Local News

Local student wins AAFES sweepstakes

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Friday, 12 February 2021

Written by Keyuri Parab

Sara Cockrell, a Max Abbott Middle School student from Fayetteville won a $2,000 Army & Air Force Exchange Services gift card, the first-place prize in the Exchange’s worldwide "You Made the Grade" sweepstakes.

The Exchange, a military retail store, presented the gift card to the seventh grader on Jan. 29, her thirteenth birthday, at the North Post Exchange located on Fort Bragg.

“I am very excited, I was like how much again and my mom said ‘$2,000’ and I said ‘no, it can’t be that much,’” Cockrell said. “I wouldn't have expected the $2000, I wouldn’t have thought I was being rewarded for having good grades.”

Sara was selected from amongst 500 high-achieving military students from all over the world who qualified for the sweepstakes by maintaining a B average or higher.

We are so happy on her behalf and she's such a hard worker in school, so she really deserves it, Sue Cockrell, Sara’s mother said.

Students with qualifying grades are encouraged to enter the sweepstakes to win a $2,000, $1,500 or $500 Exchange gift card.

Cockrell said she will be using the money to buy an iPad for herself that she had been saving up for since the summer, to draw on and play Roblox on.

“She always does her homework, I don't have to ask her to do it, I have had no issues with her during virtual learning, which she's done all year,” Sue Cockrell said. “She gets up in the morning, she's very self-motivated.”

Cockrell was presented with her prize by the Exchange’s manager Amanda Hartfield, general manager for Fort Bragg Exchange, and the retail team at the Exchange that sang “Happy Birthday” for her and presented her with a cake.

In attendance to congratulate Cockrell were Fort Bragg Garrison Commander Col. Scott Pence, Fort Bragg Garrison Command Sgt. Maj. Jeffrey Loehr and Max Abbott Middle School Principal Carla Crenshaw.

“Sara is a wonderful young lady, she works very hard, she’s one of those students that teachers love to have in class, she helps others and she's kind,” Crenshaw said. “I am so very proud of her.”

Pictured: Sara Cockrell, a seventh grader at Max Abbott Middle School, won the Army & Air Force Exchange Services worldwide "You Made the Grade" sweepstakes.

Combat honors long overdue

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Friday, 12 February 2021

Written by Jeff Thompson

A World War II combat veteran is being honored for his service with the 82nd Airborne Division’s 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment. Retired Sgt. 1st Class Marvin Cornett of Auburn, Calif., will receive the Bronze Star and Purple Heart medals that he earned nearly 76 years ago in a ceremony scheduled for Feb. 22. Cornett turns 100 on July 1.

Cornett participated in the combat parachute assault over Salerno, Italy, on Jan. 31, 1944, and stormed ashore at Anzio Beach, according to an 82nd Airborne Division news release. When the Army did not follow up on the award recommendations for his actions, Cornett did not pursue the matter. He was routinely reassigned stateside to Fort Benning, Ga., where he served as an instructor. Cornett went on to serve a full career.

Years later, Heritage Arsenal of Colorado Springs, Colo., found missing records of the Bronze Star and Purple Heart awards that never were conferred. An official of the organization who had been an Army Green Beret helped guide the family through the process of requesting the awards.

The ceremony is being coordinated by Heritage Arsenal and the Cornett family and will be hosted by the American Legion in Auburn. Maj. Gen. Christopher Donahue, Commanding General of the 82nd Airborne Division, will be the virtual guest speaker. U.S. Army recruiters will present the awards to Cornett who will be wearing his dress uniform during the event.

Pictured: Retired Army Sgt. 1st Class Marvin Cornett

County hosts vaccination clinics this week

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Monday, 08 February 2021

Written by Staff Report

The Cumberland County Department of Public Health will be hosting three COVID-19 vaccination clinics this week for people in Groups 1 and 2, which includes healthcare workers with direct patient contact, long-term care facility staff and residents and individuals ages 65 and older.

The County does not have a timeline for when the state will move to Group 3 – frontline essential workers.

Drive-thru clinics are scheduled at the Crown Complex from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on the following days. Appointment blocks run from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. After 3 p.m., vaccinations are given on a standby basis for people in the eligible groups.
Tuesday, Feb. 9 – second doses only of both Pfizer and Moderna available.
Wednesday, Feb. 10 - first doses of the Moderna vaccine and second doses of Pfizer and Moderna. Due to the supply, no first doses of Pfizer will be issued.
Friday, Feb. 12 – first doses of Moderna and second doses of Pfizer and Moderna.

Receiving Your Second Dose
There is no clinic scheduled on Saturday. The vaccination record individuals received for their first dose indicates the earliest date to receive the second dose. It is not an appointment card.
The second dose should be administered as close to the recommended interval as possible (three weeks after the first dose for Pfizer or one month for Moderna). The second dose of Pfizer and Moderna vaccines may be scheduled for administration up to six weeks (42 days) after the first dose.

There are two ways to receive your second dose:
• Use the first-come, first-served line. We encourage you to do this on Tuesdays, during our second dose only clinics; however, this option is also available on Wednesdays and Fridays. Though afternoons are designated for first-come, first-served, we can accommodate first-come, first-served in the mornings depending on turnout.
• Schedule an appointment using the appointment request form. You will receive an email confirmation with your second dose appointment.

Visit the County’s vaccine website for information on how to request an appointment block.

Find a Ride
The public can request transportation assistance when making an online appointment for the COVID-19 Vaccination Clinics. Individuals who select the option for assistance with transportation to the vaccination site will be contacted by the Cumberland County Community Transportation Program after their appointment has been scheduled.

Same-day transportation appointments cannot be accommodated.

Visit the County’s vaccination page at co.cumberland.nc.us/covid19vaccine for information or to complete the appointment block request form or call 910-678-7657 weekdays from 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.

2020 murders in Fayetteville match all time high

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Monday, 25 January 2021

Written by Jeff Thompson

The city of Fayetteville has matched a record set several years ago in the number of homicides recorded this past year.

Police spokesman Sgt. Jeremy Glass says 33 homicides in 2020 include the shooting death of a 7-year-old child and two manslaughter cases. On average, Fayetteville homicides number in the mid-twenties annually.

Glass said authorities are waiting on the state’s chief medical examiner’s findings in two other cases.

The detective division is compiling an annual report which will include the identities of murder victims, the alleged perpetrators, causes of death and arrests in every homicide.

A formal report will be issued in February according to Glass.