Cavalry soldiers.

    In the late 1890s, the Buffalo Soldiers were fighting in the Spanish-American War charging up San Juan Hill. The 9 th and 10 th Cavalry Regiments served in the Philippines in the early 1900s.

    In 1907, the United States Military Academy Detachment of Cavalry was changed to a "colored" unit so West Point cadets could learn their riding skills from Black non-commissioned officers, who were considered among the best. The detachment, made up of soldiers from the 9 th and 10 th Cavalry would go on the instruct future officers on riding, mounted drill and cavalry tactics for four decades.

    During World War I, Buffalo Soldiers defended the Mexican border. Both Regiments were integrated into the 2nd Cavalry Division in 1940. While discrimination was likely a factor during the Jim Crow era, troops from the 9 th and 10 th Cavalry Regiments were moved into service roles and both Regiments were deactivated in 1944.

    The legacy of the Buffalo Soldiers still continued into World War II. The 92 nd Division, known as the “Buffalo Division,” saw combat during the invasion of Italy. Another division that included the original 25th Infantry Regiment fought in the Pacific theater.

    In 1948, President Harry Truman issued an Executive Order eliminating racial discrimination in the U.S. armed forces, and the last of the all-Black units were disbanded in 1951 during the Korean War, and the soldiers integrated into other units.

    Through the years, Buffalo Soldiers compiled a distinguished record of service and sacrifice winning numerous unit awards and individual commendations. According to the National Museum of African American History and Culture, 18 Buffalo Soldiers received the Medal of Honor for actions during the Indian Campaigns from 1865-1899. By additional accounts, 5 Medals of Honor would be awarded to Buffalo Soldiers for actions during the Spanish-American War. Also, 2 Medals of Honor would be awarded to soldiers of the 92 nd Division during World War II; and 2 Medals of Honor would be awarded to soldiers of the 24th Infantry Regiment during the Korean War.

    Today, the Buffalo Soldiers’ legacy of service to the nation endures in books, movies, monuments, museum exhibits, and with the help of organizations such as the Buffalo Soldiers Motorcycle Club.

    “We are a national organization,” Burnside said. “The name Buffalo Soldiers Motorcycle Club was chosen to honor and pay respect to the 9th and 10th Cavalry — the Buffalo Soldiers.”

    What is now known as the National Association of Buffalo Soldiers & Troopers Motorcycle Club began with a single club in Chicago in 1993. Participation and interest grew and more chapters around the country were established. The NABSTMC now has more than 100 chapters worldwide and is active in a number of charitable efforts. The NABSTMC also provides mentors to youth and educational programs in order to share the heritage of African Americans.

    The Fayetteville Chapter, the first in North Carolina, was established in 2001. It was soon followed by chapters in Greensboro, Charlotte, Raleigh and Wilmington.

    “We are open to anyone who believes and supports our values and advocates the history of the 9th and 10th- the Buffalo Soldiers,” Burnside said. “Our chapter is made up of active and retired military. We have some police officers that are active. Our organization is made up of professional men and women of all backgrounds who believe in educating people on the history of Buffalo Soldiers, giving back to the community and being good role models.”

    Setting the example is something the BSMC members take seriously.

    The Fayetteville BSMC host a number of outreach endeavors to include charity rides, funeral escorts and even pick up litter along their adopted three-mile stretch of Highway 162 in Hope Mills.

    “We’re all about giving back to our community,” Burnside said. “We call it ‘doing good in the hood.’ We’re all about educating the public on the rich history of the Buffalo Soldiers, their accomplishments and contributions, things they did to make the Army and this country great.”

    Their biggest fundraiser of the year is scheduled for April 10 and all riders are invited to participate. The Buffalo Soldiers 11th Annual Pony Express Charity Ride will start at Fort Bragg Harley-Davidson on Sycamore Dairy Road. Registration starts at 9 a.m. and kick stands go up at 10 a.m. There will be refreshments, door prizes and raffles. The event is expected to be complete by 3 p.m. The registration fee is $20 and all proceeds will benefit local community charities. For more information call 205-902-4642.

    “The Pony Express Ride raises money to support scholarships, and it helps fund our Thanksgiving baskets and Christmas toy giveaway,” Burnside said.
    While being a force for good in the community is reward in itself, Burnside said members also value the time on the road together.

    “As a chapter, we try to ride as often as we possibly can,” he said. “On the third Saturday of the month, after our meeting, we will ride to fellowship.”

    Club members also take part in other Club rides as a show of support. For the upcoming Pony Express Charity Ride, Burnside expects riders from BSMC chapters as far away as Florida. “It’s all about that wind therapy,” Burnside said. “We enjoy that camaraderie of coming together and feeling the wind in your face.”

    “Today we’re riding our iron horses and trying to be a good example,” Burnside said.

    For more information on the Fayetteville Chapter of the Buffalo Soldiers Motorcycle Club or the 11th Annual Pony Express Charity Ride, visit www.ncbuffalosoldiers.com or www.facebook.com/NCBuffaloSoldiersMC.

  • 09 vaccine youthCumberland County and Fort Bragg are now vaccinating individuals ages 16 and up with the COVID-19 vaccine.

    Fort Bragg began providing COVID-19 vaccinations to TRICARE beneficiaries age 16 and up on April 6 at the Fort Bragg Fairgrounds.

    Beneficiaries should schedule an appointment on the vaccination appointment website at https://informatics-stage.health.mil/COVAX/. Those under the age of 18 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.

    Fort Bragg is currently using the Pfizer vaccine which requires two doses separated by a minimum of 21 days. Those needing the initial dose, the vaccine will be administered Tuesday through Saturday, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Those eligible for the second dose, can receive their vaccination Tuesday through Saturday from 1-5 p.m.

    The Cumberland County Department of Public Health begins vaccinating all individuals ages 16 and older April 7. This includes all individuals in previous Groups 1, 2, 3 and 4.

    Individuals 16 and older may schedule appointments by visiting the County’s COVID-19 vaccine page at www.co.cumberland.nc.us/home to make an appointment.

    The Health Department reported last week that two Cumberland County residents have died of COVID-19 since March 26, bringing the total to 292 deaths. As of April 2,there have been 25,853 cases in Cumberland County residents reported since the onset of the pandemic. Cumberland County’s COVID-19 positive test rate is at 7.1%.

    The NCDHHS reports that 15.5% of Cumberland County’s population is at least partially vaccinated and 11.6% is fully vaccinated. The most recent data on the NCDHHS Dashboard is current through March 31.

    There are 14 providers in Cumberland County offering vaccinations at 20 locations. Find your spot at https://myspot.nc.gov/.

    Vaccine Clinic Information

    Cumberland County continues to offer free drive-thru COVID-19 vaccination clinics to individuals age 16 and older at the Crown Complex. An online application form available on the county website allows individuals to choose their own appointment date and time for the first dose and second dose of the vaccine. Second doses are automatically scheduled after the first dose is received.

    Cumberland County is aware of a technical glitch that has caused individuals with scheduled second dose appointments on April 7 at 11 a.m.-1 p.m. to be cancelled. Individuals previously scheduled in this time block can attend their appointment during their originally scheduled timeslot. We are working to resend email and text appointment confirmations to these individuals.

    The clinic schedule for this week follows.

    Tuesday, April 6: Second doses by appointment only, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Groups 1, 2, 3 and 4. There will be no standby lane.

    Wednesday, April 7: First and second doses by appointment only, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. for all individuals (age 16 and up). There will be no standby lane.

    Friday, April 9: First doses by appointment only, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The Standby lane will run from 3-5 p.m. for all individuals (age 16 and up).

    Visit the website to make an appointment or call 910-678-7657 weekdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. if you need assistance with the form or have questions about the COVID-19 vaccine. Individuals who need transportation to and from the vaccination site can call 910-678-7619 for assistance, Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

  • 01 boy hugs mil dadThe Cumberland County School System invites the community to join in support of the more than 13,000 military-connected students in local schools. As part of the Month of the Military Child, CCS has identified April 16 as “Purple Up Day.” Community members are encouraged to wear “Cumberland Purple” attire, showing all military students that the community recognizes their tremendous service and the sacrifices they make every day. Why purple? Purple symbolizes all branches of the military. It is the combination of Army green, Coast Guard blue, Air Force blue, Marine red and Navy blue. “CCS serves the third-largest concentration of military-connected students in the world,” said Howard Lattimore, the district's Military Liaison. “Military students are faced with many transitions, changes and hardships. We encourage our school leaders, families, and community members to salute our smallest heroes— military children.’” Learn more at https://www.militarychild.

  • 08 Szoka flags militaryOn April 1, the House Finance Committee gave a favorable report to bipartisan legislation (House Bill 83) that will eliminate the state income tax on military retirement pay.

    “This legislation is yet another important step towards making North Carolina the most military friendly state in the nation,” said Rep. John Szoka
    (R-Cumberland), who is the primary bill sponsor. “It is time for North Carolina to join the majority of other states who provide this tax relief to those who have sacrificed and served our great nation.”

    Currently, military retirement pay is not taxed by the state if the retiree had five or more years of service as of August 12, 1989. House Bill 83 will extend the tax exemption to all military retirees living in North Carolina.

    Rep. Szoka explained that, “By eliminating the income tax on military retirement pay, we will also make our state more competitive in attracting and recruiting these highly trained and qualified military retirees. This is an essential component to developing and growing North Carolina’s talented workforce.”

    Reps. John Bell (R-Wayne), John Bradford (R-Mecklenburg) and Diane Wheatley (R Cumberland) are also primary sponsors of the legislation, which now goes to the House Rules Committee.

  • {mosimage}When the Gypsy Women roll into Legends Pub for their 12th Annual Spring Fling,

    bikers and friends alike are in for a no-holds-barred, rollicking good time. The event, which

    has become a highly-anticipated annualtradition where enjoyment reigns supreme, will draw

    a crowd from all over the Sandhills region and up through the Triangle. The Gypsy Women’s

    Spring Fling is one of a half dozen terrific events held at Legends Pub each year during the

    motorcycle season. It is the largest benefit of the year, and it all starts on Fridaynight with

    a huge party to kick off the Scott Sathier Memorial Poker Run, which will push thekickstands

    up at noon on Saturday. 

    The Sathier Run is held in honor of one of Fayetteville’s own, who sacrificed his life while

    serving his country during Operation Iraqi Freedom. All of the proceeds from the weekend’s

    event, including all side events, will go into a fund to benefit Crystal Tucker, a fellow biker who

    is battling with diabetes.

    Unlike many of the overly commercialized “festival” biker events that go on, the Gypsy Women

    Spring Fling won’t bring in a huge field full of motorcycles or a tent city, they’re not trying to recruit

    a custom bike builder to make a celebrity appearance while someone else is building choppers back

    at his shop, there won’t be a custom chopper build-off and big prize money and they haven’t invited

    world-renowned musicians for entertainment. 

    With plenty of volunteers to keep things organized, Holly, Trent, and the Gypsy Women at Legends

    Pub are friendly people who know how to throw a good party. They’ve got a good time in store for

    just about everybody, with lots of good company in the bar or pool table areas and enough bikes to

    fill the parking lot. Most importantly, they do all of this to give back to the biker community.

    In addition to one really big party and poker run, Legends will host a Gypsy Women ride-in bike

    show and contest (with prizes) and lots of food. Legends Pub is located 4624 Bragg Blvd. For

    more information or for special Gypsy Women Spring Fling hours, call 867-2364.

  •     While most people will still be snug in their beds recovering from the Bloom and Boom Party, a select few will be up at the crack of dawn. While some will be donning their jeans and boots and revving up their bikes, others will pull on shorts and tank tops and drop their rag tops as they hit the road in support of the Cumberland County Autism Society and the American Cancer Society.
        {mosimage}The third annual Hogs and Rags rally to the beach will kick off Saturday’s Dogwood Festival activities. Participants will gather at 8 a.m. at The Airborne and Special Operations Museum for registration before they hit the road. Last year, the road rally raised more than $5,000.
        Riders will mount up, and drivers will take their seats shortly before the 8:30 a.m. pull-out time. The ride snakes its way through downtown Fayetteville and down through Bladen and Columbus counties before ending in Horry County. Don’t worry about traffic, law enforcement officials in the affected counties keep traffic moving. You won’t even have to stop for a stop light, but there are a few stops you’ll want to make.
        The first stop is at Rocking “A” Ranch in White Oak. Participants will be treated to a full country breakfast, served by local celebrities. Some of the notables you will get to rub elbows with are Cumberland County Sheriff Moose Butler, White Lake Mayor Goldston Womble, Spring Lake businessman Billy Wellons, Congressman Mike McIntyre and N.C. Sen. Tony Rand. That’s just a handful of the folks who will be on hand to make sure your stomachs are full and you are in good cheer before you get back on the road. Breakfast will be served at 10 a.m., and everyone will be back on the road at 11:30.
        If the idea of spending the rest of the time on your bike or in the car seems a bit much, especially if you consume a lot of coffee with your breakfast, don’t worry, the group will make a pit stop in Tabor City (the home of the Yam Festival), for a pit stop. That stop will give riders and drivers a chance to stretch their legs and socialize, but don’t get too comfortable, because the open highway still beckons.
        The ride will wind through some beautiful spring countryside as you get closer to the coast. An estimated arrival time of 1:30 p.m. will see participants arriving at Dynamites at Dock Holidays in North Myrtle Beach for a fabulous seafood buffet. While there you can soak up the sun and take in the beauty of the Intracoastal Waterway while participating in a silent auction. The event is scheduled to end at 3 p.m., when the hardcore will return to Fayetteville, while others make a weekend of it.
        Registration is $40 per entrant, with $20 for each additional rider. For more information, visit the Hogs and Rags Web site at hogsandrags.com or call Bill Libby at 977-5959.

  • {mosimage}The furor dies down in the final episode ofJohn Adams (Sunday, 9 p.m., HBO). The British have been defeated, the United States has been created and Adams’ epic struggles as ambassador and president are behind him. He is an old man puttering about his farm with stringy white hair, bad teeth and an ever-present scowl. Very little happens over the course of the hour, and yet this is perhaps the richest of the seven episodes.

    Much of the credit goes to Paul Giamatti. He creates an unforgettable portrait of an aging titan obsessed with the past. This is no saint, but a conflicted human being who struggles with resentment and regret. He feels neglected, his achievements undervalued. “In some circles I am openly despised,” he groans to wife Abigail (Laura Linney. “In others I am irrelevant.” Abigail rolls her eyes, and so do we.

    But a kind of redemption comes as Adams begins a correspondence with old enemy Thomas Jefferson, his only surviving peer from the revolutionary days. He sets aside jealousy sends a note to Jefferson at Monticello, one melancholy genius to another. “You and I are not to die until we have explained ourselves to each other,” he writes.

    You’ll just have to believe me when I say that a simple exchange of letters is the most moving TV climax you’ll see all year.


    The Sarah Jane Adventures

    Friday, 8 p.m. (Sci Fi)

    ThisDoctor Who spinoff is set on earth, but don’t expect any shortage of alien action. Sarah Jane Smith (Elisabeth Sladen) uses her expertise in intergalactic affairs to keep extraterrestrials from conquering the planet. Why these creatures can’t keep their cotton-picking claws out of our orbit is beyond me.

    This BBC production clearly has limited funds for sets and special effects. But it offers great English acting, cheeky satire and a rare chance to see a middle-aged woman save the world. Given all that, you’re willing to overlook the occasional rubbery monster with sagging tentacles.

     

    Princess

    Sunday, 8 p.m. (ABC Family)

    Enchanted delightfully satirized a Disney-style fairy tale while also delivering all the genre’s conventional pleasures. You appreciate this achievement even more after watchingPrincess.The TV movie goes for a similar tone and bungles it every step of the way. Did someone put an evil spell on ABC Family?

    A guy who lives in a contemporary city (Kip Pardue) falls for a real princess (Nora Zehetner) in a nearby castle. The movie doesn’t bother making sense of this scenario. What’s a woman in a Snow White getup doing in modern times? And what does she see in this charmless Prince Charming? You’re supposed to give yourself over to their fairy-tale love, but the crude stab at satire makes that impossible. The references to lesbians, drugs and stalkers strain to be hip, but even Dopey would find them dopey.

    Where’s a poison apple when you need one?


    American Experience

    Monday, 9 p.m. (PBS)

    This week’s episode details the inspiring life and tragic death of baseball star Roberto Clemente. Clemente transcended every kind of hardship to become one of America’s great heroes. He was born into a poor Puerto Rican family and began working in the sugar cane fields at age eight. His athletic ability brought him to the big leagues in the 1950s, when the odds were stacked against a black Latino. But Clemente fought against prejudice to become a beloved superstar, conducting himself with dignity as Puerto Rico’s de facto ambassador. He threw himself into civil rights and humanitarian causes as passionately as he did into baseball.

    If you skip the last 10 minutes, this program will lift your spirits for the whole day.

     

  • WEDNESDAY, APRIL 23

    Fayetteville Farmers Market
    Downtown in the AIT parking lot
    Freedom, Families, and Fresh Local Food!
    For more information, visit our Web site at www.downtownfayettevillemarket.com

    THURSDAY, APRIL 24
    The 5th Annual Recycled Art Show
    The Re-Store Warehouse, 205 Forsythe St., Free
    Call 321-0780 for more details or visit www.restorefaync.org

    FRIDAY, APRIL 25

    Fayetteville-Cumberland Crimestoppers BBQ
    11 a.m. - 7 p.m.
    2800 Raeford Rd., Harris Teeter parking lot
    Fee: $6.00

    Bloom & Boom Kickoff Party
    7-10 p.m.
    Featuring Eddie Money and closing out the night with Fireworks. Midway rides open at 5 p.m. with $15 all you can ride, Friday only!

    Budweiser Clydesdales
    6:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.
    400 Block of Hay Street, in front of Huske Hardware House

    Hay Day for Missions
    Hay Street United Methodist Church front lawn and fellowship hall 320 Hay St.
    Free

    An Evening of Music and The Big Read
    7 p.m.
    Headquarters Library, 300 Maiden Lane
    Free

    SATURDAY, APRIL 26

    Dogwood Street Festival
    Noon - 10 p.m.
    Featuring arts and crafts vendors, live entertainment, the Partnership’s KidStuff, midway rides, and much more!  Stop by the Dogwood Festival Merchandise and Information tent to pick up your official Event Guide and to purchase this year’s poster and fine art print.

    Budweiser Clydesdales
    1 p.m. - 5 p.m.
    400 Block of Hay Street, in front of Huske Hardware House

    Hay Day for Missions
    10 a.m.-4 p.m.
    Hay Street United Methodist Church front lawn and fellowship hall, 320 Hay St., Free

    Hogs and Rags Spring Rally
    8 a.m. to 3 p.m.
    Airborne & Special Operations Museum, Fee: $40
    www.hogsandrags.com

    17th Annual YMCA Dogwood Festival 10k and Fun Run
    8:30 a.m.
    Fayetteville Family YMCA, 2717 Ft. Bragg Rd., Fee: $20
    Must pre-register online or by calling 323-0800
    For information call 323-0800 or visit us at www.fayettevilleymca.org
     
    7th Annual Habitour Bike Ride
    Fayetteville Area Habitat for Humanity
    8 a.m.
    310 Green St., Fee: $25 Registration Fee
    Registration begins at 7 a.m. at 310 Green St. For more information, call (910) 483-0952

    Spring Plant Sale
    10 a.m - 3 p.m.
    Cape Fear Botanical Garden, 536 N. Eastern Blvd., Free
    www.capefearbg.org
     
    Not Your Ordinary Dog Show {mosimage}
    11 a.m.
    Tallywood Shopping Center, Raeford Rd.
    Fee: Donations Only
    www.fapspet.org

    2008 Chancellor’s Scholarship Gala
    7 p.m.
    Crown Exposition Center, Crown Complex
    Fee: $150
     
    Beethoven & Stravinsky
    8 p.m.
    Reeves Auditorium, Methodist University
    Fee: $22, $18, $8
    www.fayettevillesymphony.org
     
    SUNDAY, APRIL 27

    Dogwood Street Festival
    1 p.m. - 6 p.m.

    LaFayette Ford Classic Car Show
    Noon – 3 p.m.
    *NEW LOCATION* Maiden Lane, in front of the Cumberland County Public Library

    TUESDAY, APRIL 29
    Arthur LIVE! “Arthur Tricks the Tooth Fairy, 7 p.m.
    Givens Performing Arts Center at UNC Pembroke, One University Dr. Pembroke, NC
    Fee: $20, $18, $15/$12 child or student
    Call for more information, (910) 521-6361 or 1-800-367-0778 or visit our Web site at www.uncp.edu/gpac
     
     FRIDAY, MAY 2

    Cumberland County Seniors Beauty Pageant
    7-10 p.m.
    Fee: $5
    Contact the Council on Older Adults for information on how to nominate your beautiful senior at 484-0111.

    MAY 9-10

    9th Annual W.O.M.E.N.’s Expo: The Tribute to Mom
    Cross Creek Mall
    Free
    Register for free today at 868-7471 or email ColorMeAngel@aol.com

  • {mosimage}Donnaha Station may sound like a curious name, but before you start scratching your head too hard, pull out a map of North Carolina and look toward the western edge of Forsyth County. Sure enough, you’ll find it. An old Native American village, Donnaha Station is the small town that welcomed guitarist Brian Spainhour into the world. And even though he’s moved down the road to Ararat, he’s given his band the name of his birthplace as a tribute to his heritage.

    During a typical set, the band will play the Doobie Brothers, The Who, Lynrd Skynrd and even Chuck Berry. “They play rock ‘n roll that’s 30 years old,” joked Brian’s father, Michael Spainhour, who saw the band’s potential. He was the one that bought their first drum set and has been behind the band from the start. He pointed out the irony that, despite the average age of the tunes the guys play, the oldest member of Donnaha Station is only 27.

    Starting out in little camper down by the river, Spainhour recalled, “They were all out just clanging on instruments when everybody noticed that Brian was kinda gifted č he could listen to a song and pick it out.” Then he would show the others how to play it. “And the next thing you know, they all took off.”

    Brian Spainhour plays the guitar, Josh Cook sings and plays the drums and Robbie Sturgis plays the bass. Michael Spainhour is the manager, booking agent, provider and dad. He also writes the poetry that Donnaha Station puts to music. He describes Brian as one of the best guitarists in the state č and not just because he’s his son. “He’s often been told that hes’s one of the best that’s around,” he said, “he can really burn that thing up!” He said that Brian can play the little frets better than most people play the big ones, and that’s what makes the differenence. “He can do some wild stuff. It really is something to watch him,” he concluded.

    Spainhour doesn’t hide his pride in the other band members either. He said that Cook “is truly a gifted musician, too.” Explaining that he can play anything, from the guitar, to the piano and the drums, “╔ but he’s excellent on the drums. That’s why he stays on them, I guess.” 

    The newest member of the band is their bass player, Sturgis. They needed a replacement for long-time member Bruce Draughn who has been very ill recently. “He’s coming along just fine,” said Spainhour, “He rode the bus all the way here from Mississippi to join the band, he’s determined to play the bass.”

    Spainhour described how the biker scene has responded really well to Donnaha Station. “They liked the 30- year-old music, and the young guys like some of the ACDC and Ozzy they play,” he said. 

    The guys ended up playing a string of gigs at Daytona’s during bike week and were introduced to Jim Sawyer, president of The Special Forces Association, at a poker run. “They asked us to play there (at a benefit concert), but we had another gig set up for that day,” Spainhour explained, “but we went ahead and told them we’d play anyways.”

    That’s when the ball started rolling. After some time and schedule wrangling, Donnaha Station decided to jump on board for the 3rd Annual Special Forces Association Benefit Festival, which will be held on Saturday, May 31, from 11 a.m to 11 p.m, at Festival Park. Donnaha Station will be one of seven North Carolina bands to hit the stage and rally funds for the Special Forces Association Scholarship, Tribute, and Benevolent Funds.

    The festival will include a ride-in motorcycle and bicycle show, a 2008 Chevy Colorado pick-up truck raffle, cash and prize raffles throughout the day, as well as other family entertainment.

    For more information about the Special Forces Association Benefit Festival, call or email Jim Sawyer at 309-0388 or chaptercpres@yahoo.com. 

     

  •     In 1953, an aspiring author wrote a story about a society where television and the media dominated people’s lives. Instead of reading or interacting with others, people are glued to big screens in their living rooms — sometimes watching the information that comes forth from the television and sometimes involved in games on the big screen. The big screen literally tells people what to think, how to think, how to feel.
    Books have become the enemy. Instead of sitting down with a good book to learn and relax, people see them as evil. Books make you think. Books make you question the status quo. In the author’s 24th century world, books are bad.
        {mosimage} The author, Ray Bradbury, wrote about a fantasy world, but if you look around, some of the things he predicted have come close to true. The media does dominate our lives. Instead of spending time around the table talking, families spend time in front of the big screen watching mindless television. And, society has seen a downturn in the number of people who curl up with a good book … Was Bradbury right about our future?
        That’s one of the questions you might have asked yourself after reading Fahrenheit 451 as a participant in The Big Read. The Big Read, sponsored by the Cumberland County Public Library System, is a National Endowment of the Arts program designed to get citizens reading and involved in a book.
    Over the past few months, Cumberland County citizens have actively participated in The Big Read. They’ve held discussion groups, book groups, participated in a read-a-thon, created posters and written essays. On Friday, April 25, the event will culminate with An Evening of Music and The Big Read at 7 p.m., at the Headquarters Library on Maiden Lane in downtown Fayetteville.
        The free event will feature popular musicians The Parsons, a Fayetteville favorite, known for its “uptown hillbilly swing.” The band’s music has been called a “combination of ragtime, old-time blues, bluegrass, swing and folk music.” That’s a lot of bang for your buck.
        In addition to the music, take the time to listen to dramatic readings from Fahrenheit 451, and join the library in congratulating the essay winners.
        Jody Risacher, the library director, was recently on hand at the Fayetteville City Council to publicly invite the community to participate in the event. Risacher called The Big Read a “symbolic exercise of democracy,” noting that participation in the many events help “build the community and was a vehicle for discussing community values.”
        She noted that Fayetteville, being home to one of the nation’s biggest military bases, could be called a “pillar of democracy.”
    “Having a library is a stabilizing force in the community,” she said, adding that it is a “sign of a thriving, vital community.”
        “Please get fired up and spread the word,” she concluded.
  •     When Michael and Deborah Jaenicke returned to North Carolina last year, the North Carolina Children’s Theatre wasn’t something they had anticipated coming into their lives.
        “My husband actually talked me into it,” said Deborah Jaenicke, North Carolina Children’s Theatre creative director. “I’d had a theatre school and a touring company in Rhode Island and when I decided I was going to move back down here, (I) had just finished two movies.”
         They are in post production right now and Jaenicke just got notification that one of them is going to go to all the film festivals. 
        “When I moved down I thought, I don’t know (to run a children’s theater), and he said ‘Look — you are so good with children. You love the theatre so much.’ And I said okay,” Jaenecke laughingly explained. “The second I started I knew. This is my passion.”
        And it has been her passion and her husband Michael’s enthusiasm that have delivered productions like The Wizard of Oz last fall, which drew 1,100 people.
        April 17-18, the North Carolina Children’s Theatre will perform Oliver Twist, based on Charles Dickens book of the same name. Don’t come expecting to see a cutesy pie event though. That is the last thing either Jaenicke wants. Deborah has spent hours and hours bringing the realities of industrial England to the young actors. Their training included learning to speak with a Cockney accent, reading the novel Oliver Twist,
        “I didnt want to do children’s theatre that they (the audience) went ‘Oh,aren’t they cute.’ I wanted to do something that had quality and substance to it and that the children had to strive to be better than ‘oh, aren’t they cute,’” said Jaenicke. “I wanted them to learn to be talented and even if they didn’t have the capability to sing or to dance that they had to strive to be in the companies when we did shows.”
        The production boasts a cast of 40 with an array of performers including New York trained performers, local actors and students from Robeson, Bladen and Cumberland Counties. “Our cast is outstanding. They are just tremendous,” said  Executive Producer Michael Jaenicke. “It’s going to be so good.”
    The production will take place at Lu Mil Vineyard in Dublin. The show starts at 7 p.m. both nights. Tickets are $12 for adults and $10 for those 12 and under.
        For more information or tickets, call (910) 866-5819 or visit www.lumilvineyard.com.

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  •     Sweet music will fill Reeves Auditorium at Methodist College on Saturday, April 26, at 8 p.m., when the Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra performs its season finale as part of the Dogwood Festival.
    The concert marks the closure of the FSO’s 51st season and it ends with a flourish as the orchestra performs the works of two masters in a program entitled Beethoven and Stravinsky.
        Maestro Fouad Fakhouri — in his fourth year as conductor — and the FSO will perform Beethoven’s Symphony No. 3 and Stravinsky’s Pulcinella Suite.
    Fakhouri says these are both pieces he’s been anxious to perform with the symphony since he first came to town. {mosimage}
        “The excellence of the musicians we have and their abilities are what allows us to now perform them,” said Fakhouri. “Beethoven’s Symphony No. 3 is one of the truly monumental works in history. It is a group performance that will require ‘all hands on deck’ to pull it off.”
        Fakhouri wryly notes that Beethoven was an admirer of Napoleon Bonaparte and dedicated the composition to the tempestuous French general; however, when Napoleon declared himself emperor, Beethoven angrily removed all reference to the egotistical Frenchman and instead dedicated it to all heroes.
    The other piece, Stravinsky’s Pulcinella Suite, doesn’t come with as amusing an anecdote as Beethoven’s work, but it makes up for it with its requirement of technical virtuosity.
        “Stravinsky’s Pulcinella Suite is interesting in that it has five instruments, all strings, soloing over the full orchestra,” said Fakhouri. “It is a work derived from the ballet.”
    Fakhouri says the performance of two such difficult and stirring works of music is a fitting end to what he calls “a wonderful season.”
        “The musicians have gotten better and we have upgraded the orchestra since I came here four years ago, and the audiences have grown,” said Fakhouri. “I can’t say enough about our audiences. When I first came here, we had about 150 come to the shows, and now we have 700 to 800 at every performance.”
        Tickets range from $8 to $22 and can be purchased by phone at (910) 433-4690, online at www.fayettevillesymphony.org, or at the door the night of the event.
  •     “If you’re interested in the stock market, if you want to make money, if you want to double or triple your money or even if you want to lose it nicely,” said Dr. Sid Gautum, director of Methodist University’s Center for Entrepreneurship, “then you simply must come down to the Stock Market Symposium.” This year, the center’s 31st annual event will take place on Tuesday, April 22, and will feature international executive manager Ajit Dayal as the keynote speaker.
        “We were very lucky this year,” Gautum said concerning Dayal. “We’ve been trying to get him for a long time.” Having access to Dayal’s insights on the emerging market, is what he believes will be “the opportunity of a lifetime” for symposium attendees. “The last time we had this kind of a speaker hear was back in 1997,” he recalled.
        In addition to founding India’s first equity research house in 1990, Dayal has worked with leading United States and United Kingdom financial advisory and asset management firms. After obtaining his bachelor’s degree in economics from Bombay University, Dayal earned a master’s degree in business administration from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He has spent nearly 22 years working in investment management and researching equity.
        {mosimage}Gautum said that the title of this story and the title of the keynote speakers address should be “Stock is On Sale …cheap” He explained that the best way to make money in the stock market is to “buy low and sell high,” which basically means: don’t buy stock when it’s expensive — wait until the price comes down. And don’t sell your stock when it’s cheap — wait until it goes back up. “This is one of the lowest times I’ve seen in the last several years,” said Gautum. “So this is a very good time to invest and become rich.”
    A major emphasis of the symposium, however, is not the New York Stock Exchange. This year’s focus will be on emerging markets, such as China, India, Mexico, much of Southeast Asia, countries in Eastern Europe and parts of Africa and Latin America.
        “Twenty to 30 years ago, the only place we could invest was in America,” explained Gautum, “but today we are living in a flat world.” Or, a world where everyone and everything is connected, all the time. Up until just recently, he continued, “The only opportunities were in the American market. Then, it was the European market… But, believe it or not, nowadays there are better and more opportunities in the emerging countries.”
        To demonstrate the success of the emerging markets, Gautum gave the following example: “In the last five years, if you had invested money in the emerging market, you would have made as little as 50 to 70 percent [on your investment] and in some cases, as much as 200 percent.”
        In short, Gautum said that the purpose of the Stock Market Symposium is to “try and revive and reconfirm that the stock market is a very vital institution in a market economy.” He argues that the market economy cannot work without an efficient stock market. “A stock market is a very efficient as well as a very attractive and useful place for investing your resources,” he concluded.
        “In simple English,” he said, “anybody who comes up with a very good idea, the people will love it and buy.” He pointed out Google, Microsoft and Apple as household names that were once “nobodies.”
    In addition to the presentation by Ajit Dayal, the Center will honor five local business leaders with the Small Business Excellence Award, the Silver Spoon Award, the Outstanding Woman Entrepreneur of the Year Award and the Business Ethics Award. The Stock Market Symposium will take place at 6:30 p.m. at the Holiday Inn Bordeaux. Tickets are $50 per person, or $375 for a table of eight. For more information, visit the Center for Entrepreneurship on the Web at www.methodist.edu/cfe.
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        Those wishing to get their groove on while contributing to a worthy cause will be able to do both at Fayetteville State University’s 2008 Chancellor’s Scholarship Gala, scheduled for Saturday, April 26, at 7 p.m., at the Crown Exposition Center in the Crown Complex.
        Held in conjunction with the Dogwood Festival, this marks the fifth year of the gala, which is highlighted by the Sen. Tony Rand Scholarship Dinner. All proceeds go to an endowed scholarship in Rand’s name.
        The cost for the black-tie event, which includes a four-star dinner provided by Master Chef Jason Forrest of Aramark Gourmet and entertainment from nationally renowned recording artist Stephanie Mills, is $150.
        Tickets are sure to sell out fast according to Ben Minter, FSU’s director of marketing and events, as the gala attracts a host of FSU alumni, as well as teachers and administrators from the school.
        “Alumni make up a majority of the guest list,” said Minter. “This is one of FSU’s biggest, if not the biggest, fund-raisers, and the alums come from all over the country for this event.”
        Minter estimates last year’s crowd at somewhere between 800-1,000. He expects more of the same with the gold record-selling R&B artist Mills on the bill.
        Mills’ biggest hit to date was the Reggie Lucas-produced Never Knew Love Like This Before. The single became a No. 12 R&B and No. 6 pop hit in 1980, even reaching No. 4 in the United Kingdom.
        “We’ve always had good talent at the gala,” said Minter, “including Ashford and Simpson and Jeffrey Osbourne.”
        Dinner is scheduled to start at 7:15, with Mills coming on stage shortly after the start of dinner to perform for an hour to an hour-and-a-half, followed by a few words from dignitaries at 8:45.
        The Greensboro-based dance band Sweet Dreams will start up at about 9 p.m., and play, as Minter         says, “until.”
        Minter says this will also be the first gala for newly elected FSU Chancellor James A. Anderson.
    For tickets or more information, contact the FSU ticket office at (910) 672-1724.

  •     Spring is in full bloom and, as are many local area businesses, the Cape Fear Botanical Garden is gearing up for the Dogwood Festival, and its third annual plant sale during Fayetteville’s quintessential springtime event.
        “The plant sale used to be part of  our May Day event, and we would sell the plants there,” explained the garden’s development officer, Angela Dennis. “We had such a high demand for things that we decided to branch off and make it its own event.” {mosimage}
        Since that time, the garden has held the plant sale in conjunction with the Dogwood Festival.
    Each year, the garden’s expert grounds staff propagates plants for the sale in their own greenhouses. “We also partner with local gardens, nurseries and plant societies, and they too will bring out plants,” said Dennis. She said that, while some of the local nurseries can’t be at the event, they will often donate flowers or shrubs to increase the plant offerings. Each year, the sale has a huge selection of plants, including a variety of annuals, perennials, herbs, shrubs, trees and tropical plants. “It’s a real conglomeration of local offerings,” she added.
        The garden’s talented staff of plant specialists, as well as master gardeners who volunteer at the garden, will be roaming customer service experts. They are there to help people select plants, answer questions about particular plants and to offer free, helpful advice as to where to plant them.
        This year, because of the drought, the theme of the plant sale is “Waterwise Gardening.” There will be a special emphasis on drought tolerant plants, including many native to the area. “Not only will there be experts around to answer questions,” Dennis said, “but we will also give out educational materials about water wise gardening.”
        The garden will also have a DVD demonstration for sale on how to build your own rain barrel. “You can buy the DVD, which comes with a supply list so you know exactly what supplies and parts to buy and it’s very easy to follow,” said Dennis.
        Roger Mercer, a local horticulturalist well known for cultivating day lilies, is going to give away one of the flowering plants to everyone who signs up for a garden membership at the plant sale. “That’s a big deal,” Dennis exclaimed, “His day lilies are prized and very unique. Last year, 60 people signed up, just for the day lilies.”
          “The plant sale meets with our mission of educating and promoting environmental awareness,” explained Dennis. “We’re very lucky because a lot of the people who will have plants for sale here will donate a portion of their proceeds to the garden. So it really helps us out.”
        The annual plant sale at the Cape Fear Botanical Garden is not a part of the facility’s Campaign for Natural Growth, which was launched during the Fall ’07 season. She said that the plant sale is “a great way for us to get out into the community and reach a group of people that we normally might not reach.”
    So far, funding for the Campaign for Natural Growth has been steady and successful. About the Campaign for Natural Growth, she said: “Things are going really well and we’re excited about the progress.” Dennis stated. “We’re looking forward to what the future holds for the garden.”
        The Spring Plant Sale is slated for Saturday, April 26, from 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. As one of the Fayetteville Dogwood Festival’s official sanctioned events, it is free to the public and will be held rain or shine. For more information, contact Cape Fear Botanical Garden at 486-0221 or on the Web at www.capefearbg.org. The Cape Fear Botanical Garden is located at 536 N. Eastern Blvd.
  •     Man cannot live by bread alone — or funnel cake, for that matter.
    If you’re looking to satisfy your appetite or thirst and want to shift gastronomic gears from the traditional Dogwood Festival fare, Hay Street United Methodist Church is offering a program Friday, April 25, from 5:30-10 p.m. entitled “Hay Day for Missions.”
        The program, in conjunction with The Dogwood Festival, offers homemade desserts and hot or cold beverages at the church’s Fellowship Hall. There will also be food for the soul and the heart with entertainment provided by Christian Jazz combo, Kia Walker and Friends, followed by a silent movie complete with organ accompaniment as it was originally presented in the theater. The film is the 1927 war epic, Wings, which was the very first Academy Award winner for Best Picture.
        The fun will continue Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the church, located at 320 Hay St., with carnival games, arts and crafts and face painting for the kids; sandwiches and snacks will be available for all ages and indoor bathrooms for Hay Day participants.
        All profits from sales and donations go toward enhancing local mission projects and supporting both long- and short-term mission teams.
        Dave Edwards, chairman of Hay Day for Missions, says the fun and fellowship is a way to introduce the community to the 200-year-old Hay Street United Methodist Church.
        “For the past three years we have conducted a rummage sale event, but this year we are exploring new ways of better using our new facilities,” said Edwards. “One of the main goals for this year is to invite guests to the church to see what we have.
        “We want the people in the community to know what we are doing at Hay Street UMC,” said Edwards, “to help others in the name of Jesus and show what we have to offer in the way of facilities and family programs to any who would like to worship and share fellowship with us.”
        For more information, call Hay Street United Methodist Church at (910) 483-2343.

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  •     Addy, Felicity, Kaya, Molly and Samantha are names that many little girls know very well. They represent some of the dolls in the American Girl Collection. The dolls have made a splash in the American lexicon through books, movies and even a clothing line.
        On Saturday, April 26, and Sunday, April 27, the American Girl mystique will be celebrated at the Cape Fear Regional Theatre as The Child Advocacy Center presents The American Girl Fashion Show. {mosimage}
    The fashion show is a national event designed to raise funds for children’s programs. The Child Advocacy Center not only provides education for the community on child abuse, it also provides a safe haven for abuse victims as they seek help. The event is rather timely — the nation’s focus is on child abuse throughout the month of April, which has been designated Child Abuse Prevention Month.
        While the event raises funds for an extremely serious issue, it is designed to be fun.
    The show highlights not only the historical dolls, but the contemporary dolls as well — all while showcasing great clothes for your own little doll.                                                                                                                            “April is Child Abuse Prevention Month, so this is a wonderful way to bring attention to this very serious subject while providing a wholesome, fun, family event,” said Sandy Ammons, the event coordinator.
    Local models will strut the catwalk in historical and contemporary clothing. For an additional fee of $30 (remember it’s for a good cause), your own American Girl can join the models on stage for her turn on the catwalk. 
        Ammons said the fashion show is not a pageant, rather it is an “empowering” event that has its focus on literacy.
        {mosimage}“This is nothing like a pageant, it’s all about girl empowerment,” she said.
    Before the show and during the 15-minute intermission, the Child Advocacy Center will provide historical refreshments.
        Tickets for The American Girl Fashion Show are $30 per person for children and adults, and must be purchased in advance, as the theatre has assigned seating.
        Tickets can be ordered by visiting the Child Advocacy Center Web site at www.childadvocacycenter.com., or by calling 486-9700. Showings will be held Saturday, April 26, at 10 a.m., 2 p.m., and 7 p.m.; and Sunday, April 27, at 3 p.m.
  •     The Fayetteville Dogwood Festival is known for many things. When you start making the list, music is going to be at the top every time. From Hootie and the Blowfish to local bands, music is a mainstay of the festival. This year is no different.
        Festival organizers are proud to welcome two national performing acts to this year’s festival’s main stage – one a rock mainstay and the other an up and coming star. Eighties rocker Eddie Money will heat up the Bloom and Boom kickoff party on Friday night, while Vanessa Carlton will rock Saturday’s events.                                     Local favorites Joyner, Young & Marie will kick Friday night’s party off at 7 p.m. Once they’ve got the crowd warmed up, Money will take over the stage at 9 p.m. Money is known for such hits as Two Tickets to Paradise, Baby Hold On, Walk on Water, and Take Me Home Tonight. And while the younger generation may not be aware of who he is, their parents definitely will. He has been continuously recording music since the mid-70s, and has even taken on television and the movies. Money did a cameo on David Spades Joe Dirt, appearing as himself. He was Joe Dirt’s rock ‘n’ roll idol. His attention is focused on writing theme songs for arena football and Major League Baseball currently, but on Friday he’s only going to have on thing on his mind – rocking the ‘Ville!
        Carlton, a 27-year-old singer, songwriter and pianist, started making waves in the music scene with the release of her album Be Not Nobody in 2002. The Billboard chart topper A Thousand Miles quickly flew to No. 5 on Billboard’s Hot 100. The song garnered her several Grammy nods, including nominations for Song of the Year and Record of the Year. She is currently touring in support of her most recent album, Heroes & Thieves, which was released in October 2007. The album has received critical acclaim, and fans are lining up in droves to hear her perform. This is your chance — and, it’s free!! Carlton will perform Saturday evening at Q98’s Saturday Night’s Alive. {mosimage}
        These two headliners are only the tip of the iceberg. Other great performers are lined up throughout the festival:
        On Saturday, In That Tone, a blues rock band with Latin flare, will rock the stage at 1 p.m. At 3 p.m., Swampdawamp will take the stage to share its own blend of southern rock. The band is touring the Southeast in support of its debut release, which is in stores now and available for digital download at all major online retailers.
        It’s impossible to be “in the know” of the Fayetteville music scene without knowing about D. L. Token. The band, formed in 2001, is a staple in the area, and will get Q98’s Saturday Night’s Alive party started at 7 p.m.
    On Sunday, Rough Draft, a dance variety band, will take center stage at 1 p.m. The group performs some of the top dance songs, featuring music by The Gap Band, Gloria Gaynor, Earth Wind and Fire, Donna Summer and Mary J. Blige.
        Once you’ve boogied your buns off, stick around for the wackiness that is Hot Sauce. Hot Sauce blends crazy costumes and some of the top hits of the 70s, 80s and 90s for one all-out party. Don’t expect to just stand by, audience participation isn’t just encouraged, it’s required!!
    While the main stage will be hot, the Dogwood Festival’s Second Stage will be even hotter on Saturday. Sponsored by The Rock Shop, the second stage will bring an eclectic group of performers together to keep the party going all day long.
        Located in front of the library on Maiden Lane, the second stage will feature some of Shawn Adkins’ — the man behind The Rock Shop — favorite bands.
    “It’s going to be awesome,” said Adkins. “We are gathering some really good bands together for the event.         These are some of my favorite bands.”
    Coming from Adkins, that’s high praise. He noted that the bands range in genre from rockabilly-blues to acoustic, alternative rock, ska reggae to rap-rock. The music will go on all day from noon to 6 p.m., and will feature 12 different bands.
        “It’s nonstop music,” he said.
    Fayetteville music lovers will be excited to know that Adkins’ own band, The Answers, will be reuniting to perform during the day. The Answers opened for Hootie two years ago at The Dogwood Festival, and will be the headliners at The Rock Shop Stage.
        Adkins is excited about the new location of the stage. Last year, the stage was off the beaten path, but this year, it’s right in the middle of everything.
        “I can’t stress the diversity of the groups performing — it’s just awesome,” he said.
    If you haven’t got your fill of music by the end of the day, don’t worry — The Rock Shop’s Dogwood Festival Party will feature Fixer, Gasoline and The Answers at 8 p.m. at the Rock Shop.
        “I can’t wait,” said Adkins. “I love music. There’s nothing I’d rather do — and bringing all of these guys together is going to be great.”
  •     {mosimage}

        Fayetteville’s annual celebration of spring is just around the corner. The dogwoods are getting ready to bloom and local residents, tired of cold winter days, are just itching to get outdoors and soak up some sun and enjoy one of the best weekends of the year – The Dogwood Festival. And organizers of the event have just one word to describe the upcoming festivities, “Fantastic!,” said Carrie King, the executive director of the Fayetteville Dogwood Festival. “There is not doubt we are going to have a great festival. This year’s event has a stellar lineup and we are ready!”
        Celebrating its 26th year, the festival continues to grow and is on its way to becoming one of the largest events in the Southeast. More than 100 arts, crafts and food vendors will fill the streets around Festival Park while local and national headliners are set to grace the main stage throughout the weekend of April 25-27. 
    The festival was founded in 1982 by former Fayetteville Mayor Bill Hurley, along with several other city leaders. Their goal was to improve the image of the city and to create a unified force for community events. Hurley dubbed the city the “City of Dogwoods,” and Fayetteville residents have been celebrating the bloom and the fun it brings since then.
        From its humble beginnings, the event has grown, with last year’s festival bringing more than 150,000 people downtown over the three-day period. Economically, the event pumps more than $2.5 million into the city’s economy. Until 2000, the event was spread over a 10-day period; organizers decided to streamline the event and what they came up with was three action-packed days of fun. The move to compact the festival into three days didn’t change the basic premise – the festival would offer “something for everyone.” That holds true this year.
        If you are looking for arts and crafts, look no further. Visitors can expect to find virtually every kind of arts and crafts vendor possible. Vendors signed up to participate include pottery, paintings, jewelry, sculptures and much more. Once you’ve shopped ‘till you’ve dropped, be sure to follow your nose to the highlight of most festivals – the food court! You can expect to find some of your favorite foods on hand: gyros, funnel cakes, ice cream, ribbon fries and pineapple chicken will all be on the menu, as well as many of your other favorites. 
        In addition to all the arts and crafts that adults love, the Partnership’s Kidstuff, presented by the Partnership for Children of Cumberland County, will feature a Sea Lion splash show, the all new Toddler Zone, which is an inflatable maze of castles and tunnels that the toddlers will love, face painting, interactive games, and the Partnership for Children’s Stage where kids get a chance to showcase their many talents as well as see some of the other amazing ensembles from around the county perform.
        Sponsor booths will be located on the Festival Park promenade and will feature fun giveaways and much more. You can even stop by to meet and greet with some of your favorite television and radio personalities. The Budweiser Clydesdales will be on hand on Friday, April 25, and Saturday, April 26, on the 400 block of Hay Street, located in front of the Huske Hardware building. These icons are celebrating their 75th Anniversary and will be on display Friday night and throughout the day on Saturday.
        Music has become an essential staple during the weekend festivities, and that hasn’t changed. The 2008 Dogwood Festival has a wide array of diverse musical offerings to fill the springtime air in Festival Park. Local favorites like Joyner, Young & Marie, DL Token and In That Tone will be on hand, but so will regional performers Swampdawamp, Hot Sauce and Rough Draft. If that isn’t enough, national headliners Eddie Money and Vanessa Carlton will also put on rocking shows.  
        Although The Dogwood Festival celebration centers around April 25-27, a whole host of events have occurred before that date and will continue after. On Thursday, April 24, the Restore Warehouse will host a Recycle Art Show and early Friday, April 25, the Fayetteville-Cumberland County Crimestoppers will host its annual BBQ. In the days following the event, Givens Performing Arts Center will host Arthur Live! Arthur Tricks the Tooth Fairy on Tuesday, April 29 at 7 p.m. Proving that age is only a number, the Cumberland County Seniors Beauty Pageant will take center stage on Friday, May 2; and on May 9-10, the ninth annual W.O.M.E.N.’s Expo will brighten up Cross Creek Mall.
        With all of that in mind, you may want to take a deep breath and just plunge into the spirit of the event, and the best place to do that is at Festival Park. The Dogwood Festival will kickoff with the 1st Annual Bloom & Boom Kickoff Party on Friday, April 25, at 7 p.m. The Bloom & Boom Kickoff Party will feature local favorites Joyner, Young & Marie on the main stage at 7 p.m., and Eddie Money at 9 p.m. The show will be followed by a spectacular fireworks display. Vendors will also be on hand, so bring the family out and enjoy Fayetteville at its best.
        On Saturday, April 26, the street festival starts at noon and runs through 10 p.m., and on Sunday it begins at 1 p.m. and runs through 6 p.m.
        “The layout of the event has changed somewhat this year,” said King. “We think it is more user friendly and we have more public parking.”
        That parking will be complemented by a park and ride shuttle service, something organizers are encouraging people to take advantage of. Attendees can park at the Department of Social Services, off Ramsey Street, and then ride over to the festival. Shuttles will run every 15 minutes.
    Organizers remind people that animals and coolers are not allowed. Service animals are permitted.
    There’s a whole host of events occurring in conjunction with the festival, and you aren’t going to miss even one of them. For complete information and a schedule of events, read on.

  •    {mosimage} In the old days, people called them “military brats.” Today, it seems more appropriate to call them heroes. In war time, military children carry a heavy load. While their parents are away, they are left to wonder and worry. Just as their parents sacrifice, they sacrifice as well.
        So it’s only fitting that they are celebrated and Fort Bragg knows just how to do it. In celebration of the Month of the Military Child, Fort Bragg’s Child and Youth Services, along with the Special Events Division, is hosting the 16th Annual Children’s Fest on Saturday, April 26 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Fort Bragg Fairgrounds off Bragg Boulevard.
        “This event is geared toward children in a very safe environment,” said Gudrun Blackmon, event coordinator. “Last year we had 4,200 people in attendance for this event.”
        The festival is an annual event in honor of the military child. More than 1.7 million children under the age of 18 have at least one parent serving in the military. Secretary of Defense Casper Weinberger and the U.S. Department of Defense established April as the Month of the Military Child in 1986, underscoring the importance of military children and their role in military families.
        “Military families are unique and the children deserve recognition,” said Blackmon. “They are important to us.”
    Carnival rides, specialty acts, face painting, a climbing wall, kiddie rappel and jump tower, live entertainment, static display, artillery equipment and a  parachute packing demonstration will be highlighted.
        “The kiddie rappel and jump tower gives the children an idea of what mom and dad do in the military,” said Blackmon. “The whole experience includes activities that are educational as well.”
    Toddlerville includes developmentally age-appropriate activities such as sand art and water games that will be held underneath a huge tent. Local food vendors will sell food items such as funnel cakes, fish plates, tacos and a variety of other foods.
        The Fort Bragg Fire Engine and Smokehouse will be on site to teach the children about fire safety. The Provost Marshal’s office will set up a traffic simulator, discuss seat belt safety and several police vehicles will be on display to inform the students about crime prevention. A.C. Moore will do arts and crafts activities with the children.
        There will be prizes, with items including a computer, an iPod Shuffle and four Carowinds Tickets. The winner must be present to win.
        “Our sponsors have been really good to us,” said Blackmon. “We encourage everyone to come out and support our event.”
        The event is open to the public. Admission is $2 for non-riders and $5 for riders. The first 400 paid children will receive a T-shirt. For more information, visit www.fortbraggmwr.com or call 396-8110 or 396-1278. 
  • 16 Original must be betterI cannot decide which element of Ghost in the Shell(107 minutes) was the most problematic. Was it casting Scarlett Johansson as an Asian character? The wooden acting? The insipid dialogue? The retread plot? The ridiculous plot twists? The confusing character motivations? The fact that the script was written by at least six people, all with conflicting ideas about what was supposed to happen? Or that it was probably edited by a Bonobo chimpanzee that had been given a bottle of tequila, hit on the head and locked in a small room with editing software? Somebody call the ASPCA, because I am ready to beat this tired old dog of a movie to death.

    I get the cyberpunk thing. Oppressive governments, big corporations, technological domination — I can’t say I was ever a huge fan of the genre, but I’ve read William Gibson’s Neuromancer and Animatrix was watchable. Heck, I might go put on Johnny Mnemonic after I finish writing this review. The main problem I have with most cyberpunk anime is that it tends to focus on the toys instead of the characters, and Ghost in the Shellwas no exception. I found the whole thing confusing. Maybe because I never saw the anime upon which it was based?

    The movie is stupid, and I doubt the Venn diagram of which groups are into the movie is much more than a huge circle around the phrases “People who like anime” and “People who like Scarlett Johansson,” but, Spoiler Alert: I am about to give away plot points. If you are the automatic outlier who reads my reviews, plans to go see Ghost in the Shell, but has no idea about the plot, you should probably stop reading.

    The plot revolves around the idea that a big corporation with vague ties to a governmental anti-terrorist group called Section 9 would find it cost-effective to kidnap runaways and experiment on them instead of signing up mercenaries, soldiers, police officers, or, holy hot garbage, any of the desperate people without access to quality tech who would gladly sign away their current crappy lives for the chance at becoming an actual, immortal superhero. Are the writers seriously trying to sell the audience on the idea that a corporation would foolishly risk exposure and PR nightmares and lawsuits by kidnapping someone they know nothing about, implanting false memories in their brains, inserting them into an all-powerful cybernetic shell, training them in all kinds of crazy spy skills, giving them a flipping invisibility suit and lending them out to a government security group? Did they not think to check hospitals for terminal patients? Did no one suggest recruiting from those wounded in the line of battle?

    I know, I know. You’re thinking, the movie has no conflict if the corporation was completely chill about getting volunteers. I can write around that problem in about five minutes. Remember an awesome little flick called Source Code? The guy in the box was the only guy who could be in the box because only he could bend space, time and narrative logic — because he had a special brain. Insert a bit of throwaway dialogue into this script about how a specific kind of mind was required to contribute the “ghost” that would animate the “shell,” and my level of disgust is no longer sitting at 11. Otherwise? It’s me, throwing popcorn at the screen, screaming “Be less STUPID, you STUPIDHEAD.”

    Well, at least I got some catharsis through writing this scathing review. I will give credit where credit is due and note that some of the visuals were not completely crappy. Those that are not hardcore ScarJo/anime fans should probably spend their time elsewhere. 

    Now playing at Patriot 14 + IMAX.

  • 13 AcrobatActive Artist Area 

     On April 29 and 30 there will be an area on Person Street totally dedicated to live demonstrations by local artists. It is called the Active Artist Area and will be manned from noon until 6 p.m. Artists will demonstrate skills like throwing pottery, raku, blowing glass and acrobatics. Raku is a traditional Japanese method of glazing pottery. It usually involves coating pottery in lead-based glazes and then baking the product in a kiln. However, many modern potters have
    altered the process. 

     One featured artist who will be demonstrating is Greg Hathaway. Hathaway is a well-known local artist and owns a business downtown called Gregs! The shop, located at 122 Maxwell St., is a fun place to purchase fine art, pottery and gifts. Much of the work sold in the shop is Hathaway’s work. He is a talented artist and is particularly well-known for his watercolors and pottery. He will be demonstrating his incredible skills for anyone and everyone interested in learning. 

     Another featured group of artists is Air Born Aerial Arts. The group is a circus-style performance troupe based in Fayetteville. The troupe trains in a variety of genres, but each one requires an amazing amount of strength, skill and balance from all of the artists. They train with aerial silks, which are long strands of fabric that hang from the ceiling that artists manipulate. They also train with hammocks that are continuous loops of fabric. The static trapeze is a bar suspended from the ceiling by two ropes, and the Lyra is a hoop suspended from the ceiling. Each of these genres requires a unique set of skills and facilitates different styles of performing. The artists will show their hard-earned skills with unique and daring demonstrations. 

    Every artist at the Dogwood Festival has put countless hours into developing his or her skills. The result of most art is visually striking, but the process can be just as beautiful. The Active Artist Area on Person Street gives the community the opportunity to take a peek into the artists’ workshops. Watching and learning about all the time and work that goes into creating a beautiful bowl or perfecting a flip makes the final product all the more valuable. The Dogwood Festival is about appreciating what the community has to offer and Fayetteville has incredible artists. 

    Anchored Attraction Area 

    The Anchored Attraction Area is an exciting addition to the Dogwood Festival. It is a new performance area on Gillespie Street near the Market House. It will feature three different family-friendly shows. These three shows are interactive. This area will only be open on April 29 from 12 p.m. until 7 p.m. Each show is an hour long and will be performed twice on April 29. 

    The first show is Juggling and Bubbling Fun, with the first showing from 1-2 p.m. and the second showing 4-5 p.m. This show features Steve Langly, who is affectionately known as the “Bubble Guy.” He is a professional entertainer, juggler and bubbleologist. He has been on the Tonight Show and Comedy Central and is the proud holder of many Guinness World Records. Langly uses his incredible juggling and bubble-making skills to engage families with comedy and fun. His shows are full of mind-blowing tricks that
    are not only fun, but also educational. 

    Shadow Players Combat Pirate Show takes the stage first from 3-4 p.m. and then 6-7 p.m. This stage combat group brings pirates back to life. The light-hearted show takes audience members into the past and a world of swordplay, whip work, comedy and pirate song. Since the pirates are trained in stage combat, their brave and daring antics are actually quite safe. They use their talents to make the audience members’ experience on the high seas a family-friendly and hilarious adventure. It’s a great opportunity to learn about The Golden Age of Pirates.

    The Rock ‘N’ Rope Warrior will take place from 3-4 p.m. and 6-7 p.m. The performance features David Fisher, who has made appearances on The Today Show, NBC Nightly News, Good Morning America and America’s Got Talent

    On these shows Fisher demonstrates his intense and interactive jump rope show. He has been performing this show all over the world for 23 years. Jump rope may not sound that exciting at first, but Fisher holds three world records for it. He is even recognized by Ripley’s Believe It or Not as The World’s Best Rope Jumper. 

    LaFayette Ford Lincoln Car Show 

    April 30 at 4 p.m. the roads of Downtown Fayetteville will be overrun with unique vintage vehicles for the Lafayette Ford Lincoln Car Show. Anyone with antique cars and trucks, custom vehicles, sports cars, imported cars and hot rods is encouraged to come and share their beautiful vehicles with the community. The only requirement is that all entries must be registered and titled 1996 or earlier. The first 75 entries will receive commemorative dash plaques.

     Beginning at 12 p.m., experts will judge each car to decide on the winners for 38 awards. Trophies will go to best in show, sponsor’s choice; mayor’s choice; chairman’s choice; judge’s best import; judge’s best truck; judge’s best convertible; judge’s most unusual; people’s choice top ten; and judge’s top 20. It’s a fantastic opportunity for vehicle owners to compete for some trophies, show off their fun cars and share their passion with others
    in the community. 

    You don’t have to own a vehicle to enjoy the car show. This is also an opportunity to chat with the people who own them instead of trying to point them out to friends at a stop light. Everyone is invited to come and see all of the incredible cars and to help the judges decide on the people’s choice top 10 award. This is a family-friendly event and a unique way to appreciate American and international history. 

    The car show takes place from 12-6 p.m., with registration at 10 a.m. All proceeds benefit the Fayetteville Dogwood Festival. The entrance for participants is at the intersection of Gillespie Street and Russell Street. There is expected to be a line of cars from the Market House to Franklin Street. Overflow will be from Otis F. Jones Parkway to the parking lot entrance. For more information, visit www.faydogwoodfestival.com or call 323-1934. 

    Fayetteville Duck Derby 

    The Fayetteville Duck Derby takes place in Festival Park on April 30 from 3-4 p.m. Community members are invited to adopt a rubber duck for $10. Each duck will be tagged with a registration number after adoption. Then, over 5,000 ducks will be released into the Cross Creek. 

    As the ducks are put into the creek, the race begins. The first seven ducks and the last duck to cross the finish line will receive prizes. First place wins a deluxe edition camper from Camping World. Second place wins a yearlong shopping spree at Food Lion; third place gets the same at Super Compare Foods. Fourth place brings $500 home in cold, hard cash. Fifth place wins a set of tires from Ed’s Tire & Auto Service, a $500 value. Sixth place gets a large flat-screen TV from Wal-Mart. And the owner of the seventh duck to cross the finish line gets a one-year gym membership at Renaissance Day Spa. The owner of the last duck to make it to the finish line will get a jar of molasses and a camping tent. 

    Ducks can be adopted online, in the mail, at a Fayetteville Duck Derby booth or at a sponsoring business. To adopt a duck online, visit http://www.duckrace.com/fayettevilleduckderby. Participants must be 18 years old to adopt a duck. While it is delightful to watch the cute little rubber ducks float down a creek, participants do not need to be present to win. Tag numbers are randomly assigned by a computer, but participants can adopt
    multiple ducks. 

    Proceeds from the Duck Derby benefit 20 local nonprofit organizations and the schools in Cumberland County. There are also fundraising teams created by organizations like the Cape Fear Botanical Garden, the Child Advocacy Center, Falcon Children’s Home, Fayetteville Running Club, the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and Fayetteville Urban Ministry, to name a few. Participants have the opportunity to adopt ducks specifically for these fundraising organizations, and have control over where their donations go. Organizers are also accepting more teams with fundraising goals. Community members are also invited to participate by volunteering. It can take a lot of work to make sure that every duck is ready for the big race. 

    In addition to watching the ducks race down the creek, this family-friendly event will feature live entertainment, a kid’s zone, food and vendors selling merchandise in Festival Park.
    While the race itself is relatively short and dramatic, the festivities are intended to create a relaxing and fun event for the community in the gorgeous surroundings of Festival Park. 

    KidStuff

    The Partnership for Children presents the eternally popular KidStuff. It’s located in the Festival Park footprint and is filled with free child-friendly games and activities. “We host KidStuff every year because we believe children learn best through play, especially when this time is shared with significant adults in their lives. We welcome the opportunity to educate parents on available community resources while discovering what they view as their top-priority family needs. We are deeply appreciative to our sponsors and community partners whose generosity allows us to provide fun, age appropriate activities for our smallest attendees.” said Mary Sonnenberg, PFC President. 

    KidStuff includes several zones designed to make it a fun experience for children and parents alike. The infant/toddler zone is a space for little ones to break out of the confines of their strollers and backpacks and enjoy moving around.

    The pre-K zone features learning centers to engage preschoolers with hands-on experiences.

    The PNC Grow Up Great Mobile Learning Adventure is an exhibit that transforms preschoolers into pint-sized ballerinas, astronauts and veterinarians and their parents into early childhood educators.

     From bounce houses to bubbles, blocks, riding toys, face-painting and more, children and their grown-ups will find something fun to do at KidStuff. The entire space is built around the fact that children develop critical skills through play. When children are given quality early childhood experiences, they will be ready to learn upon entering school, require less remediation, are more likely to graduate from high school, and will grow into productive citizens and valuable employees.

    Fayetteville-Cumberland Crimestoppers Barbecue

    A sanctioned Dogwood Festival Event, the Fayetteville-Cumberland Crimestoppers Barbecue takes place on Raeford Road at Highland Centre. Crimestoppers sells delicious plates of barbecue for $7 per plate and uses the money to offer rewards to anyone wishing to report anonymous information regarding any crime. 

    Since its inception, the Crimestoppers program has played a part in more than 4,000 arrests and 5,300 felony charges. It has helped recover more than $4,875,000 in property and $1,893,000 in narcotics. Crimestoppers has issued more than $316,000 in rewards and helped solve 2,477 cases, 67 of which were homicides. Call (910) 483-8477 to report any information regarding a crime and remain anonymous!

    The barbecue runs from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.,
    Friday, April 28.

    Shriner Fish Fry

    A sanctioned Dogwood Festival events, the Hope Mills Shriner Fish Fry is set to run from 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Friday, April 28. It takes place at the Hope Mills Shrine Club at 4461 Cameron Road. Plates cost $8 each. Guests are invited to eat-in or take plates home with them. Proceeds from this event benefit Shriners Hospitals for Children. 

    Shriners Hospitals for Children provides specialized care to children with orthopedic conditions, burns, spinal cord injuries, and cleft lip and palate regardless of the families’ ability to pay. All care and services are provided in a family-centered environment. Call (910) 224-5264 for more information.

    A Garden Party

    Ladies: It’s time to dust off your “southern belle” hats! Gentlemen: Pull out your seersucker suits. Dress in your best summer chic attire and join the Boys & Girls Club of Cumberland County for A Garden Party.

    On May 5, A Garden Party, a Fayetteville Dogwood sanctioned event, takes place from 4-7:30 p.m. at Festival Park. This grand Southern tradition features dancing, entertainment, good food and friends. 

    Proceeds benefit the Boys & Girls Club of Cumberland County, Inc. 

    Boys & Girls Club of America started in 1860 in Hartford, Connecticut. The founders believed boys who roamed the streets needed a positive alternative. The program grew from that premise and to date has helped thousands of children. Local Boys & Girls Club programs include academic enrichment, daily after school care, grant
    programs and more.

    Tickets to A Garden Party are $50 per person and are available online in two locations: You can visit www.ccbgc.org or go to Eventbrite and search “The Boys & Girls Clubs of Cumberland County 8th Annual Garden Party.”

    Save Our Stage Fundraiser

    On May 5, from noon to 6 p.m., join the fun at the Save Our Stage Fundraiser at Campbellton Landing. Activities include live music, bounce houses, local vendors and a petting zoo. This event is a fundraiser to save the Sol Rose Amphitheater. The Sol Rose Amphitheater at Campbellton Landing provides an outdoor venue along the Cape Fear River for any manner of musical, theatrical and sporting events.

    This stage has been at the center of many community events over the years. It has had bands, orchestras, actors and sportsmen across the planks. 

    Hurricane Matthew submerged the stage, and the floodwaters pushed and pulled at the timbers that make up the tiers in the theater. Many of these timbers need to be replaced. The stage itself needs some work, and there are still fallen trees and tons of mud to dispose of. The purpose of this event is to raise funds to cover the reconditioning of the amphitheater and stage so scheduled community events can take place here this season as planned.

    Learn more about the Dogwood Festival and its many activities at www.faydogwoodfestival.com.

  • 10 HeritageAuction2The Heritage Square Historical Society invites the public to enjoy the third annual Wine, Brews & Silent Auction Thursday, May 4, from 6-9 p.m. 

    HSHS President Elaine Kennebeck said this year’s silent auction is bursting with steals, in part because it was originally scheduled for last October but was delayed due to Hurricane Matthew. With the extra months, extra items have continued to accumulate, totaling over 250 pieces, according to Kennebeck. 

    And the items are not yard sale fare. A 50-inch Smart TV will be up for nabbing. There will also be a huge assortment of gift certificates from Fayetteville’s finest restaurants and entertainment venues, from Bonefish Grill to Roland’s Dance Studio, along with specialty wine and pet-themed gift baskets. Rounding out the huge collection are all kinds of original artwork, vintage and new jewelry, antiques and furniture, chinaware, lamps, quilts and pillows. 

    The HSHS usually starts bidding at about 40 percent of the value of an item. So, for a $400 item, the bidding would start at around $150 and Kennebeck said she’s never seen anything at their auctions sell for more than the actual value. More likely, she said, is that a buyer could get the item for the starting price or very close to it, due to there being so many items in this sale. 

    Kennebeck said one of the most perennially enjoyable aspects of the evening is the food and drinks. Large tents are set up and attendees enjoy unlimited food and drink as they participate in the auction. 

    The $40 ticket required for admittance covers unlimited top-shelf wine, assorted brews and ales, and food catered from Fayetteville’s finest dining establishments. Gourmet desserts will be provided by The Sweet Palette, New Deli and more, including an array of homemade desserts. 

    Live music provided first by a Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra quartet and later by Paul Saunders Jazz Group will add to the festive atmosphere.

    All proceeds from this event will be used to help maintain and preserve Historical Heritage Square, which is Fayetteville’s largest historical property. Two of the three buildings on this property, the Sandford House (dating back to 1797) and the Oval Ballroom (1808), are open to the public for their enjoyment and education. 

    Kennebeck said one of the Society’s current goals is to put an education center in the Sandford House. “There are so few historical properties left in this city … it’s important for our school children,” she said. “Our goal is to take things out of the archives and have them framed so school children can come and have a tour of the grounds and see how people lived back then.” 

    Bidding stops around 8:15 p.m., and the event technically ends at 9 p.m., “but really there’s no deadline … typically it’s way after 9 p.m. that anyone leaves,” said Kennebeck. “People just stay, and it’s great. Come and have a good time!” 

    The Wine, Brews & Silent Auction will be held at Heritage Square, 225 Dick St, May 4 from 6-9 p.m. For more information and to purchase tickets, call
    (910) 483-6009. 

  • 08 4th Firday4th Friday is a celebration of the arts and Historic Downtown Fayetteville. There is always something fun and
    exciting happening. 

    This month there will be more activity than usual. “This is an exciting 4th Friday because it is the kickoff to the Dogwood Festival,” said Mary Kinney, Marketing Director of the Arts Council of Fayetteville/ Cumberland County. “They are going to be over in Festival Park doing their official kickoff party to the 35th annual Fayetteville Dogwood Festival.” 

    Here are a few 4th Friday events that will take place Friday, April 28: 

    Friday night will feature free country music concerts in Festival Park followed by fireworks. Brittany McLamb will perform at 6 p.m., LANCO at 7:30 p.m. and
    Parmalee at 9 p.m. 

    Experience the continuation of the exhibit, Arts and Flowers, presented by Ellington-White CDC at the Arts Council at 301 Hay St. 

    Rock music will be performed by the 82nd Airborne Division Band’s “Rizer Burn” from 7-9 p.m. at the Arts Council as well.

    Cape Fear Studios presents Skewed Reality: The Drawings of Steve Opet from 6-9 p.m. at 148
    Maxwell St.

    The Ellington-White Gallery presents the continuation of the Common Ground exhibition from 7-9 p.m. at 113 Gillespie Street. 

    Fascinate-U Children’s Museum, located at located at 116 Green St., will have meet-and-greet with your favorite princesses along with free play from 7-9 p.m. “This is one of my favorite stops because I have little ones,” said Kinney. “They will have real-life princesses to meet that night and the kids can have free play in the museum.” 

    Fayetteville Area Transportation Museum presents a new historical exhibit: Saint John’s Episcopal Church — The First 100 Years. It examines the unique architecture, symbolism and stained glass windows in the church. 

    The museum also has a display of cool and vintage cars, a recreated 1920s gas station and Fayetteville’s 1880s Silsby Steam Pump Engine from 6-10 p.m. at 325 Franklin Street. “There will be some beautiful history about the church that will be talked about in this particular exhibit,” said Kinney. 

    The Market House is featuring the educational exhibit Scottish Heritage and the permanent exhibit A View from The Square: A History of Downtown Fayetteville from 6-10 p.m. 

    “The Market House is open to visitors on 4th Friday so you can actually go upstairs inside the Market House,” said Kinney. “They have a permanent exhibit in which you look in four directions out of the Market House and it gives you the history in
    that direction.” 

    All events are free and open to the public. For more information, visit www.theartscouncil.com or call the Downtown Alliance at (910) 222-3382.

  • 04-09-14-dancing.gifThe Center for Economic Empowerment and Development welcomes the 6th Annual Dancing with the Fayetteville Stars on April 12 at the Double Tree by Hilton. The annual event is a charitable fundraiser beneĀting CEED’s Housing Program. The Events and Promotions Director for CEED, Christina Kenon, describes the event as “a show, not just a dinner … we have fun watching the people that we know in our community put it all out there.”

    CEED advocates for families and individuals. The CEED website states its mission is “To promote growth, productiveness and well-being through peer counseling, education, information and advocacy programs.”

    Kenon described the purpose of the Housing Program as CEED’s effort to “provide nice, safe and affordable houses to a lot of people in the community. We are able to upkeep them and purchase and rehab homes.”

    The event begins at 6 p.m., with a vintage Hollywood red carpet cocktail party with a photo booth and cash bar in the Grand Hallway of the hotel. A meet and greet with the dancers is on tap to allow attendees to meet and mingle with them before they take the floor. The vintage Hollywood theme carries over into dinner and dessert along with the fun and entertainment of the dancing.

    The event features 20 couples comprised of members of the Fayetteville and Cumberland County community including the reigning Miss North Carolina U.S.A., Olivia Olivera. She is paired with the Vice President of Village Green Related Properties, Franklin Clark. There are married couples competing like Dan and Ashley Culliton and Michael Adams and Babs Wolfe. Respectively, there is a local chiropractor, a local real estate investor, editor of The Fayetteville Observer and a healthcare administrator. Tara O’Neill, who is the Director of Sales for Home2Suites by Hilton, will take the floor with Brandon Odom who is an active-duty officer in the United States Army stationed at Fort Bragg. Candidate for District Court Judge Stephen Stokes and his dance partner, dance instructor Teresa Barnes, will attempt to wow the audience with their style of dance.

    The performers have a range in dance experience from novice to professional but all of them have “put in a lot of time and effort to make a good show … these dancers have really worked hard to raise money for our housing program” said Kenon.

    The pairs perform routines of merengue, salsa, swing, and others, which Kenon noted “may not necessarily be ballroom.” A

    ll of the performances take place in front of the audience at the Double Tree and via a live stream on the CEED website. Each pair is in competition for votes, which will not only raise money money to beneĀt the works that CEED performs in the greater community, but also determines the champion of this year’s event. Fans and supporters are able to vote and contribute online now for the team they want to win; the voting will remain open until the last couple has performed on April 12.

    Two ticket options and sponsorship opportunities, which will allow for reserved seating, are available via the website, www.ncceed.org/dancing.

    Tickets are expected to sell out; Kenon recommends to “Get them fast.”

  • 13liferThe moment you surrender your life to Christ, a checkered flag is waved and you’re off to the races … on the greatest adventure of your life. It’s a race that’s already been won, yet one you’re committed to run for the duration of your existence. It’s a race the men of MercyMe have been running for a while, and 23 of those years have been spent making music. Their relentless commitment to faith, music and the gospel shows no signs of slowing down on their ninth studio project, aptly titled LIFER (Fair Trade Services).

    With more than 9 million units in cumulative sales, MercyMe has seen 27 of their songs reach No. 1 across multiple Christian radio formats, in addition to garnering four mainstream radio hits. Their landmark song, “I Can Only Imagine,” was the first digital single in Christian music history to be certified platinum and double-platinum. Billboard named LIFER the Christian Artist of the Decade in 2009. In addition, the group has received multiple Grammy nominations, GMA Dove Awards and American Music Awards.

    2014’s Welcome to the New proved to be one of the biggest releases of the group’s career, earning them two Grammy nods and four long-reigning No. 1 smash hits at radio. The album continues to be a top-selling title from a band that has been churning out hits for more than two decades.

    Millard grasped the concept of the no-strings-attached grace that Christ offers … and it literally changed him from the inside out. And now, LIFER serves as the next natural chapter. If Welcome to the New’s central message was grace, LIFER’s core message is triumph.

    “With anything, there’s a point where the honeymoon phase kind of goes away. Life will set in. Life is going to stink at times, and it’s going to be hard to remember that I’m brand new. That’s the way it goes,” Millard said. “We’re going to get this wrong a lot, but there’s never a moment in the life of a believer where Christ will ever say, ‘I’m disappointed in you. You’ve let Me down,’ because there’s no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus.”

    The funky groove of the title track might have stretched the band’s sonic muscles, but the message fits MercyMe like a glove. “We’ve been a band for over two decades, so I think it’s OK to use the title LIFER and nobody question it as far as being in it for the long haul,” Millard quipped. “But at the same time, it’s who we are. The term ‘LIFER’ is typically used for someone in the military or in prison. In other words, they ain’t gettin’ out. They’re stuck in there. They’re in for life … It’s the same thing with a believer. It’s not something you can turn on or off or walk away from. Christ is now part of me.”

    Many selections were an overflow of the abundant writing the band did for Welcome to the New. The breezy, soulful “Grace Got You” is a gift from that cutting room floor. The driving tribal rhythm of “Hello Beautiful” counters the enemy’s lies with God’s truth. Campfire closer “Ghost” speaks to the irony and mystery of the Holy Spirit, exposing some of the most creative lyrics of the band’s career.

    But it’s the stunning “Even If” that is LIFER’s crown jewel. It was the last song written for the album and the first song sent to radio. “If there’s a moment on the record to reach people where they are, it’s ‘Even If.’ We’re ministers first. We’re trying to reach the hurting first. This song wrecked us,” Millard candidly admitted. “It’s just an open wound for me.”

    Millard was thinking of his 15-year-old son, Sam, when he penned the song. Sam has been a diabetic since he was 2, and it’s been an uphill climb for the family ever since. One day, Millard shared his frustration with the ongoing thorn in his son’s side with his friend and fellow songwriter Tim Timmons, who battles an incurable cancer himself. Following their conversation, Timmons sent Millard a demo of a chorus he had co-written with Crystal Lewis years ago. Millard took the idea and ran with it, quickly writing the remainder of the cut through tears.

    “The whole point of the song for me is the change that Jesus made in my life is so real and so life-transforming that if He went dark, if He went silent from now on, He would still be my greatest hope because of what He has already done,” he shared. “Basically, there’s not a single circumstance, I pray, that can derail me from what Christ is to me and who I am because of Christ.”

    “The enemy never lets up,” Millard said, “but we have the Spirit inside of us that is telling us over and over, ‘You are enough because of Christ in you... On my worst day, Christ is OK with me. He adores me. He’s pleased with me. How is that possible? No clue, but it is,” he affirmed. “That’s the most amazing news of all. That’s the point of the album. That’s the reason we keep making records.”

    Content provided by Fair Trade Music Services.

  • 12life ver2Interesting that they chose to call the film Life (106 minutes), considering the complete lack of vitality displayed onscreen. After about 30 minutes, all I could think was: In space, no one can hear you yawn. Little wonder the studio moved the release date from the weekend that Alien: Covenantwas scheduled to open … it’s one thing to release a low-rent Alienknockoff. It’s entirely another to release it the same weekend that Ridley Scott is set to revive the franchise.

    The plot revolves around the trapped-in-space chestnut, with six characters on the International Space Station desperately trying to ignite a plot spark. The film begins with the capture of a space probe carrying a soil sample from Mars. Over time, British biologist Hugh Derry (Ariyon Bakare) is able to extract a cell and grow extraterrestrial life with the power of his full pouting lips and come hither eyes. At this point, the alien life could have evolved into a sexy space lady, like Species. That was a good movie. Would anyone disagree that every bad science fiction movie could be saved with a sexy space lady?

    Center for Disease Control representative Dr. Miranda North (Rebecca Ferguson) flips through the script for Alienand determines the creature they are nurturing is a perfect killing machine. It does not have acid for blood, though. The crew allows the children of Earth to name the creature, probably because, like Earth children sent to daycare, it is extra-aggressive. I would have picked Elder Thing because nobody beats Lovecraft for names. They go with Calvin.

    Calvin is surprisingly sensitive to changes in the environment, and a whoopsie with the atmosphere causes it to go dormant. Hugh repeatedly pokes it with an electric prod. To the surprise of no one, Calvin takes this personal, wraps around Hugh’s hand and crushes it to powder. Hugh passes out from the pain, which I can’t imagine Ripley doing, but I can’t imagine Ripley being as dumb as these scientists either. When Calvin escapes its containment cube, I expected an immediate resolution. What space scientists would be so stupid to begin growing a possibly hostile alien life form, but not have a protocol for flushing the oxygen from the room in case it escapes? Or dropping the temperature? Or rapidly changing the atmospheric pressure? Or jettisoning the entire compartment into space? Idiots.

    At this point, the slow slide into unwise behavior accelerates. An engineer named Rory (Ryan Reynolds) opens the door to rescue Hugh, irresponsibly exposing the entire crew to further risk from the patently homicidal new life form. After floating Hugh out of the room, he flips through the Aliens script and finds out that Ripley went after a bunch of Xenomorphs with flamethrowers, so he tries that.
    Spoiler alert: this fails.

    Calvin continues to mow through the crew as they frantically flip through rejected plot points for Alien 3to get ideas on what to do next. Since Alien 3was terrible, they get nothing. The Japanese pilot Sho Murakami (Hiroyuki Sanada) has some brief moments of not being too foolish to live, but his flash of brilliance isn’t enough to resolve anything plot-related. 

    Overall, I was bored. The various characters were fine individuals, but as a collective I wanted Calvin to eat them all, except Sho Murakami. The ending somewhat redeemed the previous hour and forty minutes, and I sort of wish for a sequel that picks up on Earth. Sort of.

    Now playing at Patriot 14 + IMAX.

  • 10swee teaSweet Tea Shakespeare presents “As You Like LIT” at the Arts Council, April 21 at 7:30 p.m. This program is the third production in the Lit Series, in which the Sweet Tea troupe interprets classic Shakespearean works in new and innovative ways.  “We use the original text, cut down to the essential storyline, but peppered with modern language to make sure the audience is getting the full meaning of all the lines.  Shakespeare was popular entertainment in his time, and people are often surprised by how many raunchy jokes are hidden within that seemingly ‘fancy’ language,” Director Marie Lowe explained. 

    Another unique part of the show is the role of the audience. In a traditional play the audience would just quietly observe, but the Lit Series aims to make the stories much more engaging. “There is no fourth wall in a Lit show. If we’re at a wrestling match, audience members are spectators at the match; if we’re at a wedding, they’re wedding guests,” Lowe said. “The audience participates throughout the show it could be anything from contributing to our infamous ‘Monologue Mad Libs’ to playing a drinking game or a small walk-on role. However, all audience participation is strictly voluntary. No one gets hauled onstage unless they want to be.” Because each show relies on the audience so intensely, the experience is incredibly unique to each performance. This is further enhanced by the fact that each show is only presented for a night and each performance is hosted in a different venue; and each space can come with its own challenges. 

    Of course, the crucial role of the audience can pose a little bit of a challenge for the actors as they prepare for the performance. It is hard to simulate that live experience during rehearsal, but this unpredictability also creates an incredibly rewarding experience. There is a lot of creativity in this sort of performance. 

    “The main difference in rehearsing a Lit show is how collaborative the process is. Actors help create their own characters, but also the jokes, songs and drinking games we use. One of my favorite pieces of feedback came from a cast member who said that being in a Lit show was the best because the audience gets to see and participate in all of the fun we have in rehearsal,” Lowe said. 

    The show on April 21 begins at 7:30 p.m., but preshow entertainment begins at 6:45 p.m. It will feature live music performed by The Worshipful Company of Spectacle Makers, also called WoCo. In addition to fantastic and fun music, this is also an opportunity for audience members to get acquainted with how this style of performance works. 

    “For the Lit shows, we sing some songs that everyone will know, and pre-show is when we solicit volunteers for drinking games and other audience participation pieces,” Lowe said. “I’d strongly recommend coming for the entire pre-show seating is first-come, first-served, and it’s also the best time to get your food and drinks!”

    While the Lit series is all about having fun and engaging with the audience, it is still about great theater and incredible actors. “We’re a company full of Shakespeare traditionalists, and this is how we have fun! Amongst all the silliness, traditionalists will recognize we’re using early modern staging conditions, such as static lighting and casting across genders, and achieving the kind of festive atmosphere for which Shakespeare’s troupe was known,” Lowe explained. 

    For more information and to learn about the other incredible productions that Sweet Tea Shakespeare will be presenting this season, visit : http://www.sweetteashakespeare.com.

  • 01COVERYou can tell spring is in the air because motorcycle and car enthusiasts are talking about the upcoming 12th Annual Hogs & Rags Spring Rally on April 22. Over the years, the Hogs & Rags Rally has become known as one of the best and largest rallies in North Carolina. 

    The Hogs & Rags Rally is an annual event and is known as a first-class ride, but it also supports a variety of charities with lots of fun and miles in between. Since the beginning, the Hogs & Rags friends and sponsors have raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for local charities. This year, proceeds will go to support the Special Forces Charitable Trust, the American Cancer Society and the Kidsville News Literacy &
    Education Foundation. 

    The excitement starts at the Airborne and Special Operations Museum at 7 a.m., and at exactly at 9 a.m., the engines are on, the kickstands are up, the Cumberland County Sheriffs are chirping their sirens and the convoy starts moving. With Fayetteville Mayor Nat Robertson and his wife, Kim, as the Grand Marshalls (both are avid motorcyclists), the convoy heads out with hundreds of vehicles enjoying a police escort all the way to
    Myrtle Beach. 

    As the rally rolls through Tar Hill, riders take a little detour to Gardner Altman’s Rock’n-A-Ranch in White Oak. There, the group will be greeted by Julia Riley and volunteers from Bladen County’s Relay for Life Cancer Society, who will prepare a first-class country breakfast. 

    From there, the police will lead the group up to Tabor City for water and a bathroom break, where many of the riders remove their helmets as they cross over into South Carolina. Once riders arrive in Myrtle Beach, their final destination is Wild Wings Café at Barefoot Landing, where the
    party begins. 

    Last year, the event grew so much the Hogs & Rags committee had a hard time finding a place that could feed so many people. They chose Wild Wings Café, which turned out to be an excellent location. Here, the riders enjoy good food and fellowship. Here, the winners of the three-gun raffle, several auctions and an exciting 50/50 reverse raffle for $2,500 cash will be announced.

    The ride is $50 per entry per person. To some this seems like a lot of money for a rally, but remember this is a first-class event and supports multiple charities. Oh, and each person receives their own Hogs & Rags T-shirt. 

    At the heart of the event, it is the Hogs & Rags committee, volunteers and sponsors that work together to make this a success. Planning an event that travels over a hundred miles through two states and feeds about 425 people at two locations takes months to plan. 

    The event is a sanctioned Dogwood Festival event and is supported by many sponsors. This year’s premiere sponsors are Fort Bragg Harley-Davidson and the Fayetteville Automall, which is home to Fayetteville Kia, Acura, Volvo
    and Mitsubishi.   

    Fort Bragg is home to the Airborne and Special Operations Forces. Over the past 16 years, some of these men and women have known nothing but the hardships that the war has brought. 

    The Special Forces Charitable Trust has been helping these warriors and their families adjust and prepare for those realities to help improve their quality of life. The Charitable Trust helps service members mentally and spiritually, and also helps them focus while protecting our country. You can find out more at www.specialforcescharitabletrust.org

    Founded in 2011, the Kidsville News Literacy & Education Foundation is a nonprofit with a mission to support literacy-based initiatives nationwide. The National Assessment of Education Progress determined that nearly a third of American fourth-graders read below their reading level. To combat this issue, KNLEF annually awards grants to qualifying organizations that promote improving literacy, education and character development among America’s youth. 

    Oh, and if we are lucky, on the day of the event, Truman the dragon, the Kidsville News! mascot, will be visiting folks at the museum. 

    The American Cancer Society is one of the greatest organizations out there. At the American Cancer Society, they are working to free the world from cancer. Until they do, funding is raised for conducting research, sharing expert information, supporting patients and spreading the word about prevention. Everything they do is to help our friends, family and society live a better life. 

    The Hogs & Rags Rally is for all types of motorcycles and cars. So come out and experience one great ride! To register online, or for more information, please visit www.ragsandhogs.org.

  • 12ccmovieBeauty and the Beast (129 minutes) is based on my favorite animated Disney film. When I was younger, I watched the original once a month or so, and revisiting the story now was like slipping on a pair of comfy pajamas. I didn’t really need to watch it. I anticipated every line. When the live-action version diverted from the cartoon, I literally twitched. I like Emma Watson and Dan Stevens, but the eight years between the two actors seemed like a much bigger difference than it really is because she was Hermione in Harry Potterand he was Cousin Matthew in Downton Abby.

    Belle (Watson) is stuck in a village full of illiterate hicks. Her father (Kevin Kline) is emotionally absent and her suitor Gaston (Luke Evans) is verbally abusive. When her father is waylaid in his travels, she rushes to his rescue (not for the first time, I expect), in a classic parentified child move. She finds him in the enchanted castle of the Beast, who is, like, the fourth verbally and/or emotionally abusive man she has come across within a 30-minute time span. He imprisons her, yells at her and gives her lots of gifts to make up for his cruel treatment. Turns out she’s cool with that because she dresses up and goes dancing with him. Her father gets in trouble yet again, and the Beast sends her back so she can rescue him. For some reason, he thinks she might come back. For some reason, she does. Then her kidnapper kills her creepy stalker, and magic makes everything all better.

    I might be skimming over some of the finer details. Admittedly, there are two ways to look at this, and I am familiar with them both. On the one hand, it is an enjoyable family film, leaning on nostalgia and likable (and, more importantly, bankable) leads to tell a sweet and simple love story. On the other hand, it’s not a very healthy love story to tell. The Beast is an abusive kidnapper and, however much Watson tries to sell her Belle as empowered, there is nothing here to empower her with. What message does it send to girls? Love angry, violent, men and they will shower you with gifts? Men are selfish and can do whatever they want, and girls just have to sing pretty songs and deal with it? Girls need to take care of everyone except themselves? Everyone should go watch Legionbecause Dan Stevens is so awesome? OK that last one is actually a very positive message. Legion is 50 shades of fabulous.

    But I digress. Probably because everyone on Earth knows the story and the Disney cartoon version of the story, and not much has changed. There are a couple of new (and … terrible. Just … terrible) songs. There is a little extra magic, and the transformation of the castle folk into knick-knacks is given a bit more context. It is a huge issue with the original version that the witch chose to punish the castle servants when their only real sin was working for a selfish narcissist. Here, Mrs. Potts (Emma Thompson) explains that the servants were complicit in the bad behavior of the prince, and thus shared his fate. Also, in this version, when the witch cast her spell, she also made everybody forget that the prince, castle and servants ever existed, which means approximately half the village lost family they no longer remember ever having. Ends and means aside, that witch is kind of a bad person.

    Overall, I enjoyed it. The Disney machine made enough money that they will no doubt speed into production several more animated properties. I can’t say I’m looking forward to The Lion King, but my kids will probably love it.

    Now playing at Patriot 14 + IMAX.

  • 11SURGEWhen Jordon Rosas was in high school, he used to daydream about a place where teens could gather for good clean fun — a place for dancing and talking and hanging out. It would be a place where everyone felt welcome and people could be themselves while having a good time. Rosas is 24 now, and he believes more strongly than ever that Fayetteville needs a place like the one he dreamed about in high school. So he opened one — Club Surge, located at 2000 Owen Drive.

    While Club Surge has been hosting events for several months, it is now, as of April 8, open to the public. Designed for patrons ages 13-18, Club Surge has two VIP levels and offers a variety of effects, including UV lights, glow lights, black lights, glow bands, glow sticks and black light bubbles to create a lively atmosphere.

    “Kids always want to do parties,” said Rosas. “I had property and we had a bonfire there one night. We had a big turnout and I thought it would be neat if we could do this regularly.” 

    He decided to make his dream from high school a reality. “I worked hard to put a business plan together and decided it was time to make it happen,” he said.

    The most important thing to Rosas was making sure the space he created would be a place people would be comfortable and want to socialize. In today’s age of electronics and digital devices, Rosas wanted to give people a place to connect on a more personal level — face to face. “This is a social environment. It is designed for people to come listen to music and meet new people,” he said. “I have a lot of comfortable furniture and the VIP sections have servers that will bring soda and water for people to drink. My DJ does a really good job of playing songs that get people on the dance floor. Kids like to stay on phones, etc., I am trying to get them back to interacting with each other. They are always on social media and that is kind what surge is about — making new friends. I believe this generation has a love of music and dancing.”

    To keep things fun, Rosas knows it is important to keep his patrons safe, so he has prioritized that. No drugs, alcohol or weapons are permitted on or near the club’s property. This is also a non-smoking club. The on-site security team is there to ensure everyone can have a good time in a fun and safe environment. No backpacks or large purses are allowed. Patrons are scanned with  a security  wand by the security team and bags are checked upon entry. There is a coat check area for guests to store their coats and bags. Rosas added that all customers must have a state or school-issued ID. Memberships are available, but are not required. Visit https://www.clubsurge.com/ to find out more.

  • 10 DUCK DERBYFayetteville Urban Ministry presents the 7th annual Duck Derby Sunday, April 30 at 3 p.m. at Festival Park. 

    “Duck Derby is the most fun and it is our biggest local fundraiser in the city,” said Johnny Wilson, executive director of Fayetteville Urban Ministry. “We are the closing act of the Dogwood Festival.” 

    The fundraiser generates money for Fayetteville Urban Ministry and other nonprofit organizations and schools. “Anybody that partners with us can rake in proceeds, too, because folks can adopt ducks to support their favorite nonprofit or Cumberland County School,” said Wilson. 

    “To adopt a duck is $10, so what happens is, if you want to support the Special Olympics, then the Special Olympics will get half of the $10 which is $5,” Wilson explained. He added that there is a competition. The school or nonprofit organization that gets the most duck adoptions in their name will win the “Best Partner Nonprofit” and will receive extra proceeds, love and recognition. 

    The cost of one duck adoption is $10. Adopt six ducks for $50, 12 ducks for $100 and so on. “Our goal is to race 5,000 or more ducks,” said Wilson. “The ducks will race in Cross Creek in Festival Park under the walkover bridge.” The first place duck will win a 2017 25-foot Toy Hauler camper; second place will win free groceries for a year from Food Lion; third place will win free groceries for a year from Super Compare Foods; fourth place will win $500 cash; fifth place will win a new set of tires from Ed Tire’s; sixth place will win a large flat-screen TV from Wal-Mart; seventh place will win a free one-year membership to the Renaissance Spa Fitness and Wellness Center; and the duck that comes in last place will win a camping tent and a jar of molasses. “The theme behind the camping tent and a jar of molasses is to get your camping tent so you can go hang out with the folks who won the camper, so they can show you how to do it, because you are slow as molasses,” said Wilson. “Winners do not have to be present on the day of the race to receive prizes.” 

    Fayetteville Urban Ministry is a nonprofit organization that consists of four programs that provide faith, love, hope and security to Cumberland County residents free of charge. These programs are the Find-A-Friend Youth Program, an Adult Literacy Program, the Nehemiah Project and Emergency Assistance. 

    If you would like paper duck adoption forms, you may go to any of the nonprofit organizations and they will have the forms on hand so you can mail in your duck adoption. Purchase ducks online by visiting www.fayurbmin.org/ and clicking the icon. For more information, call 483-5944 or visit www.fayettevilleduckderby.com. 

  • 09 hop in parkOn April 14, Epicenter Church will host an Easter celebration called Hop in the Park for the entire community. It will be held in Festival Park and will feature all sorts of fun activities for the entire family. “This is the fifth annual event, and we could not be more excited,” said Pastor Mark Knight. “Last year we had 25,000 people, and we are expecting even more this year. It includes giant Easter egg hunts, huge inflatables, carnival rides, a big screen movie, free food and a lot more,” Knight added. The food available will be pizza, popcorn, hotdogs, cotton candy and water. The food will be entirely free while supplies last. 

    The main feature of Hop in the Park is the Easter egg hunt. The last two years there have been 20,000-25,000 people in attendance, so the hunt will be massive. In fact, organizers have tripled the amount of food and events since the inaugural event in 2013. “Thousands of empty eggs are spread out over a wide area for kids to find over a two-minute period and are then traded for bags full of candy. The eggs are then cycled back into future hunts. Since we do approximately 40-50 egg hunts between our two age groups (0-5 and 6-12), we estimate that we will cycle through well over 200,000 eggs,” Knight explained.

    Organizing such a large event takes hours of planning and preparation. It is possible thanks to the hard work of church members and volunteers and the generosity of local businesses. “We need hundreds of volunteers to make this event run effectively.
    Also, since we offer it completely free, we have to work pretty hard to raise the funds to pay for everything. It costs us over $80,000 and would cost much more without local businesses being willing to offer discounts to help us make things work,” Knight said.

    Knight said all of this effort is worth it because of the joy it brings to the community. “We want to be known as a church that gives things away. We have a community service initiative called Ways 2 Love Fayetteville where we try to give away 20,000 hours of community service each year,” Knight explained. “Those two parts of who we are as a church, combined with how much we love to have fun and how important families are to us, made us want to do something BIG to celebrate Easter with the city. After a few other ideas, we landed on this one: A giant Easter festival where families from all over can come and have a great time!”

    While the entire community is invited to attend, pre-registration is required because of the expected turnout. Attendees will be given “passports” to access the events and food as some are restricted to one per person. Only one person from each party is required to register. Parties can pre-register online in order to speed up the process on the day of the event. For more information or to pre-register, visit the event website at http://www.hopinthepark.com. 

  • 001COVERThe All American Tattoo Convention will bring incredible tattoo artists from around the nation to the Crown Coliseum April 14-16. This is the first tattoo convention of its kind in Fayetteville, but it is a perfect fit. “Fayetteville, North Carolina, has one of the highest tattoo shops per square mile in the U.S. Ninety percent of infantry soldiers has at least one tattoo. Fayetteville has a lot of shops and there wasn’t a real sense of community, we knew that if we gave only the top shops the opportunity they would jump on the chance to be a part of a convention. That not only brought in amazing seminars but also gave back to the military community,” said Ryan Harrell, president of the All American Tattoo Convention.

    Tattooing is an ancient art form, but it isn’t like painting. The tattoo artist isn’t the only one responsible for the outcome of the piece. It is also in the hands of the owner. “A lot of people do not understand that a fresh tattoo is an open wound and should be treated with care. Healing a tattoo correctly at home is a large part of how the tattoo turns out. Because a tattoo artist can only control the environment in the shop, once you leave it is up to you to take care of the tattoo until it has healed fully,” Harrell explained.

    The public response has been overwhelmingly positive. “The convention quickly grew to over 300 tattoo artists, double our original projections,” said Harrell. “We sold out of booths and had to figure out alternative ways to satisfy the local health department requirements of a show that large. Having a waiting list of artists who want to come to your show and making a decision to grow into the coliseum was a huge decision for us,” he added. 

    A list of artists can be found on the All American Tattoo Convention website. Many of the artists are taking appointments for the convention. There are also a number of artists who will not be taking any appointments; they are instead only doing walk-ups. One such artist is Sarah Miller. She often has a massive waitlist and this is the first convention where she is only taking walk-ups. This is her way of giving back to the military community.

    This is truly an opportunity unlike any other. There is no other time during the year where so many incredible artists are under one roof. “The convention is one large tattoo shop, there will be the chance to be tattooed by amazing tattoo artists from all over the world. Some of the artists coming have yearlong waiting lists, but they are coming to our show and taking walk-ins. 

    “We have sideshows, contests and a Miss All American contest, so there will be things to do while you wait to be tattooed, or wait on your friends who are getting tattooed. We also have a meet and greet with some amazing tattoo artists who were on Spike TV shows like Ink Masterand Tattoo Rescue, and VIP ticket holders get in free to this event,” Harrell said.

    While many go to conventions to get tattoos, that is only beginning of what the event has to offer for artists and patrons. For artists it is an exciting opportunity to catch up with friends, show off their work and meet exciting new people. For patrons, there are incredible artists to talk with, competitions to watch, events and many booths to explore. 

