• 07All answers in this forum have been printed as submitted by the Hope Mills mayoral candidates. The only edits have been for style and punctuation where needed. Each candidate was given the same questions and the same requested word count for their responses.

    Jessie Bellflowers currently serves as the department chair at Fayetteville Technical Community College and is retired from the United States Army. Bellflowers was born August 22, 1956. His Family members include his wife, Bambi, daughter, Jessica and he has three granddaughters. Bellflowers has served as commissioner for the Town of Hope Mills since 2017.

    Jacquelyn Warner is a small business owner at Carleen’s Baby Boutique and a retired principal and teacher. Warner was born June 24, 1950. She is married to, Alex, and has two children a son, Teddy, daughter, Molly and has five grandchildren. Warner has served as mayor of the town of Hope Mills since 2011 and previously served as a town commissioner from 2007 to 2009.

    As Mayor of one of Cumberland County’s fastest-growing communities, describe what a typical routine work week would look like.

    BELLFLOWERS: According to the U.S. Census, Hope Mills has grown 17.3% in the last 10 years. More and more people and businesses are choosing our community mainly because of schools and recreational opportunities. But, despite this growth, the town hasn’t been able to keep up [with] infrastructure and traffic congestion.

    Since I was first elected four years ago, folks ask me what a typical week looks like. I always respond with every week is different — there is no typical weekly routine. Serving as an elected official, regardless of position, is a full-time 24-hour, 7-days a week where you must be available to community citizens — returning phone calls, answering emails and text messages, checking the town website, meeting with citizens and business owners, attending town sponsored business functions and serving on various committees, for example the Gateway Study Committee, Heroes Homecoming IX, etc. Over the past four years, I have attended every town board meeting with 100% attendance, something unheard [of] these days in politics.

    The role of mayor is one who conducts the meetings, signs legal documents and acts as ambassador for the town.

    Each week, I review the upcoming town board meeting agenda, for example, I spend hours researching every agenda item before board meetings. This action includes driving to each zoning and annexation property location to learn if the request fits the integrity of the surrounding neighborhoods.

    As mayor, our sense of inclusiveness and identity as a community will always be a priority for me. Remember, elected officials are public servants.
    We should always support community engagement that builds deeper, stronger and more trusting relationships between our town board and citizens. Servant leaders are also ethical leaders with no hidden agendas.

    WARNER: A mayor’s primary role is leadership in the best interest of the municipality. The mayor represents its township in ceremonial events and, when necessary, states of emergency, e.g, hazardous weather conditions, accidents, etc. that disrupt normal town functions. The mayor presides over board meetings and other committee meetings. The mayor also promotes partnerships with other stakeholders for the benefit and future planning for the community at large.

    As mayor, my typical work week is busy rotating around attending meetings, virtual workshops and answering emails or phone calls. I prioritize work based on how urgent and important the different activities are. I address the issues or concerns in the order of priority. But, being mayor is not limited to our home government. The role must be integrated with surrounding mayorships (Mayors Coalition), participation with local and state programs such as FAMPO, Senior Tarheel Legislature, Mid-Carolina Council for Aging, FCEDC and interacted with cooperative participation with state and national issues as well. Being part of a larger government makes our local board even stronger.

    Even though being mayor is highly rewarding in seeing progress for Hope Mills, the extra hours required, especially overseeing such a busy town, makes it challenging. I work overtime to be constantly available for town concerns as the spokesperson for our citizens. Building partnerships to bring more resources to our town is a priority, therefore my involvement with the Mayor’s Youth Council, Tier I Committee, Heroes Homecoming Committee are examples of how my time is spent to get input from our youth, seniors and our veterans to identify what is needed to improve our quality of life through partnerships. Being retired from my chosen field of employment, I have the time to be available. I know that I possess what is required and will deliver to the best of my resources. I love serving people and believe the happiness of Hope Mills residents provides the motivation for our board to work harder and smarter. Being mayor is an honor for me, personally, to work for the citizens in one of the finest small towns in our great state.

    As Mayor, what will be your top three (measurable) priorities for improving the livability in the town of Hope Mills? Which one will present the biggest challenge.

    WARNER: The priorities that are listed below are my personal opinions only since the mayor has no vote in our actual prioritization of future town projects and appropriations for such. That responsibility is left to our elected town commissioners. Personally, I feel three projects of concern and need are as follows:

    1. The completion of capital projects, namely, our Public Safety Building, grant-funded improvements for Main Street items (cross walks, bike path), municipal park improvements adding splash pad and all-inclusive playground is a family priority, a restoration of the location of our first and largest mill factory area known as Heritage Park is a historical priority. These projects will provide recreational opportunities for our citizens along with improvements for public safety.

    2. Transportation for our citizens to provide bus routes around Hope Mills and to surrounding points of interest or need. This can be accomplished by working with community partners to maximize our funding sources to include grants available for seniors, youth and the disabled mobility.

    3. Preparation for present and additional traffic concerns related to the impact of the fast approaching I-295. This priority is the most challenging as we continue working with Fayetteville Area Metropolitan Planning Organization and Department of Transportation for completion and opening of I-295 along with the widening of Rockfish, Golfview Roads and Main Street to improve traffic patterns. This priority will present the biggest challenge because of the inconvenience of the construction work to include road closures, paving and detours.

    Also the time it will take to complete projects will be frustrating—our community will benefit in the end with sidewalks, pedestrians crosswalks to improve safer walk-ability along with safer movement of vehicular traffic.

    BELLFLOWERS: Without question, our community is at a crossroads regarding residential and economic development growth. With growth, comes traffic congestion. One of the enormous challenges will be to address our town’s aging infrastructure where public safety and limited community parks and recreational opportunities are high priorities.

    These challenges may be separate, but I consider them linked to our community’s sustainable quality of life, commercial/residential growth challenges and economic development opportunities.

    We must have the courage to be smart about planning our future and managing growth with a sustainable, visionary long-term strategic economic development plan. For example, future residential and economic development growth regarding I-95, Exit 41 and Future I-295 bypass gateway areas.

    Public safety has always been my number one priority. Currently, the new police and fire department complex, named the John W. Hodges Public Safety Center is being built and [will be] completed in 2022. Even with completion of this project, we must still find a workable, affordable solution to build at least one or two new satellite facilities over the next five years.

    Another top priority is community recreational programs whereas the town must invest in improvements to existing facilities, programs and the development of new recreational opportunities in order to maintain and enhance community quality of life. Hope Mills Lake Park is the centerpiece of our downtown and another testament to the power of vision, planning and results-driven leadership that will be required to address future residential and economic development growth in our community, for example, the Heritage Park and Golfview Greenway projects.The biggest challenge with managing these priorities going forward will be to locate sustainable funding resources without raising property taxes.

    The U.S. Congress is currently debating infrastructure legislation. What infrastructure project(s) in Hope Mills should have the highest priority? What ways would you maximize funding resources for Hope Mills?

    BELLFLOWERS: The American Rescue Plan (ARP) is a defining moment with a unique opportunity to invest in our town’s long-term future. But, I would like to emphasize the importance of municipalities-county collaboration. For example, elected officials should think as one Cumberland County regarding the strategizing of priorities for spending this one-time funding throughout our county.

    In July 2021, the town received $2,525.517.90 in ARP funding. The town will receive the second half of the funding in July 2022. The town has until 2024 to obligate the funds, and 2026 to use them.
    This is not the time to make quick, unresearched decisions to spend this money on immediate needs that may not be eligible for these funds. Eligible uses for ARP include: supporting public health expenditures; addressing the negative economic impacts of the pandemic; providing premium pay for essential workers and investing in water, sewer and broadband infrastructure. Remember, this is a once-in-a-generation opportunity not only for Hope Mills, but all the municipalities in Cumberland County. Collectively, it may not be the best practice to duplicate spending efforts.

    If elected mayor, my sound recommendation to maximize funding for Hope Mills: Identifying eligible ARP funding priorities should start with reviewing the town’s current Capital Improvement Plan and the Stormwater Strategic Master Plan. During the Spring 2022 Budget Retreat, departments should make priority recommendations during the budget process to begin the process of researching the priorities that may qualify for matching grants, therefore, adding additional funding to the ARP funds. We have one time to get this right regarding appropriate uses of the funds and the audits required.

    WARNER: In my opinion, the maintenance and paving of our town streets should be ranked near the top.

    We have had a study completed with a plan for maintenance and paving for all town streets with the price tag that we simply can not afford.

    Even budgeting on a yearly basis, it would be difficult to stay on target with inflation issues, normal road deterioration, etc.

    Also needed is the ever-present, growing funding for stormwater preparations. Thankfully, included within the state budget expenditures for 2021 is $350,000 for our town’s study for future requirements for storm water funding.When this study is completed we can use it for leveraging our infrastructure funding. Our town’s strategic plan can be used for evidence in both instances (street maintenance and stormwater) to assure ways of acquiring and maximizing funding.

    Working collectively with the other Hope Mills Commissioners over the current term, what three achievements are you most proud of?

    WARNER: One of the achievements that our board can be proud of is the successful adoption of another balanced budget with no property tax increases for our citizens.

    Our budgets have provided cost of living increases for our staff and met the needs of our community with a focus on public safety. Another achievement would be successful planning, financing and ground breaking of our new public safety building. This construction is on schedule and our board receives timely reports on expenditures and progress.

    Third, results from a first ever round-table discussion with area legislators of town needs that have been granted within the state budget of 2021. Our Capital Improvement Plan allowed quick access to projects with estimates of cost to give necessary information to our legislators. Our request for $350,000 for stormwater projects was put in the budget first and thanks to our delegation more projects were requested for possible funding.

    We should receive with approval of the state budget the following funding: at Municipal Park -$340,000 for splash pad, $340,000 for all-inclusive playground, at dam area-$500,000 for Rockfish Creek Bed clearing, $2,500,000 for repair of sides of creek bed on East Patterson Street (due to flooding damage from hurricanes) and $650,000 for pavement and repairs of streets in Woodland Hills. Our board can now re-prioritize the remaining Capital Improvements and plan for additional community needs. This mayor is thankful for Senators deViere, Clark, Representatives John Szoka, Billy Richardson, Marvin Lucas and Diane Wheatley for making this happen for Hope Mills.

    BELLFLOWERS: Town operating budget. The town board approved its budget for the 2021-2022 fiscal year that does not include an increase in the tax rate. The approved budget is the largest town operating budget in the history of Hope Mills that meets the needs of the town while living within its means without raising property taxes!

    John W. Hodges Public Safety Center, the town board unanimously approved a new police and fire department complex at the site of the old headquarters next to Town Hall.

    The new safety facility is being built and completed in 2022. The town budgeted $17 million for the project which is funded by a U.S. Department of Agriculture loan. Even with completion of this project, we must still find a workable, affordable solution to build at least one or two new satellite facilities over the next five years.

    Closing Crampton Road stub. As our community continues to grow, neighborhoods must be protected from the dangers of too much traffic. For example, recently the citizens of two established neighborhoods (Golfview and Brightmoor) voiced their concerns about a potential traffic problem that would have evolved with an apartment complex that wanted to use their neighborhoods as a possible ingress and egress for apartment traffic. I agreed with their safety concerns.

    This issue dragged on for eight months while Mayor Warner formed a committee to study it. The committee only met one time without resolution. Finally, after frustrating delays by Commissioners Marley and Edwards, Mayor Pro-tem McCray and Mayor Warner, the town board made the decision to close the road stub. It was the right thing to do to protect and maintain the safety for these neighborhoods.

    Hope Mills has a very diverse and growing population including young families, millennials , military, seniors and plenty of retirees and disabled veterans. Collectively, what programs and policies would you recommend and implement to enhance everyone’s quality of life?

    WARNER: As mayor, to identify quality of life programs, I have aligned with our youth through a Mayor’s Youth Leadership Council — representative of our three high schools-Southview, Grays Creek and Jack Britt — our veterans and military by being involved with Heroes Homecoming, attending and participating with our military at Fort Bragg events, our seniors by representing our community on the Senior Tarheel Legislature and the Mid-Carolina Council of Aging, the Pastors’ Coalition, using these avenues to identify the needs and concerns for a better Hope Mills.

    Partnerships are important as we address the needs of these populations to include available funding that can be acquired by working together with others in our county. Currently, our Tier 1 Committee with board approval is in the process of researching how a facility could provide services for our seniors and veterans to include rehabilitation and prepared meals free of charge, a pool for high school competitive team practice, swimming lessons for our youth, a family friendly facility with childcare while other members are involved in certain activities and more gym space for our recreational needs — funding partnerships so our citizens receive the benefits without tax increases. Our committee’s findings to include estimated costs and details will be presented to the town board for their input and approval. We need to encourage recruitment and retention of our police department personnel to include more funding for a drug task force. Our new Public Safety Building should help in recruitment. Public safety is necessary for quality of life—as our population increases our policies and programs must develop around a safe and secure town.

    Finally, bringing programs to Hope Mills such as classes provided by FTCC, FSU or Methodist University, Art Council exhibits and cultural arts programs to enhance our community such as we have started with our partnership with UNC Pembroke.

    BELLFLOWERS: Research has shown that recreation is an important factor in quality of life for everyone, for example, a very diverse and growing population in Hope Mills. One of Hope Mills most valuable resources is its network of parks and the main recreational facility.

    For example, Hope Mills Recreation Center is a recreational facility primarily used for Parks & Recreation programs. With just over 28 acres, Hope Mills Municipal Park is one of the community’s most treasured resources along with Ed Herring and Bonayre Gardens neighborhood parks.

    And, Hope Mills Lake Park is the centerpiece of our downtown where people from all over our community gather to enjoy recreational opportunities and the natural beauty of the lake. Another example is the Golfview Greenway Park where open green space is a premium in any community as a quality-of-life amenity.

    Parks are places to meet and celebrate with family and friends. They are inclusive, accessible and venues for community events and sports activities. On any given week day and especially on weekends, you will find plenty of young families, millennials, senior citizens, military families and disabled veterans with service dogs all enjoying the park.

    And, on the horizon is the Heritage Park project which has been funded for Phase I completion. Going forward, we need a senior citizen center and a town museum. Our community parks and recreational facilities can be just as important as fire and police services to the quality of life in our community.

    We must guard these valuable community assets that has served generations past and those generations to come. This is called vision and if elected as mayor, I pledge to protect our limited recreational space and the historical culture of our town.

    Finally, each candidate was asked to include a question of their own. One they felt should have been asked.

    BELLFLOWERS: Why would Hope Mills citizens vote for you as Mayor?

    I am totally committed to improving quality of life, economic development, public safety, recreational opportunities and preserving the history of our community. My vision includes addressing and finding workable solutions to fix infrastructure needs, traffic congestion and roadway improvements.

    There is no question that addressing the many challenges that face our community will require results-driven leadership, creative thinking, building cooperation and consensus, and a tremendous amount of teamwork.

    Our community deserves an effective town board, one that can work and communicate together with a “collective vision” for future prosperity and one that demonstrates unselfish representation and pre-eminent leadership.

    I am committed to ensuring that Hope Mills continues to be a wonderful place for all people to live, work and raise their families. Hope Mills continues to grow in residential and economic development growth. Managing this growth requires continued vision, planning and results-driven leadership. We need a vision with the passion, time and energy to continue to build a family-oriented community all of us are proud of today and years to come! I bring to the table many years of results-driven, proven leadership and pledge to listen to citizen issues and concerns, have an open mind on all decisions, and spend a significant amount of time researching community issues facing our community. I am committed every day on enriching the lives of our town citizens by creating an exceptional community to work and live in while providing exemplary town services that enables our community to thrive and prosper, while leading our community as one we are proud to call home … this is my compass. This election is not about me … but all about YOU, your vision, issues and concerns! I respectfully ask for your vote on Nov 2nd.

    WARNER: Do you think a plan is needed for downtown?

    What is considered our downtown is our historic Trade Street—in the 1900s it was a busy street with shops, a pharmacy, post office, theater, pool halls, groceries and a funeral home to name a few.

    Nearby were two Mills and the mill villages where people lived. The train depot and a boarding house also meant visitors came to Hope Mills and spent time on Trade Street.

    Today Trade Street is important to our town not only for historical reasons, but it is near our lake where many people congregate for a variety of activities so we are putting more emphasis on revitalization.

    This area, with new opportunities for funding, is in the early stages of planning for revitalization — I am excited to say that after early attempts to join the Main Street program did not materialize, we now have a new focus on Trade Street.

    We have new businesses willing to share in the vision along with our Historical Committee and Appearance Committees providing leadership.

    Our Economic Development Planner supports revitalization in this area and is looking for ways to make it happen.

    Election Day is, Nov. 2. On Election Day, go to the polling place assigned to your precinct between 6:30 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. Those in line by 7:30 pm, will be able to vote. If you go to the wrong polling place in Hope Mills and don’t have time to go to the correct poll, ask to use a provisional ballot. If you have any questions or concerns you can call the Cumberland County Board of Elections at, 910-678-7733.
    If you are properly registered, your vote will count.

  • 36aWhen viewing any work of art, we each have a level of appreciation that takes place.

    We might see ourselves in the work, the craftsmanship is remarkable, or we like the subject and style. We can value a work of art for its historical place in history or maybe the work shows us something we have not seen or thought about.

    No matter what reason we value works of art or the content of an artist’s work, a successful work of art must have inherent formal qualities that support a visual balance.

    An aesthetic appreciation was immediate in 2022 when I saw a body of work by Chapel Hill artist Deb Drew in the 10:10:10 exhibit at the Fayetteville Arts Council.

    The mix of natural and painted woods and earth colors, the figure is stylized in shapes of color and texture against an abstracted background. At the bottom of the panel, the artist included one word in a material that was slightly raised off the surface of the panel.

    No matter what the word or subject, each panel exuded a sense of completeness or joyfulness.

    After meeting the artist, I invited her to exhibit at Gallery 208. Several months later we talked on the phone.

    One year later, the artist’s reception for Themes of Joy and Transformation: Mixed Media by Deb Drew opens in Gallery 208, Thursday, Oct. 5. The reception will be held from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m.

    As the curator of the exhibit, the call to Drew, which took place several months after meeting her, became a turning point in what would be selected for exhibitions at Gallery 208. This is the first exhibit in the twelve years of curating Gallery 208 that an artist is exhibiting work inspired by religious faith.

    Why is that? First and foremost, an artist with faith-based works has not approached Gallery 208 for an exhibit. But there are other factors.

    Although contemporary art culture tries to acknowledge and support diversity, it is still strongly influenced by popular styles. The result is artists align themselves with current trends or market demands. This influence also has the potential to marginalize religious themes in favor of popular and commercially viable subjects.

    Drew, like all artists, explores themes and symbols as a means of communicating a feeling or an idea. For this artist, themes and symbols are a way to express her spirituality by incorporating modern techniques and perspectives to create fresh and thought-provoking artworks.

    Ultimately, religious art in the 21st century continues to serve multiple purposes, from personal expression and spiritual practice to cultural preservation and education.36

    It remains a vibrant and evolving aspect of the art world, reflecting the enduring significance of religion in
    human culture and society.

    Deb Drew is an accomplished artist and educator. She earned a Ph.D. in Art Education at Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio after earning an MA in Art Education at the University of Illinois in Champaign/Urbana, Illinois, and a BA in Visual Communication and Psychology from North Central University in Durham, North Carolina.

    It wasn’t until 2015 Drew decided to create works inspired by religious text.

    ‘Fruit of the Spirit’ was the first piece I produced. I envisioned a young man with his hands raised, surrounded by the words that make up the fruit of the Spirit,” she said.

    “I contacted my oldest nephew and asked if he would pose for me, and he was happy to do so. His image began the whole creative mixed-media process, and that work is on the front of my business card. I can’t imagine a better beginning, for “the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness and self-control.” (Gal 5:22-23)

    With the exception of one work in the exhibit, if a mixed media work or painting has words in it, there is only one word and not a phrase. The beauty of the limited text is an opportunity to open the interpretation of the work.

    An example is the work titled Good: a smiling woman is in the center of the panel, the word “patience” reads across her headband. Behind the figure is a group, or pattern, of stylized oranges creating an aura of yellow-orange, striped leaves of green between the fruit.

    The lower bottom of the picture plane is made of wooden panels stained in a cherry-wood color; the word “good” is on the surface cut from a different piece of wood stained in dark gray.
    Forgive and Ye Will Be Forgiven, another work in the exhibit, is without text. Drew has painted patterns of daisies across the surface of the painting in the form of an upward spiral: they diminish in size as they float backward and upwards into the distance.

    A joyous smiling female is behind the daisies and in front of the background of larger arc shapes, painted in the color of teal and gold leafing.

    Drews’s works serve as a means of outreach, sparking curiosity and encouraging dialogue about faith and spirituality — yet many works are left to interpretation.

    Although religious art had a significant role in shaping the cultural heritage of societies around the world — today it is met with mixed reactions and criticism in secular galleries.
    No matter what the belief system of any visitor to Themes of Joy and Transformation is, the majority of visitors will leave the gallery seeing a strong body of work and having a feeling of joy and positivity. It is the way in which the artist explores a theme that reflects human positivity and joy, or in the beauty of a landscape full of tulips.

    While religious art may face challenges in contemporary art circles, there are still many contemporary artists who incorporate religious themes and symbols into their work and are celebrated for doing so.

    The reception of religious art in contemporary art is diverse, with some embracing it as a valuable form of expression for a myriad of reasons. Art, by its nature, is highly subjective, and opinions on what constitutes meaningful or valuable art can vary widely.
    In an increasingly interconnected world, Themes of Joy and Transformation has the potential to facilitate interfaith dialogue and understanding by showcasing commonalities and differences among different religious traditions.

    At the end of the day, Gallery 208 celebrates diversity and inclusiveness.

    Beyond its spiritual or religious aspects, Deb Drew’s art is simply aesthetically beautiful or captivating. The skill and creativity of the artist in depicting spiritual themes can be appreciated purely on an artistic level.

    The value of spiritual-based art is multifaceted, encompassing personal, cultural, religious, emotional and artistic dimensions.
    It serves as a means of expression, reflection and connection to the spiritual or divine realm. Themes of Joy and Transformation has the potential to evoke different meanings and significance for different individuals and communities.

    The public is invited to attend the reception and meet the artist on Thursday, Oct. 5, between 5:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. The exhibit will remain at Gallery 208 until late December 2023.
    Gallery 208 is located at 208 Rowan Street, Fayetteville. The hours are Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. For information call 910-484-6200.

  • During the first 10 days of November, the Fayetteville community will honor Vietnam veterans during the Heroes Homecoming event. The Cape Fear Regional Theatre is doing its part to honor these American heroes through the staging of Miss Saigon.10-26-11-miss-saigon.jpg

    Miss Saigon, a modern adaption of the opera Madame Butterfly, is set during the closing days of America’s involvement of Vietnam and revolves around an American soldier and a Vietnamese girl who find love in the midst of war and its associated pain. The two are ripped apart as Saigon falls, and the musical ultimately addresses the hard questions of what people will do to survive and who are the real victims of war.

    Under the direction of Bruce Lumpkin, the cast of Miss Saigon has been working at a quick pace to put the show together. According to Lumpkin, who is revisiting the play for the fifth time, the staging of this show in Fayetteville is going to be unique.

    “Each time I’ve done the show, it has been totally different,” said Lumpkin, “but this one will be even more different. We are using a lot of projections and photo montages to bring people into the story.”

    Lumpkin hopes that the use of actual footage and photos of the fall of Saigon will help people really see the reality of that moment and the way that people’s lives were torn apart.

    “I know that many people in the audience will have served in Vietnam and will have memories of those days,” said Lumpkin. “I hope this will strike a chord with them and those memories.”

    For Shannon Tyo, who is playing the role of Kim, the show is very personal.

    “For someone of my age and ethnicity and vocal range, this part is tailor made for me. It is a beautiful, wonderful part, and hopefully I can do it until the day I die,” said Tyo. “I love this part.”

    “I was adopted from Korea when I was 3-years-old. In the musical, Kim is forced to make a very difficult choice concerning her child,” she explained. “For me, it is interesting to see what it is like from the mother’s side. I think about a lot of things that have happened in my life, and think about the mother who wanted a better life for her child, like Kim wants for her child. This is truly a story of great love and sacrifice.”

    Tyo, like Lumpkin, is very aware that many in the audience may have actually lived through these times, and sees it as a great honor to get to perform for them.

    “This is really a beautiful interpretation of the musical,” she said. “Being here in this place with such a strong miltiary background, it is very important for us to get things right. I am nervous to a certain extent, but I am very excited for them to see what we are doing. I hope it is going to be beautiful and mov-ing for them, and I am excited for them to come and see it.”

    Of the videos and photos, she noted, “It’s mind-blowing how the videos and photo take you exactly where you need to be. In an instant, you are in Sai-gon in 1973.”

    Lumpkin has been working night and day to ensure that atmosphere is set. “Miss Saigon is a big show, but it is also a very intimate piece of theatre. If it is well done, and you have a great group of people — like we have here – you don’t need the expansive scenery or the helicopter, because the story is what is important.”

    The musical will run from Nov. 3 through Nov. 20. Tickets range in price from $12 to $27. All Vietnam veterans will recieve tickets for $15, while other veterans will receive a $3 discount. For show times, and to make reservations, visit the website at www.cfrt.org.

  • 48Often overlooked objects such as bottle caps, jars and marbles step into the spotlight thanks to artist Donna Slade’s new exhibit The Color Of Ordinary featured at Cape Fear Art Studios until Oct. 23. The exhibit honors the colors and textures of these everyday items.

    “I try to bring those objects — that maybe in an antique store that somebody walks by — to life in a pencil drawing,” Slade said.

    The Wake Forest based artist said many pieces in the exhibit draw inspiration from objects found in antique shops. Many of these items now receive less attention due to modern technology, according to Slade.

    “Those things are disappearing or folks are not as interested in them anymore, and you just don’t think about those things as much anymore, so it’s just important to keep them out there and remember those things,” Slade said.

    Steve Opet, board president of Cape Fear Studios, said he hopes events such as this exhibit help to expose those in the area to art, further elating those already interested in art, and encouraging others to get more involved in viewing and practicing art.

    “It’s an important way to express to the community and bring art to the community that they otherwise normally wouldn’t have a chance to be exposed to,” Opet said.

    Describing the exhibit as “light and airy,” Slade said she hopes this collection of her work brings viewers enjoyment and some respite from the stresses of life.
    Most of the works have been created with colored pencils.

    Slade’s process for approaching this exhibit’s pieces begins with a reference photo. After making a sketch, Slade begins incorporating colors, moving from dark to light. Her pieces have as many as 25 to 30 layers.

    Though the process can take up to hundreds of hours, Slade says she doesn’t bother keeping track of time.

    “I would spend more time keeping track of the hours than working on them, and I’m not sure I want to know,” she joked.

    Slade originally spent time as a graphic designer for around 30 years and always was involved in art. Originally composing pieces with pen and ink, Slade turned to colored pencil for more detail. Slade says she has been creating with colored pencils for about 25 to 30 years.

    Opet highlighted that anyone could come to enjoy the art featured in the studio, saying the studio seeks to expose those in Fayetteville and the surrounding areas to various forms of art and expression.

    The Color of Ordinary is not Slade's only active exhibit. Her collection of works entitled Faces of Colombia: The Invisible Communities will be displayed at the Cumberland County Arts Council until Oct. 29.

    Slade said she hopes the significance of physical art is not lost due to technology, and she emphasized the importance of continuing to appreciate it.

    “The world needs art,” Slade said. “And I have a feeling that the technologies are taking that part away from everybody and I hope that the computers and the computer programs and the drawing programs never take away original art. And I think it's something that everybody needs to appreciate and hopefully that continues.”

    Cape Fear Studios is located at 148 Maxwell Street in downtown Fayetteville. For more information call 910-433-2986.

  • 36Like moths to a flame, most of us are interested in seeing original works of art by our favorite celebrities. What would be the subject of a painting or drawing by Michael Jackson, Johnny Cash or Mohammed Ali?

    What art style would Jimi Hendrix prefer that reflects his musical genius or Richard Petty when he was not racing cars?

    From sophisticated paintings to whimsical watercolors, the newest exhibit at Gallery 208, The Alex Munroe Collection: Artwork by Celebrities, which opens Oct. 11, reveals what multitalented superstars have chosen to create in paint, colored pencils or watercolors during their private life.

    The exhibit is also as much about the collector as it is about the exhibition. The Alex Munroe Collection: Artwork by Celebrities reveals much about the collector's personality, his personal life choices, and why he has chosen to collect over 200 works by celebrities.

    Curiosity will bring you to the gallery to see the original works by the following celebrities: Janice Joplin, John Lennon, Grace Slick, Mohammed Ali, Jacques Cousteau, David Bowie, Paul McCartney, Sid Cesear, Nancy Wilson, Red Foxx, Jimi Hendrix, Tony Curtis, Johnny Cash, Michael Jackson, Charleston Heston, Phyllis Diller and Richard Petty.

    You will leave the exhibit with an unexpected and surprisingly pleasant experience. We can compare what we have already experienced, the mass media way of knowing a celebrity, juxtaposed with something that feels personal and private. The more you know about each star, the more you will appreciate the experience of seeing the exhibit.

    For example, Jimi Hendrix's career gained popularity with his first single, “Hey Joe,” and his follow-up, “Purple Haze.” A pioneer as one of the most outstanding instrumentalists in rock music history, Hendrix manipulated the distortion and feedback from an electric guitar into a type of fluid language.

    While superstar Hendrix is on the road traveling, in a motel room waiting for a concert, or home — what and why did he choose to paint, and what style best suits the fluid language of his music? Would it be a narrative story and have a figure in the painting? What would the figure be doing?

    Hendrix was likely sensitive to seeing color as sound. Instead of a narrative style, Hendrix selected patterns and abstract-colored shapes to create movement across the surface of the page. Each color chosen creates a rhythm: the color yellow pops forward, sky blue slows down the repetitive beat and holds us in a musical pause, while the color deep red, like a symphony slowly increasing in volume, gains momentum in the overall composition.

    Hendrix didn't need to know Chromesthesia is the name of a neurological phenomenon in which the stimulation of one sensory pathway leads to an involuntary experience of another sensory way. If we are familiar with Hendrix, all we need to know to enjoy his work is that a musical genius chooses only colors to create mood and rhythm in his design.

    It's noteworthy that country singer Johnny Cash, like Jimi Hendrix, also abstractly uses patterns of color. Unlike Hendrix, whose design does not reference an object or person, the color mosaic patterns of Cash result in the image of a bird in movement. Centered on the page, Cash's bird seems to be ascending upward.

    The imaginative, whimsical and minimal watercolor by John Lennon hangs on the gallery wall in contrast to a large painting by a cultural icon, the actor Tony Curtis. An American film actor, well known for six decades, he was the most popular in the 1950s and 60s. Of the 100 movies Curtis made and always performed with award-winning academy actors, the pop culture generation may know him for his role as a supporting actor in “Spartacus” or by his daughter, Jamie Lee Curtis.

    Curtis had a passion and talent for painting in the post-impressionist style. His choice of subjects were colorful still lifes, landscapes and portraits. His painting titled “Red Table” is in the collection of the media wing in the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

    Seeing another of his works, the sizeable figurative painting at Gallery 208, visitors will easily recognize the influences of Van Gogh and Henri Matisse. Whereas some of the works in the exhibit reflect a relaxing hobby, Curtis created a large body of work during his lifetime and was very clear on his intent. Artnet quoted Curtis saying, “When I paint, I don't paint shapes; I paint colors.”

    If you attend the Oct. 11 opening, you will not only be fascinated by the exhibit but also by the collector. Alex Munroe will briefly discuss the art of collecting at the opening reception. Gallery 208 only exhibits 18 of an extensive body of work — over 200 pieces in his collection.

    What someone chooses to collect tells us a lot about the individual. All collectors like the works by the artist(s), but they also assume the work could appreciate. For many investors, their collection symbolizes success within social circles.

    Attending the exhibit, you will not assume Munroe's eclectic collection is a way to affirm himself as a social success. Instead, it is easy to sense the collection represents the collector as having an entrepreneurial passion for the unexpected and a highly creative way of seeing the world and culture around him. Upon meeting Munroe, you will readily see the collection as a self-expression of a fun-loving personality with various interests and a positive outlook.

    Munroe stated, “I buy art for the sheer enjoyment of sharing it with people. Research has shown that when people view art, the brain releases chemicals that make them feel secure and happy. My art takes this concept to an even higher level as a celebrity has the added benefit. To see a piece by Jimi Hendrix, Paul McCartney or Richard Petty adds an element of awe.”

    So, how do you share over 200 works by celebrities with the public? Create the ambiance for a restaurant by hanging your framed original art collection stacked up on the walls and even hanging the work in the bathroom and bathroom stalls. That's easy to build and own a restaurant with good food but also has the restaurant's décor that exudes your outgoing and engaging personality.

    This gallery and eatery exists in Elizabethtown, off Interstate 87, and is a combination restaurant, bar and ballroom. The stacked artworks filling the walls are in an 1850 Salon exposition style. The list is unexpectedly endless, while dining at the Cape Fear Winery, and includes works by Picasso, Salvador Dali, Matisse, Ron Wood, Ringo Starr, Dr. Suess, Jonathan Winters, Eric Clapton and more.

    As noted earlier, the collector is just as curious as the collection is. Graduating from UNC-Chapel Hill with a BA in Advertising, Munroe started his first company in Wilmington, in 2000, producing and selling detectable warning systems. Munroe then returned home to expand his company at the Elizabethtown Industrial Park.

    Munroe states it best: “The abandoned winery was across the street from my office. It was a beautiful property, so that I would walk my dog there every day. I discovered it was in foreclosure, so I leased it the day I found out. Worst case, it was a beautiful property, so it was a valuable real estate to me. I asked around and decided the area needed an event venue, restaurant and lodging.”

    The Cape Fear Winery expanded to include a restaurant, a distillery, a venue for weddings or special occasions, and a new gift shop and spa. With the collection always hanging, the restaurant is always the place to venture to when you are ready for good food and an eclectic dining experience!

    Eventually, visitors to the restaurant will be able to see his most recent works, six more "Peanuts" pieces by Tom Everhart and an original by famous guitarist, Slash.
    One would assume Munroe had lived in Los Angeles for many years and was directly influenced by celebrities to collect celebrity art. To my surprise, Munroe's brothers unknowingly influenced him to become a collector.

    Munroe tells his story about going to New York City with his family as a young boy. He stated, “Coach Dean Smith was on the plane, and my brothers dared me to go get his autograph. I did, and my brothers thought I was so cool. So, to keep impressing them, I bought more stuff and suddenly had a nice collection. I have a broker in San Francisco who helps me acquire rare pieces when they come available, usually about a year after the celebrity passes away.”

    What began as a “way to impress his brothers” became a sincere passion, enriching the area where he was raised as a child. Munroe believes “great art will be around forever, and long after I'm gone. I think of myself more as the current proprietor of the art instead of the owner. You usually have to go to a big city to see the caliber of some of the art I have, so I'm happy to be able to share it locally. Before I opened the winery, most of my art was in cylinders in my attic. I originally thought I'd display select pieces, but as people started coming and asking if I had more, I happily hung more pieces on the walls.”

    The public is invited to attend the opening reception of The Alex Munroe Collection: Artwork by Celebrities on Oct. 11 from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m. at Gallery 208 on Rowan Street in Fayetteville.

    Gallery hours are Monday thru Thursday, 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. For anyone who cannot attend the opening, the exhibit will remain at Gallery 208 until Dec. 15. For information, call Up & Coming Weekly at 910-484-6200.

  • 10-10-12-bragg.gifBefore Fort Bragg was Fort Bragg, the area was home to Camp Bragg, but what was there before the establishment of Camp Bragg? Get on the bus and find out!

    Join the Fayetteville Area Transportation and Local History Museum on Saturday, Oct. 13, for a tour of historic sites on Fort Bragg. The bus will leave the museum at 8 a.m. for a day-long tour of the Old Post Historic District, Long Street Presbyterian Church and the Old Argyle archaeological sites, conducted by historians from Fort Bragg’s Cultural Resources Department. The cost is $3 per person.

    While this is the first early Fort Bragg history tour hosted jointly by the Fayetteville Area Transportation and Local History Museum and Fort Bragg’s Cultural Resources Department, the museum has previously worked together with Fort Bragg, noted Bruce Daws, historic properties manager for the City of Fayetteville.

    “We’ve worked in conjunction with Fort Bragg in the past on a tour of the Rockefeller property and Monroe’s Crossroads,” said Daws, “but the way this tour is structured will be the first time that we’ve done it. The Cultural Resources Department employs archaeologists, and they get a lot of archaeology out of Fort Bragg. A lot of it is prehistory and Native American, but then they do archaeology on sites related to the earlier Camp Bragg. They also have archaeological historians that oversee — similar to our Historic Research Commission — the old part or any historic buildings.”

    The tour will include the old Long Street Presbyterian Church that dates back to the 1750s.

    “The church was surrounded by a little Argyle community, so we’ll talk about archeology that they’ve done out there,” Daws said. “It was a very early settlement in a very early church. We’ll actually get to go out there and tour the inside of the church. It is surrounded by a beautiful cemetery with a stone wall around it. There’s a mass Confederate grave of the solders killed at the Battle of Monroe’s Crossroads.”

    The original Long Street Church dates to about 1758; the current church on site is a later church from 1847.10-10-12-bragg-2.gif

    “It’s a beautiful wood-frame church, a kind of Greek revival-style church,” said Daws. “It was part of that land acquired by the army when they established Camp Bragg in 1918, so they had to kind of displace this congregation and a bunch of people who lived on that land which would later make up Fort Bragg. The United States Government entered into an agreement that it would always maintain the church.”

    Interestingly, the church is available today for services in a number of different forms, Daws explained.

    “I think there is a group of descendants of people who worshipped there that meet there annually. The Fayetteville Independent Light Infantry does an annual worship service out there. The military has used it on occasion for special services. So it’s a real jewel. It has not been modernized. It is an outstanding time capsule. There are no heaters or air conditioners. It’s just very, very intact and represents what it looked like when it was built in 1847. And it’s set in a very rural-type setting off of Long Street.”

    In addition to the church and Argyle archaeological sites, participants will also tour the main post area. Daws explained that the main post area generally centers around the current corps headquarters for the XVIII Airborne Corps and all the brick buildings around the post built after Camp Bragg changed from camp status to fort status in the 1920s.

    “It’s going to be a very interesting look at early Fort Bragg, and when we talk about early Fort Bragg, we’re going to talk about the land and what was there before the establishment of Camp Bragg, and then we’ll look for remains of the early, early post, which in 1918 was essentially established as a tent city,” Daws said. “Then there was some built environment, and then there was a greater drive to build it once it achieved fort status in the 1920s.”

    While much of the tour will take place from the bus, it will involve some moderate walking. Tour guests should also bring a lunch and beverage for a picnic at Wilson Park. Daws stressed that participants must have a valid photo ID to be admitted on Fort Bragg, and space for the tour is limited, so preregistration is required.

    To preregister or for more information, please call (910) 433-1457, (910) 433-1458, or (910) 433-1944.

    Photo: Long Street Church is one of the many sites that the tour will visit.

  • Community Concerts is as much about the community as it is about the concerts, really. For this all-volunteer organization, the past two decades have been about working together to show audiences a good time and fi nding new ways to say thanks to those who have helped shape the community.

    This year, Community Concerts has another outstanding list of performers scheduled. The concert season opens on Nov. 9 with Gladys Knight. A seven-time Grammy winner, Knight has recorded more than 38 albums and has a philanthropic heart.

    She is the national spokesperson for the American Diabetes Association, she supports the American Cancer Society, the Minority AIDS Project, amFAR and Crisis Interventions. She is also a recipient of the BET’s Lifetime Achievement Award.

    She’s been topping charts and wowing audiences for more than 50 years. Her latest work is titled Before Me. The album includes Billie Holiday’s “God Bless the Child,” Lena Horne’s “Stormy Weather” and Duke Ellington’s “Come Sunday.” 10-31-12-gladys-knight.gif

    The show starts at 7:30 p.m. Visit www. community-concerts.com or www.atthecrown.com for more information.

    Next in the line up is country sensation Martina McBride on Dec. 17. Breaking away from RCA Records after her contract ended in 2010 was a big step for McBride, but she took a chance and signed with Republic Nashville, one of the Big Machine Records labels and has been hard at work. Her latest album, Eleven, was released in October of 2011. McBride co-wrote six of the 11 tracks on the album.

    With more than 20 years of entertaining behind her, McBride delivers top-notch performances for her fans. She’ll be at the Crown on Dec. 17.

    Styx comes to town on Jan. 19 as the third of fi ve concerts this season. This group has been rocking the stage since the early 70s and isn’t showing any signs of slowing down. They performed more between 1999 and 2012 than they did in the previous years. Early fans of the group remember them for songs like “Come Sail Away,” “Renegade,” “Blue Collar Man” and “Fooling Yourself.” More recent fans have heard their work in TV shows like South Park and Freaks and Geeks as well as on car commercials.

    Relive old memories and make new ones at the Crown with Community Concerts. Find out more about this iconic rock and roll band at www. community-concerts.com.

    They started out as the Jazziacs in 1950 and were later known as the Soul Town Band. You probably know them better as Kool & the Gang. Known for their versatile sound, Kool & the Gang perform jazz, funk and soul as well at Top 40 hits. With songs like “Ladies Night” (1979), “Too Hot” (1980) and Celebration, a 1980 platinum album, the group has enjoyed great success. Spend an evening with this eclectic group and get your groove on. They will be at the Crown on Feb. 23.

    Ricky Skaggs closes the season. He stared in Blue Grass and transitioned to mainstream country music in the late 1970s. He’s won 14 Grammy’s, more than a dozen number one hits and eight County Music Association Awards, including Entertainer of the Year in 1985.

    It’s been 53 years since Skaggs picked up the mandolin and he is still going strong. Skaggs is slated to perform at the Crown on April 23.

    Find out more at www. community-concerts.com.

    Photo: Legendary performer Gladys Knight kicks off this season’s Community Concerts. 

  • P55

    Approximately ten million Americans have osteoporosis, and another forty-four million have low bone density.

    It is a primary public concern for women who are fifty or older. It is less prevalent in men, about five percent in those fifty and older. It is the most common bone disease caused by the weakening of bone structure and strength.

    It is often located at the femur neck, lumbar spine, or both. It causes the bones to become weak and brittle; sometimes, people may be unaware that they have it until they fall. Fractures can also occur in the hip and wrist.

    Bone is a living tissue that is continually being replaced, and osteoporosis occurs when the replacement of new bone is not able to keep up with the loss of old bone.

    When we are young, our bodies make new bone faster than it decreases. Most people reach their peak bone mass by age thirty. It can affect men and women of all ages and races, but the primary population at risk are white and Asian women past menopause.

    The chance of developing osteoporosis is influenced by how much bone mass was attained in youth, with genetics and race also being a factor. The higher your obtained peak mass during youth offers a better foundation for bone strength as you age.

    A small body frame puts an individual at greater risk because there is less reserve of bone mass as we age. Dietary factors can also have an influence on bone loss, which include low calcium intake, restricting food intake with the avoidance of a balanced diet, and being underweight.

    Lifestyle choices can also increase the risk factors for osteoporosis, which includes a sedentary lifestyle, tobacco use, and excessive alcohol consumption.

    Typically, there are not any symptoms in the early stages of bone loss, but once the bones become weakened, back pain can occur from a fractured or collapsed vertebra, loss of height and stooped posture.

    It is also a bone condition commonly known as the term “hunchback.”

    The medical term for “hunchback” is Kyphosis. Kyphosis is a forward rounding of the back and becomes exaggerated as the shoulders and back begin to round forward. The result of the rounding is a weakness in the spinal bones.

    There are three types of Kyphosis: congenital (at birth), postural (beginning in childhood), and Scheuermann’s (when the spinal bones grow in an abnormal wedged fashion).

    Good nutrition and regular exercise are essential for healthy bones in all stages of life.

    Men and women between the ages of eighteen and fifty need one thousand milligrams of calcium per day and should increase to an intake of approximately twelve hundred milligrams per day when women turn fifty, and men turn seventy.

    Good sources of calcium include low-fat dairy products, dark green leafy vegetables, canned salmon, soy products, and orange juice. Calcium supplements can also be an additive to your diet; however, too much calcium intake may increase the risk of heart disease.

    Vitamin D is also beneficial to the body’s ability to absorb calcium and improves bone health in many ways, with sunshine being a source, as well as many types of milk and cereal fortified with vitamin D.

    Exercise is good for your bones, especially weight-bearing exercises. The combination of strength training in conjunction with balance exercises helps to strengthen the muscles and bones in your legs, core, upper body, and spine. Other exercises include walking and stair climbing.

    If you feel that you may be at risk, it is advisable to meet with your physician for treatment, medication, supplements and exercise.

    Live, love, life, and movement.

  • P14Halloween is often just what the doctor ordered. Nestled between the start of a new school year and the arrival of the holiday season, Halloween is an opportunity for children and adults alike to have fun as they dress up in costumes and indulge in sweet treats.

    Even though Halloween is designed to be an entertaining day, it’s not without its risks. The Child Safety Network says, on average, two times as many child pedestrians die on Halloween compared to other days.

    Costume safety and food allergies are additional hazards to contend with on Halloween. Parents can work together to help reduce the safety risks associated with Halloween.

    Light it up

    Lack of visibility and dim lighting at night increases the risk of pedestrians being struck by cars on Halloween.

    Improving visibility can go a long way toward reducing accidents and related deaths.

    Homeowners can keep the lights turned on and perhaps illuminate neighborhoods even more by temporarily installing strands of Christmas or bistro style lights.

    Reflective tape placed on candy bags or somewhere on costumes can also help.

    Set up safe trick-or-treat zones.

    The popularity of trunk-or-treat events that emerged several years ago took some of the risk out of Halloween by containing trick-or-treating to a parking lot at a school or church.

    Neighbors can establish something similar close to home by petitioning the town for permits to close a specific road or roads to vehicular traffic for a “block party” of sorts.

    Residents in the area can trick-or-treat and party in the street without risk of injury from cars.
    Check candy

    There is a risk of eating candy without thought, but that risk is now primarily related to food allergies. The United States Department of Agriculture estimates that, each year in the U.S., allergic reactions to food result in 30,000 emergency room visits, 2,000 hospitalizations, and 150 deaths.

    Common allergens include peanuts, nuts, eggs, and dairy.

    Others may be intolerant to ingredients like gluten or soy. Inspecting candy nutrition information can help weed out candy that may cause a reaction for those with food allergies or other concerns.

    Prepare homes

    Adults and parents can take additional steps to prepare their homes for Halloween.
    Keep the porch and front yard clear of tripping hazards, such as garden hoses, decorations and toys.

    Sweep away leaves and branches to prevent tripping or slipping.

    Restrain pets so they do not jump on trick-or-treaters. Offer a variety of treats for kids of all ages so trick-or-treaters get age-appropriate items.

    Halloween fun and safety can go hand-in-hand this October.

  • P13School children in Cumberland County are invited to enter the Cumberland County Board of Elections’ inaugural “I Voted” sticker design contest.

    The winning sticker design will be used during the 2024 General Election in the County.

    The contest is open to students in Cumberland County in grades 6 through 12 enrolled in public, private and charter schools as well as home-schooled students. The Board of Elections is currently accepting sticker designs.

    Contestants must have written consent from their parent, guardian or custodian. Each contestant will be allowed to submit one sticker design.

    Sticker designs must be a 4-inch circle format capable of being reduced to a 2-inch format. The design must incorporate Cumberland County symbols, landmarks and voting themes. Submissions must be in JPEG, PNG or PDF formats.

    The deadline for the Cumberland County Board of Elections to receive sticker contest submissions is Dec. 15, 2023, no later than 5 p.m.

    The form may be returned in person, by U.S. Mail, or submitted electronically via the website. Send mailed forms to Cumberland County Board of Elections, 227 Fountainhead Lane, Suite 101, Fayetteville, NC 28301.

    To download the submission form and to submit electronically, go to

    cumberlandcountync.gov/departments/election-group/elections/sticker-design-contest.

    The “I Voted” sticker contest will consist of three rounds of voting to choose a winning design. In the first round, all approved sticker designs will be displayed on the Cumberland County Board of Elections website for 30 days.

    Members of the public will vote for 10 sticker designs to advance to round two.
    In round two, members of the public will again be able to vote for sticker designs. The top three designs selected during round two will advance to the final round.

    The Cumberland County Board of Elections members and the Elections director will vote for one winning “I Voted” sticker design from the three finalists.

    The sticker voted by a majority of the Board of Elections members will be declared the contest winner.

    The “I Voted” sticker contest is nonpartisan. Submissions with any reference or suggestion to party affiliation or political issues that may have appeared on a ballot will not be accepted.

    See the complete contest rules to include policy and acknowledgment forms online at cumberlandcountync.gov/departments/election-group/elections/sticker-design-contest.

    The Cumberland County Board of Elections is located in the E. Newton Smith Center at 227 Fountainhead Lane, Fayetteville, N.C.

    For more information, call 910-678-7733 or visit cumberlandcountync.gov/elections.

  • P12

    The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission is accepting entries to its 19th annual Wildlife in North Carolina Photo Competition. Entries will be accepted until Jan. 31, 2024.

    The contest is open to amateur and professional photographers of all ages, except for employees of the Wildlife Commission and their immediate families.

    Adult competition entrants must be current magazine subscribers. Photographers in the two youth categories, 13 to 17 years old and 12 and under, may enter without a subscription.

    Only digital entries in JPEG format, no larger than 2 MB, will be considered — no slides, negatives or prints will be accepted. Photographs must have been taken in North Carolina on Sept. 15, 2019 or later.

    Entrants may submit a maximum of two photos per category. The competition categories are:

    •  Animal Behavior
    •  Birds
    •  Invertebrates
    •  Mammals
    •  Outdoor Recreation
    •  Reptiles and Amphibians
    •  Wild Landscapes
    •  Wild Plants and Fungi

    Youth photographers, 13 to 17 can enter in any of the above subjects, shot by children ages 13 to 17.

    Youth photographers, 12 and under can enter any of the above subjects, shot by children 12 and younger.

    Photos of captive native animals are allowed, but photos of animals that are both captive and non-native to North Carolina will not be accepted. No pets or domestic animals will be accepted, except animals participating with people in an outdoor activity, such as hunting dogs or horses with riders.

    Entries will be judged by a panel comprising staff from the Wildlife Commission and professional wildlife photographers. The grand prize winner’s photo will be published on the cover of the July/August 2024 issue of Wildlife in North Carolina, and the winner will receive a cash prize of $200. All winning photos will be published in the July/August 2024 issue. Cash prizes of $100, $75 and $50 will be awarded to the first, second and third place photographers, respectively, in each category.

    Additional details about the contest and past winning photos are available at ncwildlife.org/contest.

    Wildlife in North Carolina is published bimonthly by the Wildlife Commission in both print and electronic formats. Subscribers to the magazine enjoy exceptional color photography and articles on hunting, fishing, natural areas, wildlife research and the state’s environment in every issue. Annual subscriptions to the printed version of the magazine are $12. A digital subscription is $10; a combination digital/print subscription is $15.

    About the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission

    Since 1947, the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission has been dedicated to the conservation and sustainability of the state’s fish and wildlife resources through research, scientific management, wise use and public input. The Commission is the state regulatory agency responsible for the enforcement of fishing, hunting, trapping and boating laws and provides programs and opportunities for wildlife-related educational, recreational and sporting activities.

    Get N.C. Wildlife Update — news including season dates, bag limits, legislative updates and more — delivered free to your Inbox from the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission.

  • 64If you have a loved one showing signs of Alzheimer’s or another form of dementia, you’ll obviously experience some strong emotions — and you’ll likely ask yourself this question: What can I do to help?

    While there are certainly many ways you could provide assistance over time, there’s one area that might require your immediate attention: finances.

    Alzheimer’s patients often exhibit a range of money-related problems. Here are some of the most common ones, according to the National Institute on Aging:

    • Trouble counting change or paying for a purchase
    • Difficulty in balancing a checkbook
    • Confusion over bank statements
    • Not paying — or even opening — bills
    • Making strange and unnecessary purchases with a credit card

    Of course, your awareness of these problems depends, to a great extent, on just how familiar you are with the daily life of your loved one with Alzheimer’s or similar dementia.
    But if you have noticed these issues, it may be time for you to act before things get worse — and they can get worse, because scam artists constantly target the elderly by making false promises, soliciting personal data, asking for money and even requesting changes in estate-planning documents.

    So, what steps can you take? You’ll need to clearly communicate your concerns to your afflicted loved one, and you’ll have to get their consent for the actions you wish to take on their behalf.
    This may not be easy, but it’s certainly worth the effort.

    Here are a few moves to consider:

    • Set up auto-pay. If your loved one has still been paying bills manually, now may be a good time to set up auto-pay for utilities, loans and other bills.
    • Open a joint checking account.
      By opening a joint checking account with your loved one, or perhaps adding your name to an existing account, you can help ensure all payments are accurate and appropriate.
    • Freeze credit reports. By freezing your loved one’s credit reports at the credit reporting bureaus — Equifax, TransUnion and Experian — you can prevent bogus credit lines from being opened in their name.
    • Create a durable power of attorney. In the early stages of Alzheimer’s or dementia, your loved one could create a durable power of attorney and name you, or another close family member, as the “agent” — which means you’d be empowered to make financial and other decisions when your loved one is no longer capable of doing so. A durable power of attorney could also be created in cases of advanced Alzheimer’s, but it can be somewhat more challenging.
    • Help establish a living trust. In addition to a durable power of attorney, a living trust can be valuable for families of Alzheimer’s patients. A living trust can hold a person’s financial assets and other property while the trustee manages the money and makes investment and spending decisions. A living trust can be complex, so before establishing one, you’ll need to consult with your legal and tax professionals.

    When you’re dealing with the financial issues associated with your loved one’s Alzheimer’s or dementia, it can feel like you’re on a long road. But diligently seeking out the appropriate financial moves can help make the journey less stressful — for everyone involved.

  • 61The Cumberland County Board of Commissioners has taken action to move forward with construction of a Homeless Support Center that will provide much needed shelter beds for County residents experiencing homelessness, as well as access to programs and resources that will help them achieve sustainable housing and improve their lives.

    The Homeless Support Center will be located off Grove Street between B Street and Hawley Lane.

    The selected site is adjacent to the former Pauline Jones Elementary School, which is currently used by Fayetteville Technical Community College as an Education Center.

    On Sept. 12, the Cumberland County Board of Education approved a request to convey two parcels adjacent to the former school to the County.

    The County intends to partner with FTCC to provide educational opportunities for residents who utilize the Homeless Support Center.
    Cape Fear Valley Health System will also be a partner in this project and the County will work with other community partners to bring resources to those using the facility to assist them as they work to transition to permanent and stable housing.

    Cumberland County Board of Commissioners Chairwoman Dr. Toni Stewart announced she will establish an advisory committee for the project that will include two residents from the B Street community.

    They will be business owners: one representative who serves and advocates for the homeless community, and one person from Community Development, along with herself, Commissioner Michael Boose and Fayetteville City Councilwoman Shakeyla Ingram.

    “The need for beds in our community has not gone unnoticed by the County,” said Chairwoman Stewart.

    “We need beds, but we also need to change the overall living environment. There’s a lot more to be done to make that happen, but this is a significant step in that process.”

    The Board of Commissioners has also selected the architectural firm LS3P to finalize the building program and design the Homeless Support Center.

    LS3P was selected following an RFQ process and was recommended based on their extensive experience with similar types of facilities, as well as alignment with the County’s goals of creating a welcoming and inviting space that will allow those receiving services to feel valued and understood.

    County staff are currently working with LS3P to bring a contract forward for Board approval to begin working on programming and design of the Homeless Support Center.

    As part of that process, the County will engage various stakeholders, including members of the homeless community to provide input on what the facility will need to truly make a positive impact on the community and improve outcomes for those experiencing homelessness.

    For more information about Cumberland County Government, visit https://www.cumberlandcountync.gov/home cumberlandcountync.gov.

  • 29The Cumberland County Public Library is participating in the “31 Days of Love” campaign to make a difference in the lives of pets in the Cumberland County Animal Shelter. Every library location is accepting donations of pet supplies during the month of October.

    Donations can be delivered to any library location. Acceptable items include pet food, pet toys, blankets and newspapers to line cages and other animal-related supplies. See a wish list of items on Animal Services’ donation website at https://www.cumberlandcountync.gov/departments/animal-services-group/animal -Services/volunteer-foster-donate!/or on Amazon at https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/2Q918I9BOFIRS/ref=nav_wishlist_lists_ 3.

    The Library will also host pet adoption programs to help find loving homes for shelter pets during the 31 Days of Love. The pet adoption programs will be held at:

    • Oct. 5 from 1 to 3 p.m. at Cliffdale Regional Library, 6882 Cliffdale Rd., Fayetteville
    • Oct. 14 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. at Headquarters Library, 300 Maiden Lane, Fayetteville
    • Oct. 24 from 1 to 3:30 p.m. at Hope Mills Community Library, 3411 Golfview Rd., Hope Mills
    • Oct. 28 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. at North Regional Library, 855 McArthur Rd., Fayetteville

    People can make a difference by adopting shelter animals in need of a home. Visit the shelter, located at 4704 Corporation Dr., Fayetteville, or go online to see adoptable shelter animals at the Animal Services https://www.cumberlandcountync.gov/departments/animal-services-group/animal -Services/pet-adoption/adoptable-animals website.

    Pet supply donations are accepted year-round during regular business hours, Monday through Friday, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the shelter. If you are interested in adopting a pet or for more information about pet supply donations, call 910-321-6852.

    For more information on the Library system, including other locations and hours of operation, visit https://www.cumberlandcountync.gov/departments/library-group/library cumberlandcountync.gov/library.

  • 27Fayetteville Technical Community College joined Thursday with nine other community colleges, N.C. A&T State University, N.C. State University, and six workforce development boards in a charter aimed at optimizing their strengths to address the needs of regional employers.

    Representatives from each of the partners met Sept. 21 at Central Carolina Community College to sign the AdvanceNC charter. AdvanceNC is an innovative workforce development ecosystem developing a robust talent pipeline to support unprecedented economic growth in North Carolina.

    Dr. Tiffany Watts, Chief of Staff & Vice President for Strategic Initiatives at FTCC, attended on behalf of College President Dr. Mark Sorrells.

    Gov. Roy Cooper, N.C. Community College System President Dr. Jeff Cox, UNC System President Peter Hans and N.C Association of Workforce Development Boards President Rodney Carson delivered remarks before the signing.

    There is so much good going on here from VinFast to Toyota to Wolfspeed bringing great-paying jobs right here to the central part of our state, Cooper said. We are the number one state in the country for business.

    That’s no accident. The credit belongs to the people of North Carolina. North Carolina has the best, most hard-working, dedicated, well-trained, diverse workforce in the world. When you invest in people, you invest in success, and education is the backbone of our economy and our workforce.

    The AdvanceNC partners recently applied for funding and designation of central North Carolina as an Economic Development Administration Tech Hub. The proposed project known as the Central Carolina Cleantech Hub (C3H) aims to strengthen the region’s capacity to manufacture, commercialize, and deploy critical clean energy technologies.

    The AdvanceNC partners are:

    • Alamance Community College
    • Capital Area Workforce Development Board
    • Central Carolina Community College
    • Durham Tech Community College
    • Durham Workforce Development Board
    • Fayetteville Tech Community College
    • Johnston Community College
    • Kerr-Tar Workforce Development Board
    • Lumber River Workforce Development Board
    • Mid-Carolina Workforce Development Board
    • N.C. A&T State University
    • N.C. State University
    • Piedmont Community College
    • Piedmont Triad/Regional Workforce Development Board
    • Randolph Community College
    • Sandhills Community College
    • Vance-Granville Community College
    • Wake Tech Community College
  • 17 01 Ribbon CuttingSusan Moody strongly supports anything that can improve the quality of life in her adopted town of Hope Mills. Since she moved there in 1986 she’s embraced any positive changes to the community, including last Monday’s ribbon-cutting that officially opened the new Golfview Greenway Walking Trail to the public.

    But with some projects, and the Greenway probably tops Moody’s list, she wonders if the town’s Board of Commissioners hasn’t gotten ahead of itself in making the venue open without doing everything it could to make it fully ready.
    Moody is a regular at Board of Commissioners meetings. When she’s not able to attend in person, she scours the minutes that are provided after the fact to see what business has been transacted.

    She started having reservations about the haste involved with the Greenway when town director of public works Don Sisko discussed at length changes that would be needed to made to the greenway.

    “He started sharing what it was going to take to bring it up to ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) compliance,’’ Moody said. “He was talking about the grades of different paths. He was talking about the width of the path, what they were going to have to do.’’

    Moody said Sisko also discussed areas of the trail that were washed out and other issues.

    “My concern has been all along that it’s not ADA compliant,’’ Moody said. “The town has already been sued once.’’

    Moody is correct. In 2013, the town settled a lawsuit with Tim Wallen over handicapped access to the Parks and Recreation Building and facilities at Municipal Park and Brower park.

    17 02 Greenway signThe town agreed to pay for a variety of changes and was also assessed $6,000 in attorney’s fees for the lawsuit.

    But at its Aug. 20 meeting in 2018 when the Board of Commissioners scheduled tours of the golf course, Heritage Park and Hope Mills Lake bed No. 2, Mayor Pro Tem Mike Mitchell expressed no concern for taking its time in opening the new greenway at the golf course to the public.

    “All this property belongs to our citizens,’’ Mitchell was quoted as saying in The Fayetteville Observer. “They should be able to make use of it. As for liability, everywhere we look we have liability. It’s what insurance is for.’’

    Most people don’t purchase insurance with a goal of having to test its limits. They do it to be cautious. Pushing the envelope on what insurance covers would be risky in a case of someone who suffered a serious injury on the walking trail that would affect them and their families for the rest of their lives.

    Opening the park so soon could be compared to opening a big box store to consumers when construction is still in progress, hard hats are needed in some departments and others aren’t fully stocked.

    “We have a large senior population,’’ Moody said. “We have people that are wheelchair-bound. We have people that are in walkers. We have people that just can’t walk that far.’’

    Moody is concerned nothing has been done to address most of the issues that Sisko first raised with the board months ago.

    “It’s another rabbit hole that this board goes down,’’ she said. “They see something, the rabbit goes down the hole and they chase it.

    “Where are the plans? There have been no plans presented to the board.’’

    There was one plan presented that the board took no action on. At an earlier meeting a suggestion was made to construct an ADA compliant walking track at the new greenway. The board considered it, but took no action.

    “This wasn’t in the (recreation) master plan that cost how many thousands of dollars?,’’ Moody said. “They are going at this piecemeal. Where is the strategic plan to do any of this? That’s my concern.’’

    In a recent town manager’s report from Melissa Adams, a consultant for the town listed some minimum notices the town should post at the greenway.

    The list included signage describing the length, surface and slope of the trail. The signs are currently on order but as of the ribbon cutting on Monday had not been put into place at the greenway.

    Some who attended the ribbon cutting said a few modifications not related to handicapped access had been made and pine straw had been removed from the trail.

    Moody said she definitely wants the greenway open for all the people of Hope Mills but not in a hit-and-miss manner where it’s going to be put a band-aid on this or a temporary thing on that.

    That belief by Moody seemed to be confirmed by a Facebook post from town commissioner Meg Huse Larson. Responding to a post from someone saying that the greenway was in need of water stations along the trail, Larson said the town was putting in two watering stations and more “as finances permit.’’

    The town is also leasing the greenway’s only existing parking lot at a cost of $4,800 for one year.

    “What’s going to happen a year from now when this lease is out and these people have gone through and decided they are going to develop it or do something else with it,’’ Moody said.

    The total bill for the greenway so far is $11,769, with much of the signage that has been ordered still not in place when the ribbon cutting took place last week.

    “It should have been in place before they took down the no trespassing signs,’’ Moody said.

    The good news, if you can call it that, is the insurance is in place, ready for one bad incident on unfinished walking trail to test its limits.

    Picture 1: Jackie Warner went to the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Hope Mills Greenway.

    Picture 2: Moody said she definitely wants the greenway open for all the people of Hope Mills, but not in a hit and miss manner.

  • 16 01 eatonOf all the people who will be hit hardest by the departure of the Fayetteville SwampDogs from the community, few will be more affected than Sam Eaton.

    Eaton is a 16-year-old special needs student at Gray’s Creek High School. For the past 12 years, the SwampDogs provided him with a place of joy that also gave his life a genuine purpose.

    The team embraced Eaton and Eaton embraced the team, and finding something that will fill the void of what used to be busy summers for Eaton will be difficult.

    It all started one day back in 2007 when Eaton’s mother Robin, a teacher in the Fort Bragg schools, was looking for a way to entertain her son and wound up taking him to a SwampDogs game.

    “He became very immersed in the rhythm of the onfield promotion of what was going on between innings,’’ she said. “The game was secondary to the fanfare.’’

    Despite an assortment of ailments that impaired his speech and also made it difficult for him to walk, Sam and the SwampDogs baseball team grew to be inseparable. He became close to the characters who wore the team’s Fungo mascot costume.

    Sam became an official unofficial member of the SwampDogs staff, and as time passed his responsibilities with the team grew.
    16 02 SN class
    He became friends with the guys in the Fungo costume, on and off the field. He’d advise them to drink water and stay hydrated on hot days at the ballpark, even making sure they went into the walk-in cooler on especially warm days.
    But he wasn’t just a sidekick to Fungo. “He knows the ins and outs of that whole place,’’ Mrs. Eaton said. “He knows when to turn on the lights, what inning to get the postgame meal prepped, what sequence of events is for the onfield promotions.’’

    In the real world, young Sam is just beginning to read, hasn’t mastered writing, and can’t drive a car or ride a bicycle.

    But in the SwampDogs world, he’s an asset. “He’s fully successful, depended on, relied on and treated as one of the staff and one of the team,’’ Mrs. Eaton said.

    Sam isn’t the only special needs person that the SwampDogs have offered a hand to. “They did the whole Special Olympics intern program,’’ Mrs. Eaton said.

    Sam is searching for something to occupy his time in place of the SwampDogs. He’s found some help at Gray’s Creek High School, where various members of the Bears coaching staff have welcomed Sam into their programs, including the baseball and football teams.

    But summers are still looking like a problem now that the SwampDogs are gone and Sam’s older sister has left for college.

    “I think he’ll be bored,’’ Mrs. Eaton said. “It will be a big change for our family and for Sam.’’

    Sam won’t be able to fit in just anywhere, because he doesn’t consider himself a fan. “He’s a worker,’’ Mrs. Eaton said. “He was in the right time at the right place and we’re sad it’s come to an end.’’

    But even in a time of sadness, Sam thought enough of his friends to make them recipients of charity from the SwampDogs.

    His grandmother, Peggy Jennings, helps keep the books for the SwampDogs, and she had the idea of putting together swag bags of team souvenirs that were no longer going to be needed. Sam immediately thought of his friends.
    “What came to mind were his classmates, Special Olympics athletes and Buddy Baseball athletes,’’ Ms. Eaton said. “Those are his peers. He knows they have a place with the SwampDogs.’’

    One of the groups that benefitted was the special needs classes at Gray’s Creek High School where Earl Horan is a special education teacher.

    He came into his classroom recently over a two-day period and saw bags filled with souvenirs, shirts and caps for his class and members of the faculty.

    "Sam’s a neat little character,’’ Horan said. “He has an infectious smile and everyone likes having Sam around.’’

    Horan also praised the SwampDogs for the work they’ve done with young men like Sam. “It gives the kids such a feeling of acceptance and self-worth,’’ he said. “It touches the whole family, makes them feel a part of the team and the community.’’
     

    Picture 1: Sam Eaton posing with and SwampDogs mascot, Fungo

    Picture 2: Students with Earl Horan’s special needs class show off SwampDogs swag shared by their fellow student Sam Eaton.

     
     
  • Elements of the U.S. Army Special Operations Command are conducting realistic military training on Fort Bragg and in the greater Fayetteville area, including Hope Mills, from Oct. 28 until Nov. 22.

    You may see soldiers in civilian clothes meeting at predetermined locations throughout the city as part of the training scenario. This has been coordinated with Fayetteville law enforcement and the city manager and the town manager of Hope Mills.

    This type of training is routine and gives soldiers the opportunity to work in a more realistic environment. The military sincerely appreciates the cooperation of citizens and local businesses in the vicinity of this training and apologizes for any disturbance it may cause.

    Q. Are townspeople likely to notice anything?

    A. The soldiers taking part in this training will not be in uniform, carrying weapons or driving military vehicles. Members of the community are not likely to notice anything out of the ordinary while this training is conducted.

    Q. Can you share anything about the general purpose of the exercise?

    A. Special operations soldiers regularly conduct this type of training off of military installations because it adds an increased level of realism and greater training value for our special operations personnel.

    Q. Why does the exercise last as long as it does?

    A. Four weeks is simply the amount of time it will take to cover all of the course material and complete the practical exercises. Readiness determines our ability to fight and win our nation’s wars. It is the capability of our forces to conduct the full range of military operations to defeat all enemies regardless of the threats they pose.

    Q. Will different Fort Bragg personnel rotate in and out of the exercise from week to week or will it be the same group of participants start to finish?

    A. This is a single course, therefore the same personnel will be participating in this training for the entire four weeks.

    Q. Is this a 24/7 event or will the exercise only be in morning or evening hours?

    A. This training will mostly be conducted during the day, Monday through Friday.

    Q. How many personnel will take part?

    A. A total of 18 students will take part in this course.

    Q. What kind of things will the participants be doing?

    A. Special operations soldiers will be conducting network enabler training. This training will certify civil affairs soldiers on their informant network-building skills, a critical skill for special operations soldiers.

    Small groups of soldiers in civilian clothes will conduct interviews in public places throughout the greater Fayetteville area. It is important to note that any interaction with members of the public will be secondary.

    Soldiers will not be interacting with members of the public to gather information for this training.

    All information gathering will take place between students and instructors or previous graduates of the course.

  • 17 moxieBusiness partners Mary Susan Megill and Tara Freeman don’t look at what they do as owners of Moxie Hair Studio on Legion Road as a job.

    “A lot of people look at it as a hobby, which kind of in a way it is, but it’s a hobby that is also a job that we like,’’ Freeman said. “It doesn’t feel like work. I genuinely like my clients and like to make them feel good about themselves.’’

    The two recently opened their new studio in the Coffman Commons shopping center at 4251 Legion Road.

    “I had previously worked in Hope Mills and had built a clientele out there,’’ Megill said. “It’s close enough to most things in Fayetteville and it wasn’t too far for most of our clients.’’

    Freeman lives in the Gray’s Creek area and saw it as a chance to add another hairstyling option for people in what is a rapidly-growing part of Cumberland County. "It’s an opportunity to market this area more,’’ she said.

    They describe the business as a full-service hair salon available to the entire family. Women, men and children are all welcome.

    For the time being, Megill and Freeman are the only stylists in the shop, but they have openings to add more stylists in the future.

    There are no firm hours with most business being appointment-based. Walk-ins are welcome but depending on the appointment load, it’s better to schedule something in advance.

    Generally, the studio is open during traditional business hours Tuesday through Saturdays.

    Freeman got her cosmetology training at a vocational high school in Ohio. Megill learned the trade at a local hairstyling school.

    Both took the traditional 1,500 hours of training, which for both is ongoing on the job. Between them they’ve got 33 years of experience on the job.

    “It’s always changing,’’ Megill said. “There’s always something new, the client thing, as well. You become close to your clients. You build a relationship with them.

    “We both have clients we’ve been seeing for years. (You) watch them grow with their families and their jobs and whatever else is going on in their life.’’

    Megill said that technique-wise there is always something cool coming out in the hairstyling business. “It’s not boring,’’ she said. “It really, truly is a fun job.’’

    While the main services they offer are hair cutting and coloring, they offer specialty work like rainbow hair coloring and balayage.

    Balayage is when dye is actually painted on to create a graduated, natural-looking effect.

    The procedure can take as long as two hours to perform. The two also do fashion colors and corrective colors.

    For further information on the business, visit their Facebook page, Moxie Hair Studio. You can contact them at 910-491-4542 or by email at moxiehairstudio19@gmail.com.

  • 16 generatorA short time ago, the Hope Mills Police Department swung an amazing deal to get a new tactical vehicle for special situations.

    Now the Hope Mills Fire Department is following suit, helping secure a generator that will provide power to keep Town Hall up and running enough to do business during times of power loss.

    Deputy Chief Steve Lopez of the Hope Mills Fire Department wears a number of hats. In addition to his role as a firefighter, he is also the operations chief for the fire department and the town safety director for Hope Mills.

    After a lengthy search, Lopez has located what is called a tactical quiet generator that he is now working to get final approval and installation for.

    Lopez said that when the Town Hall building was originally constructed, the intent was to get a generator.

    For whatever reason, that never took place, and after Hurricane Florence, when power was out to Town Hall for eight days, something needed to done.

    “We had a sit down (after Florence) and did a lessons learned type of thing,’’ Lopez said. “The problem we were having was the fact all the infrastructure for the servers and the phones were located in the Town Hall.’’

    During that same period of time, Cumberland County dispatch services were also down for two or three days. That meant certain services could not be dispatched by radio or reached by telephone. “The gist of the situation was we needed to try to get a generator here as quickly as we can,’’ Lopez said.

    But that’s a lot easier said than done. A generator of the type Hope Mills needed to keep Town Hall running cannot be purchased at the typical big box chain. The cost for a new one runs upwards of $35,000, which is well beyond the reach of the town budget.

    Lopez began looking at options available via military surplus. “The thing with generators on the military side is they are very powerful, they are made to government specifications and they are made to operate in the worst conditions,’’ he said.

    Lopez finally found what he was looking for with a federal surplus outlet in Raleigh. The cost was only $3,975.

    He checked it out and brought a generator mechanic with him. “He tested it and it passed with flying colors,’’ Lopez said.

    He then took the generator to a local trucking company to do further checks on the generator’s diesel motor. “They judged it to be in super condition,’’ he said.

    “It’s very, very quiet,’’ he said of the generator when it’s operating. “It’s actually used in a forward area where you have to keep the noise to a minimum.’’

    The next step will be to get an estimate on the cost for installing all the hardware needed to connect the generator to Town Hall and set it up so it will automatically turn on just 1.5 seconds after the building loses power in the next storm event or other cause of power failure.

    Should the cost to do all the connections run over $5,000, Lopez said it will have to go to the Board of Commissioners for final approval.

    Lopez added the generator is not designed to power Town Hall completely like normal current would, but he also noted that not everyone comes to work when power is out so every light and power outlet in the building won’t be needed in that situation.

    “There are critical functions in a municipality that need to stay functioning or have the ability to function,’’ Lopez said. “The manager’s office is one and payroll is another. We prioritize which areas we want stood up (powered).’’

    Another major consideration is the detrimental effect no power can have on some equipment. During the time of Florence, Lopez said it got too humid inside the building, causing problems for some of the town’s computers.

    “This generator should power pretty much everything we need in a storm event and post-storm event,’’ Lopez said.

  • 16 01 hair stuff

     

    Due to the threat of severe weather Saturday from Tropical Storm Nestor, the Fall Family Festival at Harmony at Hope Mills has been postponed to a later date.

    Harmony at Hope Mills, an assisted living facility, is still somewhat new to the Hope Mills community. It’s located at 7051 Rockfish Road, a short distance from Jack Britt High School.

    To help introduce itself and to give back to the town it hopes to serve, Harmony is holding a Fall Family Festival on Saturday, Oct. 19, from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m.

    “We want to say thank you and bring the community together as well, as with our families that are currently residents,’’ said Taneshia Morris, the move-in coordinator at Harmony.

    Harmony is partnering with the group that sponsors the annual Cut My City event to offer a variety of activities and services to anyone who would like to take part, especially members of the senior citizens community.

    One of the big features of the festival will be free haircuts and some makeovers.

    Hair dressers and professional makeup artists will be on-hand to help with the makeovers.

    Morris said Harmony has reached out to local churches to ask them to nominate deserving members as candidates for the makeovers.

    Around 2 p.m., Harmony will hold a seniors fashion show for anyone ages 60 and up. Morris said the fashion show will be complete with a catwalk for the participants.

    16 02 harmonyThere will also be senior games, carnival style, with prizes for the participants.

    Other events will include a photo booth, an antique car show, a cornhole competition and a variety of food trucks.

    Anyone who would like to find out additional information about the event or RSVP for the makeovers or the fashion show is asked to call by Wednesday, Oct. 16, at the latest.

    The number is 910-635-0555.

    “We just want people to know we are here,’’ Morris said.

  • 15 01 goatsThe popular Gallberry Corn Maze is back for a sixth season of weekend fun for families, with a special added attraction this year.

    “We are doing pig racing,’’ said Jeanette McLean, spokesperson for the corn maze.

    They try to get in at least two pig races during Friday’s hours for the corn maze and as many as three or four during their longer hours on Saturday.

    This year’s hours are 5-10 p.m. on Friday, noon to 10 p.m. on Saturday and 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday. The last tickets are sold each day one hour before closing.

    The pigs have their own track at the corn maze, the Gallberry Nas-Hawg Speedway.

    The four competing critters are named Earnhawg Jr., Danica Porkchop, Stinkerbelle (a Southern pig, of course) and Spongehawg Spampants.

    The pigs are Gloucestershire old spots and were originally bred as orchard pigs. “They are actually leaner, longer pigs and aren’t messy,’’ McLean said. “They don’t root as much as a farm pig does.’’

    Each pig is assigned a number and a color prior to the race and children that come to the corn maze are encouraged to cheer for the 15 02 Corn Maze signpig of their choice to win.

    In addition to the racing pigs, Galberry continues with many of its traditional attractions that have made the corn maze a fall hit.

    There is the jumping pillow along with a wide assortment of farm animals. They include Hee Haw the Donkey, baby goats and baby peacocks, Tom Tom the Turkey and rabbits.

    Other attractions include a giant corn shack with 6,000 pounds of corn, various slides, a climbing wall, cornhole games, tic tac toe played with Styrofoam pumpkins, a barrel train and a hayride.

    Of course, the main attractions are the two mazes, a one-acre children’s maze and the five-acre main maze. McLean estimates it takes about 45 minutes to walk through both mazes.

    Flashlights are required in the maze after dark. They are available for sale at the concession stand but McLean said most customers use the light on their cellphones.

    Tickets are $11 for everyone ages 3-65. Children under three are free. Cumberland County school teachers, seniors 66 and over and military can get a $1 discount with proper identification.

    The hay ride stops at dusk for safety reasons.

    All sales are cash only and there is an ATM at the main ticket gate.

    The only thing a ticket doesn’t include is the popular air cannons which are three shots for $1.

    Pumpkins and all food from the concession stand cost extra.

    Concession items include water, soft drinks, juice boxes, funnel cakes, fried Oreos, honey buns, corn dogs, hot dogs, nachos with chili and cheese and fried corn on the cob. There are also S’Mores kits available. Fire pits are also provided.

    The Gallberry Corn Maze, located on 5991 Braxton Rd., is open through Nov. 3. For more information, visit the Facebook page, Gallberry Corn Maze, the website, gallberrycornmaze.com, or call McLean at 910-309-7582.

     

     

  • 14 01 TRUNK R TREAT 1Trunk R Treat announcement: Due to the threat of inclement weather, the Hope Mills Parks and Recreation Department will host this year's Trunk R Treat event inside the Hope Mills Recreation Center from 6-8 p.m. this Thursday, Oct. 31. Doors will open promptly at 6 p.m. 

    The Hope Mills Parks and Recreation Department continues its safe alternative to door-to-door trick or treating on Halloween with the annual Trunk R Treat event at Hope Mills Municipal Park on Rockfish Road.
    This year’s Trunk R Treat is scheduled Oct. 31 from 6 p.m. until 8 p.m.

    Family fun will again be the focus according to Meghan Freeman of the parks and recreation staff. Free music will be provided by Cumulus Media and there will be a costume contest. All costumes are asked to be family appropriate with no drugs, alcohol or profanity.

    Freeman said the Trunk R Treat will be a free-flowing event with no single-file line for people to stand in as they go from trunk to trunk to collect candy. Families are asked to make sure each child has a bag to collect candy in.

    For individuals, businesses or organizations that want to have a vehicle at the event handing out candy, they must preregister by Monday, Oct. 21.

    The form they have to fill out includes information like business, organization or individual name, mailing address, a contact name, phone number and email address, along with make and model of the vehicle and the type of vehicle.
    They also need to specify how many parking spaces the vehicle will require.

    Anyone giving anything away from a vehicle is reminded that no homemade treats are permitted. All food items given away must be prepackaged and sealed when they are handed out.

    Those taking part in the candy giveaway also should not hold any prize giveaways or games that would cause people to have to stop and stay at an individual vehicle, slowing down movement of the participants past the various vehicles.

    14 02 Halloween Vehicles registered to take part in Trunk R Treat need to arrive as early as 4:30 p.m. and no later than 5:30 p.m.

    Gates won’t open to the public until 6 p.m. sharp, Freeman said.

    “There’s no reason for them to come super, super early,’’ she said.

    Parking will be available behind the recreation center, at Rockfish Elementary School across the street and at the nearby public library. The cars giving away treats will be set up in the lot closest to the outdoor basketball court Freeman said.

    For questions or concerns about Trunk R Treat, call Freeman at 910-426-4109 or email her at mhawkins@townofhopemills.com

     

    Picture 1: Mayor Jackie Warner dressed in costume with her car at a previous Trunk R Treat.

    Picture 2: Trunk R Treat, hosted by The Hope Mills Parks and Recreation Department is a safe alternative to door-to-door trick or treating.

  • uac102214001.gif Unique, energetic, heart-pounding, amazing, these are all words that have been used to describe a show that is coming to Fayetteville on Nov. 6, as the Crown Theatre welcomes the world famous Blue Man Group.

    The Blue Man Group is currently on a 50-city tour that began at the end of September and runs through April. The show is part of Fayetteville Live, a three-show series at the Crown that also includes Stomp on Jan. 11, 2015 and Celtic Woman on April 8.

    The Blue Man Group was originally formed back in 1987 by three men, Chris Wink, Matt Goldman and Phil Stanton. The show they created was a blend of powerful percussion and unique visuals and featured a set of characters that are special, to say the least. The three men donned black jumpsuits, blue face paint and blue bald caps to become the enigmatic Blue Men.

    Since those original three men started the phenomena that has spanned the globe, more than 150 more men have donned the blue paint to call themselves a Blue Man. Currently, there are between 80 and 100 men working in teams of three performing worldwide. The group has permanent shows in Boston, Chicago, Las Vegas, New York City, Orlando and Berlin to go along with the touring team that is coming to Fayetteville.

    One of the Blue Men who will be appearing in Fayetteville is Mike Brown, who first saw the group back in 1997, when he said he, “fell in love with them and dreamed of working with them.” A few months later, his dream came true when he was hired to work on the backstage crew. Brown was classically trained in theater and also played the drums in a series of bands with friends. So, with the urging of friends and family, he answered an open casting call for new Blue Men. He won a spot and has spent the past 11 years touring from city to city as a part of the group.

    Brown is excited to play before the local fans. He said that in preparing for the show, he learned of the city’s connection to Fort Bragg. Brown said that the prospect of playing before a large military audience is exciting. It is something he has done before and wants to do again.

    “We performed at West Point last year and that was amazing. When we got there, we looked out over a sea of cadets all in their uniforms. That was kind of a change because everyone was wearing the exact same thing and our show likes to magnify people’s individuality. We had fun using our imaginations with that … it is always exciting for us to be able to give back to those who are serving.”

    Brown added that The Blue Man Group show is centered on percussive music that is, “very tribal, you are going to feel it inside your body, inside your heart. Hopefully, inside your soul and who you are as a person. Drums are perfect for that because it drives right into a part of your body and your being that you can feel and understand. This energy can build up inside of you. It really is beautifully scored music that will give you goose bumps. You can really expect the music to move through you and, hopefully, elicit a change.”

    One of the trademarks of a Blue Man Group show is the feeling of spontaneity that the show carries. Brown described the group’s preparation and attitude towards their shows, “We want everything about being a Blue Man to represent the ‘in the moment’ feeling of our show. You want it to feel like a show is happening for the first time and the first time only. In terms of character preparation, when you become a Blue Man you learn the regular things like the blocking and how to play the music and doing certain artistic things.10-22-14-blue-man-group-portrait.gif

    “But there is another element that you can’t really plan for, that is just being in the moment and responding with your instincts and your impulses to play from the audience. That is something that you can’t really prepare for, but it is very conducive to Blue Men.” He continued, “It’s all happening for the first time so it is a trial by fire type of thing.”

    He went on to say that part of being a Blue Man is, “being comfortable with yourself and what is going on around you to just have fun. To let your inner child come out and say, this might be crazy and dangerous but that is the fun of it!”

    According to Brown, audiences that attend a Blue Man show are at a loss for words when leaving a show, “Often afterwards, you are not really able to describe it. That’s because it causes feelings inside of you that are tangible. It makes you speechless. As we grow up we start to shy away from the types of things that might cause us to get embarrassed, maybe because we don’t want to get in trouble. The Blue Men urge you and welcome you to move past that and get to that place where you are like, ‘this is natural home-grown fun’. Not only do the Blue Men share that with the audience, but the audience shares that with each other. I have seen people that, by the end of the show, who were strangers, dancing with each other and high-fiving having a great time together. That is the spirit of the show, connecting people in that way. ”

    Brown encourages everyone to come out and enjoy the show, “Everybody has a Blue Man in them. It doesn’t matter if you are short or tall, male or female. We like to use the show to help people find that. Really, there are 6 billion Blue Men in the world … If you want to have the time of your life, come see Blue Man Group!”

    Tickets for the show are still available through Ticketmaster.com, by phone at 1-800-745-3000 and in person at the Crown Complex Box Office and all Ticketmaster outlets. To purchase a package of tickets that covers all three shows offered by Fayetteville Live call 888.512.BWAY (2929) and online at www.fayettevilleliveshows.com.

    Photo:  The Blue Man Group has been entertaining audiences since the late ‘80s. Fayetteville will get a chance to enjoy their unique sound on Nov. 6.

  • 17 CreedPictures and videos of 7-year-old Creed Kolasa don’t show anything unusual except a youngster with an effervescent smile who quickly charms his way into the hearts of anyone he comes in contact with.

    “He is so funny,’’ said his mother, Jessica Kolasa. “He comes up with the most off-the-wall comments. And he has no filter. He loves people and his smile just melts you.’’

    He is a huge fan of dinosaurs, with Tyrannosaurus Rex his clear favorite. His mom isn’t sure why, but she thinks possibly it’s because of the dinosaur’s ferocious roar.

    With his cherubic face and small stature, Creed doesn’t look like a formidable adversary, but he, his family and all the available tools of modern medicine are fighting back with everything they have against a potentially fatal disease that has beset him since birth.

    Creed is among an estimated 200,000 people worldwide suffering from a rare disorder called Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Creed’s body is unable to produce a protein called dystrophin that helps with normal muscle function.

    He was born four weeks premature and suffered issues with breathing and jaundice. At one time, it was thought he would need a liver transplant.

    Creed’s father, Doren Kolasa, was transferred to Fort Bragg not long after his Creed’s birth. Although the family lives in Eastover, Doren is a successful coach in the Hope Mills Dixie Youth program.

    He led his Hope Mills Angels 10U team to the Dixie Youth state title last summer and a berth in the Dixie Youth World Series in Alexandria, Louisiana.

    Creed plays youth sports in Hope Mills, currently competing in the 8U fall baseball league.

    Jessica eventually took the infant Creed to the emergency room at the University of North Carolina after being unable to find a doctor in Fayetteville who would treat a patient as young as Creed.

    It was at UNC Hospitals that a resident who had studied Duchenne made the diagnosis when Creed was six months old.

    She said the family was told at the time there were no treatments for someone as young as Creed. So Jessica Kolasa began her own quest to find a doctor somewhere who would give Creed the weapons he needed to fight Duchenne.
    “I started reading what kind of therapies have helped slow the progression of the disease and the natural history of it,’’ she said.

    Eventually, they turned to Duke University and found Dr. Edward Smith. Smith is an associate professor of pediatrics at Duke in the division of neurology.

    “I’m the doctor here who sees all the kids with suspected or known muscle and nerve diseases,’’ Smith said. “We follow about 140 Duchenne patients now, kids and adults.’’

    Duchenne is unique to boys, Smith said, and in most cases you don’t see outward signs of the disease until two or three years of age. He said they look essentially normal by the age of three or four and then signs appear like not being able to keep up with children their age or having difficulty standing or going up and down stairs.

    Over time, things get worse. They lose the ability to walk by age 10 or 12, then eventually lose arm function. Since the heart is a muscle, it is also affected over time. By the time the patient reaches the age of 30, they are in a wheelchair and can barely move.

    Standard care of Duchenne includes administering steroids, which basically help the patient to walk a little longer. The Kolasas went to Duke to try an experimental therapy that it offers.

    Creed was originally taking a drug called Vamorolone, a newly synthesized steroid molecule. It basically does the same thing the other steroids do, with hopefully fewer side effects.

    Currently, he’s switched to another drug that helps his body with a process called Exon skipping. In layman’s terms, this drug is sort of a molecular patch. The faulty gene in Creed’s body is tricked into producing the dystrophin protein that helps his muscles do their job.

    Smith said it’s not the normal level of dystrophin that the body produces, but any dystrophin that can be created will slow the advance of the disease and help Creed to live as normally as possible for a longer time.

    Research is ongoing into even better ways to get the body to produce the needed dystrophin Smith said. Advanced gene therapy is looking at a way to deliver a micro dystrophin gene through a virus that would carry the gene to the muscles and turn on dystrophin production. “There are currently three trials going on in the United States with three different companies,’’ Smith said. “It looks promising.’’

    Life goes on at a hectic pace for Creed and family. He has regular occupational and physical therapy sessions, along with speech therapy, to help him battle what the lack of dystrophin does to his muscles.

    He makes weekly visits to Duke for an infusion of the Exon, skipping medication he’s currently using. He’s had 115 visits to date. In each one, he undergoes an hour-long infusion of the drug, then has to wait an additional hour to be observed for a reaction.

    Not surprisingly, he’s no stranger to all the folks at Duke. “He is on a first-name basis with half the hospital,’’ Smith said.

    That is likely one of the reasons Creed was front and center at the recent Duke Children’s Gala, an annual benefit held to raise money for Duke Children’s.

    Blue Devil basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski and his family were honored for their support of Duke Children’s. Creed was called to the stage to share his story, and to receive an autographed basketball from Krzyzewski.

    I just loved Creed being able to go up on stage and tell his story, lighten up the room,’’ Jessica said, “being able to bring awareness to Duchenne and raise some money for the hospital.’’

    But while the moment in the spotlight was special, Jessica and her family face the reality of daily challenges seeking the best care for Creed while raising a family of three other children ages ranging in age from 12 to three.

    “It’s a tough balance,’’ she said. “There have been a lot of tears shed by my other kids when they wanted to do something and know they can’t because I can’t pick them up at that time.

    “It really pulls on my heart because I’ve had to see them mature faster, but the love they have for him (Creed) overshadows all of that.’’

    Meanwhile, Jessica says she and her family pray daily for a miracle that will deliver Creed from the grip of Duchenne and allow him to lead a normal life.

    “We also have learned life isn’t about things, it’s about memories,’’ she said. “We try to soak in everything we can, possibly soak in with him and all four kids.

    “That’s what life’s about. Making memories.’’

    And keeping them alive as long as possible.

    Pictured:Creed Kolasa gets autographed basketball from Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski.
    Photo credit: Les Todd for Duke Children’s

  • 16 AlmsHouseThere’s a calendar day to celebrate just about everyone and everything it seems — even the homeless. But Kenjuana McCray and the people from the Community Awareness Alliance plan to do more with World Homeless Day than recognize the homeless. Their goal is to provide them with tangible help.

    The ALMS HOUSE in Hope Mills will host a feeding and food drive on Friday, Oct. 11, which is actually the day after the official observance of World Homeless Day on Oct. 10.

    The Community Awareness Alliance is a Cumberland County organization that helps promote concern for the homeless locally, according to McCray, who was asked to help bring an event for the homeless to Hope Mills.

    “This is the first time World Homeless Day has ever been recognized countywide in Cumberland County,’’ McCray said. “It is something done all over the United States.’’

    She chose Oct. 11, the day after World Homeless Day, for the observance in Hope Mills because it worked better for the schedules of those she wanted to involve in the event.

    “It was supposed to be something where it’s not just a Fayetteville thing,’’ she said. “They wanted all the municipalities represented, to do something to bring awareness to the homeless.’’

    McCray said she also involved Grilley Mitchell of the Hope Mills Festival Committee in the planning for the World Homeless Day observance.

    The Hope Mills observance of World Homeless Day will take place at the ALMS HOUSE on Ellison Street. The event has been in the planning since last November, McCray said. The ALMS HOUSE was chosen as the site because it is already involved in helping to feed the homeless in the Hope Mills community.

    McCray said representatives of the culinary department from Fayetteville Technical Community College, where she works, will be on hand to provide a free meal of hot soup and bread for any homeless and low income families who would like to eat.

    The free meal is also available to anyone who comes to the event to donate nonperishable food items or toiletries to give to those in need.

    The food items and toiletries will be shared between the ALMS HOUSE and the FTCC Food Pantry.

    As far as toiletries are concerned items like soap, toothpaste and deodorant are always welcome. “Those are sometimes forgotten items,’’ McCray said. “They are things low income and homeless people could really use and need.’’
    The time for the free soup is listed from noon until 1 p.m. but McCray said they will most likely continue to serve those who attend until the supply runs out.

    In addition to the food and donations, there will be information available to those attending regarding services for the homeless and low income families.

    Lindsey Wofford will represent an organization called Seth’s Wish, which supports low-income and homeless people in the county. “They do clothing drives, food drives and all kinds of things,’’ McCray said of Seth’s Wish.

    McCray said Wofford would share information about the various services provided by Seth’s Wish.

    Also present will be Christine Sheets of the Hope Mills office of the State Employees Credit Union.

    Sheets will have an informational table set up to share services that the SECU offers for low income families like low-cost life insurance and nominally-priced income tax preparation.

    “I know a homeless person is not necessarily looking for that, but a low-income family might use some of the advantages the SECU provides,’’ McCray said. “It’s not only feeding the homeless and people that are low-income. It’s showing them other resources that are in the community and that can assist them.’’

    The Students for Social Justice at FTCC will be on hand to help with the collection of the items people bring to donate.

    For any questions about the event, contact McCray at kenjuanamccray09@gmail.com or contact her during office hours at FTCC, 910-494-1352.

  • 18 Race CourseThe seventh annual Run for the Pink 5K to support the fight against breast cancer is scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 19, at 8 a.m., in Hope Mills near the municipal complex at the police and fire stations off Rockfish Road.

    Coco Ramirez established the race with the help of her husband Julio Ramirez and has continued it for the last three years in his memory, after he passed away from leukemia.

    Her goal is to raise money to donate to Cape Fear Valley Medical Center to help fund breast cancer screening for women who may not be able to afford it.

    Ramirez stressed that the Run for the Pink is a family-friendly event designed both for serious runners and for people who just want to get out and walk the course to support the battle against breast cancer.

    “It’s very emotional for me to continue,’’ Ramirez said. “The community supports me a lot. My goal is for them to have a very good time.I’m trying to bring a lot of people. You can run, you can walk to support the Cape Fear hospital.’’

    There are multiple divisions and various prices for entering them.

    The fee for the 5K is $30. There is an additional $3.50 signup fee.

    The 5K for children ages 13 and under is $25. That is the same fee for participants who want to compete as members of a team.

    For active duty military, the 5K is $20. That is also the fee for cancer survivors.

    All teams must register to compete by Oct. 12.

    There will be cash prizes awarded for the top three overall male and female winners, $100 for first, $75 for second and $50 for third.

    Medals will be awarded in all age groups for the first 400 to cross the finish line.

    For more information on the race and to signup go to www.runsignup.com and search for Run for the Pink 5K. Ramirez can be contacted directly at 910-922-6301.

    In addition to the Run for the Pink 5K, Ramirez also holds the annual Cinco De Mayo 10K and 5K with Fayetteville Elite Running in downtown Fayetteville.

  • 17 GazeboChurch at the Lake returns to Hope Mills this year with a new date but the same commitment to share the unity of the town’s many faith groups.

    “I think it’s important for us as a community to take advantage of the opportunity to come together with a display of unity, an opportunity to display our faith as a unified community,’’ said Pastor Michael McGill of Grace Place Christian Church on South Main Street.

    McGill is one of the pastors involved with planning and coordinating this year’s Church at the Lake event, which moved from July to Sunday, Oct. 6, from 4:30-8 p.m.

    The service will be held at Hope Mills Lake with the various performers setting up at the gazebo near the large grassy area by the lake.

    McGill said although the area has been hit by multiple hurricanes in recent years, Hope Mills has been relatively fortunate that the damage done by the storms wasn’t more extensive.

    “There is always the potential for destruction when there is a lot of water around,’’ McGill said. “Church at the Lake is an opportunity for us to come there and give thanks for the goodness of the Hope Mills community.’’

    McGill said 10 different churches of all denominations from the Hope Mills community will take part in the observance this year. “We’ve met several times this year to discuss the program and to organize the event,’’ he said.

    A number of the churches will have a music ministry from their particular faith group performing at Church at the Lake. In addition, the minister from each of the performing churches has been invited to speak briefly before that church’s group performs, talking for not more than three to five minutes.

    McGill said each pastor’s message will focus on words of encouragement and unity for Hope Mills.

    McGill said the music will offer a variety of styles from bluegrass gospel to contemporary worship and more traditional hymns.

    The service will conclude with a unity number performed by multiple groups.

    Those planning to attend are welcome to bring chairs or blankets to sit on as no formal seating will be provided.

    Parking will be available at the lot at Big T’s by the lake and at the various businesses across the street from the lake.

    “We are looking forward to coming together as a community,’’ McGill said.

  • 16 Ellen and BarneyThe Rev. Ellen McCubbin brings a unique set of skills to her new job as the pastor of Hope Mills United Methodist Church.

    A native of the Baltimore, Maryland area, she’s a self-described second-career pastor with 30 years of experience working for IBM as a computer scientist and systems analyst.

    “Over my career I designed command and control systems for submarines, high-availability systems for banking and the stock market worldwide,’’ said McCubbin, 62.

    Her computer job first brought her to North Carolina, where she fell in love with the state.

    Her computer and pastoral roles have taken her to the Research Triangle, Wendell, Burlington and, most recently, Burgaw before she relocated to her new pastorate in Hope Mills in June with her shih tzu Barnabas, Barney for short. He is named for the biblical apostle who accompanied Paul on his missionary journeys.

    After 30 years in the computer business, McCubbin said she couldn’t dodge the fact God was calling her and affirming her in the ministry she had been doing as a layperson.

    She spoke to some minister friends about it, and then said God began opening doors to allow her to get her ministerial education while completing her job at IBM.

    “I had tremendously supportive management at IBM who were not surprised at all that I was called to the full-time ministry,’’ she said.

    She has served in both large and small towns but she likes being in a town like Hope Mills that’s adjacent to a larger community like Fayetteville.

    “I really like Hope Mills,’’ she said. “I find that the people are welcoming, hospitable and are from all over. “We’ve got that small-town feel and yet we are not a really small town. We are about three times the size of the last town I served.’’

    McCubbin said she’s been told her gifts for her current work are preaching, teaching and pastoring. She also thinks she’s a pretty good administrator. She feels the local congregation helps define for her where she’s needed the most.

    She has a big love for pastoral care, which to her means hospital visits for those who are sick, especially visits with the ailing elderly members of the congregation and advocating for proper care for them.

    She loves the teaching aspect of ministry and leads a weekly Bible study. She likes small group studies to help people learn how to share and discover their own spiritual gifts, feeling that all are called to ministry in some way.

    While some feel there is a natural conflict between science and faith, McCubbin looks at the situation differently, calling the Bible a textbook on God’s interactions with humanity over recorded history.

    She said Methodists try to examine complex issues through the experiences of scripture, tradition, reason and experience. “When you apply them to new things science can come up with, you can usually find an answer that I think would be acceptable to God,’’ she said. “I use science examples all the time because I’m still a geek and proud of it.’’

    In the short time she’s been at Hope Mills United Methodist Church, she’s learned her congregation has a real heart for transforming the world to Jesus Christ as well as for missions.

    Recently, she said some 25% of her members committed to helping with North Carolina hurricane relief through United Methodist Church hurricane relief centers.

    “I see them as making disciples for Jesus by what they’re doing and how they’re reaching out to the community, and by how they study,’’ she said. “They are passionate about it and I’m passionate about it. I think the bishop and the cabinet sent me to the right place.’’

  • 10-05-11-picture-it.jpgAn initiative of the Young Adult Library Services Assocation, Teen Read Week is celebrated annually at thousands of public libraries, schools and booksellers. Teen Read Week is officially Oct. 16-22, but the Cumberland County Public Library and Information Center is choosing to celebrate all month.

    This year the theme is Picture It. The library is embracing this theme and has two month-long programs to engage local teens.

    The first one is the Teen Read Art Show at West Regional Branch. It is an opportunity for teens to show off their talent. Teens are invited to submit artwork for display throughout the month of October. There will be prizes including ribbons and gift cards, although people can enter their work without competing. Find out more at 487-0440.

    Taking the Picture It theme in a different direction, Headquarters Library is having a photo scavenger hunt. Teens can go to the TeenSpace at Your Library Facebook page, the library’s website or any of the Cumberland County branch locations and get the list of items for the scavenger hunt.

    “We are hoping the teens will be really creative,” said Missy Lang, assistant youth services coordinator. “For example, if the list included a license plate, and someone sent in a picture of a funny or interesting vanity plate, we would consider that as a winner for most creative. We really want them to have fun with this.”

    Here are the rules that are posted on the Cumberland County Public Library and Information Center website: The library is using Flickr for this contest, since it allows tagging and grouping, and teens can create a free account. The contest tags (which need to be added to each photo in your submission set exactly as listed) are: CCPLIC teenreadweek2011 photoscavengerhunt. Please label your pictures with the item and number taken from the list. Create a set for all of your photos so that viewers can see all your work together and leave comments. There will be one winner and one runner up for this contest. To be eligible, participants must submit 31 separate pictures, must be the creators of the photos and the pictures must be taken during the month of October 2011. Cheating isn’t nice. Don’t do it. A three-judge panel of library staff will select a winner based on creativity and photo quality.

    “We are excited about this contest and hope that we can get a lot of teens to participate,” said Lang. “We have many teen related programs at the library, but sometimes people don’t realize that, or for whatever reason they can’t attend. This event is designed to draw in those teens who can’t always make it to our events but would like to.”

    For more information, please call Missy Lang at 483-7727 ext. 306.

  • P10All three of the regular readers of this column have probably heard of the internet by now. However, in the interest of hoping for a fourth reader, today’s column will explain how the internet works. As most people know, the internet is a series of wires and tubes hanging in the upper stratosphere suspended by bungee cords from ultra violet rainbows which are invisible to the naked eye.

    I know these things about how the internet is arranged because I did my own research on the internet. The rest of this column is based upon things I learned from the internet.

    Like Alice’s Restaurant, you can get anything you want on the internet. You can do many things on the internet such as buying items from China, betting on losing football teams, threatening total strangers and assuming the identities of other people.

    The first model of the internet was invented in 1943 by Soviet scientists who were looking for an easy way to have bottles of vodka delivered to them during the Second World War.

    The Russian internet consisted of a series of empty tin cans tightly tied together by strings. Ivan would yell into one tin can. The vibrations would travel up to 30 feet through the string to cause most words to vibrate in the tin can held by Sergei at the other end.

    Astrophysicists later called this concept String Theory. Earth women and men use String Theory to string along second choice romantic partners while hoping for a better offer.
    With the advent of communication through tin cans and string, a huge demand for string developed.

    The Hunt Brothers were behind 1948’s Great String Shortage when they attempted to corner the string market. They collected their inventory to store in the World’s Second Largest Ball of Twine on the face of the Earth.

    This is the very ball of twine that Clark Griswold and his family visited in 1983 while on their vacation trip to Wally World. Unfortunately for the Hunt brothers, the bottom of the string market fell out after Dr. Otto

    Frankenstein invented the series of wires and tubes that make up our current internet rendering the old string/can internet system obsolete.

    Pro tip: You can still see the world’s second largest ball of string near the Corn Palace in Mitchell, South Dakota.

    Now that the history of the internet is clear, let us consider what is the highest and best use of the internet. Without a doubt, the Prime Directive of the internet is to argue with friends and total strangers on Social Media.

    While sitting in a darkened room, one can change the entire course of human existence by shouting insults at the rest of the world in ALL CAPITAL LETTERS, or putting up memes that support your political viewpoint.

    No one has the ability to disagree with what you put up on the internet. As the King of Siam once said: “So let it be written. So let it be done.”

    If you type it, everyone will follow your directions. The world will change at your whim. Go ahead. Try it.

    There are certain code phrases which absolutely will convince any doubters of the correct line of your thought when posted on the internet. Learn the following key phrases to quell any dissent.

    If you see something you don’t like, type “Nothing could be further from the truth.” That squelches all debate. If you want to sound profound, type a statement followed by “Let that sink in.”

    If you want to catch the attention of the world with some startling new research you found, type “This is jaw dropping information” or “This is a real game changer.” Any meme that you put up will change the thoughts of everyone else on Earth.

    A great way to say I told you so is to type “Remember what I wrote 7 years ago.” Everyone will always remember what you wrote back then even if they can’t remember what they had for lunch yesterday. Trust me., the world is hanging on every word you post.

    If you don’t like a politician, type “Who thinks Mr. X should be kicked out of Congress?’ or “Mr. X should be in jail.”

    Seeking consensus? Type a crazy rant followed by any of these phrases: “Who agrees with me?” “Retweet if you stand with me.” “Let’s see who is brave enough to share this.” “Can’t we all agree that XYX is true?” No one will dare disagree.

    All of these statements are guaranteed to bring the entire universe over to your point of view. The more emphatic your statement is, the more people it will convince, particularly if you type it in ALL CAPITAL LETTERS.

    Subtlety is wasted. Shrieking dogmatic statements are all you need to make your opinion the opinion of all mankind. Don’t believe me? Was Hop Sing the cook at the Ponderosa on Bonanza?
    Let a thousand rants bloom.

  • P9My, my! Wouldn’t prior generations of North Carolinians be astounded to learn that the Old North State just barely missed legalizing casino gambling in 2023?
    Long known as a part of the Bible Belt, even a lesser one, North Carolina has a long heritage of straight-laced legislative actions, even if legislators themselves were really mandating, “do as I say, not as I do.”

    Take alcohol policy, for example. While Prohibition was repealed and liquor sales became legal in the 1930s, albeit only in state controlled stores, North Carolina did not allow liquor by the drink in restaurants until 1978.

    Even then, a certain amount of food sales were required. And, as we all know, liquor sales to both individuals and businesses remain controlled by the state.

    So, it took many Tar Heels, including this one, by surprise when Republican State Senate President Pro Tempore Phil Berger, a staunch conservative if ever there were one, came out in favor of casino gambling.
    Berger was so pro gambling, in fact, that he used his iron-fisted power to hold up passage of a much-delayed budget for the entire state!

    His determination to allow casino gambling kept teachers and state employees wondering whether they would get raises and kept about 600,000 North Carolinians on pins and needles as to whether they would get Medicaid health insurance.

    Berger and his supporters finally caved and abandoned their gambling plans and a potential casino in Berger’s legislative district, only after so many legislators, including Republicans, refused to play along.
    The Republican religious right has got to be scratching their heads that one of their own promoted legalizing casino gambling and wondering whether it will rise again in the General Assembly.

    Closer to home, Fayetteville City Council puts the brakes on a proposed 11 p.m. curfew for residents under 16 years old put forward by Police Chief Kem Braden. The Chief’s proposal is understandable.

    Teenagers are still learning how to interact with others, and their parents are not always aware of what they are up to, even though we might wish they were more present. That said, the curfew notion is not dead.
    Council wisely decided to seek more buy-in from other stakeholders, including the school system, social services agencies and others. As parents, including Hillary Clinton, it takes a village to raise a child.

    In my younger years, I was thrilled to refer to myself as a “woman,” but now that I really am one, I often use the word “girl’ to describe human beings who really are girls in age as well as my own friends and contemporaries, who are decidedly not girls by age.

    If you could see us, you would immediately understand how ridiculous that appellation is. But who knew “girl” has become a loaded word.

    Marie Solis wrote an entire column about “Girls” last month in the New York Times, and she makes several fascinating yet different points about the use of “girl.”

    Solis did her homework and linguistics professor Nicole Holliday said, “this kind of term is known to rhetoric experts as ‘vocative,’ which is used to call someone in. This seems to be especially true in internet communications.”

    Says Solis, “the word ‘girl’ is in diametrical opposition not to ‘boy’ but to ‘woman,’ allowing women to enjoy simple feminine pleasures without the complications associated with womanhood.

    She quotes New Orleans resident Hillary Keeney, a fully grown 46, “no one is going to say ‘woman dinner’ or ‘women’s night out.’ That’s too serious.”

    “Girl” may be associated with frivolity and fun, but there is a silver lining to that; according to Marlowe Granados, who wrote in The Baffler, such perception is a positive.

    “If people underestimate you, there’s actually room to move around, and you can give people a shock when you prove them wrong.”

    Millions of women in my generation will testify to that.

    Meanwhile, in the summer of 2023, Taylor Swift, Beyonce, and Barbie, girly girls all, are laughing their way to the bank.

  • 10-10-12-methodist-logo.gifDuring a recent campus-wide convocation, I talked about the importance of partnerships to the community and to Methodist University. These partnerships help the university deliver on the promise made to each Methodist student that he or she will have an exceptional educational experience.

    Partnerships are another way to say “relationships,” and we are very fortunate to have so many caring people, representing scores of businesses and organizations, who are invested in the university and want to see our students succeed. In fact, many have joined various advisory boards so that they can maximize their effectiveness as partners.

    As we strive to implement a variety of initiatives that will move Methodist University forward, I have announced a goal of creating and celebrating 100 partnerships with the greater community. Throughout the year, we will be highlighting the many benefits from these partnerships and featuring their contributions to the university. They will certainly play a pivotal role in meeting our strategic priorities — priorities that will benefit our students and prepare them for success during their time at Methodist and beyond. The partnerships will also contribute to the success of our community and make it an even better place to learn, work, live and play.

    I would like to share just two examples of these partnerships to illustrate the benefits they will bring to the University and the community. We recently announced a partnership with the Fayetteville Chamber of Commerce at the September Chairman’s Coffee Club event. Through the MU Center for Community Engagement and Reeves School of Business, a team of students led by a faculty mentor, Mark Kendrick, will assist with a re-branding campaign and marketing efforts for the chamber. According to Vinnie Venturella, a member of the chamber’s board of directors and the event’s host, this arrangement will “strengthen and engage our chamber, as well as the business community.”

    Methodist University will also partner with the United Way of Cumberland County by developing pilot projects that can be utilized in various community campaigns. A team of MU students will design a campaign at Methodist University and create a United Way Day and United Way Fair that will bring representatives of United Way agencies and MU employees together, thus increasing their awareness of the benefits received through their contributions. We also hope to develop a student organization that can be a model for other student groups. In the end, the student group, mentored by Director of Public Affairs, Pam McEvoy, will develop a comprehensive campaign that will enable them to create similar campaigns in other settings.

    Our goal is to give every Methodist student an opportunity to be involved in a community project in virtually every corner of Cumberland County. By developing their problem-solving skills and serving as a part of a team, students will be more competitive in the employment market and in gaining entrance in the best graduate schools. They will also learn how important it is to be involved in their home communities and enhance the quality of life. Students who are involved in the community will continue to be involved as adults. Indeed, our democratic society is built on the tradition of engaged citizens, so we think it is imperative to engage young people while still at Methodist.

    The philosophy of university-community partnerships is central to Methodist University. The institution owes its very founding more than 50 years ago to community leaders who believed in this principle and saw the promise of educating our students and having them return to the community as engaged citizens and leaders. So much has been accomplished in the five decades since then, and generations of leaders have emerged and contributed to the betterment of our community.

  • 13As the trees in the Sandhills begin to show the first signs of fall, we are reminded that colder weather is near.

    Like many of you, my family faced last winter’s high energy prices and I am left wondering how they will be this year—especially as costs continue to climb. Just like many states across the country, North Carolina is currently seeing another steep rise in the price of gas and energy.

    In the last month, energy prices have increased 5.6% and gas prices in North Carolina have spiked 16 cents higher per gallon than they were one year ago.
    Washington Democrats’ overspending and war on American energy fueled this inflation crisis.

    However, House Republicans are working on policies to combat these high prices by passing bills, such as H.R. 1, the Lower Energy Costs Act. This legislation will unleash American energy production, reverse President Joe Biden’s anti-energy policies, and lower energy costs that continue to burden your family’s pocketbook.

    High energy costs continue to impact you and every family, and lowering them should not be a partisan issue.

    However, the Democrat-controlled Senate refuses to move forward on the Lower Energy Costs Act—common sense legislation which passed the House with bipartisan support. Against the backdrop of historic energy costs, the Biden administration continues to push a rush-to-green agenda by attempting to give power to states to force people to buy expensive electric vehicles.

    These mandates are impractical and unaffordable for the average family. In fact, the average price of an electric vehicle is $17,000 more than a gas-powered car and the lack of vehicle charging infrastructure—especially in rural communities—makes electric vehicles even more impractical.

    You should be in the driver’s seat when it comes to choosing your car. That’s why last week, House Republicans took a stand against Far Left bureaucrats and passed H.R. 1435, the Preserving Choice in Vehicle Purchases Act.

    This bill stops the EPA from banning your gas car or truck and protects you and millions of Ameicans from big government overreach. Instead of focusing on the car in your garage, I continue urging President Biden and my colleagues to focus on the issues that matter most.

    For example, after the power substation attacks in Moore County last December, I have been laser focused on finding solutions to strengthen our power grid. Earlier this summer, I brought members of the Energy and Commerce Committee to Moore County for a field hearing on improving the security and resiliency of our nation’s energy grid.

    Since that first hearing, our Committee has held multiple others to continue discussions in Washington with expert witnesses.
    Their testimonies and insight help us move closer to finding tangible solutions to strengthen our power grid in order to prevent future energy infrastructure attacks. These are the kinds of solutions you should expect from Washington.

    Over the past eight months, House Republicans have delivered on all fronts of our “Commitment to America” and have advanced legislation that will build an economy that’s strong, a nation that’s safe, a future built upon freedom, and a government that’s accountable to you.

    Although we have made significant progress, there is still a lot of work to be done. As your Congressman, I will never stop working to solve problems facing our nation and am committed to fighting for your family.
    Until Next Time.

  • 10Decades ago, when I moved back to North Carolina from the nation’s capital, my rent dropped by half — for a new apartment that was larger and better furnished than the one I rented just outside Washington, D.C.

    Today, my native state remains less expensive to live in than the average state. And even our fastest-growing metropolitan areas remain more affordable than most of the metros with which they compete for people, jobs, and business investment.

    But these differences are shrinking.

    Take the Charlotte metro, for example, which encompasses not only the Queen City but also Concord, Gastonia and dozens of other nearby jurisdictions.

    According to data released from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, the cost of housing, food, transportation and other goods and services in the Charlotte metro is roughly 3.4% lower than the national average.

    The Tax Foundation offers a handy website for comparing living costs across the country, translating the BEA data into dollar values.
    In other words, if you had $100 to spend on a standard bundle of household goods and services, it would buy you quite a bit more in Charlotte ($103.52) than in, say, Denver, Colorado ($91.61), but only slightly more than in Colorado Springs ($103.26).

    All of North Carolina’s metros fare better than average here. You’d get $102.48 worth of goods and services in the Raleigh area, $102.49 in Wilmington, $104.18 in Durham, $105.60 in Asheville, $107.73 in Greensboro, $109.03 in Winston-Salem, $109.07 in Fayetteville, $109.60 in New Bern, $110.95 in Goldsboro, $111.48 in Jacksonville, $111.58 in Greenville, $111.65 in Burlington, and $112.04 in Hickory.

    The BEA data aren’t as granular for small towns and rural counties. Very roughly, North Carolinians outside of metropolitan areas get about $114 worth of value per $100 spent.

    These are real differences, to be sure. And they’re driven largely by differences in the costs of housing, which in turn reflect a combination of geography and land-use policies.
    But if I were writing this column 30 years ago, or even 15, the differences would look far more dramatic.

    The fact is that while North Carolina remains a relative bargain, our cost of living has been rising toward the national average for quite a while.

    Some of this is just the market at work. As people move here from other states — be it because of job opportunities, climate, quality of life, or some other attraction — they tend to bid up the price of housing and other services purchased here.

    When more buyers chase a fixed quantity of a good or service, its price rises.

    Of course, when a price goes up in a given location, that also serves as a signal to prospective sellers that they can prosper by selling more of the good or service in that location.

    As they respond, supply catches up with demand. Prices moderate.
    There is some evidence that, over time, the costs and benefits of living in various locations across the United States have been converging.

    The most expensive metro is, not surprisingly, San Francisco. The real value of a hundred dollars spent there is about $83. By comparison, it’s worth about $119 in Anniston, Alabama.

    A big difference? Sure, though some might argue that the intangible but deeply valued benefits of living in the Bay Area — though presumably not next to an abandoned store or rowdy park — are worth the tangible cost.

    What’s really striking to me, though, is that this gap isn’t really so large anymore.

    As North Carolina policymakers continue their efforts to make our state a great place to live, work, play, and invest, they need to pay close attention to our rising costs, especially for housing.

    To the extent state and local regulations obstruct the ability of homebuilders, developers, and agents to add more inventory to our housing stock, that keeps prices and rents artificially high.
    North Carolina is still a good buy for most individuals, households, and businesses. Let’s keep it that way.

  • 11They say a picture is worth a thousand words.

    Personal fulfillment is the essence of capturing compelling moments in life that tell a story, that have a profound impact and create indelible memories that last a lifetime. As with all matters of the heart, Dara Colón’s passion is priceless when it comes to her love of photography.

    “I own a photography business and I also offer videography and graphic design services,” said Colón, owner, Serendipity Creative Media, LLC. “The biggest thing that I want to say about my photos is that no matter how you look, whether you are tall, short, young, old, different nationalities, ultimately everyone, in their own way, is beautiful and deserving of having a moment where they feel confident in who they are.”

    She is a native of Bronx, New York, and moved to Fayetteville, during her senior year of high school. She is a graduate of E. E. Smith High School and Fayetteville State University, where she obtained a Bachelor of Science in Psychology and a Master of Business Administration.

    In 2014, Colón was practicing photography as a hobby and in 2018, she decided to make it legal, form an LLC, and turn it into a professional side hustle. She left her full-time position at FSU as a marketing and social media coordinator for Student Affairs in March of 2020 to make her photo hobby a full-time business.

    “It was a great way to make some extra money on the side in addition to my job at the time,” Colón said. “It has been going great so far and I love what I do, I love to make people smile, I love to make people feel good about themselves. And being behind the camera gives me an opportunity to do that. ”

    Every photographer has a favorite camera and Colón’s favorite is the Canon 5D Mark IV.

    “My favorite part of my camera is the lens that I use, which is a Sigma 135 mm lens,” said Colón. “It gives me a really amazing shallow depth of field, which is when the subject really stands out and the background is blurry so that the focus is on the individual.”12

    Her skill set as a photographer did not come from the classroom.

    “It comes from trial and error, YouTube University and following other local or out of state photographers on social media,” Colón said. “I have to give credit to two amazing local photographers, Larry Shaw and Ezekiel Best, for their mentoring and support.”

    The sky is the limit for this rising photographer and her ultimate goals for Serendipity are promising.

    “I want to have a sustainable income where I am comfortable, but I am also growing the business,” Colón explained. “Secondly, I want to pay it forward and pour into other up and coming photographers.”

    The studio runs by appointment only. For questions or information about picture packages a visit www.serendipitycm.com or follow her on Instagram @serendipitycm_ and on Facebook at Serendipity Creative Media LLC.

     

  • 6When Watts Auman, beloved community and political leader in Moore County, died at 84 on Sept. 17, I knew that I would have to write about him.

    But there is a problem. Whenever I have written about Watts in the past, the column turned out to be more about me than him. There is a reason. My connection with Watts and the lessons I learned from and with him have been important, perhaps life changing.

    So I cannot write about Watts without trying to explain how much I learned because of him. When I first arrived at Fort Bragg (now Fort Liberty) in late 1963 and was being taken around to see the important places that airborne troops need to know, I learned that my Davidson College friend Watts Auman was commanding a team of airborne riggers.

    As paratroopers know, riggers are among the most important people in airborne.

    They pack the parachutes, new and used, and get them ready for use. A mistake could lead to a tragedy. Watts and the people under his command regularly made airplane jumps using the parachutes that they had prepared. Watts’s quiet leadership made him a perfect commander of these riggers.

    For a short time Watts and I lived with seven other junior officers in a house at 1805 Bragg Boulevard in Fayetteville. But soon Watts completed his service and returned to the family farm near West End in Moore County.

    Meanwhile, I was assigned to an intelligence detachment of the Special Forces. One of my first assignments was to participate in the war games in the area known as Swift Strike as an underground spy in Moore County.

    Watts and his parents let me live with them for several weeks and pretend to be a part of their family. One of the first things I saw in the Auman home was a plug of chewing tobacco encased in plastic and sitting in a prominent place on the coffee table in their living room.

    “What in the world is that?” I asked.

    “That was Kerr Scott’s favorite chewing tobacco,” Watts’s mother explained.

    Terry Sanford, who ran Scott’s campaign for the U.S. Senate in 1954, sent tobacco plugs to the key campaign workers like Clyde Auman, Watts’ father. He had been Kerr Scott’s county chair and was now campaigning for a seat in the North Carolina House. I learned how much struggling farmers appreciated the roads and services that Kerr Scott had pushed through while governor.

    Watts led me around the farm. Although the Aumans were best known for peaches, they also farmed other crops.

    He showed me how to string tobacco, take it down, bind it up, and send it to market. I watched as Watts worked with the farm workers.

    Always quiet and respectful, but he was also demanding. It was clear that Watts had earned their respect. One day, Watts and I took a small crop of field peas to the Farmers Market in Raleigh, selling them for almost enough to cover the cost of the gas it took to get there.

    Clyde Auman let me follow him around from event to event as he campaigned for the legislature. Like Watts, Clyde Auman was quiet and modest in a winning way.
    But that modesty made it a challenge to create campaign materials. Even though Moore County was still Democratic, a candidate had to be careful to appeal to traditional Republicans in the northern part of the country and to conservatives in Pinehurst and Southern Pines.

    But our candidate was slow to brag.

    In those few weeks in the Auman home, I learned more about farming and politics and the strength of humility than I did about “spying.”
    Watts leaves hundreds, maybe thousands, of Auman kin across the state and region, almost all sharing Watts’s commitment to community, especially his sisters Nancy Cunningham and Laura Pitts and his brother Bob.

    Without Bob’s suggestions for column topics and his careful reading and correction of drafts, I could not continue writing this column.

    For Watts’s friendship and example and for my connection to his family, I will always be grateful.

  • 08 FSO 3Want to get in the Halloween spirit through music?

    Well, the Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra is hosting a fantasy and ghostly themed performance, just in time for Halloween. The Ghosts and Ghouls one-night event will take you on a Halloween themed journey of exceptional orchestral music.

    The performance will feature music from Disney’s Fantasia as well as Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo. Some of the other pieces that will be performed include:

    • "Waltz from Masquerade" by Aram
      Khachaturian
    • "A Night on Bald Mountain" by Modest
      Mussorgsky arr. Rimsky-Korsakov
    • "Danse Macabre" by Camille Saint-Säens
    • "Beauty and the Beast" from "Mother Goose" by Maurice Ravel
    • "The Sorcerer’s Apprentice" by Paul Dukas
    • "Firebird Suite (1919)" by Igor Stravinsky

    Stefan Sanders will be the conductor of Ghosts and Ghouls. He is an arts advocate, and focuses on cultivating cultures of artistic excellence, sustaining growth and development and having meaningful engagement within the community.

    When asked what his favorite piece to conduct has been, Sanders explained that whatever piece he is conducting at the moment is his favorite. Although he does have some preferences.

    “I like the ending from the "Firebird Suite" 1919 by Igor Stravinsky,” Sanders said.

    The entire performance will be an hour and 20 minutes long.

    Ghosts and Ghouls will also be kicking off the 2021-2022 season for the Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra. There are six total season concerts this year. People have the option to buy tickets for the full season, tickets for three concerts or tickets for each individual concert.

    Ticket prices for the Ghosts and Ghouls performance ranges from $5 for children, $20 for military and seniors, and $25 for adults.

    However Ghosts and Ghouls isn’t the only spooky event that the Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra is performing. They will also be performing at the Heckler Brewing Company Oct. 28 for their community concert series, Symphony on Tap. This concert will be Hogwarts Edition, so the music – and the alcohol – will all be Harry Potter themed.

    Symphony on Tap is a new series by the Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra that aims to engage the community through music and beer. Symphony on Tap performances are free admission.
    While there is no dress code to attend, the Ghosts and Ghouls concert encourages costumes for both attendees and the musicians. The one thing that is required to be worn are face masks.

    Ghosts and Ghouls will take place, Oct. 30 at 7:30 p.m. at the Seabrook Auditorium at Fayetteville State University. Tickets can be purchased at https://ci.ovationtix.com/36404/production/1075542

  • 4The North Carolina General Assembly approved the $30 billion state budget last week, and Fayetteville and Cumberland County will benefit from the $127M that will flow into our community.
    This is excellent news, but unfortunately, it pales compared to what the tour de force Cumberland County delegation of Sens. deViere and Clark and State Reps. Szoka, Richardson, Lucas and Wheatley brought to our community in previous years. ($413M plus!)

    Why the success? That delegation worked hard, cared about every segment of our community, and worked together across the aisle for the betterment of the citizens of Fayetteville and Cumberland County. More importantly, they displayed a unified and dignified front in Raleigh. They got things done.

    This time, the credit goes to Sen. Tom McInnis, who serves Moore County and a small piece of Cumberland County, and Fayetteville’s District 43 House Representative, Diane Wheatley.

    The $127M covers the two-year budget through June 30, 2025.
    Because of their focus and hard work, many local organizations will benefit. To name a few of the beneficiaries:

    All three educational facilities: Fayetteville State $72M, Methodist University $2M and FTCC $10M

    • $12M for Grays Creek
    • $14M Cape Fear Valley Medical Center
    • $2 million U.S. Army Airborne & Special Operations Museum
    • $2.1 million Fayetteville Cape Fear Regional Theatre
    • $250,000 to the Gilbert Theater

    Plus money for nonprofit organizations:

    • Cumberland County Fire Chiefs Association
    • Heritage Square Historical Society
    • Falcon Children’s Home
    • Vander Civic Association
    • The School of Hope
    • Karen Chandler Trust of Fayetteville
    • Gray’s Creek Ruritan Club

    We thank Sen. Tom McInnis and Rep. Diane Wheatley for a job well done. As for the rest of the delegation, we recommend they spend less time concerned about their political futures and pay more attention to their constituents in Fayetteville and Cumberland County, who sent them to Raleigh.

    Make no mistake about it, State Reps. Charles Smith, Marvin Lucas of Spring Lake, Frances Jackson of Hope Mills and Sen. Val Applewhite of Fayetteville paid homage and loyalty to high-ranking Raleigh democrats rather than looking out for their constituents.

    And, yes, this group voted Against the Budget. So, they voted Against bringing $127M of North Carolina tax dollars to the Cumberland County community.

    This begs the question: What are they there for? Why were they voted into office if not to represent the taxpayers of this community?

    I hope that the next election does not forget these irresponsible actions. Undoubtedly, they will want to take credit for these accomplishments or, at best, try to spin it with plenty of excuses for underperforming.
    Excuses like they were not invited to participate, they were never included in the conversations or negotiation, or their requests were undermined by someone or something beyond their control abound. Please don’t buy it.

    Please don’t buy any attempt they may try to take credit for what McInnis and Wheatley accomplished.

    Smith, Jackson, Applewhite and Lucas voted AGAINST the $30 billion budget. They voted AGAINST the $127M to local organizations. They voted AGAINST Fayetteville and Cumberland County residents.
    Again, this begs the question: Why do they deserve to represent Cumberland County if they don’t represent us? Curious minds want to know.

    Thank you for reading the Up & Coming Weekly community newspaper.

  • 14 benefits of art educationWhy does art matter? This is a question that has given philosophers and artists food for thought for centuries.

    It’s also been a leading question in many school districts when budget cuts have forced school administrators to put various curricula on the chopping block. Very often arts programs are the first to be cut.

    From their earliest years, many children communicate and learn through artistic expression. Songs help them learn words and repetition to develop speech and reading skills. Drawing, painting and crafting helps to solidify motor skills. Though 88% of Americans consider the arts part of a well-rounded education, an American for the Arts public opinion survey found that the percentage of students receiving arts education has shrunk dramatically over the last few decades.

    Houston’s Arts Access Initiative, in conjunction with Houston Education Research Consortiums, found a substantial increase in arts educational experiences had remarkable effects on students’ academic, social and emotional outcomes. Students who participated in arts education experienced a 3.6% reduction in disciplinary infractions, an improvement of 13% of a standard deviation in standardized writing scores, and an increase of 8% of a standard deviation in students’ compassion for others. Compassion translated into wanting to help people who were treated badly and being more conscious of how other people feel.

    The Nation’s Report Card, the largest ongoing assessment of what students in the United States know and can do, shows that American students continue to score lower than many of their peers in Europe and Asia. Seeking to improve performance in reading and math may be as simple as including arts education. Researchers from the Johns Hopkins University School of Education say that instruction becomes more effective when educators integrate creative activities.

    Encouraging creativity and imagination across all disciplines can help shine light on new concepts and help students discover connections and innovative ideas.

    To bolster support of arts in the classroom, parents and educators can point out the following benefits of arts education.

    Increases creativity: The arts let students express themselves in different ways and offer outlets for all types of skills.

    Improves academic performance: A report by Americans for the Arts indicates young people who regularly participate in the arts are four times more likely to be recognized for academic achievement than non-participants.

    Develops motor skills: Arts helps foster motor skills, which are essential for writing letters and words, playing musical instruments, using paintbrushes, and much more.

    Helps one appreciate numeracy: Art involves patterns and problem solving. Learning these skills translates into many different disciplines, including mathematics.

    May accelerate brain development: Bright Horizons, a U.S.-based child care provider, reports learning to play an instrument has been found to improve mathematical learning, boost memory and lead to improved academic scores.

    The benefits of arts in the classroom cannot be ignored. The arts encourage students to use many skills that translate to various subjects.

  • adjusted helmet
    Where has this football season gone?

    I write this picking column the day before Halloween, and when we kick off Friday night we’ll be in November with only one more week left in the regular season.

    Also as of this writing we’re still waiting, as usual, for those magical, mysterious average daily membership numbers from the State Department of Public Instruction that the North Carolina High School Athletic Association will use to determine which schools will be AA and which will be A in the state playoff brackets.

    Those that pull out the slide rules and sun dials and try to forecast who’s going where suggest we could have as many as four Cumberland County teams in the 4-A classification playoffs and two in the 3-A classification. 

    I’ll wait until the official call from the NCHSAA before going through all those headaches.
     
    The record: 52-16
     
    This picking business can drive you insane if you let it. I missed two games last week, both by a single point. That put the record for the week at 5-2, running my season count to 52-16, 76.5 percent.
     
    Cape Fear at Pine Forest - The title of hottest team in Cumberland County now goes to Cape Fear after the Colts notched their fifth straight win with a huge 7-6 victory over South View last Friday.
    With only one Patriot Athletic Conference loss to Terry Sanford, Cape Fear is in a strong position for a state playoff berth, but the Colts need to win out and get some help from the rest of the league to get the best seeding possible.
    I think they start the process for themselves Friday with a win over Pine Forest.
    Cape Fear 28, Pine Forest 13.
     
    Gray’s Creek at Douglas Byrd- Two teams facing disappointing seasons to date. The Bears are my pick in this one as they bid to finish the year strong.
    Gray’s Creek 30, Douglas Byrd 12.
     
    Jack Britt at Pinecrest - I’d love to pick the Buccaneers in this one, but Pinecrest is playing too well.
    Pinecrest 27, Jack Britt 13.
     
    Seventy-First at Richmond Senior - I’m afraid it’s going to be a long night in Rockingham for the Falcons.
    Richmond Senior 32, Seventy First 12.
     
    Terry Sanford at South View - South View is in command to get the No. 1 4-A playoff berth from the Patriot Athletic Conference. Meanwhile Terry Sanford has already locked up the 3-A top seed by sweeping its 3-A league opponents.
    So all that’s at stake here is the regular-season conference championship. Trust me, both teams want it badly.
    South View 20, Terry Sanford 18.
     
    Overhills at Westover - The frustration is likely to continue for Westover this week.
    Overhills 24, Westover 16.
     
    Open date: E.E. Smith.
    Other games: Trinity Christian 39, Asheville School 6.
  • 10 bazaar 6Are you looking for some interesting gift ideas for the upcoming holidays? Or do you just want to get out and enjoy some good food?

    There are two bazaars scheduled this month in Fayetteville and Hope Mills that will offer both while benefiting good causes.

    Pencil in the Berean Baptist Church Holiday Bazaar in your planner.

    The bazaar takes place at the Berean Baptist Church located at 517 Glensford Drive in Fayetteville. It will be open to the public on Saturday, Oct. 16 from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m.

    The bazaar will have 35 vendors, many of whom are selling handmade crafts such as floral arrangements, goat’s milk soap, honey, quilts, canned goods, baskets and a variety of other items.

    The church’s first bazaar was in 2019 (pre-COVID-19). The first event saw about 450 people attend. The church and organizers are hopeful for a large turnout for this year’s event. Organizers hope to increase attendance and sales by extending the hours of the event this year.

