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Publisher's Pen: Lasting legacies: Honoring three pillars of Fayetteville’s business and community spirit

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Tuesday, 16 September 2025

Written by Bill Bowman

The loss of Bill Hurley—with his vision, sense of humor, and passion for the City of Fayetteville—was a tremendous blow to our progressive community. The memorial and designation of Hurley Plaza at the gateway to Segra Stadium is a fitting tribute to his legacy.
However, the passing of two other significant members of our community, Don Price and Bob Smith, within the span of a week, has left many of us shocked and deeply saddened. We find ourselves asking: Who will replace them? Who can replace them?
In their own unique ways, these three gentlemen were icons in Fayetteville. I will always be grateful for having known them, worked with them, done business with them, and most of all, called them my friends.
Fayetteville is a city built on service, vision, and heart—and few individuals have embodied those virtues more profoundly than these three passionate entrepreneurs: Bill Hurley of Hurley Insurance, Bob Smith of Copiers Plus, and Don Price of LaFayette Ford.
Faith, Family, and Service
These men were far more than successful businessmen. They were God-fearing men, devoted husbands, fathers, and grandfathers. They were active community leaders, faithful stewards of their values, and tireless champions for the people of Fayetteville, Fort Bragg, and all of Cumberland County.
Each built and nurtured locally owned businesses rooted in integrity, excellence, and genuine human connection. Their faith guided their decisions, their families inspired their purpose, and our entire community benefited from their unwavering love and commitment.
Bill Hurley
Bill built a thriving business and legacy career with Nationwide Insurance Company. He offered more than policies—he offered peace of mind and friendship. His reputation for honesty and compassion made him a cornerstone of Fayetteville’s business landscape. Always respectful and never without a smile, Bill’s legacy is now proudly carried on by his sons, Mark, Brad, and Todd.
Bob Smith
Bob, founder and owner of Copiers Plus, revolutionized how local businesses operate with his philosophy of putting people before profit. His gentle nature, tireless work ethic, and dedication to customer care earned him respect throughout the industry and across every community he touched.
Bob loved Fayetteville, supported it, and served it. He wasn’t afraid to take chances or embrace the endless wave of technological innovation in his field. He placed complete trust in those he hired and mentored. Like Bill, Bob groomed family members to carry on the Copiers Plus legacy—where the “Plus” truly stands for service.
Personal note: I’ve used Copiers Plus equipment since the very first day I opened my newspaper business nearly thirty years ago. And for decades, like clockwork, 50 Cape Fear Kiwanis Club pancake tickets would mysteriously appear on my desk each year in my absence. Go figure—no one could turn him down
Don Price
Don, owner of LaFayette Ford, was a visionary businessman filled with kindness, empathy, and a deep love for Cumberland County and humanity as a whole.
Like many residents, I bought my first Fayetteville vehicle from Don back in the seventies.
Twenty years later, I purchased my first Up & Coming Weekly delivery vehicle from him—without ever stepping foot on the lot. I called the dealership, told them what I needed, and they delivered it to my front door. Sold! Trust and honesty—that’s how business used to be done.
Year after year, I watched Don’s success grow as LaFayette Ford became a symbol of integrity, reliability, and community leadership. His support extended to Fort Bragg, the Chamber of Commerce, the Fayetteville Kiwanis Club, and countless other local initiatives.
Like Bill and Bob, Don’s legacy will be carried on by his wife, Karen, and their children, Tim and Kim.
In all three families, the phrase inspired by Ralph Waldo Emerson rings true: “The apple never falls far from the tree.”
A Community Forever Changed
Together, these three men spent decades lending their time, talents, and resources to make Fayetteville and Cumberland County a better place to live, work, and play.
From civic clubs like Kiwanis to youth programs, military family support, education, infrastructure, and nonprofit organizations—their fingerprints are on everything that represents progress in our community.
They didn’t just talk about change—they made it happen. They didn’t just build businesses—they built bridges between people, organizations, and neighborhoods. Their impact is permanent.
The legacies of the Hurleys, Smiths, and Prices have shaped a Fayetteville that is more united, more compassionate, and more forward-looking.
Like I said: Who will replace them? Who can replace them?
Thank you for reading Up & Coming Weekly.