    Airborne aerial fitness performers will be in attendance as will The All Veteran Parachute Team, New Olde City Sideshow, Fayetteville Roller Derby Rogue Roller Girls, and Half Pint Brawlers. There will also be a Miss All American pinup contest. Emcees include Dr. Carl Blasphemy and Johnny “Awesome” Ivey. Harrell noted that you don’t have to be getting a tattoo in order to have an amazing time.

    The convention also includes a group called Operation Tattooing Freedom. “Tattoo therapy is a program created by Operation Tattooing Freedom and one of the doctors from Spike TV’s Ink Shrinks. It helps a veteran who has PTSD or other combat-related injuries, as tattooing releases chemicals in the body that allow them to be able to open up about issues that are affecting them,” Harrell said. 

    “Operation Tattooing Freedom is growing by leaps and bounds, and we look forward to working with even more veterans in the near future.”

    Benefiting the community is another focus for the convention and many of the artists. “Giving back to the community that has given so much to us (is important). On Sunday when we award a portion of the proceeds to the Fisher House of Fort Bragg and our other charities, it will make it all worth it,” Harrell said.

    For more information about the convention, a list of participating artists and a schedule of events, please visit https://allamericantattooconvention.com.

  • 14WishFulfillOh my goodness. About halfway through the film I realized that writing a review of the The Belko Experiment (88 minutes) would present a unique challenge. You see, I work in an office setting. And I know at least a couple of the people I work with read these reviews. Before I write another word, I want to reassure everyone I work with that my reviews are satirical and are not intended to make anyone worry about my mental state.

    With that out of the way, what does it indicate about my mental state that I giggled every time some business suit wearing sad sack was executed in a particularly creative way? Is it just that I overwhelmingly love the work of James Gunn? Or is it that at the time I watched it, I was in desperate need of some catharsis after working extra-long hours to meet a deadline and then taking care of my poor sick family?

    James Gunn wrote The Belko Experimentnearly eight years ago, right around the time he created The Specials, before he directed Super(both worth checking out, if you missed his pre-Guardians of the Galaxymaterial). This has some bearing on the review, so stick with me. At the time, he was going through his divorce from Jenna Fischer, you know — Pam, from The Office, and he didn’t want to work on such negative material during his divorce, so he put it aside. Then, when he was given the opportunity to pick it up again, he did. But here’s the funny part — however it was written originally, this is basically a film about how Jim from The Office and Pam from The Officespend hours being physically and psychologically tortured by Barry (Tony Goldwyn, the guy who killed Sam Wheat in Ghost).

    No, Jenna Fischer and John Krasinski aren’t in the film. But the characters of Mike (John Gallagher. Jr.) and Leandra (Adria Arjona) closely align with Jim and Pam from The Office, and John Gallagher, Jr. (10 Cloverfield Lane) isn’t John Krasinski’s double, but the two bear more than a passing resemblance.  I don’t mean to cast doubt on the account that Gunn and Fischer’s divorce was amicable. But Leandra does not get a happy ending.

    Employees of Belko Industries (no relation to the department store chain) work in rural Bogota, Colombia. There are new security protocols in place and new, more militant security guards. A new employee, Dany (Melonie Diaz) is having an orientation, which establishes that Belko Industries implants security devices in the heads of employees to facilitate rescues in the event of a kidnapping and definitely not to blow up their heads. Wait Melonie! Don’t agree to this insanity! It’s the culture of fear that results in submission to excessive oversight and restriction on our personal freedoms that is the REAL danger! 

    But enough sociology. On to the mass murder of irritating co-workers! Barry’s backstory is that he was a Special Forces guy who transitioned into the corporate world, so be prepared for him to justify violence against the few to save the many. Which he does, frequently. Not that it saves him. Or anyone else for that matter. This is not an optimistic story about triumphing over evil sociologists — oh yeah, I forgot to mention that. Apparently, the Big Bad is a social scientist working with a consortium of other social scientists who believe that oversight is for lame scientists like mathematicians, but they should be able to torture people because you get better data that way. I see his point and may adjust my research objectives accordingly.

    Overall, this was not amazing, but it was fun. There was something both punishing and gleeful about it, making it well worth a look, even if it was filled with missed opportunities for some social commentary.

    Now playing at Patriot 14 + IMAX.

  • 12PIP 0003M KeyArt 5x7April 7 at 8 p.m., Givens Performing Arts Center presents Pippin as the final show in this season’s Broadway and More Series. The show is a Broadway musical that features songs from the composer responsible for Wicked. The show first premiered on Oct. 23, 1972 at the Imperial Theater. It was directed and choreographed by Bob Fosse. It was a success and ran until June 12, 1977, with a total of 1,944 performances. 

    The show was revived in March 2013 by The American Reparatory Theater before moving to Broadway. The production received four Tony Awards, including Best Musical Revival, and a total of ten nominations in 2013. The Broadway revival closed on Jan. 4, 2015, and the show is now touring the United States. This production is directed by Tony winner Diane Paulus, who is well known for her work on Hair and The Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess

    Pippin takes place in a surreal and undefined world of circus and theater.  Throughout the show, performers demonstrate incredible physical talent. The choreography harkens back to the original Bob Fosse style and the acrobatics are designed by LES 7 DOIGTS DE LA MAIN, or The 7 Fingers. This group is well known for their work on the show TRACES. TRACES is a mixture of street performance, dance and circus combined to create a poetic, non-linear narrative. The intense acrobatics are showcased in an urban apocalyptic setting.

    The 7 Fingers is a collective created in 2002 by seven circus artists. Each performance artist acts as an artistic director. They work together on a variety of projects like Broadway shows, original productions, Olympic ceremonies and custom designed events. They champion diversity and often mix genres to better explore the human condition. The company is based in Montreal, but they are very active internationally. Their acrobatic work and fearless creativity plays well with the surreal and existential nature of Pippin. It is an exciting show full of incredible talent and heart pounding acrobatics perfectly choreographed to accompany energizing songs. 

     The story of Pippin follows a new actor joining a troupe. He is searching for fulfillment. His existential quest is the central conflict of the show. He tries several different paths for fulfillment before finding contentment in a life with Catherine, his love interest. This version of Pippin includes an extended ending that suggests dealing with existential crisis is cyclical. 

    Standard tickets vary from $41 to $36. There are discounts available for Alumni, students, children, and faculty. The show may be inappropriate for children 12 and under. For more information or to purchase tickets online, please visit the website http://www.uncp.edu/giving/advancement/givens-performing-arts-center/broadway-and-more-series. 

  • 11baskervilleBaskerville: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery, showing at Cape Fear Regional Theatre April 6-25, is a show sure to delight a wide audience but it will perhaps particularly shine for those who simply love the medium of theater and want to see it utilized to its fullest storytelling potential. 

    Baskerville, published in 2015, is playwright Ken Ludwig’s take on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s beloved 1902 novel The Hound of the Baskervilles. Director Sam French said Ludwig’s approach takes French’s own love of classic storytelling and puts it in “this frame that is so theatrical and so deeply connected to what I do … it’s a classic story, but it’s told by five actors doing all these characters with all these levels of creative whimsy and theatricality … (Ludwig’s script) gives you permission to play around.”

    Part of the delight of the world of Sherlock Holmes comes from seesawing between fantastical, unsolvable mysteries and eureka moments of shockingly plain, solid logic. Watson is puzzled by what appears to be a ghost; Holmes discovers and explains that it is merely a sheet blowing through the wind (or something like that, but more cool). 

    From the very beginning, French worked with his artistic team, including Scenic Designer Lucy Pope and Costume Designer Lizzie Donelan, to build the world of the show in a way that embodies this dynamic. French explained: “One of the guiding principles from early on was figuring out, when are we gonna be really real, and when are we gonna be really intentionally fake? The way we’d always describe it is: Is it a fog machine moment or a moment where we see a person clapping chalk board erasers together to make the fog?” 

    French decided to generally allow the audience to see the “clapping chalk board erasers” the strings, if you will in moments that Sherlock clearly understands what is going on. Conversely, in times when Sherlock is confused, French lets the illusions created onstage remain illusions. 

    “Sherlock Holmes as a character is all about helping the people in his (world) see that the world is always logical and rational... they come to him with these really mysterious and elusive problems and he helps them understand how there’s really a very logical answer for everything,” French said. He explained how this reminds him of what theater does. “...We have this sort of elusive mysterious performance thing that we then, in this show, expose the mechanics of and show exactly how it’s all done.” 

    French said he’s glad his cast members are all up for laughing and just having fun as they figure things out, and that he is grateful for their deep love for theater and this particular show. “If it’s not a fun rehearsal, it’ll never be a good show … It’s a cast with a pretty wide range of ages and experience, but a very unified force of... joy,” he said. 

    French explained how it’s interesting for actors Ken Griggs (Sherlock) and Harron Atkins (Watson), because a large amount of the typical actor’s work is already done for them. He explained how as soon as they walk onstage in costume, everyone knows who they are; everyone already has a world of associations tied to their characters and an idea of how they will behave. So the question in working with the actors, French said, is “When do we lean into that tradition and when do we decide to break it?”

    Tickets to see Baskerville at CFRT cost $15-$25 and can be purchased by visiting www.cfrt.org or calling 910-323- 4233. Show times fall at 7:30 p.m. or 2 p.m. Baskerville runs April 6-25.

  • 11Erskine Bowles in 2010Where is Erskine Bowles when we most need him?

    Bowles is best known to North Carolinians as president of the UNC System from 2005 to 2010. Before then he was a successful business leader in Charlotte, a key staff member in the President Bill Clinton’s administration, and two times the Democratic nominee for the U.S. Senate.

    In 2010, he and former U.S. Sen. Alan Simpson co-chaired the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform, a bipartisan budget-reform effort that proposed a plan to reduce the country’s deficits by $4 trillion over a decade.

    Bowles had gained credibility in deficit reduction circles as a leader in Clinton’s negotiations with Congress that led to an agreed plan to bring the budget deficit down to zero through a combination of tax increases and spending cuts.

    That arrangement went up in smoke after 2001 with the tax cuts pushed by President George W. Bush and the added cost of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

    Still, Bowles had developed a “can-do” reputation for budget balancing. He and Simpson tackled their challenge in 2010 with some optimism and hope for support from Obama and Congress.

    Their plan provided for more than $1 trillion in cuts for military spending, $2.6 trillion in tax increases over 10 years (much of it on wealthy Americans who were to pay ordinary income rates on capital gains as well as dividends), reducing and limiting charitable deductions and mortgage interest, increasing both Social Security retirement age, and adding to the maximum amount of income that could be subject to social security tax

    The plan would have reduced deficits over 10 years by $4 trillion.

    The problem, as one commentator observed, was that “everybody found something to hate.”

    Bowles and Simpson conceded that to get a workable deal, everybody would have to give up something. But not enough people were willing to make the necessary sacrifices. The plan failed

    But Bowles still thinks it is critical to bring the deficit under control. In 2015 he told The Charlotte Observer, “I’m really concerned that if we don’t get our elected politicians on the right and the left to put some of this ultra-partisanship aside and pull together rather than apart, then not only will we face what is clearly the most predictable economic crisis in history but also my generation will be the first generation of Americans to leave the country worse off than we found it. It’s my generation of Republicans and Democrats that created this fiscal mess and clearly has a responsibility to clean it up.”

    U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan built his political career on his stated goal of eliminating the budget deficit. Last week, when Ryan announced he is retiring from Congress, he asserted that he had achieved his major goals. He did not mention any success in reducing the budget deficit.

    He did brag about passage of the new tax bill. Ironically, that bill and the new spending plan Congress passed are 180 degrees away from the plans Bowles and Simpson proposed. Instead of tax increases for the wealthy, the tax bill decreased them. Instead of cutting military spending, the spending plan provides substantial increases.

    As a result, according to the Congressional Budget Office, the deficit this year will be $804 billion, $242 billion larger than projected earlier. And during the next 10 years the projected deficit will be $11.7 trillion, an increase of $1.6 trillion over projections made before the passage of the tax bill and spending plan.

    To paraphrase the saying attributed to Everett Dirksen, the late Illinois senator, “A trillion here and a trillion there, Paul Ryan, and soon you are talking about a lot of money. It is money that simply will not be there to maintain a sound government for Ryan’s and my grandchildren.

    Where are you, Erskine Bowles, when we need you again?

    Photo: Erskine Bowles

  • 06EarlEditor’s note: Up & Coming Weekly sports editor Earl Vaughan was inducted to the North Carolina High School Athletic Association’s Hall of Fame. We are proud to have Earl on our staff. Below are his thoughts on the event. Congratulations, Earl.

    There aren’t enough superlatives in the dictionary to describe my recent experience. This is the second time in my life I’ve been honored with selection to a hall of fame, the first one coming in 2012 when the Fayetteville Sports Club honored me.

    The NCHSAA ceremony was held at the Embassy Suites in Cary, and it could not have been a more perfect evening.

    I was joined at my table for this special moment by a mixture of family, friends and professional associates from my 40-plus year career at The Fayetteville Observer and now Up & Coming Weekly.

    There was my dad, the Rev. Earl Vaughan Sr., who thanks to his friendship with former Fayetteville Publishing Company publisher Ramon Yarborough helped open the door to my career as a sports writer. My cousins, Tammy Hill and Dr. Marcia Lancaster, along with Tammy’s husband Nick Hill were there. Tammy and Marcia have been more like sisters than cousins to me and have been fans of my work from the beginning.

    Two of my former Observer sports editors, Doug Mead and Thomas Pope, who put up with an assortment of aggravations from me over the years, took the time to attend.

    And then there was Melanie Grooms Garrett, one of the finest three-sport athletes I ever had the honor of covering when she starred at South View High School and later UNC-Pembroke. She was one of the best players for my good friend, the late South View softball coach Eddie Dees, who submitted my nomination to the NCHSAA Hall of Fame.

    Finally, there was Trey Edge and his wife Kensley. I’ve known Trey since his high school days at Terry Sanford, and I was with him on one of the most disappointing nights you could imagine on an athletic field when his Bulldogs fell to Greensboro Page in a brutal way to lose the 1985 state championship football game. Trey has gone on to do play-by-play for DK Sports Inc. and host a Monday night sports talk show on WFNC with former Terry Sanford coach Bill Boyette.

    There were others in the room who shared the moment as well: fellow Hall of Famer and longtime Terry Sanford tennis and girls’ basketball coach Gil Bowman, East Bladen coach and athletic director Patty Evers, officiating regional supervisors Neil Buie and Brad Allen, the latter also an NFL football official. Another good friend was Robeson County product and former state department of public instruction staff member Tim Brayboy.

    Evers, Allen and Buie all appeared on a video tribute that was shown during the banquet and had kind words to say about me, along with former Observer coworkers Sammy Batten and Jaclyn Shambaugh and former Douglas Byrd and Seventy-First football coach Bob Paroli, another fellow Hall of Famer.

    I can’t begin to thank everyone who has made a comment complimenting me on social media, via texts to my phone and in personal phone calls as well.

    The hardest thing for me to wrap my head around is that my name now graces a display in the Simon Terrell Building at the NCHSAA office in Chapel Hill, where the names of coaching greats and administrative legends of this state are also honored.

    My role in high school athletics has been on the periphery compared to them. All I do is tell everyone else’s stories, and I’ve tried to do that with two goals in mind. They are simply to be fair and tell the truth.

    That is what I plan to continue doing here at Up & Coming Weekly thanks to the generous support of publisher Bill Bowman, who has allowed me to keep doing the one thing I truly love in this world, covering high school athletics.

    Thank you to everyone for all the kind words, and most of all, thanks to the coaches, athletes and fans for reading what I’ve written.

    It’s all about them and for them. I’m just along for the ride, and it’s been an incredible one so far.

    Photo: Earl Vaughan Jr.

  • 05ReserveOn April 23, America’s Army Reserve celebrated 110 years of history in service to the Army and the nation. 

    What began in 1908 as a tiny corps of medical professionals held in readiness for service is today the Army’s global operational reserve force – meeting high optempo demands, generating forces to support Army commitments worldwide and providing predictable capabilities to the Army and our global Combatant Commands. 

    Established by Congress in 1908 with just 160 doctors and nurses, a somewhat larger organized reserve was created under the National Defense Act of 1916. A year later, when America entered World War I, more than 160,000 reserve soldiers were mobilized to help the U.S. Army defeat Germany and the central powers. By World War II, the reserves included more than 200,000, serving on every front. 

    Through the Cold War, Korea, Vietnam, the Persian Gulf War, the Global War on Terror and countless crises, operations and emergencies, America’s Army Reserve has never failed to meet the challenges of its time – providing quick access to the mission-critical forces and capabilities the Army needs to initiate, sustain and prevail in major operations.

    Today, the nature of the threat is changing, and the Army Reserve is again rising to meet it, forging the most capable, combat-ready and lethal federal reserve force in the history of the nation. 

    At the tip of the spear is a ready force of some 600 units prepared to deploy quickly – some in less than 30 days – to fight, survive and win against emerging threats. A second level of effort is comprised of operational units prepared to deploy in 61-90 days for contingency operations, followed by units needed beyond 120 days. All will be postured to move fast, engage quickly and win decisively on the battlefields of today and tomorrow.

    Looking ahead, America’s Army Reserve will stay true to its roots as an expeditionary force, remaining flexible, agile, innovative and attuned to the velocity of change in our time. And, it will continue to leverage the talent of the private sector for the good of the nation. For, at its heart, America’s Army Reserve is and always will be an army of citizen soldiers committed to their communities, supported by engaged employers. 

    Highly skilled and educated in more than 148 different career fields, they are doctors, lawyers, engineers, scientists, information and other specialists on the leading edge of their fields. But they are also our relatives, neighbors and friends who not only defend our freedom and security abroad but secure the homeland, provide assistance in times of crisis or disaster and never fail to lend a hand when needed. 

    The world is constantly changing, but one thing is constant: The Army Reserve will remain the dedicated federal reserve of the most decisive and lethal land force in the world. Ready now, shaping tomorrow, forging and sustaining the most capable, combat-ready and lethal federal reserve force in the history of the nation.

    Happy Birthday, Army Reserve!

  • 03PepperoniYou can learn a great deal from the New York Times despite The Donald’s reference to it as a fake news source. The New York Time’s recent story by Yonette Joseph about Nick Burchill’s hotel stay is so strange it could not possibly be fake news. Let us begin today’s exercise in world literature by remembering Mark Twain’s famous quote: “Truth is stranger than fiction, because fiction is obliged to stick to possibilities, truth isn’t.” If Mark Twain said it, I believe it. And that settles it.

    Once upon a time in about 2001, Nick Burchill traveled all the way from Nova Scotia to Victoria, British Columbia. Nick was on a business boondoggle. He got to stay at the Fairmont Empress Hotel, which is the classiest hotel in Victoria and perhaps the entire western hemisphere. I have personal knowledge of the Empress’ classiness because I was there last summer. Not to stay there, but just to walk through the lobby to absorb some class that I am sorely lacking. We considered going to high tea, which is an Empress tradition since 1908. The high tea menu includes 21 different loose-leaf teas to choose from as well as scones, pastries, clotted creams (which sounds awful but expensive) and strawberry preserves from the rooftop garden. You can indulge in smoked salmon on blini; honey ham and mushroom quiche; truffled egg salad on brioche; and mascarpone raspberry tarts among other dainties. I did not see a chicken wing or a collard sandwich on the menu. Unfortunately high tea’s lowest price is $75 a person ranging up to $115 if you get a classy adult beverage to wash down your tea. Since we didn’t have a half-price coupon, we skipped high tea. 

    But back to our friend Nick. Nick had a bunch of Royal Canadian Navy buddies from Nova Scotia who ended up in Victoria with a hankering for a taste of home, to wit: Chris Brothers TNT Pepperoni, the pride of Nova Scotia. Nick, being a pal, packed up an entire suit case full of TNT Pepperoni and hauled it out to the Empress. His room did not have a refrigerator, but the day was cool. Nick spread his pepperoni out by an open window so it wouldn’t spoil. Nick left the room for a walkabout for several hours. Turns out if there is one thing sea gulls like to eat better than garbage, it’s TNT Pepperoni. 

    When Nick opened the door to his room it was sea gull pepperoni party time. About 40 of our feathered friends were chowing down on Nova Scotia’s most delicious salted meat. Unfortunately, TNT Pepperoni and the gastrointestinal systems of sea gulls are not compatible. It was like one of those colorful Roman orgies where the Romans would eat and drink themselves so full it was Vomitorium time. The gulls were eating, spewing and having loose stools all over his formerly elegant hotel room. Not only that, the gulls were drooling. Nick was quoted in the Times article saying: “The shocking thing for me was the saliva. I didn’t know that sea gulls drooled. The slime was covering everything. They were whipping it up into the air. It was like a tornado.” 

    Gentle reader, let that mental image sink in for a while. Downstairs the guests are paying $75 for a cup of tea and cookies. Upstairs the sea gulls are spewing. The mind boggles.

    Realizing sea gulls were not paying guests, Nick tried to chase them out of his room. He threw a shoe at one, which sailed out the window along with the gull. He retrieved his shoe, which was covered in yuck. After using water to remove the yuck, Nick tried drying it with a hair dryer, which fell into his sink and shorted out the electricity. Realizing he had lost his battle with the gulls, he finally called housekeeping. Management was not amused. They sent him a letter banishing him from ever returning to the Empress. 

    Fate brought Nick back to Victoria 17 years later. He wrote the Empress a letter seeking a pardon much as Scooter Libby just received from The Donald. The Empress forgave him on the condition that he never brought pepperoni to the hotel again. And they both lived happily ever after. 

    So what have we learned today class? There are some things even sea gulls can’t digest. There are worse things than stale pepperoni. $75 is too much to pay for a cup of tea and a biscuit. The early bird gets the pepperoni and projectile diarrhea. 

    As Emily Dickinson once almost said, “Hope is a thing with feathers, but you can catch more sea gulls with pepperoni than by putting salt on their tails.” 

    Nick should have taken Willy Nelson’s advice when Willie sang: “I got busted in Laredo for reasons/ That I’d rather not disclose/ If you’re stayin’ in a motel there and leave/ Don’t leave nothin’ in your clothes.” 

    As the late great Percy Bysshe Shelly once said: “Hail to thee blithe spirit! Bird thou never wert.”

    If you think this column is for the birds, you are correct. 

  • 02pub pen dogwoodThis is a week full of excitement. And, no, I’m not talking about the city council’s action of initiating a petition of amotion for the removal of disgraced District 2 councilman Tyrone Williams. We’ll have plenty to say about that guy and his cronies in the weeks to come. 

    I’m referring to the sights and sounds of spring filling the air. This time of year, fragile pink and white azaleas frame out thousands of pink and white dogwood trees that adorn the city – each dogwood blossom beautiful yet desperately hanging on to officially welcome the 37th Annual Fayetteville Dogwood Festival.

    This annual celebration brings the city together to enjoy beautiful weather along with a variety of activities. The music stages will host several genres of musicians throughout the event. There will be a midway, complete with games and rides. There will be fireworks, aerial yoga performances, a car show and so much more. 

    As a bonus, this year’s festival has been extended to four days. In this special Fayetteville Dogwood Festival edition of Up & Coming Weekly, you will find everything you need to know about having fun and enjoying this community tradition in historic downtown Fayetteville.

    While most of the festivities will be in and around Festival Park, Friday night brings an added dimension of enjoyment when 4th Friday makes Hay Street come alive with art, artists and delicious food served streetside to the melodies of talented local street musicians. 

    The Arts Council’s exhibit is “Impressions: More than Skin Deep.” It hangs through Saturday, May 12. It is a celebration of the creativity of artists who work in the tattoo industry. The Cool Spring Downtown District hosts a variety of initiatives that make 4th Friday fun as well.

    It’s uniquely enjoyable and uniquely Fayetteville. So, come on down! This is your personal invitation to join me and the crew of Up & Coming Weekly at this wonderful, award-winning event. 

    The more adventurous types can join Fayetteville Astros general manager David Lane and his wife, Lindsey, as they lead out the 13th annual Hogs & Rags Motorcycle Rally in support of three local charities. The rally is a police-escorted ride to Myrtle Beach. It includes a stop for breakfast at Rocking A Ranch. The ride concludes in plenty of time for you to get back to Fayetteville and still enjoy the festival. All motorcycles and four-wheeled vehicles are invited to take part. For more information and to register, go to www.hogsandrags.org.

    Enjoy the festival, enjoy 4th Friday, and enjoy the rally.

    Thanks for reading Up & Coming Weekly.

     

  • 10FTCCdisability In the heart of Cumberland County is a college where education provides hope for dreams. A vision that began more than 50 years ago continues to thrive as an ideals-driven learning institution. Realizing the demands of higher learning, Fayetteville Technical Community College paves the way for many students by making their desires a reality.

    Advancing toward achieving diplomas or certificates allows students the opportunity to embark on new career paths. Progressing through course offerings can be daunting for anyone, especially those with disabilities. The Disability Support Services Office advocates for students regardless of their physical or mental impairments and provides them with equal educational opportunities. Graduation or academic accomplishments are not always simple victories, especially if one has limitations.

    Community agencies collaborate with FTCC to extend services through a vast array of resources, such as Vocational Rehabilitation, Services for the Blind, various medical centers, numerous mental health providers and more.

    FTCC regularly connects with these vital organizations to spread public awareness and responsiveness. Affiliates from separate agencies or institutions work together to serve the needs of the students. Each organization’s amenities, accreditations, licensees and funding further the student’s purpose. Promoting the most advanced educational options available to students with a disability requires alternative access to learning.

    The DSSO acknowledges agencies within North Carolina Health and Human Services as being vital contributors to FTCC. The Vocational Rehabilitation Services and the Services for the Blind, are divisions within North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services. Representatives from these organizations have been assisting FTCC students for many years.

    The Vocational Rehabilitation Services of Fayetteville is a leading government organization that joins with FTCC in helping students with disabilities. The VRS provides student support through training, counseling, assistive technology, job placement and other services. Students can utilize the VRS to pursue disability determination, community rehabilitation or rehabilitation assistance to complement their learning at FTCC.

    The Services for the Blind is an active division that helps students progress in their academic and career endeavors. This government organization assists individuals who are visually impaired, blind or deaf and blind to gain employment and attain independent living. Students receive services that help them with college or university training, vocational and technology training, transitional services and more. FTCC connects its mission with their purpose by offering wide varieties of courses in curriculum and certificate programs.

    Fayetteville is thriving with licensed mental health providers and medical doctors who provide trusted diagnoses for students. Submitting a diagnosis to the DSSO allows for FTCC to grant accommodations to the student based on personal needs. There are instances when having proper medical documentation is necessary for specific accommodations, which are available on a case-by-case basis. FTCC will continue to maintain ADA compliance standards through the DSSO with federal and state laws and regulations.

    FTCC believes in providing equal opportunities for all students. The heart of the school is the student body, and regardless of one’s condition or disability, FTCC will continue to support every student to help them achieve their academic dreams.

  • 04Tyrone copyWiliams has not earned the right to be called councilman

    Dear Editor,

     I read with some disgust the report by The Fayetteville Observer  concerning Monday night’s Fayetteville City Council’s meeting and discussion concerning Tyrone Williams (and no, I will not call him a city councilman.)

     Tyrone has not earned the respect to be addressed that way. He has used his position to profit his own pocket – while leaving the rest of the city in the cold. Will the group working to renovate and open the Prince Charles be successful? I don’t know. But at least they are making an honest effort. Mr. Williams has made no contribution of note, but instead has used his election to profit without considering our community.

    Mr. Williams does not deserve to sit on our council - and those who will argue otherwise are putting self and personal ideals before their constituents.

    Fayetteville deserves better.

    Our community deserves better. Mr. Williams should resign – if he doesn’t, the council as a whole, regardless of color should show him the door. If they don’t, they have shown their true colors and our community should show them all the door. If they don’t act, than we all will know that race, rather than the betterment of our community has become a priority – and that is more than sad. It is the first step in the destruction of our community.

    Janice Burton

    Resignation Williams’ only option

    Dear Editor:

    Fayetteville City Councilman Tyrone Williams is facing calls to resign from his constituents, the newspaper and every member of the city council. Williams is holding firm, calling for a review of the matter by the city attorney, and denying that he did anything wrong. Maybe he didn’t, but it doesn’t mean he should keep his seat.

    Williams was recorded offering to “lift the cloud” on the title of the Prince Charles Hotel for $15,000. Williams had loaned the previous owner of the Prince Charles Hotel, John Chen, $100,000. The hotel was used as collateral on the loan. Williams claims the loan was never repaid; Chen says otherwise. A bankruptcy court judge agreed with Chen and disallowed Williams’s claim in 2013.

    In December, Williams approached the new owners, Prince Charles Holdings, about his claim and offered to “lift the cloud” from the title for $15,000. PCH recorded the conversation and contacted the FBI about Williams’ offer. Williams’ conduct was made public last week, and on Monday, Williams’ colleagues on the city council asked for his resignation. Williams isn’t resigning, and the council is beginning amotion proceedings, or trial by council. Regardless, it will be several months, and many tax dollars, before this matter is settled.

    From a due process perspective, did Williams still think he had a valid claim, or was he trying to use his tenuous connection to the Prince Charles Hotel and position as Councilman, to give himself a $15,000 payday? Politically, the answer doesn’t matter. Williams needs to resign his seat immediately.

    As an elected official, Williams is held to a higher standard. A standard to which the mere appearance of impropriety is enough to call for his resignation. As an early political mentor told me, “it ain’t what it is, it’s what it looks like... that’s all that matters in politics.” Regardless of his intent, Williams put himself in this compromising situation. A situation that has spurred an FBI investigation and a whole helluva’ lot of embarrassment for the city of Fayetteville.

    To make matters worse, District 2 residents will not have any representation for two huge projects being built in their own backyard. Williams must abstain from future votes involving Project Home Run and the Prince Charles. This makes him not only the most morally questionable person on the council, but by default, the most ineffective. The Council might as well sit him at the “kiddie” table and only call him in for stormwater.

    Unfortunately, the circus has only just come to town and it’s starting to pitch its tent. The city council meeting Monday night was standing room only; normally a room where the only people standing are speaking or stretching. Citizens are coming out in droves to watch our city embarrass itself. It will only stop when Williams is gone.

    Andrew Porter

    Photo: Tyrone Williams

  •  03Clarence Thomas official SCOTUS portraitIn a recent column, I lamented that rap would be on the 2018 Dogwood Festival program. Rev. Bryant Riddick, a frequent reader of my column, sent me an email detailing objections to the thoughts I shared in that column. Part of what he said in the first email, and then in a follow-up email (in response to my comments), prompted thoughts regarding affirmative action efforts and programs.

    In arguing for rap at the Dogwood Festival, Riddick wrote the following in his first email: “Check out what I am saying and I believe you will partly agree that the rap is not racism on the part of black people ‘pushing their way in’ – but it is black people taking their seat at a table that was meant for them in the first place, we are just late getting there – but now we are here to add our flavor to what can be a greater event for Fayetteville – inclusion of Hispanics is probably next.”

    I responded to that statement by asking him to explain how one decides which tables must be open to black Americans. That is, do we have a right to insist on inclusion anywhere we choose? Does the same apply to white Americans?

    Rev. Riddick responded by saying, “Sometimes our inclusion (no matter what group we identify ourselves with) is a matter of participating in areas or events where we haven’t chosen to in the past – this may or may not require an invite, but a simple communication to those who would welcome the company! If our participation is forced or coerced, then I agree that the process is broken – but not by those trying to sit at a table where they originally were not wanted, but by those who created the table and broken process in the first place.”

    From this exchange, as to black Americans, I concluded Rev. Riddick is saying we have a right to join any organization, be included in any activity, be substantially represented in various professions and areas of employment and so forth. Where such involvement is not the case, black Americans bear no responsibility. Riddick seems to argue that any lack of involvement is solely because those who control these opportunities withhold them from black Americans.

    This exchange, and my understanding of what Riddick said, prompted thoughts regarding affirmative action programs in America. That is because I believe Riddick’s kind of thinking gave birth to, and sustains, affirmative action efforts. The editors of Encyclopedia Britannica say the following about affirmative action: “Affirmative action, in the United States, an active effort to improve employment or educational opportunities for members of minority groups and for women. Affirmative action began as a government remedy to the effects of long-standing discrimination against such groups and has consisted of policies, programs, and procedures that give preferences to minorities and women in job hiring, admission to institutions of higher education, the awarding of government contracts, and other social benefits. The typical criteria for affirmative action are race, disability, gender, ethnic origin, and age.”

    I have concluded affirmative action is doing far more harm than good for black Americans. Justice Clarence Thomas, U.S. Supreme Court, a black man, points to the first reason for this conclusion on my part. Erin Fuchs writes the following in an article titled “How Clarence Thomas Grew to Hate Affirmative Action.”

    “Clarence Thomas – who’s famously quiet during oral arguments – has written that affirmative action amounts to racial discrimination and is every bit as wrong as segregation or slavery.

    “Thomas graduated from Yale Law School, and in 2007 he attacked his alma mater’s affirmative action policies in his memoir and in an interview with ABC News. Thomas argued that what he called the stigmatizing effects of affirmative action put him at a huge disadvantage when he was trying to find work as a lawyer.

    “Thomas said he went on interviews with one ‘highpriced lawyer’ after another who didn’t take him seriously because they thought he got special treatment.

    “’Many asked pointed questions, unsubtly suggesting they doubted I was as smart as my grades indicated,’” Thomas told ABC News. 

    My experiences say that Thomas is absolutely right; affirmative action discriminates and stigmatizes. It discriminates in that the selection for a position, or whatever situation is involved, focuses on race, gender, disability and so on, rather than qualifications for the position or situation. Those persons who benefit from the programs are then often seen as less qualified and less capable of doing the job for which they have prepared. In the end, many get the treatment Thomas described.

    Second, affirmative action programs far too often nurture an entitlement attitude that is compounded by an accompanying victim mentality. This process repeatedly shows up in American society. Consider the following statement from www.drshirin.com/victimme.htm regarding victim mentality.

    “The victim mentality is characterized by pessimism, self-pity, repressed anger and a belief that life is beyond one’s control. Victims blame any and every available scapegoat (fate, circumstances, other people, even objects!) for their problems and disappointments. They often lead a crisis-ridden lifestyle, going from one trauma to another, never seeing the contribution they make in creating their own crises. According to them, nothing is ever their fault.”

    Here is an example of how this debilitating entitlement attitude/victim mentality process plays out in real life. There is ongoing extensive attention being given to the lack of blacks at the upper level in the administration of President Donald Trump, who is a Republican. I listened to a black attorney on a television news program express pure outrage at the low number of blacks in the Trump administration. Article after article addresses this situation.

    Following are excerpts from an article titled “Omarosa’s exit highlights lack of diversity at Trump White House.”

    “The departure of the former Apprentice contestant Omarosa Manigault-Newman from the White House this week has placed the lack of diversity in Donald Trump’s administration under renewed scrutiny.

    “‘There is no comparison. Black diversity in the White House is almost oxymoronic at this point,’ said Michael Steele, the former chairman of the Republican National Committee and the first African-American to hold the post. ‘It’s not for a lack of names or people who qualify … This continued pretense that it’s so hard to find (people of color) to do the job is just ridiculous at this point.’”

    It is strongly contended by Michael Steele, and a multitude of other black Americans, that there should be a greater representation of blacks in the Trump administration.

    My voter registration is Republican. Consequently, I attend Republican events such as county and state conventions, rallies, candidate forums and so forth. At each of the two North Carolina state conventions that I attended, there were hundreds of people, but only a handful of blacks. At the recent Cumberland County Republican Convention, there were no more than six blacks in attendance. I, like other blacks who do not hide their Republican affiliation or conservative views, have been, and am, ridiculed by other blacks.

    The contention of those who ridicule is that Republicans oppress blacks, do not care about us and pursue policies that are detrimental to our well-being. A review of Republican history, well intentioned engagement with most Republicans, reasoned examination of policies and honest assessment of what Democrats have promised but not done for black America will paint a different picture.

    Instead, the overwhelming majority of blacks claim victim status because of false assumptions ascribed to Republicans. The result is black America’s blind allegiance to the Democratic Party, while most make no attempt to know what is possible through involvement with the Republican Party.

    In spite of almost total rejection of the Republican Party by blacks, there is this expectation of significant black representation in the Republican Trump administration. This reflects the entitlement attitude that I hold is nurtured by affirmative action efforts and compounded by a pervasive victim mentality.

    America needs a realistic assessment of affirmative action programs and efforts. Will it happen? I put the probability at zero.

    Photo: U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas 

  •  02TyronePublisher’s note: At this writing, nothing new has developed since District 2 Councilman Tyrone Williams and local businessman T.J. Jenkins were caught on an audio recording trying to extort $15,000 from the development company PCH, LLC. PCH is renovating the Prince Charles Hotel, which is part of its $65 million downtown economic development project.

     Well, maybe one thing has changed: The disgraced city servant, Tyrone Williams, has refused to step down despite pleas from his own constituents in District 2 and a 9-0 vote of no confidence from the mayor and his fellow colleagues.

    Now that’s arrogance. Well, someone needs to tell Williams that it will take more than him grandstanding at a community prayer walk to exonerate him from the failed extortion attempt and the embarrassment he has caused our city.

    As the authorities “peel back the onion” on this case, his situation will probably get worse before it gets better. However, better will mean that he’ll be gone.

     Below is the editorial that appeared in last week’s edition. It is as relevant today as it was last week and provides a few simplified explanations as to the seriousness of what Williams and Jenkins have perpetrated on our community.

    I applaud city attorney Karen McDonald for her actions and feel confident that when all is said and done our city council will make decisions in the best interest of our community. Fayetteville deserves it.

     Fayetteville’s dishonored city Councilman Tyrone Williams, along with coconspirator T.J. Jenkins, president and founder of the marketing firm The Wrijen Company, have Booker T. Washington, the late former Fayetteville Cumberland County Commissioner Thomas Bacote and business executive Floyd Shorter all spinning in their graves with disgust and disappointment. Williams and Jenkins are supposedly business and civic leaders of the black community.

     Together, they conspired to extort $15,000 from PCH, LLC, the development firm heading the $65 million Prince Charles renovation project, by contending there was a problem with the property title, which Williams could make go away for mere 15 grand. It’s both appalling and criminal.

     They both are also guilty of using and abusing one of Fayetteville and Cumberland County’s oldest and most honorable and dignified business organizations, the Fayetteville Business and Professional League. The FB&PL is one of the most prestigious and influential organizations in Cumberland County, serving African-American minority business owners and professionals. For over a half a century this distinguished organization has worked diligently in the interests of local minorities by mentoring young people and stressing the importance of education and training. The organization supports entrepreneurism and new business development while encouraging civic and governmental engagement.

     Under previous leadership, the League was the catalyst in minority business development and creation. It utilized workshops, networking, partnerships and joint venture programs to take advantage of business opportunities throughout Fayetteville, Cumberland County and the state. Thomas Bacote was one of those leaders. He loved and served the league, spending decades advocating for it.

     He introduced the FB&PL to me in the late’90s when I started Up & Coming Weekly . He eventually sponsored my membership into the organization. I was its first white “minority” member. Several years later, the organization recognized Up & Coming Weekly  as FB&PL’s Business of the Year. After Bacote’s death, Wilson Lacy, Cumberland County Schools executive director of operations, took the leadership position and shepherded the organization for 17 years.

     More recently, the league’s leadership was organized by my dear friend, Floyd Shorter, who died after a brief illness in 2016. Floyd was an amazing man known for his gentlemanly demeanor, sense of humor and perpetual smile. He learned much from Lacy and became a tour de force in civic leadership, championing small businesses by mentoring and encouraging black and minority-owned businesses right up to his death.

     He taught at Fayetteville State University’s School of Business. He lectured. He sat on numerous boards and committees, including serving the Chamber of Commerce, Economic and Business Development and the Crown Coliseum.

     But what he really enjoyed was his leadership role with the League. Under Shorter’s leadership, the League grew in both membership and stature. When he was at the helm, the ship sailed smoothly. However, upon his death, the organization struggled – until Jenkins stepped in under the pretense of bringing stability, relevance and leadership to the organization.

    Unfortunately, this has turned out to be the near perfect example of someone doing the wrong thing for the wrong reasons. Jenkins owns a marketing and advertising agency. He is described on LinkedIn as a multicultural expert, consultant, social leader, marketing and advertising maven and “All around good guy.”

    Really?

     After Jenkins took over the leadership of the FB&PL, he and Williams, who had only been a councilman for District 2 a few weeks, approached Jordan Jones of PCH, LLC about the $15,000 pay-to-play scheme they concocted. Jones recorded the entire conversation, turned it over to law enforcement immediately and released it to the media last Friday.

     So, this begs the question: When was this scheme hatched? Was it in September 2017, when Jenkins, as president of the FB&PL, met with Barton Malow, general contractor for the Astros Baseball Stadium, and PCH, LLC officials were invited to present contract opportunities to League minority businesses? Was it at this meeting that they concluded Jones and PCH, LLC would be easy marks? Or, could it have been at one of the League’s Community Impact Forums, where it advocates for business and economic development, civic responsibility, civic involvement, ethnic pride and education?

     I applaud Jones for his actions, as I do Fayetteville Attorney Karen McDonald for her protective and proactive actions on behalf of our city. I’m confident it will be resolved properly and in a timely manner.

     Williams must resign. He is not our kind of people and cannot represent District 2 or any part of our community. The same goes for Jenkins. He must resign from the Fayetteville Business and Professional League for the League to continue its mission and traditions of advancing the successful development of minority businesses while elevating and directing smart, savvy, hardworking, honest and ethical minorities to positions of influence.

     This is for the betterment of our community and for future generations. We must start judging people, especially candidates, by their character, integrity and intelligence – not by the color of their skin.

    Leaders lead. Leaders make mistakes. But, they make honest mistakes.

    Thank you for reading Up & Coming Weekly.

    Photo: Tyrone Williams

  • 05 Vinces dogSome moments in this life just stop you in your tracks. And I think they’re meant to. I’ve been looking for this dog since my grandpa passed in 2011. And then, the search intensified when we lost my grandma in 2016. All of this is because when I was asked what I wanted of theirs, this was the first thing that came to mind.

    Picture 10-year-old Allison spending the night at her grandparents’ house, as she often did, and hearing a conversation between my uncle, Stephen A. Fonke, and Grandpa about “putting a name on something” at the house.

    I asked what that meant, and Grandpa explained that when you have eight kids, you have to decide some of what people get when you die ahead of time so there aren’t any misunderstanding or arguments. I thought this was an odd thing to discuss back then, but I get it now; emotions can run high when you’re grieving. So, naturally, he asked what I wanted. Without a pause, I said this little ceramic dog. It was a knickknack I was always allowed to play with at their house, and I thought that was outstanding.

    Grandpa also told a lot of stories about his dad’s “police dog” that guarded his truck when he was a traveling salesman during the Depression, so that added to its coolness factor for me. With a twinkle in his eye, he picked up the dog, grabbed a pencil and wrote my name and the year on the dog’s belly. He put my name on it to cement this in my little kid mind. Through the years, I’d pick it up at their house and see my name. This would always bring a chuckle and a smile. Or a comment that my dog was still there.

    After we lost both of my grandparents, my dad and I looked all over the house for the dog. My aunts did, too. But no dog was found – not even in the attic.

    Today, we stopped by Jerry and Carolina’s house for Scott to get adjusted before his marathon tomorrow. Carol told me she had something for me... of all things, it was my dog! She said years ago, either Grandpa or Grandma asked for her help with gluing it (because it was broken in half), and then it had been put in a drawer and forgotten. She opened it recently and found this dog.

    It’s fixed, and she said she saw my name and knew there must be a story there. And as there always was with Grandpa, there certainly was a story. I don’t doubt that this came to me right when I needed it. Starting a new dog-focused business next month, I’m sure this is God’s way of sending my grandpa’s encouragement and excitement for me in this venture, right when I needed some. Though we have people we miss, if we look for them and talk about them, they seem to show up.

    I’m incredibly grateful that this has always been the way of my life. And I’m so thankful for the moments my grandparents took, especially the little ones, that turned into tender memories. They are so loved and continue to show love, even from the other side. And what a legacy for us all to aspire to.

    We are so blessed.

  • 04 Pitt04 pitt1Being a person of absolutely no musical talent, I feel qualified to make a bold statement: There is no finer musical instrument than the tuba. The tuba is the Mount Everest of musical perfection. If the Mona Lisa were a musical instrument, she would be a tuba. If a tuba were a pizza it would be double pepperoni with everything but anchovies. The tuba is to musical instruments what puppies are to dogs with the sizes reversed. Tubas are inherently lovable. Tuba players are admired by all persons with ears. To be the life of the party, show up with your tuba and blast out “When the Saints Go Marching in” while marching around the dining room table. Every one in the room, including the most beautiful women, will follow a tuba layer anywhere.

    For a moment let us consider the origin of the tuba species. Unlike Athena, who sprang fully grown from the head of Zeus after a bit of cranial surgery with an ax by Hephaestus the Black Smith, the tuba evolved from an earlier instrument called the ophicleide, which was a fancy bugle with keys. The original tuba patent was granted in 1835 in Prussia. Since then, tubas have delighted music fans for nearly 200 years.

    Despite the majesty of the tuba, all is not well in Tuba Land. There have been a rash of tuba thefts, according to a recent article in the Wall Street Journal. The thefts are not particularly surprising due to the inherent beauty of the tuba. The surprising thing is how difficult it would be to steal a tuba and make off with it unseen. A tuba is not a musical instrument that you can purloin and hide in your pocket like a harmonica, a kazoo or a comb with wax paper. Tuba’s are the Arnold Schwartzneggers of the music world. They are big, bulky and hard to hide when you are lamming away from the scene of the tuba crime.

    Case in point – the recent theft of a tuba from New Orleans’ Preservation Hall Jazz Band. This fine instrument is four feet long and weighs about 38 pounds according to the Wall Street Journal. Tuba thefts are becoming more common with high school band rooms being hit in Los Angeles and Greensboro. Some tubas can be worth over $12,000, which is nothing to sneeze at. Sgt. Joe Friday advises that hot tubas are being pawned or sold to Mexican bands. If you have a tuba, never let it out of your sight.

    But enough tuba crime reporting. Tubas are inherently funny. If you put a tuba on the cover of a comic book, it is sure to be a best seller. In a cursory search of the Google (which will result in me getting multiple ads to buy stolen tubas), I found endless tuba covers to illustrate this point. Woody Woodpecker is shown unsuccessfully trying to blow a tuba with his niece and nephew hiding the tuba. Mickey Mouse is blowing a tuba that is flying his nephews’ kites. Little Dot is blowing bubbles out of her tuba. Fred Flintstone has a prehistoric bird perched in the top of his tuba. Blondie’s dog Daisy is blowing a tuba and her puppies are being blasted out along with a tune. Nancy’s friend Sluggo is walking in the rain with an umbrella stuck in his tuba on his way to band practice. In keeping with the rain theme, Yogi Bear is carrying his tuba while Huckleberry Hound is using it as an umbrella. Porky Pig is blowing a tuba which is causing his nephew’s whirligig to spin. Tom is trying to play a tuba while Jerry is holding a hose pouring water into the tuba resulting in water squirting out of Tom’s ears. Batman is shown catching a crook by crashing a tuba over said crook’s head while saying those immortal words, “Tuba or not tuba, that’s the answer.”

    There is even a zombie playing a tuba on the cover of Z Nation graphic comic. This stretches the tuba metaphor a bridge too far. We all know that zombies don’t breathe, which means actually playing a tuba would be beyond the reach of any zombie. Perhaps the most famous tuba is Tubby the Tuba who has his own movie and book deal. My personal favorite tuba cover is from Candy, America’s favorite teen girl. Candy and her Canadian boyfriend are sitting together encircled by a tuba. Boyfriend uses the world’s greatest pick up line on Candy saying: “There’s nothing like learning to play an instrument to make a fellow popular with the girls, eh, Candy?”

    So what have we learned today? Ask not for whom the tuba blows. It blows for thee. A tuba by any other name would smell as sweet. You can lead a tuba to water but you can’t make it drink. All that glitters is not a tuba. Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have tubas thrust upon them. If you don’t blow your own horn, who will?

    Photo by Nathan Bingle on Unsplash

  • 03 MargararetOnce upon a time, we Americans trusted our government. We dutifully listened to President Franklin Roosevelt’s fireside chats and took his admonitions about World War II sacrifices to heart. We generally trusted President Eisenhower as well, but then along came Vietnam, and our trust in our government faltered.

    Watergate delivered the coup de grace, but as our trust in government waned, our trust in media strengthened. It was media, and specifically Walter Cronkite of CBS who called out American involvement in Vietnam and The Washington Post that exposed the presidential wrongdoing and ended Richard Nixon’s presidency.

    Fast forward nearly 50 years, and it seems that no one trusts anyone, or if we do, we trust only people, institutions and media of all stripes whose views and positions align with our own. Many of us watch, listen to and read only the views of our like-minded fellow travelers. Everyone and everything else is “fake.”

    In the past, we had local newspapers and broadcasting outlets, national magazines and three major television networks along with PBS. Those organizations strove for objectivity, even though some would say they did not always achieve it. The idea was presenting only the news, not the outlets’ own take on that news.

    Today, anyone – you, me and my dog Lily – can have our own voice online for only the time it takes to put our thoughts together. We can and do say most anything we want without the expense of a printing press and paper, a broadcasting license and transmitter, or a cable network. The quandary, of course, is with so many different and competing voices out there, how do we know which ones are accurate, which ones are wrong and which ones are just plain nutty? All of us have limited time to spend on these various voices. It makes sense that we should choose not only wisely, but seeking a diversity of opinion, not just the ones that agree with our own.

    Several years ago, a bright young student at Methodist University and I were pleasantly exchanging political views, and I asked him how he got most of his news. I was not surprised when he said, “Fox News,” which I also watch, generally at the gym. I suggested several other news outlets he might want to explore both on television and in print, asking how he could adhere to certain political views and positions without understanding why people who hold other views and positions have chosen theirs. This is America, and we are all entitled to our opinions, but it does not mean that other opinions are therefore fake.

    Nevertheless, there is actual fake news. Remember the Hillary Clinton child sex ring run from a Washington pizza parlor and the stories about Melania Trump’s body double? Those stories are real fake news as are thousands, perhaps millions, of others. ProPublica, the investigative journalism website, suggests we approach all news, even the news that appeals to us politically or emotionally, with a good deal of skepticism. Beyond that, look for the source. Established publications and electronic news outlets make mistakes, but they are generally reliable, at least on the facts. Websites you have never heard of are probably marginal for good reason. They often attempt to mirror well-known sites but are just a bit off. Finally, as CNN has been saying for months, calling an apple a banana repeatedly does not make it one. No matter how many times you say something, it does not make it true.

    Meanwhile, the young man who was heading to a professional school after Methodist later emailed to say he had learned a few new ideas.

    We all have room to do that – and should.

  • 05Tyrone WilliamsFayetteville’s dishonored City Councilman Tyrone Williams, along with coconspirator T.J. Jenkins, president and founder of the marketing firm The Wrijen Company, have Booker T. Washington, the late former Fayetteville Cumberland County Commissioner Thomas Bacote and business executive Floyd Shorter all spinning in their graves with disgust and disappointment. Williams and Jenkins are supposedly business and civic leaders of the black community.

    Together, they conspired to extort $15,000 from PCH LLC, the development firm heading the $65 million Prince Charles renovation project, by contending there was a problem with the property title, which Williams could make go away for mere 15 grand. It’s both appalling and criminal.

    They both are also guilty of using and abusing one of Fayetteville and Cumberland County’s oldest and most honorable and dignified business organizations, the Fayetteville Business and Professional League. The FB&PL is one of the most prestigious and influential organizations in Cumberland County, serving African-American minority business owners and professionals. For over a half a century this distinguished organization has worked diligently in the interests of local minorities by mentoring young people and stressing the importance of education and training. The organization supports entrepreneurism and new business development while encouraging civic and governmental engagement.

    Under previous leadership, the League was the catalyst in minority business development and creation. It utilized workshops, networking, partnerships and joint venture programs to take advantage of business opportunities throughout Fayetteville, Cumberland County and the state. Thomas Bacote was one of those leaders. He loved and served the league, spending decades advocating for it.

    He introduced the FB&PL to me in the late 90s when I started Up & Coming Weekly. He eventually sponsored my membership into the organization. I was its first white “minority” member. Several years later, the organization recognized Up & Coming Weekly as FB&PL’s Business of the Year. After Bacote’s death, Wilson Lacy, Cumberland County Schools executive director of operations, took the leadership position and shepherded the organization for 17 years.

    More recently, the league’s leadership was organized by my dear friend, Floyd Shorter, who died after a brief illness in 2016. Floyd was an amazing man known for his gentlemanly demeanor, sense of humor and perpetual smile. He learned much from Lacy and became a “tour de force” in civic leadership, championing small businesses by mentoring and encouraging black and minority-owned businesses right up to his death. He taught at Fayetteville State University’s School of Business. He lectured. He sat on numerous boards and committees, including serving the Chamber of Commerce, Economic and Business Development and the Crown Coliseum. But, what he really enjoyed was his leadership role with the League. Under Shorter’s leadership, the League grew in both membership and stature. When he was at the helm, the ship sailed smoothly. However, upon his death, the organization struggled – until Jenkins stepped in under the pretense of bringing stability, relevance and leadership to the organization. Unfortunately, this has turned out to be the near perfect example of someone doing the wrong thing for the wrong reasons.

    Jenkins owns a marketing and advertising agency. He is described on LinkedIn as a multicultural expert, consultant, social leader, marketing and advertising maven and “All around good guy.”

    Really?

    After Jenkins took over the leadership of the FB&PL, he and Williams, who had only been a councilman for District 2 a few weeks, approached Jordan Jones of PCH, LLC about the $15,000 pay-to-play scheme they concocted. Jones recorded the entire conversation, turned it over to law enforcement immediately and released it to the media last Friday.

    So, this begs the question: When was this scheme hatched? Was it in September, 2017, when Jenkins, as president of the FB&PL, met with Barton Malow, general contractor for the Astros Baseball Stadium, and PCH LLC officials were invited to present contract opportunities to League minority businesses? Was it at this meeting that they concluded Jones and PCH, LLC would be easy marks? Or, could it have been at one of the League’s Community Impact Forums, where it advocates for business and economic development, civic responsibility, civic involvement, ethnic pride and education?

    I applaud Jones for his actions, as I do Fayetteville Attorney Karen McDonald for her protective and proactive actions on behalf of our city. I’m confident it will be resolved properly and in a timely manner.

    Williams must resign. He is not our kind of people and cannot represent District 2 or any part of our community. The same goes for Jenkins. He must resign from the Fayetteville Business and Professional League for the League to continue its mission and traditions of advancing the successful development of minority businesses while elevating and directing smart, savvy, hardworking, honest and ethical minorities to positions of influence.

    This is for the betterment of our community and for future generations. We must start judging people, especially candidates, by their character, integrity and intelligence – not by the color of their skin.

    Leaders lead. Leaders make mistakes. But, they make honest mistakes.

    Thank you for reading Up & Coming Weekly.

    Editor’s note: In the March 28 issue of Up & Coming Weekly, it was incorrectly reported that Evolution Ink tattoo artist Earl Noble had won season 6 of SpikeTV’s “Ink Master.” Noble had the honor of competing in season 6 but did not win. This statement acknowledges that Noble was not aware of or responsible for the error.

    Photo: Tyrone Williams

  • North Carolina politicians lavish generous praise on community colleges. Alas, this praise is more often a sort of rote incantation than a real statement of priorities.

    Let’s change that. North Carolina’s community colleges are critically important, often a good investment of tax dollars, and deserving of far greater attention from lawmakers, education officials and opinion leaders. That attention need not be only laudatory. It should be constant – and backed by action.

    Hundreds of thousands of North Carolinians take at least one course each year at one of the system’s 58 campuses. Some are full-time students. Most aren’t. If we account for that, the equivalent of about 100,000 full-time students were enrolled in North Carolina community colleges last year. For the University of North Carolina system, the comparable figure for undergraduates was about 170,000.

    Most community-college students are enrolled in curriculum programs. They are working toward an associate degree, an associate of arts, college-transfer credits or diplomas. About 15 percent are enrolled, instead, in some form of continuing education. They are obtaining a particular job skill, retooling to change careers or taking classes simply for edification.

    In recent years, North Carolina policymakers have standardized course offerings among community colleges and universities, thus easing the transition for transfer students and making it more attractive for high school graduates to begin their quest for baccalaureate degrees at community colleges that cost less – for both students and taxpayers – and are closer to home.

    Some university leaders and policymakers resisted these changes and remain unconvinced they were a good idea. Critics view the freshman and sophomore coursework at community colleges as substandard and point to statistics such as low completion rates for associate degrees as evidence for academic weakness. They also complain, incorrectly, that college transfer is a distraction from the original, vocational mission of two-year institutions.

    While community colleges should always be committed to continuous improvement, they often get a bum rap on quality. For one thing, measures such as degree-completion rates are notoriously uninformative. Although transfer students can – and ought to – receive associate degrees from their colleges before heading to universities, large numbers of them do not even fill out the necessary paperwork.

    One study of full-time students who began at community colleges found that, after accounting for those who transfer without completing associate degrees, the share of students completing some kind of degree – associate or baccalaureate – was 55 percent within six years. That needs to be higher, naturally, but there are UNC campuses where the average six-year graduation rates for non-transfer students are at or below this level.

    More to the point, the populations of students who enter higher education through community colleges are, on average, very different from those who go straight to universities. These characteristics explain much of the difference in degree completion, regardless of the type of institution attended.

    Do community colleges deliver value? It’s a tough question to answer, but a necessary one. A 2017 analysis for Columbia University’s Teacher College tracked the earnings of community college students in eight states, including ours. North Carolinians who completed their associate degree earned substantially more in nine years than those who attended but did not complete college. Even those who didn’t graduate earned a bit more, on average, depending on how many classes they completed.

    The same qualities that lead to degree completion could also make one a better worker, so the educational experience may not fully explain the wage premium. But I think the preponderance of the evidence suggests community college are, as community college professor Rob Jenkins put it in a recent article for the James G. Martin Center for Academic Renewal, “among our leanest, most efficient institutions.” Unlike universities, they “do not need rock-climbing walls, expensive health clubs or luxurious dormitories to attract students. All they need is adequate staffing, competent, fairly-paid faculty, and reasonably modern facilities.”

    Lawmakers, please take note.

  •  

    03RapatDogwoodEditor’s note: In the March 7 issue of Up & Coming Weekly, Karl Merritt wrote a column titled “Rap at the Dogwood Festival?” He lamented that rap would be featured at the festival in 2018 and explained why he felt this way. He received several emails in response to that column. In the following article, he responds to some of what reader Aissatou Sunjata wrote. Her thoughts were published in a letter to the editor in the March 21 issue and can be read here; it is the second letter: www.upandcomingweekly. com/views/4865-logically-flawedmusket- argument.

    I want to share and respond to some of what was said by a reader who, rather vehemently, disagreed with what I wrote. The letter was sent by Ms. Aissatou Sunjata. With her permission, I emailed Sunjata my thoughts and questions as prompted by her letter. After a few days and a follow-up email, she emailed me saying her schedule would not allow time to address my comments or questions. Consequently, what I say here is in response to her initial letter to the editor.

    From the first paragraph, Sunjata states: “If Mr. Merritt’s mentee is fortunate he will not be so strongly and staunchly biased against rap music and perhaps give some background and discernment involving rap music. Rap music, like jazz, like the blues, like country music, has a history.”

    As I have repeatedly written, my life experiences indicate that a proper framework for thinking is essential for successful living. That means values and beliefs that lead a person to choices that produce fair and positive outcomes. Therefore, my assignment in mentoring the 13-year-old black girl that I mentioned in that column is to help her develop such a framework; not to tell her what to think.

    Here is a basic example of what I mean. Today is Saturday, March 24, 2018. My mentee and I are scheduled for a reading session, by phone, at 5 p.m. At 12:14 p.m., she sent me a text explaining her call today would come from a different phone number than usual. I have never talked with her about calling on time. The conversations are about being individually responsible, identifying opportunities that are life-enhancing and going after them … these kinds of values. For weeks, my phone has rung at exactly the agreed upon time. I have not told her not to listen to rap; that decision will be made within her thought-processing framework. My lamenting rap at the Dogwood is about impact on thought-framework development, on paradigm shaping.

    I am not alone in contending that rap can have a negative influence on individuals. Read the paper at this link: www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/792/ the-influence-of-rap-and-hip-hop-music-an-analysis- on-audience-perceptions-of-misogynistic-lyric. There are articles that use general statements to give value to rap, but part of this one deals with facts and reasoned analysis. At one point, the paper says, “While a correlation may exist between exposure to misogynistic music and audience attitudes regarding violent acts against women, a causal link cannot be demonstrated between listening habits and resulting misogynistic behavior.”

    This says to me that the type of rap discussed in my column can adversely impact that 13-year-old’s paradigm, her framework for decision-making. It might not directly cause negative actions on her part, but will likely influence thought patterns that will, coupled with other destructive conditions, result in unwise choices.

    Then, from Sunjata: “There is rap in gospel music. How can it all be bad?” Years ago, I watched a young man do “gospel rap.” I processed it through my paradigm and decided, “Not for me.” Since I made that decision years ago, it only seemed fair to see if the genre was different today. To that end, I watched several gospel rappers on YouTube. Some of them were: Tre9 performing “Pull Up on Ya Block;” “NC Female Christian Hip-Hop Cypher #NCFemaleCypher;” Sicily performing “Problems Music Video-Christian Rap” and Lazarus performing “Walk by Faith.”

    As before, the words were meaningful, but, for me, not worshipful and definitely did not encourage me to a paradigm rooted in a faithful walk, or relationship, with God. In most cases, if I turned off the audio, I could hardly distinguish these Christian rappers from those described in my column that prompted the letter from Sunjata. With one or two exceptions, their dress and movements were similar.

    On my part, there was a sense of being entertained rather than sensing God’s presence and worshipping him. When all this was processed through my thought-framework, my paradigm, it was rejected. Without a doubt, this genre appears to be an attempt to reach young people where they seem to be. If that statement is true, and I believe it is, we have sunk to an alarmingly treacherous position as a society. I do not view Christian or gospel rap as redemptive for the rap genre.

    Here is one of two statements in her letter where Sunjata says I took credit for rap being included at the Dogwood Festival: “It is funny that Karl Merritt is taking credit for the Dogwood Festival’s inclusion of Rap this year and then bemoaning them adding rap music.” I asked that she tell me where I took this credit. There was no response. If someone else can show me where I made this claim, I would appreciate it.

    Further, Ms. Sunjata says: “Very tired of people not wanting to alter or change anything in Fayetteville except what is important to them. I don’t enjoy baseball, but okay, there is going to be a field and a team. Perhaps the choice of selecting Coolio might not be appropriate for the audience which will attend the Festival. How will we ever know unless they give it a try?”

    Trying something new should be based on a logical assessment of the likely outcome of doing so. It appears to me the likely positive outcome of a baseball team in Fayetteville passes the reason test. As Sunjata seems to admit, that is probably not the case with rap at the Dogwood, given what has been the audience for that particular event in the past.

    My contention is that the measure of success of rap at the Dogwood Festival should not be how many people attend. Instead, it should be how attendees’ framework, paradigm, for decision-making is affected. Obviously, my contention is that the effect will be negative. Consequently, trying this new thing does not pass the test of reason for me.

    The bulk of my original column about this issue focused on how I am convinced that unfair actions, better described as pressure, by some members of Fayetteville City Council produced the decision by leadership of the Dogwood Festival to include rap in this year’s events. I find it of note that Ms. Sunjata did not mention that section of my column. In light of her seeming commitment to dealing fairly with people, I would have expected agreement relative to the case I presented in that section.

    For me, the bottom line of this discussion goes back to Proverbs 4:23, from the New International Version of the Bible: “Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.” This is not a reference to the physical heart, but, rather, to that invisible place where our thought-framework, our paradigm, resides. In great part, we guard that heart by being careful what we expose ourselves to. Above all, I hope this is the course that 13-year-old black girl will follow. Not only do I wish this course for that 13-year-old, but for every person and for me.

    Photos: Left: screenshot from the YouTube video “NC Female Christian Hip-Hop Cypher #NCFemaleCypher.” Right: Media photo from coolioworld.com.

  • 05Tyrone WilliamsRegardless of the outcome from all the investigations taking place involving freshman Councilman Tyrone Williams, he needs to resign from the city council and spare our community the embarrassment of a local governmental scandal. The cliché “where there’s smoke there is usually fire” rings true in this bizarre sequence of disturbing circumstances. We agree with former Fayetteville City Councilman Bobby Hurst, who got it right when commenting about Williams’ situation on WFNC’s Morning Show last week when he said, “He’s just lying. And he should step down.”

    The overall news coverage of this situation has also been unusually vague and confusing, causing much speculation. This has all the drama and intrigue of a James Patterson novel – municipal suspicion of wrongdoing by a sitting councilman, closed sessions of city council meetings, accusations of potential criminal activity, false claims and accusations directed at city attorney Karen McDonald, the hiring of a high-powered white collar crime criminal defense attorney, the request by other council members for an Ethics Commission investigation, false claims of financial interest in someone else’s business, and now, the involvement of the FBI.

    This series of events began several weeks ago when McDonald felt it necessary to hire and bring in an outside attorney to advise the city and potentially protect it from the escalating negative conflict of interest accusations lodged against Councilman Williams regarding PCH, Inc. and the Prince Charles Hotel development project.

    To date, no one has come forward to define just what that conflict of interest is. However, when questioned specifically about it, Williams got entangled in his own statements and contradictions, exacerbating the suspicion surrounding this situation and casting even more doubt on his integrity, honesty and intentions regarding the matter.

    First, Williams said he had a financial interest in the Prince Charles Hotel. This was not true; PCH Inc. confirms that it had no dealings with Williams and he was in no way associated with the project. Secondly, Williams said he disclosed his interest in the Prince Charles Hotel to the city attorney in February. Again, not true. McDonald denied this adamantly and demanded that Williams correct the record. Then there are the questions resulting from the votes he participated in concerning PCH and the hotel. Why did Williams participate in the voting if both he and the city attorney knew he had a financial interest in the project?

    This only raises more questions, like:

    What is the actual “dispute” or alleged “conflict of interest” the city is addressing with Williams, and why won’t anyone say?

    Why would Williams vote (twice) against a $100 million development project in his own District 2?

    It has been mentioned that “they” confronted PCH, Inc. Who are “they”?

    Are other people involved with this alleged dispute?

    If so, are they involved with the city or in any way in a position to influence city policy?

    Does Williams have an attorney, and why hasn’t he lawyered up to defend himself against the allegations?

    If he does have an attorney, who make up Williams’ legal team of advisors?

    Because of Williams’ past business relationship with former Prince Charles Hotel owner John Chen, does Williams think he has a financial interest in PCH, Inc.?

    Does city staff or someone on city council have evidence or suspicions of bribery or of a pay-to-play scheme developing?

    There are so many questions causing so much speculation, and all of it negative. Hopefully, by the time you read this article the truth will have emerged, and our community will have the answers it is entitled to.

    In the meantime, I am extremely pleased that we have a city attorney like McDonald who is diligent and talented enough to recognize a threatening situation that could be detrimental to our city. She immediately took the proper corrective action to protect the city of Fayetteville, our council members, the reputation of our community and the monumental downtown economic development project that will enhance and redefine Fayetteville’s stature in North Carolina.

    We have much at stake here. Most importantly, the residents of Fayetteville must be able to respect, trust and place confidence in their city leaders. Even the slightest hint of impropriety will undermine our growth, development and aspirations for a prosperous future. T

    hank you for reading Up & Coming Weekly.

    Photo: City Cunciman Tyrone Williams

  • 042016hitmen.jpg

    The Hit Men is a unique musical opportunity. Five of the most prolific hit-makers in the music industry are bringing their musical careers together on stage after working together in the studio for more than 40 years. All of these men have worked with countless musicians over their careers such as the Four Seasons, Barry Manilow, LL Cool J, Carly Simone and Korn. On this tour, they are performing some of their classic high-energy hits. Hitmen will be at Givens Performing Arts Center on April 23.

    As studio artists, these men performed steadily for decades, which makes for an incredible concert. These are men who have worked tirelessly for perfecting their craft and they have yet to slow down. 

    “A lot of times we see older artists come back and perform their old songs, but more often than not they have not kept it up. You hear them and just say ‘oh boy.’ But we are still in shape, we never stopped. We are studio artists we are the background guys. We never got out of it. If we are not up to it we don’t get to work. People call us because we know what we are doing and still sound great,” says Jimmy Ryan a Hit Men member. 

    Despite being continually active in the music industry, this concert does not focus on their modern work. Instead they are taking a step back in time. 

    “Production technology has come so far that the studio can take mediocre music and with the right beat, make it great to dance to, but it is not a song, it’s just a thumping beat. It doesn’t have the longevity that a great song has that really touches your heart,” Ryan said. 

    Their goal is more than performing great music; it is about transporting fans back to happy musical memories. 

    Even more important, the entire reason this group was created was to have fun. This desire to have fun is at the heart of every performance for both the band and the audience members. Performing in the studio and on the stage are both great, but very different. “Playing live is really when you get the feedback,” Ryan explained, “When you play for crowds between 1,000 and 7,000 and they are all on their feet cheering, you feel so much acknowledgment. Performing is really not just about the pay, though the pay is nice. It is about making people happy. We make people feel young again and that is tremendous, we are doing a psychological service.” 

    After years in the music business, Ryan has some advice for aspiring musicians, though it can truly apply to anyone looking for success. “Don’t be lazy,” he explains “If you want to grow up and really give people something, you have to put the time in. You can do it in any number of things. Otherwise you are wasting everyone’s time - most of all your own. There are new apps that make it easy to make okay music but not great music. That takes work.”

    The Hit Menwill perform on April 23 at 8 p.m. at the Givens Performing Arts Center. Tickets begin at $31. To purchase tickets or for more information visit http://www.uncp.edu/giving.advancement/givens-performing-arts-center/broadway-and-more-series. 


  • 042716boxing.png

    Wrestling and boxing matches can be exciting on television, but there is nothing like attending a match in real life. On April 30, One Hit Promotions and Triangle Kickboxing Promotions are bringing Fayetteville a chance to do just that. And Still I Rise is bringing 15 amateur bouts and 10 professional fights to the Crown Coliseum. 

    “I compare it to T.V. Everyone has seen Rockyand MMA fights on television, and it’s just like that but real. It is up close and personal, and it has a real Vegas excitement and atmosphere. Its always a must see because you never know who is going to win or who is going to get hit. It is always like wow, don’t blink you might miss something,” says Miree Coleman “the Pink Panther” Coleman, a professional fighter who will be appearing in the event. 

    Coleman is one of Fayetteville’s own. His boxing career began to take off while he was stationed at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. As an amateur, he won many accolades both within the military and the general community. His connection to this area and his military experience can be seen in the deep personal meaning of his chosen name. “The Pink Panther is pink because my mom is a breast cancer survivor and I fight for breast cancer awareness. And the Panthers is a unit in the 82nd that I deployed with, twice. Once to Iraq and once to Afghanistan, so my name really has meaning to it,” he explained. 

    For Coleman, his professional boxing career is about a lot more than putting on his gloves and fighting. It is also about fighting for a cause that is close to his heart: breast cancer awareness and transparency in charities. 

    “The boxer that I most look up to is Muhammad Ali because of the effect that he had on the country. Everything that he did, whether it was good or questionable, the whole world knew about it. I’m trying to get on that level and I can say the things that other people can’t and then maybe someone that matters can take that point of view into consideration and do something about it. A lot of people donate to charities for breast cancer, but we don’t know where all that money goes. I’ll bring that up. Of all that money we raise, I want to give some to the women who are fighting it so she can put gas in her car and get to her appointments,” he says. 

    Inspired by such an incredible athlete, Coleman seeks to be an inspiration for others himself. He often accepts invitations as a public speaker and goes out of his way to share his experiences with others. His advice, though tailored to his profession, holds true to anyone chasing a dream and searching for success. “I always say they should try and push themselves,” he said. “If you win or lose, there are always going to be naysayers. Add that to your positive motivation and continue to push for your dream. Be ready for your chance because you have to grab it when it comes.”

    Doors open at the Crown Coliseum at 2:30 p.m. with the amateur bouts. The professionals should take the stage around 7 p.m. This is a family-friendly event and tickets begin at $30. They can be purchased online through the Crown Coliseum website. 


  • 041316-cover.jpg

    Hogs & Rags isn’t your typical motorcycle rally for many reasons. The main one being that it involves both motorcycles and cars (mostly convertibles). Some of the others include a stop for a hearty country breakfast at Rockin’-A-Ranch, a police-escorted ride the entire 118 miles and a huge lunch and entertainment at Barefood Landing in North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. It’s a day filled with excitement food, fun and camaraderie that benefits three great local organizations: the American Cancer Society, The Green Beret Foundation and the Kidsville News Literacy and Education Foundation. 

    The Hogs & Rags Rally is a sanctioned Dogwood Festival event and will actually start April 22 with Fayetteville organizers hosting a welcome party at Mac’s Speed Shop on McPherson Church Road. Fayetteville’s Mayor Nat Robertson and his wife, Kim, will “meet & greet” local riders and greet out of town guests. The Robertson are motorcycle riders and will lead the ride the next day on April 23.

    The Hogs & Rags rally started 11 years ago as a way for friends (not all of whom had motorcycles) to enjoy a day together on the road. Today, it has grown to be the largest area motorcycle event and one that is anticipated each and every year. Gardner Altman is one of the founders of Hogs & Rags and he’s looking forward to the ride. He’ll be there in his 1968 Cadillac convertible. 

    “I’ve been really surprised by the support and reception this event receives from the community,” said Altman. “Not just the bikers and cars that participate every year, but the entire community — businesses, people who come out to watch the ride, volunteers and the wonderful hard working team members — the support is broad based. It’s been a tremendous success — more than I ever envisioned. The purpose is to have fun. Any time you bring people together and they have fun and they come back.”

    Registration begins at 7 a.m. and runs through 9 a.m. at the Airborne & Special Operations Museum. It is recommended that riders don’t wait until the last minute to show up. There is plenty to do and see prior to the ride. Including the introductions of the Fayetteville Dogwood Queens. Wendy Rogers, one of the event organizers said, “We do a safety briefing before the ride so that everyone knows to obey the rules and stay safe along the way. Amazingly, we are escorted all the way by the dherriff’s departments from each county that we pass through.”

    It’s kickstands up at 9 a.m. as the group departs from the ASOM for Rockin-A-Ranch in White Oak with the Robertson’s leading the way to the full country breakfast at the ranch. 

    “I think the energy and enthusiasm is a lot of fun,” said Altman. “My favorite thing is when I am at my farm (Rockin’ - A- Ranch) and see all the motorcycles and cars come riding by. All that adrenaline and energy is exciting.”

    The group is back on the road at 10:45 a.m heading to Wild Wings Café where they will arrive two hours later for lunch, entertainment, prize raffles to top off the day’s events. After the festivities and fellowship, Hogs & Rags adjourns for another year leaving everyone free to enjoy the afternoon in Myrtle Beach or have a casual ride back home to Fayetteville to enjoy the Dogwood Festival and the Saturday night concert at Festival Park. 

    Traditionally, the Hog & Rags Rally welcomes bikes of all kinds as well as trikes, convertibles, muscle cars and street rods. The event has grown every year.  

    “If you come one year, chances are you will be back,” said Rogers. “It only takes one time. It is so much fun that you just can’t stay away the next year.”

    Last year the Hogs & Rags Rally raised and donated more than $15,000 to three local 501(c)(3) non-profit organizations. 

    The American Cancer Society helps “people stay well and get well, find cures and fight back against cancer.” It’s been the goal for more than 100 years and will continue to be a priority as the organization fights to save lives and create a world with less cancer.

    About 2.5 million volunteers, along with professional staff work tirelessly each day to fight back and find cures for cancer. They do this by helping people stay well, which includes developing guidelines for screening tests, developing nutritional and physical activity guidelines, creating personal health action plans and more. Helping people get well is also a priority and the American Cancer Society plays a role in this with a hotline to answer questions and provide resources. The organization also has more than 120 sites at hospitals and treatment centers around the country. Finding cures plays a vital role in the fight against cancer. Find out more about the American Cancer Society at www.cancer.org.

    The Green Beret Foundation provides immediate and long-term support to wounded Green Berets, their families and the families of the fallen. Specifically that means when a Green Beret is injured in the line of duty, the Green Beret Foundation sends him and his family a check for $1,000 and essentials needed for a hospital stay. Sometimes it takes more than a short hospital stay for a soldier and his family to recover. The Green Beret Foundation is there to support them during this time, too. The organization supplements care that the Veteran’s Administration offers by paying for treatments like hyperbaric oxygen therapy for traumatic brain injury and PTSD, laser nerve therapy and adaptive and recovery equipment. 

    Gold Star families have a friend in the community in the Green Beret Foundation. The organization covers unfunded funeral expenses and long-term support to the families. It also hosts events like reconnect weekends to help foster closeness and build bonds that are critical to healthy families. The Steel Mags program offers support and provides access to resource, advocacy and guidance to help wives, widows and caregivers of Green Berets. Scholarships are another service provided by the foundation. 

    Green Berets transitioning out of the military can also look to the foundation for tools, training and support to help them succeed in the civilian world. To date, the Green Beret Foundation has offered financial support to more than 500 Green Berets and assisted scores of families. This organization has given more than $4 million to support the Special Forces community. Find out more about the Green Beret Foundation at www.greenberetfoundation.org.

    The Kidsville News! Literacy & Education Foundation seeks “to improve literacy, education and character development among America’s youth by providing support for various early learning and literacy-based initiatives nationwide.” The Kidsville News Literacy & Education Foundation will approve grants to qualified projects and institutions that endeavor to instill strong reading and education skills and good solid character development traits in America’s youth.”  The Kidsville News Literacy & Education Foundation awards grant to qualified organizations for the purpose of promoting education and improving literacy among America’s youth. Find out more about the foundation at www.kidsvillenewsfoundation.com.

    Hogs & Rags registration is $50 per person and includes a collector’s T-shirt, breakfast, lunch, door prizes and a $2,500 cash raffle. Register early at http://hogsandrags.com/pdf/reg_form_2016.pdf. For more information, call 818.0458.


  • uac042711001.jpg Thursday, April 28

    History of Scottish Presbyterians in the Cape Fear

    Providence Presbyterian Church, 2801 Ramsey St., 7 p.m. Information, linrohm@yahoo.com.

    Friday, April 29 - May 15

    I Love You. You’re Perfect. Now Change. Cape Fear Regional Theatre - More information, visit www.cfrt.org

    Friday, April 29

    Fayetteville-Cumberland Crimestoppers Annual Barbecue - 11 a.m. – 7 p.m. Highland Shopping Center Parking Lot (in front of Harris Teeter) $6 per plate

    A Garden Party to Benefit the Boys and Girls Clubs of Cumberland County 3-7 p.m. Cross Creek Park Tickets are $50 per person. Information: Jenny@justjennyevents.com

    Skate Park Appreciation Event & Lock-In Double Decker Skate Park, 500 Blount St. For more information, e-mail doubledeckerskatepark@ gmail.com or call 483-3425.

    Bloom & Boom Kickoff Party 7-10 p.m. Featuring Jo Dee Messina and closing out the night with Fireworks. Midway rides open at 5 p.m.

    Saturday, April 30

    Hogs and Rags Annual Spring Rally 8 a.m. Cape Fear Harley Davidson $50 per entry, $30 per additional passenger

    Dogwood Youth Softball Explosion TournamentTimes vary; presented by Fayetteville-Cumberland County Parks and Recreation Department. Information: email rgroves@ci.fay.nc.us or call 433-1398

    YMCA Dogwood Run: Run For Your Hero Run begins at 7:30 a.m. on Hull Road. For information, email audraw.ymcanc@gmail. com or call 323-0800.

    Dogwood Street Festival12-10 p.m. Featuring arts and crafts vendors, live entertainment, the Partnership’s KidStuff, midway rides and much more!

    Revolution Skate2 to 8 p.m. Skate inspired art exhibit, skate expo and DJ. Admission is free. Sponsored by Fayetteville STUN Art, Feral Art Collective and Fayetteville Art Guild. Information: call 828-406-4875 or email mudpieceramics@gmail.com.

    Spring Fashion Expo 2-5 p.m., Crown Expo Center Tickets are $10 per person Features fashion show, beauty seminars, modeling workshops and guest speakers. Information, email organizer@indulgefashionnetwork. com.

    Ms. Senior Cumberland County Beauty Pageant 2 to 5 p.m. Haymount United Methodist Church Tickets are $5 Information: email cvansickle@ccccoa.org.

    Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra Grand Finale 7:30 p.m. Reeves Auditorium, Methodist University Tickets are $25 for adults, $20 for seniors and military; $8 for students with ID; children under the age of 12 admitted free.

    Jazz On the Top of the Town 8:30 p.m., 2510 Legion Rd. Featuring jazz music by Art Sherrod Jr. Tickets are $30 per person. Information: email sharontaylor@nc.rr.com.

    EverclearMain Stage at Festival Park 9 p.m.

    Sunday, April 26

    Dogwood Street Festival12-10 p.m. Featuring arts and crafts vendors, live entertainment, the Partnershi

  • cover040616.jpg

    This year, Community Concerts celebrates 80 years of music, fun and entertainment. It’s been a stellar season thus far with performances by Daryl Hall and John Oates, Peter Cetera and Boyz II Men. On April 15, funnyman Jay Leno takes the stage at the Crown Theatre to close out
    the season.

    “He’s a legend,” said Community Concerts Attractions Director Michael Fleishman. “He puts on an excellent show.”

    A longtime late night TV host, Leno has not slowed down a bit since leaving The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.In fact, he has an Emmy Award winning webshow called Jay Leno’s Garage. Here he shares his love of cars and gives reviews, compares cars
    and more.

    Never one to sit still, Leno stays busy traveling, writing children’s books, performing and supporting his favorite causes. He’s served as Master of Ceremonies for causes supporting those affected by 9/11, the Tsunami in Thailand, hurricanes in the Gulf and more. Every year, Leno leads the Love Ride in California, which benefits humanitarian organizations that serve people with autism and muscular dystrophy as well as athletes who compete in the Special Olympics.

    While Community Concerts’ season performances don’t usually have an opening act, the audience is in for an extra treat at this show. “We added an opening act — Emily West. She’s from Nashville and was finalist on season 9 of America’s Got Talent,” said Fleishman. “She won the crowd over with covers she does, one of them is a song from The Wizard of Oz.”

    Fleishman was looking to add a musical element to the show and knew he had the right act when he heard West. 

    “She is great. She will do a show for about 30 minutes as an opener. She’s worked with Jay before and he loves her.” 

    Community Concerts went all out this year choosing to bring fewer shows but bigger names to the community. It was a calculated move but one that the organization felt was right. “We had fewer shows this year, but actually spent more,” said Fleishman. “This has been a really good season.”

     While he wouldn’t commit to a specific number of performances for next season, Fleishman added, “We always want to keep it fresh and we are actively working on next year’s program. We want to bring the best artists we can to Fayetteville.”

    Offering top-notch entertainment to the community is the Community Concerts mission — and it’s something the organization does exceedingly well. What drives this all-volunteer group is their love for the community. Since 2008, every season, Community Concerts inducts a person or group into the Fayetteville Music Hall of Fame. With such a talented and diverse community, it just made sense to honor those who make the Fayetteville music community stronger.

    Previous Hall of Fame inductees include Charlotte Blume, owner of Charlotte Blume School of Dance; Laura Stevens, founder and director of Voices of the Heart; jazz educator and performer Malachi Sharpe; and the 82nd Airborne Division’s All-American Chorus.

    This year Community Concerts chose to honor three people. The inductees were announced at the Boys II Men concert on March 11. Fouad Fakhouri is a composer and the conductor for the Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra. This is Fakhouri’s last season with the FSO. “He has done a lot for Fayetteville and the symphony,”
    said Fleishman. 

    Doyle Wood owns Daxwood Productions and joined Fakhouri as an inductee. “He’s a singer and a songwriter and a producer. He has produced more than 1,000 songs,”
    said Fleishman. 

    Lynne Robertson O’Quinn was the third inductee. 

    “She has worked with Wood for almost 30 years,” said Fleishman. “She has helped him on lyrics for songs he’s done. They did a song called ‘Stand Proud,’ which is being used at military ceremonies and as a tribute to the armed forces. They also worked on ‘Our Hometown,’ which is played a lot locally and is an homage Fayetteville.”

    Always looking to encourage new musicians, Community Concerts also awards college scholarships to local students. The program was founded in 2004. Since its inception, the organization has awarded 24 scholarships.

    Another way that Community Concerts supports local musicians is through its local artist showcase. This program is designed to build community involvement and music awareness. In the past, local groups performed at shows during the Community Concerts Season. Voices of the Heart opened for Gladys Knight and students from Linda Kinlaw’s School of Dance performed during Martina McBride’s show. Local country music artist Trae Edwards performed at the Ricky Skaggs show.

    Community Concerts believes in the power of music and strives to make music available to everyone. The organization provides free concert opportunities to different groups including children and seniors. The Vision Resource Center, Urban Ministry, The Sunshine Center, members of local fire and police departments, high school theater art classes, members of our military and many others have benefited from this program.

    To find out more about Community Concerts or to purchase ticket to see Jay Leno at the Crown, visit www.community-concerts.com or call 888.267.6208.


  • lacrae.jpg

    Lecrae Devaughn Moore, more popularly known as Lecrae, is a man of many talents. He is most well known for being an American Christian hip-hop artist, and he will be at the Crown on April 10.

    Lecrae’s early life was troubled. He was raised by his single mother and moved often. He quickly became involved with gangs, drugs and violence as a way to escape his personal demons. It was as difficult for him as it was for his family. At the age of 17, he decided to try and escape from the dead end road that he was travelling by going to church. This decision changed his life. At the age of 19, he dedicated himself and his life to God. He was inspired not only by his new faith but also by the artists that met within the church. This experience serves as a foundation for much of his work. On his website, Lecrae noted, “People struggle with categories. Categories make us feel comfortable because it’s how we make sense of things in our minds,” adding that it’s possible to rise above unfortunate circumstances. “Sometimes, there’s transcendence.”

    In 2004, Lecrae joined Ben Washer to found Reach Records, an Indie label designed to give first-time artists an opportunity. The independent nature of the studio also allowed the artists to express themselves unapologetically. They were not confined by the politics of big business, and this openness and honesty was quick to gain national attention. It was here that he recorded and released his first album Real Talk. The setup was makeshift and distribution was often literally from the trunk of a car, but success came quickly. To date he has been nominated for five Grammy Awards. In 2013, he won for Best Gospel Album. In 2015, he won for Best Contemporary Christian Music Performance/Song. He has sold 1.7 million albums and has received many other awards such as a BET Hip-Hop Awards Nomination. His work transcends boundaries and has been recognized by mainstream and hip-hop oriented press. Currently he is travelling the nation on his Higher Learning Tour, which will stop in Fayetteville at the Crown Coliseum.

     After his conversion, Lecrae’s life changed, but it was not without challenges. As an artist he grapples with but does not deny his failings. It is this honesty that makes his music so relatable and compelling. He wrestles with his past and tells his story through a style often described as Southern hip-hop. In recent albums Lecrae has also incorporated inspiration from reggae, soul and gospel. That’s what his work revolves around: his story and his perspective. Though others have labeled his work as Christian, he rejects the title himself because of the implication that each song must have a sermon attached. He explores social and political issues that are not necessarily inherently Christian. The label of Christian can be limiting in some aspects, when it comes to creating music. 

    Lecrae performs in the Crown Coliseum on April 10 at 7:30 p.m. DJs Promote and Swoope will be featured as supporting acts. The tour is presented by Spectra Presents. Ticket prices begin at $22. For more information or to purchase tickets, call 910.438.4100 or visit www.crowncomplexnc.com/events/detail/lecrae-higher-learning-tour. The Crown Complex is located at 1960 Coliseum Dr. 


  • 08 02 lipsyncApril is Child Abuse Awareness Month, but one local organization, the Child Advocacy Center, works tirelessly all year long to serve children in the Cumberland County community.

     Headed by longtime Fayetteville resident Roberta Humphries with support from a well-trained and compassionate staff and many capable volunteers, the Child Advocacy Center is a nonprofit organization that provides multidisciplinary services for children and families affected by sexual abuse or severe physical abuse across the county. It is accredited by the National Children’s Alliance and adheres to 10 established national standards. 

    08 03 image001The beneficial impact of the work of the Child Advocacy Center is tremendous. In 2019 alone, the Center received 730 reports of suspected sexual and/or physical abuse for children under 18. The Center conducted 416 forensic interviews for children between the ages of 3-17. 

    The organization is on the frontlines, fighting abuse in several key ways. “The CAC brings together, in one location, child protective services investigators, law enforcement, detectives, prosecutors, and medical and mental health professionals to provide a coordinated, comprehensive response to victims and their caregivers,” Roberta Humphries, the executive director of the Child 08 04 N1904P15004HAdvocacy Center, said. 

    “The CAC also provides professional and community education related to child abuse prevention and interviention and is active in raising awareness in the community around the issue of child abuse through various community events.” 

    The Center partners with numerous agencies to accomplish their objectives. “We work with all of the following agencies: Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office, Fayetteville Police Department, Hope Mills Police Department, Spring Lake Police Department, CID from Fort Bragg, State Bureau of Investigation, Federal Bureau of Investigation,  Child Protective Services with CCDSS, District Attorney’s Office, Cumberland County District Court, Medical services at Southern Regional AHEC, Womack Army Medical Center and Cape Fear Valley Hospital, Rape Crisis, Alliance Health, Guardian ad Litem Program, Army Community Services and the Family Advocacy Program,” said Humphries. 

    Another way the Center helps the communinty is through education, providing child abuse prevention education to 2,325 adults.

    Additionally, more than 2,000 children received body safety instruction through storytimes that were held at 60 different locations during November 2019. 

    A whopping 401 families received victim advocacy services. Children and caregivers received 315 mental health therapy appointments. The center also held group counseling for girls that meets every week and for boys every other week. Twenty-six case reviews were held with 242 reviewed by the full multi-disciplinary team. 

    Even during tought times, the Center continues to serve the community. In keeping with the orders from Gov. Cooper, and in efforts to work safely, the Center has  limited the number of people that can be in the Center at any one time maintaining recommended safety and cleaning procedures.

    “Currently our Center is still open, responding to requests from our partners to provide the forensic interview for children with allegations of abuse,” Humphries said. “We also continue to provide victim advocacy and counseling services.”

     Like many organizations, the CAC has taken advantage of available technology to accomodate as many people as possible. “We are offering counseling services via FaceTime or through Zoom meetings,” said Humphries. 

     The Center’s services are always in demand and there are many ways to help. While the numbers of reports of abuse in the community are staggering, the amount of people who have received assistance from the Center speaks volumes about the people who serve through the Center. The Child Advocacy Center has volunteer opportunities available throughout the year. “(In 2019), 1,283 hours of service were contributed by volunteers,” Humphries said. 

    Some of the tasks of volunteers include providing clerical support to the center or making no-sew blankets, which are made from tying two pieces of fleece fabric together, and assembling care packages. 

    Generous donations, whether they are monetary or commodities, are helpful. “We need individually wrapped snacks and juice boxes. Donations of office supplies, gift cards to Chick-fil-A, Biscuitville, Panera Bread, Krispy Kreme, Dunkin Donuts, Harris Teeter, Staples, Lowes, etc. are always beneficial,” said Humphries. Additionally, the CAC needs volunteers to assist with fundraising and special events throughout the year. Fayetteville’s Ultimate Lip Sync Showdown and the Pinwheel Masquerade Ball & Auction are two of the CAC’s most popular events. The Lip Sync Showdown invites members of the community each year to compete for titles by lip syncing their favorite tunes. There will also be a drawing for a smart TV, an Apple iPad, and a weekend getaway in Fayetteville with hotel and gift cards valued at $500. Tickets are $5 each or 5 for $20 and are available at the CAC. The fundraiser accounts for about 20% of the CAC’s funding each year. The event has been postponed until June 20 and will take place in the Crown Ballroom. The Pinwheel Masquerade Ball, which offers an evening of fun at the Cape Fear Botanical Garden, is scheduled for Sept. 26. Visit https://www.childadvocacycenter.com/ for more information about the events

     In particular, the Center currently has a need for cleaning supplies like disinfectant spray, as well as masks for adults and children. Thanks to the Cumberland County Community Foundation, the Center has some emergency funding, but more support is always appreciated to fund the operations of the Center. In the midst of the current pandemic, experts have predicted that added stressors will lead to more abuse. With that being the case, the CAC is continuing their work to help alleviate the potential problems. 

    For more information about the ways that the Child Advocacy Center serves the community, or to support the center, visit https://www.childadvocacycenter.com/ or call 910-486-9700.

  • 07 02 BraggMutual3 Sabrina Brooks and Major Gifts Officer Marge Betley from the Cape Fear Valley Health Foundation were on hand April 22 at Cape Fear Valley Hospital to greet Bragg Mutual Federal Credit Union CEO and President Steve Foley and District 45 State Rep. John Szoka as they delivered 200 lunches to dedicated and hardworking hospital staffers and nurses.

     Bragg Mutual has three locations in Fayetteville and Cumberland County and is a full-service financial institution dedicated to helping local residents better their financial status through education and thrift. According to Foley, Bragg Mutual and its employees wanted to recognize the health service workers and thank them personally for their sacrifices during this COVID-19 crisis. 

    The very next day, Foley and Bragg Mutual Volunteers took another 200 lunches to the VA Medical Center on Ramsey Street, where nurses and hospital staffers are working around the clock taking care of our veteran military service members who have served our country so gallantly.

     07 BMFCULunchThat was 400 meals in two days. Bragg Mutual met the challenge with the assistance of local catering company The Vine/Two Brothers Catering owners by Brad and Kelley McLawhorn. Despite their current hectic schedule fulfilling a massive and demanding daily contract for Fort Bragg, the McLawhorns collaborated with Bragg Mutual to prepare the 400 healthy individual boxed lunches for the hospital and the VA staffers and nurses. Each prepared lunch included a fresh deli turkey sandwich, macaroni salad, potato chips and for dessert, a slice of Two Brothers’ special carrot cake. Also, credit union members from Up & Coming Weekly and Rocket Fizz Soda Pop and Candy Shop also included an extra special gift — a sweet treat packet of candy. This heartwarming gesture was the near-perfect example of the people helping people philosophy that has made Bragg Mutual Credit Union such a valuable asset to the Fayetteville community for over seven decades. 

    Rep. Szoka, chairman of the board of Bragg Mutual, encourages such local community involvement. “Bragg Mutual Federal Credit Union has always been focused on helping our community, and we’re glad to show our appreciation to our hardworking health care professionals throughout the area,” said Szoka, an appropriate statement coming from the man who was chosen the 2019 National Volunteer of the Year by the National Association of Federally Insured Credit Unions. This prestigious award honors credit union volunteers who demonstrate leadership, dedication to Credit Union members, commitment to professionalism, service to Credit Union staff, and uphold the values of the community. Both Szoka and Foley demonstrate those qualities every day and work to bestow them in everyone they come into contact with the Credit Union.

    We salute all our community health care workers serving the hospitals and medical clinics, along with the work, commitment and dedication of businesses like Bragg Mutual Federal Credit Union and people like Foley and the staff of the credit union. Our community is made better because of their presence and support. The same can be said for Cape Fear Valley Health Foundation and the McLawhorns of The Vine / Two Brothers Catering company. No doubt, heroes work here in Fayetteville and Cumberland County.

    Want to give back time, money or words of encouragement?

    Bragg Mutual Federal Credit Union: www.braggmutual.orgSteve Foley, CEO: sfoley@braggmutual.org

    The
    Vine/Two Brothers Catering: 910-584-9892

    Brad McLawhorn: twobrotherscatering06@gmail.com

    Kelley
    McLawhorn: twobrotherscatering06@gmail.com

    Cape
    Fear Valley Health Foundation: www.cfvfoundation.org/

    Marge Betley, Major Gifts Officer: mbetley@capefearvalley.com 910-615-1358

    VA Medical Center: 910-488-2120

  • 06 history centerFrom the beginning, the North Carolina Civil War & Reconstruction History Center has been about inclusion and transparency. The wheels were set in motion in 2007 with a planning grant from the N.C. General Assembly. While the ground has not yet been broken for the facility, plans are moving ahead, and it’s to the benefit of many historically underutilized businesses in North Carolina. This category of businesses includes companies owned by women, African Americans, Native Americans and others.

    “The State of North Carolina believes highly in small businesses, which is what drives our economy,” said Tammie Hall, assistant to Machelle Sanders, the Secretary of HUB and the HUB Division Director. “It is important to get them engaged in what we do.”

    According to nccivilwarcenter.org, once complete, the four-acre History Center site will include a 60,000-square-foot main museum built outside the U.S. Arsenal’s archaeological footprint, protecting the remnants of the asset seized by Confederate forces in 1861 and leveled by William T. Sherman’s engineers four years later. The existing 1897 E.A. Poe House and three Civil War-era structures are incorporated into the larger, interpretive plan. This project offers the public a repository, not merely of artifacts, but of information and a context for it.

    Three Civil War-era houses, known as the history village, were moved to the southern end of Arsenal Park in October 2018. Work on the three houses is on schedule for completion later this month. A total of $2.5 million was budgeted to move and renovate the houses and the job has come in under budget.

    In a recent press released, the History Center announced that work on the buildings include: 

    •  The Arsenal House was renovated primarily for K-12 students. It includes a classroom, a distance learning studio and a technical support room, all part of the Digital Education Outreach Center. The Outreach Center will be an online educational resource to teach the history of the period before, during and after the Civil War to public school students across North Carolina.

    •  The Culbreth House was renovated for higher education purposes. It will become the Center for the Study of the Civil War and Reconstruction in North Carolina. A catering kitchen and upstairs offices were added, as was a library, which will house an extensive collection of Civil War and Reconstruction books. It will be used as the offices for the Center’s Foundation.

    •  The Davis House required extensive renovation following damage from the move, including adding structural elements, new floors, walls and updated rewiring and heating and air. Plans are for it to be a support building for the buildings and other developments for that end of Arsenal Park.

    The next project will be an educational outdoor pavilion area, which is scheduled to be completed next year. Also planned for the site is the 60,000-square-foot building, which will replace the Museum of the Cape Fear and house large scale exhibits, an auditorium and the Center’s operations going forward.

    The Center’s use of historically underutilized businesses as contractors is at 82.09%. “It is a huge accomplishment to receive 80%,” said Hall. “It’s a huge plus for our economy.  … (The) state recognizes it as investing in small businesses, which are the ones who grow our communities, and which grow our school systems. Small business is what grows our North Carolina economy.” 

    “ … Our goal with the Center is to be inclusive with all North Carolinians, not only with our present and future programming, but with our operations and construction, as well.” said John M. “Mac” Healy, chair of the North Carolina Civil War & Reconstruction History Center Board of Directors.

    Find out more about the History Center at http://nccivilwarcenter.org/, or call 910-491-0602 to learn more.

  • 05 01 Revenue downturnThe COVID-19 economic shutdown is taking a toll on government finances as a dramatic downturn in sales tax revenues is expected to disrupt the financial health of local government. The city of Fayetteville has asked the Public Works Commission to contribute millions more than it usually does in the fiscal year ahead to offset an expected reduction in revenues. PWC annually transfers $12 million to the city in lieu of taxes.

     Fayetteville Budget Director Tracey Broyles told City Council she anticipates a significant loss of sales tax proceeds and other revenues in FY21. She predicts the city could lose about $7.7 million. City Councilman Johnny Dawkins, who represents the city on the North Carolina League of Municipalities, said actual losses could be a lot more. PWC’s charter allows the utility to provide additional funding to the city in emergency situations. “We have a once in a lifetime issue here,” said city manager Doug Hewett. Councilmember Chris Davis made the motion to ask PWC for as much as $11 million — the first $8 million covering budget shortfalls, with the additional money being set aside for unforeseen COVID-19 issues. The motion passed unanimously. 