    The church has a lot of people involved with making the bazaar a success. There are 15 people on the committee. The day before the event there will be 40-50 church volunteers preparing the church and, of course, there will be vendors.

    Lunch will be available at the bazaar. Patrons can pick two items from the menu. The menu is pick two from three different soups, three different sandwiches and three salads. Chips and drinks will accompany lunch. The cost of lunch is $7. When you are done with lunch, check out the baked goods for sale.

    There will also be a photographer on hand to take holiday photos.

    Visitors can stop by the church’s café for specialty coffee drinks to enjoy while browsing the vendor offerings.

    All of the proceeds from the Berean Baptist Church Holiday Bazaar will go to Operation Blessing, which is a (501c3) nonprofit Christian humanitarian organization. Operation Bleesing provides short term assistance of food, clothes, limited approved financial assistant and crisis pregnancy support to those in need in Cumberland County and surrounding areas.

    The Gray’s Creek Bazaar and Buffet will be held at the Gray’s Creek Community Building, 3024 School Road in Hope Mills on Oct. 21 from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m.

    It is a great way to support local vendors. Items up for sale include craft items such as holiday decorations, wreaths, door hangers, ornaments, candles, jams, jellies, pickles, dried herbs, cakes, pies, cookies and candies. The bazaar draws people in with country store items for the crafts, canned goods, homemade cakes and pies.

    Crowd expectation depends on the year. About 4-500 visitors have attended in election years while other years draw 3-400. Of those visitors, many come from other counties and states.

    “As a Club committed to our budgeted community service projects, we were concerned last year,” said Helen Brockett, corresponding secretary and the Gray’s Creek Woman’s Club’s publicity chair.

    “We reached out to our annual sponsors to consider their usual contributions to meet our service commitments, and the response was very good. With a pork roast and loin donation from Smithfield, we were able to hold two drive-by, take out benefits earlier this year which were very helpful. These plate sales provided much needed monies for the general and budgeting funds.”

    The Gray’s Creek Woman’s Club Bazaar began in 1970 and has always been held at the Gray’s Creek Community Building owned and maintained jointly by the Gray’s Creek Woman’s Club and the Gray’s Creek Ruritans.

    The all-you-can-eat buffet was added to the bazaar in 1974, and probably the best addition to the event for those who love southern cooking and eating as much as browsing through handmade items and baked goods.
    It been 51 years since the first bazaar. Even with a pandemic cancelling the event last year, they are thrilled they are able to hold number 50 this year,
    Brockett said.

    The biggest annual item is the hand pieced quilt made by the members. Raffle tickets are only $1 each and folks from near and far buy tickets for a chance to win. The drawing will be held at 2 p.m. at the close of the bazaar. You do not have to be present to win.

    The “all-you-can-eat” buffet is $12. The menu includes chicken ‘n pastry, country ham, fried chicken, green beans, corn, cabbage, sweet potatoes, collards, potato salad, deviled eggs, variety of relishes, pies and cakes.

    The community outreach includes scholarships, the Grays Creek Christian Center, four district Gray’s Creek Schools, and other needs that might present themselves.

    Pictured above: A highlight of the Gray’s Creek Bazaar and Buffet is the raffle of a hand pieced quilt made by members of the Gray’s Creek Woman’s Club. (Photos of previous event courtesy Gray’s Creek Woman’s Club)

    Pictured below: Volunteers work diligently to get the Berean Baptist Church Holiday Bazaar ready for vendors and visitors. (Photos of previous event courtesy Berean Baptist Church)

    11 BBC volunteers

  • 21 01 Roscoe BlueRoscoe Blue

    Terry Sanford • Football• Senior
     
    Blue has a 3.854 weighted grade point average. He is a captain on the football team. He is a member of the Key Club and enjoys taking college courses at Fayetteville Tech. Blue volunteers at other sporting events here at Terry Sanford and enjoys cooking at the baseball games.  During his free time he enjoys fishing.
     
    Jacob Knight

    Terry Sanford•Football•Senior

    21 02 Jacob KnightKnight has a 3.937 weighted grade point average. He is a captain on the Terry Sanford football team.  He is a member of Academically/Intellectually Gifted and National Honor Society and enjoys taking college courses at Fayetteville Tech.  Knight is a active member of Epicenter Church where his father Mark Knight is pastor.
     
  • 20 BazzleSouth View athletic director Chad Barbour said Tyler Bazzle is the kind of student who brightens your day whenever you see him.

    Despite being hampered by cerebral palsy that makes him non-verbal and forces him to walk with the help of a walker, Bazzle is a friendly, outgoing youngster who is beloved by his teachers and fellow students.

    He also loves the Tiger football team, and Barbour came up with an idea for allowing him to experience being a part of the team firsthand.

    In September, Barbour approached head coach Rodney Brewington with the idea of allowing Bazzle to put on a uniform, go on the field with the rest of the team and score a touchdown.

    Brewington took the idea and in Barbour’s words, ran with it. He put together a full uniform for Bazzle, down to equipment and shoes, and gave it to him to remember the special night, which they scheduled for South View’s homecoming game with E.E. Smith.

    Barbour then reached out to Smith athletic director Lawrence Smalls to clear it with him. The plan was to delay the kickoff of the game and run an unofficial play near the goal line with Bazzle carrying the football prior to the actual kickoff.
    Barbour said Smalls agreed immediately, saying anything that the schools can do for kids they’re going to do.

    Just to cover all bases, Barbour also spoke with Neil Buie, the regional supervisor of high school football officials for the Southeastern Athletic Officials Association and the North Carolina High School Athletic Association.
    Buie and his officiating crew bought in, manning their usual positions on the field while the play with Bazzle was run.

    The ball was handed off to Bazzle, his walker shoved to the side, as his best friend Kevin Brewington and South View star running back Matthew Pemberton helped Bazzle into the end zone for his touchdown.

    Long after the game was over, Barbour said Pemberton removed his game cleats and presented them to Bazzle as another gift.

    “It’s an experience I’ll never forget,’’ Barbour said.

    Barbour said the whole evening was a testament to the all-inclusive athletic program that has been promoted by Vernon Aldridge, the student activities director for Cumberland County Schools.

    Aldridge has been pushing the concept of Unified Sports, which tries to involve special needs students at the schools into mainstream sports. So far, special needs students in Cumberland County have been able to participate in track and field and wrestling.

    This winter, plans are in place to add bowling to the list of Unified Sports the county offers.

    Aldridge said he thought the special ceremony for Bazzle fit in perfectly with the county’s goal of inclusiveness. “I would love to have a unified sports in each of our sports seasons,’’ Aldridge said.

  • 19 Dorian Clark copyThere has been no shortage of great running backs at Fayetteville and Terry Sanford High Schools, dating back to the tales of the great Nub Smith during the post-World War II era.

    In modern times, names like Roger Gann, Booten Jackson, Louis Craft, Dwight Richardson and Jordan McRae were often in headlines.

    But all of them never achieved the numbers that current standout Dorian Clark has.

    Clark recently became the all-time rushing leader in the rich history of Fayetteville High and Terry Sanford. Through last week’s win over Douglas Byrd, Clark has rushed for 4,724 yards in his career as a Bulldog with 50 touchdowns.
    This season alone he’s amassed 1,125 yards and 15 scores.

    None of this came as a surprise to head coach Bruce McClelland, who saw Clark’s potential as he came up through the middle school ranks. He arrived at Terry Sanford as a freshman eager to learn and get even better.

    “He’s one of those gym rat type of kids that always wanted to know what was going on and when we were working out,’’ McClelland said. “Combined with the skill set and wanting to work, you put those two together and you see the promise of him.’’

    McClelland describes Clark as a downhill runner who can put his shoulder into a defender and carry two or three of them with him. “I would probably say at least half of his yards have come after contact,’’ McClelland said.

    While Clark doesn’t possess sprinter’s speed, McClelland said he’s got enough to to make him an effective runner. It’s also been enough to attract the attention of colleges like Wake Forest, Wofford and Elon to name a few.

    If anyone is surprised by Clark’s success, it’s Clark himself, who just came to Terry Sanford hoping he could live up to the reputation of the running backs that preceded him.

    As far as his thoughts on his running style, he considers himself a disciple of the Dallas Cowboys’ Ezekiel Elliott. “I watch him and study how he runs,’’ Clark said. “That’s my favorite football player. That’s who I feel like I run like, with toughness, the physical part of running.’’

    Clark said he still wants to hit 5,000 yards for his career. With three regular season games and a near certain first-round state playoff game left, he has time to make that happen.

    But he and the Bulldogs are seeking bigger prizes. “I want us to win our conference,’’ he said. “I want us to be conference champions and go undefeated (in conference play). I’m really excited about what’s going to be coming up for us and all the things we are about to do.’’

    Pictured: Dorian Clark

  • 18 Generic football helmetWhen it comes to the long-term effects of concussions in sports, there is a wide range of information published — almost on a daily basis. Unfortunately, much of the media coverage as it relates to high school sports — and particularly the sport of football — is misleading.

    Recently, the Concussion Legacy Foundation introduced its new public-service announcement that compared youth football dangers to smoking. As the pre-teen football players puff on cigarettes, the voiceover says, “Tackle football is like smoking, the younger I start, the longer I’m exposed to danger.”

    The “Tackle Can Wait” campaign by the foundation is an attempt to steer children under the age of 14 into flag football. Although establishing a finite age may be difficult, reducing contact at youth levels is certainly a positive. USA Football is doing just that nationally through its Football Development Model. Likewise, the 51-member state associations of the National Federation of State High School Associations have enacted limitations on contact during preseason and practice sessions.

    Our concern is the term “exposed to danger.” These types of messages continue to spread unwarranted fear to parents of high school student-athletes. The “danger” refers to reports that players who incur repeated concussions can develop chronic traumatic encephalopathy.

    A 2017 study from the Journal of American Medical Association linked CTE in the brains of deceased National Football League players. Even if this report is accurate, these are individuals who endured repeated blows to the head for 20 to 25 years BEFORE any concussion protocols were in place.

    Less publicized is a study by Dr. Munro Cullum and his colleagues at the Peter O’Donnell Jr. Brain Institute, which is a part of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. Cullum’s group studied 35 former NFL players age 50 and older who had sustained multiple concussions throughout their careers. The findings showed no significant association between the length of the individuals’ careers, the number of concussions and their cognitive function later in life.

    Two studies, two different conclusions. Regardless of the outcome, however, they are not applicable to kids playing football before and during high school. There is absolutely no linkage to CTE at these levels, and the word “danger” should not be a part of the discussion.

    A more applicable and significant study was also published in JAMA in 2017. In a study of about 4,000 men who graduated from Wisconsin high schools in 1957, there was no difference in cognitive function or decline between those who played football and those who did not as they reached 65 years of age. We would assume the majority of these individuals discontinued football after high school.

    With more than one million boys — and girls — playing the contact sport of football each year, severe injuries do occur from time to time, but parents should know that efforts to lessen the risk of a catastrophic injury, including head injuries, have never been stronger than they are today.

    In fact, new data from the National High School Sports-Related Injury Surveillance Study indicates some positive trends in concussion rates. The study, which was released in the American Academy of Pediatrics online issue of Pediatrics this week, indicated that concussion rates during football practices dropped from 5.47 to 4.44 concussions per 10,000 athletic exposures between the 2013-14 and 2017-18 seasons.

    In addition, repeat concussion rates across all sports declined from 0.47 to 0.28 per 10,000 exposures during the same time period.

    Concussion laws are in place in every state. All NFHS sports rules books have concussion management protocols. Helmet-to-helmet hits are not allowed in football. Limits on contact in preseason and practice in football are in place in every state.

    After considering all the available research, we encourage parents to let their kids play their sport of choice in high school, but we would discourage moving away from football – or any contact sport – solely based on the fear of developing CTE later in life.


  • prediction football RESIZEDAs we head into the final weeks of the high school football season it’s a good time to remember the rules regarding fighting and ejections in the North Carolina High School Athletic Association.

    There’s never a good time to lose your temper on the field and get into an altercation with an opposing player, but the stretch drive is the worst time, especially for teams with playoff aspirations.

    The following violations get you kicked out of a game immediately: fighting, biting, taunting, baiting or spitting toward an opponent, obscene gestures or disrespectfully addressing an official.

    Everything on that list carries an additional penalty of one game missed, with the exception of fighting.

    If you are guilty of fighting, that means you are gone for the next two contests.

    Worse, if three players or coaches are ejected during a game, or six for a full season, that team loses its state playoff privileges for that year.

    It has happened before to teams from this area.

    Please make sure your team isn’t one of them this year. Keep calm and play by the rules.
     
    The record: 47-14
     
    I was almost perfect for two straight weeks but dropped one game to finish 7-1. The count for the year is 47-14, 78.3 percent.
     
    South View at Cape Fear- This is a huge Patriot Athletic Conference game for two of the league’s hottest teams.
    Both are peaking at the right time of the season. Home field definitely helps Cape Fear, but that still might not be enough for the Colts.
    I expect this to be a close one that a big play or key turnover could decide.
    South View 21, Cape Fear 20.
     
    Douglas Byrd at Overhills - I think Overhills has too much offense for the Eagles to get a win in this one.
    Overhills 28, Douglas Byrd 14.
     
    Pine Forest at E.E. Smith - This is a tough call because both teams have been inconsistent. I’m giving Smith the edge playing at home.
    E.E. Smith 22, Pine Forest 18.
     
    Hoke County at Jack Britt - Hoke has clearly been the surprise team of the season in the Sandhills Athletic Conference with its return to success. This is a big game for both teams trying to improve their state playoff chances.
    I think Britt will figure a way to win this one.
    Jack Britt 24, Hoke County 18.
     
    Purnell at Seventy-First - The Falcons get a much-needed win against a Swett team having a difficult season.
    Seventy-First 30, Purnell Swett 12.
     
    Westover at Terry Sanford - The Bulldogs celebrate homecoming with another victory as they brace for bigger foes down the road.
    Terry Sanford 31, Westover 8.
     
    Open date: Gray’s Creek.
     
    Other games: Word of God forfeited to Trinity Christian earlier this week; Faith Christian 30, Fayetteville Christian 14.
  • 22 01 jessica waltonJessica Walton

    Douglas Byrd•Tennis/basketball• Senior

    Walton has a 3.9 grade point average. She is a member of the Academy of Finance, National Honor Society and the Key Club. She volunteers weekly with Feeding 5,000. She plans to attend North Carolina A&T and major in business administration.


    Michael Jurado

    Douglas Byrd•Soccer•Senior

    Jurado has a 4.24 grade point average. He is captain of the soccer team. He is a member of the Academy of Green Technology and the National Honor Society. He plans to attend North Carolina State University and major in electrical engineering.
     
    22 02 michael jurado
     
  • 21 01 toni blackwelllEditor's note: The Cape Fear girls won their third consecutive N.C. High School Athletic Association 3-A East Regional title on Tuesday and Toni Blackwell took her second consecutive individual title. Blackwell shot a 76 at Reedy Creek Golf Course in Four Oaks. The Colt team shot a 269 to beat second-place Topsail High school by nine strokes. Cape Fear’s other scores that counted were a 91 by Gabby Bynum and a 102 by Lexi Perez. After a season dominating play in the Patriot Athletic Conference, the Cape Fear girls golf team is ready to make another run at state golf honors.

    Led by overall conference champion Toni Blackwell, Cape Fear won all seven conference regular-season tournaments, with Blackwell taking medalist honors each time.

    Blackwell averaged 77.9 per match, only shooting one round in the 80s. The average winning score for the Colt team was 268.8.

    They ended the regular season with a round of 255, their lowest of the year, on their home course at Baywood Golf Club.

    Colt golf coach Todd Edge said the final two weeks of the season the team exceeded his expectations. In the last match at Baywood his top four golfers all broke 100.

    He knew the Colts would be led by returning veterans Blackwell and Gabby Bynum, but at the start of the season he was concerned who would step up to provide the third score in each match that’s used 21 02 Gabby to determine the team total.
    That turned out to be freshman Lexi Perez, who ended the season with a 100.6 average.

    “We knew she could hit the ball, but there’s a difference between hitting and scoring,’’ Edge said. “She has really picked it up and become our No. 3 scorer for the majority of the season.’’

    This is only Perez’s second year playing golf, and she said she felt pressure not to let the team down and prevent them from having a chance to take the conference title again.

    “All of my clubs have improved from when I started,’’ she said.

    With her one round of 83, Blackwell missed her goal of having all of her regular season rounds in the 70s. She felt she played well during the year and is looking forward to another shot at regional and state success.

    “I think it will help me and Gabby because we know what to expect and we’re used to it,’’ she said of the postseason. “We have to stay focused, work hard and practice.’’

    Bynum said the biggest difference in the postseason will be the level of competition the Colts will face. “These girls are shooting in the 70s and lower 80s,’’ she said. “It’s just the nerves. They really do get 21 03 lexito you.’’

    She said the key to success in the postseason will be containing nerves and hitting the ball well in the right spots.

    The Colts have won the 3-A East Regional tournament the past two seasons, but Edge knows winning a third will be a challenge.

    The regional was held this past Monday at Reedy Creek Golf Course in Four Oaks.

    It’s the home course for a number of schools scheduled to play in the regional, so they all have more experience on the course than the Cape Fear golfers do.

    The state tournament, which the Colts hope to qualify for, will be held at Foxfire Village’s Red Course.

    ”It’s been closed for the majority of the year,’’ Edge said of the Red Course. “They redid their greens.’’

    Cape Fear finished fifth in the state on the Red course last season.

    “We’ve got to get there first,’’ Edge said. “Going to the regionals is our goal, then getting a team into states. Once we get to states, we’ll see.’’

     

    Pictured from top to bottom: Toni Blackwell, Gabby Bynum, Lexi Perez

  • 20 01 jalestyTo say the Gray’s Creek Bears have dominated volleyball play in the Patriot Athletic Conference this season is an understatement.

    Through games of Tuesday, Oct. 15, the Bears are 21-0 overall, 16-0 in the league, and have already clinched the regular-season title. To date, they’ve lost just three sets.

    Regardless of how they fare in the conference tournament, they are assured the No. 1 berth from the league in the upcoming state tournament.

    Early projections by WRAL-TV’s High School OT have the Bears as the No. 2 seed in the Eastern bracket, although official state tournament pairings won’t be out until all conference tournament play is over.

    Head coach Jalesty Washington clearly isn’t surprised the Bears have done this well coming off a 17-5 record last year that saw them finish one game back of Cape Fear in the Patriot Athletic Conference standings.

    20 2hailey “I feel like they are mentally stronger this year,’’ she said. “I only lost two seniors last year and they want it more than anybody this year.’’

    Washington thinks the key to success in volleyball is to have a strong defense, a smart setter and a solid front row to put the ball away. She also believes in keeping the ball moving and controlling the game.

    She credits much of the team’s success this season to her senior captains, Hailey Pait and Summer Powell. Pait plays the libero position while Powell is a defensive specialist.

    “Hailey is focused on passing and keeping the team straight,’’ Washington said. “She tries to keep them together. She’s a mature leader.’’

    Washington calls Powell the glue on the team. “She’s the goofy one who keeps everybody laughing,’’ Washington said. “She’ll call you out and let you know you did something wrong and she’ll let you know if you did something right. She’s the vocal leader.’’

    20 03 summerThe one thing Washington can’t control is the quality of competition Gray’s Creek faced during the regular season. Washington thinks her team has gotten good tests from teams like Union Pines, Scotland and Harnett Central along with conference rivals Terry Sanford and Cape Fear.

    “I always tell the girls, we haven’t lost yet so there’s no need to start now,’’ Washington said.

    Pait and Powell are also anxious for a rematch with Conley.

    “I think we run everything faster and we have better energy,’’ Pait said. “We don’t get down as much. Even when we are down we come back, and it’s a lot more fun this year.’’

    Powell said the Bears know how good they are this year and are anxious to make a much deeper run in the state playoffs.

    “I feel like we have a better chance,’’ she said. “We have more drive this year. The farther we get in the playoffs, the better we’ll play. We’ll want it more because we’ll be so close.’’

    Pictured from top to bottom: Jalesty Washington, Hailey Pait, Summer Powell 

  • 19 mcdanielWhen veteran athletic administrator Fred McDaniel became the latest person with Fayetteville ties to be named to the North Carolina High School Athletic Association Hall of Fame, he had difficulty figuring what the fuss was about.
    “I don’t know why you’re doing this,’’ he said after learning he was a member of the 2020 class of inductees that will be honored in April. “I’m just doing my job. I was doing what I was supposed to.’’

    In doing that job, McDaniel has become recognized in both Cumberland County and around the state of North Carolina as a hardworking professional who helped raise the profile of the athletic director’s job while also providing guidance and leadership to others in the position.

    A Fayetteville native, McDaniel is a graduate of old Central High School and what is now the University of North Carolina at Pembroke, earning a degree in health and physical education.

    He taught briefly at Red Springs High School before returning to Cumberland County to coach baseball, wrestling and football at Terry Sanford High School.

    He advanced to the administrative level in 1988 when he became athletic director and assistant principal at Westover High School.

    From there, he went to the same position at Cape Fear High School in 1994, then moved to the Cumberland County Schools central office as student activities director, were he remained until 1999 when he retired from full-time work.

    McDaniel played a key role for the North Carolina Athletic Directors Association, which earned him both state and national recognition.

    He received a citation award from the National Federation of State High School Associations in 2011 and was selected to the NCADA Hall of Fame in 2013. He’s also a member of the Fayetteville Sports Club Hall of Fame.

    The NCHSAA honored him with its Dave Harris Award as the state’s athletic director of the year.

    McDaniel gives credit for much of his success as an athletic administrator to three great athletic directors he worked with earlier in is career: Len Maness at Terry Sanford, John Daskal at Reid Ross and Terry Sanford and Bill Carver of E.E. Smith, also a former county student activities director.

    “These people helped me tremulously along the way and made me what I was,’’ he said. “I want to give them credit too. Len Maness taught me more than I can imagine anybody could teach me about life and anything else.
    “They did it for me. They made me who I am.’’

    McDaniel said the most gratifying thing about his career were the memories of times former players came back to him and thanked him for the influence he had on their lives.

    “You don’t see it right then,’’ he said. “Down the road you see you had an influence, hopefully a positive influence.’’

    Another area where McDaniel has had a positive influence is teaching NCADA Leadership Training Institute courses for fellow athletic directors to help them better understand the nature of their job.

    McDaniel remembered when he was first hired as an athletic director he was given a set of keys and pointed toward the football field.

    “We’ve tried to make it easier for people so they know what to do better,’’ he said. McDaniel still teaches LTI courses for the NCADA.

    “We want to make a better athletic program for the kids,’’ McDaniel said. “It’s all about the kids.’’

    From L-R: NCHSAA Commissioner Que Tucker takes a picture  with Fred McDaniel and his Hall of Fame plaque.

  • 10-13-10-zombie.gifFew people are suprised by what they see around Halloween, but if you are driv-ing downtown on 4th Friday, Oct. 22, you might get a little more than you bargained for if Christina Cole and the members of the Feral Art Collective get what they are hoping for.

    Cole, a Wilmington-based artist and her husband, Sameul Guin, have put together quite an event for ghouls and goblins to enjoy — a Jazz Funeral and Zombie Walk.

    We know, it’s not the usual celebration of Halloween that people expect for downtown, but Cole believes the undead are going to really liven downtown up.

    “This event has really snowballed,” said Cole during a recent interview. “We were all talking about the fact that in Fayetteville unless you go to a bar and party, there’s not a lot for adults to do on Hallow-een. So we started talking about ideas for something fun, something different for adults.”

    Initially, the idea was to sponsor a Jazz Funeral Cole explained.

    “My mom died last December and we didn’t really have a fu-neral,” she explained. “Later we went to New Orleans and saw a Jazz Funeral and thought it was a great idea.”

    For those not in the know, a Jazz Funeral is a New Orleans tradition that is rooted in music. Most commonly such musical funerals are done for individuals who are musicians themselves, connected to the music industry, or members of various social aid and pleasure clubs or Carnival krewes who make a point of arranging for such funerals for members. The music starts out somber and then moves on to joy in a celebration of life and death.

    “We started talking about hosting a Jazz Funeral here, but culturally a lot of people don’t know what a Jazz Funeral is, but most people know about zombies, so we worked in the Zombie Walk to bring out the fun side and then we are working in the cultural side with the Jazz Funeral,” said Cole. “There’s an interesting parallel between the two of them.”

    To make the tie in perfect, the Feral Art Collective tied their event to 4th Friday knowing that downtown would already be full of life.

    The event will kick-off at the library where all the zombies will gather. From there, they will shamble over to Maxwell Street where all sorts of may-hem will unfold.

    According to Cole, there will be a lot of zombie interaction in and amongst the artisans who will be on hand as part of 4th Friday. There will be break dancing zombies and belly dancing zombies. Members of the collective will be on hand to help you zombie-fy yourself if you didn’t get a chance to do it before you come downtown.

    What might be the highlight of the event will be performances of “Thriller” — complete with a cast of zombie dancers. Voice, a singer/performer, will put on one performance of Michael Jack-son’s pop sensation, and the student’s from Leslie’s Dance Studio will put on another.

    Once you’ve had your fi ll of “Thriller,” you can make your way over to the Climbing Pace to watch Air Born Aerial Arts’ Aerial Zombies put on a display of aerial acrobatics that is sure to take your breath away.

    All of the fun kicks off at 9 p.m., when the zombies meet at the Headquarters Library Fayetteville on Maiden Lane. They will proceed down Burgess Street onto Maxwell St. where they will connect with the Jazz Funeral and proceed down Maxwell in the procession. Please be sure to comply with city laws and keep to sidewalks and obey traffi c rules!

    A live brass band led by Donna Grimble will accompany the funeral proces-sion and second line for the Jazz Funeral complete with a hand-carried zombie coffi n procession.

    After the downtown events, be sure and make your way over to The Rock Shop where a whole weekend of mayhem is planned during the Zombie Grind.

    For more information about those events, visit facebook.com/therockshoplive.For more information about the event and special discounts being offered by downtown merchants, visit www. facebook.com/pages/Fayetteville-Jazz-Funeral-and-Zombie-Walk.

  • 20 Daryl SmithlingDaryl Smithling

    Westover•Football•Senior

    Smithling has a 3.7 grade point average. He is a member of the Superintendent’s Student Voices organization. He is president of the Westover Student 2 Student Program. He is also in the National Honor Society and the Academy of Schools.

    Kadyn Staab
    Westover•Soccer/bowling•Senior

    Staab has a 3.75 grade point average. His activities include participating in Science Olympiad, National English Honor Society, robotics and Westover Academy of Engineering and being the girls’ soccer manager.
     
     
    20 02 KadynPictured from top to bottom: Daryl Smithling, Kadyn Staab
     
  • With four weeks left in the regular season let’s take a look at the standings in the Patriot Athletic Conference and Sandhills Athletic Conference and consider what’s in store as far as championships are concerned.
    The Patriot title is likely to hinge on the outcome of a huge game on Nov. 1 when Terry Sanford visits South View.

    The Tigers have the longest win streak in the county at six in a row, but they have another key game at Cape Fear on Oct. 25 before that meeting with Terry Sanford.

    Regardless of how that Nov. 1 meeting between Terry Sanford and South View goes, both teams are in an excellent position to take the No. 1 state playoff berths for the 3-A and 4-A brackets because of the split conference rules that govern the Sandhills.

    Cape Fear is going to need some help to get back in the title picture. They lost to Terry Sanford the fifth week of the season, but the Colts are still likely to finish in the upper half of the standings with little trouble.

    In the Sandhills it looks like it’s all about Richmond Senior and Scotland for the championship. Jack Britt and Seventy-First are already two games back of the co-leaders and one back of Hoke and Pinecrest.
     
    The record: 47-14
     
    It took eight weeks but I finally managed a perfect record, 7-0. That pushed the season total to 47-14, 77 percent, inching closer to that desired 80 percent mark.

    Let’s see if this week’s schedule will be as kind. 
     
    • Cape Fear at Westover - Two teams headed in opposite directions. Cape Fear needs to keep peaking heading into next week’s game with South View.
    Cape Fear 29, Westover 12.
     
    • Terry Sanford at Douglas Byrd - Terry Sanford is unbeaten where it counts, in Patriot Athletic Conference play, and should stay that way after Friday night.
    Terry Sanford 30, Douglas Byrd 8.
     
    • E.E. Smith at South View - I think Smith’s three-game win streak will come to an end as South View seeks to earn its seventh straight victory.
    South View 26, E.E. Smith 12.
     
    • Overhills at Gray’s Creek - This is a matchup of two teams that have had their problems. The Bears have really hit a rut of difficulty with some injuries to key players. I’ll take Gray’s Creek because of home field advantage. 
    Gray’s Creek 14, Overhills 13.
     
    • Jack Britt at Purnell Swett - Britt needs to regroup quickly after the loss to Richmond Senior. I think they’ll do that Friday night.
    Jack Britt 30, Purnell Swett 14.
     
    • Seventy-First at Scotland - It’s back into the fire for Seventy-First, and I don’t think the result will be pleasant.
    Scotland 24, Seventy-First 18.
     
    Open date: Pine Forest.
     
    Other games: Arendell Parrott Academy 29, Fayetteville Christian 14; Trinity Christian 20, Providence Day 18.
     
  • 19 knightsWhen high school football officials prepare to call a game, traditionally the whole crew holds a pre-game meeting to go over any important details before the contest begins.

    Sgt. 1st. Class Ryan Reis had to miss the meeting held with the rest of his crew prior to the recent Pine Forest at Westover contest, but he had a good excuse.

    He arrived at the field via parachute, jumping in during a pregame exhibition by the famed United States Army’s Golden Knights parachute team.

    Reis, who is a native of Tacoma, Washington, is in his third year with the Golden Knights and his second as a football official with the Southeastern Athletic Officials Association.

    He got the idea to arrive at the Westover game via parachute when he first learned the Golden Knights were scheduled to jump at Westover’s homecoming game.

    He was not originally assigned to the Westover game as an official, so he called Neil Buie, regional supervisor of football officials for the SAOA.

    “I had refereed one of the Westover games earlier this year and knew they were in our scheduling district,’’ Reis said. He said he always thought if he ever had the opportunity, arriving via parachute at a game he was going to be officiating would be something special.

    Aware that Buie sometimes has challenges scheduling officials to call games because of a current shortage in available crews, he called to see if there was any way it could be done.

    “Obviously, my Army job comes first,’’ Reis said. “There’s no way around that.’’

    Reis had cleared the idea with his Army superiors and Buie supported the suggestion 100%, so Reis was added to the officiating crew for the game.

    Reis works any of three positions when he’s a football official, either the line judge, head linesman or back judge. For the Westover game, he was the head linesman.

    The original plan for the Westover jump was for Westover principal Dr. Vernon Lowery to accompany the Golden Knights in a tandem jump.

    They had done the same thing last season when Terry Sanford principal Tom Hatch jumped in to a Bulldog home game.

    Unfortunately, the Golden Knights have specific criteria that must be met during a tandem jump, and conditions for Friday night prevented them from allowing Dr. Lowery to jump with the team.

    But the Golden Knights themselves jumped with no problem Reis said.

    Reis hoped the jump sent a message about both high school football officials and soldiers. “I understand it’s not for everybody,’’ he said. “Officiating football isn’t for everybody, and being in the Army isn’t for everybody.
    “We do the things we do because we like them. Also it’s a great opportunity to show it’s an avenue of something that you can do.’’

    Reis said people don’t have to be pigeonholed into doing things a certain way because of their background or certain pressures they are dealing with in life.

    “There are multiple things you can do in your life that don’t necessarily have to be the standard operating way for everybody else,’’ he said.

    Back row pictured from left to right: Football officials Jeremy Hall, Charles Davenport, Todd Hewlett, Greg Rooks.
    Front row pictured from left to right: Golden Knights, SFC Mike Koch, SFC Ryan Reis, SSG Blake Gaynor, SGT Jason Bauder, SPC Skyler Romberg, SGT Adam Munoz.


  • 18 Stadium CeremonyIt took a few years, but family and friends of former Reid Ross High School football coach John Daskal were finally able to celebrate the installation of a permanent sign in his honor outside the football stadium bearing his name.

    It was around 2002 that the stadium, at what is now Reid Ross Classical High School, was named in honor of Daskal, the only coach the school ever knew before it closed as a traditional high school in 1984.

    When Daskal finally retired in 1991, he had 211 wins, at the time the most of any high school football coach in Cumberland County history.

    He was inducted into the Fayetteville Sports Club Hall of Fame in 2006.

    High school football has returned to John Daskal Stadium this season as it has become the temporary home of Terry Sanford High School, which ironically was the last school where Daskal was a head coach before he retired from the profession.

    Daskal’s daughters, Kim Daskal Lee and Kristina Daskal Magyar, led the push to raise money to get a permanent sign installed.

    They held a golf tournament at Gates Four Golf and Country Club in April and had numerous people reach out to make donations toward the project.

    A family friend, Dr. Wally Mohammed, took the lead in the construction of the sign.

    Mohammed operates a restaurant in Lillington, and he and Daskal became friends when Daskal and his wife Carol first visited the restaurant years ago.

    Lee praised the efforts of men who coached and/or played for her father. Among them were Fred McDaniel, Bill Yeager, Billy Starks and Reggie Pinkney.

    “Every planning meeting, they were there,’’ she said. “We made so many contacts with people we would not have been able to reach out to. They have gone above and beyond.’’

    The ceremony for the sign was held at halftime of a recent Terry Sanford junior varsity football game at Reid Ross.

    Lee estimated about 50 alumni of Reid Ross, including some former football players of Daskal, came out for the ceremony. Pinkney, Yeager and Starks were among those attending.

    “He treated all the players like sons,’’ said Pinkney, principal at Ramsey Street High School in Fayetteville. “We played so much harder for him, and that was why we were
    successful.’’

    Yeager, former head coach at Terry Sanford and Gray’s Creek High Schools, works as an assistant coach at Terry Sanford.

    “He was just a fine man,’’ Yeager said of Daskal. “He cared about his players while he coached them and after they got through and went on doing what they do in their lives.
    “He was the real deal, the whole package.’’

    Starks, principal at Pine Forest Middle School, said Daskal was bigger than life and the kind of coach you would run through a brick wall for.

    “He was just a good person,’’ Starks said. “He loved us, cared about us and we would do anything for him. He was just a special human being.’’

    Pictured: Retired Reid Ross High school football coach John Daskal is joined by men who played and/or coached with him during his career at the ceremony. Pictured from left to right: Current Terry Sanford coach Fred McDaniel, retired Cumberland County Schools student activities director Fred McDaniel, Daskal, current Ramsey Street High School principal Reggie Pinkney, current Terry Sanford assistant coach Bill Yeager and current Pine Forest Middle School principal Billy Starks.

  • 17 David SchmidtBrian Edkins was principal at South View High School when he first got to know Davin Schmidt. Although initially he saw him from afar, he was quickly impressed.

    “I’ve never seen a coach as positive and optimistic as he was with kids,’’ Edkins said. “He’s the one you would want to coach your kid. You would hope he would pick your kid because you knew they were going to have a great experience.
    “He was going to treat all the kids well.’’

    Schmidt, who was an assistant soccer coach at South View and Hope Mills Middle Schools and coached many years in the Hope Mills recreation program, died earlier this month after lengthy battles with an assortment of ailments. He was 47.

    “He could get the worst news in the world and somehow find a silver lining,’’ Edkins said. “It was just amazing. He would try to lead as normal a life as he could during this fight.’’

    In his final year at South View, Edkins recalled a time when Schmidt’s oldest son, Davin II, was being recognized for making the A-B honor roll.

    Schmidt was in the hospital at Duke at the time, but got permission from his doctors to come to South View to see his child recognized. “Throughout his battle, he tried to give as much normalcy to his family as possible,’’ Edkins said.
    The battle started early in his life as Schmidt dealt with colitis and Crohn’s disease. In 2005 he was diagnosed with early stages of colon cancer and his colon was removed.

    He contracted a disease that caused his bile ducts to shut down, which led to liver cancer. He fell into a protocol that made him eligible for a liver transplant, which took place in March of 2017.

    Six months after the successful transplant, he was diagnosed with leukemia.

    He went into remission from the leukemia for a year, and then it returned. Chemotherapy was unsuccessful, so he underwent a stem cell transplant, using stem cells from his own body.

    He wanted to try a promising experimental drug, but four appeals to his insurance company to use it were denied.

    His condition worsened. He developed bleeding on the brain, and the leukemia became more aggressive.

    Despite his poor health, he got permission for a day pass from Duke so he could return to Fayetteville a see his twins, Darin and Drake, play soccer shortly before his death.

    “Even until the end, he was not ready to go,’’ said Kelly McLaurin Schmidt, Davin's wife. “He was still fighting. It was just too much.’’

    He died Oct. 3.

    “He’s always coached the boys in everything,’’ Kelly said. “Soccer, basketball, baseball.’’

    When he started his first recreation team in Hope Mills and named it Gators, friends assumed it was because of Schmidt’s love for the University of Florida.

    Kelly said that wasn’t the case. “It’s actually from the time an alligator was found in Hope Mills Lake,’’ she said. “Everybody loved him so much. He never thought he deserved the recognition, but he does.’’

    Pictured: Schmidt, an avid duck hunter posed for a picture with his dog, Jäger, after a successful day of hunting.

  •  
    Now that we’re seven weeks into the high school football season with five left in the regular season, here is how things stack up according to the statewide MaxPreps.com football rankings.
     
    We’ll start with the rankings for all classes, public and private, in North Carolina.
     
    The top Fayetteville school is Jack Britt, which comes in at No. 24. Next is Trinity Christian at No. 44.
     
    South View is No. 57 with Terry Sanford No. 63. Seventy-First is No. 81, Cape Fear No. 85. 
     
    Gray’s Creek is No. 156, E.E. Smith No. 161 and Pine Forest No. 196.
     
    Completing the list are Westover at No. 248 and Douglas Byrd at 284.
     
    Fayetteville Christian, which plays eight-man football, is ranked only in North Carolina, and is No. 7 among the 8-man teams.
     
    Moving to the specific rankings for classifications, among 4-A schools, Jack Britt is No. 15, South View No. 24, Seventy-First No. 31 and Pine Forest No. 63.
     
    Among the 3-A schools, Terry Sanford is No. 23, Cape Fear No. 31, Gray’s Creek No. 54, E.E. Smith No. 56, Westover No. 83 and Douglas Byrd No. 94.
     
    In the North Carolina Independent Schools Athletic Association Class II 11-man rankings, Trinity Christian is No. 1 in the state.
     
    While I respect the work of those who try to forecast who’s going to be in or out of the playoffs, there are too many directions things could go at this point for me to try and make that projection.
     
    We’ll have the answer for sure when the state playoff brackets are announced the second Saturday in November.
     
     
    The record: 40-14
     
    I was 5-2 for the week, putting the season total to 40-14, 74.1 percent.
     
     
    Douglas Byrd at Cape Fear - Cape Fear finally has a winning streak going and is looking to make it three in a row this week. 
    Cape Fear 28, Douglas Byrd 7.
     
    Westover at E.E. Smith - The Golden Bulls continue their rebound from a rough start to the season.
    E.E. Smith 21, Westover 14. 
     
    Gray’s Creek at Terry Sanford - This is a dangerous game for the Bulldogs, who control their own fate in the Patriot Athletic Conference but have played inconsistently in recent games. Gray’s Creek has also had its share of problems, but the Bears are a potent offensive team and the Bulldogs need to take them seriously.
    Terry Sanford 28, Gray’s Creek 14. 
     
    Richmond Senior at Jack Britt - I’d love to keep drinking the Kool-Aid with the Buccaneers this week, but Richmond looks like one of the best teams in the state this season.
    Richmond Senior 32, Jack Britt 18.
     
    South View at Pine Forest - Despite a rugged start, Pine Forest still can control its fate in the Patriot Athletic Conference. But in order to maintain that control, a win against South View is a must this week. I’m not sure the Trojans can make that happen. 
    South View 29, Pine Forest 12.
     
    Lumberton at Seventy-First - I think the Falcons will snap their surprising three-game slide this week.
    Seventy-First 35, Lumberton 8.
     
    Other games: Trinity Christian 30, North Raleigh Christian 8; St. David’s 30, Fayetteville Christian 12.
  • 21 01 SierraSierra Gosselin

    South View•Volleyball•Senior
     
    Gosselin has a weighted grade point average of 4.05. In addition to playing volleyball, she’s a member of the National Honor Society at South View.
     
     

    Jay Benefield

    South ViewCross country•Sophomore

    21 02 Jay BenefieldBenefield has a weighted grade point average of 4.31. In addition to running cross country for the Tigers, he’s enrolled in the International Baccalaureate Academy at South View.

     

    Pictured from top to bottom: Sierra Gosselin, Jay Benefield

     

     

     

     
  • 20 NCHSAAThe North Carolina High School Athletic Association estimates there are over 200,000 student-athletes playing for high school teams across the state.

    Every year,  16 students are chosen to represent their peers on the Student Athlete Advisory Council.

    This elite group of sophomores and juniors represents every region of the state and serves as the voice for all the state’s athletes, reporting directly to the NCHSAA at both a regional and state level.

    This year’s SAAC includes two students from Jack Britt High School, E.J. McArthur and Colin Baumgartner. McArthur plays basketball and is the son of Britt girls’ basketball coach Nattlie McArthur.

    Baumgartner competes in indoor and outdoor track, cross country and swimming.

    Both are looking forward to serving on the committee and are ready to come to the table with ideas to make things better for their fellow athletes.

    McArthur has already had a taste of what the SAAC does. This summer the NCHSAA sent him and some other SAAC members to a national meeting in Indianapolis, Indiana, home of the headquarters of the National Federation of State High School Associations.

    They learned about problem-solving, leadership and the Unified Sports program that is designed to increase interscholastic sports opportunities for special needs students.

    “One of my main goals is to get Unified Sports in all schools, not just Cumberland County, but all of North Carolina,’’ McArthur said.

    While in Indianapolis the SAAC members worked with special needs children. McArthur was moved by the looks on their faces when they got the opportunity to participate in sports.

    Another concern for McArthur is sportsmanship. He and Baumgartner attended the recent Region 4 meeting of the NCHSAA held in Fayetteville. During the meeting they learned that no Cumberland County School managed to avoid having a player or coach ejected from an athletic contest during the 2018-19 school year.

    “We want to form an initiative to get that (the number of ejections) down,’’ McArthur said. “Respect the refs, respect the rules. Do what you have to do as an athlete, but do it accordingly.’’

    He thinks it’s important that the NCHSAA is open to getting input from student-athletes. “Adults don’t really understand what students want the way students understand what we want,’’ McArthur said. “Having this committee is better because they have a direct outlet to student-athletes.’’

    Baumgartner agrees. “I feel like there’s a lot of situations where we might see things going on that might not be seen at a higher level,’’ he said.

    Baumgartner wants more attention to sports not often in the spotlight. One where he has a personal interest is swimming.

    He is concerned about access county swimmers have to indoor pools, noting they practice at times in outdoor pools covered by an inflatable dome that sometimes collapses and causes problems.

    He also has a concern about alcohol abuse by his fellow students and thinks more needs to be done by students to curb the problem.

    “We shouldn’t go to a party one day and a funeral the next,’’ he said. “Having a peer tell you something I think gives it a deeper meaning and a different perspective.’’

    L-R:  Jack Britt students and SAAC members E.J. McArthur and Colin Baumgartner

  • 19 Brooke BieniekChris Lucas is in his fifth season as head girls tennis coach at Cape Fear High School.

    He inherited a program where most of the players hadn’t played the sport until they went out for the Cape Fear team.

    But five years of pushing his players to perform their best reached a peak last month when Cape Fear defeated perennial Cumberland County tennis power Terry Sanford 6-3 in the second meeting between the teams this season.
    According to retired Terry Sanford tennis coach and local high school tennis historian Gil Bowman, it was the first time since the 2003-2004 tennis season that Cape Fear won a match over the Bulldogs.

    Since coming to Cape Fear from Pinecrest High School, Lucas has been trying to change the tennis culture at the school. It’s a slow process, but the win over Terry Sanford shows Lucas is on the right track.

    Lucas said his primary goal is to turn each of his players into a true tennis player and not just an athlete with a tennis racquet in hand. That means watching professional players on television, understanding the strategy and mental aspect of the game and playing as much tournament tennis outside the high school season as possible.

    19 02 Paige Cameron“My biggest hope is they will fall in love with every aspect of the game,’’ he said. “I’m very fortunate I’ve had coachable girls and ones that have bought into that.’’

    This year’s team has only one player, freshman Brooke Bieniek, who played the sport before she got to Cape Fear.

    Bieniek plays No. 1 singles and won at both singles and doubles in the match with Terry Sanford. Her parents are both physical education teachers at nearby Mac Williams Middle School and got her into the sport at the age of seven.
    “I love just hitting shots and getting all the emotions out,’’ she said. “Like if you had a bad day at school you just hit and hit a ball. It’s fun. Especially with teammates.’’

    She gives all the credit for the team’s success to Lucas. “He’s taught us a lot of stuff and made us what we are today,’’ she said.

    Lucas said that’s part of his philosophy, which he sums up in the phrase, "Sometimes you win and sometimes you learn."

    19 03 Dajia Rucker“Every single match is a match where you can learn,’’ he said. “We broke down why we won that match, what we did right and what we didn’t do before.’’

    Senior Paige Cameron, who plays No. 2 singles, agreed with Bieniek and said Lucas has always encouraged the team, even when they lost a match 9-0.

    “Everything he’s done has pushed us to where we were when we finally beat them (Terry Sanford),’’ Cameron said. “Honestly, that was the best night because that’s what we’ve been looking forward to, beating Terry Sanford, and we finally did it.’’

    Cameron, who is the team captain, said the energy the team got from newcomers like Bieniek was a big boost to this year’s team.

    “The biggest energy is them being positive whether they are playing or not,’’ she said, “showing support for all the girls.’’

    Dajia Rucker, a junior, won at fifth court singles and teamed with Bieniek to win in doubles against Terry Sanford. “Everyone just stepped up,’’ she said. “We knew we wanted to beat Terry Sanford, so that’s what we did.’’

    But the Colts know they must keep working. “I think the main thing is we don’t take this one for granted,’’ Cameron said. “We need to play with the best we have and do the best that we can no matter who we are playing.’’

    Meanwhile, Lucas is looking further down the road, hoping to continue to change the tennis culture not just at the school but in the community.

    “Every summer, we hold a clinic for kids, ages 7-13, and every year it’s grown,’’ he said. “The younger we can get them, the better. We want to be a program that turns in good  team after good team and is a revolving door,’’ he said.

    Pictured from top to bottom: Brooke BieniekPaige Cameron, Dajia Rucker

  • 18 Soccer and footAbout four weeks ago, we distributed an op-ed suggesting that inappropriate behavior by parents and other adult fans at high school sporting events was causing many officials to quit before they even reached two years on the job.

    Although we received mostly positive support from this article, some people thought we went too far in telling parents to “act your age” and “stay in your own lane.” On the contrary, perhaps we should have been more direct.

    Last week, one of our member state associations shared a resignation letter it had received from a 20-year veteran soccer official who had taken all the abuse he could handle. A portion of that letter follows:

    “Soccer parents: you are absolutely 100 percent the reason we have a critical refereeing shortage and games are being cancelled left and right. And you are at least a part of the reason I’m done here. The most entitled among you are the ones that scream the loudest. And every time you do this, you tell your son or daughter the following:

    “'I do not believe in you, I do not believe in your team, I do not believe in your collective ability to overcome your own adversity and you absolutely will not win and cannot do this without me tilting the table in your favor.'

     “On behalf of myself and so many other referees — and I say this with every ounce of my heart and soul — shut up about the referees and let your kids rise or fall as a team, as a family. Because the vast majority of you truly have no idea what you’re talking about, and even if you have a legitimate gripe about one play or one decision, you’re not fixing anything.”

     And if that wasn’t enough, last week the Eastern Panhandle Youth Football League in West Virginia released the following statement:

     “Unfortunately, it has come to the point that because of the abuse, negativity and utter disrespect shown to our officials from parents, coaches and most recently from our players, the Eastern Panhandle Officials Association president stated today that the association will no longer schedule officials for our league games at any field. This means effective immediately all remaining games are cancelled.”

    This statement is from a youth league, which means the coaches are likely also parents of players, and the players are sons and daughters who are emulating their parents’ behavior.

    So, no, our previous message was not too direct or emphatic. The kind of boorish parental behavior that compels a 20-year soccer official to quit cannot be allowed to continue. While we would hope that parents and other fans would embrace the concepts of education-based athletics by respecting the efforts of those men and women who officiate high school sports, that unfortunately is not occurring in some cases.

     As a result, schools must adopt and enforce a strict fan behavior policy. In soccer, a player receives a “yellow card” as a first warning for unsportsmanlike conduct. If the action occurs again, the player is hit with a “red card” and is ejected from the contest. Some schools have implemented a similar penalty structure for parents and other fans — not just at soccer games but all high school events. If the inappropriate behavior and verbal abuse of officials continues after one warning, the person is removed from the venue. There must be consequences for these offenders before we lose any more officials.

    Most of the 7.9 million participants in high school sports are on the fields and courts every day to have fun and compete as a team with their classmates, and the 300,000-plus officials assist in that process. Now, if parents would let the players play and the officials officiate.
     
  • 21 01 Ben LovetteBen Lovette
    Gray's Creek• Football, swimming, golf• Senior
    Lovette has a weighted grade point average of 4.31. He was a junior marshal and is a member of the National Honor Society. He is on the Gray's Creek Student Athlete Advisory Committee and helps with Buddy Football. He is a member of Future Farmers of America and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.
     
    Hannah Sterling
    Gray's Creek• Volleyball, swimming• Senior
    Sterling has a weighted grade point average of 4.32. She is a member of the National Honor Society, the Future Farmers of America and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. She also took part in her church's Vacation Bible School. 
     
     
    Pictured from top to bottom: Ben Lovette, Hannah Sterling
     
    21 02 Hannah Sterling
  •     Dear EarthTalk: Is using nitrogen to inflate my car’s tires really better for the environment than using air? And if so, how?                    
    — Roger Mawdsley, Abbotsville, BC


        Whether or not it makes environmental sense to inflate car tires with nitrogen instead of air is a matter of much debate. Proponents of nitrogen say the element is a smart choice for the environment primarily because it leaks from tires at a slower rate than air, so tires stay inflated longer at full capacity, which helps a vehicle attain maximum fuel efficiency, i.e. better gas mileage. According to the Get Nitrogen Institute, a Denver-based non-profit which advocates for replacing the air in our tires with nitrogen, under-inflated tires inadvertently are a big contributor to global warming as they cause drivers to waste fuel.
        Although auto experts recommend checking your car’s tire pressure weekly, studies show that the majority of drivers rarely if ever check to see if their tires are properly inflated and usually only add air when a tire is visibly low or beginning to go flat. A recent study by the European division of tire maker Bridgestone found that 93.5 percent of cars in Europe have under-inflated tires, wasting some 2.14 billion gallons of high-priced, polluting fuel every year. Analysts believe that a similar percentage of North Americans are driving around on under-inflated tires as well.{mosimage}
        While properly inflated tires certainly promote better fuel efficiency and are thus good for the environment, not everyone is convinced that filling tires with nitrogen instead of plain ol’ air makes a difference. Terry Jackson, who writes the influential “Driving for Dollars” column for the Bankrate.com Web site, points out that air is composed primarily of, you guessed it, nitrogen; some 78 percent of the regular air you put in your tires is nitrogen, with oxygen making up most of the remainder. “So going to pure nitrogen only squeezes out a small amount of the oxygen molecules that nitrogen proponents argue are so detrimental,” relates Jackson.
        Nitrogen proponents may quibble that it’s the oxygen in the mix that causes problems, though, as oxidization can start to degrade the rubber inside tires while corroding the interior of the wheels as well. But Jackson counters that tires and wheels will have been long worn out on the outside before any oxygen-induced interior damage causes them to come apart. Also, he adds that a lot of the leakage from tires happens because the wheel and the tire do not line up perfectly, and air (or nitrogen) escapes accordingly.
        Another factor, of course, is cost. Nitrogen-equipped service centers will fill up your tires with nitrogen for something like $10 per tire, which is a far cry from the couple of quarters (if even that) it takes to trigger the air machine at your local gas station. “When it comes down to a dollar decision, it’s hard to argue that spending as much as $40 for nitrogen in a set of tires is a good fiscal move,” writes Jackson.
        “Save your money and just keep an eye on your tire pressures,” he concludes.

    CONTACTS: Get Nitrogen Institute, www.getnitrogen.org; Bankrate.com, www.bankrate.com

    GOT AN ENVIRONMENTAL QUESTION? Send it to: EarthTalk, c/o E/The Environmental Magazine, P.O. Box 5098, Westport, CT 06881; submit it at: www.emagazine.com/earthtalk/thisweek/, or e-mail: earthtalk@emagazine.com. Read past columns at: www.emagazine.com/earthtalk/archives.php.

  • FootballDuring the month of October, the National Federation of State High School Associations observes National High School Activities Month.
     
    Each week highlights a separate aspect of high school activities.
     
    The current week is devoted to sportsmanship, fan appreciation and public address announcers.
     
    The week of Oct. 6-12 focuses on the performing arts. Oct. 13-19 is for coaches, sponsors, advisors and officials.
     
    The month wraps up Oct. 20-26 with community service and youth awareness week.
     
    Karissa Niehoff, executive director of the National Federation, best summed up the important role high school activities play across the country.
     
    “High school sports and activity programs provide one of the best bargains in our community and nation and will continue to do so as long as our nation supports them as an integral part of the education of our young people,’’ she said.
     
    “Not only do these programs teach the more than 12 million young people who participate in them valuable life skills lessons, such as ethics, integrity and healthy lifestyles, they also provide the best entertainment value in our nation.’’
     
    The record: 35-12
     
    Last week was shaping up as a disaster after a 1-2 start on Friday and Saturday. Some close calls in Monday’s postponed games were threatening to push my record for the week under .500.
    But most of the close calls went my way and I wound up with a 6-3 record which ran the total for the season to 35-12, 74.5 percent.
     
    Cape Fear at Gray’s Creek - I think Cape Fear has shaken off the slow start it got off to and appears poised to get into the thick of the Patriot Athletic Conference race. 
    Meanwhile, Gray’s Creek is having problems coming off the stunning upset at the hands of an E.E. Smith team that hadn’t won in its last 17 outings.
    I definitely like Cape Fear in this one.
    Cape Fear 28, Gray’s Creek 14.
     
    E.E. Smith at Douglas Byrd - Everyone had been saying if E.E. Smith can correct a few mistakes they can get a win. That’s exactly what happened last week in knocking off Gray’s Creek.
    I think the Golden Bulls will have a shot at two in a row against a Byrd team likely to be brooding over a tough loss to Pine Forest. 
    E.E. Smith 22, Douglas Byrd 20.
     
    Jack Britt at Lumberton - Look for Jack Britt to rebound quickly from its first loss of the season to a strong Scotland team.
    Jack Britt 32, Lumberton 12.
     
    Pine Forest at Westover- Westover is experiencing some tough times while Pine Forest finally came up for air last week in its win over Byrd. I look for the Trojans to continue heading in the right direction this week. 
    Pine Forest 29, Westover 6.
     
    Seventy-First at Hoke County - The Falcons are on a rare two-game losing streak, and even though Hoke is vastly improved, I have a hard time seeing Seventy-First losing three in a row. 
    Seventy-First 24, Hoke County 18.
     
    Terry Sanford at Overhills - The Bulldogs got a wakeup call at Rolesville last week. I look for them to return to Patriot Athletic Conference play this week with a win.
    Terry Sanford 30, Overhills 12.
     
    Open dates - South View, Fayetteville Christian.
     
    Other games: Trinity Christian 31, Charlotte Christian 14.
  • Recent articles have documented the rising costs of club sports, with one noting that about 62 percent of “travel ball” parents will go into debt to involve their kids in year-round sports.

    ​A USA Today article in 2017 suggested that travel baseball or volleyball could cost a family upwards of $8,000 a year, with soccer running about $5,000 on the high end. A study by TD Ameritrade suggested some parents were spending about $100 to $500 a month to fund their kids’ participation on a club team, with about 20% spending $1,000 a month.

    ​Why? In some cases — unquestionably the minority — students are in the elite category from a skills standpoint and could benefit from a higher level of competition in preparation for college. In most cases, however, it is a case of parents spending beyond their means with the hope that playing club sports will be the difference-maker in their children receiving an athletic scholarship to an NCAA Division I school.

    ​It is, in fact, true that an overwhelming majority of NCAA Division I athletes played club sports. According to an NCAA survey, 92%of women and 89% of men played club basketball, and 91% of women’s volleyball players competed on a non-school team in high school. At the other end, however, only 24% of football players competed on a club team.

    ​Herein lies the difference. There are more than 540,000 boys who played high school basketball last year and fewer than 6,000 who played basketball at the NCAA Division I level, where most of the scholarships are available. Stated another way, about 1% of high school boys basketball players will play at the NCAA Division I level. About 2.8% of the one million-plus boys in high school 11-player football will play at the Division I level.

    ​The answer? Parents should encourage their kids to play multiple sports for their high school teams and save the money they would spend on club sports for college tuition if scholarship money does not materialize. Even in those situations where students are charged a modest fee to participate, school-based sports remain an incredible bargain when compared to club sports.

    In many cases, Division I football and basketball coaches are looking to recruit multiple-sport athletes. While there are a few sports where non-school competition is crucial, college coaches will find those athletes who excel in school-based sports.

    ​High school-based sports have more interest, more media coverage and more fans than club sports, and the kids have more fun because they are representing their team and their community.

    ​Playing one sport in the fall, another during the winter and yet another in the spring is the best route to future success — whether that success is on the playing field or court, or in a boardroom.

  • 50/50  Rated R  3 stars10-19-11-movie-review.jpg

    Interesting trivia: Director Jonathan Levine is the guy who directed All the Boys Love Mandy Lane! So, here’s hoping 50/50 (100 minutes) makes a TON of money, because fan boys and girls have been talking about that Amber Heard flick since it was finished in 2006, and a successful box office for 50/50 might give an American Studio the impetus to release it stateside.

    Quality-wise, this is way better than Seth Rogen’s other cancer comedy, which we have all collectively decided to pretend is in no way similar to this movie. Except Seth Rogen is in them both and they both involve his friend who has cancer. But when I think about it, they are actually very different movies, because this one involved interesting characters instead of caricatures of real people, and was actually funny.

    Adam (Joseph Cobra Commander Gordon-Levitt) is dating Rachael (Bryce Dallas Howard). Howard is usually gorgeous, and Rachael is supposedly out of Adam’s league, but she is com-ing off as kinda whiney and trashy. Not only is Adam way more together than her, her whole character is a poorly put together clichéd mess. Since the script is loosely based on an incident in the life of screenwriter Will Reiser (who is friends with Seth Rogen in real life as well), it begs the question: did he date a girl named Rachael who was this much of a mess? Is she a real person who he is making look way, way worse in the screenplay because he needs to work some stuff out and bashing an ex-girlfriend in his movie was one way of doing that? It would be a sad commentary on his screenwriting skills if he made up a character this limited.

    Adam works at a kind of NPR with his friend Kyle (Rogen). Adam doesn’t drink, smoke, or drive, so he is genuinely puzzled when he finds out he has a rare, difficult to effectively treat, spinal cancer. Because jogging every morning and living a super healthy lifestyle will guarantee that you live forever. Really though, Adam does a pretty good job of dealing overall. As he points out to his therapist Katie (Anna Kendrick), life is 100% fatal (I may be paraphrasing).

    Having dealt with the shock of a cancer diagnosis, Adam invites his mother (Angelica Huston) and father (Serge Houde) to dinner so he can fill them in. Again I wonder: In real life did Reiser have a father with Alzheimer’s? If not, then this is a pret-ty cynical attempt to jerk the audience around. If yes, then why not leave out that part of the story and focus on how his mother deals? Is it padding? The scenes with the father don’t add a whole lot of depth to the film, Houde doesn’t get a whole lot of dialogue, and the character is a sort of emotional wallpaper.

    So, having filled in the family, Adam heads in for his chemo treatment. Naturally, Rachael refuses to share the experience. To make up for failing to handle the situation perfectly, she invests in a retired race dog named Skeletor. Let us pause and acknowl-edge how awesome that name is. While sitting through chemo-therapy, Adam makes friends with Alan (Philip Baker Hall) and Mitch (Matt Frewer). Mitch brings pot infused macaroons to the hospital, and a good time is had by all.

    Kyle starts using Adam’s cancer to pick up chicks, which works well for him (since he is a player) but not so much for Adam (due to Adam’s awkwardness/domesticity/overwhelming depression). Here’s where things start to get a bit depressing. In a movie about cancer, it is surprising that didn’t happen earlier. My husband suggested that, overall, the movie was uplifting. I pointed out that I felt jerked around and manipulated. Perhaps, as he said, this move falls outside my skill set.

    Now showing at Wynnsong 7, Carmike 12 and Carmike Market Fair 15.

  • 19 brian edkinsA state championship event headed to Fayetteville and an update on the complicated process of realigning the state’s high school conferences were the major topics of discussion at last week’s Region 4 meeting of the North Carolina High School Athletic Association held at the Cumberland County Schools Educational Resource Center.

    NCHSAA commissioner Que Tucker and members of her staff spent the morning discussing the business of the association and shared a variety of information with the athletic directors, coaches and superintendents in attendance. The region includes high schools in 11 counties in the Fayetteville area as far west as Richmond and Montgomery, north to Harnett and Lee and south to Robeson, Bladen and Columbus.

    The biggest surprise of the day came when Tucker announced that this year’s NCHSAA volleyball state championships will be temporarily moving from their home at North Carolina State’s Reynolds Coliseum and coming to Fayetteville State University’s Capel Arena.

    The Wolfpack has a women’s basketball home game scheduled Sunday, Nov. 10, against UNC-Wilmington that would have cut into the time needed to get Reynolds Coliseum ready for basketball the day after the volleyball championships.

    The volleyball championships are scheduled Saturday, Nov. 9.

    Tucker said the NCHSAA explored a variety of other places where they had previously held state championship events, but none of them were either suitable or available for the volleyball championships.

    When the NCHSAA contacted Fayetteville State, the school expressed interest. Tucker said Fayetteville State has an away football game that day, at Winston-Salem State, and there were no other on-campus conflicts that would prevent hosting the volleyball.

    “You go where you’re wanted and we are excited about the possibility,’’ Tucker said. “Capel Arena is a wonderful facility and we look forward to it.’’

    Vernon Aldridge, student activities director of the Cumberland County Schools, said the school system has an excellent working relationship with Fayetteville State. Capel Arena is a regular home for the county’s high school swimmers and has also hosted both the NCHSAA Eastern Regional basketball tournament and the finals of the annual Cumberland County Holiday Classic basketball tournament.

    “Anytime you get to host a state championship event it’s great for the local area,’’ Aldridge said. “We have a great working relationship with Mike King (assistant athletic director at Fayetteville State) that will allow us to put this on short notice.’’

    Realignment

    The headache that is realignment of the NCHSAA’s conferences is about to begin anew after the association’s Board of Directors decided to put it on hold at its meeting last spring.

    The NCHSAA got into the business of deciding what schools play in which league back in 1985-86 Tucker said when schools drew up their own leagues and left some member schools with no place to play.
    Now, realignment is ordered by the NCHSAA bylaws every four years.

    Because there was some potential for major changes in how realignment works, last spring’s board decided to delay the process to allow additional information about realignment to be gathered.

    The initial step will be to create a special realignment committee which will number about 25 people from across the state who will come up with the official plan for realignment that will be presented to the full board of directors near the end of the process.

    Schools had until the end of last week’s series of eight regional meetings around the state to submit potential names to serve on the committee from each region.

    Region 4 has two representatives on the NCHSAA Board of Directors for 2019-20, Gray’s Creek athletic director Troy Lindsey and Cape Fear High School principal Brian Edkins.

    They will work with the president and vice-president of the NCHSAA to narrow the list of nominees for the realignment committee from Region 4. When the committee is picked, each region only gets two members. Additional members on the realignment committee will come from the state coaches and athletic director’s associations and the state department of public instruction.

    Tucker said a special meeting of the board of directors will likely have to convene in late February or early March of 2021 to hear the final report from the committee.

    One of the major questions that the committee will likely have to wrestle with is whether to change the number of classifications the state has. For years the NCHSAA has operated with four classifications based on school enrollment: 4-A, 3-A, 2-A and 1-A.

    The idea of adding a fifth classification for the largest schools, 5-A, has been discussed but never implemented.

    Even if the committee thinks 5-A is an good idea, it can only suggest it to Tucker and the NCHSAA board. A change would require a call for a vote of the membership to decide if a fifth classification can be added, or if any change can be made in the number of classifications.

    One important note Tucker added regarding the average daily membership figures is the numbers the NCHSAA gets from the State Department of Public Instruction that are the enrollment of each school in the state.
    Tucker said the NCHSAA is guided, but not bound by, the ADMs in determining conference membership.

    Other notes

    Here are some other items of interest from Monday’s regional meeting:

    • The sites have been determined for this fall’s NCHSAA football championship games. The 4-A and 4-AA will play at the University of North Carolina’s Kenan Stadium. The 3-A and 3-AA will play at North Carolina State’s Carter-Finley Stadium. The 2-A and 2-AA will be at Wake Forest’s Groves Stadium and the 1-A and 1-AA at Duke University’s Wallace Wade Stadium.
    • For the 2018-19 school year, the NCHSAA assessed 154 penalties resulting in $63,950 fines with 11 teams winding up ineligible for the state playoffs. The list included seven football teams, three boys’ basketball teams and one girls basketball team.
    To date in 2019, there have been 39 penalties with $16,150 in fines and one team ineligible for the playoffs.
    • The NCHSAA is joining the number of state associations who are beginning to feel the squeeze on the availability of high school officials to call games. The average age of officials in the state is from 59 to 60. The NCHSAA noted that some states like Tennessee have resorted to playing high school football on multiple nights each week to spread games out because of the officiating shortage.
    • Tina Bratcher, administrative assistant to Vernon Aldridge, was named the 2018 winner of the NCHSAA Region 4 Special Person award. The presentation was delayed a year because year’s meeting was canceled due to the hurricane.
    • The NCHSAA has established an education-based athletics grant program for its member schools. Any person on the staff of an NCHSAA member school may submit an application for the grant.
    The only criteria is that the money must be used for unmet needs facing the student athletes at a particular school.
    The application is available at the NCHSAA website, NCHSAA.org, and can be found under “Fundraising and Grant Opportunities” in the School Central section of the website.
    The deadline to apply this year is Nov. 30.

  • Ides of March(Rated R) 4 Stars10-26-11-movie-review.jpg

    The Ides of March (101 minutes) is one of the early fall “prestige” flicks that I usually don’t have a whole lot of patience with. When a political film, based on a play (by Beau Williamson), does the awards circuit I expect to be bored. George “Facts of Life” Clooney takes the director’s chair for the fifth time, and I confess I would be more tolerant of the implied vanity if he had a lesser role in the film. While he doesn’t take up an unreasonable amount of screen time, he did cast himself as a presidential hopeful that almost everyone loves and admires.

    Stephen Meyers (Ryan Gosling) is a Junior Campaign Manager for Governor Mike Morris (Clooney). The Governor is in the middle of the Ohio Primary, competing against Senator Ted Pullman (Michael Mantell) for the Democratic nomination.

    When the film opens, Meyers is playing with podiums prior to a political debate. Following the debate, Pullman’s senior campaign manager Tom Duffy (Paul Giamatti) persuades Meyers to meet with him. Meyers is unable to contact Senior Campaign Manager Paul Zara (Philip Seymour Hoffman), and in the absence of direction, curiosity drives him to the meeting. Unless you think Meyers is sort of shady, then ambition drives him to the meeting. Judging by the reaction of Zara later in the film, that is a very bad choice.

    During the meeting, Duffy tries to seduce Meyers to the dark side of the Democratic Party, and Meyers compares his tactics to that of Republicans. Them are fighting words, and the meeting ends with Machiavellian laughter echoing over the hot wings. Also, Duffy ends the meeting with explaining that Meyers’ infantile approach to politics will inevitably turn into jaded cynicism. Watch Duffy help him with that!

    Soon after Meyers’ expresses his undying loyalty to Morris and Morris’ ideals he gets to know intern Molly Stearns (Evan Rachel Wood). Given the number of times she lies or otherwise misleads him, a smart politico would be asking to see some identification for proof of age, or would at least Google his sweet young thing. Since Meyers is fairly naïve (as becomes glaringly obvious later in the film) he elects to trust that the manipulative blonde is totally legal. Sucker.

    Molly clearly likes older men, so it is no surprise when one older man in particular makes random late night/early morning calls to her personal cell phone. Too bad for her gentleman caller that Meyers is on the case. Molly makes no attempt to cover up the inappropriate nature of the call, and methinks she wanted to get caught. Or maybe she’s just that dumb. Given the events in the remainder of the film, I lean towards the latter.

    Somewhere in there a New York Times reporter gets tossed into the mix. Ida Horowicz (Marisa Tomei) dogs the Morris campaign managers for insider information. While Meyers’ believes that loose lips sink ships, Zara is far more willing to leak tidbits to the press. His leakage eventually inconveniences poor dumb Meyers who had unthinkingly confessed to meeting with Duffy (though it takes Meyers a bit of time to figure out the mystery of who told). Why everyone gets their panties in a twist over this one brief meeting seems a bit confusing, but I agree that it’s a nice contrast between how Molly is treated by Meyers over her non-mistake and how Meyers is treated by everyone else over his non-mistake. Too bad he doesn’t seem to appreciate any of the hypocrisy he is embracing.

    Meyers spins out in fairly short order. With every scene his nostrils flare a bit wider, his eyes twitch a bit more, and his inability to accept the reality he has chosen to inhabit gets more obvious. Overall, this is an interesting political thriller that entertains more often than not.

    Now showing at Wynnsong 7, Carmike 12 and Carmike Market Fair 15.

  • The Thing   (Rated R)  3 Stars11-02-11-movie-revue.jpg

    The prequel The Thing (103 minutes) needs to get from point A to point B. Point B, of course, equaling all the details revealed in the 1982 John Carpenter remake of the 1951 movie, The Thing From Another World, which was itself based on the John W. Campbell, Jr. short story, “Who Goes There?”

    Those details include a charred and smoking two-headed corpse, a large block of ice with the top middle portion miss-ing, a radio guy with frozen blood at his wrists, a dog running from an abandoned research station, two dudes who only speak Norwegian flying a helicopter to shoot the aforementioned dog, and most importantly, no survivors at the station.

    Yes, the film does that. But I am still not sold on the idea that the film needed to be made at all. There are one or two im-provements to the original plot, but for the most part, the flaws of the original remake (which still managed to be a great movie) carry over into the prequel without any of the redeeming points. There are still far too many cast members, many of whom behave like idiots. Despite the minor improvements to the narrative, the prequel is burdened by a lack of creativity and an overabundance of computer generated effects. Rob Bottin didn’t need a com-puter to scare the bejeebies out of the audience with the 1982 spider head guy and right now, even though he is alive, he is rolling over in his grave.

    The 2011 version opens a few days before the 1982 version. A Norwegian science team has nearly fallen on top of a large hunk of metal. In a dramatic scene, there are stuck upside down in a glacial crevasse. I bet the story of how they escaped this seemingly inescapable situation would be an exciting tale! Too bad we don’t get to hear it. Maybe they died? I can’t tell. All grimy, frozen, snow suited, dirty-joke-telling Norwegians look alike.

    A scene shift introduces both Dr. Sander Halverson (Ulrich Thomsen) and improbable paleontologist Kate Lloyd (Mary Elizabeth Winstead). I mean, she seems competent enough when dissecting the saber tooth (?), but loses that pretty quickly in the face of a male authority, which spends quite a bit of time telling her to hush. Imagine how Macready would have reacted if a Halverson told him to shut his trap and concentrate on extracting the monster? He would have whipped out the flame thrower in about five seconds. After all, he does spend most of the 1982 film restraining and killing people who turn out not to be monsters at all. Good times.

    Anyway, completely ignoring the possibility of expos-ing the entire station to an alien pathogen, everyone gathers round the ice block to collect a sample using a drill. During a drunken Norwegian celebration, American pilot Derek (Adewale-Akinnuoye-Agbaje) watches The Thing escape from the block of ice. The group splits up, and we get our first on-screen casualty, Henrik (Jo Adrian Haavind). Kate and Adam (Eric Christian Olsen, looking like a young Cary Elwes) perform an autopsy and discover that even after burning, The Thing is still alive on a cellular level.

    Too bad she puts all the pieces together after the pilots have already left the base with a couple of shell-shocked survivors, one of whom immediately trans-forms and eats the other. Because, for an alien, that is a totally reasonable re-sponse when you are in midair and in full view of witnesses.

    The cast is steadily whittled down and the film approaches the climax in fairly short order. The film ends on a fairly ambiguous note, although the disap-pearing/reappearing Lars (Jørgen Langhelle) remains a bit puzzling, almost as if the filmmakers left him out of the sec-ond third of the film because they couldn’t figure out what to do with him.

    Now showing at Wynnsong 7, Carmike 12 and Carmike Market Fair 15.

  • 54The Alzheimer’s Association is inviting Cumberland County and surrounding area residents to join the fight to end Alzheimer’s by participating in the Alzheimer’s Association Walk to End Alzheimer’s on Saturday, Oct. 28 in Fayetteville.

    Presented by McKee Homes, the Alzheimer’s Association – Eastern North Carolina Chapter will be hosting Walk to End Alzheimer’s – Fayetteville at Segra Stadium located at 460 Hay Street in Fayetteville. Check-in opens at 9 a.m. with an Opening Ceremony at 10 a.m. and a Walk Start at 10:30 a.m.

    “We’re closer than ever to stopping Alzheimer’s disease, but to get there, we need our community to join us in fighting for a different future,” said Lisa Roberts, executive director of the Alzheimer’s Association, Eastern North Carolina Chapter. “We encourage people to start or join a team to help the Alzheimer’s Association raise awareness and funds for families facing the disease. Together, we will take steps toward treatments and fighting to end this disease.”

    On Walk day, participants honor those affected by Alzheimer’s with the poignant Promise Garden ceremony — a mission-focused experience that signifies our solidarity in the fight against the disease. The colors of the Promise Garden flowers represent people’s connection to Alzheimer’s — their personal reasons to end the disease.

    “It is a powerful moment to look out at the crowd displaying their colorful commitment to ending this disease,” said Roberts. “The Promise Garden flowers are a powerful reminder there is hope and an entire community who understands the impact of this disease.”

    More than 6 million Americans are living with Alzheimer’s disease – a leading cause of death in the United States. Additionally, more than 11 million family members and friends provide care to people living with

    Alzheimer’s and other dementias. In North Carolina alone, there are more than 180,000 people living with the disease and 369,000 caregivers.
    To register as a participant or Team Captain or to learn more about becoming a sponsor or volunteer of Walk to End Alzheimer’s – Fayetteville, visit act.alz.org/Fayetteville or call 800-272-3900.

    The Alzheimer’s Association hosts 17 walks across North Carolina including: Alamance County, Asheville, Charlotte, Gaston/Cleveland/Lincoln Counties, Fayetteville, Guilford County, Henderson County, Unifour (Hickory), Iredell County, Jacksonville, Moore County, Mount Airy, New Bern, Rowan-Cabarrus Counties, Triangle (Raleigh and Durham), Wilmington and Winston-Salem. To register and receive the latest updates on any of this year’s Walk to End Alzheimer’s, visit: alz.org/walk.

    The Alzheimer’s Association Walk to End Alzheimer’s is the world’s largest event to raise awareness and funds for Alzheimer’s care, support and research. The annual event takes place in more than 600 communities and features over 300,000 participants across the country. Since 1989, the Alzheimer’s Association® mobilized millions of Americans in the Alzheimer’s Association Memory Walk®; now the Alzheimer’s Association is continuing to lead the way with Walk to End Alzheimer’s. Together, we can end Alzheimer’s.

    The Alzheimer’s Association is a worldwide voluntary health organization dedicated to Alzheimer’s care, support and research. Our mission is to lead the way to end Alzheimer’s and all other dementia — by accelerating global research, driving risk reduction and early detection, and maximizing quality care and support. Our vision is a world without Alzheimer’s and all other dementia®.

    About the Alzheimer’s Association - Eastern North Carolina Chapter:

    The Eastern North Carolina Chapter provides patient and family services, information and referral, education, and advocacy in 51 eastern North Carolina counties. It offers opportunities to get involved and to make a difference, in addition to a variety of services including: a 24/7 Helpline, support groups, educational programs, and care consultations. For more information about Alzheimer’s disease, or the Alzheimer’s Association, Eastern North Carolina Chapter, visit alz.org/nc or call 800-272-3900. For the latest news and updates, follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

  • P48 A

    “I am not a dancer,” Marc De La Concha laughs.

    He bends forward and throws his hands on his legs. His face, which is usually clean shaven, is adorned with a mustache.

    It will go perfectly with a black pinstripe suit and a slick comb over. In just a week, he’ll be stepping on the stage as the passionate husband and father Gomez Addams.

    “It’s a lot of tango stuff,” he says.

    A few of the other actors sitting by him compliment him on his moves, and he lets out another laugh. De la Concha smirks.

    “I’m a strong mover.”

    De La Concha and the others are in Cape Fear Regional Theatre’s upcoming production of The Addams Family. At the table near De La Concha sits Tyce Diorio, the choreographer, Samantha Parada, who plays Morticia, and Alessandra Antonelli, who plays Wednesday.

    In this production, Wednesday meets a young man and brings him home. She asks Gomez to keep the secret.

    “He has never kept a secret from his wife ever,” De La Concha sweeps his hand in front of his face and laughs. “Chaos ensues.”

    Parada and De La Concha are locals to the area. Antonelli lives in New York and requested to audition for the darkly braided teen. She says she is excited to play Wednesday and be here “in real life.”

    Like De La Concha hinted at, the show will have a lot of musical numbers and dancing.

    “This is such an ensemble show,” Parada says. “We will see an awesome, huge ensemble of creepy, kooky dancing. It’s a fun show for the Halloween season.”

    The actors are currently rehearsing daily at the theatre, with each character bringing in their own quirky musical styles for the characters they are portraying.

    The show’s director, Mary Katherine Burke, says while all The Addams Family plays are so different, the fact that each character has their own musical style is truly unique to this production.

    She and the others are trying to find a balance between all the versions of The Addams Family, from the Wednesday series to all the movies, but still giving the production and the characters their all. One thing they can all agree on is that there’s a lot of fun in figuring this out.

    “I am a huge fan of this show,” says Tyce Diorio. “I love the weirdness and the oddness. I can find my inner quirk and kookiness. And they are absorbing it so well. It’s a treat.”

    A few of the actors give Diorio and his team compliments on how good they’ve been during rehearsals thus far and the way he makes moves “make sense” for them.

    The Addams Family will start Oct. 19th and run through Nov. 5th. The theatre will host both a military and a teacher appreciation night, as well as a popcorn party on three other showings.

    Tickets range between $19 to $37. The show is rated PG. When asked about the rating, Burke just said there’s some adult humor in the show and, of course, a hand that moves on its own.

    “You should make your own decisions,” she says. “There’s dead people dancing. For everybody it’s different about what’s good … It is a dark musical comedy.”

    For more information, visit www.cfrt.org.P48 B

  • P53“Hallowe’en Revels: Moonlight Mischief at the 1897 Poe House” spotlights live theater with a historical Halloween twist.

    Hosted in partnership with the Gilbert Theater, the show runs Oct. 19 through the 21 and the 26 through the 27 from 6 to 10 p.m.

    Proceeds from ticket sales directly fund this event and other programs at the 1897 Poe House.

     

     

     

     

    Tickets are $10 and can be purchased at Eventbrite https://MoonlightMischief2023.eventbrite.com.
    Come join the Museum of the Cape Fear for a spirited visit to the 1897 Poe House and witness spooky vignettes complete with a few ghosts.

    This is not your traditional Poe House tour. Guests will be transported back in time, witnessing a series of short vignettes while becoming immersed in early 20th century cultural norms, music, and poetry through this scripted short play.

    This is a unique opportunity to experience historical theater in an actual historic home. For a more detailed look at the Poe House and family history, attend a tour during regular museum hours.

    Tickets must be purchased in advance and are only good for the time slot purchased. Ticket holders should arrive at least 15 minutes before show time; late arrivals cannot be admitted once the group enters the 1897 Poe House.

    Due to tight space inside the house, shows are limited to 15 people per group. Ticket holders should be able to walk, stand, and navigate stairs for the duration of the 30 minute show. This is not a seated performance.

     

    Trick or Treat at the Poe House

    “Trick or Treat at the Poe House” will be held Oct. 28, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. The event features Halloween fun for kids 12 and under.

    Over the past several years, attendance for the Trick or Treat program has annually increased, reaching more than 1,000 guests and cementing it as a family favorite Halloween event.

    Children attending this event explore Victorian Halloween in the Poe House, play vintage carnival games, enjoy a Halloween dance party with a local DJ, and witness balloon twisting and magic tricks with Joy the Clown. Hayrides in Arsenal Park will round out the fun. Don’t forget the costumes.
    Concessions include funnel cakes, hot dogs and more. This event is free, and each child takes home a Trick or Treat goody bag.

    This project is supported by the Arts Council in part by contributions from businesses and individuals and through grants from the City of Fayetteville, Cumberland County and the North Carolina Arts Council, an agency of the Department of Cultural Resources.

    Matching funds are being provided by the Museum of the Cape Fear Historical Complex Foundation, Inc.

    Project Support Grants increase opportunities for access to arts, science, cultural and historical programming in Cumberland County. The grants are awarded to nonprofit agencies, universities, and government agencies in Cumberland County that demonstrate financial and administrative stability.

  • kas 1Foundations Hair Salon is a small, almost unnoticeable gray brick building at the Haymount end of Fort Bragg Road. Inside the building’s main space is an open room, decorated with a chandelier and large mirrors at each booth.

    There’s a shabby chic feel to it with feminine decor, rose-colored velvet chairs and couches. In the back right hand corner, just off the main space, is a room brightly-lit with one single black barber’s chair.

    The charcoal colored walls are covered in art, skateboards, photos and other decor, most of which are odes to classic horror movies.  

    This is the room of hair artist Elyssa Sax, and juxtaposed against the frill of the rest of the building, it gives off the vibes that one of these things is not like the other. Among her reviews and raves on online groups, many say this same thing goes for Sax and her hair artistry. 

    Today, like most days, Sax has a busy schedule. She is quickly moving around the chair, switching between clippers and scissors and all sorts of tools she has housed in a large, black tool box that comes up mid-chest on her. 

    “It’s easier,” she says looking at the tool chest. “I lock it up if I need to and it’s easy to sanitize. I love them. There is plenty of room for everything.” 

    She stops for a few seconds and looks at it another time. 

    “I would love to have a big one — one of those with a long butcher block type of thing.” 

    Sax switches tools again. She is buzzing the head of Diego Ramierez. While she takes unkempt manes from unruly to rockabilly suave most of the day, the shave is at the request of Diego. For him, working on air conditioners in the heat of North Carolina, a haircut is all about keeping his head cool. This does not mean she’ll take any shortcuts. 

    “I could do skin with this clipper but it’s more of a five o’clock shadow,” Sax laughs. She picks up a few of her razors one at a time. “This will get it close. This will get it closer. This right here
    is my work horse.” 

    And, of course, there’s always her ornate silver scissors and the straight razor.kas 2

    Sax grabs some shaving gel and the straight razor. She peels back the protective layer from a fresh new blade. She’ll do this at least once per client for hygiene reasons but sometimes, depending on the head, she may do it multiple times with a single client. 

    “I don’t want to give it a chance to try and dull out.” 

    She locks the blade in and starts to evaluate the edges of Diego’s hair. Sax’s short, salt and pepper hair is neatly coiffed and tattoos cover most of her arms, hands and neck.

    Today she is dressed in a black t-shirt and black shorts. The large gauges in her ears just add to the effect. She looks as if she walked out of a scene of Southern California skaters — ironically where Diego was from prior to moving to Fayetteville.
    Sax bends down and checks out Diego’s hair from different angles. When she is so concentrated, all that can be heard is the sounds of a movie, usually a comedy Sax admits, and the scrap of the straight razor. 

    “The shaving part is my favorite,” Diego says, closing his eyes. 

    “Its my favorite part too,” Sax says. “Its when I have to relax … like those zen gardens — this is it for me.” 

    For Sax, hair is an art. She dreams of an old-timey salon with well-dressed barbers, craft cocktails, a shoe shiner and a cigar smoking area out back. This is her goal — to open a high-end barbershop, a place where men can get haircuts that have been perfected and experience their own version of luxury. She says she hopes it’ll be a place where the barbers want to dress up and the art of hair will be everyday life. 

    Sax would have no less. She is a competitor. Currently, she is gearing up for a hair competition in Charlotte.

    She is working to confirm the model. She needs tough hair, she says; someone who can provide her a real transformation and an opportunity to show off her skills. In the corner of her room sits a few trophies already. She plans to add a few more to that collection in the near future. 

    She does a quick few adjustments on Diego’s cut and then it’s his son Jonathan’s turn. Jonathan has thick, jet-black hair and he likes it styled to one side.
    Currently, it sits on top of his head overgrown. Father and son exchange a few words in Spanish and then Diego relays to Sax how to cut Jonathan’s hair.

    As she begins the cut, Sax and Diego exchange a couple stories about skateboarding. They both chuckle about laying off skating now that they use their hands so much for work. 

    Sax is probably a little more aware of this than most, having been in a severe accident at a tire retreading plant.
    As fate would have it, a monorail ended up hitting her in the face, a twist that brought her from the tire plant into multiple surgeries and rehab and then eventually into cosmetology school in 2014.
    Sax counts herself lucky to have not only survived but also the fact she landed into a second career. 

    “Its the best decision I never made.” 

    It’s a decision that has kept her busy. Sax says she is booked eleven days out even working every single day. When asked if she ever gets worried about the fluctuation of clients, Sax quietly shakes her head no. 

    “Not anymore. It’s a blessing and a curse.”

    She moves around Jonathan again, this time with scissors in her hand. She flicks her wrist in and out, turning the blade of the scissors toward herself when moving and not cutting.

    Sax manipulates the scissors like it’s another appendage, like some sort of daydream taken straight out of a Tim Burton gothic fairytale. 

    Sax stands back for a second and  looks over Jonathan’s hair. She puts her scissors into her tool box, gives one final inspection and with that, the final cut of the day is done. 

  • P44

    Get ready for a mesmerizing blend of classical music and silent cinema as the Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra presents a free symphony movie night featuring the iconic German silent film “Nosferatu” (1922).

    This eerily captivating and enthralling experience is set to take place on Friday, Oct. 13, at 7:30 p.m. at the Iron Mike Conference Center on Fort Liberty and Saturday, Oct. 14, at 8 p.m. at Dirt Bag Ales.
    Nosferatu, a masterpiece of silent cinema directed by F. W. Murnau, first graced the silver screen on June 3, 1929. This seminal horror film was an unauthorized adaptation of Bram Stoker’s iconic novel, Dracula.

    Despite facing legal battles and attempts to erase it from history, Nosferatu has stood the test of time and is now revered as a classic in the horror genre.

    In this unique event, attendees will have the chance to witness the spine-chilling tale of Count Orlok, the monstrous vampire, as the Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra performs a live musical arrangement arranged by the talented Peter B. Kay.

    The orchestra’s enchanting melodies and evocative harmonies will heighten the suspense and drama of the film, providing a heightened sensory experience for the audience.

    Both locations will transform into a cinematic and musical haven, where the flickering images of Nosferatu will come to life on the big screen. The venue will be adorned with an eerie ambiance, adding to the overall allure of the film and the live orchestral performance.

    Attendees are encouraged to arrive early to secure their seats for this exceptional fusion of culture and entertainment.

    The event promises an unforgettable night of chilling visuals, captivating music, and a shared experience that will stay with the audience long after the curtains close.

    Don’t miss this opportunity to witness the convergence of history, art and music as Nosferatu graces Fayetteville with its timeless tale, enhanced by the evocative sounds of the Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra. Get ready for a symphonic journey into the heart of darkness.

    The Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra was founded in 1956 in Fayetteville and is a professional regional orchestra whose mission is to educate, entertain, and inspire the citizens of the Fayetteville region as the leading musical resource.

    For more information about upcoming events, visit their website at https://www.fayettevillesymphony.orgFC6jFoYm3xs?si=vkSu8v6PuSCJVLaE.

  • 47A brand new local craft fair is about to kick off its new event on Oct. 14. It promises to be a great event for all.

    This year’s fair boasts a variety of handmade crafts, including jewelry, pottery and textiles. With so many talented artisans in attendance, there is sure to be something for everyone.

    June House, the coordinator of the craft fair, says one of her favorite hobbies was creating things. From knitting to making wreaths, House has always loved being crafty.

    Last year, House put on a craft fair in the small community where she lived right around Christmas. She said the turnout was okay but wanted to continue and expand the initial craft fair.
    Many people from her community started to recommend she start a craft fair at the Village Baptist Church.

    “We began planning it. We held interest meetings at the church, primarily looking for crafters who were members at the church. We had half a dozen responses who would be interested in participating in the craft fair. From there, we went on and registered the craft fair,” House said.

    House says she hopes people will be able to shop around and find something they would use in their home, but also something that could be gifted.

    There will be 26 vendors. One of those is Betty Powell, the owner and creator of All Things Crafty, LLC. She hand-makes items like wreaths, swags, lanterns, crochet plushies, keychains and door hangers. Powell says that this craft fair gives her a chance to meet new people with the same dreams and hobbies.

    “This brings awareness that small businesses are still around, and for some, this is not just a hobby but their source of income,” Powell said.

    In addition to the crafts themselves, visitors to the fair can look forward to a friendly, community-oriented atmosphere.
    There will be some refreshments during the fair, first-come, first-served, and there will be a kid’s table with activities and crafts.

    “This is our first craft fair, and we are hoping that the success of the event will look toward having an annual event at Village Baptist Church in the future,” House said.

    This is a great opportunity to support local artists and businesses while enjoying a fun day out with friends and family.

    Whether you’re in the market for a new piece of art for your home or simply looking for a unique gift for someone special, the local craft fair is the perfect place to find it. Come out on Saturday, Oct. 14, to support the community and discover the many talents of local artisans.

    Admission is free. The fair will take place at Village Baptist Church at 906 S. McPherson Church Road from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Parking will be adjacent to the building and will be free.

    For more fair details or to apply as a vendor, email Bonnie Wilson at bgreene0625@outlook.com.

  • P43

    Halloween is celebrated in various countries.

    Halloween can trace its origins to Ireland and is based on the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain, during which people would light bonfires and wear costumes to ward off spirits.
    Halloween has since become a day to play pranks and don costumes while going door-to-door seeking treats from neighbors.

    Each year, the National Retail Federation tracks Halloween trends. The figures and statistics shared by the NRF and other organizations paint a picture of just how popular Halloween can be.
    Consumers will spend an estimated $9 billion on Halloween. The average American will spend $86.79 on the festivities, according to the NRF.

    The U.S. Census Bureau indicates that there are 41.1 million potential trick-or-treaters aged 5 to 14.
    Ninety-five percent of people surveyed by the NRF planned to purchase candy for Halloween. The next most popular purchase is decorations (74 percent).

    Forty-five percent of respondents planned to carve a pumpkin for Halloween, says the NRF.
    In Canada, there are 2,569 farms with pumpkin patches, according to the 2016 Census of Agriculture.

    The top-ranked costumes for children in 2018 were princess and superhero. Adults planning to dress up were more likely to go as a witch or a vampire.

    Data from domestic box office earnings of horror movies in 2018 totaled $752.2 million. This accounts for movie earnings in the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico, and Guam. “A Quiet Place” and “Halloween” were the top-grossing horror flicks of the year.

    The ubiquitous “pumpkin spice” starts to turn up in various products as soon as there are hints of autumn. Nielsen says $6.9 million was spent on pumpkin spice products in 2018.

    Candy corn is either loved or loathed. According to the National Confectioners Association, 42.7 percent of people who enjoy candy corn say they eat the narrow white part of the candy corn first.

    The NRF states that, when looking for their ideal costumes, 33 percent of consumers will check online first, followed closely by 29 percent in stores.

    Pet costumes remain incredibly popular. Prosper Insights, a marketing and analytics company states that 31.2 million Americans plan to dress up their pets, with millennials being the largest demographic to do so.

    There are potentially 120 million stops for trick-or-treaters to visit in the United States, based on data from the U.S. Census Bureau.

    The Manufacturing and Wholesale Trade Division in Canada says that there were 158 businesses engaged in formal wear and costume rentals in Canada in 2017.

    Halloween is frighteningly popular, with scores of people taking part in the spending and antics of this entertaining day.

  • 44One of the theater’s most popular productions is back after a small hiatus. The Rocky Horror Show’s opening night is Oct. 6th at 7:30 p.m. The Gilbert Theater is ready to take viewers on a strange journey full of song, fun, and fishnet.

    Tickets are $30 and can be purchased online at www.gilberttheater.com. Those who are planning on attending should purchase their tickets early.

    Audience members are in for a treat this year as there will be bags of props given out at the door for interactive fun later in the show.

    Audience members are highly encouraged to participate, as this is part of what makes this show so fun and popular. The show couldn’t come at a more perfect time as this season marks the Gilbert Theater’s 30th season.

    The Gilbert Theater got its start as most successful things do, in a basement. Founder Lynn Pryer gathered community thespians in his basement in 1994. Eventually, the theater moved into the space it occupies now above the Fascinate -U Museum downtown at 116 Green Street.

    The theater started putting on The Rocky Horror Show production sometime in the 2000s and ran the show every season until a couple of years ago.
    Lawrence Carlisle is the current Artistic Director of the theater and took great care in planning this season’s shows.

    “When I was planning the 30th season, I wanted to do four shows that we had done previously in our 30-year span and then one brand new show that has never really been done anywhere.”

    “When we started talking about doing it that way this show was the first one, this was it. This was the first one we were going to bring back,” Carlisle said.

    This year’s director directed the very first season of the Rocky Horror Show, adding to the nostalgia of the production.
    The show will feature new faces on the Gilbert stage and a live four-piece band. Carlisle is excited about the addition of the live band.

    “We don’t often have a live band because we don’t have a lot of space. But if we can get a band that doesn’t require a lot of room, we like to do that,” he said.

    With the addition of a live band comes more technical stuff. Although actors don’t usually wear mics at the theater — the theater is intimate and doesn’t require it -- because of the live band, the theater needs extra equipment and sound for Victoria Lloyd, the Gilbert Theater’s Technical Director to manage and run during shows.

    She has been with the theater since 2017 and has been Technical Director since 2019. A job she manages solo, Victoria is the “light, sound, and set” of every production.

    “[My favorite part is] seeing a completed product and seeing people when the lights come back up after the show and just seeing their reactions,” Lloyd said. “Whether it’s a drama and they are gripped to their chest, passion or it was funny, they just had a good time. It means the world to me.”

    The Rocky Horror Show will also act as a fundraiser for the theater. Funds raised during the show’s run will be put back into the theater, ensuring it’s here for decades to come.

    With the mark of the 30th season and the return of The Rocky Horror Show, sponsors are in no short supply this year. Sponsors this year include UPS Store Westwood Shopping Center, Breathless Tattoo, Pan, Arts Council of Fayetteville, Allstate Glass, Up & Coming Weekly and Circa 1800.

    Lawrence also credits “people, just people, the people who come to the shows.”

    This year’s season is full of familiar shows and a brand new one, including A Christmas Carol, In the Blood, a Lynn Pryer favorite, and Assassins, a musical.

    The new title show, Ivories, was written by a local talent whose show was performed at the Fringe! Film Festival in the U.K. and is currently one of the shows Lloyd is the most excited about.

    “It’s going to be very different. Lots of things with gender, and it’s kind of spooky and it’s got all of the things I love,” she said.

    There are several ways to get involved with the Gilbert Theater. Community members can audition for a show or volunteer.

    The theater also has a great youth education program, Gilbert GLEE, and an adult education program, the Gilbert Adult Theater Education (GATE). Gilbert GLEE runs from September to May and is $250. Siblings are half-price.

    Whether an audience member, a volunteer, a patron or aspiring to headline a show one day, the Gilbert Theater hopes the community will come support and keep theater alive in Fayetteville.

  • 16 JH 09125After a six-month hiatus due to COVID-19, the Gilbert Theater is back in action with “Barefoot in the Park,” a Neil Simon classic. “Barefoot in the Park” runs through Oct. 18 with limited seating and social distancing in effect due to COVID-19 guidelines for public gatherings.

    “Barefoot in the Park” first premiered on Broadway in 1963 and went on to have a successful movie adaptation with countless stage performances around the country since. Seeing it now — in the year of pandemics, riots and election ads — is a breath of fresh air and a simple reminder that a little bit of laughter is often just what you need.

    After a six-day honeymoon, Corie and Paul start their married life in their fifth-floor-walkup in New York City. The tiny apartment leaves something to be desired, but Corie sees the possibilities. Paul sees the lack of a tub and a hole in the skylight.

    The newlyweds differ in their attitudes toward these inconveniences with Corie being the fun-loving free spirit wearing her heart on her sleeve. Paul, a new lawyer, has a more business-like approach and is not spontaneous as his wife, who is always willing to, as they say, walk barefoot in the park.

    Director Lawrence Carlisle III brings together a terrific cast and crew to deliver an entertaining escape from our own troubles in 2020. If only we could go back to when a gal could still get excited about getting a new Princess phone. In the meantime, “Barefoot in the Park” is a fun two hours to enjoy live theater.

    The “Barefoot in the Park” cast includes Tanisha Johnson and Gage Long as newlyweds Corie and Paul; Deannah Robinson as Mother Banks, Corie’s mom; Gabe Terry as neighbor Mr. Velasco; and James Merkle as the telephone repairman.

    It is a small cast of solid performances, each engaging and interesting. Johnson is full of energy and delivers a fun, believable and adorable Corie. I wanted everything to work out for her character and I look forward to seeing Johnson at the Gilbert in future shows.

    Long holds his own because his portrayal of Paul and is as much measured with patience as Johnson’s is uninhibited. Long and Johnson make a good pair on stage and their performances remind me that love and relationships are often about how our differences make us stronger rather than tear us apart.

    Robinson is convincing in her supporting role of Mother Banks. One of my favorite Gilbert regulars, Robinson always delivers and is a great addition to the cast.

    Terry and Merkle deliver fine performances as quirky neighbor Mr. Velasco and the telephone repairman. Both bring levity to the story and the ensemble.

    Safety precautions in place include masks for theater attendants, hand sanitizer stations, no-contact concessions, temperature checks upon entry and cleaning between performances. There will also be two performances on Saturday, Oct. 10 at 2 and 8 p.m. in which the actors will wear masks.

    The Gilbert Theater is located at 116 Green St. Contact the box office for more info on the show or to purchase tickets at boxoffice@gilberttheater.com.

    Pictured: The cast of "Barefoot in the Park" take a break during a recent dress rehearsal. The play runs through Oct. 18 at the Gilbert Theater. Photo by Jonathan Hornby Productions.

  • P39The Cumberland County Golf Championship is the oldest and continuously operating golf tournament in North Carolina. The guiding principles of the CCGC are heritage, legacy and youth development.

    In 1974, former Fayetteville resident and professional golfer Chip Beck began his amateur career playing and winning the Cumberland County Golf Championship.

    As a professional golfer, Beck has had four major victories on the PGA Tour and was runner-up in two U.S. Open Championships and the Masters in 1993.

    Beck undoubtedly has inspired thousands of Cumberland County golfers who have competed in the CCGC over the last fifty-five years.

    Billy West and Gary Robinson are two talented and notable Cumberland County golfers who have served as mentors and role models for young people and adults spanning nearly three decades.
    These two talented and competitive golfers have seventeen CCGC titles between them. Together, they have set local Cumberland County golfing records that will very likely never be broken. Gary Robinson won the CCGC eight times, and Billy West, the 2022 defending champion, has nine.
    Undoubtedly, there will be plenty of excitement and competition.

     

    Golf as West vies for his 10th CCGC win on Oct. 13.

    West serves as Cumberland County’s district attorney and is the National District Attorney Association president. He has competed in the Cumberland County Golf Championship for over 25 years.

    Gates Four Country Club will host this year’s tournament from Oct. 13 through the 15th. The event will open with a welcoming Champion’s Reception on Thursday, Oct. 12, at 6 p.m., hosted by the CCGC’s premier sponsors, The Richardson Law Firm, Transworld Business Advisors, Healy Wholesale, and Up & Coming Weekly community newspaper.

    Bill Bowman, U&CW publisher and owner and CCGC tournament director since 2016, is proud to work with Gates Four General Manager Kevin Lavertu to keep this Fayetteville and Cumberland County golfing tradition alive.

    The CCGC is proudly the longest continuous golf tournament in North Carolina.
    Bowman has expanded the tournament in the last couple of years by adding a Women’s and Youth Division.

    This year, Fayetteville’s local utility, PWC, became a Youth Division sponsor, encouraging young middle and high school golfers to compete in the tournament, knowing these are the champions of tomorrow.

    In addition to the Gross Score winner, there will be a Net Score winner in each division, another innovative change to the 2023 tournament. The CCGC is traditionally a Gross Score event played per USGA rules.

    The lowest Gross Score determines the Cumberland County Champion. By allowing golfers with established handicaps to compete for the Net Score title, he wants to encourage more golfers to experience the fun, excitement, and enjoyment of this high level of competition.

    Bowman assumed the Tournament Directorship of the Cumberland County Golf Championship 2016.

    However, he insists the success of the CCGC rests on the support of its dedicated local sponsors: Healy Wholesale, The Richardson Law Firm, Transworld Business Advisors, and Gates Four Country Club, to name a few.

    Bowman is also the publisher of the Up & Coming Weekly community newspaper.
    The Cumberland County Golf Championship supports the Kidsville News Literacy & Education Foundation, donating thousands of dollars to the KVN mission in prior years.

    KVN is a nonprofit 501-c3 organization that provides reading, literacy and educational resources free to young children in Cumberland County.

    Spectators are welcome all three days. The 55th Annual Cumberland County Golf Tournament at Gates Four Country Club is Oct. 13 through 15th, located at 6775 Irongate Dr. Fayetteville.
    For more information, contact Bill Bowman, Tournament Director, at bbowman@upandcomingweekly.com or call 910-391-3859 or Kevin Lavertu, general manager, Gates Four Country Club, at 910-425-6667.

  • 15 DSC 5176Following the best theatrical tradition that the show must go on, Cape Fear Regional Theatre returns to “telling great stories” with the opening performance of its 2020-2021 season on Oct. 8, featuring an innovative and exciting musical production of “Lady Day at the Emerson Bar & Grill.” Performances will be outdoors at 100 Broadfoot Avenue (behind Haymont Auto). Thanks to the graciousness of the owner of Haymont Auto, and with support from the city of Fayetteville, CFRT is able to provide live theater that is safe and enjoyable for die-hard jazz fans and those who may be new to this national treasure.

    Nicknamed “Lady Day,” by her good friend and occasional musical partner, tenor saxophonist Lester Young, Billie Holiday remains one of our most renowned American jazz legends. Like all great jazz musicians, Holiday was known for her improvisational skills. She was influenced, while still quite young, by Bessie Smith and Louis Armstrong, and she became enthralled with “scat singing” wherein a singer uses the voice as a musical instrument, improvising melodies and rhythms rather than singing actual words.

    Despite a very rough childhood, and as a victim of rampant racial prejudice throughout much of her career, Holiday became an international jazz sensation. Recording for various record labels, her instantly recognizable hits are too numerous to list in this preview. Frank Sinatra lauded her as “the greatest musical influence on me.”

    “Lady Day at the Emerson Bar & Grill,” was written by Lanie Robertson and played successfully on and off Broadway before being made into a movie. Set in a South Philly bar, it tells the story of one of Holiday’s last performances before her untimely July 1959 death. Although chock full of legendary jazz numbers, it is called a “musical play” because the title character engages in quite a bit of intimate conversation between songs. Despite some raw moments, this is ultimately a story of resilience.

    “During this period when many of us may feel unsure of life itself,” said Greensboro-based artist, Gregory Horton, who directs and designed the costumes, “Lady Day will be so life affirming … especially in the face of COVID-19.”

    Janeta Jackson, from CFRT’s sold-out May 2019 production of “Crowns,” brings her amazing voice to the role of Holiday. Jackson reprises her 2019 Charlotte performance, albeit under very different circumstances. Asked how she planned to compensate for an outdoor performance, Jackson replied, “I intend to reimagine the whole setting. I worked at Disney, so I’m used to performing outside.”

    Broadway artist and Fayetteville native Brian Whitted acts as music director for the production and also plays the part of Jimmy Powers, Lady Day’s pianist. CFRT audiences will remember him from the 2015 production of “Ain’t Misbehavin’.”

    Due to the size of the outdoor space, which might mimic the capacity of that Philly Bar& Grill, seating will be very limited so everyone is “encouraged to book early.” The show runs through Oct. 25. Tickets and programs will be paperless and masks will be required of all staff and audience members.

    For performance schedules along with available ticket and discount information, please visit cfrt.org or call the box office at 910-323-4233. Please join Up & Coming Weekly in welcoming CFRT’s bold resurrection of live theater here in Fayetteville by making sure that all of these performances are sold out.

    Pictured: Janeta Jackson performs as Billie Holiday in CFRT's "Lady Day at the Emerson Bar & Grill" Oct. 8-25.

  • 10-31-12-wine gala 2012 - 3.jpgSince Clara Barton first tended to wounded soldiers in the Civil War, at extreme risk to herself, the Red Cross has been known for selfl ess charity in the face of both disasters and everyday hardships in both the national and international arena.

    The Red Cross is not, however, known for wine. Never-the-less, for eight years the Highlands Chapter of the American Red Cross has hosted a Red and White Wine Gala, and this year — for the ninth time — the tradition continues. This gala is a fundraiser for the Red Cross to help fund its many outreach programs. Victoria Raleigh, executive director of the American Red Cross-Highlands Chapter, said, “The money goes to support the American Red Cross locally in Bladen, Cumberland, Harnett, Hoke and Sampson counties and Fort Bragg.”

    The local chapter of the American Red Cross has fi ve different program areas that money raised specifically supports. Raleigh gave an example of the programs carried out across the counties by saying, “The Red Cross has disaster services, for tragedies like home fires, etc. Also, the county decided to open a shelter after last year’s tornadoes. We provided 1,007 nights of shelter for the community during that hard time. We also have preparedness and health and safety programs including life saving certifi cation, C.P.R., first-aid for babysitting, life guarding and much more.”

    Another example of the work that the American Red Cross does to support the Fort Bragg community is the American Red Cross emergency communication program.

    “The emergency service for military members and family is used when a service members is deployed. We are the sole organization the family members can use to call overseas in combat zones. We verify the message and send it to the service member’s command when they are overseas. It is a lot of help when there is a death in the family back home but our favorite messages to deliver are birth messages. We also do pre- and post-deployment briefings on how to initiate an emergency communication and offer courses in coping with deployment and tips on reconnecting when you come home. They are hosted by a mental health professional, these are all free,” Raleigh explains.

    In addition to great food and wine on the night of the event, there is also a silent auction including exciting packages. “We have items including an African safari, a week and the beach, a portrait sitting, gift certificates to local restaurants, tickets to college football and basketball games, fine jewelry and a day with the Swamp Dogs,” said Raleigh. “We have all sorts of things — several local artists have donated their work to the auction, too.”

    The cost to attend the Red and White Wine Gala is $45 in advance and $50 at the door. Attendees are treated to a lavish hor d’oeuvre buffet that will be created by the well-respected and award-winning chefs of U.S. Food Service. There are also 75 different wines provided by Mutual Distributing to choose from and enjoy.

    The Gala will be held on Nov. 8 from 6 to 8:30 p.m. at the Holiday Inn Bordeaux. Tickets are $45 in advance and $50 at the door. More information about the event, tickets and sponsorship packages is available by calling the Red Cross Highland Chapter at 867-8151. Attire is business casual.

    Photo: On Nov. 8, Red and White Wine Gala takes place at the Holiday Inn Bordeaux.

  • 14 heaven hellReligion is everywhere, even in three important books with North Carolina ties.

    North Carolina’s beloved novelist Lee Smith takes us back to an earlier time in her novella, “Blue Marlin.” Its central character, Jenny, age 13, deals with her strong but immature religious views as she seeks to have God help her patch up her parents’ crumbled marriage. On a trip to Key West, she bargains with God to do good deeds if he will bring her parents together again.

    Smith says that for all the stories she has ever written, “this one is dearest to me, capturing the essence of my own childhood.”

    The book is also a reminder that Jenny’s immature view of God is one that is widely shared and not to be scoffed at.

    What really happens to us when we die? Active churchgoers are caught between two ideas. First is the belief set out in the Apostles’ Creed in “the resurrection of the body” and judgment day accounting. Second is the conflicting idea that believers in Christ go directly to heaven when they die while others go straight to a place of punishment that lasts forever.

    UNC-Chapel Hill religion professor Bart Ehrman’s “Heaven and Hell: A History of the Afterlife” deals with this dilemma, and he sets out a detailed history of ideas about afterlife.

    Ehrman describes how ideas about afterlife developed in many religious traditions. He asserts that Jesus and the Apostle Paul did not believe in hell. The punishment for sinners was, they believed, simply annihilation, not everlasting punishment.

    Many North Carolinians do not appreciate our state’s important place in the history of modern popular music or the influence of religion and church music on our music culture. Former Raleigh News & Observer journalist David Menconi’s new book, “Step It Up and Go, The Story of North Carolina Popular Music, from Blind Boy Fuller and Doc Watson to Nina Simone and Superchunk,” helps set the record straight.

    The connections between gospel music, both black and white, run throughout the book. Menconi gives Ray Charles credit for “turning sacred gospel into secular soul, a new style that translated religious rapture into much earthier feelings.”

    Charles transformed a gospel song, “It Must Be Jesus,” into a “randy song” called “I Got a Woman.” Menconi writes, “Changing that song’s subject matter from uppercase him to lowercase her scandalized the church, but it caused a pop music sensation.”

    A Winston-Salem group, “The 5 Royales,” brought evangelistic fervor to secular music even before Charles. The group was one of the top R&B bands in the 1950s. Though forgotten by many, the group is immortalized by a street in Winston-Salem named after them.

    Menconi writes about a Charlotte group called Jodeci whose “spin on hip-hop soul was churching it up with gospel feeling. Whether pleading for sin or salvation, they had the same urgency.”

    In 1992, one member of Jodeci told Menconi, “Someday I’m sure we’ll all go back to gospel because that’s where our roots are.”
    Maybe he was speaking for some of the rest of us.

     

  • 38No need to travel to Cannes to experience a one-of-a-kind film fest. For the eighth year, the Indigo Moon Film Fest is taking over downtown Fayetteville on October 13th through 15th.

    The CAMEO, Lodge and The Capital Encore Academy will host this year’s films over three days. This year’s offerings range from animation to documentaries to student films and will include a whole day dedicated to N.C.-made films.

    With over 80 films set to screen at the film fest, there are sure to be plenty of favorites among filmgoers. Tickets can be purchased online at www.indigomoonfilmfest.com. For those free all weekend, All Access VIP tickets can be purchased for $100. These tickets include access to opening Night, all film showings, film receptions and the awards banquet. One-day tickets can be used for any showing except for opening night, and range from $5 to $10. Check out the website for the complete list of ticket options.

    A special experience has been added this year: dinner and a movie (director). A small intimate dinner with director, Indy Saini, at the SkyView on Hay, will give filmgoers the opportunity to talk with the director, who has had her work featured on Amazon Prime. Tickets are $10.

    Opening the Indigo Moon Film Fest is Black Barbie, directed by LaGueria Davis. Founders of Groundswell Pictures and the Indigo Film Fest, Jan Johnson and Pat Wright, are most excited to bring this film to the local screen.

    “Our opening night film, Black Barbie is one we are so excited to bring to the people in Fayetteville,” they said. “What an amazing documentary about the introduction of black Barbies and other black dolls into the marketplace. It should not be missed. And, not only do we show it on October 13 at 7 p.m. in the CAMEO, but we also screen it again on Sunday, Oct. 15 in the CAMEO at 1 p.m. We want everyone to see this amazing film. Of course, if you come to opening night you also get to hear from the filmmaker and go the Opening Night Gala where you will enjoy live music, light bites and a chance to interact with the more than 2 dozen filmmakers who will be in attendance.”

    Jan and Pat are thrilled about the eighth year of the film festival, an event they believe is an asset and essential to our community.

    “We believe film inspires change. That is the focus of the festival every year. Film festivals offer viewers the opportunity to view films from other cultures, countries and beliefs. This gives viewers a chance to look at ideas from a different perspective. This is what allows people to grow and change,” they said.

    As one can imagine, a lot of work goes into an event this big. For community members who are interested in taking a support role at the film fest, volunteers are still needed. Information on becoming a volunteer signup can be found at https://signup.zone/indigo-moon.

    Those interested in volunteering should sign up as soon as possible, as a volunteer training session is happening soon. This year’s sponsors include The Arts Council of Fayetteville Cumberland County, South River EMC, Cumberland Community Foundation, and Carmax Cares. Director-level sponsors include Developmental & Forensic Pediatrics, Dr. Wayne Riggins and Luis Perez, SkyView on Hay, Rainbow Room and Moonlight Communications. Jan and Pat feel the support of the community through sponsors, volunteers, and attendees.

    “We are so humbled by all of our supporters,” they said.

    The Indigo Moon Film Fest will culminate Sunday with an Awards BBQ at the SkyView on Hay, another showing of Black Barbie at the CAMEO and the presentation of the film awards at the Lodge. This is a can’t miss event for film lovers of Fayetteville.

  • 12 01 Stanley GreavesCape Fear Studios will host “Retrospective - A Varied Path” featuring member artist Stanley Greaves through Oct. 20. Greaves is an internationally acclaimed artist from Guyana who now lives in Fayetteville. He is well-known for his colorful surrealist paintings which have made him popular in the Caribbean art world.

    “I am showing examples of work I have done in different regions including recent woodworking activities,” Greaves said. “I have been making boxes, two of them are on show at the exhibition, which showcases a mix of sculptures, examples of my calligraphy and my poems in calligraphic form, and ceramics.”

    The name of the exhibition, in effect, would be kind of retrospect because not all of the work exhibited is recent, he said.

    Greaves’ exhibition as a member artist at Cape Fear Studios is a glimpse into the heart and soul of an internationally recognized artist, or ‘maker’ as he refers to himself, said Rose Kennedy, also a member artist.

    “This is a rare opportunity to experience his work in painting, pottery and sculpture in an intimate, welcoming environment,” said Kennedy, who also serves as the retail gallery chairperson for Cape Fear Studios. “Stanley … is widely recognized throughout the world for his contributions to art and literature.”

    Kennedy said Greaves’ artwork isn’t usually for sale, but he has generously donated a pottery piece to be auctioned benefitting Cape Fear Studio’s mission of providing arts and education to the community.

    The pottery piece up for auction is called “Key Pot.”

    “I had a collection of house keys that I collected over the years and always wanted to do something with that,” Greaves said. “And eventually, the thought came up that you know what, I can use some of these keys and put them on the pot. And that's why I named it a ‘Key Pot.’”

    Greaves asks people to bring their own experiences to the exhibition, and he doesn’t think it's a necessity for the artist to explain the meanings behind the work.

    “In order for people to look at the picture and read it and extract whatever they can from it. And in that way, those experiences are more valid to them instead of me giving them something,” he said.

    Born to Guyanese parents, Greaves studied and lived in the United Kingdom, United States and Barbados. He doesn’t think living in different places has affected his art but instead made him more secure of it, as to not follow trends, he said.

    Now living in Fayetteville, Greaves said he tends to avoid big metropolitan scenes and crowds stating the work he’s interested in doing is of no relevance to the art scene in larger
    cities.

    Although he has received many awards and prizes, including Guyana’s national honor ‘Golden Arrow of Achievement’ in 1975, Greaves says he hardly seeks art exhibitions.

    “I am not a competitor, I don't feel the need to show myself that way,” he said, “I have been able to hold exhibitions from time to time, but that's just not for me.”

    According to Kennedy, Greaves works in the pottery studio and is very engaging to talk to and a joy to watch as he intently works his magic with clay. He was a natural choice for a feature show because of his stellar work, introspective nature and international recognition, she said.

    “Come in to absorb the workings of an extraordinary, creative mind and place a bid in the auction. His work is (usually) not for sale, so the auction is a great opportunity to own a special creation by Stanley,” she said.

    Cape Fear Studios is located at 148 Maxwell St. in downtown Fayetteville. “Retrospective - A Varied Path” runs through Oct. 20. Admission is free to the public during their new hours of Wednesday and Friday from 2-5 p.m. and by appointment on Saturdays. For more information visit http://www.capefearstudios.com or call 910-433-2986.

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    Pictured:  (top) Stanley Greaves is a member artist at Cape Fear Studios. (above left) "Key Pot," a pottery piece by Greaves will be auctioned off. (above right) A work by Greaves on display during "Retrospective - A Varied Path" at Cape Fear Studios through Oct. 20.

  • P29

    Autumn has arrived, bringing with it the arrival of the spooky season. It’s the perfect time to discover the happenings in and around Fayetteville.

    Fall & Halloween Events That Will Thrill the Whole Family

    Looking for ways to entertain the entire family? Look no further. These Fall and Halloween activities are guaranteed to be a hit with both kids and adults alike.

     

    Oct. 13 through Oct. 28: Zombie Hayride and Haunted House
    Defend your vehicle from waves of zombies by blasting them with glowing ammo from your mounted turret! Black Ops Paintball.
    https://bit.ly/3timDqV

    Oct. 14: Fall Festival at
    LaFayette Ford
    There will be plenty of fun for the whole family with vendors, games, prizes, and lots of trucks on display! Free event at LaFayette Ford.
    https://bit.ly/48yRHCJ

    Oct. 14: Halloween Bazaar
    50+ vendors, food trucks, music, and kid activities; come dressed up and do trick or treating at the booths! Free fall photos with a backdrop! Free event at East Hoke Middle School Field.
    https://bit.ly/3tiD0nl

    Oct. 19 through 21 & 26 through 27: Halloween Revels “Moonlight Mischief” at the 1897 Poe House
    “Hallowe’en Revels: Moonlight Mischief” spotlights historic Halloween fun in an actual historic home. Not your traditional haunted house! $8 for tickets at the Museum of the Cape Fear Historical Complex.
    https://bit.ly/3LKj6b2

    Oct. 26 through 29: Halloween at the BOO-tanical Garden 2023
    It’s a Monster Bash Dance Party at the 2023 Halloween at the Boo-tanical Garden, presented by Cape Fear Valley Health! $7 to $12 at the Cape Fear Botanical Garden.
    https://bit.ly/3ZBKZYJ

    Oct. 28: Harleyween at Fort Bragg Harley
    Free food, vendors, trunk or treat, bounce house, & much more! Free at the Fort Bragg Harley-Davidson.
    https://bit.ly/3tc2hzj

    Oct. 28: Special Olympics Cumberland County Fall Festival
    A day of fun with Local Vendors, Games, Community Resources, and so much more!! Open to the public, with all proceeds going to support our Local Special Olympics Athletes. Free event at 352 Devers St, Fayetteville.
    https://bit.ly/48wdRpn

    Oct. 29: Halloween Extravaganza
    This year’s Halloween Extravaganza offers something for every age. Proceeds will support our Food Pantry that serves Cumberland County. $5 to $20 at Holy Trinity Episcopal Church.
    https://bit.ly/3ZHY4zS

    Oct. 31: Fall Festival
    Enjoy a parking lot full of festive trunks, carnival games, bounce houses, food and tons of candy. Free event at Village Baptist Church.
    https://bit.ly/46f6KzX

    Oct. 31: Trick-or-Treat Downtown
    Join local businesses, merchants, and retailers in Downtown Fayetteville as they pass out candy to Trick-or-Treaters of all ages. Free throughout Downtown Fayetteville.
    https://bit.ly/48Fx7Rs

    Oct. 22: Halloween Golf
    Tournament
    Grab your clubs, grab a costume, and get a team together for the first Halloween golf tournament at Gates Four Country Club.

     

    Unleash Your Inner Ghoul at These Adults-Only Events. Embrace the darkness and eerie ambiance at these exhilarating events tailored specifically for grown-ups.

    Oct. 14: Spooky Sip & Paint
    Girl’s Night spooky edition! Come out for a night of fun with art, music, food, and much more! Don’t forget to come dressed for the contest! $48 to $100 on Hay Street, Fayetteville.
    https://bit.ly/3PEmXb0

    Oct. 14: Cookie Crime Class: Halloween Themed
    This is for those ladies who desperately need an evening out to unwind, take a mommy break, or hang with their girlfriends. $60 at Dirty Whiskey Craft Cocktail Bar.
    https://bit.ly/45hna9V

    Oct. 21: 2023 Pinwheel Masquerade Ball & Auction
    Enjoy captivating dancing, exquisite cuisine, and exciting surprises. The event will include a DJ, dance demos, photo booth, auction, and mask contest. $75 at Cape Fear Botanical Garden.
    https://bit.ly/45eeVLE

    Oct. 26: Fang Tastic Feast Charcuterie Workshop
    This board will be perfect to take home and share for a spooky movie night that weekend! $80 at The Downtown Market.
    https://bit.ly/3rGrEZF

    Oct. 26: The Stolen Recipe (Mystery Dinner)
    Join us for an unforgettable evening of mystery, food, and fun. Free at Cooking4Fitness, LLC.
    https://bit.ly/3F1IfdF

    Oct. 28: HALO-Ween Party
    The biggest party of the year! Cash & prizes to the best Halloween costume. Event at Club Halo.
    https://bit.ly/3F2Sf6g

    Oct. 28: Halloween Adult Costume Contest
    Put on your best costume for a chance to win amazing cash prizes.
    Event at Wana Navu Kava Bar.
    https://bit.ly/3F2qta2

    Oct. 28: Full Moon Meditate & Paint Class
    The Full Moon is a time of culmination and the promise of fulfillment of that which was started at the New Moon. $45 at Prima Elements Holistic Wellness Center.
    https://bit.ly/3PIE1g0

     

    Spend the night filled with horror and excitement; experience the thrills and chills at these haunted attractions!

    Backwoods Terror Ranch
    Experience the horrifying experiments of Dr. Surgeon through 3 Terrifying Haunted attractions.
    Sweet Valley Ranch, 2990 Sunnyside School Road, Fayetteville
    https://bit.ly/46f0xnN

    Aberdeen Fear Factory
    The dead are walking the grounds of Aberdeen Fear Factory, and they need to be put down. It’s up to you to make sure the zombies don’t break through the containment area.
    10570 NC-211, Aberdeen
    https://bit.ly/3RFwAbR

    Hollerin Haunts Hayride
    Featuring SIX thrilling attractions in one place, it’s the go-to destination for a spooktacular good time for family and friends! 2914 Bud Johnson Rd, Clinton
    https://bit.ly/45gvUwI

     

    Trunk-or-Treat Here! Here are a few of the local trunk-or-treat events taking place. It’s a great alternative to traditional trick-or-treating.

    Oct. 13: 6 to 8 p.m. Exit Realty (250 Lindsay Rd, Raeford Location)
    Oct. 15- 3 to 5 p.m. Haymount United Methodist Church
    Oct. 20: 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Crossroads Church
    Oct. 21- 4 to 8 p.m. Legacy Athletics
    Oct. 20: noon to 2 p.m. Stoney Point Fire Department
    Oct. 25: 4 to 7 p.m. Harmony at Hope Mills
    Oct. 26: 4 to 7 p.m. Fit 4 Life Health Club (210 Owen Drive Location)
    Oct. 27: 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Town of Hope Mills, 5763 Rockfish Rd, Hope Mills
    Oct. 27: 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Hall Park
    Oct. 28: 6 to 9 p.m. Fort Liberty Soldier Support Center
    Oct. 28: 3 to 9 p.m. Seth’s Wish
    Oct. 28: 2 to 5 p.m. On-After Pub & Grub
    Oct. 28: 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Tabernacle Baptist Church of Rockfish
    Oct. 29: 3 to 5 p.m. Fayetteville Christian Church
    Oct. 29: 4 to 6 p.m. Northwood Temple Church, Pope AFB
    Oct. 29: Dirtbag Farmers Market
    Oct. 31: 4 p.m. Patriot K-Nine Training & Behavior
    Oct. 31: 6 to 8 p.m. East Hoke Middle School

  • 01 01 20161001 164327Five years ago, the inaugural Indigo Moon Film Festival weekend was nearly washed out by Hurricane Matthew. Festivalgoers braved strong winds, heavy rains, power outages and the beginning of historic flooding in downtown Fayetteville to take part in a sold-out opening night.

    If a hurricane couldn’t cancel the IMFF, there was little chance that a pandemic could.

    Instead, IMFF founders Jan Johnson and Pat Wright put their heads together with the festival board of directors to devise a way to continue the festival while reducing health risks associated with in-person audiences.

    The solution is a fully virtual event for 2020. All films will be streamed online through a virtual portal. Anyone who purchases a ticket or pass can watch from the comfort and safety of their own home on a computer or television using common apps for streaming.

    While some festivalgoers will miss the experience of viewing films on the big screen in one of the traditional venues, Johnson and Wright said the virtual experience has opened up a lot of possibilities for this year and for future festivals, too.

    “It’s been exciting learning this new interface,” Johnson said of the process to prepare the virtual venues on the internet site and upload trailers and interviews with filmmakers.

    What audiences will see is a streamlined online site that can be searched and selected as easy as ordering any product online.

    “If you can turn on your computer, you can watch the films,” Wright said. “Or hook up your computer to the TV, whatever you are comfortable with.”

    Festivalgoers can watch trailers and select which films to see, Johnson said.

    The virtual experience and online platform allow viewers to watch all of the films if they choose — something that wasn’t possible during past festivals. At four traditional venues, viewers would choose which films or blocks of films to see over a weekend. Using the online platform, viewers have a week to watch as many of the films as they choose.

    “Before, each person had to buy a ticket,” Johnson said. With a virtual festival, you buy a pass and can watch films for the entire run of the festival.

    There is still a schedule this year, but all films will open on Saturday, at different times. After they are shown, they will be available online and viewers can rewatch them if they want.

    Passes are available at VIP, “Three Fer” and student rates. A VIP pass is sold online at $100 and will give access to all films after their scheduled showtime until the festival ends at 11:59 p.m. on Oct. 16. Student and “Three Fer” passes are sold online for $25 each. Viewers can choose to purchase single viewing tickets and can purchase anytime during the festival.

    There are more than 60 films in this year’s festival, including opening night’s “Finding Manny,” a documentary directed by Kacey Cox. The movie is inspired by the book “Carved in Stone” and tells the story of Holocaust survivor Manny Drukier, who jumped from a Nazi “death train” at the age of 16 and found refuge in a home for orphans. Drukier was tracked down 71 years later by a German researcher who invited him to return to the orphanage, now a school, to share his story.

    “It is a fantastic film,” Johnson said. “The kind of film that makes you laugh and cry.”

    In the documentary, as Manny Drukier revisits places that hold some of his darkest memories, he tries to reconcile the past so that he can educate the future.
    This sentiment is similar to the motto Johnson and Wright have for the festival — “film inspires change.”

    “This is again the season of year and time of our lives we can take a look at how we’re going forward,” Johnson said.

    Creating and sharing films can inform and enlighten us — and others — to different experiences, customs and cultures, Wright said. It is a benefit to taking part in a film festival that offers diverse film topics from around the world.

    “We get to watch all these films from all over the world,” Wright said. “It’s a way to make our world a little bit smaller and work on these issues that face us.”

    One benefit of a virtual festival is that filmmakers can provide Q&A videos to run after the films, Wright said. So far, more than two-thirds of the films will have accompanying Q&As. This introduces viewers to filmmakers and gives some insight to how the films were made.

    One Q&A available is from local filmmakers Brian Adam Kline and Nicki Hart who made “Live Vid,” in the Shorts Block: Love.

    “It’s about a woman dealing with COVID-19, and I thought Brian’s script was hilarious,” Hart said of the film that takes places in the early stages of the pandemic.

    “She is locked down with her husband in her apartment,” Hart said. “She had a social life and friends. Now, all of a sudden, they’re forced to be cooped up and she has no other way to talk to her friends than in a live chat room.”

    In the film, viewers see the character talking to her friends, and the responses of her friends, typed out on screen. “She’s really telling them how she’s really feeling,” Hart said.

    Making the film was a rewarding experience, Hart said. A veteran of local live theater, this was Hart’s first film to be released to the public. It is also her first producing credit.

    Kline, who has directed Hart in multiple shows at the Gilbert Theater, approached her with the script earlier this year.

    “In this crazy time of COVID-19, we wanted to do something to make people laugh,” Hart said. “I’m proud of it. It’s a small film, but it’s still impactful. We make you laugh with this film, but we explore that dark underbelly of COVID-19.”

    “Live Vid” is also semi-finalist in the Peak International Film Festival, but Hart is proud that her collaboration with Kline was accepted in the IMFF.

    “Indigo Moon has a great following and reputation,” she said. “It’s a great, great thing we can claim, culturally, to have a film festival in this town.”

    This year’s festival will have Jury and Audience awards that will be presented online after the festival is complete. Viewers will have the opportunity to vote on awards in categories at the end of viewing blocks.

    Much of the transition to a virtual festival was made possible by a grant from the Arts Council of Fayetteville Cumberland County, Johnson said.

    The 5th Annual Indigo Moon Film Festival will take place Oct. 9-16. To purchase tickets/passes or learn more about viewing, visit
    https://www.indigomoonfilmfestival.com/

     

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  • P27

    A fall fest with a truly remarkable cause, the Fayetteville Foster Care Fall Fest will take place on Oct. 21st at the Kiwanis Recreation Center located at 352 Devers Street from 2 to 5 p.m. This event is free, open to the public, and an opportunity for community members interested in becoming foster parents to learn about the process and provide support for those who are currently fostering.

    The schedule of events includes a chili cookoff starting at 2 p.m., trick or treating and a kids’ costume contest from 3 to 5:30 p.m. All chili aficionados should try their skills for a chance to win an apron and trophy and sign up for the cookoff. There are plenty of spots open. Anyone interested in signing up can email Stephanie Miles, clinical supervisor for the LifeSet program at Youth Villages, at stephanie.colgrove@youthvillages.org.

    “Personally, I do what I do because I want to be the help and change I needed when I was younger. I want to make a difference in a positive way to others and my community,” she said.

    Entertainment will be provided by For You Sounds D.J. Entertainment. Attendees will also be able to enjoy games and vendors while learning more about the foster care program from local organizations that include Family Services of America, Cumberland County DSS, Fayetteville Urban Ministries and Carolina Treatment Center.

    Vendor spots are available for local businesses and organizations. All those interested should email Miles as soon as possible.

    Not only will this event be packed full of fun and food, but with a purpose. Stephanie Miles says, “Foster Care Fall Fest is intended to bring together the community to raise awareness and provide resources to and about foster care individuals and agencies,” said Miles.

    “Its purpose is to provide information about available resources that can help the foster care community. This is foster youth, foster parents, group homes, adoptive parents and anyone that feels like they want to help and learn more.”

    Youth Villages is hosting this year’s event.

    “[The organization] is a force for families, nonprofit organization. Our mission is to help children and families live successfully. We value providing a safe space and always strive to achieve positive and long-lasting results,” said Miles.

    “We are also an organization that’s committed to its staff, and we create new programs to meet the needs of children, families, and the community. We are currently in 26 states and Washington D.C. and have three programs here in Fayetteville. Intercept is our intensive in-home service with a well-supported ranking from the Family First Clearinghouse, LifeSet is our service that helps young adults who are aging out of foster care develop independent living skills, and the Hi-Fidelity Wraparound program.”

    Events like these rely heavily on community support.

    “Their hard work and collaboration are what makes this event happen. And I would like to thank my supervisor, Kyle Coleman, for the support and guidance with this event,” said Miles.

    This year’s event is sponsored by Living Water Church, Fayetteville Cumberland County Parks and Recreation in conjunction with Kiwanis Rec Center, Falcon Children’s Home and the Home Study Services of N.C.

    Come out and support the foster community, have some fun and eat some chili.

  • 32aFrom the obscure Airboy to the widely popular and well-known X-Men, comic fans from all over the region will be packing through the doors of the Crown Complex on Oct. 14th and 15th for Fayetteville Comic Con.

    Tickets are currently on sale online at www.fayettevillecomiccon.com. Those planning on attending are encouraged to buy their tickets early. There are several ticket options, each offering a different kind of experience.

    Attendees looking for the full experience are encouraged to purchase a fan sponsorship package. Packages include weekend passes, early access, merchandise, special guest experiences and more. Fayetteville Comic Con owner and producer, Keith Gibbs, is excited to announce a couple of new events at this year’s show.

    Along with over 100 vendors, cosplay competitions and fan panels, there will be a small film festival that will take place on Friday, Oct. 13th. The festival will be followed by a special “curated” screening of Friday the 13th Part lV with the film’s writer and director, Tom McLoughlin. Tickets for the film festival and screening are $10 online. All proceeds from these ticket sales will be donated to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.

    There will also be a new competition called “Cosplay’s Got Talent” which will “combine Cosplay and performance”, and winners can expect “significant cash prizes” according to Gibbs.

    The Variant, an online community all about comics, cosplay, and conventions, will be on-site taking pictures and running the photo booth at this year’s convention. RJ Marchese, owner and editor in chief, is thrilled to be back at this year’s convention in their role as photographers.

    “We have worked with Fayetteville Comic Con in multiple capacities over the years as cosplayers, media and celebrity photo-ops. It has definitely become one of our con homes away from home,” he said.

    The Variant will be offering several different services to convention-goers this year.32

    “Attendees of FCC can come by the photo booth at any time during convention hours and take cosplay photos with our team of professional cosplay photographers. We also have our Cosplay Spotlights at the booth to meet and greet everyone, as well as sign prints. The money for the prints goes right back to the cosplayers so they can make more cosplays,” said Marchese.

