Local News

FTCC’s paralegal technology program offers rewarding career

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Tuesday, 07 July 2020

Written by Matthew Grobosky

Do you enjoy watching shows like “How to Get Away with Murder,” “Bull” or “All Rise”? Have you ever thought about a career in law? If you answered yes, then perhaps the paralegal profession is the career choice for you.

Although a paralegal cannot practice law, as a trained professional, they do much of the behind-the-scenes work that ultimately influences the final product. Some of the work involves interviewing clients, drafting legal documents, assisting in trials, conducting legal research and investigating the facts of a case.

Being a paralegal can also lead to career advancement. Advancement opportunities may exist within a law firm or private business or as a steppingstone to law school.
There are also career opportunities for paralegals outside the traditional legal field. Businesses recognize the value of employing paralegals. There currently is, and will continue to be, an increase in the need for trained paralegals in such areas as finance, insurance, consulting and health care.

At present, the U.S. Department of Labor projects the need for paralegals will increase at a minimum yearly rate of 8% through the year 2024.The Bureau of Labor, U.S. Department of Labor, in its “Occupational Outlook Handbook,” reports that as of May 2019, the median annual wage for paralegals and legal assistants was $51,740, an amount $11,930 higher than the median wage total for all occupations of $39,810.

If you are ready for a rewarding and challenging career as a paralegal, then Fayetteville Technical Community College and its paralegal technology program are for you. FTCC offers two programs in paralegal studies: the associate degree in applied science program and the diploma program. The diploma program is a fast track for those who have already completed a bachelor’s degree. Both programs are approved by the American Bar Association and the North Carolina State Bar Association. Both programs are excellent and will get you to the place you want to go.

Classes for the 2020 fall semester begin Aug. 17. Register now for fall classes. You can also reach out to an FTCC admissions professional at admissions@faytechcc.edu.
For a high-quality education at an affordable price, make the smart choice for your education. Also, make the smart choice to register early for your fall classes. FTCC is a place where you can pursue your dream career. FTCC is a military-friendly college and ranked fifth in the nation by Military Times Best for Vets (2020).

Contact me if you have questions about the paralegal programs. I can be reached by phone at 910-678-7379 or by email at groboskm@faytechcc.edu. You can also visit the FTCC website at www.faytechcc.edu. Enter “paralegal” as a search term using the search tool on the homepage to read about program details for both the associate degree and diploma programs.

Fayetteville monuments honor rich history

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Tuesday, 07 July 2020

Written by a Staff Report

Fayetteville has a rich wartime history, much of it memorialized in Cross Creek Cemetery. One familiar story regards the U.S. Armory, which the Confederates appropriated and used to manufacture weapons, including the Fayetteville Rifle. In March 1865, Fayetteville was visited by Union Gen. William T. Sherman, who destroyed the armory building. Fayetteville is also the site of North Carolina’s first Confederate monument. Since 1868, North Carolinians have been building monuments commemorating the people and events of the Civil War.

The first Civil War monument erected in North Carolina was in Cross Creek Cemetery #1 in Fayetteville. Led by Anna Kyle and Maria Spear, a group of local women raised money to build a monument. Kyle, who served as a nurse in the hospital during the Civil War, established the Confederate Burial Ground soon after Sherman and his army left Fayetteville. She and Fayetteville Mayor Archbald McLean selected a spot to inter the soldiers in the back section of the cemetery overlooking Cross Creek. The Rev. Joseph C. Huske of St. John’s Episcopal Church officiated at a mass burial later in the spring.

The remains of 30 Confederate soldiers, who had fought Sherman’s army and had been buried in various places around town, were reinterred in the new Confederate section of Cross Creek Cemetery. The ladies pieced together a quilt and sold raffle tickets not only in Fayetteville but also in Chapel Hill, Tarboro and Wilmington. Their goal was to raise $1,000. In a war-ravaged economy, they only managed to raise one-third of that sum. Martha Lewis won the quilt in May 1868 and sent the prize to former Confederate president Jefferson Davis.