    05 02 Paratroopers at Pope FieldPope Army Airfield infrastructure neglected

    A recent audit found Fort Bragg’s Pope Airfield to be among the Army’s worst maintained facilities. Pope Airfield is a staging area and launch site for the 82nd Airborne Division’s Immediate Response Force. Paratroopers can deploy anywhere in the world within 18 hours of notification. Lawmakers are worried Fort Bragg’s lift capabilities are being underfunded, The Army Times first reported. The airfield is now part of Fort Bragg. The Army took it over from the Air Force in 2011. “These infrastructures serve as primary training airfields for USASOC — United States Army Special Operations Command, JSOC — Joint Special Operations Command and others, including the immediate response force,” said Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C.Army Chief of Staff Gen. James McConville and Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy said funding has already been planned for the airfield, and more is on the way. “We have an approved project of $25 million for airfield lighting repair, and in the 2021 budget we plan to spend $65 million to repair the runway and taxiways,” the secretary and chief said in a joint statement.

    05 03 PWC LinemanLocal electricity rates decline 

    Fayetteville’s Public Works Commission has approved a reduction in electricity rates for residential customers as well as small and medium business customers, effective May 1. The off-peak rate was reduced from 9.1 cents to 8.4 cents per kilowatt-hour. Off-peak rates apply during 88% of the average week. On-peak rates, which remain the same, occur four hours a day during weekdays. A typical PWC residential customer using 1,000 kilowatt hours of power per month would see a decrease of $5.20. The rate reduction comes after a renegotiation of PWC’s contract with electricity provider Duke Energy, resulting in $33 million in savings. “We will not begin to see the financial savings of the contract changes until January 2021,” said PWC CEO/general manager David Trego. “However, it’s important to note that providing these savings to our customers was of the utmost importance, and the PWC Board wanted customers to receive the savings benefit as soon as possible and set the decrease to begin May 1, 2020.” 




    05 04 Rental ScamRental housing scam
    Fayetteville police are seeing a resurgence of cases involving real estate fraud involving social media and classified rental property ads. The listings are not from established property management companies and are usually listed as for rent by owner. “This fraud scheme may even involve a written “lease” that appears legitimate, but the communications and paperwork will not be done in person,” said police spokesman Sgt. Jeremy Glass. The suspect will ask prospective tenants to send the rent money through a cash application, like PayPal or the United States Postal Service, usually before written leases are provided. Glass said scammers will not be available to meet in person. They will ask you to mail, wire or using a cash-sending appl to send money. Listings often include poor grammar, typographical errors and excessive punctuation.

  • 10 onlineclassesEvery day for the past few weeks, we’ve all awakened to a new way of life. We continue to navigate our days with modified lifestyles, including staying at home as much as possible to protect ourselves and others during this COVID-19 pandemic. Over the past weeks, I have found myself often being reminded about the incredible accomplishments that are occurring as a result of everyone moving together in harmony to follow the important health and safety guidelines currently in place. This spirit of comradery and teamwork seems to make things that are heavy feel much lighter and things that are rough feel much smoother. It’s always good to focus on positivity and look for opportunities to help us strike a healthy balance between optimism and the realities we face, and now is a time for us to stay connected to something positive in our lives.

    At Fayetteville Technical Community College — even during this pandemic, our faculty and staff members have not stopped performing their jobs to continue the mission of our college: to serve our community as a learning-centered institution to build a globally competitive workforce supporting economic development. I am very proud of our faculty and staff who share the belief that education changes lives in positive ways and continue to effectively serve our students through distance education to prepare students for their futures.

    FTCC ended the first week of April with two great pieces of news: 1.) The college provided thousands of items of personal protective equipment to Cape Fear Valley Health System and donated gloves to the North Carolina State Veterans Home, and 2.) the college was awarded a $961,200 grant by the Golden LEAF Foundation to renovate and equip an existing space into a dedicated simulation suite for training nursing students. The Golden LEAF grant will help FTCC train more nurses and represents a wonderful opportunity for FTCC to contribute significantly to our community by increasing access to high-quality healthcare — a vital area whose importance has been highlighted during this pandemic. Our healthcare providers are the heroes working the front lines, and we thank them most sincerely and are very proud of them.

    The pandemic is a crisis situation unlike anything we’ve experienced before — certainly not in recent years. It’s important for us all to remain optimistic and follow up with positive actions. It is uplifting to see how this experience is bringing us closer together, not only in our local communities but also across the globe. Even though some of the news stories now may cause anxiety and uncertainty, we have opportunities to balance our mental health and awareness by staying connected to something positive. At the heart of our mission at FTCC lies an important objective, to remain — during good times and difficult times — the smart choice for education. As we continue to navigate life each day with new challenges, we at Fayetteville Technical Community College stand committed to serving you and thank you for this privilege.

  • 08 EarlySchoolDismissalAlice Cooper’s “School’s Out (for Summer)” was a hit song a generation ago. In a nutshell, it describes the situation today for thousands of North Carolina high schoolers. The North Carolina State Board of Education has approved a recommendation from the state Department of Public Instruction to pass high school seniors if they were passing their classes as of March 13.

    “We have aligned our local graduation requirements for the 2019-2020 school year with the recommendations issued by the State Board of Education,” said Cumberland County Schools Superintendent Marvin Connelly Jr. Cumberland County school officials agreed to reduce the number of semester hours required for seniors to graduate. They will receive grades for fall courses that will count in their final grade point averages.

    Gov. Roy Cooper ordered that public schools statewide will remain closed for in-person instruction until at least May 15. “I know that these actions cause hardship and heartache for a lot of people, but (they) are necessary to save lives,” Cooper said at a news conference.

    Cooper said he wasn’t giving up on the school year, and education officials are working on online instructional assistance. End-of-year exams would normally be held a month from now, with classes ending May 22. Students will either “pass” or “withdraw” based on their grades March 13, the last day they were in school.

    School districts are providing online opportunities for students who had failing grades so that they can improve their scores. If grades are not improved to “passing” by the end of the school year, students would not be eligible for graduation. The state Board of Education has told districts that they cannot require students to earn any more than a minimum of 22 credits to graduate. Normally, Cumberland County schools require 28 credits for graduation.

    “We encourage students to continue completing assignments from their teachers,” school spokesman Lindsay Whitley said.

    “Although teachers are facilitating courses remotely, the content is still important and will help students prepare for their postsecondary aspirations. School administrators or teachers will reach out to students and parents to develop a plan for students to improve their grades if they were not passing a course needed for graduation as of March 13.” Cumberland County Schools comprise North Carolina’s fifth-largest school system of 115 districts in the state, with roughly 50,000 pupils.

  • Private business owners likely wish their employees could be paid by the government when they’re out of work. Dozens if not hundreds of Cumberland County’s “full-time and part-time employees who receive benefits are being paid,” said Assistant County Manager Sally Shutt. “No county employees have been furloughed.”
    Shutt said the county has an Emergency Closure Leave policy. It prescribes that when an emergency closing of a county workplace occurs, such as the courthouse, schools and libraries, the county provides paid time off for employees. The policy governs the guidelines of closings that result from emergency declarations. Shutt also noted that the Families First Coronavirus Response Act requires the county to provide its employees with paid sick leave and expanded family medical leave for specified reasons related to COVID-19.

    Gas prices approach a modern low

    Gas prices could still drop 15-35¢ per gallon in the weeks ahead. An OPEC deal to cut oil production will not have a near-term impact on prices, according to Gasbuddy.com. The most common gas price across the country stands at $1.79/gal. As of this writing, 14 states had gas prices at 99 cents a gallon. A Fayetteville gas station is in the top 10 in North Carolina, with the lowest prices at the pump. The Circle B station, at 802 Bragg Blvd., was selling regular unleaded gas at $1.21 a gallon, Gasbuddy reported. North Carolina prices would be even lower if not for the fact that our state has one of the highest gas excise taxes in the country.

    Veterans Affairs is in more hot water

    More than a million veterans will receive instructions from Veterans Affairs officials on how to determine if they are eligible for thousands of dollars in medical cost reimbursements as the result of a court decision last fall. Tens of thousands of veterans were turned down for financial relief for bills they received for nondepartmental emergency medical care. That move comes over VA objections concerning an ongoing lawsuit over the issue, which could add billions in new costs to the department’s budget. Last fall, the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims ruled that the department’s current regulation for veterans who seek nondepartment medical care violates federal law. The court ordered the VA to reexamine more than 72,000 rejected claims and update its rules. The case centers on veterans whose unpaid emergency room expenses were denied under existing policies. The plaintiffs both had part of their bills paid for by other insurance but were left with thousands of dollars in personal costs. VA officials argued in court that they did not need to handle the unpaid balances because the veterans were primarily covered under other insurance plans. The VA is considering appealing the ruling.

    Fort Bragg soldiers are on COVID-19 deployment

    Soldiers with Fort Bragg’s 82nd Sustainment Brigade are ready for deployment to assist communities battling the COVID-19 pandemic. The brigade’s 249th Composite Supply Company received “prepare to deploy” orders three weeks ago, according to Sgt. 1st Class Jaquetta Gooden, a brigade spokeswoman.
    Gooden said the entire company of 162 paratroopers is prepared to join the fight against the virus, if needed. The unit is equipped with general supplies, fuel support, water purification and shower and laundry services. About 270 Fort Bragg soldiers have already deployed in support of operations at the Javits Convention Center in New York City. The 44th Medical Brigade troops are helping local officials move patients in and out of the Javits center’s temporary hospital facility, according to brigade Command Sgt. Maj. Fergus Joseph. The Army said Fort Bragg units are supporting local, state and federal operators under the joint leadership of U.S. Army North and the U.S. Northern Command.

    Railroad grade crossings being repaired

    CSX Corp. has informed the North Carolina Department of Transportation that it will temporarily close several railroad crossings in Cumberland, Robeson, Harnett and Johnston counties for track maintenance. The railroad began work in Robeson County last week. In a few weeks will move northward into Cumberland, Harnett and Johnston counties. A crossing closure typically lasts three to five days. Because of the scope of work and the use of several crews, it’s impossible to say in advance which railroad crossings will be closed. Drivers should use caution on roads near any railroad crossing and be prepared for a temporary closure. Detour signs will be posted.
  • 08 HogsNRags34th0POSTPONED 1For 14 years, the Hogs & Rags Annual Spring Rally has only gotten bigger and better. Already known as one of Eastern North Carolina’s largest motorcycle, car and truck rallies, organizers of this year’s event were taking it to even greater heights. They were adding more excitement and community involvement with a particular emphasis on honoring the thousands of military veterans living in the Fayetteville/Cumberland County community. This year’s ride was scheduled for Saturday, April 25, as part of the 39th Annual Fayetteville Dogwood Festival. Well, as most of our readers know by now, neither of these events will happen — thanks to COVID-19.

    If you are not familiar with the Hogs & Rags motorcycle and car rally, it is Fayetteville’s premier charity fundraising event that supports three important local nonprofit organizations serving Fayetteville, Fort Bragg and Cumberland County. The Hogs & Rags Rally raises money for the local branch of the American Cancer Society; the Special Forces Charitable Trust Foundation, which supports our brave Special Forces soldiers and their families; and the Kidsville News Literacy and Education Foundation, which provides reading and educational materials (free of charge) to children in all Fort Bragg and Cumberland County Schools.

    For 14 years, hundreds of motorcycle, car and truck enthusiasts, volunteers, sponsors and law enforcement agencies have come together in support of these causes to make this community a great place to live and work.

     Good things last, and this charitable event is no exception. Two of the original organizers of the rally are still active participants. It is the hard work, dedication and perseverance of people like Gardner Altman and Bobby Bleecker of Bleecker Automotive Group fame —  who have mentored the organization —that have enabled the event to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars for these community charities. Their concept at the inception of the rally was to create a countywide event that was a win/win for everyone involved. Although the money raised benefited local charities, the other objective was to bring people and organizations together for fellowship in support of a common goal — to make the Fayetteville/Cumberland County community a better place to live, work, play and raise a family.

    The objectives and success of this event caught the eye of another community-centric citizen, Tammy Thurman, Eastern North Carolina’s community relations manager for Piedmont Natural Gas. Seeing the impact the H&R event had on such a large segment of the community, PNG got involved by becoming the 2020 H&R presenting sponsor. Next year, PNG hopes to expand the charity ride to additional eastern Carolina cities. As the presenting sponsor, Thurman would have led the ride accompanied by two distinguished guests serving as the 2020 H&R Grand Marshals — the Honorable North Carolina Secretary of State Elaine Marshall and Civilian Aide to the Secretary of the Army Dan Dederick. Their dedication and contribution to our country, state and community are a matter of record, and their support of the rally is reflective of their goodwill, generosity and commitment to humanity.

    We have an entire year to recover from this COVID-19 situation, so here is a sneak peek of what you can expect in 2021. The rally fun always begins with an official Hogs & Rags Welcome Party on the Friday before the event. This fun-filled meet-and-greet starts around 6:30 p.m. and is sponsored and hosted by Rodney Sherrill and his staff at Rodney Sherrill/State Farm Agency. This pre-rally party is a tradition filled with food, fun, fellowship and great music, featuring Fayetteville and Cumberland County’s most popular, talented, patriotic and award-winning band, Rivermist. Admission is free with registration.

    The next day, Saturday, at 7:30 a.m., the action starts at the Airborne & Special Operations Museum. After registration, coffee and doughnuts, hundreds of motorcycles, cars and trucks will get into position as participants fellowship and greet the rally’s special guests. Opening ceremonies begin with a greeting from  Fayetteville’s mayor followed by a prayer and the Rivermist’s acapella rendition of the national anthem as the Special Forces Association Parachute Team performs a spectacular aerial demonstration while delivering a huge American Flag.

    Immediately following the presentation of colors, event sponsor Fort Bragg Harley-Davidson’s local HOG Chapter Road Captain gives the safety briefing. Then it’s kickstands up, start your engines, and everyone sets out on the first leg of the rally, with a full police officer escort, which will end up in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

    The first stop is Rock’n-A-Ranch in White Oak, North Carolina, where dozens of dedicated volunteers will have cooked up one of the most memorable and outstanding low-country Southern breakfasts you’ve ever had. It’s here that we again thank our rally sponsors and introduce our special guests. Then we are back on the road and headed to Myrtle Beach. After a short water break in Tabor City, we reach our final destination — Wild Wing Café in North Myrtle Beach. Here, the party starts as participants listen to great music and enjoy an awesome lunch as event organizers recognize the rally sponsors, give away prizes, have a live auction and announce the winner of our 50/50 and gun raffles. The raffle and auction items are outstanding every year and usually include three or four rifles and pistols, valuable artwork — like a signed and numbered limited-edition David Uhl HD painting — and our traditional exclusive one-of-a-kind handmade Hogs & Rags quilts. No one is ever disappointed.

    Well, that’s the sneak preview of next year’s event. Will it happen exactly as described? Who knows? We do promise an experience you will never forget. Just remember, all the money raised each year stays here in Cumberland County and benefits local charitable organizations. Also, the Hogs & Rags Rally is an all-inclusive community event — this means cars, trucks and any kind of motorcycle you ride (on two or three wheels) is welcome. Everyone is invited. Come solo, bring a passenger — or the entire family — you will be among friends, and you will make friends while having the time of your life.

    Next year, the cost of the ride will remain the same at $50 per person, and what a great value that is. You get to support three charities, fellowship at the  Friday Night Welcome Party with the live band Rivermist, partake in doughnuts and coffee, take home an official H&R T-shirt, enjoy a low-country breakfast at the Ranch and have a great meal and party at Wild Wing Café. There will also be door prizes, raffles and an auction. Wow! What’s not to like?

    We missed you this year, but don’t miss us next year. Mark your calendar for Saturday, April 24, 2021, and join Piedmont Natural Gas, State Farm Insurance, Fort Bragg Harley-Davidson, the band Rivermist and the entire Hogs & Rags committee as we rally for three great charities and a wonderful Fayetteville/Cumberland County community.
    Stay in touch with us at www.hogsandrags.org, and check out our Facebook page at Hogs and Rags of Fayetteville for more information. In the meantime: Stay safe, healthy and get ready to ride next year when you hear “KICKSTANDS UP!”
     
  • 07 IMG 3797A shortage of blood is nothing new at Fayetteville’s Blood Donor Center. About 900 donors provide blood supplies for Cape Fear Valley Health System in a good month.
    “We transfuse 1,100 units of blood a month,” said Marketing and Outreach Coordinator Lindsey Graham. “The past year has been one of the most critical years ever.”

    For the first time in Graham’s 12 years at the blood donor center, Cape Fear Valley hospitals have had to cancel elective surgery because of the blood shortage. Graham said the COVID-19 pandemic has contributed to the shortage.

    The Cape Fear Valley Blood Donor Center is a community program that serves the needs of patients at the health system’s hospitals in Cumberland, Hoke and Bladen counties through blood donations by individual donors, community organizations and businesses. With public school out for an indeterminant period, there will be even fewer donations.

    “High school students provide half the blood supply,” Graham said. They are the most reliable providers in our community, she added. Graham is at a loss to understand why, in a major military community, there isn’t more donor enthusiasm because, Graham said, “The need is great.”

    O negative is the most common blood type used for transfusions when a patient’s blood type is unknown, making it the universal blood type. And, it is the safest blood for transfusions for immune-deficient newborn babies. Because of its versatility for transfusions, it is in high demand.  In an emergency, it is the blood product of choice. O negative is the first blood supply to run out during a shortage, and that is the case locally, according to Graham.

    Since the community requires a continuous, safe blood supply, the Blood Donor Center encourages donors to give on a regular basis. Donors are eligible to donate whole blood every eight weeks. “Each donation can save up to three lives,” Graham noted.

    Blood is a living tissue circulating throughout the human body and is comprised of red blood cells, white blood cells, platelets and plasma. It is most often collected as whole blood and separated into major components before transfusions. In the U.S., the collection, testing, preparation, storage and transportation of blood and blood components is governed by Food and Drug Administration regulations.

    The Cape Fear Valley Blood Donor Center is located at 3357 Village Dr. It is always open for donations Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and the third Saturday of each month from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. As members of the Blood Assurance Plan, donors can build blood credits. Each donation equals one blood credit that may be kept by the donor or transferred to a family member or friend in need. Blood credits may be used to replace blood or platelet unit charges for patients of the Cape Fear Valley Health System. 

    Bloodmobile drives are scheduled for Saturday, April 18, 1-4 p.m., at Bright Light Brewing Company at 444 W. Russell St.; Wednesday, April 22, 10 a.m.-1 p.m., at Chick-fil-A, 4611 Ramsey St.; and Saturday, April 25, 11 a.m.-1 p.m., at Fort Wagg Pet Supplies, 2672 Highway 24-87 in Cameron.

  • Fayetteville Technical Community College has been awarded a $961,200 grant by the Golden LEAF Foundation to support its health care workforce training program. The grant will be used to renovate and equip an existing space as a simulation suite for FTCC’s nursing programs — associate degree in nursing, licensed practical nursing and certified nursing assistant.

    “We’re so grateful to the Golden LEAF Foundation for their ongoing support and collaboration with communities such as ours throughout North Carolina,” said FTCC President Larry Keen.

    Simulation is a proven method for students to practice a variety of health scenarios enacted in controlled environments.

    Cape Fear Valley Medical Center gets local help

    Also, Fayetteville Tech has provided thousands of items of personal protective equipment to Cape Fear Valley Health System for its use during the coronavirus outbreak.
    “These are the heroes on the front lines, and we support them,” FTCC President Dr. Keen said.

    Supplies provided to Cape Fear Valley included face shields, N-95 masks, regular medical face masks, gloves, isolation gowns, aprons, lab jackets and head covers, as well as disinfectant and hand sanitizer. The college also donated 150 masks and hundreds of gloves to the North Carolina State Veterans Home in Fayetteville. FTCC uses personal protective equipment for students in many of its health care programs and its funeral services program.

    Local Walmart stores are engaged in internal crowd control

    Walmart has taken steps to promote health, safety and consistency and enhance social distancing, including regulating store entry and changes to the shopping process. In an email to Fayetteville City Councilman D. J. Haire, Walmart’s Regional Director of Public Affairs & Government Relations Brooke Mueller said stores are allowing no more than five customers for each 1,000 square feet at a given time, roughly 20% of a store’s capacity. Customers will be admitted on a “one-out, one-in” basis. The company is also instituting one-way movement through shopping aisles in some of the stores, using floor markers and direction control from associates.

    “We expect this to help more customers avoid coming into close contact with others as they shop,” Mueller said.

    Fayetteville’s United Way steps up

    United Way of Cumberland County has established a COVID-19 Relief Fund. This fund provides assistance and resources to those affected by the current public health emergency. Money collected is helping local families and individuals impacted by the virus meet their basic needs. To donate to the relief fund, visit www.unitedway-cc.org, text UNITED to 855-735-2437 or mail a check to the United Way office at 222 Maiden Lane, Fayetteville, NC, 28301 with “COVID-19” written on the memo line.

    All of these funds will stay in Cumberland County.

    April is the Month of the Military Child

    Cumberland County Schools are recognizing the resilience of military-connected students during April, which is nationally known as “The Month of the Military Child.” The Cumberland County Board of Education recently declared a proclamation in support of the 15,529 local military family dependents who face challenges with school transitions and family separation.

    “Every time military members are deployed or receive orders for a permanent change of duty station... it causes a change in the child’s family dynamics,” said CCS Military Family and Youth Liaison Joseph Peek. “Our acknowledgement of the Month of the Military Child is a way for us to show our appreciation and support for them and the sacrifices they make.”
     
  • In a typical year, many people would plan to put on their Sunday best and head to church tomorrow for an Easter service. Of course, this year isn’t like most years due to the practice of social distancing. But in a time that is so hectic and stressful in so many ways, churches throughout Cumberland County are being creative in how they offer Easter services  to their congregations in hopes that their efforts will provide hope and peace during a troublesome time. 

    Many churches are putting information on their Facebook pages and websites to let their congregations and other people in the community know about changes in Easter plans. Here are ways that  just a few of the churches in the area are celebrating differently this year. 

    The Village Baptist Church will livestream their Easter services at 7 a.m, 9:30 a.m. and 11 a.m. on April 12. Visit https://www.facebook.com/officialvillagebaptistchurch/ to see the service. You can also catch broadcasts of the services on the radio. Carolina Country 100.1 WFAY and The River 106.5 WMRV will both air the 11 a.m. service. The Village Kids Easter service will be available at https://www.facebook.com/villagekidsnc/ and will start at 9 a.m. 

    Epicenter Church normally has a popular event called Hop in the Park, but due to the cancellation of the event, the Church is finding other ways to reach out. The church made “Hop at Home” kits available, which included Easter eggs, crayons, coloring pages and candy that were available through April 9. Epicenter is also taking this opportunity to support local causes. They have given a financial contribution to Southern Coals, which has been providing food to local students who aren’t able to get food at school. They have also made financial contributions to Operation Blessing and Fayetteville Urban Ministry. Visit their Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/yourepicenter/ for a variety of links, including a Youtube channel, a sign-up page for life groups, and a page for kids. 

    Manna Church is hosting Easter services online at 8:15 a.m., 9:30 a.m. and 11 a.m., as well as on My RDC TV at 10 a.m. Visit https://fayftbragg.manna.church/updates/easter-with-manna?fbclid=IwAR3LTb9itlXrwVIwMIa5JqY_i0DPLcscwSnxgeoPPbwulgNrDZFhGQNb1ps for more information. 

    Northwood Temple Church, located at 4250 Ramsey Street, is having drive-in church, rain or shine. Live worship music will begin at 9:30 a.m. The church will provide pre-packaged communion for those in attendance. Other people who wish to tune in can turn to The River 106.5 WMRV from 10-11 a.m. 

    Southview Baptist Church is having drive-in services tomorrow morning as well. Located in Hope Mills at 4089 Elk Road, the services will be at 9:30 and 11:30 a.m. Visit the Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/SouthviewBC/ to watch the services online. 

  • 10 business administrationToday’s globalized economy is filled with all kinds of competition — from small businesses to large corporations. Members of today’s workforce must be competitive, interactive and diverse to compete and succeed in today’s global economy.  Employees will be required to meet these global challenges with the skill sets needed to keep their companies successful and profitable in an ever-changing economic environment. Are you ready for the challenge?

    At Fayetteville Technical Community College, our business programs prepare students for a successful career in a wide range of business platforms with a variety of academic program choices to meet career and educational goals.  FTCC’s business programs prepare students for employment in a competitive marketplace or guide students to a bachelor’s degree at a four-year college. FTCC also has numerous articulation agreements with four-year universities, allowing students to complete additional upper-level courses with the value of FTCC’s affordable tuition.

    Business program students seeking employment in today’s competitive, diverse, global marketplace upon graduation often pursue a business administration degree. The business administration degree curriculum is designed to introduce students to the various aspects of the free enterprise system.  Students are provided with a fundamental knowledge of business functions and processes and an understanding of business organizations in today’s challenging global economy.

    Course work includes business concepts, such as accounting, business law, economics, human resources, entrepreneurship, management and supervision, and marketing.  Skills related to the application of these concepts are developed through the study of effective communications, critical thinking, collaboration, leadership, team-building, decision-making and computer applications.  Through these skills, students will have a sound business education foundation which leads to lifelong learning and career growth opportunities. Graduates are prepared for employment opportunities in entrepreneurship, management, marketing, retail, sales and finance, with large or small businesses or industries.

    The faculty at FTCC bring real-world expertise and ideas into the classroom learning environment, regardless if the class is face to face, online or blended educational formats. FTCC has instructors who owned and operated their own businesses, worked in the industry and managed organizational resources, finances, programs, processes and personnel. At FTCC, students are not just learning from a textbook; students learn from proven business professionals, each prepared to deliver their practical experiences in real-time relevance. FTCC’s business programs instructors are skilled academic advisors who want to help students succeed. They’ll also celebrate and proudly stand by students at their graduation ceremonies. 

    For students interested in pursuing an exciting career in the business industry, FTCC is a wise choice for pursuing education.  As long as the economic environment has businesses, there will always be a high demand for students who graduate with business administration degrees.

    First Session Summer classes at FTCC begin May 26. Tuition expenses are considerably lower at FTCC than at four-year colleges, yet the quality of education is high. Visit www.faytechcc.edu to apply now. Many classes and programs are completely online.  You can email me at bellfloj@faytechcc.edu for help or questions about programs of study available in business administration.  FTCC is proud to open its doors to all who seek a quality education.  Learn more about the smart choice for your education — Fayetteville Technical Community College! 

  • The Cumberland County School district has expanded Cumberland@Home digital educational content for third through eighth-grade students. “Now that we will be out longer because of COVID-19, it’s vital that our teachers are able to provide students instruction,” said CCS Superintendent Dr. Marvin Connelly, Jr. Cumberland@Home was developed by Cumberland County Schools as a remote learning opportunity. Teachers can assign third grade through eighth-grade pupils studies requiring the use of computers with internet access. Students who do not have devices or online connectivity should contact the Cumberland@Home technology hotline at 910-678-2618. Pre-K through second-grade students have already been provided paper and pencil packets. Packets are also available to download at www.cumberlandathome.ccs.k12.nc.us. High school students will continue to receive their supplemental assignments digitally. Students who do not have devices or internet connectivity should contact the Cumberland@Home technology hotline at 910-678-2618.

    Local government services transition to a new normal

    Much of the day-to-day operation of county government has been minimized. Most county government departments are temporarily closed in order to mandate personal separation because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

    “Local government should set an example by limiting the exposure of our workforce and contributing to the potential spread of this virus,” said County Manager Amy Cannon.
    Contact information and closure details are available on the County’s COVID-19 webpage at http://www.co.cumberland.nc.us/covid19closures. They are also listed on individual departmental webpages. The department of public health remains open to the public. Appointments are required for all services via email at Clinicappointments@co.cumberland.nc.us. or by phone at 910-433-3600. Fayetteville City Hall and all city buildings are closed to the public to mitigate the spread of COVID19 and keep citizens and employees safe. All recreation centers are closed. The downtown FAST Transit Center closes at 7 p.m. daily. Following the example set in the Triangle, bus rides are now free. Most city services can be accessed online by visiting FayettevilleNC.gov/COVID19. Also, Mayor Mitch Colvin has directed staff to cancel all boards and commissions meetings until further notice unless a board has time-sensitive items requiring action.

    Health and medicine update

    To protect staff and patients from COVID-19 Cape Fear Valley Health System locations, including hospitals and outpatient clinics, are closed to visitors until further notice — with a few exceptions: Laboring mothers may have one support person/coach for the duration of their stays. If the support person/coach leaves the premises for any reason, he or she will not be allowed to return to the building. Pediatric patients: Legal minors may have one parent or guardian with them. Patients who need health care decisionmakers or require communication assistance may have one person with them. End-of-life patients will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis to determine the appropriate number of visitors.

    PWC Cares

    The United States has approximately 160,000 public water systems, which serve 84% of the nation, providing water for domestic, industrial and commercial uses. Businesses, factories, hospitals, clinics and other public health infrastructure entities need water to maintain operations. Homes and communities are dependent on a continuous supply of water. During the COVID-19 pandemic, community water systems could face shortages of personnel. Employee shortages would affect production, distribution, water quality testing and payroll systems. Labor shortages caused by a pandemic could also lead to insufficient power, parts, supplies and water treatment chemicals. Fayetteville’s hometown utility is taking precautions to protect its customers and employees from the impact of COVID-19. PWC’s drinking water is safe from the COVID-19 threat. The World Health Organization says conventional water treatment methods that utilize filtration and disinfection deactivate the virus that causes COVID-19. PWC urges customers to be cautious of scammers who may attempt to take advantage of the pandemic. Public Works will never call or contact customers demanding immediate bill payments to avoid disconnection. During the crisis, PWC will not disconnect services for nonpayment. Bills are not being waived. Customers are being given additional time to pay.

    Fort Bragg commissaries are cracking down on unauthorized customers

    Military commissaries worldwide are more closely checking the IDs of customers at store entrances in response to COVID-19-related crowding concerns, commissary officials said. Stores have also eliminated early-bird shopping to allow more time for cleaning and restocking, the Defense Commissary Agency said on its website. The agency said it believes the ID checks and visitor restrictions “will reduce the number of people in our stores and help with social distancing.” Individual commissaries may also need to limit purchase quantities of some products. Shelves at commissaries in Germany and elsewhere have run short of disinfectants and toilet paper, as well as some foods like rice and meat. “We are increasing deliveries to our overseas commissaries, including shipments of high-demand items,” the agency said on its website.
     
  • 15 Stayin SafeSpring is here, and the days are getting longer, which means new rides, new adventures and new dangers. 

    Occasionally, I like to find a class to refresh my mind and shake off any bad habits I may have developed. In the past few years, I have had a couple of incidents that made me think I was a little too close to wiping out. 

    A few weeks ago, I attended MotoMark’s Stayin’ Safe course in Burlington. Mark Brown has been teaching motorcyclist classes for years and is well-known throughout the motorcycle community. He offers many classes, one of which is titled “Stayin’ Safe.” Today, Stayin’ Safe is owned and operated by Eric Trow. Trow is a highly-respected instructor in the motorcycle community. He is an author for Rider magazine and the recipient of the American Motorcycle Association (AMA) Outstanding Road Rider Award for his work in motorcycle safety. 

    I was not sure what to expect when I arrived at class. One by one, bikes came pulling up. We were introduced to Mark and Eric. Then in came NASCAR’s Kyle Petty and his wife, Morgan. 

    After some introductions and paperwork, eight of us students headed to our bikes. Each rider (and passenger), was given a radio to hear the instructors. We lined up one by one, and we started doing a series of maneuvers. After a few minutes, we hit the road. 

    We were split into two groups; Mark took one group and Eric the other. In my group was Kyle on a Harley, a rider on a BMW and a rider on a trike. As soon as we twisted the throttle, Mark started mentoring us on safety, stability and sight. He pointed out things like road intersections, cars moving in and out of view and how to read the road. 

    We pulled into a parking lot for a discussion. Mark and Eric used chalk, toy cars and motorcycles to show which part of the lane is best to position yourself in for protection on the road. He also taught us about late entry in a curve and vanishing points. 

    As the day progressed, so did our speed and the curves we took. We switched instructors and took turns leading the group. After a 100 miles or so, we pulled back to MotoMark’s headquarters.  

    At the end of class, Mark asked us what we thought about the day. It was interesting that Kyle Petty, who leads the Kyle Petty Charity Ride across the country, said the class was good for him and he learned a lot. He also mentioned it was good for him to learn that a trike has different dynamics than a two-wheeled motorcycle. 

    The Kyle Petty Charity Ride raises money for the Victory Junction camp here in North Carolina. At Victory Junction, staff members help children with chronic medical conditions or serious illnesses be able to just be children. 

    As I pulled away, I was happy about two things. I could say that I had Kyle Petty in my rearview mirror, and I was happy about what I had learned. Mark and his staff are truly dedicated professionals who care about the riders and the sport. Since the class, I have felt both smoother and steadier in my riding abilities, which means I feel safer.  If you want to find out more about MotoMark’s classes, check out www.motomark1.com.

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

  • 04 DandelionWhy the heck would Joe upload a picture of a dandelion weed for his Facebook profile photo? It struck me as odd.

    Joe was a popular jock with a perpetual smile. But he also has a brain that earned him an ROTC scholarship to Arizona State University. After his stint as an Army officer, Joe returned to ASU as its principal systems analyst.

    Again, I asked myself, why would a tough jock put a dandelion flower on his Facebook page. Then I saw others pop up on my high school alumni page, just like they do in my yard.

    Slap to the forehead! It’s April and the dandelion is the symbol of children of military parents — often referred to as military brats; a derogatory term worn as a badge of honor.

    Joe and I were brats. We are among 15 million Americans who at one time were children of military parents. We all have some of the same things in common. We were newcomers, outsiders, sometimes outcasts, but most of all we were adaptable. When people from a nonmilitary background asked us where we were from, we often paused before answering because the answer could be from nowhere to everywhere.

    It was our way of life and I accepted it without a second thought. I thought going to nine schools in 12 years was normal. I never realized that this was a bad thing. Ignorance can be bliss.

    I asked Joe via email what he thought was so great and not so great about us being military brats. His response: “The best part of our life as brats was that we were exposed to a more diverse group of people … not only in the countries we lived in, but the kids that became our friends.” He went on to say the exposure made us more accepting and understanding of the differences and similarities we have.

    The worst part, he wrote, was moving away from our friends. While there would be new ones, “leaving the others was really tough.”

    I posted the same question on my Wurzburg American High School Alumni Facebook page. Answers varied but the theme was consistent.

    Exposure to new cultures and diverse people who would become friends was the most common positive response. The most mentioned downside was leaving new friends.

    One person said every time he had a steady girlfriend, either his or her father would get orders to move.

    I didn’t know him personally, but I knew many others whose steady heartthrobs left because a parent received orders. Not having “officially” ended their relationship, they usually became conflicted about forming new relationships. In the end, chances were they’d never see each other again.

    Today, there are almost 2 million school-aged children of military parents. The Army at more than 911,000 makes up the largest portion, followed by the Air Force at about 430,000, Navy at about 300,000 and Marines at 120,000.

    In 1986, then-Secretary of Defense Casper Weinberger, citing the frequent moves and separations military children face, designated April the month of the military child. It apparently caught on, and military installations across the U.S. and overseas celebrate the day. 

    The military also ramped up family support programs for the children.

    Purple is this military children month’s official color, representing a combination of the colors from all services. And, according to Brats Inc., several years ago an online debate resulted in an official flower: the dandelion. It’s a weed, blown to the four corners of the world, hard to kill, and one that can thrive anywhere in any climate.

  • Let us begin by giving a shout out to Nicholas Pelletier who, on April 25, 1792, became the first guest of the guillotine in Paris, the city of light. Nick was a murderer and a robber sentenced to death. France had been using a two-tier system of capital punishment until Nick came along. In the late 1700s, common criminals were executed in a variety of unpleasant ways: torture, burning at the stake and breaking on the wheel. Convicted aristocrats got a better deal. They were dispatched by the State Executioner Charles Sanson. Chuck was an expert swordsman who could slice off their heads with one swift blow from Rufus, his special Executing Sword. 

    The disparity between the send offs for common criminals versus aristocrats seemed unfair to the bleeding hearts of France. In the interest of equality, the idea spread that commoners and rich guys should both check out in the same fashion through sword beheading. 

    Like all simple solutions for complex problems , there were practical issues with cutting off everyone’s head with a sword. Chuck, the state executioner, pointed out that many more executioners would have to be hired to travel France. Sometimes the special Executing Sword would break, creating a mess. Ordinary swords just wouldn’t do the job. Paris only had two such swords. Sacre bleu!

    Enter our old buddy, Dr. Joseph Guillotin, with his bright idea. He invented the guillotine. His device dropped a heavy blade from a scaffold onto the neck of the condemned. Joe enthusiastically explained the value of his invention, saying: “The mechanism falls like lightning; the head flies off; the blood spurts; the man no longer exists.” Progress is our most important product. After a number of trials on farm animals, and allegedly with some suggestions of French King Louis XIV, the guillotine was ready to be tried on Nick in late April 1792. The Guillotine was painted a festive red and set up in downtown Paris. A crowd worthy of the Gator Bowl came to watch the send off. Whack! Mon Dieu! It worked. Nick was dispatched to his reward.

     The guillotine went viral. It was manufactured and spread all over France, lopping off heads with industrial efficiency. French toy makers made tiny guillotines that children could use to lop off the heads of their dolls or live mice. Chuck Sanson became a lean mean killing machine. He killed 300 people in three days after the French Revolution turned into the Reign of Terror. As a side effect of Dr. G’s invention, Louis XIV lost his head to Chuck.

    Currently, the Pharmaceutical Side Effect Development Council has spent many years developing opioids to mask pain and create legions of addicts to its products. The goal of the Side Effects Council is to mask one medical problem while creating multiple new exciting and expensive side effects that can only be remedied by taking another drug, which in turn creates new side effects. Have you ever held one mirror up in front of another mirror and watched the endless reflections curve off into infinity? That is the business plan of the Side Effects Council. One drug begats side effects that can only be remedied by another drug, which begats different side effects. As the King of Siam once said, “Et cetera, et cetera, et cetera.” Side effects equal profits. 

     How can this be? Oh, it be. If you are of a certain age and watch TV news, you can’t avoid the TV ad for Movantik which has been invented to cure opioid-induced constipation, or OIC as the cool kids call it. A rugged construction foreman tells us he hurt his back and has to take opioids for pain. The opioids have backed him up. He’s tried prunes, laxatives and various folk remedies by the light of the moon. He finally tells his cute doctor that he is constipated. She smiles and asks him how long he has been holding back this information. This is his Movantik Moment. He is now happy and free to discuss his constipation. He smiles, takes the meds as prescribed, and becomes a regular fellow again. 

    Dr. Guillotin would be proud. King Louis the XIV died due to a side effect of the guillotine. America’s opioid addiction epidemic has created side effects undreamed of by Dr. G. Opioid — side effects that exist on a scale that makes the French Reign of Terror look like an ice cream social. If you are not sitting in twin bath tubs next to your beloved waiting for the Cialis to kick in, you, too, can have a Movantik Moment. Big Pharma is full of something other than just obscene profits. The ad guys originally wanted to call this a Movantik Movement but Standards and Practices nixed that slogan.

    Let my people go. 

  • 03 Maragaret HillBillyElegyWe Americans like to think of ourselves as an egalitarian, classless society where “all men are created equal.” Thomas Jefferson penned those words in our Declaration of Independence, and while they embody a beautiful sentiment, I wonder whether even he believed them, because the only people who were “created equal” were white, landowning men. The reality is that we are not and have never been an egalitarian, classless society.

    Two recent books, a meaty read by a college professor and a memoir by a self-described “hillbilly,” look at our country and see much the same picture. They see a society stratified by culture, education, resources, language, social capital and just about every distinction we can imagine. 

    In White Trash: The 400-Year Untold History of Class in America, Nancy Isenberg, an American history professor at Louisiana State University, makes the case that glaring class differences have been with us from the beginning. 

    We all know that women and blacks were pretty much left out of our original Constitution and Bill of Rights. We also all know that our Founding Fathers — think George Washington and Thomas Jefferson — were men of education, sophistication and material resources. 

    What many of us do not know is that most of our original English settlers were more-or-less refugees, people not wanted in their homeland because they were non-productive drains on the English economy. Some of them walked up the plank and headed for the New World voluntarily, and others were simply deported.

    Jefferson’s writings refer to these people as “rubbish.” Since his day, they have been referred to as “crackers,” “Okies,” “hillbillies” and, more recently, “rednecks” and “trailer trash.” All are derisive nouns for the poor white people who have been with us since before our actual founding. 

    In Hillbilly Elegy, J.D. Vance movingly chronicles his childhood in the Kentucky mountains in a working-class city in Ohio. The first person in his family to go to college, Vance graduated with honors in less than two years and went on to Yale Law School. At 32, he said he escaped a hillbilly culture of violence, drugs, transience, multiple father figures and poor or no work ethic only because his grandparents and several others believed in and supported him when the rest of his young life was in chaos. 

    Maybe coincidence and maybe not, these two widely-read books burst onto the literary scene at a time when such inequities are becoming more pronounced and when many Americans are deeply concerned about this these issues.

    The Pew Research Center reported several years ago that the wealth disparity between America’s upper-income families and middle-class ones is greater than it has ever been across our two-plus centuries of existence. In fact, the top 0.1 percent are now worth more than the bottom 90 percent, with the big slice of the pie continuing to grow and the smaller one still shrinking. In addition, while the Great Recession affected almost everyone, the folks at the top have recovered, but the folks at the bottom continue to struggle. 

    Other disparities abound as well. Upper incomers have access to and better health care opportunities than those at the bottom. They live longer. They are better educated, and as Vance points out, they practice their religions more often and have fewer marriages. 

    It is not getting any better for an overwhelming number of Americans. Baby Boomers, my generation, expected to do better than our parents, and by and large, we did. Millennials, people born in the early 1980s, have only a 50 percent chance of doing better than we did, about the same as flipping a coin, according to the Equality of Opportunity’s report released late last year. The report noted that “children’s prospect of achieving the ‘American Dream’ of doing better than their parents have fallen from 90 to 50 percent over the past half century.”

    Such statistics do not make for screaming headlines or lead the evening news, but they are quietly and profoundly changing our country. Both Isenberg and Vance acknowledge there are no easy answers to any of this. Both say government policies can play a role in helping people, but at the end of the day, it is up to us to make positive decisions about education, work and family life.

    It is all worth thinking about as our new presidency unfolds and as we make electoral decisions in future election cycles.

  • 02PubPen KimberleyI admit I was never a fan of the location chosen for our new $12 million multimodal transportation center now under construction at the corner of West Russell and Robeson Streets in Downtown Fayetteville. It’s in the wrong location, too expensive, poorly designed and built on a small lot with no room for future growth and facility expansion. 

    But, hey, what do I know? Or, for that matter, what did the professional consultants City officials hired to assist them in finding and recommending the most feasible locations know? To my recollection, we (the City) rejected not one, but three of their recommendations and paid them tens of thousands of taxpayer dollars for the privilege. 

    Now, with construction over budget and a year behind schedule, City officials say they have now learned some very valuable (and expensive) lessons. It will be very interesting to see who will show up for that ribbon-cutting celebration in June. 

    On the positive side, I was extremely glad the building’s final design incorporated a cultural statement by including a $100,000 line item for local art to hide two huge black cisterns from public view. 

    Contracting the Arts Council to create and manage the RFP (request for proposal) for this project was another prudent decision. 

    This being said, City officials should reject the Public Arts Commission recommendations to accept the only bid received from Greensboro artist Jim Gallucci. No doubt he is a talented and renowned professional in his own right. That is not the point of contention here. 

    An RFP that attracts no local artist participation, comes in $40,000 over specifications and nets only one out-of-town bid needs to be rejected on principle. I’m confident we have artists in our community talented and creative enough to camouflage two cisterns, and for a lot less than $140,000. 

    Our recommendation: Shop local, even for art. We have dozens of talented budding artists here in our community. Case in point, check out the beautiful artistry of FTCC student Kimberley Hardee on this cover of Up & Coming Weekly. Here, this talented artist and mother of three created art with the personality and sense of anticipation, wonder and excitement that depicts exactly what the Fayetteville Dogwood Festival is all about. 

    This is the kind of talent we have nurtured, showcased and supported at Gallery 208 for the past 10 years without grants or government subsidies. 

    So, if we are going to spend taxpayer money on art and artists, I say we spend it locally on our own. I urge our elected officials to reissue the RFP and call for “local” artists. If we still get no response, we’ll do a feature story on the artistic value and inner beauty of two black cisterns. 

    Thank you for reading Up & Coming Weekly.

  • 04SpeedDid you know if you get caught speeding anywhere in the United States, the State of North Carolina can punish you — on top of whatever punishment you received from the state you were speeding in? 

    That’s right. According to North Carolina Statute § 20-16, North Carolina reserves the right to suspend your license for any crime committed in another state if that crime would result in a suspension here in North Carolina. 

    You might ask, well, what’s so bad about that? Let’s just say you get caught speeding in another state. You pay the ticket, or even get a lawyer and go to court. You go through the entire process. You think everything is over. 

    A few months pass and you receive notice from North Carolina. Your license will be suspended. This is exactly what happened to a North Carolina resident, an active duty soldier traveling in Alabama. When caught speeding, this LT did the responsible thing by not contesting and paying his ticket. Despite this, North Carolina punished him a second time, by suspending his license.

    As written, NC § 20-16 serves to unnecessarily punish North Carolina State Citizens — just because we call North Carolina home. We are not waived from punishment for violating the traffic crimes committed in other states. Just like every other United States Citizen, we are required to fulfill all punitive sentences for violations of that state law. This statute serves to add an additional punishment, beyond that of the original state. 

    When our citizens have fulfilled their duty for a traffic violation, it is unnecessary and unjust for North Carolina to submit them to additional punishments, simply because they are a North Carolina resident. This LT is a perfect example of how our citizens are burdened by this law. He “thought [I] was doing the right thing” by accepting responsibility and paying the ticket. 

    And he DID do the right thing. This LT is an upstanding, successful representation of North Carolina, as are the thousands of residents that travel throughout the country every year. 

    You might ask, don’t states have the right to punish how they want? Well, yes and no. Our constitution delineates a separation between federal and state powers. Essentially, states are allowed to govern themselves, but not 100 percent. This law acts as an overextension of North Carolina’s state powers. 

    States are given the ability to govern the action of their own citizens within their state; however, governing the actions of their citizens in every other state is an over reach of power. Additionally, this law violates the Double Jeopardy clause guaranteed in our constitution. 

    This clause prevents a citizen from being punished twice for the same crime. When a North Carolina Citizen violates a traffic law in another state, they are subject to the punishment. To punish a North Carolina citizen a second time amounts to a violation of the Double Jeopardy clause. 

    There is a reason our constitution created a balance between federal and state powers. The combination creates a balance for the American citizen — a balance that helps protect our individual rights. When this balance is thrown off, as in this case, we suffer. It’s time for North Carolina to revise this law, because as is, every resident could suffer, and many already have.

  • 03gymIt was a rather scathing question: “How did you feel when you were at your peak fitness?”

    I twitched a bit, and then responded, “Great.” The truth is I did feel great. But that was a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away.

    In middle school and high school, I was quite the athlete. I wrestled 135-lbs and played football. At that time in my life, it was nothing to run five miles and lift weights four to five days a week. Even in college, I lifted and played basketball four days a week. 

    At the peak of my fitness, I felt great. I even looked great … at least for me. Then life happened. I got a full-time job. I went on to graduate school. Got married and had four kids. The list goes on. Quickly, the gym routine fell from its place of priority in my life. 

    A few years ago, I started going to the gym again. I started re-shaping this tired, old body into a picture of fitness (or at least that’s the goal). At first it was slow. But now I’m making real strides: I ran the Rock-and-Roll Marathon last week in Raleigh!

    Our physical fitness is a great analogy of our spiritual fitness. 

    Do you remember back when you were really on fire for Jesus? When you read the Bible regularly? When you were consistent in your quiet times, prayers, church attendance?

    Let me ask you a question. How did you feel when you were at your peak fitness … spiritually? 

    I know my answer. “Great!” 

    But then life gets in the way. We start off with great strides. We’re studying, praying, reading, soaking it all in. Then life gets in the way. We miss a workout, then two, then a week and so on. 

    Consider the words of Paul in 1 Corinthians 9:24-27: “Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win. … I run in such a way, as not without aim; I box in such a way, as not beating the air; but I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified.”

    With all the hype on physical fitness, shouldn’t we give at least equal priority to our spiritual fitness? Some dedicate hours a week to the local gym … yet minutes (if that) to their spiritual wellness. 

    Spend some time wrestling over God’s word. Sweat over your prayer list. Endure the process of becoming a follower of Christ. Let’s get back to our spiritual gym. Why not get a workout in today? 

    For help, consider taking the tuition-free “How to Study the Bible” class at Carolina College of Biblical Studies. Consider us your spiritual fitness trainer.

  • 02congressMany years ago, I asked my father what he viewed as the best form of government. His response was “a benevolent dictatorship.” I understood he was saying citizens would be best served by a dictator who had absolute authority, but loved the people he or she governed. My thinking was that the American system was working, and I did not need to give further attention to Daddy’s response. As I look at what is happening today in America by way of the actions and attitudes of politicians, especially those in Congress, I have tremendous appreciation for what Daddy said all those years ago. He understood that fair and productive governance only happens when those who govern love the people they govern. 

    This reflection on my part leads me to ask, “Members of Congress, do you love us?” That is, do these politicians, who primarily hold the future of this nation in their hands, love the citizens they represent and govern? Four experiences over the period March 19-26, 2017, cause me to ask this question. 

    On Sunday, March 19, Carol Day died. For several months, she had visited the Sunday school class that I am a part of at First Baptist Church (Anderson Street in Fayetteville). Anybody reading what I write correctly concludes that I am conservative in my thinking and beliefs.

     Suffice it to say, Carol was not in the same camp. Consequently, we had some serious discussions in class from two different perspectives. In every one of those exchanges, she was calm and measured in her comments, while I exhibited my usual passionate tone. As I have spent a lot of time thinking about those exchanges between Carol and me, I believe if we had needed to come to consensus on some issue to directly help people, we would have done so. We would have done so because of our shared love for people. That love for people would have mandated our reaching consensus.

    Then came my four-and-a-half-hour drive to Asheville, North Carolina, on March 23, for two days of facilitation training. All the way up, I listened to reports regarding Republican efforts to pass legislation in the House of Representatives that would repeal and replace Obamacare (mixed in was information on Senate action relative to confirmation of Judge Neal Gorsuch as an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court). There was a parade of Republicans and Democrats to microphones. Some Republicans strongly supported the health care legislation, while others of the party vowed their opposition. Democrats did absolutely nothing other than repeatedly oppose the repeal and replacement of Obamacare, which is, without doubt, failing. 

    Among Republicans, opposition came from multiple groups and several individual members of Congress. I hold that chief among the opposing groups was the Freedom Caucus. This caucus is made up of over 35 members of the House who are committed to conservative values. Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., chairs this group. Meadows and members of the caucus seemed to be endlessly, before cameras, voicing their opposition and seeming to bask in having the votes to defeat the proposed legislation. Even senators, such as Rand Paul, R-Ky., seemed to live in front of a camera while attacking the proposed legislation. In the end, the legislation was not presented for a vote because President Trump and Republican House leadership realized it would not pass. 

    The Democratic Congressional approach to addressing health care is consistent with their response to working with President Trump and the Republican majority in Congress on any matter presented by the president. To this point, that approach is to oppose whatever is put forth and to do so without making a rational argument. In addition to the proposed Obamacare repeal and replace legislation, this lack of rational argument was profoundly demonstrated in Democratic opposition to confirmation of Judge Neal Gorsuch to serve on the Supreme Court. It is clear that much of the Democratic opposition to Judge Gorsuch is rooted in Republican refusal to act on President Obama’s nomination of Judge Merrick Garland for the same seat. 

    That nomination was made on March 16, 2016, 10 months before the end
    of President Obama’s term. Republican Chuck Grassley represents Iowa in the United States Senate where he serves as chairman of the Judiciary Committee. Lack of rational argument by Democrats shows in the following quotes from an opinion piece by Senator Grassley titled “The truth about Schumer, Democrats and Gorsuch:” “To many of us, it appeared to be a simple case of amnesia. They obviously had simply forgotten that both Senator Reid and Senator Schumer had declared that George W. Bush would get no Supreme Court nominees through the Democratic Senate more than 18 months before the end of his term. Or, even in 1992 when then-Senator Biden made clear his intentions in a long, detailed speech on the Senate floor outlining the reasons why the Senate wouldn’t consider a Supreme Court nominee of George H.W. Bush in his final year.”

    Anybody watching the nomination hearing for Judge Gorsuch before the Senate Judiciary Committee witnessed a brilliant presentation showcasing his command of the law, record of independence, strong sense of humility and focus on following the Constitution instead of prejudging cases or promising results.

    In the end, Judge Gorsuch was approved, but only after Republicans changed the rules in order to overcome Democratic opposition.

    The next experience occurred during the two days of facilitation training in Asheville. The course was “ToP Facilitation Methods” (ToP is Technology of Participation). I would call the course tagline, “The people of planet earth need ways to create their future together.” Quotes from the course workbook:

    “In Summary: ToP is not a technique for deciding something in a meeting. Nor is ToP a process that leaves people irritated and exhausted by the struggle to reach agreement.”

    “Top is both an empowering culture in which decisions get made, and a process that leaves people enlivened and motivated for action.” 

    Over the course of 16 hours together, eight strangers learned the ToP process and practiced the techniques. We became a united group and walked away with a valuable tool for leading people to consensus and commitment to action.

    The final experience was on Sunday, March 26. Stephanie Bohannon, assistant pastor at First Baptist Church, preached a sermon titled “The Questions Jesus Asks: ‘Do You Love Me?’” She spoke from that passage in John 21:15-17 where Jesus, three times, asked Peter, “…do you love me?” Every time, Peter answered yes, and every time, Jesus commanded him to take some action. Bohannon explained that Peter was answering the wrong question. He thought Jesus was talking about Philia which is a companionable love. She said Jesus, instead, was referring to agape. According to www.mcleanbible.org, “Agape desires only the good of the one loved.  It is a consuming passion for the well-being of others.” Jesus was calling Peter to go “above and beyond,” to take great risks on behalf of people.

    All of this brought me to realize Daddy was, in his statement about a benevolent dictatorship, saying that those who govern must have agape love for the governed. Remembering those exchanges with Carol Day reinforces that there is hope for consensus, even among those who disagree, when they share agape love for people who will be helped by the achievement of consensus. The facilitation training showed me how it looks when people seek consensus with a clear aim and because of love for those affected by the outcome. Stephanie Bohannon reminded me that this all-important agape love shows itself through actions, not meaningless words. Against the backdrop of these experiences, seeing how Congress handled the health care legislation and Gorsuch nomination prompted my “Do you love us?” question.  

    This thinking-through leads me to conclude there are some members of Congress who love us, but most don’t. Consequently, the American people need to be about determining who loves us and sending the rest home. Yes, it is definitely time to “Drain the Swamp.” 

  • 01mrrogersA million years ago, when I was a very little girl, my mother and grandmother — art lovers both — took me to Raleigh to visit North Carolina’s newly minted Museum of Art. Ours is the first state-funded art museum in the country, and its much grander current incarnation is the envy of states, even nations. That visit instantly turned a preschooler into a person who has sought out art in almost every place I have ever been. My first glance at that state-owned office-building-turned-art-museum took in a huge Gainsborough portrait of a woman wearing a full-skirted white satin dress. My mother saved that fine English painting just in the nick of time by scooping me up before I got my grubby little hands on what I thought was gleaming
    white fabric.

    I was hooked.

    A generation later, a Precious Jewel wept every afternoon when Mr. Rogers put on his cardigan to signal the end of that day’s program. He would toddle to the TV sobbing, “Don’t go, Mr. Rogers,” with such emotion that I eventually learned to get him out of the room just before the goodbye music began.

    He, too, was hooked.

    Such is the power of art and culture. We cannot quantify or measure them, but they enrich our lives and separate us from non-human beings on God’s green Earth.
    Arts and culture are not food, water, clothing or shelter, but few among us want to
    do without them. 

    It is now 2017 with a new generation of Americans eager to learn, but the president’s proposed budget would decimate funding for arts and humanities and public media. It would cut funding to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting to a big fat zero and eliminate the National Endowments for the Arts and the Humanities altogether. No other president in our history has ever proposed such a drastic measure. Goodbye Bert and Ernie. Goodbye Downton Abbey and other Masterpiece Theater programming. Goodbye partnerships with state and local arts organizations like Arts Councils. Goodbye financial support for libraries, colleges and universities, and documentaries like Ken Burns’ The Civil War,viewed by 38 million Americans.

    Let’s put the money into perspective. 

    The Corporation for Public Broadcasting received $445 million in the last federal budget, with the Endowments getting about $148 million each. That entire budget was a whopping $4 trillion, of which our investment in public broadcasting and the arts and humanities comprised a mere fraction. According to CPB President Patricia Harrison, that investment amounts to $1.35 per American per year. That federal funding is used to leverage contributions from other public and private sources, giving federal dollars more bang for each and every buck.

    Sounds like a deal to me.

    No less a heavyweight than retired Army General Stanley McChrystal, hardly a stranger to the Fayetteville-Fort Bragg community and certainly no effete wuss, thinks so, too. McChrystal shared his thoughts earlier this month in an op-ed column published in the New York Times. He made a strong case for public broadcasting, noting among other points that more American children do not attend preschool than do, and that public television is an important teaching tool for them. McChrystal also addressed a reality that keeps me up at night — our lack of national common experience, in other words, little national “glue.” 

    The general wrote, “Trust among Americans and for many of our institutions is at its lowest levels in generations, and stereotyping and prejudices have become substitutes for knowing and understanding one another as individuals. … Why would we degrade or destroy an institution that binds us together?”

    The president’s proposed budget includes a massive increase in defense spending, which the general also acknowledged. “We need a strong civil society where the connection between different people and groups is firm and vibrant, not brittle and divided. We need to defend against weaknesses within and enemies without, using the tools of civil society and hard power. We don’t have to pick one over the other.”

    No need to panic yet. Congress will parse and dissect the president’s proposal, and you can bet your bottom dollar that public broadcasting and arts advocates will be crawling the halls to lobby against the president’s stunning proposals. But there is plenty of room for concern. The CPB, NEA and NEH have been part of our national fabric for half a century, enriching and challenging Americans rich and poor, urban and rural, of all backgrounds and experiences. 

    We undo them at our peril.

  • 12Don the DonkeyA few weeks ago, I stopped my motorcycle near a creek to take a break. There was a donkey near the creek, and he started walking toward me. When I said, “Hi,” the donkey replied with, “Hay,” which blew me away. At first, I thought I was losing my mind. I was not sure if he was saying “hay” back to me or if he wanted hay. Now, this was not an ordinary donkey and he seemed pretty smart. While I was still in disbelief, the donkey looked at me and said, “Have you ever talked with a donkey before?” Quite extraordinary to say the least. I replied, “Donkeys don’t talk.” The donkey looked at me, amazed, and said he was a descendant from the talking donkey in the Bible. Then he smirked at me and asked me if I had ever seen Shrek. Still bewildered, I told him that I had heard of both, although I did not see the connection. Nonetheless, I asked him his name and he said he was not really sure because his owner never called him by a name. I asked him if I could call him Don and he nodded and said, “Yes, yes, I like that name.” 

    He asked me why I had stopped, and I told him that I needed a break and this seemed like a nice spot. He agreed and said it was his favorite spot in the pasture. We talked about what a wonderful day it was and about our travels. I told him I love to ride, and that I wanted to explore more of the country but I was having a hard time coming up with a place to go.

    He told me he has the same issue because he wanted to head somewhere new and exciting, but he never really executes his plans because he is concerned about the boundaries that surrounded him. He said he knew how to get out of his fence but was concerned about work and the other donkeys. He also had responsibilities. He had grass to eat and used to help his owner plow the garden, but he had not done that in a while. He looked toward a barn and I saw a John Deer tractor parked there. I looked at him and told him, “You have been replaced.” Don said, “I guess I don’t have to worry about that anymore then.” He said he really had it good there. He had a barn, food and occasionally someone like me to talk to, but he still had a yearning to explore. 

    I thought for a minute and said, “I often feel like I was surrounded by some imaginary, geographical fence that was keeping me within some boundaries in life. I have a job, responsibilities, a house, family and those pesky bills.” These things are not unique to me because everyone has these boundaries, but only a few of us seem to be able to break past our own fences. 

    Unlike Don, most humans have other factors we have to worry about. We have to figure out those things like time, money and distance. We can usually figure out two of the three factors. Any one of these will quickly limit our ability to keep moving. 

    I often try to figure out how people do some of these journeys. I’ve met a few people who have been able to take some great trips. I met a young couple that sold everything and bought a couple of Vespa-like scooters and traveled around the world. It took them a year to complete their journey. When they returned home, they had to start life over. I met a couple of guys in Nebraska who had traveled all around the United States. They work for a school system and ride their bikes until they run out of time. They find a rental shed to store their bikes in. Then they fly home. When they get more time off, they fly back out and pick up their bikes and continue on. I’ve also met a couple of people who own their own businesses. As long as they had their laptop, they were able to run their business from anywhere. Nice!

    Don explained to me that he really didn’t need to worry about anything like that. He just needed to get out of the gate, but admitted he was afraid of highways and cars. He said he wished he lived out west where he could travel for days without having to worry about traffic.

    We soon realized that as nice as it was to talk, neither of us could really help the other with our problems. At that point, I asked myself, “What are you doing talking to a donkey anyway?” I went to my bike and grabbed him an apple and we said our goodbyes. 

    Of course, this experience keeps me thinking about Don because we both had the same desires but neither of us could figure out how to get past our own fences. 

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

  • OMG! Observing our local city and county elected officials interacting and trying to negotiate with one another is not a pretty sight. Sometimes, and all too often, they appear to be engaged in what resembles cage fighting. Brash, ruthless, violent and bloody with combatants battling for that all or nothing knock out. For us bystanders, another name for taxpaying residents, all we can do is shake our heads in dismay and wonder if Cumberland County has  been developed over an ancient sacred Indian burial ground and we have been forever cursed for this unholy desecration. One must ask themselves, is this tendency for unpleasantness, weak, self-centered, selfish and uncooperative leadership really a curse? Is it in our DNA  or is it actually a learned behavior handed down from generation to generation? 

    Well, personally I believe it is a little bit of everything,  but more of the latter. In my quest to find out why our local governments have such difficulty in cooperating, communicating and respecting each other, I have uncovered some words, terms and phrases all too frequently used in conversations when elected government officials are gathered together. So common are some of these that they have actually morphed into taking on their own specialized and customized meaning.  And, that is where I think the real problem lies. You can be the judge of that.  Even the most effective and respected elected officials and community leaders are sensitive to these terms and many know how to use and deal with them when they arise. This precarious glossary of terms and definitions is commonly referred to as the BS Chart and just may be the main source of the communication breakdown in our community. Here  are a few examples. Again, you can be the judge. If you are a community leader or an elected city or county official, take heed of the...

    Glossary (BS Chart) of Governmental Words, Phrases and Actions   

    Collaboration:We are meeting. We are  talking. We may even spend thousands of dollars on a consultant, but our minds are pretty much made up.

    Compliance:We must play by their rules or get our funding yanked.

    General Welfare: We know what you need, we tell you what you want, and don’t worry, it will never make fiscal sense.

    Cultural: We want government money under the cloak of diversity.

    DiverseUsually, depends on who is using it. This usually means the color, religion, gender and orientation of the person talking. 

    Good ol’ Boys: Yeah, we know each other, but, that doesn’t mean we like each other.

    Elitist: Them people with influence and money.

    My people-Your people: Uh, Oh! Conversation is becoming racial … regardless of your color.

    Social Justice: We are going to riot if you don’t give us what we want. 

    Poverty: You should start feeling guilty.  

    Advisory Board: We really don’t care what you think.  

    Donut Hole: Ooops! My bad. 

    Partner with: We can get more money if we work together
    on this.

    At risk: They are going to jail soon.

    Common Good: When we can’t justify the expense. This is the way you justify going after government grants and other funds.

    Quality of Life: See above.

    Reclassification: Giving a job a new name to justify a higher salary.

    Innovation: It’s above your head and you just wouldn’t understand.

    Monitoring: We have the responsibility to do this …. but, we don’t.

    Strategic Plan: The old plan did not work so we need to create a “new” plan to justify our existence.

    Staffing and Retention: We want more money.

    Transitional: Homeless.

    Working Poor: We can’t give them anything because they have a job. We can’t help them because we are too concerned with the slugs out there doing nothing and collecting government checks.

    Well, I think you get my point. Surely, those career politicians do. In conclusion, my advice to all city and county elected officials is that when you must come together, assemble together with a friendly, wholesome and productive attitude. Stay open-minded. Be free of bias and judgement. Then, during your negotiations or conversations, if you hear any of the above words or phrases used in any combination more than four or five times, just get up and politely excuse yourself and leave the room. Little will be accomplished. 

    On a more serious note, Cumberland County is on the grow. Opportunities abound and every community and township has a vested interest in our future success. Let’s put our energies into moving Fayetteville and Cumberland County forward. This cannot be done with words and phrases … only actions. We support this progress, and we support all those who are trying to make this a great community. 

    Thank you for reading Up & Coming Weekly.

  • 03HB2There was big news last week! Carolina again won the national basketball championship, and the North Carolina General Assembly repealed HB2 bathroom bill.

    How are those two issues connected? Well, North Carolina basketball — whether you’re talking about UNC or even Duke — has made a bundle of money for the Atlantic Coast Conference over the years. 

    However, both the ACC’s and NCAA’s political stance on HB2 has taken a lot of money from North Carolina.

    Last September, the ACC’s Council of Presidents secretly voted to move its 2016 and 2017 league championships from North Carolina venues to other states after the General Assembly in March passed HB2. Among those voting were UNC-Chapel Hill Chancellor Carol Folt and NC State Chancellor Randy Woodson. The NCAA’s position was in lockstep with the ACC.

    The vote by the ACC presidents aimed to punish the Tar Heel state’s General Assembly for passing what it considered a discriminatory law. HB2 negated the City of Charlotte’s ordinance by requiring transgender people using public bathrooms, showers or changing rooms to do so according to their sex on their birth certificates. Charlotte’s ordinance allowed transgender individuals to use those facilities based on the sex they identify with.

    There was more attached to the bill, but the bathroom issue rose to the top of the heap and became the lightning rod for social justice advocates.

    It’s not the first time a nonprofit, tax-exempt collegiate sports organization has taken a political stance. Until last year, the NCAA boycotted South Carolina because it flew a Confederate battle flag. The flag flies no longer, and this year South Carolina again is in the NCAA’s good graces. It’s where UNC met Arkansas.

    But guess what? On April 18, the NCAA decides where it will hold championship events from 2018 through 2022. The ACC Council of Presidents also plans to revisit its position on the matter. So, will the General Assembly’s repeal of HB2 bring back NCAA championship events to North Carolina?

    But there’s a problem with HB142, the law that repeals HB2. Both the extreme left and the extreme right don’t like it. The LGBTQ community wants to totally repeal it.

    HB142 resets the Public Facilities Privacy and Security Act. 

    The new law also preempts state agencies and local governments from regulating access to restrooms, showers or changing rooms. The new law also puts a moratorium on local government ordinances that regulate private employment practices and public accommodations. That moratorium expires in December 2020.

    Lt. Gov. Dan Forest’s statement about HB142 asked
    two questions:

    1. If HB2 was right, then why should it be repealed?

    2. However, if it was wrong, then why wait until 2020?

    He also referred to the NCAA’s boycotting actions as “corporate extortion” from a nonelected, out-of-state, tax-exempt organization.

    On the other side is Mayor Jennifer Roberts. Under her leadership, the Charlotte City Council passed the city’s nondiscrimination ordinance. It triggered the General Assembly to pass HB2. The reasoning, according a majority of legislators, was that the Charlotte ordinance overreached its authority under state law.

    Roberts reportedly chided fellow Democrat Gov. Roy Cooper for signing HB142 and called it a “false repeal.”

    Now, one more crazy thing. The City of Charlotte also released a statement. But its statement differs from that of the mayor. It said the City of Charlotte is pleased with the passage of HB142. The city’s spokeswoman released the statement after checking with the council. 

    So, with all the different spins on the repeal of HB2, I wonder how the NCAA and ACC Council of presidents will interpret the new law. And my question remains: how does a nonprofit, tax-exempt organization have so much political clout?

    Several North Carolina legislators are asking the same question. In fact, they’ve filed House Bill 328, The Athletic Association Accountability Act. If enacted, the law would require chancellors from publically funded universities or colleges to disclose how they voted. The law also would ask the IRS to investigate whether the ACC and NCAA violated their tax-exempt status by trying to influence laws passed by a legislative authority.

  • 02PITTDICKEYGleemAd illustrationI was recently thinking about toothpaste ads from the 1960s. Toothpaste slogans and jingles of yesteryear are unmatched by today’s ads. More about the jingles later. Pondering old toothpaste ads sent me down a rabbit hole recalling Colonel Jack D. Ripper’s wisdom about tooth decay. Let us never forget the words of Colonel Ripper in America’s favorite movie, Dr. Strangelove. In 1964, Colonel Ripper was both the free world’s leading authority on dental hygiene and the spiritual founder of the Congressional Freedom Caucus. Colonel Ripper proclaimed, “I can no longer sit back and allow Communist infiltration, Communist indoctrination, Communist subversion and the international Communist conspiracy to sap and impurify all of our precious bodily fluids.” Gentle reader, in the unlikely event you have not watched Dr. Strangelovein the last six months, Colonel Ripper was talking about the evils of fluoridation.

    Colonel Ripper explained his theory: “Do you realize that in addition to fluoridating water there are studies underway to fluoridate salt, flour, fruit juices, ice cream? A foreign substance is introduced into our precious bodily fluids without the knowledge of the individual. That’s the way your hardcore Commie works. I first became aware of it during the physical act of love. Yes, a profound sense of fatigue, a feeling of emptiness followed. Luckily I was able to interpret these feelings correctly. Loss of essence. I assure you it has not recurred. Women sense my power and they seek the life essence. I do not avoid women... but I do deny them my essence.” 

     Let us go then, you and I, preserving our precious bodily fluids while considering old toothpaste ads. How shall we begin? Do we dare to eat a peach? Nah, that’s J. Alfred Prufrock stuff, measuring out his life in coffee spoons. We are concerned with teeth, not spoons. Secret ingredients were the order of the day in the early ‘60s. Gleem was the toothpaste for people “who could not brush after every meal.” Its secret ingredient was GL-70, which cleaned your teeth and fought mouth cooties. Ipana toothpaste was pushed by Bucky Beaver, a cartoon rodent who sang, “Brusha, brusha, brusha, here’s the new Ipana.” Colgate Dental Cream’s secret sauce was Gardol, providing an invisible protective shield that kept tooth decay and bad breath away all day with just one brushing. A Gardol salesdude stood outside while a football player threw a football at his head. Whack! The football would bounce off the invisible protective shield around the salesman. This demonstrated how Gardol would protect your breath from gingivitis and your head from errant footballs. I really liked that ad.

    Crest’s ad campaign starred kids coming home from the dentist with a dental report card cheerily proclaiming at the top of their lungs, “Look Ma, no cavities.” It was a proud moment for the entire family. Bill Cosby appeared in a number of Crest ads as a boxer named Mr. Tooth Decay. Bill would box a hanging punching bag that was a giant tube of Crest. The Crest punching bag would eventually win and knock Bill down. Bill had some later issues with knockout drops in another context.

     The late lamented Stripe toothpaste had a really cool secret ingredient — Hexachlorophene — which was touted as a germ killer. Stripe’s gimmick was that when you squeezed the tube, a stream of red Hexachlorophene magically appeared, marking your toothpaste with groovy stripes. One Stripe ad featured a peppy chorus singing, “ Stripe is the cleaningest tooth paste/It’s got Hexa, Hexa, Hexachlorophene.” Another Stripe ad boasted “It looks like fun/Cleans like crazy.” Stripe toothpaste ads were particularly attractive to kids. I used Stripe myself. Turning the tube while squeezing made the red stripes go in a circle around the white inner tooth paste like a candy cane. Unfortunately Stripe was eventually pulled off the market due to a little glitch. Turns out that in addition to Hexachlorophene killing germs, if swallowed it could also lead to convulsions and respiratory failure as an added bonus. You might have seizures, but if you bit your tongue it would be with bright and shiny germ-free teeth, thus cutting down on the chance of infection. 

     Colonel Ripper warned us about the dangers of fluoride. It would be interesting to learn his position on toothpaste packed with red stripes of Hexachlorophene. Red is the favorite color of the Commies, so I suspect Colonel Ripper might also determine that Stripe was a Commie plot even more nefarious than fluoridation. 

      Remember, you only have to floss the teeth you want to keep.

  • 01PubPenWhen the General Assembly is asked to entertain or introduce a bill that affects the citizens of a municipality, the legislative delegation assumes that the municipality’s leaders are in 100 percent agreement with the terms of the request. Otherwise, they would not want to risk alienating their constituents, and no one ever wants to be on the wrong side of bad legislation.

    So, it would also be silly to think that prospective corporate entities scouting out Fayetteville/Cumberland County to locate their businesses or industries here would not be looking for the same assurances. Of course they would. And our community would fare much better in attracting industry if our City and County elected
    officials were a little more sensitive about what is best for the
    entire tax-paying community. 

    Both City and County officials need to stop bragging publicly about how well they cooperate with each other and instead start demonstrating it. Actions (or inactions) always speak louder than words. They should demonstrate it by amicably settling the sales tax distribution issue; sensibly consolidating our 911 emergency call centers; supporting and encouraging each other’s economic development projects; and showing support for the Greater Fayetteville Chamber, the Downtown Alliance, the Fayetteville Convention, the Visitors Bureau and all other organizations whose mission is to promote and enhance the community. Visitors and prospective businesses and industries looking at us from the outside are not stupid, and they are not impressed. We must stop demonstrating that we are a community conflicted and fortified within personal agenda silos with a toxic contempt for and distrust of one another. Under these circumstances, you can be assured they will not locate here regardless of how many incentives or perks we offer them.

    These corporate entities and prospective clients pay more attention to what they can see rather than what they hear. They look around our community and observe the condition of our downtown, the cleanliness of our streets and the availability of cultural amenities, but, more importantly, they look at our leadership and pay attention to the way our leaders interact with and react to one another. If we are not in harmony, and if the sense of disharmony is too conspicuous, you can be pretty much assured these prospective clients will not have the confidence to do business with us or to bring their companies here, investing millions of dollars in our community. 

    Both City and County officials need to be more sensitive to these factors. Together, they need to ask the same questions and heed the answers: Is our community clean? Is it safe? Are our parks and public areas well groomed? In other words, what image are we projecting? Are we taking pride in our community? Many of the things that will enhance Fayetteville and Cumberland County’s image and move us forward are things that don’t cost money. Cooperation, respect and civility just to name a few. 

    This is a very exciting time for our community and much is at stake. Let’s not let egos, turf battles and power plays diminish our opportunities. We have so much to gain through cooperation. Let’s get on with it. The time is now. Thank you for reading Up & Coming Weekly.

  • 15InyourheadIf you are — or ever were — a Company or Field Grade Officer in the United States military, please do not be offended at this. In a controlled
    test some 30 years ago, your peers were used to prove a point I wish to make within this text today. It’s a point that occurs near the intersection
    of music, the power of suggestion and individual memory. Weird
    enough? Good.

    In the mid-’80s I was a communications engineer working for our government. As part of a team dedicated to integrating information and communications systems, we were never far away from our inner nerds, but the long, tedious hours often led to our playful sides seeking a platform on which to live. In instances like the one I’m about to disclose —
    we found it.

    As we neared the completion of a particularly long season of preparation, my team was ready to hand off a state-of-the-art system to be tested. Someone well above my pay grade determined the group of people most likely to possess the confidence to extract the best from the system while demonstrating the overconfidence necessary to simultaneously destroy it, would be mid-grade officers from across the branches of military services. No one wore uniforms. Everyone was sure they were in charge, and most of them wanted a little time to familiarize. 

    As they got themselves comfortable in their temporary home, my little group of behind-the-sceners began to stir in the shadows. We devised a simple plan that involved wandering through the aisle of young officers and whistling, humming or otherwise vocalizing theme songs from TV sitcoms. The objective was simple: get the unwitting participants to sing your team’s assigned song before they left.

    And they did. They sang, they hummed, they tapped their feet and pencils, and they never realized what had happened. 

    Music is like that. It has a funny effect on our minds. It can evoke memories of a place or time in our lives — a first kiss, the night we proposed, the day our mother died, or the time we skipped school and watched reruns with a friend. Music has ways of affecting us in the here and now, as well. Runners may have multiple playlists for training at various distances, and guys like me pick music based on activities like woodworking, mowing the lawn, or simply getting ready to face another day’s challenges. 

    The point is simple: like it or not, the music is getting in. It can change your immediate responses for better or worse. And you might find yourself singing it when you least expect it. Choose your soundtrack wisely.

  • 10WillieWrightWhen I invited retired Col. Willie F. Wright into my office for an interview, I wasn’t sure what to expect. Our publisher, Bill Bowman, had said to me: “Leslie, we need to do a piece on Willie Wright. He’s just … this unsung hero of our community.” Shortly after, our associate publisher, Stephanie Crider, sent me his resume. I saw an impressive education; a long and successful career in the Army; another successful career as an educator, coupled with membership on boards all over Cumberland County; awards such as “Most Supportive Principal” (1994-95) and “Mover and Shaker of Fayetteville” (2007); and a hefty list of organizations he volunteers with, many since the 1980s. 

    But none of that captured what I heard as I sat across from Willie and listened to him share his life and doings. As he spoke, he seemed to quietly enjoy an unwavering delight simply in being alive. Willie seemed at once completely at peace with himself and completely unaware of how impressive his credentials are. As our conversation unfolded, I heard a theme emerge: When you’re doing what you love, in service to people you connect with and in turn love, too, life has a way of multiplying the chances to do that. I also learned that a person’s motive for volunteering doesn’t always have to be selflessand that it’s, in fact, perhaps more effective if you volunteer for partly “selfish” reasons.

    In 1987, when Willie was a year out from retiring as an O-6, there were a few things he wanted to learn. “Now I don’t know how you’re going to shape this,” he laughed, “but I‘m just gonna be openly honest with you.” His eyes crinkled and shone. “I was over at the craft shop on Fort Bragg. And this lady, Soni Martin, was (the director). I wanted to learn how to do matting and framing. So I said, ‘You know, if I volunteer to help her, I will learn how to do it, and I’ll be good at it.’ So I volunteered. And the idea just clicked in my mind. If you try to help people, you’ll also help yourself.” After that, Willie matted and framed the back cover art of 25 Reader’s Digest issues as gifts for his loved ones. 

    At that time, Willie said, he was also an avid reader. So he went to the Fort Bragg Library and offered eight hours a week of volunteer service. “I knew a list came out to the library of the best-sellers that would be coming … And I was able to put my name on the hold list before the books even arrived in the library!” he said with another laugh. 

    I could go on about Willie’s volunteering. Like the fact that he’s been a volunteer usher-turned-house-manager at Cape Fear Regional Theatre since 1989. Or that last year he turned down a well-paying job at Methodist University because “it would have interfered with me (volunteering at) CFRT... and I really love being there … I meet so many nice people,” as he put it. He has probably greeted you at the Crown and Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra, too. 

    But his Army and education careers deserve acknowledgement, too. When Willie graduated with a B.S. in Education from Virgina State University (then Virginia State College) in 1959, he was offered a Regular Army commission: a three-year obligation of service, which he served. The Army then offered to send Willie to graduate school if he stayed three more years. After that, the Army said they would promote him early, to major if he stayed three more years. 

    After a 30-year career in the Army, he held three master’s degrees and did make his way back to education. He spent the next 27 years working in 12 schools across Cumberland County, once as a principal but primarily as a guidance counselor. Administrators just kept requesting him. Maybe that was because Willie carried his genuine love for people (and love for mutually beneficial situations) into his work. 

    For example, as principal of Edgewood Elementary (now Luther “Nick” Jeralds Middle) from 1993-99, he partnered with Fayetteville State University to create a free after-school program for students. FSU teachers got classroom space to work in, and elementary school students got to take free classes in subjects like early French or Spanish. Though Willie tried to retire from education in 2005, he wasn’t quite “allowed” to until 2016. He was just too loved
    and too needed. 

    When I asked how he could explain such an incredible pattern of success in his life, all he could offer was: “I just work hard... I enjoy... and like people. I try to operate on the principle that I’m in your shoes; what can I help you to do?”

    Does Willie, having lived such a full life, have anything left he wants to do? Well, his daughters just took him on a birthday trip to Cuba, as that was somewhere he’d never been before. Now, he said, “I think I’ve just about done all I want to do except to continue to enjoy life and enjoy the people I work with.”

    So, if there’s something you want to pursue, consider doing as Willie does: pursue those things right at your local library or theater or other organization, and allow yourself to receive in return. Recognize the exponential value in giving your time to serve people, in a position you genuinely enjoy. Also, read your local newspaper Willie said that’s how he found most of his volunteer opportunities. “It’s all about people,” Willie said. “Every individual is a human being. And almost all of us have the same needs … I’ve been very blessed.” 

  • 06JusticeEvery day, millions of students across America stand, face the flag of the United States, place their right hand over their heart and recite:

    “I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”

    It is a moving moment, a time for a statement of shared values and civic aspirations. To believe in the pledge is to acknowledge that we are one nation committed not just to the concept, but to the practice of justice for all. 

    It is an elusive goal, especially when so many of our low-income families cannot access needed legal services. One of the main sources of legal assistance to our most vulnerable North Carolinians is Legal Aid of North Carolina, which has an office in Fayetteville serving Cumberland, Harnett and Sampson counties. LANC provides vital assistance to people in family law cases involving custody disputes and domestic violence protective orders. It assists in housing issues, protecting tenants, military families and veterans focusing on federal legal rights and resources, and the elderly and disabled in a wide range of civil matters. Most recently, LANC was at the forefront of assisting low-income families and individuals devastated by Hurricane Matthew. Natural disasters affect everyone in their path and the poor are no exception. Competent, timely and accessible legal assistance is never more important than in a time of emergency. Along with the pro bono efforts of private attorneys, the state and local bar associations, LANC is a vital organization to communities across North Carolina, including Fayetteville and
    Cumberland County. 

    LANC is largely funded through a grant from the Legal Services Corporation, a nonprofit organization established in 1974 and funded primarily through the federal government. Unfortunately, President Trump’s budget will eliminate federal funding of the Legal Services Corporation. If the budget is enacted, this would cripple efforts to provide basic legal services to vulnerable citizens. The American Bar Association has joined with a coalition of corporations, law school deans and attorneys across America to protect funding for legal aid. The website HelpLegalAid.org has been set up to promote the legal aid for low-income citizens and to provide a way to voice support in the face of a serious threat of elimination. 

    Justice for all cannot be a mere aspiration recited in a pledge. Support for LANC and legal aid organizations helps make the concept a reality for all the people. 

  • 05HeisRisenAs the month of April unfolds, Christians across the globe are moving toward “Holy Week” and the commemoration of events associated with the last week of Jesus Christ’s life on earth. Beginning with Palm Sunday, believers recall Christ’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem leading up to his crucifixion, death, burial and ultimate resurrection celebrated on the following Sunday.

    One of the most moving accounts associated with the resurrection of Jesus Christ occurred when the women who came to anoint the body of Jesus, who was crucified three days prior, found an empty tomb.

    Luke 24:1-9 in the New Living Translation describe this sequence of events:

    But very early on Sunday morning the women went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. They found that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance. So they went in, but they didn’t find the body of the Lord Jesus. As they stood there puzzled, two men suddenly appeared to them, clothed in dazzling robes.

    The women were terrified and bowed with their faces to the ground. Then the men asked, “Why are you looking among the dead for someone who is alive? He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead! Remember what he told you back in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be betrayed into the hands of sinful men and be crucified, and that he would rise again on the third day.”

    Then they remembered that he had said this. So they rushed back from the tomb to tell his eleven disciples—and everyone else—what had happened. 

    This record of the women at the empty tomb became the inspiration for this poetic sharing which ends with the traditional greeting and response heard on the morning of the resurrection:

    Witness

    Luke 24:1-9 

    The account of the women at the empty tomb

    Though we did not journey with the women

    In the dark before dawn that first day,

    Nor were we walking, weeping with them when

    Two angels spoke, nor did we hear them say,

    “He is not here but risen as he said;

    Recall that on the third day he should rise;

    Why seek you the living among the dead?”

    Though we did not see with our naked eyes,

    In our hearts we know God’s desire to bless.

    Though we did not touch Christ nor did we see

    The open tomb, yet we still bear witness.

    We have a more sure word of prophecy.

    By the Spirit, fruit of our Promised Seed,

    We surely know He is risen, risen, indeed.

    This year the message of the resurrection resounds once again, as Chuck Swindoll, evangelical Christian pastor, author, educator and radio minister, reminds us,

    “Our identity as Christians is strengthened as we stand in the lengthening shadows of saints down through the centuries, who have always answered back in antiphonal voice: ‘He is risen, indeed!’”

  • 04cfpbShould one unelected bureaucrat have almost dictatorial powers over our personal financial choices?

    Most would say that doesn’t sound American, but unfortunately, I’m referring to the Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Created in good faith following the financial crisis, CFPB has slowed the economy and hurt job growth through excessive rules.

    CFPB’s fatal flaw is a lack of accountability. The agency, which determines your choices for checking accounts, the fees on your mortgage or car loan and what type of credit card offers you can receive, is led by a single director who is accountable to no one. Not even the president can fire the CFPB director, except for an “egregious act.” 

    With no oversight, CFPB bureaucrats are free to dream up whatever
    big government, Washington regulations they want. Meanwhile, these
    same CFPB bureaucrats are spending your money on luxury offices and high salaries.

    For example, the CFPB spent $200 million on luxury renovations for their leased office space, including a two-story waterfall, a four-story glass staircase and a “timber porch” where bureaucrats can relax while thinking up new rules. The average total compensation for a CFPB bureaucrat is $180,000 per year, and growing at roughly 30 percent annually.

    How does this impact you?

    Small businesses and entrepreneurs are the lifeblood of our economy, creating over half of all new jobs. However, excessive CFPB regulations have made it more difficult for small businesses to get loans to grow and create well-paying jobs. FDIC data shows small business loans are down 1.5 percent from pre-crisis levels, and commercial loans under $1 million have fallen 14 percent. Local bank leaders tell me they now hire more compliance officers than loan officers, as filling out forms for bureaucrats has become more important than growing the economy. We are losing the community banks that support small business expansion and job growth.

    The CFPB is also making it harder for consumers to access financial services. Prior to the creation of CFPB, the average monthly account balance needed to qualify for free checking was $250. Now, that requirement has risen to $750, on average. Only two new commercial banks were created in 2016, down from 228 the year before the recession. The number of Americans without a bank account has risen by half a million.

    Does this mean we should do away with regulation, or with the CFPB? No. Regulations are necessary for an orderly society and economy, and consumers should be protected. However, when the total economic cost of Washington’s regulations on ordinary Americans and businesses totals $2 trillion per year, we need to restore common sense. 

    As your Representative on the House Financial Services Committee, I’m working to pass the Financial CHOICE Act, which would create accountability for the CFPB and replace the “financial dictator” with a bipartisan committee. The Financial CHOICE Act would also increase penalties for financial fraud, end Wall Street bailouts and make it easier for small community banks to serve the needs of local customers.

    Sadly, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has done the most harm to low-income, minority Americans and small businesses. We need to restore common sense to Washington’s regulatory structure, returning power to ordinary Americans, ensuring access to competitive financial services and respecting your right to make free and informed choices.

  • 03CreatingNormalizingThere are various conditions in America that hinder many citizens from achieving all the good that might otherwise be possible in their living. Among the most destructive of these is that our nation has sadly become amazingly proficient in creating and normalizing dependency. That is, making people not only physically dependent on government, but mentally convinced that government has a responsibility to provide for needs that should reasonably be satisfied through individual effort. 

    I think creating dependency requires convincing people that they are at a disadvantage that government must remove, or make adjustments that allow moving ahead, in spite of the disadvantage. An example of how this removing or adjusting looks can be found in an article titled “New York to Scrap Literacy Test for Teachers in the Name of Diversity” by Peter Hasson. Hasson reports that New York is moving toward scrapping the requirement that prospective teachers pass a basic reading and writing literacy exam. He writes, “The state’s Board of Regents is expected to ditch the Academic Literacy Skills Test in part because black and Hispanic teaching candidates struggled to pass the exam, according to the AP.” What New York is moving to do is the kind of action that says, “Don’t take on an attitude of working hard to meet standards. Government, or some other controlling entity, will lower the standard to allow you to qualify.”

     I do not deny there are instances where governmental action is necessary to rectify unacceptable conditions experienced by citizens. My concern is that various governmental entities intercede so routinely, and often seemingly automatically take actions that relieve citizens of individual responsibility. In the New York teacher exam situation, lowering the standards instead of determining why black and Hispanic candidates underperform and addressing those causes is the kind of response that is routine now. This response, which is rampant across America, fosters the expectation of repeated relief from individual effort and responsibility. When people experience this treatment over time, it is only reasonable that far too many will come to a point of existence that makes dependence on government a way of life. This is the creation of dependency.

    The absolutely scary condition is when the dependency model is normalized. That is, when government in particular, and society in general, come to the point of routinely operating in a fashion that minimizes, or totally eliminates, the requirement for
    individual responsibility.

    Normalization of the dependency model shows in what is happening by way of efforts to involuntarily annex Shaw Heights and Julie Heights. These neighborhoods surrounded by the City of Fayetteville are not part of the city. The area is referred to as a “doughnut hole” because of this situation. It is low income with a high percentage of rental properties, and most homes are on a septic tank. Various reports indicate that Fayetteville has not annexed Shaw and Julie Heights because property taxes would not cover the cost of providing the services that would be required by annexation. 

    Is it so outrageous that a city would consider cost in deciding whether to annex an area? Estimates to install a required sewer, if Shaw and Julie Heights are annexed, run as high as $7 million. The current Fayetteville arrangement is that property owners in annexed areas pay $5,000 toward the cost of making sewer service available. This does not cover the full cost of bringing service to an area. The balance is paid by the city and/or Public Works Commission. In 2005, Fayetteville annexed some 40,000 residents. The process of extending sewer service to those residents is still underway. The $5,000 payment applies, but the remaining cost was initially shared by the city and PWC. The full amount of the additional cost was later shifted to PWC. A recent rate increase approved for the utility was, in part, justified by PWC having to pay the additional cost of providing sewer service to the annexed area.

    Now consider my contention that the approach being pursued in annexing Shaw and Julie Heights reflects normalized dependency. That is, the dependency model is prevalent across America, and when presented with the situation in these neighborhoods, the response is to follow the model and press Fayetteville to annex the area. A major point of discussion is that property owners will have difficulty paying the $5,000 sewer charge. My expectation is that financial relief would somehow be provided for homeowners, at the expense of taxpayers, outside of the neighborhoods being annexed. 

    State Representative Elmer Floyd is proposing legislation that would add Shaw Heights and Julie Heights to Fayetteville. This would be forced annexation in that the residents of these areas, and of Fayetteville, do not get to vote on the matter. I think the following quotes from an article by Andrew Barksdale titled “Filling the ‘doughnut hole’” speak to my contention that the apparent course of this annexation effort fits the dependency model:

    “The bill’s primary sponsor, state Rep. Elmer Floyd, a Fayetteville Democrat, said it was time to bring Shaw Heights into the city. ‘It’s an area that has been discriminated against because of the residents,’ he said.

    “Joe Tolley, a long-time Shaw Heights resident and landlord, favors annexation and what would come with it — sewer, garbage collection and sidewalks. ‘We’re still suffering out here, and the city of Fayetteville could care less,’ he said, sitting in his office in a mobile home.

    “This week, the PWC’s legal interpretation on the sewer question was circulated to city officials. The PWC told The Fayetteville Observerthe document was privileged legal advice and not a public record, but the newspaper obtained a copy from another source. The memo said that while state-initiated annexations don’t require PWC to pay for sewer, the utility acknowledged that the legislature could make such a requirement in the bill itself. ‘This exception is far from clear and we are not certain how a court would interpret it in this situation,’ the PWC memo said.”

    These quotes from the Barksdale article fit the parameters of what I am calling the dependency model. The message is that the residents of Shaw Heights and Julie Heights have been and are mistreated. Granted, only one person is quoted, but my experience indicates the attitude of expecting relief at the expense of others is present. The PWC piece indicates there is at least concern that someone or some entity other than residents will shoulder the cost of running sewer to the area. Beyond the quotes, government is forcing this action on the citizens of those neighborhoods and of Fayetteville. These elements reflect the dependency model at work.

    Given that I see use of the dependency model as destructive and totally unacceptable, one might reasonably ask what I offer as an alternative. In an article titled “With Revitalization Efforts Stalled, ‘Shaw Heights needs help,’” posted on July 25 2015, Andrew Barksdale wrote:

    “Three years ago, then-Mayor Tony Chavonne had some out-of-the-box thinking of his own. He proposed that a portion of the $45 million parks bond package, which never went before voters, be used to put a sports field and a tennis center over 125 acres in Shaw Heights.”

    Those years ago, when I became aware of the proposal to which Barksdale refers,I called Mayor Chavonne and asked him to tell me more about his thinking. He explained that since the planned I-295 bypass would cross Murchison Road just above Shaw Heights, having a sports complex would attract people to the area. With this would come restaurants, motels and other job-producing businesses. Central to his idea was that residents of the Shaw Heights area would be trained for employment in those businesses. This approach would have provided opportunity for residents to improve their financial condition where necessary. 

    What Tony Chavonne proposed, and worked hard to achieve, ended up on the ever-growing trash heap of great ideas defeated by political bickering and grandstanding, along with adherence to the dependency model. My hope is that the day will come in Fayetteville, and across this nation, when, as the Chavonne approach very likely would have done, struggling citizens are given opportunities to become self-sufficient versus being dependent on government and, thereby, on taxpayers. Where people are not presented with and encouraged to a better way, dependency breeds dependency. If the Shaw Heights situation is addressed with this normal dependency model, we will almost certainly get more of what we have, except with water, sewer, and maybe sidewalks added. I think a visit to that trash heap of defeated and neglected great ideas is in order. 

  • 02BetterWaycacThe Precious Jewels have birthdays early in the year. One has passed, and two are imminent, which means that parenthood and child raising are much on my mind this time of year. It also means reflections over their childhoods and their paths from bouncing babies to young adults. My rearview mirror tells me each has had significant bumps in the road, but they seem largely happy and productive.

    I wish I could say that for every child.

    The recent deaths of two babies — one a toddler and one less than a week old — in our community and two murder charges brought against their father have shaken me and many others to our cores. None of us want to believe this happens among us or anywhere else. But it does, which is why the Cumberland County Child Advocacy Center exists, and why respected leaders in our community like retired Chief District Court Judge Elizabeth Keever and a host of both professionals and lay people support and volunteer for CAC. 

    It is also why April is Child Abuse Prevention Month across our country.

    Child Advocacy Centers, including ours, work miracles for children who have been abused in any way, most often sexually and generally by someone in their own worlds, not a stranger. Prior to existence of the services a CAC now provides, an abused child had to relive his or her experience time and time again, telling it to all manner of adult authority figures. These included parents, grandparents, other caretakers, law enforcement, medical and mental health workers, social workers, and perhaps school personnel, among others. CAC coordinates the delivery of needed services, making it necessary for the child to tell the story only one time and then move on to healing. It is no exaggeration to say that for many children, CAC is a literal lifesaver.

    Our CAC has assisted thousands of children over the last 24 years, but numbers do not tell the pain of their stories and the power of the help CAC provides. Without identifying details, here are the stories of a few of the children who came through CAC’s door over the last year. 

    A 13-year-old girl was raped by cousins. She was unable to give details because she did not want to cry.

    A 12-year-old girl was raped at her sister’s apartment. This compounded prior sexual abuse beginning when she was five by a 17-year-old cousin.

    A 9-year-old girl was raped over a three-year period by her stepfather, who is now in jail. She was unable to speak about the abuse but wanted to write about it. Mom, who was molested as a child herself, has moved out of the home and taken
    her children.

    A woman and seven children were victims of domestic violence by the husband/father and have moved into a two-bedroom home with a grandmother.

    A 9-year-old girl told her great-grandmother that Mom’s boyfriend had been molesting her and making her watch pornography. Mom worked nights, leaving her children with
    her boyfriend.

    A 3-year-old girl was forced to play sexual “games” with a male family friend who is now in jail.

    A 4-year-old girl was molested by her own father who told her he would kill her if she told anyone.

    Most of these girls are in counseling through CAC. And while these examples involve girls, hundreds of boys have also been assisted and counseled by CAC. Sadly, child abuse is an equal opportunity offense.

    Two years ago, the Cumberland County CAC received a $50,000 award from the Lilly Endowment Challenge at the Cumberland Community Foundation, and the matching funds challenge was met, giving the CAC’s endowment fund a $100,000 boost. Endowments are critical to nonprofit organizations, because they can free staff and boards of directors from ongoing fundraising efforts and provide a safety net to the organization as well as interest income. 

    So here comes the shameless ask. 

    If you know a child who has been abused, if you have sympathy for children like the ones above, or if you simply love a child, please consider donating to the Cumberland County CAC Endowment Fund. It will be well used to provide for children who have experienced the most damaging kind of abuse — an abuse of trust. While the children who go through CAC may not be our children, each and every one of them is someone’s Precious Jewel, and each and every one of them deserves to feel safe, and with any luck, loved.

  • 01Chamber CEOIt was welcomed news that Greater Fayetteville Chamber leadership has finally hired a new president and CEO to take over the growth and development of the Greater Fayetteville Chamber. Christine Michaels of Brandon, Florida, will take the helm as the new president. Fayetteville is a dynamic and growing community and needs a strong Chamber of Commerce. Local businessman Darsweil Rogers, president of RMC Strategies, has done a yeoman’s job in holding the organization together as interim Chamber president, but, the truth be known, the worth of any Chamber membership is in the value it brings to its members. The local Chamber should be the leading business organization in the community, advocating for not just small businesses, but for all business, industries and organizations. 

    The last couple of years, our Chamber has been crippled by an unfortunate combination of inadequate qualifications, misplaced priorities, weak leadership skills and an apathetic and ineffective board of directors that have culminated in our once proud and efficient Chamber losing its respected position as an effective business advocate and agent of change for local progress. Hence, the loss of membership. 

    That’s the bad news. The good news is this situation is an easy fix with the right leader, a strong focused board of directors, a competent staff and the desire and intestinal fortitude of the community to “do the right things for the right reasons.” Currently, there is a major Chamber emphasis on growing the membership. The reality is that pushing to increase membership without adding value to Chamber programs will only make the situation worse in the long run. 

    I am a huge Chamber advocate. I built my entire company on the back of a strong and respectable Greater Fayetteville Chamber. I know how important it is. This is why it is my hope that the new CEO brings with her the talent, leadership and fortitude that can rebuild, revitalize and reinstitute prestige, value and clout back into our local organization. Of course, she will need some assistance, and I hope that readily comes from the support and cooperation of all city, county and local economic development agencies, including the Downtown Alliance. 

    The Chamber needs programs that add value to business and industry to help them grow, develop and prosper. It is this kind of advocacy that builds value, and in turn increases membership. Like everything else, it comes down to quality over quantity. In this case, quality equals
    quantity (memberships). 

    It is doubly important in this community where our residential population is constantly changing. This being said, it is encouraging to see our Greater Fayetteville Chamber partnering with the Better Business Bureau of Coastal Carolina to sponsor the upcoming Leadership Simulcast and “Shop Local” Business 2 Business Expo April on 12. 