    “Some of our cosplayers sell stickers as well as merch too. We always have a ton of action figures at every show as well. GI Joe, Star Wars, Marvel, and Masters of the Universe are the main brands we stock. Some of our cosplayers also run the Cosplay Repair booth. They use their crafting expertise to help anyone who needs it. If you’re gonna have a cosplay contest, having a repair booth is vital because sometimes cosplays go awry,” he said.

    “Fayetteville holds one of the best contests in the state and will be branching out to a circuit soon. We also help facilitate the adult and children’s runway competitions as well as the Master Class contest on occasion.”

    Those who are looking to have their cosplay professionally photographed need not worry about cost ranging in the thousands, The Variant promises to keep prices low and the quality high.

    “We give people an option to purchase their pictures immediately at an extremely affordable rate, or if they wait two weeks the photos will be available for free on our website,” said Marchese. “We won’t inundate the photos with huge watermarks either. Our logo houses the convention’s logo so it’s a nice aesthetic to commemorate their time at the convention. It allows people to post their pics on social media while also supporting the conventions.”

    Unlike mega events like San Diego Comic-Con and Dragon Con in Atlanta, Fayetteville Comic-Con is a “Fan Run Show for Fans” and “If It’s Geek, We Got It!” local event. Keith Gibbs who started as a volunteer back in 2016, eventually took over as owner.

    “[I] guided the show into becoming a registered business entity, maintained our brand through the pandemic, and after buying out the company from the original promoter, led the expansion to two shows a year,” Gibbs said.

    The Fayetteville Comic Con brings 6,000 to 8,000 people to the Crown twice a year. While the vendors number in the hundreds, Gibbs wants people to know that the convention isn’t just for businesses that center around comics or cosplay.

    “We have over 6000 - 8000 customers in regular attendance who all need banks, and pediatricians and mobile phones,” said Gibbs.

    Gibbs encourages all local businesses to consider sponsoring the Fayetteville Comic Con. He has no big dreams of making the convention a mega event.

    “We really strive to make sure that the guests we bring in are approachable and that their offerings are affordable to our attendees,” Gibbs said. “We don’t try to make people wait in long lines, and we really want our celebrity guests to be part of the whole show…We maintain an affordable price point for vendors, artists, and fans, and strive to pack as much into the weekend as we can.”

    The small, hometown feel that you get from Fayetteville Comic Con is one of the reasons it’s a favorite of so many. It is why attendees usually become regulars and become involved in some capacity with the convention.

    David Probus has been attending the convention since 2017 and is an avid cosplayer. Attendees can usually catch him in video games, Marvel or Star Wars cosplay. This year Probus will be debuting a new look, paying tribute to WWE legend, Windham Rotunda (Bray Wyatt).

    “I love the community and friends I’ve met over the years. It’s also such a cool opportunity to meet and connect with people I’ve watched, heard and seen in various shows, movies, etc.,” Probus said.

    It is his reason for returning every year. Another Fayetteville Comic Con regular and sometimes volunteer is Sarah Mills. Mills has attended the convention since day one and eventually became a recurring guest for a few years. Her cosplay is 99% handmade, as well as her props.

    “For the Fayetteville Comic Con this year I think I’ll replay my Tim Burton styled Madd Hatter...but the comic con is in a few weeks. And I have enough time to change, so I probably will,” Mills said. “As an artist, this is how your mind works. Once you think you have something down or perfect, you’ll nitpick it to death.”

    Mills does both canon costumes — any cosplay or costume that precisely recreates an outfit worn by a character at a specific point of time within a story — and original characters.

    No matter what or who they are cosplaying, both Probus and Mills spend months planning, piecing, buying, sewing, and hot gluing to create their signature looks that Fayetteville Comic Con attendees have come to recognize and love.

    This event will have something for everybody.

    ”This the best convention for those just starting out, it’s not overwhelming and is great for those who may have a little anxiety,” Mills said.

    Probus is excited about this year and offers this advice for first-time convention goers, “If this is your first con, pace yourself. Even at our con which isn’t huge, it can be overwhelming for a first-time con-goer. Take your time, go to some panels, meet some of our guests, and do not hesitate to ask a cosplayer to take pictures with you. We love it! Above all else, have fun!”

  • P24

    It’s spooky season and there will be no shortage of free, family-friendly events in Fayetteville this October. LaFayette Ford is hosting their annual Fall Festival on Oct. 14th from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the dealership located at 5202 Raeford Road.

    This year’s event is focused on the community and families and will be collecting canned food for Second Harvest Food Bank, an organization dedicated to eradicating hunger in Cumberland County and beyond.

    Families are encouraged to come out in costume and enjoy all the fun activities planned for the afternoon. There will be kids’ games, face painting, and of course, a Trunk or Treat hosted by the staff.

    Attendees will be placed in raffles for a chance to win prizes during the event. The Fall Festival will host tons of local vendors and food trucks. Some of the vendors include Simply Made by Scottie, My Southern Charm, Cool Spring Downtown, Handmade Soaps by Melanie Gill, Sister to Sister Sugar Scrubs, NC Navigator Consortium Project and Team Rubicon, to name a few.

    New cars will not be the only thing on the dealership lot that day. Little ones will be able to check out vehicles from the City of Fayetteville and first responder organizations. The Fayetteville Woodpeckers mascot, Bunker, will be on-site to take pictures and help keep the energy going.

    “The goal of our event is to give back to our community and provide an opportunity for community members to come out and have a fun day with their families. Everything about our event is focused on that goal,” said Addison Fisher Cummings, social media manager for LaFayette Ford.

    “We’ll have Q98 out broadcasting the day of the event and the Cape Fear Valley Blood Donor Center is bringing out their Blood Mobile for a blood drive. We’ll be hosting a food drive for the Second Harvest Food Bank and the first 250 guests to bring a canned food donation will receive lunch on us from one of our onsite food trucks — Chrison’s Cuisine, Allisons Fast Food, and Some Ting’s Cookin’.”

    The Fall Festival at LaFayette Ford is not the first event of its kind for the local business.

    “This will be our 3rd year hosting the event,” said Fisher Cummings. “Supporting our community has always been an integral part of who we are as a company. In 2020 when many community events were postponed, we missed getting to interact with and give back to our community. In the fall of 2021, we wanted to find a way to support our community and the organizations we partner with regularly, as well as offer a way to bring people together to have fun with their families. That year, we hosted our first Truck Day and since then it has grown and evolved into our annual Fall Festival.”

    For those interested, there are vendor spots available, but they are limited. Interested parties are asked to contact LaFayette Ford as soon as possible to secure a spot. For more information on this event, visit the dealership’s Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/lafayettefordfayetteville/

  • 30South View High School is having its 50th anniversary on Oct. 13 and 14.

    In 1972, South View High School opened after Hope Mills, Massey Hill and Grays Creek High Schools all closed. This year, the school will honor its past at its 50th anniversary.

    The class of 1973 will host their 50th year reunion on Friday, Oct. 13, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Shrine Club of Hope Mills, 4461 Cameron Road.

    There will be a meet and greet and afterwards, the class of 1973 will attend the SVHS homecoming football game. Kickoff for the game on Friday is at 7:30. On Saturday, Oct. 14, from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m., there will be a dinner and dancing featuring DJ King playing music from 1973.

    Dressed-up casual attire is requested. No alcoholic beverages will be allowed in the building due to the Shriner’s policy for this event.

    “If you have an opportunity, attend a reunion, don’t be left out, sitting at home wondering what it would be like. Attend, get rejuvenated, and find that fountain of youth within yourself,” said Gary Bolton, member of the SVHS Class of 1973 Reunion Committee.

    The 50th anniversary weekend events are more than a trip down memory lane. They are important occasions to preserve once-forgotten and cherished memories. Class reunions bring people together and can create deeper bonds that will last a lifetime.

    “I want us to have a good time. I want them to feel 18 years old again. I want them to feel how wonderful it was to be free and to not have the burdens of the life that we are in,” said Bolton.

    Reunions can allow attendees to relive stories and connect with those whom they shared a unique experience with, evoking the same camaraderie and laughter that once filled their senior year.

    “When you get together, you realize we had some good times, and we really are friends,” said Bolton.

    The South View High School’s class of 1973’s 50th reunion is not just about reliving the past; it’s about rekindling friendships, sharing stories and creating new memories that will undoubtedly become cherished in the years to come.

    Bolton and the dedicated reunion committee have poured their hearts into making this event a reality, and their passion is a testament to the enduring spirit of the SVHS community.

    Bolton extends his gratitude to the passionate and dedicated individuals who have made this reunion possible.

    “A reunion is a good thing, and it takes passionate and dedicated people to put it together. That is why I’m so excited about the committee group I was with,” he said.

    He’s proud to acknowledge the valuable contributions of his fellow SVHS Class of 1973 Reunion Committee Members:

    • Dan Hayes
    • James Moore
    • Betty Moore
    • Karen Reece, wife of Chris Reece
    • Sarah Burden Melvin
    • Jimmy Kitchen
    • Debbie McGee
    • Glenda Delahorne
    • Archie Blackwell
    • Amanda Carpenter
    • Judy Beasley
    • Connie Carter
    • Gail Leaphart
    • Gary Bolton
    • Sharon Brunson
    • Marilyn Embree Raeford
    • Ealine Dowdy Autry
    • Helen Belmont

    For more information, visit the Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/groups/861555351611661 or email Gary Bolten boltonw07@gmail.com.

  • P23The Child Advocacy Center presents the Pinwheel Masquerade Ball and Auction to Unmask Child Abuse on Saturday, Oct. 21st, from 7 to 11 p.m. at the Cape Fear Botanical Garden.

    The event will include an auction, a DJ, dance demos, exquisite cuisine, a photo booth, a mask contest and more. The dress code is semi-formal attire, black tie optional, with an elegant mask, according to the Child Advocacy Center.

    All net proceeds will help fund the center’s various child abuse prevention and intervention programs.

    Tickets cost $100 for an individual, $175 for a couple and a VIP table for $1200. To purchase tickets visit https://www.cacfaync.org/how-to-help/pinwheel-masquerade-ball.html and scroll to the yellow button that says “Get your tickets now.”

    For more information on various ways to sponsor this event and how to donate items for the auction please visit https://www.cacfaync.org/how-to-help/pinwheel-masquerade-ball.html, or call the Child Advocacy Center at 910-486-9700.

    The Child Advocacy Center is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and was founded in 1993 by a group of concerned and proactive people who wanted to coordinate services provided to victims of child abuse and their families.

    The CAC received referrals for 959 reported cases of child abuse in fiscal year 2021.

    Their mission is to help victims of child abuse and prevent it. The center coordinates with various agencies, law enforcement, social workers, child protective services and more.

    By coordinating with multiple agencies, the CAC reduces the number of interviews victims of child abuse must endure by providing specially trained professionals to conduct a forensic interview in a centralized location.

    The funding from various organizations, grants, event sponsorships and donations make it possible for the CAC to help child abuse victims and their families.

    One of the CAC’s programs, Darkness to Light, D2L, Stewards of Children, a child sexual abuse prevention class, uses a research and evidence-based program to prevent child sexual abuse. D2L teaches adults to recognize, prevent, and react responsibly to child sexual abuse.

    North Carolina is one of the top ten states in human trafficking, according to the North Carolina Human Trafficking Commission. Cumberland County’s distance to I-95 is a contributing factor because the highway makes it easier for criminals to transport child abuse victims and evade authorities.

    Further, according to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services Children’s Bureau’s “Child Maltreatment 2021” report, North Carolina had over 20,000 child abuse cases. Child maltreatment covers four types of maltreatment: physical, neglect, emotional, and sexual abuse.

    These alarming numbers demonstrate why CAC, an organization dedicated to helping child abuse victims and preventing child abuse, is an indispensable part of our community.

    These numbers highlight the urgent need for support systems that can intervene, protect and help child abuse victims and their families.

    The CAC does just that. Donating to the CAC or sponsoring their events help those already affected and helps their mission to prevent and eliminate child abuse in our community.

    To donate to CAC or help out in another way, visit their how-to-help page, https://www.cacfaync.org/how-to-help/.

  • uac100511001.jpg Fayetteville Technical Community College opened it’s doors 50 years ago because community leaders at the time realized that it was time to modify the economic out look of the state. They realized it would take a skilled work force to take full advantage of the opportunities the future held for them.

    FTCC President, Dr. Larry Keene is well aware of the great progress the school has made this past half century and he’s looking forward to making the next 50 years just as productive.

    “I am not a hockey player,” said Keene. “But they tell me that when you are playing hockey you skate to where the puck will be — not to where it is — because if you go to where it is right now you will always be late.”

    Like any good hockey player, Keene is positioning FTCC to take the lead in technology, job training and whatever else comes along.

    That includes staying on top of the latest technologies like interactive learning and 3D training opportunities and implementing them within programs that will benefi t students, who then take these skills and talents into the workforce. FTCC currently utilizes these technologies in applications like health care and construction, but the possibilities are endless. Students are able to not only look at an image of a heart on a screen, but they can virtually journey into the heart and learn its functions as they interact with the image. It is a huge leap from what they can learn with just a book and a plastic model.

    One of the things that makes this strategy a success is public/public partnerships and private public/partnerships. In other words, if major manufacturers of products and services fulfi ll a need world-wide FTCC will be there to partner with them, providing education training and working in concert with them to utilize the institution’s effectiveness for their purposes as well. That is the kind of partnership that benefi ts not only industry, but FTCC students and the economy.

    The institution currently partners with several local industries including GoodYear, Time Warner, MJ Soffee, K3, RLM Communications and Clear Path Recycling to provide job training for employees. “The Customized Training Program allows us to reach out to local industries and provide state funded training to their employees,” said Brian Haney, executive director of economic development and emerging technologies.

    Century Link is a perfect example of this system at work. Vice President for Learning Technologies, Bobby Ervin became aware of Century Link’s plans to introduce “Prism” — a new digital technology — in the area. It involves bringing 20 – 25 new jobs to Cumberland County and an additional 75 jobs to eastern North Carolina. He reached out to Century Link and now FTCC is providing training to employees and job applicants. In fact, there will be a Career Fair on Oct. 11 at 7 p.m. for those interested in applying for these jobs.

    It would be easy to assume that putting together a training program would be time consuming, especially when it involves high tech objectives, but that is not the case.“

    We live in an area that is rich in talent,” said Haney. “We are able to find people with the right skills and contract with them to meet the needs of our partners, and often it is at a much lower cost than if people were travelling to be trained in another city like Raleigh.10-05-11-ftcc-article.jpg

    ”With one eye on the future, Keene and the other leaders at FTCC have not lost sight of the current needs of FTCC students — and there are many.

    When a student comes to FTCC their objectives are vast and varied. Whether it is retraining for a career switch, preparing for a four-year college, starting a new business, venturing into a new hobby or taking on new skills in hopes of a promotion, FTCC is ready to meet the needs of it’s students.

    When it comes to meeting the needs of both students and industry partners, the staff know how to make it happen.

    “We listen,” said Haney. “Sometimes institutions dictate to their students and partners because they think they know better. We don’t do that. We listen to the needs of the people we are working with and then find ways to meet them.”

    “We are all about jobs,” Ervin added. “We educate and train people, work with corporate partners and do whatever we can to help bring jobs to the community and have people ready to fill them.”

    Find out more about FTCC and their many programs at www.faytechcc.edu or by calling 678-8400.

    Photo: The institution currently partners with several local industries to provide job training for employees.

  • Holidays are right around the corner and that means that you need to start on your gift list. A great way to start would be to visit the annual Small Business Expo held by the local North Carolina Center of Economic Empowerment and Development, otherwise known as CEED.

    Every year CEED gives local business owners an opportunity to show off their exclusive and lim10-12-11-small-business-expo.jpgited products and have them available for individuals to purchase. This is a wonderful opportunity to start shopping for the holidays and get your hands on exclusive deals that no one else offers. 

    Visitors to the event will find a wide variety of goodies to give to their favorite someone — or even to keep for themselves. There will be a vendor from Pretty & Pink where one can get their hands on fashion accessories, handbags, clothing and more. D-Unique Jewelry and Accessories will be there along with Hope Thru Horses, which is an equine-assisted psychotherapy program. Diamond Home Essentials and Ways of Wellness will be in attendance as well.

    There are about 80 vendors who will be present during the expo this year including several food vendors. Chef Julius III, who is well known for the Bezzies Home-style Barbeque Sauce, is a local favorite and will be at the event.

    According to Laura Solano, who is a business consultant at CEED, “This is our third year for organizing the Small Business Expo, and it’s our first time holding it at Cross Creek Mall. Our objective is to stimulate our local business growth and bring exposure.”

    Cross Creek Mall, being a centralized location, will bring an increased amount of vendors and attendees this year. CEED has a main goal of finding ways to help individuals and businesses succeed. By going along with the mission of promoting growth, productiveness and well being through peer counseling, education, information and advocacy programs, CEED is anticipating a successful event that is sure to please both the vendors and the event attendees.

    CEED provides a variety of programs to the community, both on an individual and business level. Last year, according to CEED statistics, 2,407 small business owners attended 1,645 workshops and $285,000 was loaned to seven small business owners. Along with classes and workshops, CEED also provides many resources to displaced homemakers. Last year CEED helped 148 people in this category with resources like financial aid counseling, the career makeover workshop, the family law clinic and the computers for the workplace clinic.

    The North Carolina Center for Economic Empowerment and Development is located at 230 Hay St. Find out more about the organization by visiting the website at www.ncceed.org or smallbusinessexpo@ncceed.org.

  • 24“Creative expression is the ability to use our minds and imaginations to create something that represents ourselves. Humans are naturally creative and crave personal expression,” states The Innerwork Center.

    “Comics, like any other art form, are capable of complex expression and storytelling.” defines the Boston University Art Gallery.

    Comic book categories are superheroes, manga, science-fiction, action-adventure, horror, humor romance and children. The common elements are image-style, word-image relationships, lay-outs and drawing inferences. Superheroes are a popular category.

    Superheroes are sources of personal expression. An individual may have an inability to express intense feelings and negative emotions. Cosplay can convey the feeling of confidence, strength, happiness, love, excitement, sadness and pain.

    Cosplay, or Kosupure, was coined by Takahasi Nobuyuki in 1964. He visited the World Con Los Angeles and saw fans of science fiction and fantasy wearing costumes of their favorite character.

    Cosplay is “a visual or external expression of fandom typically through costume, clothing, masks, make-up, armor or props. It allows young adults to feel validated and even help them develop emotional literacy.
    In many ways, related to emotional development, cosplay is limitless. It can create a buffer for social anxiety, depression and loneliness. A person can process and discuss emotional reactions to fictional character’s narratives,” states Drea Letamendi, psychologist.

    The psychology of Cosplay is “a method of escapism and a way to be someone else even for just a few hours,” said Robert Mueller, Ph.D.

    “I feel more confident and comfortable in myself. I feel able to do things. It also helps me express my conflicting feelings,” shares Moon, an 18-year-old male cosplayer.

    The compact list of classic Superheroes are Captain America, Spider-Man, X-Men, Fantomah, Susan Storm, and Wonder Woman. These characters address social justice. Spider-Man addresses poverty and X -Men grapples with discrimination.

    Batman is the protector of Gotham City. Superman is the champion for the defenseless and indigent.

    Captain America reflects Patriotism. Wonder Woman represents truth, justice, and equality. Wonder Woman is an Amazon and embodies woman empowerment. Susan Storm is identified with feminism. Fantomah is associated with ecology.

    Superheroes for the 21st century are Jessica Jones, Miles Morales and Kamala Khan. Jessica Jones has super-human strength, ability to fly, proficient hand to hand combat skills and a volatile temper.

    Miles Gonzalo Morales is the first person of color and the continuance of the Spider-Man legacy. Morales is a biracial son of an African American father and a Puerto Rican mother. He witnesses the death of Spider-Man by the Green Goblin.

    Miles Morale’s character is featured in the movie Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2023).
    Kamala Khan, Ms. Marvel, is a superheroine of Pakistani- American descent and Muslim heritage. She has the abilities of shapeshifting, appearance/size alteration, plasticity, malleability, elasticity, bioluminescence and regenerative healing.

    Superheroes have elements of identity. Superheroes display integrity, vulnerability, human flaws, resilience, hope, empathy, moving forward from past mistakes, forgiveness and selflessness.

    “Although comic book readership has declined in adolescence, more than 80 per cent of teens still read comic books in some form...” states Carol Tilley, assistant professor, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.

    “In 2020, 32% of monthly comic book readers were aged 18 to 29 and 56% were aged 30 to 50. Adults are the majority population of comic books according to this market study.

    Digital comics sales were worth approximately ninety million dollars in 2019,” according to the results of the Market Data Gitnuk Study, Aug. 2023
    Comic books and graphic novels address difficult subjects such as substance misuse. Iron man experiences substance misuse with alcohol. Green Arrow’s sidekick, Speedy, experiences heroin misuse.
    Climate change, another deep topic, is a complex interaction of science, weather and human actions.

    “I try to show while this stuff is complicated and super important, it is much easier to understand if you get the context. Explaining a topic is much easier if we tell stories and stories are there, if you look,” said Celline Keller, climate change comic artist.

    Climate-change comic books are Afterglow, edited by Grist, Science Comics. Wild Weather by MK Reed and Jonathan Mill, Surviving the City by Tasha Spillett, and Keep Your Head Up by Aliya King Neil which are available in digital format.

    “All I thought about when I authored my stories was, ‘I hope these comic books would sell so I can keep my job and continue to pay my rent,’” said Stan Lee, American comic book writer, editor, and producer of Marvel Comics.

    “Never in a million years could I have imagined that it would turn into what it has evolved into nowadays. Every comic book is someone’s first.”

  • P21

    The Clayton Piano Festival returns this year for season 12, which will run from Oct. 14th through Dec. 16th. As in previous years, there will be multiple venues and themes featuring international touring artists.
    First up is “Pictures from an Exhibition” featuring Asiya Korepanova on Oct. 14th at 7:30 p.m. This special evening, where audiences will hear her perform some of her own transcriptions of beloved classical works, will take place in the newly renovated Paul A. Johnston Auditorium.

    Korepanova is an internationally renowned pianist and visual artist; the concert will feature visual projections of her artwork to go along with certain pieces.
    “I’m excited about our collaboration with JCC to present our opening concert at the newly renovated Paul A. Johnston Auditorium. This is a place where I experienced so many inspiring events growing up in Johnston County, and the new theater and staff are outstanding,” stated Jonathan Levin, Clayton Piano Festival Director.

    On Oct. 26th, the festival returns to the beautiful Twin Oaks Barn with “The Transcendental Piano,” a unique concert with pianist and composer Jeremy Jordan.
    Jordan’s skills for complicated musical settings border on the miraculous.

    Equally adept in classical and jazz styles, he will present his own transcriptions and interpretations of everything from classical opera to jazz standards.

    “In November, we return to present one of our ‘CPF Live Sessions’ concerts at Hopper Piano Company in Raleigh,” says Levin, speaking of the unique virtual events the festival began offering during COVID.
    On November 11th, pianist and author Matthew Harrison will headline an intimate and fun, podcast-style concert, “Rachmaninoff @ 150,” celebrating what would have been the composer’s 150th birthday.
    Rachmaninoff was one of the most prodigious pianists and composers of the 20th Century.

    The event will take audiences behind the scenes of this live filming, with candid conversations about the music and an audience Q&A.

    To close out the season, the Clayton Piano Festival’s annual Holiday Gala Concert will be held at the beautiful Twin Oaks Barn. The Dec. 16th event will feature multiple genres and instrumental and vocal acts, including international touring vocalist Tyrone Chambers, in addition to other special guests who will be announced later in Oct.

    Levin says the holiday gala is always a favorite among festival attendees.

    “We’ll be presenting some of your favorite holiday music, followed by a festive reception,” he said.

    To purchase tickets and for more information about Clayton Piano Festival, go to claytonpianofestival.org/season12.

  • 16The Greater Sandhills Chamber and Spring Lake have joined forces to bring back the vibrancy of Main Street.

    After overcoming the challenges of Local Government Commission oversight, Mayor Kia Anthony and town aldermen have adopted a more responsible approach to spending, leading to an impressive growth in the general fund from $1.6 million to $11.2 million.

    However, revitalizing Spring Lake’s Main Street requires the support of the community, which is why the town staff and Greater Sandhills Chamber are taking a community-driven approach.

    Despite a decrease in visitor traffic to Main Street due to nearby bridge construction, the team is tackling the issue by organizing a series of monthly community block parties.

    The first event in September was a resounding success, with Mayor Anthony describing it as “amazing” and “a great time for our community with dancing in the streets.”

    The second block party will be taking place on Friday, Oct. 6 from 6 to 9 p.m. With over 20 vendors, including local Spring Lake businesses and those run by military spouses, event-goers can be sure to find a unique product or service.

    For families with children, there will be a dedicated section with a range of fun activities to keep the little ones entertained.

    Meanwhile, foodies can indulge in delicious concessions from Hugger Mugger Brewing Company and a variety of food trucks. Whether attendees are in the mood for a cold beer or some tasty street food, there will be something to suit all tastes.

    Greater Sandhills Chamber will also take a moment to honor the life and legacy of Steve Milburn, a cherished member and supporter of the Chamber. Steve’s remarkable life and his contributions to the community will never be forgotten.

    A special treat with this tribute will feature the band Rivermist taking the stage, promising an unforgettable performance with their unique blend of folk, country and blues. The soulful vocals, intricate guitar work and driving rhythm section will have music lovers swaying to the beat all night long.

    Come join the Town of Spring Lake, Greater Sandhills Chamber, Greater Fayetteville Chamber, Hope Mills Chamber, Milburn family and UPS Store in this
    celebration of life.

    Musicians, vendors and food truck operators are all welcome to participate in future events and connect with the organizers.

    Those interested in taking part in this fun-filled celebration of local art and music should venture out to Main Street in Spring Lake on Friday, Oct. 6, from 6 to 9 p.m.

    For more information, contact Lillian Anderson at 772-204-4439 or the Chamber at info@greatersandhillschamber.com.

    Don’t miss out on this fantastic opportunity to be a part of this community event, which promises to be one of the highlights of the year in Spring Lake.

  • P18

    As the opportunity for outdoor activities dwindles while the weather gets cooler, concert-goers in Fayetteville have one last chance to rock during the final concert in the Rock N’ On The River Concert Series.

    The final concert on Friday, Oct. 20, will begin at 6 p.m. behind Deep Creek Outfitters off Person Street and feature opening band Möstley Crüe, a Mötley Crüe tribute band, followed by Shoot to Thrill, an all-girls ACDC tribute group.

    “Just come out and bring your chairs and have a fun time,” said Wendy Brancaccio of Shoot to Thrill.
    Both bands combine the fun of rock and roll with a family-friendly atmosphere, Brancaccio said, adding that the members of Shoot to Thrill and Möstley Crüe have been friends for years and even share equipment with one another.

    “They (both bands) kind of root for each other; they dig each other, so, and there’s a lot of energy from the stage,” said event organizer Greg Adair.

    Adair said the two bands rounding out the concert series are a great way to end this year’s event with a bang.

    “We’ve been really fortunate this year because everybody that we brought into the Rock N’ On The River has been just dynamite,” Adair said.

    Each concert in the series this year has drawn crowds ranging in size from 300 to 500 people, but Adair said he’s hoping for a larger crowd for the final night.

    The concert series happens monthly throughout the summer each year. He said it’s a great chance for the community to come together and enjoy life.

    Admission, which is free, begins at 5 p.m. with the opening band beginning at 6 p.m. and the headlining band starting at 8 p.m. and playing until around 10 p.m. Parking costs $10. Security will be present to maintain safety.

    The event will offer concert-goers fresh food and soft drinks from Deep Creek Grill as well as water, beer and wine from sponsor Healy Wholesale, Adair said.

    Brancaccio said she and her group enjoy playing ACDC songs because the music appeals to so many people across generations.

    “I think it’s nice to have people of all ages there just having fun,” Brancaccio said.
    Shoot to Thrill loves to get the audience involved in their performances, Brancaccio said, and described the band as “Five girls just having fun.”

    “We have a lot of fun onstage and offstage together,” she said.

    Gabriel Pettit of Möstley Crüe said this will be his band’s fourth performance in the series, and they always look forward to and consider it a joy to share the stage with Shoot to Thrill.

    Pettit said his favorite part about performing is the audience.

    “There’s no other reason to do what we do,” he said. “Obviously, playing is fun, but seeing people get a thrill out of what you do and enjoying themselves, there’s no better rush.”

    Like Brancaccio, Pettit also enjoys seeing various age groups represented in the audience enjoying his group’s music.

    “If you’re looking for a really good time with a band that sounds like the record, we’re the ones to come see,” Pettit said.

    Partners for the event include Healy Wholesale, Up & Coming Weekly, 96.5 Bob FM, Sandy’s Automotive, Darling Ingredients, Boose and Stewart Law Offices, Cumberland Insulation and Karen Chandler Trust.

    For more information, visit Rock N’ On The River’s Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/people/Rockn-On-The-River/100049990406810/.

  • 14The Fayetteville Fire Department is set to host its 3rd Annual Women in Fire Service Day for women interested in joining or learning more about being a firefighter on Oct. 7 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

    The event will take place at the Fayetteville Fire Training Facility on 3065 Radar Road, off Doc Bennett Rd. Women in Fire Service Day provides a unique opportunity for women to get hands on experience going through required physical ability drills, hone interview skills and talk to women firefighters about their experience with the FFD. Lunch is provided for all participants.

    “Many women don’t think of the fire service as a career opportunity,” said Recruitment Captain Stephen Shakeshaft.

    “We invite them to learn, ask questions and hear about the unique rewards of the career from other women, currently serving as Firefighters.”

    The day is a FFD event focused on encouraging more women to apply for firefighter roles with the City. Women in Fire Service Day uplifts the City of Fayetteville and FFD’s values of diversity and inclusion. To register for Women in Fire Service Day, contact Captain Shakeshaft, FFD Recruitment Officer, at 910-676-1716 or email StephenShakeshaft@FayettevilleNC.gov.

    Registration is open until all spots are full as space is limited.

    Employment with Fayetteville Fire Department

    The Fayetteville Fire Department has received a Class One rating from the Insurance Services Office, which is the best rating awarded. The Fire Department is also internationally accredited through the Center for Public Safety Excellence. The Department is one of only 117 fire departments worldwide to hold both distinctions of an ISO Class One rating and accredited through CPSE. Other benefits of working with
    the Fire Department:

    • Fully paid Fire Training Academy.
    • Nationally recognized certifications and credentialing.
    • Educational incentives for Firefighters who pursue associate or bachelor’s degrees.
    • Regional Fire Training Facility for continued education and professional development.

    A defined career development plan allowing Firefighters to pursue specialty training in Hazardous Materials, Urban Search and Rescue, Fire Investigation or Community Risk Reduction. Each track provides step-plan pay increases for time in service and training.

    Multiple specialty programs and divisions including DroneOperations, Strategic Planning and Emergency Preparedness, Logistics, and many more.
    For more information about these and other positions available at the City of Fayetteville, visit https://www.fayettevillenc.gov/city-services/human-resource-development/employment-with-the-city-4136.

  • P17

    Birth is the culmination of months of balancing life while making sure to take care of oneself and the baby for women around the world. What is supposed to be a beautiful day, ending with a new member of the family, is producing a vastly different outcome for black and indigenous people of color and their families.

    The Doula Fair, presented by Black Birth Rising Inc. and Divine Doula Goddess, is set for Oct. 14 at Divine Doula Goddess, 1047 Murchison Road, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. The Doula Fair was the brainchild of Shatara Het-Heru Bey, a local “spiritual doula,” and owner of a spiritual shop and birthing education center, Divine Doula Goddess.

    With BIPOC maternal and infant deaths on the rise, Het-Heru Bey and her co-organizers, Black Birth Rising, want this event to be an educational one, not only about maternal rights but the benefits of having a doula on a birthing team. There will be a prenatal meditation session led by Het-Heru Bey herself, an ask-a-doula breakout session and self-advocacy training. Het-Heru Bey hopes the event will clear up a few things and educate moms and dads alike.

    “There are so many misconceptions about what we do. A lot of people think that doulas are just for home births,” she said. “Some people think doulas are just to deliver the baby, some people think that doulas mean you want a natural birth… also for people to know that they have access to black doulas in the community, there are many black doulas.”

    Het-Heru Bey has been a professional doula since 2018.

    “I trained back in 2018 here in Fayetteville, I had a lot of different people tell me I needed to become a doula. I didn’t know what a doula was,” said Het-Heru Bey. “I was already advocating, and I was used to advocating for us, melanated bodies, indigenous bodies, as far as our rights in the hospital, immunizations and just awareness. Our babies, our bodies.”

    In the midst of the pandemic, Het-Heru Bey felt the calling and acted on it by opening up her brick-and-mortar in 2020.

    “We don’t do anything clinical, we don’t have that clinical feel; everything about me is ancestral energy, our culture, our traditions, our way of life, way of living, so that’s the energy I usually come with,” she said.

    After experiencing the loss of her third child, Nolen, to SIDS soon after her induction, Het-Heru Bey became an avid advocate for women’s bodies and those of their babies.

    “At first it seemed normal, but then the more research I did, I realized that babies don’t just suddenly die. And in also here in the United States, a lot of our babies, black babies, are dying,” said Het-Heru Bey. “I then started diving in and doing my own research on black women, statistics, what happens medically with us, what happens when it comes to our babies and I was like, ok, this is not normal.”

    Her focus now is to make sure moms here in Fayetteville are safe, whether they are delivering in the hospital or at home, and to educate a new generation of doulas.

    Het-Heru Bey offers a doula certification program that includes mentorship.
    Information about booking doula services and/or becoming a doula can be found on her website, divinedoulagoddess.com.

  • 10-02-13-highland-games.gifThe 5th Annual Scotland County Highland Games is scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 5 on the grounds of the John Blue Home and Historical Complex in Laurinburg, N.C.

    “This whole upper Cape Fear Region was at one point the largest settlement of Highland Scott in all of North America,” said Bill Caudill, chairman of the Scotland County Highland Games. “There is a lot of Scottish presence and Scottish identity here and has been for the last two centuries.”

    Caudill added that the Highland Games is the cultural festival that celebrates that tradition and heritage within this region. The organization took the lead after the Flora MacDonald Scottish Games were discontinued in Red Springs in 2008.

    “Once they announced that they were discontinuing their event the phones starting ringing in Laurinburg,” said Caudill. “They indicated that we had hotels to stay in, restaurants to eat in and wonderful places in Laurinburg so why didn’t we take the lead by continuing this festival in this region?”

    Caudill added that they decided that they would give it a try and it has been a great success.

    The weekend event has something for everyone such as piping, drumming, children’s activities and games, athletic games and dancing. There are 15 pipe bands competing and they are coming from throughout the southeast.

    “We have one of the world’s top players, Bruce Gandy, who will be one of the guest judges and will do a recital on Friday night,” said Caudill. “The Highland dancers will compete and will do dances such as the Highland Fling or a sword dance.”

    The Whisky Tasting was the hit event of the festival last year.

    “It is like a wine tasting and folks want to taste whisky at one point during the festival,” said Caudill. “We have 8 single-malt whiskies paired with gourmet food.”

    Caudill added that one is being paired with a strawberry dish, another with smoked North Carolina scallops, and with chocolate caramel and sea salt. Each person participating in the event will get to taste eight whiskies and food for $25. Registration is required for this event and limited to 50 people.

    “The event has been a great success since we began particularly during the time in which our similar festivals nationwide have been hit by the economic downturns,” said Caudill. “People love coming here and they love the historical connection to the region that they can find by coming to this area.”

    Caudill said it has been a great opportunity to draw people in from really far and wide as a tourist opportunity. No firearms, pets or outside alcohol will be allowed on the grounds. Patron and sponsor information can be found on the website. For more information visit www.schgnc.org.

  • 10-09-13-walk on the dark.gifFayetteville has a colorful history, but what you may not know is that it is also spooky. In and around downtown Fayetteville, there are many buildings that have historical signi茀cance and more than a few ghosts. One of the most accurate and entertaining ways to learn about Fayetteville’s spooky history is through the Historic Hauntings Hayride.

    Historic Hauntings has been a fun and educational tradition for several years. This year’s ride is a very special one, however.

    “This year is very different. We have written a different script that we have never done before. It is not concentrating on downtown and the Cross Creek Cemetery. We have moved a little up hill and are focusing on Historic Haymount on Hillside Ave. This year it is also more interactive,” explained Carrie King, the executive director of the Dogwood Festival.

    “Before, patrons would just get on and off the hayride and have skits going on around them, but this year patrons can be pulled into the skit. A prime example would be our amputation scene where patrons can be pulled in to participate. This year there is also a lot more walking. This is not an activity intended for people with limited mobility or strollers. There is just no way we could fit a stroller through some of the paths through the neighborhood yards,” continued King.

    The Historic Hauntings Hayride is a unique haunted tour. Of course, there are ghost stories and spooky houses, but there is also the real history of this community. Fayetteville is a community full of a rich and often surprising history.

    “This is a great opportunity for education. We are educating our community on our history in a unique way. It makes history fun. Bruce Daws, our city historian, and his team work so hard to be accurate with the costumes, props and scripts. Its like you are really on the eve of Sherman’s march. That is our theme for this year. It is a fun and educational way to learn history,” said King.

    For anyone that is interested, the night of history and ghosts doesn’t have to end at the conclusion of the hayride. King added, “We are also doing a haunted house this year. We depart from the Lion’s Club at 725 West Rowan St., and when we return there after the ride, patrons can make a $6 donation and go through the Hillside House of Horror. If patrons bring canned goods to benefit the Fayetteville Urban Ministry they will get $1 off.”

    Reservations are required for Historic Hauntings, and tickets cost $17.Tickets are available by calling 323-1934 or by going to www.etix.com/ticket/online/venueSearch.jsp?venue_id=4265. The hayride will depart from 725 W. Rowan St. at the Lion’s Club. It is advised to come early to ensure time for parking as the wagons leave at scheduled times. There will be hayrides on Oct. 17-19 and Oct. 24-26. This is a rain or shine event so bring umbrellas if needed. For more information visit www.faydogwoodfestival.com/historic-hauntings.

    Photo: Relive some of Fayetteville’s spookier moments on at the Historic Hauntings Hay Ride.

  • For more than 20 years the people of Cumberland County have had access to incredible music through the Cumberland Oratorio Singers. The Cumberland Oratorio Singers are a symphonic chorus that was originally inspired by the bicentennial of Mozart’s death. Since their first performance in 1993, the group has grown in both notoriety and membership. The have performed in venues all over the county and have been represented at many different community functions, often as featured guests. The 2013/2014 season opens on Oct. 25.10-16-13-cumberland-oratorio.gif

    The members of this group of vibrant and diverse singers show their love of music by sharing it with the community. They do this not only through their performances, but also through the diversity in the choir itself. “There are lots of church choirs in Fayetteville, but we are the only community choir. We are not the only choral music in Fayetteville, but we want the community to understand music is for everybody and singing is for everybody,” said Michael Martin, the director of choral activities and music education.

    Choral music does a lot more for the community than just provide entertainment. It helps to keep the city active and is part of what makes Fayetteville a great place to live. Through the outreach for potential members as well as the many performances around the community, the Cumberland Oratorio Singers help to keep the arts in Fayetteville vibrant and interesting, as is their goal. “As composer Robert Shaw once said, ‘If it wasn’t for community choirs there would be no choral music,’ and he was right. For a city to be vibrant it must have a strong arts and culture and I am happy to help strengthen the musical aspect of culture,” said Martin.This year the first performance of the season is on Oct. 25. The performance is titled Life Through Poetry and Song and focuses on how art reflects aspects of life and society. Like all of their performances, the night will be filled with beautiful and touching music. “This particular performance is based on some poetry set to music composed by some famous composers,” Martin said.

    Poetry and music are very similar forms of art that both make use of rhythm and language to convey meaning. For this reason combining the two is only natural and many poems have been set to music. The performance will also feature the Cross Creek Chorale, which is a completely new aspect of the Cumberland Oratorio Singers. These 26 singers auditioned and were chosen from 45 members of the Cumberland Oratorio Singers.

    The poetry of this night will be set to the music of composers Britten, Clausen, Effinger, Vaughn-Williams and other composers. It is notable, however, that there is a theme to these composers as well. Martin explained. “We will be hearing music done by American and British composers. We call it across the sea and back again. This is not the overall name, but we do have it set up in the program so that we start with American composers, go to British composers then come back again.” The show will start at 7:30 p.m. at the Highland Presbyterian Church 111 Highland Ave.

    For more information on the Cumberland Oratorio Singers or their upcoming 2013-2014 season visit the website www.singwithcos.org.

    Photo:  he Cumberland Oratorio Singers join with the Cross Creek Chorale to open the 2013/2014 season on Oct. 25 at Highland Presbyterian Church with Life through Poetry and Song.

  • 13 THE CROSSINGTwo of North Carolina’s most beloved authors, Ron Rash and Charles Frazier, come from our mountain region. Two of our most promising younger writers, Jason Mott and De’Shawn Winslow, are African Americans from eastern North Carolina.

    These four important writers join together in November to close the current season of UNC-TV’s "North Carolina Bookwatch."

    Growing up in a working class family in rural Columbus County, Jason Mott developed an imagination, story telling gifts and a flair for writing that propelled his first novel, "The Returned," to The New York Times’ best seller-list and a television series based on the book. “The Returned” featured the reappearance in fully human form of people who died years ago. Mott’s ability to persuade literalists like me to suspend disbelief opened the door to my enjoying his provocative stories. He has done it again in his latest book, “The Crossing,” a story of a teenaged narrator and her twin brother coping in a world battered by deadly disease and war.

    For many of us, Charles Frazier’s “Cold Mountain” is a favorite novel, blending his beautiful writing with a compelling story. From the books that followed, “Thirteen Moons” and “Nightwoods,” Frazier gained recognition as North Carolina’s most admired writer of literary fiction since Thomas Wolfe.

    Now he has another book set in Civil War times, with another imaginative story of a refugee from war. This time the central character is Varina Davis, wife of Confederate President Jefferson Davis, and until now an obscure Civil War footnote.

    Through his fiction Frazier attempts to portray a true idea of Varina’s life and the times she experienced. Frazier refers to Varina as “V.”

    He builds V’s story around an unusual fact. While living in Richmond as first lady of the Confederacy, she took in a young mulatto boy she called Jimmie. She raised him alongside her children. At the end of the Civil War, Union troops took the six-year-old Jimmie away from V, and she never learned what happened to him.

    Ron Rash is famous for his poetry, short stories and novels. He is perhaps best known for the best selling novel “Serena,” although some of his fans and critics say that his latest, “The Risen” set in the mountains near Sylva, is his best.
    Early in “The Risen,” in the present time, the local newspaper reports the discovery of the body of Jane Mosely, who had disappeared in the summer of 1969. The central character, Eugene Matney, and his brother had become involved with Jane with drugs and sex. When Jane’s body is found, the boys, now grown men, become possible murder suspects.

    Almost all the characters in Elizabeth City native De’Shawn Charles Winslow’s debut novel, “In West Mills,” are African American, but the book’s themes are universal.

    West Mills is a fictional small town in eastern North Carolina, somewhere near Elizabeth City, where the author grew up.

    That main character, Azalea Centre, or Knot, as she is called by everyone, has moved to West Mills to take a teaching job. Knot loves 19th century English literature. She also loves cheap moonshine and bedding a variety of men.

    Two unintended pregnancies result in Knot’s having two daughters. They are adopted confidentially by local couples who name them Frances and Eunice. The girls, not knowing about their common origin, come to despise each other and fight for the attention of the same man.

    On this situation, Winslow builds a series of confrontations and complications that challenge the comfortable order of the community.

    I hope Bookwatch will produce a new season soon. In the meantime repeat episodes from the current season will air and give us another chance to experience these four important North Carolina authors.

  • 10-23-13-sos-band.gifSounds of Success, more commonly known as S.O.S., was first conceived in 1977 in Atlanta, Ga., but they are known nationally, and on Friday, Nov. 1, the band will bring its unique sound to the area as it performs at Givens Performing Arts Center on the campus of the University of North Carolina at Pembroke.

    For a number of years, the band performed under the name Santa Monica. Gaining popularity in their hometown, S.O.S. came onto the national music scene in 1980 when its single “Take Your Time (Do it Right)” sold 2 million copies and went platinum.

    The band takes joy in its performances, but is also proud of their work. Even after 32 years of performing music, each member still strives to make every performance the very best it can be. This can clearly be seen in the comment of Mary Davis, the lead vocalist, when asked about the typical concert.

    “People should expect nothing but the best,” she said. “We are going to take our time and give them the best show they’ve ever seen.”

    Davis’ love of music began very early in life, and based on the funky style of S.O.S, the genres that first inspired her may be surprising.

    “As a kid I always liked music. I mostly listened to country and western because I am from Savannah, Ga., and at the time we didn’t have a black radio station. As a result, we mostly listened to country western and rock,” she explained. “I always liked music and knew I wanted to sing. I used to use old Coke bottles or water bottles as a microphone and I listened to all the music and learned all the lyrics to sing along. I joined the Baptist church, and as a member of the choir, I was able to do solos. I saw the responses of the audience and I knew I had a gift from God.”

    Membership in a popular band that travels all over the country isn’t all fun and games, however. There are a lot of challenges that all of the members face as they travel and perform. Davis says that one of the biggest challenges is just the wear and tear that they experience as they get on and off the airplanes. These challenges have not deterred them.

    Davis explains why they continue to tour, “The most rewarding thing is being able to sing a song that everyone can relate to and bring back a happy memory and bring a smile to peoples face. We enjoy doing what we are doing and enjoy having people relate to our songs and the feed back makes it all worth while. We really appreciate the love and support that our audience has given us over 32 years. We really, really appreciate them.”

    Join the fun as The S.O.S. Band performs at the Givens Performing Arts Center on Friday, Nov. 1. Tickets are $25 for adults or $15 for children and students. For more information and tickets, visit www.uncp.edu/gpac/broadway/index.htm.

    Photo: The S.O.S Band brings great music to the GPAC.

  • 14 Tell me a storyDid the late great writer, Pat Conroy’s late-in-life marriage to fellow writer Cassandra King make him a better writer?

    Just in case you don’t remember, Conroy, who died in 2016, was the best-selling author of “The Great Santini," “The Lords of Discipline,”  “The Prince of Tides," and “Beach Music." 

    All of these were dark compelling stories filled with angry characters and sad family conflicts.

    Conroy had what every writer or aspiring writer longs for, being a great storyteller and having a gift for writing moving prose.

    His storytelling gifts were intertwined with a life that was filled with turmoil and with unhappy and abusive family situations. Most memorable was his relationship with his father, Marine Corps Col. Don Conroy, who became the iconic and central figure in “The Great Santini.” 

    Conroy said that his dysfunctional family and abusive father were gifts that fueled his moving fiction.

    All that began to change in February 1995 when Conroy met Cassandra King at a party during a literary conference in Birmingham, Alabama. Their friendship began around a buffet table and conversations about food. But when the conversation turned to King’s book, Conroy told her to have the publisher send him a copy. “If I like it,” he said, “I’ll give you a blurb. If not. I’ll pretend it got lost in the mail.”

    King, now Cassandra King Conroy, tells the rest of the story in “Tell Me a Story: My Life with Pat Conroy,” to be released October 29.

    I will hold most of the details for a later column, but will share some of the story as it relates to the question in this column’s opening paragraph.

    After a long and mostly long-distance friendship, one that only gradually turned to romance, Conroy and Cassandra wed in 1998 and settled down in Conroy’s house at Fripp Island, near Beaufort, South Carolina.

    Conroy’s close friends worried about the gossip Cassandra would hear about his former wives and girlfriends. But when they learned that Cassandra’s first marriage had been to a minister, she joked, “From a holy man to Pat Conroy. Talk about a leap of faith.”

    Cassandra’s writing benefited from Conroy’s encouragement. Talking with author and Conroy friend, Anne Rivers Siddons, Cassandra said she was writing a book about a group of her women friends, “real-life friends I’ve had for years.”
    Siddons was alarmed and asked if Conroy had “urged you to do that.”

    When Cassandra nodded, yes, Siddons cautioned, “Tread carefully. You know what that very thing has cost Pat. Beneath his tough shell he suffers more about the stuff he’s written than he’ll ever let anyone see."

    In 2013, Conroy appeared with me on North Carolina Bookwatch to discuss his non-fiction book, “The Death of Santini," a memoir that centered on the death of his father. He was calm and relaxed as he talked about his writing routine.
    In the early part of the day, he and Cassandra would each spend several hours writing alone, then lunch together, and have afternoons to relax. He radiated happiness. See this interview at https://video.unctv.org/video/nc-bookwatch-pat-conroy-death-santini/

    And his writing did change. He published only one more long book of fiction after his marriage, “South of Broad," which got a mixed critical reaction. In his New York Times’ review Roy Hoffman, while acknowledging that “Conroy remains a magician of the page,” wrote that his traditional themes “have simply been done better — by the author himself.”

    On the other hand, his non-fiction books such as “My Losing Season,” and “Death of Santini,” although they show some of Conroy’s fiery spirit, the tone is moderated and sustains an authoritative command of his narrative. These books are two of my all-time favorites.

    So did marriage make Conroy a better writer?  Certainly it made him a happier one.  And, I think it made him a better one, too.

  • 10-30-13-sweeney-todd.gifLast season’s line-up at the Cape Fear Regional Theatre caused quite a buzz in the region. But that doesn’t compare to the hum that is going through the community as Sweeney Todd comes to the stage this week.

    The show, which tells the story of love, when twisted, can go really, really wrong. Because at its heart, Sweeney Todd is a love story. For those who are only familiar with the Johnny Depp movie, the stage production will be quite the wake-up call.

    “Because of the Johnny Depp movie, there is a perception of the play as being a horror tale,” said Tom Quaintance, the theatre’s artistic director, who is also directing the show. “But that’s because that is the direction the producer of the movie leaned. Much of what is delightful about the play winds up cut out.”

    Quaintance characterizes the play as a dark comedy.

    “There is no question that this is a horror story. Bad things happen. But the scope is so much broader, and as such can appeal to a much wider crowd,” continued Quaintance. “The play is a contrast between this dark character Sweeney Todd and Mrs. Lovett who sees almost everything as bright and funny. She is the light to his dark. There is a lot of heart in this show, even in its darkness.”

    The depth of the show’s content made prep work for the show very important. Months leading up to the casting of the show, local actors were giddy over the possibility of performing in the show. The auditions were intense. The performers seeking a role had to have the total package. That was particularly true of the lead roles of Sweeney Todd and Mrs. Lovett.

    “These two parts are towering roles,” said Quaintance. “You can be a great vocalist and be in the show in the ensemble. But for these roles, you really need to be a vocalist, actor and a lot more. These roles are just that hard.”

    To that end, Quaintance took the auditions to New York City.

    “I’m always interested in getting the best people in the show, no matter where they come from, but for this show, we needed the absolute best all the way across the board. If we couldn’t have found those folks, we could not have done it.”

    Quaintance knows what he is talking about, as he has been working on and with this show since early May through a partnership with Playmakers Repertory Company in Chapel Hill. Over the summer, Quaintance worked with a student production of Sweeney Todd at Playmakers, and now, he is using the experience he garnered with that show to make this production even better.

    “Going into rehearsals for this production, my time in Chapel Hill really helped move the process along very fast,” said Quaintance. “Actors, like those we have cast in this show tend to rise to the occasion, but having the past experience has really helped to make this a wonderful process.”

    Quaintance said that while he learned from the summer production, what the CFRT patrons will see is a very different animal.

    “This is not a restaging of that production,” he said. “It is a very different show because there are very different actors. I learned a lot of traps that can get in your way in producing this show, so we are not getting stuck.”

    While Quaintance was doing his homework, the cast was doing theirs. Steve Minow, who recently played the role of the Aviator in The Little Prince has the lead role of Sweeney Todd. Leanne Borghesi, an actor, vocalist and vocal coach, has the role of Mrs. Lovett. They are joined by former Miss North Carolina, Hailey Best, who plays the role of Lucy, Zack Burkhardt playing the role of Tobias Ragg and Ken Griggs playing Judge Turpin.

    Playing Lucy in Sweeney Todd is a lifetime goal for Best.

    “This is really a different role for me,” said Best. “I do a lot of roles as the love interest, like Elle in Legally Blonde, but his show really challenges me. I had to sit down and prepare before I got here. I couldn’t have walked into these rehearsals without knowing the music.”

    The role of Lucy calls for a vocalist who is a “stratospheric soprano.” Best said the songs and music have a lot of context, it’s not always pretty, but it’s deep and complicated.

    “You can’t sing this role and just sound pretty,” she said. “The lyrics are very important. They tell the story without being too obvious.”

    Borghesi likens the score to a feast. “The more you can prepare to get ready for dinner, the more you can eat,” she said.

    While the featured artists carry a lot of the weight in the show, the large ensemble, which is largely comprised of local actors, more than meets them half way.

    “The ensemble has some of the hardest music, but they are incredible. They are killing it,” said Best, who related that she was blown away on the first night of rehearsals with the depth and skill of the local vocalists.

    In conjunction with the play’s opening, the theatre has planned several events.

    On Monday, Oct. 28, patrons are invited to join Quaintance for a look Behind the Curtain. Quaintance and other artists will host a dialogue with patrons about the show. The event begins at 6 p.m. at the Headquarters Library at 300 Maiden Lane, and those interested in learning more behind the scenes are invited to “nibble and sip” their way through the conversation. There is no fee for this event and reservations are not required.

    With comedic irony that mirrors the show, the CFRT slated a Halloween Preview Night on Thursday, Oct. 31. Attendees are invited to dress in costume, and to donate... blood that is. Between 5 and 7 p.m., the Cape Fear Valley Mobile Blood Donor bus will be at the theatre. Those interested in participating in the blood drive can schedule their donation at www.savingliveslocally.org or call 910-323-4234, ext. 222 or just show up

    For tickets or more information, visit the CFRT website at www.cfrt.org or call the box office at 323-4233. The box office is open Tuesday-Saturday from 2-6:30 p.m.

  • 15 jazzThere’s just nothing quite as distinctive as jazz music. It reaches into the depths of your core and seems to radiate throughout your being. It’s smooth, harmonious and full of dynamic rhythm. It is perfect for relaxing after a long day, hanging out with friends and even to help set the mood for a romantic evening. It expands into multiple cultures, ages and generations. The Cape Fear Jazz Society knows the impact and the reach jazz has, which is why it has invited performer, Jazzmeia Horn, to provide an evening of culture and entertainment on Nov. 3, 2019 at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington Kenan Auditorium. 

     According to Primus Robinson, who represents the Cape Fear Jazz Society, the collaboration between the Society and the UNCW provides an opportunity to bring in nationally renowned talent, such as Horn, to a larger audience within this larger facility and contributes to the arts culture of the community.

    This is the first collaboration between the society and UNCW, and the staff with both organizations chose Grammy-nominated, award-winning talent of Horn to share her unique, jaw-dropping vocal talent to foster and promote jazz, a mission of the CFJS.

    The day after the concert, Horn will also teach a free “Artist Master Class,” offering students and fans an opportunity to learn from her about how the art of jazz captures her essence and how they can find that within themselves.

     The CFJS presents jazz in different locations, from small to large, with its tenth season currently in progress at The Cameron Art Museum. They havehad continued success to date with a sold-out crowd for its eight-month run.

    CFJS just wrapped up its five-month outdoor series at the Bellamy Mansion Museum, making it their most successful while also celebrating their 10-year anniversary.

    The CFJS is a nonprofit organization and has a mission to educate others on the appreciation of jazz, which is why it will continue to present jazz artists.

    In the words of Robinson, “My favorite thing is experiencing togetherness. People enjoy exploring and delighting in innovative art. Jazz is creative, intellectual, accessible and unifying. Music is the healing force of the universe, Cape Fear Jazz Society has the great gift of music and art, which is the goal of the CFJS. We've been getting it right for 21 years.”

    Tickets for the Jazzmeia Horn Concert begin at $20, and the event is appropriate for all ages and demographics.

    Jazz lovers can look forward to seeing Jazzmeia Horn perform on Nov. 3 at the UNCW Kenan auditorium.

  • 08 Heroes vs villainsThere will be a battle of massive proportion when the Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra performs Heroes vs. Villains at Methodist University in Fayetteville Saturday, Oct. 19, at 7:30 p.m. Up  & Coming Weekly spoke with Deborah Teasley, FSO interim president/CEO.

    UCW: Is this the first time the FSO has performed something like this?

    FSO: The symphony does a variety of genres of music from many eras each season. Each season we try to offer something that appeals to everyone, whether they are looking for classical music from the baroque period (or) contemporary styles. This includes a concert of contemporary music that is readily recognized by a large number of people. Last year, it was a concert of John Williams’ music. I think everyone recognizes his movie themes. This year, we decided to have some fun with a Heroes versus Villains theme.

    UCW: Who chooses the songs?

    FSO: The primary responsibility for music selection is that of the music director Stefan Sanders but he takes suggestions and ideas from a number of sources. The season selections and concert themes are done by a committee led by Stefan Sanders.

    UCS: Can you share the songs being performed?

    FSO: The songs being performed at the Heroes versus Villains concert Oct. 18 at Methodist University are songs from Pirates of the Caribbean, “Themes from 007” (James Bond) “Wonder Woman,” “Armed Forces Salute,” “Godzilla Eats Las Vegas,” “Zarathustra,” “Star Trek through the Ages,” “The Dark Knight Rises,” “Spider Man,” “Mulan,” “Incredits” from the Incredibles, “William Tell Overture” and a tribute to John Williams.

    UCW: What is the best way to describe what the audience can expect from coming to this performance?

    FSO: The audience can first expect excellent music. The FSO is comprised of professional musicians. Then they can expect a good time.  There will be characters in costume, a preconcert discussion of the music by “the music nerd,” and a musical battle between the heroes and the villains. You have to be there to find out who wins.

    UCW: Is there anything else you’d like the readers to know about the FSO and the Heroes vs. Villains performance?

    FSO: Attendees are free to dress as their favorite character if they wish.  This concert is the same weekend as the Fayetteville Comic Con, so we are hoping that some of the people attending Comic Con will come to the concert in their costumes.

    Get your tickets today for your opportunity to experience the battle of these phenomenal heroes and vicious villains firsthand. Tickets range from $10-$26 and can be purchased in advance at the FSO website: http://www.fayettevillesymphony.org/2019-2020-season-concerts/

  • 10-10-12-reading-rocks-worm.gifEducation is the key to success, and a passion for reading makes education that much easier. It is for this reason that for nine years the local community has been coming together in order to support local schools in inspiring youngsters to read with the Reading Rocks! Walk-A-Thon. Belinda Cashwell the director of media services for Reading Rocks! says, “Literacy opens the doors for every opportunity. Literacy is the window to the world, and without it a community will not flourish. A nation will not flourish, so we want the very best reading materials available in our school libraries. This year we are trying to make the move to being 25 percent digital so it’s really important that we have the best materials available. We have a program to really bring it full circle with students reading then using commuters to check their comprehension, and involving the whole family in reading. We want this to be a family affair and a community affair. We are passionate about reading and providing the best materials, and we have great parents contributing.”

    Reading Rocks is a local fundraiser put on by Cumberland County Schools that donates the proceeds to buy new books for local schools. In each school, kids collect money and often local businesses donate to help support this investment in the community’s future leaders. This year Cargill Inc. is the largest sponsor. Last year more than $225,000 was raised and 20,000 people participated in the walk-a-thon. Every year the turn out and donations improve as the community rallies around the fundraiser, and this year the “Nifty Ninth,” expectations are even higher. The Cumberland County School System is calling for 25,000 walkers this year, surpassing last year’s attendance by 5,000 supporters.

    “This thing has just grown. Cargill is our largest corporate sponsor, each year donating $10,000 - $15,000. We just got Lafayette Business Machine and many other corporate sponsors both large and small. Our penny war has amazed us; we raise more than $20,000 in just pennies,” Cashwell says.

    At the walk-a-thon groups of students and faculty will represent their schools, and the schools that have raised the most money will lead the walkers. All along the route school bands will play for the entertainment of the walkers. There will also be mascots roaming the crowd helping in the celebration.

    “The walk is 1.3 miles. We intentionally don’t make it too long because many of our walkers are young students. Our youngest walker has been about two weeks old and our oldest around 90. The people at Heritage Place and other local nursing homes bring rocking chairs out and rock for reading rocks. Even thought they can’t walk they rock around the route, “ says Cashwell proving that you don’t need to be able to walk to support the Reading Rocks Walk-A-thon.

    The NCAEOP Secretaries will have breakfast for participants, with cheesy grits, bacon, coffee and hot chocolate, among other things for sale. All the money raised through the sales goes to scholarships for local high school students.

    Reading Rocks! Walk-A-Thon will take place on Oct. 20 at 9 a.m. at Festival Park, which is located at 335 Ray Ave. For more information about the walk-a-thon or about being a sponsor, call 678-2613, the Cumberland County Schools’ Social Media Services.

  • 14 Thats Rufus In this time of political rancor and hate, it is nice to find something that old time politicos agree on regardless of political affiliation, when they answer this question: Who is North Carolina’s most colorful political figure?

    The answer today is clear: It is Rufus Edmisten, Democratic nominee for governor in 1984, attorney general, secretary of state and author of a recent book, “That’s Rufus: A Memoir of Tar Heel Politics, Watergate and Public Life.”

    Edmisten begins his book not with his birth and growing up on a farm just outside the mountain town of Boone but with his favorite story. In 1973, he served the president of the United States with a subpoena on behalf of the Senate Watergate Committee, which was led by another North Carolinian, Sen. Sam Ervin. Serving the president with this demand for the records ultimately led to President Nixon’s resignation. Edmisten’s position as Ervin’s right-hand man made him a nationally known personality that he leveraged into political stardom.

    Edmisten makes the story a good one. He describes the frantic rush to prepare the subpoena document, including a heated discussion about using correction fluid to cover a mistake and a ride to the Executive Office Building where the president’s lawyers respectfully accepted the subpoena. Then the cheeky Rufus reached in his pocket, pulled out his copy of the Constitution and gave it to the president’s lawyers in a pointed message that they should study it.

    This incident and Edmisten’s work with Sen. Ervin were the launch pad for his political career.

    Edmisten’s prelaunch story is set in the North Carolina mountains on a farm near Boone, where he grew up tending cows and pigs and working fields of cabbages and tobacco. He made extra money plowing garden plots for his neighbors and used a tractor to visit his kinfolks around the mountains.

    After success in athletics, Future Farmers of America, student politics and academics in high school, and almost winning a Morehead Scholarship, he landed at UNC-Chapel Hill. From there, he made his way to Washington, D.C., teaching at a Catholic high school, attending law school at George Washington and securing a low-level job on Sen. Ervin’s staff. Edmisten soon became one of the senator’s full-time trusted assistants in the Watergate-Nixon impeachment matter.

    The “That’s Rufus” chapter on Watergate is good background for those following the current battle between Congress and another president.

    He returned to North Carolina in 1974 and mounted a successful campaign for attorney general. His triumph over a host of prominent Democrats gave notice he would run for governor someday.

    That day came in 1984 when Gov. Jim Hunt ran for the U.S. Senate and a host of Democrats lined up to run for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination. Edmisten won in a brutal primary runoff against Eddie Knox and then lost the general election to Jim Martin.

    Some believe he lost because he made disparaging remarks about barbecue. His version of that incident is, by itself, worth the price of the book. But Edmisten says it was Ronald Reagan’s “sticky coattails” that “swept both me and Jim Hunt away from our dreams. We were not alone, either. The sweep was broad and far reaching.”

    Edmisten felt crestfallen and abandoned. “The ache in the bottom of my stomach was so great nothing appealed to me except finding some dark place to crawl away and hide,” he writes. “I swear I saw people cross the street so they wouldn’t have to talk to me.”

    “That’s Rufus” describes how Edmisten came back from that defeat, won election as secretary of state, lost that position in disgrace, came back as a successful lawyer and lobbyist and learned lessons that will be important for every citizen.

    In a future column I will share some of that wisdom.

  • 10 Choral ArtsThe recently rebranded Cumberland Choral Arts, formerly known as Cumberland Oratorio Singers, is set to debut its 2019-2020 concert season with “A Night at the Opera” Friday, Oct. 18, at Holy Trinity Episcopal Church, located at 1601 Raeford Road. The concert begins at 7:30 p.m.

     “A Night at the Opera,” featuring opera choruses both familiar and obscure, will be the latest of CCA’s more diversified musical programming. Among the more familiar pieces will be a “Porgy and Bess” medley performed by guest soloist, Dr. Denise Payton of Fayetteville State University. Selections from Gilbert and Sullivan operettas and the chorus popularly known as the “Can-Can” from Offenbach’s operetta will also be among the featured performances of the evening. Less familiar choruses scheduled to be performed are “Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves” from the Verdi opera “Nabucco” and “Chorus of the Servants” from “Don Pasquale” by Donizetti.

     Since CCA Director, Jason Britt, took a leave of absence during this season’s first quarter due to health reasons, Ryan Pagels, director of music at St. John’s Episcopal Church, is filling in as interim artistic director. “I am very humbled to be conducting this concert, especially one programmed with such special music,” said Pagels. “It is no secret that some of the most iconic and memorable melodies in opera come from the choruses. This program is very much a celebration of the art form, and full of melodies that will stick with you as you leave the concert. I am especially excited to feature Dr. Denise Payton from FSU as a guest soloist, as well as some of the members of the CCA.”

     In addition to the CCA choir, there will be performances by the Cross Creek Chorale and the Campbellton Youth Chorus. A pianist will provide the only instrumental accompaniment of the evening.

     Sponsors for “A Night at the Opera” include Arts Council of Fayetteville/Cumberland County, Cumberland Community Foundation, Cumulus Media, Up & Coming Weekly and many others who will be listed in the program.

     “I cannot speak highly enough of this ensemble’s dedication to creating beautiful, moving music, said Pagels. “They are a delightful group of people, and you will not be disappointed.”

     Tickets for this concert may be purchased at the door for $15. Also available for purchase at the door will be $45 season tickets, which will cover the four regular-season concerts. Visit www.facebook.com/CumberlandChoralArts for additional information. 

     In addition to the CCA choir, there will be performances by the Cross Creek Chorale and the Campbellton Youth Chorus.

  • The knotCan the struggles chronicled by four North Carolina authors help the rest of us deal with our own everyday challenges?

    A wife whose beloved husband is crippled by a botched medical procedure? An African American judge breaking through centuries of institutional racism? A grossly overweight man’s daily struggle to lead a normal life? A teenaged girl tossed suddenly into a part of her family she had not known before?

    These stories will be featured on UNC-TV’s "North Carolina Bookwatch" during October.

    In  “Together: A Memoir of a Marriage and a Medical Mishap,” Charlotte’s award-winning author Judy Goldman tells how a newspaper ad and a doctor promised a simple procedure to give relief for her long-suffering husband’s back pain. Instead, it led to paralysis and a new set of pains, which changed the lives of her husband and Goldman. She tells the poignant story of how they and their marriage survived this challenge.

    November 1971 Gov. Robert Scott appointed High Point lawyer Sammie Chess Jr. as a superior court judge. Such appointments are always special but this one was historic. Judge Chess was the first African American superior court judge ever to serve in North Carolina. His story of how he came from a cotton field tenant shack to the judgeship, through poverty and racism, is one every North Carolinian should remember. That story is well-told by Joe Webster, a lawyer, judge and Chess’s admiring friend, in “The Making and Measure of a Judge.”

    When Judge Chess was asked how he was able to get beyond the Jim Crow situations of his youth and early law practice, he said,  “You treat people the way you want to be treated, not the way you are treated. I didn’t let them set my standards. If a Klan member can bring you to his level, then you are not well rooted.”

    Tommy Tomlinson is a terrific writer with a big fan club from his more than 1,700 columns in The Charlotte Observer and compelling stories as a freelance writer for Esquire, ESPN the Magazine, Sports Illustrated, Forbes and Garden & Gun.

    He also had a terrific problem that he summarized as follows: “The government definition of obesity is a body mass index of 30 or more. My BMI is 60.7. My shirts are size XXXXXXL, which the big-and-tall stores shorten to 6X. I’m 6-foot-1, or 73 inches tall. My waist is 60 inches around. I’m nearly a sphere.”

    In “The Elephant in the Room: One Fat Man’s Quest to Get Smaller in a Growing America,” Tomlinson speaks to all of us who have trouble resisting Krispy Kreme doughnuts, bowls of ice cream, M&M's, hot dogs, cinnamon biscuits and Chips Ahoy cookies, all the while being worried about getting or staying fat.

    In her 14th novel for young adult/teen readers, “The Rest of the Story,” Sarah Dessen introduces us to Emma, whose father is taking his new wife on a long honeymoon trip to Europe. Emma’s mother is dead, but somehow Emma winds up with her mom’s family in a working-class section of a resort called North Lake, where her mom grew up. Her dad’s family had vacationed in a wealthier section.

    Emma’s struggles to find a place in her mother’s family, along with the usual adjustments required of a teenaged woman make for an inspiring story. There is a strong sense of place in North Lake, which Dessen says was inspired by her family’s vacation trips to a popular North Carolina vacation spot, White Lake, in Bladen County.

    All four books have inspired this North Carolinian to put his life’s challenges in perspective.

  • uac100814001.gif October 17 is the date the 79th season of Community Concerts kicks-off at the Crown Theatre. Since 1935, Community Concerts has worked to provide the area with high caliber entertainment.

    Last season the organization brought in Joan Rivers for a night of comedy in what proved to be one of her last performances. Other notable acts that Community Concerts has brought to the area include: Gladys Knight, Kenny Loggins, Earth,Wind and Fire, Martina McBride, The Doobie Brothers, Styxx, Kool and the Gang, LeAnn Rimes, Darius Rucker and the list goes on.

    The all-volunteer organization also does more than just promote shows. Since 2008, the group has produced The Fayetteville Music Hall of Fame that honors individuals who have contributed to the local musical community. Since 2004, more than 20 young people that have been awarded scholarships to institutions of higher learning to pursue their love of music. The organization also promotes area talent by including local up-and-comers in the show’s lineup whenever possible.

    All of the other work that the organization performs comes directly from the support of the community for their yearly show series. The 79th season will feature six exciting and diverse shows for the residents of Fayetteville/Cumberland County to enjoy.

    To kick-off the season with a local flair, 2011 American Idol winner and North Carolina native, Scotty McCreery will bring his See You Tonight Tour to Fayetteville for a night of country music on Oct. 17. The tour, which began in early 2014, was supposed to have concluded by now, but McCreery said he and his touring companions decided they wanted to keep going.

    “It has been an awesome time. The whole summer was awesome; a lot of fun. Me, the band and crew had a blast. So we decided, might as well not end it and keep the momentum going. We extended the tour and the buzz and response has been pretty awesome with the fans coming out to the shows. It is going to be a fun fall. We are lucky enough to have Danielle Bradbury to join us for some of the dates. It’ll be a blast.”

    This tour is the first tour in which McCreery received top billing. While McCreery is no stranger to performing in front of large audiences both as part of the American Idol Tour and other artists’ tours he was invited to participate in, he said that this tour was a big change.

    “It is definitely different. The fans are coming to see you and not somebody else. That is kind of cool to know while you are on stage. To have that reassurance that the fans are really digging what you are doing. We are having a good time,” he explained.

    McCreery also went on to describe how different the show preparation process is, “You have got to put a little more thought into your shows. It’s an hour and half instead of 20-30min like when you are opening for someone else. You have got to put a good show together to try to take the audience on a journey from beginning to end,” he said. “That’s what we are trying to do. All summer we have had a good time doing that. We are going to change up a few things going into the fall but, mostly, it will be the same show. It’ll be a fun hour and half packed show.”

    The show on the 17th at the Crown Theatre will be the only stop in North Carolina that McCreery makes while on this tour, but that fact seemed to motivate him even more,

    “It is always a little different for me when we get back to North Carolina and play a local show. Something always happens or changes whether I bring on a guest or change up a set or something. It’s always a little more special when you play the hometown shows.”10-08-14-scotty.gif

    After winning the 2011 American Idol competition, McCreery quickly found himself on the receiving end of the adoration of fans both locally and nationally.

    “It has been pretty wild to see. It is pretty much everywhere nowadays. I haven’t gone out into public without a hat on in, I don’t know how long. That might not bode well for my hair over the next 30 years.”

    He spoke fondly of his experiences with fans recognizing him out in public, “Some folks get annoyed by it; me, not as much. I see it as a pretty cool thing. If they see you and know you, that means they know your music… It’s cool. I have got some of the best fans in the world. I am blessed to have them. I enjoy the fans and hope they dig the music, which is what it is all about.”

    Despite all of the fame that came with experience on American Idol and the success that has come along with having two albums hit number one on the country charts McCreery has somehow managed to stay grounded.

    “That’s the way I was wired by my parents growing up. But it also has a lot to do with the kind of people that you keep around you. My band and crew, on the road, they don’t treat me any different. They keep me level headed. My friends back home, too, I don’t get any special treatment anywhere in life. I get enough of the spotlight when I am on stage; when I get off the stage, I just want to be treated like Scotty.”

    After McCreery’s performance, Community Concerts will have five more shows:

    Sister Act Friday, Nov. 14

    Trace Adkins Wednesday, Dec. 10

    Dancing Pros Live Wednesday , Feb. 11

    The Australian Bee Gees Wednesday, March 24

    Smokey Robinson Thursday, April 16

    More information about each of the shows, tickets and/or season tickets is available via the Community Concerts website at www.community-concerts.com.

    Photo: North Carolina Native Scotty McCreery, the 2011 American Idol, will kick-off the 79th Community Concert Series at the Crown Theatre on Oct. 17.

  • Dr. Michael Martin, director of choral activities and music education at Methodist University and10-22-14-cos.gifartistic director and conductor of the Cumberland Oratorio Singers, takes his work seriously. That’s a win for the community and for local musicians as well. The Cumberland Oratorio Singers’ 2014-2015 season opens on Oct. 24, and it’s a performance that chamber music fans won’t want to miss.

    The performance, titled There Is Sweet Music Here, features two local musicians along with the talented singers of the Cross Creek Chorale.

    “We are featuring two guest artists — Deanne Renshaw on oboe and Brian Adamski on French horn,” said Martin. “Deanne is going to be featured in the title piece of the concert and it is quite beautiful. Adam will be featured in one of our other pieces.”

    J. Michael Hayden, Morton Louridsen and Andre Thomas are just a few of the composers that are showcased in this first performance of the season.

    The second concert of the season is the Hallelujah Chorus, a local holiday tradition. The community is invited to join the Cumberland Oratorio Singers in a performance of “The Messiah.” This performance is on Dec. 13 at 7:30 p.m. at St. Ann Catholic Church. Those who don’t care to join in are welcome to come and enjoy the performance as part of the audience.

    On March 21, don’t miss Maurice Duruffle’s “Requiem” and “Quatre Motets.” Popular in the world of chorale music, Duruffle’s pieces represent comfort, hope and faith. The Methodist University Chorale is set to join the Cumberland Oratorio Singers for this concert. It is at Holy Trinity Episcopal Church.

    During the month of April, the Beth Israel Synagogue hosts The Cumberland Oratorio Singers for Bernstein’s “Chichester Psalms.” In 1965, Rev. Walter Hussey of Chichester Cathedral in Sussex, England asked Bernstein to write a piece. It was to be used for the 1965 music festival that included Winchester and Salisbury Cathedrals. Bernstein delivered a piece that seemed to mix theatre music with Judaic liturgy.

    The season closes with a performance of Francis Poulenc’s “Gloria” and Leonard Bernstein’s “Chichester Psalms” at St. John’s Episcopal Church on Saturday, May 2 at 7:30 p.m. The Terry Sanford High School Varsity Choir, under the direction of Sean Closz, will join in the performance.

    Such a well thought-out season is not only a joy to the performers. Martin searched for pieces that would challenge the performers as well as delight the audiences.

    “Last spring, I was thinking about chorale music and what people like about it,” said Martin. “We listen to it and sing it because we like the sound of it. For people who like chorale music, hearing a rich choir piece is ear candy. I was drawn to ‘Sweet Music’ because it has choir and oboe. I called Deanne right away and asked her to join us for this performance. I am driven to make sure this idea of a select choir drawn from Cumberland Oratorio Singers succeeds, so I picked some more difficult pieces for the chorale. There are pieces with eight and even 10-part harmony.”

    While There Is Sweet Music Here is sure to entertain the audience and push the chorale to deliver a top-notch performance, Martin admits that there is something in it for him, too.

    “This is all the kind of stuff we like to sing. I wanted to challenge the choir and expand their lexicon. The president of Methodist University always says ‘I have the best job in America.’ Well, when I conduct, I have the best seat in the house; I want music that will wash over me like a nice warm shower — and so I chose the kind of music that I think will do that.”

    The performance is at Highland Presbyterian Church at 7:30 p.m. Find out more about the Cumberland Oratorio Singers at www.singwithcos.org.

  • uac102313001.gif With Fort Bragg at the heart of the community, the people of Cumberland and the surrounding counties don’t wait for Veterans Day to say thank you to America’s veterans. They do it every day in all kinds of ways. So when Veterans Day comes around, it seems like a little something extra is in order to send the message home.

    For the past two years, along with honoring all of America’s veterans, Heroes Homecoming has shone a spotlight on veterans of specific conflicts and reached out to tens of thousands of veterans to welcome them home, to honor them and to celebrate their accomplishments.

    This year Heroes Homecoming focuses on Korean War veterans. About 5.72 million American soldiers fought in the Korean War, (more than 70,000 of them hailed from North Carolina) yetit is often called the Forgotten War. Friday, Nov. 8 through Monday, Nov. 11, Fayetteville is set to celebrate Veterans Day and honor Korean War vets.

    “With the parade celebrating Korean Vets, we thought we should build on this,” said John Meroski, president/CEO Fayetteville Area Convention and Visitors Bureau. “The Korean War is the only war with a TV series about it. This year is the 30th anniversary of that show — M*A*S*H — and it is also the 60th anniversary of the Korean War. We were able to get several of the characters from M*A*S*H to come and be a part of the weekend.”

    Loretta Switt (Hot Lips Hoolahan), Jamie Farr (Klinger) and William Christopher (Father Mulcahy) will all be on hand to help the community say thank you to America’s vets.

    On Friday, the public is invited to attend a candlelight vigil at the N.C. Veterans Park. It starts at 6 p.m. and concludes at 8 p.m. at the Arts Council with a special screening of the final episode of M*A*S*H.

    On Saturday, don’t miss a long-standing tradition, the Veterans Day Parade, at 10 a.m. in downtown Fayetteville. George Breece, who cochairs the Veterans Day Parade with Kirk deViere, is excited about this year’s event.

    “We’ve got approval for a fly-over, which is always an exciting part of the parade,” said Breece. “Right now, we have 83 units in the parade. And something we are doing differently this year is that all of the JROTC units, which usually march with their high school bands, came to us and said that they want to march together. So we will have Navy, Air Force and Army JROTC units marching together in the parade.”

    The event is set for broadcast on WRAL, and WUNC-TV, as well. “This is seen in North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia,” said Breece. “I’m thrilled for the opportunity to show our community like this and to have this image of Fayetteville out there.”

    City Manager Ted Voorhees will lead the Pledge of Allegiance and Erin Murdoch will sing the National Anthem. In the reviewing stand look for Fort Bragg Commanding General Lt. Gen. Joseph Anderson; Lt. Gen. Charles T. Cleveland, commander of the U.S. Army Special Operations Command; and Wing Commander of the 441 Airlift Command, Brig. Gen. James Scanlan; as well as other local dignitaries.

    “A few members of Congress have said that they hope to attend, too,” said Breece.

    Along with the military units, service organizations, law enforcement, Veterans Affairs organizations, military heritage organizations and law enforcement will be represented. Perhaps one of the most moving floats is the Fort Bragg Daisy/Brownie Troop 1290.

    “All of the girls in this troop are military children and all of their fathers have served at least once overseas,” said Breece. “The girls are ages 5-8 and they are coming out to say thank you to our veterans. It definitely pulls on the heart strings.”

    The Grand Marshall this year is Korean War Veteran and Medal of Honor recipient, Corporal Rodolfo (Rudy) Hernandez. The Honorary Parade Chair is Sgt. Maj. Jacob (Jake) G. Roth Jr., who was a prisoner of war during the Korean War.

    At noon, following the parade, a formal veterans ceremony is planned at the N.C. Veterans Park. Stay and spend the afternoon enjoying family friendly fun and entertainment.

    On Sunday, Korean War vets, along with the visiting celebrities, will tour Fort Bragg. “So many of our soldiers shipped out through Fort Bragg, in fact, Womack is named after a Korean War Vet,” said Meroski. “We hope to give people a chance to remember and share their stories.”

    After the tour, which is for Korean War Vets only, the public is invited to a meet and greet with the members of the cast of M*A*S*H at the N.C. Veterans Park at 3 p.m. The cast will sign autographs, answer questions and pose for photographs. Who knows, maybe it will include a peck on the cheek from Hot Lips Houlihan, too.

    Find out more about Heroes Homecoming III at www.heroeshomecoming.com. To find out more about the Veterans Day Parade call 920-0045 or e-mail VeteransDayParade@gmail.com.

    Photo: Join several characters from the cast of M*A*S*H as they honor Korean War veterans at Heroes Homecoming III.


    M*A*S*H FACTS
    10-23-13-mash-pic.gif


    This year’s Heroes Homecoming will feature special appearances by three of the cast members from the hit TV series M*A*S*H. Jamie Farr (Corporal Klinger), Loretta Swit (Margaret “Hot Lips” Houlihan), and William Christopher (Father Mulcahy) will be in town to participate in a number of Heroes Homecoming III events, helping to pay tribute and say thank you to our brave Korean War veterans.

    * Airing on CBS in the 1970s, M*A*S*H was a popular American television series about a team of medical professionals and support staff stationed at the 4077th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital during the Korean War. With eleven seasons and the most watched series finale of all-time, the “dramedy,” showed the effects of war not only on those fighting but those that repaired the ones who were fighting.

    * M*A*S*H stands for Mobile Army Surgical Hospital

    * The series finale was watched by over 105 million viewers

    * The stories on M*A*S*H were based on real-life tales told by hundreds of actual M*A*S*H surgeons

    * Starting Oct. 21, the Arts Council of Fayetteville/Cumberland County will be showing the entire M*A*S*H series, from beginning to end. Fans will be able to drop in on the free marathon screenings at anytime while they’re going on throughout the three weeks prior to the start of Heroes Homecoming III. It all leads up to the special screening of the M*A*S*H finale on Nov. 8 at 8 p.m. Mon.-Thurs. 9 a.m.-5p.m.; Fri. 9 a.m.-12 p.m.; Sat. 12-4 p.m. Call 323-1776 for viewing details.
     

  • Hope Mills Candidates

    Up & Coming Weekly sent a questionnaire to local candidates. Below are the responses from the Hope Mills candidates, which were not included in the paper edition of the 10/30 Election Guide.

      

    Bob Gorman

    Commissioner

     

    Hope Mills is growing quickly, how can the board control/direct that growth?

     

    Hope Mills is part of the Cumberland County 2030 plan and also participating in the Southwest Cumberland Detailed Land  Use Plan. We have incorporated ordinances from the Cumberland County Planning to manage development with in the town of Hope Mills.  

     

    With growth comes growing crime, what efforts would you see the board taking to address the growing crime problems in Hope Mills?

     

    Hope Mills is very fortunate to have the very best Police Department working for the citizens. One of my top three priorities if elected is to work with the Board of Commissioners, the Town Manager and staff to upgrade our Public Safety Departments. Both our Fire Department and Police Department have out grown their buildings and also need additional men and equipment. As for the crime rate, Hope Mills Police calls volume is up going along with the increase in population, but from January 2012 to October 2012 vs. January 2013 to October 2013 the Property Crime Statistics actually has dropped 5 percent from 912 to 864 or -48 crimes. The violent crimes are up 9 percent from the previous year 44 to 48 or +4 crimes. The Town Manager and its staff will be working with the Police Chief and his staff to come up with a 5-year plan to increase the sworn Officers from the present number of 39 to 45 in the next five years to accommodate expected population growth. This is some of the plans that will address the issue of crime and volume of service calls. They will then present this to the Board of Commissioners for their approval. 

     

    Some would argue that the Hope Mills Board is dysfunctional, what can be done to improve the operations/relations of the board?

     

    The Hope Mills Board of Commissioners had its positive and negative issues this last two years. The five Commissioner seats and the Mayor seat will be up for election on November 5, 2013. Whoever is elected will be faced with some difficult decisions for the next two years. I feel like this board needs to be focused on the positives, rather than the negatives and move forward. The past we cannot do anything about, but in the future we can work together as a team to make Hope Mills the very best. We can utilize the League of Municipalities and School of Government to help train board members in their roles and responsibilities as Commissioners.  

     

    What is the end game for the Hope Mills Dam and how is the Board pursuing that failed project?

     

    The Hope Mills legal team has been working on the litigation of the Hope Mills Dam for the last year and 1/2. The Hope Mills Legal team is having a meeting with the Judge Spainhour and all parties involved on October 24, 2013 to discuss the scheduling. 

    What is your number one priority for the town?

     

    Hope Mills Lake is one of the biggest priorities for the next two years. The Board of Commissioners will be faced with the on going litigation that if not settled on April 30, 2014 at the Mediated Settlement hearing, the law suit will go to trial on July 28, 2014.

     

    In your opinion, what qualifies you to make hard decisions for the people of Hope Mills?

     

    I have been a Hope Mills Commissioner for the past 10 years. I have gained a wealth of knowledge and experience and have always been honest and consider integrity to be very important in my personal life as well as conducting Hope Mills business as an elected official. In my regular job I am an account executive for Holland Freight and have been in management for the past 33 years doing everything from dispatch, supervisor, terminal manager and at the present time, I am an account executive. I would like to thank the citizens of Hope Mills for the opportunity to serve you over the last 10 years and I would appreciate your support and vote on November 5, 2013 for the position of Hope Mills Commissioner.

     

    Jerry Legge

    Commissioner

     

    Hope Mills is growing quickly, how can the board control/direct that growth?

     

    I think that the town should do a study and look hard at doing a moratorium on residential building until the infrastructure catches up. The roads are already a major concern in our area and if we build 100 additional residential structures without road improvements, then that would be about 200 extra cars on what is already crowded roads and inner city streets each day. We should work with the Board of Education to ensure that the schools can handle the growth of 1.7 children per household. I call this planned growth.

     

    With growth comes growing crime, what efforts would you see the board taking to address the growing crime problems in Hope Mills?

     

    Watch programs may be the best tool to help in this area because extra eyes and ears will help our officers. At this time, I don't believe that we have a growing crime problem in Hope Mills because our police department does such a good job.

     

    After much research, I found that the deal number of sworn police officer for Hope Mills should be two per every 1,000 people and we are at 15,000 plus people which means we need about 30 officers. We have 39 sworn officers, this number also includes our detectives. 

     

    Some would argue that the Hope Mills Board is dysfunctional, what can be done to improve the operations/relations of the board?

     

    The board should be a team. It is not a place for people with personal agendas. Classes can be conducted to help with the training for the elected. The residents of our town control which candidates are elected to represent them. Obviously we have had our share of issues this term, so at this point, it is up to the residents to find the source of the issues and remove it. Being an elected official should be treated as a privilege, not a right.

     

    What is the end game for the Hope Mills Dam and how is the Board pursuing that failed project?

     

    The "end game" is the dam being restored and I think that should be done at no cost to the town, state or federal taxpayers. We are in a lawsuit against the contractors to recover our people’s monies right now. Unfortunately, there are no easy fixes and we have to let it work itself out in court.

     

    What is your number one priority for the town?

     

    I want to see peace and stability in our town board so that we can concentrate, as a team, on the issues that are important such as restoring Hope Mills Lake back to what it used to be.

     

    In your opinion, what qualifies you to make hard decisions for the people of Hope Mills?

     

    I feel that I have good leadership skills as I have served as a commissioner for the people of Hope Mills for 11 years. I am also the retired owner of Better Built Builders Construction Company for over 25 years. I am a former member of the Planning Board, Zoning Board, Finance Committee and The Quality of Life Committee. I also have been a member of the Hope Mills Youth Association Board of Directors for over 25 years and a coach in that program for over 27 years.

     

    Note:

    I believe in God and our country, I support our troops and that children are our future. I do not believe in forced annexation and think that our employees’ pay scale should be competitive with the same classified jobs in our geographical area.

     

    I believe that if you always tell the truth, you never have to worry about remembering what you said.

     

    I am happily married to Diana Millen Legge. We have three married daughters Tammy, Chrissy and Bobbi Jo and we have eight wonderful grandchildren.

     

    Jessie Bellflowers

    Commissioner

     

    Greetings! I am Jessie Bellflowers, who is running as a write-in candidate for one of the five positions on the Hope Mills Board of Commissioners. My family and I have lived in the Hope Mills community since 1996. I currently serve as a Business Administration Instructor for Fayetteville Technical Community College (FTCC) since July 2003, after retiring from the United States Army with 26 years of service to our great nation. I hold a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree from Webster University and pursuing a doctorate in Organization/Management from Capella University, and a graduate of the Institute for Community Leadership.

     

    Hope Mills is growing quickly, how can the board control/direct that growth?

     

    Hope Mills is one of the fastest growing communities in our state and will continue to grow over the next several years. However, over past years, commercial and residential growth leads town infrastructure and services growth. One of the enormous challenges will be to address our town’s aging infrastructure where public safety, sanitation, and limited community recreational opportunities are high priorities. These challenges may be separate, but I consider them linked to our community’s sustainable quality of life, commercial/residential growth, and economic development. To meet these challenges, the next town board must approve funding in support of a short/long term infrastructure needs as identified in a workable Capital Improvement Comprehensive Plan. The answer is to stop wasteful spending and fund a Capital Improvement Plan to address our town’s aging infrastructure. We must also use smart innovative and proactive planning approaches toward managing commercial/residential growth.

     

    With growth comes growing crime, what efforts would you see the board taking to address the growing crime problems in Hope Mills?

     

    According to the latest Hope Mills police crime statistical reports, our Hope Mills community does not have a growing crime problem. The credit for low crime problems in our community belongs to an excellent police department, community policing groups, community sports and recreational programs, community civic organizations, and outstanding community church programs. However, our police and fire departments have out-grown their current facilities with our community’s fast-growing population. We must find a workable solution to build satellite police and fire stations in our community over the next several years. 

     

    Some would argue that the Hope Mills Board is dysfunctional, what can be done to improve the operations/relations of the Board?

     

    I believe in a workable, open and transparent government. One that practices fiscal conservatism instead of wasteful spending, listens to and understands citizen issues and concerns, values town employees and one that seeks consensus while always moving our community forward in a position direction. Our community deserves an effective town board, one that can work and communicate together with a “collective vision” for future prosperity and one that demonstrates unselfish representation and pre-eminent leadership. Those in our community who know me know my deep commitment to hard work and open, transparent government. I pledge to listen to citizen issues and concerns, have an open mind on all decisions, and spend a significant amount of time researching community issues facing our community.

     

    What is the end game for the Hope Mills Dam and how is the Board pursuing that failed project?

     

    The restoration of Hope Mills Lake remains a top priority, as it should be because this community quality of life issue is currently in litigation with a possible trial date next year. A year ago, the engineering and construction firms estimated $8.6 million in dam structure repairs. Dam safety will not allow the failed $13.5 million dam structure to remain in its current state of disrepair indefinitely. Therefore, the town has two options: remove and replace or repair the failed dam structure. I do not believe the failed dam structure can be repaired after sitting for over three years. In addition, I do not believe that the engineering and construction firms were ever going to repair or replace the failed dam structure on their own dime either. However, I remain optimistic that a monetary settlement will be reached before the trial date. Therefore, the town should use these funds to remove and replace the current failed dam structure with a much smaller, efficient and effective dam structure in support of the original lake water level. The “end game” is an acceptable monetary settlement or a court ordered judgment…just that simple!

     

    What is your number one priority for the town?

     

    Regardless of how you personally feel about the restoration of Hope Mills Lake, this issue will be a front and center priority for the next town board in their first year. In fact, all parties have until April 30, 2014 to agree to a mediated settlement or the lawsuit goes to trial on July 28, 2014. Like you, I ride by the 3-year-old empty lake with frustration and despair. Another top priority in our community is public safety. Over the years, our police and fire departments have out-grown their current facilities with our community’s fast-growing population. We must find a workable solution to build satellite police and fire stations in our community over the next several years. Another “hot topic” top priority of discussion in our community is massive traffic congestion. Direct action is long overdue to address this important quality of life community issue! We must request a Hope Mills area traffic congestion management study be commissioned by the Fayetteville Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (FAMPO) Transportation Advisory Committee. Just about everyone I meet say, “public safety, massive traffic congestion, and the restoration of Hope Mills Lake are the main priorities in our community.” However, I would like to add community recreational opportunities and economic development to the list of community priorities. These priorities may be separate, but I consider them linked to our community’s sustainable quality of life.

     

    In your opinion, what qualifies you to make hard decisions for the people of Hope Mills?

     

    I currently serve as State Junior Vice Commander for the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States and have formerly served as State District 8 Commander and Post Commander of Post 10630 in Hope Mills. I have served on the Board of Directors of the Hope Mills Area Chamber of Commerce, on the Hope Mills Veterans Affairs Commission, and as a Charter Board Member of the Friends of Hope Mills Lake. I am a graduate of the Institute for Community Leadership Course (ICL) and the President’s Leadership Institute (PLI) at Fayetteville Technical Community College (FTCC). I bring to the table many years of positive leadership experience and education, and ask for the opportunity to help lead our community in a positive direction forward as one we are proud to call home.

     

    My vision is simple: “Continuous improvement of quality of life for our community that will naturally grow and progress in an economically sustainable and healthy environment.” We must focus every day on enriching the lives of our town citizens by creating an exceptional community to work and live in while providing exemplary town services that enables our community to thrive and prosper. There is no question that addressing the many challenges that face our community will require effective leadership, creative thinking, building cooperation and consensus, and a tremendous amount of teamwork.

     

    We are truly blessed to work and live in a great community…Our Hope Mills Community…one we all call home. In our community, you will find the best schools, churches, police, fire, and sanitation departments, recreational center, senior center, sports and recreational programs, civic organizations, various community events, and businesses. This is who we are as a blessed community and our best days are ahead of us!

     

    If you have any issues, concerns, or suggestions, please email me at jbellflowers@nc.rr.com and/or call me at (910) 964-8103.

     

    Tonzie Collins

    Commissioner

     

    Hope Mills is growing quickly, how can the board control/direct that growth?

     

    You cannot stop growth, however you can control the growth by enforcing the town ordinances that the town currently have. 

     

    With growth comes growing crime, what efforts would you see the board taking to address the growing crime problems in Hope Mills?

     

    The board should give the police department the necessary equipment and manpower that they need so they can continue to do the great job that they are doing.

     

    Some would argue that the Hope Mills Board is dysfunctional, what can be done to improve the operations/relations of the board?

     

    The board should realize that they were elected to represent the people and town employees!!!! Not themselves and a select few.

     

     

    What is the end game for the Hope Mills Dam and how is the Board pursuing that failed project?

     

    The existing lawsuit is the end game.Once the lawsuit is completed we will then pursue completing the rebuilding of the dam.

     

    What is your number one priority for the town?

     

    To represent the people and employees of this town to the best of my ability by making sound and proper decisions.

     

    In your opinion, what qualifies you to make hard decisions for the people of Hope Mills?

     

    I attempt to do research on everything that pertains to the Town of Hope Mills so that I can make  the proper decision of any topic that may that may arise.

     

     

    Vinnell Jackson

    Hope Mills Mayor

     

    Hope Mills is growing quickly, how can the board control/direct that growth?

     

    As a citizen volunteer for the Southwest Cumberland Land Use Plan we identified strategies to assist the board with control/directing growth. Strategies identified were mixed-development, create single-family residential developments and provide incentives for cluster subdivisions. This plan will guide development for the next several years when adopted by the Hope Mills Board of Commissioners.

     

    With growth comes growing crime, what efforts would you see the board taking to address the growing crime problems in Hope Mills?

    It is imperative that community policing is enhanced to reduce/eliminate crime. According to our crime analyst 2012 data, aggravated assault and robberies led crime in Hope Mills. There are communities where the mayor created a task force to address the root of crime and created community safety officer volunteers.  In addition, anonymous email addresses to report suspected crime was created for the residents. The final strategy is to ensure that annexations include police resources to cover the newly annexed areas, i.e. commercial, residential or institutional land uses.

    Some would argue that the Hope Mills Board is dysfunctional, what can be done to improve the operations/relations of the board?

    The Hope Mills board and the community is interested in visionary leadership. The position of mayor is a non-voting member except to settle tie decisions. That person must lead and see into the future of what may happen and ensure we are proactive instead of reactive. The town should not have to wait on a plan developed by county staff for us to know we must prepare our community for demographic changes that impact housing or the need for veteran housing, or additional elderly housing and infrastructure. We must implement innovative strategies to enhance economic development opportunities that all concretively improve our quality of life.

     

     

    What is the end game for the Hope Mills Dam and how is the Board pursuing that failed project?

     

    Based on a recent update by lead attorney Nick Herman we have scheduled hearings forthcoming and will permit the legal process to take its course. However, the town leaders could pursue other options for the dam as it relates to economic opportunities as a source of electric or power generator. Again, the leaders should be proactive as opposed to reactive and waiting on the litigation outcome.

     

    What is your number one priority for the town?

     

    The Town of Hope Mills needs visionary leadership. In the decision-making process it means nothing if leadership is not able to implement decisions successfully.  Quinn Mills stated “leadership influences the thoughts, attitudes, and behaviors of others”. He further states leaders see what lies ahead and direct the rest of us; they help us see what we might achieve; and encourage and inspire us. Quinn Mills further states “without leadership a group of human beings quickly degenerates into argument and conflict, because we see things in different ways and lean toward different solutions. It is time to move forward with new ideas and team effort to voice the concerns of the community.

     

    In your opinion, what qualifies you to make hard decisions for the people of Hope Mills?

     

    A vote for Vinell Jackson as Mayor of Hope Mills provides a fresh start for the town and visionary leadership. The community is in need of a leader who is objective and open to the ideas of others. As mayor, I bring years of experience in local and state government working in planning with planners, developers, and engineers. In addition, my knowledge of transit, ADA, Title VI and budgeting are assets. This experience has afforded the opportunity to collaborate with representatives from the state, local and federal agencies. A vote for Vinell Jackson for Mayor is a vote for unity and progression.

     

     

     

  • 10-01-14-cigars-&-guns.gifIt’s no secret that being a soldier or a law enforcement officer is dangerous. But the work is vital to the safety of our nation. Volunteers selflessly step up to handle the business of the American people every day. Tragically, it sometimes means that families are left without their soldier or police officer who have fallen in the line of duty and they carry on.

    Gary Clarke is one of the Founders of North Carolina Tactical Response and Community Care, a nonprofit designed to help bridge the gap for survivors of heroes who have made the ultimate sacrifice. On Saturday, Oct. 4, NCTRACC is partnering with The Range Complex for Cigars and Guns, a fundraiser to benefit NCTRACC.

    Clarke and some of his friends came up with the idea for the event.

    “It just seemed like a natural fit,” he said. “When I was a team leader for the Cumberland County SWAT team, we enjoyed our jobs and many of us liked fine hand-rolled cigars. We wanted to bring people together and also benefit a nonprofit and this seemed like a good way to do that.”

    The main attraction is the 3-gun competition.

    “The team at The Range Complex has designed a pretty nice realistic scenario-based course with different shooting positions and different platforms and things like that to provide some interesting challenges to the competitors,” said Clarke. “The main thing to is to give people a chance to watch these professionals from military and law enforcement do what they train for every day. There are some guys that are really good with weaponry and they will compete. It will be entertaining to watch what they do for a living and see them for compete for time and accuracy.”

    There is still time for competitors to enter the event.

    “This is only open to military and law enforcement personnel to compete,” said Clarke. “We are very serious about safety and making sure that no one gets hurt. Law enforcement and military members have a good understanding of range protocol and safety along with the kind of training that will make this a fun event for them. This is going to be a lot of fun to watch, too, because so many of these guys are experts at what they do.”

    While Clarke sees this as a fun event for weapon enthusiasts, it is also a good way for families to come and see their soldier or law enforcement officer in action.

    “A lot of these wives and kids don’t really have a good idea of what goes on at work for their loved one, so this is a chance to meet other family members, too,” he said.

    There will be an air-soft shoot house, face painting, vendors, food and more. And, of course, fine hand-rolled cigars provided by Anstead’s Tobacco Company.

    “Since it is so close to Halloween, we decided to dress up the shoot house for the kids and turn it into a zombie house,” said Clarke. “There will be plenty to see and do here, and the proceeds definitely benefit a good cause.”

    Tickets cost $7, children under 10 get in free. The event starts at 8 a.m. and runs until 5 p.m. Find out more at http://proshop.therangecomplex.com/cigars-and-guns-3-gun-competition.aspx or by calling 910-670-4790.

  • 10-13-10-passport.gifDo you have your passport? That is your National Park Passport. Earlier this spring I visited the Chickamauga & Chattanooga National Military Park. America is rich with some of the largest and most notable landmarks in the world. The National Park Service man-ages more than 388 national parks, national monuments, and national historic sites.

    At the visitors center, I noticed a book called the National Park Passport. This little passport is a fun way to document your visit. Like a passport stamp from the U.S. Customs, the park service can stamp your National Park Passport book to record and commemorate your travels.

    While planning a trip to Vermont last month, I decided to break up my trip with something new and educa-tional. I stopped at the Shenandoah Skyline National Park Visitors Center and picked up a book and got my stamp. From there I scouted out my route to Vermont and hit as many parks as I could during the trip. Working maps and the GPS gave me hours of fun riding and a sense of purpose. By the end of my 10 day trip I had visited eight parks.

    North Carolina has nine national parks in our great state. These parks include the Blue Ridge Parkway and the National Heritage Area (Asheville), Cape Hatteras National Seashore (Manteo), Cape Lookout National Seashore (Harkers Island), Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site (Flat Rock), Fort Raleigh National Historic Site (Manteo), Guilford Courthouse National Military Park (Greensboro), Moores Creek National Battlefield (Currie), and Wright Brothers National Memorial (Manteo).

    There are fees for visiting some of the parks. Day passes are available and the price varies from park to park. The National Park Service offers a seasonal pass called the America the Beautiful: National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Pass. These passes can be purchased for $80. There are three types of lifetime passes available. A Senior Citizen’s lifetime pass is advised for U.S. citi-zens or permanent residents age 62 or over. Second, a Lifetime Access Pass is available for those with permanent disabilities. To show proof of disabilities you will have to show documentation. Acceptable documentation includes: state-ment by a licensed physician; document issued by a federal agency such as the Veteran’s Administration, Social Security Disability Income or Supplemental Security Income; or document issued by a state agency such as a vocational rehabilitation agency. Finally, a Volunteer Pass is free for those who acquire 500 service hours on a cumulative basis.

    Sadly, there is no free admission for our military folks. While doing my exploring I wanted something a little more than my National Park Visitors Guide book. I did a quick search on my iPhone’s app store and found the National Parks Companion app. This app gives great infor-mation at your fingertips. The app gives you the park’s locations by state, helpful information about the park, visitor center addresses and phone numbers. The app even has a place that allows you to check off which park you have visited.

    Whether by car or motorcycle we all have to do some fun exploring. I hope you get a chance to visit North Carolina’s National Parks. For more information about the National Park Service visit www.nps.gov.

    If there is a topic that you would like to discuss you can con-tact me at motorcycle4fun@aol.com. RIDE SAFE!

  •     In these trying and troubled economic times, business owners and administrators must often get in touch with their creative sides to keep their businesses and organizations in the red.
    For those folks looking for novel ways to keep ahead of the global recession, the Fayetteville Technical Community College Center for Business and Industry and the Fayetteville/Cumberland County Chamber of County are a presenting a one-day workshop entitled, “Surviving and Growing Your Business in a Troubled Economy.”
        The free seminar will be held Wednesday, Nov. 12, at the FTCC Center for Business and Industry. Teaching the seminar will be John Peterson, the founder of The Peterson Group — a media and marketing firm established in 1995. Peterson is the former president of a $40 million newspaper company and has worked with more than 200 newspapers and has more than 20 years experience planning and implementing programs for small- to medium-sized businesses and healthcare organizations throughout the country.{mosimage}
        At the seminar, Peterson will will touch upon some of the following speaking points:
        •How smart businesses outperform the market conditions;
        •How to position and market your business in today’s challenging economy;
        •How to create a growth-oriented business strategy;
        •Effectively promoting, marketing and advertising your business;
        •Examining how your business stacks up to others.
        Tamara Bryant, FTCC’s small business coordinator, says it’s a an excellent opportunity to teach businessmen and organizational leaders how to “think outside the box.”
        “With the economy the way it is, people are trying to find ways to maintain and sustain their businesses,” said Bryant. “Marketing is key to helping these businesses keep their customers and gaining additional ones.     This seminar will teach people how to grow their business in these hard times.”
        The event is being sponsored by several local entities, including Up & Coming Weekly, the FTCC Center for Business and Industry, the Fayetteville Technical Community College Center for Business and Industry, the Courtyard Marriot and Campbellton Landing.
        There will be refreshments and door prizes, with each participant receiving a marketing gift reportedly worth “hundreds of dollars.”
        {mosimage}In order to register, contact Bryant at 678-8462, or via e-mail at bryantt@faytechcc.edu. The FTCC Center for Business and Industry is located at 2723 Fort Bragg Road.
  • uac101211001.jpg With the first signs of Fall showing up in the Cape Fear Region, it only makes sense that people’s thoughts will turn away from summer and outdoor pursuits to something a little calmer — but not if you’re a fan of hockey. In Fayetteville, colder weather means one thing: It’s time for FireAntz Hockey. This year, the FireAntz are pulling out all of the stops to ensure a great year as they celebrate their 10th anniversary, according to Dean Russell, the team’s assistant general manager.

    Russell said the team is going into the season with a new outlook, a new coach and by-in-large, a new bench. The team has been busy recruiting new players under the watchful eye of the new coach, Sean Gillam.

    “Sean is looking to build a bigger team, a tougher team,” said Russell. “We are truly a developmental league, so players come here to learn and then they move on. We are looking at about six former players returning, but everyone else will be new.”

    Russell said he doesn’t believe that will affect the devotion of fans, who have a strong support for the team. “We have even more opportunities for fans to get out and meet the new players. We are scheduling more meet and greets and more opportunities for the players to be out in the community,” he said. “I think it won’t take long for the fans to warm up to the new team.” 10-12-11-fireantz-story.jpg

    The new coach and the new team are something of a fresh start for the franchise. Last year was the first time the team did not make the playoffs, something Russell hopes will change this year.

    “This is going to be a bigger team, a tougher team,” he said. “We start training camp Sunday (Oct. 9), and I’m sure we are going to see a lot out of the team.”

    Over the years, the FireAntz have worked very hard to become an integral part of the community. They have participated in everything from promoting the Blood Donor Center to reading to children in elementary schools. That sense of community will be even stronger this year, as the team celebrates its anniversary.

    “We have a lot of special nights already scheduled and a lot of other events, including the choosing of an all-decade team by the fans later this year,” continued Russell. “Our first military night is at the end of this month on Oct 29.”

    Military nights are one way the FireAntz reach out to the military community. The team has already made inroads with the new commands and hopes to continue building relationships with the military.

    The first game of the season is scheduled for Oct. 21 at the Crown Coliseum. Russell hopes that fans will come out and show the new players the support that make FireAntz fans legend.

    “We have some players returning who were fan favorites, but we don’t think it will take long for the fans to warm up to the new team,” he said.

    For more information about meet and greets, how to particiapte at on-ice games or to book appearances by the FireAntz, visit www.fireantzhockey.com. Check out upcoming issues of Up & Coming Weekly for more information on the team, special nights and upcoming events.

     

     Gillam to Lead FireAntz in 10th Anniversary Season10-12-11-sgillam.jpg

    When Kevin MacNaught, president/general manager of the Fayetteville FireAntz, announced he was looking for a new coach to the lead the team in its 10th anniversary season, he was innundated with resumes. As he pored over reams of paper, one resume rose to the top — that of Sean Gillam, an assistant coach of the Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees.

    Gillam replaces Tommy Stewart, who was released April 7 after four seasons with the Southern Professional Hockey League team.

    “The cornerstones are that we’re going to be a hard-working, disciplined team that puts forth 100 percent effort every night,” Gillam said.

    MacNaught noted,“I have faith in him to be able to recruit and put a strong team together,” MacNaught said.

    “I have confidence in him that he’s straight-up. He didn’t brag about anything — I had to pry stuff out of him about his assets, so he’s pretty humble that way. He’s a guy I think the team’s going to be able to follow and believe in.”

    Gillam, is a 35-year-old native of Lethbridge, Alberta, and a third-round pick by Detroit in the 1994 NHL entry level draft. A defenseman, Gillam played in 662 games over 10 seasons as a pro minor leaguer. He signed with Rio Grande Valley (McAllen, Texas) in 2003 when the Killer Bees were launched, and the team retired his jersey in 2008.

  • Join in on the fun in Downtown Fayetteville at this month’s 4th Friday celebration on Oct. 28. Take a stroll around the historic district, browse the unique boutiques and satisfy your hunger at one of the many remarkable restaurants. There will be music on every corner and many other fun activities for visitors and resi-dents to enjoy.

    “We have a drum circle, belly dancers, acoustic musicians, jugglers. Different businesses will have refreshments, and the Arts Council has an exhibit,” said Sheri Collins, 4th Friday coordinator at the Downtown Alliance. “Also, this year we started doing different themes. For instance, this month’s theme is the Zombie Walk.

    ”In the spirit of Halloween, Zombies will invade downtown Fayetteville at the Second Annual Zombie Walkon 4th Friday. Join in on the fright fest by slip-ping into your most blood-curdling costume and start lining up at the Festival Park Promenade at 7:30 p.m. The zombies will start invading downtown at 8 p.m. and will begin shuffling down Ray Avenue and making their way toward the Market House on Hay Street. The walk will end on Green Street and the zombies will be greeted by haunting music by the Villains/Misfits and others. “The Zombie Walk ended up being a bigger event than we thought,” said Collins, “There were about 1,000 people who participated last year, and we were only expecting maybe a couple hundred.”

    The Zombie Walk and concert is free and open to the public. It is expected that this year the costumes will be even better than last year and that there will be even more participation.

    Other Halloween related events are the Murder Mystery dinner theatre at the Rainbow Room. This is a fundraiser put on by a group from Fayetteville State University and will benefit homeless and runaway teenagers. Tickets are $45 and can be purchased by calling 322-8266.

    There will also be a showing of The Night of the Living Dead at the Cameo Art House Theatre.

    This month’s feature exhibit at the Art’s Council is Witness: The American Vietnam Experience Told First Hand Through Images and Stories of Local Vietnam Veterans, Native Born Vietnamese and the Texas Tech University’s Vietnam Center and Archive. This exhibit will be open to the public at the Arts Council from 7-9 p.m. during 4th Friday.10-19-11-4th-friday-logo.jpg

    Arts Alive!is another 4th Friday feature that takes place at the Farmer’s Market at the Fayetteville Area Transportation and Local History Museum on Franklin Street. Local artists will set up dis-plays and there will be handmade goods such as clay pottery, paintings and jewelry for sale.

    Cotton Exchange Express will be on site for visitors to ride through the 4th Friday area. “This can be for adults as well, but is mostly something that the kids enjoy,” said Collins. “There’s also the 4th Friday trolley and you can get out anywhere.”

    So come out to this month’s 4th Friday and join in on the haunting and art-centered festivities that Downtown Fayetteville has to offer.

    Photo: Take a stroll around the historic district, browse the unique boutiques and satisfy your hunger at one of the many remarkable restaurants.

  • Screen Shot 2018 10 30 at 3.42.54 PM While Hope Mills residents may still be debating what costumes to wear for Halloween, it’s already time to start entertaining thoughts about the town’s annual Christmas parade.

    This year’s event, scheduled to start at 3 p.m. Dec. 1, has an application process that’s already begun. The deadline for receiving applications from any organization or business interested in being a part of the parade is Nov. 19.

    Forms can be picked up at the recreation department’s temporary headquarters in Hope Mills Town Hall or downloaded at www.townofhopemills.com.

    Applications have to be turned in just under two weeks before the parade is held to allow time to review each one and to set the parade lineup and deal with all the logistics involved, said Kasey Ivey, head of senior programs for the town of Hope Mills.

    Ivey said there have been some minor changes in the rules for this year’s parade.

    Previously, stopping during the parade was prohibited to avoid creating gaps in the parade lineup. A new policy has been added that allows individual units to stop if they feel the need to for an unspecified safety reason.

    Spectators are encouraged to arrive early where possible so they can find parking along the parade route and to get to adequate seating for themselves and everyone in their party.

    Another parade rule still in place is that no one will be allowed to throw candy into the crowd from any float or other unit in the parade.

    Ivey said this is to prevent the possibility of children running into the path of parade units to retrieve candy.

    Businesses or organizations that have candy or material they’d like to distribute during the parade will be allowed to have people on foot handing it out as they pass by the crowd on the street.

    A precaution for floats requires them to have a safety hold or side railings for all riders on the float. Also, Ivey said anyone driving a vehicle that is in the parade or pulling a float must be 18 years of age.

    Even though Election Day will have passed, political campaigning along the parade route is not permitted.

    Everyone is reminded that Santa-themed entries are not permitted because, according to the application form, “the real Santa Claus has agreed to participate.’’

    Lineup for the parade begins at 1 p.m., judging of floats at 2:15 p.m. and roll call at 2:30 p.m.

    Contact Ivey at kivey@townofhopemills.com or Maxey Dove at 910-426-4108 with specific questions about parade entries. Questions can also be answered via the recreation department’s Facebook page, Hope Mills Parks and Recreation.

    If anyone needs to get answers face-to-face, the parks and recreation offices remain closed due to damage from Hurricane Florence. Ivey said they have relocated to temporary headquarters in Town Hall on Rockfish Road. Visit the front reception desk at Town Hall during normal business hours.

  • 16 casting crowns 1

     Grammy Award-winning and multiplatinum selling band Casting Crowns will release its new studio album, “Only Jesus,” Nov. 16. “Nobody (ft. Matthew West)” was the second of six songs that will be released early from the new project before street date.

    Talking about the new album theme and idea behind it, Casting Crowns’ frontman Mark Hall asked, “What does it look like when Jesus is our only answer?

    “The theme that continued to come up while working on these new songs was that ‘I am not the point’ – it is not about me, it is about pointing to him,” Hall said. “God is already at work in our lives, and he has a plan that he places us in so that others can know him. We are here to show the way to God by how we live, how we react to difficult situations, how we handle trials and troubled relationships. Our hope is that through these songs, you can see what it looks like when Jesus is our only source, our only solution and we are pointing to only Jesus.”

    The band released the title track to radio and digital outlets and has already seen it jump into the Top 15 at all AC radio charts in just four weeks. “Only Jesus” has 3.5 million streams across all platforms, and it has been featured on key playlists on Spotify (New Music Friday, New Music Friday Christian, Top Christian), Amazon (Fresh Christian, Playlist Cover, Top 100 Most Played, Christian Hits) and Apple’s The A-List Christian list.

    Casting Crowns kicks off the “Only Jesus” tour in early 2019. The group will conclude 2018 with the “It’s Finally Christmas” tour with guest Hannah Kerr.

    Prolific contemporary Christian band Casting Crowns has achieved sales milestones with more than 11 million albums sold, including one Recording Industry Association of America 2x multi-Platinum album, five RIAA Platinum albums, two RIAA Platinum DVDs, seven RIAA Gold albums, four Gold DVDs, one RIAA Platinum certified single and five RIAA Gold certified digital singles. The band currently holds the position as Billboard’s top-selling act in Christian music since 2007.

    Casting Crowns has also been honored with four American Music Awards out of seven total nominations, a Grammy Award for its 2005 album “Lifesong,” and seven Grammy nominations. In addition, the group has garnered 18 Gospel Music Association Dove Awards and two Billboard Music Awards from 11 total Billboard Music Award nominations.

    Casting Crowns’ seven band members all remain active in student ministry in the Atlanta, Georgia, area and tour according to their local church commitments. Serving for 25-plus years in youth ministry, lead singer/songwriter Mark Hall maintains his role as the student pastor at Eagle’s Landing First Baptist Church in Atlanta.

  • 19 Teacher of year As Cumberland County’s newest teacher of the year, Amy Stovall of Gray’s Creek High School hopes to use the platform she’s been given to help spread awareness for arts education and the important role it can play in developing the total student.

    Stovall, who teaches vocal music and choir at Gray’s Creek, was named the county’s teacher of the year at a banquet in mid-October.

    A native of Louisiana, a connection with the military first brought her to Fayetteville.

    After starting her education at Louisiana State and Austin Peay, she earned a bachelor of music education at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke and followed it up in 2014 with a master’s in the same field.

    It was during her college years that she first felt a calling to become a teacher.

    She grew up around music; she was the daughter of an Elvis impersonator who made money on the side during his college years with his act.

    Stovall’s grandmother played piano, and Amy remembers taking piano lessons off and on from the time she was 8 years old.

    She began teaching at Lumberton Junior High School, spent three years at Scotland High School and has been at Gray’s Creek for the past 10 years.

    She’s mainly taught vocal music and choir. This year, she’s teaching advanced placement music theory for the first time. She also helps out with the school’s band and theater programs, working with the school’s theater teacher to put on a fullscale musical every spring.

    Stovall admitted she was surprised when she learned she was a candidate for teacher of the year.

    “A lot of the messages of congratulations that came to me were from fellow art educators who said, “We’re just so thrilled not just that you got it but that an arts educator got it,’’ she said.

    She said it’s hard for people who don’t teach in the arts to understand or see that arts teachers have a detailed curriculum just like other academic teachers. “I think there’s a misconception that we sit in our classrooms in a circle and sing cute songs,’’ she said.

    She fears many people see arts-oriented classes like hers as little more than places where the teachers are glorified babysitters.

    She said that’s never been the perception of her peers of her classes at Gray’s Creek.

    “I really feel like my kids get a pretty good education in history, in cultural awareness, mathematics and physics,’’ she said. “We talk about the properties of sound also. We put all those frames of reference into the lesson, into the things that we sing. We’re not just learning notes and rhythm.’’

    In addition to learning, Stovall hopes the young people in her classes are also growing and expanding their minds in areas that will help them in whatever field they might try to pursue.

    “This is going to translate into their adult life, when they’re working with people in the real-world settings,’’ she said. “It’s really important that these kids have their imaginations stirred.

    “Their brains need time to imagine, create and play, otherwise we’re just spitting out kids who can pass tests. What are they going to do with that knowledge? If they aren’t imagining and creating now, when they are young, they are going to become scientists who don’t know how to invent anything.’’

    That’s why Stovall feels an obligation to use the platform and voice she’s been given as teacher of the year, even if it’s just local, to speak out about the importance of music and arts education.

    “We need equity in arts funding,’’ she said. “We need to protect our arts teachers’ jobs. Funding is a hard issue, and the arts are usually the first thing to get cut.’’

    She fears cutting arts positions eliminates an essential piece of education for children. She hopes to use her voice to bring awareness to the importance of arts education, what its needs are and how it benefits students.

    “To me, it’s important that I’m standing here being the voice of my fellow music and arts educators,’’ she said.

    Photo: Amy Stovall (center) stands with husband Tommy (left) and Dr. Marvin Connelly Jr. (right), superintendent of Cumberland County Schools.

  • 10 arts council Longtime locals are familiar with a pair of tall, friendly red doors at 301 Hay St. in downtown Fayetteville. And new residents can’t help but notice these same doors. Above them reads a simple but stately title: “THE ARTS CENTER.” This month, the organization behind those doors, the Arts Council of Fayetteville/Cumberland County, turns 45.

    Since its founding by local visionaries in 1973, the Arts Council has become an integral driver of Cumberland County’s culture and economy – and not by accident.

    Deborah Mintz, executive director who’s worked at the Arts Council for more than half its existence, is retiring early next year. She’s responsible for the development of many of the nonprofit’s beloved community events, including A Dickens Holiday and the International Folk Festival. These events also draw thousands of outside visitors each year. In September, the IFF celebrated its 40th year and saw about 120,000 people enjoy downtown Fayetteville.

    “I see the cultural arts industry as a dynamic partner with our local and state governments, economic development and educational organizations and institutions,” Mintz said. “Today, the nonprofit cultural arts industry provides close to $60 million annually in direct investment in our community.”

    Behind those red doors, the Arts Council also runs a gallery that showcases art from local and international artists. Its exhibitions highlight and spark discussion of issues that range from the community to global level. The gallery’s latest exhibition, “Touchstone: Images Of Service,” opened last week and invited photographers to submit works that capture heroism, sacrifice and courage.

    The Arts Council also spearheads public art installation initiatives with results that can be seen peppered throughout downtown.

    While most residents are familiar with the Arts Council’s events and gallery, not as many know much about its Artists in Schools program and the grant money it disburses.

    Artists in Schools brings high-caliber arts educatorsto over 80 public and private schools in Cumberland County and Fort Bragg. The program offers matching grants to schools to cover fees for residencies, assemblyperformances and workshops conducted by teaching artists. The Arts Council vets these teaching artists from a pool of local, regional and national talent.

    Last year, said Arts Council Education & Outreach Director Adrienne Trego, Artists in Schools helped students learn about physics through circus acts, create their own silk banners celebrating their school and use drumming to learn about math.

    The Arts Council also grants more than half a million dollars annually to support community organizations and individual artists in this community. These grants include the support of local nonprofit treasures like Cape Fear Regional Theatre, Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra and Cape Fear Botanical Garden.

    Janet Gibson, a Fayetteville native who joined the Arts Council early this year as director of marketing and communications, remembers writing about the Arts Council as a young reporter in November of 1987.

    “That was when the Arts Council moved into the building at 301 Hay St.,” she said. “I remember being here for a reception, and it was beyond celebratory. … It’s been very fulfilling to watch the Arts Council] grow and prosper and become admired by the arts community – not only statewide but nationally – in its reputation for being a leader and a trailblazer.

    “The thing about the arts in our area is they provide jobs and really feed the economy.”

    Mintz said the quality that’s best served her in leading the Arts Council is tenacity – that and “a passionate knowledge that the arts are critical to the growth and success of our citizens and community.” Gibson put it this way: the Arts Council is successful because of “so many visionaries and people who refuse to give up. They know that Fayetteville is this… center of creative expression.”

    Mintz said the thing she’ll miss most in her retirement is working with these passionate people, though she’s not moving. “I’ve lived here longer than anywhere else. I am a Fayettevillian, not by birth, but by choice,” she said. “I will still be right here in my adopted hometown.”

    The Arts Council is conducting a national search for a new executive director who can build on Mintz’s legacy.

    To learn more about the Arts Council and view a full list of upcoming exhibitions at The Arts Center, visit www.theartscouncil.com.

  • Meetings

    For details about all meetings and activities, including location where not listed, call Town Clerk Jane Starling at 910-426-4113. Until the Parks and Recreation building has been repaired following damage from Hurricane Florence, some meetings may be moved to Luther Meeting Room at Town Hall at regular dates and times. Those meetings are noted with an asterisk below.

    Board of Commissioners and Mayor’s Youth Leadership Council Monday, Nov. 19: POSTPONED.

    Lake Advisory Committee Tuesday, Nov. 20, 6 p.m., at Parks and Recreation Building.*

    Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee Monday, Nov. 26, 6 p.m., at Parks and Recreation Building.*

    Appearance Commission, Tuesday, Nov. 27, 6:30 p.m. at Parks and Recreation Building.*

    Activities

    Pumpkin decorating for seniors Tuesday, Oct. 30, 10 a.m.-noon in the small activity room of Parks and Rec. No fee, but advanced sign-up is required. Only 20 pumpkins are available. Prizes will be awarded for the best three pumpkins.

    Ghostly Gala for seniors Wednesday, Oct. 31, 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. in the Parks and Rec community room. Advanced sign-up at the reception desk required. Costumes are preferred. There will be a costume contest and pumpkin decorating contest. Potluck social. Bring main dish, side dish or dessert.

    Trunk R Treat Wednesday, Oct. 31, 6-8 p.m. at Hope Mills Municipal Park. For details, call 910-426-4109.

    Veterans Day Monday, Nov. 12: Town offices closed.

    Thanksgiving Thursday-Friday, Nov. 22-23: Town offices closed.

  • 09 Starcatcher Cape Fear Regional Theatre’s production of “Peter and the Starcatcher” is what going to the theater is all about– inclusive entertainment, inspiration and showcasing great talent. It is a funfilled show with laughs for all ages.

    “Peter and the Starcatcher” is the origin story of Peter Pan. It is based on the 2004 book “Peter and the Starcatchers” by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson, which was adapted for stage by Rick Elice with music by Wayne Barker. The play provides a backstory for Peter Pan, Wendy, the Lost Boys, Tinker Bell and Captain Hook.

    Director Michelle Tattenbaum and the cast deliver a show not to be missed. Like sticky pudding, it’s so good!

    Molly, played by Malena Pennycook, is a young starcatcher in training, whose father is protecting a trunk of magical “star stuff.” After a series of mishaps fueled by greed and deception, Molly and an orphan boy, played by Graham Baker, survive a sinking ship and go on a swashbuckling adventure battling pirates, island natives and a crocodile to protect the trunk.

    Timothy John Smith steals the show with his bravado and flamboyance as the pirate Black Stache. He is prone to malapropism and delivers a number of anachronistic jokes that keep the audience amused. Although his mission is to steal the trunk, what Black Stache really wants is to find a worthy opponent. The villain finds a hero in the orphan boy (to be named Peter).

    Smith does an outstanding job, but as his character says, “No man is an archipelago,” and he shares the stage with a tremendous cast.

    Local actress Becca Vourvoulas plays Mrs. Bumbrake, Molly’s nanny. James Martin is Lord Leonard Aster, Molly’s father. Paul Urriola plays Alf, a sailor aboard The Neverland. The ensemble includes Zane Burkhardt, Michael Carney, Karsten Otto, Justin Toyer, John Salvatore and Ben Schrager.

    A standing ovation goes out to the cast and crew for the fine production, where just about everything stands out as a quality effort – from the stage direction to the set decoration. The ensemble cast merges nationally recognized actors with local talent and is a testament to the leadership and artistic vision that makes CFRT such a gem for the local community.

    CFRT backstage veterans David Rawlins (scenic artist), Kenneth Blinn (production coordinator) and Bryan Hitzigrath (sound designer) are joined by regional and national talents Robin Vest (set designer) and Marika Kent (lighting designer), among others, to do an amazing job of making the words on the page come to life for the audience.

    A special shout-out to the CFRT interns, who make sure all the prop and costume changes go smoothly backstage. They are surely on their toes for this production, making sure the right actor has the right sword, fish or flying cat in hand when he or she re-enters stage right.

    At first glance, the set may seem minimal compared to some productions at CFRT, but it is quite extravagant in its styling and detail. The wooden planks and boxes that make up the foundation of the ships and the island prove versatile and accommodating to the volume of movement during the show. The set beautifully fits a child’s imagination of a fanciful story of pirates, singing mermaids, ships and a fearsome crocodile.

    Also noteworthy are the efficient costumes by Whitney Locher. The quick changes for the ensemble cast members display a sense of creativity and splendor that add to the characters without detracting from the performance itself.

    I could say something about the mermaids and their costumes at this point, but nothing I can write here would do justice to the performance at the beginning of Act 2. That is where the whole show changed for me. I admit, I thought the first 30 minutes or so was a bit wordy and slow. However, the rest of the audience thought otherwise, as indicated by their laughter and applause (as well as my own post-show polling of anyone under four feet tall). The rest of the audience found the heavy dialogue at the beginning of the show to be a quiet buildup to the action that followed. For the entire second act, I was applauding and giggling. It was fast-paced and had a rewarding conclusion for all Peter Pan fans.

    Fans and newcomers to theater will not be disappointed in this show. It is a treat for theater-goers of all ages.

    “Peter and the Starcatcher” runs through Nov 11. Military Appreciation Night will be Nov. 1. A sensory-friendly performance sponsored by Blue Cross Blue Shield will be Nov. 4. To reserve your tickets or get more information, visit www.cfrt.org or call 910-323-4233.

  • 18 hope mills A handful of elected Hope Mills government leaders, along with some members of the town staff, recently toured some of the town’s undeveloped property. The purpose was to put eyes on what’s there in order to hopefully solidify plans for what can be done with the land.

    Hope Mills Mayor Jackie Warner, Mayor Pro Tem Mike Mitchell and commissioners Jerry Legge and Meg Larson were among those who took part in the in-person inspection of the old golf course, the planned Heritage Park and the remnants of Hope Mills Lake No. 2.

    “I think the main reason we did it was so the board would be familiar with the properties,’’ Warner said. She said the walk helped the board members get a visual feel for what may or may not be feasible at the various locations.

    Warner said she previously visited the golf course four years ago when it was about to be returned to the town.

    She noted some or all of the properties had undergone numerous changes over time.

    The golf course in particular has become more overgrown in the wooded areas. Some trails and paths for golf carts have been washed away because of flooding caused by Hurricanes Matthew and Florence.

    “There are areas where it gets really soggy due to the fact we had a good bit of flooding,’’ Warner said.

    At Heritage Park, where there are remnants of the old mill, there is a lot more graffiti.

    Warner thinks that of the three locations that were toured, the one that offers the most promise for quickest development is Heritage Park.

    “We have a plan for it,’’ she said. “We had it set up as phase three of the lake park plan.’’ That plan is currently on hold at the request of the Board of Commissioners. Warner feels if the plan was put into motion it would be the easiest to complete and the least expensive of the three.

    As for the golf course property, Warner is optimistic about getting grant funding to move forward. But she’s concerned that it will be far more expensive to advance the kind of projects the community has expressed an interest in seeing developed.

    “I think we’re going to have to have partnerships,’’ she said of development of the golf course property. “I’m much in favor of partnerships with the YMCA or others to fund things that the community wants there.’’

    She doesn’t think a good portion.of Hope Mills Lake No. 2 can be used for many things because of the terrain there.

    This was the area that the Lone Survivor Foundation attempted to purchase for use as a veterans retreat. The LSF was repeatedly rejected by the Hope Mills Board of Commissioners in its quest.

    Warner said even if the land around Hope Mills Lake No. 2 is left in a natural state and opened to the public for recreational use, the town will have to spend some money to make the area more secure.

    Another problem at the site is it’s been used as a place for the town to dump rocks and gravel.

    “If we leave it natural and you have access to it, I think you’ll have to have some form of lighting, some form of monitoring to make sure you don’t have injury or people in there that shouldn’t be in there,’’ Warner said. “There would be a lot of cleanup that would have to be done.’’

  • 08COSFor 27 years this season, the Cumberland Oratorio Singers have been performing traditional choral music throughout the Sandhills – and not without getting the community’s attention. The group was inducted into the Fayetteville Music Hall of Fame for 25 years of service under the leadership of Michael Martin, and has recently established a new youth choir, the Campbellton Youth Chorus. To celebrate the group’s achievements, COS will kick off its 27th season with some unexpected sounds. “A Night of Jazz” is set for Friday, Oct. 19, at Holy Trinity Episcopal Church at 7:30 p.m. 

    For “A Night of Jazz,” the Singers will collaborate with the Fayetteville Technical Community College Choir to perform classic jazz hits from the ’30s and ’40s. According to COS Choral Director Jason Britt, “COS alone is great, but when you add more people to it, it can become really great.” 

    Moreover, the collaboration is an attempt to unify Cumberland County and broaden COS’ audience. “By reaching out to the community, with more people, we can do bigger and better things,” said Britt. 

    The COS plan to team up with a jazz combo band and are set to perform pieces such as “I’ve Got a Crush on You,” “They Can’t Take That Away from Me,” “A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square,” “You Make Me Feel So Young,” “The Way You Look Tonight” and “I Got Rhythm,” among others. 

    For most of the group’s existence, the COS has performed captivating traditional pieces that its audience has grown to expect and love. The ensemble’s director, however, is excited to introduce new styles into the group’s repertoire. 

      “My emphasis on this season is to try to relate to the people a little better by performing music that might be recognizable to our audience members,” said Britt. “For the last 26 years, the Cumberland Oratorio Singers have had a reputation of preserving traditional choral music, and I realized that not everybody is a fan of that.” 

      While Britt and many of the members of the ensemble, not to mention its audience, cherish the more traditional works, the group is ready to adopt some new sounds. “A Night of Jazz” is the COS’ first step to achieving this goal. 

      Jazz isn’t the only genre to expect from the Singers’ upcoming season. “I included one night of just traditional music (in this season),” Britt said. “I really didn’t want to alienate our base – some members really expect traditional choral works, and we love performing them.” 

      This year’s COS season includes “A Night of Screen and Stage,” which will include popular hits from famous movies; “Messiah Sings!” a Christmas cantata featuring Handel’s beloved “Messiah;” and “A Night with the Masters,” which features traditional choral pieces by artists such as Mozart and Schubert. 

      “We really wanted a variety of things,” Britt summarized. “It’s very refreshing not to do the same thing every time; you have a variety of elements that make things interesting.” 

      Tickets for the Oct. 19 season opener, “A Night of Jazz,” can be purchased for $15 at the door. Students with ID can purchase tickets for $5. Holy Trinity Episcopal Church is located at 1601 Raeford Rd. 

      Season tickets are $45. Learn more at www.singwithcos.org. 

  • Meetings 

    For details about all meetings and activities, including location where not listed, call Town Clerk Jane Starling at 910-426-4113. Until the Parks and Recreation building has been repaired following damage from Hurricane Florence, some meetings may be moved to Luther Meeting Room at Town Hall at regular dates and times. Those meetings are noted with an asterisk below. 

