07Kinlaws SupermarketAnother 11 ex-offenders will be getting jobs when Kinlaw’s Supermarket finishes its $500,000 store expansion. Owner Tommy Kinlaw said his store in East Fayetteville needs additional meat processing space plus more cold storage and expanded distribution capacity. “We are very pleased that this expansion will create local jobs for people who have had difficulty finding employment due to their past,” Kinlaw said.

The company regularly demonstrates its commitment to the community by actively participating in the local re-entry program, which finds jobs for former convicts.

“Our city is committed to supporting existing businesses and attracting new jobs and investment,” said Fayetteville Mayor Mitch Colvin.

The 11 full-time jobs will provide the new employees an average annual wage of $31,158, including comprehensive benefits.

“When people have served their time, we want them to become productive members of society for their own success and for the safety and success of our communities,” Governor Roy Cooper said.

Kinlaw noted that he has hired dozens of former offenders over the years. In addition to the Sapona Road store expansion, the company has purchased a second supermarket on Gillespie Street. “More jobs will be created for this store in the coming months, and hiring is expected to start immediately,” he said.

Campbell Soup cooks up a local deal

Campbell Soup Supply Company, in partnership with DHL Supply Chain, has selected the Cedar Creek Business Center in Fayetteville for a new, state-of-the-art distribution center. The deal became public several weeks ago under a code name. The companies plan to invest more than $40 million in the project, which will result in the creation of 140 full-time and 55 part-time jobs.

In October, incentives for the project, which had not been publicly disclosed, were unanimously approved by the Cumberland County Board of Commissioners and Fayetteville City Council. The company will receive grants of not more than 75 percent of new real property taxes for seven years. The county also agreed to sell the company approximately 98 acres in the industrial park for about $1.23 million, which is more than $500,000 less than the fair market value.

DHL is partnering with Campbell to develop a network of four distribution centers across the country. Campbell Soup has a manufacturing plant in nearby Maxton. It employs more than 800 workers in the production of several popular lines of soups. Construction of the local 627,000-square foot plant is scheduled to begin early this year.

“DHL Supply Chain and Campbell chose Cumberland County for its skilled workforce, proximity to major transportation hubs and favorable business climate,” said Governor Roy Cooper.

A supply chain is a system of integrated logistics that functions in harmony. Procurement, production, planning and transportation play vital roles in a supply chain. These processes also drive a company’s support functions such as marketing, finance, human resources, information technology and product development.

Murders down from 2016

Last year was unofficially the second-deadliest year on record for Fayetteville homicides. The alltime- record of 31 violent deaths was set in 2016. The unofficial total for 2017 was 26. September was the most violent month of the year with five murders investigated by Fayetteville police. Twenty-five of the deaths were classified by police as murders. The perpetrator of one of the homicides was charged with manslaughter. There was one double-homicide. And in one instance, a man murdered his wife and then took his own life. Suicide is not by legal definition homicide.

By contrast, the city of Durham counted only 20 homicides last year. At last count, there were 78 [sic] homicides in Raleigh.

Update on paratrooper’s death

An Army investigation into a Fort Bragg paratrooper’s death two years ago concluded that the soldier’s improper exit from the plane caused his death. Spc. Nicholas Roberts, 27, was killed instantly when the static line cut his neck, according to the report. The accident occurred April 28, 2016, during a night jump onto Sicily Drop Zone at Fort Bragg. It was Roberts’ seventh jump, but his first at night with a loaded rucksack and modular airborne weapons case.

His inexperience was cited as a contributing factor to the accident. But, the report also cited poor performance by jumpmasters, who failed to attend a pre-jump training session. The jumpmasters were formally reprimanded.

Roberts was a member of 3rd Brigade, 82nd Airborne Division. Video and witnesses indicated that his MAWC was rigged too loosely. As he handed off his static line just before jumping from the aircraft, “his MAWC was positioned at an improper angle and appears nearly horizontal, as he turned in to the paratroop door,” according to the report. The MAWC, in which the soldier’s rifle and other gear were enclosed, struck the door of the C-17 as Roberts exited the aircraft, causing him to spin.

Teen pregnancy down in Cumberland County

Teen pregnancy rates locally have dropped more than 13 percent from 2015 to 2016, according to the North Carolina State Center for Health Statistics. In Cumberland County, there were 398 pregnancies among 15- to 19-year-old girls, which equates to a rate of 37 pregnancies per 1,000 girls of that age range. That ranks Cumberland County 23rd out of 100 counties in the state.

Statewide, North Carolina’s teen pregnancy rate fell 7 percent. Additional highlights from the data indicate that North Carolina’s teen pregnancy rate has fallen 73 percent since it peaked in 1990.

Pregnancies of white, black and Hispanic teens dropped 9, 8 and 4 percent, respectively. Pregnancy rates among African-American and Hispanic teens remain twice as high as those among whites.

Nationwide, researchers attribute pregnancy declines to increased use of birth control and birth control methods. The Health Department’s Teen Wellness Clinic assists patients who are 12-19 years old. Teens receive confidential, high-quality, friendly health care. The clinic provides numerous birth control methods including condoms, natural family planning, birth control pills, the patch, the NuvaRing and Depo Provera.

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