    Not only will this be a full day of free events promoting the value of teamwork and leadership, it will feature “shop local” themes and showcase local businesses and organizations that bring quality, dependable products and services to consumers with the highest degree of honesty and integrity. Why is this important? Because unlike other communities, Fayetteville/Cumberland County welcomes approximately 1,500 new families into our community each month. (Yep, 1,500! Not people. Families. Each month.) Our office receives the names and addresses of every one of them — every month. And we send every one of them a personal “Welcome to Fayetteville” greeting each month. 

    Again, why is this important? Because 1,500 families that were shopping at their favorite local stores, eating at local restaurants and using local services will be leaving the Fayetteville community and the new arriving families have no idea where to shop, eat or receive services. They don’t know which local businesses demonstrate the highest standards in quality, integrity and honesty. So, the Better Business Bureau and the Chamber work hand in hand to raise the profiles of quality businesses while encouraging consumers to do business locally
    with confidence. 

    This is a win-win for everyone. Both are good for business and community growth and development. We welcome Christine Michaels to the Fayetteville community as the incoming president and CEO of the Greater Fayetteville Chamber. We look forward to supporting her efforts in leading our Chamber to new and inspiring heights in a community destined for greatness. 

    Thank you for reading Up & Coming Weekly.

  • 09Woodpeckers PlayerMinor league baseball functions as a farm system for the major leagues, which pay the players and set their salaries and bonuses. Players in the majors start at $545,000 per year this season, and the pay goes up from there, thanks to the Major League Baseball Players Association.

    In the minor leagues, players don’t have a union and perform under a standard league contract that provides a fixed salary starting at $1,100 per month. Major League Baseball is considering a significant increase in salaries for minor league players, ESPN’s Jeff Passan reported in March.

    According to Passan, MLB officials suggested raising the pay for minor league players during a recent meeting with the group that oversees the minors. But the pay situation is likely to remain as is for now, thanks to a deal the team owners got from Congress in the omnibus spending bill passed in March.

    There have been years of criticism and lawsuits regarding minor league wages. The Toronto Blue Jays are reportedly in the process of considering a 50% pay increase for all players affiliated with their MiLB clubs. “We have received many questions regarding the decision of the Toronto Blue Jays to increase the salaries of minor league players,” MLB said in a statement to ESPN.

    The major league commissioner’s office is presently in negotiations with the National Association of Professional Baseball on the terms of a new agreement to replace a contract that expires in September 2020. “The working conditions of minor league players, including their compensation, facilities and benefits, is an important area of discussion in those negotiations,” the league said.

    With rare exception, major league clubs do not own minor league teams but have affiliation contracts with them. The Fayetteville Woodpeckers organization is one of the exceptions. The team is owned and operated by the Houston Astros, which is beneficial to the Woodpeckers organization and the city of Fayetteville. The city has a 30-year agreement with the Astros to provide minor league baseball at the new stadium.

    Parent major league clubs pay minor league players’ salaries and benefits and provide bats and balls. The minor league teams pay for in-season travel and other operational expenses. The maximum a first-year minor leaguer can make is $1,100 a month. After the first year, there is no monthly maximum so the player can make more.

    The major league teams negotiate all the contracts. Hometown families sometimes adopt minor league players and provide sleeping quarters and meals. “The Woodpeckers are all living in a high-end apartment building in Fayetteville,” team President Mark Zarthar said. He would not say whether the players pay rent.

    At the Single A level, it’s difficult for a player to make ends meet. This is the reason that when players are drafted, they often ask for larger signing bonuses. As players move up in the organization, new contracts are negotiated. Minor leaguers are not paid well until at least the next level. AAA players make much higher salaries.

  • 08SEGRA logoSEGRA is the name of a new communications company made up of a pair of established affiliates. Lumos Networks Corp. and Spirit Communications merged, and the two companies have rebranded as SEGRA. It’s pronounced with a short e — SEH-GRUH.

    “This new brand marks the official launch of a single company with a mission and culture that are dedicated to providing winning solutions for our customers,” said SEGRA CEO Timothy G. Biltz.

    In April 2018, EQT Partners completed the purchase of a majority stake in Spirit Communications and announced it would combine Spirit assets with Lumos. EQT says on its website that it “invests in good companies across the world with a mission to help them develop into great and sustainable companies.”

    Over the last year, the two firms have integrated their operations, expanded their fiber-optic network and product sets, and made further investments in existing and new markets in the mid-Atlantic and Southeast. New markets include Fayetteville, Raleigh and Greensboro, North Carolina.

    SEGRA is powering organizations of all sizes with state-of-the-art voice, data and internet services. It has an advanced fiber infrastructure network of more than 21,000 miles that connects more than 9,000 on-net locations and 44 data centers throughout nine states. It is one of the East Coast’s largest fiber networks.

    The expanded company said its customers will begin to see the SEGRA logo on company vehicles, buildings and elsewhere over the next few months. Baseball fields are a part of the identity process. SEGRA bought the naming rights for two SEGRA stadiums. SEGRA Park in Columbia, South Carolina, was formerly known as Spirit Communications Park.

    It is the home of the Columbia Fireflies, a minor league baseball team playing in the South Atlantic League. SEGRA Stadium in Fayetteville was patterned after the Columbia ballpark. Now they share a name. Neither SEGRA nor the city of Fayetteville would disclose the signature naming longevity term or purchase price. Based on similar stadium projects, SEGRA’s purchase likely topped the $1 million mark.

    SEGRA Park in Columbia and SEGRA Stadium in Fayetteville both are 365-day-per-year multi-use sports and entertainment venues. They were designed for baseball, concerts, soccer, football and other activities. SEGRA Stadium is smaller than SEGRA Park. The Columbia venue seats approximately 9,000 for sporting events, while the Fayetteville stadium can accommodate 6,000.

    “SEGRA is making an investment by expanding their business into Fayetteville, providing a state-of-theart fiber network that will improve connectivity for current businesses and also potentially increasing our economic development efforts as we continue to attract new businesses to our city,” Mayor Mitch Colvin said.

    The Houston Astros organization said that with SEGRA having the ballpark’s naming rights and operating as its official communications services partner, the stadium may be the most connected venue in minor league baseball. The new state-of-the-art stadium is outfitted with cutting edge 802.11ac Wave 2 Wi-Fi coverage powered by redundant 10 Gbps fiber connectivity, allowing fans to enhance their game-day experience with seamless, lightning-speed video and social media, Houston Astros officials said.

  • 07KastnerThe board of directors of the Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra has announced Christine Kastner’s departure as president/CEO of the orchestra, effective in June. Kastner has accepted the position of executive director of the North Carolina Master Chorale in Raleigh. The announcement appeared in a news release issued by symphony board chair Joy Miller.

    “Chris has played a critical role in the development and success of the orchestra since assuming the position in November 2011,” Miller said.

    Under Kastner’s leadership, the FSO increased the number of concerts performed and expanded its youth outreach with the addition of the Fayetteville Symphony Youth Orchestra, youth summer camps and an after-school Suzuki violin program. Miller added that the symphony has made significant progress in its endowment, providing a source of long-term sustainability for the FSO.

    Crime Stoppers solves major drug cases

    Fayetteville’s Crime Stoppers tip line has recently contributed to the arrest of six people in three separate instances. Fayetteville Police received anonymous tips about suspicious residences. The most recent case came to light April 23.

    Police received a Crime Stoppers tip about a residence on Rodwell Road. Officers were able to obtain a search warrant for the house and seized 5,188 dosage units of LSD, 8.9 grams of heroin, 2.6 grams of fentanyl, 12 grams of MDMA and $1,185 in cash.

    Anthony Michael Maerten, 31, and Cindy Vanessa Caballero, 20, both of the Rodwell Road address, were charged with numerous felony drug counts and given $530,000 secured bonds.

    Similar investigations resulted from Crime Stoppers tips on Lawrence Avenue and Suzanne Street. Leonard Davis, 40, of Lawrence Avenue, was charged with trafficking and manufacturing cocaine, conspiracy, and felony maintenance of a dwelling for narcotic use. He posted bond. Michelle Whitaker, 42, was charged with identical crimes and, also posted bond.

    In the other case reported by city police, officers got a lead about a home on Suzanne Street. Investigators found an AK-47 style assault rifle, nearly 1 pound of marijuana and various items of drug paraphernalia. Sergio F. Weeks, 32, and Alysha J. Smith, 25, face numerous drug charges.

    Weeks was also charged with possession of a firearm by a felon and endangering the life of a child. Police discovered his rifle under the bed of a 2-year-old. Both posted bond and were released from jail pending trial.

    “The anonymous tipsters are eligible for cash rewards from the Fayetteville/Cumberland County Crime Stoppers Program,” Police Sgt. Shawn Strepay said. 

    Community branding survey

    The city of Fayetteville, Cumberland County, and nine partner organizations have banded together to create the Fayetteville Cumberland Collaborative Branding Committee and are distributing a survey to gather residents’ input for a community branding project. This research is part of an undertaking to create an updated image of the area’s strengths, assets, diversity, vision and potential. Community members are encouraged to take the 15-minute anonymous survey at www.brandingfcnc.com.

    The FCCBC commissioned North Star Destination Strategies to help create a new brand. North Star has an extensive background in developing cooperative brands for both governments and organizations, having worked with more than 250 communities in 44 states.

    “Understanding the diverse perspectives of our respondents will help North Star bring the real story of this community to the surface,” said Will Ketchum, president of North Star.

    North Star will use its research to develop a brand that showcases what makes the community unique with the potential to attract new residents, businesses and tourists.

    Social Security telephone scam

    Fayetteville Police are warning the public about a telephone scam targeting local citizens. Fraud Detectives have received reports that a subject is calling unsuspecting victims claiming they have outstanding warrants for arrest.

    The scammer declares he is calling from the Social Security Administration and that the citizen must pay a fine immediately or be subject to arrest. The suspect then requests personal information and payments. Police say the caller may sound professional and courteous while waiting for the recipient to release information. The caller may also suggest that the citizen purchase prepaid credit cards or gift cards.

    City police remind residents that legitimate businesses and government agencies do not threaten arrests or make demands for information and money. Authorities say to never provide any information to unsolicited callers.

    Local governments honored

    The city of Fayetteville, Cumberland County and the City of Fayetteville’s Public Works Commission were among 28 North Carolina governments to earn recognition in the 12th annual North Carolina City and County Excellence in Communications Awards. The local organizations won a combined 11 awards, to include recognition for the city and county’s collaborative efforts in the Hurricane Florence Joint Information Center and PWC’s Carolyn Justice-Hinson winning the Chris Coulson Communicator of the Year Award.

    The program was held April 11 at the NC3C’s Spring Conference in Durham. “It is my honor to congratulate all the winners of the NC3C Excellence in Communications contest this year, said President Dana Kaminske. “The work that city and county government communicators do is impressive and is worth recognizing.”

    Photo: Christine Kastner

  • 12ftcc portfolio nightAs department chair for Fayetteville Technical Community College’s advertising and graphic design program, it is my pleasure to present the graduating class of 2019 and invite you to join us for Portfolio Night. It takes place Thursday, May 2, from 4-7 p.m. at the Harry F. Shaw Virtual College Center atrium on FTCC’s Fayetteville campus. Each graduating student will display portfolios to highlight his or her work. In their portfolios, students demonstrate their development of skills and application of design principles as well as hard work. 

    FTCC’s advertising and graphic design curriculum provides students with the skills necessary for employment in graphic design and related fields.

    Students learn how to apply effective design principles to real-world assignments, utilizing creative problem-solving skills. They focus on executing designs efficiently in appropriate design applications from the Adobe Creative Suite for a variety of printed and digital media. They explore industry expectations, associated processes and unique considerations for different aspects of design, including page layout, illustration, photography, product packaging, web design, advertising and promotions.

    Students can choose from programs of study that lead to an associate degree or a certificate in one of the following concentrations: digital graphics, graphic design basics or web-based graphics design.

    One of the most rewarding aspects of working with students is seeing the diversity of creativity expressed in their work. Provided the same instruction, each student brings to their work a singular perspective that produces a unique design solution to achieve an objective. With a solid foundation in design principles, individualism and creativity yield multiple different, yet effective, designs.

    Join us for Portfolio Night to be inspired and have your creativity stimulated by the work of each of these students.

    In addition, Portfolio Night serves as a resource to connect leaders within our business community with graduates who possess the skills to support advertising and promotional efforts through graphic design. Every business has graphic design needs of various degrees. Whether a business or organization is looking to hire for a full-time position or is seeking a graphic designer on a freelance or contract basis, they will find that FTCC’s students have been well prepared to serve their needs.

    FTCC’s faculty, staff and students hope you will plan to visit Portfolio Night on May 2. The Harry F. Shaw Virtual College Center is located at 2201 Hull Rd.

    Advertising and graphic design is just one of more than 250 academic programs of study to choose from at FTCC, which include business, computer technology, engineering/ applied technology, health, public service, arts and humanities, and math and sciences. Students can use their time wisely this summer by enrolling in summer classes, which begin May 28. Registration for summer classes is open, and registration locations include the Tony Rand Student Center at the Fayetteville campus, the Spring Lake campus and the Fort Bragg Training & Development Center.

  • 07R Small ToneyThe city of Fayetteville official who served as project director for the new minor league baseball Segra Stadium will not be attending this spring’s special events. The city manager’s office said former Deputy City Manager Rochelle Small-Toney “was invited but is unable to attend.” Up & Coming Weekly inquired but received no response from her.

    Years before it had a name, Segra Stadium was Small-Toney’s idea. Soon after the city hired Small-Toney in 2013, she said she was asked to come up with an economic development plan for downtown Fayetteville.

    The sports enthusiast suggested minor league baseball. She was the first African American to play women’s varsity basketball at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

    Small-Toney helped jump-start discussions about bringing professional baseball back to Fayetteville. She oversaw all phases of the project, including the feasibilitystudy; recruitment of the Houston Astros, a Class A Advanced minor league team; development of the memorandum of understanding; and the creation of a 30-year financial plan.

    The stadium and a mixed-use commercial property development plan brought the new owners of the former Prince Charles Hotel on board. City Council granted PCH Holdings of Durham an exclusive contract to develop the property adjacent to the stadium. The results include a pair of buildings atop a five-story parking garage. PCH also renovated the hotel and converted it into an eight-story apartment building. The investments thus far represent more than $100 million in new development.

    Small-Toney has baccalaureate and master’s degrees from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She has 35 years of experience in government. Before leaving her post in 2016, she confirmed the city’s interest in building a stadium and eventually bringing in a minor league team: “The city is very much interested, I think, in pursuing the construction of a minor league stadium,” she said.

    During her tenure, Small-Toney led a group of local leaders and other representatives of Fayetteville on tours of several ballparks and cities over several months. Those sites included Durham, North Carolina; Columbia, South Carolina; Sugarland, Texas; Charlotte, North Carolina; and Nashville, Tennessee. Of all those ballparks, only the Durham Bulls Athletic Park was built before 2012. The D-BAP had a $19 million makeover at the end of the 2013 season.

    The stadiums in Durham, Columbia, Nashville and Charlotte also were built downtown, to trigger an influx of business and development. Small-Toney said from the start that this was an important objective of a new stadium. “We have a redevelopment plan that includes a minor league baseball stadium,” Small- Toney said in a late 2016 interview.

    Small-Toney now serves as city manager of Rocky Mount, North Carolina.

    Photo: Rochelle Small-Toney

  • 06Civil War History CenterLocal supporters of the proposed North Carolina Civil War and Reconstruction History Center seem confident that the legislature will commit to significant funding this summer. Rep. John Szoka, R-Cumberland, filed a bill early this month that would provide $55 million in state funds for the project.

    Szoka is a senior House Finance Committee co-chairman. His bill would dedicate $10 million for the History Center in the 2019-20 fiscal year and $45 million in the following fiscal year.

    “We’ve done the planning, we now need construction funds,” said Mac Healy, president of the History Center board of directors.

    Healy said the longer the project is delayed, the more it will cost. The original estimate was $65 million. Szoka’s bill estimates the current cost of the complex and a statewide digital education network at $80 million.

    The public education network is a significant element of the expense, said Healy.

    So far, approximately $27 million has been raised or pledged, including $15 million in city and county government commitments. Szoka asked that a companion bill not be filed in the Senate and that he be allowed to steer his measure through the house. Sen. Kirk deViere, D-Cumberland, confirmed if passed in the House, the Senate would take up the measure. “There is a lot of activity between House, Senate and Gov. Cooper before we get to a signed and approved budget,” deViere said.

    Officials stress that the history center will not be a museum with military artifacts. Instead, it will tell the story of North Carolinians during the last half of the 19th century, including soldiers and civilians, their families, enslaved Americans, black soldiers and whites who fought on both sides of the War Between the States.

    The History Center would be the first in the nation to focus on the impact of the Civil War and its aftermath on a state’s people. A comprehensive plan developed eight years ago resulted in a concentrated effort to transform the state-supported Museum of the Cape Fear Historical Complex into the History Center. The facility will be built on the site of the historic federal arsenal in Haymount, which was captured by the Confederacy soon after the war broke out.

    The four-acre site at the end of Myrover Street will include a 60,000-squarefoot visitor’s center. It will protect the remnants of the fortress leveled by Union forces during William T. Sherman’s return march from Atlanta at the end of the war. The existing 1896 E.A. Poe House and three Civil War-era houses will be incorporated into the plan.

    This project offers North Carolinians historic information and context for it. The History Center is designed to be a school of sorts rather than a collecting museum. It will display only those artifacts that advance its mission of telling the story of the Civil War and Reconstruction in North Carolina.

    From the beginning, the History Center’s planners understood that students from across the state would benefit from the use of technology. So, they created one of the nation’s first digital master plans to make this resource accessible to all.

  • 05FreewayThe North Carolina Department of Transportation is proposing to widen about 5 miles of the All American Freeway in Fayetteville. The DOT invites the public to view the preliminary design maps and offer comments during an open house from 4-7 p.m., Thursday, May 2, at Village Baptist Church, 906 S. McPherson Church Rd.

    Congestion is growing on the freeway, which now carries 48,000 to 65,000 vehicles daily. A DOT engineering analysis predicts as many as 89,000 vehicles per day will use the freeway by 2035. The proposal is to add a lane in each direction between Owen Drive . and the future Interstate 295, increasing the freeway’s travel lanes to six.

    The proposed widening would mark the most significant improvement to the freeway since it opened in the 1970s. For most of the route, the additional lanes would be built in the grassy median.

    City buses provide baseball stadium access

    The Fayetteville Area System of Transit will provide affordable, convenient access to the downtown area for minor league baseball games. Five bus routes provide direct access to downtown. The city says FAST has made some minor adjustments for game nights to accommodate stadium-goers.

    The buses will bring riders to the FAST Transit Center at 505 Franklin St., which is approximately two blocks from the stadium. The last buses will depart the FAST Transit Center at 10:30 p.m. on weekday nights.

    One-day passes provide a round-trip fare to and from the game. Passes cost $3, $2 for youth under 18 and $1.50 for seniors and people with disabilities. Passes can be purchased on the bus when you board or at the FAST Transit Center. For more information on FAST routes, visit www.RideFAST.net.

    Rowan Street bridge street lights

    Fayetteville’s Public Works Commission will install street lights on approaches to the new Rowan Street bridges. It will be the last project associated with construction of the railroad overpasses.

    “That will be in November,” according to NCDOT spokesman Andrew Barksdale. “PWC will be responsible for installing the streetlights in the project area when we are finished,” he added.

    Lights will also be installed at the new intersection of Rowan Street, Murchison Road and Bragg Boulevard. PWC spokesperson Carolyn Justice-Hinson said there will be no lights on the bridges themselves.

    ABC store to reopen soon

    The chairman of the Cumberland County Alcoholic Beverage Control Board said he hopes the store will reopen for business by mid-May.

    “The store was damaged during Hurricane Florence, resulting in roof and structural damage,” said David Horne. The store, located at 1705 Owen Dr., sustained damage as the result of heavy wind and rain.

    “Other parts of the ABC complex, including offices and the liquor warehouse, were not damaged and experienced no interruption to our normal business operations,” Horne added.

    82nd Airborne Division’s All American Week

    Fort Bragg’s legendary 82nd Airborne is known as the All American infantry division. It has celebrated All American Week annually except on occasion during time of war. This year’s observance is scheduled for May 20-23.

    The objective is to showcase the division’s airborne heritage through a series of events dedicated to maintaining close ties with veterans, airborne families and the Fort Bragg community. This year’s theme is “Jumping into History.” It will commemorate The Division’s 75th Anniversary of D-Day, Normandy and Market Garden combat jumps during World War II. The week begins Monday, May 20, with the division run starting at 6:30 a.m. More than 18,000 paratroopers will run along Longstreet Road on post.

    During the week, teams of paratroopers from across the Division will compete in a series of sporting events. Scheduled athletic tournaments include flag football, softball, basketball, soccer, volleyball and tug-of-war.

    The division memorial ceremony is scheduled for the morning of Wednesday, May 22, to pay tribute to fallen paratroopers and Gold Star Families.

    The finale of the week includes an airborne operation with paratroopers and aircraft from the past and present conducting missions at Sicily Drop Zone on Thursday, May 23. Following the airborne operation, five thousand troopers will pass in review for their commanding general at the drop zone.

    A new hybrid workplace

    The Center for Emerging Business, which has provided training for businesses in the Southeast for more than 12 years, has opened a new coworking and training facility in Fayetteville, where small businesses have an affordable, professional work location. TCFEB is a veteran/woman owned business.

    “We offer everything from basic drop-in desks for freelancers to corporate-grade cubicles and conference rooms fit for local and visiting government contractors,” said Diana Potts, owner of TCFEB. The facility is available Monday-Friday, with training space available on nights and weekends. Memberships are month-to-month.

    TCFEB is located at The Woodland Building, 2350 Bentridge Lane, Fayetteville.

  • 07HayParkingFayetteville Mayor Mitch Colvin doesn’t like the way city administration decided to include $8 million of projects in a proposed limited obligation bond issue. Council members D.J. Haire and Larry Wright also opposed asking North Carolina’s Local Government Commission to approve the $8 million in bonds.

    City administration proposes that the funds be used to cover $1.5 million for PCH Holdings’ additional construction costs for the new Hay Street parking garage, plus $2.5 million in cost overruns associated with the baseball stadium. The proposal also includes $2.8 million for the new Lake Rim aquatic center.

    City Council informally agreed to the project April 8. The official vote on the bond is scheduled following a public hearing on May 13. Approval by the local government commission would not require the city to fund the projects. It would authorize officials to do so if approved at a later date.

    The $1.5 million that PCH Holdings has asked the city for would be in addition to $14.8 million the city has already borrowed for construction of the five-story parking deck on Hay Street. The parking deck will not be for general public use but will serve the private firm’s seven-story office building and separate hotel building, which will be built atop the garage.

    General contractor Barton Malow submitted $2.58 million in cost overruns resulting from rising costs of construction materials for the new Segra Stadium.

    Colvin said it was premature to be approving bonds when the city has not begun negotiating with the parking deck developer about its $1.5 million request. “I don’t think it’s responsible to prepare to borrow money that you have no plans to (borrow),” he said.

    “I’m a little squeamish to go that route,” Colvin said in a dinner meeting before the regular council session. Colvin added that approving the resolution to ask the local government commission to approve the bond spending “makes it tougher to explore other options or negotiate.”

    Councilmen Jim Arp and Bill Crisp said during the dinner meeting that they would prefer the city find a different way to pay for the aquatic center without financing it. Crisp pointed out that the city included funds for the Westover pool in its regular budget a few years ago. Other city fathers noted the city has $1.9 million in funds that weren’t spent on other projects that could be used for the Lake Rim pools.

    The city’s senior management team came up with the idea of the limited obligation bond project without the knowledge of council members who less than a week earlier agreed to negotiate the increased cost of the parking deck.

  • 06Stadium“We expect to sell out every game.” These are the words of Fayetteville Woodpeckers President Mark Zarthar at an April 9 news conference. The April 18 opening game is a sellout. Zarthar said Segra Stadium could accommodate up to 6,000 fans. Its official capacity is 5,200. He said he isn’t the least bit worried about parking, noting that a five-minute walk to the stadium is part of the fan experience.

    City officials contend there are 4,360 public and private parking spaces within five to seven minutes of the stadium.

    City spokesman Kevin Arata said he doesn’t expect finding available parking will be a problem. “People will figure it out … they’re smart,” he said.

    The city will charge $10 for each of the 1,100 parking spaces in the 12 controlled parking lots. They will be clearly marked with temporary roadside signs. “Paid parking will begin two hours prior to the start of the games,” Arata said.

    One hundred and four handicapped parking spots for the disabled will be provided in the two parking lots behind city hall off Franklin Street. Six hundred on-street parking spaces will be free during ballgames. Arata said the city has no control over what property owners decide regarding their private lots. He noted that officials have been in touch with owners and await their decisions.

    Hay Street between Winslow Street and Ray Avenue will be closed to vehicular traffic on game days to create a safe pedestrian zone.

    “We will monitor activity for the first month during the construction period,” said Police Chief Gina Hawkins. “We want traffic to have the least impact on the downtown area as possible.”

    She and city traffic engineer Lee Jernigan noted that new marked, signalized crosswalks should make things easier for pedestrians. They added that adjustments will be made as needed in efforts to make citizens feel welcomed and encouraged to return for future downtown events.

    The first Fayetteville home game will be at 7 p.m., Thursday, April 18, versus the Carolina Mudcats from Zebulon, North Carolina. The Woodpeckers are a Carolina League, Class A Advanced minor league affiliate of the Houston Astros. It is one of two expansion teams that increased league membership to 10 teams in 2017.

    Former Fayetteville Deputy City Manager Rochelle Small-Toney now serves as the city manager of Rocky Mount. Before her departure in 2017, Small-Toney served as project director for Segra Stadium. As she tells it, former City Manager Ted Voorhees challenged her to come up with an economic development project for downtown Fayetteville. She suggested minor league baseball — and subsequently oversaw all phases of the stadium project, including the feasibility study, recruitment of the Houston Astros minor league team, development of the memorandum of understanding and the creation of a 30-year financial plan.

    The stadium and nearby mixeduse commercial property are near completion in downtown Fayetteville.

  • 05OldAnnStBridgeResidents and families of Heritage Place and parishioners of First Presbyterian Church will be happy to learn that Ann Street will soon be open to traffic. The Ann Street bridge over Cross Creek has been closed for nearly six years. Ann Street connects Bow Street with Grove Street downtown.

    A fire, believed to have been set by people who are homeless, heavily damaged the structure in October 2013. The cost of building a new bridge is $1.6 million, according to city of Fayetteville spokesman Kevin Arata. This does not include design work and the acquisition of additional property.

    “We had to design it so it would prevent homeless people from living under it,” Arata said. “Nearby utilities created challenges for the design process … and we were challenged with permits and the fact that the bridge has historical ties.”

    Officials hope to open the new bridge this summer.

    Another highway median under construction

    Work has begun on converting the center turn lane on Cliffdale Road near Bunce Road into a raised median. The North Carolina Department of Transportation said median projects, which have been underway locally for several years, are designed to improve safety and reduce the risk of collisions. Motorists will encounter lane reductions in the work zone.

    In neighboring Robeson County, drivers will have a faster and safer way to travel on U.S. 74, where a DOT contractor is building an interchange at Broadridge Road, south of Lumberton. Girders for the new overpass were set last month. Officials hope to have the work completed by fall.

    Rural fire tax to increase

    The Cumberland County Public Safety Task Force has voted to request that the fire district tax rate be increased by 3.75 cents per $100 valuation for rural residents of the county. The recommended model will be presented to the Cumberland County Board of Commissioners April 11, during their agenda work session.

    Currently, residents in unincorporated areas pay 11.25 cents per $100 valuation, with 10 cents allocated to each of the 15 rural fire districts. The 01.25 cents tax is allocated to five low-wealth departments: Beaver Dam, Bethany, Godwin-Falcon, Stedman and Wade.

    If approved for the next fiscal year by county commissioners, property owners will pay 15 cents per $100 valuation. Each of the volunteer fire departments would continue to receive funding calculated at 10 cents per $100, which totals approximately $7.4 million.

    The new money generated by the tax increase will be used to strengthen overall fire service delivery through supplements, incentives and grants. Supplements would be allocated for departments that provide Emergency Medical Services and those few districts with more than one fire station. 

    Suspicious activity leads to deportation

    A man who provoked Fort Bragg officials to close the post briefly last month will be deported, but he will not be charged with a crime, a federal judge has ruled. Nouran Ahmad Shihab Sueidan arrived at a gate at Fort Bragg on March 12 and told authorities he wanted to take a tour of the Special Operations facility.

    Sueidan had a valid passport, but military police found that his visa, driver’s license and car registration were expired. Authorities said he became combative as he was being questioned but did not try to force his way onto the post. The incident prompted Fort Bragg to briefly restrict access to the post.

    A psychiatrist who examined Sueidan determined he has “a mental disorder that compromises his ability to stand trial,” federal prosecutors said in court filing.

    Prosecutors said they plan to turn Sueidan over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for deportation. The Army did not reveal his home country. 

    New county government appointee

    County Manager Amy Cannon has named Delores Taylor as director of the Cumberland County Community Development Office. Taylor has worked for CCCD for 20 years and served as interim director since July 2017.

    As director, Taylor will manage a staff of 11 and an annual budget of approximately $2 million. The CCCD Office administers local U.S. Housing and Urban Development funds, which include funding of Community Development Block Grants, The HOME Investment Partnerships Program, Emergency Solutions Grants, and the Cumberland County Continuum of Care on Homelessness.

    Taylor earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Alaska in 1998 and a Master of Public Administration from Arkansas State University in 2017.

    Downtown Easter fun

    Cool Spring Downtown District will host horsedrawn Carriage Rides with the Easter Bunny on Friday, April 19, from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. The carriage will be decorated for Easter for family photos.

    Tickets to ride with the rabbit are $10 for adults and $5 for children under 12. Each ride will last about 10-15 minutes. Early-bird rides between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. are $5 for adults and children. Tickets are available on the day of the event at 222 Hay St., across from the Cameo Art House Theatre. For more information, visit www.visitdowntownfayetteville.com.

  • 10FTCC The FTCC financial aid department’s goal is to guide students through the  financial aid application and eligibility process so qualifying individuals can use financial aid as a means to pay for college and achieve educational goals. By providing information about FTCC’s current services and outreach initiatives, the department hopes to educate current and prospective students about all the financial aid office has to offer. Recently, the FTCC financial aid office launched a new campaign to reach high school seniors and to encourage them to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, otherwise known as the FAFSA.

    In addition to FTCC’s FAFSA Days, which are offered at the Fayetteville campus, FTCC staff is now visiting local high schools for FAFSA Completion Nights.

    The FTCC financial aid office will visit Terry Sanford High School on April 9, Seventy-First High School on April 11 and E.E. Smith High School on April 18. All FAFSA Nights are from 5:30-7 p.m.

    FTCC is excited to kick off this FAFSA completion campaign and hopes other high schools will join in to provide high school seniors another opportunity for assistance in FAFSA completion.

    FTCC is also a partner with Solutions at Educational Credit Management Corporation, a student loan default prevention company. Solutions at ECMC provide free student loan repayment assistance to former FTCC students.

    This partnership is just one way the FTCC financial aid office demonstrates its commitment to students, even after they have left campus and are entering student loan repayment. Former FTCC students needing assistance with loan repayment can work with a counselor at Solutions at ECMC to find a payment plan that meets their individual needs. Students can reach counselors who will work with them to find a repayment solution that is unique to their situation at 1-877-331-3262.

    In an effort to be more accessible to current and prospective students at all times, FTCC now offers an artificially intelligent chatbot named Penny on all of the financial aid sections of its website. Penny is available to answer questions at any time, day or night. Currently equipped with a library of more than 850 common financial aid questions and answers, Penny is constantly growing in knowledge, and FTCC staff continue to add new information to the knowledge bank.

    Follow the FTCC financial aid office on Facebook for updates and informational videos that will help you keep up with the latest financial aid news, scholarship opportunities and more.

    FTCC financial aid advisors are ready to assist prospective and current students in the Financial Aid Service Center, located in Room 2 of the Tony Rand Student Center at 2201 Hull Rd.

    FTCC’s advisors can help you complete the 2018- 19 FAFSA for the summer 2019 semester or the 2019-20 FAFSA for the upcoming fall 2019, spring 2020 and summer 2020 semesters.

  • 06Friendship HouseThe concept of The Friendship House first came to fruition in Holland, Michigan, in 2007. Now, there is one in Fayetteville. The Friendship House serves young adults with intellectual development disabilities by pairing them with roommates who are often college students or young professionals. The goal is to help these young adults, but often, it’s the roommates who gain the most. The Friendship House Fayetteville is the fifth Friendship House to use this model.

    “We did change our model to focus more on health care and allied health care graduate students and students,” said Tara Hinton, director of community relations and philanthropy for ServiceSource. ServiceSource, a larger nonprofit, is the leasee in partnership with Highland Presbyterian Church of the campus. It oversees operations of Friendship House Fayetteville. 

    Hinton explained that, while Friendship House Fayetteville is not a caretaking facility or group home, it developed its health care-leaning culture because of its resident director, Dr. Scott Cameron.

    “Dr. Cameron’s experiences were life-changing and caused him to open up and become more passionate for those with disabilities, personally and through his practice of medicine. He is the visionary for Friendship House Fayetteville,” she said.

    Cameron lived in Friendship House Durham during his seminary training. He is currently a neonatal intensive care unit physician at Cape Fear Valley Medical Center. He also serves as the volunteer chaplain and resident director for Friendship House Fayetteville.

    “(Fayetteville community members) took a field trip about 3 1/2 years ago to The Friendship House Durham, and a couple of community members were interested in helping see this come to fruition,” said Hinton. “We spent many hours there talking to the students, and they were all divinity students.

    “We learned how living at Friendship House changed them. One student made me tear up when he told me he signed up to make a difference, but the individuals changed him and made a difference in his life more than he could ever help them.”

    Hinton added that the visitors traveled back home with the idea to build a Friendship House in Fayetteville — and they made it happen.

    In each apartment at Friendship House Fayetteville, there are four bedrooms and three bathrooms.

    “There are three people living with one friend resident, and the friend resident is a young person who has an intellectual development disability such as Autism or Down syndrome,” said Hinton. “The goal for those parties is for the friend resident to maximize their interdependence, whether that’s cooking, budgeting, grocery shopping or transportation to a job — and ServiceSource helps with that piece of the puzzle.”

    Hinton added ServiceSource has a job coach who helps the friend residents obtain gainful employment, find volunteer positions in the community and become productive. The other three roommates, usually students, are there to share life and friendship with the resident. This gives the resident the ability to live amongst their peers and feel included.

    “Our focus today is recruiting students and young professionals,” said Hinton. “This is a wonderful opportunity to look at people with different abilities and spiritual gifts and to appreciate those gifts and talents — because none of us are perfect.”

    All-inclusive expenses for this living arrangement are $450 per month. The apartments are located in central Haymount. For more information, call 910-826-4699 ext. 249.

  • 05Robin Hayes official 109th CongressNorth Carolina Republican Party Chairman and former United States Congressman Robin Hayes, R-N.C., is one of several prominent Republican Party leaders charged with public corruption and graft for their alleged participation in a bribery scheme involving improper campaign contributions. Hayes, 73, of Concord, North Carolina, served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1999–2009.

    A federal criminal indictment unsealed April 2 in the western district of North Carolina charges the founder and chairman of a multinational investment company, a company consultant and a second North Carolina political figure with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, bribery, and aiding and abetting, concerning programs receiving federal funds. Hayes was also charged with three counts of lying to the FBI.

    The indictment charges Greg E. Lindberg, 48, of Durham, North Carolina, the founder and chairman of Eli Global LLC and the owner of Global Bankers Insurance Group; John D. Gray, 68, of Chapel Hill, North Carolina, a Lindberg consultant and chairman of the Chatham County Republican Party; and Eli Global executive John V. Palermo, 63, of Pittsboro, North Carolina.

    The defendants made their initial appearances April 2 before U.S. Magistrate Judge David C. Keesler in federal court in Charlotte.

    “The indictment... outlines a brazen bribery scheme in which Lindberg and his coconspirators allegedly offered hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions in exchange for official action that would benefit Lindberg’s business interests,” said Assistant U.S. Attorney General Benczkowski. “Bribery of public officials at any level of government undermines confidence in our political system.”

    North Carolina Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey, also a Republican, reported what he believed to be suspicious activity to the FBI in January 2018. “These men crossed the line from fundraising to felonies when they devised a plan to use their connections to a political party to attempt to influence the operations and policies of the North Carolina Department of Insurance,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge John A. Strong.

    According to allegations in the indictment, from April 2017 to August 2018, Lindberg, Gray, Palermo and Hayes devised a scheme to defraud the people of North Carolina by attempting to bribe the insurance commissioner to persuade him to take official action favorable to Lindberg’s company.

    The defendants are accused of conspiring to offer and promise the commissioner millions of dollars in campaign contributions and other things of value, in exchange for the removal of the Department of Insurance senior deputy commissioner, who was responsible for overseeing regulations.

    In late August 2018, FBI agents interviewed Hayes about his involvement with and knowledge of the alleged improper campaign contributions. During the interview, Hayes allegedly lied to FBI agents about directing funds, at Lindberg’s request, from Lindberg’s campaign contribution to the North Carolina state political party to the commissioner’s reelection campaign, about having any discussions with the commissioner about Lindberg or Gray, and about discussing with the commissioner personnel issues related to the commissioner’s office.

    The details contained in the indictment are allegations. The defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

    Photo: Robin Hayes

  • 04Babe Ruth ProfileA commemorative exhibit recognizing Babe Ruth’s first professional home run during a 1914 visit to Fayetteville has been moved from the Crown Coliseum to Segra Stadium, home of the Fayetteville Woodpeckers.

    The Babe Ruth Museum of Baltimore, Maryland, created the panel entitled “Cumberland County Celebrates the Babe” for Cumberland County’s 250th Anniversary Celebration in 2004. 

    George Herman Ruth Jr. was 19 years old March 7, 1914, when he and his Baltimore Orioles teammates played an exhibition game during a layover in Fayetteville while on their way to spring training in Florida. In the last inning of the game, at the Cape Fear Fair Ground, Ruth hit a long home run.

    “I hit it as I hit all the others, by taking a good gander at the pitch as it came up to the plate, twisting my body into a backswing and then hitting it as hard as I could swing,” Ruth commented. “I got to some bigger places than Fayetteville after that, but darn few as exciting.” Ruth earned his famous nickname “Babe” that day. 

    Election precinct workers are needed

    “The Cumberland County Board of Elections is in dire need of registered Republican poll workers for all 77 precincts in Cumberland County,” said county board of elections director Terri Robertson. Unaffiliated poll workers are also needed, she added.

    State law requires balanced political representation of poll workers. Interested individuals must be U.S. citizens and registered voters in Cumberland County. Workers must be nonpartisan on the days they work and should be available to work from 5:30 a.m. until dismissed by the chief judge, usually about 9:30 p.m. on Election Day.

    Poll workers are compensated for attending training and for working on Election Day. Interested residents can fill out the online application by going to www.electionready.net, or they can apply at the county board of elections office, 227 Fountainhead Ln., Fayetteville.

    Elvis exhibit at Up & Coming Weekly office

    Saturday, April 13, a collection of Elvis Presley memorabilia will be on display from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. at Gallery 208 in the Up & Coming Weekly office building, 208 Rowan St. It’s a place where local artists display their work regularly.

    Photos and plaques that were once posted on a wall in the hallway of the Cumberland County Memorial Auditorium and Arena were recently recovered by former arena manager Paul Beard. The civic center commission, as the arena’s governing board is known, has authorized the Gallery 208 showing.

    The public is invited, and it’s free. It will likely be the first of several local exhibitions of this material celebrating the King of Rock ‘n Roll. 

    Church expansion

    One of Fayetteville’s largest churches is about to become even bigger. Village Baptist Church on McPherson Church Road has acquired the former Lafayette Baptist Church property at 555 N. Reilly Rd.

    “We were approached last year by some former members of the church to consider acquiring it,” said Dr. Richard Lee, Village Baptist lead pastor. He said they have been renovating the building since January and will have an activation ceremony May 30.

    Lee said the Reilly Road campus will target military families, and that the congregation will meet Thursday evenings rather than Sundays. “It’s the one night of the week that isn’t connected with other events,” he said.

    The church is half a mile off post and will provide a combat recovery support group. Air Force Reserve Chaplain Matthew Bryant will serve as pastor.

    City of Fayetteville observes community day

    Fayetteville Community Development Day will be observed April 26 from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m. at City Hall. Community vendors will take part with free giveaways, food and information.

    The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development provides annual federal funding to local communities to provide safe and affordable housing, suitable living environments and economic opportunities for low-to-moderate income citizens. “I hope the public will join city staff and our community partners to see how we are making tremendous strides to the viability of housing stock, infrastructure, public services and economic vitality to the city of Fayetteville,” said Cindy Blot, Fayetteville’s Economic and Community Development Department director.

    For more information, contact the city’s Economic and Community Development Department at 910-433-1599.

    Health, safety and wellness fair

    The Cumberland County Health Department will host a Fun in the Sun with Public Health event Saturday, April 13, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Public Health Center parking lot on Ramsey Street. The event will bring together Health Department clinics and other county government agencies and community organizations. Cape Fear Valley Blood Donor Center will conduct a blood drive at the event.

    “This is an opportunity to bring our community together to learn about the health department as well as other community organizations in a fun, family-oriented way,” said Duane Holder, interim health director for the county.

    For additional information about the public health department’s programs and activities, call 910-433-3600 or visit co.cumberland.nc.us/health.

  • 06PFC Clifford MillsThe remains of a World War II Indiana paratrooper have been interred in his hometown 75 years after his death. Army Pfc. Clifford M. Mills, then 29, was reported missing in action Oct. 18, 1944, near Wyler and Zyfflich, Germany. He took part in Operation Market Garden, the invasion of the German-occupied Netherlands. 

    Of the 16 million Americans who served in World War II, more than 400,000 died in combat. There are 72,742 service members from World War II still unaccounted for. 

    After the war, the Army found no evidence that Mills had survived or been captured. He was from Troy, Indiana, in Perry County, and was a member of the 319th Glider Field Artillery Battalion, 82nd Airborne Division. 

    Following the end of hostilities, the American Graves Registration Command of the U.S. Army Quartermaster Corps took on the task of investigating and recovering deceased and missing American service members. It recovered thousands of unknown sets of remains. One set, designated Unknown X-2566 Neuville, was recovered from an isolated grave near a downed glider. 

    The remains could not be identified and were buried as an unknown at the Henri-Chapelle American Cemetery and Memorial in Hombourg, Belgium. Following thorough analyses of military records and graves registration documents, which suggested a strong association between X-2566 Neuville and Mills, the remains were disinterred in June 2017 for analysis. 

    To identify the remains, scientists from the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency used dental and anthropological analysis as well as mitochondrial DNA and circumstantial and material evidence. Mills was officially accounted for Jan. 29, 2019, by The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency. 

    “That’s when they started the process of trying to get him back to the United States,” said Mills’ niece, who asked that she not be identified by name. “It has been an honor to be able to take care of this and getting Uncle Clifford back to the United States where he belongs.” 

    The remains were returned to Zoercher-Gillick Funeral Home in Tell City, the county seat of Perry County, Indiana. His funeral was held there March 30. Burial followed at the Troy City Cemetery. 

    A nine-member 82nd Airborne honor guard traveled from Fort Bragg headquarters to render military funeral honors for Mills. Members of Mills’ family and Nowy van Hedel, a resident of the Netherlands who helped research Mills’ MIA case, were on hand. 

    Researcher van Hedel recently uploaded a video to YouTube showing a U.S. flag ceremony honoring Mills at the Margraten, Netherlands, American Cemetery and Memorial. It is Europe’s third largest war cemetery for unidentified soldiers who died in World War II. More than 8,300 soldiers are buried there. The graves have been adopted by locals, who attend them and lay flowers. 

    Van Hedel concluded a brief recollection of his 12 years of research into Pfc. Clifton Mills with a caption to the memorial video that says: “It took a lot of time, but he will be … buried next to his wife Ethel.” 

    Photo: Pfc. Clifford M. Mills

  • 05bridgeIt has taken local and state officials more than two years to plan, design and figure out how to pay for a new bridge on Louise Street at the main entrance to Hollywood Heights off Skibo Road. The city closed the bridge in January 2017 after a routine inspection found support pillars had deteriorated, making the bridge dangerous. Hurricane Matthew also damaged the bridge in 2016. 

    A groundbreaking for the Louise Street Bridge took place March 25. “We’ve been waiting for this, and it’s time,” said Mary Scott, a neighborhood resident for 45 years. “We appreciate everybody that has been working for us. It is a very happy day.” 

    Residents have had to use the Pritchett Road access point to reach their neighborhood since the main entrance was closed. A federal grant will reimburse the city 80 percent of the $1.8 million project cost. In May 2018, the North Carolina Board of Transportation added the bridge replacement project to its infrastructure improvement program. City Engineer Giselle Rodriguez said officials hope to have the new bridge open by August. 

    Fort Bragg team wins shooting competition 

    The host military gunners took home top prizes last month during the U.S. Army’s International Sniper Competition. Twenty-one teams representing American and European armed services took part in a series of events designed to test competitors in sniper and reconnaissance tactical skills. 

    They competed March 17-22 at Fort Bragg. The top two places went to snipers from the U.S. Army Special Operations Command. The Marine Corps team came in third. They not only competed against each other but against time limits. 

    Instructors from the U.S. Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School designed the events to challenge two-person teams in their ability to work together and test their speed and accuracy in various types of environments. 

    Local educator Fields honored 

    The North Carolina School Superintendents’ Association and the North Carolina Alliance for School Leadership Development selected Dr. Jane Fields, Cumberland County Schools assistant superintendent for secondary education, as a recipient of the Dr. Samuel Houston Leadership Award. This annual award goes to a graduate of the Superintendents’ Association Aspiring Superintendent Program, which is designed to empower transformational education leaders for North Carolina’s public schools. 

    “This is a well-deserved honor for an outstanding educational leader,” said CCS Superintendent Dr. Marvin Connelly Jr. “Dr. Fields has undoubtedly earned the respect of colleagues, students, staff and parents throughout our school system.” 

    Fields is a product of Cumberland County schools and has worked in the district for 23 years. 

    PWC recognized by United Way 

    The Fayetteville Public Works Commission has been recognized again by United Way of North Carolina as a 2018 recipient of the Spirit of North Carolina Award and the Excellence in Community Spirit Award. “PWC has received the Spirit of North Carolina Award 13 times, and no other organization in the state has achieved this level of excellence,” said Robert Hines, president of the United Way of Cumberland County. 

    Ninety-nine percent of Public Works employees pledged more than $130,000 during the annual United Way campaign. PWC was one of 33 companies that received the Spirit of North Carolina Award and one of just five to receive the Excellence in Community Spirit Award for efforts the judges felt exceeded the Spirit of North Carolina standards. 

    What happened to the Mini Page? 

    Fayetteville ObserverExecutive Editor Matt LeClercq says the newspaper’s Mini Page is no more. “We made the tough decision in January to no longer print the Mini Page on Sundays as a way to cut expenses,” said LeClercq. “Paper is our second biggest expense after people.” 

    He noted that fewer youngsters read printed newspapers these days. The syndicated Mini Page has been around for decades as an educational effort focused on children’s hand-printed pictures, games, trivia and puzzles. Universal Press Syndicate publishes the Mini Page, which is inserted in 500 newspapers in the United States and abroad. 

    LeClercq went on to write, “The reality in the news business today is that newspapers will have to continue to look for ways to control or cut expenses related to printing while focusing full-throttle on growing digital readers, subscribers and revenue.” 

    The iconic Easter egg 

    The Cumberland County Cooperative Extension Service will offer a Better Living Series workshop, “The Incredible Egg,” April 9 from 10 a.m. to noon at the Cumberland County Agriculture Center, 301 E. Mountain Dr., Fayetteville. Participants will learn about the egg to become “eggsperts.” 

    The workshop will cover egg facts, nutritional information, egg cooking tricks, safe food handling tips and recipes. As a special part of the workshop, participants will create a decoupage egg. 

    For additional information, contact Susan Johnson at 910-321-6860. Or, to view a 2019 Better Living Series schedule and registration forms, visit cumberland.ces.ncsu.edu. 

  • 042016fair.jpg

    Just like spring, the Fort Bragg Fair returns to the area from April 28 until May 15. This annual family-friendly event is constantly growing in both attendance and attractions. According to Rhett Stroupe, the special events coordinator, there is expected to be more than 40,000 fair-goers. There are also three new rides, “the Magic Maze, it is a glass house walk through, and two kiddie rides, The Farm Tractors and the Happy Puppies,” Stoupe said.

    In addition to these three new rides, there are plenty of fun and exciting activities at the fair. There is something of interest for everyone and more than enough fun activities to offer days of fairground fun. 

    “The fair will have over 30 adult and kiddie carnival rides, midway games as well as food and live entertainment Thursday through Sunday. “Fairgoers will have easy access to the Fairgrounds off Bragg Boulevard at Howell Sreet and Gruber Road,” Stroupe added. 

    One of the most poplar aspects of the annual Fort Bragg Fair is live entertainment. There will be a variety of bands and shows such as Rime Tyme, Zack Stone, Jeremiah Jones, Phaze, Freeway and Islandtime Band. According to Stroupe, the real can’t-miss performance is Kachunga and the Alligator Show. This show began in 1982 as a way to increase public awareness and education regarding these misunderstood and native reptiles. It’s success and popularity has turned into one of the most popular performances at fairs and festivals in the United States and Canada. There are even a total of five touring units. Kachunga is an American bushman from the swamps of Florida who has the power and knowledge to handle the ferocious alligators. The danger is great and the excitement is palpable. Despite all of the excitement, the shows are completely safe for the audience and for the alligators. The primary goal is education. All of the performers are highly knowledgeable and trained and the alligators are treated with respect. 

    Organizing the fair every year takes a lot of hard work, but for Stroupe the smiles and joy that the end results generate more than makes up for it. At its core that is what the Fort Bragg Fair is about. It is about creating a fun and safe environment for the community to come and enjoy the warm weather and each other. It is family friendly and has a wide variety of activities for everyone to enjoy. 

    For those new to the Fort Bragg Fair, Stroupe has the following advice, “Take advantage of the Customer Appreciation Specials, Monday through Friday, 5-7 p.m., for the low price of $7 per person.  As a result of the rock bottom price, many fairgoers come back to the fair multiple times to take advantage of the special.” General admission on weekends, the most popular days is $17. While this includes unlimited rides and entertainment, it can add up. The fair has a large number of specials and discounts for groups like military, children and seniors. Going to the fair is an incredible adventure for the whole family and it doesn’t have to be expensive. Visit http://bragg.armymwr.com/us/bragg/ft-bragg-events/fort-bragg-fair?eID=386293 to find a complete list of prices. 


  •       “April is the cruelest month,” wrote T.S. Eliot.
         T.S., as his drinking buddies called him, won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1948 so he knows his calendar. As April 2009 slips over the horizon into the dust bin of history, let us consider how right T.S. was about the drawbacks of April by considering the events of the past month. America and the known Universe went from the emotional high of watching the UNC Tar Heels whup the Jello Instant Pudding out of Michigan State in basketball directly into sports purgatory.
         The frenzy that was March Madness abruptly fell off a cliff into the ether of no college hoops until November. We were suddenly and without warning shoved into T.S. Eliot’s “The Waste Land.” It is obvious that T.S. was writing about the end of the college basketball season when he wrote “The Waste Land.” Sometimes those Nobel Laureates know what they are writing about.
         Let us consider some of the other sad events of April 2009. On a slightly less cosmic scale, one of America’s first break out porn stars crossed over the great divide into the land of the dead porn stars. Marilyn Chambers, star of “Behind the Green Door” and cover girl on the Ivory Snow box back in the early 1970s went on to meet the Great Director in the sky. They took Marilyn off the Ivory Snow detergent box as soon as her blue movie came out, but they can never take Marilyn out of the little room behind the curtain at the video stores in America.
         {mosimage}As Marilyn left us, Income Tax Day occurred to the horror of most Americans. Two days before Tax Day I had been out on the usual walk and gotten caught in a long cold rain on the trek to Barnes & Nobles. I arrived at the store looking and smelling like a wet dog. I went over and sat alone on the Group W bench in my cold wet clothes and nursed a cup of coffee as I began incubating a cold. Pollen, like Spring, was in the air. The combination of a cold and world class allergies created the perfect foundation for Tax Day.
         Until you have a crushing headache combined with a head full of pollen while you are completing your tax forms you cannot say that you have truly lived. Time stands still when you are doing your taxes with a cold. It is a truly Zen experience of being in each moment. To mangle the late great William Blake, doing taxes with a headache is “To see a world in a grain of sand/ to hold infinity in a palm calculator/ and eternity in an hour.”
         You will experience eternity in each second looking for a particular tax form which you will not find.
    I dropped off my tax information at the accountant’s office who had me leave her two blank checks. She inquired politely as to what was the maximum in my checking account that she could use to write the checks to the IRS and the N.C. Revenue Department. In other words, Mr. Late- Bringing-In-Your-Tax-Information, we are going to wipe you out when we send in your tax extension. Maybe next year you’ll get your information in on time.
         At the end of April I spent almost four hours in my dentist’s chair of horror enjoying the dental hijinx that accompany a double crown procedure. Having two crowns installed does not in fact double your pleasure or double your fun.
         The only good thing that happened in April was that Rick Perry, the wildman Governor of Texas, began openly flirting with Texas seceding from the Union. Way to go Rick! Dissolve the Union! If Rick chickens out on his secession threat I think that the USA should secede from Texas. Texans have been running the country the last eight years. Look at how that worked out. President W. left us with a crushed economy, two endless wars and an ugly international reputation for waterboarding. Former Texas Congressman Tom DeLay ran the U.S. House of Representatives and is currently waiting for his corruption trial. Former Texas Senator Phil Gramm masterminded financial deregulation and announced that Americans were a nation of whiners and we were only in a mental not a financial recession. If Texas won’t secede from the Union then America should secede from Texas.
         Please secede Texas. As T.S. wrote, “HURRY UP PLEASE IT’S TIME.”
  • 04282010charleston_sc_home_foreclosures_for_sale.jpgWould a poo sandwich by any other name smell as sweet? How about if you wrapped a poo sandwich in a prospectus and called it a collateralized debt obligation? Would that make it smell better?

    The kindly, loveable and warmhearted Wall Street investment bank of Goldman Sachs thought so. The Federal Securities and Exchange Commission begs to disagree. The elephants from Wall Street and Washington, D.C., are fighting each other in the legal tall grass and the pygmies of Main Street will get trampled as usual. The SEC has sued Goldman Sachs for civil fraud in the sale of a colorful fi nancial product called a subprime mortgage bond.

    Have your eyes glazed over yet? If you are still awake, let us consider the strange case of the red-headed poster child of the fi nancial collapse, the bouncing baby subprime mortgage bond market. Where do subprime mortgage bonds come from? Why, from the fi nancial Easter Bunny. Making a mortgage bond is easy. Mortgage brokers, banks and other lenders lend money to borrowers who mortgage their house and sign a note promising to pay the money back or lose their house.

    If the home owners are less likely to be able to pay back the money they borrowed, these are called subprime loans. These lenders don’t care if the borrowers can pay the money back. The reason the lenders don’t care about repayment is that they are not trying to collect any money from the broke borrowers. The lenders sell these lousy loans to Wall Street fi rms and collect a fee. The Wall Street fi rms slap a bunch of these subprime loans together in a big pile called a subprime mortgage bond.

    Think of a subprime mortgage bond as a poo sandwich. The poo sandwich is piled high with zillions of bad loans. Wall Street then sells these poo sandwiches to investors like insurance companies, pension funds and local and state government agencies who theoretically ought to know better than to buy a poo sandwich but do not.

    Wall Street doesn’t have to collect the money from the borrowers either. Wall Street gets paid for making the poo sandwich. It gets paid for selling the poo sandwich.Wall Street sold poo sandwiches to investors who hoped to collect mortgage payments from borrowers who couldn’t afford to repay their loans. Hope is not a plan.

    Surprisingly Wall Street got greedy. It wasn’t enough to sell regular poo sandwiches. It began to sell poo sandwiches that were so rancid that Wall Street invented a type of insurance that would pay off if the subprime mortgage bond in the poo sandwich defaulted due to nonpayment by the homeowners. This insurance is called a “credit default swap.”

    Wall Street made lots of money selling credit default swap insurance to the ultimate buyers of the poo sandwiches in addition to selling the subprime mortgage bond. Selling credit default swap insurance was like selling fries with a poo sandwich. As long as the housing market kept going up, homeowners could repeatedly refi nance their mortgages into new subprime loans. The poo sandwiches kept selling. Wall Street didn’t have to pay off the credit default swap insurance and got to keep the insurance premiums.

    Wall Street had a curious rating system for the credit worthiness of poo sandwiches. If your sandwich smelled too bad, for a fee a pliable bond rating service could rate your poo sandwich as tastier than it actually was.

    Then a funny thing happened. Housing prices collapsed and homeowners stopped paying their mortgages. The wizards at Wall Street who had been writing credit default swap insurance on poo sandwiches morphed overnight into fi nancial dummies who suddenly had to pay huge sums of money to the even smarter guys who had bought the credit default swap insurance on poo sandwiches. Some of the Wall Street fi rms didn’t have enough money to pay off their credit default swaps and woke up dead like Lehman Brothers and Bear Stearns. AIG Insurance happily sold credit default swaps on poo sandwiches and would have collapsed if not for the government bail out of Wall Street.

    The emperor had no clothes. We knew that Wall Street had no morals but plenty of poo sandwiches. It turned out Wall Street had no brains either.

  • 04-25-12-pitt.jpgDid you ever want to use the term “negative space” in a sentence? I just did. Art critics do it all the time. Why should they have all the fun with phonics? I have recently cracked the code on how to write art reviews. Many years ago I took a course on medical terminology so that I could understand medical reports. Today’s lesson will teach you, the readers of Up & Coming Weekly how to understand and write art reviews yourself for fun and profit.

    I became interested in writing art reviews when I read an article about a newly discovered self portrait that Rembrandt painted three years after he died. This self portrait is now on exhibit at the Metropolitan Art Museum in New York on loan from England. The painting is considered one of the finest examples of post-mortem art ever produced in the history of mankind.

    To write publishable art reviews, all you need to do is put words together that mean the opposite of each other, or even better, make no sense when read together. Using this simple technique makes you sound cultured, classy and complex. It will cause you to daintily hold up your little finger when drinking a frosty mug of Red Bull. I ciphered out this key to writing art reviews while reading a New York Times article about Rembrandt’s posthumous self portrait.

    Let us begin with the basics of writing an art review. Handy phrases to toss into your art review are: “antagonistic conciliation, ephemeral solidity, lucid incoherence, visual silence and emotional gravity.” If the picture is dark, either in terms of color or subject matter it is always a good idea to use phrases like “psychic complexity, random coherence and radiating an inner yet not visible revelatory revolution.” If the painting has bright colors say it is “wreathed in light, has robust delicacy or is palely noir.”

    One of the most well known paintings in America is the Indian Maiden on the box of Land O Lakes butter. We have all enjoyed seeing this picture many times in the local dairy case and perhaps gracing our own butter dish. If you have an Exacto knife, you can cut an outline of the maiden’s knees and with some clever folding turn the Indian Maiden into a naughty picture. But I digress. Let us write a review of the Land O Lakes butter box as it would be written in the New York Times. To wit:The first thing that strikes one when in the presence of the Land O Lakes box is the patently elusive quality of the Indian Maiden’s eyes. Her visual orbs shine with an ambivalent confl icted glory that belies her rustic position kneeling by a pond. The Maiden herself is a vision of ethereal loveliness brimming with pulchritude. She is that, yet so much more. Our Maiden is looking off into the distance above the viewer’s left shoulder into a lost horizon of frolicking glumness.

    The vertiginous flatness of the butter box she holds at chest level speaks with a geometric clarity daring the viewer to enter her world of exquisite commonality with the archetypal universal soul. The box of Land O Lakes she is holding has a picture of herself on it, holding a smaller box of Land O Lakes, which in turn has a picture of herself holding yet another smaller box of Land O Lakes stretching out into an infinity of repetition. This self referential altruism confronts the viewer with the profound banality of an unending set of alarming spatial ambiguities. Where does the box of Land O Lakes end and where does the viewer begin? The organized randomness of this question haunts the viewer long after the box of butter has been tossed into the blue recycling maw of Waste Management.

    The Maiden kneels on a verdant grassy mound of horizontal verticality at the edge of a lake of cloistered openness, which stretches out to a horizon of gleeful depressiveness. The trees looming on the edges of the box impute a claustrophobic vastness extending far beyond the edge of the box. The ferociously bashful expression of the Maiden exudes a frenzied calm that draws the viewer into a deeper contemplation of the complicated simplicity of bovine byproducts sequestered in America’s dairy cases. She asks the viewer to decide a multitude of existential questions: Butter or margarine? Salted or unsalted? Flavor protected wrapper, spreadable with canola oil, whipped or regular? Box or tub? Plain, cinnamon flavored or roasted garlic?

    The Maiden asks many more essential extraneous questions than cannot be answered by a single viewing of the box. She dares us to think inside the box even if it gets our minds sticky.

    Her buttery archetypes emit thoughts and choices like flowing ribbons of cholesterol sinking deep into the arteries of the viewer’s soul. Sacrificial egotism, thy name is Land O Lakes.

  • Decision 2013: Who Will Be Fayetteville’s Next Mayor

    Who will be Fayetteville’s next mayor? Hmmmm, that’s a good question. But with filing dates soon approaching, the anticipation is mounting.

    There’s a lot of speculation on the street. The Fayetteville Observer has recently thrown some names around outside of the usual suspects of Kirk deViere, Nat Robertson, D.J. Haire and Val Applewhite. Good candidates all. However, on the street, people are also bringing up names like current mayor pro tempore Jim Arp, former council member Ted Mohn, County Commissioner Ed Melvin and former county commissioner and Fayetteville City Councilman Breeden Blackwell.

    Well, we know there are plenty more qualified candidates out there who have a clear vision of the kind of leadership that it will take to move this community forward. So, during the next couple of weeks we thought Up & Coming Weekly and our radio partners Goldy and Jim at WFNC’s (AM 640) Good Morning Fayetteville Show, which airs from 6-10 a.m. weekday mornings, would ask Fayetteville residents “who would make a good mayor for our city?”

    We want to know.

    To that end, we will gather up the names and run a mock election. We will place a ballot in Up & Coming Weekly and invite people to vote online. We will announce the “unofficial” results on the GMF radio show and interview some of the top vote getters. Remember, anyone can be nominated just by emailing us their name. Have fun with it... we will!

    Thank you, for reading Up & Coming Weekly.

    04-17-13-decision-mayor-1-8.gif

  • charlotte-blume.jpglaura-stevens.jpg

    Since 2008, The Fayetteville Music Hall of Fame, operating under the auspices of Community Concerts, has inducted Cumberland County residents who have “brought musical distinction to the community” into its elite group of performers.

    The ultimate goal of The Fayetteville Music Hall of Fame is intended to thank and honor the community leaders who have helped to improve the community with their talents. 

    On March 25, the organization inducted three new members prior to the performance of the Australian Bee Gees at the Crown Theatre. Gaining entry into its elite ranks were Charlotte Blume, Laura Stevens and Malachi Sharpe.

    According to Michael Fleishman, who helps organize and bring talented acts to the community, this year’s inductees are more than performers; they are mentors and teachers to others in the community.

    Charlotte Blume, the artistic director and choreographer of the Charlotte Blume School of Dance, has 40 years experience performing, choreographing and teaching dancers from around the nation. Her school features programs for classical ballet, tap, gymnastics and contemporary dance. 

    As a choreographer she works with the North Carolina State Ballet and she is on the advisory board for the Cultural Arts Division of the N.C. Department of Instruction. 

    Blume has a dedication to her work that is rare. It is this dedication that makes her the perfect candidate for induction. 

    “It is nice to feel that the community is appreciating the years of service. This may sound funny, but I never considered it or thought of it as a goal. I just did my thing to the best of my ability and that thing is dance,” she said. “I just did what I’ve always done and I hope that in doing that, I have been able to help others reach their goals. I enjoy teaching and imparting what I know from years of experience and training.”

    Like Blume, Laura Stevens has a rich history of performance in the community. Local residents may remember her playing the piano at the Prince Charles during its prime; still others may have taken piano or voice lessons from her. Most will know her from the amazing Broadway-style show she brings to the community each year: The Heart of Christmas Show.

    If you want to see Stevens’ passion, you have only to see her with the young performers who make the show such a success. Stevens pours not only her knowledge, love and passion for music into them, but also her knowledge, love and passion for life.

    Since its inception, The Heart of Christmas Show,headlined by the Voices of the Heart, has raised more than $600,000 for children’s charities in the community.

    Stevens, a deeply spiritual woman, has not only taught her students music, she has taught them to truly care and to put action behind their words, making the community a better place.

    Malachi Sharpe was posthumously inducted into the organization. Sharpe, a Fayetteville native, played in several jazz bands in the Fayetteville area, he chose to devote his life to his family and teaching instead of pursuing a professional jazz career. For many years he taught in Robeson County, where he inspired a jazz flavor in the high school marching band. Even after retirement, Sharpe continued to teach and inspire students about music and the importance of jazz in American culture

    For more information on the Fayetteville Music Hall of Fame visit http://www.community-concerts.com/hall-of-fame/. 

  • 032316cleanup.jpg

    Litter is a problem that plagues many cities around the world, and Fayetteville is included. Every piece of trash  tossed onto the ground has a huge impact on the city. First, and most obvious, it is ugly and devalues all of the amazing opportunities that Fayetteville has to offer. Second, it has a huge effect on the environment. Cigarette butts leak harmful chemicals into the water and soil. Large amounts of litter attract harmful vermin and bugs. Plastics are often eaten by local animals, which can eventually kill them. Litter is ugly and dangerous but cleaning it up is often a very expensive endeavor. The U.S. spends billions on it annually. On April 2, Fayetteville Beautiful hosts its annual citywide cleanup. It is a chance for the public to come out and make a difference in the local landscape.

    “This is an opportunity for all the citizens of the city to participate in, as George Breece would say, ‘cleaning up their bedroom.’ We are giving the opportunity to citizens to feel good and to clean up their neighborhood, park or thoroughfare — or an area that they feel is blighted or ugly,” said Bobby Hurst, Fayetteville Beautiful spokesman. “Families, neighbors, organizations, youth groups are all encouraged to participate. The more people that help, the cleaner the city will be for ourselves and visitors who have first and lasting impressions of the city.”

    Fayetteville Beautiful is a group of volunteers that has decided enough is enough. The organization has three core issues. Litter prevention, which goes along with the citywide clean up. Beautification, which goes along with planting. Third, is waste reduction. “The people and animals of the area deserve a beautiful and clean city to live and thrive,” said Hurst.

    On the day of the  citywide cleanup, volunteers meet up and spend a day picking up all of the litter from various locations around the city. Fayetteville is a large city with a lot of areas that could benefit from a cleanup. Groups and individuals can pick a particular area of interest by “adopting” the street or park. This can be done by registering at http://fcpr.us/fayetteville_beautiful.aspx. The more people that participate, the  more Fayetteville will benefit. 

    Participants should meet from 8 until 9:30 a.m. at the entrance to Cross Creek Park on Green Street. This is the distribution site where orange bags, gloves and bottled water are given out. Volunteers fill the orange bags with the collected litter and leave the full tied bags along the way. Organizers with Fayetteville Beautiful will then collect the full bags for disposal. It is for this reason that it is vital for volunteers to register and adopt their intended clean up sites. This also helps to prevent too many volunteers working on one area. 

    “Seeing more people get involved and care about their city is the most exciting thing for me,” said Hurst. “Eighty-five percent of littering is individual attitudes and the key is to change individual’s behavior. This is the result from a 2009 survey done by Keep America Beautiful. Our goals for the future are for more people to get involved to be a cleaner city.”

    In the past, these citywide cleanups have been an incredible success. Last year’s boasted 707 volunteers who picked up 14,531 pounds of litter. Over the past 11 years Fayetteville Beautiful has had 10,934 volunteers pick up over 132 tons of liter along 216 miles or roadside. These numbers show what a huge difference volunteering a few hours on a weekend can do. 

    Besides volunteering with Fayetteville Beautiful there are other ways to reduce the litter around town. Recycle and use reusable containers whenever possible. Make sure trash containers have tightly fitted lids so that weather or animals don’t blow trash away. Adopt a street or area and dedicate time to keeping it clean. Report litter violations and discourage friends and family from littering. Make sure appropriate trash and recycling receptacles are available and emptied often. Fayetteville Beautiful also accepts donations and has volunteer opportunities beyond the annual citywide cleanup. For more information visit
    www.fayettevillebeautiful.com. 


  •     Editor’s Note: Margaret is traveling this week, so she picked one of her favorite columns to share with those folks who may have missed it the first time around. This column was initially run in the July 26, 2006 issue of Up & Coming Weekly.
         I flatter myself sometimes to imagine that I am a citizen of the world.
         I do like to travel and do so whenever I can. I enjoy exploring our wonderfully diverse state whose people and places are rich and different. Murphy and Manteo are both in North Carolina but worlds apart in lifestyles, cultures, and economies.
         New York City is among my favorite places, and having a child in college in the city gave me plenty of reasons to visit and enjoy, not to mention ample opportunity to deal with the credit card afterwards. I even fantasize on occasion about living there at some point. I am looking forward to several upcoming weddings of friends and relations in various parts of the country, not only for the happy times they will bring but also for the chance to visit those locales.{mosimage}
         I also have three trips planned to other parts of the world and welcome those new experiences as well.
    But, in my heart, I know I am a southern girl through and through. There is a magnolia blossom in a vase in my kitchen as I write this.
         For no rational reason other than perhaps the heat, summer seems more southern to me than any other time of the year.
         Among my earliest memories is one of my grandfather who lived in Kinston. He is sitting in his leather wing chair by a bay window drinking iced coffee. He is wearing a seersucker suit and has loosened his tie. It may not have been that very day, but at some point, he taught me to drink iced coffee with lots of sugar and cream. It was better to me than a soda, probably because he loved it, too, and because we sipped it together. I still love iced coffee in the summertime, but I have cut out the sugar.
         Watermelon.                    
         I eat it for breakfast as often as I can in the summer. It is cool, and as a doctor once told a very pregnant cousin, it helps get rid of all that water and the bad things in one’s body. I happened to meet North Carolina’s reigning Watermelon Queen several weeks ago as she went about her appointed rounds promoting our bountiful harvest of this divinely southern melon.
         Tomato sandwiches.           
         Maybe people in Minnesota and Oregon eat tomato sandwiches, but I think of them as a summer staple here. I grew up eating them on white bread with only mayonnaise and salt and pepper, but I have begun experimenting with healthier breads in recent years. So ingrained are tomato sandwiches among some southerners that we argue over whether they are better with Duke’s or Hellmann’s mayonnaise. The rivalry between Duke and Carolina is rarely more heated.
         When I was a child, mothers sat on back porches and snapped green beans, shucked corn, and shelled peas. I know people still do that, but I find myself scouting farmer’s markets for the already snapped and shelled ones in plastic bags for suppers of summer vegetables. In all candor, these summer meals are usually prepared by a wonderful friend who knows how to cook them just so, and they are delightful.
    Another summer treat is the attic fan.
         My Kinston grandparents had one in their house, and my parents added one to both of the houses in which my sister and I grew up. So when I had a house of my own, I wanted one, too. It was no small effort to find an attic fan in the 1980s when air conditioning had long supplanted hot summer air, but find one I did. There is no better sleeping on earth than to the drone of an attic fan with its breeze floating above a summer blanket and night sounds wafting through open windows.
         The joys of a screened porch with a ceiling fan.
         During the hottest days of summer, we air conditioned-spoiled folks rarely sit outside unless we must. But in the cool of the early morning, I like nothing better than to take my coffee and newspapers and magazines onto our screened porch. I read and watch my neighbors as they walk or jog past, as they water their plants, as they get an early start on their day. It is a quiet and treasured beginning for me.
         I do love to travel and my thoughts these days are turning more and more to my upcoming trips. I do love the hustle and bustle and glamour of New York, and part of me is sorry my child has graduated from her city university and moved on with her life, taking my constant excuse to visit New York with her. I have begun to think what I might wear to the wedding in Dallas and the one on a fancy Florida beach.
         In my heart, though, I know where home is and will always be. It is reading and dozing on our screened porch and watching my world pass by on a small southern street with air perfumed by magnolias and gardenias.

  • 04282010pubnotes.jpgIt’s no secret that for a number of years Fayetteville struggled with an image problem. Over time, that has changed. Visitors to our city no longer drive as quickly through it as possible; instead, they sit a spell. They take time to grab a bite in one of our numerous restaurants. They wander the downtown streets and check out the eclectic and interesting shops that line our city center.

    That was seen so clearly on Friday night as the Dogwood Festival kicked-off a weekend of fun for our city. The event also coincided with 4th Friday, which is also a major draw to our city center. The two combined for a one, two knock-out punch to visitors and residents alike.

    I spent the majority of Friday evening downtown. I was thrilled to see the number of people who were strolling down Hay Street checking out the various art venues. More exciting was the musical entertainment that was scattered throughout the city center. I was really thrilled to see a drum group set up in the Market House. At that moment, it was easy to see the vision we have for our community. It was easy to believe we are close to accomplishing it.

    But, of course, when things are going great, something or someone rains on your parade. In this case, it was the guests that our city really doesn’t need or want to come to any party we plan. You know who they are. They are loud. They don’t really pay attention to what’s going on around them, and, they litter.

    I’m not talking about accidental littering. I’m talking about over-the-top, I don’t care if there are 50 trash cans around me, I’m going to drop my trash right on the ground, and keep going to see what’s in it for me.

    And believe me, we had plenty of those guests in town for the festival. And the sad part is, most of these people probably call Fayetteville home.

    I saw them Friday night. Finished with your funnel cake? Don’t worry about the trash can three steps to your right, drop the plate right on the ground.

    That beer tasted good, right? That cup didn’t look so good on the ground where you and your buddies dropped it, which by the way, was right in front of the trash cans.

    Don’t even get me started on Saturday. As is our custom, the staff at Up & Coming Weekly and Kidsville News! was manning a booth near the Midway. People were busy visiting booths to see what kind of take-aways they could get, and if they didn’t like the gifts, they dropped them on the ground. The same can be said for their corn dogs, lemonade cups, and yes, you Mr. Man, who fi nished your coffee and then dropped the cup (and its remnants) on the ground for everyone to step over or in.

    The Dogwood Festival is an event designed to focus on the beauty of our community. It’s designed to welcome Spring, a time of renewal. It’s not a time to lay waste to our beloved city with trash.

    If that’s your idea of fun, consider yourself uninvited

  • Double Dipping Is Double Dog Bad

    I think I can speak for hundreds of Fayetteville and Cumberland County small business owners when I say that in private business when the economy slows down, business is off and unemployment is hovering at nine percent, we automatically go into “survival” mode. This usually means tightening our belts by instituting hiring freezes, reduction of staff, limited operating hours, elimination of, or reduced, benefits and consolidation of staff work loads and responsibilities. No one, except local, state and national governments, of course, would operate “business as usual” if they wanted to survive these harsh economic conditions.

    Cumberland County should be no different. County Manager James Martin should be encouraging and mandating that all county department heads and supervisors start demonstrating fi scal responsibility by cutting back and reducing expenses and overhead. The county should not be operating in a “business as usual” mode. I’m a fan of our county manager, James Martin, however, he seems to have become overwhelmed or infl uenced by misguided bureaucratic traditions and logistics if he thinks that hiring back those who have retired and left the county’s employ is actually benefi ting anyone. It surely isn’t helping the county taxpayers nor is it helping those qualifi ed Cumberland County residents who are searching for employment and career opportunities. Even, more importantly, it surely is not helping build or maintain morale among the hundreds of dedicated, committed and hard-working county employees. More on that in a moment.

    Commissioner Charles Evans was right for raising this “double dipping” and rehiring practice concern to Martin and the board of county commissioners. Board Chair Kenneth Edge’s position on this topic was quoted in last Friday’s Fayetteville Observer: “We’re tying ourselves down if we put a limit on it.”

    Oh, really? Hmmmm. Spoken like a life-long government bureaucrat with little or no experience in business.

    Retired employees should actually retire and enjoy their retirement. Secondly, re-hiring and bringing back the “double dippers” stymies loyalty, lowers morale and dampens the enthusiasm of loyal county employees looking to better themselves by moving up and enhancing their careers. Finally, the practice of hiring substitute workers for sick and vacationing personnel is ridiculous and a gross misuse of taxpayers money.

    Managers should manage. Why should Cumberland County taxpayers dole out double wages just so a department manager can avoid temporary inconvenience. Few private businesses pay twice for sick and vacationing personnel. When extra help is needed on a short-term basis most call a temppersonnel agency and hire a temporary worker. This has proven to be much more cost effective. Also, and even more to the point, no one retires and leaves a position in 24 hours. Why are managers not making provisions to accommodate such situations?

    The 19 county re-hires and double dippers that are costing county residents $422,000 annually are scandalous. The mere fact that we have that much money to squander signals that county leadership and government are not in control. Perfect example: Cumberland County Workforce Development.

    Now, back to the “morale” situation. Besides blocking the growth and career advancement of other deserving county employees, it is incomprehensible that the County Manager would turn a blind eye to the recent circumstances and deplorable management that surrounded the Cumberland County Workforce Development Program. A situation so disgraceful and embarrassing that it resulted in the transfer and demotion of its director Cynthia Mixon and the program being transferred to the capable and responsible hands of Fayetteville Technical Community College. It’s not doing much for the morale of county workers to know that the person in charge of overseeing the program and to whom Cynthia Mixon reported to was the Deputy County Manager Juanita Pilgrim. What? Really? And, she was rehired? Yes! Martin awarded and rewarded Pilgrim with a sweet rehire deal of 12 weeks at $60 an hour? Wow! $60 an hour! Some say she never actually moved out of her offi ce. Yet, think of how many part-time employees could be hired at that price. That is, if the purpose was to really get the work done. Taxpayers should be outraged at this reward bestowed on Pilgrim who ill-managed and nearly destroyed a highly valued and much needed county development program.

    In difficult times, we all must make difficult decisions. We cannot continue to operate our local government this way. It is abusive. It is my hope that Charles Evans can rally his fellow commissioners to begin applying a practical common sense approach to managing our county and the hard earned money of Cumberland County residents. It’s the right thing to do.

  • The Windsors and Me

    I confess to being among thebazillions of people around the globe who got up at all hours to watch the televised ill-fated wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer. It probably helped that I had a newborn, whether he tuned in with me or not.

    I will not be able to watch the wedding of another Windsor, Charles’ son Prince William, and his lovely bride, Catherine Middleton, at the moment it occurs, but I have no doubt there will be plenty of opportunity to get my fill in the unavoidable 24/7 coverage of the occasion that has already been underway for weeks.

    The Windsors were a part of our household when I was growing up.

    I saw them frequently and viewed the Windsor children who were close to my age as my chums. Our mothers dressed us in much the same ways, and it seemed to me that we had common interests and experiences as Baby Boomer children growing up in the decades following World War II.

    It really did not register with me that the Windsor children’s mother was Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain and all its dominions, and mine was, well, my mother.

    My father had been an Army medic in England, and he and another soldier boarded in the home of an English widow. My father, a personable and courtly southerner, struck up an acquaintance with the widow, Mrs. Fox, which endured until she died many years later. I suppose because the two young families, the Windsors and the Highsmiths, were in the same stage of life, she sent us many books about the British Royal Family.

    I did not recognize this then, of course, but the books were well-crafted public relations efforts to portray the Royal Family as — almost — regular folks. Like similar books about the Kennedy family during the Camelot years, these books were fi lled with wonderful and charming family photographs. Some were formal portraits involving crowns, scepters and robes trimmed with ermine. Most, though, were family scenes, concocted I am now sure to garner and keep the affection of the Queen’s British subjects. We in America and elsewhere were just icing on the cake. The Queen’s son Charles, who much later would be humiliated when a recording surfaced of him expressing a wish to be in his mistress’ “trousers,” was actually a cute little boy and her daughter Anne had Shirley Temple-like yellow curls. They and their younger brothers were pictured swinging, playing with their dogs, and, occasionally, getting into some slight mischief.

    I loved these books and remember once asking my father to write to Mrs. Fox requesting that she invite the Windsor children to visit us in Fayetteville. I imagined they would enjoy running around with the children and dogs in our Haymount neighborhood as much as my sister and I did, and they probably would have. Maybe they would even have gotten dirty.

    Needless to say, they never showed.

    There has been much water over the dam since then for the Windsors and the Highsmiths, but I still have a soft spot for the Windsors, and a special and enduring fondness for the Queen who reminds me of the mother I continue to miss 36 years later.

    The Queen who will watch her grandson marry and make a commoner a princess has led a life none of us can begin to understand. It has been fi lled with luxuries, of course, but think about having to meet with Prime Ministers ranging from the Iron Lady, Margaret Thatcher, to the free-wheeling Tony Blair once a week, week in and week out whether she liked them or approved of their policies or not and without legal authority to affect anything they might do. All she can do is advise.

    The Queen has remained unruffl ed and serene for more than half a century as she presided over everything from the fi nal dismantling of the once-global British Empire to the toe-sucking antics and infi delities of my long-ago imaginary playmates and their ever-wacky spouses. 

    Think of watching your empire shrink as the European Union took hold. Imagine what it felt like to see the monetary system adorned by your own face and those of your ancestors be eclipsed by the drab but convenient Euro.

    Queen Elizabeth has done all this and more with dignity and a constant and unwavering hairdo that could have been styled at a downtown Fayetteville beauty parlor in 1965.

    I have a favorite Queen Elizabeth story that pretty much sums her up, at least my vision of her.

    It seems the Queen was out walking her beloved Corgis one day, her security04-27-11-queen-liz.jpgdetail at a discrete English distance. One of her subjects approached and cluelessly observed, “My,you certainly look like the Queen.” To which Her Majesty, Elizabeth II, Queen of the United Kingdom and Defender of the Faith, replied serenely, “That’s reassuring.”

    I hope the Queen thoroughly enjoys the latest Royal wedding celebrations and I wish the happy couple — and the Queen — a palace full of beautiful, bouncing and well-behaved baby Windsors.

    Photo: Queen Elizabeth.

  • 07NewsDigestThe city of Fayetteville has released a new app for smart phones that is tied to the city’s mobilefriendly website. 

    “We are excited to announce the launch of our city app, as it will greatly enhance residents’ ability to find information quickly and easily,” said Kevin Arata, corporate communication director for the city of Fayetteville. “The app will make it easy to access those features and content most-visited on our website, without requiring a lot of effort on their part. It also puts us on par with other large cities that offer apps for their residents, to be able to better communicate with residents beyond what our website currently accomplishes.”

    App users will find links to useful information regarding elected officials, recreation and attractions, city news, major transportation assets within the city and utility contact information. 

    City residents and visitors to Fayetteville who download the app to their smartphone can create interactive maps during special events such as the Dogwood Festi - val. App users can learn about the locations of various festival vendors and the multiple concerts taking place throughout the festival. 

    The Arts Council’s Work in Progress sculptures are also on an interactive map on the app. The sculptures are strategically placed in the downtown area. Photos of each of the 12 sculptures are on the map and listed by location. The in - teractive map allows a user to locate and visit each sculpture walking through the downtown area. 

    Download the app by visiting your smartphone app store. The app is free.

    Fayetteville Tech names new honorary trustee of the college and board

    At the April 16 Fayetteville Tech - nical Community College Board of Trustees meeting, President Dr. J. Larry Keen and Board Chair Ronald Crosby Jr. presented Cumberland County Commissioner Dr. Jean - nette M. Council the distinguished honor of Honorary Trustee of the College and Board of Trustees. 

    “What people don’t realize is the (Council) family is invested in FTCC. Dr. Jeannette Council is a dedicated leader who has given her support and commitment at the state level and to our county commission - ers and citizens for so many years. ‘Honorary trustee’ is an extraor - dinary, high privilege and honor. Members of the Board of Trustees and I couldn’t think of anyone more deserving than she,” Dr. Keen said when presenting the award.

    The designation of honorary trust - ee is awarded to individuals for their exceptional service and support of the college through the years.

    Council served on the State Board of North Carolina Community Colleges from 1993 to 2005. She has served on the Cumberland County Board of Commissioners since 2000, having served four terms as vice chair and three terms as chair.

    The Yadkin Road storm drain - age road closure

    Yadkin Road at the intersection of Cimarron Drive will be closed Wednesday, April 25, beginning at 8 p.m. and will reopen Tuesday, May 1, at 3 a.m. Bridgepoint Civil, a PWC contractor, will be conducting the Yadkin Road Storm Drainage project for the city of Fayetteville. Motorists and pedestrians are urged to use caution in this area.

  • 04HudsonLast week marked the birthday of Thomas Jefferson, one of our Founding Fathers and former presidents. He was an intelligent scholar and leader. He left a lasting legacy, and his vision of individual liberty and a limited federal government continues to influence our thinking today. 

    One idea by Thomas Jefferson is well-known. It comes from the Declaration of Independence, and it is a conservative principle that helps guide our government. It states, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.” 

    As your Congressman, it is my duty to do everything in my power to protect you from the trampling of your rights. Last week, President Donald Trump signed bipartisan legislation that I was proud to cosponsor that gives federal and state prosecutors greater power to pursue websites that host sex-trafficking ads. It also paves the way for victims and state attorneys general to hold those websites accountable and file lawsuits against those sites. This is an important step forward and builds on work I have done previously to combat human trafficking. 

    As a member of the Helsinki Commission, I am working to combat this issue at home and abroad. Human trafficking, sex slavery and violence are worldwide tragedies that we must address now. I will continue to work with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to ensure our communities are given the appropriate tools and resources to protect the most vulnerable in our society, provide assistance to victims and apprehend and punish offenders

    Another essential freedom we are all guaranteed as part of the Bill of Rights set forth in the Constitution is the freedom of speech. Last week, I questioned Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg about his company’s censoring of conservative and Christian speech. I sought answers about what standards Facebook uses to censor content and how they are enforced, because it appears to me that these standards may not have been applied uniformly. 

    Facebook is a private company that has done wonders for connecting families and friends and consumers and businesses across the country. I believe they must uphold the same rights for everyone, regardless of their religion or political affiliation. 

    As Thomas Jefferson once said, “Never spend your money before you have it.” This is simple guidance, but it is especially relevant today. Our country is currently $21 trillion in debt and growing. Our government’s spending is wildly out of control, and unless we take immediate steps to address it, we face fiscal disaster. 

    This debate isn’t about our future – it’s about our children’s and grandchildren’s futures. That’s why I’ve fought to cut Washington’s spending and tackle our nation’s debt with bold ideas like my Federal Sunset Act. 

    Last week, I continued my efforts when I voted for a Balanced Budget Amendment to the Constitution to require Congress not spend more in revenue than it receives. I’m extremely disappointed House Democrats followed Nancy Pelosi’s lead and blocked the legislation, choosing bureaucrats and big-government over the American people. I will continue to fight for a Balanced Budget Amendment.

    Quite often it seems my colleagues forget why they ran for Congress. Holding Washington accountable isn’t easy, but if we look to the Founding Fathers, I often find they provide us with all the wisdom we need.

  • 05Cool Spring Logo color 1 The Cool Spring Downtown District’s second Downtown District Forum is set for Tuesday, April 24, from 7- 8:30 p.m. at the Arts Council of Fayetteville/Cumberland County, which is located at 301 Hay St. in downtown Fayetteville. The public is invited to attend this free, informational event.

    Fayetteville Dogwood Festival Executive Director Carrie King will share last minute insider tips about how to best enjoy this year’s Dogwood Festival. CSDD will share opportunities for involvement in the Field of Honor annual event benefiting the Airborne & Special Operations Museum Foundation.

    Jordan Jones will update attendees on the Prince Charles Holdings project. Fayetteville Astros general manager David Lane and President Mark Zarthar will discuss plans for the baseball stadium. PWC and city officials will discuss utility work scheduled for Market Square.

    The CSDD is a charitable nonprofit formed in 2017 to create and sustain an arts and entertainment district emanating from the downtown core of Fayetteville, North Carolina, as a vibrant center of artistic, cultural, civic and commercial activity.

    For more information, contact Sam DuBose, CSDD general manager, at 910-223-1089 or Sam@CoolSpringFAY.org.

    Early voting opens

     One-Stop early voting for primary elections in Cumberland County begins April 19 and ends May 5. The partisan primary election is May 8. The deadline to register to vote in the elections is April 13. The primary election is for federal, state and local offices.

    Citizens who want to take advantage of early voting but are not registered to vote may do same-day registration during One-Stop early voting if they provide acceptable documentation. The registrant needs to present or show a document that lists current name and address in Cumberland County. A complete list of acceptable documentation can be viewed at co.cumberland.nc.us/elections.

    Voters may go to the Board of Elections, located in the E. Newton Smith Center at 227 Fountainhead Lane, for One-Stop voting during the dates and times listed below. Due to road construction in the area, drivers are encouraged to enter Fountainhead Lane from Hay Street.

    April 19–May 4, Monday through Friday 8 a.m.– 5 p.m.; Saturday, April 28, 9 a.m.–3 p.m.; Saturday, May 5, 9 a.m.–1 p.m.

    Other One-Stop Voting Sites are: Cliffdale Recreation Center, 6404 Cliffdale Rd., Fayetteville; North Regional Library, 855 McArthur Rd., Fayetteville; Hope Mills Recreation Center, 5766 Rockfish Rd., Hope Mills; East Regional Library, 4809 Clinton Rd., Fayetteville; Gray’s Creek Recreation Center, 2964 School Rd., Hope Mills.

    Dates and times at the five locations are: April 19–May 4, Monday through Friday, 11:30 a.m.–7:30 p.m.; Saturday, April 28, 9 a.m.–3 p.m.; and Saturday, May 5, 9 a.m.–1 p.m.

    Regular hours at the Board of Elections are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. For more information and for links to voter information, polling place finder and the North Carolina Board of Elections, go to co.cumberland.nc.us/elections or call 910-678-7733.

  • .08 Is the Law, but Impairment Starts Much Earlier

    Laws reflect the moral values of society and impose limits in order to promote the greater good and to make our communities safer places to live.

    03-28-12-dwi.jpgThough progress has been made, impaired driving continues to defy solution and remains a serious local problem that tragically affects many citizens annually. When a person’s sensibility fails to restrain them from exceeding boundaries which have been established by the law, it becomes the responsibility of the judicial system to address the matter in a fair and rational manner; without bias or favoritism. Unwarranted leniency on the part of the system puts us all at risk.

    In North Carolina, the offense of driving while impaired (General Statute 20-138.1) may be proved in one of two ways when an individual drives a vehicle (as defined by statute) on a highway, street or public vehicular area. Both of the following conditions do not need to be present in order for a conviction:

    1. By showing that the driver’s physical or mental faculties have been “appreciably impaired” by alcohol, a controlled substance, or another drug/psychoactive substance. To convict on the basis of this prong, the amount of the impairing substance which has been consumed is not relevant.

    2. By showing that the driver’s alcohol concentration is 0.08 or more at any relevant time after the driving. To convict on the basis of this prong, whether or not the driver showed outward signs of impairment is not relevant as clarified by the court of appeals in State v. Arrington (August 16, 2011), “It is not necessary for the state to prove that the defendant was appreciably impaired, uncooperative or driving in an unsafe manner in order to prove that defendant is guilty of a violation of N.C. Gen Stat. 20-138.1(a2). To prove guilt, the state need only show that the defendant had an alcohol concentration of 0.08.

    Why then I ask, when I monitor Cumberland County’s traffic court, is it not uncommon to hear a “not guilty” verdict for defendants who have been shown to have an alcohol concentration of 0.08 or 0.09 by a valid test, administered in compliance with all statutory and regulatory procedures?

    Is it the consequence of “good lawyering“, the result of weak prosecution or possibly an arbitrary desire on the part of the court to “not ruin” the defendants record in hopes they’ll take it upon themselves to change their ways?

    Alcohol is a central nervous system depressant which impacts, among other things, one’s ability to concentrate, multitask, see clearly and react at a concentration significantly below the current “legal” limit of 0.08. Well documented studies show substantial crash risks exist at an alcohol concentration of 0.05.

    No one drives as well as usual after drinking alcohol, even though some people may look and act as though they are unaffected. So why then does the court appear to tolerate violations of this law?

    I am not a prohibitionist and have limited objection to someone who drinks, but then follows a plan which does not place themselves behind the wheel of a vehicle. Years ago, I took less interest in the issue of impaired driving as it did not seem to concern me. However, that has all changed.

    I now know first hand what it feels like to lose a loved one to a drunk driver. Hopefully you will never have to share the experience, but chances are you may if impaired driving is not more stringently addressed as the public safety hazard and potentially violent crime it is.

  • 06 News DigestGovernor Roy Cooper has appointed local attorney H. Gerald Beaver to serve as a member of the North Carolina Grievance Resolution board. “I am honored and humbled to accept this appointment to the North Carolina Grievance Board from Governor Cooper. It’s my great pleasure to serve on a board whose mission and members I have long respected and admired,” said Attorney H. Gerald Beaver.

    Beaver began serving on the board in January 2018.

    The board is made up of five members who serve four-year terms. All board members are appointed by the governor. The Council of the North Carolina State Bar recommends 10 individuals to the governor. Three of the five members must be chosen from the state bar list.

    The Grievance Resolution Board works with North Carolina inmates to settle grievances. Using informal communication with authorities at offending facilities, or when a formal complaint is necessary, to reduce tension and create stability for formal complaints, the five board members seek to resolve issues. The board holds authority over inmate grievances filed through the Administrative Ready Procedure.

    149 local teachers receive funding from Donorschoose.org

    DonorsChoose.org helps teachers fund projects for their classrooms. Teachers post projects on the site and donors give money to the projects they want to support. Sometimes it’s individuals who give. Often organizations donate, too. On March 28, in an initiative called #BestSchoolDay Surprise, Ripple, a technology company in San Francisco, donated $29 million – enough to fund every project request on the site.

    There were 220 projects from Cumberland County Schools, totaling $125,897.

    “Thank you, Donors Choose and #BestSchool- Day funders for making it the #BestSchoolDay in Cumberland County,” said Jennifer Lloyd, the school system’s Grants Management Coordinator. “We are touched by the generosity of the funders and the dedication to our students shown by our teachers!”

    Since its inception 18 years ago, this is the first time a donor has funded all projects on the site.

    Downtown Fayetteville Celebrates National Library Week

    April 8-14 is national library week. The Cumberland County Public Library & Information Center is joining the nationwide movement encouraging people to take selfies at their library and participating businesses and post them using #iheartmylibrary and an explanation about why they love their library. Local downtown businesses will also have giveaways throughout the week.

    For more information about National Library Week and the free programs and services at your library, visit www.cumberland.lib.nc.us or call 910-483-7727.

    Photo: Attorney Gerald Beaver

  • American Reunion  (Rated R)   3 Stars04-25-12-movie.jpg

    Has it really been 13 years since this franchise got started? American Reunion (113 minutes) progresses the franchise in real time, which means the 10-year reunion has indeed been put off a few years. There is nothing truly terrible about this third sequel, but there isn’t anything really outstanding about it either. Jon Hurtwitz takes a break from directing stoner comedies and tries his hand at directing a teen-sex comedy in which most of the teens are now in their early 30s. Someone should have told him and his co-director/writing partner Hayden Schlossberg that fans actually care about things like character consistency … but more on that later.

    All the major players return, in cameos if not as leads. Jim (Jason Biggs) is married to Michelle (Alyson Hannigan). Oz (Chris Klein) has moved to LA where he hosts a Sport Center-type show and is living with a model/D-Lister (Katrina Bowden) named Mia. Kevin (Thomas Ian Nicholas) is still uninterestingly earnest while also being married and apparently spending most of his time cooking and watching soapy melodramas. Finch (Eddie Kaye Thomas) is MIA and Stifler (Seann William Scott) has suffered a few reversals since American Wedding.

    The film opens on Jim and Michelle, married with a child. They have settled into a rut, more interested in private time than each other. In an effort to break the routine they decide to head home for the reunion. Jim’s dad (Eugene Levy) plays host, and the little girl next door that Jim used to babysit (Ali Cobrin) offers some sitcom style hijinks.

    It doesn’t take long for the guys to find Finch and Stifler, and get together for drinks, leaving Michelle at home to take care of the baby. Which, really? She’s being supportive and giving her husband time with his friends. But, see if you can count the number of times that Jim stays home nurturing his child while Michelle visits with her high-school crew. In fact, count the number of times Jim actually picks up his child period. Sigh.

    Visiting the lake after a night of reinforcing traditional sex roles, the gang splits up into male and female groups so that the men with the Peter Pan complexes can ogle the teenage bikini girls and the women over 30 can huddle together seeking support in their twilight years. Kevin finds Vicki (Tara Reid irritating as ever) and they get a few lines of dialogue. Heather (Mena Suvari) shows up on the beach to deliver some exposition re-garding her relationship with Oz, and if there were any justice all four of them would wander off into the lake and get eaten by piranhas, leaving the rest of the movie to the interesting characters.

    Not that the main characters have any interesting material to work with either. Finch seems depressed to be in yet another American Pie movie, even if he does seem to have gotten Stifler’s Mom (Jennifer Coolidge) out of his system. As a character, Stifler has completely degenerated. There are only so many jokes you can make about how men in their 30s like to look at nude teenagers be-fore crossing the border from comedy into disgust, particularly after American Wedding made such a point of maturing the character.

    Overall, the entire movie is a bit depressing and lackluster. You will see characters behaving in ways entirely inconsistent with the first three main films. There are a few things to laugh at, and hardcore fans of the franchise (including the direct-to-video sequels) will probably enjoy all the cameos. And, yes, shortly after the credits start rolling there is a bonus sequence worth staying seated for.

    Now showing at Wynnsong 7, Carmike 12 and Carmike Market Fair 15.

  • 07ShootingsIn the wake of the mass shooting in Parkland, Florida, there have been reports of alleged threats against high schools in Cumberland County.

    Some of those cases are currently processing through the Cumberland County court system.

    The consequences of a guilty verdict go beyond the potential criminal penalties, according to Cumberland County district attorney Billy West, and should give anyone, especially young people, serious pause if they are thinking about even joking about doing something similar.

    “I think the most important thing for young people to understand is it’s a felony under North Carolina law to do that,’’ West said. “There are a lot of negative consequences of a felony conviction, particularly for a young person.’’

    West said making a threat against a school would qualify as an H felony, which is the second-lowest felony conviction possible in North Carolina. Someone convicted of an H felony, with no prior criminal record, could face up to six to eight months in jail, West said.

    But jail time is only part of the problem for someone convicted of any felony, West added. “A lot of felonies have what we call collateral consequences,’’ he said. Those penalties go beyond having to pay court costs and fines and eventually working with a probation offer.

    “You hear stories about people who had these felonies,’’ West said. “They can’t get the job they want. They can’t live where they want. They can’t go to school. It can be all because of a bad decision they made at a young age.’’

    In some cases, convicted felons can take part in an expungement clinic like the one recently offered by Cumberland County. But even in those instances, West said candidates have to wait up to 10 years and must be convicted of a minor felony to even be eligible to have the penalty expunged from their record.

    West said law enforcement, the school system and his office are taking any type of threat against a school seriously. “We have to do that in this day and time,’’ he said.

  • 06school resource officersCumberland County Sheriff’s Office School Resource Officers patrol all 90 Cumberland County school campuses, including those located in Fayetteville, Hope Mills, Spring Lake and Stedman. The sheriff’s office was given the countywide responsibility 30 years ago, when then-Fayetteville Police Chief Ron Hansen suggested school duty was better suited for the sheriff’s office because schools are governed and operated by county government.

    The school system pays the sheriff’s office to provide law enforcement coverage. Middle schools and high schools have permanently assigned deputies. Elementary schools are patrolled on a regular basis but do not have assigned officers.