    Senior Citizens Advisory CommitteeWednesday, Oct. 24, 4 p.m., at Hope Mills Parks Senior Center. 

    Veterans Affairs CommissionThursday, Oct. 25, 7 p.m. at Parks and Recreation Building.* 

    Activities 

    Pumpkin decorating for seniorsTuesday, Oct. 30, 10 a.m.-noon in the small activity room of Parks and Rec. No fee, but advanced sign-up is required. Only 20 pumpkins are available. Prizes will be awarded for the best three pumpkins.  

    Ghostly Gala for seniorsWednesday, Oct. 31, 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. in the Parks and Rec community room. Advanced sign-up at the reception desk required. Costumes are preferred. There will be a costume contest and pumpkin decorating contest. Potluck social. Bring main dish, side dish or dessert. 

    Trunk R TreatWednesday, Oct. 31, 6-8 p.m. at Hope Mills Municipal Park. For details, call 910-426-4109. 

    Promote yourself:Email hopemills@upandcomingweekly.com. 

  • 13BachtoberThe Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra is committed to educating, entertaining and inspiring the citizens of the Fayetteville, North Carolina, region as the leading musical resource. Making first-rate music affordable takes some creativity, though. That creativity manifests in forms like the FSO’s Bachtoberfest fundraiser, which is set for Thursday, Oct. 18, from 6-9 p.m. 

    “This event helps support a lot of the things we do,” said FSO CEO and President Christine Kastner. “Our ticket prices are (kept) low. They really only cover 20 percent of the cost of a concert, so we have to fundraise and get grants to cover the rest. 

    “We want to keep ticket prices affordable, so we really can’t go higher... or it limits who can come to the shows. Our tickets for concerts and other events are $30 and below.” 

    Like its concerts, the symphony’s fundraisers are inventive and fun. Bachtoberfest will take place in a local, private biergarten and will include delicious German fare prepared by the symphony’s board members. Think bratwursts and German potato salad. Guests can wash it down with a sudsy brew and sample 10 craft beers. Bright Light Brewing Co., Dirtbag Ales Brewery and Taproom, Southern Pines Brewing Company and Healy Wholesale will provide the evening’s beverages. 

    “There will be some games going on, too – relay races with a full beer stein and some of those kinds of fun games,” said Kastner. 

    FSO musicians will play music throughout the event. “There will be oompah music as well as jazz to keep the evening flowing,” Kastner said. “The location has a fire pit, so you can make your own s’mores, too.” 

    Bachtoberfest is intentionally casual and laid back to make it inviting to people who may have preconceived ideas about the symphony. “People think of the symphony as formal and stuffy, and we are not,” Kastner said. 

    The FSO has another fundraiser planned for November – Friendsgiving Brewery Tour, which will include tastings from Bright Light Brewing Co., Dirtbag Ales Brewery and Taproom, Mash House Brewing Company, World of Beer and Paddy’s Irish Pub. 

    These fundraisers not only help keep ticket costs low, they support outreach initiatives like the Nov. 3 free children’s concert, “Once Upon a Symphony.” The concert is for young and special-needs children. 

    “(The children) can move around as they need to and sit on the floor or the bleachers,” said Kastner. “The whole program is kid-friendly. We will have music from ‘Frozen,’ ‘Harry Potter,’ ‘Star Wars’ and ‘Superman.’ It is a way for families to introduce young kids to the symphony.”

    Tickets for the Oct. 18 Bachtoberfest are $75 per person. Call the symphony office at 910-433-4690 or go to www.fayettevillesymphony.org and click on the Support and Events tab, then Special Events. 

  • If you are looking for employment in today’s difficult market, this fair may offer just the ticket — and it’s free! The Cumberland County Department of Social Services (DSS), in partnership with other community agencies and businesses, is holding its Fall into Work Job Fair on Wednesday, Oct.12, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Crown Expo Center.

    More than 100 employers are expected to attend the job fair, and employment opportunities span several fields, including business, education, government, food service and hospitality, childcare, customer service, distribution, healthcare and more.

    “It is free,” said Robert Relyea, employment coordinator with the DSS. “Anybody seeking a job is welcome to come to this. It doesn’t matter where you’re from. In the past, we’ve talked to people from all over the Southeast.”

    “Work First started in 1996, and Gov. (Jim) Hunt wanted all 100 counties in North Carolina through the DSS and Work First program to do an event like a job fair,” Relyea said. “So we did ours, and probably had one of the most successful in the state. Fayetteville Tech was our original partner; in fact, we held the fi rst one at Fayetteville Tech because at the time, we didn’t have our facility set up. We probably had about 45-50 vendors (employers), and we might have had around 1,200 people come through it, which was big back in ’96. We had a much better economy. We decided to keep doing it, and we started doing them here at the agency.”

    Over the years, the agency has held more than 20 such events. The original fair took place in March, and after its positive outcome, the DSS offered another fair in the fall, which was also successful. For 10 years, the agency and its partners offered two fairs a year. Their success contributed to the growth and eventual move of the fair to a larger venue at the Crown Expo Center.

    “We used to have them down here at the DSS,” said Relyea, “but we basically outgrew our area. Parking became a bad issue, so DSS decided we better find a bigger location for the event. And we went from having around 70 or so vendors per event and really having them squeezed together to having 100-plus with plenty of room.”

    The job fair now takes place once a year, and the numbers of attendees and partners have increased as well. Fayetteville Tech has remained a partner, joined by the City of Fayetteville Community Development Department, Beasley Broadcast Group, Inc. and Fayetteville-Cumberland County Chamber of Commerce and business sponsors Fayetteville PWC and Hardee’s restaurants. This year’s turnout is expected to be at least comparable to last year’s.

    “Last year, 4,700 people come through the event,” said Relyea. “This year, we’re hoping to be as helpful, although it would be nice to see fewer people. That might mean the economy is a little bit better off. We’re probably going to see around the same number. Things don’t seem, job wise, a whole lot better than they’ve been in the last year. ”

    And with competition keen for jobs, Relyea offered several valuable points for jobseekers:

    • Bring plenty of résumés and pens, as no resources for making copies exists.

    • Prepare a brief statement about yourself. Employers can spend only a few minutes with each applicant. The more concise you can be with what you have to offer, the better off you’ll be because you’ll give the employer that important information right off the top.

    • Talk to vendors and understand what you need to do next. Understand each vendor’s hiring practice so you will know what to do.

    • Make sure to get a vendor’s name, address and business card. When you leave the job fair, immediately write a thank you note to each vendor for spending time talking with you.

    • Dress well –– neat and presentable. Look representative of the type of jobs you’re going to apply for. If that means a coat and tie, that is what you should wear. Avoid large jewelry; be really conservative in dress and accessories.

    For more information on a great opportunity to meet many potential employers, call (910) 677-2222 or (910) 677-2177 or visit www.ccdssnc.com/Job_Fair.htm.

  • 16 Zorb ballsThe addition of live music and a beer garden highlight the major changes for this year’s 19th annual observance of Ole Mill Days in Hope Mills. 

    The weekend event, scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 27, with a street dance kicking things off the day before, is the town’s annual celebration of its heritage as a mill village when textiles were king in North Carolina. 

    Kasey Ivey, who heads up senior programs for the Hope Mills Parks and Recreation Department, doesn’t think of this year’s Ole Mill Days as expanding. “More like a revision, I would say,’’ she said. 

    The party actually starts Oct. 26, with a Friday night street dance on Trade Street featuring a live deejay. 

    There will be food trucks, and some of the Trade Street businesses will be open to customers during the dance. 

    The beer garden and the live music are among the biggest new offerings the following day. 

    The town’s board of commissioners approved the sale and consumption of alcohol at Ole Mill Days, and a local business, Dirtbag Ales Brewery and Taproom, will be the vendor for the beer garden. 

    Ivey made it clear that access to the beer garden will be controlled and people who take part in it won’t be allowed to wander around other Ole Mill Days events with beer in their possession. 

    She said town officials are working on finalizing the map for the various activities, which will be taking place on the two ball fields at Hope Mills Municipal Park. 

    The addition of the beer garden and the live music is causing them to rethink where everything will be located. 

    For the beer garden, she said plans are being made to keep it totally separate from the various child-related activities that are offered on Ole Mill Days. She said the town has portable fencing and a physical barrier will be erected to contain patrons of the beer garden and keep them from milling around freely with the rest of the crowd. 

       Patrons who are of legal drinking age will be provided with a wristband to indicate they’ve been cleared to purchase alcohol. 

       The other new attraction, live music, will be the Cumberland County Line bluegrass band. They are scheduled to perform from 4-6 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 27. 

       Ivey said the band was included in hopes of encouraging people to stay around longer at Ole Mill Days, or to get them to return later in the day and bring other people with them. 

       One of the new attractions for children is Zorb Balls. These are giant inflatable balls that people can actually get inside of and bounce off each other. 

       The rest of Ole Mills Days features traditional favorites. 

       Things get started at 10 a.m. with an assortment of food vendors, craft vendors, some local businesses as well as appearances by various politicians running for office. 

       One event that will be missing from Ole Mill Days is the annual Chamber of Commerce Chili Cookoff, which has been moved to Nov. 10 and will be hosted by Dirtbag Ales. 

       The activities for children will also start at 10 a.m. and, in addition to the Zorb Balls, will include a variety of inflatable attractions like bounce houses. 

       At noon, Mayor Jackie Warner will give the official welcome, followed by the playing of the national anthem and an introduction of various local beauty queens named during the year. All of this will take place on Fields 1 and 2 at Municipal Park on Rockfish Road. 

       From noon until 4 p.m., the antique tractor pull, a staple of Ole Mill Days, will be held. Plans are also in the works to have a petting zoo and pony rides. 

       The extremely popular wing-eating contest sponsored by Zaxby’s is scheduled for 2 p.m. 

       Another popular event of the festival, the annual reunion of millworkers, had to be relocated this year because the recreation center is still closed due to damage from Hurricane Florence. 

       The millworkers will gather in the boardroom at Town Hall from 2-4 p.m. The reunion is coordinated by the Historical Commission of the town and sponsored by the parks and recreation department. 

       The day will close with a showing of the family-friendly movie “Hotel Transylvania” at 6:30 p.m. in the park. 

       Ivey said parking is first-come, first-served and people will need to be patient because there will be fall league ball games taking place on the fields adjacent to Fields 1 and 2 at Municipal Park. 

       If anyone has questions about Ole Mill Days, they can call 910-426-4109 or send messages through the Hope Mills Parks and Recreation Department Facebook page. If they need to meet someone face-to-face, the recreation department offices are temporarily located in Town Hall. Stop by the front desk there during normal business hours. 

  • 11OthelLIT“Othello” is a Shakespearean tragedy, based on Giovanni Battista Giraldi’s “Un Capitano Moro,” that is estimated to have been written in the year 1603. The story centers around the lives of Othello, a Moorish general in the Venetian army, and his love, Desdemona, shortly after their elopement. This tale is fraught with duplicity, racism, envy, revenge and love, and it is because of these human elements that “Othello” is still widely regarded as relevant, even today. 

    Sweet Tea Shakespeare’s apt retelling of “Othello,” entitled “OthelLIT,” guides willing patrons through the winding trials of its characters by enveloping the audience in well- timed and hilarious satire, all the while with drink in hand. 

    “OthelLIT” is a part of STS’ traveling LIT series, which features intimate settings in Fayetteville and beyond, audience participation, adlibbing, drinking games, music ranging from Bon Jovi to Lily Allen and so much more. “OthelLIT” is the definition of a mixed bag. Each element of its reimagining – from kazoo trumpets to slow-motion knife fights and everything in between – exhibits an array of authenticity, wrapped generously in candid humor. Filled with pop culture references from a variety of eras, every audience member will be able to enjoy the endearing marriage of humorous contemporary colloquialisms and the eloquent speech of Shakespeare’s time. 

    The experience of audience members is full of surprises. Scene after scene provides complete immersion into a new kind of world. Villainous Iago, played by Nathan Pearce, has theme music (cue “Pink Panther” theme!) as he devilishly monologues. The dazzling Desdemona is denoted by whichever cast or audience member quick-changes into the blonde Renaissance wig and blue peasant dress; six separate people played the same beauty in one night. Usher’s “Yeah!” heralds each of Othello’s entrances. Three cheers for Music Director Jacob French for intuitively engaging the actors and audience while creating the perfect aura for the night through music and sound. 

    “OthelLIT” encourages the audience to participate in themed games and activities meant to enhance the whole experience, so grab a friend – or 10 – and allow yourself to be swept away in the colorful reverie. With Director Marie Lowe at the helm, the fluidity and talent of the actors and the willingness of the audience to go along for the ride, “OthelLIT” is a splendid evening full of fanciful fun for anyone of age in search of a well- earned laugh. As the actors laugh, ponder, gallivant and sing, they continue another strong season for STS. 

    “OthelLIT” will continue showing through Tuesday, Oct. 30, with tickets ranging from $17.50 to $25. Some military, senior or student discounts may apply for certain showings. By its closing night, the show will have traveled to Paddy’s Irish Pub, Dirtbag Ales Brewery and Taproom, the Arts Council of Fayetteville/ Cumberland County, Hugger Mugger Brewing Company in Sanford and Fainting Goat Brewing Company in Fuquay-Varina. 

    For more information and to order tickets or view showtimes and locations, visit sweetteashakespeare.com or call 910-420-4383. 

  • 15 Hope Mills damWhile the restored Hope Mills Dam safely protected humans in the community during the recent strikes of tropical weather, the animal kingdom didn’t come out completely unscathed. 

    Don Sisko, interim director of public works for the town of Hope Mills, said the eel ladder at the dam did suffer some damage. 

    The eel ladder was made a part of the Hope Mills dam restoration by order of the Army Corps of Engineers. 

    Eels are not an endangered species, but the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced in 2015 that “for the species’ long-term stability, the agency recommends continuing efforts to maintain healthy habitats, monitor harvest levels and improve river passage for migrating eels.’’ 

    This is especially true around structures like the Hope Mills dam that block the natural migration of the eels from their spawning grounds in the ocean to the inland locations where they live and feed. 

    The eel ladder allows then access to Hope Mills Lake. 

    According to Sisko, tail waters caused by the storm backed up below the dam and damaged wiring to a pump that powers something called the attractor. 

       The attractor creates an artificial waterfall that naturally attracts the eels to the eel ladder. 

       “The downstream pump (the one that was damaged) is the attractor that creates a small water flow,’’ Sisko said. “The biologists have figured out that’s what attracts the eels. That brings them to the ladder, and they carry on and get up into the lake.’’ 

       The pump that feeds the eel ladder keeps water flowing at all times so the eels are in their natural environment. There is a material inside the ladder that allows the eels to get traction so they can migrate and move up it into the lake. 

       Twice a year, from March 15-June 15 and from Sept. 1-Oct. 15, the town does a count on eels that are caught in a basket at the end of the eel ladder. 

       Sisko said the damage to the ladder pump took place sometime during Hurricane Florence, interrupting the eel count that was scheduled to start in September. 

       “Once we remove them from the basket, we count them and release them a little further up the lake so they stand less a chance of getting sucked in by the pump that feeds the eel ladder itself,’’ Sisko said. The last complete eel count was conducted in the spring when 229 eels were recovered and relocated in the lake. 

       Since the next period for counting the eels doesn’t come until mid-March, Sisko said there is no need to rush the process of repairing the damaged pump. 

       Sisko said the problem will be presented to the Hope Mills Board of Commissioners at a future meeting. “It will be part of the FEMA claims and insurance,’’ he said, referring to the cost of repairs. 

       The total cost for the eel ladder when it was first installed was $35,000. 

  • 13Atticus FinchWhat explains the staying power of Harper Lee’s book “To Kill a Mockingbird” and the film that starred Gregory Peck as Atticus Finch? 

    For some, it is its poignant story of Jean Louise, or “Scout.” Scout’s love and respect for her father, Atticus, gave her the courage to face the dangers and unfairness of a flawed world. For others, it is Atticus him­self and his example of dignity, kind­ness and courage. 

    But things are much more compli­cated according to a new book, “Why To Kill a Mockingbird Matters: What Harper Lee’s Book and the Iconic American Film Mean to Us Today,” by Tom Santopietro. 

    “Mockingbird’s” staying power is evidenced by its inclusion on PBS’ list of 100 novels in contention for selection as America’s best-loved book. The list is a part of PBS’ “Great American Read” broadcast series airing on UNC-TV September through October. 

    That staying power is remark­able, according to Santopietro because in “the nearly 60 years since Mockingbird was originally pub­lished, the world has changed much more than the previous 300 years combined.” 

    Santopietro gives us a biography of the “Mockingbird” phenomenon. He takes us to Harper Lee’s home­town, Monroeville, Alabama, and introduces us to the friends, family and neighbors who were models for the characters of her book. Readers also learn about Harper-Lee’s gentle home life and her town’s oppressive segregated social system. 

    Readers learn how the book was written, how it was sold to a publisher and how it took the country by storm. They also learn how the movie was made, includ­ing the key casting decisions that brought Gregory Peck onboard and how a North Carolina woman from Reidsville, Alice Lee “Boaty” Boatwright, made the key selec­tion of a 9-year-old Birmingham, Alabama, girl who had no acting experience to play Scout. 

    Santopietro describes how “Go Set a Watchman,” a sequel or a pre­quel to “Mockingbird” written in the 1950s, came to be discovered in 2014 and published the following year. That book shocked readers with its very different look at Atticus Finch, the hero of “Mockingbird.” 

    In “Watchman,” Atticus is shown, in the words of Isabel Wilkerson, as a “gentleman bigot.” He is a supporter of the White Citizens Council and a firm opponent of the court-ordered desegregation of public schools and the efforts to open public accommo­dations to African-Americans. 

    Santopietro asserts that the Atticus of “Watchman” resembles “no one as much as Strom Thurmond.” 

    He continues, “Like Thurmond, Atticus here seems to believe that the worst of all possible worlds lies in any involvement on the part of the federal government, an evil topped in his mind only by the participation of the NAACP.” 

    A better model for “Watchman’s” Atticus than the sometimes mean-spirited Thurmond might be I. Beverly Lake, the segregationist can­didate who opposed Terry Sanford in the 1960 North Carolina gover­nor’s race. Lake sincerely believed in segregation, and like Atticus, he was a gentleman. In fact, according to John Drescher in his “Triumph of Good Will: How Terry Sanford Beat a Champion of Segregation and Reshaped The South,” Lake support­ed the liberal Frank Porter Graham in the 1950 race for U.S. Senate and condemned the racist attacks from the campaign of Graham’s opponent. 

    According to Drescher, “Lake’s personal and public generosity was part of his appeal as a candidate and set him apart from other leading Southern segregationists of the 1950s and 60s. He was not a hater.” 

    The racial views of Lake in the 1950s were like those of Harper Lee’s father, A.C., the model for Atticus. According to Santopietro, these men “represented the typical white south­ern male viewpoint in the 1950s.” 

    Can we still honor the contribu­tions and good qualities of those who held to this discredited view­point of their times? 

    If not, “Mockingbird” will slip off the lists of best-loved books.

    Photo: Gregory Peck played Atticus Finch in the film adaptation. 

  • 14 Tierra RipleyWhen Tierra Ripley took freshman English at Gray’s Creek High School, her teacher was Joel Mayo, a poetry enthusiast who has helped organize poetry clubs at the school. 

    “I’ve gotten to see her grow from an amazing freshman student,’’ Mayo said. “Her ability to tell a story is strong, one of the strongest I’ve ever seen.’’ 

    Mayo isn’t the only one who feels that way. Ripley, now a senior at Gray’s Creek, was recently honored by the North Carolina English Teachers Association as the winner of its statewide high school Poet Laureate Awards. 

    The award is named in memory of Kathryn Stripling-Byer, a former North Carolina Poet Laureate who died in 2017. 

    Ripley’s winning entry was a short poem entitled “Seafaring Sailor” that uses nautical imagery to tell a story of unrequited love. 

    Ripley said she’s been interested in poetry ever since her freshman year as Mayo’s student. 

    “It’s a way of self-expression that I can talk about things that I have trouble verbalizing just normally,’’ she said. In addition to writing poetry, Ripley said she likes to write short stories, although she doesn’t do that as much now. 

       “I don’t have a set style or anything,’’ she said of her poetry. “I just write what comes to mind. Sometimes they rhyme, sometimes not.’’ 

       She’s not sure how many poems she’s written over the years but estimates she’s done about a dozen “really good ones.’’ 

       Her entry into the poetry contest came almost by accident. One of her former English teachers had information about the contest posted in her classroom. “It was like the last days of school,’’ she said, near the end of her junior year at Gray’s Creek. 

       The contest required her to submit an original poem that had not been published. It didn’t have to be about a specific subject. 

       She finished the new work in a couple of hours and submitted it in June. 

       She learned she won in early August and was presented the award a couple of weeks ago. 

       “It meant the world to me,’’ she said. “I was so surprised. I entered the contest on a whim. 

       “To get such recognition and to be congratulated for my work was amazing.’’ 

       Ripley said she’s undecided on her college future. She’s just beginning the application process and will likely attend an in-state school. 

       She’d like to continue with poetry, but a lot of that will depend on what opportunities are available to her. 

       “I’d like to involve English in my career,’’ she said. “I’d like to be an author, writer or maybe a journalist, anywhere I can utilize English.’’ 

       Mayo said contests like the one Ripley won are great motivation for students. 

       “I try to provide as many opportunities as possible,’’ Mayo said, “things like our poetry club, the different contests we try to get kids involved in. I think it helps push them so they can have better opportunity to express themselves.’’ 

    Photo: Tierra Ripley 

  • 01coverUAC0100318001Gallery 208 has hosted many solo exhibitions by photographers during the last several years. Each artist brings a theme to their work – capturing the beauty of the landscape, a stopped action moment or an unreal circumstance crafted by the use of Photoshop or Light Room. From purist photogra­phers to those who use photographic software, each artist brings an intent. Tuesday, Oct. 9, from 5:30-7 p.m., Gallery 208 will host a reception for photographer Andrew Johnson. The exhibition, “Night Silence: Photographs by Andrew Johnson,” is a masterful group of photographs by an artist who uses the existing light at night to create an alternate reality. 

    The public is invited to the reception to meet the artist, hear a brief artist talk and preview a body of work that is unique. Johnson’s photographs lure viewers into looking more closely at something familiar, like a building or a set of doors in the urban or rural landscape. We recognize a familiar subject, but it is as if we are seeing something unfamiliar. The beauty of the light in the photographs contrasts with the conceptual – familiar versus unfamiliar – and we are fixed in a moment of discovery. As in all great works of art, the image succeeds in representing what it does not represent. In other words, the artist is able to transcend the limits of a photograph. 

    Johnson is a minimalist. He is not copying what he sees, but he uses photography to transcend a subject – to create an illusion beyond itself. He has crafted a physical presence as well as a story that goes beyond the subject. For me, Johnson distills his experiences in image-making to evoke a new order – one that is distinguished by an illuminating, colored light. 

    As viewers, we each bring our sensibilities to the work. Yet Johnson talks about his work from a differ­ent perspective. He shared the following: “For me, shooting at night is a singular experience. It’s not an aloneness. It’s at night, of course, and no one (is) around. But it’s more than that, it’s as if no one else is on Earth and I am consumed by artificial light and the sounds of nature at night. I feel comfort in the absorption of a night environment.” 

    He continued, “You don’t usually think about it this way, but light at night can actually create crisp images when the light reacts with different surfac­es, creating dramatic effects. I am drawn to these surfaces, the stillness of the night and surreal effects of artificial light to create a mood.” 

    Shane Booth, a professional photographer, is familiar with Johnson’s work, since Johnson was an art student at Fayetteville State University. “Andrew’s works are very complicated,” Booth said. “We, the public, are not used to looking at the world at night and so we don’t pay attention to the ways in which light effects things or places. On the other hand, Andrew is drawn to the light at night. He sees what we do not see. He is drawn to the different temperatures of light rays at night. He captures those temperatures to add a sense of mystery to his content.” 

    Booth continued, “Technically, artificial light has the potential to flatten out objects. In Andrew’s case, the light flattens out a doorway, so it becomes a new way of viewing a doorway. As well, artificial light, particularly at night, can mute colors and turn an or­dinary place into a surreal environment. So, Andrew uses this to add emotion to an inanimate object... like a building; he is giving the building a personality by his use of light. As well, he is creating a forebod­ing sense of place by contrasting a dark atmosphere with artificial light. 

    “Andrews’s photos are void of people, yet he creates a supernatural presence. In looking at the photos, you may feel as if there is always someone behind you, or behind the door in the photo. In some ways, the artist has created a moment when the viewers become vo­yeuristic; we are not supposed to be at that location, at that time of the night. It’s uncanny. At the same time, tension is mixed with beauty and stillness, and we are memorized to stare at the photo.” 

    Photography is a popular medium for untrained artists, especially since cell phone and “selfie” imag­es are easy to produce. In some circles, photography is still underrated when compared to painting or sculpture. But in the hands of an exceptional artist, the photograph becomes the quintessential medium to bring meaning and content to viewers. 

    The above is best said in John Berger’s well-known book, “Ways of Seeing.” The author states, “unlike any other visual image, a photograph is not a rendering, an imitation or an interpretation of its subject, but actually a trace of it. No painting or drawing, however naturalist, belongs to its subject in the way that a photograph does.” 

    Gallery 208 is excited to introduce this talented lo­cal veteran artist to the community. Johnson served in the U.S. Army for six years before he attended and graduated from Fayetteville State University. After graduation in 2017, he became employed by the city of Fayetteville as its graphic production supervisor. 

    Gallery 208 invites everyone to attend the reception to meet the artist. But, if that’s not possible, “Night Silence” will be on exhibit until late December. 

    Gallery 208, located at 208 Rowan St., is open Mon­day through Friday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Call the gallery at 910-484-6200 for more information.

  •  13pina messina 464953 unsplash 1 The Cumberland County Sheriff’s Department is preparing to conduct its annual drop-off of prescription and over-the-counter drugs in Fayetteville and Cumberland County. 

      The event is scheduled Oct. 27 from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m., and there will be three locations in the Hope Mills area where residents can safely get rid of expired or unneeded medications. 

      The three drop-off points are Hope Mills Fire Department, Pearce’s Mill Fire Department and Stoney Point Fire Department. 

      Lt. Shawna Leake, who heads the community policing section for the county sheriff ’s department, said the drug drop-offs are normally held twice a year, once in the spring in conjunction with National Poison Prevention Week, and again in the fall. The three locations in Hope Mills are among seven countywide where people can drop off medications. 

    Leake said fire departments are a good location for the drop-offs. “Those are places the public is familiar with,’’ she said. She added locations are chosen based on where there has been the best response from the public in previous years. 

      Leake said the public is encouraged to bring any kind of prescription or over-the-counter drug they’d like to safely dispose of – not limited to medications. 

      “Sometimes people bring us diabetic needles,’’ she said. “(Like) when they’ve lost a loved one and don’t know what to do with their medicines and have a lot of different drugs they are taking.’’ 

      Even seemingly harmless items like cough drops that aren’t being used anymore or any medicines that have expired are welcome. 

      The main drugs that need to be turned in are any narcotics, especially opioids, to prevent them from falling into innocent hands or the hands of those who would abuse them. 

      “We have an opioid epidemic we are currently combating,’’ Leake said. “Those are the things we really want people to turn in. We don’t want them to be flushed down the toilet or put in the trash.’’ 

      Any drugs disposed of in that manner have the potential to get into the local water system, Leake said. 

      The only kind of drugs that should not be brought to the drop-off are illegal drugs, she said. If individuals or families have substances like that they need to dispose of, they need to contact law enforcement directly. “We’ll respond to that call in a different fashion,’’ Leake said. “We would rather they not bring them to this event.’’ 

      For specific questions or concerns about the drug drop-off, call Leake at 910-438-4015.

  • 12SidewalkHope Mills residents should consider buying a new pair of walking shoes because they’re going to be getting some more sidewalks. 

    The town of Hope Mills has been awarded a grant from the Fayetteville Metropolitan Planning Organization to build sidewalks from Johnson Street near the Robin’s on Main restaurant down to Trade Street. 

    The sidewalks will be on the opposite side of Main Street from Hope Mills Lake, said Chancer McLaughlin, development and planning administrator for the town. 

    McLaughlin said the grant from FAMPO is for a little under $400,000. It’s what’s known as an 80/20 matching grant, which means the town will add about $80,000 to the project. 

    This newest grant will allow for a continuation of a project already underway that’s constructing sidewalks near the Hope Mills town offices on Rockfish Road. 

    It will extend existing sidewalks in the downtown area and make it possible, once completed, for people to walk via sidewalk all the way from the town hall area to the restored Hope Mills Lake. 

      “It will possibly cut down on traffic and create a safer balance between vehicular and pedestrian traffic,’’ McLaughlin said. “The main goal is to create a more pedestrian-friendly environment, connecting the town of Hope Mills.’’ 

      In addition to the sidewalks, the grant will help pay for some enhancements on Main Street, McLaughlin said. 

      “We are going to do a major crosswalk installation at Johnson and Main because there is no crosswalk now,’’ McLaughlin said. “We are also going to do a raised mid-block crosswalk halfway between Johnson and Trade Street. At the intersection of Trade and Main, we’re going to do a major enhancement, adding more pedestrian signals.’’ 

      Now that the grant has been awarded, McLaughlin said the new sidewalk project for Main Street is in the design phase and there is no timetable yet for when the sidewalk construction will actually begin. 

      “We are moving forward and filling gaps,’’ he said of the various sidewalk projects going on. “We’re applying for another grant in November. 

      “This is not a one-time thing and by no means (is it) the end of the road. It’s the beginning.’’ 

  • Meetings 

    For details about all meetings and activities, including location where not listed, call Town Clerk Jane Starling at 910-426-4113. Until the Parks and Recreation building has been repaired following damage from Hurricane Florence, some meetings may be moved to Luther Meeting Room at Town Hall at regular dates and times. Those meetings are noted with an asterisk below. 

    Mayor’s Youth Leadership Committee, Monday, Oct. 22, 6 p.m., at Luther Meeting Room, Town Hall. 

    Appearance Commission, Tuesday, Oct. 23, 6:30 p.m., at Parks and Recreation Building.* 

    Senior Citizens Advisory Committee, Wednesday, Oct. 24, 4 p.m., at Hope Mills Parks Senior Center. 

    Veterans Affairs Commission, Thursday, Oct. 25, 7 p.m. at Parks and Recreation Building.* 

    Activities 

    Hope Mills Area Kiwanis Clubat Sammio’s, second Tuesdays at noon and fourth Tuesdays at 6 p.m. For details, call 910-237-1240. 

    Pumpkin decorating for seniorsTuesday, Oct. 30, 10 a.m.-noon in the small activity room of Parks and Rec. No fee, but advanced sign-up is required. Only 20 pumpkins are available. Prizes will be awarded for the best three pumpkins. 

    Ghostly Gala for seniorsWednesday, Oct. 31, 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. in the Parks and Rec community room. Advanced sign-up at the reception desk required. Costumes are preferred. There will be a costume contest and pumpkin decorating contest. Potluck social. Bring main dish, side dish or dessert. 

    Trunk R TreatWednesday, Oct. 31, 6-8 p.m. at Hope Mills Municipal Park. Anyone planning to bring a vehicle and give out treats at Trunk R Treat must fill out a form and turn it in by Oct. 22 at 5 p.m. Forms available at www.townofhopemills.com under Parks and Recreation. 

  • 11Trunk1The Town of Hope Mills will hold its annual Trunk R Treat celebration on Halloween night this year from 6-8 p.m. on the athletic fields at Hope Mills Municipal Park on Rockfish Road. But the preparation for the event is going to be a little different from past years. 

    Meghan Hawkins, recreation programs supervisor for Hope Mills Parks and Recreation Department, said there will be a deadline to register to have a vehicle at the event and there is a form individuals and businesses need to fill out to take part. 

    “This is the first year we actually have a registration form,’’ she said. “It gives us the option to track who we’ve got, who’s coming, how much space is needed and also to establish some guidelines and policies regarding the night of the event.’’ 

      Anyone planning to bring a vehicle and give out Halloween treats at the event must fill out a registration form and return it by 5 p.m. on Oct. 22. 

      In addition to gathering information about the person or business taking part in the event, the form includes information about what is and isn’t allowed at each individual display. 

      As in the past, participating vehicles in the Trunk R Treat will be parked on the outfield area of one or both fields at Municipal Park. 

      Hawkins said vehicle check-in for the vendors will begin at 4:30 p.m., and all cars or trucks must be in the field area and parked by 5:30 p.m. Late arrivals will not be allowed to enter. 

      There will be no electricity available on the field, so any displays on cars that need electric power will have to get it from the vehicles themselves or from batteries. Portable generators are not allowed on the field. 

      The actual Trunk R Treat will run from 6-8 p.m. Once vehicles are in place on the field, they will not be allowed to leave the area until the event ends at 8 p.m. 

      Businesses are encouraged to take part and are allowed to give out items to promote themselves. 

      All candy or edible treats given away must be pre-wrapped. No homemade goods of any kind are permitted. 

      Hawkins stressed that the Trunk R Treat is both family-friendly and kid-friendly. There should be no adult-themed displays or costumes. 

      Displays should not be designed to attack or disparage anyone, and no profanity or alcohol are allowed. 

      There are two contests currently planned in conjunction with Trunk R Treat, Hawkins said, one for best decorated trunk and one for most original. 

      Judging of both contests will begin at 6:30 p.m., and the winners will be announced at 7 p.m. 

      Copies of the registration form are available on the town of Hope Mills website or the Parks and Recreation Department Facebook page. 

      For those who need to meet someone face-to-face about the event, the recreation department offices are temporarily located in Town Hall on Rockfish Road. For other questions, call 910-426-4109. 

    Photo:Mayor Jackie Warner at last year’s event. 

     

  • 10LSF On Oct. 8, the Hope Mills Board of Commissioners voted against selling a piece of land to the Lone Survivor Foundation. 

    Here is a statement from Tim Byrom, board president of LSF: “We’re very disappointed with the actions of the (town of Hope Mills) board. I made plans to attend the November meeting and was hoping to discuss our offer with them in person. Of all the people I’ve spoken to, only a half dozen indicated they were opposed to this partnership, and three of them were the board members who voted against it. We want to thank the Hope Mills community for the generous support and encouragement they’ve provided. But now it’s time to refocus our efforts elsewhere.” 

    LSF first established a facility in Crystal Beach, Texas, in 2010, and provides rehabilitation retreats to veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injury and military sexual trauma. More than 30 percent of the veterans treated at the Texas center came from the Southeast, so LSF has been scouting potential sites for a second retreat facility for more than a year. 

    Terry Jung, who served as executive director for LSF until stepping down recently, presented the idea of establishing a local LSF center to the Hope Mills Board of Commissioners in a closed session on June 4. Five of the six board members were overwhelmingly in favor of the project. Commissioner Mike Mitchell was the only board member who showed hesitation. On June 5, the board directed town staff to contact LSF and let its representatives know the Hope Mills Board was excited to receive an official offer. But on June 11 when the town of hope Mills board met again, three of the commissioners were suddenly opposed to the idea and voted to deny the offer. 

    At a July 23 Hope Mills board meeting, Jung spoke to the board again. Members of the audience were so moved by his comments and so enraged by the board’s actions, they signed up to speak on behalf of LSF. Commissioner Jessie Bellflowers made a motion to hold a public hearing, and one was scheduled for late August. But on Aug. 1, the board voted to cancel the hearing until the members had seen the results of a comprehensive parks and recreation study. Officially, the board members were waiting to know what the study indicated the town should do with the land LSF wanted to purchase. 

      The results of the study were presented Oct. 1 by Rachel Cotter, project manager for McAdams Group. The study indicated the municipality has more than enough land for current and future development. In fact, it has enough to cover the 10-year plan plus an additional 60 acres. Cotter’s presentation also indicated municipalities often choose to partner with outside organizations, such as LSF, to offset the costs of funding development projects. But the plan does not identify specific parcels of land to be developed or indicate what should be built on them. 

      While the results should have cleared the path for LSF’s purchase, it did not. Commissioner Meg Larson blasted McAdams Group during the Oct. 8 meeting. She indicated the study had been a waste of money and the information obtained could have been found in a Google search. 

      Larson made a similar claim several months ago when Hope Mills Public Works Director Hector Cruz presented information to the Hope Mills Board of Commissioners. Cruz resigned soon after. 

      Commissioner Jerry Legge echoed Larson’s comments and went on to say investing $87,000 into the survey on the off chance the town is able to obtain grant money was a poor investment. Both Larson and Legge voted to spend the $87,000 on the comprehensive plan earlier this year. And on the night of Oct. 8, they voted to have Cotter move on to the second phase of the survey, despite their reservations. 

      After the regular meeting, the board left for a closed session to discuss personnel issues. It’s common for the board to remain in closed session for an hour or more then reconvene to adjourn, so most of the staff and nearly all the audience members left. When the board reconvened just a few minute later, there were four people in the audience. Mitchell immediately made a motion to decline the offer from LSF. Bellflowers made a lengthy statement, arguing that the board members don’t own the land in question, but the people do. He said the board had an obligation to hold a public hearing not just because they said they would, but because the people of Hope Mills had a right to be heard. He also asked the board to seek an appraisal of the land before considering LSF’s offer. 

      But Larson interrupted to remind him there was a motion on the floor. Mayor Jackie Warner, who was visibly upset, insisted each board member give a reason for their decision as they voted. 

      Legge voted no and stated the land was never for sale. But the land was most definitely for sale as of June 5, when the board asked to receive a financial offer. Larson voted no because the board’s consensus on June 11 was to not sell. But that consensus pertained to LSF’s first offer to purchase 4 acres for $35,000. Mitchell voted no and stated an 8-1 margin of his constituents, including veterans, have spoken against it and asked him not to sell their land. 

      Bellflowers and Commissioner Pat Edwards both voted to sell the land to LSF. And Warner, who does not have a vote, went on record as being in favor of selling the land. She reminded the board of how much the town needed the money the sale would bring them and mentioned that it would be years before the board could even consider developing the land. 

      On the morning of Oct. 9, news of the board’s decision spread across social media. Wherein the board silenced them, the public found a platform on social media, and people are making their voices heard quite effectively. The discussion and vote weren’t on the agenda for this meeting. The public had a right to know prior to the decision. Hope Mills citizens had a right to be present, and they had a right to be heard. The hundreds of online comments indicate the people are furious and feel like the board manipulated the situation. 

      The comments also indicate the public won’t be silenced next November when this board is up for reelection. 

  • Meetings

    For details about all meetings and activities, including location where not listed, call Town Clerk Jane Starling at 910-426-4113. Until the Parks and Recreation building has been repaired following damage from Hurricane Florence, some meetings may be moved to Luther Meeting Room at Town Hall at regular dates and times. Those meetings are noted with an asterisk below.

    • Historic Advisory Committee, Wednesday, Oct. 10, 5 p.m. at Parks and Recreation Building.*

    • Mayor’s Youth Leadership Committee, Monday, Oct. 22, 6 p.m., at Luther Meeting Room, Town Hall.

    • Appearance Commission, Tuesday, Oct. 23, 6:30 p.m., at Parks and Recreation Building.*

    • Senior Citizens Advisory Committee, Wednesday, Oct. 24, 4 p.m., at Hope Mills Parks Senior Center.

    Activities

    • Ole Mill Days 2018 Saturday, Oct. 27, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. For more

    details and vendor information, contact Parks and Recreation Director Kenny Bullock: 910-426-4107 or kwbullock@townofhopemills.com.

    Promote yourself: Email hopemills@upandcomingweekly.

  • 20gcm spookley pumpkin barn After a brief delay caused by Hurricane Florence, the popular Gallberry Corn Maze is back and better than ever at 5991 Braxton Road in the Gray’s Creek community. 

    Originally scheduled to open Sept. 15, things finally got started at slightly reduced hours the weekend of Sept. 29. 

    By the time this story publishes, corn maze spokesperson Jeannette McLean expects regular hours to resume from 5-10 p.m. Friday, noon to 10 p.m. Saturday and 1-6 p.m. Sunday. 

    The last tickets go on sale an hour before closing time each day. Admission is $10 per person ages 3-65. Military, county school employees and senior citizens 65 and older get a $1 discount. Groups of 20 or more also get a $1 discount. 

    The admission fee covers basic entrance to the corn maze and children’s maze plus a host of activities, McLean said. The list includes a hay ride, barrel train ride, jumping pillows, interaction with farm animals including maze mascot Mr. Hee Haw the donkey, a double barrel tube slide, the giant fort over the double sand- box, and a corn shack with 6,000 pounds of corn to play in. 

    One activity that comes with extra charge is playing with air cannons that shoot tennis balls. 

    There is one new activity called rat rollers. McLean described it as huge corrugated plastic tubes that children get inside. They then navigate down a track made of plumbing pipe. “They work together, race down the pipes and turn around and roll back,’’ she said. 

    The rat rollers is included in the general admission price. 

    There is also a full concession stand featuring a variety of special items including things like fried corn on the cob, fried Oreos, fried honey buns and family-sized s’mores packs for the maze’s fire pit. 

    A final decision hasn’t been made, but McLean said it’s likely the maze will be kept open an additional week to Nov. 11 since the opening was delayed by the hurricane. 

    “We think the crop will hold up,’’ she said. They use sorghum instead of corn, and McLean said it generally stays greener than corn longer. 

    For folks who are concerned about the mosquitoes that have descended on the area since the hurricane, there will be insect repellent available on-site, but spectators are encouraged to bring their own as well in case the problem continues. 

    “Once it turns cooler, we won’t have a problem,’’ McLean said of the mosquitoes. 

    For further information, check the Facebook page, Gallberry Corn Maze, go to www.gallberrymaze.com, or call 910-309-7582. 

  • 19Amanda Lockamy When her daughter, Amanda Lockamy, was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2001, Linda Lockamy decided to channel her energy toward finding a cure for the disease.

    As part of that commitment, she’s working on the ninth annual Tee It Up For MS Golf Tournament, which is scheduled for Friday, Oct. 19, at Cypress Lakes Golf Course.

    Lockamy said the tournament isunlike some fundraisers becauseit’s deeply personal not only for her, but for many of the participants.

    “I would say 90 percent of the people that play in this tournament know someone who is afflicted with MS,’’ she said. “They truly want a cure to be found.’’

    According to the National MS Society, about 400,000 people in the United States have this disease, which attacks the central nervous system and causes a variety of prob- lems, including paralysis and loss of vision.

    The golf tournament, which is affiliated with the annual MS walk held in the spring of the year, normally accounts for about a third of all money raised from Cumberland County annually toward fighting the disease.

    For the second year, Coffman Plumbing is serving as the title sponsor of the tourna- ment, Lockamy said.

    The format for the event remains the same: four- man captain’s choice teams, with an entry fee of $300 per team.

    If a team would like to sponsor a hole as well, the fee is $350.

    For any businesses that don’t want to play golf but would like to sponsor a hole only, that fee is $100. Lockamy suggested that politicians running for office who would like to post one of their signs on a hole can use the hole sponsorship as a way to do that while supporting a great cause.

    In the wake of Hurricane Florence’s recent visit to the area, she suggested businesses might seek to honor area first responders by sponsoring a team of first responders to play in the tournament.

    The entry fee includes a pig picking for all participants, along with a goody bag and a chance to win a variety of prizes donated by local businesses.

    Lockamy said the deadline for entering the tournament is the Friday before play, Oct. 12.

    Entry forms are available at the clubhouse at Cypress Lakes. You can also contact Lockamy at 910-977-8662 or via email at swanlock74@aol.com.

    Photo: Amanda Lockamy

  • 18Llama kiss In past years, Gallberry Farm Elementary School Principal Dawn Collins has kissed a rabbit and a pig at the school’s annual Fall Festival. 

    Now she’s bracing to pucker up for a llama. Again. 

    The vote to determine if Collins or Assistant Principal Natasha Norris gets to be a little too personal with the llama is one of the highlights of this year’s annual event. It’s scheduled for Friday, Oct. 12, from 5-8 p.m. at
    the school of about 1,000 students. 

    Collins started the festival about eight years ago after becoming principal because she felt they needed some kind of community outreach that would involve the school and surrounding area. 

    “We talked about a spring fling, but so many children are involved in sports in this community (that) we decided the response would be better in the fall.’’ 

    The event is always scheduled on the same Friday when Gray’s Creek High School has an open date on its football schedule. Collins said that’s because she borrows a host of volunteers from the high school student body, pulling from organizations like Future Farmers of America, Student Government Association, National Honor Society, JROTC and the school’s technology academy. 

    “We truly do not have enough staff to pull this off on our own,’’ she said. 

    She was briefly worried that Hurricane Florence was going to disrupt this year’s football schedule and possibly wreck the festival, but she remained hopeful things would work out, and they did. 

    After Hurricane Matthew hit the area in 2016, Collins said Gallberry had the most successful fall festival in school history. She’s hoping for similar results this year. “People were looking for something happy and positive to do,’’ she said. “That’s what we’re hoping now. We know there is a lot of loss in the community. We are hoping we can bring them back together for something lighthearted.’’ 

    For Collins, that probably means kissing a llama again this year. Last year she lost the vote to Norris, and she’s already fearful it will go against her again this time. 

    She plans to use the same strategy for kissing the llama as last time. 

    “I tried to go to the side, kiss him on the side of the mouth, and when I did, he turned his whole face to mine,’’ she said. “The kids love it.’’ 

    Anyone from the Gallberry or Gray’s Creek community is welcome to attend, whether they have a child attending the school or not, Collins said. 

    An entry fee of $10 gets you an armband that pro- vides admission to a host of activities, the highlight of which is the haunted hallway, a hallway in the school building that features child-friendly scares and thrills. There will also be a trunk-or-treat event and unlimited access to an assortment of games. 

    The armband also covers a hot dog, drink and chips. 

    There will be additional food items on sale that can be purchased either for cash or with tickets that can be bought on-site, $5 for 20 tickets. All transactions on site will be cash. An ATM will be available. 

    Collins said the festival is by far the school’s biggest fundraiser each year and holds a special place both for faculty and students. 

    “It makes me feel very positive about the culture of our school,’’ she said. “It’s just a great community event.’’ 

  • 21Florence copyDamage caused to the Hope Mills Parks and Recreation Center offices will force this year’s fall one-stop voting to relocate from there to the Gray’s Creek Recreation Center. 

    Both Cumberland County Board of Elections officials and representatives of Hope Mills are hopeful that voting will return to the recreation center on Election Day in November. If it can’t, Election Day voting will move to Town Hall. 

    Terri Robertson of the Cumberland County Board of Elections said she was informed there was dam- age to the center that could not be guaranteed to be repaired by the time one-stop voting begins Oct. 17. 

    Robertson said nothing about one-stop voting will change in Hope Mills except the location. Hours of operation will be the same. To confirm what those are, visit the Board of Elections website at www.co-Cum-berland.nc.us/departments/election-group/elections. 

    Adams said the recreation center had already been scheduled for repairs caused by possible condensation from the air conditioner before Hurricane Florence arrived. The storm did further damage to the roofing, which led to interior leaking and damage inside the building. 

    The repairs of the earlier damage have been rescheduled to coincide with the repair of the roof. 

    Adams said the town is in the process of getting bids on the repair work. While insurance will pay for some of the cost, she said the matter will likely have to go before the Board of Commissioners for approval. 

    If the bids are obtained in time, she hoped to make the presentation at the board meeting scheduled for Oct. 8. If the bids weren’t available by then, she indicated a special meeting may have to be called since she didn’t want to wait until the next scheduled meeting on Oct. 22 to get approval to begin the repairs. 

    In addition to forcing a change in one-stop voting, the damage to the recreation center has forced parks and recreation staff to temporarily relocate to space in Town Hall so they can continue planning for the town’s big Ole Mill Days and Trunk or Treat events coming up later this month. 

    The damage has also disrupted the schedule of many regular activities held at the recreation center. 

    “We are terribly sorry for the inconvenience for events scheduled at parks and recreation,’’ Adams said. “We are trying to work as quickly as possible so they don’t have to be disrupted any longer than they have to be. 

    “We apologize and ask for the public’s patience.’’ 

  • Editor’s note: This edition of the Hope Mills calendar may be affected by the after­math of Hurricane Florence. Please check to see if events are still scheduled before attending. 

    Meetings 

    For details about all meetings and activities, including location where not listed, call Town Clerk Jane Starling at 910-426-4113. Most meetings take place at Town Hall or the Hope Mills Parks and Recreation center. Until the Parks and Recreation building has fully recovered from Hurri­cane Florence, some meetings may be moved to Luther Meeting Room at Town Hall at regular dates and times. 

    • Festival Committee, Monday, Oct. 5, 5:30 p.m. 
    • Historic Advisory Committee, Wednesday, Oct. 10, 5 p.m. 
    • Mayor’s Youth Leadership Committee, Monday, Oct. 22, 6 p.m. 
    • Appearance Commission, Tuesday, Oct. 23, 6:30 p.m. 

    Activities 

    • Hope Mills Area Kiwanis Club at Sammio’s, second Tuesdays at noon and fourth Tuesdays at 6 p.m. For details, call 910-237-1240. 
    • Ole Mill Days 2018 Saturday, Oct. 27, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. For more details and vendor information, contact Parks and Recreation Director Kenny Bullock: 910-426-4107 or kwbullock@townofhopemills.com. 
    • Pumpkin decorating for seniors Tuesday, Oct. 30, 10 a.m.-noon in the small activity room of Parks and Rec. No fee, but advanced sign-up is required. Only 20 pumpkins are available. Prizes will be awarded for the best three pumpkins. 
    • Ghostly Gala for seniors Wednesday, Oct. 31, 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. in the Parks and Rec community room. Advanced sign-up at the reception desk required. Costumes are preferred. There will be a costume contest and pumpkin decorating contest. Potluck social. Bring main dish, side dish or dessert. 

    Promote yourself: Email hopemills@upandcomingweekly.com.

  • 14Lowes staff who helped load up the donation for the Alabama volunteers. 15Alabama Baptist volunteers with donations from LowesIn the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus tells his followers to ask and it will be given to them. 

    Hope Mills Mayor Jackie Warner learned that in a time of natural disaster, the Lowe’s store in Hope Mills takes that admonition literally. 

    Immediately after Hurricane Florence came and went through Hope Mills, a disaster relief team from the Alabama Baptist State Convention arrived at Southview Baptist Church on Elk Road and set up operations with their mobile trailer. 

    They were here to provide meals for various relief shelters around the county. 

    Warner stopped by to introduce herself to the Alabama visitors and ask if there was anything she could do to help. 

    As it turned out, there was. A second wave of vol­unteers from Alabama would be arriving within days to help with the cleanup. Unlike the cooking team in the trailer, they would not be coming fully equipped for the job they wanted to tackle. 

    They provided Warner with a shopping list, a rather lengthy one. It included items like rakes, wheelbarrows, masks, safety glasses, gloves and protective suits for cleaning up hazardous substances like asbestos. 

    Warner immediately turned to Jennifer McMillan, the manager at the Hope Mills Lowe’s, which opened about a year and a half ago. 

    “Lowe’s has come in and become a part of the Hope Mills community,’’ Warner said. “They started by making a contribution to the special needs playground we’re going to set up. Anything we need, they’ll support.’’ 

    McMillan wasn’t working that day, but Warner gave her the shopping list and McMillan’s team at Lowe’s took care of the request. 

    McMillan told Warner to give her a number on how much of each item she needed. The folks from Alabama gave Warner an estimate but would have been glad to get anything they could, she said. 

    Warner said Lowe’s came through with 35 pairs of work gloves, 30 masks, 30 pairs of safety glasses and protective suits, along with 10 rakes and six wheelbarrows. 

    “I went there for whatever I might get, and they gave us exactly what I needed,’’ Warner said. 

    McMillan, who saw the damage Hurricane Matthew did to Hope Mills, said Lowe’s isn’t just a for-profit organization. We are an organization that is there specifically to take care of the community,’’ she said. “We position ourselves to be available, especially in areas that are impacted.’’ 

    McMillan said Warner has been an avid supporter of Lowe’s since it came to Hope Mills as well as a good customer. “When she came, we knew there was going to be a need in the community,’’ McMillan said. “We wanted to be there to support the community from Lowe’s perspective and to be able to support the mayor as well.’’ 

    McMillan said it comes down to basic human kind­ness. “We care about our communities. We live in our communities, and we want to make sure everything gets back to normal as quickly as possible and that those in need have the ability to provide solutions for themselves as quickly as possible,’’ she said. 

    “They have become a great team member of Hope Mills,’’ Warner said. 

    As for cleanup of the entire town, Warner said Hope Mills is ahead of where it was after Hurricane Matthew came through.

    “I believe the difference between Matthew and Florence is we were prepared,” Warner said. “People have started signing on to FEMA because they have the contact information. We already have trash and debris pickup.”

    Photo: A group from the Hope Mills Lowe’s (left) helped provide supplies for volunteers who came from the Alabama Baptist State Convention (right) 

     

  • 10-03-12-symphony.gifThe Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra kicks off the 2012-2013 season with a program that is out of this world. Out of this World is the name of the concert that features works from E.T., Star Trek and The Planets. Professor of Composition at Methodist University, Keith Dippre, will also perform. The concert is scheduled for Oct. 13 at 7:30 p.m. at Reeves Auditorium at Methodist University.

    Dippre and FSO Maestro Fouad Fakhouri have been friends for some time and the orchestra has performed Dippre’s works in the past. For this concert, Dippre’s composition is called “Sun Ra an Apogee of Saturn.” While many might think of the Egyptian sun god, Dippre based his composition on big-band era musician Sun Ra. “He was quite famous in his day,” said Dippre. “He claimed he was from Saturn. The piece I wrote isn’t trying to sound like him per se, but it was inspired by him. And he has connections to outer space, so I thought it might fit with what is being programmed.”

    The piece has a lot of percussion, and Dippre is confi dent that the audience will find the composition entertaining.

    “We also use an instrument, that you don’t usually hear in an orchestra — a shofar, which is a Hebrew instrument that traditionally is made of a ram’s horn,” Said Dippre. “Historically, it was used for a war cry before going into battle.”

    Composer John Adams is known for his minimalistic style of composition. His work is characterized by a lot of repetition in a piece and slowly changing the rhythm or harmony by just a single note at a time. His piece “Short Ride in a Fast Machine,” was written in 1986 for the Great Woods Music Festival in Mansfield, Mass. The melody is monotonous, but what makes the composition work is how the rhythm and instrumentation constantly change.

    Variations and Fugue on a Theme of Henry Purcell (Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra), Op. 34, by Benjamin Britten, is based on the music of Baroque composer Henry Purcell. In 1946, Britten supplied music for Instruments of the Orchestra, an educational film based on Purcell’s work. The result was Variations and Fugue on a Theme of Henry Purcell (Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra), Op. 34. Like the title implies, this composition uses variations on a theme to create interest within the work and still maintain consistency.

    When the Nazi’s ruled Germany in the 1930s and ‘40s, many classical composers fled the country and ended up in Hollywood. They used music to influence the way viewers felt during performances. John Williams has built on that tradition since the 1960s. In fact, his work is included in films like Star Wars, Jaws, Schindler’s List and E.T. Williams has received five Academy Awards, four Golden Globe Awards and 21 Grammys.

    Gustov Holst composed The Planets, Op. 32 between 1914 and 1916. While the piece made him famous, he did not enjoy its popularity. At this performance, the Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra will perform “Mars” and “Jupiter” from Holst’s work. Inspired by astrology, The Planets was an attempt to showcase the astrological “personalities” and their relationships with the planets. ‘Mars, The Bringer of War” is a martial movement with its brutally percussive machine rhythms, and was actually written a few months before the outbreak of World War I. According to Holst’s directions, it is to be played slightly faster than a regular march, to give it a mechanized and inhuman character. “Jupiter, The Bringer of Jollity,” with its broad central British folk-like melody was strongly influenced by Edward Elgar. The mood of this movement bears little relationship to the Greco-Roman king of the gods.

    Upcoming performances include Italian and Spanish Inspirations on Nov. 17; Musical Holiday on Dec. 8; Mendelssohn’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream on Feb. 23; and Masterpieces on April 13. To fi nd out more about the Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra or to purchase tickets, visit www.fayettevillesymphony.org.

    Photo: Fouad Fakhouri, Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra.

  • 16Closeup of a cleaned up grave There were plenty of opportunities for cleanup in Hope Mills in the wake of Hurricane Florence, but once she determined most of the needs of the living were met, Mayor Jackie Warner sought help for a group that couldn’t help themselves: the deceased. 

    When Morgan Sierra, regional director of the Lone Survivor Foundation, reached out to Warner for something her group of volunteers could do, Warner pointed her to two local cemeteries, Adcock and Legion Road.

    Warner’s concern for the cemeteries was prompt­ed by a phone call from a resident who had recently buried a family member at the Legion Road cem­etery. “He wanted me to check the grave and make sure the cemetery was alright,’’ said Warner, who doesn’t live far from the Legion Road cemetery. 

    While the grave she was asked to check out was intact, Warner noticed there were numerous limbs down and many of the American flags that deco­rated graves of veterans were damaged or destroyed. 

    When Warner contacted town manager Melissa Adams to see if there were specific cleanup needs that weren’t being addressed, Adams suggested someone might want to help at the cemeteries. 

    After Sierra’s group contacted Warner about help­ing with cleanup, Warner called her back and said the cemeteries would be a good project if she and her group were interested. 

    Sierra, a retired military policeman from Fort Bragg, didn’t hesitate to take on the challenge. 

    “It really boiled down to what we can do for the community,’’ Sierra said. “Being a nonprofit, giving away money is not something we can easily do, but we can give away our time.’’ 

    Sierra posted on Facebook seeking volunteers for the project and got responses from about a dozen people, some military-connected and some Hope Mills residents. 

    The sight at both cem­eteries was similar, she said. There was a lot of tree debris, including limbs, leaves and pine needles.

    And of course, there were the American flags. “Every veteran flag was knocked down or tat­tered beyond belief and needed to be replaced,’’ she said. 

    A local business sold them 8- by 12-inch American flags at a sharply reduced rate. Sierra estimated they put out 116 new flags. She thinks they’ll need to put out another 40 or 50 flags in coming days that will be provided by a donor who agreed to pay for them. 

    Sierra said replacing the flags on the graves of vet­erans is the least her group can do.

    “They’ve done so much for us throughout their tenure,’’ she said. “Our creed is never quit on those that never quit on us. If it’s something as simple as replacing a flag and saying, ‘We honor you and your sacrifices,’ then that’s our responsibility.’’ 

    Sierra said if there are other cemeteries in Fayetteville and the surrounding area that would like to replace flags damaged by the hurricane, her group will be glad to help out.

    “If somebody is willing to donate flags, I’m willing to go there with my group of volunteers,” she said, “We will continue placing flags where we can.”

  • The 2012-2013 game lineup is going to be more exciting than ever. The Fayetteville FireAntz are starting their 11th season in the Southern Professional Hockey League and are hoping to bring another championship back to the Crown Coliseum under the direction of new coach Mark DeSantis. The team will have many new faces this year as the team is being retooled by coach DeSantis.

    But, what happens on the ice is only one part of the show that happens each game night. The entertainment and themes for each game are as big as the games themselves.

    “Many of our theme nights are annual events,” says Kevin MacNaught, team general manager and president. “But every year the organization looks to bring new and exciting entertainment to supplement the exciting on ice action. Birthday parties, hail and farewells and corporate nights are also very popular with the local fan base.” 10-17-12-fireants.gif

    Saturday, Oct. 20 preseason play vs. Augusta Riverhawks

    The season will start with a novel approach to the pre-season game which will be Saturday Oct. 20, where the entire game will be played backwards. MacNaught said the players will not skate backwards but the show and the order of the game will be in reverse. The game will start with a shootout and then will play the periods in reverse. MacNaught who always tries to make things interesting was called crazy by many of his peers for doing a game in this manner. It is just a way to change the look for the fans while not compromising the competition.

    Opening Night: Friday, Oct. 26 vs. “Rival” Knoxville IceBears

    Opening night is a Fayetteville tradition for the FireAntz. The opening night will kick-off this year with the first of the very popular kids nights which is being sponsored by Lee Hyundai this year. There will be one kids night each month where every student in elementary and middle school is given a voucher for a free ticket. Seven counties participate and the FireAntz include public and private schools. Home-schooled students can call the FireAntz office to receive their voucher. Special opening night group packages are available by calling the FireAntz office at 910-321-0123 or by going to the website at www.fireantzhockey.com.

    Lizard Lick Towing Night: Saturday Nov. 3 vs. Columbus Cottonmouths

    This is a “WOW” night for the FireAntz who will wear special Lizard Lick Towing-styled jerseys. These jerseys will be auctioned off to the public after the game, and the proceeds will be used to provide tickets to the military for our first military appreciation night on Dec. 1. Ronnie and Amy from Lizard Lick Towing which is produced out of Lizard Lick, N.C., near Wendell is Broadcast on the Tru TV Network will be on hand to sign autographs before the game. This is a “must see” game because you never know whats going to happens when the people from Lizard Lick show up.

    For more information, contact the FireAntz office at 910-321- 0123 or go to the team website at FireAntzhockey.com.

    Photo: What happens on the ice is only part of the show that happens on game nights. 

  • Performer Takes on a Fight10-24-12-buzz.gif

    It’s likely that all of us have been touched by cancer in one way or another. This week in the Buzz we will look at how Dan Dean of the trio Phillips, Craig & Dean is doing after recently finding out he had prostate cancer.

    It was seemingly a typical annual check-up, until the lab work came back and his doctor informed Dean that he had cancer. Initially he was shocked at the devastating news. His wife was able to be strong for him at first, but then the reality of a very uncertain future hit her as well. Dan had a hard time telling his kids, but they were very supportive.

    His initial thought was to not worry the other guys in the group, Randy and Shawn, but his manager talked him into it. He tried to downplay it but had to admit that “anytime you have cancer … it’s a big deal”.

    As a pastor, Dean had always been the one who was encouraging others in their time of distress. He wasn’t sure how he was going to break the news to them, but his congregation became his biggest source of prayer support. The Bible verse he thought of most often during this time was Proverbs 3:5-6 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him and he shall direct your paths.”

    That trust was vital when it came to deciding which form of treatment to pursue. Surgery was scheduled, but uncertainty continued. Dean remembers waking up and hoping for a good report from the doctor. Not only was the surgeon sure they had taken out all the cancer, but when the lab reports came back a few days later it was confirmed that Dean was cancer free. He is naturally a little concerned that something could come up in the future but he knows if it does God will be there to walk through it with him again.

    This experience confirmed something Dean had always believed. Some think that “... we’re earthly beings having a spiritual experience every once in a while. The truth is, we’re spiritual beings having a avery temporary earthly experience.” Dean is still singing, still living for God and still trusting Him through it all.

  • uac100312001.gif Eminent domain is broadly understood as the power of the state to seize private property without the owner’s consent. Historically, the most common uses of property taken by eminent domain are public facilities, highways and railroads. Traditionally the power of eminent domain has been exercised for the construction of large public projects, but its use is beginning to be broadened to projects involving not ‘public use’ but ‘public benefi t.’

    That use is in question in Fayetteville, as the city continues plans to build the multi-modal transportation center on land it does not own. The Multi-Modal Transportation Center has been a long-time in the making and the storm surrounding it has been as well. First proposed in the late 1990s, the center started gaining traction in 2008, when a site-selection study was undertaken by Charlottebased fi rm, HGA Architects. The fi rm was hired by the city to draw up plans for the proposed center, which would bring the city’s key public transportation hubs together. The fi rm looked at six sites around the city’s center, including the existing site of the Fayetteville Area System of Transit and the Amtrak station.

    The idea behind the multi-modal transportation center is to bring all forms of public transportation under one roof to allow for ease of transfer and greater use, while creating retail/business opportunities that would blend with and benefit the patrons of public transport. This idea has gained popularity over the past two decades, with the North Carolina cities of Charlotte, Greensboro, Raleigh and Durham embracing the idea. Facilities in several of these cities are located in the historic train depots, including the site in Greensboro.

    The Greensboro facility is housed in the historic train depot, which includes 68,000 square feet of passenger platforms, a 6,500 square foot interior addition and a 5,700 square foot interior renovation, which included the move of the Greensboro bus service to the station. Greensboro sees more than 35 trains passing through the station each day. The J. Douglas Galyon Depot, a multi-modal transportation center, serves as the main passenger transfer for the Greensboro Transit Authority, as well as a hub for Amtrak, PART and Greyhound. The GTA serves approximately 260,000 people, with 15 GTA routes operating Mondays through Saturdays and seven routes on Sundays. In addition, there are fi ve connector routes, the Career Express serves the airport area, and nine Higher Education Area Transit routes. Together, GTA and HEAT vehicles drive 2,170,000 revenue miles per year, more than 231 miles of GTA routes, 49 miles of GTA connectors, and 59 miles of HEAT routes. At last count, there were 1,056 GTA bus stops and 46 HEAT bus stops in Greensboro and Jamestown. GTA and HEAT serve more than four million passenger trips per year. SCAT vehicles drive 1,400,000 revenue miles per year.

    GTA has an operating budget of approximately $19.5 million annually, which includes operating expenses of the J. Douglas Galyon Depot. The Piedmont Authority for Regional Transportation also runs out of the facility. PART Express is the regional bus system connecting the major cities of the Piedmont and bringing people from the outlying counties into the urban areas. Fourteen PART Express Routes are offered during weekdays with two routes running on the weekend. PART vehicles drive 60,000 revenue miles per year. There are 23 Park & Ride lots scattered across the Piedmont Triad. PART served 544,061 passenger trips in FY ’09 with an average length of 26 miles.

    Needless to say, a multi-modal transportation center makes sense in Greensboro, although the much touted retail space has yet to be fi lled. As late as June of 2010, there were no restaurants or coffee shops in the facility to serve the many riders who passed through its hallways, although retail space is a key tenant of multimodal centers. In June 2010, a coffee shop/bagel shop opened in the facility. The lack of interest in locating businesses in facilities like Greensboro’s J. Douglas Galyon Depot, is one of the reasons local business owners are still fighting against the city’s 2009 decision to use the power of eminent domain to seize land already used by local business owners for use as Fayetteville’s multi-modal transportation center.

    At the center of the fight is Jacqueline Pfendler, the owner of J.P. Electric, whose business is situated on the land bounded by Robeson, Franklin, Winslow, and West Russell Streets. Consisting of seven parcels, the land was one of six sites offered up by HGA in 2008 as possible sites for the new center. It was not, in fact, the fi rst, second or third recommended site. It was sixth on the list of six.

    The first site recommended was the Amtrak station, which is adjacent to city-owned property. That site was turned down by city offi cials despite the arguments of HGA for its merit. On Nov. 8, 2008 after hearing the recommendations from HGA, city offi cials took a tour of the six sites, focusing on the sixth site. During the interim period, Pfendler and her family purchased a major section of the land to locate their electrical business. The building, which currently houses the business was renovated from top to bottom, with custom woodwork done throughout. It wasn’t until Pfendler was in the middle of applying for a city grant to update the building in the historic district that she learned the city was interested in the space. Pfendler saw the facility up for sale while in town visiting the Dogwood Festival. She contacted the realtor who did not mention the city’s interest. Her bank was unaware of the city’s interest and the landscape company she hired to drawup plans for parking and landscaping, owned by then City Councilman Wesley Meredith did not mention the city’s interest. “People say I was stupid, and should have known, but no one told me, including the city councilman I was paying money to — and he was the one who made the motion to condemn my land.”

    Today, Pfendler is faced with losing the business she worked so hard to create to the city, so that another private entity can build a building to house private retail space on her land. The city has made Pfendler an offer on her land, but what they are offering will not allow her to purchase a new lot in a desirable location, let alone build a new facility.

    Pfendler’s frustration is shared by others in the community, including Joel Smith, the owner of Homemakers Furniture. Smith, a long-time Fayetteville business owner, is not directly affected by the city’s land grab, although his business will be located nearby the facility. Smith sees it as back-door politics gone wrong. He noted that many of the entities who should have been included in the site selection were ignored, including the Downtown Alliance and the Cape Fear Valley Hospital Board of Trustees. The CFVH board came out against the site because of environmental concerns about the exhaust fumes from the buses that would affect Highsmith Rainey Hospital. In fact, the hospital commissioned a study, which was fi led with the city. However, when Breeden Blackwell of the board tried to address the council during a public hearing on April 26, 2010, he was only given the requisite three minutes to speak, despite the fact that many in the room tried to cede their time to him.

    Smith has visited other multi-modal centers within the state, including those in Greensboro, Durham and Raleigh. The Greensboro site he found void of retail occupants. The Durham site had a heavy police presence — designed to keep vagrants away and to protect many of the older clients of the bus service.

    Both Pfendler and Smith point to the failed Festival Park Plaza as a reason why the city should not appropriate land for private retail/business space, with both asking how much money has the city lost in that failed venture.

    Pfendler has engaged the services of Fayetteville attorney Neil Yarborough to help her in her fi ght, but notes that she doesn’t think there is a lot he can do since the state recently awarded the city an $8 million grant to move forward with the project.

    “I don’t think it’s right that the city takes away a profi table, functioning business to give it to someone else,” she said.

    For many years, she would have been on the winning side, but with the 2004 decision in Kelo V. City of New London, the U.S. Supreme Court set a precedent for property to be transferred to a private owner for the purpose of economic development. The court found that if an economic project creates new jobs, increases tax and other city revenues, and revitalizes a depressed or blighted urban area it qualifi es as public use. This expands on a prior decision in Berman v. Parker (1954) which argued that the problems of large-scale urban blight need to be addressed with large-scale redevelopment plans and that land can be confi scated, and transferred to a private entity for a clearly defi ned public use.

    The Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution forbids the confi scation of property “without just compensation,” so that anyone whose property is acquired does receive some compensation. However, as is the case with Pfendler, many are offered compensation packages that are inadequate.

  • “Words mean more than what is set down on paper. It takes the human voice to infuse them with deeper meaning.”                                                                                                 — Maya Angelou

    It is the aspiration of professionals and paraprofessionals in the field of Speech-Language Pathology to help “infuse them with deeper meaning.” Fayetteville Technical Community College (FTCC) embraced this concept and established its Speech-Language Pathology Assistant program in 1997. FTCC is proud to be one of two schools in North Carolina that continues to offer this type of program. A Speech Language Pathology Assistant (SLPA) is a person who assists a licensed Speech Language Pathologist (SLP) in a variety of areas including: conducting screenings, implementing therapy in the areas of receptive and expressive language, articulation, fluency, augmentative/alternative communication and oral motor skills, as well as preparing materials for therapy, scheduling patients for therapy, and maintaining files and equipment, to say the least.

    To ensure students have an early opportunity for the hands-on learning experience, the program has recently received an Early Intervention & Literacy grant that allows for students in the program to provide Speech Language screenings for N.C. Pre-K Program recipients in childcare centers across Cumberland County. According to Hammer et al (2010), preschoolers’ oral language abilities have been found to predict their readi10-24-12-ftcc.gifng outcomes in kindergarten and first grade. In fact, their oral language has been identified as a key factor related to children’s emergent and early reading abilities in preschool and elementary school (Hammer et al, 2010). SLP-Assistants are paving the way to support licensed SLPs to serve individuals with communication disorders. When asked what sets this program apart from other health programs, two of the current students stated, “Our program is one that is designed to impact people’s way of life — which is communication,” and “We as humans rely on communication as our driving tool for conveying detailed descriptions of our innermost thoughts and emotions. The SLPA Program works to help give those that are hampered by speech and language difficulties the chance to improve if not overcome those obstacles. It allows them the chance to gain self-confidence and stand tall when they have something to say.”

    Speech-Language Pathology Assistants are currently in high demand with career opportunities in school systems and private practices. The SLP-Assistant program at FTCC is strategically located directly above the Child Development Center. This allows for student learning with ongoing practical application of skills. Students who complete the program graduate with an associate’s degree in applied science in Speech-Language Pathology Assisting.

    For more information on Fayetteville Technical Community College’s Speech-Language Pathology Assistant Program contact, Charisse Gainey, Department Chairperson, at (910) 678-8492.

    Photo: Preschoolers’ oral language abilities have been found to predict their reading outcomes in kindergarten and first grade.

  • 10-02-13-harvest.gifGreen Springs Baptist Church is known as a warm, welcoming church. While over the years, the country church’s membership has grown, it has retained the feel of a small church where members of the congregation know each other and are involved in each other lives. It has held to traditions, one of which is its annual Harvest Day.

    Slated for Saturday, Oct. 5, Harvest Day brings the members of the church together for an annual BBQ/Chicken Salad Plate Sale. That might not sound very unique as many organizations throughout the community hold BBQ plate sales on a routine basis. What makes this event unique is that the food is not bought and then resold, instead, it is handmade by the men and women of the church.

    Each year, the men of the church gather to cook the BBQ. This year, the BBQ will go ino the fire on Thursday, Oct. 3. The cooking will begin early in the day, with master chefs Terry Townsend and Wayne Canady overseeing the production. They will slowly cook the BBQ throughout the day, as men from the church drop by to visit, swap stories and watch the process.

    While the men are busy taking a turn with the BBQ, the women of the church will be deboning and shredding chickens to make their “world-famous” or at least “Gray’s Creek-famous” chicken salad. Over the years, the women have perfected the recipe, and each year, local residents return to the church clamoring for not only the BBQ, but for the chicken salad as well.

    Early Saturday morning, members of the church will gather to make homemade hush puppies that come sizzling hot out of the fryer and other side dishes that accompany the plates. Homemade desserts will accompany each plate, also homemade by the women (and men) of the church. In the past, many local businesses have taken the opportunity to order plates for their employees who work during the day. Take-away plates are available, and anyone interested in placing a large order should call the church in advance so that plates can be ready when needed.

    The Country Store is another big hit with the community. Homemade crafts, cakes, pies, jellies, preserves and canned vegetables are for sale at the store. Ada Faye Bramble, the chairman of the year’s event, noted that it’s a great time to pick up handmade crafts, many of which have fall or holiday themes, as well as some great homemade foodstuffs.

    Hoping to encourage people to spend more time fellowshipping and getting to know one another, the church has added a number of fun, family-friendly events to the day. This year’s event features a children’s area that includes bounce houses, hay rides, a petting area and more.

    Kamin Inman, the acting children’s director, said a number of fun events will keep children entertained and engaged, giving their parents an opportunity to relax, take their time shopping and sit and savor the great fall weather, the great food and feeling of community.

    The event runs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., with plates selling for $7, which includes either BBQ or chicken salad with all the fixings. Combo plates with both BBQ and chicken salad are also available. After 1 p.m., BBQ and chicken salad will be sold for $6 per pound.

    Green Springs Baptist church is located at 1095 East Green Springs Rd. in Parkton, just off U.S. 301. For more information, about Harvest Day or the church and its programs, visit the website at www.greenspringsbaptistchurch.com or call the church office at 910-425-8601.

    Photo: Enjoy a day of fun and fellowship at Greene Springs Baptist Church.

  • 10-09-13-ole-mill-days.gifPeople began settling in the Cape Fear Region as early as the 1700s, and from the very beginning the textile industry flourished in this area. A sawmill was erected along Rockfish Creek and a town grew up around it; that was the beginning of something great. By 1890, Hope Mills was one of the largest communities in Cumberland County and just a year later it was officially incorporated as a town. This pattern of growth and industriousness has continued into the present and is celebrated annually during the Ole Mill Days. It’s a time to celebrate community, family and tradition. With tractor-pulls, corn hole tournaments, a Chili Cook-off and more, Ole Mill Days is a chance to have a great time and embrace the heritage of the town of Hope Mills.

    Ole Mill Days is fun for the entire family and full of events that represent all aspects of the Hope Mills Community. Vendors, food and games for children of all ages are planned. The South View High School Key Club will sponsor a Haunted House, a tractor pull, the Mill Workers Reunion and even a Halloween costume contest.

    “This all-day event is a fun-filled time, watching people, mingling with the crowds, visiting the vendors for Ole Mill Days, having WKML 95.7 and Up & Coming Weekly as our sponsors,” Jan Spell, the Hope Mills Area Chamber of Commerce executive director, explained.

    One long held and treasured tradition of the Ole Mill Days is the Chamber of Commerce Chili Cook-Off. Everyone from professional chefs to home cooks can compete in this competition, and the culinary skills of the town are truly on display.

    “This is our 8th Annual Chili Cook-Off. It started with three pots of chili and a Nascar Bus, but last year we had 24 entries. We are also proud to have WKML 95.7 onboard along with adding our Cornhole Tournament sponsored by Up & Coming Weekly,” Spell added.

    Not only is the Chili Cook-Off a fun way to show the great skills of the chefs of the community, it helps the community to grow. The Chamber of Commerce is an invaluable part of the community that supports all the businesses and citizens of the town, and this Chili Cook-Off supports the chamber. Spell explains the benefits and importance of the competition by saying, “The Hope Mills Chamber is a nonprofit organization, the Chili Cook-Off and Cornhole Tournament are the only fundraisers for the Hope Mills Chamber of Commerce. The proceeds from this event help to keep the Chamber funded, since as a nonprofit we are membership based. All other events, for example the golf tournament, all proceeds are awarded directly to local charities.”

    Make sure not to miss this fabulous and exciting event.

    “If you miss Ole Mill Days, the Chili Cook-Off and the corn hole tournament, you have missed an opportunity to have a fun filed family day that will be remembered for years to come,” says Spell.

    Ole Mill Days is at the Hope Mills Municipal Park, 5770 Rockfish Rd. It will take place from 12-6 p.m. on Oct. 19. For more information, visit www.visitfayettevillenc.com/event/2013/10/19/ole-mill-day or call 424-4500. For Chili Cook-Off information or registration form visit www.hopemillschamber.org.

    Photo: Local cooks put their skills to the test at the annual Chili Cook-Off during Ole Mill Days.

  • 10-16-13-4th-friday.gifIf you haven’t been to a 4th Friday lately, this month is a great time to change that. Shops, restaurants and galleries kick things in to high gear, but October’s 4th Friday on Oct. 25, has several extra activities that many people will find interesting.

    We’ve all heard talk of the Zombie Apocalypse. Well, check out downtown around 8 p.m., as the Third Annual Zombie Walk Invasion lurches and creeps its way through the festivities. All interested zombies are invited to meet at the Headquarters Library in full apocalypse attire at 7 p.m. Following the walk, the Climbing Place will host Cirque du Zombie, complete with flying bodies. The show is free and starts at 9 p.m.

    In the spirit of all things creepy and macabre, The Arts Council Fayetteville/Cumberland County is set to open a new exhibit called A Sense of Horror.

    “It’s in keeping with the time of year,” said Mary Kinney, art director at The Arts Council. “People may be surprised to find that the exhibit is more about the gasp than it is the scream. It is not about guts and gore, it is about making the hair standup on the back of your neck. This is a show that captures horror but only the sense of it. It is like watching a Hitchcock movie and having those goose bumps and knowing what is happening in the scene without having to see it.”

    The Arts Council is encouraging people to buy the art at the exhibit.

    “It is the perfect opportunity to buy something unique,” said Kinney. “It’s a way to support local artists, too.”

    Another exhibit that must not be missed is the Cape Fear Studios 2013 Annual Member Artists Holiday Season Exhibit featuring guest artist Laura Cardwell. The holiday show offers original and unique pieces of art perfect for holiday gift giving or a treat for yourself. Cape Fear Studios offers 2-D and 3-D art including paintings, printed cards, jewelry, pottery, glass, wood and more.

    Laura Cardwell is from Asheville, N.C., and was a Niche Award finalist and a BMAC Merit Award winner. Her current work includes fusing, forging, raising and stone setting in Argentium silver, sterling silver, gold plated and vermeil pieces and copper.

    Historic Hauntings is a hayride that makes several stops through out Fayetteville and explores the spooky and often overlooked history of Fayetteville. The Fayetteville Area Transportation and Local History Museum is one of the stops on the Historic Hauntings route and will have plenty going on this 4th Friday.

    Fascinate-U children’s museum has had a face-lift recently. Moms and Dads may want to stop by and see the new farm exhibit and new carpet while the kids make a creepy-crawly spider craft with pipe cleaners. The museum is open from 7-9 p.m. and admission and the craft project are free.

    4th Fridayruns from 7-9 p.m. While the event is free and there are many free activities, shops and restaurants are open and offer some great deals and discounts. Find out more about all the exciting events going on downtown this 4th Friday at www.theartscouncil.com and at www.faydta.org.

    Photo: Revelers at last year’s Zombie Walk.

  • 10-23-13-hallows-eve-cemetery.gifFayetteville has always been full of fascinating history. Many notable events and people have helped shape who we are as a city including: being the only Fayetteville in the entire country actually visited by the Marque De Lafayette of the Revolutionary War; being paid a “visit” by General Sherman during the Civil War; George Herman Ruth receiving the nickname “Babe” and hitting his first home run on Gillespie Street; the first North Carolina news/talk radio station; Merle Haggard premiering the classic “Okie from Muskogee” on Fort Bragg; and hip-hop artist J-Cole being raised here.

    Fayetteville continues to make its mark on the nation and world, thus truly making it an All-American city. Although the remarkable history of Fayetteville is enough to make any resident and native proud, some of it is just plain scary. Explore this city’s chilling past by joining the Transportation and Local History Museum as it hosts this year’s Hallow’s Eve Cemetery Walk. Sponsored by the Dogwood Festival and presented by the museum, this bone-chilling tour will take willing participants on a walk through Cross Creek Cemetery #1 to relive accounts of eerie consequence and spooky encounters on the night of Oct. 30.

    The hour-long tour will explore some of Fayetteville’s most notable residents who were alive during times like the Revolutionary and Civil War and the Antebellum South. Through actors and reenactments, these creepy tales will come alive.

    Bruce Daws, city historian and historic properties manager for the city and director of Transportation and Local History Museum, is excited to lead the tour. The point, for him, is to get people interested in the history of Fayetteville through shock. “We’ll talk about what happens to the body when it decays. It is factual but definitely more macabre. And it is an opportunity to learn about Fayetteville’s history,” he said.

    Along with startling the senses, Daws is also making the tour an educational experience. One of three municipal cemeteries in North Carolina, Cross Creek Cemetery #1 dates back to 1775. As the tour advances, he will open minds by explaining what happens to a body after death and showing post-mortem artifacts (skeletal remains). Daws will also explain the symbolic meanings of tombstones and divulge interesting facts about the stone cutters throughout the cemetery.

    The Transportation and Local History Museum also serves as a centerpiece for the history of automotive transportation of all types. Throughout the year, the museum hosts speakers, outreach programs and the farmers market in downtown Fayetteville. Past exhibits include the 200th anniversary of the War of 1812, the 150th of the Civil War and the 100th anniversary of Fayetteville High School (now Terry Sanford High School).

    Come out Oct. 30 and enjoy a night of spooky history and interesting facts as the Dogwood Festival presents Historic Hauntings with the Transportation and Local History Museum. Tickets are available for $10 and must be purchased in advance at the Dogwood Festival’s office located at 145 Person Street. For more information, call (910) 323-1934.

    Photo: The Hallows Eve cemetery walk is a chance to walk on Fayetteville’s dark side. 

  • 10-30-13-rythm-and-blooms.gifCape Fear Botanical Garden provides the citizens of Fayetteville with a bright and beautiful spot to enjoy the beauty of nature. The once small garden, which opened in 1989 and is cradled by the Cape Fear River and Cross Creek, now contains more than 2,000 plants of numerous varieties. One of the ways that this garden has kept and expanded its beauty is through fundraising. This year the gardens will host Mr. Potato Head for the garden’s annual Rhythm and Blooms fundraiser on Nov. 8.

    Mr. Potato Head is a North Carolina-based band that provides a wide variety of music. The four musicians perform everything from Sinatra to The Rolling Stones to Michael Jackson. The range in performance that Mr. Potato Head delivers is sure to offer a little something for everybody and will make a truly exciting night. Kensley Edge, the director of development and marketing at Cape Fear Botanical Garden, has high expectations for the event.

    “People should expect to have a really good time at Rhythm & Blooms. This is the perfect time of the year to throw in a relaxed and entertaining evening of great music — before the rush of the holidays sets in,” she said. “Mr. Potato Head will perform, which is exciting. I have heard great reviews of them. They’ll be a lot of fun for our audience!”

    This night includes far more than just great music, however; there will also be great food. While the menu has not been finalized yet, Elliott’s Catering Company will provide an amazing meal that is covered in the cost of the ticket, according to Edge.

    Not only is this event an opportunity for those familiar with the garden to enjoy it in a new way, it is also an opportunity for those unfamiliar with the garden to experience one of the most beautiful places in the area.

    “It is always rewarding to host events that bring new faces into the garden. Of course, we love our regulars and couldn’t exist without them, but we love sharing what we have here with others,” Edge explained. “This place still surprises people — even longtime residents of this community. We are almost 25 years old, and many people have yet to experience all that the Garden offers. It’s quite special!”

    Proceeds from this fundraiser will go to maintenance and operating costs in the garden, but also to fund the ongoing programming and education initiatives. The garden is much more than a conglomeration of plants. It is a place for the people of the community to engage and to learn. The Cape Fear Botanical Garden offers many classes that range in interest from books and boats to survival skills. Rhythm and Blooms is a fundraiser to keep the community active and the garden and its plants growing.

    The gates open at 7 p.m., and the show starts at 8 p.m. Ticket price includes entertainment and food. Tickets are $15 for members and $25 for general admission. For more information about Mr. Potato Head, visit www.mphead.com. Tickets are available for purchase at the Cape Fear Botanical Garden. For more information visit www.capefearbg.org/RythmsandBlooms.php.

    Photo: Mr. Potato will entertain at the Rhythm and Blooms Party to benefit the Cape Fear Botanical Garden.

  • uac100913001.gif Passionate. Visionaries. Tenacious. Resourceful. These are all words Lisa Thomas, president, CEO and senior business coach at The Power, Passion & Purpose (P3) Group, uses to describe business owners. As a business coach and business owner, Thomas knows that owning a business can be a lonely road sometimes. Thomas understands that in these tough economic times businesses can become stymied or vulnerable.

    “It is not a good feeling when you are standing there by yourself and feeling stuck,” said Thomas. “But it is a great feeling when you find the resources you need to work through a problem or get around an obstacle and that is what we are hoping to address at this expo.”

    That is what the Fayetteville Business to Business Expo is all about. It is about bringing business owners and executives together with other talented local business owners and executives and providing them with valuable insights on how to expand and grow their business operations. On Oct. 17, the P3 Group is partnering with Up & Coming Weekly, the community newspaper, and Cumulus Broadcasting to host Fayetteville’s first Business to Business Expo at the Holiday Inn Bordeaux.

    “We want to get people connected and give them resources to work through and overcome whatever it is that is making them feel stuck. It is so much easier to get through something when you can talk with someone who has already walked that path or solved that problem and is willing to share their experiences and insight,” said Thomas.

    It will be a day-long event starting at 8:30 a.m., with a continental breakfast and continuing on with accomplished speakers, local business exhibits and vendors, a keynote buffet lunch and culminating with a fun business-to-business networking reception hosted by special guest Pam Saulsby. Saulsby is a well-known journalist, singer and WNCN news anchor. There will be plenty of fun, prizes and surprises for those attending.

    The speakers are accomplished. In addition to Thomas, who will speak on 21st Century Business Strategies, the other guest speakers are: Stephanie Bowens, The P3 Group’s senior wealth adviser, who will cover popular and timely business financial strategies. Event co-host Bill Bowman, publisher and founder of Up & Coming Weeklyand Kidsville News! will address the importance of having a well-defined marketing, promotion and branding strategy. He will be followed by successful businessman Mike Lallier, owner of Reid-Lallier Chevrolet, who will discuss the importance of excellent customer service as the true foundation of success. These topics were chosen because of their relevancy and because they are the proven essential elements of any company’s success and strategic plan.

    Fayetteville and Cumberland County has a diverse business community, which is represented, in part, by the local Chambers of Commerce. To ensure that those voices are heard, the afternoon session will conclude with candid conversations and a question and answer session with the presidents of all three area Chambers of Commerce, including Doug Peters, of the Fayetteville Regional Chamber of Commerce; Jan Spell of the Hope Mills Chamber; and Jeffrey Hunt, of the Spring Lake Chamber of Commerce.

    10-09-13-doug-peters.gif10-09-13-jan-spell.gif10-09-13-jeffrey-hunt.gifThomas noted that the importance of adding the Chamber staff came from their unique insights and knowledge of the challenges local businesses will be forced to face in today’s market. She added that the Chamber representatives were eager to participate because they realize the vital importance of knowing how to conduct business in this challenging economy.

    “We are producing the B2B Expo this year with the idea of making it an annual event,” said Bowman, who is actively engaged in many local organizations and business organizations.

    “Our goal is to showcase talented people and quality businesses and organizations and give them all the opportunity to let other businesses and organizations know who they are and who they need to be doing business with. The B2B Expo will be a first class-event. Lisa and I know and appreciate how valuable time is to both the attendees and speakers. We want to make sure we deliver the type of information, the message and experience that will make this day a great value and worthwhile business investment for all who participate.”

    Pre-registration is required and tickets are $45 ($35 each for additional attendee) and may be ordered at: www.TheP3Group.com/businessexpo/register. Price includes: continental breakfast, keynote lunch, networking reception, prizes and surprises and of course, knowledge, upon which you cannot put a price. Sponsorships, vendor booths and exhibits are also still available by calling 910 391 3859 or 910 221 9294.

    Photos: The panel of chamber presidents. (L-R) Fayetteville Regional Chamber of Commerce President, Doug Peters, Hope Mills Chamber of Commerce President, Jan Spell, Spring Lake Chamber of Commerce President, Jeffrey Hunt.

  • The Pen Is Truly Mighty10-16-13-business-to-busines.gif

    The results of a global study of promotional product user habits and effectiveness were recently published (See ASI Global Ad Impressions Study 2012) and three facts jump right out: promotional products are far more effective (at 86 percent name retention) than television (50 percent name retention). That’s a huge advantage for the oft dismissed promotional product; writing instruments were found to be the most commonly remembered category among the ten or so studied; and the average cost of marketing with writing instruments averages less than 1/10th of a cent per view. That’s 1,000 views per dollar.

    Since promo items in general have an 86 percent name retention rate (meaning the rate at which product users recall the name of the company on the item) and can be purchased at pennies per item, businesses can create a marketing strategy that begins at a much lower cost than almost any other medium. A minimal television campaign running just a few ads per day for just a few weeks can cost many thousands of dollars. A newspaper ad running weekly costs several thousand. For example, 1,000 basic Bic Clic Stic pens cost a few hundred dollars and leave 860 people remembering the name of your company. Moreover, those 1,000 pens (with Bic’s 1.2 miles of ink per pen) generate a total of more than 500,000 views of your logo. That’s power.

    The quality and cost of pens vary widely but the math mentioned above applies at all levels. A 30-cent stick pen used for a few days carries the same 1/10th of a cent cost per view as a gold-plated Parker that is used for several years. The only question for you is, at what price point to effectively use pens in your branding campaign. Should you disseminate thousands of inexpensive pens at crowd events or go with a few dozen of those gold Parkers handed as gifts to a pre-selected target audience? Or, as I recommend (and follow for my own company), do both.

    One hurdle to overcome when using an item as common as a pen is how to make yours stand out from the many your target audience already has. According to the global study, usefulness is the main differentiator among promotional products. In what ways do pens vary in usefulness? As I mentioned above, the better ones have more ink and generally write more smoothly. Once users learn that particular brands suit their preference they begin coveting pens from that manufacturer. Bic, Papermate, Parker and Quill have that kind of following. Pens can be multi-functional with secondary tools like smart-screen styluses, LED lights, laser pointers or highlighters added to one end. The added function making them doubly used and coveted.

    Lastly, make sure that you choose a pen that attractively carries your logo and message. Make sure that the printable area will fit both. Print should be large on the less expensive pens and smaller (preferably engraved) on the nicer keepsake-quality ones. Use a pen color that enhances and contrasts with your logo color(s). Looking good is often half the battle and it doesn’t necessarily cost more to make a pretty pen.

    At 1,000 views per dollar; 86 percent name retention; limitless options and price points, the pen is truly mighty but only when used wisely.

    Photo: A recent study found that promotional pens have an 86 percent name-retention rate.

  • 10-23-13-when-pigs-fly.gifThis year has been incredibly hard for educators facing budget cuts. To help lighten the impact of the cuts, Communities in Schools of Cumberland County will host a fundraiser The All-American BBQ Festival and 5K on Saturday, Nov. 2 from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. at Festival Park.

    “In North Carolina, barbecue is right up there with college basketball,” said Cindy Kowal, executive director of Communities in Schools of Cumberland County. “The event makes for a wonderful way for Communities in Schools to bring everyone in the community together around something that is centrally important to all of us: kids and education.”

    Kowal added that the most important reason for the event is that it is giving back to the kids in Cumberland County Schools.

    The festival will kick-off with the one-mile fun walk and 5K run. The first 300 runners will receive a T-shirt with the logo. The BBQ competition is hosted by Corey Brinson and BBQ Chef Eddie Smith. Only 25 teams can compete. The categories include chicken, ribs (spares or baby backs) and pork (Boston Butt). You must cook in all three categories to compete for the title of grand champion.

    “The BBQ teams will begin arriving on Friday afternoon to Festival Park,” said Kowal. “They will camp out Friday night into Saturday morning tending to their grills.”

    Judging will start around 1 p.m. on Saturday. The grand champion will win $1,500 and the reserve grand champion will win $750. There are first, second, third, fourth and fifth place awards with monetary awards and a trophy. There is a $175 team registration fee.

    The festival will have a Kid’s Zone with bouncy houses and a climbing wall. Four bands, from all over the state, will perform throughout the day: Red June from Asheville, Ted Jones & the Tarheel Boys from Raleigh, Six Pack of Gentleman from Southport and Old Habits from Raleigh.

    “Great music is planned for the whole afternoon,” said Kowal. “Also local and out-of-town vendors will be selling barbecue, hamburgers, hot dogs, chicken wings and barbecue chicken in the park.”

    Participants can also sample beer. “We are marketing to 10 counties and have billboards up everywhere to spread the word,” said Kowal. “We want to showcase our city for a fun day not just for our community but the region.”

    Kowal added that her goal is for Festival Park to fill to capacity and for everyone to have a great time so they will come back again next year.

    Admission for kids under the age of 12 is free. Tickets for general admission are $5. Beer lovers all-access is $25; beer lovers all access (teacher and military discount with badge) is $20; and VIP tickets are $35. If you want to participate in the 5K run, registration is $25; $30.00 to run the race and have access to the park; and $40.00 to run the race and receive an armband. For more information, visit www.whenpigsflybbqfestival.com or call 221-8800.

  • 22 Zoe White 71st Zoe White

    Seventy-First • Junior •

    Volleyball/basketball/ track and field

    White has a 3.9 grade point average. In addition to playing multiple sports, she’s active in Student Government Association, Health Occupations Students of America, National Honor Society and Future Business Leaders of America.

     

     

    22 Cornell Robinson 71st Cornell Robinson

    Seventy-First • Junior •

    Football

    Robinson has a grade point average of 3.9. In addition to playing football, he’s a member of the Seventy-First National Honor Society

  • 21 cross country finals A trio of Cumberland County cross country runners came away with victories recently as their conference meets were held.

    It was nothing new for Morgan Dorsey of Fayetteville Academy, who for the fifth time won her conference cross country championship running for the Eagles.

    In the Patriot Athletic Conference meet at South View, the Tigers’ Kodi Payne won her second consecutive girls conference title, while Westover’s Delsin Burkhart triumphed in the boys race.

    Dorsey ran her race at Hugh McRae Park in Wilmington, a flat course that’s on open terrain, which allows participants to see the whole course before running it.

    Dorsey, a junior, said her strategy for the race this year was the same as it’s been the previous times she ran.

    She likes to stay behind the lead runners for most of the race, then let her track and field instincts kick in late and pull away for the win.

    “This year, they got out a little slow and I think they wanted me to lead the race,’’ Dorsey said. “I don’t like to lead. I always feel like someone’s chasing me.’’

    Dorsey, who recorded a 21:20 for the win, said her main concern is doing her best, not winning the race. “I’m not a long distance runner,’’ she said. “I can hang for three miles.’’

    Payne, a senior, has been running slower than last season and didn’t have a highly successful regular season in the Patriot Athletic Conference this year.

    “The girls I ran against last year were performing much better than I was, so I was worried time-wise about what I would run,’’ she said.

    She was obviously familiar with the South View course where the conference meet was held, so she had her strategy planned.

    “I just started out smart,’’ she said, “take the first mile slower than the rest so I could gradually speed up in the woods since we have a hill. I wanted to make sure I had energy saved up so I could go up that hill strong.’’

    Her winning time was 19:23.60.

    Burkhart started running track for Westover as a freshman but only tried cross country for the first time last season at the suggestion of his coach.

    He’s quickly found cross country more fun than track. “You’re out running around trails on campuses or parks,’’ he said.

    He had a good performance in the Jungle Run at South View earlier this year and was confident about his chances in the conference meet.

    “Midway through the race is where I usually get fatigued,’’ he said. “I made sure I opened up my stride and took deep breaths so I could capitalize on the hills and turns.’’

    He took the lead for good at the two-mile marker, he said, finishing in a time of 16:49.80.

    Dorsey, Payne and Burkhart are all hopeful their performances in their conference meets will help boost them in regional and state competition to come.

    Burkhart probably expressed the feelings of all three best, saying his main concern was staying healthy. “I put in all the necessary work through the summer and during the season to allow me to compete at the regional and state level,’’ he said.

  • 10-01-14-halloween-revels.gifHave you ever wondered what Halloween was like in Fayetteville a hundred or so years ago? Come and find out. The Museum of the Cape Fear Historical Complex will give you a peek with Halloween Revels: Night Tours of the 1897 Poe House on October 17, 18, 24 and 25 from 6 p.m. – 9 p.m. at The Poe House.

    The 1897 Poe House is one of Fayetteville’s great educational resources. It is a part of the Museum of the Cape Fear Historical Complex and is the former home of Fayetteville businessman, Edgar Allen Poe (no relation to the author of the same name.) The home was built in 1897. Visitors to the Poe House can learn about life in Fayetteville during the early 1900s.

    “We have partnered with the Gilbert Theater so we have actors from the Gilbert who portray members of the Poe Family,” said Megan Maxwell, 1897 Poe House education coordinator. “Those members are the father, mother, eight children and a few of the servants.”

    Maxwell added that the actors portray a typical All Hallows’ Eve Night back in the early 1900s in the Poe House.

    The fun event showcases the Poe House and takes visitors on a little trip back in time.

    “It is something different than your typical scary, gory, haunted house,” said Maxwell. “This one is totally family-friendly that takes about 20 minutes to go through the house and see each of the vignettes that the actors perform.”

    Maxwell added that the vignettes are ad lib and the actors were given a scenario and had to create their own scenes. There is a different scene in every room and the actors move throughout the house.

    The Poe House was built in 1897 and it was the home of the Poe family. Poe owned a brick company in town and was very active in the community.

    He and his wife, Josephine, had eight children. They had a cook named Nancy and a nurse named Jenny. They were a typical upper middle class family in Fayetteville during this time period. The house includes East Lake Victorian architecture and has been preserved throughout the years. It is a good depiction of life during the time period 1897-1917.

    “It really feels like the house has been brought back to life as you move through it,” said Maxwell.

    “We look forward to everyone coming to this event.”

    The cost is $3 for ages 7 and up and is free for ages 6 and under. The tours will run every 20 minutes beginning at 6 p.m. with the last tour ending at 9 p.m.. For more information, call 486-1330.

    The event promises to be a lot of fun — and interesting, too.

  • Screen Shot 2018 10 30 at 3.55.19 PM South View’s Emery Simmons is the lone Cumberland County football player chosen to appear in this year’s Shrine Bowl of the Carolinas high school all-star football game.

    The annual contest that pits the top senior football players from North and South Carolina against each other is scheduled for Saturday, Dec. 15, at Gibbs Stadium on the campus of Wofford College in Spartanburg, South Carolina. Kickoff is at 1 p.m.

    Simmons has put together a personal highlight reel of catches this season, including a spectacular one-handed grab in South View’s only loss of the season so far against Terry Sanford.

    According to statistics at ncprepsports.net through Oct. 23, he led Cumberland County Schools receivers in total yards and touchdown catches with 40 total receptions for 775 yards and 12 scores.

    Already committed to Penn State, Simmons said he’s been taking the season game by game, putting in his best effort to impress the coaches who picked this year’s Shrine Bowl team.

    “Not many people get to say they play in an all-star game like this, the longest-running all-star game in the country,’’ Simmons said. “It’s a blessing and an honor to be a part of it.’’

    South View coach Rodney Brewington said Simmons has gone from being a running back in middle school to a 6-foot-2 receiver with loads of athletic ability and a work ethic to match.

    “From a work ethic standpoint, I can’t say I’ve coached a kid who works as hard as he works,’’ Brewington said. “From an athletic standpoint, he puts you in the mind of Eric Ebron, who had athletic ability you couldn’t coach.’’

    Ebron played for Brewington when Brewington coached in Greensboro and is currently the tight end for the Detroit Lions.

    On the field, Brewington said one of Simmons’ greatest gifts is his aggressiveness. “He’s a kid that doesn’t wait for the ball to come to him,’’ Brewington said. “He goes to get it. He can dunk a basketball from a standstill. That’s a coach’s dream to have him as a receiver.’’

    Simmons is one of six wide receivers chosen for this year’s Shrine Bowl team, but Brewington has no doubt he’ll have no trouble seeing his share of passes in the game.

    “If they want to win, he’s going to have a lot of touches,’’ Brewington said.

    Photo: Emery Simmons

  • Bullying is in the national spotlight right now, although it is an age old problem. It is a problem that children of all ages and in all sorts of situations face. Glenn Sutton was bullied as a child, and has taken it upon himself to face the bullying problem head on. He does this through a performance called Lost Dreams, based on his experiences as a victim.

    “Everyone has a story … and I am trying to change lives with my story,” Sutton said. Lost Dreams is set for Oct. 14 and 15 at Methodist University. 10-08-14-anti-bullying.gif

    Sutton has a master’s degree in public administration and is the founder of Stop Bullies and Bystanders, an organization dedicated to educating people about the dangers of bullying and encouraging them to expose bullying in schools with the goal of permanently ending it. The organization has been working towards this goal for 16 years. Sutton reaches out to any and all areas where a child may be affected by bullying such as schools, churches and civic groups.

    Sutton’s passion to prevent childhood bullying stems from his own personal experience as a bullying victim. It was during his middle school years that it proved to be the most difficult, as he was not at his grade’s reading level.

    “When I was in middle school, I was bullied. I don’t want any other kid to live through that. I had a teacher that was able to rescue me from that whole situation, and I want to help kids reach their dreams because I almost lost mine. I don’t want to see kids dreams crushed. So during every show I give everything that I have,” Sutton said.

    Live theatre is much more of an engaging medium than television or clips. To see real people demonstrating before your very eyes is striking and real. It forces the audience to confront the message directly.

    “Our mission is to change a child’s life through drama. Once that dramatic music starts, even I go back to when I was bullied. I still hear all those names and feel all those hurts,” he said.

    “Kids learn more through drama. They remember more, and because you are in the theatre, you can’t run away. When they leave, they leave with a better sense about what bullying is, they hold themselves accountable to make the right choices. They will say something about bullying. Your mouth is your greatest weapon.”

    This realism and passion combined with theatrical devices creates a one-of-a-kind impact.

    “A lot of schools play videos about bullying. That’s great, but what I do is different. Mine holds them accountable. I bring them into my world and show them how I feel. You need both,” he said.

    A unique aspect to Sutton’s approach to solving the bullying problem is that he also holds bystanders accountable. During his show the audience is engaged in the plot line and both the bullies and the bystanders are faced with the responsibility that each had in the harming of another individual. He encourages people who see instances of bullying to stand up for others and speak out against any violence that they may see.

    Lost Dreams is on stage at Methodist on Oct. 14 and 15 at 9:30 a.m., 11:45 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. each day. Tickets are $8 and can be purchased by calling 910-551-4739 or 910-424-8713. Methodist University is located at 5400 Ramsey St. For more information on Stop Bullies and Bystanders, visit www.stopbullyingandbystanders.com.

  • 20 Earl 1 When Earl “Early Bird” Horan IV was announced as homecoming king at Gray’s Creek High School’s homecoming game recently, it was just a small sign of the overwhelming support the Gray’s Creek family has showered on special needs students like Horan and his counterparts.

    Earl Horan III, Horan’s father, is a special education teacher at Gray’s Creek and has been a first-hand witness to how open and supportive the school has been of its special needs population.

    “They have jumped in with both feet,’’ the senior Horan said. He and his son came to the Gray’s Creek community four years ago, and Early Bird immediately began hanging out with the football players and making friends on the team. His father also involved him in the school’s wrestling program where he made more friends.

    Eventually, the elder Horan approached football coach David Lovette about getting his players involved with young Earl’s Buddy Football team. The Buddy sports program helps promote activities for special needs youngsters.

    The Gray’s Creek football team has continued its involvement with Buddy football ever since. Coach Jeff Nance, who coaches the Gray’s Creek baseball team and is the school’s adaptive physical education coach, has been involving his team with the Very Special Arts Festival every year.

    Meanwhile, bowling coach Sam Bullard has two of Horan’s autistic students on the Gray’s Creek bowling team.

    Non-sports groups like Future Farmers of America and the school chorus have also incorporated special needs students into their programs.

    But one of the biggest steps forward took place last year when Vernon Aldridge, student activities director for Cumberland County Schools, began promoting the idea of offering Unified Sports programs.

    Unified Sports is a project promoted by Special Olympics that helps partner athletes with intellectual disabilities with traditional athletes who help their partners compete in select events in sports like track and field.

    Last year, the first Unified Sports athletes from Cumberland County took part in local track meets.

    “We had tons of volunteers and over 20 students on our team,’’ Horan said. He said Gray’s Creek athletic director Troy Lindsey made sure the team members had everything they needed to compete.

    In other developments, the school has partnered with Terry Sanford High School soccer coach Karl Molnar, who with his wife Kim has founded an organization called Miller’s Crew that offers opportunities for special needs students to become more functional in society. They have opened small businesses operated by the special needs students at West Bladen and Jack Britt High Schools. Gray’s Creek will soon open a coffee shop in the former teachers’ lounge.

    Horan said the experience is heartwarming because the students have so much to give.

    He said a doctor once told him that special needs children are God’s example of how things should be on Earth.

    “They’ve got the purest souls, the sweetness,’’ he said. “They lift everybody up by being around them. They are innocent.’’

    When Early Bird was named homecoming king, Horan said the students treated his son like a rock star.

    “He was bum-rushed before he got off the football field,’’ Horan said.

    Asked what he enjoyed most about the experience, Early Bird said talking to the girls and waving to the crowd while he rode around the field in a convertible wearing his crown and cape.

    “We don’t just put them in a hut like we did back in my day,’’ Horan said of the special needs youngsters. “I think Cumberland County Schools is doing everything correctly. They are in the forefront of inclusion of the special needs population. It’s really heartwarming.’’

    Photo: Gray’s Creek principal Lisa Stewart (left) poses with Earl Horan, homecoming king (right

  • 10-15-14-halloweenhalfpic3.gifHalloween isn’t normally the first thing that comes to mind when thinking of a marathon, but The Halloween Half Marathon plans to change that. The event is full of family fun and customs for all ages to enjoy their exercise in a fun and creative way.

    The Halloween Half Marathon started in 2009 in Miami, Fla., and is now going to be annual event in Spring Lake. Proceeds from the event will help Spring Lake Parks and Recreation to help build a new track. After the goal is reached, the company will sponsor other local charities around the community.

    Jason Miller, the race director, is a Fayetteville native who has been putting on races for 15 years.

    “I eat and sleep running. I love bringing this event to different cities in which I see potential. I see Fayetteville growing as a running community and I wanted to bring more participation here”, said Miller.

    Miller runs 100 miles a week and runs three to five marathons a year. He plans to participate in the All-American Marathon in March.10-15-14-halloweenhalfpic5.gif

    “I want to show how exciting a race can actually be. Running or participating in marathons for families is a fun way to bring people to together. This is the only event in which we allow children to race,” he said.

    Miller and the staff of the Halloween Half Marathon also think of things runners would like.

    “We try to incorporate everything we can think of. The tracks we choose to hold the races are flat and we provide a finishing medal,” he said. “I’m honored to be back in Fayetteville. It’s great to share what I’ve learned in the last couple years.”

    The events will begin at 11 a.m., Nov. 1 in Spring Lake with a Family Health and Fitness Fair. During that time, games for all ages, health screenings, fitness speakers, costume awards, a pumpkin carving competition and sponsored giveaways will happen. The kids run (ages 5-13) will begin at 3 p.m. with an entry fee of $5. The Halloween Half Marathon will start at 4 p.m. It costs $65. The 5K starts at 4:15 p.m. and is $30. Each participant will get a T-shirt and a medal. The Halloween Half Marathon also brings awareness to the community about health and physical fitness.

    Running of course is normal everyday cardio, but adding a fun spin with activities makes it more appealing. Live music and refreshments are also planned for the event. For The Halloween Half Marathon, organizers are expecting representation from 23 states, as well as a few runners from Morocco, France and Italy.

    For more information, or to register for any of the events, visit www.active.com/spring-lake-nc/running/distance-running-races/north-carolina-halloween-half-marathon-2014.

    Photos:  The Halloween Half Marathon allows adults and kids to enjoy dressing up and exercise.

  • IMG 2388 Barely two years since his tragic death in a motorcycle accident, Hope Mills Middle School will pay tribute to former football coach Michael Burks by naming the school’s football field in his memory.
     
    The ceremony is scheduled for Thursday, Nov. 1, at 4 p.m. when Hope Mills takes on rival South View Middle School in the annual homecoming game.
     
    Yolanda Epps, principal at Hope Mills Middle, still remembers the day when Burks died following the accident that occurred just after the school’s football game.
     
    Epps described Burks, who was a health and physical education teacher as well as football coach, as a wonderful person with an impeccable reputation.
     
    “He was a mentor to children, a friend to most, a dad to a lot of our young men and ladies who did not have a father figure in their lives,’’ she said.
     
    “He was a wonderful person. Our kids absolutely adored him. Anyone that ever met him would say the same thing.’’
    Epps had not been principal at Hope Mills Middle long before Burks passed away but said they had quickly become friends.
    Plans to name the football field for him started last summer, she said. A survey was sent out to faculty, who supported naming the field for Burks, then an application process was pushed through the Cumberland County Board of Education, which game its final approval.
    Epps said the school has ordered a sign to be placed on the field and she’s hopeful it will arrive in time for the dedication ceremony, which will take place at halftime of the football game with South View Middle.
     
    “We’ve gotten approval to extend halftime to get all the ceremony taken care of,’’ she said. She added that members of Burks’ family from West Virginia have been invited and will be coming down to take part in the ceremony.
     
    She’s also hopeful many of his former students will attend the event. “A lot of kids who played on this field are now at South View High School,’’ she said. “It’s a nice opportunity to come back and be part of something they were once a part of.’’
     
    Photo: Micheal Burks
  • Downtown Fayetteville is a destination for shopping and entertainment, and on Oct. 24, it will10-22-14-4th-friday-zomgie.gifcontinue late into the evening with this month’s 4th Friday, a family-friendly event that celebrates the incredible and varied talents and venues that Fayetteville has to offer. It is impossible to come to 4th Friday and leave without discovering something new.

    For children, Fascinate-U is an amazing experience. The museum has interactive exhibits that are intended for children to explore in order to learn about the world. The exhibits include the Gro-Right Grocery and Deli and a Weather Forecast Center. Admission is free on 4th Friday from 7 p.m. until 9 p.m. Kids will enjoy the special event’s Spooky Music with the Blue Violin. Kia Walker, a singer and music teacher, and her students will play spooky music. As part of the event, the kids can also make a mask to take home for free. Fascinate-U is located at 116 Green St. For more information about Fascinate-U, call 829-9171 or visit www.fascinate-u.com.

    Fayetteville Technical Community College is a valuable institution dedicated to education in the Fayetteville community. This dedication can be clearly seen in its continuous efforts to expand and improve. In The Capitol Room at 134 Person St., beginning at 7 p.m., Sigma Kappa Delta, the English Honor Society, will host a release party for Unbound, a literary arts journal, which is a testament to the dedication FTCC has to higher learning.

    The Arts Council opens a new exhibit called Colorblind: Artwork in Black and White this 4th Friday. This is an invitational show that focuses on contrast in 2- and 3-dimensional art works crafted in black and white. The exhibit is free to the public and is open from 7 to 9 p.m. at 301 Hay St. For more information about the exhibit, call 323-1776 or visit www.theartscouncil.com. Live entertainment provided by the Armed Forces Band’s Loose Cannons is on tap in front of the Arts Council building, as well.

    Another great art venue in downtown Fayetteville is Cape Fear Studios. Located at 148 Maxwell St., the studio is a space for local artists to display their creativity and skill. On Oct. 24, The Annual Nellie Allen Smith National Pottery Competition will open. Potters from all over the state submit their works into the juried competition. The gallery is open from 6 to 9 p.m. and is free to the public.

    Embracing the Halloween spirit, the official Downtown Alliance theme for October is Zombie Walk. The zombie hoard will gather in front of the Headquarters Library, 300 Maiden Lane, for free zombie makeup application, a costume contest and photo booth before the walk through downtown Fayetteville. Providing free entertainment for the ghastly group from 6 to 8 p.m. is the Street Ratz Breakdance Crew, Shadows of Fire and Thriller Dance Troupe on the Outdoor Zombie Pre-Party Stage.

    City Center Gallery and Books, located at 112 Hay St., will remain open from 6 to 8 p.m. so you can peruse the books and art and enjoy live local entertainment. Market Square Coffee House located at 106 Hay St. will also feature local musicians beginning at 7 p.m.

    Don’t miss the Dogwood Fall Festival events in Festival Park. The Fall Festival runs Oct. 23-25 and includes Boo and Brew, the Lafayette Insane Asylum and Historic Hauntings. Find out more at http://www.faydogwoodfestival.com/events/dogeood-fall-festival.

    For more information about 4th Friday visit www.theartscouncil.com or call 323-1776.

  • Let the chaos begin.
    When the smoke cleared from last Friday night’s football games, there were four teams tied at the top of the Patriot Athletic Conference with 4-1 league records. They are South View, Pine Forest, Gray’s Creek and Terry Sanford.
     
    Because the Patriot is a spit 4-A/3-A conference, there’s a championship within the championship. Pine Forest and South View lead the 4-A race with Overhills three games back at 2-4.
     
    Gray’s Creek and Terry Sanford top the 3-A teams, with Cape Fear one game behind them in the loss column at 4-2.
    Let’s look ahead for a bit and see how this could wind up. 
     
    It’s a good news/bad news situation for Cape Fear. They’ve already played all the heavy hitters and end up with E.E. Smith, an open date and Douglas Byrd.
     
    Cape Fear needs help to pull 3-A rival Gray’s Creek back to the pack to improve its chances of getting in the picture for a No. 1 playoff seed.
    South View hosts Overhills for homecoming this week, but has a tough finish with Gray’s Creek in the Battle for the Bridge and a huge 4-A showdown the final week with Pine Forest.
     
    Pine Forest has tough duels with the Tigers and Terry Sanford sandwiched around a game with Overhills, also a difficult finish.
    Over in the 3-A ranks, Terry Sanford’s finale with Gray’s Creek looms huge both in deciding the overall title and the 3-A No. 1.
    Gray’s Creek probably has the toughest finish of everyone, playing Westover, South View and Terry Sanford in order.
    Let’s just hope we don’t have anymore weather foulups over the next three weeks to further complicate what should be a thrilling finish.
     
     
    The record: 63-16
     
    I missed a close call on the South View at Terry Sanford game for my only goof of the week. The record was 7-1 which puts the total for the year at 63-16, 79.7 percent, inching closer to that magic 80 percent figure.
     
    Cape Fear at E.E. Smith - Cape Fear has finished with all the teams at the top of the Patriot Athletic Conference and can only tread water waiting to see how the dogfight leaves them standing at season’s end. The Colts should not have a lot of trouble winning this one.
    Cape Fear 33, E.E. Smith 8.
     
    Gray’s Creek at Westover - The Bears have to be careful tonight. This Westover team is no pushover and has been giving opponents fits all season. The Bears are in the thick of the race for the Patriot Athletic Conference title and can’t afford a slip.
    Gray’s Creek 24, Westover 20.
     
    Pinecrest at Jack Britt - The Buccaneers have won four of their last five and are at .500 for the first time this season, but I think the streak of good fortune ends tonight against a good Pinecrest team.
    Pinecrest 21, Jack Britt 14.
     
    Terry Sanford at Pine Forest - I’ve had an awful time getting both these two right this year. A coin flip would be as good a choice as anything. I’m leaning toward Terry Sanford, because they proved last week against South View they can score against anybody, and that is going to be essential against a team like Pine Forest.
    Terry Sanford 31, Pine Forest 29.
     
    Richmond Senior at Seventy-First - This is Seventy-First’s chance to step onto the big stage statewide, stand up and be counted. I’d love to see the Falcons do it, but it’s going to be a tall order. If you haven’t heard the legend, there’s a mystique about Richmond Senior and years that end in eight. They’ve got a string of state football titles tied to that number, and this team is looking like it has the same potential.
    Richmond Senior 21, Seventy-First 14.
     
    Overhills at South View - South View will be anxious to bounce back quickly from its first loss of the season at Terry Sanford last week and stay in the fight with the rest of the pack tied at the top of the Patriot Athletic Conference standings. 
    South View 28, Overhills 14.
     
    Westover at Douglas Byrd - This one could go either way but I think Westover is playing a little better at this point.
    Westover 22, Douglas Byrd 20.
     
    Trinity Christian at Village Christian - The big shootout between the local private school powers is here. I give the edge to Trinity.
    Trinity Christian 28, Village Christian 21.
  • 10-29-14-blues-eye.gifTom Quaintance, the artistic director at the Cape Fear Regional Theatre, has made his mark on the community in a very short time by telling stories that matter on the theatre’s stage. With the 2014-2015 season, Quaintance is taking it a step further. He not only wants to bring those important stories to the stage, he wants to take them out in the community in order to start conversations that will not only engage the community, but maybe even change it.

    With the opening of The Bluest Eye, a play based on a novel by Toni Morrison and adapted for the stage by Lydia R. Diamond, the conversations have started before the curtain has even come up.

    “I saw a production of The Bluest Eye seven years ago and was moved by it. It’s simply a stunning piece of work,” said Quaintance. “When I first saw the play, I didn’t know how often the book had been banned. It is a very serious work. It is a very deep book.”

    For Quaintance, it is a story that must be told. The Bluest Eye deals with the question of beauty in the African-American community. It tackles the issue of how African-American girls and women see themselves in the face of the media’s standard of beauty, which is typically centered on white women, and the issues of beauty within the African-American community, which is often based on lightness and darkness of skin.

    All of these issues are told through the life of the main character, Pecola, played by Kenya Alexander, who is raised not only in a verbally abusive family, but also a sexually abusive family. Pecola is made to believe that she is ugly because of her color, which leaves her dreaming of having her ideal of beauty, which is blue eyes.

    Quaintance said it is very important that the theatre articulates to the community why it is an appropriate play for high school students to see this production. He is trying to do that by hosting a series of conversations in the community, and has already seen there is some resistance to the play’s staging.

    “This play was adapted to be accessible for high school students,” said Quaintance. “It speaks to their self image and how American culture can devalue young African-American women.”

    To help him tell this story, Quaintance enlisted director Khanisha Foster whom he believes can handle these issues with grace and elegance and who has already made an impact through her conversations with members of the African-American community.

    At the first community meeting the theatre created a panel, Foster, Alexander and two professors from Fayetteville State University. Their conversation not only excited those in the audience, but also won some of them over.

    “There was one lady who was very against the play, but she became so excited that she and her husband bought all of the tickets for the first Wednesday show, which they are donating to students at FSU. They want to get the students to dig into these issues,” said Quaintance, adding that there will be pre-show discussions with the audience before each show with the audience.

    Foster was anxious to direct the show. She noted that the play is an example of how great tragedy can still create joy and beauty.

    “You can’t process tragedy without joy,” she explained. “You can’t take it out into the world and do something with it.”

    Foster hopes that through the production of the play the cast will be able to experience the tragedy and joy and then reveal the truth and experience it very honestly. If that happens, Foster expects that “parking lot conversations” will occur, where people leave the theatre and openly discuss not only the issues of beauty and body image, but also the cruelty and shame that happens with abuse.

    While the story is centered on the issue of beauty in the African-American community, it actually transcends color and addresses the issue of beauty in all women. “This isn’t a book or play about black people,” said Foster. “It’s about things happening to people who happen to be black."

    Sponsored through a grant by the Junior League, the play opens Oct. 30 and runs through Nov. 16. For tickets and more information, visit the CFRT website at www.cfrt.org.

  • vecteezy voting no check box 7133427 517 We recently attended one of the city’s bond referendum sessions. It was a PowerPoint briefing which basically reiterated the points in the city's current web page.
    From our perspective, it was a check -the-block, we informed the citizens, pat ourselves on the back, presentation. It was not a meeting where citizens could bring up concerns for city representatives to address.

    The primary issue of the meeting was to inform the citizenry regarding needed housing, emergency services and city infrastructure. What this session didn’t do was explain to Fayetteville what the economic impacts of these bonds are, why they weren’t addressed in previous city budgets, who is accountable for accumulated funds, and who is receiving these funds should the bonds be approved.

    None of the recent city budgets on record go into a by-line-item review or detailed explanation of where or to whom any of the city’s money is directly going. The city officials and representatives at the meetings could provide no answers.

    The Public Safety Improvement Bond addresses the needed improvements to the 911 call center and city fire stations. These have had critical needs beyond just the last few years. When asked when those were first identified as a requirement, the 911 representative stated that since she's been there for over 20 years, it was initially identified 28 years ago.

    The fire chief stated that with the increasing radius of the city that they require additional fire stations with those increases. Then why weren’t these issues addressed and budgeted in the last 10 years of budgets at a rate of $97 million divided by 10? Instead, we get watershed studies at the cost of $3.5 million per year.

    In regard to the $12 million affordable housing bond, this bond will be used to incorporate stop gap loans for developers that cannot get a loan for the total amount of their development. The city will cover the deficit and the developer will repay the city. We asked what happens to the money they repay each time it is used, and how is it quantified and when does it come back to the people? City officials were ambiguous on whether it would even go back to the people or how it was accounted for after the developer paid it back. This sounds like an agenda slush fund to us.

    Another portion of the $12 million, unidentified as the exact amount, would be going to down payment assistance for citizens in the city to purchase a house. So to clarify, the city is asking residents to give the city money so the city can then give forgivable loans to other residents to help them with down payments that the city will then forgive if they stay in that house for a set amount of time.

    The amount of down payment assistance would be the difference between the purchase price of the house in order to get it down to a no more than 30% of income based payment. There is no grandfather clause in the program to offset homeowners that saved to purchase a house prior to this bond program. How does it help current homeowners that are struggling to keep their house? Again, no response from city officials.

    We further outline that a greater percentage of residents in the city were struggling just to maintain their house and there was no program to help them keep their mortgage afloat.

    The city officials should answer this question publicly: Is it right to take millions of more dollars from taxpayers who can’t even put food on the table? We have charities now supporting other charities and city leaders are talking about building castles and infrastructure.

    After the meetings, we are more convinced that the $97 million bond will have a lack of oversight and enough holes in the program for whomever wants to move money around, to easily move money around.

    After listening to the city's deliberate propaganda, if any of you want a better city, you must fight for it. If we had not attended the meetings, it would have been a one-sided conversation. Not everyone in Fayetteville lives in a gated community and can afford a tax increase. How about letting people keep enough of their tax money so they can eat?

    Take a stand and vote NO on the bond referendums.

  • Haylie BraggHaylie Bragg 

    Gray’s Creek • Cross Country • Junior 

    Bragg has an unweighted grade point average of 3.69. She recently placed 12th in the Patriot Athletic Conference cross country championship meet with a time of 21:46.10. 

     

     

     

     

    19 Garrett Sirois Garrett Sirois 

    Gray’s Creek • Football • Senior 

    Sirois has an unweighted grade point average of 3.91. As the kicker on the Gray’s Creek football team, he’s made 20 of 23 extra points and two field goals for 26 points as of Oct. 17 – the third-best kick-scorer among Cumberland County Schools kickers. His late 32-yard field goal gave the Bears a 25-22 win over Jack Britt. 

  • vote METRO Joe Biden may not be able to walk and chew gum at the same time, but he sure can eat ice cream and answer questions about the economy simultaneously. When a reporter asked him recently in an ice cream shop about the state of our economy, Biden, almost in mid-bite, replied that it is “strong as hell.”

    This assessment might come as a surprise to most Americans, who know from regular visits to a grocery store or a gas station that our economy is many things, but “strong as hell” isn’t one of them.

    In issuing this proclamation, Biden has demonstrated why no one should vote for any Democrats in the upcoming midterms. There are two ways to interpret his response: Biden either knows the economy is in terrible shape and is lying to avoid taking responsibility for it, or he is clueless about conditions in our country and the hardships Americans are dealing with every day. Neither one of these explanations is a good look for him or his party.

    Why should any of us be surprised at this point by the probability that Biden and everyone in his party are either pathologically dishonest or detached from reality or both? I cannot think of a single thing Democrats have done since gaining control of both houses of Congress and the White House that has benefitted Americans.

    What have Democrats done regarding our energy policy? They have allowed their obsession with climate change and their hatred of the fossil fuel industry to make us energy dependent after a brief period of energy independence under Trump.

    By reducing oil and gas production in our country and pressuring banks to stop lending to fossil fuel companies, Biden and his cohorts have created serious financial and geopolitical consequences for America.

    Because the price of fuel is connected to almost every sector of our economy, an increase in fuel prices has created an increase in the costs of goods and services. We pay more for food, clothing, entertainment, and transportation. This winter, we will pay more to heat our homes.

    Because the Biden administration refuses to produce more oil in America — which would not only lower fuel prices but also create thousands of jobs — we are going hat in hand to other oil-producing countries asking them to sell us oil. So far, all of them have refused.
    This issue alone demonstrates the lunacy of Democratic policy. We sit on some of the largest oil reserves in the world, and we produce the cleanest oil. Yet the ideologues in charge would rather buy dirty oil from countries that mock and despise us than reopen the refineries at home. If this isn’t madness, I don’t know what is.

    Can you think of one aspect of our lives that has improved since the Democrats took control? We spend more on necessities than we did just two years ago. We live in cities where crime rates have increased dramatically, causing businesses and residents to flee. We have had 2-3 million immigrants enter our country illegally because our southern border is wide open (although the Democrats deny this). As a result of our open border, we have a fentanyl crisis that has claimed the lives of tens of thousands of Americans and is now the leading cause of death among adults between the ages of 18 and 45.

    In less than two years, the Democrats have wreaked havoc on our country, and now they are asking for our vote so they can continue implementing their dangerous policies. If they maintain control of Congress, they will continue their out-of-control spending, further weakening our economy and creating even greater hardships for Americans.

    They have worked hard through their radical policies and persistent dishonesty to lose our trust, and they should be appropriately rewarded by losing our vote.

  • 18 Hudson Zeisman Fayetteville AcademyFayetteville Academy entered the North Carolina Independent Schools Athletic Association’s 2-A state soccer playoffs last weekend as defending state champion riding a 10-game winning streak this year. 

    The Eagles got the No. 1 seed in this year’s 2-A tournament and earned a double bye into the quarterfinal round, which was scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 20. They were to face the winner of a second-round match between Trinity Academy and The O’Neal School. 

    Fayetteville Academy is seeking its 17th state boys soccer title and fifth in the last eight years. 

    If they’re still alive when this article is published, they’ll advance to this year’s state finals on Saturday at Westchester Country Day in High Point. 

    Although Eagle coach Andrew McCarthy had a good feeling about this year’s team, there were some concerns about qualifying for the state playoffs because of changes in the NCISAA. 

    The organization expanded from three classes to four. Fayetteville Academy remained a 2-A team but was placed in a four-team split 3-A/4-A conference, which meant it didn’t get an automatic berth in the state playoffs and strength of schedule was important in determining who advanced to the postseason. 

    “We didn’t have a lot of head-to-head or common opponents with teams in our classification,’’ McCarthy said. “Luckily, our strength of schedule was good enough to give us the No. 1 seed.’’ 

    The Eagles have been led in scoring by Hudson Zeisman with 20 goals and 10 assists. Following him is Boyce Purdie with 12 goals and 10 assists. 

    Goalkeeper Langdon Boliek has recorded 10 shutouts in the Eagles’ 13 games. 

    Senior captain Julian Barbaro said he’s not surprised the Eagles are back in the playoffs because of all the work they’ve put in this season. 

    “Everyone gives it all every time they step on the field,’’ he said. “In the final third (on defense), we’re pretty good once we keep it simple. Our defense is strong as a unit.’’ 

       Barbaro praised both Zeisman and Purdie for being unselfish. “They try to look for open plays,’’ he said. 

       McCarthy agreed, adding that Zeisman was especially good on set pieces. “He’s a fantastic athlete, a kid who loves scoring goals,’’ McCarthy said. “He’s a gamer when it comes to game time. He’s ready to go and loves scoring.’’ 

       The No. 1 seed and double bye is both good news and bad news for the Eagles. While it gives them a break and allows them to heal from minor bumps and bruises during the regular season, it also means they’re not going to be playing. The team they’ll be facing Saturday, if the Eagles are still alive, will have had the benefit of one or two competitive games. 

       The Eagles have been in this position before, and McCarthy said it’s just something you have to accept. 

       “You’ve got to make sure every practice is as sharp as possible,’’ he said. “There’s a method to every practice and a goal at the end of every practice. 

       “We have some good players, and practice can get pretty intense the way we set things up. Intensity has to come in practice whether you have a double bye or not. That’s one thing we push for.’’ 

       Some of Fayetteville Academy’s biggest rivals in the 2-A classification last year moved up to 3-A this season, but McCarthy said there are still plenty of tough teams left to test the Eagles this year in their bid to repeat. 

       “There’s going to be a lot of really tough competition,’’ he said. “I don’t think there’s a lot of difference in the top teams. Any of the top ten could cause problems.’’ 

       As usual, McCarthy expects defense to be key for whoever wins, along with keeping everyone healthy and being prepared for the opponent. 

       “It’s the old cliche,’’ he said, “one game at a time.’’ 

    Photo: Hudson Zeisman 

  • vecteezy traditional wooden pinocchio toy italy 1422973 No doubt about it, six is more than two. Six is also better than two, especially when it comes to choosing our elected city leadership.
    Who wouldn't want to have more choices on who runs their city? So why are our existing city leadership so adamantly against the VOTE YES Fayetteville Charter Referendum?

    You would think that giving every citizen (every Democrat, every Republican, every Independent) resident four more choices in determining Fayetteville leadership would be a stimulating campaign message that would resonate among voters.

    Well, the hard truth is city officials are not being honest with the citizens of Fayetteville. This is very concerning. Even more concerning is Fayetteville Mayor Mitch Colvin and staff along with several members of our City Council are systematically trying to divide our community racially for the sole purpose of maintaining their seats, power and stranglehold control over our local government for their personal gain.

    This opinion is based on information, observations and facts that their supporters have chosen to ignore to the detriment of our entire community. It is unconscionable that they would perpetrate a lie so egregious as to state that increasing city representation by adding four "at large" seats and providing each citizen six votes rather than two is a racist maneuver to get Blacks out of power.

    This is absurd, ridiculous and an insult to the Black community. We currently vote for "at large" positions in the elections for Cumberland County Commissioners, Cumberland County Board of Education, and board members of both Spring Lake and Hope Mills.
    All of which have an impressive amount of Black representation. So, why not Fayetteville?

    The answer lies in the thread of incompetence and corruption that has permeated our local government and manifested itself under Mitch Colvin's leadership.
    The only way to eradicate this cancer and rid our city of fiscal irresponsibility, incompetence and mismanagement is to Vote Yes for the Fayetteville Charter referendum that will provide us more citywide representation so we can be the city we need to be and take our place in the respectable ranks of other first class North Carolina cities.

    You deserve it. We deserve it. Fayetteville deserves it. Vote Yes.

    And remember, six is always more than two!

    Thank you for reading Up & Coming Weekly.

  • 17 Trojan Challenge volunteersThe first Trojan Challenge benefitting the Gary Weller Foundation is in the books, and organizers couldn’t be happier with the results. 

    Cumberland County Commissioner Jimmy Keefe had a hard time restraining his excitement when he talked about the event, which drew approximately 135 participants to the two obstacle courses set up for competitors of various ages at the Sturtz Family Farm. 

    Keefe said the goal was to sign up 100 participants the first year, with proceeds from their entry fees going to support the Weller Foundation. The foundation, named after former Pine Forest football coach Gary Weller, is seeking to raise money to present scholarships annually to deserving athletes from Pine Forest High School. 

    “We were blessed,’’ Keefe said of the results of the first Trojan Challenge. “The mosquitoes were gone. No glitches. The weather was perfect. It was a great, festive day.’’ 

    But the event wasn’t without a scare or two. Tropical Storm Michael was bearing down on the region just days before the race was scheduled on Oct. 13. 

       Rain from Michael forced a last-minute redesign of the course laid out by Josh Sturtz because some areas were either underwater or too wet to traverse. 

       One of the reasons the event ran so well was an abundance of volunteers, many of them students at Pine Forest, alumni of the school and just friends of the project. 

       The Westarea Volunteer Fire Department had a rescue vehicle and rescue personnel on the scene. Keefe said that, happily, they didn’t have anything to do during the race. 

       “Nobody got hurt,’’ he said. 

       Keefe doesn’t have the final figures yet, but he’s hopeful the foundation raised close to $4,000 for the first year of the event. 

       He described the experience as being similar to the debut of the popular television show “American Idol.” 

       “We didn’t know if it was going to be a hit or crash and burn like the other eight or 10 ‘reality shows’ that year,’’ Keefe said. “When the first racer, who was a competitive runner, came across the finish line and said the course was tough and she enjoyed it, that gave us the confidence we did it right.’’ 