The ladies employed a local stonemason to construct and install the monument. The memorial was the work of George Lauder, the most productive stonecutter in North Carolina during the 19th century. Lauder, a native of Scotland, also worked on the State Capitol in Raleigh and the Fayetteville Arsenal before opening his own marble yard in Fayetteville in 1845. On Dec. 30, 1868, the monument to the Confederate dead at Cross Creek Cemetery, the first in North Carolina, was dedicated. It was taken down by its owners last week.

This was the fifth Confederate monument raised in the South following the end of the war. The monument consists of a white marble column with a cross at the top. The base of the column contains inscriptions on all four sides. Stanzas from the poem “The Bivouac of the Dead” by Theodore O’Hara appear on the front. Cross Creek Cemetery #1 is the oldest public cemetery in Fayetteville, begun in 1785. The cemetery contains over 1,100 grave markers and is the burial site of many early settlers and notable persons from throughout Fayetteville’s history.

Among the gravestones is a tall stone monument for Revolutionary War hero Robert Rowan, who was the leading town patriot as well as the organizer and a signer of the Liberty Point Resolves.

In the late 1860s, John R. Tolar dedicated another memorial in this section. It honored his father and eight uncles who were killed or disabled during the war. In addition to the Confederate dead, many Civil War veterans — both Southern and Northern — are interred in this part of the cemetery.

Local leaders seek healing and reconciliation in Fayetteville

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Tuesday, 07 July 2020

Written by Jeff Thompson

Fayetteville Mayor Mitch Colvin has created two City Council-led committees to review policies related to the city’s healing and reconciliation movement. “It’s my intent that we take a hard look at what we do from both an internal and external perspective at the city level,” said Colvin.

Councilwoman Tisha Waddell will lead an internal review committee, and Councilman Larry Wright will lead the external review committee as they relate to racial inequality. Colvin and Mayor pro tem Kathy Jensen will serve as co-chairs of both committees, which will propose mission statements during the Aug. 3 City Council work session. With more than 1,600 city employees, Colvin said there are a lot of personal interactions among them and the citizens they serve. “It is important that we ensure that our policies, and most importantly, our actions, reflect equality and fairness for all,” Colvin stated.

Open letter from PWC executive

Public Works Commission CEO David Trego posted a message this month on the utility’s website, encouraging customers to keep their accounts under control. Trego noted that state government issued orders during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic providing utility customers certain protections. The order has allowed residential customers not to pay their utility bills in full without fear of having service turned off. The idea was to provide short-term economic relief for customers. Two weeks before the order was issued, on March 16, PWC had already stopped cutoffs for past due bills. Then in late May, the protections were extended.

“We want to help customers manage overdue balances,” Trego said. “If you are unable to pay your PWC bill in full, we encourage customers, who are able, to make partial payments ... so that the total amount due is manageable when the protection period expires. I want to thank our customers for how you’ve helped our community and thank you in advance for staying diligent in the coming weeks as we all work together to get through these trying times,” Trego added.

Fort Bragg’s name will not be changed anytime soon

The Army has announced several measures to reduce racial bias in the military justice system, but renaming posts bearing the names of Confederate military commanders will have to wait for a Pentagon-wide order. “We are advisers,” said Army Chief of Staff Gen. James McConville during a recent press conference. “We pass military advice to our civilian leaders, and they are working through that trying to come up with a long-term and enduring policy.”

In early June, Army leaders and Defense Secretary Mark Esper said they were open to discussing the renaming of Army installations that bear the names of Confederate generals. But President Trump tweeted that his administration “will not even consider” the move. That apparently does not mean the idea is dead. Congress could ultimately push the issue forward. There are at least 10 Army posts named for prominent Confederates, including Fort Bragg. Gen. Braxton Bragg commanded Southern rebel forces during the Civil War.