    SROs are responsible for enforcing the law and more. Cumberland County Sheriff Ennis Wright’s office did not respond to inquiries about the program. Ordinarily, student resource officers provide security during school hours and after-hours special events on campus, such as athletic events, dances and assemblies.

    SROs serve as liaisons between Cumberland County Schools and the sheriff’s office. They assist school administrators in emergency crisis planning and security matters. They work to prevent juvenile delinquency through close contact and positive relationships with students.

    They also develop crime prevention programs and conduct security inspections to deter criminal or delinquent activities.

    Mo Canady, executive director of the National Association of School Resource Officers, said it takes a special kind of officer to be an SRO.

    “It’s one of the most unique jobs in law enforcement, and it takes a unique individual who understands that, to some degree, students have a different way about them sometimes,” he said. “They’re going to say and do things that we might not like but (that) are not necessarily criminal in nature.”

    Jim St. Germain is co-founder of Preparing Leaders of Tomorrow, a nonprofit mentoring group. “What teachers do now is call on officers and ask them to handle things,” he said.

    When “handling” leads to punishment or a suspension or worse, it can have an adverse effect on a student’s development. A study by The Council of State Governments Justice Center found that being suspended or expelled can make a student nearly three times more likely to come in contact with the juvenile justice system within the following year.

    North Carolina House Speaker Tim Moore, R-Cleveland, has formed a bipartisan House Select Committee to take a closer look at school safety and security.

    “Fortunately, in North Carolina we have not had the incidents we have seen in other states, but that doesn’t mean it couldn’t happen,” Moore said.

    The committee will look for ways to identify threats, find ways to improve facilities and provide training and resources.

    “We need to protect our children. And they shouldn’t be going to school being afraid that something like this is going to happen again,” said Marge Hooper, with the Women Republicans of Cleveland County.

  • 05Tyrone WilliamsA Fayetteville City Council meeting held March 19 was closed to discuss an issue involving freshman council member Tyrone Williams. City Attorney Karen McDonald said it involved “a potential conflict of interest regarding council member Williams … related to our economic partner, PCH.”

    The city council released minutes of that meeting following another closed session March 26.

    PCH Holdings is the current owner of the former Prince Charles Hotel. According to the minutes of the earlier session, former U.S. attorney Mark Calloway was retained by the city to “serve as liaison between the city, PCH and any third party.” He gave the council an overview of business transactions between Williams and John Chen, a former owner of the Prince Charles Hotel. Details were not made a part of the minutes.

    Williams must recuse himself from voting on any matters related to the hotel, which PCH Holdings is renovating. It will be reopened as an apartment building.

    PCH says it has no financial relationship with Williams.

    Camden Road widening progress

    Traffic on Camden Road has been shifted onto the newly built sections of the roadway to continue widening the highway. The North Carolina Department of Transportation is widening the road to four lanes between Oakland Avenue and Owen Drive.

    About half of the two-mile segment opened last year. For the section between Natal Road and Owen Drive, Highland Paving Co. crews are completing the concrete median and rebuilding the other two lanes.

    The entire project is expected to be completed by this fall.

    Warmer weather means an increase in crime

    As temperatures increase this spring, city police suggest residents take crime prevention precautions. Keep house doors and windows locked when you go to bed or when you’re away. Secure lawn and garden equipment in the garage or storage shed. Put ladders away, and beware of home improvement scam artists. These are among the precautions police say will reduce property crimes.

    Crime prevention specialists will gladly inspect your property and offer tips on other precautions to take. Crime prevention phone numbers are 910-433-1198 or 910-433-1034.

    Photo: Councilman Tyrone Williams

  • 04HitsMissesHIT (Downtown community room)

    The new Fast Transit Center has a facility that has already caught on. It’s a public community room on the second floor (yes, there’s an elevator). The large space can accommodate meetings of public and private organizations, taking demand off the few other such rooms downtown. Modest fees are charged for nonprofit and business groups.

    HIT (Downtown skyline)

    Fayetteville’s skyline is about to change for the first time in 40 years. The 11-floor Systel building will no longer be downtown’s tallest structure. A new apartment complex being built by PCH Holdings atop a five-story parking deck adjacent to the baseball stadium will make that structure two floors taller.

    MISS (Roadside trash)

    A year ago, Fayetteville City Council added two crews and a pair of pickups to patrol our main thoroughfares to pick up debris. I presume they’re still doing it, but frankly, it’s hard to tell. The problem is that our city’s 148 square miles make it the second largest municipality in the state in land area. Somehow, we’ve got to do more.

    HIT (Hay Street restauranteurs)

    Restaurant owners with rear entrances on Old Street agreed to get rid of the garbage cans along the narrow sidewalk. The Cool Spring Downtown District helped solve the problem by working with Waste Management to place dumpsters behind the Arts Center.

    MISS (City skyline)

    Fayetteville is the largest city in North Carolina without skyscrapers. We’ve grown out, not up. Why? Our city lacks the big businesses others have thrived on; no major banks or companies with corporate headquarters here. It’s an illustration of why economic development is so important to Cumberland County.

    HIT (Traffic cops)

    The police seem to be placing greater emphasis on speeding. I’ve seen cops parked along busy streets with their radar guns, and that’s good.

  • Fayetteville: We Are Family

    Who doesn’t have a crazy aunt in the attic? Who doesn’t love to eat sausage, but hate watching it made? Almost everyone I know, unless they are lying. I’ll wager those statements are true for most of us. That doesn’t stop us from going about our daily lives conducting business as usual. It is comforting to know that as we deal with the day-to-day needs, challenges and developments in our community we have not forgotten the important elements that define Fayetteville, our community and our quality of life... it’s people.Here’s proof. Last week, Kidsville News, Inc., hosted its 10th annual national publisher’s conference. By design, we invite our clients to Fayetteville on 4th Friday weekend to intentionally showcase the many positive aspects of our community. Why? Because it reflects positively on Kidsville News!, and the experiences my clients participate in assure them they have made a sound decision in choosing to do business with Kidsville News! and bringing it to their communities. In three days, we manage to send a little bit of Fayetteville back to cities and towns from San Antonio, Texas to Portland, Maine. Sweet! It was a beautiful thing to see and experience. During their visit they met and interacted with local residents, the Mayor of the City of Fayetteville, Cumberland County Commissioners, business owners and educators. They stayed in local hotels, dined in local restaurants, visited our Historic Downtown and the Crown Coliseum. Needless to say, we made the most of the time they spent with us. However, the warm and friendly hospitality shown by local residents was “genuine” Fayetteville. The point? As we face the challenges of a growing community head on, we will deal with things like crime, homelessness, unemployment, where to host the farmer’s market, economic development, new taxes or no new taxes, parks or no parks, tainted water and what to do with the Prince Charles Hotel just to name a few. Local issues like these are important but do not and should not change the nature or personality of our residents. In the most candid ways, the true nature of our community came shining through leaving a polished, positive and lasting impression with our guests. I want to say thank you to the staff of Kidsville News!, Up & Coming Weekly and the entire Fayetteville community for again making us proud to call Fayetteville home. We have much to be thankful for. Our future looks bright. Thanks for reading Up & Coming Weekly.

    Photo: Kidsville News! hosted its annual national publisher’s conference this week and shared a lot about the community with publishers from around the country.

  • 04-10-13-living-in-past.gifI have a terrible confession to make. I hate grading. But, lucky for me, teaching history at Fayetteville Technical Community College comes with many perks to offset my loathing of trying to assign just the right number of points to an essay or exam.

    FTCC’s campus ranks among the loveliest in the state, the students unfailingly keep me on my toes, and, more important, I get to do one of my favorite things — live in the past. On a daily basis, I transform from a normal 21st century woman (my kids and husband might dispute the normal part) into an ancient tour guide, leading students through the Egyptian desert to the land of pyramids and mummies, exploring the wonders of the Indus River Valley Civilization’s fl ush toilets (as opposed to the horrors of Mesopotamian hygiene), forging a path through the complex Roman political system that allowed for both the rise and murder of Julius Caesar and marveling at the Hagia Sophia spiraling up from the cobbled streets of Constantinople.

    Sometimes I am even able to tell a story that nobody has ever told before. That is what I did last November in my book, In the Shadow of the Greatest Generation: The Americans Who Fought the Korean War(New York: New York University Press, 2012). Many years ago, in my former life as a graduate student, I began searching for a dissertation topic.

    The granddaughter of a Cherokee Indian World War II Navy veteran and a member of the generation that came of age to movies like Full Metal Jacketand Apocalypse Now, I felt certain that destiny had chosen me to write the next brilliant work on the veterans of either World War II or Vietnam. But, a chance encounter with a group of Korean War veterans made me realize that, M*A*S*H reruns aside, I knew nothing about the men and women who served in Korea. And, after digging a little deeper into the scholarly and popular record, I realized that nobody else did, either.

    As a result, I began interviewing and surveying Korean War veterans and ultimately I shaped my research into a sort of collective biography. In the Shadow of the Greatest Generation follows the men and women who served in Korea from their shared childhood in the Great Depression and World War II through enlistment (voluntary or otherwise), military training, the war, homecoming experiences and more recent efforts to reclaim their rightfully earned status as war veterans.

    The book attempts to give a voice to these forgotten soldiers of the “Forgotten War” and to demonstrate the impact of that war not only on those who served but also on America. Korea, after all, was the fi rst hot war of the Cold War and it was on the peninsula’s rugged hills that commanders in the field began dismantling military segregation.

    My fascination with the Korean War and its veterans began long ago, but my view of that war and my work on Korean War veterans inevitably have been enriched by my experiences teaching at FTCC. Many of my students, themselves veterans of a war many Americans would like to put in the rear view mirror, have provided me with invaluable insights into military life and veteran struggles and have probably taught me more than I ever taught them.

    So far, living in the past — and bringing my students with me, sometimes as unwilling passengers — has proven fulfi lling. I invite you to take a journey with me in my FTCC history class, and we’ll tour some interesting places from the past.

    Now if I could just figure out a way to leave all the grading in the future.

  • My View on Grove View

    Wow! Good news! The Fayetteville Observer reported last week that the Fayetteville Metropolitan Housing Authority announced what I think is great news for Fayetteville and the residents of Grove View Terrace, an out-of-date, low-income public housing community off Grove Street.

    I have no idea how it came about, but, the United States Department of Public Housing and Urban Development has given local FMHA Director Dawn Driggers one year to submit a plan to relocate Grove View Terrace residents and rebuild the development. What? Did they say rebuild? Whoa! Why would we want to do that?

    04-09-14-pub-notes.gifSurely, the mayor, city planners, city council and the city manager will weigh-in on this important matter. This opportunity is a godsend as we focus our time, talent and resources on reducing crime, beautifying our city and enhancing our quality of life. Think about it. From the Cape Fear Botanical Garden, past Festival Park to the Airborne and Special Operations Museum, Grove Street has the best potential for becoming Fayetteville’s premiere gateway into the city. And, with the recent success we have had with the Hope VI Development Project in replacing Campbell Terrace and Delona Gardens, why would we even consider “rebuilding” or “replacing” Grove View Terrace? The mere fact that Grove View qualified for this new HUD program confirms the need to rid the community of this crime-ridden, worn out, run down and dilapidated eye sore. The residents of Grove View deserve better and our community deserves better

    .LIPSTICK ON A PIG

    About 15 years ago we spent millions of dollars to camouflage the Grove Street blight only to enhance it. Check out the crime statistics for this area. Now, in 2014, we have a second chance to reclaim this 29 acres of natural, pristine inner-city beauty and to better the lives and living conditions of hundreds of low- and medium-income families while enhancing the quality of life of all Fayetteville residents. To do this we need strong, progressive and aggressive leadership.

    What happens on Grove Street and the future of Grove View Terrace should not be left solely in the hands of its residents, the FMHA director or its board. We will have only one chance to get this right. Miss it and Grove View Terrace residents are guaranteed another couple of decades of mediocrity and we will lose our gateway. Again, this will take leadership. Let’s see who steps up — or who doesn’t.

    Stay tuned and thanks for reading Up & Coming Weekly.

    Photo: The future of Grove View Terrace should not be left solely in the hands of its residents, the FMHA director or its board. 

  • Political Correctness: Ruining America

    … and the American way of life. I’m not just pontificating, I believe this and experience it almost every day here in Fayetteville and so do you.

    04-16-14-pub-notes.gifAs despicable as it is, extreme political correctness has woven its way into almost every aspect of our daily lives. We live our lives guarded, walking on egg shells, careful not to say anything or do anything that would be interpreted as “offensive,” or not PC, out of fear of being slandered or labeled a bigot, racist, sued or both. I think this extreme PC is un-American, contrary to our core values and beliefs and is developing into a blatant attempt to stifle our First Amendment rights.

    Good, decent people are afraid to speak out and step up into local, state and national leadership positions because they do not want to deal with the nastiness of those who simply disagree with their opinions. Sad. The people brandishing the PC iron are desperate and try to obtain some advantage point for the sole purpose of personal gain or gaming the system. Fortunately, these posers are usually easy to find and identify, as they are vociferous in nature, wrapped in hypocrisy, masters of subversion, advocates for the intangible and achievers of nothing. Hmmmm? Not necessarily the kind of distractions Fayetteville needs as we attempt to fight crime, improve our economic conditions and address the other priorities we have recently identified.

    When did everything in our lives become so complicated and political? When did everything become racial? When did we begin judging each other by the net sum of our assets? When did we become so divisive? And, when will it stop? My political views are pretty much middle of the road, especially when it comes to the hot topics of the day: ObamaCare, gun control, gay rights, abortion, immigration and amnesty.

    Now, we are in a danger zone with this extreme PC and I, for one, am not comfortable having other people and organizations judging my character or plotting my future based on their values and political convictions. Good people must speak up and speak out to reverse this hideous trend. We need leadership at all levels to challenge this hyper-political correctness and remind us that we are all Americans.

    Best regards and thank you for reading Up & Coming Weekly.

  • Political Correctness: Ruining America, Part 2

    Warning! Notice to Readers: This article was conceived and written in good faith and, within the guidelines and framework of the U.S. Constitution as adopted by the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in 1787. It officially became the law of the land on March 4, 1789. More specifically, I refer to the First Amendment of the Bill of Rights. That being said, the reader must be cognizant and confident that it was thoughtfully and respectfully composed without regard to race, religion or political affiliation. Any attempt to misdirect or misconstrue the intent of this editorial will be viewed as un-American and as a provoked and unwarranted attack on me personally as a domestic terrorist. The penalties could ultimately be severe for all Americans.

    enate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada has produced a near perfect example of how people are using political correctness, threats and personal condemnations to suppress the views, rights and free speech of ordinary hard working Americans. It matters not what political party you support, this is a First Amendment threat and this kind of blatant, intolerant, illogical, venomous and disrespectful behavior on the part of our government should be a major concern of all American citizens.

    The First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution states: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

    In this specific case, Senator Reid berates Nevada rancher, Cliven Bundy and those who rallied to support him domestic terrorists.Unbelievable. Terrorist? Are you kidding me? Our government didn’t even call Nidal Hasan a terrorist after he shot and killed 16 people and injured 30 at Fort Hood in 2009. That horrific ordeal was merely politically correct workplace violence.

    Fast forward to last month when yet another uniformed soldier, Ivan Lopez, murdered three people and injured more than a dozen people again at Fort Hood. Neither of these psychos were terrorist. Oh yeah, we didn’t even have terrorist in Benghazi, yet, a capitalist cattle farmer with a century old family business of attending and herding cows in Nevada’s basic wilderness is labeled a threat to America and a domestic terrorist? Really?

    What danger is the United States in? How unfortunate that Bundy must defend decades of family tradition from out-of-control government regulations and overreach. And, when literally hundreds of Americans came to Bundy’s support and confronted the officers of the Bureau of Land Management who had been harassing Bundy and his family to the point they actually confiscated his cattle and killed several valuable bulls out of spite. Hmmmmm? Well, do you think Bundy’s supporters were motivated? Yes. Were they fighting mad? Yes. Were that armed? You bet. Were they willing to shoot it out with the BLM and perhaps die in a range war over grazing rights. I honestly believe so. Luckily, BLM backed down and shortly thereafter released his cattle. No doubt from Reid’s comments, he was disappointed.

    This incident could very well serve as a warning that our national government is pushing the American people too far and in the wrong direction. As I stated earlier, it makes no difference what color your are, what your religion is or what political convictions you have, the threat is real and the perception that government is becoming evil and our tangible rights as Americans are gradually dwindling away is widespread. This incident reflects the severity of the situation. It could also serve as a warning.

    Currently, our government, 535 voting members of Congress has an approval rating of 9 percent. And, according to Gallup Polling that’s the lowest rating in 39 years. Why? Because of corruption, misplaced priorities and irresponsible leadership in a time when our nation is struggling with some major concerns and situations like: Russia, Syria, Edward Snowden, Benghazi, the IRS and NSA scandals, a failed immigration policy, the ongoing controversy over the disruptive Obamacare rollout and, last, but not least, $14 trillion in public debt.

    Knowing this, how do you justify sending out armed government agents to suppress an American cattle farmer, steal his cows and then accuse those who resist and speak out of being domestic terrorists. How un-American. Shame, shame, shame on Harry Reid and the people in Nevada who elected him. It is out of control. This being the case, Congress should be lucky they have 9 percent.

    Our lives will only improve when life in America improves. Poor, leadership affects us all. We need heroes. We need people of character, compassion and common sense running for office. As Americans, we get what we vote for, and, this is what we got! Will Clive Bundy’s Battle for the Cattle escalate in Nevada? We’ll see; however, one thing we do know, this incident has demonstrated that our fellow Americans are willing to take a stand and even lock and load against a governmnet that has forgotten it gets its power from the people.

  • The Dogwood Festival: Fayetteville’s

    Best Kept Secret

    The Dogwood Festival is Fayetteville’s best kept secret, But it shouldn’t be. Congratulations are in order to Carrie King and the Dogwood Festival Committee under the direction of 2014 Chairman Brian Moore, who pulled off another successful event on a beautiful and near perfect weekend.

    04-30-14-dogwood_festival_logo.gifTens of thousands of residents and visitors came to Fayetteville and enjoyed the entertainment and festive sights and sounds of Spring in Cumberland County. As good as it is, this award-winning event still has much untapped potential and King and her committee should not stop seeking par excellence.

    One area of improvement that they should cultivate next year is marketing, branding and community awareness. We have an award-winning festival, so why not flaunt it? Especially, within the confines of our own county. The Dogwood Festival should lobby the city to allow city and countywide installation of banners, signs and flags promoting and celebrating the event. Honestly, this is no time for us to be shy. Besides, with everyone quick to point out Fayetteville’s flaws, crime statistics and social blemishes, we should take every opportunity to positively market and promote the Fayetteville community, its residents and quality of life.

    The entertainment this year was again excellent and activities for the young and old abundant. My personal favorites were:

    The 2014 Miss Fayetteville Dogwood Festival, where local youth compete to represent our04-30-14-hogs--rags-logo.gifcommunity throughout the state and region.

    The Hogs & Rags Motorcycle Rally. Now in its ninth year, Fayetteville’s Mayor Nat Robertson, and his wife Kim, led 325 vehicles in this year’s 225 mile rally that raised more than $15,000 for local community charities. It is the most fun a person can have on two wheels.

    Last, and certainly not least, the near perfect finale to a wonderful Dogwood Festival weekend was The Festival of Keyboards presented by the Snyder Memorial Baptist Church Concert Series. This free concert showcased some of the most remarkable local talent as eight pianists under the direction of Snyder Music Academy director, Joy Cogswell, performed flawless arrangements04-30-14-festival-of-keyboards-flyer.giffeaturing spiritual, patriotic and ragtime numbers. The visual of four grand pianos played in unison added to the experience. The Keyboard Festival played to a full house of diverse and grateful residents. Grateful for the Dogwood Festival, grateful for our local leadership and grateful for our community. Does it get any better than this? It can, and it should.

    In the meantime, let’s bang the drums loudly, promoting the positive aspects about our hometown. Thank you for reading Up & Coming Weekly.

  • 042716pubpen.png

    Well, another Dogwood Festival weekend in Fayetteville has concluded – and, wow! What a wonderful weekend it was. For anyone who has ever said, “There is nothing to do in Fayetteville,” those words only expose the fact that you have not taken the time to enjoy, appreciate or become aware of your community. 

    This weekend, tens of thousands of people celebrated spring and a sampling of the local quality of life this community has to offer. I have to congratulate Carrie King, executive director of the Dogwood Festival, and the dozens of dedicated, hard-working community volunteers who helped put this wonderful event together. There was literally something for everyone with rides, music, food and fun all located on our streets and parks in downtown Fayetteville. 

    There are other Dogwood Festival sanctioned events that make this time of year very special and memorable: The Lafayette Ford Classic Car Show, the Miss Fayetteville Dogwood Pageant, Fayetteville Urban Ministry’s Duck Derby and one of my favorite events, the Hogs & Rags Motorcycle Rally where hundreds of motorcycles and cars, led by our very own Fayetteville Mayor Nat Robertson and his wife Kim, ride more than 200 miles for local Fayetteville/Cumberland County charities. It was good to see the mayor involved and participating in the event. I also saw another elected official participating in an event. City Councilman Jim Arp and his son found themselves “up the creek” as they waded through the middle of Cross Creek retrieving wayward ducks after the Derby. 

    I must contend that the best-ever conclusion to this already wonderful weekend was the tour-de-force music performance at Snyder Memorial Baptist Church: The Festival of Keyboards. It was the perfect event to end a perfect weekend. Accomplished pianist, Joy Cogswell and seven other equally talented musicians entertained a full house, sometimes leaving the audience breathless and amazed with the  music and talent of these local musicians. 

    Yes, Fayetteville as a lot to offer. In the long-term, we are going to be a great city as leadership emerges from a community that seems to have more heart and hospitality than it has common sense when it comes to vision and leadership. However, I am confident that we will get there because we have all the makings of a great community. So sit back, relax and enjoy this community in all its various and wondrous ways. The annual Fayetteville Dogwood Festival is just one way we showcase what our community has to offer. Thank you for reading Up & Coming Weekly.

  •      I was one of the crowd at the Dogwood Festival. The thousands, at my last report more than 18,000 on Friday night, of people who thronged Festival Park got more than their money’s worth at the annual event.
    As my family and I strolled through the park on Friday night, we saw people from all walks of life, with varying tastes in music, fashion and varying ideas of what they considered fun. The same can be said of the people who took the time, and put up the cold, hard cash to peruse the Andy Warhol exhibit. Each time I walked into the museum’s temporary home in the Festival Plaza building, I saw an array of different people looking at the art.
    Some liked it, some didn’t.
         {mosimage}That’s okay. That’s what art is supposed to do. It’s supposed to challenge your perceptions, your ideas of what is and what can be. Warhol did that better than most during his career. My 8-year-old son had one word to describe the art: weird. We spent some time talking about it, and, in the end, although he didn’t truly understand the impact Warhol had on society as a whole, he was kind of digging it.
         The same conversations were being had about the location and the building which housed the art work. If you didn’t stop in, I’ll need to explain. The downstairs of the building has not been configured. It is pretty much a shell. No finished walls, no elaborate configurations. It’s just open space with a concrete floor. Like Warhol’s art, I think some people were having a hard time imagining the space, which looks more like a warehouse than anything else, as an art museum.
         But not Tom Grubb.
         Grubb, the director of the Fayetteville Museum of Art, was fairly walking on air throughout the weekend. If the doors were open, he and his staff were there. Having seen them in some pretty tense situations over the past year, it was a welcome change to see them almost giddy. In fact, I welcomed it.
         Grubb, who has been a friend to Up & Coming Weekly for a long time, was quick to ask me my thoughts on the space, on the exhibit, on the attendance. I had to give a thumbs up to all of his questions. Early on during the conversations surrounding the location of the museum, I asked Grubb why the museum didn’t move into that very facility. It was during a Fayetteville After Five, and Grubb noted that the building was too plain, and not in keeping with the unique look he and his board wanted for the museum.
         At the time, he was having a hard time seeing the possibilities. That doesn’t seem to be the case now.
    As Tom and I walked through the building and spoke about the exhibit, he pointed out some of the building’s possibilities. He talked about ways to give it the unique appeal that the museum was looking for in a new museum. I have to say, the ideas he brought up and the impact they could have on the facility, and even the park itself, were intriguing.
         I finally had to ask, “So, Tom are you guys going to try and get this building?”
    He smiled at me, with a gleam and his eye, and continued to talk about possibilities.
  • 04-06-11-monopoly_board.jpgFor many of us, living within a budget is not a new concept. We do it every day. At my house, I know to the penny how much money comes in, how much goes out and how much wiggle room we have. This is not a new concept, but with the ongoing budget debacle in Washington and in Raleigh, it seems as if it is.

    If the majority of us as normal everyday citizens were to run our homes and families the way our political leaders have been running the country, we too would be bankrupt. But most of us tend to understand the concept that you can’t spend what you don’t have (or at least what you can’t afford to pay back).

    I think the problem in dealing with the amount of money our government (local and national) deals with is that it ceases to become real and instead becomes more like, oh, I don’t know — Monopoly money.

    Think about it. If you’ve ever played Monopoly, you don’t mind paying thousands of dollars on a piece of property that just might pay off for you later in the game. Because in Monopoly if you spend all of your money, you can always sell your land (or in the case of my son, steal money from the bank). In Monopoly, we realize that the money isn’t real, so we act foolishly with it. We gamble on the chance that our ship might come in.

    Unfortunately, the leaders we’ve trusted to take care of our nation’s financial well-being have been making the same gamble, but with people who don’t necessarily have our best interest at heart.

    When I play Monopoly with my son, if he gets into the hole a little too deep, I give him money from the pot. I don’t see China (our biggest lien holder) being that compassionate. And so instead of taking a proactive approach to our budget woes, our leaders have instead continued to borrow and spend. It’s a vicious cycle that gets you nowhere fast.

    It seems that the light bulb has gone on in Washington and Raleigh, but there are still a lot of people in the dark. Don’t believe me? Then why is it April and the United States still doesn’t have an approved budget. Why is it that everyone is watching the clock tick away until April 8 to see if a compromise can be reached or whether or not hundreds of thousands of government employees will go home?

    Why is it in Raleigh that instead of sitting down at the table and making realistic cuts and compromises that will benefit the entire state, patisan agendas are being pushed to the forefront?

    It kind of reminds me of that old saying — “the light’s on, but nobody’s home.”

    So while our political leaders haggle and try to build a compromise that they can live with, teachers are being fired, class sizes are expanding and money that we don’t have is being spent on programs that really haven’t changed anything in the past 65 years.

    It’s time for a new approach in the way Americans, and particularly our leaders, look at money.

    If you don’t have it, don’t spend it.

    Prioritize, prioritize, prioritize.

    The clock is ticking.

    We all are watching.

    This isn’t Monopoly, and the money you are playing with isn’t yours. Spend it wisely, or be gone next year.

  • Bad Carma

    I know a few people who seem to change vehicles the way most of us change clothes. Their vehicles are not04-13-11-margaret.jpg always new. They are just different. These people like vehicular variety.

    Dicksons, on the other hand, drive our vehicles until they are members of our family and beyond. We have even named some of them. Our current senior wheels arrived when the fi rst Precious Jewel graduated from college in 2004, and it was not new then.

    Not surprisingly, I know each of my cars pretty well, but one of them stands out in all Dickson minds. It had so many “adventures” while it was in our care that my friends gave it their own nickname: Bad Carma.

    It appeared to be a perfectly normal vehicle, a station wagon chosen for safety and its highway gas mileage. It performed as I expected, and I felt comfortable and safe driving both in town and on the interstate for several years. I was especially fond of its “bun warmers.”

    Never did I imagine what troubles would befall and ultimately destroy my nice sedate car. Never did I sense her ultimate karma.

    My car’s first “adventure” got underway one fall morning when I looked out the window and she was not in the driveway.

    The Dickson men had been moving vehicles around the night before, so I inquired where mine went.

    “Nowhere. It’s in the driveway,” came the response.

    But she was not. We called the Fayetteville Police who came promptly, and shortly thereafter friends began calling.

    “Margaret, I just saw two men in your car on Robeson Street.”

    “Margaret, I just saw two men in your car on Owen Drive.”

    This went on for four or five days until she was discovered abandoned not far from downtown Fayetteville, dirty, out-of-gas and with a flat tire but otherwise unscathed. I did not allow her to come home until she had been, as we say these days, “detailed,” but even then, I was not quite confi dent of her cleanliness. So, I put on kitchen gloves and hopped in with spray cleaner and paper towels. To my astonishment, I found the ID card of the person the police established as the “perp,” a man who was scooped up immediately and who shortly thereafter went away on a state-funded vacation. His adventure with my station wagon was the last straw in a long criminal record.

    Normal life with my station wagon resumed, but not for long.

    Lightening was about to strike twice in the same place — upon my car in my driveway.

    It was an unseasonably warm Friday the following January, and as was my custom, I was up before dawn to meet my walking chum. As I passed my car in the driveway, I felt crunchy debris underfoot.

    By the time we returned it was light, and I still get goose bumps by what I found.

    A concrete cherub the size of a toddler, beloved by our neighbors, had been ripped from their bench to which it was glued and heaved through the passenger side window of my car, still wearing the festive red ribbon his owners had festooned him with for Christmas.

    His creepy, sightless eyes were staring at me through the broken window.

    The grit I had walked over an hour earlier was glass shards from that shattered window. I felt like taking a long, hot shower.

    Many weeks and dollars later the seats and the gearshift assaulted by the concrete toddler were restored.

    By this time, our second Precious Jewel graduated from college, and in true Dickson tradition, received a used car. An avid camper, she took my longsuffering station wagon to rural Canada, where her tired and wounded self was parked for nearly two months.

    Late that summer, I was expecting to receive a call that Precious Jewel was out of the wilderness, but I did not expect to hear every parent’s greatest fear and greatest relief rolled into one.

    “Mom, don’t worry. We are OK.”

    The station wagon had gone up in flames on a gravel road in next to nowhere, immolating the belongings of Precious Jewel and two friends but blessedly sparing them. Precious Jewel said she knew they were in trouble when the paint on the hood bubbled and smoked wafted from the air conditioning vents, and they dove out of the car just in time.

    The Canadian insurance adjuster said the sudden blaze was odd, but not that odd. It seems that when vehicles are parked in rural areas for extended periods of time, critters build nests and raise babies in their cozy, sheltered engines. The problem is that when that vehicle is started and heats up, the nest of sticks and whatever else catches fire.

    Who knew?Cell phone pictures zapped from the North Woods revealed a burned out carcass of a station wagon, tires and windows blown out but with a Dickson political sticker still on the back window.

    It was a sad ending for a faithful friend who had endured more than her share of tribulation.

    Rest in peace, Bad Carma.

  • 04-20-11-pub-notes.jpgWe’ve seen it on TV — the videos of families in the Midwest picking through what’s left of their homes after damaging tornadoes sweep across the farmlands. We’ve watched as children stand in the rubble, clutching a teddy bear, as their mothers and fathers pick up the pieces of what is left of their lives. But that was just television.

    On Saturday, our community lived that picture as a devastating tornado swept its way up Reilly Road, across Yadkin Road and on up to Ramsey Street. It was not some unknown farmer in the Midwest who was sifting through the rubble. It was our neighbors and our friends.

    The streets, eerily silent, did not belong to strangers. They were ours. And when the city declared a curfew and people were turned away from their neighborhoods, the power and fury of the storm was a reality in our lives.

    At this writing one Cumberland County resident is dead, dozens injured, hundreds left homeless and millions lost in property damage. Statewide more than 20 people have lost their lives. When compared to other areas in the southeast we should consider ourselves blessed.

    In the midst of the storm, it would have been easy for those effected and for the city and county leadership to throw up their hands and give up. But they didn’t.

    I was extremely impressed with how our city and county rallied to meet the needs of its residents. On Sunday, a news conference was held and the Cumberland County-City of Fayetteville Joint Emergency Operations Center personnel updated the media on the status of the community. It was heartwarming to see and hear how we, as a community and government, responded to this natural disaster.

    Ken Edge, chairman of the Cumberland County Board of Commissioners, expressed so eloquently the appreciation for the hard work and spirit of cooperation shown by city and county departments that persevered during this crisis.

    The Highlands Chapter of the American Red Cross, Cumberland County Emergency Services, City of Fayetteville Police and Cumberland County Sheriff’s Department personnel were there along with State Representatives Rick Glazier and Elmer Floyd, Senator Eric Mansfi eld, City Councilman Ted Mohn, Asstistant School Superintendent Tim Kinlaw, County Manager James Martin and Commissioners Ed Melvin, Jimmy Keefe and Charles Evans.

    Everyone listened attentively as offi cials told us how best we could assist the victims of the storm and what we could to get our community back to a state of normalcy. It was heartwarming to see this type of professionalism, cooperation and compassion.

    The stories of tragedy; survival, luck and good fortune are numerous and incredible. We’ve read about residents huddled in storage rooms in businesses, a bathroom in another, wrapped around each other in their homes. We are fortunate that in the midst of the storm, the lives of many in our community were spared. They’ve been altered, but they will go on. However, the bottom line now is that we move on to rebuild our damaged communities.

    I have no doubt that had it not been for the tornadoes, the Fayetteville Observer’s front page story on Sunday morning may have very well been about City Councilman Bobby Hurst and the hundreds of volunteers who supported the Fayetteville Beautifulcampaign and hit the streets early Saturday morning under cloudy, overcast and menacing skies to pick up litter along our city streets and beautify our city.

    It’s so ironic to have both events occur on the same day. However, it is reassuring to know we are as beautiful on the inside as on the outside.

    If you would like to help or assist local victims, the Red Cross is accepting monetary donations. Donations may be made to the American Red Cross Highlands Chapter at 807 Carol St., Fayetteville, N.C. 28303.

    Thank you for reading Up & Coming Weekly.

  • Drunk Driving In Cumberland County

    Almost seven years ago my worst fear as a mother was realized on May 29, 2005, when two North Carolina state troopers came knocking on the front door of our home in the middle of the night. They asked to come inside, told me to sit down and announced to my husband and I, that our first-born son, Jackson, had been killed in a car crash in Charlotte, N.C.

    I can attest that the memory of those troopers standing at our front door is a nightmare forever seared into my consciousness and will go with me to my grave. No parent should ever have to bury a child for any reason and certainly not for one of the most preventable and senseless crimes on the planet, drunk driving.

    In the weeks that followed, we learned that the young man responsible for our son’s death had made the choice to drink heavily before getting behind the wheel. His blood alcohol concentration two and a half hours after the crash was 0.19 — more than twice the legal limit. Because of his impairme03-28-12-dwi.jpgnt behind the wheel and reckless speed, Alec G. Proctor was eventually charged with felony death by vehicle, felony involuntary manslaughter and driving while impaired.

    My family was suddenly confronted with dealing with the criminal and civil judicial system as we grieved the loss of our son. Having no experience with the legal system, I called the Charlotte office of Mothers Against Drunk Driving for advice. Victim advocate Cheryl Jones, who was also on the national board of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, became my family’s MADD advocate as we began the arduous task of seeking justice for Jackson.

    In the months following Jackson’s death, we learned that Proctor was no stranger to the court system. He had already committed numerous speeding violations and had two prior alcohol-related offenses: one for DWI and one for alcohol possession while under the age of 21. Incredulously, his first DWI charge was plea-bargained to improper equipment/speedometer in Granville County and his underage possession charge in Mecklenburg County was dismissed after he attended TASC, a substance abuse program.

    My husband and I began to question how the courts really handle impaired driving cases.

    Almost one year to the day after Jackson’s death, Proctor was convicted in Mecklenburg Superior Court of felony involuntary manslaughter and DWI and sent to prison for a 16-20 month active sentence and supervised probation for 24 months. My husband and I were stunned to find out that this was actually a lengthy sentence for an impaired driving offense at the time. Our stunned reaction stemmed from the reality that drunk-driving fatalities are a socially accepted form of homicide.

    Proctor served his mandatory 16 months in Nash Correctional Institution, mostly in medium security. Upon release from prison in 2007, Proctor’s 24 month supervised probation lasted only 10 months. I learned that he had been released from probation 14 months early... by mistake, and I personally had to request to meet with the top man of the N.C. Community Corrections in Raleigh to demand that Proctor go back on supervised probation. It’s noteworthy that Proctor had also failed to pay any probation fees during the 10 months of probation he first served.

    It is difficult to not be angry when one’s child is killed unexpectedly by someone who was displaying all the warning signs of an individual with an out-of-control drinking and driving problem. The anger only grows when parents and families like ours are forced to deal with an arcane criminal-justice system which treats drunk-driving crashes as merely accidents. I turned to the Sandhills Mothers Against Drunk Driving to become involved and learn how I could make a difference, if not in the judicial system, at least for other victims.

    The national MADD organization ran a victim advocacy training institute in Dallas and I attended in 2007. Slowly, calls started coming in from concerned citizens and victims’ family members asking for help in navigating the complex court process. In addition to advocating for victims, in 2009, I began monitoring Cumberland County District Courts where DWI cases are heard.

    One of the first things I noticed in monitoring the courts is that some DWI cases were being continued for years. Two of the first DWI cases I ever monitored were for Daniel Homa, a young man with two pending DWIs from 2005 and 2007.

    I called the DA’s office in April 2009 and asked why a 2005 DWI case would still be pending. A senior ADA under then District Attorney Ed Grannis told me there were many extenuating circumstances, such as military members being deployed for long period of times. Never mind that Daniel Homa was not in the military. As I soon found out, where someone with multiple DWIs is concerned, there are often multiple driving while license revoked charges involved as well. This was the case for Homa. Not only did Homa have multiple charges involving impaired driving and DWLR, he also had numerous orders for arrest for failing to appear in court.

    No problem there.

    His lawyers simply filed a motion with a different judge from the one who ordered his arrest and had the arrest warrant recalled the next day or soon thereafter. Motions for recall of arrest warrants are a serious issue in our courts and the public should demand answers as to why judges other than the one who signed the order for arrest are signing and allowing the recalls. This is one dirty little alliance that should stop.

    As for Homa, he was finally convicted of his 2005 DWI after 1,305 days or three and half years on the docket. Sadly though, Homa was never convicted of the 2007 DWI. He was charged in 2009 with many counts of trafficking and has absconded.

    Since beginning court monitoring in 2009, I have learned that Cumberland County is full of problem drunk drivers, some of them serial offenders.

    Our new Sobriety Court, established in the fall of 2010, has been very beneficial in focusing on high-risk drunk drivers and intensively monitoring defendants with at least two pending DWIs awaiting trial. This court is also responsible for supervising and treating certain convicted DWI offenders of Level 1 and Level 2 DWIs who are on probation.

    Judge Kim Tucker and Sobriety Court Administrator Kevin Hood run a very tight ship in monitoring these participants and it has made a difference in keeping the current 80 plus participants off the roads. We should all demand more money for its expansion to allow more participants because they are out there menacing our roads. Thus far, more than 160 defendants have participated in this court program.

    But the bigger question remains. What can be done to address the continuance problem in order to ensure that those who break the law get their day in court?

    In my opinion, a DWI specialty court, as implemented in many counties across North Carolina, could be the perfect complement to Sobriety Court. No longer would there be an excuse for defense attorneys to continue DWI cases endlessly. In a DWI specialty court, which would not need to run every day, but perhaps once a week, an honest, retired judge and special prosecutor could devote their attention to handling only DWI cases and companion charges.

    Let’s put an end to the delays and let defendants have their day in court. This would save taxpayers money, stop defense attorneys from using our courthouse as a collection agency, and allow law enforcement to do its job of protecting the community rather than sitting in court all day.

    As citizens of this county and state, you have a right to know how your courts are operating judiciously, and I invite you to join me and get involved.

  • This, That and the Other04-11-12-margaret.jpg

    It appears that the great tidal wave of tattooing that swept and colored our nation in recent years has crested and is flowing back into our vast cultural ocean. What scientific evidence do I have that such a sea change is underway? None, except my own gut instinct and what people are telling me, or more accurately, not telling me.

    In 2005, I wrote a column about tattoos flowering on the bodies of Americans of all ages and walks of life and asked Up & Coming Weeklyreaders to tell me about their tattoos, why they got them, and whether they were happy with them.

    My mailboxes, snail and electronic, overflowed.

    I heard about tattoos commemorating romances, friendships, births, deaths, religious experiences and self-love. The one that made the most sense to me was a woman badly injured in a car accident and unconscious for several days. A medical bracelet identifying her as a diabetic was lost in the crash, and while she was out cold in the hospital she was given a glucose drip. She almost died not from her injuries but from the glucose. Once she recovered, she headed for a tattoo parlor and had “I am a diabetic” tattooed on her wrist, confident that it would not come off in any future accident.

    All who responded were satisfi ed with their tattoos, although one young woman did confess to putting a bandage strip over her ankle butterfly when she went to church.

    Fast forward to another column on tattoo removal, which was published last month, in which I asked readers to tell me why they got tattooed and whether they still liked it/them.

    A lone response arrived by snail mail.

    It came from a charming-sounding correspondent I will call “Marie,” a widow who gave her address as a local assistedliving facility. Here is her tattoo story.

    “After my husband died in 2003. I found a rebellious independent streak. In 2006, I moved from California to Fayetteville to be near my daughter. Having never lived in South, I was amused by the culture. I noticed many smartlooking women with tattoos and was told ‘It’s a culture thing.’ My daughter sported a red Phoenix bird wrapped around her calf from her ankle to just below her knee. I thought her symbol of rising from the ashes was bold and exciting.

    “My icon was the peacock, and I decided to have a peacock feather permanently etched into my thigh, customized with my grandchildren’s initials. I was stunned when the process was completed. I expected peacock colors of turquoise, emerald and mauve. Maybe something iridescent could be created. The artistic liberties taken left me with an eight inch splash of red, yellow, blue and black.

    “Now in 2012 I’m thinking about removal creams. The thought of applying acid to my skin sounds painful. At 65, I have enough pain without intentionally adding more. Alas, I can’t afford laser (treatment).”

    Fayetteville Plastic Surgeon Dr. Mark Miller, who once spent four hours in the ER sewing up a wounded Precious Jewel, is no stranger to “Marie’s” buyers’ remorse. He sees 20 or more patients a month seeking tattoo removal, many in response to Army regulations not loving visible tattoos. Says Dr. Miller, “Our tattoo laser gives very good results and in some cases, we perform surgical excision….”

    All I can say is “Yikes!”

    • • •

    We Americans love our rankings of who is on top and who is rock bottom. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation focuses on health issues, and it recently studied health disparities related to economics in North Carolina’s 100 counties.

    Not surprisingly, our more affl uent urban areas — Wake, Orange, Mecklenburg, Durham, Guilford and New Hanover — ranked among the Top 10 healthiest counties to call home.

    Cumberland County, also an urban county, came in at 63, behind our neighbors Moore (12), Harnett (44) and Hoke (48), but ahead of Sampson (74), Bladen (97) and Robeson (99).

    Be thankful for all blessings.

    • • •

    Then there is the recent Mega Millions lottery, the biggest ever at $640,000,000, a sum which sent much of our nation into a dreamy ticket buying frenzy.

    America is still waiting for the lucky winners to reveal themselves — if required by their state’s laws, but whoever they may be, they have got to be getting nervous

    . A childhood friend of mine actually won $1,000,000 in the North Carolina Education Lottery, and she remains thrilled with her lump sum payment, less than half of the original $1,000,000. It is also true that every friend and relation with even the most tenuous connection to her surfaced so suddenly and urgently that my friend simply quit answering her telephone. Months later, friends who hope to talk to her must wait for her to return their call.

    In the Mega Millions’ aftermath, I watched a television talking head giving free advice to lottery winners.

    Do not announce yourself.

    If you are young enough, take annual payments, not the lump sum.

    Get smart and experienced attorneys and accountants and have your winnings legally squared away before anyone knows who you are.

    Hear! Hear!

    Photo: “Marie,” an Up & Coming Weekly reader, had hoped for a tattoo with bright colors like the one pictured above, what she got was something much different. 

  •  When it’s Time to go to the Doctor … Here’s What to Ask

    Doctor visits can be overwhelming for older adults, particularly if they have hearing problems or dementia. Seniors often appreciate someone attending an appointment with them. If a family caregiver can’t attend an appointment with an older loved one, encourage or help a senior find someone — a trusted neighbor or friend — to go with him or her to provide any needed assistance.

    Or contact your local Home Instead Senior Care® office. A Home Instead CAREGiver, who is screened, trained, bonded and insured, can transport and accompany older adults to doctor visits and be there to assist that senior and provide follow-up information to a family member. Here’s what to ask and information you should provide:

    • Always tell the doctor the prescription drug medications, supplements and vitamins you are currently taking. (A written list is best.) Also make a list of any symptoms or health complaints you have.

    • Describe your symptoms in order and, each time, include past experiences with the same problem.

    • Ask the doctor what he or she thinks is causing these problems. Take notes on what the doctor says or ask the person who’s accompanying you to do so. Or take a digital voice recorder in with you to record the doctor’s answers and instructions. The doctor will likely speak very clearly and slowly, and give you a lot more information once he or she knows they are being recorded. Just be sure to tell the doctor you are recording and put the recorder in plain view.

    • If new tests are ordered or medications prescribed, ask the doctor why he or she is recommending that and why you need it. Find out if there are alternatives.

    • Ask the doctor if any of the medications that he or she prescribes will interact in a negative way with medications that you’re taking as prescribed by other doctors. 04-25-12-senior-corner.jpg

    • Confirm the proper dosage and method of taking the new medication.

    • Find out if there are potential side effects or complications from a medication or procedure.

    • Discuss with the doctor how you will get any test results. • Find out if the doctor wants to see you again, or if you should report back to him or her.

    • Discuss what, if anything, you should be doing at home to improve your condition including diet and exercise. Find out if any of your activities should be restricted.

    • Finally, if you’re confused about anything, make sure you ask your doctor to explain it again.

    Your local Home Instead Senior Care office also can provide additional information about the support that CAREGivers can provide for many other services that assist older adults.

    Photo: Seniors often appreciate someone attending an appointment with them. 

  • Fayetteville: We Are Family

    Who doesn’t have a crazy aunt in the attic? Who doesn’t love to eat sausage, but hate watching it made? Almost everyone I know, unless they are lying. I’ll wager those statements are true for most of us. That doesn’t stop us from going about our daily lives conducting business as usual. It is comforting to know that as we deal with the day-to-day needs, challenges and developments in our community we have not forgotten the important elements that define Fayetteville, our community and our quality of life... it’s people.

    Here’s proof. Last week, Kidsville News, Inc., hosted its 10th annual national publisher’s conference. By design, we invite our clients to Fayetteville on 4th Friday weekend to intentionally showcase the many positive aspects of our community. Why? Because it reflects positively on Kidsville News!, and the experiences my clients participate in assure them they have made a sound decision in choosing to do business with Kidsville News! and bringing it to their communities. In three days, we manage to send a little bit of Fayetteville back to cities and towns from San Antonio, Texas to Portland, Maine. Sweet!

    It was a beautiful thing to see and experience. During their visit they met and interacted with local residents, the Mayor of the City of Fayetteville, Cumberland County Commissioners, business owners and educators. They stayed in local hotels, dined in local restaurants, visited our Historic Downtown and the Crown Coliseum. Needless to say, we made the most of the time they spent with us. However, the warm and friendly hospitality shown by local residents was “genuine” Fayetteville.

    The point? As we face the challenges of a growing community head on,04-02-14-pub-pen.gif we will deal with things like crime, homelessness, unemployment, where to host the farmer’s market, economic development, new taxes or no new taxes, parks or no parks, tainted water and what to do with the Prince Charles Hotel just to name a few. Local issues like these are important but do not and should not change the nature or personality of our residents. In the most candid ways, the true nature of our community came shining through leaving a polished, positive and lasting impression with our guests.

    I want to say thank you to the staff of Kidsville News!, Up & Coming Weekly and the entire Fayetteville community for again making us proud to call Fayetteville home. We have much to be thankful for. Our future looks bright. Thanks for reading Up & Coming Weekly.

    Photo: Kidsville News! hosted its annual national publisher’s conference this week and shared a lot about the community with publishers from around the country.

  • 04-09-14-dancing-with-czars.gifRussian President Vlad “the Impaler” Putin has gotten some bad press lately. Like the zombies in the Walking Dead, the U.S.S.R. is back from the grave. Our old Cold War nemesis, the U.S.S.R. has been reanimated as Russia to chomp on pieces of Eastern Europe. Vlad is seeking Lebensraum for Russia courtesy of Crimea and chunks of Ukraine, Moldovia and possibly Ruritania. Lebensraum is the German word for “I like your house and I am going to take it. Now get out now or eat lead.” Like the Greeks, the Germans had a word for it.

    After Vlad annexed Crimea into Russia, some soreheads accused him of being unpleasant. Vlad’s Q factor, which measures personal popularity has dropped in the West, while hitting new heights of Q-dom in the Russian Motherland. Vlad is not one who does things halfway. He wants everyone to love him, not just readers of Pravda. Accordingly, Vlad is embarking on a charm offensive to make us forget about Crimea.

    When a celebrity in the West creates a personal mess that hits the news there is a prescribed pattern for regaining popularity. Vlad is no dummy, if reputation rehabilitation almost worked for Lance Armstrong, maybe it will work for Vlad. Vlad has hired the public relations firm of Dewey, Cheatem, & Howe to recover his reputation in America. Our man Putin is going to be on the next season of Dancing with the Stars, tripping the light fantastic all over Eastern Europe. Vlad tests very poorly with gays due to some unfortunate statements he made regarding their right to exist. To restore his reputation with gays and transgendered folks, Vlad’s dance partner will be Chaz Bono.

    Like every other disgraced celeb, Vlad will appear on the Oprah Show fessing up to his psychological problem of wanting to eat small countries. After an hour of genuflecting in front of Oprah, she will grant him absolution. Oprah will present him with a coupon for a course of weight-loss treatment to help him stop overeating small countries. Vlad has lined up a number of commercial endorsement deals designed to soften his image. He will be in an Acme Dental Floss ad to display his life long interest in dental hygiene. The Acme ad shows Vlad promising to floss his fangs after eating any small country. “You only have to floss the fangs you want to keep” is his tag line. He will be appearing with McGruff the Crimea Dog promising to take a bite out of Poland. Vlad will appear in series of light hearted ads for Ritz crackers featuring the tag line “Putin on the Ritz” in which he reveals that Ritz crackers are an excellent accompaniment when snacking on small countries.

    Another ad Vlad will appear in is for potato chips in which he compares eating potato chips to eating small countries.

    Vlad: “Whether I am devouring a small country or a bag of potato chips, its hard for me to stop. Bet you can’t eat just one.”

    Vlad’s PR firm suggested that a good way for Vlad to appear less vile is to compare him to people who are even more unpopular than he is. To that end, Vlad is going to travel around the United States with a dunking booth on his Look Down that Loathsome Road tour with Woody Allen, Mel Gibson, Justin Bieber and the President of Duke Energy. Compared to those guys, Vlad doesn’t look so bad. Admittedly Vlad has had some trouble booking into major venues like Madison Square Garden due to his current unpopularity. However Vlad and his entourage will set up their dunking booth at Bubba Murray’s athletic field behind the solid waste treatment plant at Kipling, N.C., over the Easter weekend. To bring a local touch to the festivities, Vlad’s dunking booth is filled with coal ash water direct from the Dan River. For only $5 a throw you will get the chance to drop one of these individuals into a bath of arsenic and heavy metals.

    From Russia with love, Vlad will be coming to your town and lots of Eastern European countries this Spring.

    Photo: Putin on the Ritz

  • 04-06-11-fyp-logo.jpgThe days are near when we’ll wake up one sunny Saturday morning, open all the windows in our homes to let the winter out and the warm weather in as we begin our annual weekend of “Spring Cleaning.” Nothing brightens my day more than those first few mornings of Spring when the birds are cheerfully chirping, the smell of fresh cut grass is in the air and I pack my UGGs away until next Fall.

    Spring cleaning can be liberating; tossing out worn shoes or a blouse I haven’t worn in three years but held on to for those “just in case” moments. Even the smell of lemon Pledge and the swoosh of the broom seem exciting.

    Now don’t get me wrong, usually these kinds of chores don’t excite me in the least! I am always “on the go,” and rarely home on the weekends cleaning. Maybe it’s the excitement of shedding that winter weight packed on by snow and ice, grey skies and colds that leave me looking so forward to Spring, or maybe it’s the idea of people who are out and about in parks and streets, window shopping, sitting on decks popping open an ice-cold Corona that lend to my spring daydreams.

    Whatever the reason, Spring is a time for renewal, for beginning again, for waking up and getting out! And what better way to start “fresh,” than adding something positive to your life, experiencing new activities, meeting new people and just having a good time? This Spring, the Fayetteville Young Professionals are doing a little “spring cleaning,” of our own! Our committees have been bustling about to create exciting new social outings, professional development seminars and meet-ups just for you!

    On April 9, FYP is off to the 60th Annual Stoneybrook Steeplechase for our Second Annual “Just Horse’n Around” day at the races! Come out with us and enjoy an afternoon of fun in the sun! We will meet at 8 a.m. at It’z Entertainment City for an early breakfast, load the bus at 9 a.m. and off to the race we go for a full day of horse exhibits and racing, tailgating and contests you won’t want to miss! Ladies, don your best southern-belle hats and sundresses! Gentlemen, don your sleekest linen or seer-sucker suits! (Visit www.fayyp.org to sign-up for the race).

    Also, join us Saturday, April 16 for a full day of festivities. First, for you early risers, join the FYP team as we participate in Fayetteville Beautiful’s Citywide Cleanup by picking up trash in our downtown area. Then join us that evening at Re-Store Warehouse’s annual Recycled Art Show. Come out and enjoy artwork from local artists and amateurs and see the awesome things people can create from well, let’s be honest, trash. The Re-Store Warehouse gives back to our community in so many huge ways, so come out and show your support for all that they do. Hors d’oeuvres will be served. (Email social@fayyp.org to sign up for one or both events).

    On Saturday, May 14, from 5-8 p.m. the Omni gym will host FYP Adult Field Day. That’s right! You’ve been asking for it, and here it is. Join us again for this fun evening of three-legged races, dizzy-bat and bouncy house obstacle courses. May the best team win! (Email social@fayyp.org to sign up)

    What are you waiting for? If you have just moved to the Fayetteville area, and feel like “there are no young people my age here,” or just spent your winter huddled indoors at home, then thank goodness you are reading this article and thank goodness you’re in time for the Spring festivities! Don’t wait another minute! As I said earlier, Spring is here! It’s “out with the old and in with the new!” Make the Fayetteville Young Professionals a part of YOUR new beginning and I guarantee you’ll be glad you did!

    To become a member of FYP, please visit: www.fayyp. org. For questions, please email chair@fayyp.org.

  • The End of the Road for Gates Four

    “I Love Gates Four. I Love Fayetteville.”

    Those were the words spoken to me by a new Fayetteville resident who relocated here from Georgia. The new resident is a personable, vivacious and jovial lady who was introduced to me by a long time Fayetteville resident who had befriended the lady.

    Both ladies were enjoying a casual lunch at04-18-12-pub-notes.jpga popular (and locally owned) Fayetteville restaurant. Both ladies also live in the beautiful gated community of Gates Four. What I found interesting was that neither of them seemed affected or consumed with all ofthe controversy and negativity surrounding this otherwise beautiful country-club community.

    Supporting that old adage misery loves company, a determined group of dissident property owners, still fuming over the forced “big-bang” annexation, have pretty much come to the end of the line in stopping the annexation of the community into the city limits. The death knell in their fight came when the North Carolina Supreme Court refused to hear their case last year. Of course, they are going to ask the North Carolina Court of Appeals to review the high court’s ruling. I wouldn’t give them good odds on changing the outcome. Gates Four Golf and County Club is now a part of our wonderful city. The recycling bins and green rollouts should be arriving soon.

    My point? Actually, there are several.

    First, life is too short to perpetuate and endure this kind of long-term mental and financial anguish.

    Second, Gates Four is a wonderful, beautiful and well-established residential community. Its image should not be tarnished by all this negative publicity. Residents should be sensitive and cognizant of how others perceive them. The lady I met seemed oblivious to all the hubbub surrounding Gates Four. She was actually enjoying the amenities of her new community.

    Third, the reality of this situation is that unless you are a hermit you cannot avoid using and consuming 21st century city services. That’s a fact.

    I’ve often seen even the most vocal, dissident and radical Gates Four residents enjoy the amenities our city. They can’t help it. Many work here, travel the streets, walk on the sidewalks, play in city parks and eat and shop in city businesses. And, while they are here, they are protected by city police and fire professionals.

    I could go on and on with this train of thought, but I won’t. I’ll cut to the bottom line: Residents of Gates Four enjoy the amenities the city has to offer... they just don’t want to pay for them. Oh well, welcome to the real world.

    For those who are wondering, yes, I am a victim of the “big bang” annexation. My taxes increased along with everyone else’s. However, I would feel a lot better about this situation and the future of our city if the same Gates Four people who speak out so adamantly challenging the city’s decision would step up and take an active role in the future governing process. After all, why waste such dedicated and hard-working talent?

    Thank you for reading Up & Coming Weeklyand to all you newcomers welcome to our community. You’ll love it here no matter where you live!

  • 19Scholar 1 Jayla SpeaksJayla Speaks

    Seventy-First • Softball • Junior

    Speaks maintains a 3.625 grade point average while competing for the Falcon softball team

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    20 Scholar 2 Meghan LeachMeghan Leach

    Jack Britt • Swimming/lacrosse • Junior

    Leach has a 4.9 grade point average while representing Jack Britt in swimming during the winter and lacrosse in the spring.

  • 18 Rodney BrewingtonThe rebound at South View continued last season during Rodney Brewington’s second season as the Tigers’ head football coach. South View topped the .500 mark with a 7-5 record and earned the Mid-South 4-A Conference’s third qualifying berth in the N.C. High School Athletic Association playoffs.

    But the 2017 Tigers, as well as all of the Cumberland County schools, face new challenges. Realignment puts South View in the new Patriot 4-A/3-A Conference that mixes members of the old Mid-South and the defunct Cape Fear Valley 3-A.

    Overhills, Pine Forest and South View will be the lone 4-A schools in a league that will include Cape Fear, Douglas Byrd, E.E. Smith, Gray’s Creek, Terry Sanford and Westover. Cape Fear and Smith will be newcomers to the 3-A ranks next season.

    “We’ve been stressing to our kids we’ve got to work as hard as any team in the conference,’’ Brewington said. “The standard is high and we want to find our place in it.’’

    Coaches had two choices this year on how to handle the spring workout session. 

    Brewington opted for the one that let him meet with up to 21 players per day and hold practice in April.

    “Doing the 21 players allows us to get new kids that we feel can impact our program hands-on training,’’ he said. “Really it’s just understanding the plays and the formations.’’

    At the end of the workouts, Brewington wants his players to know all their offensive formations, base plays and check-offs. On defense, he wants them to know the base defense and how to react to the different formations they’ll see this season.

    Jaquan Span, who will be a senior linebacker and running back this fall, said the team is focusing on unity this spring, along with staying on top of work in the classroom.

    “I don’t feel there’s a team we can’t beat unless we don’t feel like playing,’’ Span said as he looked to the season ahead. “I want to be able to earn my team’s respect and trust.

    “We’ve got to trust ourselves first. If we trust ourselves, it will be able to work.’’

  • 17 Duran McLaurinAfter one sub-.500 season in his first year back at his alma mater, Duran McLaurin has been the picture of consistency leading the Seventy-First football program.

    Over the last three seasons, his Falcons haven’t finished lower than second place in the Mid-South 4-A Conference and have made it to the second round of the state playoffs two of the last three years.

    But things are about to get real for the Falcons, as they say, as they join Cumberland County rival Jack Britt in moving to the revamped Sandhills Conference with traditional football powers Scotland and Richmond Senior and dramatically improved Pinecrest.

    McLaurin respects the rich tradition of some of the members of the new league, but he is mindful of the fact that Seventy-First has won more football state titles than any other Cumberland County school, three, plus an Eastern 3-A title in the 1970s when no state championship was played for in that classification.

    “Seventy-First has some tradition as well,’’ McLaurin said. “Pinecrest, Scotland and Richmond are all going to be big games for us just like everybody else. I hope our kids do what they do and stay focused.’’

    McLaurin was glad to have the option this spring of working with 21 players per practice, starting in April. “We’re breaking in new receivers and getting a mesh in with some new things on offense,’’ he said. “I couldn’t wait until May. I wanted to get out here and see what it looks like.’’

    McLaurin said he’s missing a few players who are playing spring sports, but the big thing this year is all of his assistant coaches are available for spring practice and not tied up coaching a spring sport. “We’re doing okay with the numbers,’’ he said.

    Despite the tough competition expected in the Sandhills Conference, McLaurin said he still expects to finish in the top echelon of the league. “We can’t worry about what everyone else is doing,’’ he said.

    Reggie Bryant, a wide receiver who will be a senior this fall, agrees with his coach.

    “The guys are a little scared and nervous, but I think we should do good,’’ he said. “I like the competition.’’

    Bryant feels confident because of the return of Falcon quarterback Kyler Davis, who threw for 1,716 yards and 15 touchdowns last season.

    “He led the team well,’’ Bryant said. “If somebody messed up, he picked them up.’’

    Bryant is hopeful that attitude will spread. “We’ve got to be confident in ourselves,’’ he said. “If we can be confident, I think we should do it.’’

  • 14 Six Step ProgramFayetteville Technical Community College has formed a new Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship. A partnership with Bunker Labs RDU and EntreDot, the CIE will share space with the FTCC Small Business Center. It will function as an instructional and co-working hub for entrepreneurs participating in CIE and SBC programs. 

    The CIE will provide business startup and growth strategy services to active duty military members in transition, veterans, spouses, students and the general public using EntreDot’s proven Six Steps to Success process. The focus will be on early stage Main Street businesses, bringing business startup process strategies and trade education together. The FTCC CIE classes will combine class meetings, internet instruction and one-on-one mentoring.

    Over 450 entrepreneurs have gone through this program in the Triangle. Clients range from ages 25 to 65, and about 70 percent are women. One entrepreneur remarked that “we could not find a structured program with a strong mentoring component that focused on my kind of business — a Main Street business. If you want to start an accounting firm or a physical therapy practice or a restaurant or make a new consumer product, there is no one who specializes in this space except EntreDot. EntreDot cares if you are starting a dry cleaner or a trucking company. Most other incubators don’t want to waste their time on these kinds of companies even though they create 65 percent of the new jobs in the country each year.”

    Entrepreneurs always have ideas in their heads. Step one, Ideation, creates the opportunity to analyze which idea should be worked on first and which should be placed on the shelf for now. Six Steps to Success is a lean innovation process, designed to save time and money by asking the right questions at the right time and providing connections to the right resources to fill in the gaps. This process cuts the time needed to get to commercialization in half.

    For some clients, they may have been in business for two to five years, but the business is more of a hobby than a serious enterprise. This situation is often a result of the client having a good day job or family obligations and not having time to work on the business full-time. Changes may occur, causing the client to find themselves in a position to want the business to be the primary activity and source of income. 

    When this occurs, clients need a “reboot,” and Six Steps to Success is the perfect process to do that. For many clients, the program helped them focus on the right market segments, evaluate earnings potential and build a business with an exit value. Even clients with a mature business should begin with Step One Ideation to review what has been learned and evaluate what needs to be adjusted to be successful.

    The FTCC CIE ribbon-cutting was held April 6 at the General Classroom Building at FTCC’s Fayetteville campus. The first 10-week Six Steps to Success class began April 10. Registration is through Corporate & Continuing Education at www.faytechcc.edu. For more information, call (919) 522-0722, or email innovationcenter@faytechcc.edu.

  • 09 BeAirAwareSpring has arrived with cool evenings and warm afternoons. People all over Cumberland County are taking to the outdoors to enjoy the fresh air and warm weather. For many area residents, enjoying an afternoon outside poses little threat to their health but for others, an afternoon in poor air quality can cause respiratory distress. 

    The Environmental Protection Agency provides a useful website for daily air quality conditions. In addition to a website there is a mobile phone application. The app sends notifications directly to your phone letting you know what the quality of the air will be for the day. The Airnow app and Airnow.gov use a color-coded system. Green means the air quality is good for everyone. Yellow means moderate or that specific sensitive groups may be affected. Orange means those with respiratory illnesses like lung diseases or asthma should stay inside. Red means the air is unhealthy and everyone is at risk of health problems from poor air quality. Finally, purple means the air is very unhealthy. 

    Recently, some Cumberland County Schools have adopted the Air Quality Flag Program.
    The Air Quality Flag Program is designed to communicate air quality conditions and appropriate activities to students and teachers. The program uses the same color-coded system as Airnow.gov. Students and staff at schools check Airnow.gov each day and a corresponding color pennant is raised on the school flag pole. 

    This program is not limited to just schools. The program can be adopted by businesses, local governments, libraries, fire departments and others. The EPA is hosting the annual Air Quality Flag Challenge, where schools, government offices, fire departments, libraries and other entities can sign up. Qualifying organizations may also receive a free set of flags. Organizations interested in the program are encouraged to contact Denise Bruce, Cumberland County Air Quality Coordinator, by emailing
    greenaction@sustainablesandhills.org before May 31. 

  • A Station Wagon Girl

    Like any parent, I am excited by the arrival of my latest baby — Station Wagon # 7!

    I suspected she — all my wagons have been shes, except the last one which was defi nitely a he — was coming when SW # 6 was well into six fi gure mileage and needed a set of large and expensive new tires. Instead of committing for another 50,000 miles or so, I left him forlornly on a car dealer’s lot and drove away in my new baby, sad about leaving behind what felt like a dear old friend but anxious to get to know my new one.

    I know now that I will meet my maker as a station-wagon owner for two simple r04-06-11-margaret.jpgeasons. I love being able to pop open the back door and toss in my belongings, and because today’s popular SUVs are a bear to crawl in and out of if one is wearing a skirt.

    The only real question is what number it will be.

    I have not always been a station-wagon girl, though.

    I got my first car at 16, not so much because my parents were wildly generous as because my mother worked in the family business and needed me to drive my sister around. It was a used lemon-yellow Corvair, the car Ralph Nader called “unsafe at any speed,” because it had the motor in the trunk and nothing in front but space. I loved it! But I could not drive the darn thing. It had what was called “four on the fl oor” with a clutch so sensitive everyone who ever drove it leapt for several blocks. My long-suffering father tried to teach me to drive it, but he finally gave up in exasperation on a quiet Haymount street with these words. “Margaret, I love, you but I cannot stand it anymore. I am going to walk home and call your best friend to come get you.”

    He did and she did.

    She eventually taught me how to drive my Corvair during one long Sunday afternoon in a deserted parking lot.

    The next car which lasted through college was a giant lemon-yellow (again!) convertible, mercifully equipped with an automatic transmission. I loved this one, too, because I could cram in five or more friends, but it also had an issue. Sometimes it would not turn off, even when you took the keys out. The world must have been a safer place in those days, because I often just got out and left it running. No one ever took it, but it did once run out of gas.

    Post college, I had a blue Cougar with a white vinyl roof. By this time, cars were less exciting and more functional, and this one was fine although I did not love it. I particularly did not love it when it was stolen on a New York City street. New York’s finest assured me that it was “parts” within minutes of its departure, but they were wrong. It turned out to be one of the few stolen vehicles recovered that year and dirtier than any car I had ever seen. We picked it up from a Brooklyn impound lot and within 24 hours, the motor went up in flames.

    Needless, to say, I traded it as soon as I could.

    In succession came an Audi Fox (my first new car!), a Honda Civic and a diesel Rabbit. By that time, I was a mother so enter SW # 1, a diesel Oldsmobile, not representative of General Motors’ finest work. It was so loud, a friend once asked what was wrong with it.

    Then came SW # 2, an Army Corps of Engineers blue Chevrolet, huge but with no pickup. That car self-combusted in front of VanStory Hills Elementary School, a surefire way to make a spectacle of oneself.

    SW # 3 was a white Oldsmobile bought at auction, followed by my all time favorite, a Buick Roadmaster with fake wood paneling and big enough to move Ringling Brothers. By that time, the Precious Jewels were acquainted with the concept of “cool” which SW # 4 definitely was not. I tried to convince them that it was really a Corvette since it had the same engine, but they were not buying that. Apparently everyone else thought they were uncool, too, since those wonderful cars are no longer made.

    SW # 5 and I had adventures too numerous to recount here, including another theft despite a legislative license plate, a concrete angel with a red bow around its neck shoved through the passenger window, and a fi nal fiery meltdown and demise in rural Canada.

    The recently departed SW # 6, my only boy, is memorable because I did not fi t his demographic. Observers expected the driver to be Mr. T complete with gold chains and were universally startled when the driver turned out to be a middle aged woman in faux pearl earrings.

    So, welcome SW # 7. We are still getting to know each other, but I look forward to many happy miles together. 

  • 07 Soldier SanctuaryAlmost 10 years ago, Fayetteville and Cumberland County declared itself a “Soldiers’ Sanctuary.” In September 2008, in a statement of support for the nation’s military men and women, Cumberland County declared itself the “World’s First Sanctuary for Soldiers and Their Families.” It was an undertaking of the Fayetteville Convention and Visitors’ Bureau. “The Communities of Cumberland County have always supported our military neighbors,” said FCVB President & CEO John Meroski.  The now- familiar blue and white signs were posted along all major highways leading into the county. 

    The idea of a sanctuary for soldiers was and is to provide them and their families with local services ranging from free child care to job placement for soldiers’ spouses. On Declaration Day, then-8th District Rep. Robin Hayes (R-N.C.) read a proclamation in a ceremony at Fayetteville Independent Light Infantry Armory and Museum in Downtown Fayetteville. What became known as a 500-plus member Army’s Army of community leaders and volunteers pledged to “watch over those who watch over us,” by designating military families honored members of the community.

    The Army’s Army was a frontline support group at a time when two wars raged in Iraq and Afghanistan. Local member businesses offered discounts and preferential treatment to the troops. Many of them still do nine years later. An online networking website, www.Fayettevillewantsyou.com, was created to connect soldiers considering moving to Fayetteville with one-on-one citizen guides that helped steer them through the relocation process. It’s still online and calls itself “the foremost military resource for our community.”

    The Soldiers’ Sanctuary is spearheaded by Cumberland County community leaders and the Army’s Army. It was an outgrowth of the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure Act. Thousands of military and defense department families moved from Atlanta to North Carolina when Ft. McPherson was closed and the Army’s Forces Command was repositioned at Ft. Bragg. They were required to settle in one of the 11 counties closest to Fort Bragg. Try as it did to accommodate them, Cumberland County was not the choice location for many of those soldiers and civilian DOD employees. Hoke, Moore, Lee and Harnett Counties became temporary homes for many of the transplants. Some of them rented their Georgia homes and returned to the peach state after fulfilling their obligations to the Army.

    Yet, in the face of those disappointments, Greater Fayetteville poured its collective heart out to those military families who continued coming to Fort Bragg. First Lady Michelle Obama adopted support for service members and their families while she was in the White House. “You have found ways to help strengthen families under great stress. You’ve found ways to make life fun for children who wake up and go to sleep worried about their moms and dads,” she said of Fayetteville and its commitment to the military. The FCVB’s Meroksi put it best when asked to reflect on the creation of the Soldiers’ Sanctuary Community: “Community and state leaders who came together to declare the county a Sanctuary Community were merely stating what was already true.” 

  • 06 CC FY18Fayetteville Technical Community College President Dr. Larry Keen hosted Cumberland County Commissioners at lunch to make an informal budget request. Only three members of the seven-member board accepted the invitation. Commissioners Jeanette Council, Larry Lancaster and Jimmy Keefe showed up. Dr. Keen gave the board an update on student enrollment and asked the county to consider increasing the school’s budget by $544,000 in the new fiscal year, which begins July 1.

    The local budget allocated to FTCC by County government is $11.6 million. The college’s total budget this year is $136 million, said Chief Financial Officer Betty Smith. “We have pinched until it hurts,” declared Commissioner Council while at the same time praising FTCC for its commitment to higher education. Council points to the County’s $16 million budget shortfall, drawing attention to a significant decline in property values as recently disclosed in the tax administration’s revaluation report.

    Keen’s annual report revealed a small reduction in student enrollment. “Community colleges nationwide are losing students because the economy is getting better,” he said. 

    Seven hundred ten thousand full-time students are enrolled in North Carolina’s 58 community colleges; 11,800 of them at FTCC. Keen told commissioners the college also serves 27,000 adults in continuing education classes. And there are 1,510 active-duty military men and women, and 2,300 veterans enrolled. The college was ranked second in the nation among technical colleges by the Military Times. A year ago, FTCC announced the hiring of three head coaches for the inaugural men’s and women’s intercollegiate basketball and golf teams. 

    Commissioners seemed surprised to learn that Cape Fear Valley Health System has told FTCC it needs 400 new nurses each year. 

    “210 nursing students are enrolled next fall,” Keen said. He added that he believes FTCC can turn out the 400 nurses needed within five years. In other areas, Dr. Keen told county commissioners and administrators he would like to provide FTCC employees a 3 percent cost of living pay raise in the coming fiscal year. 

    As for students, Keen said based on course enrollments, course credit hours and course level, individual full-time equivalent student enrollment support is $982, well below the state average. He said it would take an 8 percent funding increase to bring FTCC per student spending up to the state average. He’s asking for a 5.1 percent increase, which would make FTCC 27th in student financial support of the 58 colleges in the system.

    FTCC provides affordable vocational-technical, business and industry, general education, college transfer and continuing education programs on four campuses across Cumberland County. FTCC meets the needs and desires of its diverse student body as well as the economic development needs of the community. The Fayetteville/Cumberland County Economic Development Center is headquartered at the main campus. 

  • 05 News DigestShawcroft Road Temporarily Opened

    City contractors have completed the temporary installation of a culvert beneath Shawcroft Road, the only entrance to the King’s Grant neighborhood off Ramsey Street. 

    The road has re-opened, having been closed for six months. A culvert, which carried a small stream beneath Shawcroft Road, was destroyed when the street collapsed during Hurricane Matthew last October. The City decided to make temporary repairs while awaiting Federal Emergency Management Agency funding to make permanent repairs. Since its original development, King’s Grant has grown to a community of 3,000 residents and 600 homes. A popular public golf course is also on the grounds. City Engineering and Infrastructure Director Rob Stone said Shawcroft Road will remain open for at least two months while a final decision is made on whether to install a permanent culvert or a bridge over the stream. That process is set to begin in June.

    Fort Bragg’s All-American Division

    America’s Guard of Honor is observing its 100th anniversary this year. The 82nd Airborne Division was constituted as part of the U.S. Army National Guard in August 1917 to support America’s entry into World War I.  

    The division rose to international acclaim during World War II and has long been recognized as the most celebrated military unit in American history. The Fort Bragg division, commanded by Maj. Gen. Erik Kurilla, is often referred to as the nation’s Global Response Force, although the GRF designation is officially given to one of the 82nd brigades and placed on standby duty for a year at a time. The 82nd’s Third Brigade is currently assigned the responsibility of being prepared to “mobilize, load and land anywhere in the world in less than 36 hours,” as outlined in its mission statement. “We are trained, prepared and ready to go,” said 82nd spokesman, MSgt. Daniel Bailey.

    The Hurley Pots

    About 30 years ago the city of Fayetteville added to the Downtown ambiance by placing dozens of large, black landscaping pots along the sidewalks. They were not universally accepted at the time, and were named after then-Mayor Bill Hurley. 

    Maintenance of the Hurley pots was not kept up, and the flora planted in them died. For years, the pots were neglected. But, as Downtown began to flourish, various local residents took a renewed interest in the pots. Seasonal flowers and plants designed to survive in the large cast iron containers were planted. For the first time, this spring, Fayetteville Technical Community College’s Horticulture Department agreed to freshen them. April 18 was designated planting day, and FTCC horticulture students went to work replanting 100 Hurley pots. 

    FTCC Honored Again

    Fayetteville Technical Community College is in the top five large two-year colleges in the nation when it comes to digital education. The Center for Digital Education ranks FTCC fourth in its 12th annual survey of how community colleges use technology to improve services to students, faculty, staff and the community at large. Colleges surveyed indicated that mobility devices and app support is their top priority in the coming year, followed by website redesign/updates, cybersecurity tools and digital content and curriculum. The survey revealed that 54 percent of colleges offer professional development courses on how to use mobile apps for instruction. CDE is a division of e.Republic, the nation’s only media and research company focused exclusively on state and local government andeducation.  

  • 16ScholarAthlete1BrittanyBrittany Broome

    Jack BrittTennis • Senior

    Broome recorded a 5.03 grade point average while playing tennis for the Buccaneers last fall.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    17ScholarAthlete2 JacobWinkelmanJacob Winkleman

    Terry Sanford Track/wrestling

    Winkleman runs in the distance races for Terry Sanford and carries a 3.7 grade point average. He plans to enlist in the Marines after graduation.

  • 15WeJaysonLeachWestover’s football team made a major step forward under coach Stephen Roberson last season, sharing the Cape Fear Valley 3-A Conference football title with Lee County and advancing to the first round of the N.C. High School Athletic Association football playoffs.

    But the 8-4 record and a 35-34 first-round playoff defeat to a Jacksonville team that comprised the 3-AA Eastern Regional finals are history as far as Roberson is concerned. The focus this spring is to start taking the steps to be even better in the fall.

    “I thought we were better than a one-and-out team,’’ Roberson said of the first-round defeat against the traditionally strong Cardinals. “We felt we underachieved and had a little chip on our shoulder coming back into
    this season.’’

    Roberson said the goal for the spring sessions will be fundamental work. He plans to give special attention to blocking techniques, as the Wolverines will be looking for three new offensive linemen from the junior varsity team.

    Spring sports will cut into some of the numbers Roberson would like to have on the practice field, but he’s been pleased with the turnout so far. “We lost 20 seniors but we’ve got 11 starters returning,’’ he said. “We have a lot of experience, guys who have played for two or three years and guys who have played a solid two years of varsity.’’

    One thing new this fall that Roberson has no control over is the new conference Westover will join. It mingles 4-A and 3-A schools from Cumberland County together with Overhills.

    “When you’re a 3-A... 4-A schools in the conference you’re never happy,’’ Roberson said. “I thought we could have kept it a straight 3-A conference with the 3-A teams in the county.’’ 

    Cape Fear and E.E. Smith are dropping to 3-A to join former Cape Fear Valley 3-A Conference members Douglas Byrd, Gray’s Creek, Terry Sanford and Westover. The new 4-A teams in the conference are Overhills, Pine Forest and South View.

    “Those decisions are over my head,’’ Roberson said of the new split conference. “We’ll adjust and be ready to go.’’ That’s the feeling of junior linebacker Jayson Leach, who felt last season was a big step forward for the Wolverines and wants to continue turning the Wolverine program around. “We’ve proven to everybody we can win,’’ he said. “We want to be better than the next team.’’

    He expects the new conference to be more challenging than the Cape Fear Valley 3-A was. “We have in our mind to be the best, don’t think anybody is better than us,’’ he said. “We’re staying focused and not listening to what everybody else in the county is saying.’’

  • 14Vernon AldridgeAs you’ll note elsewhere on this page, today begins the first in a series of spring high school football previews as teams hold conditioning workouts preparing for the 2017 season.

    This year’s workouts are a little different, as the N.C. High School Athletic Association gave schools two options for how to hold them. Schools could have 21 players out per day for a slightly longer stretch from early April to mid-May, or they could opt for having the full squad out for 10 days beginning in mid-May.

    We’ll preview the teams that chose the early workouts first: Westover, Seventy-First, Jack Britt and South View. Then we’ll pick up with the remaining six county schools who chose the mid-May start: Terry Sanford, E.E. Smith, Pine Forest, Cape Fear, Gray’s Creek and Douglas Byrd.

    • Changes look to be coming for the N.C. High School Athletic Association playoffs as soon as the 2017-18 school year.

    The N.C. Athletic Directors Association held its annual gathering in Wilmington recently, and central office staffers from the NCHSAA were on hand to discuss the possible new look of the state playoffs in all sports.

    Vernon Aldridge, student activities director for Cumberland County Schools, attended the meetings in Wilmington. He said the change is being forced by the new alignment of schools which goes into effect for the 2017-18 school year. The NCHSAA has changed the number of schools in each of its four size classifications.
    The largest schools are now in the 20 percent that make up the 4-A class.
    The smallest 20 percent of schools will be in the 1-A class.

    That leaves 30 percent in 2-A and 30 percent in 3-A.

    Under the current plans in football and basketball, 64 teams make the playoffs in each classification. Football subdivides classes into A and AA based on enrollment with 32 playoff teams in each
    subdivided class.

    Under the new alignment, there will be less than 80 schools in the entire 4-A class. That would mean a little over a dozen wouldn’t make the playoffs, and that’s why the state is looking at dropping the numbers.

    This will likely be taken up at the NCHSAA’s spring Board of Directors meeting in May. It’ll be interesting to see what they decide.

    • Pine Forest High School is holding its annual golf fundraiser on Sunday, May 21, at King’s Grant. The individual registration fee is $65 and sponsorship packages are available for $100, $300, $750 or $1,500.

    Registration is at 11 a.m. the day of the tournament, with lunch at noon and a 1 p.m. shotgun start. There will be door prizes and awards for longest drive and closest to the pin. There will also be a putting contest
    at 11:30 a.m.

    For further information on entering, call head football coach Bill Sochovka or athletic director Jason Norton during school hours at 488-2384.

  • 08Sales Taxes 2A joint committee of Fayetteville and Cumberland County elected officials, along with the mayors of the County’s small towns, met for the first time to discuss the future of sales tax distribution. At issue is how millions of dollars of local sales tax revenues are distributed annually. 

    City Council had named four of its members to a standing committee, but County Commission Chairman Glenn Adams allowed only two of them at the table. Commissioner Jeanette Council presided at the meeting and intimated her favored outcome was to leave things as they are. After an hour or so of discussion, Mayor Nat Robertson used a parliamentary maneuver to adjourn the meeting. Adams wanted committee members to vote on the controversial issue rather than continue negotiations.  

    County Commissioners have the authority to select from two sales tax distribution methods, one of which is based on population and is currently used. As the city has grown to almost 210,000, it has benefited from that method, which has been used for many years. 

    A caveat that city officials would like to see done away with is a side agreement that the city rebate to the County and the other towns 50 percent of sales taxes collected in areas annexed by the city 13 years ago. The rebate is the heart of the issue. 

    Mayor Nat Robertson wants to phase it out over a period of several years. The County wants to leave the current agreement in place for years to come. While he doesn’t agree with Robertson entirely, committee member Mitch Colvin said there should be room for compromise. 

    Commissioners have threatened to adopt the other method of taxation which distributes revenue by tax district. Because the entire County is its tax district, the County would benefit and the city would immediately lose more than $4 million a year. 

    Spring Lake Mayor Chris Rey suggested that cooler heads meet on another day. He and the mayors of Hope Mills, Stedman, Falcon, Linden, Wade and Eastover also favor the current tax method because they all receive small rebates from the city of Fayetteville.

    The meeting adjourned with most in attendance agreeing that the city should come to the next session with a specific proposal for change that others could agree to. That’s going to be difficult for Fayetteville City Council because not all members agree with Robertson. He believes the city should receive all sales tax revenue in areas annexed during the “big bang” when nearly 50,000 residents were taken into the city. 

    Council member Jim Arp, who was not allowed to speak during the meeting, told Up & Coming Weekly that as Fayetteville’s commercial and business development grows, all units of government benefit from increased sales taxes. “Our council has some work to do to come up with a plan,” said Councilman Kirk deViere. He also attended the meeting but was not seated at the table.

  • 07Police Body Camera 2The New York Police Department’s long-anticipated plan to outfit its officers with body cameras is being rolled out this month. Some critics are trying to block it. About 50 officers working the 4 p.m. to midnight shift in Manhattan’s 34th Precinct will be the first to add body cams to their standard uniforms. “We have hit the point where we really can’t learn anymore by reading and talking,” said Assistant Commissioner Nancy Hoppock of the NYPD’s risk management bureau. The NYPD’s policies do not vary much from those adopted years ago by Fayetteville Police. The FPD was one of the first major North Carolina city police departments to outfit its patrol officers with cameras. As in New York, policy does not require that cameras record all police encounters, despite the potential for low-level encounters to quickly escalate. 

    Anthony Kelly, Fayetteville’s interim police chief, said cops are to turn on their cameras as they arrive on the scenes of incidents that are not clear to them. Once they determine situations are not confrontational, they can turn them off.  “But the cameras are to be reactivated as soon as officers sense something may go sideways,” said Kelly. It’s a judgement call, but Kelly noted poor judgment can be disciplined. The devices automatically record whatever occurred thirty seconds before they were turned on, he added.  

    It would be cost prohibitive for officers to record every minute of their tours, officials said. “The initial purchase (of the cameras) included storage … for a period of 5 years,” said Lt. Todd Joyce. Use of the Microsoft Cloud for video and audio storage costs $77,100 per year for a period of 5 years, or $385,500, he said.

    Officers have no control over downloading, editing or storage. Camera content is downloaded automatically as officers end their tours of duty. They may view video recordings before writing up their reports to make sure they are in sync. NYPD critics say that would allow officers to tailor their version of events to what was recorded and undermines the cameras’ effectiveness as an accountability tool, and contradicts transparency.

    “Reality-based training has revealed that stressful situations can result in incomplete recollection,” Chief Kelly countered, so he said it makes sense for officers to review recordings in those instances. State law does not allow the general public to view video of controversial situations. Victims and others portrayed in videos, as well as accused perpetrators, can view recordings during supervised screenings. It takes an order from a district court judge for a video to be released to the public. 

    Police body cameras “increase officer safety and reduce department liability,” according to Law & Ordermagazine. The Fayetteville Police Department’s 300 uniformed patrol officers wear them, as do Hope Mills and Spring Lake cops. Body cameras have been embraced by many law enforcement agencies following controversial interactions between officers and suspects. The Fayetteville Police Department has spent more than a million dollars on body cameras, much of it grant money. The cameras are worn on officers’ uniform collars or lapels. 

  • 06Doo Rag RapistApril is Sexual Assault Awareness Month and detectives with Fayetteville Police Department’s Cold Case Sexual Assault Unit are working to clear several cases
    with arrests. 

    A focus for one of the active investigations is the assailant police have dubbed the “doo-rag rapist.” He is accused of assaulting nearly a dozen women over the course of one year, seven years ago. Victims said his face was covered each time and he wore a doo rag. The rapes occurred at night at various apartment complexes between June 2009 and July 2010. Detectives worked with the victims to compose a sketch of the suspect. He was described as in his 20s at the time. He stood 5’9” to 6’ tall, weighing between 160 and 200 pounds. The same suspect’s DNA was recovered at several of the crime scenes. 

    “The doo rag rapist is tied to at least eleven attacks,” said Police Lt. John Somerindyke, but detectives have not been able to identify him. Many states, including North Carolina, now take DNA samples of suspects accused of major crimes for identification purposes. 

    This subject’s DNA is not in the data base. Authorities said the attacks took place in Fayetteville and the Hope Mills area. None of the victims suffered any other injuries. Somerindyke said the perpetrator apparently stalked the women before forcing his way into their apartments and overpowering them. He knew they were alone at the time. Two of the victims told police he smelled strongly of cigarettes. At least one said she thought he was intoxicated.

    Most of the victims no longer live in Fayetteville, police said. “Victims of rape never get over the trauma of being assaulted, and are always looking over their shoulders,” said Somerindyke. 

    Rape Crisis Volunteers of Cumberland County provides companions to victims of rape. They are on call 24/7 for hospital and courtroom companionship. The organization provides victim advocacy and community networking, and conducts support group meetings throughout the year, according to its website. Detectives were awarded a federal grant to step up their investigations of cold cases that remain unsolved. They’ve identified hundreds of dated cases as far back as the 1980s. Lt. Somerendyke said older sexual assault cases are among the most difficult crimes to solve. 

    Technology, additional funding and the addition of private laboratories to augment the State SBI Lab have expedited investigations. Since the cold case unit’s formation less than three years ago, 17 perpetrators have been arrested in 21 rape cases. Anyone with information on this case is asked to contact the lead investigator, Detective John Benazzi, or phone CrimeStoppers at (910) 483-TIPS. Information can also be submitted to CrimeStoppers online at http://fay-nccrimestoppers.org or by texting a tip to 274637. In the text box type “4Tip,” followed by the message.

  • 05NewsDigest Nat RobertsonRobertson to Seek Re-election

    Fayetteville Mayor Nat Robertson is seeking a third term. “Since being sworn-in as Mayor in December 2013 as Fayetteville’s 35th Mayor, Fayetteville has become the envy of many Southern cities. In less than three and a half years, our city has accomplished more than any other administration in recent history,” Robertson said in a lengthy news release. Robertson had not indicated prior to this week’s announcement whether he would seek re-election. 

    He has said repeatedly he would do so if no one of a caliber he believed up to the task announced. City Councilman Kirk deViere has hinted that he might run. Robertson defeated deViere in 2013. “Your City Council has … been moving Fayetteville forward by working together as a team and setting good policy,” Robertson stated. “It is with great honor and humility that I again ask for your support to continue serving as Fayetteville’s Mayor. Thank you for the opportunity to serve the community Kim and I love so much,” he concluded. 

    Cumberland County Jail Health and Medicine

    The Cumberland County Board of Commissioners has apparently decided it can get the jail healthcare system reaccredited if a private company does the work. The board has issued a request for proposals for firms to submit bids to provide health care services at the Cumberland County Detention Center.  The jail lost its accreditation last year when standards were changed and became more expensive to provide. Vendors interested in submitting proposals attended a conference and visited the site to view the facility and get a feel for the scope and nature of work to be performed in the detention center. Proposals must be submitted no later than May 18. Specifications are available online at: https://ccmunis.co.cumberland.nc.us/MSS/Vendors/default.aspx, or at the Finance Department, located in the Courthouse.

    Cumberland County School Chief Honored

    Dr. Frank Till, Jr., Superintendent of Cumberland County Schools, received the 2017 Raymond Sarbaugh Leadership Award at the North Carolina Association of School Administrators’ annual conference in Greensboro. The award is given annually to a member who has shown outstanding leadership in public school service as well as commitment to enhancing and supporting the efforts of the association on behalf of his or her fellow school administrators. 

    Dr. Till began his career in education as a middle school math teacher in San Diego, CA. In 1999 he was selected as Superintendent for Broward County Schools in Florida, which was at that time the fifth largest system in the country. He joined Cumberland County Schools as superintendent in 2009. His commitment to public education for all North Carolina students is demonstrated through his ongoing willingness to speak out publicly on important issues and take on leadership roles to engage his peers in advocating for good laws and policies that govern public school operations. 

    City Management Vacancies

    Fayetteville City Manager Doug Hewett has a lot of senior management positions to fill. His priority is replacing retired Police Chief Harold Medlock who left at the end of last year. He told Up & Coming Weeklyapplications have been closed, and he hopes to interview four to six finalists by the end of this month. Hewett’s goal is to hire a new chief by the end of June. There’s also a vacancy in an assistant city manager’s office. Replacing Rochelle Small-Toney is not a priority because Hewett said he first wants to reorganize his office. The director of Environmental Services retired recently. Planning and Code Enforcement Director Scott Shuford is retiring soon. And there are two assistant fire chief vacancies.

  • 15WienandMorgan Wienand

    Cape Fear • Softball • Senior

    Wienand is a member of Cape Fear’s nationally-ranked defending 4-A Eastern champion softball team. She currently has a grade point average of 4.57.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    15IsaiahBennettIsaiah Bennett

    Pine Forest • Soccer/Baseball • Sophomore

    Bennett is a key player for both the Pine Forest soccer and baseball teams. He has a grade point average of 4.25 and is committed to play baseball at the University of North Carolina.

  • 14BaseballKnappGood baseball teams have been a tradition in Terry Sanford High School’s annual Easter break tournament. But this year, Bulldog coach Sam Guy may have outdone himself.

    “It’s a really good field,’’ Guy said of the three-day event that begins this Saturday at Terry Sanford’s field and continues on Monday and Tuesday.

    Terry Sanford and Jack Britt, both currently leading the chase for conference honors in the Cape Fear Valley 3-A and Mid-South 4-A respectively, head the local entries. The field also includes Southeastern 4-A Conference powers Richmond Senior and Pinecrest. 

    Other teams in the field are South View, Midway, Union Pines and Village Christian.

    Jack Britt coach Dr. Christopher Dague called the tournament one of the top tier events in the state. “There is a lot of parity,’’ he said. “It will be interesting to see how we match up.’’

    Pitching is crucial to success in any baseball event, but with the new pitching regulations the N.C. High School Athletic Association is using this year, the coaches will have to be careful about how they use their hurlers over the three-day run of the tournament.

    Terry Sanford has been led by Logan Brown and Damien Puczylowski. Through April 3, Brown is 3-1 and Puczylowski 3-0, Brown’s lone loss coming to
    Richmond Senior. Brown has an ERA of 1.00, Puczylowski 1.20.

    “They’ve been the guys that have started Tuesday and Friday for us,’’ Guy said. “Christian Jayne has thrown in a couple of big non-conference games. He beat Pinecrest.’’

    Dague’s leading pitchers through April 3 are Zach Knapp and Brennen Herbert. Knapp had a brilliant 17-strikeout performance in a big win over Pine Forest. His ERA as of April 3 was zero. He had a streak of over 30 innings with no earned runs.

    Herbert’s ERA is only 0.38 and his record is 5-0.

    Here is the tournament schedule:

    Saturday

    10 a.m. Union Pines vs. Midway; 1 p.m. Jack Britt vs. Pinecrest; 4 p.m. Terry Sanford vs. Village Christian; 7 p.m. Richmond Senior vs. South View.

    Monday

    10 a.m., 1 p.m., 4 p.m., 7 p.m.

    Tuesday

    10 a.m., 1 p.m., 4 p.m., 7 p.m. (championship)

  • 13EasterTourneysaundersDouglas Byrd’s J. Hoyt Warren-Wayne Edwards Invitational, probably Cumberland County’s oldest Easter baseball tournament, continues its annual run this weekend. The Hoyt-Warren tournament annually draws a mix of local and Cape Fear region teams.

    This year’s event opens Saturday at 10 a.m. with Gray’s Creek facing Freedom Christian. Scotland and Seventy-First meet at 1 p.m., followed at 4 p.m. by East Bladen and E.E. Smith. The 7 p.m. game has Douglas Byrd facing Cape Fear.

    Play continues Monday at the same times, winners advancing against winners and losers against losers. The final round of games will be Tuesday, again at 10 a.m., 1 p.m., 4 p.m. and 7 p.m.

    • Fayetteville Academy senior Natalie Saunders recently scored a season high competing in the uneven bars, vault and all-around in the USA Gymnastics regional competition. Saunders now advances to the Region 8 competition the second weekend in May.

    • Village Christian Academy has named former NFL player Emerson Martin as its new head football coach. Martin, a native of Elizabethtown, replaces Russell Stone, who recently left Village to become head coach at Hickory High School. Martin, 46, attended college at Hampton and played briefly for the Carolina Panthers in the NFL. He heads an organization called Players2Pro, which helps high school athletes get recruited and signed by colleges. He’s also a former assistant coach at Raleigh Athens Drive, East Bladen and St. Augustine’s. This will be his first high school head coaching job. “He’s a great leader and great Christian man,’’ said Village athletic director Harold Morrison. “We’re excited about him taking over the next chapter of Village football.’’

    • Terry Sanford High School will hold the fourth annual Al Munoz Memorial 5K on Saturday, May 13, at 8 a.m. The entry fee is $25. For entry information and other general race questions, contact Donna Johnson at (910) 728-3702 or jjohn86100@aol.com.

    • The annual Region Four Coaches and Officials golf tournament is scheduled Sunday, April 23, at Gates Four Golf and Country Club. The tournament benefits the emergency fund sponsored by the coaches and officials which gives money to people facing a variety of personal crises. Check-in is at 11 a.m. with lunch at 11:45 a.m. and play starting at 1 p.m. The fee is $75 per person before April 18 and $85 after. You can also sponsor a hole or tee box for $100. For full information on entry or sponsorship, email Bill Henderson at boatq@aol.com or call (910) 964-0056.

  • 12C STEPA German proverb shares this message: “Our passions are winds that propel our vessel. Our reason is the pilot that steers the vessel. Without winds, the vessel would not move, and without a pilot, she would be lost.” This proverb exemplifies my beliefs and thoughts about former FTCC student Sarah Floroshuma, a C-STEP student who graduated from FTCC in 2015 and will graduate from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in May 2017 with a Bachelor of Science in nursing. 

    Floroshuma not only performed well academically at FTCC, she also excelled in the nursing program at UNC-Chapel Hill, where she earned the James M. Johnston Scholars Scholarship. 

    “Initially, the nursing program and the academic rigor were challenges. However, with the emotional support and encouragement I received, I was able to find the needed strength and determination to use my passion for helping others as my strength,” Floroshuma said. She attributes her ability to care for her sickly grandparents as one of the defining moments that helped her confirm her desire for a career in nursing. 

    “After graduating high school in Nigeria at age 16, I took on the role of caretaker for my elderly and sickly grandparents. This experience taught me a lot about inner strength and provided the insight I needed to clarify my career aspirations. I feel that nursing is my calling, and I couldn’t imagine pursuing any other career.”

    The Carolina Student Transfer Excellence Program (C-STEP), housed in the office of Undergraduate Admissions at UNC-Chapel Hill, seeks to admit, identify, enroll and graduate high-achieving students with low-to-moderate income seeking to transfer to UNC-Chapel Hill from partnering community colleges. The students who participate in this program are inspiring, intelligent, hard-working and dedicated students, and Sarah fits this description perfectly. 

    Floroshuma explained the huge impact being a recipient of the James M. Johnston Scholarship has had on her life. “This has allowed me to remain somewhat independent and not burden my father who has deployed over three times in the past two years. Because of the legacy of the scholarship and the Carolina Covenant, I will graduate debt free, and that’s a blessing. I want other students to know how being a part of C-STEP helped me solidify my dreams and career goals and allowed me to spread my wings and grow. And it all began at FTCC,” she said.    

    Fayetteville Tech partnered with UNC-Chapel Hill in 2011 to establish this premier program. C-STEP focuses on community college students whose household incomes fall at or below 300 percent of the federal poverty guidelines, and potential candidates are reviewed holistically.    

    The next step in Sarah’s journey will continue to offer her challenge filled with real-world experiences, but through FTCC and UNC-Chapel Hill, she is well positioned on her journey to satisfy her passion, her goals and her dreams.

    Learn more about C-STEP at FTCC by reaching out to me, Loutricia Nelson, at nelsonl@faytechcc.edu or (910) 678-8205.

  • 07 911Some Cumberland County Commissioners, who serve on a task force that is developing a combined City/County 911 operations center, are disappointed in the proposed organizational structure. The task force of commissioners, members of Fayetteville City Council and public safety officials met last week. It was their third meeting on the proposed consolidation of 911 service. 

    Consultants with Mission Critical Partners of Raleigh hope the task force can agree to terms of joint responsibility to meet a May 31 deadline to apply for available state grants. Commissioners Jimmy Keefe and Jeanette Council balked at the suggestion that City government would operate the 911 center. Asked if she thought the County should be in charge, she responded with a sharp “yes.” Council said she assumed all along that the multimillion-dollar facility would be managed by County government. Commissioner Jimmy Keefe, who has experience on City Council, said he couldn’t support the proposition until he learned more of the details. Keefe objected to differences between City and County officials being “discussed in a public setting.”  

    Because 60 percent of emergency calls for service are in the city, Mission Critical Partners proposed that it be in charge of operations. The consultants’ proposal is for the County to be the grant sponsor. Their recommendation was modeled after combined 911 centers already in place in Guilford and Wake Counties, where Greensboro and Raleigh take the lead. Ironically, local public safety officials including the sheriff, rural fire departments and emergency management professionals support the concept as presented and have done most of the planning. 