       Even with the initial success, organizers are anxious to improve things as they start preparations for next year, with the race tentatively scheduled for Oct. 19, 2019. 

       Weller, who handed out medals with his wife Cathy at the finish line, praised the event organizers, including Keefe, Vallery Shoe, Andy Dempster and Sturtz. 

       “They went above and beyond what anybody would expect,’’ he said. “It was unreal. We had great responses from people that participated. It was just a good community event.’’ 

       Weller said they plan to get some input from people who have experience competing on obstacle courses to look at possible changes for next year. Some simple fixes they are exploring include adding a changing area for the runners along with a place to clean up and store valuables. 

       While the foundation bears Weller’s name, he stressed that it’s not about him. “It’s what we’re doing to raise money for that scholarship,’’ he said. “It’s awesome to be able to give that money to some kid that deserves it.’’ 

       Keefe said the foundation has a three-year goal of raising $50,000, and this year’s event is a good start in that direction. 

       “It was amazing,’’ he said. 

  • YES Outing Are you looking for a way to make a lasting impact in the lives of those who are “up and coming?” Perhaps you are someone, or you might know someone, who could benefit from individuals who have real-life experience in this world.

    If you fit either one of these categories, then Fayetteville Technical Community College’s Minority Male Success Initiative is for you. A statement by one of the most prolific individuals in our great history — Benjamin Franklin — provides the foundation for this life-changing program, “Tell me and I forget, teach me and I remember, involve me and
    I learn.”

    In this program, success originates from the purposeful, direct interaction that students have with the mentors who walk with them through their life experiences.
    The Minority Male Success Initiative, or MMSI, is not an ordinary college club — it is a community that fosters holistic development as well as genuine belonging. MMSI’s primary mission is to increase the engagement and success rates of students at Fayetteville Technical Community College by way of mentoring through exposure to academic and social/career-based activities and opportunities.

    Across the FTCC campus, students, as well as faculty and staff, acquaint MMSI with its coined program name, the Y.E.S. Mentoring Initiative (You + Effort = Success). Herein lies the thrust of MMSI — the student exerts the necessary effort to actively engage in the numerous opportunities presented by Y.E.S., resulting in the achievement of personal successes — both in the classroom and in life.

    The Y.E.S. Mentoring Initiative provides services that encourage college, career and character enhancement. In particular, students participate in mentoring and success coaching, college and career planning, tutoring in a wide variety of subjects, opportunities to meet and engage with key campus and community stakeholders, activities that build networking and social skills, and prime access to scholarships.

    The Y.E.S. Mentoring Initiative hosts workshops throughout the academic year that equip students with the necessary tools for academic achievement, career readiness and life development skills. Previous workshop series have been conducted on “How to Maintain Healthy Relationships — Dating, Marriage, Parenting, and Beyond,” “Building Positive Rapport with Instructors,” and “Mastering Soft Skills and The Workplace Culture.”
    Additionally, Y.E.S. students participate in college tours across the state of North Carolina to assist in the transfer process after they complete their program of study at FTCC.

    The Y.E.S. Mentoring Initiative is open to all current Fayetteville Technical Community College students and all activities are free.
    As the MMSI Coordinator, the most rewarding aspect of my job is seeing students move from feeling hopeless and on the verge of giving up to realizing their purpose/passion in life as they begin to overcome life challenges while achieving their dreams.
    If you would like to serve as an MMSI mentor or become an MMSI student participant, please contact mcdonalr@faytechcc.edu, 910-486-3940, or visit https://www.faytechcc.edu/campus-life/yes-initiative/.

  • I really feel concern over Wayne Inman and his Topsail High School football team.
     
    If you haven’t been keeping up, Inman, the former head coach at Terry Sanford, is having a good season down at the coast, currently with a 6-1 record.
     
    But like with other communities in that part of the state that have been pounded first by Hurricane Florence and then Hurricane Michael, Inman and company have had to deal with a brutal schedule.
     
    On Oct. 12, Topsail got a last-second field goal to beat Wilmington Laney 22-20.  Tuesday night, Topsail returned to action against Wilmington Hoggard and lost 49-12.
     
    Saturday, they play West Brunswick. Six days later, they’ll play Wilmington Ashley.
     
    That’s four varsity football games in 15 calendar days. 
     
    I understand you can’t do anything about natural disasters but I know enough about football to know recovery time is critical to staying healthy. That short a span of time between playing that many games isn’t safe.
     
    It’s time for the N.C. High School Athletic Association to set some firm rules about the minimum number of days that need to pass before playing a football game again.
     
    Extending the season was a great move and solved some problems, but having to deal with two hurricanes is taxing the system and it needs to be fixed. 
     
    Football is important, but safety is paramount. It’s time to give serious thought to shortening the playoff schedule or cutting back on the number of regular-season games. To fit the time we have left, conference tournaments have been cut back in some non-revenue sports. There’s no reason we can’t apply the same philosophy to the football playoffs.
     
    The record: 56-15
     
    The record last week was 8-1, improving the season total to 56-15, 78.9 percent.
     
    Pine Forest at Cape Fear - After last week’s loss to South View, Cape Fear is backed into a corner, and that’s bad news for Pine Forest. The Colts are a game behind 3-A Patriot Conference rivals Gray’s Creek and Terry Sanford and can’t afford to lose anymore ground to either of them.
    Meanwhile, Pine Forest is unbeaten in the conference, but finds itself having to keep pace with fellow 4-A team South View that has yet to lose.
    This game looks like a coin flip but I’m going to give Cape Fear a slight edge for home field and the fact the Colts have played a somewhat tougher schedule so far than the Trojans.
    Cape Fear 22, Pine Forest 18.
     
    Douglas Byrd at Gray’s Creek - Although Byrd is much-improved from last season, the host Bears shouldn’t have a problem winning this one.
    Gray’s Creek 28, Douglas Byrd 14.
     
    Jack Britt at Hoke County - Britt picks up a Sandhills Conference win against a Hoke County team that is having another tough season.
    Jack Britt 29, Hoke County 8.
     
    Seventy-First at Purnell Swett - Looking ahead will be the biggest problem for the Falcons as they could be playing for the Sandhills Conference championship next week at home against Richmond Senior.
    Seventy-First 30, Purnell Swett 12.
     
    South View at Terry Sanford - Both teams have offenses that can put a lot of points on the board quickly, but at the same time both have defensive shortcomings. This is literally a case where the last team with the ball could be the winner. At the end of the day, I think South View has a little more offensive firepower than the Bulldogs so I give the Tigers the edge.
    South View 35, Terry Sanford 33.
     
    Westover at Overhills - Both teams have had their share of disappointment this season. I’m taking a slight lean toward Westover because I think the Wolverines have played tougher competition so far.
    Westover 14, Overhills 12.
     
    Other games: Village Christian 20, Raleigh Ravenscroft 7; Trinity Christian 35, Fayetteville Christian 6, E.E. Smith open.
     
  • WomanScarfHC1610 source The month of October is breast cancer awareness month and in 2022 about 287,850 cases will be diagnosed in women in the U.S. I recently took a fitness training seminar and at lunch sat with one of the attendees. Getting acquainted, we talked about ourselves, and her input was that she is a breast cancer survivor.

    She shared with us how important exercise has been to her for her well-being, and the struggles and victories she has had in the process. By conversation, it was apparent that her breast cancer has been serious. Her driving force to overcome, heal and continue pursuing the fitness industry was obvious in her language and approach to the session.

    I left my seminar with much more than continued education. I left inspired by an individual with determination. Building an exercise program based on the type of cancer a person has and treatment can be an important step in the healing process. Sometimes exercise is done as part of the rehabilitation program and there is a difference between exercise and rehabilitation.

    Rehabilitation may be the first step before you can implement an exercise program. Once the person is cleared to begin activities the benefits of exercise can help reduce treatment-related fatigue, and maintain lung fitness, strength and physical ability.

    Exercise can also be beneficial for feelings of anxiety and depression and improve the quality of life and new studies suggest the importance of overall healing.
    The type of exercise and or aerobic activity is solely based on a doctor’s recommendations. However, there is an overview of exercises that may be beneficial if the person is cleared to begin an exercise regimen. Stretching can help improve flexibility and posture, increasing blood flow and oxygen to the muscles.

    As an example, radiation therapy can limit your range of motion causing your muscles to stiffen.
    Regular stretching can improve mobility and flexibility and help break down scar tissue.

    Loss of balance can be a side effect after treatment. Balance exercises can help you regain your stability and fear of falling. Some treatments can cause your feet to feel numb and hard to maintain balance. Incorporating balance exercises can help offset instability. Aerobic exercise can help increase your heart rate helping you feel less tired. Walking can be a good start for just a few minutes per day increasing the amount of time and your pace. Seated exercises can be done with paper plates under your feet while moving your arms and feet to a favorite song.

    Strength training is important for muscle loss and is done with light dumbbells or stretch bands. Increasing your muscle mass and endurance can help with your core and stability. Seated exercises can also be done with the use of dumbbells and stretch bands.

    Start slowly with your exercise and listen to your body. Rest on the days that you have the treatment and if your energy level is low adjust the amount of time that you exercise or rest. Staying hydrated and eating nutritious foods is an important part of fueling your body.

    If your health provider has cleared you, ask questions concerning what is and is not advised, such as: what time of day is best, what am I cleared to do or stay away from, how much time do you suggest starting, should I begin my exercise seated, can I go to a fitness center, work with a trainer, and what medications affect exercise?

    Live, love, life and strength.

  • 18D.J. Jones Pine Forest

     

    D.J. Jones 

    Pine Forest • Football/ track • Junior 

    Jones has a 3.69 grade point average while splitting time between playing football in the fall and running track for the Trojans in the spring. 

     

     

     

    19Jalonni Gadist Pine Forest

     

     

    Jalonni Gadist 

    Pine Forest • Volleyball/ softball • Senior 

    Gadist has a 3.13 grade point average. She has 30 digs in volleyball for the Trojans this season. 

  • The WIDU anniversary is a week of fun-filled events open to anyone interested in the Christian experience. Event organizers hope to deliver a dose of positivity and uplifting of spirituality to the greater Fayetteville area.

    WIDU 1600 AM, also known as the “Wake Up” or “What’s Going On,” radio station is owned by Wes and Sandy Cookman and is located in Fayetteville. The station has been around since 1958 and is continuing on with its 56th annual celebration. The week of events runs from on Oct. 4 through Oct. 11.

    “We continue to be humbled that the lord continues to entrust us with the responsibility of presenting this inspiring community event,” said the Cookmans. 10-01-14-widu-celebrates.gif

    The events scheduled throughout the week include: Oct. 4 at 5 p.m., Jesus Rocks Youth Empowerment Event and Concert; Oct. 6 at 7 p.m., A Woman’s Gotta do What A Woman’s Gotta Do play; Oct. 7 at 7 p.m., Carolina’s Best Competition; Oct. 10 at 6 p.m., Quartet Night; Oct. 10 at 9 a.m., Prayer Breakfast and the Anniversary Celebration Concert is on Oct. 11 at 4 p.m.

    The Anniversary Celebration Concert will be held in the Crown Coliseum. The performers will include the famous Mary Mary and Tye Tribbett with guest speakers Pastor Tim Rogers, The Fellas and Pastor Brian Thompson. General admission is $20 and on the day of the event tickets will be $30.

    The Carolinas Best competition is a big part of the celebration because it gives musicians a chance to battle for a place in the anniversary events. The contest is at Kingdom Impact Global Ministries. There are 18 contestants competing in four categories youth, solo, choir and quartet. Each winner from the four categories will win $250 and will perform in selected events. The guest judges are Peggy Tatum, Ted Winn, Tim Rogers and Kim Burrell.

    The Jesus Rocks Youth Empowerment Event and Concert encourages youth to express themselves and their relationship with God. Both youth and local youth leaders are encouraged to join in on the worship session.

    WIDU programming includes news, talk radio, church services and of course gospel music.

    The WIDU staff works diligently to give local people a voice. The radio station provides different guest speakers who care about the community and want to see a change in the community. Topics of discussion are public education, crime and punishment, religion, government and social justice. They speakers give options and advice on how these things can be improved.

    Recently the station has turned its focus on the upcoming elections and the candidates who are running for public office. Find out more about the WIDU Anniversary celebration at www.widuradio.com.

    Photo:  Mary Mary headlines the WIDU Anniversary Celebration Concert on Oct. 11.

  • Yes scrabble letter blocks pexels miguel padrin 2882686Fayetteville residents will have an important opportunity when they go to the polls on Nov. 8 , or take advantage of early voting. The ballot will include a City Charter Amendment that will change the structure of the Fayetteville City Council from its current nine single-member districts to a combination of five single-member districts and four at-large seats.

    This change will ensure that every Fayetteville resident will have six council members reporting to them versus one and the mayor. That means if you have a problem, whether it be with trash pickup or public safety, you will have six council members accountable to you at the ballot box. We all agree that we need more representation, not less.

    I had the honor to serve the City of Fayetteville as an at-large member, a district councilman and as mayor from 2013-2017. I served as a council member with both structures of government. With those real-life experiences, I have seen the advantages and disadvantages of both models. There is no question that having a combined model with both at-large and single-member districts provides the best opportunity for success for our city.

    Fayetteville competes against other major North Carolina cities for good jobs, economic investment and an enhanced quality of life. To be successful, we need to have the same tools and best practices that they use to lead their cities. Unfortunately, we find ourselves following behind these other cities as we spend excessive time dealing with district infighting and too little time on the key issues, and the big picture that prevent us from keeping pace with the rest of the state.

    Nine of the 12 largest cities in the state have at-large members as a part of their city council structure. Practically all of the local governments in Cumberland County also include at-large members. They include the Cumberland County Board of Commissioners, the Cumberland County Board of Education, and the towns of Hope Mills and Spring Lake. None of these entities are considering the elimination of their current at-large seats because they see that a balanced approach — with both at-large and single-member districts — works best for them.

    The remaining five single-member districts will continue to provide attention to district issues. The target population of around 42,000 residents for each of the five districts is far lower than the Cumberland County Board of Commissioner districts with an average target population of 64,500 or the Cumberland County School Board with an average of 55,760 residents.

    Fayetteville residents will no longer have to live in gerrymandered districts where City Council members choose their own voters. This results in numerous neighborhoods and even voting precincts being split in order to promote incumbent protection, fostering civic disengagement and voter apathy. Quite honestly, it’s confusing for everyone almost every time we have the opportunity to go to the polls.

    Equally important is the fact that there would be a balance on the City Council with half (5) of the council members also charged with looking at the big picture and addressing city-wide issues that continue to hold us back, because they don’t get the attention needed, at the urgency we need.

    Successful candidates for the at-large seats will have to spend time educating themselves about the entire city, not just one of the districts. They will also be directly accountable to every Fayetteville resident at the next election. This accountability is sorely needed in our current City Council structure!

    To be competitive, Fayetteville needs a structure of government that allows us to compete with the other major cities in North Carolina.
    The Vote Yes Charter Amendment will provide you more voice and more representation on the City Council.
    I encourage you to join with me and Vote Yes on the City Charter Amendment on Nov. 8.

    Editor's Note: Nat Robertson is a former Mayor of Fayetteville (2013 to 2017). He also served as an at-large council member from 1989 to 1995, and the District 5 representative from 1999 to 2001.

  • 17Jared Miller Terry Sanford soccerWhen Terry Sanford’s Jared Miller talks about what makes him such a dangerous scorer in soccer, he doesn’t waste a lot of words. 

    “Being fast and being able to dribble,’’ he said. 

    But his Bulldog coach, Karl Molnar, said there’s a little more to it than that. 

    “He’s fast,’’ Molnar said. “He’s as fast with the ball as he is without. He changes directions a half second before you think he changes directions. His movements are so quick, he’s always a half step ahead of the defender.’’ 

    Through Oct. 7, Miller leads Cumberland County Schools in scoring with 26 goals and four assists for a total of 56 points. 

    The Bulldogs are 14-1 overall and 10-0 in the Patriot Athletic Conference. They have a two-game lead on second-place Pine Forest, three up on Cape Fear. The Patriot Conference is a split 3-A/4-A league, so one 3-A and one 4-A team will each get a first-place berth in the playoffs. 

    Molnar said Miller has continued to fool him each season he’s been with the Bulldogs. “Every time you think they are going to figure him out, that they’ve got his number, he steps it up a notch,’’ Molnar said. 

    But while Miller has enough talent to be a prima donna if he chose, Molnar said he’s anything but that. “He’s just one of the guys and bonds well with everybody,’’ Molnar said. “He’s a very good team player.’’ 

      It shows in talking with him as Miller prefers to talk about his teammates and not himself. He praised defense as a main reason the Bulldogs are leading the conference. 

      “Our defense is big,’’ he said, “our work ethic and our defense. We go hard in practice.’’ 

      The Bulldogs are assured of a state playoff berth, but Miller isn’t looking ahead to the postseason. 

      “We can’t let our guard down against easy teams,’’ he said. “We have to keep our intensity up.’’ 

      Molnar sees similarities in this Bulldog team and his 2016 team that advanced to the 3-A Eastern finals before losing to Chapel Hill 2-1. 

      “I think we’ve found our identity with stingy defense, the same as two years ago, and finding a way to score,’’ Molnar said. 

      “Two years ago, we did it off corner kicks and long throws. This year, it’s been Jared. He finds a way to score or set somebody up while the back line and goalkeeper are keeping other people from scoring.’’ 

      Molnar feels the Bulldogs have continued to improve all season and have shown good chemistry between offense and defense in the last few weeks. 

      “If they continue to do that, we might go a little further than anticipated,’’ he said. 

    Photo: Jared Miller

  • 10-08-14-kaleo.gifKaleo Supports Inc. is a company dedicated to assisting people with intellectual or developmental disabilities through the often difficult process of receiving much-needed assistance and services. The idea behind this organization is simple — people matter. The results are incredible and life changing. One of the ways that they do this is through presentations on relevant challenges. On Oct. 14, Lisa Grafstein will present “Where Do You Work?”

    “Where Do You Work?” is a presentation focused on the facts and myths of how working may or may not impact Social Security and Medicaid. Grafstein, the keynote speaker, is an attorney with the Disability Rights Center of North Carolina and has abundant experience with these sorts of issues. Understanding the legal requirements with federal benefits can get tricky. It is often complicated and full of red tape. This doesn’t mean that it is impossible however, and Grafstein will help to simplify the problems. This program will help to enable people to make well-informed decisions on how to handle and optimize their benefits options.

    Kaleo Supports began in 2007 as a project between Nancy Szymkowiak and Karen Cambell. The two worked tirelessly to successfully to get Szymkowiak’s daughter into regular programs at school and church. Campbell, is no longer with the program, but the inspiration and passion that began with their teamwork is still very present within the company. The work that they do is life changing. They help to guide people to much-needed help and support that truly makes a difference in their quality of life.

    It all began with an incredibly personal case, so they are intimately familiar with the stress and challenges that families face with these problems. This personal experience allows them to treat every single client with the respect and compassion that they deserve and face each case with a zeal that can be found nowhere else.

    Kaleo Supports offers many different services, but each plan is tailored to the specific needs of the individual such as supported employment, personal care services and respite care. There are eligibility requirements and anyone interested in their services should make an appointment by calling 630-2255.

    The company also has a profound appreciation for the power of information. Dealing with governmental organizations doesn’t need to be difficult or scary. Information places the power in the consumer’s hand and makes a big difference when searching for support. In addition to hosting informational events such as “Where Do You Work?”, the website also has a page full of links concerning common organizations used by people seeking help. This can be found at www.kaleosupports.com/index.php/links.

    “Where Do You Work?” is at Southview Baptist Church, 4089 Elk Road, Hope Mills. Dinner is at 5:30 p.m., reservations are required. No reservations are required for the presentation, which begins at 6 p.m. For more information, visit www.kaleosupports.com or call 630-2255.

  • Jesus handI’m writing this week to those of you reading who consider yourselves a Christian. Those who —along with me — make up what we call the church. If you’re one who would rather not be bothered with the whole Jesus thing but would like some ammo for your next debate with a Christian, you might find some here, so read on!

    I fear that, as David Platt penned in the foreword to Francis Chan’s “Multiply,” we have subtly and tragically taken [the] costly command of Christ to go, baptize and teach all nations and mutated it into a comfortable call for Christians to come, be baptized and listen in one location.

    That’s a reference to an oft-quoted passage in the New Testament book of Matthew. In verses 19 and 20 Jesus is speaking to the eleven men He called one-by-one to follow, learn from, and become like Him.

    He said, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey all that I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Christians commonly refer to this as The Great Commission.

    The passage is frequently used as a base charge to move to some other part of the world and make converts to Christianity through missionary work. Those men did just that. They began telling people about this amazing Jesus who walked on water, healed physical infirmities, cured diseases, and fed thousands when little or no food was available. They testified that even though they were witnesses as this man was himself beaten and nailed to a cross where he died a painful and cruel death, they had later seen, eaten with, and spoken to Him — and He was alive!

    Theirs was anything but a comfortable life. They were threatened, beaten, imprisoned, and generally treated as outlaws because they would not back down from their story. Yet, as Platt wrote, though we quote and even revere these eleven original disciples, we have determined that somehow, we are owed a comfortable place in a world every bit as vile and cruel as the world they offered their testimony to.

    It’s impossible to be a disciple or a follower of someone and not end up like that person. Jesus said, “A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone when he is fully trained will be like his teacher” (Luke 6:40).

    Remember this, Christian: We are not merely responsible for our own spiritual well-being; we are called to minister to the people around us, teaching them to obey all the things that Jesus commands. And in a dark world playing hide and seek from absolute truth and any moral base, it’s only getting darker.
    But Jesus says you’re the light of the world. I promise to pray for you as you learn to truly shine. I only ask that you do the same for me.

  • 16Lexy Cole Jack Britt volleyballIn her second year as a varsity volleyball coach at Jack Britt High School, Leigh Ann Weaver was supremely confident entering the 2018 season. 

    “I think our team is on an elite level physically, with all the natural athleticism on top of the volleyball experience in school or travel (volleyball),’’ she said. “I knew that we were 100 percent capable. Our biggest battle was on the mental side.’’ 

      The Buccaneers overcame any misgivings Weaver had about the mental aspect. Last week, the Bucs traveled to Pinecrest and handed the Patriots their second conference defeat of the season, wrapping up at least a tie for the Sandhills Athletic Conference title and the league’s No. 1 berth in the state playoffs. 

      Through the Pinecrest match, with a couple of regular-season games to go, Britt stood 14-7 overall and 12-0 in the league. They’ll await the news on who their first-round opponent will be in the upcoming North Carolina High School Athletic Association 4-A playoffs. 

      At season’s start, Weaver decided to put the focus of this year’s team on her two power hitters, Lexy Cole and Kaiah Parker. “I told the girls what their roles are,’’ Weaver said. “Everyone has fallen into that perfectly, and identifying the roles straight away definitely helped.’’ 

      As the team met various expectations during the season, Weaver and her coaching staff kept lifting the bar and setting new ones. 

      “The goal for a volleyball team is not to peak too early,’’ she said. “We definitely made sure to have the girls progress at an appropriate time within each part of the season.’’ 

      As for her concerns about the mental aspect of the game, Weaver said it’s something she preached to the team from the beginning, along with playing with a purpose. “If they don’t play with a purpose, their heart isn’t fully into it,’’ Weaver said. “You’re poking around in the dark, for lack of a better term. 

      “You play with a purpose, warm up with a purpose. You’ve got to do everything with a purpose if you expect to do better at your craft.’’ 

      Cole, who leads Cumberland County Schools in kills with 199 through Oct. 10, has played a major role in Britt’s success. 

      “Lexy has stepped it up 110 percent,’’ Weaver said. “She has blown my expectations out of the water. She’s going to UNC-Asheville to play volleyball. That standard was set high for her, and she had a reputation of being a great volleyball player.’’ 

      In addition to being a power hitter, Cole is a vocal leader on the court. That may be as important as her skill at spiking the ball. 

      “I feel like I’m very loud and energetic,’’ Cole said. “I keep the energy pretty high so everyone stays alive.’’ 

      She tries to keep her chatter positive. “The only thing I want to be doing for my team is to make sure that everyone feels like they can do it,’’ she said. “If they mess up, I don’t want them to think they’ll keep messing up. They can just forget about it and no one is mad at them. 

      “I want them to do their best.’’ 

      The whole Buccaneer team will need to do its best to have a chance of advancing deep in the state 4-A playoffs. 

      Cole feels the team needs to stay focused with the same end goal in mind. “We’ll have to speed up our game to match theirs,’’ she said of teams Britt might face in the postseason. “As long as we keep up with the speed, I feel we’re perfectly fine.’’ 

    Photo: Lexy Cole

  • 10-15-14-halloween-express.gifThey have only been here since Aug. 15, but Jenna Dawson and her sister, Shelly Dawson, are excited about Fayetteville’s newest premiere store, Halloween Express, and helping customers with their Halloween needs.

    “We are a Halloween Superstore specializing in costumes, accessories, decorations, props and other items,” said Shelly Dawson, manager of Halloween Express.

    The sisters are from Greenville, N. C., and heard that Fayetteville loved Halloween and would be the perfect location for a Halloween Express store.

    “I have been working for Halloween Express for about eight years now and love it,” said Shelly Dawson. “I got my sister the job and she became manager and decided to open up her own Halloween Express.”

    How is Halloween Express different or better than other similar stores in the area?

    “We definitely have a large product assortment,” said Jenna Dawson, co-owner of Halloween Express. “Some of our competitors cater more towards decorations and accessories, but we have a larger product assortment and if we don’t have that costume we have something to put together to make it.”

    Halloween has always been a favorite of the sisters and they put a lot of effort in making it fun for others.

    “The people are great and the spirits are so high at Halloween,” said Shelly Dawson. “I love it and it is like Christmas because people are really excited about their costumes so when you help them it is satisfying.”

    The Dawsons are supporting charities and participating in community events. They have worked with Kidsville News!, attended the fair and their most recent event is a Halloween fashion show through Find-A-Friend with a group of 20 students.

    “We have also donated our items to a man who does a haunted attraction in his yard and the people who come will donate money and toys with 100 percent of the proceeds going to the Shriner’s Hospital,” said Jenna Dawson. “We also sponsor other haunted attractions as well.”

    The sisters love helping people and their number one focus is customer service.

    “I love working in retail and with people in general because they seem to be happy around Halloween even though it is a spooky holiday,” said Shelly Dawson. “It is great to make someone’s day when they come in not knowing what they want and then you help them out and piece together a costume that they make their own and is unique.”

    “We have a great location and even though we have not been open a month yet, word of mouth is getting out and every week is better than the week before,” said Jenna Dawson. “We definitely want to start meeting people and get in with the schools and the community on how we can give back.”

    Halloween Express is located at 4101 Raeford Road. Hours of operation are Monday-Saturday from 10 a.m.-9 p.m. and Sunday from 12 to 6 p.m. The two weeks prior to Halloween, the store will remain open until 10 p.m. For more information, call 483-4477.

    Photo: Jenna and Shelly Dawson love helping Fayetteville residents gear up for Halloween.

  • Pitt swine and rosesOnce upon a time in the far away country of Australia there lived a fine young feral pig named Swino. Swino, as a piglet, was filled with curiosity and promise. The oldest of his litter of six, Swino was a natural leader.

    His mother Matilda, the Waltz Queen, knew he was special. All the neighborhood pigs believed Swino would be a pig of prominence and distinction when he was grown. Do you know what a pack of feral pigs is called? It’s a called a sounder. Now you know. You can stop reading this column as no other useful information will be imparted hereafter. I will give you a moment to turn the page to the cross-word puzzle.

    Now, for the two of you still reading, listen my children and you shall hear of the midnight raid of Swino and shed a tear. Swino’s twisted tale is not an uplifting Horatio Alger story of a poor but plucky lad overcoming an impoverished childhood. Nay, a thousand times, nay. This is a sad story of an exemplary feral piglet who had the advantages of a good family, a supportive sounder, and an excellent education who came to rack and ruin due to Demon Alcohol.

    Swino went to the finest private schools that Australia could offer. After high school, he graduated magna cum laude from the University of Melbourne with a double major in nuclear physics and medieval poetry. He was president of the student body while working 30 hours a week as a tutor at the Home for Wayward Wallabies. After graduation, he was selected as a Rhodes Scholar where he achieved his Ph.D. in theoretical mathematics. Upon attaining his doctorate, he moved to Perth, Australia, to work at the Institute of Advanced Metaphysics. Swino literally had the world on a string.

    At Perth he met the love of his life, Petunia Pig, a wealthy debutante whose family had the largest Vegemite factory in Australia. For those of you fortunate to have never encountered Vegemite, it is a vile dark brown paste made mostly of leftover brewer’s yeast, snips, snails and puppy dog tails. For reasons unknown, Australians enjoy smearing Vegemite on toast and then consuming the hideous result. It was love at first sight for Swino when he first laid eyes on Petunia. There could be no other love for Swino but Petunia. Unfortunately for Swino, as a result of Petunia’s wealth and beauty, there were many other suitors for Petunia’s trotter.

    A veritable pack of wealthy famous pigs sought to marry Petunia. Her suitors included the Practical Pig from the Three Little Pigs, Porky Pig of Looney Tunes, Man-Bear Pig from South Park, and Snow Ball from Animal Farm. Petunia even had a brief experimental fling with Miss Piggy. Ultimately to the eternal heartbreak of Swino, Petunia married Arnold Ziffel the Pig. She moved to America to live
    on a farm near Hooterville with Arnold, Oliver and Lisa Douglas, Mr. Haney and Sam Drucker.

    As Petunia sailed away to her new life in America, Swino turned to drink. His consumption of alcohol made Edgar Allen Poe, F. Scott Fitzgerald and Ernest Hemingway look like teetotalers. Here is where our story turns true as reported by Doug Williams in the Outdoor Revival newspaper of 24 April 2019. Doug wrote the greatest headline ever written. Mr. Williams wrote: “Pig Steals Campers’ Beer, Gets Drunk & Starts Fight with Cow.” The beauty of this headline makes me cry every time I read it.

    A group of campers were in the Australian outback. After a night of carousing, they left their beer out. In the middle of the night they were awakened to the sound of a feral pig rooting around, chomping the beer cans, and drinking the beer. The report says the pig (who we later learned was Swino) drank 18 cans of beer.

    Soused on these adult beverages, Swino got into a ruckus with his erstwhile friend, Elsie the cow. Whatever Swino said to her led to Elsie chasing him around the camp. Some pigs, like some people just can’t hold their liquor. After the fight with the cow, Swino swam across a nearby river and passed out under a tree to sleep it off.

    Here comes the weepy part of the story. Swino woke up with a terrible hangover. He wobbled across the highway looking for either an Alka Seltzer or hair of the dog that bit him to ease his aching head.

    Unfortunately, he was still drunk. He did not notice the truck coming down the road. Splat! Swino was no more.

    It is unclear if Petunia attended his funeral. The campers reported despite their sadness at Swino’s unexpected demise, that the barbecue served at his wake was excellent.

  • 15Maher McCarthy2A newly-constructed sign on the Fayetteville Academy soccer field lists the 16 state boys’ championships and two girls’ championships the school has won. 

    Two men, Jimmy Maher and Andrew McCarthy, were directly involved in bringing 13 of those titles to the school. For their efforts, Maher and McCarthy have been chosen for induction into the Fayetteville Academy Hall of Fame. 

    The ceremony will take place on Nov. 20 as part of the school’s annual alumni boys’ and girls’ basketball games. 

    Maher was head boys soccer coach from 1994-2000. He won four titles before stepping away to pursue a business venture with Fayetteville Academy benefactor Dr. William Jordan. 

    “I had a group of parents come to me and say ‘please don’t go,’’’ Maher said. He reassured them and told them he was confident a young man who had started helping out with the soccer team a couple of years before he stepped down would be an excellent coach. 

      That coach was McCarthy. “They thought the sky had fallen when I left but Andrew didn’t miss a beat,’’ Maher said. “He took it to the next level.’’ 

      McCarthy, who took over in 2001 and has been there ever since, said he and Maher have a similar vision about how to coach the team. “Every day we’re talking about life lessons,’’ McCarthy said. “We talk about getting ready for games and dealing with issues that will help them in life. 

      “We’re trying to teach the things that will help them become good fathers in the future. Very few, if any, are going to make a living out of the game. From the lessons they’ve learned, they’re going to be successful. I see a lot of our players going on and doing great things.’’ 

      Maher said the two approach the game with the same work ethic and share it with their players. “We worked extremely hard and tried to become better coaches,’’ Maher said. “We traveled the state, scouting teams we are going to play. It was rare we came up against a team we hadn’t seen on at least a couple of occasions.’’ 

      When Maher first wanted to come back and help coach the team in 2008, he asked McCarthy to let him work during the preseason only. McCarthy coaxed him into helping coach the boys and girls for one year. That has extended into 10 seasons. 

      Maher praised McCarthy for his success and is convinced McCarthy could be a coach at any level of soccer. 

      Neither is the type to promote personal success or accomplishments. “The game itself is enough for us,’’ Maher said. “The most important thing is the relationship with the kids. That’s the most valuable thing I get from what I do.’’ 

      McCarthy agreed. “It’s nice to be rewarded, but at the end of the day, we’re in it for the kids, how we see them growing and moving on to do wonderful things in the workplace.’’ 

    Photo:Andrew McCarthy (left) and Jimmy Maher (right)

    Photo credit: Sonya Bruffey

  •  

    12Wait Until Dark Web Banner 2000x700“Wait Until Dark” delivers a solid production that showcases one of the things the Cape Fear Regional Theatre does best. It provides an opportunity for local audiences to see excellent collaboration from a talented cast and crew.

    Director Talya Klein brings together a team of local, regional and national artists who present a story that engages the audience. We must pay attention to what is seen and heard, as the details are important – from the props themselves and their placement to the characters’ backgrounds and motives as revealed in the dialogue.

    Susy and Sam Hendrix live in a basement apartment in New York City’s Greenwich Village in 1967. Susy is blind, and her husband, Sam, is a photographer who unwittingly brings home a doll filled with heroin. While Sam is away, a trio of con artists tries to trick Susy into giving them the doll.

    As more nefarious deeds are revealed, the situation gets increasingly dangerous for Susy, played by Leah Curney. She first works to clear Sam’s name and then must devise a plan to learn whom she can trust. With skill, Curney leads the audience from seeing Susy as a possible victim to a character who uses her disability to her advantage.

    Perhaps the best part of watching “Wait Until Dark” was seeing local and regional artists work with nationally recognized artists, both onstage and behind the scenes.

    Also delivering noteworthy performances are the actors playing the con artists: Patrick Falcon, Justin Matthew Toyer and Greg King. King is no stranger to the CFRT stage, last appearing in “Trip to Bountiful.” Toyer and Falcon are making their CFRT debuts.

    The sound, lighting and scenic design create an environment that pulls the audience in while delivering clues as the story plays out. Scenic designer Jonathan Dahm Robertson, lighting designer Caitlin Smith Rapoport, sound designer Jon Fredette and scenic artist David Rawlins bring a wide variety of local and national experience to the stage. They are a credit to the production.

    “Wait Until Dark” was written by Frederick Knott and premiered on Broadway in 1966 followed by a movie adaptation in 1967. The play is billed as a suspense-thriller, but aside from a few surprises, I didn’t find much suspense in the story.

    The first act provides the exposition of the characters and some of their motives. It also establishes that our Susy is way too trusting for a blind woman who spends a good amount of time alone while her photographer husband is off on assignments.

    The second act is where our clever Susy begins to orchestrate a plan to reveal the truth about her antagonists. What I could not reconcile with the story is how this same clever Susy would entertain visits from these questionable characters in the first place. I wanted to stand up from the audience and shout, “Lock your door, Susy, don’t let strangers into your apartment!”

    “Wait Until Dark” is a good choice for anyone who wants to see a talented cast and crew deliver a solid evening of entertainment. The show runs through Nov. 12 and is recommended for audiences 13 and above due to some violence.

    Ticket prices and show times are available at www.cfrt.org or by calling the box office at (910) 323-4233.

     

  • Yom Kippur Metro Recently, Jews around the world observed the most sacred day on our calendar — Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement). In truth, one should atone for wrongdoing whenever committing a transgression. The ancient sages advise repenting the day of death; the message being that since we don’t usually know exactly when we will die, we ought to repent every day.

    Nevertheless, Yom Kippur is a day set aside to focus exclusively on admitting one’s failings, repenting and resolving how to do better.
    Often misunderstood is that Yom Kippur only atones for transgressions against God. Trespasses against fellow human beings require direct apology and forgiveness. Harm to another also violates against God’s law, but the Almighty can only forgive the aspect of violating God’s teaching. The actual hurt can only be forgiven by the one harmed.

    Yom Kippur is traditionally observed through countless hours of synagogue worship aimed at spiritual cleansing. Nearly all the prayers and confessions are phrased in the plural. In a community everyone shares a degree of responsibility for the failings of others by insufficiently supporting each other in avoiding shortcomings. We are indeed our brother’s keeper.

    Yom Kippur is characterized famously by refraining from any food or drink from sunset until nightfall the next day (as all Jewish days begin at night). Because of worship requirements, the actual fast lasts closer to 25 or 26 hours. Yet, whenever health is a concern, food or drink is not only permitted, but required.

    Other traditional prohibitions for the day include refraining from bathing, anointing (i.e. ancient cosmetics), sexual relations, and wearing leather shoes (which were considered luxurious, particularly in earlier times). The idea is that by removing our usual physical concerns, we can focus completely on our spiritual needs.

    I like to tell my congregants the following story.

    An arrogant hiker visiting Israel ignored directions given to him. Following several predictably wrong turns he found himself lost in the Negev desert. After hours of wandering, desperate for water, he saw something in the distance. He walked toward the object only to find a little old man at a small stand in the middle of nowhere selling neckties emblazoned with the words “Repent! God forgives.”

    The lost hiker asked, “Do you have any water?” He replied, “I don’t have any water, but would you like to buy a necktie? They’re only 5 Israeli sheqels.”

    The hiker screamed, “I don’t need your stupid ties! I just need water!”

    “Okay” said the old man. “I recommend getting a tie, but you can find water over that hill about 5 kilometers. There’s a really nice restaurant there. But, don’t take too long, you don’t want them to close on you.”

    A couple hours later the hiker staggered back. The old man asked, “Is everything okay?” “What do you think?” gasped the hiker. “Your brother won’t let me in without a tie.”

    Too often we are so focused on our material needs and desires that we don’t think we need anything else. But, before it’s too late, let’s remember to bring along a spiritual tie.

  • As I write this column, there’s no guarantee we’ll be playing high school football Friday night.
    Vernon Aldridge, student activities director for the Cumberland County Schools, issued a statement saying if we get through the storm headed our way and there’s no major problems, the games are on.
    Of course, that remains to be seen.
    Certainly we’ll all agree that there are much bigger things in this world than high school football games.
    Safety and security for homes and possessions along with life and limb definitely top the list.
    But the games give us a diversion. something to take our mind off the agony of dealing with storms and tragedy, and I’m thankful for that.
    I just pray like all of you that we don’t have much turmoil to deal with as we go through our second storm of this hopefully soon ended hurricane season.
    Please make your preparations and be safe everyone.
     
     
    The record: 48-14
     
    I was 9-0 last week, running the record for the season to 48-14, 77.4 percent.
     
    Cape Fear at South View - I’m pretty sure Cape Fear can score on South View. What I’m not sure of is if the Colts can score enough points to offset South View’s potent offense. I’m going with the Tigers.
    South View 29, Cape Fear 12.
     
    Overhills at Douglas Byrd - This is a tough call. Overhills is still reeling since an 0-3 start while Byrd is much improved but has lost a lot of close calls. I’m going to go with momentum and home field and take the Eagles.
    Douglas Byrd 20, Overhills 18.
     
    E.E. Smith at Pine Forest - I don’t look for things to get any better this week for Smith as they take on a Pine Forest team that is very much in the chase for the Patriot Athletic Conference title.
    Pine Forest 28, E.E. Smith 7.
     
    Purnell Swett at Jack Britt - I’ll give the Buccaneers the edge playing at home, but they need to be careful because this is one they could just as easily lose.
    Jack Britt 22, Purnell Swett 12.
     
    Scotland at Seventy-First - The Falcons have been waiting for this one since last year after suffering two lopsided losses to Scotland. This time, Seventy-First appears to be the better team, and playing at home won’t hurt the Falcons either.
    Seventy-First 28, Scotland 14.
     
    Terry Sanford at Westover - Westover is a dangerous opponent for the Bulldogs. The Wolverines are just good enough to pull the upset, and Terry Sanford has had some shaky moments this season. But I think they’re a little stronger than Westover and should get the win.
    Terry Sanford 29, Westover 12.
     
    Other games - Northside Christian 27, Fayetteville Christian 7; Village Christian 22, North Raleigh Christian 7; Trinity Christian 30, Raleigh Ravenscroft 8.
  •  

    09CFRT previewRiding on the success of sold-out performances of “Dreamgirls,” the Cape Fear Regional Theatre will next bring local audiences a classic thriller sure to showcase the talent of cast and crew alike.

    The scene for “Wait Until Dark” is a basement apartment in New York City’s Greenwich Village in 1967, said director Talya Klein. Susy and Sam Hendrix are newlyweds.

    “She lost her sight two years ago,” Klein said. “Sam is an ex-Marine, now a photographer, who unknowingly becomes a drug mule.”

    Sam is unaware that a doll he brought home is filled with drugs.  When he leaves the apartment, Klein said, “three baddies try to con Susy into giving them the doll. Things escalate and get increasingly more dangerous.”

    It is a harrowing tale made more unique by the lead character being blind, Klein said.

    “Wait Until Dark” was written by Frederick Knott and premiered on Broadway in 1966. A movie adaptation opened in 1967 starring Audrey Hepburn, Alan Arkin and Richard Crenna.  Knott also wrote “Dial M for Murder,” another play that Alfred Hitchcock adapted for film.

    A play confined to one apartment might sound like an easy and simple production, but Klein said “Wait Until Dark” requires sharp focus for set, prop and script details.

    “I’ve never directed a thriller before,” Klein said. “I’m having so much fun.  The story is beautifully constructed, and every piece means something.”

    “Everything is a big deal,” she said. “When a character is smoking a cigarette and holding a match book, it is important. The details are constructing a chain.”

    Audiences shouldn’t worry that they may miss vital clues and not understand the action, though, Klein said.

    “Even if you miss a couple of things, you’ll get it,” Klein said. “‘Wait Until Dark’ is for people who love details.”

    Leah Curney plays Susy in the play. She said her character’s blindness is a critical part of the story, but also that the story is really not about that.

    “She has to discover how capable she truly is, and her disability becomes an asset,” Curney said. “It’s like watching really good martial arts. She’s using the limitations of this space to her advantage.”

    Jillian Wickens-Johnson, 13, is making her professional debut in “Wait Until Dark” as Susy’s 10-yearold neighbor Gloria. Wickens-Johnson said her character sees Sam as a father figure to her character but considers Susy more of an evil stepmother at the beginning of the play.

    “Gloria has a beautiful character arc,” Wickens-Johnson said. “She comes in as an angry child and, over the course of the play, … bonds with (Susy).”

    Susy and Gloria must work together against characters Klein calls ‘the baddies’ in the story – the three shady con men trying to retrieve the doll.

    Patrick Falcon plays Harry Roat, the mysterious lead con artist. “Roat is an alias,” Falcon said. “It is a guise my character constructs. He has a history of darkness. He’s very much a nebulous shape-shifter who could be anyone but no one at all.”

    “I have the job of trying to make the character as vile as possible,” Falcon said. “It’s terribly fun as an actor.”

    “Wait Until Dark” is a classic suspense thriller for audiences 13 and above due to some violence.  “The most terrifying moments we don’t see,” Klein said.  It is an example of the “story-telling that happens when we have to imagine what happens.”

    “Wait Until Dark” runs Oct. 26 through Nov. 12. Ticket prices and information about several opening weekend specials are available at www.cfrt.org or by calling the box office at (910) 323-4233.

     

  • pumpkin Metro I love fall. The first things I begin to think about are pumpkins, brilliant colored foliage, cool mornings, the first fire, sweaters and boots.
    There is no in-between, you either like the flavor of pumpkin or you don’t. There are many ways to enjoy pumpkins in the form of drinks, cuisine and decoration. I like everything about pumpkins and decided to write about them.

    When you initially think of pumpkins in the fall we may think about pumpkin lattes, pumpkin pie, or pumpkin doughnuts which are just some of the ways to enjoy them outside of the many uses for décor!

    Pumpkins have been around for more than 5,000 years and the word pumpkin was debuted in the fairy tale “Cinderella.” The pumpkins known as rouge Vif d’Etampes are thought to be the inspiration for Cinderella.

    The carriage for Cinderella may have been used because of the resiliency of a pumpkin. They are a fruit that can grow in sparse soil and the vines engage by sharing nutrients along a connected vine that reaches into the soil to replenish itself. For this reason, pumpkins are a symbol of prosperity, abundance and growth. Maybe this is the reason that the perfect mode of transportation for Cinderella was a pumpkin.

    Cinderella’s fairy godmother told her to go into the garden and pick out a fine pumpkin, so she went to the garden and picked the finest pumpkin she could find and could not imagine how a pumpkin would get her to the ball. Her fairy godmother hollowed out the pumpkin and touched it with her ring turning it into a beautiful coach.

    Did you know that there are Cinderella pumpkins? They are medium to large averaging thirty to thirty-five pounds, round, and flattened blossom and stem end. They have thick skins and are a rich orange color.

    When cooked they have a slightly sweet taste, creamy and moist. They were one of the most popular items in French markets and sold as an heirloom variety in the 1880s. They are a favorite with chefs for soups and pies. They are also used in many homes as décor.

    Pumpkins have not always been jack-o’– lanterns. The original lanterns were made with turnips and potatoes by the Irish to ward off evil spirits. Irish immigrants brought the tradition to America but found that pumpkins were much easier to carve. They are grown on every continent except Antarctica and the U.S. produces more than 1. 5 billion pounds each year with 8% of the crop available in October. The largest pumpkin recorded weighed about 2,600 pounds and was grown in Germany. The largest pie baked weighed 3,699 pounds. A normal size pumpkin has about 500 seeds and the recommended planting time is between May and July with more than 45 different varieties.

    Pumpkins are part of the fruit family; every part is edible and offers a wide range of health benefits. They are low in calories and are comprised of about 90% water. One of the health benefits is Beta Carotene, a powerful antioxidant that our bodies convert to Vitamin A. They are good for fiber, boost your immune system, and good for heart health and skin. Aside from the health benefits, pumpkins can make a great mask that exfoliates and soothes the skin. Make a pumpkin mask by combining ¼ cup pureed pumpkin, one egg, a tablespoon of honey, and a tablespoon of milk. Apply and rinse in 20 minutes with warm water.

    Live, love life and pumpkins.

  • 24Taylor Melvin Cape Fear scholar athlete

    Taylor Melvin

    Cape Fear • Volleyball • Junior

    Melvin has a 4.25 weight- ed grade point average. She’s a three-year starter in volleyball, was twice all-conference and was a manager of the junior varsity volleyball team. She’s a member of Health Occupations Students of America and Fear Factor. She volunteers with the Cumberland County Parks and Recreation Department’s Buddy Sports program.

     

     

    25Ben Elliott Cape Fear scholar athlete

     

    Ben Elliott

    Cape Fear • Soccer • Senior

    Elliott has a weighted grade point average of 4.46. In addition to playing soccer, he’s a member of Science Academy and Key Club. He founded the Cape Fear Creative Writing Club. He has been on the varsity soccer team four years, making all- conference three times and all-region twice.

  •  17 michael jacksonThe Givens Performing Arts Center hosts a show honoring pop legend Michael Jackson Oct. 27 at 8 p.m. This event is a part of the University of North Carolina at Pembroke’s Homecoming celebration.

    The show, entitled “Who’s Bad: The Ultimate Michael Jackson Experience,” takes place at the GPAC, which is located on the campus of the University of North Carolina at Pembroke. This is the only show that continues to give tribute to the late superstar.

    Originating from Chapel Hill, North Carolina, the group – called Who’s Bad – has been successful and is the longest-running Michael Jackson tribute band. They have sold out venues and performed all over the world including places like China and the United Kingdom. The band has been on tour featuring stops at The House of Blues, 930 Club in D.C., Bluebird Theatre in Colorado and the Gibson Amphitheatre in Los Angeles. Additionally, the group has performed onstage with The Four Tops, Aretha Franklin, The Backstreet Boys, Pitbull and Boys II Men.

    The group is comprised of Broadway performers, musicians and singers. The founder and manager of the group is Vamsi Tadepalli, a jazz performance graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He created the band in 2003 and serves as the saxophonist, arranger and choreographer, along with a group of other performers. James Times III is the lead singer and commands the stage as Michael Jackson.

    Attendees and fans will be in for a real treat when watching this show. The performers know the music and choreography of Michael Jackson’s greatest hits. They study tirelessly to make sure every dance and every song is executed with perfection. The band is passionate and dedicated to delivering a powerful performance.

    James Bass,director of the GPAC, said, “This show is authentic and imitates not only the music of Michael, but the performers have studied his moves in detail. It’s going to be like you were there.”

    The audience can expect to hear all Jackson’s greatest hits from the ’70s to the ’90s – tunes like “Billie Jean” and “Beat It” – and there may even be a few songs from his days with The Jackson 5. Because this event takes place on Halloween weekend, the audience can definitely expect “Thriller” to be on the setlist.

    Jackson’s music has brought people together for decades. He is still revered as the King of Pop. Posthumously, Jackson’s album “Thriller” is still the best-selling album of all time. There’s something about his music that appeals to people of all generations and backgrounds. Bass promised this is going to be a fun show, and it’s going to be hard to sit still.

    Tickets for the tribute show are $36 for adults and $10 for children. Alumni of the university have a ticket price of $26. The show is set to start at 8 p.m.

    For tickets and information, visit www.uncp.edu/gpac or call  (910) 521-6361.

     

  • pexels polina kovaleva 6185245 USE YOURE VOICE Want to keep PWC from being sold? Vote Yes in November.

    When somebody tells me I can’t vote, it makes me want to vote even more. It makes me want to vote six times instead of just twice for Fayetteville Council offices. The City Council’s actions tell the citizens of Fayetteville that we should not be allowed to vote on the proposal to change the way the Council is elected.

    The road blocks thrown up against voting by the Council are not surprising. People in power seldom want to give up power. The Council is no exception. They like being in power. If more people are allowed to vote, we might vote wrong, thus endangering their power.

    The Council has done its best to prevent citizens from voting on this proposal. It twice postponed its vote to put the referendum on the November ballot. It waited until the last day to actually vote against it due to concerns that a non-existent form had not been completed by the proponents of the referendum.

    By delaying the vote until the last day, the Council apparently hoped that ballots could not be printed in time for the November election.
    Like Dean Wormer in “Animal House,” the Council used the non-existent form excuse to put Fayetteville voters on Double Secret Probation to prevent them from voting.

    The Vote Yes folks immediately filed a law suit to put the referendum on the November ballot. Superior Court Judge Jim Ammons ordered Vote Yes to appear on the ballot. The Council then filed an appeal to the North Carolina Court of Appeals seeking to stop the vote. The Court of Appeals denied the Council’s appeal and ordered the Vote to go on in November.

    If something walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, and swims like a duck, it is probably a duck. The City Council is a duck. It wants to duck and cover up your right to vote.

    The Council’s scrambling to prevent the Vote Yes initiative shows they don’t want the voters to decide how they want to be governed. Any political group, Democrats or Republicans, which wants to prevent people from voting is no fan of Democracy. Currently you can vote for two people on the City Council, the Mayor and your District Representative. Five thousand Fayetteville citizens signed a petition to put to a vote the proposal to change the election to allow a citizen to vote for six members of the Council, the Mayor, 4 at-large Council members and a District Representative. Six votes are more than two votes. The average voter gets much more input into how the city is governed if Vote Yes passes.

    Your vote yes is crucial. Local ownership of PWC is on the line. The current Council is quite likely to vote to sell PWC down the river, killing the goose that laid the golden eggs. Like a zombie from “The Walking Dead,” the double secret deal to sell PWC will rise from the grave. The Council will get a big wad of money from the sale to use for pet projects. The windfall will be spent. The current Council will ultimately leave office. Local control of PWC will end.

    PWC rates and preventive maintenance of utilities will take a back seat to the interests of out of state shareholders interested in squeezing every dollar from Fayetteville residents. Citizens will be left holding a very expensive empty bag.

    If you want to keep local control of your City Council and prevent the sale of PWC, Vote Yes on the referendum.
    To quote Woody Guthrie: “Nobody living can ever stop me/ As I go walking the freedom highway/ Nobody living can ever make me turn back/ This Land was made for you and me.”

    Get out and vote yes, this local government and PWC were made for you and me.

  • 23Julie Napoli submitted photo Julia Napoli isn’t the type to back down from challenges, especially when told she can’t do something. 

    Her mother, Jen, remembers a time in fourth grade when she wrote a paper about football and why it’s usually off limits for girls. “Everybody would say girls can’t do that because they’re not strong enough or fast enough,’’ Jen Napoli said. “She still has the paper, which is funny.’’ 

    Julia’s also got the will to beat the odds, and she’s doing it so far as she recently made the football team at Gray’s Creek Middle School, the first girl in school history to do that. 

    By the time this issue prints, Napoli and her Bruin teammates will have played their first game of the season at Douglas Byrd Middle School. 

    Napoli is no stranger to the world of competitive sports. Growing up, she took part in soccer for some years and later switched to gymnastics. 

    But after going as far as she felt she could with gymnastics, she turned her attention to playing football at Gray’s Creek. 

    When Gray’s Creek coach Dante Murphy met Napoli at the school’s open house this year, he had no reservations about letting her try out for the team. 

    “She’s an outstanding athlete,’’ Murphy said of Napoli, who’s about 5-foot-3 inches tall and weighs around 120 pounds. 

    “I told her from the beginning they’re going to treat you just like a football player, no less, no different.’’ 

    Murphy said her teammates have accepted her with no reservations. “I’ve got a great group of kids,’’ he said. 

    Napoli is playing wide receiver and defensive back for the Bruins and is also competing on special teams. 

    Murphy said she’s not a starter at this point and that time will tell what kind of role she plays on the team. 

    While not wanting to discourage her daughter from pursuing her dreams, Jen admitted it wouldn’t be the truth if she said she wasn’t concerned about injury. 

    “We bought her some extra pads and a padded shirt that will protect her ribs, kidneys and spine,’’ her mother said. “It’s stuff she can legally wear that’s not issued by the team.’’ 

    Jen said there’s a fine line between standing in the way of Julia’s ambition and keep- ing her safe pursuing it. “I don’t want to shelter her so she doesn’t take a chance and never knows if she could have made it,’’ Jen said. 

    Jen said she wants her child to win, but at the very least, she wants her to have fun with what- ever she does. 

    Like her mom, Julia knows there’s a chance she could get hurt, but she’s not focused on that. “I just pray,’’ she said. “I like playing wide receiver because you get to run and you get to beat some- body to the ball. It’s all about who gets to the ball first and being able to run.’’ 

    As for the chance to play defensive back, she looks forward to tackling someone “for another brother,’’ she said. “I take pride that it’s your team, it’s your brotherhood and you’re together forever.’’ 

    In a perfect world, Julia said she already knows what she’d like to see happen in her first game.

    “A touchdown,’’ she said. “A touchdown. Or an interception.’’

    Whatever happens, she’s finally living her dream by just being on the field. 

    Photo: Julia Napoli

     

  •  

    13StoryOct. 20-22 the Arts Council of Scotland County presents a roster of award-winning storytellers and soulful musicians. The 12th annual Storytelling Festival of Carolina has a variety of local tales, timeless stories and fantastic music. “It is a small festival, but it draws people who perform all over the world,” said Erin Rembert, storytelling and arts center representative.

    The storytellers for this year’s festival are Bil Lepp, Michael Reno Harrel and Priscilla Best.

    Lepp is a five-time winner of the West Virginia Liars Contest, an award-winning author, and has received many other national and international accolades.

    Harrell has performed at the National Storytelling Festival and was the Teller-inResidence at the International Storytelling Center in Jonesborough, Tennessee. He is also a talented musician and often incorporates music into his storytelling.

    Best tells contemporary stories, folktales and chants from her African-American heritage and other cultures. Rembert described her as a “local girl with stories that make you feel good.”

    Rembert said the storytellers are talented professionals who “engage the audience, feel the story and know where they are going, all (while) remaining flexible.” She added, “They are performers, and they tell it like they lived it.”

    Due to the success of last year’s festival, the council will once again welcome musicians. Momma Molasses blends alt-country, blues and other musical styles into the sweet, slow-moving style of music that earned her name. Further performances will come from Clay Brown and The Legends Band as well as 2015 Native American Music Awards nominee Lakota John.

    For the first time, the festival will take place in downtown Laurinburg. This means there will be a greater variety of food and entertainment options for attendees. Proceeds from ticket sales will be channeled back into the Arts Council and help fund next year’s festivals as well as other projects. The council’s goal is to bring in more opportunities and programs that Laurinburg wouldn’t have otherwise.

    The festival begins Friday, Oct. 20, with a student’s day from 8 a.m.-1:30 p.m. and a sample of events to come at 7:30 p.m.

    Saturday morning the venue opens to the public at 9:30 a.m. and runs until 5 p.m. with a variety of performances, workshops and autograph sessions. Saturday evening at 7:30 p.m. there will be gala where attendees can meet the storytellers and enjoy a sweet and savory dessert buffet. The final day of the festival is Sunday, Oct. 22, and features performances from 9:30 a.m.-3 p.m.

    Call (910) 277-3599 or visit www.storyartscenter.org for tickets and more information.

     

    PHOTO: Bil Lepp

     

  • vote yes3 copy I support Vote Yes Fayetteville because this structure change would give every citizen more voice in our city council with six council members accountable to them versus just the current two.

    I served on City Council under both structures as an at-large and district representative, like most of the major cities in North Carolina. During my service when the council had at-large seats as part of the structure, I saw that the major issues of the city were given adequate attention.

    While serving as a district representative, I witnessed continued infighting over what benefited the elected person’s district and less attention to the big picture.

    For example, it took over eight years to get the Parks & Recreation bond to a vote while we argued over which district received what new facilities.

    Even today, commitments made to District 2, like the Fields Road Park and the Cape Fear River Park, remain undone because money gets moved to other districts.

    We were never able to fully fund stormwater to protect our most exposed citizens from the next flood because flooding only threatens a few districts but is costly to everyone.

    Our major gateway to Fort Bragg continues to include the Shaw Heights blight because of City Council’s unwillingness to spend the funds to address this citywide issue.

    Our community has changed over the years. There are 38% more Black voters than white in Fayetteville today. Both Blacks and whites have a similar voter turnout, and Black candidates continue to be elected in many at-large seats, including the fact that two of our last four mayors were Black.

    I served alongside Marshall Pitts, who was first elected at-large and then became mayor.

    We have tried the current model for over 20 years and can clearly see that Fayetteville is not keeping up with the rest of the state.

    Our growth rate is lower than NC’s other major cities while our crime and poverty rates are higher.

    We should recognize that the progressive cities in our state use a model that provides more representation for every citizen and more balanced attention to city-wide issues.

    Most recently, we have seen our mayor and some council members spend thousands of taxpayer dollars to keep this referendum off the ballot. They were unsuccessful as the courts ordered the referendum be placed on the ballot and citizens be given the right to vote.

    I encourage each of you to support this Charter Amendment and to Vote Yes Fayetteville on Nov. 8 to provide for more representation on our City Council.

    More representation. Not less.

    Editor's note: Bobby Hurst served on Fayetteville City Council from 2007 - 2017.

  • 22David Ben Lovette The experience of having his son on his football team isn’t new for Gray’s Creek football coach David Lovette. 

    Three years ago, David’s oldest son, Ty Lovette, was a starting offensive lineman for the Bears – but as his dad says, that’s a different circumstance. 

    “No one cared that he played offensive line,’’ Lovette said, somewhat jokingly. “He never got his name in the paper.’’ 

    The situation is much different now that Lovette’s son Ben is playing quarterback for the Bears. In a spotlight position like that, both he and his dad are targets for criticism and second-guessing. But the way the younger Lovette has been playing so far has left critics with little to talk about. 

    In their biggest game since returning to football after the layoff caused by Hurricane Florence, Ben played a starring role as Gray’s Creek stunned Patriot Athletic Conference power Cape Fear 20-16 to turn the race for this year’s conference title, especially the chase for the No. 1 playoff berth for the 3-A winner, wide open. 

    Ben completed six of 12 passes for 116 yards and threw a pair of touchdown passes, one to Trevor Thomas and one to Dalton Patrick. 

    For the season, Ben has completed 28 of 51 passes for 389 yards and four touchdowns. He’s only thrown one interception. 

    Ben has been playing quarterback since middle school. “He always had a good arm and ran fairly decent,’’ Coach Lovette said of his son. “He’s a smart kid, and he’s going to make some good decisions.’’ 

    Even with those assets, Coach Lovette realized that coaching his own son in a high-profile position like quarterback was a potentially tricky situation. 

    When he coached his oldest son, there wasn’t as much need for direct contact between head coach and player, so he made a decision to let all coaching face-to-face be done by his position coach. 

    When dealing with a position like quarterback, though, it’s almost impossible for the head coach to completely cut himself off from talking to the that player. 

    “I’ve got to treat him like everybody else, and I think I do a pretty good job of that,’’ Coach Lovette said. For some communication on the field with his son, Coach Lovette gets an assist from Blake Smith, one of his former players who’s now an assistant coach and works with the offensive backs. 

    “If I get upset with him, he’s the one who’s going to fuss at him so I don’t get fired for killing my own son on the football field,’’ Coach Lovette joked. “Blake does a good job with him and being the mediator.’’ 

    At the same time his dad deals with the challenge of coaching his son, Ben has his own problems coping with the pressure of being in the spot- light at quarterback. 

    “I think over time my teammates have realized I’m going to do my job and they are going to do theirs,’’ Ben said. “We’re all going to perform to the best of our ability. If someone is better than me, they’ll get the job, but right now, I’m doing it.’’ 

    Ben said the win over Cape Fear was a big confidence booster for the Bears, but they’ve already put it behind them and are looking to the next game on the schedule. 

    “Winning the conference, that’s our goal,’’ he said. “We’ve got to keep moving forward and playing our best, playing as a team.’’ 

    As mentioned earlier, Gray’s Creek’s win over Cape Fear has turned the Patriot Conference race wide open. 

    Because the league is a split conference with 4-A and 3-A teams, there are No. 1 state playoffs available for both classifications. 

    Entering the games of Oct. 5, South View and Pine Forest led the chase for the No. 1 4-A berth as they were both unbeaten in conference play, with South View the only league team that had no losses overall. 

    The Gray’s Creek win left the Bears tied in the loss column in the conference with Cape Fear and fellow 3-A team Terry Sanford, all with one conference defeat. 

    While there are two No. 1 berths available, Coach Lovette said he and his team are focusing on the outright conference championship. 

    “I think we need to win out,’’ Coach Lovette said of the rest of the schedule. “That’s our goal. That’s what we talked about today in practice, keeping our edge and not being satisfied with where we are.’’ 

    Coach Lovette knows the Bears have a tough schedule ahead, but added their opponents also have tough games remaining. 

    “It’s a fairly even conference race,’’ he said. 

    Photo: David Lovette (left) and Ben Louvette (right)

  •  

    11Jason Britt DirectorAs the Cumberland Oratorio Singers look to open the 2017-18 season, there is a new director at the helm. Jason Britt accepted the position after devoting his youth to music and spending 23 years teaching and performing choral music.

    Growing up in Fayetteville, Britt played the cello at Eastover Elementary School. He was a member of the Cumberland County Youth Orchestra in seventh and eighth grades; he also played first chair cello. In high school, he continued singing and playing in school music programs. Britt graduated from Methodist College in 1993 with a degree in music and a concentration in music education. In 2013, he received his Masters of Music Education degree from East Carolina University. He’s taught in the Cumberland County Schools system and served as the director of music at First Baptist Church.

    On Friday, Oct. 20, the Cumberland Oratorio Singers’ season opens with “We Sing to Relate” at Holy Trinity Episcopal Church.

    “One of the things candidates were asked to do as part of the interview process is to plan a season,” Britt said. “The current season is what I submitted as part of my interview.”

    The first concert showcases the works of American composers. At this concert, Britt hopes to bring the community together in a spirit of unity. “We have just been through an election cycle, and we are pretty divided as a nation,” he said. “But we cannot deny that we are all Americans. We will perform works many people will recognize … pieces by Copeland, Whitaker and Randall Thompson.”

    The second concert is Saturday, Dec. 16, at First Baptist Church. It is titled “We Sing to Remember.”

    “We sing to remember and for nostalgia,” Britt said. “One of the things about Christmas is we think about times gone by. The performance is dedicated to that. This is also when we do Handel’s ‘Messiah Sing.’ That has been a mainstay for 25 years. Even I remember singing in COS production when I was fresh out of college.”

    The third concerts takes place Friday, April 27, at Haymount United Methodist Church at 7:30 p.m. It is titled “We Sing to Experience.” Britt said, “This concert is dedicated to choir works every choral group should be doing — things like Mozart and Mendelssohn, things like that, which are very familiar.”

    While he does hope to continue reaching out to the community, Britt said he plans to “continue the excellent work the COS did for the last 25 years. Last year they were inducted into Fayetteville Music Hall of Fame. This is an established group here in the community. It is my job to continue their efforts. That is the goal right now — to continue that standard of excellence.”

    To find out more about the Cumberland Oratorio Singers, or to purchase tickets to a concert, visit www.singwithcos.org.

     

    PHOTO: Jason Britt is the new director of the Cumberland Oratorio Singers.

     

  • 10Remember when you were in 4th Grade? Sure, you do. Both of the readers of this column completed 4th grade. One even got all the way through 6th grade. Back then you had to write an essay on “What I Did on My Summer Vacation.”

    My 4th grade class with Ms. Delgrande was many moons ago. But here’s to you, Mrs. Delgrande, my annual vacation report. This year we went back to New Mexico, the Land of Enchantment and home of Walter White’s meth labs of “Breaking Bad fame.”

    The most important thing about travel is to remain flexible. Expect bumps. Roll with the punches. At the Albuquerque Sun Port we had a “Seinfeld” moment at the Thrifty Rental car desk. I had reserved a medium sized car several months ago. They had my reservation. Unfortunately, they did not have my car.

    As Seinfeld said in a similar situation, “It’s not enough to take the reservation, the important part is to keep the reservation.” All they had left was a giant GMC Acadia Wagon Queen Family Truckster. We are talking a vehicle big as all west Texas. It was as wide and long as an aircraft carrier with half the maneuverability. The Beast was Yuge.

    Given the choice of walking across New Mexico or driving the Beast, we took the Beast. Having driven a school bus in high school gave me some confidence, but that was long ago and far away.
    Our motel in Santa Fe had two small parking lots, each of which could fit six normal sized vehicles. Squeezing the Beast in and out of the lot provided excitement beyond compare.
    The motel had an interesting sign: Zombies Stay Free. Luckily, all the Zombies were out of town at a Brotherhood of Christian Zombies tennis tournament in Albuquerque. We left town with less money but with our brains intact.

    Santa Fe was having a festival which meant parking was at a premium. Olde Santa Fe has narrow streets which are not conducive to Beastly driving. Upon finally locating a skinny parking space in a public lot I learned to my dismay that one had to pay for parking using a local parking app on an iPhone.

    Oh Boy. I got to stand in the lot while downloading the parking app. The app had at least 60 individual unwanted web sites. While enjoying a baking New Mexican sun, I never located the parking app despite prolonged scrolling. Somehow, I did manage to provide my credit card information to an evil app.

    About 10 minutes after leaving the parking lot, Lord MasterCard’s Fraud Alert robot sent me a text asking if I had charged $1.95 to Cosmic Rip Off, Inc. No, I replied. The cancellation dance of my card loomed as inevitable. In full tourist mode, my credit card was compromised in the first 10 minutes of sightseeing. Pretty smooth move.

    Fortunately, my wife Lani has her own separate card which meant she got to pay for all the meals. So, it wasn’t a total loss for me. I had cash, but not enough to have survived a week without a credit card. I reminded myself to remain flexible.

    We stayed in Santa Fe and then Taos. Apparently, we really like both places as we have been there three or four times and keep going back.
    Santa Fe has more art galleries than you can shake a stick at. Downtown Santa Fe has a central Plaza which is always jumping with activity.
    Taos, which also has a lot of arty stuff, is a much smaller version of Santa Fe. Taos goes to sleep when the sun goes down. I purchased multiple “Breaking Bad” souvenirs there in honor of Walter White, the Albuquerque chemistry teacher gone bad.

    New Mexico is justly proud of their chilies. They have both kinds, red and green. Their license plates proclaim them to be the Chili Capital of the World. They put chilies in everything: Enchiladas, rice, eggs, coffee, ice cream, toothpaste and chewing gum. It’s a chili cult.

    Your restaurant wait person will ask you if you want red, green or Christmas chilies. If you order Christmas, you get red and green chilies. I always ordered Christmas.
    The Beast was very comfortable out on the lone highway. Beasts are designed to roam free, not to be cooped up in the city. New Mexico is big. Big Skies. Big mountains. Big prairies. Big red, tan and white rocks.
    Big elevations — Santa Fe is at 6,000 feet and Taos is 7,000 feet. Just north of Taos lies the Rio Grande Gorge River bridge. You are riding along through essentially flat prairie land. Suddenly the ground falls away into a 650 foot drop off into the Rio Grande valley where the river winds its way to the Gulf of Mexico.

    The Bridge has pedestrian walkways which shake when big construction trucks whiz by. It’s a pretty dramatic walk which I recommend if you enjoy vertigo tinged with fear and quaking. Pretty nifty. There are souvenir tents at the edge of the Bridge where you can buy all manner of silver and turquoise jewelry.

    They accept American money in New Mexico. Have a chili and a smile.

  • IMG 2266You’ve got to love a high school principal who goes all in to support his school’s athletic program.
    Tom Hatch at Terry Sanford High School definitely falls into that category, and he’ll be proving it Friday night when Terry Sanford hosts Douglas Byrd for its annual homecoming game.
    Hatch is going to bring the game ball to the Terry Sanford football field Friday night, and he’ll have some help doing it.
    He’ll be tandem jumping with the U.S. Army’s Golden Knights parachute team.
    You’ll need to get to the stadium well ahead of the scheduled 7:30 p.m. kickoff to watch the show.
    According to the timetable provided by the Golden Knights, the first jumper will exit the airplane over the Terry Sanford field at 6:35 p.m.
    The plane will circle and Hatch and the rest of the team of jumpers will exit at 6:40 p.m
    Everybody should be on the ground and exit the field by 6:50 p.m.
    Best wishes to Hatch and the Golden Knights on a great jump, and kudos to him for doing his best to promote his school.
     
    The record: 39-14
     
    I was 7-1 during that bumpy stretch of makeup games over the last several days. The only miss was Gray’s Creek’s huge upset of Cape Fear.
    The record for the year is 39-14, 73.6 percent.
     
    Now that some order has been restored let’s hope we stay on schedule the rest of the season.
     
    • Westover at Cape Fear - Rare to be talking about Cape Fear facing a rebound game but that’s what the Colts have after their unexpected Monday loss to Gray’s Creek. The race for the top 3-A berth in the Patriot Athletic Conference is wide open and the Colts need to regroup quickly to stay in it.
    Cape Fear 28, Westover 14.
     
    • Douglas Byrd at Terry Sanford - Hard not to keep talking about that Gray’s Creek win as it has made teams like Terry Sanford major players again in the Patriot Conference chase. The Bulldogs need to be careful tonight and not suffer a homecoming swoon against a Douglas Byrd team that seems to be getting a little better each week and is definitely capable of an upset.
    Terry Sanford 29, Douglas Byrd 12.
     
    • South View at E.E. Smith - Looking ahead on the schedule will be South View’s main worry tonight as the Tigers have a big home date next week with Cape Fear.
    South View 32, E.E. Smith 12.
     
    • Gray’s Creek at Overhills - Overhills has been smacked around a couple of times now after a 3-0 start, but they post a serious threat to Gray’s Creek, which has to avoid overconfidence after that win against Cape Fear.
    Gray’s Creek 24, Overhills 12.
     
    • Jack Britt at Richmond Senior - Jack Britt got a big home win in its overtime duel with Lumberton, but I don’t like the Buccaneers’ chances on the road against a Richmond team anxious to get payback for last year’s upset.
    Richmond Senior 31, Jack Britt 12.
     
    • Seventy-First at Lumberton - Look for the Falcons to get another comfortable win heading into next week’s game with Scotland.
    Seventy-First 36, Lumberton 7.
     
    Other games: Harrells Christian Academy 31, Fayetteville Christian 6; Village Christian 24, Sandhills Christian 14; Trinity 37, North Raleigh Christian 8, Pine Forest open
     
    Photo: Tom Hatch
  • 01coverWick Smith, like all artists, is confronted with questions: Why is he practicing this particular art form, why has he continued to practice being an artist over the years, and why did he choose this particular medium and subject matter? The answer to these questions can readily be summed up by those who visit Smith’s exhibit or attend the opening of “Chasing the Light” at Gallery 208 Oct. 10, when the word “beautiful” will be repeated over and over by visitors.

    For this editorial, it was important to share some of the details of his lengthy journey to get to the “beautiful,” but more important to share insight about the work in ways that might influence visitors to see more than they would with a glance — to go beyond the idea of beauty. In attempting to articulate what I was seeing in this body of work, I interviewed Smith, researched his influences and even asked my photographer colleague, Shane Booth, to talk about what it means to be a landscape photographer.

    My question to Booth was direct and overly simplified: “Why would a photographer want to take photographs of the landscape?” Booth’s acute response was a perfect description of the essence of Wick Smith’s landscapes: “They look at the landscape as an art form, and they can see it in a way that tells a story. Composition and capturing a moment is everything — you have to be at the right place at the right time. That moment tells a story of wherever they are.

    Location is everything, and the artist shares a sense of place we would have missed if not captured.”

    And that is how it began for Smith about 12 years ago. He simply wanted to take pictures of the landscape he enjoyed while he and his wife, Jane, were camping. “One day I had one of the digital photos blown up to a 16-by-20-inch print,” he said. “And it was stunning — the detail, composition and quality of the print. From that day, I began a serious approach to understanding photography; I continued to take photos, but I also began researching the manuals and attended workshops with nationally-known photographers.”

    A photograph may capture the likeness of a place, but Smith’s images take us beyond the physicality of a place by evoking something intangible. We may call it beauty, but his intangible can reveal a deeper understanding of many things — timelessness, the spiritual or perfection, something that soothes us and heals us, or maybe it’s just something ineffable.

    Smith gives credit to Richard Bernabe, who hosted Smith’s first workshop with an internationally known landscape photographer, for showing him where to “start looking to see composition in the field. I really didn’t have an idea of what I was looking at, and he patiently taught me how to understand composition,” Smith said. “As a result, I was able, over time, to develop the sensibility to see — all the photographers in the various workshops have taught me how to see — in a different way.”

    For me, seeing Smith’s works over the years, I assumed he was a paid professional photographer, only to find out he is a businessman and the president of Biz Tools, a firm that develops websites for businesses. An avid and dedicated photographer, we cannot look at his work without sensing the art of photography is his personal passion. That dedication is how he lives up to Bernabe’s philosophy: “I can teach the mechanics of the camera, exposure and compositions … I can share my insights … but there are things I cannot teach. Curiosity is one of those things … Those who ultimately will be successful and keep moving on their own have passion and curiosity.”

    Light is 75 percent of what Smith is interested in capturing, but he shared his process: “I have to be on-site before dawn and as the sun sets, using a tripod for long exposures to steady the camera.The post process of developing the print in the same light I witnessed it is very important. Even though I have to know what to do when I arrive, I have to take many, many pictures to get it right.”

    It seems simple, but as Bill Fortney, one of his instructors, told Smith, “I have been at a site 25 times before the light was right.”
    Photographs titled “Magical Reeds,” “Badlands at Dawn” and “The Old and the New” are examples of Smith moving away from the landscape as a vista to the landscape as an abstraction. Linear and atmospheric perspective are sacrificed for a flattened space, an open composition of surface, pattern, rhythm and color.

    In these photographs Smith has shown us a new way of looking at something we may take for granted. The ordinary becomes extraordinary.

    In “Chasing the Light,” visitors to Gallery 208 will also see some of Smith’s cityscapes. Influenced by photographer Ian Plant, in his cityscapes Smith focuses on shapes and lines to lead us through the composition. Familiar places around Fayetteville being viewed as shape, color and line are a pleasing contrast to the textured surfaces of the American landscape.

    “Chasing the Light” opens at Up & Coming Weekly’s Gallery 208 at 208 Rowan St. on Oct. 10 from 5:30-7 p.m. A short gallery talk by the artist will begin at 6 p.m.

    The public is invited to the opening, and for those who are not able to attend the opening, the gallery is open 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday through Friday until Dec. 10.
    Call (910) 484-6200 for information, or visit www.upandcomingweekly.com.

  • 8 The North Carolina of my childhood had an economy very different from that of the average state. Today our economy remains distinctive, though not by as much.

    When I started my first paid job in 1979 — teaching four-year-olds how to tap dance — manufacturing accounted for fully a third of North Carolina’s gross domestic product, 10 points higher than the national average of 23%. On the other hand, our financial sector had not yet vaulted into national significance. Banking, insurance, and real estate accounted for 11% of North Carolina’s GDP in 1979, vs. the national average of 15%.

    Forty years later, in 2019, our state’s manufacturing base was still larger than that of the average state: 16% vs. 11%. (That’s the last year for which a clean comparison is possible. The onset of COVID skewed the 2020 figures, and we don’t yet have granular data for 2021.)

    If you work out the ratios, you’ll see that the relative contribution of manufacturing to GDP in North Carolina and in the nation as a whole didn’t change much during this period. But the actual shares of GDP are much lower. That’s not because manufacturing cratered. Output went up significantly. In inflation-adjusted terms, the output of manufacturing businesses in North Carolina was about $64 billion in 1979. It was $98 billion in 2019.

    What really happened is that service industries exploded. Look at the aforementioned financial sector. Banking, insurance, and real estate now account for 21% of the country’s GDP. North Carolina’s overall proportion is the same, while our banking share is a bit higher than the national average.

    To broaden the story a bit, North Carolina is more populous and prosperous than it was back when I was attempting to corral the rambunctious preschoolers sliding across my dance floor. In 1979, some 5.8 million lived in the Tar Heel State. Their average personal income was an inflation-adjusted $26,665. By 2019, our population totaled 10.5 million and personal income averaged $48,261. Over those four decades, then,

    North Carolina’s per-capita income rose about 81% in real terms, somewhat outpacing the regional (77%) and national (71%) averages.
    I think these statistics are useful for level-setting. They are difficult to square with the extreme claims of partisan activists, professional boosters, or professional worrywarts.

    For example, contrary to what you may have heard, North Carolina has not seen its manufacturing base disappear, or the formerly sunny prospects of its “working people” fade into a depressing dusk. These are gross exaggerations. Mainstay industries such as textile, apparel, and furniture did shed lots of employees — primarily because of technology-fueled gains in productivity, not trade deals — but other manufacturing enterprises began or expanded in our state during the same period, as did many other sectors that hire many people to make, sell, or deliver many wonderful goods and services.

    On the other hand, it is also true that North Carolina has not always outperformed the rest of the Southeast or United States over the past 40 years. It is true that some communities and groups within our state are clearly struggling to make ends meet. It is true that North Carolina’s progress remains hampered by a long list of problems that can sometimes seem intractable. These problems include educational deficits, infrastructure woes, legal and regulatory impediments, declines in family formation, increases in violent crime, and rampant substance abuse.

    Some of these problems are worse than they were back then. Some are better. When I was a teenager of modest means in 1979, however, I was largely unaware of broader social conditions. I thought primarily, and optimistically, about my own future and that of my peers. I figured we’d live more comfortable lives than our parents or grandparents had. I figured I’d find a fulfilling career that paid enough to support my future family (though even then I suspected that career might not be tap dancing). For the most part, I figured correctly.

    Are today’s teenagers so optimistic? Should they be?

  • IMG 2266You’ve got to love a high school principal who goes all in to support his school’s athletic program.
    Tom Hatch at Terry Sanford High School definitely falls into that category, and he’ll be proving it Friday night when Terry Sanford hosts Douglas Byrd for its annual homecoming game.
    Hatch is going to bring the game ball to the Terry Sanford football field Friday night, and he’ll have some help doing it.
    He’ll be tandem jumping with the U.S. Army’s Golden Knights parachute team.
    You’ll need to get to the stadium well ahead of the scheduled 7:30 p.m. kickoff to watch the show.
    According to the timetable provided by the Golden Knights, the first jumper will exit the airplane over the Terry Sanford field at 6:35 p.m.
    The plane will circle and Hatch and the rest of the team of jumpers will exit at 6:40 p.m
    Everybody should be on the ground and exit the field by 6:50 p.m.
    Best wishes to Hatch and the Golden Knights on a great jump, and kudos to him for doing his best to promote his school.
     
    The record: 39-14
     
    I was 7-1 during that bumpy stretch of makeup games over the last several days. The only miss was Gray’s Creek’s huge upset of Cape Fear.
    The record for the year is 39-14, 73.6 percent.
     
    Now that some order has been restored let’s hope we stay on schedule the rest of the season.
     
    • Westover at Cape Fear - Rare to be talking about Cape Fear facing a rebound game but that’s what the Colts have after their unexpected Monday loss to Gray’s Creek. The race for the top 3-A berth in the Patriot Athletic Conference is wide open and the Colts need to regroup quickly to stay in it.
    Cape Fear 28, Westover 14.
     
    • Douglas Byrd at Terry Sanford - Hard not to keep talking about that Gray’s Creek win as it has made teams like Terry Sanford major players again in the Patriot Conference chase. The Bulldogs need to be careful tonight and not suffer a homecoming swoon against a Douglas Byrd team that seems to be getting a little better each week and is definitely capable of an upset.
    Terry Sanford 29, Douglas Byrd 12.
     
    • South View at E.E. Smith - Looking ahead on the schedule will be South View’s main worry tonight as the Tigers have a big home date next week with Cape Fear.
    South View 32, E.E. Smith 12.
     
    • Gray’s Creek at Overhills - Overhills has been smacked around a couple of times now after a 3-0 start, but they post a serious threat to Gray’s Creek, which has to avoid overconfidence after that win against Cape Fear.
    Gray’s Creek 24, Overhills 12.
     
    • Jack Britt at Richmond Senior - Jack Britt got a big home win in its overtime duel with Lumberton, but I don’t like the Buccaneers’ chances on the road against a Richmond team anxious to get payback for last year’s upset.
    Richmond Senior 31, Jack Britt 12.
     
    • Seventy-First at Lumberton - Look for the Falcons to get another comfortable win heading into next week’s game with Scotland.
    Seventy-First 36, Lumberton 7.
     
    Other games: Harrells Christian Academy 31, Fayetteville Christian 6; Village Christian 24, Sandhills Christian 14; Trinity 37, North Raleigh Christian 8, Pine Forest open
     
    Photo: Tom Hatch
  • 7What would you do with an extra $700 in your pocket each month?

    This is the question families across our nation should be asking, as the highest inflation in four decades is costing the average household an estimated extra $717 each month compared to January 2021.

    As I travel across our region, I constantly hear how this inflation crisis has impacted every community and every part of our lives. Just last month, grocery prices spiked at their fastest pace since 1979. Household electricity prices are up nearly 16% from one year ago. And the average price of gas remains close to $3.80 a gallon, up from $2.38 on President Joe Biden’s first day in office. I am really concerned too about increased costs to heat your home this winter — especially for folks on a fixed income.

    These economic challenges have been primarily driven by out-of-control spending in Washington and the Left’s war on American energy production and jobs. The consequences of these actions are forcing families to make hard decisions around the kitchen table.

    Yet, the challenges facing you and our nation unfortunately do not stop there.

    At our border, roughly 5 million illegal immigrants, including nearly 80 people on the terrorist watchlist, have crossed since President Biden took office and stopped deportations, the wall, and the ‘Remain in Mexico’ policy. In August alone, more than 203,000 migrants crossed — almost the entire population of the city of Fayetteville.

    This border crisis is a threat to every community, especially through the increased flow of deadly drugs.

    Due in part to record amounts of fentanyl crossing our border, overdose deaths hit an all-time high last year, becoming the leading cause of death for Americans aged 18-45.

    North Carolina alone had 3,759 deaths from opioid overdoses. This includes 183 in Cumberland County — 100 more than in 2019.

    On top of this, our communities continue to be plagued by a rise in violent crime. National homicide and aggravated assault rates have risen roughly 50% and 36% respectively, compared to this time in 2019.

    Tragically, these come as intentional killings of law enforcement have reached a 20-year high.

    Under one-party rule in Washington, it is clear that America’s economy, safety, freedom and strength are all under threat like never before.

    I have opposed Washington Democrats’ agenda which will only worsen these crises, such as their so-called ‘Inflation Reduction Act’ that will raise your taxes and hire 87,000 more IRS agents to come after you.

    Washington Democrats are ignoring the crises they have helped create and don’t have a plan to fix them. House Republicans, however, have a plan.

    Called our “Commitment to America,” House Republicans have recently released a detailed plan to take our country in a new direction and establish a future of security, freedom and prosperity for you and your family. You can read our plan at CommitmentToAmerica.com.

    First, we have a plan to create an economy that’s strong. The economy remains the most pressing issue facing families across this country. We are committed to getting it back on track by curbing reckless spending, making America energy independent again, and creating an economic environment that encourages growth, job creation, and lower costs.

    This involves bringing manufacturing back to the U.S. and standing up to adversaries like China that feel emboldened after last year’s botched withdrawal from Afghanistan.

    We also have a plan for a nation that’s safe. We will work to tackle the crime wave plaguing our communities by rejecting anti-police and soft-on-crime agendas. Our plan hires an additional 200,000 police officers and gives law enforcement the resources and support they need to get the job done.

    We will also work to secure our border and stop the flow of fentanyl through proven measures such as ‘Remain in Mexico,’ finishing the wall, and by implementing my HALT Fentanyl Act.

    Finally, we are committed to keeping our nation safe by supporting our troops and their families.

    We also have a plan to secure a future built on freedom. This means giving you control of what happens in your kids’ school and confronting big tech censorship.

    It also means personalizing your health care to provide affordable options and better quality.

    In Congress, I have helped move us in the right direction by voting to cap insulin costs at $35 and advancing my bipartisan MOBILE Health Care Act, critical legislation to expand access in rural and underserved communities.

    Finally, we have a plan to build a government that’s accountable. This starts by standing up for your God-given rights like life, and the First and Second Amendments. It also means making sure the government in Washington fulfills its obligations to you through oversight and transparency.

    It is an honor to serve you, Fort Bragg, and our community. In Congress, I have always sought to work across the aisle on commonsense solutions to the problems facing you and your family.

    However, it is clear that two years of one-party rule in Washington have put our economy, safety, and prosperity — as well as an extra $700 a month — in peril.
    Instead of electing more rubber stamps for President Biden and Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the choice this November is simple: If you want an economy that’s strong, a nation that’s safe, a future built on freedom, and a government that’s accountable — then we Republicans are prepared to deliver on our Commitment to America.

    Will you join us? 

    Editor's note: Rep. Richard Hudson is serving his fifth term representing North Carolina’s 8th Congressional District in the United States House of Representatives. He currently serves on the Energy and Commerce Committee and in House leadership as the Republican Conference Secretary.
    Rep. Hudson grew up in Charlotte, graduated from Myers Park High School and earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in History and Political Science from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte,
    He and his family live in Moore County.

  • 19Jalen Broadhurst Jack Britt

     

    Jalen Broadhurst 

    Jack Britt• Football• Senior

    Broadhurst has a 4.45 weighted grade point average. In addition to playing football, he’s a member of the youth chapter of the Sandhills Red Cross. 

     

    20Alaina Kazmierczak Jack Britt

     

    Alaina Kazmierczak 

    Jack Britt• Cheerleader• Senior

    Kazmierczak has a 4.25 weighted grade point average. She’s a mem­ber of Key Club and National Honor Society. She’s also a member of her church choir.

  • 4My wife, Rebekah, and I have spent the last few days in Rome, Italy. Everywhere we look there are reminders of ancient human history... a couple thousand years’ worth anyway.

    We’re learning that many of the old structures here — some of the 1200 churches, the Colosseum, the Pantheon, Circus Maximus, many of the monuments to yet another egotistical emperor — were built in part by slave labor, often Jewish slaves.

    So, should they all be torn down, demolished, erased from memory, deleted from history? (As though that’s even possible!)

    Or should they — as they are — serve as objects to make history visible and touchable today, as icons of eras past, providing insight into human behavior and trends of earlier times, even serving as instructional elements for those alive today? And, even as revenue producers by those who come from afar and pay to see and experience them … because they are still here.

    Lift your sights, leaders of Fayetteville, when it comes to the fate of the most iconic, historic building in the town that we call home — the Market House. Learn from places in the world that really are old and historic, all of which have checkered chapters in their past.

    While walking through what was once the Jewish Ghetto in Rome, we saw the bronze plaques embedded in the floor near the doors of Jewish residences in the 1940s. Engraved on them were the names of those who lived there, the year of their birth, the date of their arrest and deportation to Auschwitz and the date of their “assassination.”

    It reminded me of an earlier trip I made to Krakow, Poland, and visited the nearby compound of Auschwitz. I actually walked into the oven where Jews were crammed in and gassed to death. The ovens obviously weren’t originally built for that use, but nevertheless they were the site of some of the most horrific acts of human derangement in history.

    So, should the entire complex of Auschwitz be demolished, obliterated, because of what happened there?

    Obviously not, in the opinion of the worldwide Jewish community, many of whom lost family members there, in much more recent history than anything that happened on the steps of Fayetteville’s Market House.

    In fact, while there, I saw busloads of young Jewish students touring the site, learning first-hand some valuable lessons from history — exactly where it all took place just a generation or two ago.

    I’m fully aware of the fact that because I’m not of African American descent, in the minds of some, I’m unqualified (or unworthy) of voicing an opinion on the matter of the Market House’s link to the issue of slavery.

    Furthermore, I’m a relative newcomer to Fayetteville. I moved here in 2010, after marrying a bonafide “Fayette-Villian,” as I jokingly refer to Rebekah. She’s a graduate of Pine Forest High School. She’s, in fact, a 6th-7th generation native of Fayetteville. So, she’s my ticket to entry into the community I proudly now call home.

    We are fortunate we can choose to live anywhere. Our global business is portable and not tied to any one locale. We have friends and family in many places. All we need is an airport and the internet.

    We are in Fayetteville by choice and love living downtown. As a kid who grew up in church and loves baseball, our daily view of downtown churches and baseball stadiums is about as good as it gets. While we’re here, we want to be good citizens and do all we can to make Fayetteville a great place to live for everyone.

    A Minority Perspective

    I grew up a missionary kid, so a different kind of “military brat” — the Lord’s Army. As such, I had a taste of minority life in my youth. My family was one of only five white families in a SE Alaskan fishing village in the 1950s.

    As a teen in South America, I was a blonde-haired, blue-eyed gringo in a brown-skinned, black-haired world. I never viewed my racial difference as a disadvantage.
    As a child, I was adopted into the Eagle Tribe of the Tlingit Nation and still maintain contact with my Alaskan “family.” Though decades removed from my high school years in Peru, I can still hold my own in Spanish.

    Here's a more current concern of mine as it relates to racial disharmony here in Fayetteville. Rebekah and I have four mixed grandchildren. They are all well-traveled. They’ve lived in Hawaii and blended with Pacific Islanders. They spent time in the Philippines and worked alongside their missionary mother in an orphanage in Cameroon, West Africa. They now live in Idaho, a relatively “white” part of the country. They don’t see color, a virtue I’m proud to have had a part in passing on to them.

    You know what I don’t want to expose them to? It’s some blatant, racially prejudicial behavior I see plainly displayed on the streets of Fayetteville on a regular basis. There are often some “street preachers” loudly proclaiming their message and reading from their religious texts on the streets downtown, often wearing garments compatible with their particular persuasion. I certainly respect their rights of free speech but do question their motives or their effectiveness.

    As one who spent 20 years in full-time ministry, I’m always eager to acknowledge the zeal and enthusiasm of those who are bold in their faith. So, on one occasion, I stopped to have a friendly visit with them. It wasn’t long before I was informed that their version of the gospel was black-centered only.

    I was boldly and emphatically informed that I, as a white person, had “NO HOPE.” Now, on more than one occasion, when simply walking by them on our way to dinner or one of the many downtown shops we like to patronize, I hear them say (in my direction) — “Damn you white people!”

    If I were the leaders of Fayetteville, I would be concerned about such expressions of racial hatred and such example of “hate speech” — happening on the streets of my town in 2022 — just outside of buildings that serve as places of business by respectable members of the community. I wouldn’t be trying to destroy a building that was erected as a place of business, even though it was used by some to conduct business that was most certainly deplorable in every sense of the word.

  • 18Football cleanupThe football team at Pine Forest and the baseball team at Gray’s Creek both saw damage done to their respective athletic fields during the recent visit of Hurricane Floyd to Cumberland County. 

    But that didn’t pre­vent players from both teams reaching out to others in the com­munity who had been harder hit by the storm than they were. 

    At Pine Forest, coach Bill Sochovka was greeted to the site of a large sinkhole that developed near the goal line on one end of the field at Harold K. Warren Stadium. 

    But Sochovka got even more disturbing news from his defensive coordinator, Jeff Houghton, who lives in the Spring Lake area. Houghton shared reports with Sochovka about the devasta­tion caused around Spring Lake by the flooding that Hurricane Florence caused. 

    “We do a lot for the north side of town,’’ Sochovka said. But he added that there are a lot of current Pine Forest football players as well as alumni who are in the Spring Lake area, so he felt it was important to lend a hand there as well.

    The Saturday after the storm passed, the Trojan football team practiced in the morning, then a dozen players went to Spring Lake, specifically to the area off Vass Road, to help out in neighbor­hoods that were flooded by the storm.

    “They helped move stuff out of seven houses,’’ Sochovka said. “They were there from about 10 in the morning until four in the afternoon. What would have taken those folks days to do they did in a few hours.’’ 

    Sochovka also helped out at the shelter that was opened at the Pine Forest gym for people dis­placed by the storm. He worked with Red Cross volunteers to show them around the building and make them aware of the various facilities available in the gym. 

    Sochovka said disaster relief was a new experi­ence for many in the Trojan family. “You can sit and watch on TV, or you can do it in your community and be effective,’’ he said. 

    Gray’s Creek baseball coach Jeff Nance saw minor damage to his field as some fences were blown down, signs knocked off the scoreboard and shingles blown from the dugout. 

    But he also saw a need to help out in the Gray’s Creek community when a minister friend at an outreach called Balm of Gilead asked him for some assistance. 

    “It’s a community outreach center that gives food and water to people, not just during disas­ters but anytime,’’ Nance said. The head of the ministry called and said she had a large supply of water coming in for disaster relief and needed help unloading it.

    Nance sent out an appeal to his baseball team and about half of them showed up to unload the water and help prepare food bundles for delivery to people who had been hit hardest by the storm.

    “This gives them the opportunity to see how for­tunate most of them are,’’ Nance said. “It brings out the best in them and the best in what we’re trying to teach them, teamwork.”

  • In the aftermath of Hurricane Florence and dev­astating flooding across the state, Commissioner Que Tucker and the North Carolina High School Athletic Association Board of Directors has request­ed NCHSAA member schools designate a contest or contests during the period from Oct. 1-19 as a Hurricane Florence Relief Assistance Contest. 

    Member schools are asked to participate by col­lecting money at any home contest during that window and then forwarding those monies to the Association, which will act as a clearinghouse. All money will be divided and sent to local education agencies in the counties that have been designated as disaster areas and were federally approved for individual assistance. 

    The NCHSAA Board of Directors has approved matching funds up to $25,000 to add to the money collected during the drive by member schools for Hurricane Florence Relief Games. Funds distrib­uted to affected LEAs would be available to help member schools as determined by local school administrators. 

    “Many NCHSAA member schools in Eastern North Carolina received a devastating blow from Hurricane Florence, and we want to do our part to help during this time of need,” said Tucker. “After Hurricane Floyd and most recently Hurricane Matthew, we called upon member schools to help those in the hardest hit areas. Once again, we are asking each member school and its community to join together in helping those most impacted by this disaster.’’ 

    In the wake of Hurricane Matthew, NCHSAA mem­ber schools – helped by a matching contribution authorized by the Association Board members – were able to donate over $44,000 to LEAs in the most affected areas. In the case of Hurricane Floyd, the NCHSAA collected donations at statewide regional meetings and also provided a matching donation.

    “Great things are possible when we all work together,” Tucker said. “Even in the wake of tremen­dous devastation, our member schools are a focal point of the effort to rebuild and return their com­munities to normalcy. Whether they were serving as emergency shelters or providing a rallying point for community donations, NCHSAA members always do whatever is necessary to support those in need. We are proud of them for their sense of community and are eager to see what we can do together this time around.’’ 

    Once a school has decided when and how to participate, they are asked to contact NCHSAA Assistant Commissioner James Alverson with the details of their plans at james@nchsaa.org.

  • 17Rod WaltersWhen the University of Maryland turned to an outside consultant to investigate the circumstances involved in the death of football player Jordan McNair, it was no surprise the person they chose to lead the probe was former Terry Sanford High School student athletic trainer Rod Walters. 

    Walters, a 1975 graduate of Terry Sanford, learned about athletic training under well-known Bulldog coaches like Len Maness, Mackie Hall, Fred McDaniel and Wayne Byrd. 

    He went on to a brilliant Hall of Fame career as an athletic trainer at his alma mater, Appalachian State, as well as Lenoir-Rhyne and the University of South Carolina. He finally stepped down in 2007 to create his own consulting business that focuses on providing education and resources to fellow athletic trainers. 

    “Education is probably the biggest part of what I do,’’ said Walters. “I review programs. I’ve been doing one or two of these a year.’’ 

    That was what Maryland asked him to do when they reached out to him in early June following the tragic death in May of McNair during an offseason workout session. 

    Walters’ 74-page report, which was issued in mid- September, concluded that cold-water immersion tanks used to rapidly reduce the core temperature of a player suffering from heat-related illness were not available at Maryland’s practice that day because the practice location had been changed at the last minute and the tanks were elsewhere. 

    While Maryland had some good emergency poli­cies in place, Walters said they needed to be followed completely. “Deviation from that causes problems,’’ he said. 

    He added that the Maryland athletic trainers on the scene didn’t take vital signs and didn’t identify escalating symptoms of heat stroke. 

    Walters said the main lesson the death of McNair taught for both Maryland and any athletic program is emergency action plans must be specific when stating what’s going to happen and how the athletic trainers and coaches are going to deal with it. 

    Things like “How do we identify signs and symp­toms?’’ Walters said. “How do we implement care? Are all the parties involved, coaches and athletic trainers, appropriately prepared to deal with that? Do we have appropriate monitoring of the weather, whether it be lightning or heat? Do we have the pro­cesses in place?’’ 

    In the case of heat-related illness, Walters said the problem is complicated because there are so many pieces. They include accurately and rapidly identify­ing the nature of the heat illness followed by rapid treatment and aggressive cooling of the athlete to bring the temperature down. 

    “There’s a study we quoted in the report, in the event of an exertional heat stroke, that if we iden­tify it within 30 minutes, the chance of mortality or major problems are reduced,’’ Walters said. “That’s why the rapid assessment is so important.’’ 

    Walters said the biggest danger for any athletic program or team is lack of preparation in dealing with emergencies. 

    “You’ve got to have a plan,’’ Walters said. But even that is not enough. Not only do you have to have a plan, you must practice it, and not just once at the start of a sports season. 

    “We find that lots of schools, 90 percent of them, have an emergency plan and may practice it in July,’’ he said. “You’ve got to stay on top of that, revisit best practices to make sure we’re doing all the things we can do effectively to treat these people.’’ 

    Walters said heat isn’t the only concern. There are numerous other dangers to be aware of, including cardiac issues, concussions and athletes with sickle cell trait. “All these other things we have to apply to make sure we have an effective plan,’’ he said. 

    Walters admits it sounds self-serving, but he said it’s a good idea for all schools to have someone like himself come in and conduct an independent review of how they’re doing things. “They’ve got to review the emergency action plan and make sure it’s thorough,’’ he said. “Have somebody review that your best practices are best practices. 

    “A lot of places aren’t doing that.’’ 

    For more information about Walters and his con­sulting work, go to www.rodwalters.com.

    Photo: Rod Walters

  • 10-13-10-ftcc.gifReistration cycle begins on Monday, Nov. 1, 2010, for current and future students with more than 2,000 spring semester degree-program classes available, with many of the classes offered online. These classes lead to 150 programs of study in business; engineering; public service and applied technology; health occupations; and college transfer and general education degrees, diplomas and certificates.

    FTCC President Dr. J. Larry Keen, along with the facul-ty and staff, welcome you to the campus and encourage you embrace learning as a lifelong journey. FTCC is commited to fulfilling your educational needs — no matter where you are along your path on this journey.

    Whether you are a new student or a returning student, our mission is to assist you with answers to your questions and to assist you in get-ting started. The general admissions process is four easy steps:

    1. ApplicationAll students are required to submit an FTCC application prior to registration, using the College Foundation of North Carolina, (CFNC) secured site (www1.cfnc.org/Applications/NC_Community_College/apply.html?application_id=1497). Please put your social security number on your application for prompt processing of your admissions application and financial aid. If you have questions, please call FTCC Admissions at (910) 678-8473.

    2. Submit High School Transcripts (High School, GED) Applicants for curriculum programs are required to submit official copies of high school transcripts, GED, DD214, or an official college transcript showing an asso-ciate degree or higher-level degree awarded. Home-schooled students must submit a copy of the home school’s approved registration from the state in which they are registered and an official transcript including the graduation date and documentation of completion of compe-tency. For assistance, please go to www.faytechcc.edu/admissions/documents/TranscriptReqFormtoFTCC.pdf.

    3. Complete a Placement Assessment Visit the College’s Testing Office site at www.faytechcc.edu/Testing/Default.asp or call (910) 678-8417 to schedule an appointment for the Placement Assessment-Accuplacer. Appointments are also available at the Spring Lake Campus, (910) 678-1004 and the Fort Bragg Center, (910) 678-1050.

    4. Apply for Financial Aid and/or ScholarshipsIf you will need money to assist you with college expenses such as tuition and books, you can apply for financial aid.

    To apply for financial aid:

    1. Set up PIN at www.pin.edu.gov

    2. Complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FASFA) online at www.FAFSA.gov for the year you will be attending FTCC. FTCC’s Federal School Code: 007640

    3. If you have questions contact FTCC Financial Aid, (910) 678-8242.There are additional admissions requirements for some programs such as Health Programs. Please see the information under Health Programs (www.faytechcc.edu/admissions/HEALTHPROGRAMS.asp)

    Our Main Campus Admissions office is located in the Tony Rand Student Center with the following operating hours:

    Monday - Thursday 8 a.m. - 7 p.m., during semester classes

    Monday - Thursday 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., during school breaks

    FTCC is a certified military-friendly school and the servicemember’s opportunity college.

    Please visit the FTCC Web site at www.faytechcc.edu/ for answers to other questions that you might have about the College.

    Fayetteville Technical Community College was established in 1961 and serves more than 34,000 students annually by provid-ing150 affordable vocational, technical, general education, col-lege transfer, and continuing education programs to meet students’ needs and desires as well as the community.

  • While I sat watching television with my son the other day, a commercial came on about unfortunate children10-27-10-thirdday.gif in another country. I proceeded to pick up my cell phone and begin to text, but my son kept watching. After it was over he, clearly af-fected, asked what we should do. I almost shrugged my shoulders until I realized that he was not only serious, but he was right. We should do something. We have so much to juggle in life that sometimes we can become unintentionally desensitized to the people around us who may be in need. We tend to forget everything except the present; the car note, the electric bill, the kids’ homework. So thankfully, organizations like World Vision still exist, and are behind wonderful programming like The Make A Difference Tour 2010 to help remind us.

    World Vision is an international partnership of Christians and humanitarians on a mission to help communities worldwide to reach their full potential, tackling the causes of poverty and injustice. This year they, along with leading provider of entertainment AEG, and the top source for online Christian music Hearitfirst.com, have put together a powerful concert with some of the biggest names in Christian music to further achieve that goal.

    Michael W. Smith, one of the best selling and influential Contemporary Christian artist, as well as having a great deal of popularity in the mainstream market will headline the event. The winner of three Grammy awards and 33 GMA Dove awards, Smith has been called creative and poignant and celebrates 27 years of creating worship through music.

    Toby Mac has blossomed to become a stellar and award-winning musician and author. Mac has been honored with four Grammy’s and was named GMA’s Dove Award artist of the year in 2008.

    Atlanta based rock band Third Day will also be in attendance. Recently in-ducted into the Georgia Hall of Fame, Third Day has been entertaining audiences of millions, which has also earned them more than 20 number one singles and several awards for songwriting.

    Next we come to Max Lucado, accomplished author and minister, who has inspired many Christians, and whose upcoming book Outlive Your Life: You Were Made To Make A Difference inspired the tour. Lucado feels that this is a big step toward helping others in need. “None of us can help everyone, but all of us can help someone. And when we serve others, we serve God.” Lucado not only speaks it, but is practicing that philosophy, 100 percent of the profits from his book ben-efit children and families through World Vision and other faith-based ministries.

    Just added is Christian singer songwriter Jason Gray, who has released four independent records before signing with Centricity Records in 2006. He believes in finding strength in weakness, and his music emphasizes that. Named one of the Ten Outstanding Minnesotans in 2003, Gray is quickly making a name for him-self and holds his own in this concert among his peers.

    Janine Lewis, marketing and promotions manager for the Crown says “The Crown Center is thrilled to be a part of World Vision’s Make A Difference Tour 2010! This event not only features best-selling author, Max Lucado, but also Christian music artists such as Third Day, Toby Mac, and Michael W. Smith. This is a great opportunity for community members to support World Vision’s efforts in helping children. Join us at the Crown Center on Saturday, Oct. 30 for the final tour performance!”

    This is the first time that all four of these artist have been brought together, and Oct. 30 is the only date that this tour will be in N.C., making this perfor-mance extra special. Tickets are on sale now through the Crown Coliseum box office, all Ticketmaster outlets, Ticketmaster.com or order by phone at 800-745-3000. V.I.P. Seating is available and in-cludes a Q&A session with the artist, light refreshments and a copy of Max Lucado’s new book, Outlive you Life.

    For tickets or more info. give the Crown a call at 438-4100.

    PHOTO: Third Day will be performing at the Crown on Oct. 30. 

  •     {mosimage}For more than 200 years, MacPherson Presbyterian Church has been a part of the bedrock that supports the faithful in Cumberland County.
        And now, the church is looking to dig deep down into that holy shale and mine a tradition that dates back to the 1940s and 1950s — the ingathering.
        According to the written history of MacPherson Presbyterian Church, “An ingathering was a major undertaking used by many churches, particularly in the 1940s and ‘50s as a means of raising money. A combination of a latter day bazaar in which handmade crafts were sold at community feasts.”
        On Saturday, Oct. 18, the church will bring back those festive days of fellowship and good, honest commerce. On that day, from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., bazaar items will be sold, including cakes, candy, pies, frozen soups, “MacPherson’s Own” homemade spaghetti sauce and vegetable soup, pick-up or take-out dinners will be available from 4-6 p.m., while sit-down dinners will be at the church from 6-7 p.m. Tickets are being sold in advance at the church office.
        Also on that day, there will be live music — with contemporary Christian and bluegrass from 1-5 p.m. — and an auction at 7 p.m.; auction items will include a beach house weekend, a china place setting, quilts and other items.
        All funds raised will go toward missions and the building program.
        More than the tangible results, the church also hopes to get back to the old ways of the ingathering which bound the community together in the past — a past that MacPherson Presbyterian Church member Ann Welch remembers well.
        “When I was a child, the farmers brought in cotton, hay and their wives made canned goods and crocheted and knitted... All types of crafts,” said Welch. “My father donated a decrepit mule, for which Joe McGrath paid a handsome $16. And he fed it so much that it floundered and died in a couple of weeks. We’re trying to get it back to what it was.”
        Not only will the ingathering feed the church’s coffers, it will offer the community a bit of history about the church — a church founded in 1800 and full of religious artifacts,  from a crystal and tin communion set to an old sound board used to amplify the preacher’s words in the days before microphones and sound systems.
        The church’s rich history extends to the graveyard, where church member Bill Kern said contains the resting places for many war veterans, including a number of Civil War vets. Among the markers is a huge, ornate marker for Confederate army hero Lt. Gen. Theophilis Hunter Holmes. resting side-by-side with Holmes is his wife, whom Kern said Holmes had exhumed and transferred at great expense from her original grave site in Governor’s Island, N.Y..
        “It’s a large stone,” said Kern. “After the war people didn’t have a lot of money, so he must’ve thought a lot of her.”
        Kern said Holmes paid his wife the ultimate compliment with the tombstone’s epitaph, which reads: “She Made Her Husband a Christian.”
        Just the kind of sentiment MacPherson Presbyterian Church hopes to renew with its Old Fashioned Ingathering.

  •     In one of those delicious little ironies of life, this reporter had a devil of a time finding a parking space to attend last week’s meeting of the Fayetteville City Council in which a long parade of folks parked themselves in front of the council to discuss the dearth of parking in the downtown.
        Specifically, those who took the podium during the public comment period of the meeting urged the council to look into leasing a 44-space parking lot on the 100 block of Hay Street next to the Gotham City Jazz building that was closed for several days as the new owner of the lot, Chris Manning, had an environmental review carried out as part of his planned purchase of the lot.
        {mosimage}The city had leased the parking lot for 22 years from BB&T — until the lease recently expired and the council decided not to purchase the lot from BB&T at a cost of $395,000.
        Instead, Manning jumped into the breach, offering $465,000 for the lot.
        While it was not known what Manning plans to do with the property, what was known by downtown merchants operating in the area was that their businesses will suffer — and perhaps shut down — without those vital parking spots.
        At last week’s council meeting, some of these merchants showed up wearing blue and white sticks that read “Vote Yes” next to a “P” for parking. These folks urged the council to work out the details and pursue some kind of lease agreement so the parking lot would stay open.
        Larry Clubine, president of the Downtown Alliance, said that if the lot utilized some sort of paid parking system, such as meters, it could generate approximately $275 a day — or approximately $5,000 a month — which he said could easily cover the cost of a lease.
        “If something’s not done, businesses will suffer a significant loss at a time when downtown is thriving,” said Clubine.
        Also speaking out on the parking issue was Diane Parfitt, treasurer of the Downtown Alliance and owner of City Center Gallery and Books, which is across the street from the parking lot.
        “We firmly believe that the core of the city is its downtown,” said Parfitt. “We are a nation of drivers. For several years the Downtown Alliance has warned about the dearth of downtown parking. I have two book clubs that meet at my store and they have told me that those clubs will die if there is a loss of parking.”
        Diane Parfitt’s husband, Hank, founder and past president of the Downtown Alliance, appealed to the stomachs of the council members when discussing the impact of losing the parking lot.
        “These are 44 spots, but if you look at the number of cars parking there throughout the day, you’re talking about 200 cars easily … 200 customers,” said Hank Parfitt. “My wife and I own the building where Horne’s Café is … I’m going to tell you right now, it has the best cheeseburger in Fayetteville, bar none. But it doesn’t matter how good their food is or how quick their service is: If people can’t park there or within a reasonable parking distance, they are not going to go there. If we cannot regain those 44 parking spots, Horne’s will be closed in two months … and our bookstore won’t be far behind and there will be many more businesses that will have to close. It’s just a fact of life.”
        While the council did not address the parking issue at the meeting, city officials did say that the city is negotiating with Manning on the possibility of leasing the space and keeping it open as a parking lot.
    The council would have to vote on any lease agreement at a future meeting.
        While the council members were tight lipped about the parking of cars, they weren’t nearly so mute as they discussed an ordinance that would close auto salvage yards within three years if they don’t abide by city regulations —  seven salvage yards could be closed under the ordinance, which passed 8-2, with dissenting votes cast by Ted Mohn and Robert Massey.
        Councilman William Crisp expressed concern that the ordinance would “put some folks out of business.”
    However, Councilman Charles Evans shot back that the council wasn’t trying to put anyone out of business, but that something had to be done to clean up the salvage yards for the betterment of the health of families living adjacent to the salvage yards.
        “I too am concerned about putting people out of business,” said Evans, pointing to a picture of one particularly unkempt auto salvage yard. “But this place is in a residential area. The residents have been complaining for years and years about getting it cleaned up. To think that a person would have to come home from a hard day’s work and pass this mess going to and from (home) every day.”
        Massey countered that most of the salvage yards had been in business for years and provide the city with a needed service for residents who can’t afford new cars or to pay repairmen, so they frequent the salvage yards themselves to seek out the needed parts themselves.
        “Our community encroached upon them (the salvage yards),” said Massey. “Is it the city’s job to put     them out of business?”
        Evans answered, rather testily, that the council had previously agreed among themselves to this ordinance, and he also cited the low economic standing of the folks who tend to live adjacent to these salvage yards — folks who he said often don’t have their voices heard.
        “We have worked long and hard on this ordinance because we knew this was a problem in Fayetteville,” said Evans. “It’s not that we’re trying to put anybody out of business … We’re trying to protect the sanctity of the neighborhoods.
        “There’s a lot of those neighborhoods where the salvage yards are in economically challenged areas and those people need a chance to lead a decent life in their particular residences.”
        In other business, the council moved ahead with the annexation of Gates Four. The community will officially become part of the city following next year’s municipal elections.

  • 10-12-11-cumberland-oratorio-logo.jpgIt’s been 20 years since the Cumberland Oratorio Singers debuted in Fayetteville. It’s been 20 years of high quality performances and entertainment and 20 years of fun. On Oct. 14, the Cumberland Oratorio Singers open their 2011/2012 season with A Concert of German Masters: Bach, Beethoven and Brahms.

    “This is the first performance of our season,” said Maureen Yearby, of the Cumberland Oratorio Singers. “It is the German Master Composers — about 1/2 of the concert will be presented in German as it was written by the composers. A few peices will be sung in English.”

    Ludwig van Beethoven’s “Hallelujah,” from Christ on the Mount of Olives is the first number in the line-up. It’s a piece that is set in the garden of Gethsemane right before the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and explores the emotional turmoil that Jesus must have felt at the time. The piece is often considered more dramatic than religious. The piece ends when Jesus personally accepts his fate and focuses on the fact that it was a personal decision.

    The concert ends with Johann Sebastian Bach’s “Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme, BWV 140,” a chorale contata which is also known as “Sleeper’s Wake.” Based on Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme by Philipp Nicolai, this hymn has been translated into English and enjoys popularity in English and German. The piece is about the parable of the ten virgins in the book of Matthew of the Bible.

    The rest of the season promises to be well rounded and packed with great entertainment too.

    On Dec. 4, the annual performance of Messiah Sing! Will be performed at First Presbyterian Church. This classic is always fun for the audience because citizens of Fayetteville are invited to join the chorus on stage and sing with them.

    On March 24, the Cumberland Oratorio Singers team up with the Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra, area university and community choirs to perform “Beethoven Symphony No. 9 in D Minor, Op. 125” at Reeve’s Auditorium. Other works to be performed are “Ode to Joy,” The group of choirs is called The Spring Festival Chorus and plans to work together in the future to make collaborative choral works a tradition in the community.

    Let Your Light Shine is the last performance of the season and will take place on May 11 at St. Ann Catholic Church. They will perform Lux Aeterna by Morton Lauridson. “The concept of light is very powerful in both poetry and song. The five movements of Lux Aeterna are based on various references to light from sacred Latin texts. The power and finesse of Lux Aeterna will speak to each of us in its own way,” says the Cumberland Oratorio Singers website.

    The concert is at Highland Presbyterian Church. It begins at 7:30 p.m.

    “We love to have students in attendance,” said Yearby. “In fact, students of all ages are admitted free of charge. That has always been our commitment to the community. We take very serioulsly trying tp spread the love of classical choral music and trying to make sure that we expose younger genreations to the genre to inspire them to participate when they grow up and to introduce them to the classiscs.

    Visit http://cumberlandoratoriosingers.org to find out more about the Cumberland Oratorio Singers.

  • 10-19-11-oktoberfest.jpgIt has been two years since Fort Bragg hosted its last Oktoberfest, but it’s back now, and from Oct. 27-Nov. 6, at the Fort Bragg Fairgrounds, local residents choose to attend are in for a great time.The festival has all the things required for a fun day with friends and family.

    What started in 1810 as a wedding celebration in the fields just out-side the city gates of Munich, Germany, has grown into a celebration that people look forward to all over the world each year. Sure, when Crowne Prince Ludwig (later to become King Ludwig I) wed Princess Therese of Saxony-Hildburghausen, he had no idea this festive occas-sion would be the root of a long-lasting and much cherished tradtion, much less the largest festival in the world, according to the city of Munich’s website.

    The fact that it gives the rest of the world a reason to hold a festi-val, enjoy the autumn weather and some entertainment is a boone for festival lovers all around. With the cooler weather, heading out for a day of fun is an easy choice, and the fact that there is not far to travel to get there is a bonus.

    The Fort Bragg version of Oktoberfest is full of great entertainment and activities that the entire family is sure to enjoy.

    Entertainment varies daily and includes a Bavarian Brass Band, a traditional German oom-pa band, Newton and the Signature Series Band, an R&B band, rock band Black Market Special, country performers Currie Clayton and Contraband and Ryan Daniels. Delta Saints, a blues/rock band and The Fifth, a rock band, round out the stage sched-ule. There are multiple performances scheduled each day.

    Of course, there will be carnival rides galore, and food vendors offering everything from popcorn and cotton candy to funnel cakes and hot dogs. Unlimited free rides are included with the price of admission.

    Every Monday through Thursday is Customer Appreciation Day. From 5-7 p.m., it costs just $5 to get in for those aged 3 and older.

    Gates open at 5 p.m. on weekdays and 1 p.m. on weekends. Monday through Thursday after 7 p.m. general admission is $12; children 3-9 $10; military and Department of Defense civilians $10; Handicapped non-rider $7; senior citizen non-rider age 50 or older $7. Friday through Sunday general admission is $17; children 3-9 are $15; military ID cardholders and Department of Defense Civilians are $15; Handicapped non-riders are $7; and senior citizen non-riders ages 50 and older are $7 to get in. Children under 36” tall and under age 3 are admitted free every day.

    Parking is free and the public is invited to come and join the fun. Find out more at www.fortbraggmwr.com.

    Photo: The Fort Bragg version of Oktoberfest is full of great entertainment and activities that the entire family is sure to enjoy.

  • COSIn 1991, music lovers around the world commemorated the 200th anniversary of Mozart’s death. In Fayetteville, Alan Porter gathered a group of community members to perform Mozart’s Requiem. 

    “It remains as ‘the’ moment that began this organization,” said Cumberland Oratorio Singers Director Michael Martin. To celebrate the organization’s 25th anniversary, Alan Porter returns to conduct a portion of the season’s first concert, which is set for Oct. 29, at Holy Trinity Episcopal Church. The COS is also inviting past members for recognition at the event as well.

    In a nod to the group’s history, this first concert features a performance of “Requiem”, along with another collaboration with the Methodist University Chorale. “Alan was the original director of the COS,” said Martin. “He was the face of choral music in Fayetteville from his hiring in the earliest days of Methodist (College) University in the early 1960s until ending his time in Fayetteville choral music in 2008. He has also been a big supporter of mine and a person I am grateful to call my friend. For well over 40 years, he forged many relationships with people all for the sake of music and singing. It is no wonder that he still lives in the hearts of many people here in Fayetteville and all the students that passed through Methodist’s doors.”

    For Martin, it is only natural to recognize Porter’s efforts, even if it means breaking a few rules. “I am breaking concert protocol to make sure that Alan gets the opportunity to conduct the “Requiem”. Generally, large multi-movement pieces are conceived to have no applause between the movements, primarily because they are all part of the same work,” said Martin. “However, this time, I intend to stop the “Requiem” before we perform “Lacrimosa”, have Alan conduct this one part, and take his community bow at that point. For a man who has done so much for so many, this is something I am excited to assure for him.”

    There are three other performances this season. December 17 at 7:30 p.m., St. Ann Catholic Church hosts the annual “Messiah Sing,” which is a free concert. This is what the COS calls its “gift to the community.” The concert includes Lord of the Rings soloist Kaitlyn Lusk and Joshua Conyers of Piedmont Opera. March 24, at 7:30 p.m., at Holy Trinity Episcopal Church is a concert called “The Student and the Teacher,” featuring the music of Benjamin Britten and Ralph Vaughn Williams. Britten was a student at the Royal College of Music while Vaughn Williams was a teacher there. The last concert of the year is called “The Trumpets Shall Sound,” and features choral music accompanied by brass, percussion and organ. This concert is on May 19 at 7:30 p.m., at Haymount United Methodist Church.

    While COS is about music, it is also about community. In the aftermath of Hurricane Matthew, the board decided to donate $5 from every ticket sold to Second Harvest Food Bank to support their efforts with hurricane relief. The concert is at 7:30 p.m. at Holy Trinity Episcopal Church. For more information, visit: www.singwithcos.org.

  • CoverThe Indigo Moon Film Festival will bring 38 independent films to Downtown Fayetteville Oct. 7-9, featuring the work of students and seasoned professionals alike. The films were submitted from around the world, including some from local filmmakers.

    “If you love films, I hope you will make your way here,” Pat Wright said.  

    Wright and Jan Johnson, founders of local non-profit GroundSwell Pictures, organized the event. Both Johnson and Wright are award-winning producers/directors/writers. After years of attending other film festivals, the pair decided to organize a festival locally.

    “We do have a thriving arts community here,” Johnson said. “But film is not well-represented to enhance our cultural arts options.”

    The festival is the first of its kind in Fayetteville, Wright said.  

    “There will be films from around the world,” Wright added, noting that films were submitted from the U.S., Great Britain, Australia, Myanmar, Thailand, India and Hong Kong. “Through these films we get to see other cultures, feel empathy and understanding.”

    At about a dozen of the screenings, the actual filmmakers will be on site to discuss the film afterward, Johnson said.  

    The pair explained how they came up with the name of the festival.

    “Independent films are called ‘indie,’” Johnson said. 

    “You have an opportunity like this once in a blue moon,” Wright added.  “This is our chance, our once in a blue moon.”

    No strangers to taking chances or filmmaking, Wright and Johnson created GroundSwell in 2014 to engage and inspire others by making films, teaching filmmaking, showing films and supporting other filmmakers.  Their own films tackle tough topics such as child pornography, the effects of desegregation and recovery efforts in Haiti after an earthquake killed more than 230,000 people in 2010. Wright and Johnson say they are committed to educating the public and creating a groundswell of constructive change.

    While some of the films shown during the festival will cover serious topics such as genocide in Iraq, suicide and domestic violence, there are also lighter and humorous topics — the story of a 100-year-old artist, the happenings at a hotdog stand, nuns cited with “radical feminism” by the Vatican.

    First-time festival-goers should visit the website www.indigomoonfilmfestival.com  to review descriptions of the films and watch the trailers. With 38 titles and a wide variety of genres, there is something for every viewer. The selections range from two-minute short films to two-hour features.  

    Not only for those who enjoy viewing films, the IMFF is a competition. There are six cash awards and five awards voted on by the audience. The categories are: narrative feature, narrative short, documentary feature, documentary short, animation and student film. All films will be shown over three days in four venues Downtown: the Cameo Art House Theatre, the Arts Council, Hay Street United Methodist Church and the Cumberland County Headquarters Library.

    Maya Angelou: And Still I Rise will open the festival on Friday at 7 p.m. at the Cameo, Wright said. The film, released earlier this year, is a documentary about poet, author and performer Dr. Maya Angelou. It reflects on how the events of history, culture and the arts shaped Angelou’s life and how she inspired others through her autobiographical literature and activism.

    The film has been on the independent film festival circuit, Johnson said, explaining it is a rare opportunity to be able to show it in Fayetteville.  

    “We all kind of embraced her as our own,” Johnson said, “We thought we knew her.” 

    Before her death in 2014, Angelou taught at Wake Forest University and made her home in Winston-Salem. The documentary includes clips from older interviews as well as her final interviews, and goes into parts of her life most are unfamiliar with, Johnson said. 

    After seeing the film about Angelou’s life, “You can’t help but feel inspired and motivated,” Wright said.

    On Sunday, the final day of the festival, an awards banquet BBQ is slated at SkyView on Hay Street at noon with an encore showing of the winning films at 1:30 at the Cameo.

    There are several options for film-goers. To attend the opening night film and party at SkyView, tickets are $25. Tickets are $15 to attend the awards banquet. Individual tickets for films are $10. Tickets to see blocks of the short films, which range from two to 30 minutes each, are $10. You can also purchase a VIP pass for $80-$100 which includes the opening night film and party, the awards banquet, tickets for up to five film blocks, an IMFF festival tote and first admittance to screenings. There are discounts for students, seniors, military and Moon Shadow Film Society members.

    There is limited seating in all venues, and you must pre-select your choice of films when you purchase tickets/passes to guarantee your seat.  You can purchase passes on the website or go to the Rainbow Room on Hay Street.

    Any unclaimed seats will be made available for $10 cash only five minutes before the screenings.

    Under GroundSwell Pictures, Johnson and Wright also run the Moon Shadow Film Society, which hosts a screening of an independent film at the Cameo Art House Theatre the first Tuesday of the month at 7 p.m. Fittingly enough, October’s film was The Last Film Festival.

    “It is the film Dennis Hopper was working on when he passed away,” Wright said. Hopper stars as a movie producer whose film has been turned down by 3,999 of the 4,000 film festivals in the world.

    Like the Indigo Film Festival, the actual filmmakers are often on hand to answer questions and discuss the film after the screening. Also after each Film Society screening, the audience is invited to a reception at the Rainbow Room.

    The next Film Society screening is Oddball on Nov. 1. The film is based on the true story of a chicken farmer who trains his mischievous dog to protect a wild penguin sanctuary from fox attacks and in the process tries to reunite his family and save their seaside town. The film is appropriate for the entire family.

    Tickets for Moon Shadow Film Society showings can be purchased at the Cameo. 

    For more information on the Indigo Film Festival or the Moon Shadow Film Society, visit www.groundswellpictures.co

  • 10-05-11-fyp-logo.jpg“I need a change in my life, but can I really do this now … in my mid 30s?” This is the question that kept crossing my mind almost a year and half ago. I sat in my home in Raleigh, and re-flected on the past 15 years of my life spent in a city that watched me grow from a college kid into the woman I am today. Raleigh gave me an amazing college experience at Peace College, lots of great friends and memories and a starting place for my career. But as I grew-up, life changed, time passed and new journeys began for everyone around me … my friends were getting married, some becoming mothers for the very first time and others moving away for careers. Then there was me; a young, successful professional involved in my community but unable to feel like I had planted my roots. I had been contemplating the idea of moving back to Fayetteville. It was my hometown, my family was still there, friends I grew up with were moving back. Fayetteville was familiar and comfortable. But of course, as with any major life change such as this one … I couldn’t help but wonder … will it be easy to get involved? Will I make friends again with these people that I hadn’t seen in years? Can I make a difference in the community?

    Two nights later, I went to my 10-year college reunion for Peace College. It was there that I ran into Jenny Beaver (a longtime hometown friend and fellow Peace alum) and Kirk deViere. Deep into conversation and catching up with one another, I brought up my idea of moving back home to Fayetteville. Jenny and Kirk were “all for it” and expressed much excitement for me. I told them of my hesitations and then Kirk made a defining comment to me, that at that very moment turned my de-cision to move back to Fayetteville from a “maybe someday” to a definite “Yes!” His words still resonate with me to this day. He said, “Raleigh is a large city with a lot of great possibilities, but Fayetteville is a smaller city with great possibilities. Would you rather be a ‘small fish in a big pond’ or a ‘big fish in a small pond’? Fayetteville is where you can be that “big fish” and where there are a lot of opportunities.”

    Three months later, I packed up my life and took a huge leap of faith... and moved back to Fayetteville.

    Now fast forward a year and half and here I am in Fayetteville, incredibly in-volved, and I can say that my move home was the best decision I have ever made. Last August when I moved home, I made the decision to plant my feet firmly into the Fayetteville community. I transferred my membership from the Junior League of Raleigh to the Fayetteville chapter; I joined the Boys and Girls Club’s of Cumberland County Garden Party Committee to help plan its largest fundraiser of the year, and I joined the Fayetteville Young Professionals. It felt good to be firmly planted in a community. Then my roots began to grow. FYP became a key part of my life immediately. It continually allows me to network both professionally and socially with young professionals that are in the same place in life.

    My roots keep growing … my circle of friends continues to expand with both old and new faces. A lot of these new faces I have met through FYP. My roots are now growing deeper. Today my involvements in the commu-nity continue to increase with the Boys and Girls Club, Child Advocacy Center, Cape Fear Studios, Junior League of Fayetteville, and now I sit on the Executive Committee of FYP as the Social Chair for 2011-2012.

    Today, my roots are planted firmly in this community. I have found home again.

    The Fayetteville Young Professionals is a fantastic avenue to network socially and professionally with young professionals in this community with like interests. We have bi-weekly meet-ups, professional development opportunities, and monthly social events. There are some great upcoming events to be apart of in FYP.

    On Oct. 22, FYP hosts its 3rd Annual Halloween Hike in downtown Fayetteville. Please join us that evening dressed in your best Halloween costume. In November, join us “down by the river,” for our first Oyster Roast; and in December, come out to It’z for our annual Christmas Party … this year it is Tacky Christmas Karaoke, so join us in your tackiest Christmas attire and be ready to sing your heart out! These events are just the start of a great year of fun to come!

    To learn more about FYP, please visit our website at www.fayyp.org. Get involved! Come join FYP! You too, can be the next “big fish!”

  • uac101911001.jpg Reading Rocksis in its eighth year, and it is bigger and better than ever. On Oct. 22, the public is invited to rally at Festival Park for a 1.5-mile walk through historic downtown Fayetteville.

    Last year the program attracted about 20,000 participants and raised more than $200,000. Every school in the system participated — that’s two special schools, one year-round classical high school, 14 traditional-calendar high schools, 15 middle schools and 53 elementary schools — 85 schools in all, according to the Cumberland County Schools website. There are 53,361 students enrolled in this school system and 24,290 of them attend elementary school. That is almost half of our county’s students.

    The money raised averages out to more than $2,300 per school, although it wasn’t necessarily distributed that way. It’s still an impressive sum — and every penny of it was used to promote literacy for the benefit of Cumberland County students.

    Belinda Cashwell, Cumberland County Schools System media services director, said that the event organizers are hoping to have 25,000 walkers this year and that they’ve already raised $225,000. While the schools have already completed their fundraising campaigns, the county is still taking donations and can be reached at678-2613.

    One of the many great things about this fund-raiser is that each school keeps 100 percent of funds they raise.

    “It is all used to promote literacy in Cumberland County,” said Cashwell. “We are trying to raise money to put quality literature in the hands of children through our media centers. We have professional media coordinators who read professional reviews on every book purchased. We want to make sure our children have the very best materials.”10-19-11-reading-rocks-logo.jpg

    Getting kids to read is only part of the program. Cumberland County Schools also have computer-based reading programs in the schools. Once students read a book they can go and take a test about what they have read. Any parent with a child in the Cumberland County Schools is well-acquainted with the Accelerated Reader program. The program gives student a goal to read a set number of books. That goal goes into determing a student’s grade. The tests, taken on the computer, track how well a student is comprehending and processing the information they read in the book. Students must score greater than 70 percent on the test for the book to count against their goal.

    The testing element is a web-based model that Cashwell says has more than 150,000 quizzes in it. The school system also has a targeted teaching prescriptive learning model, that students can use to check out books by objective in every single media center in the Cumberland County Schools System.

    Statistics were not readily available to compare the literacy rates of local students with the state or country, but Cashwell did note that, “Our drop out rate is only 2.7 percent. We are the fourth largest school system in the state and our drop out rate is lower — which is a good step when you are talking about drop out rates — than other counties our size.”

    In addition to the walk, which is free and does not require registration, there is also a run scheduled for Oct. 22 that will benefit Reading Rocks.

    Runners can register at active.com and search Reading Rocks in Fayetteville, N.C. The race starts at 7 a.m. Online registration costs $20. It is $15 for students and same day registration is $25.

    If the good cause is not enough to inspire participation, Cashwell said that the format of the event is a unique and fun way to do things.

    “We call Reading Rocks a parade in reverse — 16 bands are stationed along the route and everyone walks past the bands,” said Cashwell. “The school that raised the most money, well, their band gets to perform at the center of the Market House. The most exciting thing is that this is our only community-wide signature program with Cumberland County School in the greater Fayetteville area. It is exciting because it is not just school children walking. We have nursing home residents who come out and participate in their wheelchairs, school personnel and their families come out too. It’s an everyone event, even though it is a fundraiser.”

    10-19-11-reading-rocks-photo.jpgSure, raising money for literacy is a great thing and the community support is amazing, but most of all, Cashwell loves the kids.

    “My favorite thing about Reading Rocks are the children. Last year there was a big surprise. It was the first year that our high school students exceeded our elementary students in attendance for this event and that is very exciting.”

    There is no registration required for the Reading Rocks walkathon. It’s a great way to support literacy and promote healthy living at the same time. The whole thing is over by 11 a.m. Call 678-2613 to find out more information or to make a donation.

    Photo: Event organizers are hoping to have 25,000 walkers this year.

     

  • 10-26-14-ftcc-article.jpgWhile walking around FTCC’s Fayetteville campus, it is hard not to notice the banners and posters with I-PASS on them. But really, what is it? Is it a place? Is it a concept? Is it a person? Well, it is all of those things!