Losing our grandchildren before finding them again

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Tuesday, 09 September 2025

Written by D.G. Martin

In some North Carolina houses, this is a time of empty rooms and empty spaces. Children, so long ever-present, are now suddenly gone away to college.
Even though they knew the day was coming, there was great emptiness in their homes and in their hearts. This is true especially for parents, but also for grandparents, even though they all knew that the day was coming.
One of my grandsons is in college, far from home in Colorado. And both my granddaughters just graduated from college far away-- one in Vermont and the other in Scotland. After some time at home, one is heading even further afield, to Alaska, and the other back to Scotland. These “grandbabies” are so far away that I will seldom see them.
My own children stayed reasonably close to home in North Carolina at Davidson and graduate school at UNC. Still, the break was painful.
How much more so when the distance is more than a long drive away?
Each year, I watch young parents bring their children to Chapel Hill.
So much is the same every year: Heavy trunks to carry up long stairways on the first day.
Waiting for them are professors — giants of teachers — whose love of scholarship and service is exceeded only by their commitment to the opening and nurturing of the minds of their students. Will they be worrying about the meaning of life, or something more important — like a broken date?
What makes taking or sending a child to college such a milestone for parents, such a passage? Is it the sudden freedom from the hour-to-hour worries of child rearing? No more waiting up past midnight — waiting and worrying. No more strain of daily negotiation for the use of cars, time of meals, attendance at church, volume of the music, or use of the bathroom.
Or is it the extra worry and uncertainty that comes with an absent child so far away in distance and independence?
Suddenly, the house is peaceful — and so empty. Gone is the daily joy of their companionship. Gone is the excitement of their new ideas. Gone is the richness and seasoning that their growing up brought to our lives, every day.
You wonder, “Does life have meaning without children to watch over?”
The answer is not certain.
But the question remains.
My grandchildren will live in the future, but the occasion draws me almost 100 years into the past when, in 1928, my father entered Davidson. When these men (it would be 50 years before women were allowed at Davidson) first came to college in the fall of 1928, they brought everything they needed in a suitcase or small trunk.
Things were different in the 1980s when my children entered college. Most students arrived in cars driven by their parents and loaded down with the students’ “things.” Former Davidson President John Kuykendall welcomed them with a short “freedom and responsibility” sermon to help explain what this business of leaving home for college is all about.
He reminded them that colleges and universities no longer pretend to take the place of parents or impose strict parental rules to dictate how the students will act. At 18, they must seek and find their own moral guides. And freedom means the freedom to fail.
Kuykendall would then talk about responsibility, explaining that free people have the responsibility to develop and accept rules if they are to live together in harmony and dignity. Our freedom to make choices makes us responsible for those choices. Freedom gives us the free choice to serve others. Freedom gives us the opportunity and the responsibility to search for the truth.
That quest brings us towards the goal of a college education: a liberated mind, a mind that never stops searching and never stops learning.
If our grandchildren’s college experience helps make them partners with us in a search for truth, then the pain of physical separation and giving them up to their own freedom can bring us together in a way that gives our lives rich new meaning.

Troy's Perspective: Is marijuana a gateway drug?

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Tuesday, 09 September 2025

Written by Troy Williams

Marijuana is classified as a Schedule I drug, along with heroin and LSD, as "drugs with no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse" under federal law. Marijuana laws are rapidly changing across all 50 states. However, without a change in federal law, state laws create conflicts and negatively affect states with legalized cannabis programs, as federal law technically takes precedence over state law.
As of December 2022, North Carolina had the third-highest number of marijuana-related arrests in the United States. In 2023, there were a total of 10,909 marijuana-related arrests in the state. Most of these arrests were for possession, while the number of arrests for selling or manufacturing marijuana was significantly lower. Marijuana arrest numbers in the state have been decreasing; the 10,909 arrests are considerably lower than the 21,252 arrests recorded in 2018.
North Carolina Governor Josh Stein is in favor of regulating cannabis sales and is considering the potential legalization of cannabis for adults. Last June, he established a state advisory council to recommend a comprehensive policy on this issue.
President Trump's administration is potentially eliminating a significant barrier regarding marijuana classification. Recently, he confirmed that his administration is considering reclassifying marijuana as a less dangerous substance. The Wall Street Journal first reported that Trump is weighing the option of moving marijuana from a Schedule I drug to a Schedule III drug.
Schedule III drugs are classified as having a moderate to low potential for physical and psychological dependence. Examples include ketamine, anabolic steroids, and testosterone. Reclassifying marijuana would enable more research into the drug and provide tax benefits for the cannabis industry.
I was a law enforcement officer for 6 ½ years, involved in the so-called war on drugs. In the early 1980s, school systems were struggling to address the issue of drugs in public schools. As a solution, they decided to place young law enforcement officers in high schools to conduct drug buys and subsequently arrest young drug dealers on campus. I was the undercover officer assigned to E.E. Smith, Reid Ross, and Hoke high schools. Marijuana was the drug of choice and was easily accessible, especially with schools providing smoking areas for students to use tobacco on campus.
After the school campaigns, I was appointed as a special federal marshal and began working on much larger cases. However, reflecting on my experiences, I will always regret my involvement in the high school campaign.
Although it was fair and conducted according to the law, more than 100 students learned a difficult lesson that adversely affected them for the rest of their lives. Marijuana is the drug in question, which is why I align myself with many former law enforcement officials who advocate for the legalization or decriminalization of marijuana.
Is marijuana a gateway drug? It might be, but the real gateway is tobacco use among ten-year-olds. Law enforcement opposes marijuana legalization due to the "smell doctrine," which permits warrantless searches when the odor of marijuana is detected. I hope that both Trump and Stein achieve success; it's time for a change.