    “This is a good program,” said Freddie Johnson, president of the Cumberland County Fire Chiefs Association. “Each of the user agencies would have input” as to operational protocols, said Assistant County Manager Tracey Jackson. The user group would consider detailed recommendations and present them to a joint advisory committee. County and City managers would provide joint oversight. Consultants are encouraging the task force to focus first on securing available state grants. To qualify, the task force must come to agreement on governance and who will what. Then it will turn its attention to the cost and location. 

    The need for a combined 911 facility intensified after the September 11, 2001 terror attacks in New York, Washington and rural Pennsylvania. Actual consideration of a local, merged 911 department has been under consideration for about ten years.  

    Fayetteville and Cumberland County operate separate 911 emergency dispatch centers in City hall and the County law enforcement center. They do not meet contemporary survivability standards in the event of an attack. Officials recommend that communications facilities be located outside urban centers. A 40,000-square-foot 911 headquarters is proposed to be located on city-owned property on Fields Road off Cedar Creek Road. It would be a fortress-like, hardened building capable of withstanding a category four hurricane. City and county officials have agreed to a price tag of about $30 million. Keefe has said previously that it’s important for everyone to understand the need for
    this facility.  

  • 06ShawFayetteville City Council supports a bill in the state House of Representatives that provides local legislation, which would grant the City extraterritorial jurisdiction of Shaw Heights beginning in July. Rep. Elmer Floyd (D-Cumberland), who represents the impoverished area surrounded by the City, filed the bill on his own accord. He asked Council to endorse the measure, and Monday night the body did just that. 

    Councilman Ted Mohn crafted the resolution of support which also advocates the eventual annexation of the doughnut hole by July 1, 2020. Mayor Pro Tem Mitch Colvin intially opposed the resolution, but reluctantly agreed to it after receiving assurances that other urban areas like Eureka Springs will be considered for annexation in the future. “I support fixing the problem,” he said. “Let’s do it right or let’s not do it,” Colvin added. 

    This would not be a typical annexation. In recent years, the Republican-controlled General Assembly has done away with statutes that formerly gave cities involuntary annexation authority. So, for a veteran member of the House to propose a legislative annexation is rare. Floyd has felt for years that the distressed community of rental mobile homes, massive junk yards, illegal dumps and roadside debris needed to be in the city properly so urban services could be provided. 

    Mayor Nat Robertson has accused Cumberland County government of ignoring the needs of Shaw Heights, and as a result forcing the city’s hand. Others contend the city of Fayetteville intentionally ignored the area when it annexed everything around it over the years.

    Shaw Heights, off Murchison Road near the future I-295, is the area north of Shaw Road that connects Murchison Road to the east with Bragg Boulevard to the west. A community known as Julie Heights is south of Shaw Road. It’s almost as if the road itself over time became a demarcation line separating a loosely defined poverty-stricken area of rental trailers from a middle class neighborhood of modest single-family homes, many of which are owner-occupied. If granted extraterritorial jurisdiction this summer, the city would provide police protection, solid waste collection and street maintenance. The city already provides fire protection to the area under contract with County government. The only rural fire station that previously served Shaw Heights was closed many years ago. The Public Works Commission would be required to begin providing water and sewer utilities within three and a half years of the annexation.    

  • 05Inasmuch“Verily I say unto you, inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.” 

    — Matthew 25:40

    It was 22 years ago that a group of local church congregations came together to activate a common goal — to do something for those less fortunate than themselves. David Crocker, then-pastor of Snyder Memorial Baptist Church, organized the group and Fayetteville’s Operation Inasmuch was born. They partnered with Fayetteville Urban Ministry initially to reach out to the community. The objective was to help families in need make basic repairs to their homes. Volunteers would provide the labor, corporate partners would, in some instances, provide the materials. Others would sell supplies at reduced prices.

    Operation Inasmuch worked closely with the Fayetteville Redevelopment Department to qualify for small Community Development Block Grants. “We found we could work on 20 homes for the same money that the government would do two,” said Executive Director Sue Byrd. Volunteers from as many as two dozen churches scoured older neighborhoods looking for single-family owner-occupied homes that needed minor repairs. “It was quite an undertaking,” Byrd said. Over the years, hundreds of homes have been worked on, from minor roof and siding repairs to hand railings and steps. The so-called “blitz days” were held twice a year at first, but have been scaled back to one annual undertaking in the spring.

    Since 2009, Operation Inasmuch has expanded its outreach to become a beacon of hope for the homeless. “We are not enablers,” said Byrd. She said the organization provides opportunities to the homeless. “They’ve got every chance in the world if they want it.” Inasmuch is headquartered on donated property on Hillsboro Street at the corner of Chance Street. 

    The charity serves breakfast to the needy weekday mornings, and serves as a clearing house for information needed by street people. Byrd is quick to confirm what other officials have said that area panhandlers are not homeless. They are professional beggars who take advantage of “our community’s abundance of compassionate people.” Operation Inasmuch encourages people not to “street feed” the homeless but to support local agencies which provide meals. “When people share a meal together, their lives are nourished; they’re not just fed,” Byrd said.

    The organization’s most recent undertaking was the grand opening of The Lodge, a shelter for men. It’s diagonally across the street from the ministry’s office on Chance Street, and provides overnight stays for up to 40 men. The facility has a kitchen, restrooms and showers plus a day room for various activities. Two dormitories are lined with Spartan-like single beds. It’s much more than a place to sleep, said Byrd. An individual, once screened, can stay free for one week so long as he does his chores and spends his days looking for work. Phase two requires that the tenant pay $5 a night and be registered with NC Works at the state employment office nearby. 

    During the third phase of residency, once men have gotten jobs, they are rewarded with semi-private rooms, again for $5 a night. Ultimately, successful residents can move into one of the half dozen homes Operation Inasmuch owns on nearby Frink Street. They are issued keys to their homes and pay $225 a month for rent. Up to five men have separate bedrooms in each house. Fayetteville Operation Inasmuch’s stated purpose is “to go outside the church walls to a world in need, offering the talents and gifts with which we have been blessed.”

  • 06ShawThose Dam Repairs

    Fayetteville City Council wants to update its policy governing the repair of local dams. Several dams were breached during Hurricane Matthew six months ago. Council’s discussion of the matter last week was eerily similar to what Congress went through while dealing with a new health care proposal. Councilman Jim Arp made three attempts to modify a policy, which every Council member agreed is outmoded.

    He first made a motion to repeal the existing ordinance and come up with a new one. Councilman Kirk deViere objected to repealing the measure and Arp agreed to revise the existing policy. Others objected to that, so Arp returned to his original idea of repealing the ordinance altogether and directing staff to come up with a new three-pronged policy. City Manager Doug Hewett isn’t sure it would pass legal muster though. It would acknowledge that some private dams have public roads like the one at Arran Lake. Some public dams have public roads like the one in Van Story Hills. And in some other cases, there are private dams with private roads. The Arran Lakes Homeowners Association wants the city to help pay for repairing their private dam. “We’ll give the road over the dam to the city in return,” said HOA Treasurer Elmer Capps. “The problem I have is finding a public purpose for spending tax dollars on a private dam,”
    said Hewett. 

    Flood Prevention of Another Sort

    Twice in the last 20 years, major flooding has occurred near downtown to the extent that Cross Creek came out of its banks along Murchison Road and Bragg Boulevard. It happened most recently during Hurricane Matthew. 

    In mid-September of 1989, an eight-inch torrential rainfall inundated Fayetteville, taking two lives. 

    In both instances, water from the overflowing Cross Creek stood 5 feet deep where Bragg Boulevard intersects with Rowan Street. The State Department of Transportation is taking steps that will significantly reduce the likelihood of flooding there in the future. A bigger culvert will be constructed where the new Rowan Street Bridge and relocated city streets will pass over Cross Creek, said DOT construction engineer Randy Wise. “The new culvert is much larger than the old,” he said. A temporary channel will carry the water away from the creek bed while the culvert is built. “Once the culvert is complete, the water will be diverted through it,” Wise added.

    Barricaded City Streets 

    Two years ago, the City of Fayetteville barricaded a pair of downtown city streets to help fight crime. Working with emergency services, Traffic Engineer Lee Jernigan had temporary “Street Closed” barriers erected near the Eastern Boulevard intersections of Link and School Streets. “There was a high level of crime in the area,” said Police Captain James Nolette. 

    Those barricades have become permanent. Closing off the streets was one of the strategies designed to reduce crime as suggested by the B Street Coalition of residents. Real-time closed-circuit surveillance cameras monitored at police headquarters were another element of the effort. A Link Street neighborhood watch group has become actively involved in efforts by residents to reduce drug dealing and prostitution. “We’ve seen a drastic reduction in crime since the barricades were put up,” said Nolette. 

    Small Business Workshop

    The U.S. DOT Small Business Transportation Resource Center and Fayetteville Area System of Transit are hosting a small business workshop Thursday, April 20 from 3 -5 p.m. It will be held in the FAST Headquarters Conference Room located at 455 Grove Street. City spokesman Nathan Walls said the workshop will focus on accessing small business capital, maintaining adequate cash flow, acquiring capital for business expansion and finding nontraditional funding sources. Local lenders will be on hand to discuss the small business funding options. Registration can be completed at: https://fast2017-funding.eventbrite.com. 

    Building Business Rally

    Fayetteville’s Public Works Commission recently held a business workshop. City agencies have been in the forefront of reaching out to local, small businesses to attract interest. PWC has a department that is responsible for the procurement of materials, supplies, services and equipment to enable the efficient operation of the utility. The department also oversees and administers bids and contracts related to electric, water and sewer construction. PWC hosted its spring Building Business Rally last week at its operations center on Old Wilmington Road. Local vendors met with representatives of PWC’s many departments to learn about their supply, equipment and service needs. PWC is also aggressively seeking contractors involved in the Small Disadvantaged Business Enterprise Program. This program works to increase the participation of disadvantaged businesses in its procurement opportunities.

  • 17Schoalr1Preslyn Johnson

    Cape Fear • Cheerleader/Basketball • 

    Junior

    Despite being busy during multiple sports seasons for the Colts, Johnson managed to record a 4.6 grade point average.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    17Schoalr2austinJacob Austin

    Pine Forest • Baseball •Senior

    Austin has a 4.71 grade point average. He recently went six innings on the mound in a win against Overhills. For the week he batted 5-for-8 with a double and nine RBIs.

  • 16deweeseLeo Durocher, the great Los Angeles Dodgers manager, was wrong.

    But in his defense, he never met Jack Britt High School wrestling coach John DeWeese, or he would never have uttered that famous quote, “Nice guys finish last.”

    DeWeese, who recently announced his retirement as the only wrestling coach Jack Britt has ever had, ranks as one of the nicest guys I’ve met during all my years covering high school sports.

    Even on his worst days and in his toughest wrestling matches, I never saw DeWeese without a smile on his face or sharing a laugh with one of his wrestlers or a friend.

    As he heads into retirement, he will easily rank among the greatest wrestling coaches Cumberland County has ever known, right up there with Cape Fear’s Mike Stanbridge and Seventy-First’s David Culbreth.

    It was a pretty amazing run for a guy who said he got into wrestling almost by accident. It was when he was at Lewis Chapel and the late J.C. Hawk came to DeWeese almost in tears saying the school’s wrestling coach had left and the team didn’t have a coach.

    Hawk promised to teach DeWeese everything he knew about the sport if DeWeese would be the coach. 

    “That night I went home and ordered every VHS tape I could find on wrestling, which was about four,’’ DeWeese said. “That was about 28 years ago.’’ It was with Culbreth as an assistant at Seventy-First that DeWeese first got his start at the high school level. He helped Culbreth coach two of the greatest high school teams in county and state history in the late 1990s at
    Seventy-First. 

    DeWeese still remembers coming to Jack Britt with Culbreth when Britt principal
    Conrad Lopes hired them both away from Seventy-First.

    Before wrestling season started, Culbreth decided to take a job with a local sporting goods store, but still promised he would help DeWeese with the team. At the first practice, DeWeese said Culbreth walked in, spoke to the team, pointed to DeWeese and said “There’s your coach,’’ and left.

    The rest is history. DeWeese won some 13 conference titles and only lost three home conference matches in 17 seasons. After a couple of near misses he guided Britt to the 2015 4-A dual team championship.

    He’s had numerous individual state champs, but he said his proudest accomplishment is having three of his former wrestlers, Bradley and Andrew Wanovich and Spencer Nick, currently attending the U.S. Military
    Academy at West Point.

    “I happened to be in the right place at the right time with some really good people and parents,’’ DeWeese said. “It’s about them.’’

    Not entirely. It’s also about a coach who gave his best, built a dynasty and kept a smile on his face while doing it.

  • 16BrothersGene Autry gave himself a tough act to follow this season after guiding Terry Sanford’s boys’ tennis team to the 3-A dual team finals last year against perennial power Marvin Ridge.

    “I thought we would have another good year,’’ he said of the 2017 season. “Where it ends, we don’t know, but we are looking to
    do well.’’

    So far, the Bulldogs are, and they took a big step in that direction last week with a 6-3 win over their toughest Cape Fear region rival, Union Pines.

    Terry Sanford beat the Vikings in last year’s Eastern Regional championship match. Autry admits he wasn’t sure what to expect from his team when the two squads met for the first time this season at Terry Sanford last week.

    “Sometimes you have a mental letdown when you play an opponent again,’’ Autry said. “We started slow but ended up playing well.’’

    As usual, the Bulldogs got solid play and half their wins in the match from brothers Henry and Nathan Lieberman. The brothers play No. 1 and No. 2 singles along with No. 1 doubles and took wins in all three of those matches.

    Henry, a junior, is in his second season at No. 1 singles player while freshman Nathan is making his debut with the Bulldogs.

    Autry said Henry continues to be the same solid player and team leader he was last season. “Everybody looks up to him and tries to follow his leadership,’’ Autry said of Henry. “He’s hitting a lot more solid shots and his ball is heavier. That means it’s taking different spins and a lot more action.’’ Autry said Henry’s footwork is also improved, which is key to putting his total game together.

    Henry said having his brother join him on the team this season has been a good experience. “He motivates me because he gets under my skin,’’ Henry said.         “It’s that brother rivalry.’’

    Henry said his brother is also a solid player. “He makes you hit good shots over and over to win a point against him,’’ Henry said. “He’s working on his net game and his serve. He’s quick and anticipates well.’’

    Nathan said his brother is equally inspiring to him. “He drives me to get better and motivates me,’’ Nathan said. “We definitely just pump each other up, stay positive and don’t let negative things in our heads.’’

    A rematch with Union Pines is looming on April 10. Following that will be the chase for the regional and state championships.

    Henry said he’s already decided on competing in singles in the state individual tournament. Nathan will soon decide if he wants to try singles or get a new doubles partner and compete for that title.

    “We really need to stay focused, have that intensity in practice,’’ Nathan said. “If we don’t get lazy I think we’ll be great.’’

    The Liebermans aren’t the only good players on the Bulldog team. Andrew Zahran is back from last year. Autry said he along with Alex Kasari and Dev Sashidhar are also key players.

    “To go back and win again against Union Pines is going to be tough,’’ Autry said, referring to the upcoming rematch. “If we do what we’re supposed to do, keep our head about us and play the tennis we’re capable of, we should do well.’’

  • 10County JailThe Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office was notified in November of last year that “after considerable deliberation, the committee voted to withdraw the facility from NCCHC’s accreditation program.” The committee was the accreditation panel. The facility in question is the county jail, and the NCCHC is the National Commission on Correctional Health Care. The letter came over the signature of Vice President Tracey Titus. She went on to say “immediate correction is needed to support access to care for your patients.” This was no routine notice of incidental deficiencies that could be easily corrected. To date, they have not been. 

    A lengthy 20-page report outlined actions the NCCHC required be taken. The Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office, which oversees the jail, is not responsible for management of inmate healthcare. The Department of Public Health operates and administers the detention center health and medicine program. Accreditation standards were the same for 20 years, and the jail maintained approved standards during that time. “It was only after the standards changed significantly that the jail health program lost its accreditation,” said Cumberland County Health Director Buck Wilson. He is on record as saying that funds needed to make the suggested improvements were not approved in the operating budget for the current fiscal year. Inmate care did not change, he added. 

    Wilson provided Up & Coming Weekly with an unedited copy of the Commission on Correctional Health Care’s report denying reaccreditation. The NCCHC health service accreditation curriculum for local jails is voluntary. There is no industry standard for inmate healthcare or requirement that health programs be accredited. Wilson said the health department conducted a survey of North Carolina jails in February and found that most of them are not accredited. They contracted with private business, which is what county commissioners are considering, given the recent report. The apparent belief is that the county can provide improved services at lower cost.

    The NCCHC uses peer reviewing to determine whether local jails meet its standards for inmate health services. NCCHC also offers accreditation for opioid and venereal disease treatment programs. It’s the only accrediting body authorized by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration that focuses on corrections. The curriculum outlines healthcare requirements in two categories: 

    Important Standards are those that require a minimum 85 percent compliance. The jail scored a 100 percent achievement in the October 2016 report. 

    Stricter Essential Standards require 100 percent compliance. The jail’s score was 82 percent, a failing grade.

    The accreditation committee cited six areas of deficiency: (1) quality improvement studies did not include thresholds, nor were components of the studies evident; (2) not all inmates were tested for STDs; (3) regular treatment of inmates with chronic diseases is lacking. The committee also noted (4) improvement is needed for inmates with special health needs; (5) inmates on suicide watch were not monitored as they should have been; and (6) continued monitoring of patients experiencing withdrawal from the effects of chronic intoxication is required.

    The final report notifying the sheriff’s office that reaccreditation had been denied observed that the Cumberland County Detention Center had been placed on probation in January 2016 following a review in September 2015. On October 23, 2016, the accreditation committee voted to withdraw the Cumberland County Detention Center from the accreditation program. “Moving forward, the County will be looking at all aspects of the jail health program and is utilizing the request for proposals process to determine the most cost-effective manner for providing jail health services,” said Assistant County Manager Sally Shutt. 

  • 09AnotherInvestmentPiedmont Natural Gas is the latest company to repurpose a local, old building and bring it back to life. The Charlotte-based subsidiary of Duke Energy cut the ribbon last week on its new Fayetteville Plant. Piedmont consolidated its local operations and call center in a redesigned and refurbished warehouse on Corporation Drive off Tom Starling Road. Fayetteville Mayor Nat Robertson and County Commission Chairman Glenn Adams joined company executives in the ribbon cutting. The building is the former Maidenform Distribution Center, which closed in late 2014. Those operations were absorbed into Hanesbrands’s facilities in Forsyth and Cleveland counties. 

    Piedmont Natural Gas said it renovated the 60,000-square-foot facility at a cost of $8 million. Architect Dean McKenzie said the company saved about $4 million by refurbishing the existing facility rather than building a new plant. A 9,000 square-foot utility building and storage shed are also located on the property. Officials said they also plan to relocate a compressed natural gas refueling station to the site from its existing location on Wilkes Rd. 

    “Piedmont Natural Gas is proud to serve Fayetteville and Cumberland County, and our new customer contact and resource center is a tangible symbol of our commitment to and investment in the communities we serve,” said Frank Yoho, head of gas operations. Piedmont is taking advantage of the opportunity to reduce the environmental impact of its operations. The company is seeking certified LEED (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design) status for the building with best-in-class energy-conserving construction. Design elements that contribute to the project’s sustainability include maximizing open space and preserving existing wetlands on the
    18-acre site. An innovative natural gas-driven heat pump is used to reduce energy use. Energy-efficient fixtures are in use to reduce water and
    electricity use.

     “The company is unifying customer contact and operation associates in one facility to continue improving the service it provides to customers,” said Senior Vice President Gayle Lanier. Piedmont and its predecessor, North Carolina Natural Gas, have had a presence in Fayetteville for decades. NCNG was once located on Rowan Street adjacent to the Up & Coming Weeklybuilding. Piedmont Natural Gas is a North Carolina- based company whose principle business is the distribution of natural gas to more than a million residential, commercial, industrial and power generation customers in portions of North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee. The company employs 160 associates in the Cumberland County area, most of whom now work out of the new building. 

  • 08Mercedes SedanWith Fayetteville’s Porsche automobile dealership having moved to Wilmington last month, the Pinehurst Automotive Group is preparing to make a major reinvestment in Fayetteville. Group Dealer Principal (owner) Tom Holderfield owns the local Mercedes dealership, which he acquired in 2014 from businessman Dixon Dickens. “It’s one of six franchises in his group,” said General Manager Greg Dudak, who added that the company isn’t concerned about the loss of Porsche. The luxury brand has a select clientele with average incomes of $400,000 a year. “We sold 5 cars a month on average, while we sell 350 new Mercedes annually,” he said, “plus another 380 used vehicles a year.”  

    The back story behind the loss of Porsche is that it “provides (Pinehurst Automotive Group) an opportunity to expand our Mercedes brand” and service to the Fayetteville community, said Dudak. He added that the company did not renew its Bragg Boulevard lease and will be moving to the corner of Glensford Drive and Red Tip Road upon completion of a new facility in about 18 months. 

    Dudak announced that Holderfield is finalizing plans for a $15 million state-of-the-art showroom with modern customer hospitality amenities and expanded service and parts departments. The dealership will be built on a seven-acre tract purchased from SRW Builders for an undisclosed price. Site plans have not yet been submitted to the city. Dudak said this will greatly improve the franchise’s profile in Fayetteville and will allow the company to increase its new car inventory. Officials added that the dealership wants to place emphasis on its Sprinter line of Mercedes-Benz commercial vans. Mercedes of Fayetteville is among the corporations “best of the best.” It is in the top 15 percent of Mercedes-Benz franchises in the nation. “Maintaining that distinction is our focus for the future,” Dudak said.

    Pinehurst Automotive Group specializes in mid-range American-made and import vehicles. Asked about the loss of jobs with the closing of the Porsche dealership, Dudak told Up & Coming Weekly, “We’ve got a place for almost everyone.” The combined dealership had 58 employees. “All but three chose to stay with the company or take positions with the Porsche dealership in Wilmington.” Owner Tom Holderfield is a Raleigh native and has lived in Pinehurst for 30 years. He joined the automotive industry at the age of 25 and currently serves as the General Managing Partner of the Pinehurst Automotive Group, overseeing 6 franchises in Moore County and Fayetteville. When he acquired the Mercedes franchise, Holderfield was quoted as saying, “Cumberland County is the fourth largest new car sales area in the state behind Mecklenburg, Wake and Forsyth counties. There is also a high concentration of … Mercedes-Benz owners in Moore County, which accounts for about 15 percent to 20 percent of the business at the dealerships.”

  • 07NewsDigestAlleged Fayetteville Child Killer 

    Tillman Freeman III, 30, remains in Hoke County Jail awaiting trial for killing his two young children. The heart-wrenching murders of 4-day-old Genesis Freeman and her 2-year-old sister, Serenity, is a case that will haunt investigators forever. “It was horrific,” said Sheriff Hubert Peterkin who witnessed the crime scene, a wooded area off a rural road in western Hoke County. Freeman, of Fayetteville, suspected the children were not his, Peterkin said. Freeman eventually agreed to show Fayetteville police where he had left the babies in his car. Detectives had spent much of the day searching for them. Freeman is charged with two counts of first-degree murder and is being
    held without bond.

    Shaw Heights Annexation Changes

    Fayetteville City Council is asking State Rep. Elmer Floyd (D-Cumberland) to modify his Shaw Heights annexation bill. For starters, the city is not asking to annex the impoverished geographic doughnut hole of trailer parks, row apartments, some single-family homes, warehouses, junkyards, dirt streets and numerous illegal dumps off Murchison and Shaw Roads. Officials are seeking extra-territorial jurisdiction for now. The request of the legislature may be doomed to failure because council voted 7-3 for a resolution in support of the general assembly’s intent to eventually annex Shaw Heights. Mayor Nat Robertson and Council members Kathy Jensen and Bill Crisp voted against the measure. Historically, local bills are not given serious consideration by the legislature unless they are sent to Raleigh with unanimous consent. Asked if he thought council’s split vote doomed the measure, Mayor Nat Robertson nodded his head in agreement. But, council will now work to draft a second resolution containing specifics that would be submitted to the House of Representatives by Floyd, if he agrees to it.  

    Tax Break for Disabled Vets

    North Carolina service veterans who are 100 percent disabled will get a property tax exemption on the first $100,000 of home value, if a bill now pending in the Senate passes. The amended measure, sponsored by Rep. Nelson Dollar (R-Wake), passed the House last week. Fully disabled veterans have been exempt from paying property taxes on the first $45,000 of the value of their homes. The bill also exempts widows and widowers of North Carolina law enforcement officers as well as fire and rescue personnel killed in the line of duty from all property taxes. Lawmakers agreed to reimburse cities and counties for lost tax income.

    Tar Heel Bathroom Bill Repealed

    HB142 has replaced HB2, North Carolina’s notorious Bathroom Bill. Under threat of what could have been an economically crippling edict from the NCAA, the general assembly repealed HB2. Governor Cooper, who helped broker a compromise, signed the new bill into law. The vote came down to the wire before the state could have potentially lost NCAA athletic championships for several years. Many believe the ACC would have followed suit. 

    While HB142 repeals HB2, it still bans local governments from adopting any non-discrimination ordinances through 2020. After that, cities and counties would be banned from passing any non-discrimination ordinances related to bathrooms and locker rooms.

    “This is a significant compromise from all sides on an issue that has been discussed and discussed and discussed in North Carolina for a long period of time,” Senate leader Phil Berger said. “It is something that I think satisfies some people, dissatisfied some people, but I think it’s a good thing for North Carolina.”

    Upcoming Maternity Fair

    Womack Army Medical Center will host a maternity fair on Saturday, April 22, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

    It will be a thorough presentation offering information on childbirth education, midwifery services, car seat safety, the WIC program and more. Breastfeeding information, nutrition, information for dads, how to soothe a crying baby, TRICARE, vaccines, labor and delivery tours, neonatal intensive care, social work and more will also be discussed, as will alcohol and tobacco cessation, hospital patient relations and social media. Additional information is available at (910) 907-7247.

    FTCC Adult Education 

    Fayetteville Technical Community College has opened a new Education Center at 225
    B Street, downtown in the former Pauline Jones Elementary School. The FTCC Educational Center provides Adult Basic Education designed to help those seeking secondary and post-secondary academic advancement as well as improvement of employability skills.  The new center also provides assessments, testing and human resource development. The programs are geared to provide individuals with skills that are critical to employment in the workplace. Classes are offered face to face, on and off-campus, online and during the daytime and evenings. 

    Fayetteville Fire Department Wins Grant

    The Hartford, a nationally recognized property and casualty insurance company, has awarded the Fayetteville Fire Department a $10,000 grant to support fire safety education and behavior initiatives. The donation was based on a risk identification study formed from the analysis of information from the U.S. Fire Administration’s National Fire Incident Reporting System. It grew out of a survey conducted from a small sample of Fayetteville’s general population of 204,000 residents. Fayetteville ranked 22nd out of 100 U.S. cities with an increased home fire risk.  The survey only identified certain human-related risk factors that may lead to residential fires. 

    A date and time the donation will be presented to the department will
    be announced.

    Cumberland County Citizen Training

    Cumberland County Commissioners invite all members of its appointed boards and committees to attend “How to be an Effective Board Member” training April 10-11 at the Crown Complex Ballroom. Commissioners also encourage residents interested in serving on a board to attend. Professional trainer Denise Ryan will lead two 90-minute sessions on April 10 at 12 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. The last session will be on April 11 at 8 a.m. Participants are asked to reserve their seats by April 3 by calling (910) 678-7772 or emailing kbeam@co.cumberland.nc.us. Light refreshments will be provided. “We are offering this training to increase the understanding of what is expected of board members,” said Chairman Glenn Adams.
    “I encourage anyone currently serving or interested in serving to attend one of the sessions,” he added.                   

  •      I am looking at possibly buying a house that is very close to a gasoline station. Is it safe to live so close to a gas station? What concerns should I have? I have toddler and infant babies.               
    — Ranjeeta, Houston, Texas

         Despite all the modern health and safety guidelines they must follow, gas stations can still pose significant hazards to neighbors, especially children. Some of the perils include ground-level ozone caused in part by gasoline fumes, groundwater hazards from petroleum products leaking into the ground, and exposure hazards from other chemicals that might be used at the station if it’s also a repair shop.
         Ozone pollution is caused by a mixture of volatile organic compounds, some of which are found in gasoline vapors, and others, like carbon monoxide, that come from car exhaust. Most gas pumps today must have government-regulated vapor-recovery boots on their nozzles, which limit the release of gas vapors while you’re refueling your car. A similar system is used by the station when a tanker arrives to refill the underground tanks. But if those boots aren’t working properly, the nearly odorless hydrocarbon fumes, which contain harmful chemicals like benzene, can be released into the air. {mosimage}
         Higher ozone levels can lead to respiratory problems and asthma, while benzene is a known cancer-causing chemical, according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The quest to reduce ozone levels has led the state of California to implement a more stringent vapor-recovery law, effective April 1, 2009, which requires that all gasoline pumps have a new, more effective vapor-recovery nozzle.
         Underground gasoline storage tanks can also be a problem. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that there are some 660,000 of them from coast-to-coast. Many a lawsuit has been filed against oil firms in communities across the country by people whose soil and groundwater were fouled by a gas station’s leaking underground storage tank. In the past, most tanks were made of uncoated steel, which will rust over time. Also, pipes leading to the tanks can be accidentally ruptured.
         When thousands of gallons of gasoline enter the soil, chemicals travel to groundwater, which the EPA says is the source of drinking water for nearly half the U.S. If buying a home, consider its potential loss in value if a nearby underground storage tank were to leak. Gasoline additives such as methyl tertiary-butyl ether (MTBE), which has been outlawed in some states, make the water undrinkable — and that is only one of 150 chemicals in gasoline. Repeated high exposure to gasoline, whether in liquid or vapor form, can cause lung, brain and kidney damage, according to the NIH’s National Library of Medicine.
         Spilled or vaporized gasoline is not the only chemical hazard if the station is also a repair shop. Mechanics use solvents, antifreeze and lead products, and may work on vehicles that have asbestos in brakes or clutches. Auto refinishers and paint shops use even more potentially harmful chemicals.
         In today’s car-centric world, we can’t escape exposure completely, because these chemicals are in our air just about everywhere. But by choosing where we live, keeping an eye out for spills, and pressuring the oil companies to do the right thing for the communities they occupy, we can minimize our exposures.
    CONTACTS: U.S. EPA, www.epa.gov; National Institutes of Health, www.nih.gov.
         GOT AN ENVIRONMENTAL QUESTION? Send it to: EarthTalk, c/o E/The Environmental Magazine, P.O. Box 5098, Westport, CT 06881; submit it at: www.emagazine.com/earthtalk/thisweek/, or e-mail: earthtalk@emagazine.com. archives.php.
  • 04-06-11-pitt-dickey.jpg“Kinetic military action, what is it good for? Absolutely nothing.” as Edwin Starr once almost sang in a different context a few short decades ago. “Finish your fi rst two wars before you start a third war” as my sainted Mother would say. You may have noticed, things that your own Mother told you have a way of sticking around in the back of the old cerebral cortex despite your best earlier efforts to ignore everything she said to you. Quoth my Mother, “You can’t have desert until you finish your vegetables.” “Make up your bed.” “Always close the kitchen drawer after you open it so you won’t spill things into it.” “Procrastination is the thief of both time and money.” “Brush your fi shy teeth.” You get the picture. It’s your Mother’s voice in the back of your head that you will hear the rest of your life until you fi nally fi nd out what’s behind the light at the end of the tunnel. “Finish what you started before starting something new.” She would not be pleased with our third Muslim war.

    I watched President Obi’s recent address to the nation explaining why we needed to make like Pat Boone and use the friendly persuasion of A-10 Warthog attack planes to nuance Moammar el Gaddaffy Duck out of Libya. I kept hoping President Obi would convince me we should be bombing Libya. As George Orwell said “War is Peace.” Could I stop worrying and learn to love the bomb, like Dr. Strangelove counseled? If NATO lightly roasts Gaddaffy with a basting of napalm into a Libyan version of the old Girl Scout favorite Somoammars, will we all end up singing around the campfi re of democracy?

    As I watched the President I thought, please Obi, do your magical word thing. Make me believe. Convince me. Let your overarching wisdom pour down on me like the cooling radioactive rain over the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear reactors in Japan. I prayed I wouldn’t fi nd myself in agreement with the crazy talking heads on Fox TV that the Libyan war was a double plus ungood idea. Alas, my prayers went unanswered. The unthinkable happened. I found myself agreeing with Republican Presidential candidates that our latest Libyan war was less than a most excellent adventure. The horror. The horror. Surely I couldn’t be in agreement with Newt Gingrich’s most recent fl ip fl op against the Libyan war. How could I have fallen so low as to agree with the Newtster? I cringed in shame. What was I missing? Had I dropped into some black hole of twisted Neo-Con anti-anything Obama radioactive cess pool of bitterness? Have I been eating too much Japanese sushi with Plutonium and Cesium sauce? What is disrupting my thought patterns? How can I be agreeing with the Republicans on this issue?

    Who are the Libyan rebels we are now allied with? As Butch Cassidy once said to the Sundance Kid, “Who are those guys?” What do we know about them? Will the Libyan rebels turn out like the mujahideen in Afghanistan and morph into an unpleasant Libyan version of Al Qaeda?

    As I watched Obi’s speech, realizing I wasn’t buying what he was selling, my confusion grew. I thought of George Washington’s band playing “The World Turned Upside Down” as Cornwallis surrendered at Yorktown. What will happen next, will I fi nd myself agreeing with Crazy Joe Lieberman that we need to bomb Syria to help the citizens who are protesting against Assad? Do we need to bomb Yemen and Saudi Arabia to help out democracy there? Is there any Muslim country we shouldn’t bomb back into the Stone Age so we can rebuild it with borrowed money from the Chinese back into a paragon of peace, love and democracy? Can we make the Shiites, Sunnis, Alawites, Stalactites and the Uptites link arms and sing Kum Bay Ya by blowing up their cities? Does love have to hurt? Crazy Joe Lieberman thinks so.

    Despite our silver tongued President’s best efforts, I am not convinced we need to keep invading Muslim countries even though it seems like a good idea at the time. What would Charlie Sheen do?

     

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    Lynne O’Quinn is no stranger to the military. Her father and grandfather both served and instilled in her a respect for the sacrifices that service members and their loved ones make. 

    Growing up near Fort Bragg, North Carolina, she watched soldiers and their families carrying out the nation’s business. She didn’t necessarily plan to start a ministry built around the military, in fact, she had her heart set on a career in music, but when it happened, it was clear that this was what she was meant to do. The ministry, His Little Ones Ministry, was founded in 2008 and is currently in 110 countries. In addition to running His Little Ones Ministry and the His Stars and Stripe subsidiary that focuses on military children, she is set to release the single, “Stand Proud.”

    Now in its second iteration, “Stand Proud” was first conceived during a visit to Arlington National Cemetery and the National Archives in Washington, D.C. 

    “This song was released one time before during Operation Desert Storm. It was right when Desert Storm had begun. It was actually the 4th of July that I wrote it,” said O’Quinn. “All of this stuff was going on overseas …  they were burning the flag and so many other things that were hard to see.”

    Inspiration struck when O’Quinn was walking through Arlington National Cemetery looking at the headstones and reflecting on the sacrifices. 

    “There were so many. I was looking at the names and ages on each grave and some weren’t even marked,” she said. “It just really grabbed me and these words just started coming to me.”  

    From there, she visited the National Archives Building, where she found herself overwhelmed with the history of the nation. “God just started working in my heart and I tried to conceive of all the sacrifices that have been made … I was just overcome. I sat on the steps and pulled out whatever was in my pocket and started writing down these words. Within a few minutes it was done. Then the 4th of July parade happened, and I was in tears.”

    When she returned home, O’Quinn teamed up with longtime friend and musician Doyle Wood who wrote the music to go with the lyrics. The song came together quickly and was met with success but was pulled from distribution when Operation Desert Storm ended. 

     Recently, while working on another project, O’Quinn came across the original recording of “Stand Proud.” She knew right away that it was time to breathe new life into the song. She brought it up to Wood, who agreed, and the two set out to refine the piece. 

    “We have worked very hard on this and were very careful to have something unifying in every sentence to make this a song that can bring America together,” said O’Quinn.

    The project has taken on a life of its own, reaffirming O’Quinn’s belief that this song is about more than entertainment. It is about healing. It features powerhouse musicians like Miss North Carolina Beth Stovall and Vanessa Mathis Holland, who has had hits place at No. 2 and No. 6 on the Soul Charts, the Snyder Memorial Baptist Church Choir, Laura Stevens and many more notable talents. 

    “The piece is already in orchestration,” said O’Quinn. “We are receiving calls from churches and other organizations that want to perform this piece, and we will have the musical scores so it will be ready for any band, symphony or other musical group to perform.”

    All of the proceeds from the song will be used to support the His Stars and Stripes Ministry in support of military children. 

    “We are wanting this for the country and to help troops and to build their morale and do something to say ‘Thanks’ and that ‘We appreciate all you and your families have done,’” said O’Quinn.

    Find out more about Stand Proud at www.americastandproud.org. Learn more about her ministries at www.hislittleonesministry.org/about/his-stars-and-stripes.

  •      A visitor from Chapel Hill recently asked me driving directions to the Martin Luther King Junior Expressway. From his location, getting there would be quick and easy, with only two turns. When I tried to explain the route — one I have taken hundreds of times, he asked what highway numbers the road signs would give him.
         I was clueless.                
         I have lived in our community almost all of my life and get around easily, I am almost always comfortable about where I am and where I am going. I have little use for road signs in a community so familiar to me and was at a loss about what to tell my friend.    
         A recent tour of one of our family bookcases was a similar experience.   
        {mosimage} Most of the books are familiar to me, some paperback mysteries and sweeping sagas leftover from long-ago beach vacations, tomes on history of which several Dicksons are quite fond, several how-tos on various topics, a number of Bibles and Books of Common Prayer and some favorite English literature textbooks. There are a few books I simply do not know how they arrived on our shelf.                      
         Like the road signs, our bookshelf is so familiar to me, I hardly look at it anymore. It has become wallpaper.       
         I was struck by that thought so I pulled a few books out to see whether I could determine why one of us, probably me,  had decided to keep it.
         I was surprised at how consistently the books reflect our family interests, even though there has been no conscious effort to do that.
         Here is a sampling of what I found.
         We own many books about North Carolina things. These include Humor of a Country Lawyer by the late Senator Sam J. Ervin, Jr., a book, which like its author, is full of wonderful stories and solid wisdom. Among my favorites are tales Ervin tells about ordinary North Carolinians, including a Superior Court Judge Jule Rousseau in the North Carolina mountains during the first part of the 20th century. Out campaigning for votes one day, the judge stopped at a sawmill.   The foreman told him that his workers occasionally had run-ins with the law over backwoods stills and would vote for a judge “who’s not too bright and can’t catch on to everything.”
         The judge took this in and then responded, “Then I’m your man.” The foreman zinged back. “That’s what we decided. You can count on our support.”              
         Ervin also quotes this same Judge Rousseau as telling a reporter who inquired about a case he had handled that “I am not going to talk about that case or the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court has reversed me so often I’ve lost all confidence in its judgment.”
         Also on the shelves is famed professor Albert Coates’ jewel-like history of his beloved institution, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill: A Magic Gulf Stream in the Life of North Carolina, and the more recent Communists on Campus: Race Politics, and the Public University in Sixties North Carolina by William J. Billingsley, in which a Dickson relative takes on the North Carolina General Assembly and then TV commentator Jesse Helms.
         And since history does not change, I am particularly glad to have a copy of a small paperback entitled A Guide to Historic Fayetteville and Cumberland County, published by the 1976 Provisional Class of the Junior Service League of Fayetteville, Inc. It still has a faded sticker with its original prices, $1.50.   
         Always in the market for pithy quotations, I found a number of books with famous and not so famous ones, including a small paperback entitled Great Quotes from Great Women, compiled by Peggy Anderson. It includes this nugget from the late American rock singer Janis Joplin. “Don’t compromise yourself. You are all you’ve got.”
         Also on the shelf is an autographed copy of unknown origin of Churchill on Courage: Timeless Wisdom for Persevering, compiled by Frederick Talbott. It includes this quote from Churchill’s final speech, which was given at the White House in 1963 as he was awarded honorary United States citizenship, that resonates in these troubled times. “Our past is key to our future, which I firmly trust and believe will be no less fertile and glorious. Let no man underrate our energies, our potentialities and our abiding power for good.”    
         Then there is the incomparable Oxford Dictionary of Quotations, organized both by topic and by author. Ours is the 3rd edition, and everyone’s shelves would be enriched by a copy.
         I cannot say that every book on our shelves is held dear, but many of them are, and I am glad I took a fresh look at books I live with daily but had come not to see. There are treasures in them.
         So what became of my friend trying to find the MLK? After several frustrating minutes of trying to explain the directions, I finally got in my car and led him to it.    
         I was not surprised to see signage for Highway 87 which I had never really noticed.
  • ellington-white.jpg

    Fayetteville is an arts-friendly town if there ever was one. With several galleries, resources and support systems for creatives it is hard to imagine an organization that supports art and artists flying under the radar, but for many, Ellington-White CDC has done just that. 

    The group has been active in Fayetteville since 2007. Before that, Ellington-White CDC called Detroit, Michigan, home. At Ellington-White CDC, all art is valuable and one of the main goals is to ensure access and development of artistic experiences for everyone. Currently, the Ellington-White Contemporary Gallery is partnering with the Arts Council Fayetteville/Cumberland County in the show Earthy Abstractions. The show is on display at the Arts Council until May 16. 

    Earthy Abstractions showcases works by artists that use earth elements like soil, clay, wood, stone and other natural materials in their work. The pieces are connected by theme, texture or materials in their relationship to nature. The Arts Council Gallery hours are Monday - Thursday: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Friday: 9 a.m. to noon; and Saturday: noon to 4 p.m.

    “Currently we have a national exhibit on display in the Arts Council’s exhibition space entitled Earthy Abstractions. It contains work from more than 35 artists from 14 states and is the first of what we plan to be many national high profile exhibitions,” said Calvin Mims, the executive director of Ellington-White. “On May 9, we open another national show in partnership with the Cape Fear Botanical Gardens entitled Art and Flowers: Color, Form and Harmony. This is another national competition that will feature more than 50 floral inspired works of art from 33 national artists, several from this area.”

    Art And Flowers: Color Form and Harmony runs through June 20.

    Exploring and encouraging diversity in the arts is important to Ellington-White CDC, and the programs it supports. Upon relocating to Fayetteville, Ellington-White CDC reached out to Fayetteville State University and CommuniCare and started programming that provides high-quality, after-school arts education to special-needs youth. It is taught on the FSU campus by professional artists. Other programs provide artists with the information and tools they need to engage the community and use art as a unifying concept in building a strong community.

    “We bring much needed culturally diverse visual art that is reflective of our community here in Cumberland County. I also think that our Discovering the Arts program for young people is an important program for us,” explained Mims. “With our program partner, CommuniCare, Inc., we have been exposing young people to the joys of the arts. Young people are given a positive outlet for their emotions and creativity.”

    In March, Ellington-White CDC partnered with the Department of Fine and Performing Arts at Fayetteville State University to bring Moving in the Spirit II: The Griot and Movement, a two-day regional dance conference to the community. 

    “What I love most about our work at Ellington-White is the excitement of discovery for everyone who comes to the gallery and makes a meaningful connection with a work of art,” he continued. “We feel that the art scene here in Fayetteville is growing. There is a youthful excitement around the exhibitions we bring and the growing body of support from young local artists that makes me very hopeful for the future.”

    In addition to collaborations with local organizations, Ellington-White CDC offers show space in the Ellington-White Contemporary Gallery. This space features works by emerging and professional artists as well as touring exhibits. The focus is on shows that reflect and respond to cultural arts and diversity in the community.

    Through outreach, programming and partnerships, Ellington-White CDC seeks to:

    • Ensure access and development of artistic experiences for everyone;

    • Promote investment in the arts as
    economic development;

    • Publicly champion the importance of the arts in everyday life;

    • Expand public/private partnerships between schools, the community and arts organizations;

    • Create an artist corps of professionals; and,

    • Present after-school and community-based 

    arts programs

    Find out more about Ellington-White CDC at http://www.ellington-white.com.


  • cover-04-29-15.jpg

    The Gypsy Women at Legends Pub are rowdy and fun loving. They are endearingly high-spirited and sassy, but that is not what people remember most about them. What sticks with people who know them is the Gypsy Women’s generosity and the way they work like hell to take care of the people they love and support the causes they believe in — the way they dig in with both heels and do everything they can to make this community better — and how they and everyone around them has a blast in the process. 

    The much-anticipated 19th Annual Spring Fling is set for May 1-3 at Legend’s Pub. The event raises funds for the Chambers for Hope and celebrates the installation of the Scott Sather Memorial at Freedom Memorial Park, an event almost 12 years in the making.   

    While the Spring Fling is the main fundraiser for the Gypsy Women, each year they organize several other poker runs and events to help different people and causes. Holly Whitley is the owner of Legends Pub and one of the founding Gypsy Women. 

    “I’ve never kept up with how much we raised over the years,” said Whitley. “But I can tell you this — we have knocked it out of the ballpark for last couple of years.”

    The event has helped several local organizations over the years and the three days of memory making that it entails is something not to be missed. The fun starts on Friday night with a pre-party. Saturday kicks off with the Scott Sather Poker Run followed by plenty of food and entertainment, including an auction and several raffles after the ride. The bike show and rodeo conclude the Spring Flingon Sunday. The events on all three days are open to the public. 

    The many motorcycles parked outside Legend’s on any given night might give pause to the wary but there are plenty who swear that walking into Legend’s Pub is like coming home. Maybe it is the Thanksgiving, Christmas and other holiday dinners and celebrations that are shared here, maybe it is the camaraderie, maybe it is the way each and every person is welcomed when they come through the door, but there is magic here. No one is a stranger, not even on their first visit and lucky is the person who becomes part of the Legends family.

    Scott Sather was part of that family. 

    “He was one of our dearest friends and a loyal customer,” said Whitley. “Scott supported everything we did and was always there when we needed help with something. Losing him was a real blow for us. He touched so many lives.” 

    Sather was killed in Iraq on April 8, 2003. 

    “He was the first airman killed in Iraq,” Whitley added. “We marked 12 years since his passing on April 8. It took over 11 years to get his memorial into Freedom Memorial Park. The monument well describes who Scott was. We do a poker run in his memory every year.” 

    Six-year-old Dana placed Sather’s picture on the Hero Tree at her school. She’s never met Sather, but he has touched her life because he was important to someone she loves. 

    “She explained how she was not old enough to ever know him, but he was her dad’s best friend and that made him important to her, too,” said Whitley. 

    Sather is one of many honored on the memory wall at the back of Legends Pub. The wall serves as a reminder of the rich friendships and colorful personalities that have touched the Legends Pub family. Some were killed in the line of duty. Others fell to illness or were claimed by fate in accidents. There is sadness in Whitley’s voice when she talks about the loved ones on that wall, but the 

    While the memory wall serves to honor those who no longer walk among us, the festivities on this first weekend in May are about helping the living. The beneficiary of this year’sSpring Fling is Chambers for Hope, which provides financial assistance to individuals who need hyberbaric oxygen therapy. The foundation was started after several Green Berets received hyperbaric oxygen therapy treatment that was funded by the Green Beret Foundation. memories are good and if you ask, she has tales of hijinx, loyalty and friendship about each and every person whose memory lives on in the pictures and mementos.

    “Then we started meeting other vets who could benefit from the treatment but were not Green Berets. No one else was coming forward to fund their treatment,” said Denise Mercado the president of Chambers for Hope. “Chambers for Hope is now a network. Our idea is to provide services people need where they live. If there is a safe hyperbaric oxygen therapy clinic where they live, why should people travel? We are identifying clinics and patients and doing events to get funding.”

    All of the funds raised at the Spring Fling will be used to fund hyperbaric treatment
    for veterans. 

    “We have about six vets on the waiting list right now,” said Mercado. “It is going to help vets and first responders. Chambers for Hope provides 100 percent funding to the military and first responders and 50 percent funding to children and other adults (who receive hyperbaric oxygen therapy,) but the Spring Fling is 100 percent for veterans.” 

    Hyperbaric oxygen therapy involves breathing pure oxygen in a pressurized room or tube. The air pressure in the tube is up to three times higher than normal. This lets the body take in more oxygen, which means more oxygen gets to damaged tissues. This not only helps heal the body but also increases the speed of healing in some cases. The therapy is often used for anemia, severe brain abscess, burns, decompression sickness, carbon monoxide poisoning, crushing injury, deafness, gangrene, infection of skin or bone that causes tissue death, nonhealing wounds, such as a diabetic foot ulcer, radiation injury, skin graft or skin flap at risk of tissue death and sudden and painless vision loss. 

    James “Flea” Weatherly is a long-time patron of Legends Pub. He was seriously injured in a motorcycle accident in 2013 and is working hard to recover. His recovery process includes hyperbaric oxygen therapy at Fayetteville Hyperbarics. Weatherly has undergone 17 hyperbaric treatments and with great results. 

    “John (Denise’s husband and hyberbaric technician) and Denise at Chambers for Hope are sharing so much with the community to help make people aware of what is available,” said Whitley. “The treatment is making a difference. A statement made by John was ‘I don’t necessarily ask the patient as much as I do the spouses or friends,’ and I can understand that, as my dear friend Flea is receiving it and benefiting from this treatment. The VA does not recognize this treatment. Meeting John and Denise and sharing their passion for the program is definitely inspiring to so many to join in and help.”

    Not much has changed from the ‘80s whenWhitley’s friend Jack jokingly called Whitley and her two friends Gypsy Women … mostly because they were always on the move. The group has seen friends come and go and often come back again. Whitley still loves to ride and she is always on the go. The Gypsy Women still stand in the gap and do what they can where they can to make the world a better place. 

    “The ladies of Legends are amazing,” said Whitley. “As of now people from every walk of life have stepped up to the plate — ladies that ride and even those who don’t. And I could never ask for kinder and more generous men in our surroundings as well.”

    Find out more about Chambers for Hope at chambersforhope.org. Find out more about the Spring Fling by calling 867-2364.

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    Outer Loop Progress

    The next phase of Fayetteville’s Outer Loop is scheduled to open to traffic in four months. North Carolina Department of Transportation Division Engineer Greg Burns tells Up & Coming Weekly the section of what will eventually be I-295, from Ramsey Street to Bragg Boulevard, will open in August. Overhead signs and guard rails are being installed now. The section from Bragg Boulevard to the All American Freeway is set to open in the fall. “Bragg Boulevard will not be closed until the work on Murchison Road and Bragg Boulevard through Spring Lake is complete,” said Burns. “We anticipate that work to be finished by December 2016 to January 2017.” 

    The Army’s ability to close Bragg Boulevard (NC 87-24) to thru traffic motivated the North Carolina Board of Transportation to place the Fayetteville Outer Loop project on a fast track several years ago, bypassing a major highway project in Charlotte. But in 200, the project was temporarily stalled because of a shortage of highway funds. Military officials made a twofold request to DOT; first that it gain direct access to I-95 and second that an alternate high-speed route to Bragg Boulevard be provided so the Army could close off the boulevard in the vicinity of Stryker Golf Course thereby improving security on post. Murchison Road was upgraded with a loop to Bragg Boulevard.


    042016jeff2.jpg

    Downtown Parking a Problem, Again

    Remember the days of parking meters on Hay Street, downtown?  The Fayetteville City Council is seriously giving some thought to bringing back the dime-eating devices. A 7-year-old ordinance allowing on-street paid parking under some circumstances could make a comeback. The local law isn’t being enforced currently, and the Downtown Alliance isn’t anxious for its comeback. About 40 members of the Alliance held a quarterly meeting last week to hear City Traffic Engineer Lee Jernigan bring them up to speed. “Free parking has been a luxury in this community,” said Mayor Pro Tem Mitch Colvin at a March 29 City Council meeting. The Downtown Alliance will conduct a study on how to improve downtown marketing and the Council seems willing to wait for the findings. Parking is a big part of enhancing the downtown area. Since the opening of the Airborne & Special Operations Museum more than 15 years ago, real revitalization has revived commerce and good living and reduced crime downtown. One of the challenges is figuring out how to encourage people to use the Franklin Street parking deck. One way would be the resurrection of those meters on Hay Street.

     

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    VA Health Center to Close?                   

    A blue-ribbon panel created to evaluate the Veterans Affairs healthcare system is floating a radical proposal to eliminate all VA medical centers and outpatient facilities over the next 20 years. Instead, the VA would transition 9 million veterans to the private sector. This, after a $120 million health center was opened in Fayetteville six months ago. Seven of the 15 outside advisers appointed to recommend ways to improve veterans’ health services proposed the startling move. David Blom, president and CEO of the Ohio Health System, authored the report with input from the six other members.  Blom wrote that the goal is to “meet the needs of every veteran,” something he claims is not being done now.

    “The commission finds the current VA healthcare system is seriously broken … and there is no efficient path to repair it,” Blom and other commission members wrote in their report. Shuttering the largest medical system in the country would leave the VA primarily a payer, like Medicare. To entice physicians and facilities to accept more veterans as patients, the document proposes that VA reimbursement rates be set 5 to 10 percent higher than Medicare pays.

    Backlash from veteran service organizations was swift. The American Legion noted many commissioners are medical-industry executives who stand to gain financially if VA care is privatized. Paralyzed Veterans of America said placing vets with special needs into private-sector care “is a death sentence.” Veterans Affairs Undersecretary of Health Dr. David Shulkin told commissioners March 23 that the VA is already undergoing a “bold transformation” to improve care at in-house health facilities. 


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    Nextdoor Polls Residents               

    Connecting neighbors with one another via social networking is what Nextdoor is all about. More than 9,000 Fayetteville households are already signed up. Now, using www.nextdoor.com, members can participate in a new polling feature. Subscribers are asked to respond to questionnaires about crime and crime fighting. “It’s a way for us to follow chronic crime issues,” said Police Chief Harold Medlock. It’s an outgrowth of the White House Open Data Policing Initiative, in which Medlock has participated. He’s in Washington this week. The police department has used Nextdoor for nearly two years. Polling can be done in individual neighborhoods or citywide. It’s administered by the PD’s Crime Prevention Division and is the first use of the social media by a police agency in North Carolina.


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    Fayetteville Murder Rate Up                 

    “This sort of thing creates fear in our city,” said Fayetteville Police Chief Harold Medlock. “I’m angry,” he added. Medlock was referring to Fayetteville’s eighth homicide of the year. That’s twice the number of murders during the corresponding period last year (and there’s been a ninth murder since then). Joseph Alexander Cason Jr., 22, of Amanda Circle, was jailed on a first-degree murder charge and two counts of shooting into an occupied vehicle following a rolling gun battle. Police identified the shooting victim as Thomas Durane Evans, 28, of Dudley Drive. 

    The shooting stemmed from an incident the week before at a Graham Road convenience store in which Evans’ brother was shot. “This was a straight up retaliation shooting,” said Medlock. Cason and Evans faced off each other in the parking lot of the Rayconda Shopping Plaza off Raeford Road. They then got into their cars and began shooting at each other as they drove along Raeford Road. The vehicles turned onto Strickland Bridge Road, and at one point, Medlock said, the vehicles were side by side as the drivers exchanged gunfire. “Too many young black men are taking lives in this community and if they want to fire me for saying that, so be it. At some point folks have to take responsibility for their actions … I’ve had it. We can’t police stupid,” Medlock added. 


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    Camp Corral                 

    If you’ve eaten at Golden Corral ® on Skibo Road recently, you likely were asked to make a donation to Camp Corral. It’s the latest effort by the Raleigh-based restaurant chain to support summer camp for the children of wounded, disabled and fallen service members. Fayetteville was home to the first Golden Corral ® restaurant, which was opened on Bragg Boulevard in 1973. The fledgling company began as an affordable steakhouse. Forty-three years later, Golden Corral ® is well known as America’s #1 buffet and grill. According to its website, when you make a gift to Camp Corral, you’re not only giving military children a week of fun, but also providing them with life-changing experiences. “Both of my kids came home with tons of new knowledge, skills and confidence. We have moved 13 times in 19 years, and the kids never really seemed to fit in with non-military kids because their lives are so different from the friends from school,” said one grateful parent. The fundraiser, which began this month, coincides with the fifth anniversary of Camp Corral. More than 2,300 kids are on the waiting list to attend 21 camps including one in eastern North Carolina. The company says it has raised more than $5 million for Camp Corral.


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    Interim Fayetteville City Manager Doug Hewett is taking personal responsibility for management of the city police department. 

    Hewett tells Up & Coming Weekly in an exclusive interview that he intends to oversee the police and fire departments, relieving Deputy Manager Kristoff Bauer of that responsibility. 

    “I believe the scope of public safety requires that the chiefs report to the manager,” Hewett said. He pointed out that former Chief Tom Bergamine reported to then manager Dale Iman. Hewett served with Iman as an assistant city manager. He returned to city government last year and was confirmed by city council last week as interim city manager. 

    Hewett acknowledged that he had been made aware of Police Chief Harold Medlock’s discontent resulting from former manager Ted Voorhees’ decision allowing Bauer to take oversight responsibility for police operations. Medlock would not confirm or deny that he told Mayor Nat Robertson he was considering resigning. The chief said that when he came to Fayetteville three years ago his understanding was that he would answer only to the city manager. 

    “I shared my concerns with the mayor, and, it’s behind us now.” the chief told Up & Coming Weekly.

    “I am very supportive of the realignment,” said Robertson. “Eliminating a level of management will make the departments operate more efficiently.”

    Hewett said he had no idea of the changes city council was making on the night of April 11. He was home watching the Council meeting on TV when it went into executive session. An hour and a half later Mayor Robertson announced that Voorhees had submitted his resignation. 

    “I was very surprised,” Hewett said, when he got the phone call from Robertson asking him to take over as interim manager. “Having known Ted for a number of years I was concerned.” 

    Voorhees brought Hewett to Fayetteville several months ago to serve in a senior management planning role with the business community. 

    “The relationship between the manager and council is one that must be close, and when priorities change job security is sometimes called into question,” said Hewett. 

    The 45-year-old Hewett served as a Fayetteville assistant manager from 2004 to 2012. He has known, and in most cases worked with, other members of the senior management team for many years. Asked about community changes he’s noticed since his return, Hewett said he was “so excited to see a conceptual framework of the multimodal transit center actually come out of the ground.” It was a project he had worked on in its infancy. He recalled that the State Veterans Park was still in the planning stages when he left. 

    “We have jobs to do as the city moves forward on the parks bond projects, economic development, public safety and more,” he said.

    The manager added he will have a plan for involving council and the community in building our referendum projects. He says he wasn’t surprised that the bond passed. 

    “The time was right, it was significant,” added Hewett. As for his future, Hewett says he hopes to exhibit a management style that results in a “great relationship with city council.” He hasn’t said whether he’ll seek the post permanently.


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    The Fayetteville Area Convention & Visitors Bureau closed the third quarter of the 2015/2016 fiscal year with a tally of more than 65 future meetings, tournaments and group tours booked for Fayetteville and Cumberland County in the coming months. These events, which represent more than  26,000 room nights at local area hotels, impact Cumberland County’s economy at more than $5.8 million.     

    In addition to the booking achievements the FACVB:         

    • Redesigned the  County’s Cultural Heritage Trails. 

    • Attended 17 trade shows and handled 12,100

       inquiries at the three active Fayetteville visitor centers. 

    • Issued 17 press releases and secured 60 pieces of publicity in travel and local

        media. 

    • Facilitated four familiarization tours that brought attraction staff to visit hotels 

        and hotel staff to visit attractions to encourage cross-promotion.

     “Everything begins with a visit,” says John Meroski, FACVB president and CEO. “Our organization works hard to increase the number of visitors, expenditures and, in turn, taxes collected.”


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    FTCC’s Bang for the Buck                             

    Fayetteville Technical Community College is the third largest community college in North Carolina. It’s one of 58 institutions that comprise the North Carolina Community College System. Yet, it’s 32nd in local funding at $934 per full-time student, according to FTCC President Dr. Larry Keen. Counties share the cost of funding community colleges with the state. Community colleges in cities of comparable size receive much more local support. In Wilmington, County Commissioners contribute $1,212 per full-time student. In Asheville it’s $1,161. During his annual report to Cumberland County Commissioners, Keen downplayed that FTCC is the least funded of the state’s seven largest metropolitan community colleges. The ranking is deceptive, said County Commissioner Kenneth Edge. “A penny on our tax rate yields much less than other cities,” he added. Keen is seeking a 5.18 percent budget increase in the coming fiscal year, including a 3 percent raise with benefits for employees.


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    Serious House Fire          

    Fayetteville firefighters battled a house fire at 7311 Bertram Drive in Loch Lomond in which two occupants were injured, one of them seriously. Assistant Chief Kevin Morgan said the fire broke out in the middle of the night in the single-story house. The alarm was received by 911 dispatchers just after 3 a.m. Engine 8 was first on the scene and reported heavy fire and smoke. “Two people were inside the home at the time of the fire,” Morgan said. Both escaped the flames before firefighters arrived, but a family pet died in the fire. The fire department would not release names of the occupants, one of whom was hospitalized in critical condition at the Jaycee Burn Center in Chapel Hill. An investigation as to how and why the fire started continues. The fire department did not say whether the home was equipped with smoke alarms. Officials estimated the loss at $76,000.


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    Youth Council Honored      

    The Fayetteville-Cumberland Youth Council received two awards this month at the North Carolina Youth Council Spring Conference. The conference was for state-chartered youth council, which compete for various awards for the work they have done all year. The Fayetteville-Cumberland Youth Council received the “Most Outstanding Project of the Year” award. The award was voted on by their peers following 10-mintue project presentations. The FCYC project was the Fayetteville-Cumberland Glow Fest: A Race for the Change. Information and photos about the event can be seen online at Fayettevilleglow.com. The Youth Council also received the highest honor of the conference: “2016 Most Outstanding Youth Council Award.” 

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    Holly Whitley owns Legend’s Pub, but she’s the first to admit that it does not belong only to her. It’s her friends and the pub family that make this watering hole a sanctuary for so many. The Gypsy Women are a big part of that family. Their history together runs long and deep. With a shared connection to the military, they came to Fayetteville as soldiers’ wives and daughters and never left. The Gypsy Women are known for their generosity and joie de vivre. This band of sisters has faced many struggles and shared countless losses and triumphs, but they’ve done it together. They know that life is short. They know what it means to take care of their own and they have a passion for making a difference in the community they call home. That is just what they do. 

    The Gypsy Women have a magical combination of strength and tenderness that has touched many in the community these past 20 years. They’ve raised money to help pay for medical treatments due to injuries and illnesses and helped families struggling to pay bills after suffering staggering losses. If there is anything this group of women understands it’s that life is short and we can all make a difference. For two decades now, Legend’s Pub Owner Holly Whitley and the Gypsy Women have hosted a Spring Fling. It’s a weekend-long celebration of the friendship, tenacity, kindness and generosity that thrive at Legend’s Pub. And just like every day at Legend’s, everyone is welcomed with open arms and open hearts. This year the Spring Fling runs May 6-8. 

    The event benefits Stan Stewart, a longtime Legend’s Pub patron. Stan recently sustained injuries in a crash. “Stan is such a friend to us. He’s supported so many of our events. Whenever we asked for a hand with anything, Stan was right there,” said Whitley. “Now that he needs our help, we want to be there for him. There is something that just feels right about helping one of your own and we are glad to do this for him.” 

    Planning three days of fun is a tall order, but Whitley and her crew have it down to a science, and in the end it comes down to the generosity of the many volunteers at Legend’s when It’s time to get things done. “There are a few of us who get the ball rolling, but when it is time to put things together, there is no shortage of people willing to help,” she said. “I can’t tell you how many times I hear ‘What can I do to help?’ and that is such a wonderful feeling. From my daughter Christy, who has been by my side helping me for many years to Priscilla and Nancy and so many others. I can’t even tell you how many wonderful people have stepped up to help over the years.”

    The fun starts on Friday night with a pre-party and pool tournament. The tournament starts at 8:30 p.m. Saturday’s activities kick off with the Stan Stewart Poker Run. It’s kickstands up at noon for a fun-filled afternoon of riding with the last bike in by 5 p.m. for the auction, raffles and dinner. “We are going to raffle off a Harley T-shirt quilt and a few other fun items,” said Whitley. “The auction is always a lot of fun, too. We have one friend of Stan who made and donated a cigar box three-string electric guitar for the auction. I’ve got some motorcycle paintings too. We are still taking items for auction. Donating to an auction that helps someone is the best way to regift items that may not suit you.”

    On Sunday, don’t miss the bike show and cook out. “Because this coincides with Mother’s Day, we are also doing a Mother’s Day Giveaway on Sunday,” said Whitley. 

    In 20 years of hosting Spring Fling events, Whitley has never kept a tally of the money she’s raised. For her the joy is in knowing that all the hard work she and the other volunteers have put in have made a difference for people in the community. “I don’t know what we have raised over the years, but I can tell you that the last two years, we brought in more than $50,000 at each event and that feels good because all of it stays in the community,” she said. “We don’t give to large organizations. We give to local nonprofits and families. That is where our heart is.”

    Last year’s Spring Fling raised money for hyberbaric treatment for veterans. The year before that it was literacy and education that benefitted from the event. 

    The Spring Fling is just one of five or six runs that Legend’s hosts each year. “We do some other smaller fundraisers throughout the year,” said Whitley. “But we have a lot of fun, too. Our friends and patrons are always there for us. Every time we ask, they are there to support us so it is important to give back to them, too. We have things like Valentine’s Day events and Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners. My kids, Christy and J.D.  have celebrated the last 19 Thanksgivings at Legend’s. We set out a long table and serve turkeys and hams and everyone brings their favorite side dish to share. It’s nice to be able to celebrate like that with friends.”

    You don’t have to ride to come and enjoy the Spring Fling festivities and make new friends in the process. There is no such thing as a stranger here, and many are lucky enough to join our ever-growing family. The welcoming smiles, cold refreshments and easy camaraderie make for easy conversation and life-long friendships. Call 864-2364 for more information

     
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    The Fayetteville-Fort Bragg community paid its respects to the men and women of the 1st Squadron, 17th Cavalry Regiment during a fly over at the Airborne and Special Operations Museum. The Fort Bragg-based squadron is the last on duty in the United States. The squadron and its 30 helicopters have been reassigned to South Korea. The OH-58D Kiowa Warrior primarily operates as an armed reconnaissance aircraft in support of ground troops. Except for the one remaining squadron, the Bell Kiowa is being replaced by the Boeing AH-64 Apache Attack Helicopter. The final flight from Simmons Army Airfield to Fayetteville and back was the community’s way of saying thank you for the service and farewell. 

    The Kiowa Warrior helicopter has played a key scouting role for decades. The Bell OH-58 Kiowa is a family of single-engine, single-rotor helicopters used for observation, utility and direct fire support. Bell manufactured the OH-58 for the Army based on its civilian Jet Ranger aircraft. The OH-58 has been in continuous use by the U.S. Army since 1969. The latest model, the OH-58D Kiowa Warrior, is primarily operated as an armed reconnaissance aircraft in support of ground troops. It is used worldwide having been exported to Austria, Canada, the Dominican Republic, Taiwan and Saudi Arabia. 

    The 17th Cavalry is an historical organization that began as a regiment of cavalry following the Poncho Villa Expedition. The unit was constituted in July 1916 in the Regular Army as the 17th Cavalry at Fort Bliss, Texas, and originally inactivated in September 1921. Then, it was reorganized as a part of the Army’s Regimental System in an ongoing effort to maintain the lineage and history of the Army. In early spring 2006, 1st Squadron, 17th Cavalry, transferred to Fort Campbell, Kentucky, and was reflagged as the 7th Squadron, 17th Cavalry of the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault). As part of the Army’s modular force structure, the 1st Squadron was reassigned to the 82nd Airborne Division’s reorganized 82nd CAB. This summer, the squadron departs Fort Bragg for Korea.

    When the unit was reactivated and assigned to the 82nd CAB. The formation included: Headquarters and Headquarters Company (Gryphon), 1st Squadron, 17th Cavalry Regiment (Saber), 1st Attack Reconnaissance Battalion (Wolfpack), 2nd Assault Battalion (Corsair), 3rd General Support Aviation Battalion (Talon), and 122nd Aviation Support Battalion (Atlas).  When Saber’s nine-month deployment to South Korea is completed next year, the unit will switch to more modern Apache helicopters and unmanned aerial vehicles (drones). 

    Air cavalry soldiers are sometimes seen wearing traditional Stetson headgear. It was the headgear of Cavalrymen during the late 18th century into the 19th century, including the Indian Wars, Civil War and Mexican-American War. In the modern Army, the Stetson was revived as an unauthorized, unofficial headgear for the sake of esprit de corps. Because it is not authorized, wear and use
    of the Stetson is regulated by
    unit commanders.


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    Roses, succulents, calla lilies and more will take on a new level of sophistication as the Ellington-White Contemporary Art Gallery showcases more than 60 juried works with the 2nd Annual Art and Flower Exhibition at the Arts Council of Fayetteville/Cumberland County beginning this 4th Friday. This intrinsic showcase will pair original artworks along with unique floral arrangements created by local area floral designers and event planners.

    “Works will include paintings, drawings, collages and photography,” said Dwight Smith, artist and founder of the Ellington-White Contemporary Art Gallery. “This is a beautiful exhibition from all over the country. Such an exhibition demonstrates the continued significance of botanical art through both conventional and innovative methods.”

    The Ellington-White Contemporary Art Gallery began in Michigan as a project for two friends, Smith and Calvin Mims. The agency moved to Fayetteville in 2007, after ten years of cultural programming in Detroit, beginning first working with CommuniCare, Inc. The organization then moved to provide high quality after-school arts education to special needs youth through its “Discovering The Arts Program” taught by professional artists on the campus of Fayetteville State University and its Valley Gate offices. The programs provide a productive, structured and safe learning environment for under-served youth in Cumberland County during the after school, Saturday and summer vacation time. 

    “Research has shown a direct correlation between increased academic performance and decreased at-risk behaviors, increased self-esteem and increased problem-solving skills when young people participate in art, music, dance, theatre and creative writing programs,” said Smith. “By using visual and performance arts as a catalyst, we keep our participants engaged and active, help them to improve their academic performance and interpersonal skills and provide life experiences that will hopefully help keep them out of the juvenile justice system and point them towards becoming valued community members.”

    The exhibition will open to the general public at the Arts Council at 301 Hay Street from Friday, Apr. 22 during downtown’s 4th Friday celebration from 7 to 9 p.m.  and will hang through Saturday, May 21 during regular Arts Council hours. A gala reception is set for Thursday, Apr. 21, from 6 to 8 p.m. for members and invited guests of Ellington-White and the Arts Council. All art work will be for sale.

    Artists have been selected from all over the country. Image selection jurors were professors Shane Booth, Soni Martin and Dwight Smith from the Department of Performing and Fine Arts at Fayetteville State University.The floral arrangements were juried by the Garden Club Council of Fayetteville. 

    The Ellington-White Contemporary Gallery located at 113 Gillespie St., is an art gallery for emerging and professional artists, presenting a yearly exhibition schedule of national and local artists, national touring exhibitions and curatorial research projects in the visual arts and the humanities. Visit www.ellington-white.com for a complete listing of programs, events and activities.

    For more information on the Arts Council of Fayetteville/Cumberland County, visit, www.theartscouncil.com. Gallery hours are Monday through Thursday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Friday from 9 a.m. to noon and Saturday from noon to 4 p.m.


     

  • Canines have become a staple of law enforcement agencies around the world. Like many jurisdictions, Fayetteville’s K-9 corps is comprised of two primary breeds, the Belgian Malinois and German Shepherd. The latter is the most popular breed of police dog. The Shepherd is a 200-year-old breed in the herding class of working dogs. Law enforcement began using them for crowd control in the 1950s. The Belgian Malinois (pronounced Mal-In-Wah) is a smaller, sleeker version of the German Shepherd. These animals are imported from Holland. This 135-year-old breed is popular with police because they are hard-working dogs with a high level of endurance. They’re noted for their intelligence, speed and agility. The Malinois is the second most popular breed of canine in service in the United States. 

    What may come as a surprise to some is that the Fayetteville Police Department is among the most experienced canine agencies in North Carolina. The department is staffed with 14 teams of dogs and handlers. Some of the handlers have been K-9 cops for more than 20 years, including Lt. Stacey Smith. He’s been with the FPD for 29 years and has been a dog handler for his entire career. 

    As the unit supervisor, Smith is not assigned a dog but tells Up & Coming Weekly “I spend more time on the streets than most lieutenants.” Eleven teams of canines and cops are assigned to the city’s three patrol districts. Additionally, three animals are on special duty. Two are drug sniffing dogs assigned to the narcotics bureau. The third specializes in detecting explosives. Several
    dog teams are on duty at any given time. 

    “We’ve got a lot of ground to cover,” Smith notes. 

    Fayetteville is among the largest cities in the state, area wise, encompassing 148 square miles, more than Raleigh, Durham and Winston-Salem.

    Officer Heather Napieralski and her dog Hemi comprise what likely is the most important team in the unit. Napieralski is the training officer and she stays busy every day she’s on duty. 

    “Constant training is what keeps the animals sharp,” she says. And there’s a lot of it. Fayetteville Police dogs are trained and retrained in obedience, agility, tracking, trailing, searching and narcotics and explosives detection. 

    “All of our dogs live with their partners at home,” Napieralski says. They stay outdoors. Their training includes acclimation to family life in that “we need to let the dogs be dogs,” she adds with a smile. Smith says a typical police dog can weigh from 45 to 120 pounds. Their average life expectancy ranges from 8 to 14 years.  

    Most police dogs are imported from established vendors in Holland and Germany. Smith says it’s less expensive to import them because they’ve been raised and initially trained by credentialed dealers who confirm each animal’s lineage and good health. 

    Locally, Dr. J.K. Garrett, DVM, owner of the Animal Hospital of Fayetteville, has been the Police Department’s veterinarian for many years. Retirement is not something the animals or the cops look forward to. Smith says the vet and trainer determine when that time comes. In most instances the K-9s then become family dogs with their masters. 


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    The Veteran’s Memorial Museum in Huntsville, Alabama, is home of what is believed to be the oldest prototype jeep in North America. The museum and the Historic Vehicle Association have verified its authenticity. The GP-01 is one of five original test vehicles — two from Ford, two from Willys Overland and one from American Bantam. It was originally called the “Pygmy.” The GP designation is believed by many to have hatched the name “Jeep,” which is among the world’s most iconic automobile brands. The little 4x4 1/4-ton vehicle became the renowned and most universally recognized automotive shape in the world.

    The original jeep produced for the U.S. Army early in World War II featured the upright grille with vertical slots that have become the brand’s trademark. Willlys and Ford produced more than 648,000 Jeeps. Fiat Chrysler’s Jeep Wrangler is a direct descendent of the original Army Jeep whose trademark, like Kleenex, has become a universal reference for similar products.  

    The U.S. phased the Jeep out of the military arsenal starting in 1984 when it adopted the High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle, popularly known as the Humvee. The Jeep may be headed for a comeback. According to a report in Stars and Stripes,the Army is looking for an inexpensive, lightweight, unarmored, all-terrain vehicle. It would bridge a gap between the Army’s upcoming, heavily armored JLTV and the light MRZRs. A company that customizes Wranglers for special uses thinks that sounds a lot like the original Jeep, and they’re submitting modified Jeep Wranglers for the competition. 

    As a popular civilian vehicle, the Jeep is quite a success story. “The Wrangler is our number 1 seller. It accounts for about one third of all of our Jeep sales,” says Dan Dederick, general manager of Hendrick Chrysler Jeep in Fayetteville. Soldiers at Fort Bragg are especially fond of the Wrangler for its off-road capabilities. The Wrangler Rubicon has been consistently voted the best 4 X 4 by off-road magazines. It’s unusual and durable because it has a body on steel frame construction. It also has front and rear solid axles. There are no other vehicles quite like the Wrangler. Coil springs were added in 1996 to make a better overall ride quality. The convertible top is standard, just like the military version. Best of all, the doors can be removed. “The last two years have been record years for Jeep. It is selling so well Chrysler is adding a new Wrangler factory for 2017,” adds Dederick.

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    “Friends and good manners will carry you where money won’t.”

    – Margaret Walker


    A polite, and mannerly friend will soon be teaching etiquette at a local educational institution; a task that suits her perfectly. Her students will enter the real world with enhanced skills for their personal and workplace lives as well as a clearer understanding of why etiquette — what some call ordinary good manners — is the grease that smooths interactions with our fellow human beings. It keeps us from saying ugly or unkind words to each other or conking someone over the head when we are angry or displeased. 

    Etiquette/manners require us to consider others’ feelings, and if we do not, brand us as crude bores, mean people or worse. Etiquette evolves over time and is different in different cultures — think polite bowing in some eastern cultures and the wild proliferation of fish forks and grapefruit spoons at proper Victorian dinner tables, but its core is always respectful treatment of those around us. 

    “Miss Manners” — aka Judith Martin, puts it this way. “I make a distinction between manners and etiquette — manners as the principles that are eternal and universal, etiquette as the particular rules which are arbitrary and different in different times, different situations, different cultures.” 

    However we label it, it underlies civil society.

    It is also simple, as Parents instructs its readers. Three decades ago Robert Fulghum published All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten, a classic take on living a good life. Parents magazine is more specific in its piece “25 Manners Kids Should Know,” tips that work just as well for adults. Here are some of the most obvious and the most abused.

     “Do not comment on other people’s physical characteristics unless, of course, it’s to compliment them, which is always welcome.” The Dicksons learned this one the hard way, when a Precious Jewel standing nearly 3-feet tall looked up from that low vantage point past a pot belly so impressive that its owner, my professional colleague, had to wear his belt below it. The child looked into the man’s eyes and said flatly but clear as a bell, “You’re fat.” We quickly and privately had a mother-child conference on the topic “If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all” and that not every thought needs to be spoken aloud. Several years later, a tutorial was required after the Jewel and a friend commented on a classmate’s large ears, and we landed in the principal’s office, but eventually the lesson was learned.

    “Knock on closed doors — and wait to see if there’s a response — before entering.” Every parent I have ever talked to about this one has had such an experience, often involving the bathroom or bedroom. Fortunately, most children figure this one out about the time they would like a little privacy themselves. I have no idea what to do about adults who have not learned this except scream at them. They deserve to be embarrassed.

     “Use eating utensils properly. If you are unsure how to do so, ask your parents to teach you or watch what adults do.” I suspect this is will be an important aspect of what my friend will teach her students. She may also tell the story of President George H. W. Bush drinking water from his fingerbowl because a guest did so, and he did not want to embarrass his guest, an example of the ultimate good manners.

    “Be appreciative and say ‘thank you’ for any gift you receive. In the age of email, a handwritten thank you note can have a powerful effect.” The Precious Jewels were instructed from an early age that a gift was off limits until the note was written. This was not always effective, but at least they got the idea. Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis was so good at thank yous and congratulations that her notes—always on blue stationery—are treasured keepsakes in many families.

     “The world is not interested in what you dislike. Keep negative opinions to yourself, or between you and your friends, and out of earshot of adults.” And, “Never use foul language in front of adults. Grown-ups already know all those words, and they find them boring and unpleasant.” Not so sure about sanctioning negative comments and ugly language among children as long as adults do not hear them, but clearly children do experiment and learn from it. It is also a fact that I was a naïve mother when the Precious Jewels were young. A story famous in our family involves the time I told a friend the children were in the back yard playing. My next door neighbor, a kindergarten teacher who had seen it all and whose own children were also in the yard, said, “No, Margaret, they are in the backyard smoking.”

    Obviously, manners can be learned and the effort is well worth it.

    But for those who never learn, Mark Twain says this. “It is a mistake that there is no bath that will cure people’s (bad) manners. But drowning would help.”

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    Another city manager has been shown the door in Fayetteville with the abrupt resignation of Ted Voorhees on April 11. Contrary to what many people believe, we at Up & Coming Weekly, do not take his departure as a victory in any sense. Matter of fact, when you examine Voorhees’ tenure with the city and his relationship with the community, it becomes evident that his demise was not only predicable; it was inevitable. 

    Our city has gone through way too many city managers in the past two decades to think the flaw is with the man. And, I am not buying into the fact that they know and accept that their career life expectancy is only four to five years on the job. John Smith was Fayetteville’s City Manager from 1981 to 1997. He was an excellent city servant. I’d say that’s a pretty good record before the City Council fired him. They wanted Smith terminated because he wouldn’t fire Police Chief Ron Hanson, who was accused of racial discrimination in the firing of four Fayetteville police officers. 

    Sure, they gave Smith the same options as Voorhees, resign or be fired, but Smith, being a man of character and principle, refused. He chose to do his job honorably and standup for Chief Hanson and what he believed was good for the community. As a result, Smith kept his character and principles, but lost his job and went on to bigger and better things elsewhere. (Side note: Chief Ron Hanson was cleared of all charges and allegations against him.) 

    What’s the point and what does that have to do with recent action at the city? A closer look at the situations that lead up to Voorhees’ departure will indicate that there is plenty of blame to go around, with most of it belonging to City Council. Like in the HBO miniseries Game of Thrones, when striving to commandeer power, there is never a happy ending. The treacherous path and impending doom is described throughout the mini-series as “winter is coming!” In this case, Voorhees has vanished in a blizzard.  

    There are many things that contributed to his departure. First, it must be understood that Voorhees was a good hire. No doubt he had the qualifications, and during his tenure he demonstrated that he was intelligent, analytical and talented. Unfortunately, he was not a leader. Matter of fact, it probably was this deficiency along with his faulty judgment that ultimately cost him his job. Voorhees never acted like a person who had even the remotest desire to embrace the community that he was hired to serve. He arrived on the scene bold, arrogant and defiant. He made it known from the get-go that he was hired to shake things up, get things done and resurrect and elevate Fayetteville’s status to the caliber of other North Carolina cities. 

    His persona wasn’t natural. It was as if someone else was controlling his actions, a secret confidante whispering instructions in his ear, feeding him information and directing him on what policies to pursue and actions to take. All the while giving him this Teflon-like confidence and (false) sense of security, since he thought the actions he was undertaking were legitimate and that he was doing what was good for the citizens and what the city council mandated. 

    The first indication that something was terribly wrong came when he referenced the dissolution of the PWC Board, merging departments and raiding PWC’s coffers. What? Voorhees hadn’t even been on the job long enough to know the names of PWC management, let alone pass judgment on their competence, management style and community commitment. It quickly became apparent Voorhees was getting his marching orders from outside source(s), and the information he was acting on was misdirected and misguided. 

    Members of City Council must share the responsibility for his dismissal and the costly replacement process that must be addressed. Many of our newly-elected freshmen Council members failed to embrace their positions. 

    Anyone who attends or watches the City Council meetings on TV observes how grossly unprepared some of these councilmen are for the meetings. It is doubtful that they actually have an understanding of the basics of a city manager form of government. They are failing in their responsibility to understand how our local government should work. This is evident in the conduct of their duties and responsibilities. It is obvious that they did not read their council packets, which contain information about what will be discussed at the meeting. These packets are designed to prepare them to discuss and analyze the issues. Lack of knowledge led to their dependence on Voorhees for information and direction. He became a Pied Piper of sorts because it was easier to take instructions from him than it was for them to do their own homework and due diligence on city-related issues. Eventually they became pawns doing his bidding. This is one of the reasons the city and PWC are now engaged in a legal dispute. Even some of our senior council members made themselves subservient to Voorhees’ wishes to the point that the perception was that City Council worked at the pleasure of the city manager rather than the other way around. Bizarre. 

    Voorhees’ failure to address the massive complaints from builders and developers about the way the building inspectors operated within the city limits and the inconsistent enforcement of the city’s Unified Development Ordinance was another major point of contention. At one point, this negative situation spiraled out of control with major developers threatening pull out of Fayetteville or declaring they would never return to Fayetteville and Cumberland County.

    At its worst, the Fayetteville Regional Chamber was asked to create a board of about 15 involved local citizens to discuss the U.D.O. and voice concerns and recommendations for improvement. To my knowledge, little  was done with that information, no improvements were made and the  inspection department continues to run amuck to the detriment of local businesses. The net result has been ongoing discourse and a crippled economic development program at a time when fostering and nurturing economic development to create jobs within our community is one of our highest priorities. 

    Bottom line, I never felt Ted Voorhees was his own man. From the beginning, Voorhees was spoon-fed information from outside power brokers who used him to do their dirty work while he thought he was taking a shortcut to power. His downfall came from not taking the time to know or understand this community. He trusted the wrong people. Then again, as long as Fayetteville maintains nine separate districts, and those nine district councilmen continue to focus only on their districts and constituents, not much is going to change in the future with or without a competent city manager. 

    Voorhees’ resignation concludes another chapter in Fayetteville’s sordid history book. We can again start anew confident that we are our own worst enemy. I hope some lessons have been learned. Since we are starting over, let’s hope that Fayetteville will consider this: How about getting beyond the race issue? It only holds us back and consumes way too much of our positive energy, time and money. 

    I contend that citizens of Fayetteville and Cumberland County do not have a race problem. I don’t see it. I I have never experienced it. I contend that race discrimination only exists with those people, organizations and institutions that profit from this kind of discourse. 

    We should not encourage or endorse such behavior. Rather, we should focus on what is good, right and beneficial for all Fayetteville and Cumberland County residents. Doing the right things, for the right reasons always works. Voorhees is gone, however, the situations, people and circumstances that caused this costly disruption in management are not. Let’s hope everyone involved has gotten a lot wiser. I support the mayor and applaud Council’s actions in the dismissal of Voorhees. Until it becomes evident that every City Council official is dedicated and serious about embracing the responsibilities of being an honest and competent servant for the City of Fayetteville, I cannot support four-year terms. Four years will be too long (and costly) to deal with ineptness. Agree? 

    Thanks for reading Up & Coming Weekly


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    On April 16, Cumberland Oratorio Singers, in collaboration with the Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra, presents Carmina Burana at Fayetteville State University’s Seabrook Auditorium. It’s the third of four concerts for the Cumberland Oratorio Singers this year. 

    Collaborating is nothing new for the oratorio or for the symphony, in fact, concerts like this are a long-time goal for both organizations. 

    “It was an agreed goal of Dr. Fakhouri and I that we would one day have our respectful community organizations provide concert experiences at this level,” said COS Artistic Director Dr. Michael Martin. “In 2008, we set out on building both of our organizations so that these partnerships would be possible. Our first collaboration was Vaughn Williams Serenade to Music. This was followed by Beethoven’s Symphony #9 with a collaboration including area colleges and the Cumberland Oratorio Singers, and it has grown since then.” 

    While events like this bring an added dimension to Fayetteville’s music scene, there are some challenges. One of them is a lot of people on the stage. Martin noted that it is unique to much larger metropolitan areas to have such concert experiences available. 

    “It says a lot about the dedication and commitment of artists, musicians and the philanthropy of area Fayetteville foundations to sponsor such strong musical organizations to perform these large works,” said Martin. 

    Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana is a setting of 24 songs from a much larger collection of texts dating mostly from the 11th or 12th century, including some from the 13th century. In 1934, Orff encountered the 1847 edition of the Carmina Burana, compiled by Johann Andreas Schmeller.The songs in this work were selected from that edition. 

    “The songs cover a wide range of topics, as familiar in the 13th century as they are in the 21st century: the fickleness of fortune and wealth, the nature of life, the joy of the return of spring and the pleasures and perils of drinking, gluttony, gambling and love,” said Martin. “They are also mixture of languages from Medieval Latin, to German and French, making the performance of the texts pretty tricky! Interestingly, this is a work known by most people, even though it is not always heard in its entirety. The first movement, “O Fortuna,” has appeared in many media over the years from sporting events to beer commercials, as well as been the focus of many parodies.”

    People who regularly attend COS performances will notice a few differences from previous performances. The concert features COS and Methodist University Chorale appearing with the FSO in this final concert. 

    “So, this is not a typical concert of ours which would feature only choral music. However, the COS does bring regular choral/orchestral works to their seasons,” said Martin. 

    He added that the newly formed youth chorus will join the event as well. 

    The final Cumberland Oratorio Singers concert of the season is on May 13 at St. Ann Catholic Church. It will be a performance of new work by Ola Gjeillo. After that, the choral group is set to prepare for next season. Planning is already underway because next year is the 25th season for the Cumberland Oratorio Singers. Martin invites anyone who is interested to contact COS at www.singwithcos.org. 

    “I always want to reach out to Fayetteville to have people who like to sing come sing with us! I know we do not have the only 75 people that sing in Fayetteville! Come join us! We are your community choir,” he said.

    Carmina Burana starts at 7:30 p.m. and takes place at Fayetteville State University’s Seabrook Auditorium. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit www.singwithcos.org.  

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    The city of Fayetteville will soon have a new sense of identity. The Fayetteville City Council has decided to do away with a logo it’s used for more than 20 years in favor of a more modern symbol. 

    The old logo  was a likeness of the official city seal; a round emblem with the Market House as the centerpiece. It’s been associated with city government for decades. But it hasn’t had universal acceptance. 

    Some African American leaders have been offended because the Market House was the site of occasional slave sales in antebellum Fayetteville. City Councilman Chalmers McDougald refused to wear a city lapel pin because it too contained a likeness of the Market House. But he acknowledged the historic significance of the building. The Council asked the Fayetteville/Cumberland Human Relations Commission to solicit thoughts and ideas from the general public with an eye toward changing the seal. And a private contractor was retained to solicit public dialogue. 

    City Councilman Ted Mohn took it from there. He noted that the demographic makeup of Fayetteville has changed remarkably since the current Market House logo was adopted in 1993. Our city is one of the most diverse communities in the nation. Large-scale annexations of west side suburbs took in thousands of black families. 

    “I must thank the entire council for their honest, thoughtful and respectful public conversation on the city seal and logo,” said Mohn. 

    Members of the Human Relations Commission agreed with Mohn’s tact. He found, as Up & Coming Weekly reported earlier, that there are only a few official instances when the corporate seal must be used. Since the logo containing the Market House is just that — an unofficial logo — it could be disposed of. The official corporate seal won’t be changed. 

    “The Market House is part of our city’s history and we must acknowledge and understand our fellow citizens have good and bad emotions associated with the building,” Mohn observed, agreeing with McDougald. Council intends to adopt a resolution declaring the modern script emblem as the city’s official logo. 

    It will likely take a while for the city to rid itself of the emblem. It has been stamped everywhere over time, from official letterhead stationery to roll out trash containers. It’s all over the city’s website that will require some redesigning. Stationery won’t be updated until current supplies run out. Large sculpted logos hang on the wall in city council chambers and on an exterior wall at police headquarters.

     
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    This is the 79th season of Community Concerts and its 20th year working with the Crown Coliseum. Community Concerts was founded in 1935, making it Fayetteville’s oldest arts organization. The longevity of the group is impressive in its own right, but the fact that it is comprised of volunteers who are dedicated to bringing the best entertainment from around the world to the Fayetteville community is a reflection of their dedication to its mission. 

    This month, Community Concerts brings R&B legend Smokey Robinson to the Crown Theatre. Chances are, if you don’t recognize his name, you will surely recognize his music.

    Born Feb. 19, 1940 in Detroit, Michigan, as William Robinson Jr., he started singing at a very early age. In the early 1950s, he formed the group that would become world famous R&B group The Miracles, and his ticket to fame. In the 1960s and 1970s, he was the Vice President of Motown Records. In the 1970s, he decided to take on a solo career and produced his first Grammy for the best R&B vocal performance in 1987. Since then, Robinson has continued to delight audiences all around the world with his smooth musical poetry.

    He has also had a successful career as a songwriter, writing songs for his own group, The Miracles, as well as hits for The Temptations, Mary Wells, Brenda Holloway, Marvin Gaye and many others. Some of his most famous songs are “My Girl,” “You Beat Me to the Punch” and “Don’t Mess with Bill.” Bob Dylan is quoted as saying Robinson is America’s “greatest living poet.” 

    Robinson faced many struggles as a young man. He grew up in a rough part of Detroit and was raised by his older sister. In the ‘80s, he struggled, but overcame cocaine addiction. He attributed his recovery to religion, which greatly influences much of his new music. In addition to his thriving musical career, Robinson shares his experiences through public speaking. His works have left a powerful imprint on American culture. The Miracles were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2012, he has been awarded an honorary degree from Howard University and he was chosen as a Kennedy Center Honoree. His influence has also reached across the pond with The Beatles citing him as a major influence on their work. 

    Robinson’s career has been a long one, but after four decades, every performance is as engaging and entertaining as his very first. His concert is perfect for those who already love his music and those who have not yet discovered it. Robinson has evolved as an artist over the course of his career, but his sound and messages have remained timeless. The concert is not generational; it is an amazing experience for everyone who enjoys incredible music. 

    Community Concerts has spent decades bridging the gap between generations. When conversations fail, it is often a song that can deliver a message. Showing true dedication to its vision, Community Concerts has several programs that are designed to engage the community and support those who seek to make the greater Fayetteville area better through music and entertaining. Community Concerts awards scholarships each year to deserving high school seniors in the community. Since the program’s inception, 24 students have received scholarships. Local musicians and performers are often invited to open for the main acts during the concert season. Local citizens are recognized for their contributions to the music and arts culture in Fayetteville and are inducted to the Fayetteville Music Hall of Fame each year. Senior citizens and other community members who often don’t have the extra cash to purchase concert tickets are often given free tickets to the concerts. In recent seasons, these have included the Vision Resource Center, Urban Ministry, The Sunshine Center, members of local fire and police departments, high school theater arts classes, members of our military and many more.

    The Smokey Robinson concert will be held on April 16 at 7:30 p.m. in the Crown Theatre, which is located at 1960 Coliseum Drive. For more information, visit http://www.community-concerts.com/index.php or call 910-323-1991. Tickets can be purchased in person at the Crown Box Office or by calling Ticketmaster at 1-800-745-3000 or visiting www.ticketmaster.com. Tickets range from $38 to $83. Community Concerts is a nonprofit organization so sponsorship is integral for the survival of the organization. Season membership starts at $160 and includes tickets to the six shows of the season. 

  • 041316_jeff2.jpgIt’s much ado about nothing, as South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley sees it. Haley says her office has not received any complaints about who uses what bathroom, adding that South Carolinians already are respectful to people from different backgrounds. Her remarks came in response to a transgender-bathroom bill, sponsored by state Sen. Lee Bright, Republican, Spartanburg that deals with the rights of people based on their gender identity. 

    “I don’t believe it’s necessary,” Haley told reporters. “When we look at our situation, we’re not hearing of anybody’s religious liberties being violated, and we’re again not hearing any citizens that are being violated in terms of freedoms,” she said. 

    It would ban transgender people from using public bathrooms, showers or changing rooms of their choice. Bright said his proposal mimics a law passed last month in North Carolina. Except it doesn’t prohibit local governments from providing anti-discrimination protections for gays and lesbians, nor does it bar employees from taking discrimination claims to state courts. “Like it or not, South Carolina is doing really well when it comes to respect and when it comes to kindness and when it comes to acceptance,” the governor added. 

    Haley mentioned a South Carolina law, passed in 1999, that allows business owners to exercise their religious rights. Asked to explain the connection between the rights of citizens and business owners, the governor said religious-freedom advocates see transgender people using the bathroom opposite from their birth gender as a violation of their rights. 

    “They very much see this as something that goes against their religious beliefs,” she said. Bright contends his proposal is not a religious-freedom bill. “I think it’s a public-safety issue,” Bright said referring to concerns that male predators are allowed to enter women’s restrooms without a state law.

    Transgender advocates have said those fears are a myth, and that transgender men and women use public restrooms everyday with no problems or disruptions. The head of the South Carolina Chamber of Commerce said he agreed with the governor’s opinion that Bright’s bill is unnecessary. North Carolina’s new law, which Gov. Pat McCrory signed March 23, limits legal protections of LGBT individuals by setting a statewide definition of protected classes of citizens. The law means schools and local governments cannot adopt more inclusive rules. Legislative leaders said they were responding to Charlotte’s ordinance, which would have allowed transgender people to use the bathroom that corresponds to the gender with which they identify. Since the bill’s signing, more than 100 prominent CEOs, including PayPal’s, have signaled their opposition.

    One reason North Carolina’s legislation could be particularly damaging is that it runs counter to the image the state has cultivated nationwide as a more progressive, moderate Southern state, said Mark Sweeney, senior principal at McCallum Sweeney in Greenville, South Carolina. He said the companies that Charlotte in particular is seeking to recruit — high-tech, financial and advanced manufacturing — need to attract and retain millennial workers who are especially sensitive to issues such as LGBT rights. Another reason the North Carolina law stands out is that Georgia’s governor vetoed a similar measure last month. The business community applauded that decision, with the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce issuing a statement commending Gov. Nathan Deal, a Republican, for “an outcome that preserves Georgia’s positive business climate, encourages job growth and sustains our quality of life.”


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    A sure sign of spring in Fayetteville is the sight of hundreds of motorcycles and convertibles converging on the Airborne and Special Operations Museum for the annual Hogs & Rags Spring Rally. 

    For the past 10 years, Gardner Altman and Bobby Bleecker (of Bleecker Chevrolet, Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge) and other civic-minded community businesses, organizations and volunteers have joined forces to create one of the community’s best fundraisers. Since its inception, this event has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for organizations that directly benefit the residents of Fayetteville, Fort Bragg and Cumberland County. 

    The idea came together in 2005, when Altman floated the idea of bringing car and motorcycle enthusiasts together to benefit worthy local causes. The community agreed and has gotten behind the event wholeheartedly. Year after year, the participation and sponsors continue to grow for this Dogwood Festival-sanctioned event.

    The event, which starts at the ASOM and ends in Myrtle Beach has continued to grow. Last year, the rally drew motorcycle and car enthusiasts from across the state. With kickstands up and tops down, the participants were quite a sight, with Fayetteville Mayor Nat Robertson and his first lady, Kim, taking the lead as the Grand Marshals. 

    Working to top last year’s extremely successful event, the Hogs & Rags committee has been working hard for months to ensure that the event will continue to grow.  Included in that is the addition of a new event, a pre-registration party the night before the ride, which will bring together local residents and those from across the state who have made their way to Fayetteville to participate in the event. On Friday, April 24, from 7 – 9 p.m., Mac’s Speed Shop on McPherson Church Road will host the Hogs & Rags Welcome Party. The free event is hosted by Mac’s and the Hogs & Rags committee for all event sponsors, participants, riders and their guests. The party is a chance to welcome out-of-town guests, conduct pre-registration, give out T-shirts, sell raffle tickets, play games, give away prizes and listen to great live music provided by the band Lotus Sun. Of course, you can also taste Fayetteville’s hospitality with some cold beverages and Mac’s barbecue. Mosheh Samson,  bar manager at Mac’s Fayetteville and Mac’s general manager Nick Hart are excited about hosting the inaugural welcome event. They have been diligently promoting the rally since early April with banners and posters. 

    The next morning it is show time. Saturday, April 25, at 7 a.m.,  registration for the event officially begins. At 9 a.m., it’s kickstands up, with Mayor Nat Robertson again taking the lead. Leaving the 

    As the riders cross the Cape Fear River, the smell of biscuits greets the participants as they approach the Rockin-A-Ranch, where they are welcomed with southern hospitality and served a wonderful breakfast. As an added bonus, the U.S. Army Golden Knights Parachute Team will parachute into the ranch, while the West Bladenboro High School Junior ROTC Color Guard presents the colors. As breakfast winds down, door prizes and raffles will close out the morning.parking lot, the ride moves at a quick pace. The ride is escorted by local and state police from Fayetteville to Myrtle Beach.  

    From there, it is off to Myrtle Beach. The ride stops briefly at the South Carolina state line for a water break. The next stop is Margaritaville at Broadway at the Beach. Riders will enjoy a great lunch, get their beach groove on and take their chances at a winning the $2,500 reverse raffle and assorted door prizes. 

    Participants can elect to return to Fayetteville and rock-out to Warrant and Quite Riot at the Dogwood Festival or spend the afternoon or evening shopping or with their toes in the sand. 