    The developmental studies division has expanded to include services spe-cifically tailored to its students. Who is a developmental student? Any stu-dent taking one or more of the follow-ing courses: ENG 070, 080 and 090; or MAT 050, 060, 070, 080 and 090; or RED 070, 080 and 090. Students enrolled in these courses can go to either the I-PASS Center in Cumberland 314 or the McLean Learning Lab in Cumberland 315 to receive services

    .I-PASS offers multiple services to assist developmental students. First, developmental students can receive intrusive advising. During an intrusive advising session, an advisor informs the students of financial aid limitations, developmental course-work, attendance policies in developmental courses, repeat policies for developmental courses and much more. An intrusive advising session lasts about 20 minutes and allows students the opportunity to ask ques-tions and voice any concerns they may have about college.

    Second, I-PASS offers professional tutoring by instructors who actually teach the courses. In addition, student tutors are available to assist with problems. If students prefer to work alone, they can check out a net-book to work on during the time they spend in the I-PASS Center. Coming soon, math students will be able to uti-lize a SMART board to further improve their math skills.

    Finally, the I-PASS Center has a full-time counselor who is available to assist with personal, emotional or behavioral issues. The counseling ses-sions are confidential, and appointments may be made ahead of time. The counselor also provides workshops per-taining to student issues like time- or stress-management.

    Does I-PASS really work? Yes! The more time students spend receiv-ing tutoring, the better their grades. Further, over 90% of students who receive tutoring are either satisfied or very satisfied. In addition, over 82% of students who received intrusive advising were either satisfied or very satisfied with their experience.

    So the next time you see one of those I-PASS signs, you will know how I-PASS can help you. Stop by sometime; we will be waiting!

    Photo: During an intrusive advising session, an advisor informs the students of finan-cial aid limitations, developmental coursework, attendance policies in devel-opmental courses, repeat policies for developmental courses and much more.

  • garderJ. Bayard Clark Park and Nature Center, or as it is more commonly known Clark Park, is a true gem. Located at 631 Sherman Drive, the park is the second largest regional park in the city. It provides residents with beautiful natural woodlands. The three trails in the park showcase local animals, the Cape Fear River and all of the native woodland plants. The park also provides a safe haven for local wildlife and helps to preserve the environment. Park rangers educate residents about trails and all of the beautiful things that can be seen beside them. The park amenities include a picnic area with eight tables and a parking lot near the beginning of the five-mile Cape Fear River Trail, which is a perfect for the beginning of a walk, run or ride. To make things even easier, the trail is paved. Clark Park also offers opportunities for learning through the events hosted at the park. Typical events include activities such as nature fairs, basic astronomy and animal print tracking just to name a few. This year’s events include the Fairy and Action Figure Fort Fest.  This is a three-day introduction to miniature gardens. These small gardens are increasingly popular and can be used as “forts” or homes for equally small dolls, depicting magical creatures like trolls, fairies, animals or action figures. The goal of this three-day event is to help groups or individuals learn about and then construct their own miniature gardens.

    Day one is Thursday, Aug. 25. from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. Park rangers lead  workshops about what goes in to making a successful miniature fort or garden. Friday, Aug. 26, from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. is dedicated to building these forts or gardens. The third and final day, Aug. 27 from 11 a.m. until 5 p.m. is a public viewing of all the gardens.  

    While fairy gardens are popular, they are definitely not a new concept. Their debut in the U.S. can be traced to the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair where the bonsai dish gardens at the Japanese Pavilion enthralled the American public. The exhibit was such a hit that The New York Timesfeatured them in an article, according to www.fairygardening.com. “The practice of Fairy Gardening® has been around for more than 100 years and today, many of the fairy gardeners we meet throughout the country are thrilled to tell us how the tradition has been passed down from one generation to the next,” the website notes. 

    One of the things that makes miniature gardening so much fun is that the builder’s imagination is the only thing limiting the creation and design of the garden. Because they are small, these gardens work well in small spaces. They can be used indoors or outside.  

    Workshops and building days are hosted in the shade of the forest on Clark Park trails. Guests who come on Aug. 27 get to vote on the best forts. Registration is required for groups and individuals. To register, call 433.1579.

  • Tim Altman 1 The Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra invites one and all to experience “Something in the Wind” on Saturday, Nov. 5 at St. John's Episcopal Church. The mellow sounds of brass and woodwind instruments are the perfect accompaniment to the falling leaves and autumn weather as the calendar picks up speed toward the holidays.

    The 75-minute concert will feature string performances while bringing special attention to the trumpet, bassoon, flute and oboe.

    “I know for certain these instruments and their beauty will provide such a warm feeling in a venue like St. John,” shared Meghan Woolbright, marketing manager for the Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra. “It’s the perfect way to start the season.” 

    From the pews of St. John’s, guests will be treated to selected pieces from Guissepe Torelli's “Concerto in D Major,” Vivaldi’s “Concerto for Bassoon,” and other uplifting selections which will highlight the skills and talents of four FSO soloists.

    Dr. Timothy Altman will perform a trumpet solo during the event. Patrick Herring will solo on bassoon, Sarah Busman on flute, and Jessica Miller on oboe will bring the music of classical masters beautifully to life in a concert meant to stir the heartstrings.

    “I believe everybody, no matter where you come from or who you are, deserves the opportunity to be inspired by beautiful music,” Woolbright stated. “We strive to entertain, inspire and educate people with the music we play — we believe our music can resonate emotionally with people, and we want to share that.” Patrick Herring 1 1

    November 5th’s ticketed performance is the first of four to be held in churches around the city this concert season. Events are a mix of ticketed, and community concerts focused on the holidays and will infuse some musical joy into the most wonderful time of the year.

    Sarah Busman Early December will bring a collaboration with Cumberland Choral Arts to perform Handel’s “Messiah” and a festive concert entitled Holiday Brass. In January, the symphony will perform Dan Forrest's “Jubilate Deo” at First Presbyterian Church.

    The Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra has been a mainstay of the arts community for more than 50 years. Their professionalism and genuine love for the craft of music have made them a leading force behind music and arts education in the region.

    First and foremost, the FSO believes in promoting, supporting and creating beautiful music easily accessed by the public in an effort to build a more culturally engaged community.

    “I believe anyone who enjoys music and live performances will love this show,” Woolbright admitted. “Anyone who seeks to be entertained, educated, and Jessica Miller web 1 inspired should come to listen —it’s an awesome opportunity to spend time with your family and friends. The orchestra isn’t for any certain class of people — we try to make sure our concerts are for everybody.”

    Guests can purchase tickets by calling 910-433-4690 or online at www.fayettevillesymphony.org. Tickets are $32 for adults and $25 for seniors, military and Cumberland County School employees. Student and children's tickets are $8 and $5.

    St. John's Episcopal Church is located at 302 Green St., and guests are permitted to park at the church during the performance which begins at 7:30 p.m.

  • Poe porch witches Visit a local haunt and get your spook on at the 1897 Poe House. The Cape Fear Museum of the Historical Complex is hosting night tours with a Halloween historical twist. Visitors to Halloween Revels: Night Tours will be transported back in time and witness a series of short vignettes. The guests will become immersed in early 20th-century cultural norms, music and poetry.

    “You're actually watching a scripted play with different scenes and skits in each of the rooms of the historic Poe House. So you get guided through. And what makes it fun, of course, is it's after dark, it's at night. And we have the actors from the Gilbert portraying members of the Poe family, and they do different Halloween scenes, including customs, poems, and music that would have been appropriate for the time period of the early 1900s. So you're kind of traveling back in time to a Halloween 100 years ago, over 100 years ago.” Megan Maxwell, the education coordinator of 1897 Poe House at the Museum of the Cape Fear Complex, said.

    The tour is played out like a scripted historical theater show. Actors from the Gilbert Theater will give the night tours even more realism. One of those actors is a local fan-favorite, James Dean. Dean recently was in “The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance.” He's also played Scrooge in “A Christmas Carol” in the past. He will be taking on the role of Mr. Poe this year.

    This will be the eleventh year that the Museum has held these ‘spooky’ Halloween tours. It first started as a free and small event with actors who mainly improvised as there was no script. Two years into that, a script was finally written and every year it changes.

    “I try and change the script up every year so people that come every year don't see the same thing," Maxwell said. “So this year we have a new script, new scenes, new actors. So if you’re a repeat visitor, it's not going to be the same show. You're going to see something different this year.”

    The tours are family-friendly; however, it is dark and spooky. Parents must make their own judgment on whether their child can handle it. The $5 tickets must be bought beforehand; however, if the tour is not sold out, there may be tickets at the door. Tickets are only good for the time slot purchased.

    Guests should arrive at least 15 minutes before their tour time. Check-in is at the front table in the front yard.

    “It's going to be a little dark because we like it spooky. So when people come up, they get a program, they check in, they can relax on the front porch until it’s their tour time and then they’ll have guides that lead them through the house, so they'll get an introduction about what to expect. And then we’ll start the show,” Maxwell said.

    There are two nights left for the tours — Oct. 27 and Oct. 28. Tours will run on the half hour each night and will be limited to 15 people per tour. Touring hours begin at 6 p.m. and finish at 10 p.m.

  • Fay Zombie Walk with caution tape On the Fourth Friday of every month from March to November between 6 and 10 p.m., museums, galleries and businesses in the downtown Fayetteville historic district become artistic venues, featuring the arts in all forms, for all ages. Fourth Friday is like an old-fashioned art crawl combined with the performances and fun of a street fair. Folks of all ages get a taste of Fayetteville’s arts and entertainment while enjoying the local independent galleries, bookstores, bistros and shops full of unique items.

    On the Fourth Friday of this month, downtown Fayetteville will be hosting the 12th annual Zombie Walk and Prom. Hay Street is turned into a scene from a zombie flick, with creatures and characters on display.

    All are invited to come downtown with your best zombie costume and enter the costume contest. If you need a little help adding that extra flare to your costume by adding some makeup, don’t fret because the Paul Mitchell Hair and Makeup School will be painting faces at the beginning of the Zombie Walk.

    Ring Wars Carolina will be performing on the corner of Hay Street and Ray Avenue during the Zombie Walk. Ring Wars provides quality entertainment that’s fun for the entire family. Wrestlers will be dressed in their zombie best. Come out and cheer them ringside.

    If you get a little tired of walking during the Zombie Walk and Prom, take a ride on the Rocky Horror Singalong Trolley. Janet! Brad! Dr.Scott! will take you on a strange journey for the Rocky Horror Singalong Trolley at 7 and 8 p.m. featuring A Yellow Beanie Project. Tickets are $30 a person. The Trolley will depart from Bright Light Brewing Company located at 444 West Russell Street.

    The Zombie Walk and Prom will also have live musical performances from Lotus Sun and the Living Dead and Nirvani: A Nirvana Tribute Experience that will perform.

    As with regular Fourth Friday events, guests can expect food trucks, vendors, performers, artists and more.
    For more information visit https://www.facebook.com/events/849249152747861.

  • backwoodslogo3 original At this time of year, things at Sweet Valley Ranch turn a bit spooky.

    Legend says that Delray Delamorte and his family members were spotted cruising down Hwy 95 South in a hearse with ligaments hanging out the trunk. They left the following note: “Dr. Surgeon, we are heading south and will return next year. We left you some body parts that you can feed your dinosaurs. SIGNED — Delray Delamorte, Slaughterhouse Manager.”

    Through Oct. 30, Sweet Valley Ranch is transformed into “Backwoods Terror Ranch, ” — a frightening adventure sure to produce some shrieks! “Backwoods Terror Ranch” is one of the biggest outdoor haunted events in the county. It will take patrons over an hour to get through six spooky mazes including a ¼ acre cemetery.

    For information or tickets, visit https://www.sweetvalleyranchnc.com/or call 844-622-3276.
    Sweet Valley Ranch is located at 2990 Sunnyside School Road in Fayetteville.

  • HollyDayE The season for giving is approaching and people can help the women of the Junior League of Fayetteville do that at the 55th Annual Holly Day Fair Nov. 3 to 6 at the Crown Expo Center. According to the organization, it is the largest holiday gift and craft show in eastern North Carolina. The event draws an average of 22,000 attendees and over 150 vendors.

    “Show-goers have an extensive selection of unique handcrafted and manufactured products to select from including the best in holiday decorations, handmade crafts, stylish jewelry and clothes, children’s toys, specialty food items and much more,” said Juelle McDonald, Holly Day Fair Chair 2022 on the Junior League of Fayetteville’s website.

    This year’s theme is Make Spirits Bright. She noted that over 50 years ago, a group of local women came together to fundraise by hosting a small crafts fair at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Fayetteville.

    McDonald said a portion of the revenue is given back to the local community through the Junior League of Fayetteville CAP grants, the Junior League of Fayetteville Scholarship fund and other community initiatives. McDonald said it is the organization’s sole fundraiser, but it is big.

    “It's how we raise our money. It's how we're able to help our community and give scholarships and really be a change when it comes to financial aspects and support different community endeavors,” she said.

    The funds they distribute to different organizations come from the fair’s booth rental fees, sponsorships and tickets to the fair.
    They decided not to do the show in 2020 due to the pandemic, but had it last year and received a lot of community support.

    What’s New?

    McDonald said a new item to the show is Cookies with the Clauses.

    “Mr. and Mrs. Claus are going to be there,” she said. “They're going to read a book and it's going to be an activity for the children. We are excited to incorporate that into the show this year. It'll be the first time we've ever done anything like it.”

    “We’re thankful for our community. It's because of our community we’re able to do this. For 55 years our community has come through. Our community has supported us,” McDonald said. “We couldn't be more thankful.”

    The League’s Mission

    “The Junior League of Fayetteville is an organization of women dedicated to serving our community, being volunteers for our community and being that active voice and change whether that's with work that we do with our CAP grants or the work that we do through the Holly Day Fair,” McDonald said. “We're just an organization of women devoted to actively ensuring that our community is a better place.”

    Their mission is to advance women’s leadership for meaningful community impact through volunteer action, collaboration and training. Their values include diversity, collaboration, community, empowerment, leadership, respect and service.

  • lawreance and walker If you enjoy country music from the 1990s, you don’t want to miss Clay Walker and Tracy Lawrence performing at the Crown Theatre on Nov. 4. The show is part of the 87th annual Community Concerts lineup.

    Long-time country music fans know that both Walker and Lawrence have a history of hits beginning in the 1990s. Born and raised in Houston, Texas, Walker was discovered in the early 1990s by James Stroud, producer and head of Giant Records. He was in his early 20s and gave fans songs like, “This Woman And This Man,” “Hypnotize The Moon” and “Rumor Has It.”

    He considered himself having a sound like George Strait and Clint Black, but Stroud pushed him into pop a bit. Walker has not slowed down either. His most recent album, “Texas To Tennessee” came out in 2021. Lawrence has Texas roots, too. He hails from Atlanta, Texas, and signed to Atlantic Records in 1991.

    He has over 30 years in music and is considered a traditionalist. His first album was “Sticks and Stones.” Lawrence has an impressive catalog, selling more than 13 million albums and charting 18 number one songs including “Time Marches On” and “Paint Me a Birmingham.” His recent music includes, but is not limited to “Good Ole Days” and the album “Made in America.”

    Alexandra Kay 2 Kicking off the show for Walker and Lawrence will be special guest Alexandra Kay. Kay is an independent country music artist who has been building a fan base among country music fans and fellow stars. She will make her Grand Ole Opry debut later in November. Kay started writing songs at the age of 15 as an outlet. She grew up in Waterloo, Illinois.

    No stranger to the entertainment industry, she booked voice over work and commercials. Her skills have been used in musical theatre. She even auditioned for “American Idol” in 2011. Her first single “No More” spent three weeks at #1 on the New Music Weekly Top 40 pop chart. Kay has toured with Walker and Lawrence before, and also toured with Tim McGraw earlier this year.

    For tickets or information, visit https://www.crowncomplexnc.com/events/detail/clay-walker-tracy-lawrence-tour.

  • Boo Tanical Garden The circus is coming to the Cape Fear Botanical Garden for one weekend only to celebrate Halloween. Carnival games, live entertainment, music, food trucks, candy stations and more await under the Big Top this year. The Imagine Circus from Raleigh will be coming down to show off some of their acts as part of the overall carnival theme.

    “We will have a real person who will be doing stilt walking, a hoop artist and a juggler that will be showing through the garden,” Sheila Hanrick, the director of marketing, programs and visitor experience for Cape Fear Botanical Garden, said.

    As with every year, the BOO-crew will be out as well. These skeletons will be acting up in the garden by showing off their carnival side.
    While there won’t be any live animals at the event, there will be some “wild” ones. The topiary exhibit, “Garden Gone Wild” will still be in full force. Elephants, butterflies, gorillas, and more will all be on display as part of the larger-than-life animal topiary sculptures. A topiary is a living sculpture that is created using live plants.

    This family-friendly event invites people of all ages to come in their costumes and enjoy the Garden completely differently. Even the topiary sculptures will be dressed up.

    As part of the event, you can walk the pathways of the Garden, which will be lit by hundreds of lights designed by Mosca Design and jack-o-lanterns. There will be ten trick-or-treat stations throughout the garden for people of all ages to check out.

    The event is all outdoors, so plan your costumes accordingly. Trick-or-Treat bags and flashlights are encouraged for the darker areas of the Garden.
    For one night only, on Oct. 27, dogs will be welcome. Bring your costumed fur friends with you, and they could get a doggy treat as well.
    This fun, spooky event is one of the major events for the Cape Fear Botanical Garden and all the funds go back into planning more events like it.

    “Any time we have a public event like this, any proceeds that are placed at end of the event go back to the garden, whether it's supporting our horticulture or our environmental education or therapeutic horticulture. All money is turned around, and put back into the operating fund of the garden,” Hanrick said.

    The BOO-tanical Garden will be available from Oct. 27 to Oct. 30. The events start at 5 p.m. and run until 9 p.m.
    Tickets range from $7 to $12. Children 2 and under can get in for free. Members can buy tickets for $10. Children above the age of 3 would get a $7 ticket.

    Tickets are non-refundable and are good only for the date/time of the ticket.
    Henrick does recommend buying tickets early as last year, the event was sold out.

    Tickets can be purchased at https://www.etix.com/ticket/v/26840/cape-fear-botanical-garden.

  •     Two downtown galleries opened the fourth Friday in September to host their two yearly competitions, the annual Photography Competition and the annual Nellie Smith Ceramic Competition. Both exhibits will remain in place until October and November for visitors to the Fayetteville Arts Council or the Cape Fear Studios.
        For the Annual Photography Competition the Fayetteville Arts Council decided upon the theme Unity in Our Community. In place until Nov. 22, 2008, Unity in Our Community was conceived as a complementary theme, opening during the weekend of the 30th International Folk Festival.                                                         Calvin Sims, the arts services coordinator for the Arts Council, commented on the results of the exhibit: “We were surprised at everyone’s interpretation of the idea of unity; what we learned is that interpretation of unity by photographers is very diverse. From processionals to amateurs, our gallery walls are filled with images that are as diverse as the Fayetteville community.”

       {mosimage}The gallery is filled with photographs that range from the emotional to landscapes; special moments to interpretations of the figure in an environment, the laugh of a child to the moment families are separated as they leave for Iraq. Sims commented, “Yes, the artist’s interpretation of a theme is broad, but it’s pleasing to see broad interpretation; after all, it is our similarities and our differences that unify us.”
        The juror for Unity in Our Community was Theresa Olier, a local photographer who owns her own business. Olier specializes in photographing children, family portraits and photographing on location.
        For the first place award, Olier selected Tearful Departure by Andrew Craft — a color photograph of a woman, arms around a child wearing red, she raises her hand to the open window of a bus, and her hand touches the extended hand of what is probably her husband.
        Second place went to Steve Kennedy for a digital color photo titled Water Fall in Brevard. Third place was tied between two digital photographs: A Mother’s Love by Stephanie Bruce and Show-Nuff by Jonathon Diaz.
        Diaz was one of five artists who participated from the art program at Fayetteville State University. Shane Booth, the photography professor at FSU encouraged his students to participate with their large format prints. The large prints were hung together at the Art Center; Booth’s influence was easily recognizable in the work of April Harmon, Katherine Ortiz, and Diaz. In the spirit of a competition, even Professor Socorro Hernandez from FSU exhibited two of her photographs of architectural cites on campus.
        Of the 23 artists who participated, many were familiar names from past photo competitions. Photographers like Sonja Rothstein and Alphonso Peppers were exhibiting in their usual highly competent and creative style.
        {mosimage}As well, many new photographers are showing us snapshots of their lives, a journey to foreign places and moments they interpret as unity in the community. With so much diversity in the subject matter, I asked Sims about the public’s response to the exhibit. He readily commented, “We have had very positive responses, every visitor to the gallery will find something they can relate to!”
        Upon leaving Unity in the Community, you can walk ablock down on Maxwell Street, behind the arts council, and visit the Cape Fear Studios to see the annual Nellie Smith Commemorative Ceramic Competition; this year it is their 14th competition, the exhibit will remain up until Oct. 22, 2008.
        Juror for the competition was Joyce Bryan, owner of Stone-Crowe Pottery outside of Pittsboro. A distinguished artist, Bryan has many years as a ceramic artist and an instructor of functional pottery at Central Carolina Community College.
        Pleasantly surprised, visitors to the Cape Fear Studios for the 14th Annual Nellie Smith Commemorative Ceramic Competition will find many artists exhibiting who do not live in Fayetteville and familiar local talent.
        Local talent includes artist Greg Hathaway, an artist and ceramic instructor. Hathaway earned a third place award in the functional category. Tall and graceful, Hathaway’s lidded vessel represents his proficient and diligent dedication to his craft and variety.
        The second place award went to Edge Barnes and first place to Mark Gordan. Best in show was awarded to John Garland, an artist who has been exhibiting his multicolored glazed vessels. Floral details and multi-firings are the hallmarks of Garland’s ceramic ware.
        Non-functional is the second category in the competition. Sun Jester by Darlene Cote won a first place award. Second place went to Cote for her Resting Dragon. Both works were medium to small in scale and figurative. Third place went to Orbit III by Mark Gordan, an abstract circular form with repeating yellow ochre projections.
        Visitors to the 14th Annual Nellie Smith Commemorative Ceramic Competition will not be disappointed, a variety of interesting techniques in the medium of clay are being exhibited. As well, prices have a range from the affordable to the more expensive.
        From the wood firing of ceramic ware to the finely glazed platters and vessels, the 14th Annual Nellie Smith Commemorative Ceramic Competition is one of the best in many years. And it is open to the public and free. Anyone interested in visiting the galleries, needs direction or the hours of operation can call the Cape Fear Studios at (910) 433-2986 and the Fayetteville Arts Council at (910) 323-1776.
        In addition, if you are interested in joining an art guild or art organization, both agencies have information for you. 
  • hanging pumpkin Official trick-or-treating hours throughout Cumberland County will be Monday, Oct. 31 from 6 to 8 p.m. However, throughout the entire weekend prior to Halloween, there are plenty of opportunities to check out different areas of town, go trick-or-treating and get your spook on.

    Friday, Oct. 28

    The Town of Hope Mills Parks & Recreation and Rockfish Elementary School are partnering once again to bring a Trunk R Treat. The event will take place at Rockfish Elementary. Kids are welcome to get dressed up and bring their own bags. The event starts at 5:30 p.m.

    If you want to go somewhere dog-friendly, head over to Gaston Brewing Company Taproom located at 421 Chicago Drive. Gaston Brewing Company and Busybee's Barkery & Co. are presenting a dogs' night out at the Taproom! Bring your pups and kick off the Halloween weekend with an evening of craft beer, live music, corn hole, homemade baked dog treats, and a food truck for the humans.

    If you love animals, but want a more kid-friendly environment, go to Clark Park for their Grumpy’s Halloween Spooktacular. Grumpy the snapping turtle invites friends and families for an evening of Halloween fun at Clark Park Nature Center. There will be games, crafts, candy and prizes. Dress in your best costume for the contest at 5 p.m. This free event is open to kids of all ages.

    Saturday, Oct. 29

    On Fort Bragg, the Throckmorton Library will be hosting their second annual Trunk or Treat. No tricks, just wear your favorite costume and head down to Throckmorton Library. Get yourself a haul of candy and vote for the best-decorated trunk! This event is open to all ages and the library will be open after the event. The Trunk or Treat starts at 9:30 a.m. and will end at 11:30 a.m.

    If you can’t make it to the Throckmorton Library, on the other side of the military installation will be a family friendly Halloween event at the South Post Exchange. Games, safety information, a community Trunk or Treat and a candy cannon will be available. The event starts at 3 p.m. and ends at 6 p.m. The Trunk or Treat will start at 4 p.m. and be held in the parking lot on the left side when facing the building. The Trunk or Treat will all be determined by the number of participants who want to decorate their trunks for a chance to win a $50 Exchange gift card. The candy cannon blasts will start at 5 p.m., on the left side field of the building.

    The candy cannon are air-powered cannons that will launch candy into the air, and kids will then collect the candy.
    In Fayetteville, go trick-or-treating at the 1897 Poe House Museum. This trick-or-treating event is free and will be more than just giving out sugar to little kids. Trick-or-treaters will receive a treat bag and can play old-fashioned games in the backyard. There will be hayrides, games, music and entertainment. All activities will take place outside in the backyard of the Poe House. Joy the Clown will be performing a magic show with live animal acts at 1 p.m. and she will be providing balloon twisting and face painting throughout the event. This event will kick off at 11 a.m. and end at 4 p.m.

    Over in Hope Mills, head over to the Hope Mills Municipal Park for the town’s official Bites, Boos & Brews event. They will be hosting over 20 food trucks, carnival rides, a petting zoo, and live music. Musical guests include Lee Jean Jr., Whiskey Pine and Legacy Motown Revue. There will also be a live fireworks show. The event will take place at 4 p.m. and end with the fireworks show at 8 p.m.

    Sunday, Oct. 30

    Join Dirtbag Ales for their fifth annual Trick or Treat the Market. Come trick or treat at the farmers market while enjoying delicious food trucks, live music and more. This event is open to all ages. Wear your coolest, hippest, or scariest costume and trick or treat with the family. Advance tickets are required. Tickets are $10 per family to participate (cash only). Stop by the Dirtbag Ales Taproom prior to the date of the event to pick up your tickets.
    The store, Kraken-Skulls, will be hosting their third annual Trunk or Treat. They recommend everyone, especially the kiddos, to get in that Halloween spirit and set up a car/truck with a decorative trunk/bed. Trophies will be awarded to best setup, best costume and kids choice award. The event will take place from 4 to 7 p.m.

    Monday, Oct. 31

    Join the Village Baptist Church for one of Fayetteville's largest Trunk or Treat and Fall Carnival events. Enjoy a parking lot full of festive trunks, carnival games, bounce houses, food and tons of candy. Wear your best costumes, and bring your family, friends and neighbors ready for some fall fun. This event starts at 6 p.m. and is completely free to everyone in the community.

    If you want to trick-or-treat and support local businesses, check out downtown Fayetteville. Join local businesses, merchants and retailers in the downtown area as they pass out candy to trick-or-treaters of all ages from 5 to 7 p.m.

    If your kiddo likes the aspect of dressing up, but not so much the trick-or-treating, this Halloween Costume Party in Hope Mills may be for them. The T.J. Robinson Life Center is hosting a free family night of fun. There will be a costume party, arts and crafts, games, moon bounce, zombie laser tag and prizes. Admission is free for everyone. However, some attractions may have a small fee. There will be candy handed out so make sure you bring your own bucket, bag or even a pillow case. The event will take place at 4221 Black Bridge Road from 5 to 8 p.m.

  • Chatham Rabbits by Dalvin NicholsThe Carolina Civic Center Historic Theater in downtown Lumberton will present North Carolina-based bluegrass and Americana group Chatham Rabbits on Oct. 27 at 7 p.m.

    As one of North Carolina’s most beloved roots music outfits, Chatham Rabbits has swiftly emerged from the fertile Americana scene in the Triangle. The husband-and-wife duo of Sarah and Austin McCombie favors rustic, minimalist acoustic arrangements — mainly claw hammer-style banjo and guitar — that showcase deftness and maturity with their song writing. The pair will be performing with a full backup band.

    Chatham Rabbits’ first album, “All I Want From You,” was recorded with the help of Watchhouse’s Andrew Marlin, and their sophomore album, “The Yoke is Easy, The Burden is Full,” was released in 2020.

    Their song “Oxen” was named one of the Top Folk Songs of 2020 by Paste Magazine, and the band has been covered by Garden & Gun Magazine, American Songwriter, and No Depression.

    Their ingenuity during the COVID-19 crisis led to building their own venue, The Burrow, and creating their mobile concert experience, The Stay at Home Tour, which took Chatham Rabbits to 194 neighborhoods in 2020 and 2021.

    In addition, the duo is the focus of a new television limited series, “On the Road with Chatham Rabbits,” which premiered on PBS North Carolina in May.
    Last month, they signed with Ramseur Records, which also represents The Avett Brothers, Sierra Ferrell and Amythyst Kiah.

    "When you listen to Chatham Rabbits, there is a tangible feeling of warmth, community, and belonging. This comes across in their songs, in their sound, and is most evident at their live shows. Sarah and Austin are so relatable, as is their music, and I believe they're only scratching the surface of what they can truly become," said Dolph Ramseur, owner of Ramseur Records.

    "We are so honored and excited to be on this roster of incredible artists and we are so stoked for all of the things that this can do for our career. Ramseur Records is truly legendary in the roots music world and it's pretty amazing that we have the opportunity to work with this tight-knit team," the band wrote on their Facebook page.⁣

    Tickets for the show in Lumberton are $20 for adults and $15 for students. This performance is partially underwritten by a grant from the Robeson County Arts Council.

    Tickets for the Mainstage Series can be purchased online by going to www.carolinaciviccenter.com. Tickets also can be purchased in-person from 1 to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday at the theater’s second-floor administrative offices or by calling the Civic Center at 910-738-4339. Tickets can also be purchased at the door. The Theater lobby box office opens for ticket sales one hour before the performance.

    The Carolina Civic Center Historic Theater is a beautifully-restored 1928 treasure listed on the National Register of Historic Places that offers visitors a unique and visually stunning experience. The theater is located at 315 North Chestnut Street. There is plenty of parking around the theater.

  • nosferatu 2021Cape Fear’s Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra presents its symphony movie night featuring the film, "Nosferatu," on Saturday, Oct. 22, at 8 p.m. at Dirtbag Ales Brewery & Taproom in Hope Mills.

    “Nosferatu is our symphony night movie and the purpose of this event is to provide a free event to our community to start off the season,” said Meghan Woolbright, marketing and office manager at the Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra.

    “There is also going to be a small ensemble involved with about 8 to 10 performers that bring a lot of punch.”

    “The silent film will be playing and we will soundtrack the film,” said Anna Meyer, interim executive director of the Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra. “The arrangement is by a composer named Peter B. Kay.”

    She added, “We did this last year, it was very successful and people really enjoyed seeing the film with the live music that accompanied it.”
    The movie, "Nosferatu," is a 1922 German silent film based on Bram Stoker’s Dracula. It entails a vampire who preys on the wife of his estate agent and brings the plague to their town.

    “It is kind of a cult classic and people recognize it,” said Meyer. “We are starting around 8 p.m. and the movie will last about an hour.”

    Meyer added that this is a casual event and individuals may come with friends and family, enjoy food and drinks and connect with the community.
    The idea for the event came from Fayetteville Symphony’s music director, Stefan Sanders, who had done a similar project for an orchestra that he conducts in Austin, Texas.

    “He was aware of the arrangements for the films so typically we will select a silent film that has a good arrangement for symphony,” said Meyer. “Nosferatu is a clear choice because it is a popular film, it is recognizable and goes along with the theme of Halloween.”

    Founded in 1956, the Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra’s mission is to educate, entertain and inspire the citizens of Fayetteville as a leading musical resource. The group performs eight concerts at Fayetteville State University and Methodist University during the concert season. The professional orchestra also performs educational concerts for schools and the community, offers after-school strings and summer music programs and has its own Fayetteville Symphony Youth Orchestra. Partnerships include collaborative performances with Cumberland Choral Arts, Cape Fear Regional Theatre, St. John’s Episcopal Church and the city’s annual Independence Day concert with fireworks.

    The event is free and open to all ages. Food, drinks and alcoholic beverages will be for sale. For more information, call 910-433-4690 or visit www.fayettevillesymphony.org.

  • kiwanis of fayThe Kiwanis Club International has long been known for their mission in serving the children of the world.

    For the Kiwanis Club of Fayetteville, that means serving the children and youth in our community through service projects, fundraising, grants, scholarships and sponsoring school-based service leadership programs. On Oct. 20, the Kiwanis Club of Fayetteville will be holding their annual Care For Kids Golf Tournament at Gates Four Golf and Country Club, located at 6775 Irongate Drive.

    Check in starts at 11 a.m. and tee off starts at noon with shotgun start. The golf tournament is “Best Ball” Captain’s Choice and will feature closest-to-the-pin.
    There will be teams of four golfers for $400 and single players can sign up for $100 to be paired up with three other golfers. Team prizes will be awarded for first place, middle place and last place.

    After the event, dinner will be catered by Gates Four. Kiwanis Club of Fayetteville will also be selling raffle tickets for $20. Barbara Porter, the Co-Chairman, commented, “Everyone who purchases a raffle ticket will win a prize. All prizes are valued at $25 and higher.”

    All financial proceeds will be supporting local children-focused activities. Porter is proud to announce that the event has already raised $20,000 with at least $2,500 earmarked for the Child Advocacy Center in Fayetteville.

    Other local organizations helping children that this golf tournament will support include Terrific Kids programs, Cape Fear Regional Theatre, Fayetteville Partnership for Children, Boys and Girls Home of NC, and Falcon’s Children’s Home.

    Kiwanis also sponsors Little League Baseball teams, and award local high school students scholarships for college.
    The Fayetteville Kiwanis Club also participates in the Reading is Fun program locally. This is where the Kiwanis members go to preschools to read the children a story then give them a book to keep.

    Sponsorships for Care for Kids Golf Tournament include Platinum, Silver and Bronze levels. There will be a sponsorship for each of the golf holes for $125.
    These sponsors include local businesses, politicians and even a few In Memory Of sponsorships.

    “I look forward to helping with the event itself,” Porter said. “This includes running the sign in table and organizing the raffle. I look forward to meeting the golfers and the community that comes out for the event. The proceeds from this event goes to a good cause, for the children in the community of Fayetteville.”

    The Kiwanis International club was established 102 years ago as a pioneer in providing resources to children and improving the communities they serve. The local Kiwanis Club is one of the 7,000 clubs in over 80 countries. Other events that the Kiwanis host throughout the year include the annual pancake breakfast and a reverse raffle.

    If you would like more information on becoming a member or would like to donate, please visit cfkiwanis.us. The Kiwanis Club of Fayetteville's Care For Kids Golf Tournament will be Oct. 20. If you would like more information on the Care for Kids Annual Golf Tournament, please email Co-Chairman Barbara Porter at barbaragailp@hotmail.com.

  • Rocky Horror Poster The Rocky Horror Show cult classic will be performed live in downtown Fayetteville right before Halloween.
    A Yellow Beanie Project will perform the production. Their theater production is rooted in collaboration among regional artists. They want to provide a platform for emerging and established voices within the Cumberland County community.

    The story of The Rocky Horror Show revolves around sweethearts Brad and Janet, who get stuck with a flat tire during a late summer storm and discover the eerie mansion of Dr. Frank-N-Furter. As their innocence is lost, Brad and Janet meet a houseful of wild characters, including a rocking biker and a creepy butler. Then, Frank-N-Furter unveils his latest creation through elaborate dances and rock songs: a muscular man named “Rocky.”

    “Rocky, at its core, is about love, self-expression, and acceptance. But we all also know that it is a sexy, irreverent party for the cast and audience, and we all need some dumb fun in our lives every once and a while,” A Yellow Beanie Creative Director Michael Curtis Houck said.

    The music will be directed by Cindy Jones and the choreography will be organized by Rhonda Brocki.
    The show was initially scheduled for August, but was canceled after a COVID-19 outbreak among the cast and production members.

    Performances will last just one week, beginning Oct. 20 at the Gilbert Theater. The performance will include a live cast of 12 regional performers and a four-piece band featuring members of the All-American Jazz Collective.

    An official pre-party will take place each night at Gaston Brewing Company. These parties will have themed drinks and music.
    As with any Rocky Horror production, audience participation is always antici...pated.

    Rocky Horror marks A Yellow Beanie Project’s second theater project in Cumberland County. Their first was Party at Jay’s — a collaboration with Sweet Tea Shakespeare back in May.

    This show is Rated R for strong sexual content and partial nudity. This show is restricted to 16 and up; however, anyone under 18 must be accompanied by an adult.

    There will be six performances from Oct. 20 through Oct. 23. Tickets are $28 and can be bought at https://bit.ly/3VstpUm.
    And in case the performances leave you wanting more, more, more, A Yellow Beanie Project has you covered. A week after the performances, the cast of A Yellow Beanie Project can take you on a strange journey with the Rocky Horror Singalong Trolley. The Cool Spring Downtown trolley will be transformed to make sure you have a good time to the point where even smiling will make your face ache.

    The trolley will have two sessions on Oct. 28. One tour will be at 7 p.m., and another will start at 8 p.m. The trolley will depart from the Gaston Brewery & Taproom at 421 Chicago Drive.

    Tickets for the trolley singalong are $30 per person and can be bought at https://bit.ly/3ga198O.

  • nightrainThe Rock’n On the River concert series is wrapping up the season on Oct. 21, and it is sure to end with a bang.

    At 6 p.m., local favorite Joyner Young & Marie, opens the event with Top 40s rock ‘n’ roll. At 8 p.m., Night Train, a nationally touring Guns N' Roses tribute band, takes the stage. Joyner Young & Marie have been performing in the Fayetteville area for over 30 years. The current lineup includes drummer Allen Diffee, and on bass, Gil Howel, who recently joined.

    Lead vocalist Marie Grimsley mentioned, “We look forward to Rock’n On The River every year. The crowd always has a good time.”
    Piano player Bill Joyner and Danny Young on the guitar round out the group with one of the best vocal oriented rock ‘n’ roll bands in Fayetteville.

    The cover song “Wicked Game” by Chris Isaak is deceptively hard, but Joyner Young & Marie nails it while the audience dances. It has even been said that when Marie sings the cover, “Lie To Me” it rivals the original artist, Jonny Lang. For long time fans of Joyner Young & Marie, Bill Joyner says, “Adding Gil Howel on bass has really changed our sound. If you haven’t heard us in the last two months, you really need to check us out.”

    Night Train has been taking the U.S. by storm for years as a tribute band to Guns N’ Roses. They have previously performed at the House of Blues and Carolina Rebellion. As a fixture of classic rock, Night Train brings an accuracy and vibrant stage presence to the Guns N’ Roses performance that is always a crowd pleaser. The tribute band performers call themselves Slash, Axl and Izzy and even dress like the original performers.

    Joyner Young Marie friendsFrom the drop of the first beat, down to the last note, Night Train’s high energy showmanship, and top hat, will surely captivate the audience, inspire new generations, and impress longtime Guns N’ Roses faithful fans.

    Rock’n On The River is organized by Greg Adair to provide family friendly entertainment outside. “It’s still rock and roll music, but it’s nothing offensive,” he said.
    Adair aims to give the community a few more family shows as summer winds down without competing with other festival events. This is a win-win for live music and the community.

    This is a Healy Wholesale sponsored event, so adult beverages will be available for purchase, but absolutely no outside coolers or containers. At the event, there will also be water and soft drinks, as well as food available for purchase. Food is being prepared by the Deep Creek Grill which is on site.

    This is a free event, but parking is $15 per vehicle. Parking opens at 5 p.m., show starts at 6 p.m. Pets are not permitted except for service animals. Concert goers are encouraged to bring lawn chairs and blankets for seating. Rock’n On The River is held at Campbellton Landing on the Cape Fear River. The address is 1122 Person St. East in Fayetteville. For more information visit www.facebook.com/rockn-on-the-river.

  • Sawyer Brown Poster Dominating the charts in the late 80s and early 90s with hits like “Step That Step” and “Some Girls Do,” country-pop music legends Sawyer Brown have long been a band noted for their charismatic stage performances and feel-good music.

    On Saturday, Oct. 29, they'll bring their energetic stage act to Cape Fear Vineyard & Winery in Elizabethtown.
    Widely known as a “cool” country band, Sawyer Brown was founded in Apopka, Florida, in the early 1980s. Since coming on to the scene with their first hit, “Leona,” the band has released over 20 albums, charted over 50 singles, and received several country music awards.

    Now they are primarily a touring band with over 4,000 shows under their belt. Their live performances feature the rollicking dance hits for which they're known and the more serious ballads their fans will remember.

    In addition to Sawyer Brown, concert-goers will be treated to performances by North Carolina's favorite CMA Music Entertainer of the Year,
    Brian Mayer, and Shelby County natives Dirty Grass Soul.
    The family-friendly show will begin at 7:30 p.m., with gates opening at 6. Guests will have an opportunity to purchase food, beverages, wine, and spirits on site during the concert.

    “This show is for anyone who loves country music,” Derrick Rice, Events Director for Cape Fear Vineyard & Winery, told Up & Coming Weekly.

    “Gen Z country music fans and those who remember Sawyer Brown are really going to enjoy this show.”

    The national award-winning Cape Fear Vineyard & Winery is by no means the average concert venue. Founded in 2014, this unique establishment has something to offer anyone looking for beauty and luxury right outside Cumberland County.

    From their beautiful grounds to their romantic on site cabins, Cape Fear Vineyard & Winery offers a wide range of experiences for their guests to enjoy.
    Wine tastings can be scheduled in the vineyard's Cork Room Restaurant, and bottles are available for purchase in the Tipsy Toad Ballroom.

    Additionally, Cape Fear Distillery’s award-winning spirits ought to do the trick for those who like their libations a bit stronger.
    The Cork Room, open Wednesday through Sunday, features southern staples such as fried green tomatoes and more exotic interpretations like black-eyed pea hummus with pita. The menu is full of local ingredients and farm-to-table options crafted by a team of talented chefs trained in the art of southern cuisine.

    Guests can take in the massive collection of sculptures and paintings that dot the grounds and adorn the walls of buildings around the property. Pieces from Sir Paul McCartney, Muhammed Ali, and Burt Reynolds are just a few that make up one of the largest celebrity art collections
    anywhere.

    The vineyard is also perfect for a romantic getaway or “day-cation” with a stay at the vineyard's lakeside Cape Fear Cottages or a relaxing trip to the Vines Day Spa.

    Tickets for the concert start at $29 and are available at https://www.capefearwinery.com/.

  • Cape Beard Brotherhood Johnny Schantz, George W. Richards and Tom Diffin sit outside Rude Awakening in downtown Fayetteville. An idyllic cry to their blue-collar roots, they are dressed in loose button downs, T-shirts and worn blue jeans. They would say they are comfortably dressed. In their professions, it doesn’t matter much how they come dressed — one a mechanic, the other an owner of a pet sitting business and the third a motorcycle builder. Each profession carries its load of dirt from a hard day’s work. The clothes they sit in now will look different at the end of most days. They laugh and joke, speaking to one another with an ease of lifelong friends.

    They always address each other as “brother.”

    All of the men are adorned with long, grown out grayed beards. They wear it as a proud token of membership to the group of brothers with whom they belong.

    Without much provocation, Diffin brings out his worn black wallet. It’s well-used and thin except for a bump under which are three coins — one is his, one is his brothers and the third for Ted, a member of the group who has passed on. Each one of the men’s wallets houses one of these thick metal coins — a token of membership. It is a coin of brotherhood. And the rule is, they must carry this on them at all times.

    These brothers, as they call each other, are members of Cape Beard — a beard and mustache group with a unique niche — charity work.
    And they have three main rules: family, work and club.

    “In that order,” Richards says.

    Diffin flips one of his coins back and forth and rubs it between his fingers. He looks like a hardball. One of the first guys to go 200 miles per hour on a Harley Davidson and stereotypical to the look of a motorcycle rider. But as he sits on the sunny Friday morning, he speaks softly, tears at the thought of his brothers who have passed on and talks fondly and proudly about Cape Beard.

    “It all started as a joke back in 2011. A bunch of us got together and watched sports teams and hung out on Sundays,” Diffin says, laughing. “To see what it has blossomed into today is just unbelievable.”

    In the beginning, Cape Beard started out with 10 members. Diffin is number 13. His identical twin brother Tim, the other half of the motorcycling duo, was number 12. He passed away in 2012. George W., a jokester who strongly pronounces both the George and the W in his name, is number 55. When Schantz joined, he became member 75.

    “Tom got me involved in it,” Schantz says. “Love him to death for it.”

    “Don’t blame me,” Diffin says, laughing.

    The group is currently preparing for its upcoming event at Dirt Bag Ales, Beardtober Fest. They have hosted this event since 2012 and held it at Dirt Bag Ales for the last four years. It will include food vendors and of course, beard and mustache competitions of all sorts. Last year, they saw 100 competitors in their competitions. The event’s proceeds will go 100% to the Karen Chandler Trust, which helps local cancer patients with rent, utilities and other expenses while undergoing cancer treatment.

    “It is the best non-profit in the world. No sitting board member gets any money,” Richards says.

    Cape Beard prides itself on choosing only charities that have no overhead. They said this was one of the things that attracted them to the Chandler Trust.

    “They go broke every year.” Diffin says. “Kind of like us.” Diffin laughs.

    “We vet the local organization,” Richards says. “If we don’t like something we cut ties and we leave. We’ll leave if we don’t like where the money is going or if it ends up being corrupt.”

    The group is philanthropic but they say they look atypical for a group whose main focus is charity. They may be right as most of them are burly men who stay bearded at least nine months out of the year to comply with Cape Beard’s bylaws. Most of them hold blue collar jobs. They seem, at a glance, like the toughest of men.

    “People look at us and they go, we are like the dregs of society. Unshaven. Comfortably dressed. We were reluctant to file for the 501(c),” Diffin says.

    Eventually, they did and any money they collect at any of their events goes straight to the local charity that they are supporting. The club has hosted up to five events per year and each event is tied to a local charity. At the end of each event, the members do what they call a “bump up,” where they throw in their own money to round up the donation.

    “The little thing about some of the guys in this group. I have phone calls where some of the guys can’t make it to the meeting because they are low on fuel and ask me to give them a ride. Then they spend their whole weekend raising money to give to someone else? How do you not love people like that?” Schantz asks.

    Diffin tears a little and says a firm, “amen.” Schantz rocks his head a little as he talks.

    “When I saw that — I was hook, line and sinker. I was in the frying pan cooking myself. I was done. This is where I needed to be.” Schantz says.

    Of the events Cape Beard sponsors, the most popular are their Pig Pickin’ for Autism, “Show Us Your Cans” food drive and Beardtoberfest. However, members of the community have been asking the group when they plan to bring back Bearded Beauties. When they were first asked to host the event years ago, the group jumped to some conclusions about the details.

    “We are going — beautiful women … evening gowns … talent. Yeah. What do you want us to do? Be Chaperones?,” Diffin says, laughing. “Miss Sarah looked at us, ‘No, we want you to be the contestants.’ It took 3 maybe 4 meetings to talk the brothers into stepping out of their comfort zone.”

    In the end, the bearded beauties stepped up to the plate. The first Bearded Beauties event even included a calendar of the group that they sold for charity. It was a hit. Diffin laughs as he says the calendar has come back to “haunt” them. People keep asking them about when they are making another one. However, in the end, they admit it was worth it, as every event is to them.

    Some time ago, the group received a note from a young boy in the community. Being unable to write himself, his mother helped him to thank the members of Cape Beard. The young boy was in cancer treatment in Cumberland County and was supported by the efforts of Cape Beard. One of the brothers read the note aloud at a monthly meeting while the others listened.

    “It was the first time I saw that many grown men, that looked like they could take over the town, cry,” Diffin says. “Guys that are tougher looking than me were crying. That just brings meaning to what we do.”

    The men also are a foundation for each other, a brotherhood. They note that some of the group members suffer depression or lingering issues from years of military service. But a brother is just a call away.

    “We lost a brother to suicide,” Diffin chokes up. “All he had to do was reach out. It's disheartening to know there’s nothing in place for them for support. I am the oldest guy here. I wear my emotions on my sleeve. It hurts me when they don’t reach out.”

    The men all nod their heads in unison. They are silent for a second and then continue on to laugh and joke with one another. In the midst of regular conversation, one of them says the acronym, “KTF.” Another repeats it. It’s the rally cry of their group. When asked about the meaning, the three laugh. There's a long story involved and perhaps a swear word or two. But if asked, they’ll share the story and the passion they have for their community.

    BeardtoberFest will be hosted Oct. 15 at Dirt Bag Ales. Doors open at 6 p.m. and competitions start at 7 p.m. Admission is $15. Those in attendance can compete in one event with admission. Any additional events are $5.

  • Dogwood Fall Fest pic It is the time of year for the annual Dogwood Fall Festival, delivering fun and entertainment for all.

    The Dogwood Festival is a non-profit, community-oriented organization dedicated to providing various family-focused activities held in historic downtown Fayetteville. The Festival aims to entertain the community, promote and sustain new and existing businesses, enhance a positive community image, and attract out-of-town tourists while sharing the cultural and recreational opportunities available in the Fayetteville area.

    On Friday, Oct. 14, the Dogwood Fall Festival will be from 6 to 10 p.m. in Festival Park with hayrides, a KidZone, and food trucks.
    Take a ride on a tractor pulled hayride and let the guides tell you and your family all about the history of the downtown district. This ride will delight the little ones without being too scary, while the older ones will be able to appreciate some spooky elements. The hayrides will run through the entire weekend. Pre-sale tickets are going for $5 while day-of tickets are selling at $7 or buy 4 or more it’s $5 per ticket. Children two or younger ride for free.

    Guests are welcome to come out to Festival Park between noon and 10 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 15. The Promenade Fair opens at noon for those interested in taking a stroll down Festival Park Plaza to explore a variety of vendors and sponsors.

    KidZone continues on Saturday from noon until 9 p.m. Hayrides will run from 2 to 10 p.m. The Battle of the Bands will go from 1 to 8 p.m. This year’s line-up includes talented performers from around the Cape Fear area. The Dogwood Fall Festival’s MC, Casey T. Cotton, will lead the performers as they compete for the opportunity to open for the 2023 Fayetteville Dogwood Festival headlining band(s). After the Battle of the Bands, stick around for the Dueling Piano Show with Blazin Keys Entertainment. This dueling piano showdown is free.

    On Saturday, you can also grab your favorite costume and compete in the Dogwood Fall Festival’s Costume Contest. Participants can sign up on the day of the event at the Costume Contest Tent (located in Festival Park - 335 Ray Avenue). The event will begin at 3 p.m. and it’s free to participate.

    The on-site Dogwood Fall Festival will run from 9:30 a.m. until 6 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 16. On Sunday, the Promenade Fair and KidZone will run from noon until 6 p.m. Hayrides will be from 2 to 6 p.m.

    If you or someone you know owns a hot set of wheels, be sure to check out the Dogwood Fall Festival Car, Motorcycle, and Truck Show, which begins at 9:30 a.m. This event welcomes all vehicles including, but not limited to, cars, motorcycles and trucks. This premier event includes the opportunity to win a variety of awards, music, fun, and of course, bragging rights if you win. Pre-registration will be available until Friday, Oct. 15 at 11:59 p.m. After that, vehicles will meet at the Festival Park Plaza, walk-ups are welcome, but space is limited, so don’t wait to register. It’s $15 for motorcycles to enter and $25 for cars and trucks to enter.

    Participants may register in the following categories: Car/Truck- Antique (1900-1975); Classic (1976-2000); Modern (2001-present day), Motorcycle- General Entry.

    One off-site event will happen at 6 p.m. on Sunday. The I Am Plush Plus Size Fashion Show will take place at the Moose Event Center located at 3740 Owen Drive. The show promotes body positivity and plus size fashion fabulousness. General admission tickets are $25 and VIP tickets are $50. Both can be purchased at Eventbrite.com. For more information about the fashion show call 910-823-7663.

  • Dogwood Pageant UCW 10 5 22 The Fayetteville Dogwood Festival hosted its 24th Annual Miss Fayetteville Dogwood Pageant Sept. 17 at Seabrook Auditorium. The longstanding community tradition celebrates the talent and accomplishments of young women and ladies across the Sandhills.

    This year, 26 contestants were grouped into five competition levels: Little Miss (5-7), Young Miss (8-10), Junior Miss (11-13), Teen Miss (14-17), and Miss Fayetteville (18-24).

    More than a mere “beauty pageant,” the young ladies competing for Miss Fayetteville Dogwood are judged by rigorous criteria, which include both a private and on-stage interview for all contestants, Sunday Best for Young and Little Miss, Evening Gown for Miss, Teen Miss, and Junior Miss, and finally, Talent for the Miss Fayetteville Dogwood level.

    While putting their best dress forward is certainly part of the fun for the contestants, the Dogwood Festival makes their values clear as the interview portion is the most strongly weighted criterion at each competition level.

    All young ladies aged 5-24 are eligible to compete, provided they live in Bladen, Cumberland, Harnett, Hoke, Moore, Robeson or Sampson county.
    Winners in the Miss and Teen Miss categories each win a scholarship along with their titles, and winners in all other categories will have an opportunity to represent the Fayetteville Dogwood Festival at various events throughout the year.

    Up & Coming Weekly spoke with Sarahgrace Snipes Mitchell, executive director of the Fayetteville Dogwood Festival, about the organization's involvement with the pageant and its dedication to developing opportunities for young ladies of the region.

    “The Miss Fayetteville Dogwood Pageant is a way for us to interact with a different population within the community,” Mitchell explained. “We usually interact through music and art, but through this event, we're able to have a more personal and intimate relationship with our contestants, the winners, and their families.”

    In a society focused on elevating women based on likes, clicks and views, the Miss Fayetteville Dogwood Pageant seeks to show the value of substance over superficiality.

    Through this pageant, the young women on stage get to compete based on their merit, personality and passions — building strong foundations for their futures.

    “The value of this pageant is in the experience these young ladies get,” said Mitchell. “When we look at female empowerment, young women need an opportunity to build confidence in who they are and who they can be.”

    For 40 years, the Dogwood Festival name has been synonymous with unification and has come to exemplify the best of what Fayetteville and surrounding areas have to offer; as such, their standards for Miss Fayetteville Dogwood Festival are quite high.

    “Our pageant is looking for young women who are honest, have strong integrity, patience, kindness, and the ability to be humble,” shared Mitchell.

    Up & Coming Weekly spoke with this year’s winners to learn a little more about the young women representing the Fayetteville Dogwood Festival.

    Little Miss — Betty Leggett

    Elizabeth “Betty” Leggett is this year’s Little Miss Fayetteville Dogwood Festival title winner. This is the Village Christian Academy Kindergartener's very first pageant.

    A born performer with a great imagination, Betty loves dancing, dressing up, and playing with her baby dolls. Betty also participates in cheer, ballet, and jazz dance. When she grows up, she'd like to use her talents to become a farmer or a teacher.
    Though she loves getting all dressed up and putting on makeup, Betty finds it challenging to sit still and not fidget, but admits it's worth it to win a crown.

    Young Miss — Emma Luchetta

    The winner of this year's Young Miss Fayetteville Dogwood Festival is ten-year-old Emma Luchetta of Eastover Central Elementary. Emma, a fifth grader this year, is new to pageantry, having participated in her first one back in February, where she was named Little Miss Cape Fear.

    Emma is a competitive gymnast on the Gold Team at Omega Gymnastics when not on stage. In addition to her extracurricular accomplishments, Emma is Vice-President of her school's BETA Club and Student-Athlete of the Year.

    Along with the Young Miss title at this year’s pageant, Emma won Miss Congeniality and Best Interview in her category. Emma wants to be a Marine Biologist and hopes to own a cage-free animal rescue when she grows up.

    “I love how much fun you can have and that you can just be yourself,” she said of competing in pageants. “You don't have to pretend to be like anyone else.”

    Junior Miss — McKala Sallie

    Mac Williams Middle School eighth-grader McKala Sallie took home the title of Junior Miss Fayetteville Dogwood Festival.
    McKala is a seasoned performer, having participated in pageants since she was six months old. McKala has earned several titles, including Carolinas’ Miss Unity for Miss Celebrations USA and Junior Miss Eastover.

    In addition to her commitment to pageantry, McKala also runs track for Mac Williams Middle School. When she graduates, she’d like to pursue a career as a sports announcer for ESPN college football or give back all the knowledge she’s gained as a pageant coach.

    McKala admits it can be challenging to overcome her nerves but loves competing in pageants for the skills they teach and the opportunity they offer to talk about her passions.

    “I love pageants because they give me a chance to learn life lessons, like interviews and public speaking,” McKala shared with Up & Coming Weekly. “They also give me the opportunity to tell everyone about my platform, Off-Road OutReach, and why there shouldn't be homeless Veterans.”

    Teen Miss — Olivia Gray

    Oliva Gray is this year's Teen Miss Fayetteville Dogwood Festival Pageant winner. A high school senior at Village Christian Academy, this is Olivia's first foray into the pageant world.

    Olivia is currently a part of the High School Connections Program at Fayetteville Technical Community College and is pursuing a certificate in Criminal Justice. Outside of her academic successes, Olivia is her school's varsity cheer captain, yearbook editor, is involved in several clubs, and speaks two languages. Though she's new to pageantry, Olivia is no stranger to competition. She has danced since age two, danced competitively since age five, and dreams of being a Dallas Cowboy Cheerleader.

    After obtaining her Criminal Justice certificate and graduating in May of 2023, Olivia plans to major in pre-law or forensics with a minor in Spanish with the long-term goal of becoming a lawyer.

    Although this is Olivia’s first pageant, she has enjoyed her experience thus far and looks forward to competing in the future.

    “Becoming Miss Teen Fayetteville Dogwood Festival has been one of my biggest accomplishments to date,” she shared. “I have very high expectations for myself, and it pushes me to work hard. Accomplishing the goals I set for myself is very rewarding and worth the challenge in the end.”

    Miss Fayetteville — Janiya Pipkin

    The winner of 2022’s Miss Fayetteville Dogwood Festival crown is 21-year-old Methodist University senior Janiya Pipkin.
    Initially hesitant, the criminal justice major and licensed cosmetologist entered this year’s competition after a chance encounter with Miss North Carolina and at her mother’s urging.

    “I’ve done pageants before but stopped when I was seven or eight,” she confessed. Honestly, my mom encouraged me to enter. I’ve always dreamed of competing for the Miss America or Miss USA title and felt this would be a great place to start.”

    A pastor's daughter, Janiya, is extremely involved in her church and credits her confidence and success to her faith in God. When not working as a cosmetologist, Janiya serves her church as a youth ministry leader and praise and worship leader.

    In addition to pursuing her criminal justice undergraduate degree, Janiya also cheered full-time for the Methodist University Monarchs, finishing up her tenure this past February. After graduation, she intends to enter law school with the ultimate goal of becoming a judge.

    Though she's been out of the pageant game for a while, Janiya says the main takeaway is the confidence competing in pageants gives her.

    “The thing I love about competing is the boost of confidence it gives you,” Janiya said. “For any pageant, whether you win or lose, you’re putting yourself out there to be judged, and it’s important to know that no matter what happens, you’re still a winner. It takes a lot of courage, strength and confidence to put yourself out there.”

    Another aspect of pageantry Janiya enjoys is the camaraderie and the opportunity to act as a role model for young women on a similar path.

    “We all had nerves and jitters, but we came together in support of one another — no matter who won. One thing I would tell the young women behind me is this: ‘you can do it.’ I tell them to remember the process, the excitement they feel backstage, and not to let anyone take those feelings of joy away. No matter what, you have to keep telling yourself you can do it.”

  • FTCC colege transfer day Fayetteville Technical Community College will host College Transfer Day on Oct. 27 from 10 a.m to 2 p.m. at the Tony Rand Student Center Multi-Purpose Room.
    This year, FTCC anticipates representation from 46 public and private universities.

    College Transfer Day serves as an avenue to promote the transferability of academic credits earned by community college students to public and private four-year colleges and universities.

    Students can connect and have questions answered by university representatives on topics such as admissions requirements, programs of study, scholarship and internship opportunities and financial aid processes. The ability for students to connect with a multitude of educational representatives at the same time is a unique and helpful resource.

    The process of transferring to another college is not identical to applying to college for the first time. While a student’s high school transcript and SAT/ACT scores may be reviewed, these items typically take a back seat to the academic college transcript that a student has earned at the community college level. Community college students wishing to transfer to 4-year colleges should strive to achieve excellent grades in order to be competitive during the transfer process, as current academic college transcripts will be reviewed more rigorously than high school transcripts.

    College Transfer Day is a great way for students to learn about each school’s unique policies and deadlines and to make contacts, receive literature and ask questions.

    Transfer students should be mindful of important university deadlines. Universities not only have deadlines that may vary from one school to another but also have specific policies for transfer students who are applying to professional programs.

    The pandemic presented students and universities with many challenges, but the opportunity to visit the campuses of universities before deciding if a college is the right fit academically and emotionally is important. Students interested in transfer tours may reach out to FTCC’s office of University Outreach for assistance.

    The Office of University Outreach also offers many opportunities and programs that allow transfer students to receive a better understanding of the academic landscape involved with the transfer process, and FTCC’s College Transfer Day is one of those opportunities. Transfer Thursdays are offered weekly at FTCC, allowing students to make an appointment to receive an evaluation of two universities of the student’s choice. After evaluation of the current course work, the student is given additional advisement and, if desired, is registered.

    At FTCC, we understand that better skills lead to better jobs with better pay. Helping students achieve their educational goals to prepare for a successful career is our top priority. Finding your way forward is easy, with FTCC.

    College Transfer Day is a free event open to anyone wanting information about college transfer options. Questions may be directed to nelsonl@faytechcc.edu or by calling 910-678-8205.

  • The Fayetteville City Council on Monday unanimously approved an affordable housing plan for the wider Murchison neighborhood, the first step in a potentially long federal approval process. The plan consists of renovating 110 units at Elliot Circle and the 60 at Murchison Townhomes. The townhomes are over 50 years old, and the city considers them to be in poor condition.

    The plan is one of the initial steps in a long process with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development — a process that could take until 2024 or beyond to complete. The approved housing plan could result in renovations at properties on Elliot Circle and public housing units at Murchison Townhomes.

    The city formed the plan after several community meetings in the neighborhood, said Chris Cauley, Fayetteville’s economic and community development director. Based on this community feedback, the city decided to invest in affordable housing units and improve existing low-cost housing.

    Awarding of planning grant

    In 2020, HUD awarded Fayetteville, along with just 10 other cities, a $450,000 planning grant under the agency’s Choice Neighborhoods program – an annual award given to local governments, housing authorities and nonprofit organizations with the purpose of improving public housing and creating affordable housing. In this case, the grant was awarded to the city of Fayetteville and the Fayetteville Metropolitan Authority.

    Use of the $450,000 included coordinating a plan for affordable housing, infrastructure improvements and free community Wi-Fi for the Murchison Townhomes.

    As it pertains to the renovations, the funding was only for the planning, which means community members will not see any improvements yet. To see the plan put into action, the city and the housing authority will need to apply for the implementation grant within the HUD program or receive money from some other funding source to cover the costs. Cauley said the city and the housing authority intend to apply for this implementation grant, the amount of which can range from $30 million to $50 million.

    “We can’t do it without money,” Cauley said. “If we get the $30 (million) to $50 million, this is the plan that we will be executing.”

    About the Murchison Choice Neighborhood Housing Plan

    The grant was awarded to focus on affordable housing in the Murchison Road Corridor, a neighborhood that city staff who completed the HUD application referred to as the historic center of African American culture in the city. It is also home to Fayetteville State University, a historically Black university founded in 1867. The neighborhood has public schools, community medical clinics and is near downtown.

    But it is also one of the poorest communities in Fayetteville.

    The household median income in the census tract that makes up most of the neighborhood is just over $26,000, about three-fifths of Fayetteville’s figure of about $46,000, according to Census Reporter, a project out of Northwestern University that analyzes population data from the U.S. Census Bureau.

    The majority Black neighborhood has a poverty rate just under 40%, about double that of the whole city’s. Sixty-nine percent of children in the Murchison census tract live in poverty.

    The affordable housing plan, whose research the grant-funded, focuses on building lower-cost units in the neighborhood, as well as improving affordable units that exist already.

    Cauley said that after each renovation to both the Elliot properties and the Murchison Townhomes, the complexes must, per HUD requirements, have the same number of units that will be affordable afterward, meaning that families making 60% or below the AMI must be able to afford to live there.

    For the Murchison Townhomes, the 60 units would have the housing authority’s voucher system, as they do now.

    For current residents of both sets of units, the city would be required to provide housing that meets their needs, such as staying in their child’s school district. The residents also have first claim on the units after renovation.

    Cauley said that depending on other factors, such as cost, the properties may be expanded beyond their current count to include units for moderate-income families, up to 80% AMI.

    Beyond funding the affordable housing plan, the grant could fund, upon HUD approval, the building of little free libraries, streetside cabinets that contain books for members of the community to take home and read. The grant could also fund infrastructure improvements such as enhancements to bus stops.

    One step in the process

    But this is all in the planning stages since the funding Fayetteville was awarded in 2020 was to start planning for ways to increase housing affordability.

    To make the plan a reality, the city and housing authority would need to be awarded HUD’s $30 million implementation grant, which is highly competitive. HUD only awards the grant to about four cities nationwide each year, Cauley said.

    The deadline for implementation grant applications is in January. But it’s a lengthy process to finalize an application, Cauley said. The housing authority wouldn’t submit an application until January 2024 at the earliest. To make themselves more competitive, he said some communities make locally funded investments before applying for the implementation grant.

    “Communities can sometimes spend millions of dollars on revitalization efforts in order to be competitive,” he said, referring to what Fayetteville could hypothetically do to increase its approval odds. “We would be looking to execute some projects … like community centers, like mental health centers and teen and youth enrichment centers before we even apply for the grant.”

    There are currently no plans in place to do the things that Cauley shared as examples.

    If the city is not awarded this grant it would need to find funding from other sources to move forward with the changes in the plan.

    The city and the housing authority are required to submit the final implementation plan to HUD by Dec. 29. Cauley said the city plans to apply for the implementation grant to carry out these activities by 2024 at the earliest.

    Fayetteville’s lack of affordable housing

    Murchison is just one neighborhood in Fayetteville that lacks affordable housing.

    Three-quarters of city households that earn 60% or below the area median income are cost burdened, meaning they spend 30% or more of their annual income on housing costs, according to an affordable housing study the city conducted last summer.

    That study also found there is a shortage of 20,000 affordable housing units in the city.

    “Those households are paying way too much,” Cauley said. “It is precluding them from building a savings account, from paying bills on time.”

    In recent years, rents have skyrocketed in the area, as reported by Apartment List, a service that tracks local rent data nationwide.

    Last month, the average rent in Cumberland County was over $1,400 a month. A year ago, it was $1,333. Before the pandemic in September 2019, the average rent was $965.

    Across the state, in cities such as Asheville and Charlotte, communities are dealing with a similar problem with affordable housing. They are coming up with solutions to tackle this problem.

    According to a 2019 report from the National Low Income Housing Coalition, 41% of low-income renting households in North Carolina are cost burdened. Low income is defined as an annual income anywhere from 51% to 80% of the AMI.

    And there isn’t a clear way to move forward, according to Cauley.

    “At the end of the day, this is one of those big issues,” he said. “We call it wicked problems, and there’s not a lot of easy fixes.”

  • Guiding Wellness free yoga for mil Guiding Wellness Institute was established as a brick and mortar business in 2016, but entrepreneur Kelsy Timas has been serving the military and first responder communities for the past 15 years with the motto “Live Well. Be Well.”

    As an educational center, Guiding Wellness Institute has a greater reach within society. Guiding Wellness is a registered yoga school offering 200-hour and 300-hour Yoga Teacher Training, as well as continuing education classes for those registered with Yoga Alliance. The organization will graduate their 18th class of students this month from programs held in 3 different states. Over the past seven years, these trainings have resulted in hundreds of trained teachers all over the world. The yoga school takes a nervous system informed approach.

    Kelsy Timas has a passion for teaching people about their nervous system, and how that relates to self-regulation. Timas said, “As adults, we have the responsibility of managing yet we do not equip people with self-regulation. When people come to our yoga classes, some people are learning how to regulate their nervous system for the first time.” For global populations in suffering, yoga provides a unique opportunity for collective growth.

    From a holistic approach, Guiding Wellness offers flotation therapy. As a pioneer in the holistic world, the wellness center even participated in the first evidence-based trial. With the normalization of holistic health, Guiding Wellness offers individual services, such as RTM trauma therapy, and even provides corporate wellness training.

    Guiding Wellness provides therapeutic massages that are customizable, offering cupping and hot stone within a recovery environment. The massages range from deep tissue to myofascial release and neuro muscular release. Massage can help with sleep and relieve pain. The price list for massages can be found on their website.

    For the military community, Guiding Wellness offers a program designed to serve and support the unique needs of the military family through all seasons of the military life cycle from the family perspective. These seasons range from bootcamp to deployment, redeployment and retirement. The Military Advocacy Program, or M.A.P., is committed to creating access to immediate and long-term care with collaborative work to help service members and families. M.A.P. even offers Care for the Caregivers and discount wellness memberships for military, teachers and first responders.

    With the Warrior’s Spirit, Guiding Wellness proudly offers free yoga classes for active and retired members of the armed forces as well as the military family. On Tuesday and Thursday from 11a.m. to 12 p.m., the studio hosts Mindful Movement Chair Yoga. On Friday mornings from 9:15 a.m. to 10:30 a.m., Timas facilitates Therapeutic Yoga Mat Class. These military yoga classes are adaptable and accessible. Manager and Yoga Instructor Julia Pillman said, “One class a week could change your life.”

    Guiding Wellness is located at 143 Skateway Drive in Fayetteville. This is off Raeford Road near 71st High School. These class times and instructors are subject to change seasonally, so be sure to follow Guiding Wellness Institute on Facebook and Instagram. For more information on M.A.P. visit the website at https://guidingwellness.com/m-a-p/ and subscribe to the Be Well Podcast.

    If you would like to learn more about services or would like to become an affiliate partner, please email the program advisor at MAP@guidingwellness.com.

  • vecteezy midterm election vote day concept november 8 2022 calendar 12571823 276 One-Stop Early Voting in Cumberland County for the Nov. 8 General Election runs through Nov. 5 at eight locations across the county.

    Early voting weekday and weekend dates and hours:

    Oct. 24 – 28
    Monday through Friday
    8:00 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.

    Oct. 29 – 30
    Oct. 29, Saturday
    8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

    Oct. 30, Sunday
    2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.

    Oct. 31 – Nov. 5
    Monday through Friday
    8:00 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.

    Nov. 5, Saturday
    8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

    One-Stop Early Voting locations are listed below. The Spring Lake Recreation Center is a new location for One-Stop Voting in 2022.

    •Cliffdale Recreation Center, 6404 Cliffdale Road, Fayetteville

    •College Lakes Recreation Center, 4945 Rosehill Road, Fayetteville

    •East Regional Library, 4809 Clinton Road, Fayetteville

    •J.D. Pone Recreation Center, 2964 School Road, Hope Mills

    •Kiwanis Recreation Center, 352 Devers St., Fayetteville

    •Smith Recreation Center, 1520 Slater Ave., Fayetteville

    •Spring Lake Recreation Center, 245 Ruth St., Spring Lake

    •Stoney Point Recreation Center, 7411 Rockfish Road, Hope Mills

    If you are not registered to vote, you may register at early voting sites during the early voting period. After registering, you will immediately be able to vote at the same site.

    To register to vote, you must be a citizen of the United States, 18 years of age or older by the date of the next General Election and a legal resident of Cumberland County for 30 days before the date of the next election.
    Under federal and state law, if you apply to register to vote and do not provide a valid driver’s license number or last four digits of your Social Security number, on your application, you must enclose a copy of one of the following documents with your application:

    •A current and valid photo ID

    •A current utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck or other government document that shows your name and address.

    If you do not provide a valid form of ID, you will be asked to show ID the first time you present to vote.
    The 2022 General Election will be held on Tuesday, Nov. 8 from 6:30 a.m. until 7:30 p.m. To check to see whether you are registered to vote, view your Election Day polling location, and a sample ballot, go to https://vt.ncsbe.gov/RegLkup/.

    If you are registered to vote in Cumberland County and are unable to vote in person on Election Day, you may request an absentee ballot from the Cumberland County Board of Elections. Absentee ballots must be returned to the Board of Elections no later than 5 p.m. on the day of the election by mail or commercial courier service at the voter’s expense or delivered in person by the voter, the voter’s near relative or verifiable legal guardian.

    The Cumberland County Board of Elections is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. The Board of Elections is in the E. Newton Smith Center at 227 Fountainhead Lane in Fayetteville.

    For more information, contact Cumberland County Board of Elections at 910-678-7733 or visit cumberlandcountync.gov/elections.

  • Lafay fall fest fire truck Reliably transporting commodities thousands of miles, moving tons of concrete and battling house fires is only a fraction of what trucks do. In fact, one of a truck’s most important jobs is giving kids the opportunity to climb inside.

    On Saturday, Oct. 22 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., Lafayette Ford will host its Fall Festival where the whole family can get an up-close and personal look at some of the service vehicles that make our world just a little bit easier and safer.

    “We’re trying to get all of our community vehicles involved,” said Lafayette Ford Marketing Director Paula Lindler. “And not even necessarily trucks. It can be any vehicle, but we’re trying to get” an ambulance, a fire truck, a police car, and interesting things like that for the whole family to enjoy.

    If you’ve taken a drive around town or a walk through the grocery store, you’re aware that we haven’t completely recovered from the pandemic. Thankfully, Lafayette Ford’s Fall Festival is a means to give our imaginations something to contemplate other than the misery of a crippled supply chain.

    All sorts of major industries rely on service vehicles to maintain their supply chain, and this reliance is echoed in smaller industries, said tech company Cloud Trucks. Everything from raw material that come from forests, mines and farms must be transported by truck in a distribution process that repeats itself all the way down to the consumer, CT said.

    Transportation of supplies is not the only industry that relies on vehicles. Utilities, public service, law enforcement, medical care and of course, the fire department, rely on vehicles so workers can accomplish their duties.

    “Kids love fire trucks,” Lindler added. “We want kids to get to know local police, and it’s just a good will community building event.”

    Despite promoting an event called “Truck Day” in November for the past few years, this year they changed the name to the Fall Festival, Lindler said. “Because Lafayette Ford is expanding into things besides trucks.”

    Lafayette Ford’s Fall Festival is a community event, and it is free to everyone. However, Lafayette Ford is asking each person to bring one can of food to donate to the Second Harvest Food Bank of Southeast North Carolina.
    The first 250 people to bring a food donation will get a free lunch from one of the food trucks paid for by Lafayette Ford. Plus, you will get a ticket for a chance to win one of the door prizes, Lindler said. You can eat a cheap lunch and win some cool prizes that day, Lindler added.
    The Cape Fear Valley Blood Donor Center will be on hand, too. So, while the kids are playing on all the cool trucks, the adults can roll up their sleeves and give blood if they want, Lindler said.

    “[Lafayette Ford] isn’t trying necessarily to sell vehicles [during the festival]. It’s really about giving back to the community,” Lindler said.

    “We’re going to have Truck or Treat for the kids. We’re going to have some trucks decorated for Halloween, and we’ll be giving out candy,” Lindler said.

    Lafayette Ford’s Fall Festival is scheduled for Oct. 22 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 5202 Raeford Road. Lafayette Ford is located on the southwestern side of Fayetteville. For more information about the Fall Festival and Lafayette Ford, please visit LaFayetteFord.com.

    Take a break that Saturday, wear your favorite costumes and head down to Lafayette Ford. Kids of all ages can have fun checking out all the trucks and other vehicles while helping a few local good causes.

    “There will be a lot of vehicles on display” at the Fall Festival, such as utility trucks that restore power when there’s a storm, Lindler added.
    Lafayette history

    In 1949, Bess Smith opened Lafayette Motor Sales in downtown Fayetteville. This All-American dealership started out using the fundamental values of honesty, integrity, respect and community involvement. Values that Lafayette Ford holds dear to this day.

    In 1955, George Purvis Sr. purchased Lafayette Motor Sales. As Fayetteville expanded, Purvis realized Lafayette Ford needed to expand, as well, and was essential in turning Lafayette Motor Sales into the dealership it is today.

    In 1982, Lafayette Ford found its official home on Raeford Road. At that time, the dealership consisted of a small new and used sales building and car wash, but, as time went on and the business became more successful, a service and parts department was added, making Lafayette Ford the one-stop-shop for all of our automotive needs.

    In 1995, Don Price purchased Lafayette Ford. Price began his career as a salesman at Lafayette Ford back in the mid-1960s, and, by the time he bought the dealership, he was general manager. Before that, Price was in the Air Force.

    With Price, son Tim and son-in-law Mark Fisher on board, Lafayette Ford continues over 70 years of success by being the dealership that treats its customers like family, and the Fall Festival won’t be the exception.

  • 10-03-12-highlandgames.gifLet the games begin … Scotland County will hold its 4th Annual Highland Games on Saturday, Oct. 6, at the historic John Blue House and Heritage Center in Laurinburg, N.C. At the site, visitors will have the opportunity to see several historic Scottish-American features such as a working antebellum cotton gin and a general store. If you have never experienced the Highland Games, you owe it to yourself to check it out.

    There will be athletic competitors featured in the games this year. Many of the top-ranked amateurs in the world who are considered to be the best athletes in the Highland Games will compete in the games this year. Athletes will compete in games such as the caber toss and hammer and stone throwing. It will be fun for the entire family as everyone has the chance to see the athletes do the sheaf toss. In the sheaf toss, the competitors will throw a 20-pound bale of straw straight up over a high bar using a pitchfork.

    And there will be events that will allow children to test their skills. You can register for the kids games atwww.shgnc.org or sign up before 11 a.m. on the morning of the event.

    Not only does the games’ site create an illusion of the Scottish-American historical experience, the local hotels and restaurants will offer Scottish-inspired theme and menu to welcome everyone to the City of Laurinburg/Scotland County.

    One thing that you don’t want to miss and it is sure to leave you with great memories of the event is the competition between pipe and drum bands. There is nothing as stirring as the wail of the bagpipes, and when coupled with the beat of the drum, you are sure to have a Braveheart moment. According to Bill Caudill, director of the games, the day will offer both individual and band competition sanctioned by the Eastern United States Pipe Band Association.10-03-12-drum-major.gif

    “The competition will bring bands in from all over the southeast and provide spectators a fi rst-hand look at the precision of pipe bands,” says Caudill.

    Another featured attraction is the assortment of food from numerous vendors that offer both Scottish and American food. There will also be entertainment on the music and dance stage, including a Scottish Dance competition, so come out and join in all of the activities.

    “The day’s festivities continue Saturday evening at 7:30 p.m. when the organizing committee presents a Ceilidh (Scottish party with beer and light food) at the William Henry Belk Student Center on the campus of St. Andrews University. There will be a $10 admission charge at the door,” said Cory Hughes, event spokesperson.

    The Scotland County Highland Games are scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 6, at the John Blue House and Historic Center in Laurinburg. The event begins at 9 a.m. and will conclude at 4 p.m. Admission is $10 for adults and $3 for children. Advanced ticket discounts are available. For more information, visit www.schgnc.org or call 910-277-3149.

    Photos: The Scotland County Highland Games will feature traditional events like the caber toss, as well as competition between elite pipe and drum bands.

  • motorcycle ride METRO The Sons of the Savior Motorcycle Ministries is hosting a Benefit Ride Saturday, Oct. 22 to raise funds in support of local cancer patient Pam Bell. The Ride will begin and end at 301 Wingz in Fayetteville.

    Thus far, Bell’s family has exhausted every option, ride organizer Ann Provencher said. “She’s on an experimental treatment, and the insurance doesn’t cover supplies and things she needs. That’s why we’re doing the benefit ride.”

    Registration begins at 10 a.m., and the ride starts at noon. To ride is $20 per motorcycle, $10 per motorcycle passenger, and $20 per car (no matter how many passengers). There will also be raffle tickets for door prizes.

    Riders will form a caravan of well-wishers that will ride past Bell’s home in a show of support. Afterwards, the ride leads back to 301 Wingz, where the door prizes will be raffled.

    Riders can plan for an approximate 35-mile roundtrip and the weather is expected to be a sunny, 75-degree day.
    All proceeds from registration and raffle tickets to Bell and her family for medical, home care and quality of life expenses, while she continues to fight the illness at home.

    Provencher said the ride and fundraiser is a surprise for Bell, and an opportunity for riders to show their support and encouragement. To help other than ride, please visit Amazon to see Bell’s Wish List: https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/2QS8X23BL8I4M?ref_=wl_share.

    For more information on the benefit ride or to donate, call 910-670-9280.

  • rockn logo jpeg 80’s Unleashed, The Guy Unger Band and Rivermist will play at Rock’n On The River on Oct. 16. The concert was originally scheduled in August but postponed due to inclement weather.

    “The Regional Band Blowout is something that I thought about and we started planning it around September or October [of 2021],” said Greg Adair, manager and member of Rivermist.

    “I thought about how would the attendance be with all of these followers from these great regional bands altogether in one spot.”
    Adair added, “We never get a chance to play side by side or see each other because everyone is out gigging, so we figured this would be a stellar event and the bands’ followers would get a chance to see their favorite band perform.”

    The band 80’s Unleashed started out as 80’s Unplugged 13 years ago. The band members are Curtis Church, guitar and vocals; Mitra Maraj, percussion; Domo Max, drums; and Bryan Shaw, lead singer and bass player.

    “The audience should expect a fun show while taking a trip down memory lane,” said Bryan Shaw, lead singer and bass player of 80’s Unleashed. “Hopefully they will sing along and remember the tunes that we bring to them.”

    The Guy Unger Band started with all of its members playing in various bands together.

    “We do a lot of classic rock stuff and we do everything from Led Zeppelin, Floyd, The Eagles, Billy Idol, Men at Work, some dance music and more,” said Guy Unger, founder, guitarist and singer of The Guy Unger Band. “We have opened for many acts such as Collective Soul, Charlie Daniels, Skid Row and tons of big name bands.”

    “I have got some good solid musicians with me and they are the best players around. I think that Rivermist, 80’s Unleashed and The Guy Unger Band are the best musicians around and we have put ourselves to a level where it is hard to do what we have done over the years and be just as successful as we all have,” Unger said. “As for the event, the audience should expect some of the best musicians and performances that you can see here in Fayetteville and I feel honored to be playing with Rivermist and 80’s Unleashed because they are awesome bands.”

    Rivermist is a local party hometown band that was formed in 2014 and is comprised of Adair, manager, drummer and vocalist; Tony Harrison, bass player; Cliff Bender, guitarist; Allen Pier, songwriter, keyboards and lead vocalist; and Rick Starling, percussion, vocals and keyboards.
    The band has many accomplishments but there is one more thing they would like to achieve.

    “I want Rivermist to be a household name and keep getting better and better together,” said Adair.

    Rock'n On The River is free and open to the public. Parking is $10 per vehicle. No outside food or coolers will be allowed.
    80’s Unleashed will begin at 3 p.m. The Guy Unger Band will followup at 4:30 p.m. Closing out the night will be Rivermist, who will be playing at 6 p.m.

    For more information, visit the Rock'n On The River Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/Rockn-On-The-River-271048666818630.

  • Water. It’s what attracted early settlers to the Hope Mills area. Although settlers were thriving in the area in the 1700s, it was 1891 before the town was chartered. The fi rst cotton factory was built in 1839 followed by other mills and factories in the area.

    In 1872 Hope Mill opened and in 1885 the name of the settlement became Hope Mills. The town continued to grow as the mills prospered and in 1890, Hope Mills claimed the title of the second largest community in Cumberland County. It is this heritage that is celebrated each year at Ole Mill Days. On Oct. 21, Hope Mills Municipal Park will be fi lled with people enjoying themselves and celebrating the town’s history.

    10-17-12-games.jpgA family-friendly event, Ole Mill Days offers plenty to see and do throughout the day. Kids can enjoy rides and participate in the costume contest. Storytellers will be there spinning yarns and telling tales. There will be music, games and more.

    Hope Mills Parks and Recreation Program Supervisor Kenny Bullock, enjoys putting on the celebration each year. Everyone involved goes out of their way to make sure there is a relaxed atmosphere and plenty of fun activities.

    One of the main attractions is the tractor pull competitions, which are scheduled to start at noon this year.

    “People come from as far as Virginia to compete in the tractor pulls,” said Bullock. “There are different weights and classes including antique tractors and traditional tractors. There are seven categories in all.”

    Another highlight is the Old Mill Reunion which lasts from 2-4 p.m. Even though it is called a reunion, Bullock says it is more of an interactive and educational component and one of his favorite parts of the day. People who used to work in the mills and family members of former mill workers gather in the recreation center.

    “That is where people who worked in the mill or whose family members worked in the mill can reminisce and share their stories with the public. There will be a slide show, too, and a lot pictures,” said Bullock. “You learn what they did back then. I went through one year and learned a lot about Hope Mills that I never knew. It is open to public and we serve light refreshments.” 10-17-12-tractor-pull.jpg

    Games and competitions run throughout the day. The cornhole competition is a local favorite. It starts at noon and costs $20 to play. There are first second and third place prizes of $100, $50 and $25.

    All the fun and attractions can leave a person hungry. Not to worry, not only are there food vendors selling things like turkey legs and funnel cakes, there is a chili cookoff, too.

    The Hope Mills Chamber of Commerce sponsors the chili cook-off, which is always a big hit. Categories include hot, mild and peoples choice.

    “The first year we did this we had, I think three pots of chili. The next year we had six and by the third year we had to change our location because we kept blowing the generator,” said Jan Spell, Hope Mills Chamber of Commerce president. “In recent years we’ve had as many as 23-24 pots of chili. We sell chili all day long until it is gone, but we cut off the people’s choice voting when fi rst pot of chili is gone.”

    Awards are around 3:30-4 p.m. for the cook-off. There are fi rst, second and third place prizes.

    “We call them the silver spoon, the wooden spoon and the plastic spoon awards, and the winners are always tickled when we give them their spoons,” said Spell.

    The fun starts at noon and runs until 6 p.m. It is open to the public. Call 426-4109 for more information.

    Photos: Games, food, fun and more are on tap at HopeMills’ Ole Mill Days. 

  • Marksmen The Fayetteville Marksmen will be kicking off their season this month, and our local hockey team is ready to face every team in the Southern Professional Hockey League.
    The Marksmen will be facing their rival team, the Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs, at their home at the Berglund Center on Friday, Oct. 21. The very next day on Saturday, Oct. 22, they will face off again on our home turf at the Crown Coliseum at 6 p.m.

    The Marksmen defeated Roanoke 11 times in 17 tries last season, including a pair of overtime/shootout wins. The Marksmen will see Roanoke 13 times this upcoming season, more than any other opponent.

    “This is a rivalry we wanted to keep going,” said Marksmen owner Chuck Norris in a press release. “No one likes playing them and they don’t like playing us, but those battles are great for our fans.”

    Last season, the Marksmen set the Fayetteville franchise record for most regular season wins and the most standings points in a single season.
    In addition, forward Taylor Best was named to the SPHL all-rookie team, while Don Olivieri took home first-team all-star honors.

    Behind the bench, Cory Melkert was named league coach of the year honors finalist.

    This year, the Marksmen will face every team in the SPHL, hosting seven of them at the Crown Coliseum.

    “After the success of last season, it’s a challenge for us to embrace facing everyone but one that we’re excited for, and one we hope the fans are excited for too,” said team president Alex Wall.

    Fayetteville will host five games in November and five games in December at the Crown Coliseum. There will be five games at home in January, February and March. The Marksmen will play three games in April at the season's close.

    This season's schedule offers opportunities for a variety of days and times. The Marksmen will play three-weekday games this season, nine games on Fridays, 12 games on Saturdays, and four games on Sundays. The Marksmen have also announced that all weekday games will occur at 7:15 p.m. this season. Saturdays will still be played at 6:00 p.m. and Sundays at 3:00 p.m. As part of Opening Night, the Marksmen will be giving away free magnet schedules and have a post-game skate.

    For the post-game skate, guests are allowed to bring their own skates, or rent skates there while sizes last. The post-game skate will last 45 minutes and the cost to skate, regardless of skate rental, is just $10.

    Other home game themes will include Nickelodeon Night, Pirates & Princesses Night, Wizardy Night, College Night, Superhero Night, Dr. Suess Night, Luck O’ The Irish Night, Peanuts Night, Disney Night, Star Wars Night and four Salutes to Service Nights. Each themed game will have special promotional items, a post-game jersey auction, and characters for kids to meet.

    To secure tickets for the 2022-23 season, visit www.marksmenhockey.com and click the tickets tab.

  • fayetteville nc logo Grading work is underway for an expansion of Veterans Park, according to a city of Fayetteville news release.

    The city recently acquired surplus property from the N.C. Department of Transportation that will be used for the expansion, according to the release. The 8-acre site is near the intersection of Bragg Boulevard, Rowan Street and Murchison Road and became available after DOT replaced the Rowan Street bridge.

    Design for the project, known as Veterans Park II, is nearing completion. Construction is expected to begin after bids are awarded and to be completed within a year, the release said.

    The park will include green space and a parade grounds, a “hero’s walk,” parking and a pedestrian bridge connecting to the existing Veterans Park.
    Excess soil from the grading process will be used for other parks and recreation projects, including Senior Center East, Mazarick Park Tennis Center and Mabel C. Smith Park, the release said.

    Those projects and the Veterans Park expansion are being financed by a $35 million parks and recreation bond package approved by city voters in 2016, according to the release.

    Another project financed by that bond package, the Bill Crisp Senior Center, is scheduled to open at the end of October near Lake Rim.

  • uac102412001.gif Holiday shoppers take note, the Holly Day Fair is right around the corner. This year, the largest holiday gift and craft show in Eastern North Carolina is scheduled to be at the Crown Expo Center Nov. 1-4.

    Every year more than 22,000 people flood the Crown looking for unique deals and one-of-a-kind items. More than 200 vendors are on hand every year providing high-quality gifts that you won’t find at the mall or big-box stores. Selections include both hand-crafted and manufactured items that range from jewelry to clothes to toys, specialty food items and more. The Holly Day Fair gets bigger and better each year, and word gets around. The event organizers anticipate bigger crowds each year, too.

    “We have bumped up our advertising and are expecting shoppers from as far away as South Carolina,” said Juelle McDonald, marketing chair. “We hope to have a good turn out.”

    It is the perfect opportunity to get an early start crossing names off your holiday shopping list — or pick up something fabulous for yourself and indulge a little this holiday season. For many the Holly Day Fair is the beginning of the holiday season, even more so than Thanksgiving or Black Friday.

    “One of my favorite things about the Holly Day Fair is that it puts me in the holiday spirit,” said McDonald. “I love the excitement, the energy and knowing that the most exciting time of year is here.”

    Holly Day Fair Chair Kelly Myers says that the vendors this year are something worth getting excited about.

    “We have some of the old favorites as well as great new vendors this year. People just love Southern Supreme Fruitcake, and New Deli was a big hit last year, too, and they will both be back.”

    Also on the list of favorites is Girlees and Brother and great kids clothing and gifts from CP Kidz. New vendors include Beehive Girls.

    “They do great cards for any occasion, not just weddings and birthdays, but even cards like ‘Happy Monday,’” said Myers.

    Kiwi Cottage is also a new vendor the organizers are excited about. Local new business Wine and Design will be on hand

    “We have some home décor businesses that we are excited about, too,” said Myers. “Creative Accents, which is a local business, is joining us this year. Another new booth is Green Side Up Garden and Gifts. They will have everything from gifts to gourmet accessories.

    Awesome finds are a good thing, indeed, but shoppers get more than a chance to find treasures at the Holly Day Fair. There are some amazing raffle prizes to be had. Fully decorated, themed Christmas trees are up for bid. Last year the trees were a big hit and went home with some lucky winners.

    “The trees were a big favorite last year,” said McDonald. “The shoppers were so impressed that we decided to carry on that tradition this year.” Mixing things up a bit, there will be another big raffle prize — a Chevy Cruze from Reed Lallier Chevrolet.

    “We wanted to try something different and it has been a while since we raffled off a vehicle,” said McDonald. “We are excited to offer this to everyone.”

    The Junior League of Fayetteville hosts this event every year and while it is a fantastic event for shoppers, there is something bigger at play.

    “One of the most exciting things about the Holly Day Fair is that the money goes right back into the community,” said McDonald. The Junior League of Fayetteville is committed to “promoting voluntarism, developing the potential of women and improving communities thought the effective action and leadership of trained volunteers. Its purpose is exclusively educational and charitable.”

    The Junior League of Fayetteville serves the community in many ways. Done in a Day (DIAD) projects create things like playgrounds and safe havens for women and children. It supports organizations in the community with causes including mentoring projects, child advocacy, consumer credit counseling, education and prekindergarten programs.

    Child mental health is a major focus of the organization as well. By partnering with community organizations the Junior League of Fayetteville helps to change the lives of children for the better by improving “… family communication/education/support for caregivers of children 0-18 years with mental health issues by providing wellness, social competence and resiliency.”

    What better way to start the holiday season off right than by shopping for a good cause? This way everybody wins.

    Holly Day Fairhours are Thursday, 9 a.m. - 12 p.m. for super shopper hours. Admission for super shopper hours is $14. There are limited tickets, which means fewer shoppers. There are huge aisles, and of course, great shopping!! No strollers. The fair is open Thursday, 12-8 p.m.; Friday, 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Saturday, 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.; and Sunday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tickets costs $9. Admission includes parking. Children 5 and under get in free!

    Find out more about the Holly Day Fair and the Junior League of Fayetteville at www.jlfay.org.

  • Foster Family pexels rodnae productionsAccording to the most recent data, a child is removed from their home and placed into foster care every two minutes. 

    As of 2021, over 400,000 children in the United States are in the foster care system. While that number has dropped over the past several years, the reality of those numbers is much more concerning. 

    Narrowing the focus to just North Carolina, there are more than 12,000 children in foster care in need of homes, 700 of whom live in Cumberland County.

    Cumberland County accounts for about 30% of all child placements in North Carolina, by far the highest percentage in the state. 

    The urgent question of what to do with these children, who are widely considered to be the most vulnerable demographic in the country, is one that demands immediate attention. 

    To bring awareness to an issue rarely spoken about in polite conversation, the Cumberland County Community Collaborative is hosting its inaugural Cumberland County Foster Care Fall Fest on Saturday, Oct. 29 at Living Water Assembly of God from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. 

    The festival is intended to bring some fun and support to local foster families and foster kids and potentially recruit those interested in starting the foster-care process. 

    Up & Coming Weekly spoke with Kyle Coleman, Regional Supervisor of Youth Villages, about the event and the rising emergency within the Cumberland County foster care system. 

    “We recognize that there’s a pandemic in foster care right now,” Coleman said candidly. “We have about 700 kids waiting for beds and maybe 50 available. We want to offer these kids a sense of stability and a loving home; we don’t want them bouncing from place to place.”

    The Cumberland County Community Collaborative has set a goal to reduce the number of times children are moved from home to home while in the system, which is a major issue within the foster-care community. On average, children are moved between two to three times a year, dramatically decreasing their stability and long-term potential for success.

    “Every time a child is moved, it’s considered a traumatic event,” Coleman explained. “Each traumatic event increases the likelihood of that child committing a violent crime, getting sentenced to jail, or abusing drugs.”

    According to the Juvenile Law Center, 90% of juveniles with five or more foster placements will enter the justice system. Presently, “the problem is so severe that one-quarter of foster care alumni will become involved with the criminal justice system within two years of leaving care.”

    It is precisely due to these statistics that Coleman and others involved in the Cumberland County Community Collaborative feel the time for action is long past due. 

    “If you want to solve the prison issue — solve the foster care issue,” a frustrated Coleman advised. “Foster kids are 60% more likely to have mental health issues and 70% more likely to commit a violent crime. Several of these kids just need a chance. The right foster care placement can mean the difference between prison, military, or college.” 

    The festival aims to connect foster care families with resources in the area that may benefit them and the children in their care. Information will also be available for potential foster parents, community members who wish to get involved, and birth parents who have been or will be reunited with their children. Most importantly, this festival is about community.  

    “We’re hoping to get all the foster care agencies to attend this event,” said Coleman. “We want foster parents to be aware of their resources and offer support to biological parents who are getting their kids back. We hope this event will help to connect such an isolated population to other people in the community.”

    Only a few short days from Halloween, festival-goers are encouraged to show up in costume as they enjoy a day filled with music, dancing, face painting, cornhole, and other fun activities. A chili cook-off is scheduled at noon, and children can load up their buckets and sacks with goodies from the Trunk or Treat from 2 to 4 p.m.  

    While fun is an added benefit of the festivities, more than anything, Coleman hopes this festival will ignite a spark in people who maybe want to foster but are afraid to take the leap.

    When asked about the misconceptions that surround fostering, Coleman had this to say:

    “[People] are afraid that they’re not good enough. They worry they don’t have enough money or they don’t have their lives together enough to foster and make a difference. But that’s just not true. Some of these kids have been through such egregious experiences if they just have someone walk with them around the park on a Saturday afternoon — it can be enough.”

    Currently, in Cumberland County, the demographic in the largest need of foster care placement are African American youth and children between the ages of 9 and 13. Both groups speak to other widespread issues within the foster care system — the disproportionality of African American children taken from their homes and the high interest in fostering or adopting younger children and babies. 

    “No one thinks about fostering until infertility," Coleman said. “Babies only make up about 2-3% of children in foster care, and once a child hits 13, their chances of becoming adopted go down to around 30%, and they remain in the system until they age out and potentially go to prison.”

    By nature, foster care is a temporary solution, with reunification being the ultimate goal. However, that’s just not the case for many of the youth in the foster care system. And, while the system is broken and fostering can be incredibly hard, Coleman insists there’s still an opportunity to turn things around. 

    “This is fixable,” he said. “We can physically do something about this. When you foster, you’re investing in the future of every life you touch. It’s extremely hard — you get some really tough kids who’ve been through a lot, but seeing that positive change in one life can change your life too.”

    While the Cumberland County Foster Fall Festival is a step in the right direction, Coleman hopes to see more community involvement and support for the incredible work that goes into serving this population of children. 

    “There are all kinds of agencies and systems at work within foster care and social work every day, but there are no parades for mental health workers or social workers. We’re trying to make the world a better place and doing it silently.”

    The Foster Care Fall Fest is free to attend and open to the public. 

    Living Water Assembly of God is at 2040 N. Bragg Blvd., Spring Lake. 

    If interested in supporting the event, either by donating or volunteering, contact Coleman at 910-202-4974. 

    To learn more about the Cumberland County Community Collaborative, visit https://www.facebook.com/groups/cumberlandcollaborative/.

     

  • Mostley Crue tribute bandFor a spooky, rock-filled night, don’t miss out on Sweet Valley Ranch’s “Music at the Farm Concert Series” on Oct. 15. The concert’s opening band is called Hell is Here, and headliner Mostley Crue is a Motley Crue tribute band.
    Hell is Here is a local death metal band that was formed in 2014. They have one album, “Fall of the Morningstar,” which was released in 2018. Mostley Crue has been together for 15 years and has played hundreds of shows as Motley Crue. The current lineup and their alter egos are Gabriel Pettit as lead vocalist Vince

    Neil, Darius Rose as drummer Tommy Lee, Keith Baumbaugh as guitarist Mick Mars and Miller Barefoot as bassist Nikki Sixx.
    Pettit is the only original member of the band. He was in another band creating his own music when he was asked to join Mostley Crue as Vince Neil.
    Pettit is known for his uncanny ability to sound like Neil by duplicating his range and tone. He credits this to spending years as a karaoke DJ, where he would imitate other musicians. The Motley Crue singer happened to be one of them. And, like most people, he liked to sing on road trips.

    “I used to sing in the car all the time, and I would adapt my voice to whatever the singer happened to be on my playlist at the time,” Pettit told Up & Coming Weekly. “I just listened to an absolute ton of Motley Crue for a fairly extended period of time, over a few months.”

    Attendees can expect all the Motley Crue hits, but the band does play earlier songs and B-sides or songs that may not have made it onto an album. But they should not expect the band to come out rocking the glam look popular in the 80s.

    “Our look is more of a hybrid [of] their later look, post-glam,” Pettit said. “Obviously, none of us look good in spandex anymore.”

    “We are humbled by everyone’s appreciation of us, and we love to hear and speak to those people who come to see us. We’ll take pictures with fans,” he said.

    “This is about enjoying the music and enjoying the process of playing it. Don’t be scared to come up and talk to us. We’re here to have fun, too.”

    At Sweet Valley Ranch, Hell is Here takes the stage at 8 p.m., followed by Mostley Crue at 9:15 p.m. for this special Halloween show.
    These two bands will set the stage on fire throughout the night, the perfect background noise while you also check out Sweet Valley Ranch’s “Backwoods Terror Ranch.”

    Guests are encouraged to bring a chair or blanket. Refreshments and concessions will be available for purchase. No outside food or drink is allowed.

    For information or tickets for “Music at the Farm” or “Backwoods Terror Ranch,” visit https://www.sweetvalleyranchnc.com/ or call 844-622-3276.
    Sweet Valley Ranch is located at 2990 Sunnyside School Road in Fayetteville.

  • young people vote buttons Deadlines are looming to register to vote and to request an absentee ballot for the Nov. 8 election. Voter registration will close for the Nov. 8 election on Friday, Oct. 14, according to the Cumberland County Board of Elections website.
    All voters have a choice of voting by absentee mail-in ballot or voting early beginning Oct. 20. Angie Amaro, interim director of the Cumberland County Board of

    Elections Office, says she expects a smooth election and that her staff and poll volunteers will be ready for the task.

    “We are preparing like we always prepare for any election,” Amaro said in a recent email. “Absentee requests are greater than in previous midterms,” she added.
    Amaro said she is “very confident” that plans are in place to ensure an accurate vote count. Voting machines and other election computers will be reliable, she said.

    “They are tested for logic and accuracy before every election,” Amaro said in the email.

    Voters will decide races for U.S. Senate and House of Representatives; N.C. Senate and House; N.C. Supreme Court (two seats) and N.C. Court of Appeals (four seats); and N.C. Superior Court judge and N.C. District Court judge.
    In Cumberland County, voters will choose two members of the Board of Commissioners, three members of the Board of Education, a sheriff, the clerk of court, and two Soil and Water District supervisors. In addition, Fayetteville voters will decide whether to approve changing the way City Council members are elected in a referendum on the Vote Yes Fayetteville initiative.

    City voters also will decide on three bond packages: $60 million for public safety improvements; $25 million for infrastructure updates; and $12 million for housing initiatives. A voter must be a citizen of the United States, 18 or older, and a legal resident of Cumberland County for 30 days before Election Day.
    Registrants must rescind any previous registration in another county or state, and they must provide a North Carolina driver’s license number and the last four digits of their Social Security number.

    Register to vote or update your registration at the N.C. Division of Motor Vehicles website. Or download a registration application at the N.C. Board of Elections website.

    In Cumberland County, residents may register to vote in person at the county Board of Elections Office, 227 Fountainhead Lane. Hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays. Registration also is available at public libraries. To change your address, fill out the back of your voter registration card and return it to the county Board of Elections Office. It must be postmarked or received at least 25 days before the election.

    If you do not provide a valid form of identification, you will be asked to show ID the first time you vote. One-stop early voting for the Nov. 8 elections begins on Oct. 20 and ends at 3 p.m. Nov. 5. Information is available at the county Board of Elections website, Cumberland County elections website.

    U.S. citizens who live overseas — including members of the military and their spouses and dependents — have until 5 p.m. the day before Election Day to register to vote or request an absentee ballot.

    Requests for absentee mail-in ballots are now being accepted for the Nov. 8 general election.
    The deadline to submit a request for an absentee mail-in ballot is Nov. 1 for the Nov. 8 general election, according to the Cumberland County elections website. All registered voters in the county are eligible to vote by mail giving no excuse if they choose not to vote in person. An absentee mail-in ballot can be requested at the N.C. vote-by-mail portal. Members of the military and those serving overseas are included. More information for military members is at military voting assistance guide.

    Information also is available by email at absentee@cumberlandcountync.gov.
    To apply for a mail-in ballot, the voter or the voter’s near relative or legal guardian must complete a request form that can be returned by mail or in person.

    For the Nov. 8 election, the request form must be received by the county elections office by 5 p.m. Nov. 1.
    The ballot must be marked in the presence of a notary public or two witnesses. The voter and the witnesses must sign the back of the ballot envelope and provide their full addresses.

    Hand-delivered absentee ballots must be received by the county Board of Elections by 5 p.m. Nov. 8, Election Day. Absentee ballots returned by mail must be postmarked and received no later than the third day after the election.

    Find your polling site here at https://www.cumberlandcountync.gov/departments/election-group/elections/resources/polling-sites.
    Find your sample ballot at https://www.ncsbe.gov/voting/sample-ballot.

  • 62JML Piano has been in Fayetteville since 1987, located in the Bordeaux Shopping Center, where the Donald family has been selling musical equipment for the better part of 40 years. “JML” is made up of owners Jim (dad), Mike (son) and Linda (mother).

    “We focus on being a family-owned and operated business, and a lot of people like that,” Mike Donald said.

    JML Piano offers quality pre-owned grand and upright pianos from manufacturers such as Yamaha, Kawai, Steinway & Sons, Baldwin, Boston, and Wurlitzer that have been cleaned, adjusted, tuned and professionally prepared.

    “We’re big on service after sale, and you don’t get that level of service with either an online company [or big chain store],” Donald said.

    JML Piano specializes in Roland and Casio digital pianos. It is a “top tier” supplier for both, as well as a Roland “service provider.”

    “[For instance], not long ago I had a customer that had a digital piano [for] about six months,” Donald said. “It was an $8,000 digital piano, top-of-the-line product, and, rather than fix it and put a bad taste in his mouth, I decided to replace it for him.”

    Bear in mind JML Piano “only services what [it] sells” because digital piano circuitry is redesigned every seven years. This means manufacturers like Baldwin Pianovelle, GEM, Suzuki, Technics, Kurzweil, Samick, Williams, (some) Yamaha and a few others cannot be serviced because parts are discontinued seven years after the date of manufacture.

    If you have a digital piano made by one of these manufacturers, turn that frown upside down. JML Piano offers “large discounts” to owners of unserviceable digital pianos. Roland and Casio are considered to be reliable and make replacement parts.

    Roland and Casio just don’t break down, but, if they do, we can easily find the parts to fix them, Donald said.

    JML Piano is also a professional moving company that is prepared to haul your piano locally or long distance. JML Piano owns a temperature-controlled warehouse where it can store your piano for as long as you want. Need a piano for school or church? JML Piano can help.

    Also, JML Piano offers the occasional piano rental and a two-year 100% trade-in policy on items owned by JML Piano.

    In addition to running JML Piano, Mike Donald is the front man for Reflections II, a local variety/party band that includes Mike on keyboard and bass, Paul Tyler on guitar and Vince Groves on drums. Each member delivers lead and backup vocals.

    “[We play] beach music, classic rock, country, party songs, and we get the crowd involved. [We] entertain, not just play, [and] we’ve always been that way,” Donald said.

    Jim and Mike Donald began Reflections in 1980. Reflections has withstood many familial line-up changes, and, so to speak, the band resurrected with its current line-up.

    Mike Donald runs JML Piano alone and by appointment only in the Bordeaux Shopping Center, located at 1800 Owen Drive. Look for the miniature Eiffel Tower in front of the plaza.

    To schedule an appointment to look at a pre-owned grand or upright piano, a brand new or used digital piano, talk about any of the services JML Piano offers or hire Reflections II, please visit JMLpiano.com or call Mike Donald at 910-977-0809.

  • Almost 5 million people in the United States have Alzheimer’s disease; 15 million are caregivers. Is10-03-12-alzheimers.gifsomeone you love dealing with dementia as a patient or caregiver?

    If so, then you probably want to invite them to this month’s Friends of the Library book discussion. Alzheimer’s is a terrible disease that takes one of the most valuable pieces of a person’s life — their memories. It is also the third leading cause of death in America. The havoc that this disease wreaks is not limited to the victim. The long tendrils of this disease reach deep into the lives of all of the victim’s loved ones and caretakers, because taking care of a loved one ravaged by this disease can be both difficult and heartbreaking. The isolation in facing this disease can also be debilitating.

    If there is no one to relate to, situations often seem far bleaker than they are, but Dr. Mary Cail has written a book that counteracts this perception. It offers true accounts of people dealing with Alzheimer’s and advice concerning the care of these patients. Cail will be at the Headquarters Library Pate Room, which is located at 300 Maiden Ln., on Oct. 9, from 7 until 9 p.m., to discuss her book.

    Sponsored by Friends of the Library, Cail, who is a counselor, educator, dementia support-group leader and author, will visit the Headquarters Library to talk about her book The All-Weather Friend’s Guide to Alzheimer’s Disease. This book is not a medical book, but a compilation of touching, relevant and true stories that provide the readers with real life advice and understanding for the unique and difficult situation they face.

    The advice offered in the book is designed for all stages of the disease. The stories related in the book are optimistic and straightforward, but full of many helpful tips from diagnosis to the end stages of the disease for both caregivers and patients.

    Steven T. DeKosky, M.D., a member of the Alzheimer’s Association National Board of Directors described the book as, “Well-written and compelling. An accurate portrayal for the person who wants to understand the experience of Alzheimer’s disease and be equipped to help both patients and caregivers.”

    Kelly Tomita is the library’s marketing director, and she explains that the Friends of the Library hosts authors every month.

    Tomita said, “Typically the Friends of the Library have their monthly author visit. Most commonly it is a lecture with questions and answers.”

    Those who attend are able to hear the author of this touching book explain her motivation and intentions. Additionally, Cail will be available for any questions regarding her book or lecture. This is a valuable opportunity for people affected by this disease to receive an enlightening point of view and helpful tips to make their lives easier.

    For more information visit the library website at www.cumberland.lib.nc.us. The book is $15 and is available for purchase online at the website allweatherfriend.com/book.html.

  • FOrt Bragg sign The Department of Defense announced on Oct. 6 that Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III issued a memo accepting the recommendations of a congressionally authorized commission to rename U.S. military installations honoring Confederate soldiers. This included nine army installations, Fort Bragg among them.

    The Naming Commission, which first met in 2021, completed its analysis earlier this year with recommendations to remove all Department of Defense assets with “the names, symbols, displays, monuments, and paraphernalia that honor or commemorate the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the ‘Confederacy’) or any person who served voluntarily with the Confederate States of America.” The commission found over 1,100 Confederate references across the Defense Department.

    Fort Bragg was identified as the Army installation named after Confederate Gen. Braxton Bragg.
    The commission recommended changing Fort Bragg’s name to Fort Liberty.

    “In the words of Admiral Michelle M. Howard, the Naming Commission's chair, the commission's goal was to inspire Service members and military communities ‘with names or values that have meaning.’ The Department's implementation of the Commission's recommendations will do just that - and will give proud new names that are rooted in their local communities and that honor American heroes whose valor, courage, and patriotism exemplify the very best of the United States military,” Austin’s memo stated.

    Bragg was the only facility to get a proposed name that is not connected to a figure in military history. However, Lawrence Romo, a member of the Naming Commission, said that at the second listening session that included civilians, servicemembers and committee leaders, many were “very, very adamant about the name Fort Liberty.”

    The word “Liberty” can be found in the 82nd Airborne Song, and the value of liberty is deeply connected with the military.

    “We acknowledge the announcement by the Secretary of Defense and we are in close coordination with the Army, OSD, and the Naming Commission,” said Fort Bragg Garrison Commander Col. John Wilcox.

    Beginning on Dec. 18, the Department of Defense will start its plan to rename assets. On Fort Bragg, this includes a number of streets, buildings, equipment, uniforms, databases, police vehicles, recycling bin decals, plaques, the USASOC Memorial Wall, the Parade Field, the 82nd Airborne Museum, and the Hendrick Stadium Memorial Wall.

    However, according to Austin's mandate, some of the commission’s recommended changes, such as altering the Department of Defense’s memorialization and naming processes, will be implemented immediately, according to Austin’s mandate.

    “The installations and facilities that our Department operates are more than vital national security assets. They are also powerful public symbols of our military, and of course, they are the places where our Service members and their families work and live,” Austin wrote.

    It will cost the Pentagon an estimated $62.5 million to implement the recommendations. The cost estimation for Fort Bragg – soon-to-be Fort Liberty – is $6,374,230. The most expensive military installation to rename.

    The Department of Defense has until Jan. 1, 2024, to complete all renaming and removals at the installations.

     

  • 61Several Fayetteville fencers competed at the Season Opener at the Cape Fear Fencing Association in Wilmington recently. This was the first sanctioned event for many All-American Fencing Academy Competitors.
    Several Fayetteville fencers earned or renewed their national rating.

    Andrew Iford (a 2nd Lt. with the 82nd Airborne Division) competed in two events. Iford only had two wins in his pool in the foil event, but defeated fellow teammate, Gabriel Guevarra, 15-12 in the second elimination round. Iford lost in the 3rd elimination round to secure an 8th place finish.

    Iford also competed in the epee event, going undefeated in his pool, losing in the semi-finals in the elimination rounds. Iford finished 3rd in the epee event and earned a national rating in both the foil and epee events.

    Isabelle Guevarra finished in the highest place for the All-American Fencing Academy at 5th place. She took only one loss in the pools, but defeated the high seed in the tournament in her pool. Guevarra was defeated in the semi-finals by the eventual second place winner from Durham.

    Two Fayetteville fencers have slowly been rising in their placements, competing in more sanctioned tournaments within North Carolina. Seth Hopel and Colton Culliton tied for 10th place. Both fencers completed the pools with two wins but were both defeated in the second elimination round.

    Club to host Home School Fencing League Tournament

    North Carolina fencers will be convening in Fayetteville at the All-American Fencing Academy on Oct. 8 for a series of events. The first event for the North Carolina Homeschool Fencing League will be contested in Fayetteville, featuring both team and individual events. A youth circuit will feature elementary and middle school events and a mixed open foil event for teen and adult fencers.

    In November, the All-American Fencing Academy will host a USA Fencing sanctioned event that will give competitors another opportunity to earn a national rating.
    Growing Sport and a Growing Club

    The sport of fencing is growing world-wide. In a historically European dominated sport, U.S. teams have consistently been in the top places on the world stage for years in World Cups, World Championships and Olympics.

    The All-American Fencing Academy also hosts a Walk-In Class for fencers that want to give it a try without making a full month commitment. The Walk-In Classes occur during Downtown Fayetteville’s Fourth Friday events.

    The All-American Fencing Academy is located in downtown Fayetteville at 207 B Donaldson Street. It instructs and trains recreational and competitive fencers starting at age 7, teens, adults and veterans ages 40+. Its fencers compete regionally and nationally. Their coaches include former World Cup and NCAA fencers.
    For more information about the All-American Fencing Academy and its classes, please call 910-644-0137, e-mail info@allamericanfencing.com or visit www.allamericanfencing.com.

  • Successful Hospital Discharges Aren’t Accidents

    Nearly a quarter of all hospital discharges patients experience an adverse medical event within one month of discharge. Since 1970 the average length of time spent by older patients has declined by an average of seven days. This decline in time spent in the hospital means planning a successful discharge is even more critical.

    Adverse events include errors in prescriptions, in medication orders, infection, confusion about discharge instructions and a failure to follow-up on unresolved problems. Because the discharge happens at a naturally stressful time, the patient finds themselves frequently unable to recall critical discharge instructions or not even being included in the process at all.10-24-12-homeinstead.gif

    Medicare defines discharge planning this way: “A process used to decide what a patient needs for a smooth transition from one level of care to another.” Medicare mandates that a discharge plan be in place to identify patients likely to suffer adverse events post discharge. It requires that these plans be a part of the medical record, show evidence of family inclusion in the process and account for the patient’s ability for self-care and the availability of post hospital services.

    You, as a patient, have a responsibility to know several things about your discharge plan including:

    • Expected date of discharge and diagnosis at time of discharge
    • Medications/prescriptions at time of discharge
    • Transportation needs at time of discharge
    • Medical equipment needs (Cane, Walker, oxygen, etc)
    • Home-care needs (home health aide, VNA, Physical therapist)
    • Rehab needs (acute,subacute)
    • Special Foods and/or diet restrictions
    • Physical activity restrictions
    • Follow-up appointments

    Home Instead Senior Care of Fayetteville has put together an extremely useful Discharge Planning Booklet which includes the above tips plus many more. For more information, call 910-484-7200 or visit www.homeinstead. com/647.

    Photo: Since 1970 the average length of time spent by older patientshas declined by an average of seven days. 

  • Golf winners by Isaiah JonesOver the last several years, people have asked me why Up & Coming Weekly newspaper makes such a “big deal” out of a golf tournament. Well, it's not just any golf tournament. It's the Cumberland County Golf Championship. And it's unique.

    The CCGC is not only this community's most prestigious and competitive golfing event, but also the longest continuously running golf tournament in North Carolina. Since 1969, and for forty-six years, the CCGC was organized and managed by the local daily newspaper, the Fayetteville Observer, until Gatehouse Media purchased the FO in 2016.

    At that point, Up & Coming Weekly was asked to take it on. As a small community newspaper, we were initially reluctant to take on such a responsibility. However, we accepted the challenge after careful consideration and several consultations with ardent local community leaders.

    With minimum resources and staff, it would have been a challenging and complex undertaking without the contributions, resources, partnerships and encouragement of Representative Billy Richardson and his law firm, Mac Healy of Healy Wholesale, and Kevin Lavertu, General Manager of Gate Four Country Club.

    Together, these folks created the foundation that allowed other people, businesses and organizations to join in to preserve this historic Fayetteville/Cumberland County golfing tradition.

    We also felt this was a worthwhile undertaking because the CCGC reflected the same principles and philosophies on which Up & Coming Weekly has built its reputation during the last 26 years.

    Golf is a game of honesty and integrity. Yes, golf takes athletic ability and physical stamina, but mostly it takes fortitude and character. And those who excel in golf have these attributes.

    This is evident when you scan the CCGC Winners over the last 54 years. And this year was no exception, with Billy West winning this year's Cumberland County Champion title for the ninth time with an impressive 54-hole score of 221 (72,74,75). A remarkable feat considering the field of competitors.

    The spread between the first and fourth place in the final Championship Flight was only three strokes. West squeaked by Nick Perry by one stroke. Perry finished second with a 222 (76,73,73).

    Our involvement with the Cumberland County Golf Championship came when Up & Coming Weekly saw the opportunity to expand the scope of the tournament, making it more vibrant, meaningful, valuable and relative to the entire Cumberland County.

    It has been a work in progress, but toward this end, we have expanded the event to include a Women’s Division and two youth divisions to mentor young local talent that will become the Cumberland County Champions of tomorrow.

    The CCGC also adopted the Kidsville News Literacy and Education Foundation, which provides reading and educational resources to K-5 children in Fayetteville, Cumberland County and Fort Bragg.

    Good things last, and it is our responsibility to preserve them.

    Fayetteville and Cumberland County have close ties to the sport of golf. Touring PGA Professionals Ray Floyd and previous CCGC Champion Chip Beck are both from Fayetteville.

    In addition, the world-famous Donald Ross-designed Pinehurst No. 2 golf course is only 37 miles away. However, Fayetteville can boast its own Donald Ross-designed course at Highland County Club.

    The Cumberland County Golf Championship is more than a golf tournament. It is history, tradition and prestige. All of which speaks volumes about our community. Like I said, “Good things last.”

    We congratulate this year’s 2022 CCGC Champion, Billy West, and Division winners. And we are grateful to all who participated as players, sponsors or supporters. You have now become an integral part of North Carolina golf history.

    Next year the CCGC will be held on October 13 to 15. We hope to see you there.

    2022 Cumberland County Golf Championship
    Champion — Billy West
    Open Flight Winner — Toby Sheehan
    Senior Division — Gary Moore
    Super Senior Division — Edwin Baez
    Women's Division — Duckee Brown
    Middle School Division — Miken Williams
    Junior Division and Overall Youth Division — Chris Buchholtz

  • 55On the outskirts of Fayetteville lies a (usually) peaceful and adventurous farm called Sweet Valley Ranch. Here, guests can expect to interact with horses, rabbits, bulls and that’s just to name a few. In addition to the animals, Sweet Valley Ranch is also home to four ponds, 65 acres of agricultural crop fields, and three hay fields amounting to 30 acres. It is an ideal locale for year-round events.

    Springtime Adventures at Sweet Valley Ranch starts in March featuring one of the largest inflatable parks in the state. This event also consists of carnival games and the Go-Kart Nature Trail Ride. The trail will go through the woods and fields. Drivers must be 16 years old to drive.
    In the spring and summer, Sweet Valley Ranch is also home to “Dinosaur World,” where patrons are transported back to prehistoric times. Guests get to explore over 35 life size dinosaurs with the
    majority being animatronic. “Dinosaur World” also includes a prehistoric museum, and children can enjoy a fossil dig to top off this fun expedition.

    There is a reason to visit Sweet Valley Ranch every season, and at this time of the year things turn a bit spooky.
    Legend says that Delray Delamorte and his family members were spotted cruising down Hwy 95 South in a hearse with ligaments hanging out the trunk. They left the following note: “Dr. Surgeon, we are heading south and will return next year. We left you some body parts that you can feed your dinosaurs. SIGNED — Delray Delamorte, Slaughterhouse Manager.”

    From Oct. 7 to 31, Sweet Valley Ranch is transformed into “Backwoods Terror Ranch, ” — a frightening adventure sure to produce some shrieks! “Backwoods Terror Ranch” is one of the biggest outdoor haunted events in the county. It will take patrons over an hour to get through six spooky mazes including a ¼ acre cemetery.

    On the night of Oct. 15, Sweet Valley Ranch will be hosting their “Music at the Farm Concert Series,” which will feature the opening band Hell is Here and the headliner Mostley Crue, a Motley Crue tribute band.

    These two rock bands will set the stage on fire throughout the night so if you and your family decide to attend “Backwoods Terror Ranch” the night of the 15th, expect to hear some rocking jams, too.

    At the end of the year, Sweet Valley Ranch throws a “Festival of Lights,” and is transformed into a magical Christmas Wonderland consisting of over 1 million lights with over 350 animals as the main attraction, according to the Sweet Valley Ranch website. The light show is a drive thru event but guests can also park at Tiny’s Winter Wonderland, which is across the street from the “Festival of Lights,” to enjoy a visit with Santa, vendors, a gift shop, amusement rides, food and more.

    For information or tickets for all of these events, visit https://www.sweetvalleyranchnc.com/ or call 844-622-3276.
    Sweet Valley Ranch is located at 2990 Sunnyside School Road in Fayetteville.

  • 10-31-12-10krun2011--(432).gifThe starter’s gun will fire at 8 a.m. sharp for the 16th Annual Joint Special Operations 10K Run/5K Walk. This year’s edition will take place on Nov. 10. The race, started in 1996, has grown to the point where entries will be limited to 1,000 runners and walkers.

    The course is a challenging dirt, mud, gravel and sand trail and is open to all ages and abilities. While a majority of runners come from the Fort Bragg community, there are a number of participants from all across the state as well as some out-of-state runners. All-terrain strollers are acceptable but a standard sidewalk model will not be able to negotiate the course. Pets are not permitted.

    10-31-12-10krun2011--(12).gifThe race, certified by USA Track and Field, is sponsored by the Special Operations Communicators Association. The association’s mission is to promote the values established in the Special Operations Forces Truths and Imperatives. It is also an organization that strongly believes in taking care of the operations communicators family. Moral, spiritual and financial outreach is extended to members and their families who need a helping hand for the loss of a loved one, disaster relief and also serves as a morale fund for association activities. Monies are raised via the 10K run, a golf tournament and donations to support scholarships for spouses and college-age dependents of active-duty members of SOCA members.

    Todd Spencer, race coordinator since 2007, shared his feelings about the event. “There is something special about leading the runners out on the ATV. The morning is brisk and I look behind me and it’s like a thousand wild horses, cold breath clouding, awaiting the charge. The morning mist is rising from the lake and there is a wave of energy when the starter’s pistol cracks the air”.

    Putting on an event such as this can be a logistical nightmare. Every detail is important. 

    “Since I have been associated with this event I have been continually amazed at the level of excitement and professionalism our volunteers bring to the race. From pre-race preparation to after-race festivities, everything is taken care of. This is unlike any other race in Fayetteville,” Spencer said.

    The entry fee for the race/walk is $25 if received by Oct. 26, and $30 thereafter with shirts available to all participants. Registration can be accomplished on-line at www.active.com or via the SOCA website (www.thesoca.org) and by downloading the application found at 10K Documents. Entries can be mailed to SOCA, Box 73409, Fort Bragg, N.C. 28307.

    Pre-Race packet pick-up with t-shirts will be available on November 8th at Sports USA between 3-7 p.m. and the following day Nov. 9 at Dicks Sporting Goods on Skibo Road between 12-3 p.m. Late registrations will be accepted at these locations.

    Photos: The Joint Special Operations 5K Run/5K Walk is a great event for seasonsed runners and for families.

  • To help respond to the opioid epidemic in Cumberland County, county officials are allocating opioid settlement funds to provide services for those addicted to opioids, often prescribed as pain-reducing medications.

    Last summer, a majority of states, including North Carolina, made a $26 billion settlement with the nation’s largest opioid distributors: McKesson, Cardinal Health and AmerisourceBergen. Opioid manufacturer Johnson & Johnson is also a part of the lawsuit.

    In all, 46 states have reached an agreement with the three distributors, while 45 states have settled with Johnson & Johnson. North Carolina has come to an agreement with all four companies and will receive more than $750 million from the national lawsuit. 

    Cumberland County alone will get $17 million of that state sum in annual payouts until 2038, Carolina Public Press previously reported. That is the seventh-highest payout among all of North Carolina’s 100 counties.

    The opioid epidemic has spread through communities all over the country in the past 20 years, resulting in the deaths of over 564,000 people nationwide from 1999 to 2020, according to the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

    According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, doctors started increasing opioid prescriptions for patients in the late 1990s, resulting in widespread addiction. These addictions developed despite reassurances from pharmaceutical companies that the drugs were not addictive.

    Opioids have been involved in the deaths of more than 25,000 people statewide since 2000, according to the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services.

    In Cumberland County, nearly 1,230 have died from opioid overdoses, according to data from NCDHHS. Cumberland’s opioid-related deaths in 2021 occurred at a rate of 60.5 per 100,000 people, well above the statewide rate of 35.8 per 100,000 people.

    Annual deaths in the county increased sharply in 2020 and 2021, from 163 to 203 deaths, compared with 2019, when 97 died from opioid overdose.

    To help prevent overdose deaths, Cumberland County received an initial sum of $1.8 million from the settlement in two payments from this past spring and summer.

    What Cumberland is doing with the settlement funds

    In August, the Cumberland County Board of Commissioners unanimously approved the recommended use of over half of the initial $1.8 million from the settlement funds.

    The Cumberland County Health Department presented the recommended uses of the funds to the board after holding community meetings with county residents in Fayetteville, Spring Lake, Eastover and Hope Mills throughout the summer. There was also an online survey that residents used to submit recommendations to the county.

    “The top three priorities that were selected were addiction treatment for incarcerated persons, early intervention programs and recovery support services and housing,” Jennifer Green, Cumberland’s public health director, said.

    As a result, the state issued a list of core strategies for local governments to follow as guidelines for use of settlement funds to fight the opioid epidemic. The strategies are separated into two broad categories: short-term and long-term uses.

    Addiction treatment for incarcerated people and intervention programs are short-term strategies under the state guidelines.

    In Cumberland County, nearly all of the short-term treatments for opioid addiction are in place, Green said, but they need more funding.

    “They need more capacity, they need more staff, they need more time,” Green said.

    In response, the Board of Commissioners approved the use of up to $800,000 from the initial settlement payments to fund early intervention treatment, including those who are uninsured or underinsured.

    The only short-term strategy Cumberland is not using, Green said, is county-operated medication-assisted treatment, or MAT, a combination of counseling and behavioral therapies used to treat opioid addiction.

    To meet that need, specifically for those incarcerated, the board approved $200,000 from the $1.8 million to go toward MAT at the Cumberland County Detention Center.

    For County Commissioner Jimmy Keefe, longer-term strategies, such as education of the harms of opioids, should take priority.

    “This is not a short-term fix. This is a generational educational problem,” Keefe said.

    In response, Green said that future payments could be used for more longer-term solutions, such as education initiatives.

    Cumberland considers recovery community center

    While there is strong interest in the funding of a community recovery center, the board did not approve the plan because it is unclear if the settlement funds could be used to operate it. Green said such a facility would help with coordinating and providing services such as peer support groups, reentry programs, job readiness training, professional education and transitional housing.

    Loren Bymer, director of Cumberland County Public Information, said in an email that county officials are in talks with the N.C. Association of County Commissioners and the N.C. Department of Justice to determine if the guidelines under the settlement permit the construction and operation of a recovery community center.

    County also plans to use Narcan

    In addition to funding MAT and early intervention, the board approved the use of up to $70,000 to be used to purchase naloxone, the medication that can reverse an overdose from opioids.

    Since opioids can slow or stop breathing and cause death from overdosing even hours after taking the medication, naloxone is important because it can save someone’s life. Naloxone is not addictive and does not reverse overdoses from nonopioid drugs.

    Residents can get free naloxone kits from the first floor of the Cumberland County Health Department while supplies last. There are also free kits at a vending machine in the county detention center. Green said some kits are also given to first response teams that treat overdose victims in emergencies.

    The funding from the settlement will double the amount of available naloxone in the county, Green said. In total, just over $1 million of the settlement funds was approved for use, leaving about $800,000 from the initial $1.8 million the county received from the opioid settlements.

    The money was left over intentionally, Green said, to fund longer-term plans to fight the opioid epidemic.

    “We can’t just fund a recovery. We can’t just fund treatment,” Green said. “We can’t just fund prevention, we need to fund programs along the continuum.”

  • 52The Fayetteville Chapter of WoodmenLife will continue its community fellowship events in October and November. The events include something for everyone.

    Saturday Night Family Life is open every other weekend, from 5 to 9 p.m. Come enjoy live music and local vendors selling food and crafts. There will also be bounce houses, a water play area and movies.
    Most know WoodmenLife as an insurance broker, but the company itself encourages involvement within the areas that it serves.

    “Woodmen of the World was initially started to care for those who worked in forestry and also to take care of their families if the need arose,” said Amanda Crew, who helps organize the Family Life events.

    WoodmenLife continues to promote a commitment to care across all of its communities with various volunteer or socialization opportunities.
    For the Fayetteville chapter, this means offering aid to those in need and constantly striving to improve the future of our local neighbors.

    In today’s world of hustle and bustle, the local WoodmenLife chapter recognized a need for an event that would gather its neighbors to socialize in a relaxed and safe atmosphere.

    The site is located on nearly three acres with plenty of room for children to play while parents and friends relax.
    The event also offers local vendors a place to showcase their culinary expertise or artisan wares.

    Admission to Saturday Night Family Life is free to the public. Invited vendors appreciate your patronage of their arts.
    WoodmenLife has already had a busy start to the fall season as it makes way for a new Family Life Community Orchard. The orchard is being built by volunteers in the spot that used to house the swimming pool, a feature that was removed two years ago.

    Volunteerism is a tenet of WoodmenLife and the group welcomes any and all who would love to lend a hand to this project.

    “We had to close the pool during the pandemic and then it was too costly to re-open, so we are designing and building a community orchard in its place,” Crew said.

    The Crew family already owns an orchard in the area, so leading this project at WoodmenLife was a natural fit for Amanda and her husband.
    Saturday Night Family Life at Woodmen is located at 414 E. Mountain Drive in Fayetteville, and runs from 5 to 9 p.m. on Oct. 8 and 22, and on Nov. 5.

    If your fall calendar is already booked, check back in the spring as Saturday Night Family Life returns with each new season. For more information, call 910-364-6168.

  • North Carolinians are just a few weeks away from seeing “I voted” stickers on the clothes of strangers at the grocery store.

    One-stop voting, also commonly known as “early voting,” begins Oct. 20 and will continue through Nov. 5. All signs point to trends showing that the majority of North Carolina voters will take advantage of the two-week opportunity to cast their ballots. 

    “In recent statewide and federal elections, in-person early voting has been the most popular way to vote for North Carolinians,” said Patrick Gannon, spokesperson for the N.C. State Board of Elections.

    How early voting became a powerhouse

    In the 2008 and 2012 general elections, roughly 56% of the state’s total ballots came from early voting. That number jumped to 62% in 2016 and 65% in the 2020 general election, according to the state Board of Elections.

    But it took different pieces of state legislation proposed over the course of more than 20 years for early voting to become the powerhouse it is now.

    Early voting in North Carolina dates to 1977, when the N.C. General Assembly amended absentee voting laws to allow residents already eligible for absentee ballots — people with disabilities or those who would be out of state on Election Day — to go to a county board of elections office, apply for an absentee ballot and cast their vote all in one location.

    The next step toward the emergence of early voting, according to the University of North Carolina School of Government, came in 1999. Then, two separate pieces of legislation made any voter eligible for an absentee ballot and authorized counties to establish multiple one-stop voting locations, rather than only using the county board of elections’ office. 

    The legislature solidified an early voting time frame beginning the third Thursday before and ending the Saturday before Election Day in 2001, and in 2007, lawmakers ruled that a person could both register and vote on the same day at an early voting site. 

    Since then, as Gannon said, one-stop voting has become the most popular ballot-casting method, with droves of North Carolinians voting at early voting precincts.

    “We anticipate one-stop early voting will be the most popular method of voting in the 2022 general election as well,” he said.

    Who uses NC’s early voting option?

    It’s not just presidential elections that rope in one-stop voters. In the most recent primary election in May, state data shows about 62% of voters utilized early voting. 

