Local News

FTCC tackles truck driver shortage with new training center

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Tuesday, 07 October 2025

Written by Jaclyn Shambaugh

The nation is facing a longstanding truck driver shortage, and Fayetteville Technical Community College is doing its part to tackle the problem in the Sandhills Region and across the state.
FTCC broke ground on Phase I of the Regional Supply Chain Management & Logistics Center on Sept. 15, celebrating the clearing of a 58-acre site on Old Raeford Road that will serve as the future home of the college’s truck driver training program and fleet maintenance technician program. The $21.2 million project will be built in two phases. Phase I consists of a 600-by-900-foot driving and maneuvering pad that will provide vital training space for students in the Commercial Driver’s License Program. The 13-acre pad will accommodate up to 14 tractor trailer trucks and include a gear shifting track and skid area. The first phase is expected to open in December 2025. The truck pad will provide vital training space for FTCC students, as well as CDL students from regional partners Bladen Community College and Robeson Community College, serving as a regional hub for training allowing all three colleges to expand enrollment for the trucking and supply chain sectors.
FTCC President Dr. Mark Sorrells said the new facility will reduce student waitlists and streamline the region’s workforce pipeline.
“The transportation industry urgently needs more qualified truck drivers to strengthen the supply chain for our state and nation,” Sorrells said. “This new facility will significantly expand training capacity across all three colleges, enabling us to produce more graduates to meet the growing demand for skilled professionals in the transportation sector.”
Phase II will focus on the construction of a 5,000-square-foot building to house classrooms, offices and a two-bay garage for the maintenance of tractors and trailers. The second phase will go out to bid in early 2026.
The construction project is made possible through $20.7 million in funding from the North Carolina General Assembly and a $500,000 grant from the Golden LEAF Foundation. To support the growth of the program, the Cannon Foundation, Inc. and the Charles A. Cannon Charitable Trust awarded FTCC over $400,000 to purchase trucks, equipment and supplies.
The transportation industry is experiencing an ongoing national truck driver shortage, with the American Trucking Association in August predicting a shortage of 115,000 drivers this year. FTCC’s current 10-week CDL program trains dozens of students each year with a 100-percent job placement rate; however, space and equipment limitations of the current training area on FTCC’s Fayetteville campus creates an enrollment waitlist that keeps students sidelined for as many as six months prior to enrollment.
Former Representative John Szoka and Chairman Kirk deViere of the Cumberland County Board of Commissioners, who was a member of the N.C. Senate when the project was funded, both offered remarks at the groundbreaking ceremony.
“Every single dime we ever voted for to come to FTCC has been put to great use, without a doubt,” Szoka said. “That didn’t start with me in the legislature. That started well before, with people bringing money to FTCC — not just because it’s our local community college and we love it, but because FTCC gets the job done.”
DeViere said the facility was the result of a “shared commitment” among the parties involved to prepare students for the workforce. “This state-of-the-art center will ensure that our students graduate, not just educated, but career ready and more importantly, job ready,” he said.

Health & Wellness: Body, soul: When weight loss leads to a different problem, surgery can help

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Tuesday, 07 October 2025

Written by Lia Tremblaya

So much of the work done at Cape Fear Valley Plastic Surgery is intended simply to help patients love what they see in the mirror. But not every transformation is purely cosmetic—many are rooted in a serious medical necessity .
That was the case for Meagan Deitz. Before her surgery, she had already experienced a major physical transformation: dropping from 280 pounds to 165.
That too was for more than cosmetic reasons. Deitz had decided to take action when her sister, Kayla, died at just 28 from a sudden cardiomyopathy.
“Heart issues run in my family, along with weight struggles,” she said. “I needed to do something.”
She focused on her diet and committed to a habit of 10,000 steps a day, and in just over a year, she had dropped more than 100 pounds.
But her lighter frame came with a new problem. The rapid weight loss had left her with loose skin, including an overhang of excess skin and fat called an abdominal pannus. She developed hidradenitis suppurativa (HS), a condition in which skin-to-skin friction can lead to painful bumps and sores that become infected. The wounds often reemerge after healing or don’t heal at all.
Deitz’s HS was about as bad as it gets: Stage 3, with deep wounds that had to be packed routinely to support healing and reduce pain. The discomfort interfered with her daily life, including time spent with her son, Lucas, who is now 5.
“It was the worst feeling,” she said. “I was super depressed all the time. I was not able to move around a whole lot, and I felt like I was missing out on a lot of my son’s life.”
After trying several medications with no real success, Deitz’s primary care provider suggested a panniculectomy—a surgery to remove the hanging skin and fat on her abdomen. That led her to Leif Nordberg, MD, a board-certified plastic surgeon whose expertise ranges from facial cosmetic surgery to post-mastectomy breast reconstruction and beyond.
“The entire experience with Dr. Nordberg was amazing,” she said. “His whole team, really. I felt happy to go there, and I never felt rushed. They took their time, even if I kept them for 10 extra minutes just asking questions.”
After some time to get the insurance authorizations settled, Deitz had the surgery in December of last year. She felt some trepidation going in, but by the end of that day, she was resting comfortably at home.
“I wouldn’t say it was pain-free,” she said, “but the recovery was significantly better than any other surgery I’ve ever had. Going home the same day, and being with my son and my husband instead of being stuck in the hospital, was amazing.”
By March, she was cleared to resume all physical activity, including a weightlifting routine to strengthen her new body. And she found it easier than ever to keep up with little Lucas.
“He is super energetic,” she said. “Before the surgery, I was barely able to lift him because of the pain. He’s so much happier now that I can do more things with him.”
And although her surgery was not purely for cosmetic reasons, Deitz is pleased with how she looks after a few months of healing.
“My biggest shock was the scar,” she said. “It looks amazing, considering the size of the incision I had to have. I’m so happy with it.”
Deitz said she was surprised to get a referral to plastic surgery, but the results have been beyond her expectations.
“Even my husband has noticed, my mood has been so much happier,” she said. “I want to live a long life for my son, and that is probably the biggest freedom the surgery has given me.”

(Photo courtesy of Cape Fear Valley Health)