    Although everyone has fun at this event, the big winners are the beneficiaries. This year, the proceeds will go to the Green Beret Foundation, Kidsville News Literacy and Education Foundation and the American Cancer Society. 

    “This event benefits the people in this community. One way or the other, we all know people with cancer, children or in those in the military who need a little extra help,”
     said Bleecker.

    The Green Beret Foundation provides immediate financial assistance to Special Forces soldiers who are injured in the line of duty, to their families and to the families of fallen soldiers. They also provide funds to support the extended care of an injured Green Beret who requires help while waiting on VA funding. The foundation is focused on the immediate special needs of wounded soldiers and is dedicated to the long-term health of Green Beret families.

    The Kidsville News Literacy and Education Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that provides reading and educational materials free to Cumberland Country children from kindergarten to sixth grade. Kidsville News!is a fun, family resource that promotes education, literacy and good character traits in the community’s children. 

    For more than 100 years, the American Cancer Society has worked relentlessly to save lives and support those suffering from cancer. Together, with millions of supporters worldwide, the organization helps people in need, funds research and aids people in their fight against cancer.  

    Of course, this would not be possible without the help and assistance of dozens of volunteers, event supporters and sponsors and participants of this event to make a difference like Kristie Holtsclaw of Ray Price Motorsports who is the Hogs & Rags premier sponsor. From day one, Holtsclaw and her company have embraced the Fort Bragg/Fayetteville community. 

    Join the sponsors and participants of this event to make a difference in our community. Mark your calendar for Saturday, April 25. Come with a full tank of gas and expect lots of food, entertainment, riding, prizes and fellowship. The event is $50 per person. Pre-register at www.hogsandrags.com or call Wendy at 910-818-0458. Learn more about the event www.hogsandrags.com. 



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    For more than 20 years, the Cumberland Oratorio Singers have entertained the community through the presentation of professional symphonic choral music. The 65 members, under the direction of Director Dr. Michael Martin, perform throughout Cumberland County and the Sandhills Region. 

    “I think what I hear most from others is that they are quite surprised that we have a choir in this area that is capable of singing so many different genres of music,” said Martin, who has lead the group for the past seven seasons.

    Martin hails from the great state of Maine. Following 18 years of teaching, he attended Kent State University in Kent, Ohio, and completed his Ph.D. in Music Education. 

    He is the Director of Choral Activities and Music Education at Methodist University and was appointed artistic director and conductor of Cumberland Oratorio Singers in 2008. 

    “From folk music to spiritual, or small to major choral works with orchestra, it seems we always hear from people that they didn’t know we existed,” he continued. “While that’s a compliment, we really do try to reach into our community.” 

    With a choir as large as the COS it takes 8 or even 10 weeks to prepare for any given concert. The COS strives to sing, share and listen, while giving the community live choral music. 

    The choir also affords local college students and other vocalist the opportunity to share their talent with others and entertain audiences. Being a part of a musical group can be a musician’s greatest desire. Learning from a group that’s been around for decades can help build an artist’s craft.  

    On Saturday, May 2, the choir will exercise its vocal prowess during a performance, which features the Terry Sanford High School Choir, at St. John’s Episcopal Church. The performance will focus on two multi-movement works: Leonard Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms and Francis Poulenc’s Gloria.

    “In terms of picking the music, I try to ensure the music is accessible, yet challenging, to the choir. It also means choosing the repertoire in February to advertise the next season,” said Martin. 

    “My greatest enjoyment is to make choral music accessible to the singers in Cumberland County. Between the Cumberland Oratorio Singers, the Cross Creek Chorale, and our endeavor to create a youth chorus in Fayetteville, we feel we are doing our best to make all levels of choral music accessible to all singers,” he added.

    The Cross Creek Chorale, an auditioned group, will feature a more expanded choral experience for those wanting advanced rigor. This ensemble is featured, along with the entire membership of the COS, in its opening and closing concerts of every season. The addition of the auditioned group allowed the organization to offer something for all singers, which will allow it to better meet its mission of providing choral music to more people in the Sandhills region.

    Season tickets to Cumberland Oratorio Singers concerts are $23 per person. Students are admitted free with an ID.  

    For more information about the Cumberland Oratorio Singers, visit the website at www.singwithcos.org

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    Since the end of World War II, Fayetteville’s Hamont Grill & Steak House was the place to eat, meet and greet friends and neighbors. All those years of local history, much of it legendary, went up in flames Saturday, April 9. Fort Bragg soldier, Staff Sgt. Terry Deitrich and his wife, were the first to report the fire about 3:30 a.m., said Assistant Fire Chief Kevin Morgan. The Fire Engine 2 crew, stationed just a block away, requested a second alarm on arrival. 

    “I am half-dead,” Pete Skenteris said. He’s owned the restaurant for 60 years.  Everyone who was anyone ate there over the years. “Mayors, senators, congressmen, presidents — all been here,” Skenteris added. 

    There were no injuries. The walls of the two-story building are still standing, concealing the devastation inside. Fire officials said the roof collapsed on the gutted interior of what can only be described as a total loss. Memorabilia and framed photos of the rich and famous which Skenteris had collected over time were lost. 

    Skenteris said the restaurant closed at its regular time Saturday night and there was no sign of trouble. “We have a list of things we do every night,” he told reporters. “We check the stoves, check the grill, the hood fans. We check everything.” 

    Fire units from at least six city fire stations responded to the blaze and attempted an attack from the roof where flames had broken through from below. But firefighters were evacuated from the building fearing the roof would collapse. Engine 2 was still on the scene after daybreak to sniff out hot spots. 

    The restaurant’s original owner, Steve Fermanides, opened the business as a sandwich shop and later expanded the dining area. He sold the business to Skenteris in the mid-1950s. Fermanides is responsible for the iconic Hamont Grill sign atop the building. The city declared the sign an historic landmark thereby allowing it to remain despite a new sign ordinance.

    Sexting and Sextortation            

    Cumberland County Schools held a seminar warning middle and high school students about the very real dangers of sexting. South View High School was the scene of the workshop on the consequences and dangers of sexting and sextortion. Remember the time when if you liked a boy at school you’d pass him a note? Today, the disturbing new trend in teenage flirting is sending nude or semi-nude photos from cell phone to cell phone. It’s called sexting. While the X-rated offerings are usually intended just for a boyfriend or girlfriend, the photos often wind up being shared. 

    Social media and teenage girls can be a risky combination. Girls still want “likes,” but the lengths some are willing to go to get them — whether it’s revealing a tearstained face after a breakup or a close-up bikini shot — put them at risk for online sexual aggression, emotional trauma and damage to their reputations. Finding authenticity is a struggle for teens…always has been. It’s a natural part of growing up. Social media is the place girls go to get real. In her book, American Girls: Social Media and the Secret Lives of Teenagers, Nancy Jo Sales says today’s girls are coming of age in a culture that normalizes exhibitionism. One in four kids reports being sexually harassed by friends online. But at the same time, revealing too much — for example, nude photos that go public — gets you blacklisted on public “slut pages.”

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    Escape Room Fayetteville is a live Escape Room Adventure. It is a “Real Life” interactive escape game where players determine the outcome. Participants work as a team to solve clues and puzzles to make the ultimate escape in 60 minutes. Up & Coming Weekly’s movie reviewer Heather Griffiths booked a tour. Here is her experience. 

    The first rule of Escape Room: Fayetteville is you can’t talk about Escape Room: Fayetteville. For real. I signed a nondisclosure agreement and everything, so this review will not include a detailed walk through of the room my friends and I escaped. But I can tell you a little bit about the experience.

    I wanted to do something for my husband’s birthday. Coincidentally, I saw the advertisement for Escape Room: Fayetteville around the same time I was looking for a good present. A few months back an Escape Room experience was featured on The Big Bang Theory, and it seemed like a good fit. The production values of Escape Room: Fayetteville were not as good as seen on The Big Bang Theory, but I wouldn’t expect them to be. The point is to solve the puzzles and escape. The rest is window dressing. As an occasional tabletop gamer married to a regular LARPer (Live Action Role Player), I know the fun is in agreeing on a shared reality, and all the props contribute to that. Your imagination supplies the rest. 

    The first hurdle was getting a big enough group for a party to buy their tickets for the same day. The tickets are $26 Thursdays and $28 Friday through Sunday, and each room can accommodate up to eight people. The rooms book up quickly. Even booking three weeks ahead, the selection was limited.  

    I opted for the R.I.P: Rest in Pieces room, and there was a 15-year-old in our group. She enjoyed it as much as the rest of us.

    We arrived early, as recommended by the website (www.escaperoomfayettevillenc.com/). First, there was a video introduction featuring violence towards women that probably should not have made me giggle. Then, we were given goggles for blindfolds and lined up for a walk into the serial killer’s lair. Our host, Caroline, kept our cellphones and left, after telling us that communication is key to getting out of the room alive. Naturally, we immediately split off individually and in groups of two to touch everything and move stuff around while completely failing to communicate. We soon got ourselves sorted out, and with three minutes left on the clock, we found the key to escaping. We did have some trouble making the locks work, even with the right combinations, but our host told us to expect that. In fact, she was very helpful, chiming in with clues when we got too frustrated. 

    Getting out alive made us feel smart, and we asked how many people solve the puzzle. Our host told us that about a third of the people make it out of the room before the timer dings, signaling the return of the killer. What is the record for quickest escape? About 49 minutes. 

    I liked not knowing what was going to happen, and I liked that we worked together on some of the more difficult clues. I would love to go back and see if we could make it through the other rooms, which
    are supposed to be harder
    to solve. 

     

  • jeff12.jpg

    The annual unemployment rate for the latest generation of veterans in 2015 was the lowest ever recorded, government statistics indicate. 

    Post 9/11 veterans had an average unemployment rate of 5.8 percent for the year, according to a new Bureau of Labor Statistics report, down significantly from the 7.2 percent posted last year. Not only is the annual rate for 2015 significantly lower than any other annual rate in the group’s history, it’s also lower than all but a few of the pre-2015 monthly unemployment rates, which are volatile and prone to dramatic increases and decreases.

     “North Carolina is putting more veterans to work thanks to a rebounding economy and strong job growth across the state,” said Governor Pat McCrory. 

    The governor’s office says the unemployment rate for veterans in North Carolina has fallen more than 3 percent in two years. In 2013, it was 6.2 percent. That number dropped to 3.1 percent in 2015 according to a recent Labor Department report. That’s two percentage points better than the national average. 

    McCrory credits emphasis on connecting transitioning military personnel with businesses and state government agencies. 

    “I understand that veterans are highly trained, highly disciplined and know how to get the job done,” said McCrory. “This is great news for our state and is a testament to our efforts to make North Carolina the most military and veteran friendly state in the nation.” 

    One of the programs that has significantly contributed to veteran employment is the North Carolina for Military Employment initiative. “Employers are recognizing the valuable skill-sets and expertise veterans have to offer,” said Neal Alexander, director of the Office of State Human Resources. “Transitioning military personnel have the knowledge, skills, and abilities that employers are looking for… including state government.”  Since 2013, the state has added more than 260,000 private sector jobs and is currently ranked 6th in the nation in job creation.

    Veteran employment experts have attributed the employment gains to an improving economy. They agree there has been a combined intense focus on the issue from public and private sectors alike. Still, they emphasized that there is work left to do. 

    “That doesn’t mean it’s time for a victory lap or anything like that,” said Ryan Gallucci, Veterans of Foreign Wars deputy director for national veterans’ service. 

    The unemployment rate for post-9/11 veterans has been on a wild ride since the Bureau of Labor Statistics began to track it in September 2008

     
  • jeff9.jpg

    Cumberland County District Attorney Billy West says local law enforcement agencies are not required to ask the State Bureau of Investigation to examine officer-involved shootings. In fact, West says Charlotte-Mecklenburg police do not depend on the SBI. 

    “It’s totally up to the law enforcement agency to put the officer back on duty,” following internal investigations rather than wait on SBI findings, which can sometimes take up to a year, West said. Families of deceased victims in police use-of-force cases have statutory authority to request independent SBI investigations if the District Attorney does not, which is one reason the state probes have become common place. 

     “They’ve tried to make some improvements in the speed of these investigations,” West added. 

    Some are now concluded in about 90 days, and that may be why Fayetteville Police Chief Harold Medlock has become more patient. Medlock recently told Up & Coming Weekly he would not necessarily wait for a state probe to be concluded if his own department found an officer not at fault in a use-of-force incident. Now though, Medlock says, “I will not return any officer to patrol duty until a decision is made regarding the criminal investigation which is conducted by the SBI.” 

    The police department’s internal affairs bureau conducts parallel investigations primarily to determine if the law was broken or departmental policy violated. Medlock says those determinations are usually made in three months’ time.

    The district attorney notes that SBI agents who probe use-of-force cases have specialized training and take great pains to get to the truth. West says he’s satisfied the State Bureau of Investigation would like to have more agents, but “from the director on down, they’ve put emphasis on making improvements in officer-involved investigations. The quality of their investigations is really good,” he said. One of the things that holds up completion of some investigations is getting autopsy reports in a timely manner, West added. 

    “The medical examiner’s office is backed up, and I’ve told the SBI to get me their reports without the medical examiner’s findings,” added West. 

    He notes that North Carolina’s criminal justice system, including the courts, receives about two percent of the state budget.

    Once West receives investigative findings, he and his staff take a couple of weeks to review them before he decides whether to prosecute officers. Neither West nor his predecessor have ever brought charges against cops in officer-involved shootings in their 40 years on the job. Each has been exonerated and returned to duty. Chief Medlock says some cops have resigned and left the profession in the wake of their involvement in use-of-force cases. SBI records indicate there have been more such incidents in Fayetteville than any other city in the state, a dozen cases since 2011. 


  • jeff8.jpg

    Losing a pet in a house fire can be a devastating experience. Many pets die each year of asphyxiation due to smoke inhalation. While firemen attempt to get pets safely out of burning structures, they are not always able to revive them unless they have the proper equipment — pet oxygen masks. These specially-designed animal masks can be used both on conscious pets that have suffered from smoke inhalation and those that need to be resuscitated after losing consciousness from exposure to dangerous toxic fumes. Unlike humans, who run out during fires, dogs and cats instinctively look for hiding places to protect themselves from fire.

    Fayetteville Fire Captain Mike Reep is an engine company officer. But he’s also a pet lover. Recently, he had occasion to save a family pet from a house fire on Seabrook Road. As Reep’s Engine-3 crew made sure all the residents were safe during a primary search of the house, he heard a dog barking. 

    “It was terrible,” he said in an interview with Up & Coming Weekly. 

    Rescuers found the medium size dog hiding in a bedroom where firefighters had just knocked down flames. The animal was rescued from the burning house and resuscitated by Reep using a pet oxygen recovery mask easily attached to a standard oxygen tank. Depending on the size of the animal and the degree of distress it’s in, measured doses of ¼ liter to 15 liters per minute of oxygen are administered, he said.

    Fayetteville Fire Chief Ben Major says five years ago the ASPCA donated enough pet masks to equip all 16 city fire engines. 

    “We’re in the life saving business,” he observed. A pet had been rescued from a burning house on Amye Street in the Eccles Park area off Murchison Road. In that instance, firefighters had used a standard size oxygen mask designated for people. Publicity got the ASPCA’s attention and the organization almost immediately made the donation to the city fire department, according to Major. 

    If purchased, the three-mask kits and hoses retail for about $90, according to Assistant Fire Chief Richard Bradshaw. He says each kit contains masks for use with small, medium and large animals. They’re so versatile they can be used on just about any air-breathing animal from
    a bird to a St. Bernard. The masks are reusable, sturdy and
    easily cleaned.  


  • jeff1.jpg

    City Council Structure Could Change

      Fayetteville City Council meets April 11 to hold a public hearing about a resolution to restructure the governing body for the first time in more than 15 years. The proposition is to change terms of office from two years to four years. The change would also provide for staggered terms, although council would remain a 10-member body with only the mayor elected at large. The nine council members would continue being elected from districts. Just how the staggered rotation would be accomplished hasn’t been determined. Nor has council decided whether elections would be partisan. Currently, they are not. Council has decided to hold a referendum of the city’s voters in November … a simple yea or nay on whether two-year terms of office should be converted to four-year staggered terms.


     

     


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    Rabies Is an Epidemic           

    The State Public Health Lab in Raleigh has confirmed yet another case of rabies in Cumberland County. A positive result of rabies was found in a raccoon. Animal Control picked up the animal from a residence on Ingram Road in rural Roseboro in late March. The raccoon got into an alteration with a small dog on the pet owner’s property. After the raccoon tested positive, the dog was impounded at the Animal Control Shelter. State law requires that the dog be quarantined at a veterinary facility for six months or be euthanized because it does not have a current rabies vaccination. County officials said this is the third case of rabies in the county in 2016. “We are in an epidemic rabies area where we have one or two cases a month year in and out,” said Cumberland County Animal Control Director 


    Rabies Vaccination Clinics             

    Cumberland County will hold rabies vaccination clinics for dogs and cats on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons through April 21. The clinics operate from 4 to 6 p.m. There are 16 sites across the county. Rabies vaccinations are $10 per animal. Only cash is accepted (exact change). State law requires that “the owner of every dog and cat over four months of age shall have the animal vaccinated against rabies.” To remain properly immunized, juvenile dogs and cats must receive two rabies vaccinations, one year apart, then one vaccination every three years thereafter. In Cumberland County, the owners of dogs and cats that have not been vaccinated in accordance with the law are subject to civil penalties of $100. When you take your dog to a clinic, be sure it’s on a leash. Cats should be kept in carriers. A listing of the clinic sites is available at: co.cumberland.nc.us/health/healthytips/rabiesclinics.aspx.


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    Worthy to Lead Chamber             

    Former Fayetteville City Councilman and Spring Lake native Curtis Worthy is the new President of the Spring Lake Chamber of Commerce. He served as the Fayetteville City Council’s District-7 representative for 10 years. Worthy most recently was chairman of the Vote No Bond Tax referendum committee. Despite his opposition, and that of several other former council members, the $35 million bond issue passed with 60 percent support of the voters. Worthy, 68, was an unsuccessful candidate for the state senate in 2012. He’s a retired IRS auditor and now has a tax preparation business in Spring Lake. “We’re trying to grow membership, get new business to move into Spring Lake, make sure everyone’s aware we have Fort Bragg as one of our greatest assets,” he said. The Spring Lake Chamber of Commerce has been without a director for several months following the resignation of Jeff Hunt on June 30.


    PWC Installs Free Electric Car Charging Stations

    The Fayetteville Public Works Commission has installed four electric vehicle charging stations throughout the Fayetteville area that can be used by the public at no cost. These charging stations are a part of PWC’s Clean Fuel Advanced Technology project. PWC received a $37,000 grant from the North Carolina Clean Energy Technology Center and is partnering with the Fayetteville/Cumberland Parks and Recreation Department to provide a charging station at three park locations: Honeycutt Park, Lake Rim Park and Clark Park. The fourth station is located at Marketfair Mall off Campground Road. Registration is needed to use the stations at no cost. PWC’s Clean Fuel Advanced Technology project focuses on improving community air quality and increasing the awareness of clean transportation technologies


    PWC & CEED offer Free Classes

    PWC and CEED are partnering together to offer free classes to locally-owned small businesses that are interested in learning more about local and federal contracting. Information will be provided on the many local resources, technical assistance providers, classes and workshops available to assist small business owners in learning the basics to start the process for more in-depth assistance and long term contracting success. The information provided will be helpful to businesses in regard to both local and federal contracting. This is a free series: Local Contracting/Hire Fayetteville First will be held May 17 and June 7 at 9 a.m. at CEED 230 Hay Street. Register at: www.wbcfay.org/calendar.


    mountain-hawks.jpg

    Mountain Hawks to Soar into the Swamp

    The Fayetteville SwampDogs have added a big bat and bolstered their pitching staff with the addition of the Mountain Hawks from Lehigh University. Junior Patrick Donnelly will man the hot corner while sophomore Peter Moore and junior Matt Kozemchak will provide the SwampDogs with quality pitching from the left side — keys to any championship team.

    Donnelly is a key cog in the Lehigh lineup coming off a first team All-Patriot League campaign as a sophomore in 2015. Coming off a six-home-run season with 32 RBIs, he figures to be a run producer and tough out in Fayetteville this summer. “Pat will bring a veteran presence to our team as a junior,” SwampDogs Manager Anthony Williams said. “He has started at third base since his freshman year, helping Lehigh to a Patriot League title in 2015. Pat has shown the ability to hit for power, and is showing that he has the ability to hit for average as well.”

    Moore, who stands 6’3, 220 lbs., displayed his knack for striking opponents out in his freshman season at Lehigh, fanning 29 batters in 26.2 innings pitched. The Chester, New York, native looks to see an even greater role on the field this year for the Mountain Hawks, after making seven starts last year.

    “Pete made seven starts in 2015 as a freshman and has shown the ability to miss some bats,” Williams commented. “We expect him to be a kid that continues to grow and gain command and as he does he will only get better and better.”

    Kozemchak enters the 2016 season looking to bounce back after an injury cut short his 2015 season after just two appearances. As a freshman in 2014, Kozemchak posted a 2-0 record with a 2.53 ERA in 21.1 innings pitched.

    “Pete and Matt should both be valuable left-handed arms for us in 2016. Both have the ability to start or relieve. Matt had an injury shortened 2015 campaign but is looking for a bounce back season as a starter for Lehigh this season. He has already made four starts in 2016 and is second on the team in innings pitched. Coach Leary really likes Matt’s makeup and feel for pitching and we expect that to mesh well with the SwampDogs in 2016.”

  • Don’t Get Sequestered:  Protect What You Have

    Part 1 – A Business Survival Guide

    What is Sequestration? Is it what the vet does to Fido? Do men say, “Geez, I came home so late last night, I thought my wife was going to sequester me.” For some, Sequestration is going to feel just like that procedure. For others it is an opportunity. Yes, I said that, and not just an opportunity to throttle the nearest politician. Sequestration brings the kind of multi-directional pressure that will crush weak companies but leave the strongest (and smartest) not only still standing but often bigger than ever. It will make you fight to protect your customer base, fight harder to grow it and bedevil staff retention. All that while squeezing cash flow, payroll and advertising budgets. However, if you have an effective strategy to deal with these pressures, you will not only survive but be in a position to absorb market share from those who don’t. In this and following articles, we’ll discuss methods to make a stressed marketing budget more effective and Sequester-proof your business.

    Step 1. Protect what you have. We’re not talking about iron underwear here. But keeping customers in an economy under stress is no easy task either. In a normal economy, approximately 10 percent of a company’s customers are considering going elsewhere. In a stressed economy that number tends to go up as customers shop for better value. Note: Value is not necessarily price. Buyers more often do business with companies they trust and that make them feel appreciated than with the one with lowest price. There are many inexpensive tactics to promote customer loyalty and trust. You can institute a program of discounts/rewards for customer longevity or return visits. You can survey your customer base and see what they think of your product or service so that improvements can be made. You can buy radio time and print space (as I do in this newspaper). My personal favorite (for obvious reasons) is to promote loyalty and trust through promotional gifts. A useful item with your company name and message on it is like a permanent ad repeating your logo and message day after day. Research shows that customers who are given promotional gifts have a higher impression of the company who gave it (Trust!), are more inclined to buy from that business and more likely to refer a friend. All of that can be obtained from one small gift which can cost less than a buck.

    There are an infinite number of ways to bring gifts into your transactions. One is Gift with Purchase. Purportedly invented by Estee Lauder and is as the name says, rewarding a customer’s purchase with a small gift. I like this one because it can be a sales driver (If the gift is of high enough value, it can be advertised to bring new customers in the door) as well as a loyalty enhancement. The value of the promo gift should somewhat mirror the value of your product. The higher the price-point of your product, the higher the value of the gift. So if you are selling cars, you could give a $20 picnic set. If you are selling fast food, you could give a .25 cent collectable cup. The possibilities are endless but you get the idea. None of those items would significantly reduce margin on the sale but will begin a chain reaction of goodwill, referral, purchase and goodwill again.

    If your company serves customers through sales professionals or service technicians, whether in the home or office, an imprinted leave-behind tool or other useful item can work well for you. A plumber or electrician can leave a magnetic flashlight on the refrigerator. A lawn maintenance tech can leave a rain gauge on the lawn. The average charge for any of those services is near a hundred dollars yet the gifts only cost around a buck or two. If the item is seen just once or twice per week over the course of a year, the cost per exposure f your logo is a penny or two. That’s efficiency!

    Right now, your competition is brain-storming ways to take away your customers. What are you doing to protect them? There are many more methods to promote customer loyalty on a budget than I have space here to write, however, the important thing is to pick one that fits your budget and get going!

    In my next installment, we’ll be discussing ways to attract new customers.

    For research data on the effectiveness of promotional products in enhancing customer loyalty, go to www.uslogoworks.com/research.

  • {mosimage}Dear EarthTalk: Is it true that the carcasses of whales that wash up on shore are considered dangerous to humans because of the amount of toxins and chemicals in their blubber?

    -- Michael O’Loughlin, Tigard, Ore.


    Whether wildlife officials in a given region consider a dead, beached whale a biohazard or not is a local decision; however, experts agree that only trained professionals should go anywhere near a dead wild animal to prevent the spread of bacterial infection, no matter whether any industrial pollutants might be oozing out. Regardless, it is true that some types of whales, given their spot at the top of the marine food chain, do harbor chemical pollution in their fatty tissue and organs.

    Researchers have found, for instance, that PCBs, dangerous toxins notorious for polluting New York’s Hudson River and long banned in the U.S., are present in the blubber of beluga and orca whales, among others, in amounts - some 80 parts per million - that could kill a person. DDT, a pesticide banned in 1972 in the U.S. for wreaking havoc on bird and other wildlife populations, also still shows up in measurable amounts in whale blubber around the world.

    Beyond such well-known pollutants, newer ones are starting to show up in large amounts in the carcasses of beached whales and other top marine predators. Today, biologists are most worried about the marked increase in flame retardants (PBDEs) and stain repellents (PFOs) in dead marine mammals. Flame retardants are particularly troublesome because they “seem to travel over long distances in the atmosphere, and some studies have shown that they can be toxic to the immune system and can affect neurobehavioral development,” according to a recent report by the Arctic Council, a multilateral international body in charge of overseeing Arctic law and development. The report also notes that PFOs do “not seem to break down under any circumstances,” meaning they are passed up the food chain to whales and other top predators, and then in some cases consumed by humans, especially indigenous Arctic people still hunting marine animals as part of their subsistent lifestyles.

    According to the Humane Society of the U.S. (HSUS), whales aren’t the only wild animals carrying around large amounts of toxic chemicals. Bottle-nosed dolphins, manatees, polar bears, seals, sea lions and other marine wildlife also have PCBs, DDT, PBDEs, PFOs and the other pollutants in their tissue and blood streams. 

    “The large-scale die-off of bottle-nosed dolphins along the mid-Atlantic coast of the United States in the mid-1980s may have been the direct or indirect result of increasing levels of toxic waste from industrial sources,” HSUS reports, adding that “such pollutants can depress the immune system of marine mammals, making the animals susceptible to diseases they could normally fight off.” 

    Another example: Polar bears in Norway have been exhibiting serious congenital abnormalities; HSUS blames exposure to toxic pollutants in the bears’ otherwise pristine environment. 

    Environmental and health experts worry about such contamination because many of the chemicals in question are known “endocrine disruptors,” meaning they can impair reproduction in both wildlife and humans by mimicking or altering natural hormonal activity. Such chemicals can also cause neurological problems and developmental or skeletal abnormalities.


    GOT AN ENVIRONMENTAL QUESTION? Send it to: EarthTalk, c/o E/The Environmental Magazine, P.O. Box 5098, Westport, CT 06881; submit it at: www.emagazine.com/earthtalk/thisweek/, or e-mail: earthtalk@emagazine.com. Read past columns at: www.emagazine.com/earthtalk/archives.php.

  • denise-ryan-1.jpg
    Business owners and community leaders are in for a treat on April 15. Express Employment, Up & Coming Weekly and the Fayetteville Regional Chamber have an entire day of useful and engaging leadership development planned. 
    It may be tempting to claim that your calendar is already packed, but take a peek at the day’s agenda first. The event includes celebrity speakers as well as a keynote luncheon and workshops by motivational speaker and owner of Firestar Speaking Denise Ryan.
    “Leadership to me is the foundation of everything. Companies call me and say ‘Come boost morale,’” said Ryan. “I can come get people fired up, but if you want a long-term impact, we have to talk to the leaders. I tell leaders they get the followers they deserve. They don’t always like that but it is true and there are ways to influence that.” 
    The day starts at 8:30 a.m. with a welcome and the 2015 Refresh Leadership Live Simulcast sponsored by Express Employment. The speakers include Daymond John, CEO of FUBU and Shark Branding, and co-star of ABC’s Shark Tank, who will talk about Goal Setting: The Secret of Successful Leaders. Dan Aykroyd, actor, comedian, screenwriter, musician, businessman and ‘Ghostbuster,’ will address leadership through his humor-filled speech, “The Funny Thing About Leadership.” Liz Murray, motivational speaker and bestselling author, will talk about her journey from Homeless to Harvard. The theme this year is how to lead your business, inspire your team and live an influential life. The simulcast is free, although registration is required.
    The Small Business Expo is open throughout the day for attendees to visit during breaks. 
    “The shop local expo lets local businesses showcase their products and services and reinforces that shopping local is good for the community,” said Up & Coming Weekly Publisher Bill Bowman.
    The keynote luncheon featuring Ryan starts at 1 p.m. and is $35 for chamber members to attend and $45 for non chamber members. If Ryan’s enthusiasm about the event is any indicator of the content, it will be well worth the money. 
    With an eye on future trends, Ryan sees opportunities for businesses that are prepared, and potentially hard times for those that are not. 
    “The Boomers are about to retire and most organizations are not developing the people who will take their place,” said Ryan. “We need to look at some ways businesses can develop people and get them the leadership skills they need.”
    Building on the simulcast and the notion that there is more than one way to lead an organization, Ryan will offer insights into finding leadership opportunities in the workplace and in the community. 
    “So many times leaders are overwhelmed thinking about the day-to-day issues of keeping their organization functioning that it doesn’t occur to them to reach out and develop the next generation,” said Ryan. “In the workshop we can go deeper into that topic. There are three challenges that we will address; I am ready to give ideas for all of them. I am big on actionable content.”
    The business portion of the day concludes at 5:15 p.m. and is followed by a free Business After Hours event that is perfect for networking, processing the day’s events and unwinding.
    The event takes place at the Holiday Inn on Cedar Creek Road. For more information, or to register for the event, visit http://business.faybiz.com/events/details/2015-refresh-leadership-live-keynote-luncheon-with-denise-ryan-5551.

  • An article in The Atlantic several months ago caught my attention. It refutes the widespread notion that men think about sex every seven seconds. I have always found that an absurd idea even for teenagers and young men whose bodies often seem to be hijacking them, because every seven seconds amounts to an astounding 7,200 times a day! Nothing is that interesting.

    All of us think about food, though, and if not 7,200 times a day, probably more than just at breakfast lunch and dinner. My 6 a.m. exercise class routinely discusses breakfast biscuits, shrimp and grits recipes and what we cooked over the weekend even as we walk a treadmill and lift weights. Our trainers give us rich chocolates for Christmas.

    Frankly, I think this is a good thing. What’s more, I think many of us are getting more careful about what we put in our bodies in an effort to get more use out of them and for a longer time.

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    Until World War II, most Americans ate what we now think of as “unprocessed” food. There were some canned goods, but we were still close enough to the land that if we were not actual farmers, we had gardens. We shopped almost daily for freshly cut meats and locally or regionally grown produce. We cooked and ate our meals at home with our families. Giant home freezers did not exist, nor did chain restaurants or fast food outlets. 

    World War II brought us processed foods like powdered milk and eggs and processed fruits. The idea was that the highest quality foods went to our troops, and the folks back home would make do, which they proudly did. We can debate the long-lasting effects of processing, but it is obvious to me that the fresher and closer to its natural state our food is, the better it is for our bodies.

    Enter the age of farm-to-table restaurants, Paleo eating plans, sushi bars, GMO/pesticide/antibiotic free meats and dairy products, wild-caught seafood, spinach smoothies with hemp seed and all the other ways we are fleeing from processed and industrialized food. My observations about American eating trends are unscientifically my own, but this quest for better quality food seems particularly pronounced among younger people, the millennials. 

    The Precious Jewels and their contemporaries know about and enjoy foods, restaurants and cooking techniques I have never heard of, and probably would have astounded my grandmother. She was a world-class Southern cook, and her scalloped oysters — just oysters, butter, milk and salt and pepper, could make grown men weep, but I cannot image a sushi bite passing her lips. I am confident she never heard, much less uttered, the word “aioli.”

    Consider what is going on in America’s fast food industry, specifically the granddaddy of fast food, McDonald’s. It is an industry that appeals to and courts young people who are on the go, who have limited wallets and who may not be in cooking situations. They are the folks who have historically “grabbed a burger” — except not so much these days. 

    Ronald McDonald aficionados need not panic. McDonald’s remains one of the world’s best-known and valuable brands, and its revenues are three times that of its nearest U.S. competitor, Subway. It is not going anywhere anytime soon, but there are troubling signs. U.S. sales have dropped by an alarming 15 percent, and efforts to make the menu greener and healthier are getting ho-hum reactions. Apple slices in Happy Meals, more chicken than beef served last year for the first time in history, no more “pink slime” (you don’t really want to know what that is), and fancy beverages havenot received the press that workers demanding higher pay and calorie counts have. In fairness, other large fast-food chains are having similar problems. The ones that are not are small — and probably more nimble — making change easier.

    McDonald’s has an image problem and is fighting back with new food offerings and social-media campaigns, including blogs by moms touting the quality and yumminess of the menu. But in an age when “foodies” with ideas of local sourcing, sustainability, purity, nutritional value and cross-cultural eating seem to be on every corner, food that comes wrapped in slick paper or in cardboard boxes seems doomed to lose. 

    The history of culture is that trends are always in the air, and the trend now is clearly back toward unprocessed foods that are, by definition, not “fast foods.” Remember what happened to film when digital cameras trended? 

    Some trends simply cannot be stopped. 

    Years ago, one of the Precious Jewels invited a little friend over to play. From the next room, I overheard our guest say she was hungry and suggest the two get a soda and some chips. The Precious Jewel replied matter of factly, “We do not have any of that. My mother is a health-food nut.”

    The Dicksons began
    trendy early.

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    On Friday, May 1 and Saturday, May 2, history will be made at the Cape Fear Regional Theatre when DOWNRANGE Voices from the Homefront is read on the theatre’s stage. The play, written by Mike Wiley, is the first original play commissioned by the CFRT in its 53-year history.

    DOWNRANGE: Voices from the Homefront began as an outreach program by the theatre to reach out to one of its most underserved communities: the military. Putting an emphasis on embracing the military as a central part of the community, was one of the major goals for Tom Quaintance, the theatre’s artistic director. When Quaintance interviewed for the job at the CFRT, he was asked to name the greatest challenge facing the theatre. His response was, “You are underserving the your community.”

    Quaintance quickly learned that a large part of that community was comprised of military families, many of whom were separated by ongoing deployments. He heard stories from these families. Stories he has referred to as “stories of bravery, of community, of heartbreak and joy, of the everyday and the extraordinary.” He knew this was a story that needed to be told.

    The theatre looked for and found funding for that project through the Audience (R)Evolution grant, a four-stage program to study, promote and support successful audience engagement and community development models across the country. The Audience (R)Evolution grant program was designed by the Theatre Communications Group, or TCG, and is funded by the Doris Duke Foundation. The grant gave the theatre the means to refocus its community engagement model to put the military center stage.

    DOWNRANGE has been a year in the making, beginning with the collaboration with Wylie, whose acclaimed play The Parchman Hour: Songs and Stories of 1961 Freedom Riders, wowed CFRT audiences, as well as audiences in Chapel Hill, where it premiered. Another key partner in creating the show is Hidden Voices, a Chapel Hill-based nonprofit, that has been collaborating with underrepresented communities since 2003. The group’s mission statement, “To challenge, strengthen and connect our diverse communities through the transformative power of the individual voice,” meshed with Quaintance’s vision. Wiley, along with theatre volunteers,  volunteers from the military community and members of Hidden Voices, beganthe story telling process by first listening to the stories of those who have been impacted by the deployments: military spouses. The grant paid for the workshops, childcare for participants, community outreach, the commission of the work and the staged reading.

    Downrange: Voices from the Homefront focuses on the families of deployed military men and women, and will develop a piece of documentary theatre, the staged reading and a visual art installation, which is designed to give the participants a non-verbal mode of storytelling. 

    The stories collected through the workshops have been woven into a play that is moving, funny and inspiring by Wiley. 

    Immediately following the reading, a talk-back session is planned to allow the audience to discuss the play and to ensure that the theatre is on the right track moving forward to a full production in the 2015-2016 season. 

    Quaintance noted, “It is one of the largest projects we have ever undertaken, and I’m excited, and energized and terrified. I feel a tremendous responsibility to do the stories of these men and women justice.”

    For tickets and information, visit www.cfrt.org.

  • This co-worker guy, who I hardly know, has been stalking me at work. I don’t want to cause trouble for him, but...he’s creepy. He’s been asking co-workers about me and finding me on my breaks. Today, as I was leaving for lunch, he said, “I haven’t stopped thinking about you.” The hairs on my neck stood up. The shower music from Psycho came into my head!! I (like an idiot) said, “Shoot me an e-mail.” (I don’t have the guts to tell him, “Screw off, you ugly, creepy, uh, expletive.”) Of course, he e-mails me č inviting me to lunch or dinner, saying he wants to get to know me better. Since I love your “tact,” I’d love to respond using your words. Something that says: 1. You’re creepy. 2. You obviously live with your mother. 3. Never in your lifetime. 

    --The Hunted


    Alfred Hitchcock might’ve retired to some sleepy town in England after a career as an elementary school filmstrip operator č save for his wise decisions while directing “Psycho.” Imagine Hitch weighing the dramatic possibilities: “Let’s see, shall we have a shadowy figure slipping into a motel bathroom, opening the shower curtain and raising a big knife to stab a terrified naked woman č or should some lad drop in at the woman’s office to tell her ‘I haven’t stopped thinking about you’ as a lead-up to asking when she might be free for lunch?”

    Come on, a guy at work gives you reason to believe he has a crush on you and the shower music from “Psycho” comes into your head? When you see sheep nibbling on grass in a pasture, do you hear the theme from Jaws? Your complaint that this guy is “stalking” you reminds me of the old joke: It’s only sexual harassment when the guy asking you out is ugly, broke and works in the mailroom. Actual stalking is a willful and malicious form of intimidation č persistent, unwanted pursuit after the pursuer has been informed that his or her attentions are unwanted. Stalkingvictims.com reports that most U.S. states define stalking as behavior that would instill fear in a reasonable person. Sorry, but what are you afraid of, getting cooties by association? The stench of loserhood lingering in your hair? 

    You take the post-modern approach to saying no, ditching “No means no” for “’Shoot me an e-mail’ means no.” Unfortunately, most people, including Dorky Boy, are probably working off the old definition. To make matters worse, if a guy really likes you, when one door fails to close, another 10 doors open. So, while you’re waiting for him to read your mind about what a “creepy, uh, expletive” you think he is, he’s probably laying out his dinner clothes, researching fine wine and wondering whether you should name the children after his late grandma or yours. 

    It didn’t have to get to this point. All you had to do was be kind enough to say something the first time he expressed interest č nothing cutting about his looks or living arrangements č just “Thanks for asking, but I’m not interested.” You might also try squeezing out a little respect for guys who get up the nerve to go after what they want č especially as a girl who doesn’t have the guts to speak up about what she doesn’t. If you “No, thanks!” a guy a few times, and he fails to back off, sure, call for reinforcements. Until then, do your best to avoid crying wolf while being pursued down the halls of your office by a quivering, three-legged Chihuahua.


    Got a problem? Write Amy Alkon, 171 Pier Ave, #280, Santa Monica, CA╩ 90405, or e-mail AdviceAmy@aol.com (www.advicegoddess.com)

    (c)2008, Amy Alkon, all rights reserved.

  • It looks like Fayetteville City Manager Ted Voorhees is still chasing PWC as a means of balancing the city budget; and squarely in his court is our local daily newspaper issuing dire warnings to Fayetteville residents of the pending catastrophe if the General Assembly approves the recommendations recently made by our legislative delegation. 

    What are they thinking? Raising questions at this point about the competent operation and management of PWC makes me wonder whether Fayetteville Observer’s editorial writer, Tim White, even lives in Fayetteville or Cumberland County for that matter.  In last Sunday’s edition he spoke about PWC and the city sharing services  like human resource departments, call center services and other cooperative efforts that could possibly save taxpayers money. 

     My first reaction is to recommend that he check out how well the combined City /Cumberland County Parks & Recreation program is working out. How efficient is it and how much money have we saved collectively? My second reaction is to ask him to compare and evaluate how well other city departments are currently operated and what their level of efficiency is. They can start with the notorious Inspections Department. Don’t even get me started about the numerous complaints that have been launched in that direction concerning  their service and  “efficiency”.

    Questioning the veracity and trustworthiness of PWC, which has consistently earned state and national honors for its operations is, well, suspicious at best. White suggested that the proposed new charter provides only “some vague assurances” that PWC and its commissioners will continue to look out for the best interest of Fayetteville residents. Again, what are you thinking, Tim? 

    cashcow_tr.jpg

    Check the records. Our PWC has been operating efficiently for more than 100 years. It has been recognized locally for its commitment to community and regionally, statewide and nationally for quality,  customer service and fiscal responsibility.  Toe-to-toe and nose-to-nose, I doubt whether the city under Voorhees direction would measure up. And, to insinuate that PWC Chairman Mike Lallier is wrong in trying to preserve the integrity of PWC’s independence indicates how truly out of touch White and our daily newspaper are with this community.

    PWC is a business. A huge business. Appropriately, Mike Lallier is a local successful businessman, as is PWC Commissioners Darsweil Rogers of RMC Strategies, Lynne Green of Highland Lumber Company and Wade Fowler. In addition, several members of our local legislative delegation who crafted HB 392 are also successful business people: John Szoka, Sen. Wesley Meredith and Rep. Rick Glazier.  They didn’t get where they are by making dumb and irresponsible business decisions. They are all smart, conscientious public servants committed to this community with integrity and long-term vision. Not bureaucrats. If career bureaucrats, like Voorhees, could accomplish such feats they wouldn’t be trying to raid PWC’s coffers. Perhaps, if the city worked more efficiently it could cut its budget - starting in city hall. 

    I know this issue is very confusing to many of our readers so I will try to explain it. Hence, the Ted Voorhees/PWC Charter Controversy Primer

    Chapter One: Voorhees comes to the Fayetteville Farm and sees a “cash cow” in PWC just waiting to be milked. In meetings at the state- level he makes it plain that he plans on taking over the operation. He assumes he is smarter than anyone else including the city council  because he is a “trained administrator.”  

    Chapter Two: The PWC cash cow is not ready for milking and resists Voorhees advances. Farm hand, Mike Lallier objects to this as do others. 

    Chapter Three: Voorhees insist he needs fresh milk from the PWC cow. He convinces six newly hired farmhands (city council members) that he knows all about cash cows. Since they are newbies and know little about the ways of the cash cow, they acquiesce to Voorhees wishes and follow him blindly in hopes of getting the PWC cash cow milked. Everyone knows what you step in when you walk blindly down a “cow path”. Voorhees is up to his knees in it!

    Chapter Four: Seeing the potential cattle rustling on the horizon, Lallier and the farmhands sue Voorhees and the city asking them to keep their hands off their udders. The PWC farm hands have been tending to  PWC cows for more than a century and have consistently brought home the blue ribbon - check their trophy case.  The city cowhands said they could do it better. Laughter erupts!

    Chapter Five: Mediation commences without much progress. Both agree that the charter needed to be clarified. Enter the General Assembly.

    Chapter Six: The Cumberland County legislative delegation assembled and agreed to assist. The delegation, headed up by John Szoka, clarified and simplified the Charter and drafted a bill (HB 392) to implement changes clarifying the roles and responsibilities of both parties. Happy ending? Not so much for Voorhees. As predicted, the cash cow is now out of his grasp. The crowd goes wild.

    Chapter Seven: Voorhees, upset and angry,  goes into Chicken Little mode crying  the sky is falling! And directs all city departments to slow their spending and reduce their budgets, ensuring the pain is shared by all.  At this point, one must ask: Who is giving Voorhees his direction? Who doesVoorhees work for? The city council should remember he serves at their pleasure not the other way around. See you down on the farm.

    Thank you for reading Up & Coming Weekly.


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    Unless you have been vacationing on Mars, you know the 2016 campaign season is well underway. This year’s municipal elections are merely the warm up — albeit an important one given questions of leadership swirling in all quarters of our community, for the onslaught coming next year. Candidates are already declaring themselves, and who knows how many others are pondering privately.

    Given that, here is something for the rest of us to ponder.

    A study released late last month by Meredith College in Raleigh finds that women are woefully under-represented in both elective and appointive positions in our state. Women now make up less than 25 percent of these officials and only 20 percent of elected positions that have taxing and spending authority, such as city council, county commissioners and legislators. Just over half, 56 of North Carolina’s 100 counties, have a woman commissioner. These numbers have declined in our state since the 2010 mid-term elections, as they have in other states. 

    These sad numbers exist despite the fact that women make up more than 51 percent of our state’s population and 54 percent of our state’s registered voters.

    So why does this matter? What difference does it make that the great preponderance of our elected and appointed decision makers are men, most of them white? Are women better at these jobs than men?

    It matters because when decisions that affect all of us are made, those decisions will be better if there are more voices with a variety of life experiences at the table. Some women are better than some men at decision making and vice versa, but the reality is that if our public decisions are being made mainly by one class of people — say for example, white men over 50 — other voices are not being heard and certainly not in proportion to their percentages in the general population. My life experience includes marriage, children, life in a North Carolina metropolitan area and a career in a family business. That experience is different from that of an African-American man who lives in rural North Carolina and who has farmed for most of his life. Our state is among the fastest growing in the nation, and people are coming to us from other states and other nations. No one’s experience is better than others but all deserve to be part of the decision making process.

    There are all sorts of reasons why women are under-represented, including family obligations. Among the most galling to me is the well-researched fact, which the Meredith study notes, that men run for office at younger ages and when asked to consider elective service more often than not consider themselves “well-qualified” candidates. Women are more likely to think: “Who me?”

    The good news for all of us is that when women do run, they are likely to be elected. Last year, 25 percent of candidates in North Carolina were women, and 63 percent of them were elected to the office they sought. One reason for this is that voters consider women trustworthy, and a generic candidate named “Jane” will get a 2 to 5 percent leg up from voters over her generic opponent named “John.” 

    I am sure there are many reasons for this as well, but one that comes to mind for me is Anthony Weiner, my personal poster boy for how not to behave as an elected official. Have you ever heard of a woman candidate or elected official texting photos of her various parts to some unsuspecting fellow via cyberspace?

    • • • • •

    This year’s NCAA tournament is history with my team hoping for a better tomorrow, but there is some good sports news. The New York Times reported that Fayetteville’s own Shea Ralph, is returning after five seasons in Pittsburgh to the University of Connecticut, the scene of her greatest triumph so far, as an assistant coach of the women’s basketball team. Ralph was captain of the Huskies when they won the NCAA women’s championship in 2000. Before that, though, she was one of Terry Sanford High School’s greatest scholars/athletes ever, graduating with a 4.2 academic average while being a basketball star and lettering in soccer, cross country and track along the way. She was the 1996 USA Today National Player of the Year before becoming a college basketball legend.

    The Dickson connection to Shea Ralph? 

    Her dad tutored at least one Precious Jewel through algebra.

    • • • • • 

    And, from the “say it ain’t so” department, North Carolina is losing her Southern drawl.

    That is the word from Robin Dodsworth, an associate linguistics professor at N.C. State, and it is especially true in our urban areas, which have new residents from many other places. Duckworth says, “…little by little over the course of several decades Southern features kind of got washed out.” 

    Maybe and sadly so, but there are compensations. 

    I have Yankee friends who routinely and comfortably use our Southern all-purpose word, “ya’ll.” 

    Some of them also say, “Well, bless your heart.”

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    Excitement is blooming in the community for the upcoming Dogwood Festival April 24-26 in Downtown Fayetteville. The annual rite of spring is celebrating its 33rd year of bringing the community together for an action-packed, non-stop weekend of fun.

    “Each year our organization works hard to produce a quality event for our community,” said Carrie King, the director of the event. “Just like Mother Nature, we too like to refresh the process each year to keep our event energized and vibrant! This year marks our 33rd year of fun, family and festivities. This time-honored Fayetteville tradition will continue to provide lasting memories and community pride for generations to come.”

    If all goes as planned for this year’s festival, it will be another one for the books. The “unofficial opening of the festival” is at Cross Creek Park at 4 p.m., as the Boys and Girls Clubs of  Cumberland County welcome guests to their annual garden party, an official Dogwood Festival sanctioned event.

    The Garden Party is an afternoon and evening of Southern tradition — dancing, entertainment, good food and friends. So ladies grab your favorite hat and guys, pull out your seersucker suits. Dress in your best summer chic attire for an afternoon of fun in support of  the Boys and Girls Clubs of Cumberland County.  This adults-only party features entertainment provided  by The (919) Band and beer and wine and heavy hors d’oeuvres powered by B&B Catering.

    Tickets are $50 per person and are on sale at www.ccbgc.org or at www.facebook.com/ccbgc.org. 

    As evening falls, the fun transitions to Festival Park for the annualBloom and Boom party that officially opens the event. The fun starts at 6 p.m. and ends with a fireworks finale at 10 p.m. Of course, there is a lot of fun in between as country comes to town with performances by Craig Campbell and Mo Pitney.

    Campbell is one of country

    music’s hippest neo-tradionalists. Growing up in rural Lyons, Georgia, Campbell is a proud reminder of one of country’s strongest creative periods. Becoming one of the most successful new artists of 2011, his debut album Craig Campbellspawned the hits “Family Man,” “Fish” and “When I Get It.” The second album, Never Regret (2013), climbed the charts with hits “Keep Them Kisses Comin’” and “Outta
    My Head.”

    At 20 years of age, Pitney’s deep baritone voice causes crowds to swoon. His sound is influenced by bluegrass artists such as Tony Rice and J.D. Crowe, as well as traditional and mainstream country. He has been named a 2015 hot country artist to watch by Billboard Magazineand one of the “15 Country Artists To Watch in 2015” by Huffington Post.

    The midway is always a big draw at the festival with gates opening at 6 p.m. For $25  get all-you-can-ride wrist bands. Rides include the Freak Out, Screamer and Drop Tower. On Saturday and Sunday midway rides will be open during regular festival hours (midway will close at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday) and will operate on a ticketed system, tickets $1 each, on Saturday and Sunday.

    Be sure to get a lot of sleep Friday night, as the Dogwood Festival kicks into high gear on Saturday, which will feature more than 100 arts and crafts, food vendors and fun activities for the whole family. One popular spot is The Partnership for Children’s KidStuff, which focuses on science this year. On Saturday, kids get a chance to meet Emmy-nominated Sid the Science Kid and UNC-TV’s own Frank Graff from the North Carolina Science Nowseries.On Sunday, the seriously silly Professor Gizmo will present his Fun and Science Show at 1:30, 3:30 and 5 p.m. Music and performances will continue throught the day at the Street Fair Stage and the Performance Stage.

    On Saturday night, Festival Park will rock with performances by ‘80s bands Warrant and Quiet Riot.

    At its core, WARRANT is an American rock band through and through. Their signature style of rock music is very catchy and yet very melodic. Hitting it big in 1989, the Hollywood, California based band rose through the ranks to multiplatinum selling, chart-topping success. Their debut album Dirty Rotten Filthy Stinking Rich and sophomore album Cherry Pie produced radio and MTV chart toppers “Heaven,” “Cherry Pie,” and “Uncle Tom’s Cabin.” 

    QUIET RIOT is a rock and roll phenomenon. Famously described as the first heavy metal band to top the pop charts, the Los Angeles quartet became an overnight sensation thanks to their monster smash album Metal Health, which has now exceeded the 10 million worldwide sales mark. Songs “Metal Health (Bang Your Head)” and “Cum on Feel the Noize” stormed the U.S. charts and made heavy metal history, with “Cum On Feel The Noize” being the first heavy metal song to reach Billboard Magazine’s Top 5.

    Remember some simple event rules to make your time at the festival more fun:

    •No coolers

    •No pets (except certified service animals)

    •No weapons of any kind

    •No bikes, rollerblades or skateboards

    •No inappropriate language or behavior 

    Disabled parking will be designated in the Hay Street United Methodist Church parking lot and the Bank of America parking lots on Ray Ave. Availability is first come, first served.

    For a complete schedule of events visit the Dogwood Festival website at www.faydogwoodfest.com. Grab your family and come out for one of Fayetteville’s favorite events - The Fayetteville Dogwood Festival!

  •     N.C. State Rep. Margaret Dickson (D-Cumberland) has been selected to serve on the newly created Joint Study Committee on Military and Veterans’ Affairs.
        Representative Dickson will serve the 18-member committee, which includes seven House members, seven Senate members, Rear Admiral (Ret.) L.F. “Ferg” Norton, New Hanover County, and Lt. Col. Christopher R. Canipe, NCARNG (Ret.) Guilford County.
        The committee has been asked to study:
        •The definition and use of the term “veteran” and “disabled veteran” throughout the North Carolina General Statutes and whether those definitions must be consistent with corresponding federal laws.
        •The availability of continuing education, training, and other employment services to veterans and their dependents seeking employment assistance.
        •Examine the re-entry process for service members who return to civilian life after being engaged in an active theater.
        •The ability of North Carolina’s mental health system to provide care and services to military personnel.
        •The availability of services provided by federal, state, and local governments that offers veterans employment counseling and other support services.       
        •Education issues relating to military dependents, including dependents that are transferring into North Carolina schools from other jurisdictions.
        •Compatible development issues facing the state’s military installations.
        •The extension of state benefits and privileges to veterans of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation     Enduring Freedom consistent with those currently granted to veterans of World War I, World War II, Korea, and Vietnam.
        The committee will submit a final report on the results of its study, including any proposed legislation, to the members of the Senate and the House of Representatives, on or before Dec. 31, 2008.

    FAYETTEVILLE SECURES
    PRESERVE AMERICA GRANT

        On April 7, officials from the City of Fayetteville and the Fayetteville Area Convention & Visitors Bureau (FACVB) learned the city was awarded a $150,000 Preserve America Grant. The FACVB applied for the grant on behalf of the City of Fayetteville, and is providing matching funds.
        “Preserve America Grants help weave cultural and national heritage into the economic, educational and social fabric of communities by promoting heritage tourism,” said Deputy Secretary of the Interior Lynn Scarlett, who announced 43 Preserve America Grants on April 7.
        The purpose for the funded project, titled Culturally Connecting America’s Hometown:                 Fayetteville/Cumberland County Wayfinding Initiative, is to plan, design and implement a complete wayfinding signage system throughout the county, with an emphasis on historic and cultural resources. Preserve America funds will be used to hire a consultant and to implement a portion of a strategic plan for the program. The consultant will assess the navigational needs of visitors to our county, identify the appropriate signage system for our market, seek input from the public, determine the necessary location, placement, number, design and content of such signs and to reach a consensus on the final plan amongst all stakeholders. 

    2008 CENSUS DRESS
    REHEARSAL

        With the presidential election taking place in 2008, U.S. citizens will choose the direction that America will take for the next four years. Before that though, Fayetteville residents have an opportunity to participate in another federal event that could have more of a local impact. Citizens can do that by filling out U.S. Census Bureau Dress Rehearsal forms they have received in the mail and sending them back in the provided envelope. The information on the questionnaire helps the community better its chances at receiving funding for public projects.
        Census counts are used for congressional representation, legislative redistricting and the distribution of $300 billion in federal, state and local money every year. The census ensures that power and money are fairly distributed. A complete count means everybody counts — in different words— more participation helps chances for improving quality of life.

  • 6fnnyqdlnkjozswslywil6n9ckbppkt4wivmdqzipbe.jpg

    Earlier this year I noted that the city would not be happy if the N.C. Legislature had to step in and resolve the problems between the city and its utility, Fayetteville PWC. With the recriminations, gnashing of teeth and dire threats of financial ruin and hiring freezes coming from city hall, it would seem that my prediction was correct.

    Earlier this month, the local contingent to the N.C. Legislature filed a local bill (NCHB 392) defining the roles of each party in the charter and the responsibilities of each. For PWC, the bill keeps the city’s hand out of its till and doing what it is supposed to do — appointing members to the utility board and letting the utility take care of its own business. For the city, that’s the equivalent of losing the goose that lays the golden egg. But hey, they took their chances, they rolled the dice and they lost. This is not a big surprise to anyone.

    But, for City Manager Ted Voorhees, who was counting on the cash cow to help pay the bills, it stings. On April 1, Voorhees sent out a memo to the city’s senior management team expressing his displeasure with the legislature.

    In his memo, Voorhees predicts an impact of approximately $1.6 million on the city’s 2016 budget from the changes to the PWC charter by the legislature. Voorhees’ number came from the assumption that PWC would no longer support programs it has supported in the past such as Fay TV, Enterprise GIS, audits and budgets. Voorhees also noted that the legislative action would impact the current budget to a tune of about $400,000.

    With that in mind, he directed all departments to “slow spending dramatically for the remainder of the fiscal year,” and that “unless the charter bill funding formula is changed in a meaningful way, we are about to have a “new normal.”  

    The most impactful knee-jerk reaction coming from city hall was a hiring freeze for all departments. With a stroke of a key, Voorhees put himself in charge of all hiring, ultimately deferring hiring until he found another way to “capture savings.”

    In an effort to capture savings and “balance” the budget, Voorhees directed cuts to the following departments:

    Police and Fire: 5%

    All other General Fund departments: 10%

    Environmental Services: 5%

    Parks and Recreation:  A proposed new “Northern Area” pool was funded until the charter bill was filed. It is no longer funded. Please reassess your capital expenditures to find a way to finance a new pool by cutting something else or closing/consolidating the least used facilities.

    Voorhees ended his memo with the following: “I wish this were an April Fool’s joke. It is not.”

    On the flipside, those in the know see Voorhees’ reaction and pronouncement as quite foolish.

    PWC countered that rather than losing money, the city would, in fact, be gaining money, noting the following:

    “The net cash contribution to the City of Fayetteville General Fund for FY2015 is $9 million. The annual net cash contribution to the city will likely increase almost $500,000 in FY2016 and the increase will escalate every year with an estimated increase of $2.7 million over the current transfer agreement by FY2025.”

    If you follow the numbers, it would seem that our city manager is making a mountain out of a mole hill. In reality, the city will not lose money, it will, in fact, gain money. This has been the problem from the get go when it comes to PWC.

    Voorhees saw what his neighbor had and coveted it. He wanted it. It wasn’t his, but he still tried to take it. He tried to prove that PWC was in the wrong and was not handling its finances appropriately. This was a dead end road before he even started going down it. PWC has been lauded statewide and nationally for its fiscal responsibility. 

    With his latest round of “the sky is falling,” Voorhees has shown his true colors; making sure that if things don’t go his way, everyone will feel the pain.

    We have to ask: When will the members of our city council take off their blinders and truly look at their city manager? Will they continue to follow him blindly — even though the facts are against him?

    This is the time for real leadership by the city council. Let’s hope they don’t continue in their “hear no evil, see no evil” mind set. It’s time for real leaders to make hard decisions. Who is going to step up? We wonder.

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    There is an excitement in the theatre community; a buzz that is building as the play The Trip to Bountifulprepares to open at the Cape Fear Regional Theatre. 

    The buzz surrounds the return to the stage by Bo Thorp, the founding artistic director of the theatre, who has been absent from the stage for almost two years. This month, Thorp, along with veteran CFRT actors Greg King and Libby Seymour, will join forces to bring a hopeful play to the stage, one that invites you to take a journey.

    “I think a return to roots and nature is a thing that can be very healing,” said Anne Scarbrough, the director of The Trip to Bountiful. “Horton Foote asks us to consider whether a return from where we came might help us consider who we are. It invites us to have a return to our strength and dignity. This is an idea that  really resonates with me.”

    Scarbrough, a director from California, understands the need to return to simpler times and things.

    “The short of it is that I grew up in the country and now I live in the city,” she said. “I miss it every single day — the rhythms of it. The frequency with which the city vibrates versus that which the country vibrates is very different.”

    For Scarbrough, exploring those differences and the need to return to the simple brings a feeling of hope.

    “I see a great hopefulness in this piece, one that I haven’t seen in other productions, although I have seen some wonderful productions. I haven’t seen the version that lives in my heart,” she explained. “I felt excited about playing out that vision. This play is about healing, a hopeful, bright future for the this family.”

    Scarbrough was also enticed to come to Fayetteville and direct this play through her long-standing friendship with CFRT Artistic Director Tom Quaintance.

    My dear friend Tom, spoke so highly to me about this community. I could hear in his voice how wonderful it has been to be a part of this community and to work with Bo, and I wanted a piece of that,” she said. “That sounded so good to me.”

    While Scarbrough did auditions for the lead roles in New York, she soon discovered that the community already had the perfect cast to stage this show, eventually casting Thorp, King and Seymour. Speaking of their professionalism, Scarbrough noted, “It is apparent in their work on stage. Off stage, they are so down to earth, warm and welcoming. They made me feel  like I belong here. It is on stage that you truly begin to see why they are so revered in thiscommunity.”

    She noted that while watching a run-through of the play, she is amazed at the talent and craft of the cast.

    “I’m watching a run and see their craft on stage, and I remember there is a reason why they are revered here,” she said, noting that she also is in awe of the bond between the three. “There is a real apparent and palpable love and it is showing up in this story.”

    That will be key to the success of the play. The Trip to Bountifulis a story of rebellion and redemption. It’s a story about running away and coming home.”

    That’s a topic that Thorp can embrace. Having been absent from the stage for almost two years, Thorp’s return to the stage is a homecoming of sorts.

    “I love to work,” she said. “When you haven’t worked in a while, your muscles get broken. In the olden days of the Fort Bragg Play House and the Little Theatre, there was never a time I wasn’t in a play or directing a play,” she said. “The muscle was so fresh. Having been gone from it makes me realize I have a focus, a reason to get up and get going to something I love. Even though it’s hard and agony, it’s what I want. I have to remind myself of that. 

    “It is called work, because it is work. It is recreating these lives and living them,” she said. 

    For tickets and show times, visit the CFRT website at www.cfrt.org.

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    Okay everyone, take a look at your calendar and make plans to get lots of sleep this week. You may want to add some stretching and endurance exercises into your daily routine. In case you missed the obvious signs of pollen coating your vehicles and dogwoods blooming, it’s time to get ready for one of Cumberland County’s biggest weekends of the year.

    So hold onto your hats, this week we are celebrating the award-winning Fayetteville Dogwood Festival! Remember it’s not a race, it’s a marathon weekend, and you don’t want to miss a thing.

    This annual rite of spring that showcases all the best of our community is in the spotlight of this edition of Up & Coming Weekly.  We have showcased this wonderfully anticipated event that has been over a year in the making. So, get ready for a great week!

     Forget about your taxes and that extension you filed last week. Forget about the UDO, PWC, tax rates, annexation controversies or the washing machine hose that broke and flooded your basement or that shopping cart that dinged your new car. This is our time to celebrate springtime here in Fayetteville, N.C., by showing off our city, our communities and the people who make livinghere enjoyable and unique. 

    The publication you are reading right now is your guide to experiencing one of the most outstanding outdoor festivals in southeast North Carolina – for that matter in the Southeast. For those of you that are new in town or strictly get your news and information from an iPhone or other source of social media, the Fayetteville Dogwood Festival is held annually in Historic Downtown Fayetteville. In downtown and its adjacent Festival Park, you will experience three days of fun, food and entertainment that showcases the personality and hospitality of our entire community. There will be something for everyone: motorcycle/car rallies, pageants, duck races, street vendors, arts, crafts, street performers and live music including several huge concerts. See Associate Publisher Janice Burton’s article on page13. Janice is a veteran of numerous Dogwood Festivals and knows what she is talking about.

    My message this week is extremely simple: This event is very special to us. Its quality reflects not only the values of our community but signifies what can be maintained and preserved when the right vision, compassion and proper leadership come together for the benefit of the Fayetteville community and our surrounding communities. This being said, I congratulate Dogwood Festival Director Carrie King, her board of directors and the countless numbers of volunteers dedicated to carrying on this 33-year Fayetteville tradition. We need more of this kind of leadership to make our community safe, economically sound and to provide the quality of life needed for growth in the 21st century. Again, thank you Carrie! 

    Now let’s all have a wonderful and unforgettable weekend. Thank you for reading Up & Coming Weekly, your community newspaper. 


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    The Fourth of July 2015 will be here before we know it, with Americans of every stripe celebrating the one thing we all have in common — love for and pride in our free country and for the opportunities available to us and our families. We will stare up at red, white and blue fireworks from parks, beaches and backyards across our country; grateful that we are in the land of the free and the home of the brave. We are living the American Dream.

    But what exactly is the American Dream?

    Home ownership pops readily to mind, and that is certainly part of it. But the dream is much fuller and richer — education, upward mobility, good health, being with our families, freedom to make our own decisions and personal goals and desires of our very own. The dream differs with each generation and as our young country continues to evolve.

    The CBS News magazine 60 Minutes and Vanity Fair magazine recently polled 1,002 Americans for the 2015 iteration of the American Dream. I found some of it affirming, some a bit disheartening and I suspect your take on it may be different than mine based on age, life experiences and personal opinions.

    Here are a few of the findings.

    Q: How would you describe the American Dream today?

    As a mother I am not surprised that 44 percent of us answer this way: “Giving your kids a better life.” “Having a successful career” comes in first for 22 percent. Blessedly, only 5 percent of us value “becoming wealthy overnight” and only 2 percent say, “becoming famous.”

    Q: Who has had a better life?”

    Two out three — 66 percent — of us say we have a better life than our parents did. I agree with this one. I am now more than 10 years older than my mother was when she died, and one year behind my father’s departure. Our more welcoming culture has also opened more doors for my children and me than my parents could have imagined. If they had defined their American Dream as a better life for their children, I think they achieved it.

    Q: Which is most important in achieving the American Dream?

    Almost half of us — 44 percent — say a college education. Second, at 22 percent, is being an American citizen. Far behind in single digits are being born wealthy, speaking English, having health insurance and being white.

    Hear! Hear!

    Q: Which of these people best embodies the American Dream?

    Steve Jobs tops the list, with Oprah Winfrey, Sam Walton and Rosa Parks less then 10 points behind. Last on the list, at 1 percent, is Kim Kardashian. I find this result deeply affirming that our nation is on the right track.

    Q: Would your first American ancestors be proud of you?

    A whopping 76 percent of us say “yes.” This seems to me a bit of a loaded question. Some of us have ancestors who were here before there was a United States, some of us have ancestors who came in great waves of immigrants, and some of us are the first in our families to be here. Some, but not all of my ancestors, are in the first category, and I can hardly imagine how they would assess my life compared to theirs. The centuries seem so far apart. I hope they would be proud.

    Q: Do immigrants help or hurt the U.S?

    EEK! We are conflicted here. By a small margin — 35 to 32 percent, more people said immigrants are hurting our country. The rest of us see no effect. Interestingly, more Republicans — 53 percent — say immigrants hurt while more Democrats — 45 percent — say they are helping. Interpret that one as you will.

    And now for the hot potato.

    Q: Which part of the Bill of Rights would you get rid of first?

    Just the facts, ma’am. 

    Right to Bear Arms — 37 percent. 

    Trial by Jury — 14 percent.

    Freedom of Speech — 10 percent

    Freedom of Religion — 9 percent

    None of these — 28 percent

    Clearly, Americans are distressed by the gun violence in our country.

    All polls on whatever topics are snapshots in time. They are also subject to error. The 60 Minutes/Vanity Fair poll says its margin of error is 3 percent either way.

    That being said, the results feel All-American to me. 

    Despite our economic challenges of the last decade, just shy of a past generation’s Great Depression, and our growing economic divide, we remain a hopeful and forward-looking people. We want our children to have better lives than we have had, and we believe that education and hard work can provide that for them. We have our political differences as we have had since before we were a nation, and we continue to persevere. We continue to believe that American life can — and will — be better.

    Amen!

  • {mosimage}Dear EarthTalk: What makes those so-called “new urbanism” housing developments popping up around the U.S. more environmentally friendly than regular old suburban neighborhoods? -- Rusty Spinoza, Galveston, TX


    The husband-and-wife team of town planners AndrÄs Duany and Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk are typically credited as the founders of new urbanism, a style of community design that embraces mixed use (commercial and residential) development in pedestrian-friendly and green space-rich neighborhoods č much like the old neighborhoods many baby-boomers remember before suburban sprawl made us all slaves to our cars.

    Duany and Plater-Zyberk formulated their new urbanism principles while living in one of the Victorian neighborhoods of New Haven, Conn., while they attended graduate school in architecture at Yale. Their neighborhood included corner shops, front porches and a variety of attractive and well-designed housing and commercial structures č planting the seed of an idea that has now swept the U.S. and beyond.

    The prototypical new urbanist community is Florida’s Seaside, which Duany and Plater-Zyberk began designing in 1979 for the 80-acre coastal parcel’s developer, Robert S. Davis. Their plan took the best elements of a handful of graceful southern cities like Key West, Charleston and Savannah to create a community based on the tried-and-true concept of walkable, self-contained neighborhoods. Besides 300 homes, Seaside contains a school, a town hall, an open-air market, a tennis club, a tented amphitheater and a post office č everything anyone could ever need in a town, and all within a five minute walk.

    According to the non-profit Smart Communities Network, Seaside works as a community because of its design: “Mandatory porches are set close enough to walkways to enable porch sitters and passersby to communicate without raising their voices. The streets are all interconnected; creating a network that eliminates ‘collector’ routes and reduces congestion.Walkways crisscross the development to encourage walking and biking, while narrow streets serve to reduce traffic speed.” Building fronts are a uniform distance from the curb and all streets are tree-lined to further the community’s “sense of place.”

    Other examples of new urbanist communities include: Stapleton on the outskirts of Denver, Co., Seabrook on the southern coast of Washington State; Melrose Arch in Johannesburg, South Africa; Alta de Lisboa near Lisbon, Portugal; and Jakriborg in southern Sweden. Meanwhile, the idea has caught on in New Orleans, where developers are styling new communities in the wake of Hurricane Katrina based in part on the principles of new urbanism.

    According to the Web site NewUrbanism.org, being green is central to the concept of new urbanism, where houses tend to be compact and on small lots. And many developers are incorporating green building design and alternative energy generation into their plans for these communities. Furthermore, proponents say that building densely settled, walkable communities instead of road-intensive suburban developments cuts down on the need to drive, thus further reducing the carbon footprint.

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    “Better to be prepared before the storm hits,” said Steve Rogers.

     After experiencing no electricity for a week during the disaster of hurricane Fran in 1996, Rogers, a Fayetteville native, is now the cochairman of the Cumberland Disaster Recovery Coalition.

    The CDRC will host a preparedness expo to teach the public how to handle unexpected emergencies. The group came about after the tornado that occurred locally in 2011.

    The mission of the CDRC is to assess unmet needs and provide Cumberland County residents access to, coordination with and education of available resources in a long-term disaster-caused recovery.

    “We would just like to bring awareness to the public that a disaster can happen anywhere and anyplace. It’s best to be prepared for what can happen in your area. In our case, the only thing we do not have to prepare for is a volcanic eruption,” said Rogers.

    The CDRC is there to assess the needs of citizens in time of recovery and to help them rebuild what was once “normal”.

     During the expo, the American Red Cross, Cumberland County Schools, Cumberland EM, Home Safe Home Inventory, Small Business Administration and TMCK9 Search and Rescue Dogs, will offer presentations. 

    The presenters will share knowledge about how to prepare for disasters as well as how to react to one.

    Not many people can say they’ve ever experienced a natural disaster but it’s important to be prepared for them. The best way to stay prepared is to have a survival kit on hand. The bare minimum survival kit includes water, food, flashlight, a radio, a first aid kit, a cell phone, an emergency blanket and maps of the area. 

    “Most people have the things needed in case of an emergency already in their home. Its best to put everything together in case of an emergency. My children each have their own bags packed in case of an emergency. The expo will be a great place for children to learn how to react in their homes, as well,” said Rogers.  

    Add additional things to your kit to fit your family’s needs. When preparing for a disaster, planning ahead is key. Plan where your family will meet in case of an emergency and strategize by working together. In your local area it’s important to find out how law enforcement will respond to the needs of people in crisis.

    “Many people think once one disaster happens another can’t ,but that’s not true. Anytime and anyplace, a disaster can happen. Coming to the expo can help start your plan for safety,” said Rogers.

    Come to the expo on April 11 at the John D. Fuller Rec. Center at 10 a.m. to learn more about preparedness for disasters. 

  • For the past several years, a favorite road trip for my family and me, has been a quick jaunt up to Baltimore to catch our beloved Yankees face off against the Orioles. We make a weekend of it and catch a couple of games. The first trip we made, we were a little unsure of what to expect having never been there before, but we fell in love with the area.

    We stay right in the middle of the Inner Harbor. We walk to the ball park. Everyone is friendly. The folks in the restaurants and the vendors on the street good naturedly give us a hard time about being Yankees fans — and we give it right back. There are great restaurants throughout the harbor, cool shops and other attractions. It is a great weekend get away, and it has become a tradition. Sometimes we go alone as a family, sometimes we take close friends. 

    So it was with a great deal of distress that I watched the footage of the protest turned to mayhem that streamed across the television, my computer, and my iPhone over the weekend. The peaceful streets resembled a war zone. We watched shocked as the innocent restaurant owners, store owners and vendors became targets. It was, needless to say, painful to watch.

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    Our distress as outsiders, cannot begin to match that of the residents of the city, the business owners and those who found themselves caught up in the mayhem — many of whom were just in town to catch a game. Of course, nothing can begin to approach the pain of the peaceful demonstrators who were trying to bring attention to the death of Freddie Gray, who died while in police custody, as they watched their planned protest deteriorate into madness.

    According to news reports, Gray, a 25-year-old black man, was arrested after he made eye contact with police officers and ran away. Officers gave chase, caught him, held him down, handcuffed him and loaded him into a police van, where he was physically restrained with leg cuffs. According to police reports Gray asked for medical help before he was put into the van. Paramedics were finally called but it was too late. Gray died from an unexplained spinal injury. Since the news broke of his death, protest have occurred daily in the city, but none have been as big or have been violent. 

    News reports agree that Saturday’s protest began as planned, with thousands of people peacefully assembling at the site of Gray’s arrest and then marching to city hall. Organizers say the crowd exceeded their expectation, but they did not expect the violence.

     No one can identify the tipping point where righteous anger spilled over into mob madness; although many have tried. Some argue, like Baltimore Mayor Stehanie Rawlings-Blake that “a small group of agitators turned what was other wise a peaceful demonstration into a violent protest.” While other news reports argue that there were only three outsiders for every 30 residents participating in the violence. Police Commissioner Anthony Batts, who deployed roughly 1,200 officers to the downtown area to try and keep the peace believes that the “violent agitators” were not from Baltimore.

    I would like to believe that. I have seen Baltimore at its best, and it does not resemble what played out on our televisions but happened painfully to the residents of the city. 

    Restaurants and stores were sacked. People peacefully walking the streets on their way to the game or catching a quick bite to eat were beaten by groups who broke off from the protest. These splinter groups threw chairs and tables through store windows, tossed flaming trash cans at the police, broke out car windows and demolished police vehicles. At city hall, they tore down the American Flag and attempted to set it on fire, while voices of reason tried to hold them back

    City leaders went on television begging for calm. Gray’s twin sister broke her silence to issue the following statement, “ My family wants to say, can you all please, please stop the violence? Freddie Gray would not want this.”

    The violence of a few drowned out the message of the thousands —this has got to stop. Nothing comes from looting and destroying. The message gets lost and only fuels the racial tension in our nation, which is at a boiling point. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who was beaten and jailed during his fight for Civil Rights, saw the same thing. But he knew that violence wouldn’t solve the problem; it would only make it worse. 

    “The ultimate weakness of violence is that it is a descending spiral, begetting the very thing it seeks to destroy. Instead of diminishing evil, it multiplies it. Through violence you may murder the liar, but you cannot murder the lie, nor establish the truth. Through violence you may murder the hater, but you do not murder hate. In fact, violence merely increases hate. So it goes. Returning violence for violence multiplies violence, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that,” said King. 

    King’s spirit and beliefs still live on in like-minded people who are seeking peace, who are seeking understanding. We saw that in Fredericka Gray . We saw that in the quiet dignity of the family of Walter Scott in South Carolina. Both families who suffered a great loss knew that violence was not the answer, and they acted in a manner to bring peace to the horrible situation in which they find themselves. 

  • In a recent column, you validated a woman’s desire to lose weight solely to meet her husband’s needs. Your encouraging her to take off pounds and get plastic surgery for him is an insult to yourself and every woman who reads your disgraceful article. I disagree with your notion that males care more about looks. I’m a heterosexual woman, and my dates’ looks are extremely important to me. For a few extra pounds to prevent a man from seeing why he fell in love with his wife is barbaric. If you’re really in love, you transcend the external. If this woman can find it within herself to love the stuff she’s made of, she’ll attract attention she never thought imaginable - the sort only unconditional self-acceptance brings.

    --Appalled


    If a woman’s sex appeal sprang from inner beauty, Eleanor Roosevelt, who looked like a scone in a housedress, would’ve been Playboy’s hottest selling cover girl of all time. 

    The woman who wrote me wanted to lose weight after stress-eating herself 50 pounds heavier in seven months. Her husband hadn’t lost track of her inner beauty, he was just having a hard time finding her waist. He didn’t stop loving her, he just stopped wanting to have sex with her. Although she wasn’t losing weight “solely to meet her husband’s needs,” when is it not in a woman’s interest to keep her husband interested? Regarding her desire for plastic surgery, if a woman’s got post-weight-loss flapping flesh she’d like removed, who am I to tell her, no, do your best to walk proud with Dumbo’s ears hanging over your skirt like pockets out of jeans?

    It isn’t just my “notion” that women are less looks-driven, but my notion based on reams of data showing that women seem to be hard-wired to care more about a guy’s status and earning potential. Sure, you can make a guy’s hotitude your priority because, at 19, it doesn’t matter so much if he’s earning his living carving carrots into swans on the street corner. Ten years from now, if you’re looking to start a family, I’m guessing you’ll be up for a little less hair in exchange for a little more 401(k). Think about it: If Bill Gates became single, women would line up like it was free tickets to The Stones. Whaddya wanna bet, when he was your age, women kicked him out of the way to get to the rocker boy who turned in cans to pay for food?

    According to you, if a man’s “really in love,” he can “transcend the external.” Lovely idea, no basis in reality. Male sexuality is much more visual than female sexuality. But, don’t just take it from me, take it from a man who used to be a woman. Griffin Hansbury, a former lesbian who underwent sex reassignment surgery, talked on “This American Life” about how he saw women before and after “T” č testosterone injections. “Before...I would see a woman on the subway, and...I’d like to meet her, what’s that book she’s reading?” Afterward, even nice ankles on a woman would be “enough to flood my mind with aggressive pornographic images.... It was like...a pornographic nudie house in my mind. And I couldn’t turn it off.”

    If anyone’s reducing this woman to the sum of her fleshy parts, it’s you. “The stuff she’s made of” isn’t 50 extra pounds. She could continue collecting chins and insist a worthwhile man would lust after her character alone, but that’s really just a different kind of unhealthy than starving yourself until you look like a praying mantis in shoes.


    Got a problem? Write Amy Alkon, 171 Pier Ave, #280, Santa Monica, CA╩ 90405, or e-mail AdviceAmy@aol.com (www.advicegoddess.com)

    (c)2008, Amy Alkon, all rights reserved.

  •     A cousin of mine in another North Carolina city told me some time ago about a friend of hers who felt a bit "peaked" — as we say in the South — on the tennis court one lovely spring day. The woman, an athletic and community-spirited mother in her mid-40s, decided to check in with her doctor. She was immediately hospitalized and diagnosed with an unusual and highly aggressive form of cancer.  Within two weeks of that final tennis match she was dead.    
        But not before she called her husband to her bedside to tape video messages to their children, then preschool and elementary school ages, to be played at significant points in their lives — 16th birthdays, graduations, weddings and other milestones. She, like parents everywhere, wanted to impart her life experiences and the wisdom they brought her to her children even though she knew she had precious little time to prepare her messages and would not be here to deliver them herself.
        I can only imagine what her children will think when they see their mother speaking to them with such love as they move through their lives.         
        I remembered my cousin’s friend when I first read about Randy Pausch. Pausch is the college professor who has become an Internet sensation and now a likely bestselling author with his address to students, which has played millions of times on the Internet and has now expanded into a book entitled The Last Lecture. He has talked to Oprah on TV and he has testified before Congress. Pausch, you see, has been diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer and does not expect to live through 2008. He says The Last Lecture is a message to his own children, now 6, 3 and 1, about the way he wants them to live their lives even though he will not be with them. He tells us in his book’s introduction that when he delivered the lecture that has found Internet immortality, he "knew what I was doing that day. I was trying to put myself in a bottle that would one day wash up on the beach for my children."
        {mosimage}The actual lecture was delivered last fall with wonderfully good humor and little self-pity to an audience at Carnegie Mellon University where Pausch taught computer science. He even demonstrated his otherwise excellent health at that moment by doing a few pushups with claps in between. At 47, he is a man of clear intelligence who obviously loves his wife and children. He is, as he says, playing the cards he was dealt thoughtfully and with grace. Pausch gives his audience, and through it his children, the kind of advice all of us probably try to teach our children both in words and in actions over the years. Condensed to just over an hour, he counsels kindness toward ourselves and toward others, truthfulness in all aspects of our lives, to find the good qualities in other people even when it is difficult, to be unafraid of taking risks because that is how we learn and grow, to laugh and enjoy the days we are given and to be as prepared as we can for whatever comes our way, including what he calls his cancer: "The elephant in the room."
        I cannot argue with his advice. It spans all ages and all cultures. I suspect the world would be a better place if all of us were able to incorporate Pausch’s wisdom into our daily living. I would expand it in only this way: If we are fortunate, we will be blessed with family — the families of our childhoods, the families we make with others, the families who come behind us and with friends from all spheres of our lives who can mean as much as our families. These relationships shape us and enrich us and are really what makes us human beings. We must remember, though, that no one — not our parents, our siblings, our spouses, our children or our oldest friends, will walk every step of our lives with us. The only person who will be with you all the way is you. It is central to our happiness and our well-being that we learn to know, to like, and to trust ourselves as we move through our lives. Pausch and his family have moved to Virginia to be closer to family as they face whatever the future holds for them.
        Surely, there are difficult moments, but his courage is remarkable, and the public reaction to him and The Last Lecture makes it clear that he has touched and soothed many aching hearts. None of us knows our fates with certainty, and while we know there is an end, we do not know when, where or how, even though some of us, like Pausch, may have reasonable suspicions. What does seem certain to me, though, is that his children, those of my cousin’s friend, and the rest of us as well are better for their having been here.
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    The Beth Israel Synagogue is hosting the Cumberland Oratorio Singers as they present a powerful performance of Chichester Psalms written by Leonard Bernstein on April 19, at 4 p.m.

    Chichester Psalms is a celebration of Hebrew culture and a remembrance of the Holocaust.  

    “The lyrics are taken from poetry about the Holocaust called “The Butterfly.” It ties into the Jewish Holocaust memorial holiday (Yom HaShoah). It is when the Jewish community remembers the dead of the Holocaust, and we wanted to tie the concert into that remembrance,” Dr. Michael Martin, the director of choral activities and music education for the Cumberland Oratorio Singers said. 

    This piece is quite unique. It combines theatrical and liturgical music in a way that could only come from the musical master Bernstein. 

    Chichester Psalms by Leonard Bernstein is written for a boy soprano and an orchestra. We are using a piano, a harp and percussion in a small ensemble. The songs are from the Bible and the Hebrew Bible and translated into the original Hebrew,” said Martin. “This piece was commissioned in 1965 for a festival located in the Chichester Cathedral in (Sussex) England. They just wanted something liturgical and West Side Story from Bernstein. He wrote the music for West Side Story. So, you can hear aspects of West Side Story in the performance if you are an aficionado,” Martin said. 

    For those who cannot speak Hebrew, programs with translations will be available.  The performance also includes Frances Poulenc’s “Gloria.”

    This season has been a particular challenge for the Cumberland Oratorio Singers, but in a good way. Martin explained that the most difficult aspect of this season has been how busy they have been and the reduced time that they have to prepare for each show. 

    “We just finished two shows and we have three rehearsals and then we go to finish this. It is a quick turn around that this group is not necessarily used to. They haven’t really conceived of themselves as professionals with one piece at three weeks and then a new piece. I have mediated that a little by working on two at once,” he said. 

    The unwaveringly fantastic performances, despite limited time, speaks to the skills of the performers. 

    Despite the end of the season approaching, the Cumberland Oratorio Singers are not slowing down. Instead they are growing. 

    “We are looking forward to putting (a youth choir) together this summer and then reaching out for an artistic director … it is an exciting new part of our organization. I get a lot of phone calls when people move here, especially from military families and they say, ‘Mr. Martin you seem to be the guy to call. Where is your local youth choir?’ Then I have to say we don’t have one,” Martin said. “Next fall, we will have the leadership in place and we would like to have them as part of our performance of Carmina Burana with the Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra. If we can, we would like them on another piece at the end, but for right now we want to start small and then keep building, building, building.”

    For more information, visit www.singwithcos.org or call 910-630-7153. Beth Israel Synagogue is located at 2204 Morganton Road. For more information, call 910-484-6462. 

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    In the opening night buzz of the audience at The Cape Fear Regional Theatre’s much anticipated The Trip to Bountiful,  words of love and expressions of pride flowed from many people who waited patiently with programs in hand. They were ready to take a ride; patiently waiting for the stage to open and the stage lights to come up so they could begin their trip. The anticipation was understandable, as the cast was comprised of some of the theatre’s favorite veteran actors. Already spellbound, the audience waited to take the trip to see and experience a place called “Bountiful.”

    Their first destination: Houston, Texas, 1953. Directed by Anne Scarbrough, the story revolves around an elderly, yet spry woman, Carrie Watts played by Bo Thorp, who is also waiting patiently in her rocking chair,  watching traffic – forlorn and spiritless. She is living in an apartment under the watchful eyes of her overprotective son, Ludie Watts (Greg King), and his controlling wife, Jessie Mae Watts (Libby McNeill Seymour). Carrie may seem lost, but it soon becomes evident that she is storing energy to begin an adventure; a trip back to her hometown of Bountiful, Texas.  

    There is a struggle between mother, son and daughter-in-law that echoes in many relationships;  however, the audience can still relate to the uniqueness of each character as it was brought to life with striking precision and emotional clarity by the actors.  

    King gives an honest and paradoxical performance as Ludie, who tries his best to talk some sense into his mother who is consumed with making a trip back to the homestead where she was raised.  It is with a fine balance of deep care and exasperation that King gives relevancy to the character, ensuring that the audience understands his deep love and concern for his aging mother, which is sometimes overshadowed by his need to appease the relentless complaints and narcissism of his wife.  

    Seymour plays the domineering Jessie Mae with amazing ease. She expertly walks the fine line between domineering and comical. She demonstrates great finesse with this character; by making the audience sympathize with her, while  still wanting to wring her neck for her greed in taking the elderly Carrie’s pension, which she spends frivolously on Coca-colas from the drugstore. In the next instant, we laughed at her exact comic timing as she dim-wittedly proclaims her need for celebrity-lifestyle magazines and her beauty parlor addiction.

    Thorp gives a resounding performance as Carrie Watts. We see a woman who seems discouraged and hopeless at first, yet with each step she takes in her journey to visit Bountiful, she becomes a more spirited, tenacious and energetic woman. Thorp plays the role with will and urgency, while remaining endearing and sometimes comical. This is a true testament to her seasoned and crafted acting chops.  Thorp’s return to the stage has long been awaited by patrons of the Cape Fear Regional Theatre.  The last time we got to see her tread the boards was in 2012 in her endearing portrayal of Ethel Thayer in On Golden Pond.  Thorp strikes a bullseye with every word, nuance and movement and she makes it very easy for the audience to care deeply about all of her character’s motives and feelings.  

    One great comical moment is her escape from her family at the bus station. Thorp conjured up a Lucille Ball-like moment, wearing the janitor’s cap and uniform while dusting and shooting across the stage to dodge the grasp of Ludie and Jessie Mae, who want to take her home.  

    Thorp deftly juxtaposes hilarity with a heart-felt moment while befriending a young lady named Thelma (Michelle Zaun) who is also taking a bus. Zaun plays the freshness of a new military wife whose husband has just left for service superbly.  You witness the sweetness that Thelma brings to Carrie, which in turn contrasts Carrie’s interaction with Thelma as opposed to Jessie Mae. Carrie, when treated with dignity,  becomes even stronger and more committed to her journey.

    Arriving in Bountiful, Carrie finds her childhood home dilapidated and weather-worn. There is a moment that hit my soul with such compassion when Carrie grabs dirt from the ground around the house and shoves it in her purse. The purpose and determination that we saw in Carrie’s decision to make the trip reverberates in this moment and allows us to realize that the grit and determination that put her on her path was steadfast in her character throughout the play. 

    Upon finding Carrie, Ludie and Jessie Mae are both concerned and vexed; however, the journey has not left them untouched. There is a newfound sense of harmony as we see each one finding new meaning in their journey, which creates a truce between them. 

    I would be remiss not to mention the simple, yet brilliant set design executed by designer Kimberly Powers, scenic artist David Rawlins and technical director James Rogers.  There were specific moments when I heard audible gasps from the audience when moving set pieces transported actors into scenes, like the bus that Carrie and Thelma were riding juxtaposed against a dazzling starry night. Likewise, the apartment in Houston disappears and the bus station appears as the stage seems to shift and fold like origami art to reveal scene transitions.

    Take a trip to the Cape Fear Regional Theatre to see this eloquent, inspiring and powerful piece of storytelling. The Trip to Bountiful will leave you inspired with a heartfelt spirt that stays with you for a long while.



  •     As we get older, we occasionally get smarter, but we definitely have the advantage of looking backward in time to a greater degree than younger folks. This advantage enables us older people to predict, based on experience, what the future may hold. I offer these predictions at local, state, national and international levels, 25 years hence.
        At a local level: The Fayetteville Museum of Art campus has taken all but an 8’ x  10’ plot of ground at Festival Park. Museum trustees recently voted to have an iron monument placed near the location where park activities for all the community once occurred.
    On the former site of Rowan Park now stands Chavonne Towers. These 20-story high-rise apartments effectively prevent sunlight from reaching many Haymount residents, some of whom are skin cancer patients and are ever so grateful.
      {mosimage}  The FAST system has been expanded to cover an area from the Market House to Ray Avenue to Old Street. Fares have been recently adjusted upward to $20 with no transfers allowed. The bus fleet of retired ambulances is regarded by homeless people as an improvement over the Volkswagen minibuses which were lately given to the Senior Citizens Center.
        The Public Works Commission has announced that citizens of the Phase V annexation area, a.k.a. "The Big Bang," will be getting water and sewer completion within the next five to 10 years. The city council has assured all affected residents that the assessment fee will be capped at $50,000.
        At a state level: The North Carolina Department of Community Corrections has announced that 16 of the state’s parolees and probationers have reported to their parole officers at least once this year. The other 256,314 parolees and probationers have not. The department is justifiably proud of this improvement in department effectiveness.
        The North Carolina Legislature has seen a remarkable downturn in members asked to resign for graft and corruption charges and convictions. It is anticipated that both the Senate and House will soon be able to meet with quorums when vacancies are filled.
        The North Carolina Department of Transportation removed $70 billion from the highway trust fund to finance non-highway projects in the governor’s home county, as well as that of the department’s secretary. The News and Observer recently reported that contributors to the governor’s campaign fund in other state jurisdictions are outraged.
        "He may be a crook," one contributor is quoted as saying, "but he is supposed to be our crook."
    At a national level: Newly elected president Chelsea Clinton has promised in her inaugural address to have our troops out of Iraq within 10 years. Iraqi civilian deaths have now exceeded 25 million. A spokesman for the young Iraqi democracy’s remaining one million, Achmund al-Ruketpropella, stated that the departure of American troops will not be a decade too soon.
        The governor of New York has admitted that he is really Larry Flint. The attorney for Flint’s estate has called the assertion a "damnable lie."Publicist for Hugh Hefner’s widow, Paris Hilton, has issued a press release claiming her client and the governor never did anything kinky.
    San Francisco has issued a ban on heterosexual marriage. Mayor Ryan Seacrest has claimed that the City by the Bay was going to start "cleaning up its act." Music promoter Simon Cowell was quoted as saying that, as usual, he did not know what Seacrest meant by that.
        Food prices have risen to record levels as holdover Bush administration policies of raising food for fuel continues to starve the nation and the world. The U.S. is receiving emergency food shipments from Bangladesh and Darfar. These countries have benefited by not having UN relief agencies involved in their food production and distribution to the extent that they are now net food exporters.
    In the world of sports, Major League Baseball Commissioner Barry Bonds announced that there was no proof that performance-enhancing drugs have been used by any Major League players. At the same news conference, Bonds announced that Barry Bonds III had hit a season-record 453 home runs playing for the New York Yankees.
        "His salary may be $24 billion for two years but he is worth every billion of it," boasted Commissioner Bonds.
        At a global level: Oil futures fell sharply to $500 per barrel on the news that vast oil reserves have been discovered in Israel.
        "They should call their mothers," observed one international oil trader.
        "It was always God’s will," commented Israel’s prime minister, "it was just a little late coming."
        Iran, North Korea and Pakistan are hosting the 20th annual Non-nuclear Proliferation Conference in Tehran. All 156 countries with nuclear-weapons capabilities expect to attend. The United States has begged off, claiming, "they were not going to be piled on by a bunch of schoolyard bullies." The Vatican and Monaco took particular offense at the insinuation.

  • celtic-woman.jpg

    Celtic Woman is an entirely female musical group that specializes in both traditional Irish songs and modern works performed in a uniquely Celtic style. This year the tour, which stops at the Crown on April 8, promises to
    be spectacular. 

    “This concert is the 10th Anniversary concert so it is a celebration of what Celtic Woman has achieved. It is sort of a ‘pinching yourself’ kind of moment after these 10 years,” says Mairéad Carlin, the newest member of the group. “That first show was just supposed to be for one night and here we are 10 years later! I think that is because people have really connected with the songs, and there are certain songs that they associate with Celtic Woman.” 

    Carlin is the first girl in the group from Northern Ireland. Surrounded by performing, she discovered her love for music at an early age with her first singing lesson at the age of four. And while she is the newest member of the group, she has been with Celtic Woman for two years. She is well-acquainted with the trials of touring. 

    “For all of us, it is a big commitment because Celtic Woman is away on tour for eight months out of the year. But we are grateful for this opportunity. Opportunities like this don’t come around very often,” she explained. “It is hard to be away from our families, but luckily, we are all so close. They are very mindful when they choose people to be part of Celtic Woman. They pick people they know will get on with each other.” 

    Despite the challenges, she readily embraces the great experiences she has had. 

    “Opportunities like this don’t come around very often. As performers, when you audition you pray to get a job like this and to have a sustainable job. This lets me perform songs that I grew up with and love on stage with incredible musicians,” she says, “It is a ‘pinch myself ‘kind of moment. Sometimes I have to remind myself how lucky I am.”

    A Celtic Woman’s music is a unique experience in itself. Carlin explains this by saying, “Storytelling is a big part of Ireland and Celtic Woman is really about storytelling; I think that is why people connect so much with the songs. They connect with the stories.”

    Seeing the performance in concert is an entirely different experience. It is so much more than incredible music. The show also features dancers as well as musicians performing on traditional Irish instruments. 

    “The concert is more of a grand experience. When you listen to a CD you just hear the music, which can be good because a lot of the treatments to the songs are very intimate … but the show is an experience with the beautiful costumes. They are very different. It just can’t compare,” she says. 

    The Celtic Woman 10th Anniversary Tour will be at the Crown Coliseum on April 8 at 7 p.m. The Crown Coliseum is located at 1960 Coliseum Dr. Ticket prices range from $60 to $80. They can be purchased at ticketmaster.com or by calling 910-438-4100. For more information, visit http://crowncomplexnc.com/events/celtic-woman/ or http://celticwoman.com. 

  • My wife and I have been married 10 years and have two young children. Two years ago, we agreed to separate, and I left for Iraq. Two weeks later, she moved a boyfriend into our place. The following year, she ended it with him, and we decided to try to work things out. I bought a house and moved her and our kids in. Two months later, she went back to the boyfriend. A year later, she left him, and we agreed to try again. I moved our family back into the house and gave her power of attorney and my bank account password to prove I was committed. A month later, I had to leave for Iraq again, and am still here. Within a month, she had some guy sleeping at our house. She claims they’re just friends; he’s there because she doesn’t feel safe, and they aren’t having sex. She even told our son the guy’s doing her a favor and has a bad back, so it’s only fair that he sleeps in the bed with her, not on the couch. I’m 99 percent sure our marriage is done; I just wanted your opinion.

    ---Troubled, From Iraq


    Ever wonder why junkyards always have signs like “Beware of Rottweiler,” not “Man With Bad Back On Premises!”?

    A woman who wants to protect herself gets a gun, a burglar alarm and a really big dog, not a man with spinal issues to sleep in her bed while her husband’s off to war. But, let’s say you didn’t buy a house in some sleepy suburb, but in the middle of Crack Alley, where they’ll break in to steal the rabbit ears off your 1972 black-and-white TV. If a guy’s real interest is in watching over your wife, not rolling over on her, the foyer rug should provide both a firm surface for his aching back and the perfect vantage point to keep an eye out for prowlers.╩

    The firm surface you need to meet up with is the business end of the clue stick. This saga started two years ago, when you and your wife agreed to separate. Two weeks later, after you left for the war, she moved her boyfriend into the family home. Two weeks later? ╩

    You aren’t “99 percent sure” it’s over, you’re clinging to the fantasy that you’ll find a marriage in there somewhere č somewhere amidst the strange men strolling in and out of your kids’ lives. Sorry, but if you have a choice, take “Needle in a haystack for $20.” The only reliable thing about your wife is her unreliability. After all, most guys get one “Dear John” letter. You’ve got a subscription. So, what are you afraid of? Admitting your marriage didn’t work out? It seems preferable to staying in it, and having your kids see you walked on so much that you’re practically a human treadmill. 



    Got a problem? Write Amy Alkon, 171 Pier Ave, #280, Santa Monica, CA╩ 90405, or e-mail AdviceAmy@aol.com (www.advicegoddess.com)

    (c)2008, Amy Alkon, all rights reserved.

  • cover_04-01-15.jpg

    Express Employment Professionals takes its commitment to matching employers with qualified candidates seriously, but there is much more to this organization and its commitment to the community it serves. 

    “We want to help local businesses and organizations grow and improve and consistently do well,” said Brad Loase, owner of Fayetteville’s Express Employment Professionals. 

    For Loase, that means not only finding and providing qualified candidates to fill local and regional employment positions but also identifying and developing good leadership candidates for their clients. The Refresh Leadership Live Simulcast is all about that: building better leaders — leaders that will help businesses grow and prosper while moving communities forward through strong economic development and civic involvement. Scheduled for April 15, that is the purpose of the annual Refresh Leadership Live Simulcast. This is the event’s sixth year, however, this year, Loase has partnered up with Up & Coming Weekly, the Fayetteville Regional Chamber of Commerce, the Fayetteville I-95 Holiday Inn and local sponsors to take it to another level. This year, they have added an all-day Shop Local Business Expo showcasing local businesses and organizations, a Leadership Keynote Luncheon featuring the notable Denise Ryan, a Leadership workshop  and a networking Leadership Reception co-sponsored by the Holiday Inn and Chamber of Commerce. And, with the exception of the Leadership luncheon, Express Employment Professionals and sponsors are hosting the entire event free of charge to the local community. Voluntary Donations of $10.00 will be accepted for the Kidsville News! Literacy and Education Foundation, a local nonprofit (501 c3) organization that provides free reading and educational resources to all K-6 grade students and teachers in Cumberland and Hoke Counties. 