Test scores show modest improvement

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Tuesday, 09 September 2025

Written by John Hood

Test scores are up for North Carolina’s public-school students — a welcome development, although the news isn’t all good.
On average, 55% of students in grades three or higher tested proficient on last year’s state exams. For the 2023-24 school year, that figure was 54.2%. In 2018-19, the last full academic year before COVID, it was 58.8%. We’re headed in the right direction, in other words, but not rapidly.
Most worrisome to me is that just 46.6% of third graders were proficient in reading, down two percentage points from 2023-24. North Carolina’s science of reading strategy is only now beginning to shape classroom instruction, but I’d hoped to see gains among our youngest readers.
Across all grades and subjects, the familiar gaps remain. On average, poor students (41.7% proficient) scored lower than the rest (68%). Asian (81.7%) and white (67.8%) students scored higher than Hispanic (43.2%), American Indian (42.8%), and black (39.2%) students. Girls (55.8%) slightly outperformed boys (54.3%).
When it comes to North Carolina’s post-pandemic recovery, I’m an all-hands-on-deck guy, not a proponent of just one or two strategies at the expense of others. Science-based reforms of how we teach reading and math? Higher starting salaries for teachers, plus significant pay boosts for proven effectiveness and advanced teaching roles? Better preparation and performance incentives for principals? Firmer classroom discipline and a crackdown on chronic absenteeism? More choice and competition?
Check, check, check, check, and check.
I know I can sound like a broken record on this matter, but North Carolina policymakers and activists should resist the temptation to cram every new event or data download into their preexisting political frames. We’d all benefit from adopting a broader perspective instead of endlessly relitigating (figuratively and literally) the past couple of decades of North Carolina trends and reforms.
Which states have the high-performing schools? Notice I didn’t say the highest-performing students. Many factors influence test scores, completion rates, college or career success, and other measures of educational outcomes. When evaluating the value added by teachers, administrators, curriculum, and other elements of the school experience, one must attempt to adjust for student background and other non-school factors.
As far as I know, the best-available measures come from the National Assessment of Educational Progress, which administers reading and math tests every couple of years to samples of fourth- and eighth-graders in every state.
According to an Urban Institute analysis of NAEP exams administered in 2024, Mississippi had the highest average scores in the country after adjusting for student background. Here are the rest of the top-10 states, in order: Louisiana, Massachusetts, Texas, Indiana, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Illinois, and Kentucky.
And here are the bottom-10 states in adjusted NAEP scores: Michigan, Missouri, Arizona, Hawaii, Vermont, Maine, Delaware, West Virginia, Alaska, and Oregon.
If you think the primary driver of school quality is expenditure, then you aren’t surprised to see high-spending Massachusetts and Illinois in the top 10. But low-spending Mississippi, Florida, and Louisiana also ranking high — and very-high-spending Vermont ranking low — might well puzzle you. And if you think it’s all about choice programs putting pressure on school districts to step up their games, then public-school standouts Louisiana, Indiana, and Florida ought to warm your heart. All get an A or B-plus on the American Legislative Exchange Council’s latest Index of Educational Freedom. But so do Arizona and West Virginia.
Most scholarly research on the subject shows boosts in academic performance from both educational freedom and prudent government spending on high-quality programs and teachers in public schools. Indeed, robust competition from charter, private, and home schools makes district schools more effective. Now that legislators in North Carolina and elsewhere have enacted broadly available school-choice options, they can and should focus on reforming how public school educators are trained, deployed, evaluated, and compensated.
By now it should be obvious that choice and competition here to stay — and that school districts will continue to educate most students. Let’s all accept reality and get cracking.

Editor’s note: John Hood is a John Locke Foundation board member. His books Mountain Folk, Forest Folk, and Water Folk combine epic fantasy with American history (FolkloreCycle.com).