Pet adoptions are again available in Cumberland County

The animal control department is making pet adoptions available by appointment during the COVID-19 situation. Animal control staff members wear face masks and observe physical distancing protocols. They ask members of the public to do the same while in the animal control building on Corporation Drive off Tom Starling Road. Pet adoption fees are $28 through the end of July, thanks to a grant from PetSmart Charities. Hours of operation for pet adoptions, stray animal intakes and owner claims are 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, and 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday. All services are by appointment only. Call 910-321-6852 to schedule an appointment.

It’s summer vacation time for local government leaders

City and county elected officials take time off in July every year. Fayetteville City Council and the Board of County Commissioners have not scheduled regular meetings this month. The members try to take their vacations during the month. “If a special or emergency meeting is needed, then one is scheduled,” said Assistant County Manager Sally Shutt. “County management and our department directors coordinate leave time within their offices to ensure sufficient staff coverage.”

Shutt added that technology allows senor staff members to work remotely if needed, even while on vacation. The same is true in city government. Senior management team members vary their schedules so that at least one of them is on duty weekly.

Imagine not missing a day of school
Cape Fear High School graduate Hannah Coggins completed her school experience knowing that she had not missed a single day of school in her life. Coggins not only celebrated completing high school, she was proud to have achieved a perfect attendance record, according to CFHS Principal Brian Edkins. “I have completed my entire school experience, from daycare to senior year, with perfect attendance,” Coggins said. “My inspiration for this accomplishment is my father; he pushed me to do my best.”
Coggins’ family is confident she will continue the same study ethic as she makes plans to attend Fayetteville Technical Community College in the fall to become a physical therapist assistant.

Questions to ask when nearing retirement

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Tuesday, 07 July 2020

Written by submitted by Debbie Best

The recent market volatility has affected just about everybody’s financial and investment situations — so, if you were planning to retire soon, will it still be possible?
Of course, the answer depends somewhat on your employment situation. With so many people’s jobs being affected by the coronavirus pandemic, your retirement plans may also have been thrown into confusion. But assuming your employment is still stable, what adjustments in your financial and investment strategies might you need to make for your retirement?

Here are a few areas to consider, and some questions to ask yourself:

• Retirement goals Now is a good time to review your retirement goals and assess your progress toward achieving them. You may want to work with a financial professional to determine if the current environment has materially affected your goals or if you need to make modest adjustments to stay on track.

• Retirement lifestyle You probably created your investment strategy with a particular type of retirement lifestyle in mind. Perhaps you had planned to become a world traveler when your working days were over. Of course, in the near term, extensive travel may not be possible, anyway, but once we move past the pandemic, your freedom to roam will likely return. But if your investment portfolio is not where you thought it might be, can you (or do you want to) adapt your lifestyle plans? And can you accept the same flexibility with your other lifestyle goals, such as purchasing a vacation home, pursuing hobbies, and so on?

• Tradeoffs Based on your retirement goals and your willingness to adjust your retirement lifestyle, you’ll want to consider your options and tradeoffs. For example, would you be willing to work more years than you had originally planned in exchange for greater confidence in your ability to enjoy a comfortable retirement lifestyle? By working longer, you can continue adding to your IRA and 401(k) or similar retirement plan, and you may be able to push back the date you start receiving Social Security to receive bigger monthly benefits. You might also review your budget for opportunities to reduce spending today and potentially save more toward your retirement goals.

• Social Security You can file for Social Security benefits as early as 62, but you can get 25% to 30% more if you wait until your full retirement age, which is likely between 66 and 67. As you created your retirement plans, you likely also calculated when you would take Social Security, but you may need to review that choice. If you postpone retirement a few years, what effect will that have on when you choose to take Social Security and, consequently, the size of your benefits? You won’t want to make a hasty decision — once you start taking Social Security, you can’t undo your choice.

This is certainly a challenging time to be entering retirement, and you’ll have some questions to answer. But even in the midst of uncertainty, you still have many choices.

Consider them carefully and make the decisions that work for you.