     “Leadership is very important in motivating employees and growing communities. It is an ongoing process that we all have to nurture, constantly encourage and develop,” said Loase. “There are several things that people always bring up when asked about their jobs. One of them is what leadership qualities and capabilities does their supervisor or boss have; this has always been the key to of what makes a company or organization successful.” Any  business owner, manager, community leader looking to gain insights and a better understanding about leadership can gain from The Refresh Leadership Live Simulcast. 

    This year’s Celebrity Guest Speakers are Liz Murray, Dan Aykroyd and Daymond John. They bring a variety of humor, valuable insights, fresh perspectives on leadership and management strategies all from very different life experiences and points of view.  “I am very excited about the line-up,” said Loase. “I have heard all three speak; they are all great speakers and each has a great message to communicate.” 

    Liz Murray known for her memoir about her life, Breaking Night: A Memoir of Forgiveness and her book My Journey from Homeless to Harvard which was a feature movie on the Lifetime Channel titled: Homeless to Harvard: The Liz Murray Story. Murray has taken that difficult experience in her life and now uses it to help others.”

    Dan Aykroyd is an actor, comedian, screenwriter, musician and businessman. From Saturday Night Live to The Blues Brothers and Ghost Busters, Aykroyd has entertained America for the past four decades, but he is a keen businessman, as well. Aykroyd also co-founded a night club called the House of Blues in 1992. 

    Daymond John is the co-star of ABC’s Shark Tank. He got his start in fashion and has since become a master of branding. “Daymond John embodies the American dream. He had an idea and went for it, and grew one of the biggest most successful enterprises in the world. He is amazing,” said Loase. “I think that each speaker will have something unique and valuable to offer attendees. This program has been very successful in the past and I think this will be our best Refresh Leadership Simulcast yet,” he added.

    There is seating for 300, however, Loase noted that they expect a full house. Although the doors open at 7:30 a.m. for check in and the Continental Breakfast, the program will begin promptly at 8:30.  There will be breaks in between the speakers for networking and visiting the Shop Local vendors and sponsors. The Leadership Luncheon with Denise Ryan will follow.  “Denise always has a great message,” he said. “We are also going to recognize Kim Robertson for her leadership as Principal of  Elizabeth Cashwell Elementary School and for being not only Cumberland County’s Principal of the Year but also the Regional Principal of the Year. She is currently competing for the North Carolina title.”

    Ryan is excited to be back in Fayetteville and is looking forward to the event. “I started my business in Fayetteville. It is a terrific place not only to start a business but to do business. In a lot of places it is hard to break in but you can do that pretty easily in Fayetteville because there are so many resources and incredibly friendly and supportive people here,” she said.

     Following the luncheon keynote address, Denise will also conduct a seminar titled Survival Tips for Leaders. This will be followed by a distinguished panel of experts and the business reception. There will be prizes and surprises all day long. Important: If you go remember:  You must pre -register at www.refreshleadership/live or https://www.cvent.com/events/2015-refresh-leadership-simulcast-us-/registration-bc3b4af633454e7db955f1e815d1e258.aspx?r=d6b5fbce-250d-469a-8ed6-63328b130ccc&refid=NC-North%20

    This event is free all day with the exception of the luncheon. Tickets for the luncheon are $45 for nonchamber members and $35 for chamber members. Luncheon tickets (if available) will be $45 the day of the event. To register for the luncheon, visit the chamber site at  http://business.fayettevillencchamber.org/events/details/2015-refresh-leadership-live-keynote-luncheon-with-denise-ryan-5551.

  • Rated 4 Stars

    {mosimage}Every time I drive by Georgia Brown’s restaurant on Raeford Road, I am puzzled. I am puzzled by the fact that the parking lot is packed with cars. I am puzzled by the fact that it is still operating after so many years. Why? Because the first time I ate there, not long after it opened, I didn’t like it. I didn’t like the service. I didn’t like the sweet iced tea. I didn’t like the shrimp and grits. In all fairness to Georgia Brown’s and to satisfy my own curiosity as to why it still operates after my first less-than-stellar experience, I decided to go back.

    On a Monday night, just after 5 p.m., my party and I arrived, went inside and waited to be seated. We waited... and we waited... and we waited. Strange, I thought, as a waitress walked past and gazed at us with a glazed over look in her eyes.

    Finally, the owner came over and kindly informed us that Georgia Brown’s is not open for dinner on Monday nights, only for special functions. He politely invited us back on Tuesday night to possibly partake in the popular weekly special of all-you-can-eat baby back ribs. As he looked at my eyes, he must have seen the debate going on inside my head. Georgia Brown’s already had two strikes as far as I was concerned and I was thinking of going somewhere else.

    “I tell you what,” he said. “If you come back tomorrow night, dessert is on the house.”

    That was it. The deal was done. He had me. I will not pass up the possibility of a rich, decadent dessert and for free! At that moment, I decided that the owner of Georgia Brown’s knows how to do business.

    In the exchange that followed, I found out that Georgia Brown’s does not have a head chef, instead counting on all line cooks. Given that slight disadvantage among the world of restaurants, I found out one of the secrets (not really a secret) that more than makes up for that deficiency: They invite their customers to share their favorite Southern recipes. How can you go wrong?

    The following evening we came back, very much looking forward to our free dessert. It had been decided ahead of time that we would all get something different, so we could try everything. We arrived just after 5 p.m. It wasn’t busy yet. Our hostess seated us in the second-to-the-worst seat in the house, back in the corner with a straight shot view into the kitchen. The worst seat in the house was across from us back in the corner č you can see nothing from that vantage point.

    As we stared into the kitchen and discussed having to sit in the worst seat in the house when the place wasn’t even packed, our waiter came over. He had noticed from across the restaurant that something was amiss.

    “Is something wrong? I noticed you all staring into the kitchen.”

    Well, I don’t like to complain, but he did ask. 

    “Well, yes. Our hostess seated us in the worst seat in the house and you are not even busy yet.”

    “Would you like another table?” the young man kindly asked.

    “If you don’t mind, we would like that very much.”

    “It is not a problem at all. We just want our customers to be happy.”

    Now that’s what I’m talking about: GREAT service! I was hooked. 

    The waiter had me.

    Georgia Brown’s had me.

    Writing a restaurant review is not for anyone who wants to be pencil thin. A variety of food has to be consumed to really get the scope of the food quality. Georgia Brown’s has so many tempting dishes to choose from: Savannah grilled shrimp on baby crab cakes; Florida salad; fried green tomatoes; tomato pie; crawfish; catfish; and the list goes on.

    The drink of choice would have to be the iced tea. It is a Southern restaurant, after all. The tea is quite good, not my mother’s, mind you, but it is good. It’s hard to find good iced tea in this town.╩

    The cuisine can be described as Southern classic, circa 2008. The offerings are not just based on rural North Carolina food, but much of the Southeast region, including Louisiana and even touching on some African influences.

    For appetizers, we ordered wings, Brunswick stew and fried green tomatoes. The wings were big and meaty. They were fried to tender, crispy perfection and the sauce was finger-licking good.

    Brunswick stew is a southern comfort food that is reminiscent of times past. It is traditionally made with a combination of chicken, pork and beef, lima beans, corn and tomatoes. It is a big deal when a family decides to cook it the old-fashioned way. It has to be cooked overnight for many hours. Everyone has to take turns stirring the pot so that the thickening goodness doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pot. If it does, the whole batch is ruined.

    Georgia Brown’s has avoided that problem with a stew that is not as thick at the traditional stew. It has more of a soup-like consistency, but people seem to like it that way. The flavor is exactly like the original, yet delicious and light.

    The fried green tomatoes are a signature dish of Georgia Brown’s. The batter is crispy, light and airy.The flavor is slightly sweet at first and then a little salty. One can never tire of this delicious dish.

    The ribs with a side of corn on the cob and collard greens were my choice of entree. The meat was tender and plentiful. It fell off the bones. The sauce was... uummmm! The corn was reminiscent of summer. As I took the first bite, my mind created a picture of just picked silver queen corn, each kernel bursting with creamy white goodness, purchased off the back of a local farmer’s old pickup truck. I knew it had to be frozen, but it just did not taste like frozen.

    At this point, I couldn’t really eat more, but dessert could not be overlooked. We ordered the fried Twinkies, the peach cobbler and the chocolate pecan pie. They were all very good, but the Fried Twinkies were great! They tasted just like a crisp fall day with Carolina blue skies at the North Carolina State Fair.

    After dessert, we were all full and satisfied. I couldn’t leave, however, without trying another famous staple at Georgia Brown’s:╩the tomato pie. In times past, in some of the more rural areas of North Carolina, almost all of the older women made tomato pie for special occasions. Most of the children never tried it because it sounded gross! Well, let me tell you that this tomato pie is the best I have ever eaten. For those of you who have been treated to this southern delicacy, it is much like quiche. Try the tomato pie!

    After dinner, the owner, Ron Brewington, came over and engaged us in a pleasant conversation as he does with all of his customers. His passion for food and people is readily evident. He conveys this passion to those who work for him. 

    Georgia Brown’s serves tasty and satisfying Southern cuisine with a touch of pure and simple Southern hospitality.

  • chicken.jpg

    Will a performing arts center be our next big controversy? Well, let’s hope not. However, when you reflect on our track record for making significant and successful decisions concerning the proper growth and development of the Fayetteville and Cumberland County community we seem to have an overabundance of  bias, greed, special interest and a major deficiency of leadership, common sense, economic prudence, intelligence and intestinal fortitude. 

    Now, don’t misinterpret my intention here, I think our community should have, and deserves, a quality, safe and prestigious Performing Arts Center. In addition, I have no problem with it being located in Historic Downtown Fayetteville, nor would I have a problem with it remaining as part of the Crown Coliseum Complex.

    No doubt we need to do something. Our current facility is an embarrassment. This being the case, I have no preference as to whether we give our existing auditorium a major renovation or level it to the ground and build anew. I, like many other city/county taxpayers just want the decision and the process to reflect intelligence, dignity, economic sense and common sense. 

    The 320,000 residents of  Cumberland County deserve that.

    Unfortunately, for those of us who have been around here for 30 years or so, we are naturally conditioned for the worse possible scenario. It’s almost like living in Superman’s “Bizarro World,” where everything appears in reverse and opposite of reality. We are living with the reality of these past decisions every day. I.e. Crown Coliseum, JP Riddle Stadium,County Jail, Festival Park Building, Prince Charles Hotel and the future Transportation Hub. All the result of when city and county politico’s cater to inflated egos and self-interest undeterred by logic, self control and short-term memories.  

    The recent discussions about what to do about the Memorial Auditorium (FPAC) have the propensity for becoming the next community dividing controversy because what has already taken place. It is beginning to resemble an advocacy for a new FPAC to be built in Historic Downtown Fayetteville.  

    People are already talking and red flags are already starting to fly after the Civic Center Commission and County Commissioners ordered up a $47,000 renovation assessment conducted by Eric Lindstrom of sfl+a Architects. No doubt a reputable and talented architect whose corporate office and residence are located in Historic Downtown Fayetteville. Hmmmmm? What dog could he possibly have in that fight? 

    As fate would have it, his assessment was damning withrenovation estimates that could exceed $39 million. This anticipated outcome laced with a few scary scenarios about serious balcony safety concerns and looming liability lawsuits, set the stage for a Durham Performing Arts Center (DPAC) vision with a price tag of nearly $60 million. Yes. $60 million. More than the Crown Coliseum originally cost, and we remember how the general population felt about that. 

    This is when the second set of red flags started flying.

    It’s difficult, if not impossible, to compare DPAC, Durham County and its metro community with our Memorial Auditorium, Cumberland County or our Historical Downtown. Here’s why: 

    Durham’s Per Capita Income is 23 percent higher than ours and their Median Household income  is 14.8 percent higher than that of Fayetteville/Cumberland County. 

    In addition, the development of DPAC was part of a specific downtown revitalization plan involving some of Durham’s largest corporations  like Capitol Broadcasting Company that owns several TV stations in the area including Fox 50 TV. (Big bucks were invested here!) 

    Another major contrast is that the DPAC was intended to be an added attraction complementing the already popular American Tobacco Historic District and Durham Bulls Athletic Park, which is the home of the CBC’s baseball team the Durham Bulls. 

    Enough of repeating that old adage “A rising tide, floats all ships.” 

    Hey, we get it!  I can see how DPAC fit into the overall revitalization and economic development plans. DPAC was successful in rising the tide and ships did float. However, Downtown Fayetteville and Cumberland County is not Durham so this adage doesn’t apply here. We have no water, no tide and no ships. 

    The cost for building DPAC in 2007/2008 was $48 Million. Not only did Capitol Broadcasting Company step up but, so did Duke University and Blue Cross/Blue Shield. The last time I looked we had no huge charitable corporate entities here in our community. Their contributions alone were valued at 16 percent of the construction cost. 

    There is no doubt that an improved facility would benefit our community. But, knowing what we know, we should try to avoid controversy by approaching this project with our “eyes wide open” not “eyes wide shut.”

    We must learn from past mistakes and be proactive asking tough questions, seeking feasible solution and doing the right things for the right reasons. Let’s act responsible, mature and make sure we cover all our bases keeping the best interest of our county population at the forefront, not like we did in the case of Sanderson Farms.  

    For instance, if we know this project is going to be expensive what would be the harm in getting two opinions? Why not bring in another independent unbiased architectural firm to do the exact same assessments? After all, what’s another $47K when you’re looking to spend $38 to $60 million? Then, once we feel confident with that, we begin asking the right questions: How are we going to pay for it? Where are we going to locate it? What impact will it have on the Crown Coliseum and Expo? Who will manage it? Will we be able to compete with Raleigh’s Duke Energy Center for shows or DPAC’s industry giant Nederlander Organization and its Professional Facilities Management team that operates the facility. 

    How will this impact our economic development downtown? How would it impact the economic development of the Crown Complex out on the bypass? What other like facilities have done major renovations? In a few months Raleigh’s Memorial Auditorium will undertake its first renovation in 25 years. They have budgeted $10 million.

    No matter which way we go, build new or renovate, downtown or uptown it can be a win-win for everyone in the Fayetteville/Cumberland County community if we move forward with this project by being responsible, accountable and prudent by looking at all our options and learning from our past missteps, mistakes and lessons learned.  

    Thank you for reading your community newspaper, Up & Coming Weekly.


     

  • {mosimage}Dear EarthTalk: How safe are the fire retardants that are used to quell forest fires across the American West?

    -- Barbara, Minneapolis, MN


    So-called long-term fire retardants - those usually dropped from airplanes over forest fires - are comprised of water mixed with a slurry of chemicals, thickeners and corrosion inhibitors designed to prevent plants on the ground from igniting, keep the ingredients from separating and dispersing during targeted drops, and ensure that the harsh chemicals on board the plane don’t endanger the flight’s safety.

    Firefighters sometimes add iron oxide to make the fire retardant turn red when applied so they can see where they have already covered. Ammonium phosphate and ammonium sulfate, known for their use as agricultural fertilizers, are also often added to provide nutrients to help the forest regenerate after a burn.

    In recent years, where global warming and droughts have exacerbated forest fires across the American West, federal and state firefighting agencies have upped their cumulative annual use of long-term fire retardants to some 20+ million gallons a year spread across tens of thousands of individual fly-overs. 

    While such chemicals have been valuable in minimizing the damage of forest fires, their use comes with a price. The nitrogen in ammonium phosphate and ammonium sulfate can wreak terrible havoc on aquatic ecosystems, creating algae blooms that kill fish by choking out their oxygen. A 1998 study by the U.S. Geological Survey’s Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center, found long-term fire retardants to be “very toxic to aquatic organisms including algae, aquatic invertebrates and fish.” The study also said that fire-fighting chemicals “could cause substantial fish kills depending on the stream size and flow rate.” 

    These chemicals have also been shown to affect some plants’ reproductive capacities. One study found that spraying fire retardants in some cases decreased plant species diversity, as weedier species better adapted to make use of excess nitrogen in the soil tended to thrive while native species were not able to compete.

    In 2000 the U.S. Forest Service issued guidelines for use of fire retardants by aerial fire fighting crews. While the focus of the document was fire control and safety, it encouraged pilots to avoid applying retardant within 300 feet of waterways or other sensitive areas. The Forest Service acknowledges the risk of using retardants, but believes that their use in moderation is a net gain; as fewer “ground troops” need to be sent in to risky situations while more property can be saved from the ravages of a fast-moving fire.

    Fires are actually an essential part of forest ecology and many species of trees and plants thrive in part because of the natural occurrence of fires (sequoia trees, for example, depend upon the high temperatures of forest fires to pry open their cones so new seeds can spring forth and take root). The main reason that such catastrophic, news making fires occur in the first place is that humans have sprawled too closely to the forest edge. This has lead to forest management policies that suppress natural fires, causing large build-ups of tinder-like woody debris that eventually ignites and burns out of control.


    GOT AN ENVIRONMENTAL QUESTION? Send it to: EarthTalk, c/o E/The Environmental Magazine, P.O. Box 5098, Westport, CT 06881; submit it at: www.emagazine.com/earthtalk/thisweek/, or e-mail: earthtalk@emagazine.com. Read past columns at: www.emagazine.com/earthtalk/archives.php.

     

  • {mosimage} So many times we hear, “anything is better than nothing.” I even tell folks that╔ and it’s true to a point. BUT, it may not be enough to make a positive change in what our body looks like, feels like or acts like - it is simply a start! What that means is that, yes, you’ve started something, and while it’s a step in the right direction č  you might even see some change, it is not enough to carry you to your goal of “toning up,” sculpting the “wavy arm syndrome,” getting rid of a beer belly made for five years of a hard college indulgence or reversing a health problem! It is merely a start.

    Let me explain╔

    It’s a wonderful thing when someone starts on a new plan č the body responds by shedding a few unwanted pounds or inches; getting a little bit stronger, and we generally feel better about ourselves, which in turn spurs us on for a little while longer. The reality of this is that it is simply your body’s natural reaction! What’s happening is your body is responding to a new stimulus forcing it to respond. Once it’s adapted to that new stimulus, it’s now nothing more than the new “normal” for us!

    What that means is that our bodies will no longer respond to that stimulus! It’s simply part of our daily norm. Some days might be harder than others, but all in all, the body will no longer be forced to change. See, our bodies are a naturally adaptive organism designed to respond to stimulus. Positive stimulus equals positive response; negative equals negative. Nothing new equals no change!

    To make constantly improving changes to our bodies, we must constantly change what we are doing. I know I’ll step on a lot of toes out there, but once your body has responded to walking, it becomes nothing more than transportation! Yes, you can walk further and or faster, but ultimately, it just means going further and faster....Very little will change!

    Same thing with how many days you should exercise. Yes, I tell people that two days a week is a great start and we have many people who do see good results in twice a week. But, in all reality, you do need exercise the body four or five days a week╔ you just don’t have to live in the gym! We’ll talk about that in future issues.

    Two of the most important things you can do outside of proper nutrition and rest, is constantly vary your workouts and use intensity!

    How do we do this? First, start by selecting exercises that are going to illicit a huge physiological and neurological change in your body. These are compound movements that use the whole body like squatting, deadlifting and pressing. Leave the fluffy exercises till the end or skip them all together. These “big” exercises can seem daunting if never done before, but once you master them, you will find they do a lot more for you than the machines at your local gym. Next, combine your weight training with your cardio╔ mix it up. Constantly change how you exercise and do this three or four times a week.

    After that, exercise with intensity! Now that is relative to the individual╔. Intensity for someone never having exercised before is possibly five minutes and if that’s you, that is awesome! Five minutes is a HUGE accomplishment for someone who hasn’t exercised before. For those of you who go to the gym regularly, here is what intensity is not: using a piece of cardio equipment, reading a magazine, talking on a cell phone and catching the latest rerun ofFriends

    If you want to see changes in your body, in how you look, and how you feel, your workouts should be challenging and done at a level that you struggle to accomplish it. I don’t believe in the old adage, “no pain, no gain.” That’s a means to an injury, but I do believe that it should not be comfortable. Remember, we got where we are by being “comfortable.” Do we really want to stay there?


    John Velandra is the owner of Designs In Fitness and Cross Fit Cape Fear. COMMENTS? 484-6200 ext. 222 or editor@upandcomingweekly.com

  • {mosimage}Have we come to a time in this country when we are ready to deal upfront and honestly with our grievances and hopes concerning the burden of racial misunderstanding that is woven into the fabric of American society? 

    Our recent public discussion of portions of Jeremiah Wright’s sermons reminded us that race can still pop up anywhere when we are thinking about politics and national leadership decisions. Then Barack Obama’s speech on race in America last week gave many of us hope that we can face these complexities and emotional minefields more openly and positively. But others, with despair or cynicism, assert the hopelessness of ever dealing with this confounding national burden. 

    Coincidentally or providentially, I have been reading book about the struggle of another group of Americans to overcome discrimination and suspicion to find a secure and welcome place in this country. 

    Durham native Eli Evan’s classic memoir and study of Southern Jews,The Provincials: A Personal History of Jews in the South, was recently reissued in an updated and expanded version by UNC Press. (Evans is returning home this weekend to appear at the Triangle Jewish Film Festival in Cary. 

    Originally published in 1973 when the Civil Rights revolution was still painfully readjusting the legal framework of southern race relations, Evan’s book chronicled the special challenges that Jews faced throughout their history in our region. More specifically, his personal memoir deals with the North Carolina experience of his family. 

    Evan’s parents were the children of immigrants from Eastern Europe who came to North Carolina as house-to-house to house peddlers, then storekeepers, then successful business owners and finally respected civic leaders. 

    His father, Mutt Evans, eventually won election as mayor of Durham, crafted a role as a progressive and gained respect and affection from his community. His uncle, Monroe Evans, served as mayor of Fayetteville. Other members of the family took on important community leadership positions. 

    Eli Evans also achieved political success in high school and at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where in 1957 he won election as president of student government. 

    The political and civic contributions and successes of the Evans and of other Jewish families in North Carolina could be compared to the later political successes of African Americans. Similarly, those successes did not bring with them total acceptance or complete inclusion in southern society. 

    Jews continued to be viewed as different, and barriers to acceptance as “one of us remained.” 

    Evans’ poignant descriptions of his struggles to find a comfortable place in his Bible Belt homeland evoke tears and laughter. As a youngster, he joined his non-Jewish friends at the numerous revivals that were important social events in his growing up years in Durham. Enjoying the music and rhythms of the service, he was caught in a panic when the preacher called for uplifted hands to signify salvation. “Lift it high,” the preacher said. “Lift it high as you can. Lift it and say ‘I am saved.’ Higher. You can do it. Let Him in your heart. If you can’t lift it, something is wrong.” 

    When someone lifted Eli’s hand, “Wild-eyed and afraid, I jerked my hand away and bolted out of the tent as fast as I could, heading for home.” 

    Christmas and Easter seasons presented special problems for the young Eli, seeking acceptance but trying to remain true to his family’s religious heritage. What was he to do during the Christian devotionals in his public school classrooms? How was he to participate in the Christmas pageants? When a teacher assigned him the “best” part, Joseph, he respectfully and firmly declined, only to be given the part of the evil tax collector, “the heartless representative of King Herod.” 

    Constantly having to explain to his non-Jewish contemporaries why he was a little different from Christians, he acknowledged his uncomfortable confusion. “Deep down, Jesus still worried me.” 

    Like Obama’s recent speech, Evan’s book is an open and personal invitation to step into the shoes of others, to discuss and explore our real divisions, and then to find in those differences a basis for respect and celebration of the kind of unity that is the best of America’s potential č and promise.

     

  • margaret_04-01-15.jpg

    The late, great Gilda Radner, who helped make the original Saturday Night Livelegendary, created a memorable comedic character named Roseanna Roseannadana. America waited weekly for Roseanna’s assertion, “It’s always something.” Radner even named her autobiography It’s Always Something, and Gilda/Roseanna was right. 

    It is always something.

    A Charlotte neighborhood has had a big dose of “something” for 10 years now in the form of a fellow named Gerard Leeper who is fond of parading around his house and pausing at his glass front door in the nude. News accounts of Leeper’s unusual habit feature photos of him standing behind his glass door yapping away on a cell phone — you guessed it — buck-naked. News outlets cover up several of his parts, of course, but there is plenty of body hair on display. Neighbors say Leeper has enjoyed being au natural in his yard as well, but so far no photos of such outdoor perambulations have surfaced. They add that this nude dude is often visible about the time the school buses let children out, but less so when the hubbies are out mowing their lawns.

    Leeper’s neighbors have apparently enjoyed about as much of his behavior as they can stand and have called law enforcement repeatedly. They say Leeper’s behavior is totally inappropriate in a community that includes parents with toddlers in strollers and children playing outdoors. The problem is that Leeper’s raging free spirit has exposed — I am sorry, I could not help myself! — a problem in North Carolina law. It seems that exposing one’s whole self in public is a crime, but exposing oneself in one’s home is not addressed in statute. Chatting on the phone behind a clear glass door with no clothes on is apparently legal though on the outside of the glass it would not be.

    I feel some legislation coming on. We could call it Leeper’s Law.

    While I have never known a flasher or someone who likes to walk about in the nude — at least I do not know I know anyone like that, the Charlotte situation does remind me of two strange encounters I have had with Leeper-like nude practitioners.

    Years ago, the Dicksons took a trip to New England with the three Precious Jewels and a teenaged cousin from Austria, all crammed into Station Wagon # 3 with a luggage turtle strapped atop. A highlight of the trip was a visit to long-time friends on Nantucket, where I had worked as a waitress during college summers. My then 9-year-old son had been in a serious car accident only days before our trip, and was enduring more than 350 stitches in his left arm, which made him understandably fretful. When he decided to take a walk down a lovely but almost empty beach one afternoon, I went with him. In the distance was a lone fisherman, and as we got closer we could see a rod and reel and a beer can in his hands, but my attention was really focused on my injured boy. Suddenly, my son stopped walking and hurled himself at my legs shrieking, “Don’t look, Mom!” I did, of course. There was the fisherman looking toward us wearing nothing but a baseball cap and a wicked grin!

    My son recovered from his injuries, but I have never recovered from that beach surprise.

    Much later, during my first campaign for public office, my campaign manager and I were going door to door talking to voters in a neighborhood off Bragg Boulevard. It was near dusk on a fall afternoon when I knocked on the door of a house heavily shaded by trees and over grown bushes. Hearing nothing inside the house, I was about to slip my campaign literature inside the door when there was a little creak and the door opened just enough in the dim light for me to see the left side of a tall man wearing nothing but his birthday suit! No shorts! No towel! Nada!

    Stunned, I turned my head and muttered something about arriving at an inconvenient moment. I more or less threw my campaign material at him and ran for my campaign manager who was a ways down the other side of the street. When I told Ronny, an experienced political operative and much more savvy than I at that point, about this male version of Lady Godiva, his eyes became round as saucers. Finally, he said, “Get in the car, Margaret. We are getting out of here.”

    I can almost see Gilda/Roseanna rolling her eyes and wailing. “It’s always something!”

    She might also say, as my father would, “It takes
    all
    kinds.”

  • Have we come to a time in this country when we are ready to deal upfront and honestly with our grievances and hopes concerning the burden of racial misunderstanding that is woven into the fabric of American society? 

    Our recent public discussion of portions of Jeremiah Wright’s sermons reminded us that race can still pop up anywhere when we are thinking about politics and national leadership decisions. Then Barack Obama’s speech on race in America last week gave many of us hope that we can face these complexities and emotional minefields more openly and positively. But others, with despair or cynicism, assert the hopelessness of ever dealing with this confounding national burden. 

    Coincidentally or providentially, I have been reading book about the struggle of another group of Americans to overcome discrimination and suspicion to find a secure and welcome place in this country. 

    Durham native Eli Evan’s classic memoir and study of Southern Jews,The Provincials: A Personal History of Jews in the South, was recently reissued in an updated and expanded version by UNC Press. (Evans is returning home this weekend to appear at the Triangle Jewish Film Festival in Cary. 

    Originally published in 1973 when the Civil Rights revolution was still painfully readjusting the legal framework of southern race relations, Evan’s book chronicled the special challenges that Jews faced throughout their history in our region. More specifically, his personal memoir deals with the North Carolina experience of his family. 

    Evan’s parents were the children of immigrants from Eastern Europe who came to North Carolina as house-to-house to house peddlers, then storekeepers, then successful business owners and finally respected civic leaders. 

    His father, Mutt Evans, eventually won election as mayor of Durham, crafted a role as a progressive and gained respect and affection from his community. His uncle, Monroe Evans, served as mayor of Fayetteville. Other members of the family took on important community leadership positions. 

    Eli Evans also achieved political success in high school and at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where in 1957 he won election as president of student government. 

    The political and civic contributions and successes of the Evans and of other Jewish families in North Carolina could be compared to the later political successes of African Americans. Similarly, those successes did not bring with them total acceptance or complete inclusion in southern society. 

    Jews continued to be viewed as different, and barriers to acceptance as “one of us remained.” 

    Evans’ poignant descriptions of his struggles to find a comfortable place in his Bible Belt homeland evoke tears and laughter. As a youngster, he joined his non-Jewish friends at the numerous revivals that were important social events in his growing up years in Durham. Enjoying the music and rhythms of the service, he was caught in a panic when the preacher called for uplifted hands to signify salvation. “Lift it high,” the preacher said. “Lift it high as you can. Lift it and say ‘I am saved.’ Higher. You can do it. Let Him in your heart. If you can’t lift it, something is wrong.” 

    When someone lifted Eli’s hand, “Wild-eyed and afraid, I jerked my hand away and bolted out of the tent as fast as I could, heading for home.” 

    Christmas and Easter seasons presented special problems for the young Eli, seeking acceptance but trying to remain true to his family’s religious heritage. What was he to do during the Christian devotionals in his public school classrooms? How was he to participate in the Christmas pageants? When a teacher assigned him the “best” part, Joseph, he respectfully and firmly declined, only to be given the part of the evil tax collector, “the heartless representative of King Herod.” 

    Constantly having to explain to his non-Jewish contemporaries why he was a little different from Christians, he acknowledged his uncomfortable confusion. “Deep down, Jesus still worried me.” 

    Like Obama’s recent speech, Evan’s book is an open and personal invitation to step into the shoes of others, to discuss and explore our real divisions, and then to find in those differences a basis for respect and celebration of the kind of unity that is the best of America’s potential č and promise.

     

  • I don’t know precisely when the infection started, but it’s been evident for years that North Carolina’s political class suffers from a disease one might call the Quicken Pox.

    In a constitutional government such as ours, where power is separated into competing institutions, the intended result is not to make change easy or rapid but instead to make it challenging and deliberate. The founders of our state and nation believed that we were more likely to suffer from the ravages of herky-jerky legislation and bureaucratic busybodies than we were to benefit from bold, persistent experimentation.

    Of late, though, impatient North Carolina political and governmental actors have gotten themselves into trouble by running up against the constraints of law, finding them irritating, and ignoring or circumventing them. For example, when Jim Black wanted to be the N.C. House Speaker again, but discovered that his party had lost the elections, he chose to bribe an impressionable lawmaker to switch parties so he could retain power. When Black and other legislative leaders wanted to enact a state-run lottery but discovered that it wouldn’t pass either chamber if they followed the rules č such as the one requiring separate votes on separate days for bills raising revenue for the state č they chose to break those rules.

    Another outbreak of the Quicken Pox has regulators and judges enacting new laws, though they aren’t empowered to by the state constitution, because they truly believe the law to be so necessary or beneficial that it can’t wait for legislative approval. The pattern is commonplace now in environmental regulation, where unelected regulators oversee large swaths of the private economy as if they were commissars just arrived from the Kremlin. In our criminal-justice system, new “rights” have been created, old rights destroyed, and a state medical board recently tried to halt executions in the state, contrary to the majority sentiment of North Carolinians and their duly elected representatives.

    Which brings me, of course, to the topic of interior design.

    As one can readily judge by a quick visit to my tacky office or my child-infested home, a talent for interior design is not part of my birthright. This is the first and likely last time I’ll have anything to say on the subject. As it is, the matter at hand is not whether a certain mauve curtain clashes with a certain aquamarine chaise lounge, but instead whether the advice an interior designer might offer should be subject to the state’s sales tax.

    Over the years, several different panels of prominent North Carolinians have convened to study the issue of tax reform. A common recommendation has been for the state to expand the scope of its sales tax to include services sold at retail. The reform could be revenue-neutral, at least in the short run, by cutting the tax rate to offset the projected revenue gain from expanding the tax base to include medical, legal, financial and personal services. So the proposal need not necessarily raise the hackles of fiscal conservatives.

    Whatever you think of the merits of expanding the sales tax to cover services, it must be admitted that the idea is a political nonstarter in Raleigh. The professions whose bills would include the new tax are among the most powerful lobbies in the state. Faced with the prospect of advocating a tax change that would both aggravate key elites and alarm the masses, the governor and general assembly have shied away from it.

    Officials at the N.C. Department of Revenue have taken it upon themselves to expand the sales tax via bureaucratic dictate. As theTriangle Business Journal recently reported, they have audited some 20 interior-design firms across the state and sent overdue notices for between $8,000 and $200,000 in uncollected taxes that, they allege, should have been charged for consultation. Interior designers already, properly, charge their customers sales tax for any furnishings they might supply as part of their service. But the revenue department claims that designers should have been charging a service tax, as well.

    The state’s claim is not decorous, to say the least. But I suppose that the officials in question truly believe it should be the law, if only that pesky legislative process weren’t in the way. Pity them. They, too, suffer from the Quicken Pox.

     

  • My boyfriend of nine months leaves a mess in my home, and it infuriates me. Although he’s otherwise a great guy, just a glass not taken to the kitchen makes me boil with rage. He doesn’t only leave glasses around, but dishes and trash, napkins and soda cans. Jackets and sweatshirts are dropped wherever. He lies on the bed without taking his shoes off...arrrrgh! And he spits toothpaste into the sink without rinsing it out, and never does dishes when we cook or put carryout on plates. I don’t understand my anger because I sometimes leave a glass out, too. I do know I shouldn’t approach him about this while I’m this upset. 

    --Pigpen’s Girlfriend 


    Where does your boyfriend think dirty dishes go to die? Do they jump out an open window and smash themselves on the pavement? Leap into a sinkful of soapy water and drown themselves? Or, do they hire a hit man to do the job? Maybe an aging housewife who breaks into your place in the dead of night, slowly and methodically pulls on rubber gloves, then holds the plates under water until the deed is done. 

    Your boyfriend could be pondering this question nightly, but it seems he’s too busy flopping on the bed, swinging his big shoes onto your duvet, and snoring. Meanwhile, you’re storming around the house collecting cans, snarling, “What does he think, that I answered an ad for a fully furnished dumpster with cable TV? Or was he worried I’d get lost making my way back from the living room to the kitchen? How sweet of him to leave a trail of dirty napkins to mark my path!”

    Next, he’ll complain there’s no mint on the pillow č or, worse yet, he’ll slip and call you Mom. Who, exactly, does he think picks up all this stuff he drops? Actually, he probably hasn’t the slightest idea. In fact, while, for you, one empty Chicken McNuggets box on the couch turns your apartment into a Superfund site, your boyfriend might have to sit on the thing to realize it’s there. As I’ve written before, research shows that, in general, straight men don’t have the filth- and clutter-vision women and gay men do. Men generally have better distance vision, and can maintain intense focus on small-scale projects, but they’re prone to overlook environmental detail č increasing the chance that they’ll let the chips (and the empty potato chip bags) fall where they may.

    Okay, so the glass is not only half-empty, it’s been on your foyer table for three whole days. How could your boyfriend not know how upset this makes you? Well, there is the fact that, instead of sweetly telling him what works for you, it seems you’ve spent the better part of a year festering with hate. Your inability to ask, “Mind doing the dishes tonight?” or tease him about the difference between a bedspread and a sidewalk, suggests there’s more to this than liking things tidy. Are you anxious or insecure, and manifesting it in a Gestapo-like need to control your environment? Are you skittish about commitment and seeking an out, like the idea that he doesn’t respect you? If you want to be with him, tell him what you need. If he cares about you, he’ll make an effort. He might sometimes screw up, but he’ll probably put a good spin on it: Dinner with you was so romantic and wonderful, he wanted to leave you a little something to remember it by č something day-old and encrusted on a plate. Come on, look closely at that petrified moo shu. Can’t you see a heart? 


    Got a problem? Write Amy Alkon, 171 Pier Ave, #280, Santa Monica, CA╩ 90405, or e-mail AdviceAmy@aol.com (www.advicegoddess.com)

    (c)2008, Amy Alkon, all rights reserved.

  •     Just like singer Randy Newman, I love L.A. We recently flew there to attend the wedding of my cousin Nancy’s daughter. I think that makes the bride my first cousin once removed. It’s a Southern thing that requires attending weddings of your relatives no matter how distance is measured — either by geography or blood lines.
        U.S. Air provided air miles to get us there. I thought my air miles would end up as part of my estate because flights were always unavailable when I called to try to redeem the miles. Finally, I figured out how to use the computer to reserve tickets, and voila, California here we come.
        Modern air travel is a symphony of ethereal pleasures: lots of room on the plane, no waiting, and careful screening of your socks by the Fatherland Security Administration. Always wear clean socks so your dirty feet don’t appear in a government dossier. Unless you are into anorexia, you must bring food with you. I packed a classic elementary school bag lunch of ham and cheese sandwiches, apples, chips, and pecans to torment our seat mates with the exotic smell of room temperature ham and stinky cheese. It was great. Next time I’ll make sardine and clove sandwiches. That will really add to the cachet of flight in the 21st century.
         We stayed in L.A. with my niece, Lisa, who is a member of Ghostwriters Anonymous. Lisa is quite colorful. She has ghostwritten several books which have made it to The New York Times bestseller list. A Russian studies graduate of The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, she worked as a nanny in the American Embassy in Moscow, was a singer in a French restaurant in Japan, worked as a writer for www.thewashingtonpost.com and ended up being a ghost writer of nonfiction books. She is also an excellent softball pitcher. Her most excellent apartment in West Hollywood looks like something out of a Raymond Chandler novel or a movie set in the 1930s. Her neighborhood is filled with bizarre California plants that could only be grown in a greenhouse back here. It is interesting what banyan tree roots can do to sidewalks. {mosimage}
         I woke up early and wandered the streets. West Hollywood is not a morning kind of town. It is filled with colorful stores, nightclubs and restaurants that claim to serve breakfast but are not really open until noon. One store front had a neon sign that read “Free HIV Testing.” Who knew HIV Testing had been arrested? Lisa took me on a walking celebrity tragedy tour. We saw the Chateau Marmont Hotel on Sunset Boulevard where John Belushi snorted his last drugs before sloughing off this mortal coil. Nearby was Barney’s Beanery, which is a lounge where Janis Joplin allegedly was last seen alive in public consuming a beer. Also in the neighborhood was the Viper Room where River Phoenix breathed his last. Sic sempter celebriti.
     We spent one day at the Getty Museum, which is a quaint little place that old J. Paul Getty built on the top of a large, spectacular hill. The museum grounds are huge with multiple futuristic art castles which could be in Star Wars. Very spiffy art — Van Gogh, Monet, Cezanne and a cast of thousands. It is remarkable what you can do with several billion dollars if you put your mind to it. I was disappointed that there were no paint-by-number displays. But you can’t have everything.
         The wedding itself was outstanding. It was held outside in a beautiful park on a beautiful California afternoon starring Wendy the beautiful bride.
        We arrived about 15 minutes early and no one was there.
        The almost 200 guests drifted in about 30 minutes later. It must be a California thing. Everyone was laid back. Even the bride’s mother Nancy was calm. She had all the family over for dinner the night before the wedding. Astounding.
         Nancy, and Wendy’s father Bob, have been divorced for many years but they are still good friends. Nancy’s husband Andy is also friends with Bob. The ceremony ended with a beaming Nancy walking off arm-and-arm between Bob and Andy. It was a beautiful.
  • 041316_pitt.jpg

    Once upon a time, in a county, not too far away, there lived chemical cooties in people’s well water. Presented for your consideration is the curious case of Lee County, the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services and some interesting water ingredients called Hexavalent Chromium, better known as Chromium 6 and its ugly cousin Vanadium. 

    Many years ago, people thought state government was responsible for protecting the health of its citizens from things that go bump in the drinking water. This quaint notion is no longer operative in our brave new world of deregulating polluters and campaign contributors. 

    Recall Flint, Michigan’s, chunky style lead-infused drinking water. North Carolina is not letting Michigan get ahead of us in the burgeoning field of water pollution for fun and profit. Duke Energy had a little accident in 2014, in which zillions of tons of coal ash dumped itself into the Dan River. Duke is going to scoop up that coal ash and dump it in Lee County in some old quarries. To get a baseline of the quality of pre-coal ash dump well water in Lee County, the state did some testing on local wells. “Surprise, surprise,” as Gomer would say. The State’s test results showed about 14 wells were contaminated with Hexavalent Chromium which has been shown to cause cancer. 

    Here the story gets murky and governmental fingers begin to point. The Lee County Health Department says it relied on the N.C. Health Department instructions about Chromium 6 when it sent letters to local residents not to drink or cook with the water due to polluting cooties. This created anxiety and unpleasantness. After a while, the N.C. Health Department backed off its warning not to drink the water using the colorful but unreassuring reasoning that other cities in the state had levels of Chromium 6 equal to Lee’s water. Lee residents viewed this as a flip flop by the state about their health. They are not convinced the water is now suddenly safe. 

    N.C.’s State Health Director was quoted in the news about the reversal of fortune for the drinking water saying, “ We’re not really backing off recommendations. We’re just evolving as we always do in public health as we receive more information.” 

    This statement wins this week’s prize for Governmental Double Speak. Cancer doesn’t metastasize, it just evolves. So now the water is okay to drink. Big Brother’s Double Speak tells me so. What was once double plus ungood is now double plus good. 

    The State’s reversal on Chromium 6 reminds me when our beloved sainted President Ronald Reagan once declared “Ketchup is a vegetable” to lower the costs of school lunches. Chromium 6 is a tasty treat. The state magically fixed Lee’s water by Proclamation Incantation. Lee County still has a public relations problem regarding its water. Time to turn a negative into a positive through the power of advertising. The Acme Advertising Agency has come up with a campaign to switch toxic Hexavalent Chromium into exciting and daring Chromium 666 by rebranding Lee County water an energy drink that will make you glow in the dark. 

    Acme’s Chromium 666 campaign has been leaked, which I now share with you, gentle readers. The following slogans will appear soon on bottled Lee County water featuring its secret ingredient Chromium 666: If you’ve got the time, we’ve got the Chromium 666. Water, water, everywhere and not a drop to drink without Chromium 666. Have a Chromium 666 and a smile. Things go better with Chromium 666. The cold, crisp taste of Chromium 666. Great taste, almost zero carcinogens — Chromium 666. I’d like to buy the world a Chromium 666. Chromium 666, melts in your cells, not in your hand. Chromium 666: Have it our way. Silly rabbit, Chromium 666 is for kids. Chromium 666, it’s magically delicious. Chromium 666 is good to the last drop. The best part of waking up is Chromium 666 in your cup. Promise her anything, but give her Chromium 666. Sometimes you feel like a Chromium 666, sometimes you don’t. We do Chromium 666 right. Chromium 666 is forever. Come thirsty, leave mutated with Chromium 666. When you’ve said Chromium 666, you’ve said it all. Chromium 666, it tastes great, less living. We will sell no Chromium 666 before its time. Lee County water: the champaign of Chromium 666. Like a bad neighbor, Chromium 666 is here. Chromium 666, it cleans your intestines as it cleans your clock. 

    Bad old Hexavalent Chromium is flushed down the memory hole. Exciting new Chromium 666 not only is good for you, but it’s good for campaign contributors. This is an election year after all. Drink up! 

  •     It has been literally painful for me to watch the women from the polygamist Mormon sect in Texas plead on television for the return of their many children. As a mother of three, I cannot help but be moved by their obvious, though highly orchestrated public display of distress over the state’s removal of more than 400 children under allegations of sexual abuse of girls and young women. These mothers, in their homemade high-necked, long-sleeved, floor-length prairie dresses with their hair in modest buns or braids, seem to be speaking to us from another, simpler, perhaps even purer time when life was less pressured and less complicated than ours in the 21st century. {mosimage}
        I do believe their distress is real, but I am not so sure about the simplicity and purity of their lives. I suspect life in the cult is darker than it seems on the freshly scrubbed faces displayed by the women selected to be on camera.
        Among the greatest blessings of our nation is our freedom of religion. Each of us is free to practice religion as we find it meaningful — or to practice no religion at all. What we are not free to do is to impose our version of faith on other people, including our own families. That is the issue here. The adults in that Texas compound are legally free to choose for themselves, even if some of those women do exude a distinct zombie-like or robotic quality.
        As this sad and disturbing drama plays itself out in Texas courts, we need to keep in mind several facts. Polygamy is illegal in our country and has been disallowed by the official Mormon church for more than a century.            
        Having sexual relations with children is also illegal. If the allegations of adult men having sex with adolescent girls are true, even under the banner of a “religious” marriage, then the men should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of Texas law. If the pioneer-clad mothers were unable or unwilling to stop any such abuse and did not call Texas authorities, then they are complicit in the abuse. They deserve at least the scrutiny of Texas law enforcement authorities, if not prosecution.
        Welfare fraud and Medicaid fraud are also illegal, a form of taking public undeserved public monies. News reports speculate that the many children born out of legal wedlock to women engaged in polygamy are supported by various government programs instead of by their fathers and mothers. These are not new allegations, having been made before by a number of sources, including, Jon Krakauer’s book about fundamentalist Mormon polygamy, Under the Banner of Heaven. I do not know whether children born to “religious wives” not legally married to the fathers are being supported by public dollars, but I do think Texas authorities are correct in looking into the questions. This is not where I want my tax dollars to go, and I expect many readers feel the same way. {mosimage}
        All of this being said, it is impossible not to feel for the children who have been removed from their families. Children need stability and the assurance of love and physical and mental well-being. The situation has got to be difficult for many of them. Nevertheless, authorities in Texas acted in response to allegations of abuse, and properly so. Given the numbers of children involved, sorting it all out is going to take some time. No one, however, wants these children returned to a situation in which their physical and mental safety is not assured, and so patience from all parties is required
        Tearful and grieving adult mothers are hard to resist, but our first thoughts and deepest concern has to be for the children and young men and women whom we do not see crying and beseeching us on television if, they in fact, are doing that at all.
        My guess is that some of them are deeply relieved to be out from behind those walls.  
        Mea, mea culpa.
        Some columns generate more mail than others, and a recent column on a new and improved GI Bill brought several well reasoned and well written responses, which I sincerely appreciate. While I am well aware that our nation currently has a GI Bill and that thousands are using it to further their educations, my understanding of that apparently did not come across in the column. So intent was I in advocating for more benefits under a GI Bill that I did not acknowledge adequately enough the benefits available today.
        I am delighted that many members of Congress are also interested in improving our current GI Bill. One effort which stands out to me is S.22, introduced on the first day of the 2007 term of Congress by Senator Jim Webb (D-VA). This legislation would provide veterans who have served since 9/11 with the same level of benefits as veterans who served in World War II. It is still pending.

  • While March Madness dominates intercollegiate athletics, another group of collegians works out amidst coaches’ whistles, endures bloody, 12-hour practices, and cheers on teammates preparing for the national championship in meat-judging, in which about 40 colleges compete, according to a March Wall Street Journal report. Coaches at powerhouses like Colorado State and South Dakota State say skills such as evaluating T-bone cutting and spotting whether a pig has too much back fat come with determination and concentration (and, of course, practice, as one coach said it all comes down to time spent in the meat locker, at 38 degrees (Fahrenheit)). (And pro scouts are watching from the stands, representatives of U.S. meat companies, seeking talent.)


    Fine Points of the Law 

    Italy’s highest appeals court ruled in March that it is not illegal for a woman to lie in a police investigation if the reason is to cover up her adulterous affair. Court of Cassation judges said that her honor is more important than providing intimate information about her lover. 

    The North Carolina Court of Appeals voted 2-1 in February to approve a worker compensation claim for only one of a woman’s breast-implant replacements, ruling that the other implant ruptured (in a job-related accident) only because it had been improperly installed. (The dissenting judge said, even so, the compensation fund should pay for the second replacement, too, because to achieve their purpose, both breasts must be aligned properly on the chest.) 


    The Entrepreneurial Spirit! 

    When Johnny Diablo’s year-old vegan restaurant failed to catch on in Portland, Ore., last year, he converted the space into Casa Diablo’s Gentlemen’s Club, which is what he believes is the world’s only vegan strip club. He has no rule against meat-eating dancers, he told Willamette Week newspaper in February, but won’t permit leather, fur, silk or wool outfits on stage (no “murder victims” in the club, he said).  

    Cosmetics from the American company Blue Q, under the “Lookin’ Good for Jesus” brand urging users to “Get Tight with Christ,” were pulled from stores in Singapore in February due to complaints, but Blue Q said it’s not abandoning that line of hand and body creams, lip balm, breath spray and bubble bath. (Of course, Blue Q also markets similar cosmetics under such brands as “Dirty Girl,” “Cute as Hell,” “Total Bitch” and “Virgin/Slut,” as well as a car air-freshener by its brand “Cat Butt.” 


    Science on the Cutting Edge 

    A team of researchers from the University of Calgary and the Tokyo Institute of Technology proudly announced in February that they had successfully stored “nothing” inside a puff of gas and then had managed to retrieve that same “nothing.” That “nothing” is called a “squeezed vacuum,” and the physicists tell us that a light wave can be manipulated so that its phases are of uncertain amplitude, then the light itself removed so that only the “uncertainty” property of the wave remains. 

    In February, the South Korean cell phone company KTF announced a new voice-analysis program for its customers to enable them to evaluate their sincerity when calling a lover. The caller can point the phone’s camera at himself and see a meter on the screen measuring his own passion, then receive a text message afterward noting voice expressions by the person receiving the call (surprise, honesty, etc.). 



    COPYRIGHT 2008 CHUCK SHEPHERD   

     

  •  

    (Rated PG-13)


    Rated: Not even on the charts

    {mosimage}Sometimes the tag line on a movie is cute. Sometimes it’s catchy. And sometimes, it’s prophetic. Such is the case ofDrillbit Taylor, the latest release of Owen Wilson. To put it in layman’s terms, this movie was more than disapponting, in fact, I would call it simply bad. Forget about what the tabloids said about Wilson’s recent depression. It had nothing to do with his love life. Truth to be told, it was probably this movie.

    Wilson has great comedic timing. You expect him to play off-beat characters. You expect the delivery of his lines to be sarcastic. And he delivered on those expectations. It was the script that left him in the lurch. 

    The brain child of John Hughes, the man who gave us all of those great ‘80s movies čThe Breakfast Club, Sixteen Candles, the National LampoonVacationmovies čDrillbit Taylor is a story Hollywood likes to retell in various formats. 

    It’s the story of two boys getting ready to start high school č no shocker here, they are stereotypically geeky. And as is true of most geeks, they have good hearts. On the first day of school, rather than celebrating in the fact that another kid even geeker than them has drawn the attention of school bully Filkins (played by Alex Frost),  Wade, played by Nat Hartley, steps in to stop the bully from putting the kid in a locker. As expected, his intervention draws the ire of Filkins, and he, and his best friend, Ryan (Troy Gentile) become the target of the bully’s ire. The three, the geeky kid, the fat kid and the “awesome” kid have big targets on their foreheads.

    Things go from bad to worse when they take the matter of bullying up with the school principal who embodies every stereotype of the dumb principal. After being chased down by Filkins in his car, they decide to seek the services of a bodyguard č  enter Drillbit Taylor.

    Taylor represents himself as an Army Ranger, a master of dark ops and martial arts. He is, in fact, none of those things. But, he manages to keep the kids convinced that he’s on their side, all the while plotting to rob them of their excess. After Wade gets punched, Drillbit decides he needs to be in school with the kids, and poses as a substitute teacher. As he tells his friends, “All you have to do is walk around with a cup of coffee in your hand and nobody asks you any questions.” 

    As can be expected while posing as the sub, Drillbit becomes a favorite of the faculty and students č with the exception of the bully, whom he constantly gives a hard time. He also manages to win the adoration of an over-sexed English teacher who has a way of picking out real losers. 

    As the plot turns, the kids learn Drillbit is not who he says he is and their disappointment in him is crushing. “I thought you were my friend,” said Wade. 

    Not to spoil the movie for you, if you really want to waste $7, this is an undedog movie, so things always come right in the end. Maybe just not the way you thought.

    There are some good performances of bad characters by Wilson and Gentile. Gentile’s rap off against the bully brings some laughs, as does a few of  Wilson’s scenes with Hartley and with his street buddies. But by in large, the writing was weak, the plot was predictable and the characters never really grab you.

    Drillbit Taylor should stay at the bottom of your to see list. But if you’ll take some friendly advice, never even put it on the list.

  • 041306_margaret.jpg

    We know exactly what DTC is even if we do not recognize the acronym. 

    DTC stands for direct-to-consumer advertising, a term that generally refers to the ubiquitous drug ads brought to us by Big Pharma encouraging us to ask our doctors if “Make me feel better” is right for us. DTC is what informs us — and our naturally curious children — about “erections lasting longer than four hours,” constipation caused by opioid use, brand name surgically implanted mechanical joints and painful sex after menopause. Not to mention all manner of unpleasant digestive disorders, sleep interruptions and debilitating mental-health conditions. 

    People suffering such conditions are generally depicted looking sad and pained, but after taking “Make me feel better,” they are frolicking in impossibly green meadows holding hands with their loved ones and trailed by happy dogs. DTC refers to drugs sold by prescription only and not to the ones we can buy over the counter, such as aspirin.

    Who knew? And, frankly, who wants to know and talk about all this outside the privacy of your doctor’s office?

    An entire generation of Americans has grown up since 1997, when the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved DTC for prescription drugs. It has done so presumably thinking DTC is the norm, but it is not. The United States is one of only three Western nations that allow this sort of DTC advertising. The others are New Zealand, a nation with half the population of North Carolina and Brazil, which strictly limits such advertising. Apparently, no other Western nations think pharmaceutical DTC advertising is such a great idea. 

    Neither does Minnesota Senator Al Franken, he of Saturday Night Livefame who morphed into politics and was elected to the United States Senate by just more than 300 votes. Franken has filed a bill to eliminate tax breaks taken by pharmaceutical advertisers and which make all those billions spent on DTC advertising more palatable. Franken is not alone. You are totally safe in betting the farm that Big Parma will oppose that bill with big vigor — and big money.

    Late last year, the American Medical Association called for a ban on DTC advertising, citing its dramatic growth and suggesting the ads are driving consumer demand for expensive drugs when less expensive ones are equally or more effective and when the drugs in question may not be appropriate at all.

    Part of the concern is that DTC advertising has ballooned since the FDA initially okayed it, with as many as 80 ads an hour and annual spending reaching $5.4B — yes, billion — last year, according to Kantar Media. All that spending, even with tax breaks, amounts to a lot of money, which means drugs cost more. The New York Times reports that one heavily advertised drug to fight Hepatitis C costs a whopping $1,100 per pill. Dr. Patrice Davis, incoming chair of the American Medical Association, expresses the problem this way, “Patient care can be compromised and delayed when prescription drugs are unaffordable and subject to coverage limitations by the patient’s health plan. In a worst-case scenario, patients forego necessary treatments when drugs are too expensive.”

    In addition, the FDA’s Deputy Commissioner Dr. Janet Woodcock says, “Much of our compliance and enforcement activity is spent trying to ensure that companies don’t low-ball risks in the ad and provide inflated expectations of benefit.” 

    FDA physician surveys find that docs, 78 percent of them, think patients have a fairly solid understanding of the benefits of
    DTC advertised drugs but a minority of 40 percent believe their patients have a grasp of risks, and 65 percent think their patients are confused about benefits and risks of drugs advertised by people frolicking in too green fields.

    Put me in that category.

    Those surveys have also found that doctors feel pressured by patients to whip out their prescription pads to prescribe the drug du jour, whether it fits a need or not. Several of my own docs have confirmed such pressure from patients who have seen DTC ads and who may have done Internet research themselves.

    Opinions are not all negative.

    The AMA says docs also tell them that DTC advertising has made some patients both more knowledgeable and more thoughtful about treatment options for what ails them. Some also say that DTC advertising has engaged more patients in making their own health care decisions. In addition, surveys indicate that DTC ads encourage discussions between doctors and patients on health care issues.

    On balance, Senator Franken’s effort to slow down DTC advertising feels right. It is neither all bad nor all good, but a thoughtful look at what only the United States and one other tiny nation have embraced full bore is in order.

    Maybe I am just tired of discussing bodily functions in Technicolor 24/7.

  •     I have to admit, I was a little bit nervous when I passed that Fayetteville City Limits sign on my first day of work at Up & Coming Weekly.
        I was born and raised in Robeson County, so that makes me practically a kissing cousin to y’all, but still, crossing that county line gave me just the slightest of chills — a shiver born out of childhood fairy tales of the boogeyman living down on Hay Street.
        A child of the 70s, I grew up in the shadow of the Dark Ages of “Fayettenam,” as everybody called it in those days.
        While Robeson County’s reputation wasn’t exactly spotless — more like Lady MacBeth’s bloody hands in overdrive — driving through Lumberton or Pembroke didn’t raise my hackles nearly to the heights a trip to Fayetteville did. The streets, Hay Street specifically, were notorious for prostitutes and pimps and red-eyed soldiers giving passersby a broken beer bottle salute.
        In those days, Fayetteville was the place you came if you wanted to have a very bad time, or a very good time, depending on your disposition and criminal record.
        Not that my family wasn’t closely associated with Fayetteville.
        My Uncle Tommy was a bouncer at Rick’s Lounge, while my Aunt Saundra worked there as a waitress. They both quit the same day a man standing on the street next to them was gunned down.
        My dad worked as a “jewelry hawker” on Hay Street, standing outside a pawn shop and trying to lure GIs inside to drop their paycheck on diamonds and gold. Talk about your tough jobs.
        My mom was a saleswoman for awhile at the old Tart’s TV, until someone attempted to carjack her on — you guessed it — Hay Street, by trying to climb through the T-top of her ‘76 Corvette.
        Personally, I have nothing but wonderful childhood memories of Fayetteville.
        My entire family would load up in the old LTD station wagon every Sunday for a trip to eat at a now defunct Chinese restaurant where my mom and grandma always got a little too tipsy on Mai Tais and wore the little paper umbrellas in their hair.
        After lunch, we’d go down to Treasure City for a shopping spree, and then off to a store that traded coupons from packages of Sir Walter Raleigh cigarettes for toasters and tents and lawn darts, sort of like Green Stamps for the black lung set. And grandma always had a stack of coupons as big as a New York crack dealer’s bankroll, since she smoked somewhere between four and 4,000 packs of Sir Walters’ finest every day.
        It was my grandma who told me the scary tales about Fayetteville and put the fear of Hay Street into me. In retrospect, I guess she figured she had lost four children to the evil pull of North Carolina’s version of Sin City, and she didn’t want me to get caught in the gravity of that evil orbit, eventually pawning gold ID bracelets alongside my father while picking the pockets of privates and corporals like some modern day Oliver Twist.
        But surprise, surprise, as I cruised through Hay Street, circa  2008, on the first day of my new job, I couldn’t find a prostitute or pimp or switchblade-wielding sergeant anywhere.
        No topless joints.
        No broken windows.
        No juke joints pumping up the volume and the danger level.
        The boogeyman had been replaced by a businessman in a three-piece suit.
        People waved and grinned at me as if I were a prodigal son.
    Why didn’t you folks tell me y’all had transformed the downtown from a sow’s underbelly into a silk purse?
    I think my wife is on the phone; she’s found a house in Gray’s Creek.
        Imagine that — me living in the once upon a time most dangerous city on Earth.
        And loving it.
  •     I still remember the first time I ever watched Luhrman’s Romeo and Juliet. In the last scene, Juliet is guffawing in a very pained way over Romeo’s dead body. I laughed. I cupped my hand over my mouth after I did, surprised at my own coldness. Her grief seemed so real, and I, like many, am one of those folks who doesn’t know how to respond to those that are grieving. It’s one of things you never know how to respond to — it’s just... uncomfortable. {mosimage}
        If you’ve dealt with losing a loved one, you know all the “sorrys” and the condolences from concerned family, friends don’t really amount to anything. How you wished the people would just go away and stop asking how you are. And then you remember what it’s like to be on the other side, and that their intentions are good, and they just desperately want to help, but don’t have the right words to say, and you forgive them.
        Rabbit Hole, by David Lindsay-Abaire showcases both sides of that grief — the griever and the consoler — for two-and-a-half hours, minus the intermission. If you wince at grief and have a hard time “coping,” this is not the play for you. If, however, you love delving into the human psyche, (ahem, myself) delve away. 
    The play starts with delightfully funny Izzy (Paige Collins) recounting a rather raucous bar encounter to her sister, Becca (Rhonda Brocki). Becca ends up chastising Izzy, telling her she needs to get her “shit together.” Izzy gets defensive, and makes an offhand comment about how it has been really tough for her to get it together since Danny died. We learn that Danny was Becca’s four year old son, who died in a blameless and unfortunate accident. Izzy just acknowledged the rather large elephant in the room, which remains throughout the play. Danny might as well be listed as a character — for his absence is just as much a character as Izzy is with her sarcastic ways.
        The play paints a portrait of the grieving family realistically and accurately. The father, Howie (Gary Clayton), just wants to move forward, make love to his wife and return to normal, but later realizes he might have just been showing a brave face for the family and himself. The mother, Becca, is a tiny woman full of grieving spite, anger, love and pastry making. The sister, Izzy, offers comic relief with her mess-of-a-ife and baby on the way. And lastly, the mother, Nat (Joyce Lipe) talks a lot, trying to fill up the empty space her grandson left, to help her own daughter deal with the grief, the grief she has already experienced with the loss of her own son, all the while being hugely entertaining.
        As this portrait is realistic and accurate with no glossy overcoat, we see the family share funny, sad and angry moments — idle and amusing chit-chat about the Kennedy’s, tearful encounters over lemon bars, and tense arguments about VHS tapes. Each actor in this play really deserves a hand. It’s easy to make grief a soap opera, and thankfully, there is no soap opera here. Each actor’s journey with grief is authentic.    
    The superb director of this fine cast, Evan Bridenstine, described it best when he said, “Rabbit Hole is pure Lindsay-Abraire, a mixture of laughter and pain that creates hope without sentimentality. This is good stuff, but it’s far more dynamic than I’d expect a meditation to be.”
        Come check out Rabbit Hole, playing at the Gilbert Theater through April 20. Call 678-7186 for tickets and show times or visit www.GilbertTheater.com. You’re likely to walk away from this play being the most comfortable at being uncomfortable you’ve ever felt. And if, like many, you console yourself with food, don’t fret, the Gilbert is offering Carrot Cake after the show.
  • haymont-grill.jpg

    For more years than I can remember, Friday morning 7 a.m. breakfast at the Haymont Grill and Steak House was pretty routine for me. After all, 40-year-old habits are hard to break. Hundreds, no thousands, of people are feeling the sadness at the loss of a business that became a stellar Fayetteville institution over the past 60 years. Now, it’s gone. 

    The history, the tradition, the haven that became a beloved gathering place, political stronghold and neighborhood sanctuary providing a warm sense of home in a proud and unpretentious Greek-American tradition is no more. Pete Skenteris, now 79, has been the owner of the Haymont Grill since he purchased it from Steve Fermanides in the 1950s. Skenteris’ success is the epitome of the American dream. Pete, with his wife, Frederika, by his side, built his business and reputation on honesty, integrity and lots of hard work.

    To me the loss of the Haymont Grill is personal - very personal. My first Fayetteville home was only blocks away. My best friend, Leonard McLeod, and I had breakfast at the grill almost every Sunday for nearly 25 years until his death in 2000. My son, Grady, and I also shared the tradition. Now living in New Jersey and working in New York, his visits home always included a visit to the grill. No doubt, fond memories are the ties that bind and I have hundreds of them. 

    Matter of fact, when you entered the grill from the Morganton Road side, the second booth on the left against the wall is where I actually conceived and started Up & Coming Magazine (now Up & Coming Weekly) in November 1995. I actually ran the newspaper out of that booth for nearly four months until I could afford a real office.  Through the years, I have had countless business meetings with clients, brainstorming sessions with staff members and impromptu meetings with local leaders, business owners and educators in that booth. After we celebrated our 20th anniversary, Pete authorized a plaque designating that booth as the birthplace of Up & Coming Weekly, Fayetteville’s community newspaper. 

    Unfortunately, we never got around to it. However, we did physically place that white Up & Coming Weekly newspaper box in front of his business 20 years ago. Today I picked up that very same box. While everything on the inside of this iconic restaurant may have been destroyed by the fire, I am happy to have one surviving memento that will serve as a reminder of the man, family and business that served this community loyally for nearly six decades.

    The Haymont Grill was unique and endearing to our community.  It may be rebuilt but it will never be replaced. Thanks for reading Up & Coming Weekly.


  • {mosimage}Dear EarthTalk: How can I find out which seafood to avoid if I am concerned about lessening my impact on the environment and avoiding consuming unhealthy pollutants?   -- Pat Kelly, Seattle, WA


    Several decades ago a fish-centric diet was considered to be not only healthy but also environmentally friendly. But today those of us who eat a lot of fish may not be doing ourselves or the environment any favor. The two major concerns are overfishing and pollution.

    Demand for low-calorie, protein-rich fish has grown tremendously alongside increases in world population. At the same time, the technologies employed for catching seafood have improved to the point that the commercial fishing industry has essentially stripped the ocean of its once teeming fish populations. One recent analysis concluded that only 10 percent of the large predatory fish that once roamed the world’s oceans are left, due to overzealous sport and commercial fishing. Another study concluded that three-quarters of the world’s fisheries are either fully fished or overfished.

    Pollution from industrial, agricultural and other everyday activities like electricity generation and automobile driving has also taken a serious toll on the health of the remaining fish species. Scientists routinely find unsafe levels of mercury, PCBs, dioxins, pesticides and other harsh toxins in the fat, internal organs and even muscle tissue of many different kinds of fish. These contaminants are then passed on up the food chain to our dinner plates.

    According to Seafood Watch, a project of the Monterey Bay Aquarium that works to educate the public about the seafood crisis, consumers can make a difference by getting educated so as to make smart choices about what seafood to avoid. Consumers can download and print out free Seafood Watch pocket guides to the “best choices” across six different regions of the U.S. č after all, what’s abundant and sustainably harvested in your area may not be the same for someone across the country.

    Another convenient way to get the low-down on the fish you may be contemplating buying at the grocer or a restaurant is to text “30644” with the message “FISH,” followed by the name of the specific fish in question. In a few seconds, an automated response will come back from the non-profit Blue Ocean Network’s FishPhone service with information on the status of the fish in question č and alternatives, should Blue Ocean consider the fish an undesirable choice.

    The basic skinny on fish consumption is that if you like it, you should eat it, but responsibly č that means in moderation and armed with the proper knowledge of which types of fish to buy and which to avoid.

    For those looking to cut down on or eliminate seafood from their diets but still gain the health benefits of eating fish, plenty of alternatives exist. As most vegetarians know, beans, tofu and many nuts can be significant alternative sources of protein. And walnuts, flaxseed and hemp oil/seeds are all rich in the Omega-3 fatty acids common in many fish and thought to help ward off heart disease, cancer, macular degeneration (age-related blindness), arthritis and inflammatory disorders.


    GOT AN ENVIRONMENTAL QUESTION? Send it to: EarthTalk, c/o E/The Environmental Magazine, P.O. Box 5098, Westport, CT 06881; submit it at: www.emagazine.com/earthtalk/thisweek/, or e-mail: earthtalk@emagazine.com. Read past columns at: www.emagazine.com/earthtalk/archives.php.

  • {mosimage}Restrictor plate racing takes center stage this weekend as NASCAR invades Talladega Superspeedway for a weekend of white-knuckle racing. 

    At 2.66 miles in length, Talladega is the largest speedway that the stock cars race on and one of two tracks where power sapping restrictor plates are used. The plates are used to reduce horsepower and therefore speed in the cars. What’s left is minimal throttle response for the drivers and large packs of racing for the fans. Hence the term “White-Knuckle Weekend.”

    Jeff Burton arrives at Talladega as the Sprint Cup points’ leader. New, or casual race fans, should not be surprised by the Richard Childress Racing driver’s success. In the late ‘90s he was dominant as a team member with Roush-Fenway Racing. His #99 car was always a threat.

    Then there were the lean years. His car went unsponsored. He battled to stay in contention, but he never seemed to get back on top. Burton chose to leave and start over at RCR.

    Burton’s experience was just what RCR needed while the team was trying to pick up the pieces from the death of Dale Earnhardt. He was a mentor to Kevin Harvick. He provided technical expertise in the shop. And now, he is on top of the heap looking down at the rest of field. His team knows it needs to get better. But if they keep finding ways to end up in the Top 10 at the end of each race, the 31 bunch will be hard to beat.

    This weekend will be the second race on the high banks of the Alabama track for the new car. It debuted there last October to mixed reviews. The car has proven to be very durable on the short tracks č tracks in length of one mile or less. It performed well at Daytona in February. 

    Talladega is a different place all together. As mentioned above, it is the longest track the teams race on. It is wider and banked higher than Daytona. Drivers can ride around all afternoon with the pedal stuck to the floor. 

    Teams have been vocal about changes in the car almost from the beginning of the season. Series competition director John Darby says no way. 

    “We still call it the new car, right?” Darby said. “But it’s looked at as an old car, one that’s been around forever, and that’s not the case. There’s nothing broken, there’s nothing that we need to jump in and fix. It’s just a matter of continuing to race them and let the teams do what they do best.”

    Drivers always want more than what they have and NASCAR wants everyone singing from the same sheet of music. It could be a long season for some drivers and teams.

    NASCAR continues to say that it has an effective drug-testing policy. This, in spite of the revelation that former Craftsman Truck Series driver Aaron Fike admitted to using heroin before races. Several drivers have said that NASCAR needs to step up its policing efforts.

    Sprint Cup drivers Kevin Harvick, Tony Stewart, Jimmie Johnson and Kasey Kahne say they never have undergone a drug test as NASCAR competitors. 

    “In the 10 years that I’ve raced, I’ve never been drug-tested,” Harvick said. “To me, that’s not a proper drug policy for a professional sport. We haven’t made any headway whatsoever on the drug-testing policy.” 

    This is a serious issue for NASCAR. The sport has enjoyed enormous success during the last decade. More money is flowing in than ever. And at most tracks, there are no empty seats. 

    As baseball has found out the hard way, play straight or the fans will make you pay. It’s time for NASCAR to step up and be the innovator it has always been.

  • cashwell.jpg

    Elizabeth Cashwell Elementary School has become a unique center for learning. The school, like many in the area, is confronted by challenges, but that doesn’t stop the teachers, staff and administrators from doing whatever it takes to make sure the students have what they need to succeed and prosper.  

    “Some of the challenges are with the costs of materials and tools we need in order to give our students the best education,” said Principal Kim Robertson. “As many know, we have had severe budget cuts in our schools in regards to materials and supplies. We must constantly discover new avenues to gain funding to help our children learn to the best of their ability and to ascend to the highest level of learning.” 

    Robertson and three members of her staff, Renee Bain, Beverly Hood and Marie Lowe, found one way to overcome some of those challenges by applying for and receiving grants for a greenhouse and a kiln. 

    Finding these funds was a difficult process, as the grant writing process involves a great deal of time and information about the way a certain grant should be written. Often denials of grants come without any explanation or advice for future efforts. In the case of the grant request for the kiln, there were very specific regulations that had to be met for installation. The end result was worth the effort. 

    Members of the staff explained that the excitement of receiving and installing the kiln and the greenhouse captured the children’s attention, which enabled them to move directly into an exhilarating learning experience. They anticipate a big payoff when the students begin learning procedures for planting and growing in a real greenhouse environment. The excitement the children show when they create their first pottery piece and fire it in the kiln makes the extra effort worth it to the ladies.

    The greenhouse is,  by-and-large, already integrated into the school’s activities. 

    “We have a school community garden in connection with our greenhouse. Between the community garden and the greenhouse we already have potatoes, onions, cabbages, a variety of carrots and radishes. We plan to add squash, more cabbage, broccoli, bush beans and sunflower seeds,” according to Bain, Hood and Lowe. 

    The next step also includes a field trip to the Botanical Gardens for students to explore the concepts of rain barrels and recycling. 

    On May 8 at 1:30 p.m., the school will host a ribbon cutting ceremony to celebrate the addition of these unique learning tools to the school and the community. 

    Robertson noted, “We will have a ribbon cutting and our distinguished guests will be entertained by the Elizabeth Cashwell Elementary Chorus, along with a performance of a Maypole dance. The guests will be gifted with a clay pot processed in our kiln, created and seeded by students. We will also name our greenhouse and will have refreshments to close out the ceremony.”  

    Many schools across the nation are facing the same budget cuts that affected Elizabeth Cashwell Elementary School. For those inclined to defy the circumstances and provide the highest quality education possible, the group of creative educators has some advice, Our advice for other schools is not to hesitate applying based on the monetary amount needed. Just apply for as many grants needed to help your children learn. Our children are our future and there should be no monetary cap for them. Have information ready such as the need, the costs and the necessary supplies. Be persistent if you do not succeed at first. 

  •     For many summers during my children’s growing up years, the Dicksons had one or another teenaged Austrian cousin visiting for several weeks. Over the years, we had at least four boys and three girls, several of whom became almost like siblings to our own younger generation.
        We shared our domestic routines, and we traveled with them on family excursions to beaches, to Washington, New England, Orlando and Canada. We might have gone on these trips anyway, but now we have mostly wonderful memories of these familial cultural exchanges.
    Among my domestic memories of those summers is the only time I ever washed one of my children’s mouth out with soap.
        Bless his pea-picking little heart, one of my sons just had to keep trying out a new and highly inappropriate word he had learned from who-knows-where. I warned him about it several times, but he apparently found it impossible not to show off his new knowledge in front of his older Austrian cousin. I finally took him by the arm into our downstairs half-bath, put a dab of liquid soap on a washcloth, and gave his mouth a quick swab.{mosimage}
        My son blew a few bubbles, and the teenaged cousin who was standing in the hallway watching and who knew a few of those American words himself, uttered another American expression, “Wow!”
        Someone needs to do the same thing to some talk radio hosts.
        I grew up in a family radio business and worked in it for more than 25 years. Most of that time was energizing and fun in an industry filled with talented and creative people and at stations which strived to be a part of their communities. Toward the end of our time in radio, the mood changed. It became mean and sour with the rise of talk radio.
        We have seen this over and over again on the national level with personalities like Howard Stern, Don Imus and Rush Limbaugh. North Carolinians watched meanness play out yet again earlier this month when the hosts of a morning show in Raleigh made a series of remarks which have been widely criticized as racist and derogatory toward Native Americans, specifically North Carolina’s Lumbees. The remarks were made in a joking context, as they often are, but they were clearly painful to some people and highly inappropriate over the public airwaves.
        The station apologized to listeners and suspended the crew of the morning show without pay for three days. The furor continues nevertheless.
        I think two things about commercial radio in America today. Since Congress deregulated commercial radio with the Telecommunications Act of 1996, programming which was once locally generated and reflected the unique qualities of communities throughout the United States, is now homogenized and pasteurized. With a few exceptions like local morning shows and a scattering local news programming, listeners in Fayetteville hear the same programming as listeners in Boston, Dallas and Seattle. For better or worse, radio is now just a business, like many other national commercial enterprises.
        The other thing I think about radio is that the national glut of radio talk shows — some call-in, some not — which has befallen our nation over the last two decades reflects and promotes not only a lack of public civility but all kinds of “isms” including racism and sexism, as well as  religious intolerance, and outright meanness. All this is presented as a form of entertainment which advertisers support with their dollars and which reaps profits for station owners.   
        I have tried to operate under and to teach my children the standard that if you could not say something to your mother or your grandmother, you probably should not say it at all.
        Very little of the poison spewed on many of these shows would I ever have uttered to my mother or grandmother.
        It is shameful and profoundly sad that all of this has filtered down to the local level — the Raleigh station being only the most recent example, under the guise of “entertainment.” If we truly believe that calling each other names publicly and polarizing the American public is a form of entertainment, then something is very wrong, indeed.
        The cousin who witnessed my son’s encounter with the sudsy washcloth now practices law in Vienna and has two little girls of his own. I have no idea whether he has had occasion to use what he learned in the Dickson’s downstair’s bathroom in his own household, but I do know that I never had any more trouble with bad language from that son, at least in my presence. He obviously got the point.
        I am giving some thought to mailing that general manager of that Raleigh radio station a bottle of liquid soap and a washcloth.
  • {mosimage}I wanted to loveSmart People (95 minutes). 

    Ellen Page is adorable, whether she is seeking revenge on child molesters or playing a sarcastic, pregnant teen (I will politely forget to mentionX-Men 3). Thomas Haden Church, star of what is possibly the single most underrated comedy of the past 10 years,The Specials, is always good for a laugh. Even so, there is something missing from this full-of-potential romantic comedy. 

    While director Noam Murro seems competent enough, perhaps writer Mark Poirier failed to give the script the kind of acerbic wit it so desperately needs. All the actors seem afflicted with frostbite, and even though there are attempts to create something profound, the entire movie comes across as a fast food version of an independent film.

    Professor Lawrence Wetherhold (Dennis Quaid) inhabits his job with the kind of depressed indifference you can only find in the middle-aged former idealist. One of his children, Vanessa (Page), desperately tries to fulfill the household duties of her late mother while seeking her mentally absent father’s approval and supporting the Republican Party. The other, James (Ashton Holmes), is building a life apart from his father. The professor’s adopted brother, Chuck (Church), enters the picture, disrupting the household and shaking up the suppressed, overachieving Vanessa. Meanwhile, over in the “B” plot, Wetherhold meets an emotionally stunted doctor named Janet (Sarah Jessica Parker).  

    There are several awkward scenes between the professor and the doctor; unfortunately for the movie, Quaid and Parker don’t share much chemistry. Uncle Chuck, who seems like an OK guy, exercises some poor judgment in relation to Vanessa, and though their relationship develops realistically up to about halfway through the movie, the film lacks the courage of its convictions. If the writer wished to make something of the sexual tension that can develop between a post-adolescent in need of a daddy figure and a bad boy uncle who lacks boundaries, a more daring approach is really called for.  

    The best scenes take place on the Carnegie Mellon campus in Pittsburgh, Pa. In fact, the campus scenes read as one long inside joke regarding the current state of academia. For instance, the professor’s failure to remember his students’ names or any details about their lives, coupled with his attitudes towards committees and office hours, will cause the college students in the audience to laugh (or groan) and everyone else to look blankly at the screen.

    This film, which looks so good on paper, does not live up to its potential. Even so, some will find its cerebral tone and focus on the mundane worth a Saturday afternoon at the theater. Fans ofRiding in Cars with Boys (2001),Juno (2007) andThe Squid and the Whale (2005) should give this one a quick peek while maintaining low expectations.  


     

  • crown.jpg

    If you haven’t noticed, the Fayetteville Observereditorials, especially the one from April 14, lean favorably toward abandoning the Crown Theatre facility and building a new performing arts center downtown. The paper quotes Commissioner Jimmy Keefe when he says “... it needs to go in a place where it can enhance other accommodations and really amplify the food and beverage tax and the occupancy tax.” 

    Sounds like a wise plan to me.

    On April 21, 2013, The Fayetteville Observer quoted Keefe when he said “It’s taxpayer money. We have a responsibility to ensure that the taxpayers who pay that.... are getting the best value for what that money is going toward.” He was talking about the benchmark study that the Civic Center Commission wanted to have done as we were trying to determine the next step for the Crown Center, as a whole. You really have the same question here, with maybe more than one answer.

    Consider that the Crown Theatre is still a viable facility today. From July 2014 to March 2015, 45 events were held in the Crown Theatre with a total of 48,868 patrons attending those events. Consider also that the theatre has had substantial taxpayer money spent on it over the last few years to upgrade the lobby area and, most recently, new HVAC systems. These were major taxpayer expenses that shouldn’t be discounted. 

    There is constant whining that the Crown Complex is in the wrong place. Let’s get over it. We can’t move it so let’s work towards improving the area to make it more appealing. At least, at that location we have ample parking, a facility that the taxpayers already own, a management company running the shows and more. A new performing arts center downtown could lack all of this.

     Does the city or county own a location downtown for this new center? Is there really ample parking within a reasonable distance for patrons to park and walk? How far do you really want to walk to get to an event? Is the infrastructure already in place for this new facility or will taxpayers have to start over and spend money to create it? Consider also, that just a short block away from the Crown Complex, Walmart is building a new store. This alone will change the face of the Gillespie Street area far more than anything government can do to improve it. Walmart brings other retailers and restaurants eager to follow in their footsteps. We need that in the Gillespie Street area.

    So where does that leave things? Personally, I think we need to either expand and improve or rebuild the performing arts building where the Crown Theatre sits today.

    The existing building can be expanded for more seating. The neighborhood will improve over the next few years from the new Walmart alone. Make the Crown Complex our local destination for entertainment in Cumberland County. More than 48,800 patrons have already have done that this last year alone. Make the new Crown Theatre a real FayPAC. One that rivals our neighbor to the north. While we are at it, let’s turn Festival Park over to Global Spectrum, the Crown’s management  company, and have some outdoor concerts and other events on a regular basis, like Walnut Creek.

    If the powers that be still think downtown is the place, we might also consider the existing AIT building. It is currently on the market, and already has a 350 seat auditorium on the ground floor. It is adjacent to a 400-space city owned parking area in the back. For $8.5 million it can be yours. Sounds like a good deal compared to the numbers we have heard.

    As usual, we have too many choices and not enough money. After living in Fayetteville all my life, I would really like to see us plan for the future instead of retro-fitting after the fact because we didn’t plan. We are not too good at looking ahead.

  •     {mosimage}

        April is Child Abuse Prevention Month. Last year in North Carolina, more than 100,000 children were reported to Child Protective Services as alleged victims of child abuse or neglect and 24,597 of these children were confirmed as victims or found in need of services. Thirty four children died from child abuse homicides during the 2006 calendar year. 
        An average of two infants are killed or left unprotected to die every year. Every two weeks, a North Carolina child is either killed by a parent or caregiver in some form of child abuse. These are alarming statistics that can haunt any community.     
        Cumberland County Schools, Fort Bragg, Pope Air Force Base, private and home schools have joined together to remember these children by hosting the “Break the Chain of Child Abuse” ceremony on Friday, April 18, at 9 a.m. at the Cumberland County Department of Social Services.
    The ceremony, in its 10th year, was started by the Guardian Ad Litem Program and relies heavily on the Cumberland County School System and social workers to disseminate the child abuse information to parents, students and the community.    
        “This is a great opportunity to highlight to the community that children can be empowered to help break the chain of child abuse,” said Valerie Haynes, district administrator for the Guardian Ad Litem Program. “During the ceremony Mayor Tony Chavonne and Fort Bragg Garrison Commander Col. David Fox will proclaim the month of April as Child Abuse Awareness and Prevention month for Cumberland County and Fort Bragg Schools.”
        The Fort Bragg Intermediate Chorus will perform inspirational songs for entertainment and The Child Advocacy Center will show videos concerning child abuse, Internet safety and the military. There will also be a presentation to inform children about appropriate and inappropriate touching.     
        Three Champion for Children Awards will be presented, with one going to a professional, one to a volunteer and one to an agency or group. The award recognizes individuals who have gone above and beyond an intervention or prevention of child abuse in Cumberland County.  The professional nominees are Lisa Pierce, Lt. Lynette Hodges, Lee Roberts, Debbie Jenkins, Pamela Love and Nan Trogdon. The volunteer nominees are Holly Van Dyke, Robert Barden and Joyce Paylor. The agency or group nominations include Blue Jean Ball Youth Planning Committee, Tiffany Pines Community Outreach Program, Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office Special Victim’s Unit and Cumberland County Multi-disciplinary Team. All nominations were provided through community referrals.           
        “The blue ribbon is the symbol that represents child abuse prevention and is a reminder that everyone has a role in protecting children and supporting families,” said Natasha Scott, social work coordinator for Cumberland County Schools.
        She noted that children who are neglected or emotionally abused may have difficulty learning to talk, find it hard to develop close relationships, be overly friendly with strangers, think badly of themselves and underachieve at school. Maltreatment includes physical abuse, sexual abuse and neglect. Most child maltreatment occurs in the family home. Young children — up to 3-years-old —  are at the greatest risk for maltreatment. “If anyone suspects a child is being abused or neglected they can call social services at 677-2450 or law enforcement,” said Scott.               
        The culmination of the ceremony involves all participants gathering around the room for a heart touching activity. 
        “At the end of the program we all gather around the room and staple our construction paper chains together and then everyone breaks the chain of child abuse,” said Haynes.                     
        The event is free and open to the public. To RSVP for the event call 321-3824.       
        If you would like more information about child abuse or resources call 486-9700. 

  • WithThe Mighty B, (Saturday, 10:30 a.m.), Nickelodeon has created another cartoon masterpiece on the level ofJimmy Neutron,SpongeBob SquarePants andThe Fairly Oddparents. Unlike those, it’s girl-oriented-man, is it ever. Amy Poehler of Saturday Night Live is the co-creator and voice of 9-year-old Bessie, a badge-crazy member of the Honeybee scout troupe. Bessie is a ball of tweener energy and desire, with maniacal round eyes, a toothless grin and excitable pigtails. She speaks with a lisp so juicy that you can practically feel the spittle flecking your cheeks. She’s relentless, as is the series itself.

    {mosimage}Bessie is bossy and confident, scarcely noticing that she’s an outcast among the more normal girls. When thwarted, however, she melts into a puddle of neediness. Her mercurial nature is mirrored in the animation, which morphs time and space with a Tex Avery-style glee. Bessie’s eyebrows pop off her head; her head rolls off her neck; her whole body shrinks and stretches to match her many moods.

    The Mighty B is one of the rare cartoon series that appeals to all ages. Kids will relate to Bessie’s runaway id; adults will appreciate the echoes ofLooney Tunes,Ren and Stimpy andThe Simpsons, along with Poehler’s deft voice work. She renders Bessie ridiculous while also conveying an affection for the li’l oddball.

    If the Honeybees gave a badge for artistic brilliance, Poehler would deserve a dozen of them.


    Today

    Friday, 8 a.m. (NBC)

    We’ve all watched Paula Abdul talk the talk as a judge onAmerican Idol. Now she must walk the walk by singing herself on Today’s concert series.

    I predict that her performance will be a little pitchy at first, but yo, check it out, she’ll start to do her thing, and when she goes up into her falsetto it’ll get crazy-exciting, y’all! DA BOMB, baby! Yii-ah!


    Duel

    Friday, 9 p.m. (ABC)

    This game show doesn’t rely on gimmicks-no over-the-top set, obnoxious host or seamy concept. Two players simply square off for $500,000, answering multiple-choice questions and betting with chips. The well-written questions move beyond the usual pop-culture piffle to cover history, geography and science, so that by the end of an episode you’ve actually learned something.

    IsDuel(a) a refreshing change of pace or (b) not tawdry enough for the American public? With trembling hand, I’m betting on (a).


    Robin Hood

    Saturday, 9 p.m. (BBC America)

    The American entertainment industry spends billions of dollars to create thrilling popcorn entertainment and usually comes up short. But the BBC’sRobin Hood gets the job done with just a few cloaks, inexpensive castle sets and bow-and-arrow props.

    Oh, and brilliant writing and acting-the two things American studios usually forget to add.

    The second-season premiere is so exciting that I had to keep repeating “I’m not 11.” Otherwise I was liable to put on a pair of tights myself, jump out the window and join the fight to save England. Robin (Jonas Armstrong) and his band must battle not only the Sheriff of Nottingham, a smiling sadist; and Guy of Gisbourne, an unsmiling sadist; but the sheriff’s deliciously evil sister, who makes Cruella De Ville look like an old softie.

    Robin isn’t conventionally handsome, with his scruffy beard and Beatle ‘65 haircut (Beatle 1165, that is). But he’s outrageously sexy when escaping from certain death over a snake pit, or shooting the ax out of an executioner’s hand. He stares down danger with style and wit.

    And when he waxes inspirational, Robin can make the hair stand up on the back of your neck. “We are not just outlaws in a forest,” he tells his band in a tense moment. “We are the spirit of England, and that is this country’s only hope!”

    I’m not 11... I’m not 11.....

     

  • fort-bragg-fair.jpg

    There are a few annual traditions in Fayetteville that inarguably mean spring has arrived and summer is well on its way. One that many look forward to is the Fort Bragg Fair, a growing tradition that is  shared and passed down through generations. 

    The fair is open to the public and everyone is invited to take part in the rides, activities and more. Expect to see, “… typical carnival rides, 28 in all, carnival food favorites and midway games,” said Rhett Stroupe the Fort Bragg MWR special events coordinator. 

    This year’s fair has an incredible lineup of entertainers. New and particularly exciting is Kachunga and the Alligator Show. The show began in 1982 and is geared toward educating people about alligators in a fun and exciting way. In every show Kachunga, an alligator expert from deep in the swamps of Florida, impresses crowds with his ability to take on the 9-foot long 300-pound alligator known for its quick reflexes and strength. It may seem like an impossible task, but Kachunga can handle the pressure like no other. No alligators are harmed in the shows. They are treated with the utmost respect and care. The show is intense, but perfectly safe to watch. Kachunga and the alligator are on stage weekdays at 6:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. Weekend shows are at 3, 5 and 7 p.m. For more information about this show, visit www.kachunga.com. 

    Much of the success of the Fort Bragg Fair is due to the dedication and the skill of the organizers. Their passion and diligence is inspired by a very simple but powerful show of gratitude and smiles once the gates open. 

    Stroupe elaborated, “It is very rewarding to see it all come together for the good of our soldiers, families and the greater Fayetteville community.  We sell fun — how good is that!?”   

    In order for attendees to have the best time possible, Stroupe noted that there are ATM’s on-site and advises attendees to always remember sunscreen. 

    General admission is $12 on weekdays and $17 on weekends. However, Stroupe noted that admission includes unlimited rides, entertainment and parking. 

    “We do not get into one’s pockets every time they want to ride something. Ride till you drop.”
    he said.

    On May 10, the fair includes a Mother’s Day special. Mothers are admitted free when accompanied by a paying child 36 inches or taller up to age 17. There is also a customer appreciation special throughout the event. Monday-Friday, from 5-7 p.m., $7 admission (includes unlimited rides).  

    “It is a great value and we have many families come multiple days taking advantage of this wonderful opportunity,” Stroupe added. 

    The Fort Bragg Fair is at the Fort Bragg Fairgrounds on Bragg Boulevard. The fair is open from April 23 until May 10. Gates open at 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and at 1 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. General admission is $12 weekdays and $17 on weekends. There are discounts for military, children, disabled and senior citizens. For more information, visit www.fortbraggmwr.com/flyersMWR/fair2015.pdf?0967f3. 

  • {mosimage}As people begin putting their motorcycles back on the road, it’s time to do a little preventive maintenance. With today’s modern technology and proper care of your bike, only a few things can leave you stranded. Number one thing: the wheels and tires. If something goes wrong with the tires on your car you will probably be all right. However, on a motorcycle, a bad tire can make it a whole lot worse. All there is between you and the pavement is a thin piece of rubber, so you must take care of your tires. 

    To properly check your wheels you should put the bike on the center stand and then put the bike in neutral. This will allow you to rotate both tires 360 degrees. You will also need to check the bike from both sides. Check the wheel for cracks or damage. If your bike has spokes, make sure they are tight. You should grab the tire on opposite sides and try to move the tire back and forth. This action will tell you if the bearings are loose.

    Continue your inspection by looking at the tread. Treads are affected by a variety of factors. These include mileage, road condition, temperature, speed and riding style. Next you need to check your tread depth. This is an important factor when riding in the rain. The less tread you have, the greater the chance of hydroplaning.

     Tire pressure is something that needs to be checked often. Tire pressure changes with temperature, altitude and weight. Motorcycle tires are not like car tires where you can often look at them and tell if they are low on air. Today’s motorcycle tire can look normal with little to no pressure in it. To check the pressure, take the bike off of the center stand and keep the pressure at the proper pounds per square inch (PSI). If your bike is like mine, you will need a light and a magnifying glass to find the recommended pressure on the side wall of the tire. Remember that each tire may require different pressure.

     Getting a flat can be a scary event if you are driving. You may not know what is going on when it happens. There are several things that can happen. The bike is hard to control. If so, ride through it. Stay in control and keep your cool. Slow the bike down and get off the road. If the bike feels heavy or sluggish you probably have a flat. Again, take control. When you check your bike, check the tire pressure.

    I always carry my own tire gauge, tire repair kit and CO2 pump. I know a lot of people who debate the pros and cons of riding with a patch in their tire. I have done it after a flat, but only until I can get a new tire on it. For me, I go for the new tire. Although a patch may be OK for some, I would rather pay for the peace of mind of knowing I have good tread underneath me.

     If there is a topic that you would like to discuss, please send your comments and suggestions to motorcycle4fun@aol.com. PLEASE RIDE SAFELY!

  • {mosimage}In Fayetteville, most of us, while making a trip to the mall, the grocery store or even the gas pump, have seen some eager artist or artists trying to sell their CD. Many of us have even been approached with the proposal, “Yo, check out my CD, it’s hot, it’s only such and such dollars.”

    Oftentimes, it’s not that you don’t want to support the artist, but it’s just that you really don’t know what you’re getting yourself into when buying, because many times you don’t know anything about the artist.

    No one wants to waste their money on a bad CD from MC I Have a Dream any more than they want to waste it on a new bad CD from Snoop Dogg. I have come to the conclusion that while listening to commercial music is always worthwhile and rewarding, at times, the independent scene is where it’s really at.

    I will still cover mainstream music, but also make more of an effort to cover independent rap through reviews and interviews. Of course, a written article can only do so much, because your ears will be the final judge if the music is hot or not. However, this column will form the “bridge between” your ears and that unknown artist in the street.

    With that being said, here is my first local hip-hop artist review featuring Kenansville’s own Felony Knowledge. His gift to the streets is titled,Real Life is Stranger then Fiction. First , Felony Knowledge (or FK for short) is a conscious rapper with somewhat of an edge. Vocally, his tone is deep and at times preachy, but not in a way that was boring like your high school chemistry teacher. Lyrically, his content resembles the subject matter of ╩Native Tongues artists De La Soul, Mos Def and Jungle Brothers. 

    FK focuses on his love for the music, the negative aspects of the street and hip hop, and elevating your thinking. No talk of big rims, shiny chains or chasing skirts on this one. Speaking of Native Tongues influence, FK’s delivery sounds a bit like Talib Kweli. Both tend to spit a rush of hurried lyrics bar for bar, which at its best keeps you engaged and gives energy to the tracks without sounding monotone, but at its worst, is too hurried and sounds like jumbled up rhymes in a line. 

    The first track isDeclaration Intro, where FK lets off some steam about ignorant rappers and everything that is bad in the game that he is not. The beat will have your head nodding, and the repetition of drums at the end of FK’s bars fit his voice like a glove. One of the songs that shows FK at his best is the thought provoking and searingStand Behind Me, where he drops lines like: “Bad boys never talk we still move in silence/success is the best revenge that’s resort come to violence/ you get rained on if you’re not under the umbrella/ I make moves like a king while most possess the four devils/ greed, hate, jealousy and envy╔ .”

    The weaknesses of Felony’s album revolve around his flow being too energetic and packed with words and meaning. He seems to put as many words into each bar as possible and it doesn’t ride the beat as well as it could. “Doin’ His Job” is a stellar track with a hypnotic neck-snapping beat by Cardiair Geezus, and verse-for-verse FK does his thing, but the words to the hooks sound rushed together. If Felony’s words were food for thought, sometimes his wise words would come off as too-big spoonfuls. His words come off much better when he takes his time on tracks such asI Wanna Talk To You, which features a laid back melodic beat and some a capella breaks where Felony does his thing and gives you time to listen.

    Overall, Real Life is a worthy buy, and if you catch Felony out in the streets pushing his disc or at a show performing, pick it up and give him a listen. What Felony represents is a voice of the hip hop generation that actually has something to say rather than obsessing over the usual cars, drugs and money you often hear on the radio. 

    Check Felony out at www.myspace.com/FK72884.

  • margaret-040616.jpg

    A million years ago when the Precious Jewels were very young, I was like many other working mothers, stressed and exhausted most of the time. I recognized that our children were my main responsibility, but they were not my only responsibility, a reality that often left me overwhelmed. One afternoon when a shrieking toddler refused to go down for a nap he and I both desperately needed, I picked him up and plopped him into his crib with such force the child actually bounced!

    I was so shocked at myself that I fled his room, shutting the door behind me while he wailed, no doubt flinging the toddler equivalent of curses in my direction. My first thought was how could I possibly have manhandled my precious child that way. My second was the realization is that this is how child abuse begins and too often escalates into something hideous.

    How often have we heard a parent, or a parent’s significant other, say, “He was crying, and I just couldn’t stand it anymore?” Shaken Baby Syndrome, which often results in permanent brain damage, is associated with such statements. Sometimes the damage is not physical, but mental and emotional. Statements like, “I could not help it. She was flirting with me,” are associated with sexual abuse. Sometimes it is all of the above, and abusers either cannot or do not bother to justify their behaviors. However it occurs, abuse of a child is a crime that keeps on giving for decades, for a lifetime. A quick look at memoirs in any library will confirm that sad fact.

    Nothing erases child abuse, but children can be helped to deal with what has occurred in their lives through competent, caring and trained intervention. Cumberland County and our surrounding neighbors are blessed with just such a place for children, the Child Advocacy Center. When child abuse is discovered, the CAC integrates services for that child — medical, psychological, legal and social so that the child, especially very young ones, do not have to relate their traumatic stories time and time again in all sorts of different environments. It coordinates continuing services, particularly important for children who have been removed from their families and for whom stability and continuity are critical issues. This coordinated approach saves our community about half a million dollars a year and saves children heartache.

    All of that is the good news.

    The bad news is that 661 children had need of CAC’s services last year, and there are surely others who could benefit from them but have not, because the abuse has yet to be detected by caring adults or reported by brave ones. 

    I asked CAC staff to tell me about some of the children whom they have served. Obviously, privacy is paramount, but here are three real stories. 

    “I (CAC staff) received a call one afternoon … She was in tears and shared with me that her mother got rid of her cat while she was at school. She was not sure what mother had done with her cat but said her mother hated the cat. I listened to her and tried to ease her pain but in the end had to say that the issue with the cat would need to be worked out with her mother. After the phone call I thought about how sad it was that a child would call me …”

    A mother and child came to the CAC … They were here regarding sexual abuse. In talking with the Victim Advocate, the mother was sharing how thankful she was for our center and the treatment she and her daughter received. She stated she wished she could share with others about her experience but it would be too difficult. 

    “We interviewed a 7-year-old-boy for abuse. He was very quiet most of the time … I finally engaged him with a board game and offered him a snack and something to drink. I was taken aback when he started to leave and asked if he had to return. I explained he did not … He looked at me and said, “Lady, all the people here have been so nice to me. If you want me to, I will come back.”

    Heartstrings tugging?

    So what can people like you and me do to help?

    CAC and agency staff are professionals, so there is no need for volunteers in the traditional sense, but there is a huge need for advocates and support. The CAC offers Darkness to Light, a national training program to educate parents, grandparents and others who work with children to recognize and prevent child sexual abuse and how to react appropriately when it does occur.

    And there is always money. The CAC has successfully met the Lily Endowment Challenge of the Cumberland Community Foundation (full disclosure — I co-chaired this effort with Joyce Loughlin), which is a great help in building and safeguarding CAC’s future. In CAC’s endowment building campaign, more really is, well, more.

    Wouldn’t you want a child you love to have these services if he or she needed them?


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