    “This popularity no doubt derives from the convenience that early voting provides,” UNC professor Robert Joyce wrote in the School of Government’s blog in 2010. 

    “Voters have a choice of many days (including at least one Saturday) to vote and a choice of several locations (not just their one assigned Election Day precinct voting place.)”

    A closer look at the state’s recent voter turnout data shows that women took advantage of early voting more than men. During the primary election earlier this year, approximately 54% of one-stop voters were women. About 44% were men, and 2% did not specify a gender. 

    White voters made up about 72% of those who used North Carolina one-stop precincts from April 28 to May 14, and approximately 23% of the more than 559,000 early voters were Black. Other races and ethnicities constituted the remaining 5%. 

    Political party affiliation also appears to play a part in early voting turnout. During the 2022 primary, about 40% of one-stop voters were Democrats, 33% were Republicans, and 27% were unaffiliated.

    These trends are a likely indicator for how the upcoming election Nov. 8 will play out, as similar gender, racial and political affiliation percentages have been evident in several recent elections.

    For example, the November 2018 general election — which had similar congressional, state and local contested races — essentially mirrored the demographic percentages of one-stop voting in May 2022. 

    The only major difference was with Republican voters. In 2018, they made up only about 30% of all early votes cast. In 2022, that percentage grew to 33%.

    Democrats, on the other hand, constituted about 40% of all one-stop ballots in 2022 while in 2018, that percentage was roughly 42%.

    How do I vote early?

    Any eligible voter in North Carolina can vote early by going to one of the state’s more than 350 one-stop voting sites, which are frequently in libraries, schools and community centers. 

    For the Nov. 8 general election, early voting will be from Oct. 20 to Nov. 5. One-stop voting locations are typically open from 8 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Some sites are not open on Saturday. 

    To find details on locations and hours of operation of early voting sites in your county, visit this N.C. State Board of Elections website.

    Eligible individuals are able to register to vote and cast a ballot on the same day at a one-stop voting location. Registered voters can modify their current registration at early voting sites — except for changing political affiliation.

    Still have questions about voting in North Carolina? Check out Carolina Public Press’ in-depth guides for absentee and new voters, and test your knowledge about voting in the state with our quiz.

  • 51The Sandhills Orchid Society is open to people who love orchids and enjoy growing them. Whether you just bought your first orchid and have no idea how to care for it, or you are a seasoned grower, SOS offers something for everyone. The club strives to facilitate the understanding of orchids and their care and provide opportunities to meet other people with similar interests. Anyone interested is welcome to attend as a guest.

    The club was formed by Southern Pines resident Jack Webster, a man who had lived in South America for several years and had developed an encyclopedic knowledge of the many species found in that area. Passionate about teaching others about growing orchids, Jack mentored novices and experienced growers alike and eventually brought a group of enthusiasts together into a vibrant, active organization dedicated to the spread of information about orchids.

    Today, the Society meets monthly on the Tuesday following the second Monday of the month. Most meetings feature a guest speaker with expertise with a specific type of orchid. Presentations focus on the “how to” for these specific plants. This year, our speakers will come from New Mexico, California, Montana and South Carolina. Generally, the speakers bring plants related to their specialties which Society members can purchase.

    Monthly meetings also feature the Show Table — a space made up of blooming orchids that members bring to the meeting to share their successes. As many orchid growers strive to grow bigger and better plants, their competitive spirits are recognized when our guest speakers or experienced club members pick out the outstanding plants in the exhibit. The membership then votes on their favorites from these selected plants and the grower is awarded points towards an annual tally. Members with the most points at the end of the year are rewarded with a monetary award.

    Per club bylaws, one of the primary objectives of SOS is to provide education regarding orchids. As part of that mission, the Society hosts an annual Grower’s Day. This year, the one-day tutorial will be held Oct. 22 at our regular meeting place, Holy Trinity Presbyterian Church on Raeford Road. Steve Arthur, an entertaining and charismatic speaker, accredited American Orchid Society judge and a commercial grower is the keynote. He will present a full day of growing information geared to beginners through experienced growers. This annual event, which includes lunch and a blooming plant to take home, also features the raffle of specimen plants.

    The most meaningful function of SOS is the mentoring that experienced growers happily provide to less experienced growers. Members are always anxious to show off their personal growing conditions, demonstrate how to repot orchids or simply answer questions about growing conditions for a specific type of orchid. Orchid enthusiasts of all levels of expertise bond and connect through this ethos of mentoring and sharing.

    There is always something new to learn at every meeting. Join us for a meeting or the annual fall Grower’s Day and learn more about the Sandhills Orchid Society. We promise you a blooming good time!
    Editor's note: A version of this article first ran in the September issue of Women's View Magazine.

  • ncdot logo The N.C. Department of Transportation has awarded a $247 million contract to widen an eight-mile section of Interstate 95 north of Lumberton.

    Flatiron Constructors Inc. of Morrisville will widen the interstate from four lanes to eight from just south of Exit 22 to mile marker 29, the state Transportation Department said in a release.

    The project will include reconstructing Exit 25 with a longer, wider and taller bridge and new ramps with roundabouts, the release said. Two overpasses — Powersville Road and McDuffie Crossing Road — will also be replaced.

    Exit 22, which was recently rebuilt as a diverging-diamond interchange, will not need to be replaced, the release said.

    The department said the project is needed to reduce congestion, plan for anticipated growth in traffic volumes and improve safety.

    Work can begin by Nov. 1. The contractor will have toward the end of 2026 to complete the project, the release said.

    The project will require the installation of concrete barriers for safety; reduced shoulder access; and occasional lane closures overnight with reduced speed limits.

    This is one of several state highway contracts for widening I-95. The improvements will help it meet modern interstate design standards, the department has said.

  • 47Heart Breaker, a Heart and Led Zeppelin tribute band, will play at Gates Four Golf and Country Club Pavilion on Oct. 7. The concert was originally scheduled in May, but postponed due to inclement weather.
    Last summer, they were part of a concert series held at Rock’n On the River on Person Street.

    “These two girls look and sound like Heart; they are unbelievable. This crowd is going to be set back by this great band,” said Greg Adair, one of the organizers for the Gates Four Concert Series.

    The Concert Series has grown in popularity as the music scene around Fayetteville has developed. This year, organizers added a sixth concert to the schedule. With multiple weather delays, the series has extended into the month of October.

    “The whole concept of the concert series is to create a quality entertainment venue on that side of the county, the Hope Mills area,” said Bill Bowman, publisher, Up & Coming Weekly. Bowman is also a sponsor of the event.

    “These bands coming up will knock your socks off,” said Adair. “You’ll think, ‘oh wow, I’m sitting here listening to Heart, or Lynard Skynard,’ or ‘I’m sitting here listening to AC/DC’.”

    “There are so many really good bands going out there this year; it’s just phenomenal,” he said.

    “To be able to have a quality concert in a classy environment like Gates Four is wonderful,” he added. “The bands appreciate the atmosphere as well.”

    Heart Breaker won’t be the only musical act to take the stage. The concert will open with a local, up-and-coming singer/songwriter chosen every month before the show.

    “The acts are chosen from a singer/songwriter event held every month at the Fayetteville Bakery and Cafe,” said Bowman. “It’s to give these young singer/songwriters an opportunity to perform in front of a good audience in association with a great band.”

    The concert will conclude with an after-party at the Sand Trap, a bar on Purdue Street in Fayetteville. The opening act from the concert will perform at the after-party as well.

    “The whole evening is centered around fun, good music, contributing to the community and giving young artists a chance to be seen,” said Bowman.

    The concert will be free to attend for lawn seating. VIP tickets can be purchased for table seating within the pavilion itself. A single-seat VIP ticket is $38. An all-inclusive VIP ticket is $68 and includes food and beverage.

    Part of the event proceeds go to the Kidsville News Literacy and Education Foundation, which provides education and reading resources to elementary-aged school children in Cumberland County.

    “One of the reasons we are able to keep the concert series free is because of our sponsors who are helping fund all these quality bands,” said Bowman.

    Gates will open at 5 p.m. and the local musical guest will perform at 6 p.m. Heart Breaker will take the stage from 7:30 to 10 p.m. The after party at the Sand Trap begins at 10 p.m.
    For more information and tickets to the event, visit https://www.fayettevilledinnertheatre.

  • bomb You can expect to hear some “booms’’ starting this weekend as the 10th Marine Regiment returns to Fort Bragg for its semi-annual training.
    The Camp Lejeune-based Marines will conduct their semi-annual field artillery section certifications, command-post exercise and live-fire training as part of Operation Rolling Thunder, Fort Bragg officials said in a release. The training began Tuesday and is scheduled to continue through Oct. 28.

    “The training conducted at Fort Bragg is necessary to help maintain the 10th Marine Regiment’s readiness,” said Sharilyn Wells, a Fort Bragg spokeswoman. “We ask the communities surrounding Fort Bragg to be understanding while they are here training.”

    The field artillery live-fire portion of the exercise is scheduled to start Saturday. The 10th Marines will fire M777 Howitzer 155mm ammunition from 18 M777 Howitzers, which can be associated with loud explosions and reverberations upon detonation, the release said.

    Fort Bragg units also will be conducting live-fire training, adding to the loud explosions and reverberations. That training will involve field artillery units from the 82nd Airborne Division and the 18th Field Artillery Brigade, the release said.
    The units will comply with requirements that prohibit them from massing fires larger than battalion size between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m. daily or from firing during the hours of 10 a.m. to noon on Sundays, the release said.

  • 46The Soul Food Funk Fest II is set for Oct. 8 at the J. P. Riddle Stadium.

    “This is the second annual Soul Food Funk Fest,” said promoter Reginald Lewis, owner of Cladom Enterprise and festival creator.

    “It’s just something that I wanted to put together because... I used to be stationed at Fort Bragg... and Fayetteville is my life.”

    The Soul Food Funk Fest II is Fayetteville’s chance to enjoy mature music in a family-oriented environment. Guests include national recording artists.

    Freddie Jackson is best known for the 1980s Capitol Records mid-tempo soul hits “Rock Me Tonight (For Old Times Sake),” “You Are My Lady” and “Have You Ever Loved Somebody.” Nominated for two Grammy awards, Jackson continues to record music.

    Case had a string of 1990s hits such as “Touch Me, Tease Me” (featuring Foxy Brown and Mary J. Blige), “The Best Man I Can Be” (featuring Ginuwine, Tyrese and R.L.) and “Happily Ever After.” Russel Simmons signed Case to Def Jam Records in 1996.

    Tom Browne, a multiple gold record certified trumpeter, is best known for the early 1980s tunes “Funkin’ for Jamaica (N.Y.),” which peaked at number 1 on Billboard Magazine’s R&B chart, and “Thighs High (Grip Your Hips and Move),” which made it to number four.

    Cherrelle is an R&B singer known for “Everything I Miss at Home,” “Where Do I Run To” and “I Didn’t Mean to Turn You On,” plus the duets “Saturday Love” and “Never Knew Love Like This,” with Alexander O’Neil. She has worked with music producer (and renowned fusion drummer) Narada Michael Walden and toured with Luther Vandross.

    “The stage is going to be set up on the second base... and only [customers] with field tickets can come on the field,” Lewis said. If you don’t have a VIP field level ticket, seats will be in the upper level [general admission] bleachers or the reserved lower level seating behind home plate, he said.

    VIP tickets are $65, reserved seating is $55 and general admission is $40. There is a surcharge of $10 per ticket and $10 up-charge the day of the event.
    The Soul Food Funk Fest II opens its gates at 4 p.m. There will be food vendors serving pulled pork, Cajun-style seafood and barbecue chicken and turkey. Tickets do not pay for food or drinks. The show begins at 5.

    Tickets for the Soul Food Funk Fest II are on sale in Fayetteville at both Super Beauty World locations, Rhudy’s Pawn Shop and Lavish Beauty. Tickets can also be purchased online at www.MyEvent.com/SoulFoodFunkFest2.

    Cladom Enterprise is promoting this event and can be reached at 800-341-6672.

    J.P. Riddle Stadium is located at 2823 Legion Road.

  • house fire A homeless man has been charged in connection with a string of fires in vacant buildings in Spring Lake over the past week, the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office said.

    Thomas Reilly, 50, of Spring Lake, is charged with three counts of burning certain buildings, the Sheriff’s Office said in a release. The charge means the structures were unoccupied, said Sgt. Mickey Locklear.

    “If they had been occupied then it would have been arson,’’ Locklear said.

    Around 5:30 p.m. Monday, the Sheriff's Office responded to 107 N. Betty St. in Spring Lake in reference to a vacant structure fire, the release said.

    Arson detectives identified Reilly as the suspect and also linked him to two other structure fires, the Sheriff’s Office said in the release. One occurred Sept. 28 at 114 Pine Tree Lane and the other occurred Sunday at 1255 Spring Ave., the release said.

    The fires were at two mobile homes and a residential structure, Locklear said. No one was living in the structures at the time, he said.

    “With the quick response and hard work of the arson detectives, Reilly was quickly taken off the streets and prevented any further damage to the town of Spring Lake,’’ the Sheriff’s Office said in the release.

    Reilly is being held at the Cumberland County Detention Center on a $250,000 secured bond. His first appearance was scheduled for Tuesday afternoon at the detention center.

     

  • 44The Cumberland Choral Arts season is kicking off with a theme of “Connections.” Throughout the 2022-2023 season, the CCA will be making connections with their audiences, community and businesses.

    To kick off the season, CCA will be performing “The Sacred Veil,” a 12-movement work and the most recent collaboration between Eric Whitacre and poet/lyricist Charles Anthony Silvestri. It tells a story of life, love and loss. The piece was inspired by Silvestri's wife, Julie, who died of ovarian cancer at age 36.

    Dr. Michael Martin, the Artistic Director for the CCA, chose the piece because of its ties to cancer and because October is Cancer Awareness Month.

    “So Eric Whitacre set in motion the idea of writing music to some of her blog posts, to the poetry that her husband wrote to try and cope with her passing and kind of put it together,” Martin said. “The best way to describe it is like a modern requiem to a person who passed of cancer. And it just seemed like the most appropriate type of music to dig into for cancer awareness.”

    The choral piece will be backed by cellist Paul Kirkpatrick who has worked with the CCA before.
    Martin did say that this piece may not be fully appropriate for children, but do bring a pack of tissues.

    “Be prepared. It's something relatively very new. It's not the kind of thing where you're going to be able to stand up and start dancing to this kind of thing. I mean, some choral music is great and it's uplifting and it's very rhythmic. And then there's some that pay tribute to people and can be quite moving. This is certainly that kind,” Martin said.

    In honor of the music and its inspiration, Cumberland Choral Arts decided to partner with local health organizations to host CHOOSE HEALTH, a free community health and wellness event on the same day as the concert.

    Kathy Thaman, the event coordinator of the CHOOSE HEALTH event, says that they hope to get a great turnout for the event.

    “We really want more connection with our community. We want our choir there to look like our community. Come for the health fair, get all those services for free. Find out more about our organization and consider joining us,” Thaman said.

    This event will offer activities and health information for all age groups. Partners include Cape Fear Valley Regional Medical Center, Better Health, the Care Clinic, Fit 4 Life, Guiding Wellness Institute, Earth Monkey Energies, and more.

    There will be opportunities to donate blood through the Cape Fear Blood Mobile, attend free Qigong (a type of Tai Chi), Chair Yoga and Mat Yoga classes, make a ribbon in honor or memory of a cancer patient, win a free Reiki session, and get healthy snacks for the kids.

    The health event will take place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Holy Trinity Episcopal Church, located at 1601 Raeford Road on Saturday, Oct. 15.

    “The Sacred Veil” will be performed that night at 7:30 p.m. at the Holy Trinity Episcopal Church. Tickets are $15 for adults and $5 for children and students with ID.

    Tickets can be purchased at cumberlandchoralarts.org, through their Facebook page, or at the venue beginning at 6:30 p.m. Doors will open at 7 p.m.

  • domestic violence The “Remember My Name’’ domestic violence vigil is scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 6 at Festival Park in downtown Fayetteville.

    The vigil, which is meant to raise awareness of domestic violence, begins at 5:30 p.m.

    Elenah Kelly, the Air Force violence prevention integrator at the Airman and Family Readiness Center at Pope Army Airfield, will be the keynote speaker, according to a release from Cumberland County court officials.

    Retired Chief District Court Judge Beth Keever will read aloud the names of the people who died as a result of domestic violence in North Carolina over the past year.

    Others who are scheduled to participate include Chief District Court Judge Toni S. King, Resident Superior Court Judge Jim Ammons, District Attorney Billy West, Fort Bragg Garrison Commander Col. John Wilcox and the 82nd Airborne Division All-American Chorus, the release said.

    The vigil is organized by the Cumberland County District Court, Cumberland County Superior Court, the CARE Center Family Violence Program, the Cumberland County Department of Social Services, the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office, the Fayetteville Police Department, the Hope Mills Police Department, Army Community Services, Legal Aid of North Carolina and the Phoenix Center, the release said.

    There are several community resources available to victims of domestic violence, including:

    Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office: non-emergency 910-323-1500; Victim Assistance 910-677-5454 or ccsonc.org.

    Fayetteville Police Department: 910-433-1529; Victim Assistance 910-433-1849 or www.bethebadge.com

    Hope Mills Police: 910-425-4103

    Spring Lake Police: 910-436-0350

    Cumberland County Family Court: 910-475-3015 or
    nccourts.gov/locations/cumberland-county/family-court-administration.

    Clerk of Superior Court Lisa Scales, Safe-Link Domestic Violence Assistance Program: 910-475-3000, Cumberland County Courthouse, Room 340

    Cumberland County District Attorney’s Office: 910-475-3010

    The CARE Center Family Violence Program: Crisis Line 910-677-2532 or office 910-677-2528

    Army Community Services: 910-396-8262 or www.myarmybenefits.us.army.mil.

    Legal Aid of North Carolina Fayetteville Chapter: 910-483-0400 or www.legalaidnc.org

    The Phoenix Center hotline: 910-485-7273

    U.S. Army Family Advocacy Program: 910-322-3148 or hotline 910-584-4267.

  • 40Historic flooding, power outages, a hurricane and even a pandemic have tried to halt the Indigo Moon Film Festival in recent years. But, as the saying goes, the show must go on.

    Organizers Jan Johnson and Pat Wright seem to have a knack for weathering what storms may come and manage to deliver a film festival Fayetteville can be proud to host.
    Scheduled for Oct. 7 to 9 this year, the festival begins at 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 7 at the Cameo Art House Theatre in historic downtown Fayetteville.

    “Pat and I founded the film festival seven years ago,” said Jan Johnson, one of the festival creators. “And [international submissions] just kind of happened. We called for entries, and we accepted entries from all over the world.”

    Johnson and Pat Wright created the Indigo Moon Film Festival to bring the “cultural art of film to this region” and celebrate the art of storytelling before a diverse audience.

    “Our opening night film is ‘Mission Joy, Finding Happiness in Troubled Times,’ which is a conversation between the Dalai Lama and Arch Bishop Desmond Tutu. It’s just a wonderful film” that will make you smile, Wright said.

    After “Mission Joy” ends around 9, ticketed guests are welcomed to reconvene a few doors down from the Cameo at the Skyview on Hay event center for the “opening night reception,” till 11 p.m.

    “[Fayetteville happens] to be an open enough minded community to appreciate foreign films, [and] some of the finest films come from foreign countries,” Johnson said.

    “All the people and filmmakers who are in town [will be gathered at the Skyview]. It’s a nice little soiree” with live music and food, Wright said.

    On Saturday, Oct. 8, the Indigo Moon Film Festival will take a deep, sturdy breath before showing more than 50 films at three separate theaters all day long.

    “From 10 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. [on Saturday] we show films . . . at the Cameo, the Loge and the Arts Council,” Wright said. “We’ve got 55 films from around the world, as well as a ‘locals block’ where we’re showing four films from local filmmakers,” Wright said.

    Categories include short and feature documentaries and narratives, student films, the NC connection (for filmmakers connected to the state), horror shorts and features, and animated shorts. Be prepared for “blocks” of short films of the same genre that will play back-to-back.

    “We’ve got several short blocks” at different time slots on Saturday, Wright said.

    The Indigo Moon Film Festival will host films dealing with a diverse range of subject matter, such as a Palestinian man with autism who travels with his disabled sister to the Dead Sea for medical treatment; Black Panther Huey P. Newton’s trial for killing a white policeman during the height of the 1960s Civil Rights Movement; and extraterrestrials are on the schedule.

    In fact, there are too many intriguing films on Saturday’s playlist to name. Best stop what you’re doing right now and check IndigoMoonFilmFest.com/full-schedule-of-films for Saturday’s complete goings on.
    Remember, cinema lovers, parking is free on Saturdays and Sundays in downtown Fayetteville.

    “Park once for free on Saturday and spend your day downtown going to the movies . . . out to eat and meeting filmmakers,” Wright said.

    Downtown restaurants like Antonella’s, Archway Burgers, Dogs and Beer, Blue Moon Café and Coffee Scene at Prince Charles, plus shops like A Bit of Carolina, City Center Gallery and Books, Fabulous Finds boutique and The Downtown Market of Fayetteville are all within walking distance of the festival and a great way to relax cinema weary eyes.

    Then on Sunday, there is the awards barbecue, where jury awards are presented to the filmmakers that have been selected. Everybody that comes to see a film gets to judge it and say whether they liked it or not, Wright said.

    Awards will be given on Sunday at the Skyview on Hay, between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.

    “After the barbecue is done, we show the opening night film one more time at 1 o’clock, and then we show the jury award winning films for a second time,” Wright said.

    If you would like to spread the art of storytelling through whatever means you can, please visit IndigoMoonFilmFest.com/support.

    “We have a lot of support from the community. We have . . . individual, corporate and grant sponsors,” Wright said.

    There are a lot of ticket options, from four VIP selections, student and day passes and even singles. Prices range from $100 for VIP tickets to $10 singles. Tickets for The Indigo Moon Film Festival can be purchased at IndigoFilmFest.com/buy-tickets. Tickets can be picked up at The Rainbow Room box office, at 223 Hay Street. Note VIP tickets do not reserve seating.
    Fayetteville is made up of an eclectic group of people that appreciate foreign cinema, and the festival appreciates all peoples and nationalities, Johnson said.

    The list of films is set for this year's festival, but planning is already in the works for next year. If you would like to find out how to submit a film for next year's festival, please visit FilmFreeway.com/IndigoMoonFilmFestival.

    In addition to the festival, Pat Wright and Jan Johnson run Groundswell Pictures. Groundswell Pictures’ goal is to make and show films, teach filmmaking and support filmmakers through fiscal responsibility.
    Groundswell Pictures is a not-for-profit organization that makes films that change the way people see the critical issues that shape our world.
    From the recovery efforts in Haiti to the effects of desegregation, child pornography and Hollywood blacklisting, Groundswell Pictures is committed to educating the public and creating a groundswell of social change through film.

    Groundswell Pictures is responsible for this event. Visit GroundswellPictures.com for more information or to contribute.
    The Indigo Moon Film Festival will take place the weekend of Oct. 7,8 and 9 in downtown Fayetteville, around the Hay Street corridor.
    Remember to visit IndigoMoonFilmFest.com/beforehand to find out details about each film. Plan to arrive early to secure your place in line, as each venue is open seating.

  • liter Volunteers are being sought for Fayetteville Beautiful, a citywide litter cleanup scheduled from 8 a.m. to noon Saturday, Oct. 8.
    Volunteers should meet at the Cumberland County Courthouse, 117 Dick St., according to a city news release. Trash bags, gloves, water, snacks and T-shirts will be distributed.

    Registration forms, rules and a photo gallery can be found on the Fayetteville Beautiful webpage.

    Fayetteville Beautiful is held once every spring and fall. Volunteers collected 1.3 tons of litter last spring, the news release said.
    The city’s “Put Waste in Its Place” campaign to reduce litter and other pollutants on streets and in stormwater systems is a reminder to residents and visitors of their role in keeping the city clean, according to the release.

    New anti-litter signs will be posted in communities where litter is a significant problem to remind residents about fines associated with littering, the release said.

    “Fayetteville truly is a beautiful place, and your city leaders want to keep it that way,” Mayor Mitch Colvin said in the release. “The new signs should remind us of our common goal to have a clean city and a place where we all come together to do our part. If each of us continues to put waste in its place and makes a commitment to keeping Fayetteville beautiful, we can positively impact our streets and neighborhoods, making our home a place where we all want to live, work and play.”

    Fayetteville-Cumberland Parks & Recreation crews regularly collect between 1.5 and 2 tons of litter each week, according to the release. Litter and pollutants blown into stormwater systems can block the flow of rainwater.

    The city also encourages residents to participate in its recycling program to reduce waste.

    Other cleanup efforts include Five for Friday, through which volunteers pledge to collect at least five pieces of trash and recyclable items each Friday.
    Community groups and individuals can sign up for Adopt-a-Street or Adopt-a-Site by committing to clean at least 2 miles of roadway or a green space for a year. Visit www.fcpr.us for an application and guidelines.

  • It is officially Autumn, meaning it's pumpkin spice latte season. Pumpkin isn’t the only fall flavor our local coffee shops are brewing this year. Each shop is offering their own twist on seasonal coffees. Some are sure to become new favorites.

    34aThe Coffee Scene

    This coffee shop, which has three locations around Cumberland County, is offering six special drinks this season. The first is a Pumpkin Cream Pie with pumpkin spice syrup and white chocolate sauce. Next is the Cream Brulea, which has white chocolate and caramel sauce. Then you have to try the Jack-O-Lantern, which has pumpkin spice and hazelnut, perfect for a coffee lover. The fourth drink they offer is the Toasted S’mores which has chocolate sauce and toasted marshmallow syrup. Next is the Salted Caramel, which has salted caramel syrup. Their last exceptional coffee of the season is Autumn in Canada. This drink has caramel sauce and maple-flavored syrup.
    For more information visit https://thecoffeesceneinc.com/.

    34bVagabond Cafe
    This store has been in downtown Fayetteville for almost a year but has been creating quite a buzz locally. They are hosting three special drinks for the season. The first is a Pear Chai, which is made with their house chai and a hint of Pear syrup. The drink is spicy and aromatic. Next is their Churro Latte. This latte is made with their house syrups, oat milk and it’s paired with their Mexican single origin— La Chilana. Their last drink is the Autumn Harvest Latte. This drink has pumpkin, apple and caramel and it’s all paired with their specialty blend espresso.
    For more information visit https://www.vagabondcafe910.com/.

    34cRude Awakening
    This downtown Fayetteville staple is offering several specialty drinks and a flight of four ‘fall’ themed coffees. Their September flight has a Pumpkin Patch Mocha (pumpkin pie & white chocolate), a Maple Cinnamon Latte, a Spiced Brown Sugar Chai and a Toasted Marshmallow Cold Brew topped with sweet cream. These drinks can also be served as stand-alone drinks. They are also offering a caramel apple latte and of course, pumpkin spice. All of these drinks can be hot, iced or blended.
    For more information visit https://www.rudeawakening.net/.

    34dMorning Jump Coffee Company
    This drive-thru Spring Lake coffee shop is a great stop on the way to work, especially for those heading towards Fort Bragg. Their Pumpkin Pie latte is made with real pumpkin and is only offered during this season. They are also offering a Pumpkin Chai, Apple Cider, a Caramel Chestnut Latte, and a Bernstein Berry. The Bernstein Berry is a huckleberry cobbler latte.
    For more information visit https://themorningjump.com/.

  • hope mills logo The Hope Mills Board of Commissioners on Monday night voted 4-1 to delay a vote on an apartment complex proposed for Elk Road.

    Commissioners Bryan Marley, Joanne Scarola, Grilley Mitchell and Jerry Legge voted to delay the vote; Mayor Pro Tem Kenjuana McCray voted in opposition.
    The issue drew a number of concerned residents from the Pinewood Lakes subdivision, which is next to the proposed apartment complex. The Pinewood Lakes development was built in the 1960s and is home to many retirees.

    Board members delayed a vote on the project until their next meeting, saying they want more information about the project from the planning department, specifically information about a proposed secondary exit.

    The board was scheduled to consider and review the development of The One at Hope Mills apartment complex submitted by The Charleston Group on behalf of Fayetteville Christian Schools Inc.

    The plan, which began in February, calls for 360 units of a three-story garden-style apartment complex with a clubhouse, pool area, 70 garage spaces and 624 parking spaces.
    The grounds also would have two retention ponds.
    The main entrance would be on Elk Road, but N.C. Department of Transportation regulations require a secondary egress. The emergency, or secondary egress, is scheduled to connect to the Pinewood Lakes subdivisions via Sycamore Drive through an emergency gate.

    Pinewood Lakes residents voiced concerns about noise pollution, lower property values, increased traffic and flooding. But the gate was also a big concern.
    Pinewood Lakes resident Denise Schmude did not speak at the meeting, but she said she attended because of her concerns about traffic and noise pollution the complex would bring. Schmude, who has lived in Pinewood Lakes since 2015, said she didn’t want that traffic going through her neighborhood.

    “One of the reasons we purchased our house there was that it wasn't densely populated. When you get apartments, you get more people,” Schmude said.

    Some people also expressed concern about the retention pond. Some residents told the board that their yards already flood whenever it rains due to a nearby Walmart retention pond.

    “I’m here to oppose the apartments,’’ resident Jason Hulon said. “I truly hope the council can stop the entrance and flooding from coming into our neighborhood.

    Something is gonna have to be done.

    “Everyone sits here and says they are going to fix it and we’re gonna make sure that’s not going to happen, but that’s what you told us about Walmart.”

    “Right now Walmart floods my house,’’ Hulon told the board. “My house is the one with 2 feet of water in it every time it rains.”

    Hulon told a reporter later that he complains but nothing is ever done. “We need to have a solution for the problem before it exists,” he said.

    Wendy Soto has lived in Pinewood Lake for 24 years. She told the board that her property also floods due to the Walmart retention pond, which she said everyone promised wouldn’t happen.

    “With this apartment complex coming in, are we going to get the same thing?’’ Soto said. “Everyone is kind of feeding us stuff —- it’s going to be OK. We’re going to put a wall up, you’re not going to get traffic, you’re not going to get flooding. How are we to believe any of that? I don’t.”

    After residents spoke, Chancer McLaughlin, the town’s Planning and Economic Development director, presented the development review to the board before its scheduled vote.
    McLaughlin said his department understood the concerns of the Pinewood Lakes residents and took them into consideration when it laid out the regulations for the developer’s permit requirements.

    McLaughlin said nothing would be built or allowed to proceed without the developer first satisfying the regulations required from the town, the state Transportation Department and the Public Works Commission.
    McLaughlin also said the plan for the gate that would connect the apartment complex and Pinewood Lakes was only accessed by emergency vehicles.

    “No vehicle will ever pass through that gate if it is not an emergency vehicle,” McLaughlin said.

    Bret Andres, another concerned resident, gathered signatures from neighborhood residents who are opposed to the apartment complex and presented them at the board’s last meeting. He presented new signatures Monday night.

    At the last meeting, Andres told the board that apartment complexes lower the value of the property around them.
    Andres told a reporter that he feels like McLaughlin’s department is “pushing for the developer’s plans.”

    “That’s how I feel, and I think most of us think and feel,’’ Andres said. “But I’m happy about tonight’s meeting. There’s strength in numbers.”

    McLaughlin, Town Manager Scott Meszaros and the town attorney told the board that the comments were not a public hearing. The town board must legally vote yes if the developer has met all of its requirements. McLaughlin told the board it had and his department recommended approval.

    Jason Canady covers Hope Mills for CityView. He can be reached at jcanady@cityviewnc.com.

  • FPD logo A woman who was forced at gunpoint to get into a vehicle was sexually assaulted early Sunday in the 100 block of South Eastern Boulevard, according to Fayetteville police.

    Detectives with the Fayetteville Police Department’s Special Victims Unit are asking for the public’s help to identify the suspect, according to a news release.
    The sexual assault was reported about 1 a.m. Sunday, the release said. The woman told investigators that she was in a parking lot in the 700 block of Blue Street about 12:30 a.m. Sunday when a man pulled up in a black car. He flagged down the victim and pointed a silver and black handgun at her, forcing her to get into the vehicle, the release said.

    The man drove to the 100 block of South Eastern Boulevard and sexually assaulted the woman, the release said. He forced the woman to get out of the car, and she called police from a nearby motel.

    The woman told investigators that she could not identify the man, the release said.
    The suspect was described as a white man, possibly in his 30s, with a “chunky” build, the release said. He is bald and has tattoos on his chest and neck area and on one arm. He was wearing a silver chain and a tank top, the release said.

    Anyone with information about the suspect or the reported assault is asked to contact Detective D. Bell of the Fayetteville Police Department at 910-929-7504 or Fayetteville/Cumberland County CrimeStoppers at 910-483-TIPS (8477) or http://fay-nccrimestoppers.org.

  • 63It’s hurricane season, and with it comes the potential for severe weather in North Carolina. It’s also the time of year that gray squirrels, North Carolina’s state mammal, are raising their second brood of the year.

    Storms that produce high winds and heavy rain, as well as tree-cutting and trimming activity, can lead to young squirrels and their nests falling out of high perches. When this happens, the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission receives an influx of reports from concerned citizens who have found grounded young squirrels and want to know how to help.

    “A good practice is not to assume immediate intervention is the best way to help,” explains Falyn Owens, extension biologist for the Wildlife Commission. “Pausing long enough to consult a wildlife professional before moving or caring for the animal can greatly increase its chance of survival.”

    A directory of licensed wildlife rehabilitators who specialize in caring for injured or orphaned wildlife can be found on the Wildlife Commission website. These professionals help people take the right action in a wildlife encounter, including when it’s best not to intervene. When it comes to a young squirrel that has fallen out of the nest, they’ll usually recommend allowing some time for the mother to retrieve it.

    “Humans simply are not as good at taking care of young wildlife as their mothers and not all young animals found by themselves have been abandoned,” stated Owens.

    She described that when a squirrel’s nest is disturbed and the young fall out, the female works as fast as she can to find her young and carry them back to the nest. If the nest is destroyed, she’ll build a new nest first, then bring them to the new nest. If a young squirrel is removed from the area before the female retrieves it, the chances of it surviving are significantly reduced.
    Although people mean well, handling wild animals, particularly very young ones, can do more harm than good — and taking one home is illegal.

    “The possession of live, native wildlife is illegal in North Carolina, except particular circumstances that usually require a license or permit,” Owens said. “Despite a person’s best intentions, a wild animal is best left where it was found, or in the hands of a licensed wildlife rehabilitator.”

    For example, while giving a young animal food or water is often a person’s first instinct, it can be quite harmful and even deadly for the animal if done without proper training. Licensed wildlife rehabilitators have this training and are legally able to take in and care for wildlife so they can successfully be released back into the wild.

    If a wildlife rehabilitator doesn’t answer the phone right away, Owens advises to leave them a message rather than calling multiple times. They often have their hands full feeding or checking on the wildlife already in their care and may need a few minutes to get to the phone. When in doubt, even a rehabilitator in another county can provide solid advice on what to do in the short term.

    People can also contact the NC Wildlife Helpline at 866-318-2401 or hwi@ncwildlife.org for advice on how to help injured or orphaned wildlife, handle wildlife conflict issues and more. Helpline hours are Monday — Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
    For more information on gray squirrels visit www.ncwildlife.org/Learning/Species/Mammals/Gray-Squirrel.

  • 30a Community leaders are remembering the late Wilson Lacy for his longtime county and city service, including time with Cumberland County Schools and his three terms as chairman of the Fayetteville Public Works Commission.

    Mr. Lacy died Sept. 22. He was 74.

    “Former PWC Commissioner Wilson Lacy was the epitome of a community person who cared about the quality of life for Cumberland County residents,” said Evelyn Shaw, chairwoman of the Fayetteville PWC board. “He considered himself every person's neighbor. Moreover, he welcomed the opportunity to champion small, local businesses. His caring ways and people skills were evident in each interaction. It is my hope that legacy-makers, like him, will be well remembered.”

    Board members took time for a moment of silence before the Sept. 28 PWC board meeting.
    Mr. Lacy served three terms as a board member of the city-owned utility from 2001 to 2013 and was elected chairman in 2003-2005, 2008-2009 and 2012-2013. The utility and its customers always remained close to Mr. Lacy’s heart.

    “My last conversation with Mr. Lacy was just a few weeks ago when we had a water emergency on Labor Day weekend,” said Carolyn Justice-Hinson, a spokeswoman for the utility. “He had received an inquiry from an upset customer that was impacted and he reached out to me for information so he could share an update with them. He could have easily told them he hadn't been on the board in almost 10 years and referred them somewhere else, but he took the time to help them.”

    Mr. Lacy retired from Cumberland County Schools as executive director of operations in charge of building and grounds.

    “I had the opportunity to work with Mr. Lacy in his role with the school system as well as a PWC commissioner,” said Mick Noland, the interim chief executive officer and general manager of the utility. “He was always a gentleman, knew what was going on in the community and was committed to collaboratively working out solutions to the many challenges that arose in the course of conducting business. He always had in mind serving the best interests of the students and PWC customers.”

    Mr. Lacy was an employee with the school system from Jan. 1, 1994, until his retirement on Oct. 1, 2018.

    “We are saddened by the passing of Dr. Wilson Lacy,” Cumberland County Schools Superintendent Marvin Connelly Jr. and Greg West, chairman of the school board, said in a joint statement. Dr. Lacy’s notable contributions to the school system helped provide students with an exceptional learning environment to achieve success in school and in life.

    “In addition to his contributions to the school system, Dr. Lacy invested much of his time and resources for the betterment of our community. He will certainly be missed. Heartfelt condolences are extended to his family and loved ones on behalf of the Cumberland County Board of Education and Cumberland County Schools.”

    Born in Bladen County, Mr. Lacy served in the Army National Guard and graduated from his beloved Shaw University in Raleigh, where he remained an ardent supporter of the Shaw University Alumni Association and fundraising for student scholarships.

    ‘Giant of a man’

    Mr. Lacy’s death has resonated throughout the city.

    “Dr. Wilson Lacy was a true servant leader who worked tirelessly to improve the quality of life for his family and this community,” Mayor Mitch Colvin said. “This is a tremendous loss and he will indeed be missed by all who knew this giant of a man.”

    Mayor Pro Tem Johnny Dawkins said Mr. Lacy was a friend to his mayoral father, and later to him. And if Mr. Lacy made a promise, he kept it.

    “Dr. Lacy was a man of his word,” Dawkins said. “His wit and wisdom will be missed.”

    Glenn Adams said Mr. Lacy leaves a lasting legacy.

    “Wilson Lacy will truly be missed by this community,” said Adams, chairman of the Cumberland County Board of Commissioners. “His advocacy for the Martin Luther King Park goes beyond imagination. He truly kept the dream alive, and it’s important that we fulfill his desire to make sure that that park comes to fruition. Wilson was also strong on education as he was a staunch supporter of Shaw University. He never forgot his alma mater, and that is what we should all desire to have to make sure our alma mater is strong. It goes without saying about his time on PWC. He was a strong advocate for the city and for this community. Wilson Lacy’s legacy is one that we should all aspire to follow.”

    An evening of honor

    Former mayor Tony Chavonne developed a close relationship with Mr. Lacy and recalled being honored to speak about him at an MLK Committee banquet several years ago.

    “To really speak about a person, we have to look deeper than what a person calls himself or what he wears,” Chavonne said at the banquet honoring Mr. Lacy. “We have to see where he comes from. We have to look at how he was raised. We have to look into his heart. That is where you find the true test of a man.”

    Chavonne, now publisher of CityView Media, told the audience about Mr. Lacy’s willingness to work with all as one in the community, and how Mr. Lacy agreed to serve as co-chairman of the Greater Fayetteville Futures that “helped make that effort successful and helped result in significant improvements in this community over the past six years.”
    Services

    A Celebration of Life was scheduled for Sept. 29 at the Cape Fear Conference B Headquarters in Raeford. A homecoming service was scheduled for Sept. 30 at First Baptist Church in Bladenboro.

    Mr. Lacy will be buried at Brooklyn Memorial Gardens. He is survived by his wife, Claretha Lewis Lacy; daughters, Deana McQuitty of Greensboro, Cleopatrice Robinson of Raleigh and Felicia Evans Long of Rockville, Maryland; a brother, the Rev. Cleopatrick Lacy of Griffin, Georgia; and three grandchildren.

  • 28aThrockmorton Library celebrated 25 years of serving the Fort Bragg community on Sept. 28.

    The celebration included activities, games, music and storytime.

    The library, located on Randolph Street, was built in 1997, replacing an earlier library on Macomb Street. It is named after Gen. John L. Throckmorton, a veteran of World War II, Korea and Vietnam, Fort Bragg officials said in a release.

    The library has a computer lab and children’s room, which see a number of visitors each day, the release said.

    “Our manga and graphic novel section has also been increasingly popular, having grown from barely a few hundred circulations three years ago up to 1,939 circulations last month,” Geniece Baer, supervisory librarian, said.

    “Of course in terms of pure foot traffic, the computer lab is easily the winner, with hundreds of soldiers utilizing the lab daily to complete trainings, access email and print documents.”

    With over 75 Common Access Card, or CAC-enabled computers, the computer lab at Throckmorton is a convenient location to complete online training and courses.
    The library also has a salt-water fish tank that is surrounded by the more than 15,000 books, magazines and other items the library offers.

    28b“Our salt-water fish tank is a huge draw among kids and adults alike,” Baer said. “Kids often run in the door, excitedly announcing that they just saw ‘Dory’ (a character in the Disney movie, ‘Finding Nemo’) in the fish tank! It also includes other creatures, such as shrimp, urchins, snails and even tiny starfish. We have a guidebook near the tank which people can read to learn more about each of the inhabitants.”

    The library has in-person storytimes at 10 a.m. Monday through Wednesday. Virtual storytime is also available and airs on the Fort Bragg Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation Facebook page every week, the release said.

    Monthly programs are available for all ages, both in person and virtually. Topics span a wide range of interests from sewing and painting to music.
    Throckmorton Library is available to all DoD ID cardholders. Hours are 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Thursday; 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Friday; and noon to 4 p.m., Saturday. The library is closed on Sundays and federal holidays. The computer lab closes 20 minutes prior to closing.

  • 27aThe Cumberland County Public Library is participating in the “31 Days of Love” campaign. Every library location is accepting donations of pet supplies for animals that are sheltered at Cumberland County Animal Services.

    Donations can be delivered to any library location and may include pet food, toys, blankets, newspapers and other animal-related supplies.
    Cumberland County Animal Services also has a donation wish list on the Cumberland County Animal Services website at https://www.cumberlandcountync.gov/departments/animal-services-group/animal-Services/volunteer-foster-donate!/donation.

    Pet adoption programs will also take place throughout October at different library locations.

    The pet adoption programs will be at:

    •Oct. 8 at Hope Mills Branch Library from 9 a.m.
    to 12 p.m.

    •Oct. 15 at Headquarters Library from 1 to 3 p.m.

    •Oct. 18 at Cliffdale Regional Library from 9 a.m.
    to 12 p.m.

    •Oct. 28 at North Regional Library from 9 a.m. to
    12 p.m.

    27bResponsible individuals can make a difference by adopting animals at the shelter who are looking for a home. Adoptions occur Monday through Friday 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and Saturdays 1 to 5 p.m.

    You can also see the adoptable animals through Cumberland County Animal Services website Adoptable Animals https://www.cumberlandcountync.gov/departments/animal-services-group/animal-Services/pet-adoption/adoptable-animals . If you are interested in adoption, please call Animal Services at 910-321-6852.

    Cumberland County Animal Services is located at 4704 Corporation Drive in Fayetteville. They accept donations of pet supplies year-round during regular business hours Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and Saturdays 1 to 5 p.m.

    For more information about the library, please visit the library’s website at https://www.cumberlandcountync.gov/departments/library-group/library or visit them on social media at https://www.facebook.com/CumberlandCountyAnimalShelter/.

  • uac101712001.gif In the contemporary art world of stacked chairs as sculpture or mixing unlike styles in one painting, the art works of Seán McDaniel bring us back to the tradition of American realism with an urban twist. Known in the academic community for his leadership as chairman of the Fine, Performing and Graphic Arts Department at Fayetteville Technical Community College, he is known in the artistic community for being an artist whose subjects in painting are unlike anyone else in the region.

    Visitors to Gallery 208 at Up & Coming Weekly will be able to see the range of his talent during his one-person exhibit titled The Works of Seán McDaniel. Figure-drawing studies demonstrate McDaniel’s sustained interest in studying the human form; his paintings reveal his attention to the human psyche.

    After seeing examples of his figure-drawing studies, visitors to the gallery will readily understand the training it takes drawing from the live model to craft one’s skill sets, explore the expressive use of line, value and color and understand anatomy. For McDaniel, understanding anatomy is important to a realist artist whose paintings evoke psychological drama and conflict.

    McDaniel stated, “This exhibition is a display of two of my main approaches to creating. One is my lifelong love of drawing the figure; the other is a refl ection of my instinctual state of mind — I come from a people who are grand storytellers.”

    The “people who are grand storytellers” is McDaniel’s Irish birthright. Born in Ireland, his family moved to Washington, D.C., when he was a child. Reared in Washington, D.C., McDaniel later was involved in the sport of boxing as a young man, eventually earning an MFA in painting from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.

    In the grand manner of storytelling, McDaniel’s style is reminiscent of the Ashcan School of painting in the early 20th century — specifi cally the second generation Ashcan School of which George Bellows was a part in New York City. I look at McDaniel’s painting titled “Empire,” the bruised and swollen-faced prize fighter, collapsed in the lower right corner of the painting, and I think of the painting of a fight scene by George Bellows titled “Both Members of this Club.” Both McDaniel and Bellows use the fighter(s) to symbolize more than the fight itself, but a human struggle to win; how “sports can exemplify life.” 

    Although I haven’t asked McDaniel anything specifi c about the painting “Empire,” for me, his artist’s statement refl ects something about meaning in the painting. He stated, “For some time there has been a feeling of anxiety and a sort of social and fi nancial unrest in the world. This has come down to each of us as a threat to our stability and at times peace of mind. The world seems very dysfunctional at times. There is anxiety in my imagery, often an element of optimism.”

    In McDaniel’s paintings we can see his expressive use of color and the thick impasto-painting style are used to express mood, energy and the “not fi xed.” The range of expressions on the faces in his paintings speaks to the vanquished, a struggle; chilling humor reveals something about the human psyche, the human condition.

    I feel comfortable with the position that McDaniel’s approach to painting, his technique, is aligned with much of the philosophy of the Ashcan School in painting and the “art spirit.” His use of dramatic lighting, striking colors and brushwork enhance the immediacy of McDaniel’s painting — all underpinning to the aesthetics of the story. So why is something as simple as McDaniel’s brushwork important to the meaning of his work?

    An explanation of the importance of the way an artist paints the canvas, the brushstroke, is best stated by the Ashcan School founder Robert Henri when he described the painted stroke. “There are fl uent and abundant strokes; strokes that seem to be weeping. There are attenuated strokes, strokes that come from the brushes, which seem fully charged, as though they were fi lled to the hilt and had plenty to give. Strokes mount, carry up and rise. The stroke of the eyebrow as it rises in surprise. Strokes carry a message whether you will it or not. The stroke is just like the artist at the time he makes it. All the certainties, all the uncertainties, all the bigness of his spirit and the littleness are in it.”

    Comparing Robert Henri’s explanation of the “art spirit” to Seán McDaniel, I can readily see the similarity in their philosophy about the process of painting. Henri: “I am certain we do deal in an unconscious way with another dimension than the well-known. It does not matter much to me if it is the fourth dimension or what number it is, but I know that deep in us there is always a grasp of proportions … and it is by this power of super-proportioning that we reach the inner meaning of things.”

    Seán McDaniel: “I always work from instinct. I almost never know anymore wha10-17-12-cover-story-precious.gift the things mean while I am doing them. Nor do I wish to. It is only after some time has passed that I feel some understanding of what the meaning is and/or why I did them.”

    For me, I feel as if McDaniel is working in true Ashcan urban-realist style, supporting Henri’s credo —”art for life’s sake,” rather than “art for art’s sake.” Being able to see an exhibition of McDaniel’s paintings is to be in the Ashcan moment in our time in history: “… a moment in our lives when we seem to see beyond the usual. Such moments are of our greatest wisdom. If one could but recall vision by some sort of sign. It was in hope that the arts were invented. Sign-posts on the way to what may be. Sign-post towards greater knowledge.”

    The public is welcome to attend the reception of The Works of Seán McDaniel on Thursday, Oct. 18, 5:30-7 p.m. During the opening the artist will talk about his work and answer any questions from guests at the opening reception. The exhibit will remain up until January 2013; the gallery is open Monday-Friday between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. 

  • 26The International Downtown Association recognized Cool Spring Downtown District with the Downtown Achievement Award of Excellence for its resourceful approaches related to their inaugural event, Night Circus, a New Year’s Eve Spectacular.

    A jury of peer professionals reviewed, deliberated and evaluated all entries in the 2022 Downtown Achievement Awards.
    The Award of Excellence acknowledges an excellent response to an urban place management challenge, demonstrating application of industry knowledge and exceeds the jury criteria.

    Night Circus was among 23 qualified entries in the category of Marketing, Communications and Events which IDA identifies as one of the seven professional urban place management practice areas. This category features unique organizational approaches and projects in the areas of branding, public relations, marketing strategies and communications plans.

    “Being recognized on an international scale for our efforts is truly an honor. We love to bring positive recognition to our deserving city,” said Bianca Shoneman of the Cool Spring Downtown District.
    The event, in partnership with the city of Fayetteville, was Fayetteville’s first self-curated New Year’s Eve production in over a decade. Headliners included four national touring acts — All-4-One, Rob Base, C + C Music Factory and Coolio.

    Inspired by a novel of the same name, the circus showcased an array of acrobats, aerialists, fire dancers, live art demos and more, with a variety of delicious food to tempt the senses.

    To transition from 2021 to 2022, the team hired a local production company, Blashfield Signs, to fabricate an eighteen-foot, multi-colored star dotted with over 150 LED lights. At the stroke of midnight, the star was lifted into the sky, accompanied by a spectacular burst of fireworks, ringing in the New Year.

    “Coming out of the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, we knew we wanted something vibrant and exciting for our community as we celebrated surviving a tumultuous year and moving towards thriving in the next”, shared Director of Special Projects, Ashanti Bennett.

    Cool Spring Downtown District has demonstrated skillful application of urban place management principles with their project Night Circus, said David Downey, IDA President and CEO. “The Night Circus should serve as a framework to all member communities within IDA.”

    Sponsors for the event included: Piedmont Natural Gas, presenting sponsor and ABC11 as the title media sponsor. Healy Wholesale, the Public Works Commission, the Dogwood Festival, Cumulus Broadcasting, the Fayetteville Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, Beasley Media, City View Magazine and Fayetteville-Cumberland County Arts Council were also corporate donors. Various city departments, especially the Parks and Recreation Department, assisted with event management.

    Washington, DC-based IDA is the premier organization for urban place professionals who are shaping and activating dynamic city center districts. The Cool Spring Downtown District is the urban place management organization representing the interests of property owners in Fayetteville.

  • 23Special Forces Qualification Course students from the U.S. Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School will participate in Robin Sage from Oct. 7 to Nov. 5.

    Robin Sage is the final two-week cumulative training exercise for students graduating from the Special Forces Qualification Course on Fort Bragg.
    The training exercise is conducted within various counties across North Carolina and South Carolina.

    This regularly held, unconventional warfare exercise encompasses the counties of Alamance, Anson, Bladen, Brunswick, Cabarrus, Chatham, Columbus, Cumberland, Davidson, Guilford, Harnett, Hoke, Lee, Montgomery, Moore, New Hanover, Randolph, Richmond, Robeson, Rowan, Sampson, Scotland, Stanly, Union and Wake counties in North Carolina and Chesterfield, Dillon and Marlboro counties in South Carolina.

    Throughout the exercise military and civilian personnel, as well as community volunteers who serve as auxiliary actors will participate in and provide support as role-playing elements. This realistic training is critical to the successful completion of the students final assessment of skills and knowledge gained in the course.

    All Robin Sage movements and events have been coordinated with public safety officials throughout the various towns and counties hosting the training.
    Residents are advised to steer clear of the student elements and role-players, and may be expected to hear non-lethal ammunition sounds and see occasional non-lethal flares.

    Controls are in place to ensure there is no risk to the general public or property. Residents with concerns should contact local law enforcement officials, who will immediately contact exercise control officials.

    Safety of students, role-players and the public is the USAJFKSWCS command’s top priority during all training events. The following measures have been implemented:

    • Formal written notifications have been released to local law enforcement agencies in the affected counties, and will be followed-up with visits from unit representatives.

    • All civilian and non-student military participants are briefed on procedures to follow if there is contact with external public and law enforcement.

    • Students will only wear civilian clothes based on the scenario, as determined by the instructors, and will have distinctive brown armbands during these instances.

    • Training areas and vehicles used during exercises will be clearly marked.

    In a media release the command expressed appreciation for the support and consideration the public extends to the soldiers and role-players participating in the exercise.
    In the event of an emergency, civilians should contact their local law enforcement agency.

    All questions concerning Robin Sage should be directed to the U.S. Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School Public Affairs Office at 910-396-9394.

  • 10-02-13-chef-auction.gifThe March of Dimes is a nonprofit organization that focuses on the most valuable resource that the world has: its children. Premature births, and the dangers that they bring, are a widespread problem. There is no corner of the country that is untouched. North Carolina in particular has a preterm birth rate of more than 11 percent, a shocking number as premature births are the leading cause of deaths for babies in the United States. One way that the March of Dimes raises funds to combat this problem is through its annual Signature Chef Auction. This year’s event is scheduled for Oct. 13.

    The Signature Chefs auctions brings local chefs together to create an incredible meal while guests participate in a silent auction. The chefs participating are from Fayetteville’s best restaurants, and are incredibly skilled as well as stunningly generous for donating their time and skills to support the March of Dimes. Andrew Porter, the local community director for the March of Dimes says, “People should expect the most unique and wonderful culinary experience in the Cape Fear Valley Region.”

    It is not just the chefs who are donating to support local children through the Signature Chef Auction. People from all over the community contribute to this cause. Wells Fargo is the presenting sponsor and Cape Fear Neonataology Services, References Services Inc., Systel, Carolina Signals & Lighting and DentalWorks have come together to make this incredible event possible. There are also numerous sponsors participating in the auction. Because the March of Dimes is a volunteer-based organization, community support is key in making the great strides that have been made in the health of babies. In fact, volunteering is one of the best ways to support the March of Dimes.

    “We rely on volunteers and one of our biggest challenges is awareness and getting the word out about us. We take volunteers year round. We do different events and people think that we are closed other parts of the year, but our door is always open and we are always working towards helping,” Porter said.

    Though the March of Dimes is a nonprofit that affects people nationally, it is unique in its local focus. Porter has worked for several nonprofit organizations previously, but March of Dimes has a special appeal for him.

    “I choose to work for March of Dimes because though it is a national organization, it is rooted at the local level. Because it is national it has many resources, but it has a strong local presence that can be felt in the community,” he explained.

    This year is a very special year for the March of Dimes Signature Chef Auction. It is the 22nd annual auction in Fayetteville and it is the 75th Anniversary for March of Dimes. To help celebrate, there are celebrity judges attending the auction. Chef Judy Cage of Let Me Cater to You and seen on Food Network’s Chopped, Chef Keith Rhodes of Catch and seen on Top Chef and BBQ Pitmaster Corey Brinson of Fatback’s BBQ and Rib Shack and seen on Destination America’s BBQ Pitmasters, will judge the meal put forth by the incredible local chefs donating their time. Unlike many organizations, the money donated at this event does not leave North Carolina; it serves mothers and babies in this area. For every $1 donated the area gets $3 back. This money goes to funding research in the community and supporting programs to help mothers prevent premature birth and to help care for premature babies. Last year, the March of Dimes donated $3.2 million to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Duke for research on how to prevent premature childbirth.

    The March of Dimes Signature Chef Auction will be held on Sunday Oct. 13, at the Embassy Suites, 4760 Lake Valley Dr. Beginning at 5 p.m., there will be a silent auction and signature cocktails. At 5:30 p.m., there will be a gourmet tasting, and at 6:45 p.m. there is a live auction and program. Cocktail or business attire is required. Cost is $75 per person or $1,000 per VIP table of eight. For more information or to order tickets, call 778-5670 or visit marchofdimes.com/northcarolina. The March of Dimes will also accept donations on its website at www.marchofdimes.com.

  • 20Walmart is hosting a Driver Open House event across the country and hiring up to 8 CDL-A drivers in the Hope Mills area.

    Each year, Walmart’s nearly 13,000 drivers travel over 900 million miles and deliver millions of cases of merchandise to 4,700 Walmart and Sam's Club locations across the nation — all while remaining one of the largest and safest fleets on the road.

    Walmart truck driving jobs are considered among the best in the industry, and the company is recruiting the best and safest drivers to join its team as the business continues to grow.
    Across the country, Walmart is planning on growing its private fleet, which includes 8 drivers in Hope Mills.

    While there are different factors that make up a driver’s pay, new drivers can earn up to $110,000. Drivers also have access to company benefits on day one and can earn as much as 21 days of paid time off in their first year.

    To drive for Walmart, a commercial driver must have at least 30 months of full-time experience with no serious traffic violations in the last four years.
    Walmart benefits also include medical coverage, a 401(k) match, an associate stock purchase match, paid maternity and parental leave, various associate discounts and no-cost college, with Walmart paying for 100% of the cost of college tuition and books through its Live Better U program.

    The Open House will give people a chance to learn about driving jobs with Walmart, information on pay and benefits offerings, meeting local management, touring offices/shop and checking our equipment and asking current drivers about their careers with Walmart.

    OPEN HOUSE DETAILS:

    Interested CDL-A drivers are invited to attend the open house Oct. 3 – 7: Monday/Wednesday/Friday in person from 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. On Tuesday, a virtual event will be held at 8 a.m. On Thursday, the virtual event is scheduled for 2 p.m. at 1057 Sand Hill Road in Hope Mills. The job fair will be on-site. Applicants can register at wmtcareers.com/drivers.
    To learn more visit www.drive4walmart.com.

  • 17After previously going forward with an AI-powered gunshot detection system, the Fayetteville City Council was split 5-5 at its Sept. 26 meeting after reconsidering the contract with ShotSpotter.

    The proposed one-year contract with ShotSpotter, the private company that operates the gunshot detection technology, would cost the city $197,500.

    Other cities in North Carolina — including Goldsboro, Rocky Mount, Greenville, Wilmington, Durham and Winston-Salem — already have the system in place.

    To detect gunshots, the company uses acoustic sensors placed in a specific coverage area. Sounds from those sensors are analyzed by artificial intelligence to determine if the noise is a gunshot.

    The data is then reviewed by analysts, and the police respond, if appropriate.

    Mayor Mitch Colvin, Mayor Pro Tem Johnny Dawkins and council members Kathy Jensen, D.J. Haire and Derrick Thompson voted in favor of the contract.
    Council members Shakeyla Ingram, Mario Benavente, Brenda McNair, Courtney Banks-McLaughlin and Deno Hondros were opposed.

    Given the tied 5-5 vote, the contract with ShotSpotter is not currently approved. The issue would have to be considered at a future meeting for more concrete action.
    It is not clear, however, what will happen next with the proposal. Mayor Colvin’s office did not respond to emails from Carolina Public Press asking if the City Council would consider the contract again at another meeting.

    ShotSpotter did not comment about Monday night’s council action.

    ShotSpotter’s gunshot detection system is controversial, as some studies show it can be ineffective while others have found it to reduce incidents of gun violence, Carolina Public Press reported.

    In an email to Carolina Public Press, a ShotSpotter spokesperson cited a study from the Brookings Institution that found just 12% of gunfire incidents are reported through a 911 call.

    “ShotSpotter is an acoustic gunshot detection system that fills that data gap by alerting police of virtually all gunfire in a city’s coverage area within 60 seconds,” Ron Teachman, director of public safety solutions at ShotSpotter, said. “We’re confident that our technology is effective in helping to save lives and capture critical evidence.”

    A 2021 report from the Chicago Office of Inspector General, however, found that the alerts from the ShotSpotter technology “rarely produce evidence of a gun-related crime, rarely give rise to investigatory stops and even less frequently lead to the recovery of gun crime-related evidence during an investigatory stop,” though the report did conclude that the technology may increase police response time.

    Council criticism of contract

    The council originally voted 8-2 on Aug. 22 to approve the contract with ShotSpotter. Benavente and Ingram opposed the move.

    At the council’s Sept. 12 meeting, however, newly elected council member Hondros made a motion to reconsider the contract. The motion passed 6-4 with support from Hondros, Benavente, Banks-McLaughlin, McNair, Ingram and Thompson. This led to the most recent discussion this week on the contract.

    Benavente has spearheaded the move to deny the ShotSpotter contract, speaking against the action on Aug. 22 and at the Sept. 26 meeting

    “We’re all under a lot of pressure to do something important and worthwhile as [it] relates to improving public safety. And I think that direction should be investing in our communities, not necessarily investing in private corporations,” Benavente said at the meeting.

    Benavente said that he had emailed Fayetteville Police Chief Gina Hawkins about any potential negatives related to the technology but had not received a reply. He also asked the same question at August’s meeting, but Hawkins said she could not answer at that time.

    “If we want to make it work here in Fayetteville, let’s learn from the mistakes that other municipalities have gone through,” Benavente said. “Let’s make sure that we’re not manufacturing consent for the police to overpolice certain neighborhoods. Let’s make sure that we’re not violating people’s Fourth Amendment rights. And let’s also make sure that we’re getting the data back to make sure this is actually a viable company.”

    No members of council who voted for the contract spoke Monday during the meeting.

    Mayor Colvin also did not respond to emails from Carolina Public Press about his support of the ShotSpotter contract.

    At the August meeting, Colvin said the technology would give the city “an extra tool in the tool belt” to stop gun violence.

  • 10-08-14-hope-mills-celebrates.gifEvery year, the city of Hope Mills hosts a huge festival dedicated to celebrating the history of the town as well as providing an incredible day of family fun for the community, and this year Ole Mills day will be bigger than ever. Mark your calendar, it is set for Oct. 18.

    The festival will take place in the beautiful surroundings of the Hope Mills Municipal Park. As always, there will be a plethora of food and vendors for attendees to enjoy. Don’t miss the hot wing contest for those brave of heart and strong of stomach. Live entertainment is planned throughout the day, too. Children can enjoy the games, inflatables and rides of all kinds. There is also a tractor pull, a cheerleading exhibition and a mill workers reunion.

    Don’t miss the corn hole tournament— it is a local favorite and always a lot of fun. To get into the Halloween spirit in the brisk fall weather, be sure to check out the costume contest and haunted house sponsored by the South View High School Key Club.

    Another annual and highly anticipated event at the Ole Mills Day festival is the Chili Cook-Off. All local chefs are breaking out their incredible chili recipes and are prepping to compete in the annual competition. The very first chili cook off began with just three pots of chili. Since then, the competition has grown into one of the favorite events at the festival.

    “We expect to have 25 entrants and that is a combination of hot and mild chili,” said Hope Mills Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Dee Callahan.

    Each single bowl of chili costs $4. Or sample them all for just $5. All proceeds from the cook off go to the Hope Mills Chamber of Commerce. This is its only annual fundraiser, and it is cosponsored by WKML 95.7.

    There are two categories of chili: hot and mild. Each competitor is required to bring at least a two-quart pot of chili. At the end of judging at 3:30 p.m., four awards will be given out.

    “The awards for the Chili Cook-Off are the silver spoon, plastic spoon, the wooden spoon and bragging rights. They are large plaques and they actually have the different spoons on them. It’s all in good fun,” Callahan says, “There’s also the People’s Choice Award. People can buy a bowl of chili or get a sample. Then they have the ability to vote on which chili is their favorite. The Peoples Choice Award also comes with a plaque and $100.”

    Up and Coming Weekly, WKML 95.7 and The Hope Mills Chamber of Commerce will host the Cornhole Tourney. Registration is $20 for a team of two. Cash prizes include $100 for first place, $50 for 2nd place and $25 for 3rd place. The official rules are at www.playcornhole.org/rules.shtml. Registration must be submitted before Oct 18.

    For more information on the Chili Cook-Off or to register for the corn hole tournament or chili cook off, please visit www.hopemillschamber.org or call 423-4314. For more information on Ole Mill Day visit http://nc-hopemills.civicplus.com or call 424-4500. The festival is Oct. 18 from noon to 5 p.m. at the Hope Mills Municipal Park at 5776 Rockfish Road in Hope Mills.

  • 10-15-14-tall-tales-1.gifEvery year Laurinburg becomes the center of tradition and art with the Storytelling Festival of Carolina. Hosted by The Storytelling & Arts Center of the Southeast, this festival brings nationally acclaimed storytellers to the area, to celebrate the age old art of storytelling. This is a weekend-long festival that begins Friday Oct. 17, at 131 S. Main St. in Laurinburg and ends Sunday Oct. 19.

    For first time attendees to the event, Jan Schmidt the retired executive director of the Storytelli10-15-14-tall-tales-2.gifng and Arts Center of the Southeast said, “People should expect the best storytellers in the country. They have told stories nationally and internationally. The stories are incredibly captivating, fun and, for this time of year, ghostly.

    “We will also have some Edgar Allen Poe stories. We are a Big Read Community and this year our book is by Edgar Allen Poe, so some of the storytellers will do stories or poems from Poe,” she continued. “There is a huge mixture of stories. People will be amazed by how engaging the stories are. You are in a tent of hundreds of people and feel like they are telling the story just to you. We will also have food vendors and workshops for people who would like to learn from our storytellers. Our guild members, who are also talented, will tell stories during the 30-minute breaks when the main stage is not up.”

    The festival begins on Friday at 7:30 p.m. with an olio. This is a sort of preview of the magic that the rest of the weekend holds. On Saturday the grounds will open at 8:30 a.m. with stories beginning at 9:30 a.m. On Saturday evening, there will also be a gala from 7 to 10 p.m. This also offers an opportunity to meet the tellers. The final day of the festival, Sunday, begins just like Saturday, except ending earlier at 3 p.m. 

    This year there are also opportunities for amateur storytellers to try their hand at the art. The Sharing Place will be open during all of the breaks and anyone who signs up can tell a tale. At The Sharing Place there is a competition among amateurs called a Story Slam.

    “People who want to tell stories will put their names in a hat and have three minutes to finish a story based on the beginning that we give them. It might be a sentence or a paraphrase, but they have to finish it with an impromptu story. There are prizes, too,” said Schmidt.

    Perhaps the most important thing to note about the festival, however, is that it is intended for all audiences.

    “Storytelling is a family activity. It is great for kids, but it also great for people from 9 to 90 and everyone in between. We all take the stories at a different level of sophistication and the storytellers aren’t talking up to the kids or down to the adults. This is for everybody,” Schmidt said.

    This year there is also a Children’s Place where restless kids can play, but stories can still be heard.

    For more information or to register to attend, please visit www.storytellingfestivalofcarolina.org or call 910-277-3599.

    Photos: Internationally acclaimed story tellers will gather in Laurinburg for the Storytelling Festival of Carolina Oct. 17 and 18.

  • uac100114001.gif A photographic portrait by Sarah Grusenmeyer isn’t like going to a “glam” studio or any other type of commercial enterprise. Commission Grusenmeyer to do a portrait and it involves you showing up at her Oakridge Avenue garage studio and the next thing you know you’re sticking your tongue out, scrunching up your face with an exaggerated wink or having your face painted in yellow — then she clicks her camera. The end result, after Photoshop editing, is Grusenmeyer making the ordinary extraordinary.

    Many of her portraits have a mysterious or Goth overtone; however, the commissions I’m referring to have an upbeat, kitch quality. Highly-polished skin surfaces add to the overall exaggerated antic-mediating a cultural experience somewhere between Vargas, Sas Christian and Norman Rockwell. (Add Andy Warhol to the reading list and you have the stack of reference books on Grusenmeyer book shelf!)

    An untrained artist, Grusenmeyer exudes raw talent and a desire to put her own spin on the conventions of portraiture. As a painter, she started taking photographs so she would not have to use images by other people for her subject. The practice has grown into a personal oeuvre.

    A skillful painter, one has to wonder how this young artist became the accomplished photographer that she is, a photographer that bridges the tradition of portraiture with 21st century youth culture. For Grusenmeyer it was simple: “As an oil painter, I picked up a camera to have my own references for my paintings. The further I got into the editing process of a photograph for a painting, the more I became interested in perfecting the photograph. I found I could transform a digital image that could rival anything I could paint with a brush on a canvas. I still continue to paint on a large scale canvas, but photography is my preferred outlet of artistic expression.”

    Inspired by the style of Sans Christian, anime-like figures with large eyes and pouty mouths, Grusenmeyer prefers her photographs to appear “glassy and plastic.” She cites other artists as inspirational, “artists like Alvarado, Gottfried Helnwein and Loretta Lux.”

    Grusenmeyer captures the personality of a subject, but not within the traditional timelessness of an ethereal mood. Instead, the result of her work has a sense of immediacy. In her humorous portraits, her strength as an artist is within the comedic moment captured in the photo shoot — within that moment a truth is captured. To be able to click her camera on the right moment, she orchestrates the setting and individuality of her subject.

    Grusenmeyer shared, “I’m at a point where I really want the person’s personality to10-01-14-galery-208-1.gifcome through in the portrait instead of the person just sitting there trying to look posed and in control.” 

    The staged portraits by Grusenmeyer appear candid while at the same time theatrical. Emotionally insightful, Grusenmeyer can make us feel as if we know the person in the photograph, or maybe we know someone like that, or maybe she captures how each of us has felt in a silly moment. Whatever the magic that takes place, it’s easy to feel good or light hearted after viewing many of the portraits.

    Grusenmeyer’s skill is more than her ability to capture the subject in a way that we feel like we have connected to a stranger; it’s more than appearance, we feel we know something about the subject’s temperament when she captures a moment of surprise. Each time I revisit a portrait, the surprise continues and I somehow connect to a larger pop-culture reality.

    Although many of her portraits are comical, visitors to the gallery will also see another approach to the portrait by the same artist. Included in the exhibit are photographs from a different body of work: the subjects are somewhat listless, yet still caught in a monumental photographic moment, a time element is present.

    In the photograph titled “Affliction,” Grusenmeyer presents us with the close up of a young female face. The eyes are large and watery, th10-01-14-gallery-208-2.gife white pancake makeup is wearing off her skin, and painted stripes of a rouge color are cakey and streaked. The individual looks directly at us. We are transfixed between focusing on the eyes and the pattern of the rouge streaks; both demand our attention first.

    In “Boy with Cig,” a beautiful male youth looks off to the side of the picture frame, long wavy light brown hair, a cigarette behind his ear, his expression somewhat of a sneer. Wearing a dated green airborne military uniform, we know he is too young to be in the military; yet we are left to question the portraits meaning. Has Grusenmeyer portrayed him to personify innocence in harm’s way? Whatever the meaning, the artist leaves us with our own interpretation of beauty and a state of being.

    “Obscure” is probably the most commercial image in the exhibit in that the portrait is a cropped close up of another female face; the features are heightened to point of being similar to an anime image. Oversized brown watery eyes peer out from behind a black, lacy mask. The crescent shape of her nose ring brings our eyes back up to her eyes, the visual weight of the small black heart shaped painted on the lips direct us back to the bottom of the image.

    As a photographer, Grusenmeyer has been receiving lots of local attention. Besides her many commissions for portraits, she was featured on the cover of Fayetteville Friction, a local independent newspaper, with a two page interview in the August 2014 edition. Grusenmeyer was invited to participate in the present exhibit at the Fayetteville Arts Council, Mediating Relevance: the Politics of Gender.

    To understand what I am trying to describe, visitors will have to see the work for themselves. Making the Ordinary Extraordinary, an exhibit by Sarah Grusenmeyer, opens at Gallery 208 on Oct. 9, between 5:30 to 7:00 p.m. — the public is invited. Making the Ordinary Extraordinary will remain up at Gallery 208, at 208 Rowan Street, until the first week in December.

    Photos:  “Boy With Cig” above and “Affliction” to the left are on display at Gallery 208.

  • Keeping Athletes in the Game

    Fall is here, and for many people that means one thing: football. Whether it is tuning in for Monday Night Football, College Game Day or the local Friday night lights, one thing’s for sure; it wouldn’t be a game without a good tackle. You know; the ones that make you say “ouch.” If it’s not on the field with the Cape Fear Heroes Arena Football team or in the rink with the Fayetteville FireAntz Hockey team, there is plenty to do to protect local middle and high school athletes from injury. And while rehabilitation is important, so is ensuring that young athletes are prepared for their return to sport.

    10-09-13-to-your-health.gifAn injury is a devastating blow to a young athlete with aspirations of college play, and for many athletes, return to sport after an injury seems an impossible feat. Take Anthony, a senior and starting running back at Pine Forest High School in Fayetteville, for example. He loves the game, and has been playing since he was eight years old. Last fall, Anthony suffered a season-ending injury during the third game that forced him to watch the remaining season from the sidelines. He sustained a severe foot fracture that required surgery, followed by several months of physical therapy (PT). Anthony needed physical therapy to rehabilitate from his injury, and like many patients, wasn’t sure what to expect: “I had no idea what I would be doing,” he recalls. Anthony’s rehabilitation focused on returning to his prior level of function, with sports-specific training to prepare him to return to football. Anthony’s PT was overseen by a doctor of physical therapy as well as a certified athletic trainer, who saw to it that Anthony returned to football better than he left it: “PT is all about working to get back to where you were, but it got me further,” he said. “Now I’m better than I was … I’m much faster, quicker and stronger, and that was the PT.”

    Anthony’s story is like countless others who have been injured during play, but the difference between good and great outcomes lies in perseverance. Instead of giving up and giving in, Anthony worked tirelessly to ensure he was standing beside his teammates as a starting running back on the varsity football team this year. If you find yourself with an injury of your own, whether from playing your favorite sport or while out for an evening stroll, the rules are the same. To endure, you must be dedicated and determined, and allow the injury to inspire your improvement physically, mentally and emotionally. It is important for patients to become a part of their own recovery: so be in control of your healing, set goals, plan for setbacks, and know how to handle them. An injury can slow you down and limit what you can do on the field, but don’t let it be the reason you give up; don’t let it keep you out of the game.

    Photo: While injuries are a fact of life for many athletes, with good care and hard work these can be overcome.

  • uac101613001.gif Twenty years ago this month, Jan Johnson and Pat Wright were employed at Fayetteville Technical Community College. They did videography work for the school, and after several people asked them to do projects for them not associated with the school, they decided to venture out and, in their words, “stick their toes into the water and start moonlighting.”

    It wasn’t long after that, that they opened their first office in their home on Oct. 12, 1993. Johnson had young children at the time, and found the convenience of working at home to be beneficial. Their business quickly took off, and, after seven years, they had outgrown their home office and began looking for new digs for their growing company, Moonlight Communications.

    The pair found their place while doing what they do best, making videos. They were hired by Robin Kelly-Legg, then the director of the Old Fayetteville Association, to follow Robert Marvin, the designer of the Marvin Plan to revitalize downtown, to other city’s that had successfully revitalized their downtowns. Footage from the visits became the video that really ignited the fire of revitalization of downtown when it was shown to the city council and community leaders at the Crown Arena.

    “I guess you could say we drank the Kool Aid and started looking for buildings downtown,” said Johnson.

    They were encouraged in their decision by Eric Lindstrom, local architect and one of the first people to move into downtown at the start of the revitalization. Their opportunity to move downtown came four years later in 1999.

    “All good things come to those who wait,” continued Johnson. “When we bought our building in 1999, you could have fired a gun through downtown and not hit anybody.”

    The building they purchased was the original home of the Rainbow Restaurant, which is now located on Ramsey Street. According to Wright, who researched the building in great detail, the restaurant opened in the building in 1937 and moved out in 1974. The building stood empty for 25 years waiting for someone to restore it.

    Lesser women would have run screaming from the job, but Wright and Johnson embraced it. A lot of the old historic buildings had burned down during the derelict years. Homeless people would go inside the buildings and start fires in them for warmth. The floors of the Rainbow building had burn marks, but fortunately the building remained largely intact.

    Every weekend for a year, the two would put on their work clothes and their masks and grab their tools and head downtown. They applied for and received state and federal historical tax credits to rehab the building. Those credits put exacting demands on what could and could not be done. Great attention to detail was important in order to maintain the historical integrity of the building. The three-story building had structural damage, and in fact, the floors in the back section of the building had collapsed. The enterprising women painted lines on the floors to indicate the sound paths they could follow while working. They would carry the debris from the front of the building and pour it two floors down to the ground floor.

    They completely gutted the structure and were amazed at the beautiful pieces of the building they uncovered as they tore away years of construction. They were not alone in the project, as is the case in all that they have done, they are quick to call attention to the people who helped them along the way. Lindstrom and Greg King, another downtown dweller, were on speed dial and always available to lend them a hand. Lindstrom was of particular importance because of his building knowledge.

    “We would call and he always helped us out,” said Wright.10-16-13-cover-story-1.gif

    After pouring blood, sweat and tears into it, the two ensured that the building was put on the National Registry of historic buildings. With that designation, it cannot be torn down. It cannot be altered. This is important to the two, who are members of Preservation North Carolina.

    “We take the preservation of these old buildings very seriously,” said Johnson. “We love these buildings and what they represent. So many of them have been lost.”

    The three-story building is a multi-use structure. The third floor is a rental loft, the second floor is home to their business and the first floor houses The Rainbow Room, which is an event facility. Initially the bottom floor was to become retail space, but after 9/11, business stalled and the two decided to create another business.

    “We made it affordable for people to come downtown and have parties. We brought a lot of people downtown to use the facility and while they were here, they saw all the other things downtown had to offer like the Cameo and Pierro’s. People started seeing that things were changing downtown.”

    By creating businesses downtown, the two felt they gained credibility with their downtown neighbors.

    “They saw that we were not just here to make a living, but rather we were going to put our money where our mouths were,” said Wright.

    The two proudly look at the changes downtown and are happy to be a part of it. They see downtown on a constant upward trajectory.

    “It’s unbelievable the amount of money that has been invested in downtown,” said Wright. “The way a downtown grows is by making changes in its businesses. The core businesses remain, while other businesses may change, but there isn’t a vacuum.”

    They had an opportunity to change the course of another old building when what is now known as Skyview on Hay came available. The building, located on the Market House end of Hay Street, had been a series of bars before the ATF closed it down. Wright and Johnson had looked at the building earlier, but the price was not right. With its closing, the building came back on the market, and as they have seen repeatedly, everything came together to make it a viable possibility.

    The building, which was initially constructed as a BB&T, had fallen into disrepair. The architectural qualities, which had defined the building when it was first built, had been covered up and hidden from sight. As was the case with the Rainbow building, the duo did a lot of research finding pictures of the original interiors of the building in order to bring the building back to its former glory.

    “The building was built in 1965 and it was an absolutely gorgeous place,” said Wright. “It had been used for a number of businesses, but most recently was operated as a series of bars.”

    Johnson and Wright understand the importance of mixed use downtown and the importance of entertainment venues, but they are also advocates of responsible business ownerships and community partnerships. That wasn’t the case with the bars that operated in the building. They saw the effects of the bars on downtown with fights in the parking lots, beer cans littering the street and graffiti on their beloved historic buildings.

    “It was really destroying the feeling of security that we cherish in downtown,” said Johnson. “One night an alarm went off in the Rainbow Room, and we came downtown and there were police everywhere and people pouring out of the bars, fighting.”

    Shortly after that, the ATF shut down the bar in 2009 and the ladies purchased the building on July 1, 2010. Unlike the previous rehab, they paid others to do the work, but they lovingly oversaw it and faithfully restored it to the way it had been when BB&T operated in it. The restoration took about eight months and included putting new roofs on three sections of the building, scraping black paint off of the skylights, tearing down drywall that covered beautiful wood work and classic glass work.

    Three months into the process of the turning the establishment into another event facility, they had already booked their first event. They noted that the people throwing the party were so impressed with what had been done at that point that they booked the unfinished facility. The first event was on Feb. 11.10-16-13-cover-story-2.gif

    The three-story facility is divided into several event spaces, with three catering kitchens. The first floor is divided into two separate meeting spaces, with the main ballroom facing Hay Street. The second floor has several smaller meeting spaces. A signature component of the facility is the Zen garden, which ties the front portion of the building with the back. The garden, which was an original feature of the building, was lovingly restored by Wright and Johnson.

    Earlier this year, the third floor was opened as Level 3, an offshoot of Moonlight Communications. The state-of-the-art video studio is a multi-use facility that complements their professional business, but also their event business.

    “It’s the only studio of its kind in the city,” said Wright.

    The partners considered themselves blessed in that their profession enables them to tell the community’s story, but that their passion also helps them shape their community.

    “One of our mottoes is to think and dream big,” said Wright, reflecting on the past 20 years of business and downtown preservation. “You never know what the universe will put in your path, you’ve got to be open to it..”

    Photo: Jan Johnson (left) and Pat Wright (right) stand in front of Skyview on Hay one of the two buildings they have renovated. The Rainbow Room (opposite page) was their first.

  • The Evolution of the Paul H. Thompson Library10-23-13-ftcc.gif

    Since the mid-1800s libraries in the United States have successfully operated under the model of book and information providers for the masses. To his enduring credit, Melvil Dewey is widely considered the father of the modern library. Fulfilling a unique mission, community college libraries are not giant tombs of millions of books waiting to be used. We are required to be more nimble, and our strength rests in our dexterity, not rigidity.

    At Fayetteville Technical Community College, the mission of the library, including its current evolution, has always been student and faculty focused. The library’s ability to adapt over the past 50 years has sustained the informational needs of the first graduating class of 40 students in 1963 through the current 40,000 students today, majoring in more than 200 degree and certificate fields. Built in 1971, the Paul H. Thompson library houses approximately 68,000 books, 32 computers and seating for 155. Through use of the Internet, the ability to deliver scholarly information worldwide 24 hours-a-day to our face-to-face and distance education students is in constant competition with non-academic information sources like Google and Wikipedia.

    Over the past two years, the Paul H. Thompson library floor plan was redesigned, a Discovery Service was established, and a concerted effort to turn over the print collection was initiated. Creating an atmosphere conducive to study was behind the effort to replace all of the furniture, brighten the lighting, introduce wireless computing and printing, and transform the facility into a collaborative environment where students and faculty can build upon FTCC’s foundation.

    FTCC is proud to be the only North Carolina community college with a Discovery Service, which prepares our graduates for the rigors necessary to do world-class research equal to any four-year college or university. The complexity of the modern academic library includes finding information in books, e-books, journals, e-journals, multiple electronic databases, films, audio recordings, maps, photos and archive materials. We decided to partner with the major publishing company EBSCO to establish a Discovery Service. EBSCO Discovery allows FTCC students to search the entirety of Paul H. Thompson Library’s holdings, both print and electronic, with a single search from anywhere in the world 24 hours-a-day. Students on campus, online students studying locally and distance education soldiers as far away as Afghanistan have access to the exact same information through the Library’s website.

    Turning over or modernizing the print collection involves eliminating the outdated and purchasing updated books necessary to support the various curriculums. The Paul H. Thompson Library is two years into a five-year plan which includes tripling the amount of the library’s books by purchasing 120,000 e-books in 2013. These e-books are available to every FTCC student worldwide 24 hours-a-day.

    The future of the Thompson Library is bright as we head toward converting the reference collection to digital in partnership with Oxford University Press, creating the FTCC Digital Archive highlighting our history and investing in a broader array of databases covering every subject area in more depth. Plan a visit to FTCC’s Paul H. Thompson Library soon to see the exciting changes that have been implemented.

    Photo: There are big changes happening at FTCC’s Paul H. Thompson Library.

  • uac103013001new.gif There is a reason that the Holly Day Fair is a family tradition for many in Fayetteville and beyond – many reasons actually. There is the great selection of unique gifts, spending the day with friends and family and the fact that this nationally known event helps the community. Last year the Holly Day Fair netted more than $272,000 and this year organizers hope to top that number.

    For three wonderful days - Nov. 7-10 - The Junior League of Fayetteville will host the 47th Annual Holly Day Fair. With more than 180 vendors from as far away as Maine, Washington, Louisiana, Wisconsin and Texas there will be plenty to choose from whether you are looking for a stocking stuffer, a gift for someone special or a treat for yourself.

    “We are known nationwide,” said Anna Haley, Holly Day Fair chair. “This year we were lucky enough to have more than 400 vendor applications from around the country; we had the difficult task of choosing thebest vendors.”

    For first-timers the event can be a little crazy if they don’t know what to expect, but more often than not, it just takes one trip to the Holly Day Fair for shoppers to get hooked and come back again year after year. After so many years hosting this shopping extravaganza and perfecting the layout and organization of the Holly Day Fair, the members of The Junior League have the set up down to a science. While it does get crowded, the space is well-organized with plenty of volunteers to help direct visitors in the right direction. Haley said that it takes about 115 volunteers working the event to keep things running so smoothly. That includes helping shoppers find their favorite booths and doing what they can to support the vendors.

    “One of the big things I enjoy about the Holly Day Fair is that this is a holiday tradition for much of the community. So many people who come bring their friends and family members with them to kick off the holiday season. Once people come to the Holly Day Fair, they usually come back each year. We have so many friends who have been coming for years and years,” she said.

    There will be many favorites; the tried-and-true vendors that holiday shoppers look forward to seeing at every Holly Day Fair, as well as several new booths. The offerings include everything from flavored honey, flavored balsamic vinegars, food vendors, kid’s clothes and the latest fashions and accessories for adults, kitchen and household items, toys, as well as interesting and entertaining items for men - including many things for sports fans.

    “The Holly Day Fair is a great place to kick off your holiday shopping,” said Hayley.10-30-13-cover-2.gif

    To make a great event even better, the Junior League added a little something to the mix.

    “One of the new and interesting things we are doing this year is on Sunday,” she said. “From 12-3 p.m., we are bringing out Santa. Families can get a picture with Santa and we will print them out right there so you will have pictures ready for Christmas cards.”

    For years the Junior League of Fayetteville has offered gift wrapping at the Holly Day Fair, this year is no exception, but the group is kicking it up a notch.

    “This year we decided we would rather bring in a pro for wrapping,” said Hayley. “We are bringing in Under Wraps to wrap for us. They have everything you could imagine in the gift wrap world – amazing wrapping paper, bags, boxes and trimmings that are just incredible.”

    What started as a craft show featuring only handmade goods 47 years ago has grown to fill the Crown Expo Center for several days each year. Since its inception, the Holly Day Fair has made more than $4 million that The Junior League has generously reinvested in the community. The organization currently focuses on child mental health. In collaboration with several agencies, The Junior League of Fayetteville helped form the Child Mental Health Advisory Board. This year The Junior League of Fayetteville is delighted to announce NC CEED (Center for Economic. Empowerment and Development) as the event’s sponsor. NC CEED started in 1990 as the Women’s Business Center, an organization that collected information about services within the community and connected people with the services that would most help them. CEED’s mission is to promote the growth, productivity and well-being through counseling, education, information and advocacy programs.

    The Holly Day Fair opens on Nov. 7 from 9 a.m. to noon for Super Shopper hours, a time when no strollers are allowed. Super Shoppers pay just $14 to get in and get first peek at all the awesome deals and unique items available. Regular ticketholders pay $9 and are welcome from noon – 8 p.m. On Friday, Nov. 8, the Holly Day Fair runs from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 9, shopping hours are 9 a.m. – 8 p.m. Sunday, shoppers are welcome from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Find out more about the Holly Day Fair at www.hollydayfair.com. Tickets are available at Ticketmaster and can also be purchased at the door.STEPHANIE CRIDER, Editor,

    Photo top right: Vendors offer everything from food and beverages to decorations to clothes, toys and more.

  • 10-08-14-reading-rocks.gifLearning to read is essential and begins long before a child enters school. In the United States an estimated 30 million people over the age of 16 read no better than the average elementary school child, which is why the Cumberland County School System places so much emphasis on literacy and will host its 11th Annual Reading Rocks! Walk-A-Thon on Saturday, Oct. 18 at Festival Park in downtown Fayetteville at 9 am rain or shine.

    “This is our 11th year and our slogan this year is “Celebrating 11 years” and we are proud to say that we have had thousands of walkers every year join us in Festival Park for the Reading Rocks Walk-A-Thon,” said Jody Hawley, Reading Rocks coordinator and executive director of Information Technology and Media Services, Cumberland County Schools.

    “Last year our schools raised more than $200,000 and the money is raised for books and learning tools for our students,” Hawley continued, adding that it brings awareness to literacy and the need for literacy in the Cumberland County School System.

    The ceremony will feature community leaders such as Superintendent Dr. Frank Till, Mayor Nat Robertson, Fayetteville City Council members, Cumberland County Commissioners and school board members. This is significant because it shows that the leaders in the community understand the importance of reading. It gives them each a chance to connect with students and families and let them know that community leaders want students to be successful not just in school but in life, too. Reading is an important part of making that happen.

    “We will present various awards that morning to the elementary, middle and high schools that have the highest donations and that will lead the walk,” said Hawley. “There will be students who will perform our “Literacy Rocks” song.”

    The 1.3 mile walk winds through the scenic, historic downtown and ends on Ray Avenue near Festival Park. Community resource vendors will be at the finish line to offer information and services to students and parents.

    “Our goal is to raise more than we did last year and to have more walkers,” said Hawley. “We are asking again for thousands in our schools and communities around Fayetteville to join us on Saturday, Oct. 18 in Festival Park.”

    All donations are tax deductible and may be designated for a specific school. You may also purchase T-shirts with the Reading Rocks! logo for adults for $10 and for children for $5. The school that sells the most T-shirts will win an award. Gates open at 8 a.m. and the ceremony begins at 8:30 a.m..

    No pets are allowed. For more information, call Hawley at 678-2613.

  • October is an incredible season in our community, and the Dogwood Festival is kicking it up a notch with its Fall celebration at Festival Park.10-15-14-dogwood-festival.gif

    “We’ve always had our Historic Hauntings Hayride, I think this is our 14th or 15th year with that; now we are just expanding,” said Carrie King, executive director of the Fayetteville Dogwood Festival. “We used to do a lot over six nights, three weekends and we are condensing it into one big weekend event. There is so much to do in the Fayetteville area in October, so we are just trying a new approach.”

    The City of Fayetteville, which normally has a haunted house, has asked the Fayetteville Dogwood Festival to spearhead the project so that the city can focus more fully on Christmas in the Park. This year, the haunted house will take the form of an outdoor haunted maze called the LaFayette Insane Asylum. Tickets are $6, or $5 with a canned good donation for local food banks. All proceeds will benefit Fishing to Fight Cancer.

    Another fantastic collaboration affiliated with the Dogwood Fall Festival is the Zombie Walk, which is sponsored by the Rock Shop and the Downtown Alliance. “This year we have worked with them to reroute their walk so that it ends in Festival Park. Before they would go on the walk and end with nowhere to go, now they can eat, drink beer and watch a show,” said King.

    A much-loved tradition that will also make an appearance in the festival is the traditional Historic Hauntings Hayride. Leaving every 30 minutes from 6:30 until 9:30 p.m. each day of the festival, wagons will depart on an hour-long hayride and walking tour. Fayetteville’s surprisingly creepy past is revealed through skilled storytellers and actors along the route. Tickets are $15 and can be purchased at the Fayetteville Dogwood Festival website at www.faydogwoodfestival.com/events/2014/historic-hauntings---haunted-hayrides-.

    Live entertainment is scheduled throughout the event. “The Saturday entertainment is a competition, which starts at 4 p.m. The judges will rate the performers and the winner will earn a spot on the stage in the spring Dogwood Festival,” said King.

    “We are also having a Boo and Brew event sponsored by Bud Light. We will have 10 North Carolina craft beers as well as Bud Light available. Beers are available for purchase for $5 a pint or you can buy a reusable tasting glass for $25 and have as much as you want all day,” said King.

    A new event is the Fayetteville Food Truck Festival, which is the first of its kind in Fayetteville, though the trend is spreading like wildfire across the country. “Lately the food trucks have been very popular, trending, if you will. We are anxious to build on that. In the last year, these food truck festivals have really picked up and we have gone to Raleigh and Durham and worked with their coordinators to bring some food trucks to Fayetteville,” King said.

    Working on this new festival has revealed a great new aspect of the community.

    “When we started planning, we discovered that Fayetteville has an abundance of food trucks, that I wasn’t aware of. So of course we are loyal to our local vendors and are extending invitations for them to participate in the festival. We have been very pleased with the response and expect that this festival will be very well received and that we can build into what we do,” King said. Just a few of the trucks participating are King Creole Truck, Ladybug’s Treats, Curbside Cravings, Captain Ponchos, R Burger and MasterBacon.

    “The Dogwood Fall Festival takes place from Oct. 23 through Oct. 25. Thursday, the festival runs from 6 to 10 p.m., Friday from 6 to 11 p.m. and Saturday from 3 to 11 p.m. The Food Truck Festival is one day only, Oct. 25 from 3 to 10 p.m. The events are taking place in Festival Park is located at 335 Ray Ave. For more information, visit www.faydogwoodfestival.com or call 910-323-1934.

  • 10-22-14-order-up.gifThere’s nothing like wanting food from your favorite restaurant on a Friday evening after a long day of work knowing you don’t want to go and pick it up. Guess what? There is a new franchise in town, OrderUp, that will deliver your favorite restaurant food to your doorstep with a click of your mouse.

    “OrderUp is a marketplace where you can go to view restaurants’ full menus and have delivery options,” said Joshua Hepburn, owner of OrderUp. “Most people only know of one or two pizza places and maybe one or two Chinese places that deliver and that’s pretty much it.”

    But there is so much more just waiting to be delivered to your door.

    OrderUp is a national franchise that Hepburn decided to open after he got out of the military. He came across it in a magazine and decided to do research on it. Hepburn chose Fayetteville because his wife is a native of the city and it is a great opportunity to serve the military population and the local community.

    “I instantly fell in love with the business and brought it to Fayetteville,” said Hepburn. “Every single week we are doing better than the last.”

    The website started with 12 restaurants, now there are more than 20. Some of the restaurants include Hot Diggity Dog, II Brothers, Cupcake Gallery, New China King, Quizno’s and many others.

    “More restaurants are getting on board and it is moving along,” said Hepburn. “The restaurants that I am currently working with love the service and it is really convenient for them.”

    Now what sets OrderUp apart from the other competition?

    “It is the marketing engine that we provide and the convenience of ordering at a one-stop shop,” said Hepburn. “The convenience for the restaurant is that we provide a huge marketing engine that restaurants would have to pay thousands of dollars for if they were trying to do it themselves.”

    The restaurants are willing to work special promos exclusive only through OrderUp. For example, Hepburn is working with Twisters Pizza & Subs to offer a medium pepperoni pizza for just 99 cents.

    How do you place an order? The process is an easy one:

    • Go to www.orderup.com and put in your address.

    • Then click the “find restaurants” button. The restaurants that will deliver to your address will appear.

    • Place your order and it will arrive in 45 minutes.

    “The benefit of our website is that people can go to it and browse as many as 20 restaurants and order delivery in the comfort of their home,” said Hepburn. “To work with the mom and pop restaurants that are over by the hospital, down Ramsey Street or Raeford Road that people don’t know about is a huge opportunity for the customer and the restaurants.”

    Hepburn’s future plans include having more 40 participating restaurants by next year.

    “We will continue to grow and bring new content and new opportunities for the user,” he said.

    For more information about Orderup, visit www.orderup.com.

    Photo: Joshua Hepburn, an Army veteran, wants to bring dinner to your front door.

  • 10-06-2010readingrocks_color_logo_small-1.jpgThere are 88 schools in Cumberland County. That’s 53 elementary schools, 15 middle schools, 14 high schools, one year round classical school and five special schools according to the Cumberland County Schools website. More than 52,000 students attend these schools — 52,187 in fact — and almost half of them (24,271) are elementary school students. You know, elementary school, the place where students not only learn to read, but where they also learn to love reading — and support and encouragement are a key part of that. Well, here in Cumberland County there is plenty of support to go around.

    For the past six years the Cumberland County Education Foundation has partnered with the Cumberland County School System to host the Reading Rocks! Walk-a-thon. The event has grown to more than 15,000 participants and this year event organizers are hoping to see upwards of 17,000 folks filling Festival Park and walking through downtown to support public education, specifically literacy in our schools. “The walk starts at 9 a.m. and everyone gathers in Festival Park beginning around 8 a.m.,” said Cumberland County Education Foundation representative Cindy Kowal. “All 88 schools participate and there are more than 15,000 people downtown for that.”

    This year, there is a new component to the event — a 5k run. The run starts at 7 a.m. at the Medical Arts Building. “We just thought that was a way to kick things up a notch and add another component for folks who are ready to do a little more than walk 1.5 miles,” said Kowal. “We are just adding the 5k which is 3.1 miles. People will run up the hill into Haymount and then come back down and finish at the Medical Arts Building and the Airborne and Special Operations Museum. That way once folks are finished with the run they can go over to Festival Park and participate in the festivities there and cool down and walk with their family or little ones or however they want to do it.”

    Not only is the walk fun and invigorating, it is a way to raise money to support literacy that the whole community can participate in. Unlike other fundraisers out there, 100 percent of the money raised stays in the schools. “It is make it, take it,” said Kowal. “Each school keeps the money they raise — so there is really an incentive. You help yourself. You raise a lot of money, you keep a lot of money.”

    Kowal added that the Cumberland County Reading Rocks! funds are used completely for literacy efforts in the schools. That can be anything from novel sets in the high schools to classroom books for teachers in elementary schools, media center materials — all kinds of things as long as it is about literacy and books.

    Not only is Reading Rocks! a chance to enjoy some family time and get a little exercise, it is for a good cause. It’s for our schools, our kids and the future generations of Cumberland County residents. You’ll be in good company.

    “It is amazing to see how many people from all over the community come out to support this,” said Kowal. “Parents pulling kids in wagons, the high school bands are performing along the route — it really shows you that there is community wide support for public education and that is what is really exciting about it for me. When you see the park filled and you see how many people come out — to know that they came out at the crack of dawn on a Saturday, when that is a busy day for all families, it is a really amazing and very, very motivating experience because you know there is support for public education and literacy in our schools. It is something that everybody just gets behind which is really good.”

    You don’t have to have a student in the school system to donate. Visit http://www.ccedfoundation.org/ for more info or to become a sponsor. To register for the run, go to active.com. To join fun, be at Festival Park on the morning of Oct. 16. There is something for everyone to enjoy!

  • Fall is here and it is time to get out there and enjoy the cooler weather, outdoor activities and fun that abound in10-13-10-trumans-and-pumpkins-only.gif Fayetteville. While the list of fun activities is long, here is one more to add to the category of “not to be missed” events — the third annual Truman’s Pumpkin Patch and Fall Festival at Campbellton Landing.

    Truman’s Pumpkin Patch is designed to make a child’s eyes light up, but more importantly its designed to give families a fun, affordable way to spend the afternoon enjoying nature and celebrating this magical time of the year.

    For $9 per child (parents get in free) there are plenty of activities at the pumpkin patch for your child to choose from. And, each activity will got a long way in burn-ing off some youthful energy and bringing a smile to your child’s face. Parents can take a time out and relax while they watch their kids bounce and tumble in bounce houses and other infl atables. What doesn’t wear out a youngster like jumping and bouncing?

    You can also check out a fi re truck up close and personal, too. The sirens, hoses and gadgets inside will impress the little ones and give them a lesson in safety and com-munity service. Hay rides along the river (weather permitting, of course), offer a chance to enjoy the beautiful scenery along the banks of the Cape Fear River. Truman’s train, face painting, family-friendly entertainment and more round out the adventure at Campbellton Landing. There will be plenty of yummy foods to buy from the concession-aires, too.

    “This is really about the kids,” said Don Dumas, organizer of the event. “They’ve got plenty of room to run out here. As a kid you can’t run at the store, you can’t run in the house, but here there is plenty of room and plenty to do. You can run, you can play in the bounce houses, ride the train... we just really try to make it something the kids will enjoy.”

    Dumas also added that there will be a few new features this year — namely carnival rides.

    “It took a little while to get the rides worked out,” said Dumas. “But we will have even more to do than we have in the past. This is the third year for Truman’s Pumpkin Patch and I think it will be our best year yet.”

    The Pumpkin Patch is open on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sundays from noon to 6 p.m. through the month of October. Included in the price of admission is a free pumpkin to celebrate the harvest season. Sunday, Oct. 31 is going to be extra special because there will be a costume contest. Age groups are 3-5, 6-9 and 10-12. The judging is at 3 p.m.

    “Summer is gone, the weather has cooled off and now it is not so miserable to be outside,” said Dumas. “This is a great place to bring the family, let the kids play and enjoy the cooler weather.”

    If you’ve never been, Campbellton Landing is just across the Person Street bridge on the banks of the Cape Fear River, 1.3 miles from the Market House. Large groups are welcome, call 483-1649 for more information.

  • 10-27-10-kc-now.gifFor the last 35 years the Givens Performing Arts Center, located on the campus of the University of North Carolina at Pembroke, has brought some of the best and brightest in entertainment to southeastern North Carolina. The 2010-2011 season proves to be no exception.

    On Wednesday, Oct. 29, bring your “Boogie Shoes” and “Shake Your Booty” to the disco sounds KC and the Sunshine Band. The legendary disco group kicks off the Nostalgia Concert Series as it performs at UNCP’s homecoming. With sales of more than 75 million records, nine Grammy nominations, three Grammy Awards and The American Music Award, KC and the Sunshine Band is one of the seminal forces in pop. The group pioneered an original funk style that continues to delight old fans and attract new ones into the millennium.Tickets for KC and the Sunshine Band are $40, $35, $20*/$12 child or student.

    On Monday, Nov. 1, the GPAC goes blonde, when Legally Blonde The Musical stops by as part of its national tour. During its run on Broadway, Legally Blonde The Musical earned seven 210-27-10-legallyblondethemusical-small.gif007 Tony Award nominations, 10 2007 Drama Desk Award Nominations and a 2007 Outer Critics Cir-cle Award. In addition, the show received three 2009 Touring Broadway Awards including awards for Best New Musical, Best Production Design and Best Choreography of a Touring Production.

    Legally Blonde The Musical is based on the 2001 movie “Legally Blonde” starring Reese Witherspoon. Elle Woods is a bubbly, popular sorority girl who gets dumped by her Har-vard Law school boyfriend for someone more “serious.” Elle tries to win back him by entering Harvard Law School to obtain a law degree.

    For tickets, call the GPAC Box Offi ce at 1.800.367.0778 or 910.521.6361 or for more infor-mation, visit the theatre website at www.uncp.edu/gpac.

  • 10-31-12-play on colors-exhibit.gifA new exhibition, A Play on Colors, opens Nov. 2 at the David McCune International Art Gallery in the Bethune Center for Visual Arts at Methodist University. The show features handmade felt by Sharron Parker.

    Parker received an undergraduate degree from Duke University and a master’s de-gree from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. She studied education, art and interior design. Parker continued her study in textiles with classes at Penland School of Crafts, where she has returned to teach workshops in feltmaking. Her work has been exhibited throughout the U.S., and under the Art in Embassies Program, has recently been exhibited in Turkmenistan and Armenia.

    Parker began making felt in 1980. She was inspired by 2,500-year-old felts that were found at an archeological dig in Siberia. Her work is primarily focused on color and texture using a tech-nique developed by the artist.

    In nomadic cultures felt is still used today for making things like tents, rugs and even clothes. It is also used in different industries in first world countries. Piano hammers, and timpani mallets use felt in the construction; it is used as a damper to decrease noise vibrations in between the interior of some car panels; hats including fedoras and homburgs are also made of felt. A workshop with the artist will take place Nov. 17 from 10:30 a.m. until 4 p.m. For information on fees and registration, contact Executive Director Silvana M. Foti at 910.GALLERY or 910.425.5379. Registration for the workshop is limited to 12 participants.

    Methodist University is an independent, four-year institution of higher education with more than 2,400 students from 41 states and 53 countries. Methodist University offers more than 80 majors and concentrations, 100 clubs and organizations, four master’s degree programs and 19 NCAA III intercollegiate sports. For more information, please visit www.davidmccune-gallery.org or www.methodist.edu.

    There will be an opening reception from 6 to 8 p.m. at the gallery Nov. 2, which is free and open to the public. Afterward, the exhibit will run through Dec. 12 during regular gallery hours. This semester, the gallery is open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday-Friday, noon to 4 p.m. on Saturday, and by ap-pointment. There is no cost to visit the gallery.

  • Gasp!! The Arts Council of Fayetteville and Cumberland County is celebrating the festive late October season with a competition titled A Sense of Horror and a small solo exhibit by photography and film artist Joshua Yates. Opening during 4th Friday, the juried competition and Yates’ exhibit is in the spirit of the macabre — weird, creative, campy, eerie and one very large hairy spider!10-30-13-gasp.gif

    Yates, originally from Fayetteville, now living in Iowa while working on his master of fine arts, was invited to exhibit some of his photographs and one of his short films in conjunction with the A Sense of Horror competition. A perfect match for the theme of the competition, Yates’s work is exquisite horror.

    Yates is exhibiting six photographs; his small group of works is titled The Bags, Probably 1971. His collection includes individual family members eerily staged, paper bags over their heads; the photographic negative is scratched to create an element of time, perhaps a frozen moment from an old movie projector? After viewing Yates’ six photographs, visitors are invited to sit down and watch his exquisitely haunting six-minute film.

    No amateur here, Yates’s film/video work and photography have been shared internationally in film festivals, photo publications and fine art exhibitions. Recent screening spaces include the Portland Underground Film Festival, the Indie Grits Film Festival and the Virginia Film Festival. His photo work will be published in a forthcoming book curated by Photographer’s Forum Magazine. Last summer, Yates spent 10 days in Haiti photographing a feature-length documentary exploring the country’s culture of resistance and thriving rural voodoo practices.

    To understand the work of Joshua Yates, his artist statement gives us more insight into the why of his artistic process: “I am interested in recreating the emotions triggered and innumerable questions raised by once lost or hidden, but now found, objects. If we live on in what we leave behind, what do these resurfaced, but not necessarily welcomed, artifacts represent? The Bags, Probably 1971 is a visual manifestation of this curiosity.”

    The larger exhibit at the Arts Council was a call for art for A Sense of Horror. Mike Romagano, a fine art instructor at Fayetteville Technical Community College, was selected to jury the competition. After selecting 43 works for the exhibit, the exhibit ranges from highly skilled techniques to a relaxed play of patterns, abstraction and fun interpretations of skeletons, ghouls and ghost-like images.

    Romagano has his definition of what horror is and what he was looking for to reflect that vision.

    “I think the exhibit highlights the gamut of the eerie, surreal and the frightening. I selected works that best demonstrate something alien and remote, evidence gathered from murky, unknown corners. Horror is something that should not be and strikes at our rational understandings. It should leave an impression on our brains, and reverberate long after exposure. Works were also selected that demonstrated refined technique and cleverness of media application, as well as content, I thought fit the archetypical horror venues,” he said.

    10-30-13-gasp-2.gifFor her highly detailed scratchboard drawing, Ashley Thompson earned the Best in Show award for her work titled “Wolves and the Babe.” Playful and yet a sinister scenario, two wolves are placed in an interior room searching an empty baby’s crib. Viewers are left to determine their own ending for the narrative Thompson presents.

    Charles Wiltse, Kevin Gregory and Dorota Quiroz all earned excellence awards for their entries. Wiltse for his large abstract painting titled “Red Biomorphic,” Gregory for his color interpretation of a mad scientist titled “Mad Science” and Dorota Quiroz for her small ink drawing titled “A Nightmare.”

    A large spectrum of styles and subjects, I feel as if visitors to the exhibit will find some works they appreciate. For example, the digital photograph by Eddie Collins is exquisitely eerie and beautiful. In the work titled “She Still Dances,” a strong directional light passes across the dance stage; a soft spotlight reveals the poised dancer is actually a ghoul — a stunning ghoul.

    Eric Longley’s print, “If One Lets Go,” is also open to interpretation. Longley juxtaposes a silkscreened line drawing of a stylized heart muscle, the shape of a silhouetted figure with a target and three air-brushed black splats for viewers to deduce meaning.

    There are lots of interpretations of stylized skulls and skeletons, but Stephen Heen’s two watercolors are unusually eerie. Stylistically fresh in watercolor fashion, we peer down, what appears to be Hay Street; the Market House looms sinister against a blue sky. Each watercolor exudes something highly sensitive, something special and something foreboding.

    Two exhibitions in the same venue and, as always, there is no charge; there is still time to see A Sense of Horror and The Bags, Probably 1971 since they will remain up until Nov. 16. If you need information on the exhibits and upcoming events, call the Arts Council at 910-323-1776 or visit the website www.theartscouncil.com.

    Photos: Top right; The Bags, Probably 1971" is a work of art by former Fayetteville resident, Joshua Yates. Bottom left; “Wolves and Babes” by Ashley Thompson took the Best In Show Award.

  •  

    46Gavin ChavisGavin Chavis

    Terry Sanford

    • Football

    • Senior

    Chavis has a 4.5 grade point average. He’s a three-year starter on the Terry Sanford football team and a captain. He’s the student body parliamentarian for the Student Government Association, a member of National Honor Society Leadership and a volunteer for the Fayetteville Animal Protection Society and Alma Easom Elementary School.

     

     

     

    47Emily BreseeEmily Bresee

    Gray’s Creek

    • Volleyball

    • Senior

    Bresee has a 4.0 grade point average. In addition to volleyball, she’s active in the Student Government Association, National Honor Society, Academy of Scholars and the FayettevilleCumberland County Youth Council.

     

  •  

    45EarlVaughanThere’s one week of play left in the football regular season. After that, for at least one week and maybe more, football teams from Cumberland County that qualify for the state playoffs will be in action.

    Meanwhile, on Oct. 30, official practice sessions began for winter sports teams at N.C. High School Athletic Association schools in the county.

    We’ll be facing a similar situation in the spring, when conference basketball tournaments will still be in progress while spring sports teams start practice Feb. 14.

    For years this has been a headache for coaches and administrators, especially in smaller schools where athletes are often shared between sports teams and there is sometimes competition for use of facilities for practice. The NCHSAA recently made some major changes in its off-season practice rules, allowing coaches in most sports greater freedom to work directly with their athletes when their sport is out of season.

    This was a wise decision, and it will help keep athletes under the supervision of high school coaches and less in the hands of non-school coaches who may be less worried about academic success for athletes. Now the NCHSAA needs to take the next step in this process and do something to cut down on the overlap between the seasons.

    If we’re going to allow coaches to work with athletes more in the off-season, let’s take advantage of that. Do we really need the extra time to get a team ready for play if the athletes are being coached up more frequently?

    I don’t think so.

    I’ve felt for the longest time that we could delay the start of basketball season until after Thanksgiving. That still gives you nearly three weeks in December to start the season before Christmas break sets in.

    As for winter, there’s no reason not to delay the start of spring sports until at least the week of the state basketball tournament, which this year falls on March 10.

    Both basketball and baseball are sports designed for multiple games in a week. If you include an occasional Saturday game, you can spread the competition out over a six-day period, which would make it fairly easy not to schedule consecutive games.

    In the case of basketball in particular, this would allow coaches to develop depth and prepare their teams for the tournament run later in the season when they play multiple games in a week.

    I see these changes as a win-win for the sports that are in season. Cutting down on having to schedule basketball games in the early weeks of November while some schools are still in the football playoffs would eliminate the need of moving a basketball game when it conflicts with an unpredictable state playoff game.

    The bottom line is, if we’re holding regular practices in the off-season, it shouldn’t take a coach that long to get a team into playing shape when the time comes.

    I think it’s time to give this serious thought, and I hope coaches and athletic administrators will voice this idea to the NCHSAA Board of Directors. It may be too late to consider it at the winter meeting later this year, but there’s plenty of time to get it on the agenda for next spring, and it could be implemented as early as next fall.

    Let’s give this a try.

     

    PHOTO: High School Highlights writer, Earl Vaughan Jr.

     

  • 14The weather may forget every few days, but the calendar says it's officially fall.

    There's just something about the season – the trees we thought we recognized begin to show off with remarkable colors as they work in harmony to create unforgettable sunlight scenes. And the weather.

    I truly love fall weather.

    We begin to feel a certain crispness in the air each morning, while the afternoons remind us to bring a little jacket as the sun begins to set a little earlier day by day.

    Fall is a perfect buffer between a humid North Carolina summer and when winter officially sets in to send us on daily trips to the woodpile.

    The fall weather is more than beauty and comfort, though. It's a sign. A signal to us all that the time for gathering as family and friends is just ahead.

    It's a season for gratitude and thoughtfulness, where the coolness of the air outside is perfectly countered by a warmth that seems to grow within us all.

    We started a new fall tradition in my family a few years ago, and I think it's a good exercise in humility. The gratitude pumpkin.

    Maybe you've done this, too (or at least heard about it.)

    The concept is simple: get a pumpkin, place it where it's easily visible to your family and guests, and use a permanent marker or paint (for the really artsy among us) to write down things you're grateful for.
    It doesn't take long to get past the cool stuff and start writing really simple things like health, family or a home, and that's where the gold is. Realizing how immensely blessed we are in our everyday lives.

    Life — even abundant life — isn't about money or cars or possessions. It's about the relationships we build. It's about the joy we get from or bring to others.

    There is an undeniable joy in the laughter of a toddler, or the tender moments with a newborn. There is cause for joy and much to be thankful for all around us. It just takes us pausing long enough to recognize it.

    The gratitude pumpkin at our house was so filled with the thankful thoughts we wrote on it last year you could hardly tell it was ever orange at all. And that's how I want to live.

    I'm ready for the negativity, and the pain and the ugliness we see in this crazy, divided world to give way to a sense of gratitude for what we have.

    There is freedom in that place. There is joy in that place. And there is love in its truest form in the place where gratitude lives.

    So, consider getting a pumpkin and a marker. Or you can just sit down with a spiral notebook and a pen and begin writing.

    Encourage your children, spouse or people you work with to do the same. Record the things that make you smile. Write down the people who bring you joy.

    Count your blessings. One at a time. It's almost certain you will run of paper (or pumpkin) before you're finished.

  •  

    44Alexa Solorzano

    There are some high school cheerleaders in Cumberland County who are stomping mad. And stomping is at the heart of the issue.
     
    Over the past year, the Cumberland County Schools have had to spend $30,000 to repair aging and damaged bleachers in high school gymnasiums.
    A possible culprit in the problem is a common practice among cheerleaders and student cheering sections of banging or stomping on the bleachers to make noise and build enthusiasm.
     
    When informed of the sizeable outlay of money to fix bleachers that may have been damaged by the stomping, interim county school superintendent Tim Kinlaw went to the senior high athletic directors earlier this year and advised them to end the practice of stomping or banging on bleachers.
     
    When Jack Britt senior cheerleader Alexa Solorzano heard about it, she wasn’t pleased.
     
    “If you take that away it’s like taking the ball out of basketball,’’ she said. “They can’t take it away because it’s tradition.’’
     
    Solorzano started a petition online to convince school officials to allow stomping. As of Tuesday evening, Oct. 24, her petition at thepetitionsite.com had over 5,500 digital signatures.
     
    When told about the cost of fixing the bleachers, Solorzano suggested county schools increase the cost of tickets to basketball games by $1 and use that money to repair or if needed replace any aging bleachers.
     
    Vernon Aldridge, student activities director of Cumberland County Schools, said that’s not as easy as it sounds. “Prices are set by conferences,’’ Aldridge said, noting that the county’s 10 senior high schools compete in two different conferences that include non-county schools.
     
    Other problems with stomping and the bleachers were explained in a letter from Donna Fields, director of operations for the Cumberland County Schools, to another cheerleader. Fields noted that damaged bleacher seats are a safety hazard, Aldridge adding that in extreme cases someone could fall through a weakened board to the gym floor.
     
    There are some states, including Georgia and South Carolina, where stomping on the bleachers is banned entirely. Fields said she attended one game where a visiting cheerleading squad was escorted out of the gym for stomping.
     
    As far as options for making noise, the rules of the N.C. High School Athletic Association and the National Federation of State High School Associations limit what cheerleaders can do.
    The NCHSAA handbook bans everything but non-electronic megaphones at indoor athletic events. National Federation rules put additional restrictions on when music can be played and on when and what the public address announcer says.
     
    If the end result is no stomping, Solorzano fears many people will be upset.
     
    “There are a lot of cheers that help the basketball players do better,’’ she said. “Cheerleading is just as important as any other sport.’’

    PHOTO: Alexa Solorzano

     

  • 13The first historic proof of dance came from wall paintings in a 9000-year-old cave in India and was with us before written language. For thousands of years dance has been present in celebrations, entertainment, ceremonies and rituals and has evolved through the centuries in many forms.

    There are historians that believe social dance is one of the essential factors of development in early civilization. Watching a baby or toddler move to the beat is a prime example of how dance could have evolved before written language.

    The benefits of dance can help with weight loss, flexibility, balance, reduce stress and has no age limits young or old. Your style of dance may be swaying to a favorite song while you’re driving, dancing around the house or rocking those moves on a dance floor. Wheelchair dance is popular in over forty nations with styles ranging from ballroom to line dances and is becoming an International Paralympic Committee Championship Sport.

    Another benefit of dance is how it makes us feel. It is a powerful expression that grabs us with inner light, speaks to our creative outlet and makes us happy.

    It is an expression of movement with music that speaks a universal language and for the enthusiast requires no special skill, experience or form.

    We enjoy dance in countless styles and enjoy watching others dance.

    Recently I attended a Mick Jagger concert. The man is a phenomenal entertainer and at seventy-eight commands the stage of someone more than half his age.

    We all take memories from a concert and for me it was the way he moved on stage. Jagger has a choreographer, trainer and his exercise regimen consist of dance, kick boxing, Pilates, yoga and running. He isn’t the only one. Goldie Hawn strives to dance or do some form of exercise every day for a set amount of time or in intervals and is the epitome of someone that dances like no one is watching.

    Age is certainly limitless with ninety-five-year young Dick Van Dyke who exercises his abdominals, legs and more. A quote from Dick Van Dyke is exemplified by his lifestyle. He has no plans to slow down and looks forward to being one-hundred years old.

    “All you old guys out there, listen to me. You can go on for a long time. I’m still dancing and singing.”

    It can be easy to say that celebrities have the benefit of a personal trainer. The common factor is that the love of dance and music is universal without celebrity status or a trainer.

    My mother and aunt were dance instructors, and my family seems to have inherited the dance gene.

    Mother enrolled me in ballet classes at an early age and growing up I loved the old movies with Ginger Rogers, Fred Astaire and later the more pronounced dancers with gyrating moves such as Hawn, Ann Margaret, Tina Turner and Elvis Pressley. Michael Jackson is an all-time favorite and of course there are the inspiring movies like Dirty Dancing and Flash Dance. I love to dance and when the music starts there is a driving energy in me to hit the dance floor and feel the beat!

    Dance classes are popular for ballroom, Latin, Shag, line dancing or Zumba group fitness classes. Have you ever noticed people just about running to the dance floor for a popular line dance?

    Be the one who enjoys dancing like no one is watching socially, or at home or in a class. Live, love life and reap the benefits.

  •  

    43Grays Creek soccerWhen the Patriot Athletic Conference was formed, Gray’s Creek found itself as the relatively new kid on a tough boys’ soccer block that included successful programs at Terry Sanford and Pine Forest.

    But when the smoke cleared from the regular season, it was Gray’s Creek on top of the pack by the slimmest of margins, headed to the state 3-A playoffs as the No. 1 team from the new nineteam league.

    Asked what the key to success for this year’s team was, head coach Bryan Pagan quickly pointed to chemistry.

    “It was a little bit of an issue for us at the beginning of the year,’’ he said. “Slowly but surely, we started putting our tightness together.’’

    Unfortunately, as the team started stringing wins together, Pagan found himself with another problem. “When you start having wins and success, it’s hard to keep teenagers focused,’’ he said. “We had a couple of hiccups with losses, but I’ve been really proud of a lot of the leadership and composure we’ve had this year.’’

    Two of the younger leaders on the team have been junior Hayden Diaz and freshman C.J. Eley.

    Diaz leads the Bears in scoring with 26 goals while Eley has 11.

    “Hayden has come a long way,’’ Pagan said. “He started out playing defender, and he has gradually moved himself up the field. He’s a very quick, strong kid able to take people off the dribble and get a lot of opportunities for us.’’

    At 6-foot-3 inches, Eley is unusually tall for a soccer player. He brings a physical presence to the team that has been a big asset. “That helps with set pieces and corner kicks,’’ Pagan said of Eley’s height. “He’s been able to find the back of the net quite a bit this year.’’

    Like his coach, Diaz said chemistry has been a big factor in the Bears’ success. “Everybody hangs out with everybody,’’ he said. “We joke with each other and have fun with each other. To have that chemistry on the field shows.’’

    Eley said the Bears felt a little intimidated early on, but it didn’t last. “As soon as we got into the swing of things, we got comfortable,’’ he said. “We just stayed determined and worked hard and wanted it more than the other teams.’’

    Gray’s Creek was assured the Patriot Conference’s No. 1 berth in the state 3-A playoffs regardless of how it fared in last week’s conference tournament.

    Now that the Bears are in the postseason, Pagan said maintaining composure is crucial.

    “We’ve emphasized it all season,’’ he said. “There are going to be times you’re down. The first three or four games we were down and came back and won. From that point on, I didn’t see a lot of us being down.

    “For us to be successful, we’ve got to keep organized and make sure we’re not giving up silly goals. We’ve got to make sure we’re able to react.’’

     

    PHOTO: L-R: Hayden Diaz, Coach Bryan Pagan, C.J. Eley

     

  • 02America’s chattering classes are yakking up a storm as election year 2022 looms. It will be a big year with a U.S. Senate race in North Carolina as well as the U.S. House, the General Assembly and a host of local offices.

    Queues are already forming — some on the downlow — for the 2024 Presidential race, and to top it all, the redistricting that comes after every U.S. Census will change the political landscape in many of those contests.

    Local analyst, commentator and activist Troy Williams published an op-ed in the Fayetteville Observer earlier this month. Using 2020 census data, Williams points out that Fayetteville’s self-identified white population has declined from 64% in 1960 to 34% in 2020, with 11% of that decline in the last decade, meaning that Fayetteville is now a majority black city.

    He also notes that our community has more black elected officials, including our mayor, a majority of the city council and local judges than in recent memory.

    He asks the question, is “white flight” affecting Fayetteville?

    The U.S. Census does not answer that question.

    No agreed upon definitions of black or white exist — we all identify ourselves.

    And to muddy the waters further, the U.S. Census Bureau has more boxes to check than in earlier censuses including the 1960 one, so we are comparing apples and oranges about who is moving and much less why.
    The reality is that there are probably as many reasons for moving as there are people making that decision.

    Williams rightly observes that the people who are moving, for whatever reasons, are taking their assets and taxable property with them.

    That means that without comparable or more resources moving in, Fayetteville’s tax base is reduced which translates into diminished city services.

    On that point, he challenges local leaders to listen to the people they represent.

    “Do they understand that many middle-class families, black and white, have similar goals: newer houses, better schools for their children and attractive environments?”

    To that list, I would add fair and effective law enforcement, all of which goes to the point that we are more alike in our goals and desires than we are different.

    Williams asserts that with elective and appointive authority comes responsibility, and he is dead right on that. Politics has always been and is now a blood sport, not for the faint of heart.

    In addition, widely discussed political divisions of recent years coupled with ridiculously low salaries have repelled would-be candidates at all levels.

    That said, it is incumbent on Fayetteville residents — and every other community — to recruit, support and elect the most responsible, reliable and honest among us to seek public office, including ourselves. Running for public office is not rocket science and serving is a balancing act between competing interests of different constituencies, frustrating and sometimes difficult, generally with no one “right” decision — just many, many shades of gray. In short, neither is easy and both are necessary.

    Democracy, if it is to prevail and there are real threats against it at the moment, demands people of good will and of all colors participate in the political process as candidates, supporters and voters for contests from the Presidency on down to local offices.

    Failure to do so means we have abdicated our responsibility to participate in self-governance, and we will get the government our abdication deserves.

    Chances are excellent we are not going to like it.

  • EarlVaughansmall
    Finally, at the end of this crazy rollercoaster ride in the Patriot Athletic Conference, we’ve reached a point where we can start talking about clinching playoff berths.
     
    Friday’s biggest game without question is E.E. Smith at Cape Fear. It’s no accident Colt coach Jake Thomas sent out an appeal earlier this week asking all former Cape Fear football players to come to Friday’s game and join the current Colt squad to run onto the field through the school’s smoke-filled tunnel prior to kickoff. A glance at the Cape Fear schedule and the Patriot Conference standings shows why. This is Cape Fear’s final regular-season game. The Colts are off next Friday night.
     
    Meanwhile, they are alone in first place going into Friday, a half game ahead of Terry Sanford and Smith. A win drops Smith to two losses in the conference and assures Cape Fear at least a tie in the final standings with Terry Sanford. But if Cape Fear beats Terry Sanford head-to-head, the Colts would clinch the No. 1 state playoff berth in the 3-A classification for the split Patriot Conference.
     
    Speaking of that split, let’s turn our attention to South View at Overhills. Despite last week’s painful loss to Terry Sanford, South View still has plenty to play for tonight. As I mentioned, the Patriot is a split conference with 4-A and 3-A teams. That means there are two No. 1 playoff berths up for grabs.
    To take a step closer to clinching that 4-A berth, the Tigers need to defeat Overhills, which would give them wins over both the Jaguars and Pine Forest, the two 4-A teams in the league.
     
    However, just beating Overhills won’t clinch the 4-A No. 1 for the Tigers. They also have to finish ahead of both Pine Forest and Overhills in the league standings, and they enter Friday tied with Pine Forest at 4-2 in the conference. That means even if South View wins Friday, it could lose to Gray’s Creek next week, while Pine Forest could win out against Terry Sanford and Overhills and still pass South View for the No. 1 spot.
    After Friday night, the focus should be a little sharper.
     
    The record: 69-17
     
    I was overdue to take a picking beating, and it finally came last week with a miserable 5-3 record. The games that burned me were Terry Sanford over South View, Gray’s Creek over Douglas Byrd and Overhills over Westover.
     
    That dropped the season record to 69-17, but I’m still clinging to 80 percent right at 80.2. This week’s schedule doesn’t promise too many breathers, either.
     
    E.E. Smith at Cape Fear – As I explained earlier, this is basically the conference championship game for the Colts. Win this one, and no matter what Terry Sanford does next week against E.E. Smith, Cape Fear clinches a share of the Patriot Conference title and the No. 1 berth from the league in the 3-A playoffs. Jake Thomas and company have been surviving on defense since Justice Galloway-Velazquez went down with an injury. I expect them to do the same tonight.
    Cape Fear 20, E.E. Smith 18.
     
    Westover at Gray’s Creek – The Wolverines have really hit the skids in recent weeks, while Gray’s Creek finally got in the win column against Douglas Byrd last Friday. I still like the Wolverines in this one.
    Westover 21, Gray’s Creek 14. 
     
    Jack Britt at Pinecrest – Britt is in the thick of the chase for second place in the Sandhills Conference and has a monster final game next week with Seventy-First. The safe pick is Pinecrest at home, but I think Britt is peaking with four wins in a row since getting hammered at home by Scotland. I like the Buccaneers.
    Jack Britt 20, Pinecrest 17.
     
    Pine Forest at Terry Sanford – Terry Sanford is still clinging to a piece of first in the Patriot Conference while Pine Forest is trying to hang on to a shot at the Patriot Conference No. 1 4-A berth. The Bulldogs got a big confidence boost with that South View win, and with the raucous support they’ve gotten at home this season, I like their chances against the Trojans.
    Terry Sanford 28, Pine Forest 21.
     
    Seventy-First at Richmond Senior – This is a critical game for both teams in the chase to stay in the top two in the Sandhills Conference. Seventy-First bounced back quickly from the loss to Scotland, and I know the Falcons won’t be overwhelmed by the prospect of facing Richmond on the road.
    Seventy-First 18, Richmond Senior 16.
     
    South View at Overhills – There is no time for sorrows for the Tigers after last week’s painful loss to Terry Sanford. They are still in the driver’s seat to clinch the No. 1 state 4-A playoff berth from the Patriot Conference as explained earlier. I think they’ll regroup and get a little closer to that tonight.
    South View 20, Overhills 16.
     
    Open date – Douglas Byrd.
     
    Other games:
     
    Trinity Christian 22, Village Christian 14.
     
    Sandhills Titans 30, Fayetteville Christian 8.
     
  • 01The Hope Mills political scene is in a state of disarray. Especially with regards to the mayor’s race. It is a near-perfect example of how the threads of selfishness, greed, hypocrisy and personal agendas have become commonplace and interwoven into every aspect of local politics.

    Hope Mills is one of the most desired and habitable communities in Cumberland County. It is recognized as progressive and one of the fastest growing towns in the state. This growth is a product of past decades of competent, responsible and dedicated leadership.

    Yet, regardless of the town's achievements, accomplishments and successes, there are always a few (a very few) disgruntled individuals who insist on placing their personal agendas ahead of the constituents they are supposed to be serving. With the advent of social media, these ill-spirited individuals want to have prominent voices in the future and direction of the Hope Mills community, but without the commitment and responsibility of management that goes along with it.

    Full disclosure, I am passionate about the Hope Mills community. I was a friend and admirer of former seven-term Hope Mills Mayor Edwin Deaver, who passed away in 2016. He was a good friend and a one-of-a-kind character. He graciously loved serving Hope Mills and its citizens. His impact on the town was positive in nature and gentle with a spirited touch of homegrown enthusiasm that can still be felt on Trade Street today. Former Mayor Eddie Dees likewise contributed to the Hope Mills quality of life by keeping the welfare of the residents his highest priority.

    Again, full disclosure, I am a Mayor Jackie Warner supporter. From the start of her tenure, with the help and guidance of a competent board and staff I watched her build and expand on the foundation built by Deaver and Dees. Together, working in cooperation with each other they took Hope Mills to an elevated level of respectability and prestige, both culturally and economically.

    So, one might ask, why all the negativity? And, what can be so bad in a community recognized for being so good? The answer to both is nothing at all.

    What makes it even more interesting and concerning is that the two primary individuals responsible for the negativity are former Hope Mills Commissioner Meg Lawson and current Commissioner Jessie Bellflowers. Both of whom were active in the town's prosperity and growth over several years, working closely with the Mayor, who, by the way, has no voting power or sole jurisdiction over decisions directly affecting the town. Yet these two are leading a cabal of negative criticism against Warner, whose leadership has led the town to statewide recognition and prosperity.

    The next question should be why would they do this? The answer, for personal power and control. Neither Bellflowers or Lawson bring anything to the table that contributes to quality of life in Hope Mills that is not already present; thus, their strategies and platforms all hinge on slander, character assassination and false or misleading information attempting to diminish the accomplishments of Warner. A Herculean task at best.

    This brings me to the most concerning and dangerous aspects of this situation. One of the very first actions Lawson took in her role as a Hope Mills Commissioner was to team up with Bellflowers to cancel a media contract with Up & Coming Weekly. The purpose of the contract was to assist in the creation of a community newspaper for the town of Hope Mills. This partnership with Up & Coming Weekly would have provided the mayor and all Hope Mills governmental departments with a weekly communication with residents, businesses and organizations. A local community newspaper would have been a win-win situation for all concerned. Finally, Hope Mills had devised a plan for a media voice for the sole purpose of informing citizens on town-related news while promoting local businesses and economic development. The Hope Mills commissioners unanimously agreed that the town needed a newspaper and voted likewise. However, Bellflowers, Larson, and their small cabal pursued actions that would stifle free press, free speech and free expression. Not only did they vote to cancel the Up & Coming Weekly contract, but they failed to bring forward any alternative media options or newspaper prospects to fill the void. The newspaper project should have been valued at a quarter of a million dollars yearly. The town’s actual investment? $28,000. It should concern every citizen in Hope Mills that Bellflowers is challenging Warner for the Mayor's seat when he and his like-minded supporters do not support or advocate for local media, transparency in government or free speech. Most recently, Larson submitted a Public Records Request to the town of Hope Mills for all e-mail correspondence between the Up & Coming Weekly newspaper and Mayor Warner and Commissioners Bryan A. Marley, Pat Edwards, and Kenjuana McCray. Why? What are they looking for? Anything that they can use to discredit the mayor and anyone in support of the town creating a community newspaper. After 25 years of publishing, I can assure you they will be vastly disappointed.

    My message to all Hope Mills residents is to beware of anyone in opposition to the free press or government transparency.

    Hope Mills is not located in Russia or China. In America, local communities embrace the U. S. Constitution and our First Amendment rights. Hope Mills residents and voters need to be very cautious and skeptical of people, especially elected officials, who do not support a local free press.

    As a final thought, if you have, or even if you have not, read the most recent Fayetteville Observer article with questions and answers from the two candidates, I suggest you turn to pages nine through ten in this edition of Up and Coming Weekly. Please take a moment to read a unedited, even-keeled comparison of how the two candidates stack up against one another in their own words prior to voting on Nov. 2.

    Thank you for reading Up & Coming Weekly.

  •  

    22Yomar Machin 71stYomar Machin

    Seventy-First • Soccer • Junior

    Machin has a grade point average of 3.36 for Seventy-First. A member of the Falcon soccer team, he has also been a wrestler for the past  three seasons.

     

     

     

     

     

    22Jade Wilds Grays CreekJade Wilds

    Gray’s Creek • Golf • Senior

    Wilds has a 3.88 grade point average. A member of the golf team, she is active in Future Business Leaders, National Honor Society, Girls Expecting More Success, Academy of Information Scholars and Academically or Intellectually Gifted.

     

  • 10 FTCC Library PhotoThe original reason I returned to college at the age of 39 was to finish what I started after completing high school. However, except for finishing and getting a degree, I had no goal—only to finish. But open enrollment to college had its hurdles, and for me, the hurdle was doing well on the assessment test. With no one to turn to, I was somehow led in the direction of the campus library, and had it not been for the librarian who helped me at that point in my life, I would not have begun college and certainly would not have completed college. The librarian I met that day helped me get the resources I needed to do well so I could begin college credit-earning courses.

    That experience drew me even closer to the library environment. I discovered that I wanted to help people succeed with their education as much as I had been helped. Six years later, I changed careers from being a bulldozer operator to becoming a librarian. Now, as the Director of Library Services at Fayetteville Technical Community College, what brings me joy is when a graduating student comes into the library waving their degree and thanking the library staff for their help.

    Helping students succeed is what the library is all about. By continually assessing students’ needs and implementing strategies based on that feedback, we can prepare the 21st century student for the globally competitive workforce.

    The Paul H. Thompson Library recently installed additional study rooms based on student feedback, and the latest innovation is the upcoming Makerspace where students can work individually or meet in groups to collaborate on research projects, class assignments and homework.

    There are now three library locations across Cumberland County that can support FTCC students with library services. Those locations are the Paul H. Thompson Library at the Fayetteville campus; the Spring Lake Campus Branch of the Cumberland County Public Library; and the John L. Throckmorton Library on Fort Bragg. At each location, students have access to print books, e-books, journals, e-journals, multiple electronic databases, films, audio recordings, maps, photos and digital archive materials.

    A wide variety of spaces are available where students can study, conduct research, and read or meet in small and large groups to collaborate on projects. Laptops are also available for checkout for use within the Paul H. Thompson Library reference room and at the Spring Lake Campus branch library.

    All students are welcome to the library to get the help they need to graduate with success. But, they don’t have to come on campus to get the help they need.

    On-campus and distance learners have access to library staff at the Paul H. Thompson Library during business hours by calling 910-678-8247, or emailing library@faytechcc.edu. When the Library is closed, students can contact a librarian by using the online “Ask-a-Librarian ChatNow” button located at https://www.faytechcc.edu/campus-life/library/

  •  

    21Mark Kahlenberg Hope Mills BoostersLongstanding tradition in American Legion baseball will finally change this summer.

    After years of playing by American League rules, the ruling body of the American Legion will let teams decide if they play seven or nineinning games in regular season, but all postseason play will be seven innings.

    In addition, the sport will adopt familiar high school baseball rules including use of courtesy runners for catchers and pitchers and allowing reentry of starters taken out of the game.

    The changes are geared toward making the game more fan- and player-friendly and hopefully drawing more high school players back to the game.

    But some purists aren’t excited about the changes.

    Mark Kahlenberg is coach of the Hope Mills Boosters American Legion team, the last one left in Cumberland County.

    Kahlenberg doesn’t see a point in playing nineinning games during the season if all postseason games will be seven innings. “You’re looking at wasting pitching and longer baseball games,’’ he said of nine innings. “If you’re going to change, stick with seven and make it a rule for everybody.’’

    Kahlenberg liked nine innings because he felt it helped prepare high school players for the college game. But he understands national American Legion leaders trying to change the game to increase participation. “I hope it works,’’ he said.

    21Austin Warren UNCWAustin Warren starred for Hope Hills before moving on to play at Wake Tech and now UNCWilmington. He doesn’t think switching to seven innings from nine will discourage college players still eligible for American Legion play not to want to participate.

    “I thought Legion ball was a pretty good transition for me going to play college ball,’’ Warren said.

    He also thinks the reentry and courtesy runner rules will encourage more participation.

    “I remember when I played: once kids were taken out they were putting on tennis shoes because they knew they wouldn’t re-enter,’’ he said. “Knowing they can re-enter, they’ll stay in the game, stay more motivated.’’

    Veteran Methodist University baseball coach Tom Austin, who coached Legion baseball 15 to 20 years ago, sees the change to seven innings as a benefit for players.

    His son, Jacob, and one of his Methodist players, Matthias Carter, played for the Hope Mills team this past season.

    “I remember driving to Wilmington with Jacob,’’ Austin said. “We wouldn’t get back until after 1 a.m.’’

    For players with summer jobs, Austin can see where nine-inning road games on weeknights could cause a problem getting to work the following day.

    “I don’t have a problem with them going to seven innings,’’ Austin said.

    21Tom Austin Methodist baseballHe thinks the courtesy runner and re-entry rules could pose challenges for Legion coaches.

    “The courtesy runner is an interesting animal,’’ he said. “Now you can specialize your subs and have a kid on the bench who flies. That can change the game.’’

    Re-entry also gives the coach the chance to put a good hitter in the lineup at any point during the contest. “It’s a bookkeeping nightmare, but it certainly has its merits in keeping more kids involved,’’ he said.

     

     

    PHOTOS: (Top to Bottom) Mark Kahlenberg, Austin Warren, Tom Austin

     

  • 01 classroom

    Almost 30 years ago, Cumberland County Schools joined with four other low wealth school systems in a lawsuit arguing that every child in North Carolina is Constitutionally entitled to a sound basic education. The suit asserts our state’s Constitution means all children, not just those living in counties blessed with a solid tax base able to fund public education adequately.

    Equal opportunity was the argument in 1994 when the lawsuit was filed, and it remains the case today.

    In the intervening decades, the original presiding judge has retired, lawyers have come and gone, North Carolina has had six different governors, and the Hoke County student for whom the suit was named has completed high school, both college and law school, and now practices with a Raleigh law firm.It would take more trees than we want to chop down to go through all the permutations — judicial rulings, appeals, reports, commissions and political hot air, that have occurred and all the energy expended since 1994, but here we are heading into 2022, and very little has actually changed.

    Children in wealthier counties — think Wake, Mecklenburg, New Hanover and others — have considerably more and higher quality educational opportunities than children in poorer, largely rural counties. You cannot squeeze blood out of a turnip, and you cannot squeeze tax dollars for education out of businesses and individuals who simply do not have it.

    I have heard it argued that children in poorer counties are even worse off educationally now than they were in 1994, because economic inequity is growing in our nation, not shrinking, and because the General Assembly has since allowed students to opt out of public schools into private institutions, with tuition paid by tax dollars, yours and mine.

    On the long legal trajectory of Leandro, where are we now?

    Last year, the judge now shepherding Leandro through the courts found that despite North Carolina’s clear Constitutional responsibility and various state programs, many students are still not receiving a sound basic education. Earlier this year, the same judge issued an order that the state not may but must, implement the comprehensive education plan agreed to by all parties in 2020. He gave Oct. 18 as the date by which the state is legally obligated to pony up sufficient funding to address educational inequality.

    So, what is the hold up? What is the problem? Why is nothing happening?

    North Carolina has not had an approved budget since 2018. The old budget just keeps rolling over at the same level of spending. Democratic Governor Roy Cooper supports increased funding, but the Republican controlled General Assembly is loath to provide it despite a budget surplus bumping up on $30B — yes, billion.

    There are signs that the Governor and legislative leaders are at least speaking, but as of this writing, no agreement has been reached, so there is yet to be a budget.
    The stage is now set for a legal showdown.Whatever your place on the political spectrum, a generation is a long time to wait for a shot at educational equality. Millions of young students have received less than stellar educations, and they and their communities continue to suffer for it. It is time — past time — for the General Assembly to do its Constitutional duty to provide educational funding for all our children, not just some.

    Mr. Leandro has been waiting so long he grew up.

  •  

    20Fayetteville soccerThis was supposed to be something of a rebuilding year for the Fayetteville Academy boys’ soccer, with a team filled with young players lacking experience.

    So much for lowered expectations. When the seeds for this year’s N.C. Independent Schools Athletic Association 2-A state playoffs were announced, Fayetteville Academy was put at the No. 1 spot with a 15-1-1 record. That mark included a penalty shootout loss to public school power Lee County and a tie with North Raleigh Christian.

    This story was written before the Eagles began postseason competition. By the time it’s published, they’ll hopefully be preparing to advance to the semifinal round of the state tournament.

    Regardless of what happens in the postseason, it’s been another banner year for the Eagles, the result of a familiar formula put together by veteran coach Andrew McCarthy.

    “We always play a tough schedule,’’ he said. “We always want to challenge the boys. They’ve been a very committed group every day at practice.

    “We’ve stressed getting better every game and every practice. We’ve had a few bumps along the way, a few performances that haven’t been as good, but overall they’ve been doing what we’ve asked of them.’’

    An area where the Eagles have been solid is defense. In 14 of their 17 regular-season matches, Fayetteville Academy has allowed one goal or less.

    “It’s not just the back line and the keeper,’’ McCarthy said. “You defend from the front. It’s a team effort by the defenders, and the keeper has been fantastic.’’

    The keeper is Carter Boliek, a senior who took up the position three years ago. “The only thing holding him back was game experience,’’ McCarthy said. “He had all the talent. He’s come up with big saves in big games. If you have a good goalkeeper, you’ve got a good chance.’’

    Boliek said the focus of the Eagle defense has been working hard as a unit and making it harder for the opposition to score.

    “I think everyone on our team has improved exponentially,’’ he said. “We’ve come together and gelled well. That’s led to a lot of team success.’’

    Center back Julian Barbaro credits the good coaching the Eagles get from McCarthy and assistant coach Jimmy Maher. “We’ve all been pretty positive and stayed together,’’ he said. “We’ve spent countless hours on and off the field, talking, staying tougher and helping each other out.’’

    It’s been four years since Fayetteville Academy brought a state soccer title home. McCarthy said the formula for doing it again remains the same.

    “Hopefully we’re well-prepared,’’ he said. “We know the game plan going in, and we do what we need to do.’’

     

    PHOTO: L-R: Julian Barbaro, Andrew McCarthy, Carter Boliek

     

  • 16 group walkingWith the beautiful days and cooler weather, fall beckons us to be outside and walk. The most popular exercise in the U.S. is walking, and a person can average walking 65,000 miles in a lifetime which is equivalent to walking three times around the earth.

    Walking is a minimal impact, moderate intensity exercise and one that you can do alone or socially. Walking can be beneficial for your health, wellness, put less stress on your joints and can be an opportune time to gather your thoughts and clear your mind.

    A good pair of shoes that are not stiff are essential for the flexibility to roll from heel to toe and a good arch and heel support to avoid injuries. If you do not presently have a suitable shoe for walking seek the advice of a professional for proper shoe fit and sock choice.

    Walking is something that is easy to start for a fitness regimen beginning with five to 10 minutes each time you go out and suitable for most fitness levels.

    The average walking time per mile is fifteen to twenty minutes. The three sequences of warmup, walk and cool down are important for best results. Walking with good form can improve your balance, posture and lessen chance for injuries.

    Warmup — Preparation should begin with a warmup of five minutes or more to elevate your heart rate, body temperature, warm your muscles, increase your range of motion and prepare your joints. It should include shoulder rolls, light marching, ankle rolls, flexing and pointing your feet. If you do not have the time to warm up begin your walk slowly and gradually increase your pace.

    Walking — Walk with your shoulders relaxed and down keeping your head up and looking forward. Your hips should shift slightly from side to side swinging your arms and walk with a stride that is comfortable for you while engaging your core. Take your breaths in through your nose and out through your lips in a consistent manner. Allow yourself time to decrease your pace toward the end of your walk to gradually bring your heart rate and breathing down.

    Cool Down /Stretch — Do not
    skip the stretch! A cool down is
    essential for the body’s time to recover, reduce soreness and should include static stretching of your muscles 20 to 30 seconds for each group. Stretches include standing quadriceps, calves, ham strings, hips, glutes and shoulders.

    Add a challenge to your walk — If you have been walking for a while you might want to consider adding a challenge to your walk without increasing your miles and adding more cardio.

    The perceived rate of exertion is a good indicator of your cardio intensity. Level one is ease of conversation, level two is short sentences and level three is your maximum which consist of few or no words.

    Mix up your walk with variety adding these examples: increased cardio burns more calories, swing your arms with more intensity, shave the time off your walk by increasing your pace, increase and decrease your pace in segments. Make a one-month walking plan with variation on the days you walk and a goal. Once you have reached your goal move on to more distance and/or hills.

    Breathe the crisp fall air, enjoy the foliage, stay hydrated before during and after, listen to great music, put your shoes out as a reminder, layer your clothing for cool days, walk against the traffic, challenge yourself, talk about it on social media and keep a journal of your progress!

  •  

    19Bill Sochovka Pine ForestPine Forest football coach Bill Sochovka has an unusual description for the kind of speed star Trojan running back Lavonte Carter displays.

    He calls it “skinny fast.”

    Here’s how Sochovka explained it: “Our holes don’t have to be massive where his complete body has to go through the hole. As long as he’s got a gap, he’s got the ability to get skinny in that hole.’’

    It’s once he gets in the hole that Carter shows his most impressive skill. “As soon as he’s in the hole, he elevates his speed from gear one to gear three quick,’’ Sochovka said. “When he breaks through the hole, he’s already in the secondary before you think about it. He can also slow his pace, get skinny, and then explode into the next gear.’’

    E.E. Smith got a taste of that recently on a late run by Carter that set Pine Forest up for a game-winning field goal.

    That win pulled the Trojans into a three-way tie for first place in the Patriot Athletic Conference with three regular season games left.

    Not a bad rebound after starting the season 0-3 and allowing 40 or more points in two of those losses.

    “Our offense went from sputtering to... putting up big numbers,’’ Sochovka said. “I’m not a real smart guy, but when you have a back who has over 1,000 yards and over 100 per game, you don’t change that.’’

    Through games of Oct. 13, Carter is Cumberland County’s only 1,000-yard rusher with 1,018 yards, 14 rushing touchdowns and 127.3 yards per game.

    19Lavonte Carter Pine Forest“I have a lot to prove,’’ Carter said. He felt the Trojans made a big point with their win over E.E. Smith.

    “Everybody kept doubting us, saying we were going to lose,’’ he said. “We had to prove them wrong.’’

    Solving the early losing streak was a matter of finding chemistry and playing as a team, he said.

    As for the rest of the season, Carter hopes to continue to run like former USC star Reggie Bush did during his college days with the Trojans. “I like the way he cuts, the way he runs,’’ he said. “I compare myself with him.’’

    Like Carter, the Trojans have something to prove in the Patriot Conference. Sochovka hopes they have turned the corner. “I was worried about winning games to keep us afloat,’’ Sochovka said. “The most important thing I was worried about was us coming together. We are getting better very week.’’

     

    PHOTOS: (Top to Bottom) Football coach, Bill Sochovka; Running back, Lavonte Carter

     

  • 03 elk 1Each year the male Elk, called a "bull," will fight another bull to collect a female elk called a "cow" into his herd. When a bully bull threatens a dominant bull, the fight is violent. These fights only have three outcomes: surrender, a tie or a kill. The tie is the most brutal of the battle. The antlers of the two bulls lock together and they cannot get free. Eventually, fatigue leads to collapse, starvation, and finally, death. The other bull may still be alive only to watch his opponent die in his clutches. His end is near and his victory is in vain, but a win is a win.

    That is America these days. During the election, America locked antlers, and America is now fatigued — exasperated by the pressures of inflation, government spending, overregulation, open borders, Afghanistan, increasing taxes.

    At the same time, people are getting paid to stay at home (aka "the Great Resignation”) and COVID restrictions, mandates, bipolar mask rules and rules which make absolutely no sense at all.
    The COVID data shows that the vaccines are working, but the virus is still spreading. The Delta variant has caused new concerns. Hospitals are reporting that most life-threatening cases are in non-vaccinated people.

    Advocates for the vaccine question why people do not want to get the vaccine. On the other hand, many people think it should be their choice. Many people have gotten the vaccine but believe that it is their right to keep their information private and resent the idea of showing a COVID card to go into an event or business.

    On Sept. 9 President Biden announced an Executive Order for mandatory vaccines. He is issuing this order with a needle in one hand, holding a gun to your head in the other while waging war on the Second Amendment. The order lacked details, but behind the scenes, Biden is using the Department of Labor and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to draft an "emergency temporary standard."

    According to news reports, officials said the agency would begin enforcing the rules: collecting reports of violations and sending out inspectors who will be empowered to impose $13,650 fines for violations and up to $136,500 for those that are willful or repeated.

    Biden and his administration are working on implementing his new policies to address some form of a vaccine mandate for employers with 100 or more employees and in most Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) regulated workplaces. This means that if you work at less than 100 employees and your business receives Medicare or Medicaid payments, everyone must be vaccinated or lose that revenue. Military, federal executive branch workers and some federal contractors will be required to have the vaccine. He wants military personnel who refuse to get the vaccine to be dishonorably discharged. That is the discharge usually held for those convicted of murder, treason and other serious crimes. So good luck with getting a decent job with that discharge but thanks for fighting and keeping us safe for all these years. Note: The Legislative branch and Federal Courts are exempt.

    Last year millions of health care workers, teachers and first responders were the frontline heroes of the COVID pandemic. With this Executive Order, these same courageous, frontline workers and millions of others are being told to get vaccinated or LOSE YOUR JOB!

    Now, the government uses employers to be "Great Terminators," the enforcers of his vaccine. As with many socialist countries, starvation will be the root motivator to get you to comply. You will not get unemployment, no insurance, no way to pay your rent or mortgage.

    Here is the potential career-ending question. How is it that some of the most intelligent people in our society (doctors and nurses) choose not to get the vaccine after working in this since the beginning? Is it because they know something we do not? Is it because they have had COVID and have antibodies? Is it because they have been around it so long that they believe they have natural immunity? Is it because they think that medical choices should still be a choice?

    Last month on CNN, Dr. Sanjay Gupta spoke with Dr. Fauci. Dr. Gupta said that a study in Israel showed that natural immunity showed that it was better than the vaccine; Dr. Fauci's response was, "You know, that's a really good point, Sanjay. I don't have a really firm answer for you on that. That's something that we're going to have to discuss regarding the durability of the response … So, I think that is something that we need to sit down and discuss seriously, because you very appropriately pointed out, it is an issue, and there could be an argument for saying what you said."

    Dr. Fauci is the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and the Chief Medical Advisor to the President, and he hasn't studied natural immunity.-Does it seem that my mom knew more about viruses when she sent me down the street to play with a kid who had chickenpox?

    Here are why some people struggle. We have watched Dr. Fauci change his story so many times that if he were in your high school science class, you wouldn't cheat off him because you know he will change his answers.
    Where in the Constitution does it say it is the government's job to keep you safe? If that was the case, they should outlaw cars, cigarettes and the 8,000 other ways a person can die.

    How does this work out? How does a doctor see patients without a staff? Will teachers go to 100 students per class? How do first responders save lives with less people?

    Like the mighty bull elk, the courageous, the cowards and the bullies who are hell-bent on a fight, the government, business and the people are in the process of locking horns with their employees and in the process will kill themselves while winning the battle for the cows, but a win is a win.

  • EarlVaughanI was a guest on The Sports Page with Trey Edge and Bill Boyette this week, the two-hour talk show on WCLN-FM Christian radio 107.3 that airs from 6 to 8 p.m. on Mondays.
     
    The guys asked me if I was surprised there are five teams tied for first place in the Patriot Athletic Conference football standings with three weeks left in the regular season.
     
    The answer from me was no. If there’s one player in Cumberland County who had the potential to separate his team from the pack, it was Cape Fear’s Justice Galloway-Velazquez. His throwing hand injury that could sideline him the rest of the season has pulled Cape Fear back to the rest of the pack and made it anyone’s guess which team has the best chance to take it all.
     
    Based on the remaining schedule, South View has the clear inside track. After a big home game Friday with Terry Sanford, the Tigers finish with Overhills and Gray’s Creek, a couple of schools close to the bottom of the standings.
     
    The second-easiest schedule belongs to Pine Forest, which has tough games with Terry Sanford and Cape Fear and then ends with Overhills.
     
    E.E. Smith, Cape Fear and Terry Sanford all have the toughest routes left. Terry Sanford plays three of the five teams tied for first while Smith and Cape Fear both have open dates and play two of the top five in the final three weeks.
     
    To say the stretch run will be interesting is an understatement. Buckle up for the ride.
     
     
    The record: 64-14
     
    Told you it would be a tough week. I’m not complaining at all to get out alive with a 6-2 record. I’d likely have picked the South View-Cape Fear game differently had I known in advance of the injury to Justice Galloway-Velazquez, but you don’t get mulligans in the prediction business so I have to live with that one. I had a strong feeling E.E. Smith was celebrating too much after beating South View, plus last week was homecoming for the Golden Bulls. That plus the brilliant level of play Pine Forest’s Lavonte Carter has been displaying should have warned me, but I didn’t have the guts to predict the upset.
    Lesson learned.
     
    The season total is 64-14, which is good for 82.1 percent.
     
    Cape Fear at Pine Forest – This is a tough call. Pine Forest appears to be peaking while Cape Fear is trying to regroup from losing quarterback Justice Galloway-Velazquez. I think Cape Fear can still run the football, and the Colts have a better defense than Pine Forest. The Trojans are an excellent running team with Lavonte Carter, but they’re also one-dimensional. I think that will let Cape Fear scheme ways defensively to slow down Carter and pull out a win.
    Cape Fear 18, Pine Forest 16.
     
    Gray’s Creek at Douglas Byrd – The frustration ends for one of these teams tonight. I’ll give a slight edge to Byrd as the home team.
    Douglas Byrd 21, Gray’s Creek 20.
     
    Hoke County at Jack Britt – This should be the last easy win for the Buccaneers before big meetings with Pinecrest and Seventy-First.
    Jack Britt 30, Hoke County 8.
     
    Purnell Swett at Seventy-First – The Falcons quickly bounce back from their loss to Scotland.
    Seventy-First 28, Purnell Swett 7.
     
    Terry Sanford at South View - This is a big one for the Tigers. It’s the toughest game left on their schedule, and a win could almost assure them a piece of the Patriot Conference regular-season title. I give South View a slight edge playing at home.
    South View 22, Terry Sanford 20.
     
    Overhills at Westover – The Wolverines should get back on track this week after some frustrating losses.
    Westover 27, Overhills 14.
     
    Open date – E.E. Smith
     
    Other games –
     
    Trinity Christian 35, Fayetteville Christian 6.
     
    Raleigh Ravenscroft 18, Village Christian 16.
  •     As the political season rolls into the final stretch, Fayetteville State University is going to stir the political waters when they bring two very different political perspectives to Seabrook Auditorium to kick-off the annual Chancellor’s Distinguished Speaker Series.
        {mosimage}On Tuesday, Oct. 14, at p.m., Roland Martin and Michael Steele will face off in “A Spirited Discussion on Public Policy and Presidential Politics.”
        Martin is a commentator for TV One Cable Network, and also host of The Roland S. Martin Show on WVON-AM/1690  in Chicago. He can be heard daily from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. He is also a CNN contributor, appearing on a variety of shows, including Paula Zahn Now, Anderson Cooper 360, Lou Dobbs Tonight, and many others. Roland has recently acted as the fill-in host for Paula Zahn and hosted a CNN special called “What Would Jesus Really Do?” He is also a contributor for Essence magazine and posts a daily blog on Essence.com. 
        An insightful and provocative analyst, Martin has appeared numerous times on MSNBC, FOX News, Court TV, BET Nightly News, BBC News, National Public Radio, The Word Network, America’s Black Forum, American Urban Radio Networks, the Tom Joyner Morning Show and NPR’s News and Notes. His commentaries can also be read on CNN.com. Martin will take the liberal Democrat side of the debate.
        A self-described Lincoln Republican. Michael S. Steele earned a place in history in 2003 when he became the first African-American elected to statewide office in Maryland. His experiences as a successful elected conservative Republican African-American and his engaging speaking style have launched Steele into national prominence. His first major exposure was during an appearance at the 2004 Republican National Convention. Since then President George W. Bush chose Steele to be part of the U.S. delegation to the investiture of Pope Benedict XVI, and Steele has been an entertaining and articulate guest on cable political talk shows such as HBO’s Real Time with Bill Maher and Comedy Central’s The Colbert Report.
        An expert on political strategy, fund-raising, PACs, and election reform, he is the current Chairman of GOPAC. He has served on the National Federal Election Reform Commission and the NAACP Blue Ribbon Commission on Election Reform. As a senior advisor to GROWpac, he advised House Republican Conference Chairman J.C. Watts (R–OK) on strategic and political issues. {mosimage}
        The Distinguished Speaker series is free and open to the public
  • 02 Pitt IMG 8766Remember when Lou Reed sang, “Hey babe, take a walk on the wild side?” Not so much? Is your memory balky? What did you have for lunch yesterday? Remember in your twenties when you wondered what was the meaning of life? Now you just wonder where you parked your car? Is your Remembrance of Things Past getting more difficult? You have come to the right place. Today’s column will help you restore your memory without the use of Prevagen.

    Mr. Science says think of your memory as a bucket. At the bottom of the bucket are your first memories, childhood pets, childhood traumas, first dates, that sort of thing. As you get older more events pile into your memory bucket squashing the long-term memories down at the bottom of the bucket. The new events float on top of the bucket. Unfortunately, long term memories are not infinitely compressible. Eventually the new memories fill the bucket up to the rim and splash out. The old memories remain at the bottom of the bucket and are easily retrievable. The new short term memories splatter onto the floor and can’t be recalled. That is why you can remember the name of your first-grade teacher but can’t remember what you had for lunch.

    Can your fading memory be saved? Read on, MacDuff, have we got a deal for you. Today we are going to literally take a walk down Memory Lane. We go right to the source of all things memory related. We are going to visit the Greek Goddess of memory herself, the right honorable Mnemosyne. This is another one of those irritating columns that explore the curious world of Greek mythology. If mythology is all Greek to you, stick around. You can dazzle your friends if you find yourself on TV playing "Jeopardy" and Greek mythology is the Daily Double. Once you meet Mnemosyne and pay her proper respect, your memories will become shiny and new as a hot Krispy Kreme donut.

    First, some family history for Mnemosyne. Her friends could never remember how to pronounce her name. They just called her Mimi which is what we shall do in today’s lesson. Mimi was born into Greek God royalty; her Baby Daddy was Uranus the God of the sky and her Momma was Gaia the Goddess of Earth. Mimi turned out to be the Goddess of Memory. Mimi got together with her nephew Zeus on Spring Break. Zeus thinking his aunt Mimi might not cotton to sleeping with her nephew, changed himself into a mortal shepherd. Mimi fell for the handsome shepherd and spent nine nights with Zeus making whoopee. Mimi ended up in the family way as a result of her time with Zeus. She had to drop out of Goddess college to have Zeus’ nine daughters. These kids were the nine Muses. The Muses served as inspiration for creative types ever since then. According to Mr. Google, the Muses were Calliope (epic poetry), Clio (history), Euterpe (music and lyric poetry), Erato (love poetry), Mepomene (tragedy), Polyhymnia (hymns), Terpsichore (dance), Thalia (comedy) and Urania (astronomy). Mimi’s kids were arty, not a warrior in the bunch. The moral is that if you get Mimi on your side, you will find inspiration in the arts and possibly win "America’s Got Talent."

    Mimi wasn’t just a vessel for producing children, no Sirree Bob. She also worked outside the home. However, with nine kids she must have had domestic help. Mimi was a lifeguard for a pool in Hades where dead Greeks go. Hades has the river Lethe where dead Greeks would drink to forget their past lives when they got reincarnated. The river that fed Mimi’s pool was named for Mnemosyne which was the river of memory. Drinking from Mimi’s pool had the opposite effect on dead Greeks causing them to remember their past lives thereby preventing them from being reincarnated.

    Mimi’s name is the basis for our current word “mnemonic” which our pal Webster defines as a device such as a pattern of letters or associations that assists in remembering something. If you ask Mimi to put in a good word for you, she can help you remember where you parked your car, what you had for lunch or your anniversary. Unfortunately, not all memories are good ones, so be careful in your requests to Mimi for help. Do you really need to know what you had for lunch yesterday?

    Randy Newman wrote a song called “Potholes” about when he was a kid pitching in a baseball game and walked 14 batters in a row. He started crying and walked off the field going home in humiliation. He did his best to forget this event by turning it into a song. He wrote: “God bless the potholes/ Down on Memory Lane/ God bless the potholes/ Down on Memory Lane/ Hope some real big ones open up/ Take some of the memories that do remain.”

    Have we learned anything today? Nothing we can’t forget tomorrow. Some of those potholes on Memory Lane are our friends. No memories were harmed in the writing of this column.

    Pictured: Reviewing the story of Mnemosyne in Greek mythology can offer explanations on modern memory troubles.

  •  

    21Colton DanksColton Danks, Cape Fear

    • Cross country

    • Sophomore

    Danks has a 4.0 grade point average. His activities outside of cross country include indoor track and field, golf, the Science Olympiad and Beta Club.

     

     

     

     


    22Kaylee BarriageKaylee Barriage, Gray’s Creek

    • Volleyball

    • Junior

    Barriage has a 3.6875 unweighted grade point average. In addition to volleyball, she’s involved with the Student Government Association and is a volunteer at Cape Fear Valley Medical Center.

     

  •     Cape Fear Valley Health System values the trust you place in us as your healthcare provider. That’s why we acted swiftly when we discovered several surgical instrument trays that had been cleaned, disinfected and packaged, but had not gone through the final step of steam sterilization.
        Fortunately, thus far we have found no evidence that harm has occurred to any of our patients. We mailed letters to 160 patients who potentially could have been treated with these trays to let them know what happened. Then we called each of them or their family members. We will investigate any reported infection to determine whether it is linked to this incident.{mosimage}
        Within 48 hours, we notified our entire medical staff of 500 physicians and subsequently formed a team to investigate. New procedures were in place within 48 hours to assure this type incident does not happen again.
        Though it was not required, we voluntarily reported this potential exposure to the state the following week. A comprehensive corrective action plan was submitted to state officials on Oct. 16. Many of the actions outlined in the plan have already been implemented.
        Fortunately, the likelihood that any patient was actually treated with these trays is very low. Many checks and balances are already in place to prevent that from happening. For example, surgical techs in the operating rooms check the trays to assure instruments are sterilized prior to surgery. At least three color indicators are located on the outside of the metal boxes, called surgical trays. Two more visual indicators are located on the inside.
        The instruments in these trays were properly cleaned and disinfected, which is the most essential step in preparing instruments for surgery. Then they were packaged and placed in a wire basket inside the metal box or tray.
        When the outside of the metal box is steam sterilized, indicators on the outside of the box change color, indicating the final step has occurred. On Oct. 6, we found three trays sitting on a shelf in the Central Supply Department, with markers on the outside that had not changed color to indicate that steam sterilization had occurred.
        We then researched the last known date on which we could document that steam sterilization had occurred. From that point forward, we notified 160 patients who had surgical procedures over a 72-hour span of time. We also notified the physicians of those patients within 72 hours of discovering the issue, so that they could contact their patients and discuss this matter with them personally.
        To prevent this type of incident from happening again, we have improved the way we identify zones in the Sterile Processing Department. We catalogue instruments in the Processing Zone to reduce the possibility of mixing clean and sterilized instruments. A two-person check is used to verify that instruments have been sterilized before they move to the Distribution Zone.
        All staff and supervisors in the Central Sterile Supply Department have been educated on these new procedures. We also have initiated a Root Cause Analysis to determine how this event happened. Appropriate corrective actions will be taken to address the cause of the incident, along with education and coaching of employees.
        We are also taking the innovative step of creating new Patient Safety Response Teams to address any future patient safety issues. Any patient, family member or staff member will be able to activate this system, and a team will form immediately to respond.
        Fortunately, most surgical patients receive antibiotics within an hour prior to surgery, and most receive antibiotics after surgery. This further minimizes the risk. Cape Fear Valley’s compliance rate with this procedure exceeds both state and national hospital averages.
    Cape Fear Valley also has surgical infection rates that are “similar to or lower than” overall rates of infection among hospitals in the Duke Infection Control Outreach Network. In its most recent report, Duke congratulated Cape Fear Valley for its “excellent outcomes that were observed at your facility last year.”
        We know that your healthcare is a matter of great personal trust and confidence that you place in us. We apologize for any concerns that this issue may have caused for our patients and their families. We are taking the necessary actions to assure your continued trust and confidence, as your preferred healthcare provider of choice.
  • 01 vote No on YesOur city is currently being flooded with a disingenuous campaign to change the structure of our City Council. You might have received a mailer asking for your signature in support of changing local elections from district-based to a hybrid model of district and at-large elections.

    To recap, district elections mean that individuals within specific neighborhoods will elect someone to represent them downtown. At-large means that the whole city gets to vote for a candidate.

    Fayetteville does NOT need to change how we elect our local representatives. Let's not fall victim to the arguments presented by the Vote Yes Fayetteville committee.

    Let's talk about those arguments.

    To begin, there is no connection whatsoever between crime in Fayetteville and the way we elect our municipal representatives. There is crime in cities and towns regardless if they have district or at-large elections. This is a scare tactic to make you think that the city is out of control which is not.

    According to the 2020 Fayetteville Police Department's Annual Report, crime in our city has been in a five-year decline. This report was compiled by a Police Department that received an increase in their budget this year.

    Citizens in Fayetteville can contact and share their opinions with ALL members of City Council. Our elected officials constantly discuss issues outside their own district. Changing our elections will not fix the issue of priority focus, it will worsen them.

    Running a political campaign at-large versus a district wide campaign requires BIG MONEY. This means that at-large representatives will focus more on obtaining sufficient finances for an election that happens every two years rather than the needs of our city.

    Besides, who do you want to represent YOU? Someone that lives and understands your community or someone who simply has the money to run and win? The financial interests of at-large candidates will overshadow the interests of marginalized communities.

    There is a criticism about our district maps and how they are gerrymandered and confusing to voters. According to the Census Data and the Southern Coalition for Social Justice, our city districts have to be redrawn anyway based on population changes. This issue can be fixed by showing up to the City Council's redistricting meetings and advocating for our communities.

    Changing the structure of our elections is not needed at all. The institution that creates the biggest confusion among voters is the N.C. General Assembly, not how we elect our local leaders.

    The purpose behind this push is to take away the power of communities across our city. It is insulting to utilize the election of our two African-American mayors as a talking point. Marshall Pitts Jr. and Mitch Colvin have a combined leadership of 8 years in a city first settled in 1783.

    Do not sign the petition.

    Vote "NO" to "Vote Yes."

    Jimmy Buxton is the President, Fayetteville Chapter, NCAACP.

  •  

    20Cape Fear GolfTodd Edge knew on paper his Cape Fear girls’ golf team had a chance to be good this season, but now that the regular season is over, even he’s shocked at how good it was.

    “I thought we had the capacity of shooting around 260 (for a weekly round),’’ Edge said. The Colts eclipsed that number in four of seven regular-season matches, featuring a low round of 249 at Cypress Lakes.

    They ended the regular season with a 1,802 stroke total, well ahead of second-place and perennial Cumberland County golf power Terry Sanford.

    Toni Blackwell, Mary Catherine Hales and Hallie Ross led the charge for Cape Fear, taking three of the top four individual spots in the final standings. Blackwell was named the league’s Player of the Year, the only golfer to break 80 for the season with a 78.6 stroke average.

    Edge, league Coach of the Year in his eighth season as Cape Fear girls’ golf coach, said this year’s team is the result of the work he’s done to practically build a program from scratch.

    That’s not the easiest thing to do, he noted. “Not many people want to go on a five- or six-mile walk on Monday carrying a golf bag,’’ he said. “Most of the girls I come in contact (with) have picked up a club or played with their fathers. There have been a few I recruited who have never touched a club.’’

    Blackwell, a sophomore, has played in a number of tournaments outside the high school arena, Edge said. “She’s starting to come into her own. She’s striking the ball and making good decisions.’’

    Blackwell isn’t surprised at how well she and her teammates played this season. “I thought we would just keep breaking records like we’ve been doing,’’ Blackwell said. “I think our mental game has gotten a lot better.’’

    She added that in addition to her mental game, her chipping and putting have improved. “I’m trying to get more one-putts,’’ she said, “more birdies to drop, getting on the greens.’’

    Hales is one of those players who had never played before when she came out for golf. Edge said she’s cut 10 strokes off her average. “She’s conscientious about practice and doing it right every time,’’ he said.

    Hales said she’s tried to focus on improving distance and accuracy, along with putting. “We’re all working more as a team than as individuals,’’ she said. “We’re trying to help each other more.’’

    Ross is the veteran of the group, a senior who has been with the Cape Fear program all four years. Edge said Ross got little playing time as a freshman but has dropped her scoring average about eight strokes and this year became a factor in scoring.

    Both Ross and Edge agree that having Baywood Golf Club in the Cape Fear community has been a big help to the program.

    “We practice every day, and it’s only five minutes from the school,’’ she said. “I live here, and it’s really helpful. People at the course work with us very well.’’

    By the time this story appears in Up & Coming Weekly, Cape Fear will have already played in the 3-A East Regional at Reedy Creek Golf Course in Johnston County.

    Edge would love to see his team follow in the footsteps of his 2013 squad and qualify for the state tournament, but he knows that won’t be easy.

    “They only take three teams and 24 kids from the regional,’’ he said. “It’s not playing other teams, it’s playing the course to the best of our ability.’’

    If Cape Fear does make the state 3-A tournament, it will be held at Foxfire Golf and Resort Oct. 23-24.

     

    PHOTO: (L-R) Hallie Ross, Toni Blackwell, Mary Catherine Hales

     

  • 22 Casting CrownsIn a recent conversation with songwriter Mark Hall, we laughed over the irate response to their first single to Christian radio back in 2003. The song was, “If We Are The Body” which asks us — the church — if we are collectively here as the hands, the feet, the heart of Jesus, why are we not reaching, touching and going to everyone, everywhere?

    Within weeks of the very first time the song played in Fayetteville on WCLN, we received a call from a missionary home on sabbatical who asked “...who is this band, and what gives them the right to level this sort of judgment?”

    No more an affront to Christians than saying “We need to clean up this city” to a town council, the song was as much a surprise to the band as a first radio single as anyone else. During our phone call, the man who penned the song commented that the record label made the decision, and that they just realized the band would be coming out swinging.

    The band is Casting Crowns, and after nearly 20 years of Gospel Music Association Dove Awards, Grammy nominations, and number one songs, they are bringing their unique sound — now a staple of Christian radio and playlists far and wide — to Fayetteville's Crown Theatre on Oct. 9.

    Lead man Mark Hall and his wife Melanie still serve as youth workers at their home church in south Atlanta, and they only do so many dates per year — always ending up back home for their weekly gatherings on Sunday.

    Casting Crowns began as the student worship band that Hall formed while he was serving at First Baptist Daytona Beach in 1999. Since then, they have moved their home base to Georgia, amassed a string of chart-topping songs and albums, and developed a musical following others merely dream of.

    Singer/songwriter Matthew West joins Casting Crowns for the “Only Jesus Tour." He brings his share of radio hits and accolades to the table.

    West, who came on the scene about the same time as Casting Crowns, has scored numerous top ten singles, and has to make room on the mantle for yet another award. In September he was named American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers Christian Songwriter of the Year. For the fourth time.

    Originally scheduled for March 14, 2020, the Fayetteville stop on the tour has been rescheduled several times for reasons circling the pandemic, and is truly a stellar package wrapped in a spirit of humility. Come expecting an evening of stories and songs that have touched a generation of listeners. The “Only Jesus Tour” with Casting Crowns and Matthew West lands in Fayetteville for one night only on Saturday, Oct. 9.

    Pictured above: Christian music group Casting Crowns will be at the Crown Theatre Oct. 9. (Photo courtesy www.castingcrowns.com)

  •  

    19Brennan Shortridge JBThere’s a problem with landmark victories that football teams record during the regular season. You don’t get long to celebrate them.

    That was the message Jack Britt coach Brian Randolph shared with his team after the Buccaneers defeated Sandhills Athletic Conference rival Richmond Senior 41-20.

    It was only the second time in 14 meetings a Britt team beat Richmond and was the first win for the Buccaneers over the Raiders on Britt’s home field, unofficially named the Boneyard.

    “I told them to enjoy the victory throughout the weekend but to come back Monday ready to go,’’ Randolph said.

    The reason was simple. Britt still has too many league games left with tough opponents to celebrate anything.

    But there are some things to be happy about at Britt. One of the biggest is an improvement in offensive consistency and the ability to finish scoring drives.

    Randolph said that’s something the Buccaneers have focused on since a couple of tough early outings with South View and Terry Sanford.

    “Kids are accepting the responsibility for their job,’’ Randolph said. “They’re doing their jobs consistently, not just for one play or two plays, but for seven plays or 14 plays.’’

    He pointed to Britt’s first scoring drive against Richmond, which covered 14 plays. The Buccaneers also had a 99-yard drive against the Raiders.

    “That was almost like a coming out party as far as us being able to finish a drive,’’ he said. “I think our guys have to really take pride in that.’’

    But while the win over Richmond was a milestone for the program and a big one for Randolph in his first year as coach, Randolph doesn’t want his team to put too much stock in the victory.

    “This is no disrespect to the (Richmond) team and the coaching staff they have now, but none of those players has been to a state championship or won a conference championship,’’ he said. “We’re not intimidated by the things they did in the past. They’re a football team like we are. We came out, performed and competed as a football team and did well.’’

    One of the players who was at his best was junior quarterback Brennan Shortridge. Shortridge has bought into Randolph’s offense and responded Friday
    by completing eight of 13 passes for 191 yards and three touchdowns.

    “It was a momentum shifter, not just for the game but for the season,’’ Shortridge said of the Richmond win.

    “The fact we were able to roll in there and not only hold our own but put up some good numbers was a big confidence boost for us.’’

    Randolph was pleased with the way Shortridge played within himself, and praised his touch on the ball.

    “There were two fourth-down conversions we made because he was able to sit back and use the thing God blessed him with, and that was the ability to throw a football,’’ Randolph said. “Several times he made great clutch throws because he did what he was coached up to do.’’

    Shortridge said Britt’s focus on improved execution since the losses to South View and Terry Sanford shows.

    “We lacked discipline and couldn’t get in the end zone,’’ Shortridge said. “I lacked confidence like everyone else, then after that first game I realized these are my boys and we can do it just like anybody else can do it.’’

    The win over Richmond puts Britt in a position to control its own destiny as far as winning a state 4-A playoff berth is concerned, but Randolph said that’s easier said than done in the Sandhills Conference.

    “We can make that all go away by dropping a game,’’ he said. “We need to take care of every single game. Our No. 1 mission is to make the playoffs.’’

     

    PHOTO: Junior quarterback, Brennan Shortridge

     

  • 03 vote yes3 copyYou can’t grow and become a great city if you leave entire segments of the community behind.

    I remember those words from our city council’s budget message for the 2012-2013 City Budget.

    Sadly, we have continued to see that the current structure with nine single-member districts has precisely done that over the past twenty years. By only focusing on the needs of nine individual districts, not enough attention is given to the major issues that face our entire city. Some are often more complicated and expensive. And increasingly, the issues that only face a few of our districts, making it even more difficult to gain support from other districts that fight for their own issues.

    Fayetteville’s growth is not keeping pace with the rest of the larger cities in the state. At the same time, this structure leaves entire segments behind, often our poor and powerless.

    The continued shortage in sworn police officers, still over 50 officers or more than 10% of the staff, threatens our citizens. But especially the ones in those neighborhoods that aren’t getting the coverage they deserve. These citizens are more likely to have an encounter with a police officer who is tired and stressed from overtime.

    In a city with 45% black registered voters, why are 81% of the murder victims this year black?

    We have identified over $100 million in stormwater needs to protect us from the next Hurricane Matthew or Florence. Again, this year the city council failed to add to the stormwater fees to help address these significant issues. What parts of our city are likely to be impacted by a flood? It is most often those living in the low-lying lands, often our poorest and most powerless.

    There is no better example of this failure than Shaw Heights. Stuck right between our city, our state university, and the most significant economic engine in southeastern North Carolina, Shaw Heights continues to be an unincorporated area. Shaw Heights residents are deprived of essential city services like sewer and urban police protection.

    If Shaw Heights had a different demographic, it would have been annexed years ago. But it doesn’t, and we should be ashamed to perpetuate a system that continually overlooks the least of us.

    Ironically, some defend a system of nine single members districts as better for the vulnerable and poor in our community. The facts tell a different story.

    Let’s have six city council members directly accountable to those who fear the next flood.

    Let’s have six city council members directly accountable to those who worry about the crime in their neighborhoods.

    We can’t become a better city by continuing to leave people behind.

    Suppose you would like to vote for 6 members of the City Council instead of the current 2.

    In that case, I encourage you to sign the Vote Yes Fayetteville petition and give every citizen the opportunity to vote on this critical issue.

    Editor's Note: Bobby Hurst is a former five-term City Council member and former business owner.

  •  

    18Michael Edwards SVIf anyone was an automatic to be picked for this year’s Shrine Bowl of the Carolinas, you’d think Michael Edwards of South View was near the top of the list.

    “You’d think that on the outside looking in,’’ said Rodney Brewington, South View head coach. But Brewington apparently breathed a sigh of relief when Edwards’ name was one of the first ones called during the annual Shrine Bowl announcement recently.

    Brewington was with Edwards at the final invitation-only combine held for this year’s North Carolina Shrine Bowl prospects.

    “You saw the linemen down there and we were a little worried,’’ Brewington said. “There were some linemen down there I felt were deserving. We were so fortunate Mike got an opportunity to play.’’

    Edwards, who has already committed to Wake Forest, stands 6-foot-7-inches and weighs 255 pounds.

    He’s served in a variety of roles for the Tigers this season, playing offensive guard and primarily left tackle, and also seeing action in the defensive line.

    “I’m sure he’s going to be in the offensive line (at the Shrine Bowl), but I told them he’s having a great year on the defensive side of the ball for us,’’ Brewington said.

    Edwards’ biggest asset is his mobility. “It’s rare to see a kid that size who is that agile,’’ Brewington said.

    The Shrine Bowl is scheduled for Saturday, Dec. 16, at Wofford College’s Gibbs Stadium in Spartanburg, South Carolina. Kickoff is at 2 p.m.

    Brewington said he expects Edwards will have no trouble staying in top shape for the game.

    “He’s in weightlifting class, and we get a lot of strength and conditioning every day,’’ Brewington said. “We run every day and lift every day. He’s on a very good regimen.’’

    Edwards said he chose Wake Forest mainly for the opportunity to get a good education. He plans to major in engineering and technology.

    He called playing in the Shrine Bowl “a big honor” and said he’s got just one major goal in he game.

    “Dominate the person in front of me,’’ he said. “That’s about it.’’

     

    PHOTO: Michael Edwards

     

  • 100DollarBillsHC1404 02 source"A President's greatest responsibility is to protect all our people from enemies, foreign and domestic. Here at home the worst enemy we face is economic — the creeping erosion of the American way of life and the American dream that has resulted in today's tragedy of economic stagnation and unemployment." President Ronald Reagan said these words in 1982. However, they ring as true today as ever before.

    As the crisis on our southern border worsens and inflation reaches new highs, last week Washington liberals ignored these problems and continued their reckless spending spree. The House passed legislation which would once again raise the debt ceiling in order to pay for their $3.5 trillion liberal wish list. Keeping our government open is critical. However, I opposed this move to allow more debt. Democrats — who control the House, Senate and White House and who have spent trillions already this year — should not have a blank check to recklessly spend even more of your tax dollars. Their bill will raise taxes on everyone, give the federal government more control over your life from the cradle to the grave, and only make our inflation crisis worse.

    Despite this, their bill did have one good provision — funding for Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system. However, Washington Democrats caved to racist, anti-Semitic factions and stripped this funding from the bill. Later that day, we forced a second vote to approve the funding for Israel. Once again, radical, racist Democrats opposed it.

    America should always stand with Israel at every opportunity. Failing to do so is shameful and our allies, as well as our adversaries, are watching.

    As threats increase around the world, I was glad the House was able to come together and pass our nation’s bipartisan annual defense bill last week.

    This year’s National Defense Authorization Act is not perfect. But I was proud to support this bill which included much needed funding for Fort Bragg and our men and women in the military.

    Overall, it provides a 2.7% pay increase for servicemembers and reverses dangerous cuts to our military proposed by President Biden. It also adds resources to secure our border, holds the Biden administration accountable for its withdrawal from Afghanistan, and protects servicemembers’ personal liberties.

    I am especially proud that the bill includes provisions I have worked on throughout the year. For Fort Bragg, $27 million was included for needed construction projects on the base. For military families, my bill to expand and improve education funding was included. I also championed included provisions to increase PFAS testing on bases, combat sexual assault in the military, and modernize the Basic Allowance for Housing.

    There are several provisions in the bill I am concerned about, including red flag laws that threaten the Second Amendment rights of servicemembers. However like last year, I will now work to ensure these provisions are removed as negotiations continue between the House and Senate.

    I will never waiver from my commitment to support our troops, their families, and our veterans. The NDAA is an example that we can still come together and solve problems for our nation. Now we must do the same on issues like growing our economy, supporting our allies like Israel, and ending the crisis on our border. I will stay focused on common sense solutions on behalf of you and your family.

  • EarlVaughanYou’ve probably heard the Cumberland County Board of Education voted earlier this week to retain the requirement for students taking part in extracurricular activities to maintain a minimum of a 2.0 grade point average to be eligible.
     
    That’s higher than the threshold required by the N.C. High School Athletic Association, of which all the public high schools in Cumberland County are a member.
    The NCHSAA only requires that students pass a minimum load of courses to stay eligible. The 2.0 rule is a higher standard to which all school systems in the state aren’t held. It should be noted that if any high school athletes have aspirations of playing at the college level, the NCAA requires a 2.0 average in core courses.
     
    Never let anyone accuse me of standing against higher academic standards for all of our students. School is for learning. Sports are a nice, if important, sidelight, but if you don’t make grades your odds of success later in life aren’t good.
     
    What I’d like to propose is this. Since many other school systems in our state don’t think 2.0 is a fair minimum standard, I call on the NCHSAA to take up the banner and get it done. It’s not fair to Cumberland County coaches and athletes who have teammates sidelined by academics that could be helping them on Tuesday and Friday nights, while other school systems not as worried about academic success let their marginal academic star athletes wear uniforms and play.
     
    We have numerous people with Cumberland County ties who have past and present connections to the NCHSAA Board of Directors. This is the body of the NCHSAA that makes the rules, and they meet twice a year, once in December and again around April or May. Cumberland County Board of Education, reach out to these people that are from our county that know the folks in Chapel Hill and let’s work the phones, go to meetings and get this done.
     
    As the late, great Charlie Adams was fond of saying, we want our athletes competing on an even playing field, and until every school system requires 2.0, that’s not happening.
    Let’s do it.
     
    The record: 58-12
     
    I wouldn’t have picked Jack Britt’s win over Richmond Senior in a million years, so that’s a missed prediction I’m not losing any sleep over. Congratulations to the Buccaneers for a statement win in Brian Randolph’s first season as head coach.
     
    The record for last week was a solid 8-1, pushing the season total to 58-12, 82.9 percent. With the games on this week’s schedule, holding serve will be a challenge.
     
    South View at Cape Fear - I know the Tigers are stinging after losing their first game to E.E. Smith last week. Things don’t get better this week against a Cape Fear team that is on a roll but showed some flashes of average in last week’s win against Westover. Both have something to prove this week, and I think Cape Fear will find a way.
    Cape Fear 28, South View 21.
     
    Douglas Byrd at Overhills - I’d like to forecast a win for the Eagles this week, but I think Overhills is simply playing better at this point.
    Overhills 27, Douglas Byrd 12.
     
    Pine Forest at E.E. Smith - Smith’s biggest worry is coming into this one flat. The Golden Bulls did a lot of deserved celebrating after beating South View, but Pine Forest is no walkover, and Lavonte Carter is a dangerous running back.
    E.E. Smith 29, Pine Forest 20.
     
    Jack Britt at Purnell Swett - This is a major trap game for Britt. The Bucs are still euphoric after beating Richmond Senior, but Swett didn’t get off to an unbeaten start by accident and is capable of quickly bringing the Buccaneers back to earth.
    Jack Britt 20, Purnell Swett 18.
     
    Seventy-First at Scotland - The formula for a Seventy-First win is simple. Try to keep Zamir White from having a 200-yard night on the ground and exploit the Scotland secondary by Kyler Davis and Reggie Bryant connecting frequently. Easy to say but about as easy as avoiding an alligator’s bite by pulling all his teeth.
    Scotland 22, Seventy-First 21.
     
    Westover at Terry Sanford - The Wolverines clearly have defensive problems, and they won’t be helped by a Terry Sanford offense that is getting more balanced between run and pass.
    Terry Sanford 30, Westover 12.
     
    Open date - Gray’s Creek, Fayetteville Christian.
     
    Other games-
     
    Village Christian 30, North Raleigh Christian 8
     
    Trinity Christian 20, Raleigh Ravenscroft 14
  • 01 Report Card Mock UpOver 200 people representing the best of the best businesses, institutions, and organizations in Fayetteville and Cumberland Country assembled at the Crown Coliseum for our 24th Annual Best of Fayetteville Awards Party. In attendance, showing appreciation and extending congratulations to the honorees, were Shari Fiveash of the Fayetteville Chamber of Commerce, Randy Fiveash, interim President of the Fayetteville Convention & Visitors Bureau, and Jackie Warner, Mayor of Hope Mills. No one representing the City or Cumberland County was there. Personal invitations were not issued, nor were they required.

    Over the years, our elected city and county officials were more than anxious to attend any prestigious local event that showcased the people, businesses, institutions and organizations that define the quality of life in our community. After all, it is a congregation of their constituents. Or is it? Fayetteville is currently struggling with that question, even though everyone is quite aware of the answer.

    And, that is NO!

    With our city divided into nine separate and distinct districts, I'd wager each council member wouldn't find six attendees living or working in their specific section. And, with this being the case, why bother showing up all? Unfortunately, this thought process has become the mindset of most of our current elected officials of the Fayetteville City Council. This situation and mindset must change if Fayetteville as a community is to grow and prosper.

    You can't grow and become a great City if you leave entire segments of the community behind.

    Bobby Hurst, a former five-term City Councilman in District 5, recently reminded us of this dire warning and prediction that resonated nearly a decade ago from the Fayetteville City Council's 2012-2013 budget meeting. Sadly, that prediction has become a sad reality as nine individual districts try to govern over 210,000 residents by focusing only on the needs of their ward while ignoring major issues and situations affecting the entire city.

    It's a matter of record that Fayetteville's growth is not keeping pace with the rest of the cities in the state. There is a reason for that. The City of Fayetteville has an inferior and embarrassing Report Card when it comes to leadership and management:

    We cannot become a better city by continuing to leave people behind. By focusing on each of the nine individual districts, they are collectively ignoring major citywide issues.

    Image above by Dylan Hooker.

    Ultimately, our horrific statistics will continue to worsen unless collective voices are heard regarding the future of our city. Fayetteville residents from all districts will suffer and die due to this poor governance, unabated homicides and neglected infrastructure maintenance like stormwater unless the citizens vote to change the structure of city government by designating four of the nine citywide districts as At Large districts. This would give Fayetteville residents six votes when it comes to elections rather than two. What's not to like about that? A Fayetteville resident gets to vote for five council members and the mayor rather than just voting for the mayor and one district representative. Common sense dictates that it's a shame we even have to make such an argument. However, I just did.

    I encourage you to sign the Vote Yes Fayetteville petition at www.voteyesfayetteville.com and give every citizen (Black, white, Asian, Hispanic, rich or poor) the right to vote on this critical issue. Fayetteville's future depends on it, and you can rely on that.

    In closing, let me say that even though we currently have a terrible report card, it definitely can be improved just like any other academic institution: i.e. Get a better curriculum. Hire better teachers and, if need be, replace the principal. We have plenty of options. The best one yet: 6/4 Vote Yes Fayetteville.

    Thank you for reading Up & Coming Weekly.

  • 20Lauren HendersonLauren Henderson

    Terry Sanford • Senior • Volleyball

    Henderson has a grade point average of 4.8.
    She is active in 12th Man, Tri Chi and the
    Friends Club.

     

     

     

     

    21Jonathan PilandJonathan Piland

    Cape Fear • Sophomore • Cross country

    Piland has a 4.0 grade point average. In addition to cross country, he takes part in indoor and and outdoor track and field. He is the concertmaster of the Cumberland County Youth Orchestra. He’s a member of the Lebanon Baptist Church youth group and a violinist for the praise team at the church. He’s also in the Beta Club and the school orchestra at Cape Fear.

  • 19Ike Walker Jr• Jack Britt boys’ basketball coach Ike Walker Jr. has been named the assistant coach for next March’s Carolinas All-Star Basketball Classic.

    The game, which will pit some of the top boys’ senior basketball players from North and South Carolina against each other, is scheduled to be played in Wilmington on March 24.

    Walker will be assisting Lee Reavis of Northwest Guilford. This is Walker’s second all-star coaching experience. He previously coached the East squad in the annual N.C. Coaches Association All-Star game in Greensboro. 

    “Any time Phil Weaver calls and says, ‘the board has selected you,’ it’s an honor,’’ said Walker. Weaver is the executive director of the NCCA. 

    “I have a lot of respect for the NCCA and its mission, so when a distinguished group of your professional peers recognizes you and asks you to serve, it’s impossible to say no,’’ Walker said. “I look forward to representing my family, our state, my city and Jack Britt High School.’’

    This will make the second straight year Britt has had an all-star coach. Last summer, Britt girls’ coach Nattlie McArthur coached the East girls in the annual East-West game in Greensboro.

    Walker has a career record of 269-201 with three regular-season conference titles and four conference tournament titles. He’s been to the Eastern Regional four times and to the 4-A East Regional finals three times.

    • E.E. Smith will recognize longtime coach Bishop Harris at a ceremony at Walker Spivey Elementary School on Tuesday, Oct. 31, at 6 p.m.

    Harris began his coaching career there when it was J.S. Spivey Junior High School. He has coached at every level, from junior high to college and professional football.

    Tickets to the event are $25 and include food, a beverage and gifts for Harris. For tickets, call Charles Brown at (910) 224-1155 or Jimmy Harvey at (910) 322-2240. You may also email requests to debrabrown777@msn.com.

    • A number of schools are having fundraisers in the coming weeks.

    The Cape Fear marching band holds its fall seafood festival on Saturday, Oct. 21, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. in the school cafeteria. Shrimp plates, fish plates and combination plates will be sold for $15 each.

    The Pine Forest baseball team is holding its second annual fundraiser. Tickets are $10 to enter a drawing for three cash prizes of $300, $200 and $100. The drawing will be held Saturday, Oct. 28th, at 2 p.m. at the annual baseball team Halloween Hit-A-Thon.

    The Pine Forest boys’ basketball team will also be holding a fundraiser with a barbecue dinner at Peaden’s Seafood on Thursday, Nov. 9, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. The cost is $15 per person. Those planning to attend are asked to RSVP early by calling either (910) 488-1972 or (910) 309-9066.

    Jack Britt High School’s baseball team will hold its fifth annual golf tournament fundraiser on Sunday, Oct. 29, at Gates Four Golf and Country Club at 1 p.m.

    The format is four-person captain’s choice and the entry fee is $65 per player. There will be prizes for closest to the pin, longest drive and hole-in-one along with food and beverages. 

    Lunch will be provided after the round. Hole sponsorships are also available for $100.

    For more information, call Britt baseball coach Dr. Christopher Dague at (910) 429-2800 or (330) 388-5865. You can also reach him at christopher.dague@gmail.com.

  • 18Terry Sanford tennisWith the top three players from last year graduated, 2017 qualified as the nearest thing Terry Sanford girls’ tennis has had to a rebuilding year.

    That’s not how things wound up.

    Bulldogs coach Mandy McMillan’s charges rolled to the regular season title in the new Patriot Athletic Conference and now prepare for what they hope will be another successful run in the state 3-A playoffs.

    The biggest surprise for McMillan is how the young players in the lineup have stepped up, as Melissa Lu at No. 1 singles is the only senior in her top six.

    “The young ones on the team have played their hearts out,’’ McMillan said. “They have blown it out of the water. They are going to be really fierce the next couple of years, and people need to look out for them.’’

    One thing the squad misses being in the new conference is the annual battles with Union Pines in the old Cape Fear Valley 3-A.

    More than one player on this year’s team feels the Union Pines duels helped prepare Terry Sanford for tough competition in the postseason.

    “I liked playing them to get the competition,’’ said Leah McDonough, who plays No. 3 singles. 

    No. 2 singles player Ritika Shamdasani agreed. “It was great practice to play with those girls,’’ she said. “That was probably one of our biggest matches of the season. Always very competitive.’’

    But Shamdasani feels this Bulldog team has come together with a lot of support. “It was a combination of our girls’ spirit, and our coach has always been amazing,’’ she said. “The school itself is really supportive. All that combined to create a really good tennis year.’’

    But it’s not over, and as No. 1 singles player Lu said, there’s a lot of tennis season left after the regular season is over.

    “With tennis, you like to think of the long run,’’ Lu said. “We’ve kept the same attitude.’’

    Lu is still weighing the decision if she’ll play singles or doubles in the postseason. “Nothing is set in stone,’’ she said. “We’re still figuring that out as a team.’’

    McMillan said one of her main concerns for the postseason is making sure her team has the stamina to deal with tough matches. “One of the things I saw last year when we went to tiebreakers was they were getting tired easy,’’ she said. “I tried to incorporate conditioning to prepare them for these long matches.

    “As long as we can keep the mental game strong and keep them straight mentally, we’re going to do really well.’’

    N.C. High School Athletic Association regional competition in girls’ tennis begins Oct. 20-21.

  • 17CapeFearvolleyballThe players who stand in the shadow of the net and soar to make dramatic spikes draw most of the attention in volleyball.

    But Cape Fear coach Jeff Bruner said you shouldn’t overlook the players in the back row, the ones who dive to the floor and make spectacular saves to spark a rally.

    “We’ve sustained big rallies, and we’ve never done that without some miraculous dig that’s taken place from Marlie Horne or Taylor Melvin,’’ he said. “It takes one spectacular play from them, and lo and behold, we score seven points in a row.’’

    The defense sparked by Horne and Melvin has been a key factor in Cape Fear’s run to the Patriot Athletic Conference regular-season championship in volleyball. The title came after Bruner made some major changes in both his offensive and defensive alignments this season.

    “I don’t mind each year taking the pieces we have and going a different direction if we have to,’’ Bruner said. “It was a total redrawing of the playbook. Toward the middle of the season they started to become comfortable with it.’’

    Horne felt the team adapted fairly quickly. “We have a smart group of girls that can adjust easily,’’ she said. “We all play travel ball.’’

    Melvin agreed with Bruner that the role of the defense is critical to making offense work. “If you get a good pass, the setter has more options,’’ she said. “A good pass means a hitter will probably get a good set. A good pass equals a good hit.’’

    Melvin said now that the playoffs are approaching, the Colts can’t give up and need to keep pushing. “We’ve got to adjust to the things the other team does if we want to win,’’ she said. “We’ve got to keep our heads up, work on individual stuff and cover the floor. Work hard on and off the court.’’

    One challenge for the Colts in this year’s state playoffs is they’ve moved from the 4-A to the 3-A classification, which means they’ll likely be facing some teams they’re not familiar with.

    “I don’t think we have a very good handle on estimating who we are going to play in the first couple of rounds,’’ Bruner said. “Once we see who it might be, we’re going to have a plan B ready so we can change to that team. We’ll have different strategies based on what team we are playing.’’

    The N.C. High School Athletic Association volleyball playoffs begin Oct. 21.

  • 25Carmen TuckerCarmen Tucker

    Terry Sanford • Junior • Golf

    Tucker has a 83.0 stroke average for the Terry Sanford golf team while maintaining a 4.406 grade point average.

    She is active in the Science Olympiad, National Honor Society, Key Club, Amp Club and Health Occupations Students of America.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    26Isaiah BennettIsaiah Bennett

    Pine Forest • Junior • Soccer

    Bennett plays both soccer and baseball for the Trojans.

    He has a 4.0 grade point average.

    He’s a two-time player of the year and an all-conference selection in baseball.

    He’s committed to play baseball for the University of North Carolina.

  • 24FalconsGoing back to the days of legendary coaches like Jim Boyette, Bobby Poss and Bob Paroli, the football program at Seventy-First has had common ground with the University of Southern California. You could count on the Falcons to field a strong team, and you could expect them to have a rugged ground game.

    That tradition still holds true this season, but the Falcons are building more of a reputation as a passing team thanks to junior quarterback Kyler Davis and senior wide receiver Reggie Bryant. Both have been on the varsity since they were freshman, and both are special talents according to head coach Duran McLaurin, a former Falcon quarterback himself.

    McLaurin called Bryant a special player who has a knack for finding the ball in flight and attacking it at its highest point.

    Davis was an athletic freshman who showed savvy and poise early in his career. “He developed as a passer through hard work in camps, working out in the spring and summer and developing a relationship with Reggie,’’ McLaurin said. “They have definitely turned into quite a pass-catching combo.’’

    Through Sept. 25, Davis is fourth among Cumberland County Schools quarterbacks with 727 yards. He has five scoring passes, hitting 39 of 67 attempts. His 18.6 yards per completion is tops in the county.

    Bryant is the county’s top receiver with 27 catches for 610 yards and all five of Davis’ scoring throws. Among county players with 10 or more catches he’s got the best per-catch average at 22.6 yards.

    “If you throw it up, he goes and gets it,’’ Davis said of Bryant. “He makes it much easier.’’

    Bryant gives equal credit to Davis. “We’ve got little signals and stuff,’’ Bryant said. “If he sees something I don’t, he tells me.’’

    McLaurin also feels that as an ex-quarterback he adds something to the process. “I’m occupied with my quarterbacks through the entire practice,’’ McLaurin said. “I’m able to give them little tidbits and help them get better at their craft.’’

    Seventy-First opened its Sandhills Athletic Conference schedule with a big win against Pinecrest.

    “We had to do business,’’ Davis said. “Being 1-0 in the conference was really important.’’

    McLaurin seemed almost offended that in some preseason polls conducted by media and coaches, Seventy-First was picked to finish third in the new league.

    “We haven’t finished that low in the Mid-South and we definitely don’t plan on going to a new conference and starting a trend of finishing lower than first or second place,’’ McLaurin said. That will be a tall order for the Falcons as they play traditional powers Richmond Senior and Scotland on the road this year.

    The Falcons will be without a couple of key players for multiple games as lineman Tristan Hill and fullback Elijah Parter suffered ankle injuries in the Pinecrest game and faced surgery.

    McLaurin said the staff will re-shuffle the offensive line and try to find a replacement for Hill. Parter’s place with be taken by Devante Wedlock, the latest in a solid line of players at that position from the same family, including his dad David Wedlock and his uncle Jonathan Wedlock.

    Bryant said the Falcons are ready to continue pushing forward. “We’ve just got to listen to coach and stay focused,’’ he said. “Don’t get off track. It’s not that hard. Do what we do.’’

    Photo captions: L-R: Senior wide receiver Reggie Bryant, Coach Duran McLaurin, junior quarterback Kyler Davis

  • 23Que TuckerAt least part of the N.C. High School Athletic Association Eastern Regional basketball tournament will return to Fayetteville next year, but unless a second site can be found, some of the games may move elsewhere.

    Que Tucker, commissioner of the N.C. High School Athletic Association, was in Fayetteville last week along with members of her staff for the annual Region 4 meeting of the NCHSAA at the Educational Resource Center.

    Tucker said that Fayetteville State has again offered to host the tournament in Capel Arena, where the boys’ games were held last season.

    But it appears unlikely that the girls’ games will return to Methodist University.

    “Methodist was a wonderful host, but we knew going in (that) in terms of size it would present some challenges,’’ Tucker said.

    The seating capacity of Methodist’s Riddle Center is 1,300 according to the school website. That became a problem when fans from eventual girls’ state champion Clinton packed the stands and wound up sitting on the floor.

    Tucker said the NCHSAA reached out to UNC-Pembroke as a possible second site but the recent success of the Braves’ basketball team could make scheduling the regional a problem. Talks are in progress with Greenville, which was the host of the regional for years before it moved to Fayetteville.

    A return to the Crown Coliseum Complex in Fayetteville is unlikely, Tucker indicated, because of the cost.

    “We felt we couldn’t do everything we needed to do when you look at some of the expenses involved,’’ Tucker said. “We have to do things we feel (are) best for our membership.’’

    Tucker and her staff completed a tour of the western regions of the state before kicking off the east half last week in Fayetteville. She said there were no burning issues expressed at the meetings so far this year.

    A topic likely to come up for a vote at this December’s NCHSAA Board of Directors meeting in Chapel Hill is a request by the football coaches to treat their off-season conditioning program the same as everyone else and allow them to work with a full squad.

    Tucker said the unique problem with football is the large number of athletes involved and the possible impact it could have on other sports that are in season. Having a large number of athletes practicing in a contact sport like football would also force the NCHSAA to have athletic trainers on site. That is a cost issue, Tucker added.

    “Trainers aren’t going to want to be out there without getting paid,’’ Tucker said. “That’s a concern we’ll have to address.’’

    Photo caption: Que Tucker, commissioner, N.C. High School Athletic Association

  • 10-12-11-trail-brings-screams-.jpgIf your idea of Halloween excitement goes beyond the simple fun of trick or treating to include the thrills and chills of a terrifying scare, Fayetteville-Cumberland County area offers numerous opportunities to raise both the hair on the back of your neck and the pitch of your scream.

    For at least 15 years, Arnette Park and Fayetteville-Cumberland County Parks and Recreation have held the Haunted Hayride, a one-mile-long open-air ride that travels the Haunted Trail to Marlowe Mansion, a haunted house.

    This year’s event takes place on Thursday-Saturday, Oct. 27-29 from 7 to 9 p.m. Admission is $2 per person. According to a spokesman for the parks and recreation office, the event is not recommended for small children.

    Arnette Park is located at 2165 Old Wilmington Road. For more information, visit www.fcpr.us/special_events.aspx or call 433-1547. In case of inclement weather, call 306-7325.

    •••••

    Stoney Point Fire Department will continue its reputation for sending shivers up the spines of guests during its ninth annual Trail of Terroron Oct.14-15, 20-22 and 27-31, from 8 to 10 p.m. on Thursdays and 8 to 11 p.m. on all other evenings.

    “Basically, a couple of years ago, we threw out the idea, ‘Hey, let’s do a haunted house,” said Lieutenant Tara Whitman. “The guys out here did one, and they stopped doing it. They used to run one over at Lafayette Village Fire Department, and they closed that one down, and there was nothing around here for Halloween, so we said, ‘Let’s try it and see how it goes.’ We just threw some people in costumes and threw them out there in the woods and cut a little path. There was just nothing to it. It was a huge success, and ever since then, we’ve been going strong.”

    In fact, the Trail of Terror grows bigger each year.10-12-11-trail-clown.jpg

    “We always try to switch it up a bit and do things a bit better than we did the year before,” Whitman said. “It takes 15-20 minutes to go through the trail. We have a haunted mansion, and then you have to walk through a cornfi eld and in and out of buildings. You’re actually walking through an older-style mansion with all the dark wood paneling and different rooms like the parlor, the study, the bedroom, the kitchen and then you’re out of the house. There’s a variety of themes, and you’ll see a little bit of everything. We guarantee a good time and a good scare.”

    The Trail of Terror is recommended for ages 12 and older, but the fire department also offers a Trail of Candy for small kids on Oct. 29 from 1 to 3 p.m.

    “We don’t scare them,” said Whitman. “And they get a chance to walk through it, too.”

    Prepare to be scared, but please don’t bring cameras, flashlights or video cameras. Admission is $12 per person. The event is held at the Stoney Point Fire Department, 7221 Stoney Point Rd: and actually originated in the reincarnation of past haunted houses from more than 20 years ago.

    For more information, visit www.stoneypointfi re.com/SPFD-Trail-o-Terror.or call (910) 424-0624.

    •••••

    In a twist on the title of popular novel and movie Field of Dreams, Gillis Hill Road Produce offers Field of Screams on Oct. 21-22, 28-29 and Halloween night.

    “This is our second year of having a haunted corn trail,” said Jenna Gillis, who runs the Field of Screams with her brother William. “It will be here at the produce stand. Last year we held it with random things, like a haunted corn maze. This year we have more of a theme, kind of like back in the country. We’re trying to make it as scary as possible. We’ve put more into the facemasks and the special effects.”

    And if someone would rather scare than be scared, Field of Screams is accepting applications for participants up until Oct. 15. This fi ve-acre haunted corn trail thriller runs from 7 to 11 p.m. each Friday and Saturday and from 7 to 10 p.m. Halloween night at Gillis Hill Road Produce, 2899 Gillis Hill Rd. Admission is $8 per person, and groups of 10 or more receive a discount of 10 percent. For more information, visit www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=268258853205505 or call 308-9342.

    Happy hauntings!

    Photo, top left: A Trail of Terror actor offers up a haunting look.

  • 22Neil BuieCoaches and players aren’t the only ones who have to adjust to new rules in high school football every season.

    One big change this year was the blind-side blocking rule, which makes it illegal for a player to flatten someone on the opposing team who doesn’t see him coming.

    Neil Buie, who serves as the football regional supervisor of officials for the Southeastern Athletic Officials Association, said so far there’s been no major problem with enforcing the rule in this area.

    “I think the blindside block is more of a learning curve for the officials than the targeting rule, which was put into play a couple of years ago,’’ Buie said. “Targeting was a little easier to figure out.’’

    In targeting, a player is guilty of making a deliberate attempt to strike an opponent by making contact with the helmet.

    Buie said the blindside block call involves more judgement because officials not only have to see the block coming but also judge if the force used to make contact is excessive.

    “Every week I look at video and see some where blindside blocks that weren’t called because they weren’t seen or the official didn’t think the force was there,’’ Buie said. “It’s going to be a time thing to get it right 100 percent.’’

    Another thing that will take time is for coaches and players to change longstanding tradition regarding the blindside block. “For so long the blindside block was something you lived for as a football player,’’ Buie said. “You saw that guy that wasn’t paying attention and you said here’s my chance to blow this guy up.

    “Having to unteach that is an issue. We’re seeing some evidence of it with open-handed blocks. It’s a learning curve for the players and coaches as well.’’

    Aside from the blindside blocking rule, Buie said it’s been a good year for officials so far. “The coaches and student-athletes for the most part have been very well-behaved,’’ he said. “We’ve had very few ejections. As far as disrespectfully addressing the officials and profanity, I don’t recall any ejections for that so far this year.

    “I think the sportsmanship aspect of it is being taught by the coaches.’’

    Photo caption: Neil Buie, football regional supervisor of officials, Southeastern Athletic Officials Association

  • With elections right around the corner, being informed is paramount to ensuring the right candidates get voted into public office. While figuring out which candidate is indeed the one to vote for can be difficult, The Fayetteville Republican Women’s Club is mak-ing it a little easier for some people to decide.

    On Saturday, Oct. 22, The Fayetteville Republican Women’s Club presents Politics in the Park. The event is at Mazarick Park One, from 1–4 p.m. There are several fun activities on the agenda including a picnic, silent auc-tion and 50/50 raffle.10-19-11-picnic-table.jpg

    Linda McAlister, The Fayetteville Republican Women’s Club secretary, is looking forward to is the recognition of historical achievements by Republican women. She noted that women have had an influential role in American politics and have swayed the course of history yet go largely unnoticed for their efforts. She added that people may be surprised by what they will learn about the achievements of Republican women.

    The main event of the day, though, is the meet ‘n greet.

    “It is meant to introduce Fayetteville area citizens to Republican candidates at the state and local level,” said McAlister. “I think introducing candidates to people, networking with local citizens and the public having a chance to meet the candidates one on one makes such a difference. When you can meet some-one and look in their eyes — and not just hear sound bites — and hear why they believe a certain way and what has gotten them to that opinion and shake their hand, it makes a difference.”

    Several candidates plan to attend, which McAlister says will benefit both the candidates, because they can connect with potential voters, and those in attendance at the event because it offers face time with the candidates.

    Tony Gurly is scheduled to be there. He is running for lieutenanat gov-ernor. “He is pretty much a name that no one knows around here,” said McAlister. “This is a chance for people to meet him before they see his name on the ballot.”

    Wayne King is not a candidate, but he is the Republican vice chairman for the state, and he will be there, too. “He is a 30-year-old gentleman who is such a grass-roots organizer,” said McAlister. King is visiting different counties in the state to unite the Republican voters and help with campaigns.

    Ilario Pantano is tentatively planning to attend. McAlister describes him as a dynamic speaker, a veteran, an author and a financial guru who is sure to impress the crowd.

    Local radio personality Dave Taylor is the emcee. He will introduce not only the state-level candidates, but also the local councilmen who are running. There are several people running for the very first time and they will be at the event, McAlister said. “It’s a great opportunity to reach out and get to know the people who may be making decisions for the city and state in the coming years,” she added.

    It is events like these, says McAlister that give people an opportunity to become informed and help shape the government.

    “You are not just relying on news, print coverage or sound bites,” she said. “This is what The Fayetteville Republican Women’s Club has done for me — it has made candidates accessible to me. I am thrilled with having met everyone who was running on the Republican ticket the last election cycle. We get so busy with the bubbles of our lives that we don’t meet the people who are making the decisions about our lives.”

    Tickets are $15. Call 323-5369 or email mgkidd@aol.com for more information or to pur-chase a ticket.

  • 10-26-11-heroes-crusade--logo.jpgWith the gorgeous fall weather we are having, there is no better way to spend a day off than competing for a good cause. The 2011 “Heroes Crusade: An Athlete’s Campaign” is made up of three athletic events designed to honor the military.

    The first in the three-day event is a golf tournament to be held in Hope Mills at the Cypress Lakes Golf Course on Friday, Nov. 4. Registration begins at 8 a.m. for a 9 a.m. shotgun start. Teams will be chosen “Captain’s Choice.”

    According to the sponsor, “There will be a raffl e for the chance to win great prizes, including a one million dollar hole in one and a $2,500 putting contest. Volvo is also sponsoring a hole in one, where you will have a chance to win a new car!”

    Individual golfer registration is $75.00, or $300 per team. Registration includes breakfast catered by Chick-fi l-A, generous goodie bags, and a lunch catered by Hardees.

    Cypress Lakes Golf Course, just 2 ½ miles off I-95, offers fast, championship-style greens which are fairly designed for any level player.

    All proceeds from the tournament benefi t the Wounded Warrior Project, the Green Beret Foundation, Ride to Recovery and AMBUCS. AMBUCS is a program to provide ambulatory bikes for parapalegic vets.

    The golf tournament is an expansion of the previous Fallen Warrior Rugby Tournament. The rugby match to honor 100 fallen “ruggers” is on Saturday, Nov. 5, at the Jordan Soccer Complex on Ramsey Street.

    The players will each proudly wear the jersey number of one of their fallen brethren to honor the sacrafi ces so selfl essly made for our country.

    The Fallen Warrior Rugby Tournament was inherited by Dr. John Tinsley, who felt that as a military community Fayetteville deserved a bigger event to honor our fallen veterans. He expanded the match to a three day, three event opportunity to raise money for several charities that assist veterans, rather than just one.

    Says Tinsley, “I just felt that Fayetteville needed to do more in terms of … making something designed around the military that Fayetteville can hang its hat on.”

    There is an affi liated 5K run/walk and 18/36/62 bike ride on Sunday, Nov. 6, 2011. The events all start at the Medical Arts Building in Fayetteville, N.C. Start times vary, but times and courses will run simultaneously.

    The Heroes Crusade Tournaments are being held in conjunction with Heroes Homecoming — a two-week celebration dedicated to honoring Vietnam veterans.

    For more information about the tournaments or to register, visit http://heroescrusade.org. There you can find information about the supported charities and inspiring videos of wounded veterans. You may also email the event coordinator at: tinsley982@aol.com.

    Photo: The 2011 “Heroes Crusade: An Athlete’s Campaign” is made up of three athletic events designed to honor the military

  • Resident Evil: Retribution(Rated R) 2 Stars10-03-12-movie.gif

    Before the movie begins, a trailer for a movie due out next year called Mama makes me just about crawl out of my skin, restoring my faith in American horror movies. This is followed by the fifth sign of the apocalypse, a trailer for Battle of the Year featuring Josh Holloway and looking mind-bogglingly horrendous.

    Writer-director Paul W.S. Anderson returns to the franchise, and even though I should love this series, I do not. He directed one of the best space-horror movies ever, but he has never been able to recapture that greatness, instead opting to go for style over substance productions. His films look alright, but generally descend pretty quickly into plot-hole filled nonsense.

    I was concerned that skipping the last film in the franchise might render this entry a bit confusing, but Resident Evil: Retribution (95 minutes) offers a helpful recap of the last four films complete with split screen images to help catch me up. I must admit the opening credits are pretty darn cool looking, the cast names popping into view while the first five minutes or so of the film crawls by in back-wards slow-mo with plenty of distorted point-of-view shots.

    Lots of militant types are jumping from helicopters to attack a ship filled with people dressed all in white. Jill Valentine (Sienna Guillory) is leading the attack after the Umbrella Corporation (the Big Bad of the franchise) brain-washed her at some point in the last four films. Perennial hero Alice (Milla Jovovich) faces down the attackers only to be blown off the ship and into a seeming alternate reality in which she is a suburban housewife married to Todd (Oded Fehr from Apocalypse, etc.). While behaving cutely over breakfast with their daughter Becky (Aryana Engineer) they are attacked by fast zombie-like creatures.

    Aside. Everyone needs to stop categorizing the Resident Evil series as zom-bie movies. Zombies are slow moving corpses brought back from the grave in various stages of decay that hunger after the flesh of the living OR they are living humans in a state of drugged complacency who have lost free will and most of their personality. They ARE NOT speedy little suckers with slurping tentacles that shoot out of their mouths. End Aside.

    Anyway, the not-zombies more than decimate the neighborhood, but Alice and her daughter are saved when neighbor Rain Ocampo (Michelle Rodriguez, who also played a character named Rain in RE) drives by and offers them a lift. They wreck, and, hilariously, Alice grabs her daughter and flees the scene without a second glance at the Good Samaritan. After a few more near escapes the scene shifts to Alice awakening in an oubliette with Jill standing high above her.

    Following some naked interrogation Alice makes her escape with the assistance of a digital Wesker (Shawn Roberts) and Ada Wong (Bingbing Li). After wading her way through a few score not-zombies she finds out that she is in an underground facility designed to simulate environments around the world and peopled with red shirt wearing clones. The only question remaining is whether or not the extraction team can rendezvous with them before Umbrella Security (the Red Queen) wipes them all out.

    Overall, if the movie works in any respect it is because Jovovich sells the heck out of her role and fans of the films will love this as much as the last four. Retribution sticks close to its video game origins, with slick visuals that capture the essence of the game that inspired the series and a plot that resembles the standard hack and slash walkthrough. Of course, clothing the female action heroes in either barely-there clothes complete with spiked heels or pseudo-dominatrix wear is just the regular video-game bonus.

    Now showing at Wynnsong 7, Carmike 12 and Carmike Market Fair 15.

  • One of the great things about a Volksmarch is that it is an easy way to get in some exercise and enjoy the great outdoors without the stress that comes with competitive fitness events. Granted, there are plenty of people who look forward to beating10-10-12-volksmarch.giftheir best time and crossing the finish line with a rush of adrenaline. For the rest of us, a Volksmarch is the answer. On Oct. 20, check out the 5th Annual Volksmarch and Festival at Smith Lake. Bring your friends, family and even Fido is welcome as long as his vaccine is current and is kept on a leash.

    While the event is open to all ages, Steve Johnson, event spokesperson notes that “…it is not necessarily stroller friendly.” He cautions that while “strollers do go out on the route, some of it is sandy. The packed down trail is fine but the sandy areas are more difficult and people should consider that when they bring a stroller.”

    Sponsored by Fort Bragg MWR, the event features more than a stroll and meander through the wooded paths. The day includes German cuisine for sale, live entertainment, a dog-costume contest, hayrides, a kids corner , both a 5K and a 10K walk and pumpkin decorating.

    Johnson sees the event as something different for the community to enjoy for several reasons. “I think that it is for us a little bit of a unique event. It is a non-competitive celebratory event. In that sense it is unique from what we usually do. In the past it has been well received.”

    Although the walk starts at 9 a.m., participants have until noon to begin the trek. It costs just $5 per person to register prior to the event and $10 on the day of the Volksmarch. To register, go to the Leisure Travel Service Office in the Fort Bragg Mini-Mall Monday through Friday between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. The first 500 registrants receive a commemorative mug.

    The day’s entertainment includes performances by The Bavarian Brass Band. Johnson says that it is not unusual to find listeners dancing to the peppy music throughout the day. If the stroll is not enough to burn off extra energy, send the kids to the Kidz Korner to enjoy one of the many inflatables like slides and bounce houses.

    Being truly family friendly, there is something for everyone, including Fido. “We will have a dog costume contest,” said Johnson. Being a German-themed event some of the costumes in the past have been “somewhat ethnically related” he added. Picture your favorite four-legged friend in liederhosen or a dirndl and you get the picture. At the very least, the costumes are unique from year to year.

    There are 100 pumpkins just waiting to be decorated. The pumpkins and decorations are provided. Technically, it is not a contest, so everyone leaves a winner.

    “There was a good response to this last year,” said Johnson. “We charged for the pumpkin decorating last year, but this year it is free.”

    After working up an appetite on the walk and enjoying the festivities, refuel with some hearty German food. Round out the adventure with a hayride and call it a day.

    Find out more at wwwfortbraggmwr.com or by calling 396-1217.

    Photo: Sponsored by Fort Bragg MWR, the event features more than a stroll and meandering the wooded paths.

  • 10-17-12-historic-hauntings.jpgAs the weather begins to cool and the dark descends earlier and earlier each day, our thoughts naturally turn to the darker side of things. Halloween will be upon us in just a few short weeks, and with it that delicious anticipation of frights and scary sights and things that go bump in the night.

    In and around Fayetteville, there are a number of opportunities to indulge that taste for the goose-bump raising, hair tingling shivers. Now in its ninth year, the Fayetteville Dogwood Festival is sponsoring three dark delights that are sure to please.

    One of the most popular events of the Halloween season is the Historic Hauntings tour. An hour-long hayride takes you through historic Fayetteville’s most notable creepy locations. This is no placid pleasure tour. On and off the ride, you will meet some of Fayetteville’s most notorious criminals and spooky spirits, and hear tales of Fayetteville’s more savory characters and their famous despicable deeds. A quick trip through Cross Creek Cemetery by torchlight may bring you face to face with Confederate Soldiers, so you may want to bring a friend for moral support. Be sure to wear comfortable footwear because there is a rumor that there may even be a chase! This tour is not recommended for guests with limited mobility or strollers.

    Says Carrie King, executive director of the Dogwood Festival, “The best thing about this tour is that we change it up every year. If you came last year, you won’t see the same thing this year. This event is a unique way for patrons to see things in our community that they would typically not have access to. It brings history to life. You don’t just hear about these events, through re-enactors you actually see it unfold as well.”

    Tickets for the Historic Hauntings hayride are $15 and must be purchased in advance. These tickets sell out fast and are sold for a specific time slot. Be early and allow time to park and walk to the check-in point at 225 Dick St., as the ride attendant leaves punctually. Historic Hauntings tours will be available on Oct. 18-20, and Oct. 25-27. Tickets can be purchased online through etix or by calling 910-323-1934. Click through directions for etix can be found at the Fayetteville Dogwood Festival website: www.faydogwoodfestival.com.

    When you are done with your tour, be sure to check out the Heritage Square Haunted House. The basement of the Woman’s Club will be transformed into a chill-seeker’s paradise. Tickets are $5 and can be purchased at the door or in advance by calling 910-323-1934. Proceeds from the haunted house go to benefit the Woman’s Club. The haunted house will be open between 7-10:30 p.m. on the days that the Historic Hauntings tour is running.

    Now in its fifth year, the Hallow’s Eve Walk will be held on Oct. 30. You will have an opportunity to join Fayetteville Historian, Bruce Daws, on a walking tour through the Cross Creek Cemetery. During this hour-long tour, Daws will guide you by candlelight as he paints a picture of the infamous, and even the not so famous, people buried in our city’s historic resting place, and the chilling and unusual ways they came to rest there. Funds raised through the Hallow’s Eve event will go to restoration efforts at Cross Creek Cemetery.

    Tickets for the Hallow’s Eve Walk are $10 and must be purchased in advance. Tickets are available at the Dogwood Festival office at 145 Person St. or by calling 910-323-1934.

    Visit the Fayetteville Dogwood Festival website for more information on any of these events at: www.faydogwoodfestival.com/historic-hauntings.

  • 10-24-12-4thfridaylogo_2012_web.gifIt’s that time again — new exhibits are opening and activities abound on 4th Friday in downtown Fayetteville. 4th Friday is a true celebration of the arts and downtown. Folks of all ages get a taste of Fayetteville’s art and entertainment while enjoying the small galleries, bookstores, bistros and shops with unique items for shoppers. It’s safe, it’s fun... and it’s free!

    Exhibits, entertainment, refreshments and featured artists all combine to bring the art of Fayetteville to everyone – free of charge! Businesses in the four and a half block of historic downtown Fayetteville join the action and become artistic venues on 4th Friday, featuring the arts in all forms, for all ages.

    This month it falls on Oct. 26. Come enjoy the festivities that fill Fayetteville’s downtown area every month. There is something for everyone to enjoy in this night full of entertainment and education.

    Are you prepared for the Zombie Apocolypse? The Headquarters Library is ready to help! You won’t last long without a bug out bag. Having food, shelter and clean water might be the only reason you last another day during a disaster. Learn how to prepare for hurricanes, tornados and even zombies. Find out what to leave and what to pack. The program starts at 7 p.m. and runs until 8:45 p.m. Find out more at www.cumberland.lib.nc.us.

    Arts will also be readily available at this month’s 4th Friday celebration. Gallery ONE13 in particular will have a festive exhibits. In the spirit of Halloween S.T.U.N. art will be presenting the “The Ghouls, The Bad and The Undead” art exhibition. There will be music and light refreshments served at the event. Gallery ONE13 is located at 113 Gillespie St. and will be open from 6 to 9p.m.

    Local gallery and artist’s cooperative, Cape Fear Studios, presents its 18th Annual Nellie Allen Smith Juried Pottery Competition. More than 40 entries from across the country were accepted into the show and will be on display at the gallery through Nov. 19.The exhibit features both functional and nonfunctional pieces. The pieces were chosen to showcase the color, diversity and splendor of the works. An opening reception and meet and greet is scheduled for 6 p.m. during 4th Friday.Visit www.capefearstudios.com for more information.

    Fascinate-U offers free admission and a craft for kids during the monthly celebration. This month, keeping with the October theme, kids are invited to make paper-plate ghosts . The museum is open from 7-9 p.m. for 4th Friday.

    Don’t miss the 3rd Annual Zombie Walk. Zombies meet up at Headquarters Library at 7 p.m. and hit the street (Green Street) at 8 p.m. The party continues at the Climbing Place at 9 p.m. with Airborne Aerial Artists performing. At 9:15 p.m., the Horrible Folk Improv group performs at the corner of Donaldson and Hay Streets. Round out the zombie fun at Dead • Alive, the goriest fright film of all time according to many, at the Cameo Art House Theatre at 9:45 p.m.

    The Market House will also be open later than normal for 4th Friday with an exhibit for everyone to come and enjoy. This month’s exhibit is Local Scottish History. Fayetteville is steeped in history and Scotland is one of the largest influencing forces of the region. Even Cumberland County’s name is from Scottish origin. The Exhibit at the Market House dives into this sort of information and will satisfy any history buff’s need for information- or just the curiosity of the average citizen. The Market House is located at 124 Hay St. and will be open from 6p.m. until 10p.m.

  • 10-24-12-pumpkin.gifHalloween is coming; Wednesday, Oct. 31, and this year like many years in the past will be full of new costume characters mixed with those from the past. Local police departments wants to make sure that we all have a great time and to make sure that safety is our number one priority. They have provided us with a few safety tips for Halloween Night.

    While our little ghost, goblins and princesses are out and about on the evening of Oct. 31, let’s make sure that their safety will be your number one priority. If you remember the following tips provided by the local police departments, the residents of Cumberland County, Spring Lake and Fort Bragg should have yet another successful evening filled with fun, excitement and safety.

    The police departments offered these safety guidelines:

    • Motorists should watch for children darting out from between parked cars, crossing streets and walking on roadways.

    • Parents should accompany trick-or-treaters

    • Children should not eat any treat until a parent inspects it.

    • Children should have their name, address and phone number on their costumes in case they become lost.

    • Children should not enter homes without adult supervision.

    Parents should keep in mind the appropriate age for children to trick-or-treat. In cities throughout the United States, the age limit for trick-or-treating stops at the age of 12. If your child is over the age of 12, you may want to find another fun way for them to celebrate the holiday.

    This year you will be able to trick or treat with your children from 6 to 8 p.m. in Cumberland County, Spring Lake and Fort Bragg. Enjoy and remember, stay safe. Check with your local police department for additional information. Also, check out the local events that will be featured for Halloween in the Up and Coming Weekly.

    The Downtown Alliance hosts Trick or Treat Candy stop from 4-6 p.m. on Oct. 31. Visit the stores and businesses and remember to wear your best costume. Find out more at www.faydta.org.

    Cross Creek Mall invites trick or treaters to come and have a haunting good time on Oct. 31. From 4-6 p.m. retailers throughout the mall will hand out goodies to ghosties and goblins who come to their stores. No masks for children 12 and older please. Mom and Dad, bring the kids and enjoy great deals and specials at many of the stores. Find out more at www.crosscreekmall.com.

    On Saturday, Oct. 27, the Poe House at the Museum of the Cape Fear Historical Complex, get an early start and come trick or treating. There will be a scavenger hunt, costume contest and traditional carnival games that the kids are sure to enjoy. Visit http://museumofthecapefear.ncdcr.gov for more information.

    Fort Bragg has plenty going on to celebrate this spooky time of year. Sports USA hosts a family Halloween party between 10 a.m. and noon on Oct. 27. Scheduled activities include pumpkin carving games, bounces houses and more. Wear a costume. There will be a costume contest, too.

    Dragon Lanes and Airborne Lanes are open for Halloween bowling for kids from 1-4 p.m. For $5 enjoy two games, shoe rental, a hot dog and a soda. Kids, wear a costume, there is a contest here, too.

    On Oct. 31, Throckmorton Library is offering Halloween Story time at 11 a.m. Tolson Youth Activities Center has a Halloween Carnival planned for Oct. 31. From 6-8 p.m. kids can enjoy candy, games and fun. There will be a costume contest at 8:30 p.m.

    Find out more about what is going on at Fort Bragg at fortbraggmwr.com.

  • 10-31-12-diabetes.gifYou are so sweet. Don’t sugar-coat it, give it to me straight. I have a sweet tooth. Revenge is sweet. Give me some sugar. Let’s keep this short and sweet.

    Clearly, we are a nation fascinated with sugar and sweetness. We talk about it. We sing about it. “Pour some sugar on me”; “A spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down”; “Sugar … oh honey honey/You are my candy girl” … it’s in our blood, and like so many things, more is not always better.

    High blood sugar (glucose) levels that are the result of the body’s inability to use and/or produce insulin is called diabetes, according to the American Diabetes Association. While it is usually manageable, left untreated complications associated with diabetes include heart disease and stroke, high blood pressure, blindness, kidney disease and nervous system damage. On Nov. 7-8, learn more about diabetes care and prevention at Fayetteville Technical Community College at How’s Your Sugar?

    Mitzi Johnson is the dean of Health Programs at FTCC, and she’s excited about the services and resources that will be available at the event.

    “This idea came from Dave Wilson, one of our foundation board of directors,” said Johnson. “It grew from there and is the result of a group of people who want to do something helpful.”

    Services at How’s Your Sugar? include educational opportunities, screening and access to resources. Blood pressure and sugar screenings, Body Mass Index testing and cholestorol screening (for high-risk subjects) are just some of the resources available.

    “We are going to have a nurse practitioner on site and she is going to work with pharmacy students,” said Johnson. “They will be talking to people and giving them options for referrals and helping them connect with resources.”

    The Army Wellness Center will have a display, as will Better Health and Southern Regional Area Health Education Center.Education is part of the focus here, but changing lives in the bigger goal.

    “We want to prevent problems, but we know that in our population, and in the south in general, there are high levels of obesity diabetes,” said Johnson. “Our nursing students, for several years, have done various community health projects — including blood sugar checks. This is an expansion.”

    In the past, events like this brought in more than 200 visitors a day, but Johnson is hoping for a bigger crowd this time around. The screenings are more comprehensive, there are several organizations involved and access to resources is more extensive.

    “I love the community collaboration, and the fact that there are so many community members taking an interest in this and contributing,” Johnson said. “We already had some resources available and it is a good experience for the students.”

    Johnson hopes to see a big turnout from the students, faculty and staff at FTCC but invites the public to attend as well. The event takes place at the Tony Rand Student Center from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Nov. 7, and from noon to 7 p.m. on Nov. 8. Call Mitzi Johnson at 678-8372 for more information.

  • EarlVaughanThere is no group of people more superstitious in this country than high school football coaches. I remember when John Daskal coached at Reid Ross and later Terry Sanford. He had a tradition of putting a clipboard with a baseball cap attached to it on the sidelines at each game.
     
    Other coaches had their little quirks and issues.
     
    So there should be no surprise there’s some concern in their ranks about using the MaxPreps rankings to break ties in seeding for this year’s high school football playoffs.
     
    There was a big debate on Twitter this week, and one of the main topics was the lack of transparency in how MaxPreps is deciding who ranks where. What’s in the formula? Does strength of schedule count? How do you rate a win over a weak 4-A team against one over a strong 3-A team?
     
    These are all valid questions.
     
    I’ve said previously I support using some kind of ranking system to break ties. I’ve attended meetings in years past where coaches voted on who made the playoffs, and I’ve seen the pained looks on faces of coaches who got left out in the cold because a buddy of another coach cast a deciding ballot that knocked his team out.
     
    Any ranking system based on legitimate data is better than letting human emotion rule the day, but I think it’s best that the N.C. High School Athletic Association ask MaxPreps for some specifics on how these rankings are being determined.
     
    The record: 50-11
     
    I was 7-1 last week, pushing the season total to 50-11, 81.9 percent.
     
    Cape Fear at Westover – It’s become clear Westover has issues on the defensive side of the ball while Cape Fear appears to be getting stronger each week. That said, Westover clearly can score points, so Cape Fear can’t afford overconfidence.
    Cape Fear 32, Westover 12.
     
    Terry Sanford at Douglas Byrd  It will likely be another long night for the Eagles as Terry Sanford appears to be peaking.
    Terry Sanford 35, Douglas Byrd 6.
     
    E.E. Smith at South View  This figures to be quite an offensive showcase, but I think defense is going to make the difference Friday night, and I give E.E. Smith a slight edge on that side of the football.
    E.E. Smith 21, South View 20.
     
    Overhills at Gray’s Creek  This is a chance for Gray’s Creek to get a win, but I’m afraid the Bears are too banged up to take advantage of it.
    Overhills 21, Gray’s Creek 14.
     
    Richmond Senior at Jack Britt  Britt’s celebration of its road win against Lumberton will be short-lived.
    Richmond Senior 30, Jack Britt 8.
     
    Lumberton at Seventy-First  Looking ahead will be Seventy-First’s biggest problem Friday with Scotland looming next week.
    Seventy-First 35, Lumberton 6.
     
    Open date  Pine Forest.
     
    Other games
     
    Village Christian 28, Sandhills Titans 12
     
    Trinity Christian 30, North Raleigh Christian 7
     
    Harrells Christian 32, Fayetteville Christian 6
  • uac100213001.gif Dr. Frank Till, the superintendent of Cumberland County Schools system has plenty to be excited about these days. Not only was the Cumberland County Schools system a finalist for the 2013 Broad Prize for Urban Education this year, the system received full accreditation and student test results are rising rapidly. Innovative partnerships like the Young Entrepreneurs Academy, a joint effort with the Fayetteville Regional Chamber, and Reading Rocks bring even more opportunities for local students to shine.

    Knowing that today’s youth will thrive as adults in a technology-driven world, Till has embraced technology and seeks to equip today’s students with the skills they will need to compete as young professionals. For him it truly is about the students and giving them the opportunities and skills that will prepare them for the future and help them succeed, no matter what they choose to pursue. While all the accolades and achievements are significant, it’s important to understand that these are not the end goal. Yes the Broad Prize nomination is impressive and the accreditation is a mark of competence, but these are the result of countless hours of hard work and thoughtful consideration about how to best serve and educate the community’s most valuable asset — our youth.

    CCS is accredited because it is doing the right things and making the right choices in how to launch the next generation to a successful future. Till maintains that by doing the right things (helping students learn and succeed in school) for the right reasons (providing them with skills that will make them competitive in the work place as adults) everything else will fall into place. As the fifth largest school district in the state and the 78th largest in the country, the successes happening right here in our community will likely have far-reaching effects on the next generation.

    Truly, CCS has plenty to celebrate – Broad Prize finalists, accreditation, rising test scores, innovative programs and partnerships, technological advances are all part of what makes CCS a step above.

    The 2013 Broad Prize for Urban Education comes with a $1 million prize and “honors a district that demonstrates the greatest overall performance and improvement in student achievement while reducing achievement gaps among ethnics groups and between social economic groups.” There is no nomination or application process. An institution’s performance is what decides which schools are considered for this prize. The committee considered 73 items from CCS during the review. Cumberland County Schools were selected because 92 percent of the system’s schools achieved “at least expected growth and 67 percent of the schools achieved high growth. Except for one test in one grade level, CCS “made at least expected growth on every End-of- Course and End-of Grade test administered by the state. The county and all our high schools exceeded 80 percent and surpassed the state average,” according to the CCS website.

    “The Broad Prize nomination is really a celebration of America’s most improved school districts,” said Till. “It shows that we are moving in the right direction. The changes we are making are not a fad; they are institutional changes. That means that they aren’t based on one person or one school.”

    Being a Broad prize finalist marks CCS as a leader among our nation’s school systems, and acknowledges all the hard work that staff and teachers do in educating students every day.

    The school system is accredited by the AdvancED Accreditation Commission. This commission confers the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Council on Accreditation and School Improvement (SACS CASI) accreditation seal. The accreditation is an indicator that CCS is a quality school system. During the accreditation process, the commission considered the following standards: purpose and direction, governance and leadership, teaching and assessing, resources and supports systems and using results for continuous improvement. The accreditation is good for five years.

    The president of AdvancEd describes the process as “… a rigorous process that focuses the entire school system on the primary goal of creating lifelong learners.”

    CCS serves a diverse student population (44 counties and 70 different native languages) and continues to close the achievement gap among all the racial groups. In 2009, the End of Course gap between black and white students was 23.8 percent. In 2012, it was15.6 percent. The state average is 20.4 percent. The school system is on a high growth track and based on information from the 2011-2012 school year, CCS has no priority or low-performing schools and 11 schools were named N.C. Schools of Excellence and 27 were named Schools of Distinction.

    The graduation rate for Cumberland County exceeded the state graduation rate in 2011/2012, and CCS students were awarded more than $40 million in scholarships for the same school year. This year, more than 80 percent of local high schools students graduated and they were collectively offered more than $48 million in scholarships.

    Results like this don’t just happen. There are committed teachers and administrators spending countless hours working to help prepare students to be competitive in a fast-paced and technology driven world.

    Innovation and partnerships with outside organizations provide opportunities to local youth.

    The Reading Rocks Walk-a-thon celebrates 10 years of supporting literacy this year. This fundraiser has raised more than $1.5 million in the past decade and raised $245,000 just last year. The money is raised locally and stays in the schools in which it was raised. The funds are used to buy items that promote literacy, including digital books and iPads. This year, Reading Rocks in on Oct. 19. at Festival Park.

    The Young Entrepreneurs Academy, which is run in conjunction with the Fayetteville Regional Chamber of Commerce and the Center for Entrepreneurship at Methodist University, is for students in 6-12 grades. This program is designed to help our Entrepreneurs bring their ideas to fruition. 10-02-13-dr.-till-cover-story.gif

    “It’s like the TV show Shark Tank,” said Till. “Students get to present their ideas to a panel and see if they can get funding and sponsors for it.”

    Methodist University is not the only institution of higher learning that partners with CCS. Fayetteville Technical Community College and Fayetteville State University both have programs that allow high school students to earn college credit while they are working toward graduation. It is possible in Cumberland County to graduate from high school with up to two years of college credit through these programs.

    While offering students every opportunity to succeed, Till knows full well the hectic world that we live in makes it challenging for parents and guardians to keep up with the details of busy schedules. That is why CCS has developed a mobile phone app that will let busy parents stay up to date with CCS announcements and activities as well as follow their student’s progress. The app is already available and Till expects to put a few finishing touches on it in the next few weeks.

    The growth and successes that CCS has accomplished have been through hard work and dedication of everyone in the school system. While these are just a few of the impressive accomplishments and programs that the system has to offer, Till has no illusions about how much further there is to go.

    “We’ve got to keep working hard to make sure that our students are competitive once they leave here. The world they are going to work in is much different than the world we grew up in and it is our job to make sure they are ready.”

    Find out more about the Cumberland County Schools System and the many programs it offers to help students succeed at ccs.k12.nc.us/departments.

    Photo: A lot of hard work and dedication have made Cumberland County Schools a shining example of where our schools should be headed. Dr. Frank Till, Cumberland County Schools superintendant is pleased with the many achievements and what it means for local students.

  • 10-09-13-methodist-homecoming.gifMethodist University will celebrate its Homecoming and Parents’ Weekend Oct. 25-27. A host of activities are planned for alumni, parents, friends and the public.

    The 16th Annual Hall of Fame Banquet will be held Friday, Oct. 25 at 6:30 p.m., in Berns Student Center. The Monarch Booster Club will induct three new members and for the first time, will recognize Teams of Distinction, those teams that have distinguished themselves with great performances at the conference, regional and national levels. The inaugural Teams of Distinction to be recognized are the Monarch Women’s Golf Team from 1986-1988; the Monarch Men’s Golf Team of 1990; the 1977 Baseball Team; and the Men’s Basketball Teams of 1973, 1974, and 1975. For ticket information, call 910.630.7175.

    Homecoming Day on Saturday, Oct. 26, begins with a bracing 5K/Fun Run around the beautiful Methodist University campus, located on 625 wooded and beautifully landscaped acres near the Cape Fear River. Proceeds from the Third Annual MU Homecoming 5K/Fun Run go to the Wounded Warrior Project and the Alumni Endowed Scholarship Project. For more information and to register, call 910.630.7167 or go to www.ecrr.us and find the 5K/Fun Run on the list of events to register online.

    A special Alumni Awards Ceremony and University Update from President Ben Hancock Jr. will be held at 10 a.m., Saturday morning in Yarborough Auditorium in the Margaret and Walter Clark Hall and is free and open to the public. Distinguished Alumni Awards for 2013 will be presented to The Hon. John W. Brown ’71, of Chesapeake, Va.; Bob Dunn ’70, of Charlotte, N.C.; and Thomas Pope ’78, of Fayetteville, N.C.; Steve Driggers ’76and Tim Holtsclaw ’92, both of Fayetteville, will be honored with the Outstanding Alumni Service Award for all that they do to support Methodist. Outstanding Faculty/Staff Awards will be presented to Lynn Gruber Clark ’72 (retired); Dr. Delmas Crisp, vice president for Academic Affairs; and the Rev. Dr. Michael Safley ’72, vice president for University Relations and minister to the campus

    .Alumni, parents, and friends will enjoy the annual Lunch on the Green, a Homecoming Fair, and the KidZone on the Davis Memorial Library Quad from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. before heading down to Monarch Stadium for kick-off against the LaGrange Panthers at 1 p.m. Women’s Soccer also begins at 1 p.m., and Men’s Soccer is slated for 3:30 p.m. The Lady Monarchs host a quad volleyball tournament in the Riddle Center all day, with the Lady Monarchs playing at 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.

    For those who love the arts, there is always something happening at Methodist, and Homecoming Weekend is not an exception. The Methodist University Friends of Music will sponsor a Faculty Recital at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 25 in Hensdale Chapel. To round out the arts for the weekend, Igneous Expressions, a glass art exhibit, will be open Friday and Saturday in the David McCune International Art Gallery in the William F. Bethune Fine Arts Center (contact sfoti@davidmccunegallery.org); and the Fayetteville Symphony will perform its popular family concert in the Huff Concert Hall in the Reeves Fine Arts Building Sunday, Oct. 27 at 4 p.m.

    For more information, visit methodist.edu or call 910.630.7000.

    Photo: Methodist University gears up to celebrate Homecoming Oct. 25-27.

  • “When you’re different, sometimes you don’t see the millions of people who accept you for what you are. All you notice is the person who doesn’t.” — Jodi Picoult, Change of Heart

    Bullying happens every seven minutes on the playground and every 25 minutes in the classroom, so just imagine how often a visually-impaired student is bullied.

    The Vision Resource Center is presenting Orphans of God: The Musical on Friday, Oct. 25 at 710-16-13-orphans-of-god.gifp.m., at Snyder Memorial Baptist Church Theatre.

    “I originally wrote the play for a Mother’s Day program with the message that everyone is the same in God’s eyes and the play dealt with bullying in the school system because it was something that I noticed with the girls,” said Cory Worrell, writer and director of Orphans of God: The Musical. “We thought this would be an amazing way for our visually impaired youth to share their many talents and bring awareness during Blindness Awareness Month in October.”

    The play features the many talents of 14 visually impaired youth including Michael Macias (keyboard), Hannah Pritchard (Heart of Christmas Show), Lauren Adams (guitar soloist), Brooke Johnson (The Orphan) and the remainder of the Vision Resource Center’s youth cast.

    “They have worked very hard since August to make this play possible,” said Worrell. “I have students from different schools participating as extras in the play.”

    Worrell added that the finale is going to be spectacular. “When we went to camp I realized the students had so many talents,” said Worrell. “They can sing, dance, draw and act and I wanted to create an avenue where they could showcase their talents.”

    The Vision Resource Center’s youth program consists of 41 visually-impaired students and a new program will begin in 2014 for youth between the ages of 3 to 7 and a group for young adults between the ages of 19 to 25.

    “We really want to start early because they are getting younger,” said Worrell. “These are the two major programs we are working on now.”

    Worrell added that they will launch their self-defense and theater programs in the spring.

    Blindness Awareness Month is designed to heighten awareness and support for the National Federation of the Blind.

    “Blindness can happen to you or anyone in your family,” said Terri Thomas, executive director of the Vision Resource Center. “Visually impaired students are bullied more than other students.”

    Thomas added that she wants people to come and be inspired by the play.

    “I am blessed to be part of such an amazing group of kids,” said Worrell. “They continue to inspire me everyday.”

    Admission is free. For more information or group reservations call 483-2719 or visit www.visionresourcecentercc.org.

  • Healthy babies. It’s what expectant parents pray for, medical professionals work to ensure, friends and families rejoice over and it’s thesignaturechefspic.gifmission of the March of Dimes. Specifi cally, they work to “... improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth and infant mortality. We carry out this mission through research, community services, education and advocacy to save babies’ lives.”

    Since 1960, infant mortality rates in the U.S. have fallen from 26 per 1,000 to 6.7 per 1,000 in 2008. A vast improvement to be sure, but that is still too many.

    On Sunday, Oct. 10 the Fayetteville chapter of the March of Dimes is holding its Signature Chef’s Auction at the Holiday Inn Bordeaux. Some of Fayetteville’s fi nest restaurants and chefs have already signed up to wow the attendees with their culinary prowess. This year’s participants include Cape Fear Valley Health Systems, Chef Mei Personal Chef Services, Circa 1800, Holiday Inn Bordeaux, Luigi’s, Morgan’s Chop House, Pierro’s, Riverside Steakhouse and Oyster Bar, Scrub Oaks, Sherefe Mediterranean Grill, Steve Graham The Southern Gourmet, The Barn, The Hilltop House, The Invisible Chef, Rude Awakening, OMG Cupcakes and Kim’s Cupcakes. This years theme is the Perfect 10 Event Purple and White Gala.

    A cocktail hour is planned during registration. Upstairs in the main ballroom the chefs will be lined up and waiting for guest to begin to tasting the fi ne fare they’ve prepared.

    The silent auction items will be upstairs as well.

    “We have auction items for everyone,” said Natalie Young, committee chair and vice president of national promotions for Stork News of America. Some of the auction items include jewelry, lamps, area rugs, a honey-do package for painting & plumbing. There are car washes, there is a great business package that includes a one-year membership to the chamber and anything a business would or could use. Who wouldn’t want to bid on the perfect vacation package which includes airline tickets, luggage and a hotel stay.

    “We got pretty much everything you would want. You could almost do your Christmas shopping here. It is not the some old, same old. We have a lot of creativity that has come to the table this year... and... someone is going to win a diamond — compliment of Rhudy’s. We are going to sell champagne glasses and one lucky person will have a diamond in a sash attached to the stem of their glass,” Young added.

    Later in the evening, the live auction consists of 10 perfect packages that are sure to have bids rolling in.

    Jazz artist Reggie Codrington is donating his time and talent to the cause, too. “Reggie was premature,” said Fayetteville Area March of Dimes Division Director Gayle Nelson. “He was born with a defect and is donating his time to play because of the worthy cause, so we are excited about that.”

    The local ambassador family, Bo and Susan Gregory will be at the event to share their story of their now four year-old son Hughes Gregory.

    “People will get a chance to meet Hughes,” said Nelson. “He was born 1 lb. 15 oz. Everything that we have done for this event this year has been to put Hughes in the spotlight because we want to remind people about who we are and what we do. A lot of people hear about the March of Dimes but they don’t realize what all the organization does.”

    Tickets are $75 per person and can be purchased by calling 483-3691. You can also fi nd out more about the March of Dimes and their mission or purchase tickets at www.marchofdimes.com/ northcarolina.

  • uac101310001.gif On Friday, Oct. 22, Reggie Codrington will perform at the Crown Center, but don’t wait too long to buy your tick-ets, there are only 250 seats and they are going fast.

    If you’ve missed out on hearing his story here’s a quick recap — Co-drinton is no stranger to overcoming hard times. In fact, not only was he inspired by music to get through a rough start in life, he’s turned that around and is not only successful, but also an inspiration.

    The son of nationally known musician and bandleader Ray Co-drington, the younger Condrington was born with Ataxic Cerebral Palsy (ACP). It is a condition that affects muscle coordination and depth per-ception. By the age of 13, Codrington had undergone nine surgeries where muscles were alternately cut and transferred from his elbow, wrist and right tricep to improve his fi nger dexterity. Additionally, muscles were cut from his leg to offer more mobility and make it easier to walk.

    During his early years, Codring-ton turned to music as an escape when things got overwhelming.

    He is a writer and composer of smooth jazz and a musician as well. His instru-ment of choice is the sweet sounding, curved soprano saxophone. According to www.reggiecodrington.com, Codrington loves entertaining and recording but “his ultimate goal is to go on tour and share his music and his triumphant story of overcoming the physical challenges of being disabled. His vision is to tour the world talking to young people and sharing how he overcame a debilitating disability, ridicule in his youth and unsavory independent labels as he traveled on his road to jazz greatness. “

    Crown Center General Manager Karen Long is excited about the event and con-siders it a treat to be able to host Codrington at the Crown. “We wanted to showcase local talent, and I don’t think there is anyone who would disagree that Reggie is just a fabulous local talent, and we want to make an experience out of that,” said Long “I think it is going to be a great networking opportunity for people to come out and have a good time. We s10-13-10-reggie-bnw-color-horn.gifcheduled it in conjunction with the FSU homecoming, hoping to capitalize on some of the out-of-town guests who are here maybe looking for a quieter scene than some of the activities that they have scheduled.”

    Folks in attendance will receive more than a fantastic show with great talent, there is also a preshow meet and greet with Codrington as well as heavy hors d’ouevres and complimentary wine.

    “The first time I heard him I was very impressed and I had no idea that he had the physical disability that he has,”said Long. “He is just an amazing person. He is always so very friendly, very quick to reach out his hand or give you a hug. He is just a feel-good person and he makes you feel good about being around him — and when he plays that is multiplied.”

    With any luck, this event will be the impetus that brings similar events to the Crown. Long mentioned that there may be a jazz series in the not too distant future at the Crown Center.

    “I really did want to keep it on the small intimate level this time, but it is defi nitely something that can grow,” said Long. “We are just so happy that Reggie was able to be a part of it this time. Possibly next time we will have some other entertainment in addition to him.”

    Tickets are $50 per person and tables of six can be purchased for $300. Contact the Crown Center at 438-4100 for more info or to purchase your tickets.

  • Every year the Town of Hope Mills celebrates its history with the Ole Mill Days Fall Festival. The one-day event will be held Oct. 23 at the Hope Mills Municipal Park. Originally, called the Pumpkin Festival, the annual event was changed to Ole Mill Days six years ago as a way to recognize the various mills that once populated the town.

    Sponsored by the Hope Mills Parks and Recreation Department, the festival has vendors, storytelling, rides for kids, a chili cook-off, tractor pull, costume contest and dance and music performances. Scheduled performances by gospel artist Larry Chason and country artist Larry Frick are new events added to this year’s festival.

    “We wanted to have something for everybody,” said Kenny Bullock, program supervisor. “So we added gospel and country [music].”

    In addition, Bullock says there was more emphasis on attracting more craft vendors to the event.

    “We’ll still have food vendors,” he said, “but we wanted [the festival] geared more to craft vendors.”

    So far 21 vendors have confi rmed, and Bullock expects up to 40 vendors to participate.

    Planning for Ole Mill Days begins in January. Bullock said the Recreation Department places advertisements in local newspapers to attract new vendors and notifi es prior participants so they can sign up. Turn out for the festival is usually good. Bullock said on average about 2,000 people attend the event each year.

    While the Ole Mill Days has been a success, Bullock wants the festival to continue to become larger, possibly becoming a two or three day event. And he welcomes input from the citizens on ways to improve the festival

    “We’re open for suggestions” he noted.

    Events will be held at the Hope Mills Municipal Park, 577 Rockfi sh Rd. For more information, call 910-424- 4500.

  • Toga! Toga! Toga! What’s the fi rst thing that comes to your mind when you hear that chant? For most people, it’s John Belush10-27-10-doug-clark-.gifi wrapped in a toga, head adorned with leaves. Or maybe hoards of drinking, screaming teens, partying like there’s no tomorrow. For others perhaps it’s helpless puppies, kittens and other animals that have been rescued and are looking for a good home.

    Okay, if you’re like most people, it’s not usually the latter, but after Fri-day, Nov. 12, that may change thanks to the Fayetteville Animal Protection Society. This year for its annual fundraiser, FAPS is throwing a toga party, and its members are encouraging you to dress as your favorite character from the 1978 hit movie Animal House, in a toga, or any college gear that you may have.

    FAPS is Cumberland County’s only state-licensed no kill animal shelter, and like most nonprofit operations, depends on the support of it’s community to be able to continue rescuing, sheltering and placing animals in stable, loving homes. Opened in 1982, FAPS has grown from a small shelter for a few animals into one of the most thriving, progressive shelters in North Carolina

    Venturing away from the usual silent auc-tion or charity dinner, FAPS has decided to ap-peal to the young (and young at heart) this year and hopes that everyone will enjoy this venture away from the norm.

    “This year the board just wanted to do something different, something to attract a younger crowd, along with our usual loyal fol-lowers.” Serriah Nicole explained.

    This is Nicole’s first year on the the board of directors and the first event she has taken part in.

    “We have worked really hard this year to capture the fun and excitement that was shown in (the movie) Animal House, and that you would come to expect of a toga party, all for a good cause. Jenny Beaver (of Just Jenny Events) has done a great job of helping to plan and set up our event.”

    This is a unique event, as Huske Hardware has graciously agreed to close its doors to the public from 7-11 p.m. to host the event. In addition to great hors d’oeuvres, wine and beer, there will also be some great music that will put you in the mood to alligator.

    The band in question is Doug Clark and the Hot Nuts, the oldest college fraternity band, and the band that was the inspiration for the toga party in Ani-mal House. The band was formed in Chapel Hill in 1955 as The Tops. Leading the band was Doug Clark, who was trying to earn money by play-ing at UNC fraternity parties and other school functions. The Tops first played for the Phi Delta Theta fraternity, and quickly drew a following throughout the Greek community.

    The following year, the group broke up and founded a new group called Doug Clark’s Combo. This group continued playing the local fraternity scene. After picking up a new song called “Hot Nuts,” the group became recognized for this instant hit and the name stuck.

    From the mid-’50s to today, Doug Clark and the Hot Nuts have been playing their addictive music at colleges and universities all across the United States. Their style of telling dirty jokes and singling out audience members has proven extremely successful for the band. Although the Hot Nuts have often been booked for “censored” shows, the crowd ALWAYS ends up begging for the raunchy style that has made them famous.

    While you’re there be sure to check out “Where were you in 1978 when Animal House hit the big screen?”, view some of the pets that are up for adoption or even sign up to volunteer for a few hours at the shelter. The FAPS’staff is grateful for everyone who is able to give or volunteer some of their time.

    Tickets are $75 and are on sale now, and can be purchased online at www.fapspet.org.

  • 10The Joy of Giving: that’s Holly Day Fair’s theme this year. The fair is the largest holiday gift and craft show in Eastern North Carolina.

    With over 150 vendors, there will be an extensive selection of unique handcrafted and manufactured products for the 22,000 visitors expected to attend.

    The shoppers will shop a selection that boasts the best in holiday decorations, handmade crafts, stylish jewelry and clothes, children's toys, specialty food items and much more.
    Proceeds from the Holly Day Fair benefit the Junior League of Fayetteville and its programs targeting homelessness and food insecurities. These funds have a substantial and lasting impact on the community.

    Katie Crawford, a local artist, has participated in the Holly Day Fair for a little over a half-decade.

    "It's always one of my better shows for the year. I have done it enough years in a row now that I have people that come to see me every year," Crawford said. "It's great to have a well-known and established show to keep the tradition going."

    Crawford sells several pieces of her artwork at the fair, including her watercolor paintings, felted sculptures, notecards, and giclee prints.

    She will also be selling her book, “What the Map Left Out” for the first time this year.

    "It's a fun show," Crawford explained. "You have a mix of local and out-of-state dealers and food vendors. It's not a traditional "art show" either, so there are a lot of different products for people who are not necessarily into art."

    Holly Day Fair kicks off on Nov. 4 with Super Shopper hours from 9 a.m. to noon. The Holly Day Fair will also be offering its Sip & Shop event for the third year. Sip & Shop will be held during super-shopper hours but provides an exclusive shopping experience.

    Sip & Shop guests will be treated to a continental breakfast with mimosas and receive a special commemorative gift. The Sip & Shop tickets are $30 and are limited. Strollers and any rolling carts are strictly prohibited during Super Shopper hours.

    Regular hours of the event are Nov. 4, noon – 8 p.m., Nov. 5, 9 a.m. – 8 p.m., Nov. 6, 9 a.m. – 8 p.m. and Nov. 7, 11 a.m. – 5 p.m.

    Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased online at CapeFearTix.com, and in person at the Crown Complex Box Office, Leisure Travel Services on Fort Bragg, The Pilgrim Gifts in Fayetteville, Junior League of Fayetteville office, Jernigan's in Dunn, Jernigan's in Lumberton and Fabulous Finds Boutique in Fayetteville.

  • 09More than 6 million Americans are living with Alzheimer's disease – a leading cause of death in the United States.

    In North Carolina alone, there are more than 180,000 people living with the disease and 358,000 caregivers.

    The Alzheimer’s Association Walk to End Alzheimer’s is the world’s largest event to raise awareness and funds for Alzheimer’s care, support and research.

    The Alzheimer’s Association hosts 17 walks across North Carolina including Fayetteville.

    “We invite the community to join us in taking steps for Alzheimer’s disease. More than ever, we need to come together to support all those affected by Alzheimer’s and other dementia,” said Lisa Roberts, executive director of the Alzheimer’s Association of the Eastern North Carolina Chapter. “With the dollars raised, the Alzheimer’s Association provides care and support to families while also advancing critical research toward methods of treatment and prevention.”

    Dementia is not a single disease; it’s an umbrella term that covers a wide range of specific medical conditions, including Alzheimer’s disease. Disorders grouped under the general term “dementia” are caused by abnormal brain changes.

    These changes trigger a decline in thinking skills, also known as cognitive abilities, severe enough to impair daily life and independent function. They also affect behavior, feelings and relationships.

    Alzheimer’s is the most common cause of dementia, a general term for memory loss and other cognitive abilities serious enough to interfere with daily life. Alzheimer’s disease accounts for 60-80% of dementia cases.
    Alzheimer’s is not a normal part of aging. The greatest known risk factor is increasing age, and the majority of people with Alzheimer’s are 65 and older. But Alzheimer’s is not just a disease of old age. Approximately 200,000 Americans under the age of 65 have younger-onset Alzheimer’s disease, also known as early-onset Alzheimer’s.

    Jay Reinstein was diagnosed with younger-onset Alzheimer’s disease in 2018 at age 57. At the time, Reinstein was working as the assistant city manager in Fayetteville.

    He started noticing that he was having a hard time remembering things – writing notes as reminders, taking more time to do tasks than in the past. He struggled to recall names of colleagues he had worked with for decades. Reinstein sensed something was wrong and reached out to a friend, who was a neurologist at Duke University. After additional testing it was confirmed that he had early-onset Alzheimer’s disease.
    Reinstein is looking forward to the Alzheimer's Association Walk to End Alzheimer’s with his team, the Jaywalkers. This is the fourth year he has been a part of the fundraiser. So far, he has raised $91,000.

    “I hope to make it to $100,000,” Reinstein said. “I have 3 teams: PWC sponsors a team; Fayetteville sponsors a team; City of Durham has a team.”

    “Being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s is not a death sentence,” Reinstein said. “It is very challenging but make sure you don’t isolate. Science says exercise, being social and healthy diet are all important. Join a support group. It has been a saving grace for me.”

    On walk day, participants honor those affected by Alzheimer’s with the poignant Promise Garden ceremony — a mission-focused experience that signifies our solidaity in the fight against the disease. The colors of the Promise Garden flowers represent people’s connection to Alzheimer’s — their personal reasons to end the disease.

    “The Alzheimer’s Association is moving forward — and we’re offering options for supporters to join us at our local event or Walk From Home in their own neighborhoods.” said Roberts. “No matter where people walk, their health and safety are our top priorities.”

    The Fayetteville walk has raised over $84,000, achieving the goal amount. All funds raised will help further the care, support and research efforts of the Alzheimer's Association. The Walk to End Alzheimer’s takes place on Saturday, Oct. 30, 9 – 11 a.m. at Segra Stadium. Check-in opens at 9 a.m. with an Opening Ceremony at 10 a.m. The walk will begin at 10:30 a.m.

    To sign up as a walker, team captain or to learn more about becoming a sponsor of Walk to End Alzheimer’s – Fayetteville, visit act.alz.org/fayettevillenc or call 800-272-3900.

  • 12 Rockin on the river logoRock’n on the River is closing out their 2021 concert season with their last performance of the year.

    On Friday, Oct. 22, Rivermist and Tuesday’s Gone will finish the year with free music and family-friendly fun.

    Rivermist is a local band with great musicianship and always host high-energy shows.

    They have been voted Best of Fayetteville's Best Band for the fifth year in a row.

    The band was recently listed as Up & Coming Magazine’s 2021 Fayetteville/Ft. Bragg area’s Best Local Band.

    Rivermist kicked off the very first Rock’n on the River in October 2018.

    Rivermist was formed in July 2014 in Fayetteville, but is formed of musicians that have been playing in and around the Fayetteville area for more than 40 years.

    They are primarily a variety/party band, playing the best music from the 70s-2000s eras and in all genres.

    They have released original songs that have charted on the Country and Beach Billboard charts.

    Tuesday’s Gone will start their performance at 8:15 p.m. Tuesday's Gone is the ultimate tribute to legendary southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd.

    Based out of Raleigh, the cover band travels all over the country paying tribute to the original 1970's version of Skynyrd.

    Tuesday’s Gone has been together for 20 years.

    “What sets us apart is how diligent we are in being a very authentic 1970s Lynyrd Skynyrd cover band.
    We even use the same instruments,” Ryan King, the lead vocalist of the band said.

    Rock'n on the River is typically held the third Friday of each month. The event runs from April through September. This year, the concert series was held May through October.

    Rock’n on the River will take place at 1122 Person St., behind Deep Creek Grill.

    Parking for the event will begin at 5 p.m. and will cost $5. Beer and food sales will begin at 5:30 p.m., and the concert will start at 6 p.m.

    Concert goers are encouraged to bring their own chairs.

  • 13 Dirty Rotten ScoundrelsIf you are looking for an afternoon or evening of laughter and entertainment, head over to the Gilbert Theater located at 116 Green St. to catch “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels - The Musical” before it is too late. The show runs through Oct. 17.

    In the exotic French Riviera, Lawrence Jameson makes his living by smooth talking rich, single women out of their money. He has been in the trade for many years and has gotten his technique down to a tee. But then he bumps into Freddy Benson.

    Freddy takes a humbler, more laid back approach, swindling women with emotional lies about his grandmother’s failing health and his own economic struggles. The two men initially decide to form a double act but their egos soon clash and the French coast isn’t big enough for the two of them.

    To settle their rivalry, they agree on a bet: the first to swindle $50,000 from the latest young heiress in town, Christine Colgate, can stay and the other must leave town. However, is Christine really all she seems? Hilarity and confusion ensue as the two men pull out all the steps to prove they are the best con man in town.

    The Gilbert Theater is unlike any I have visited. It is a small to medium sized room with a small stage of which the actors use every inch. Prior to the event, there is a refreshment station which includes soda, wine, beer and candy, that is run strictly on donations.

    The cast was created through an open audition process. Rehearsals begin three to four weeks before the show starts.

    For “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels,” the actors in the show made sure we, as an audience, had as much fun as they did performing for us. Chris Walker, who played Lawrence Jameson, was my favorite actor. His voice took command of the room. He was confident and funny and a great singer.

    Freddy Benson, played by Dan Adams, was a hoot. His physicality in the show had the audience laughing. He was a tremendous comedic actor and I looked forward to his scenes.

    The lead female actress is Megan Barnes playing Christine. Not knowing much of the musical before I attended the show, I was wowed by how she manipulated the audience.

    An actress with a small part as Jolene, Maggie Cannon of Fayetteville, was cute and funny. Her bit about Oklahoma made me smile. I am confident I will see her again in the local theaters.

    Linda Flynn, Assistant Artistic Director at the Gilbert Theater, is making her debut as director of “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels.” Flynn joined the theater in 2017 as an actor in the show, “Evil Dead the Musical,” and became an employee in February, 2020.

    “I have always had a great passion for theater. In my position I have learned a lot about every aspect of the theater. I get to do every job there is in theater and I enjoy every aspect.”

    Lawrence Carlisle, Artistic Director of the Gilbert Theater, hopes people have fun at the show. “The goal for all shows is for the audience to have fun and come away thinking that was really funny. Let’s do it again.”

    The show runs through Oct. 17 with shows on Fridays at 8, Saturday at 2 and at 8, Sunday at 2.

    Tickets are $18 and can be purchased by calling the box office at 910-678-7186. For more information visit www.Gilberttheater.com or www.facebook.com/gilberttheater.

  • 12 BNB logoAfter being suspended for over a year, Blues-N-Brews is coming back to Fayetteville. The annual fundraiser is bringing over a dozen North Carolina breweries to the city, all in order to raise funds for the Cape Fear Regional Theatre.

    The usual summer event was moved to October this year since Festival Park only recently opened up. Ashley Owen, the Marketing Director for the Cape Fear Regional Theatre, said that as soon as reservations opened up, they grabbed the Oct. 30 date.

    The season won’t be the only thing different this year. Instead of the usual 3-ounce sample glass that is given out, attendees will instead be given full size cans of beer. The change comes amid COVID precautions. Having less hand-to-hand contact with the passing of the glass prompted the change.

    “We are really hoping that by having the cans and having more products at a time, you are spending less time in line and spending more time in the field, looking at the food trucks and listening to music,” Owen said. “It’s a little bit different this year, but it’s still the same Blues-N-Brews festival that people love.”

    The list of 16 breweries includes Dirtbag Ales (Hope Mills), Southern Pines Brewing Company (Southern Pines), the Mash House Brewing Company (Fayetteville), Gaston Brewing Company (Fayetteville), Red Oak Brewery (Whitsett), Foothills Brewing (Winston-Salem), Aviator Brewing Company (Fuquay-Varina) and Gizmo Brew Works (Raleigh).

    The breweries will be organized by location so attendees will be able to start with the mountain breweries and end with the beachside ones. Owen says that by organizing the breweries this way, people will be able to drink their way across North Carolina. There will also be eight food trucks at the festival so people can purchase food with their drinks.

    For those who don’t enjoy craft beers, there will be a special tent where people can get seltzers, ciders and wine.

    Outside of the several breweries and food vendors, a lineup of three returning bands and musicians will be performing at the festival along with one new performer.

    The Guy Unger Band will be playing during the VIP Hour, which is from 4 to 5 p.m. and can only be attended by those who purchase a VIP ticket.

    Next will be Nattalyee Randall, who has history not only with the festival but with the Cape Fear Regional Theatre. She has previously performed in one of their productions, but she has also performed as a backup vocalist at the 60th Annual Grammy Awards with Sam Smith.

    After Randall, Willie Bradley will be returning to the festival for his second performance. Bradley is a trumpet playing, chart-topping jazz artist from Orangeburg, South Carolina, who considers Fayetteville a second home. He used to teach music in several Cumberland County and Fort Bragg schools.

    “During the pandemic, all of my shows started dropping off. I used that time to complete my new CD project,” Bradley said. “From March 2020 up until July 2, I was completing my new project. I had stuff to do.”

    The album, “It’s My Time” was released back in July and two of the songs on the album trended on the Smooth Jazz Billboard. The song, “It’s My Time” peaked at number one.

    Coming back to the festival, Bradley is excited to play not only some covers and his older music, but tracks from his newest album as well.

    “I think people are ready to get out and have a great time and I think that even though we are in the midst of COVID protocols, I think it will still be a huge event just based on the reputation from previous events,” Bradley said. “I think that it will be a great turnout as usual.”

    After Bradley, the 2 Bald Guys Dueling Piano Show will perform. Chris Ketchman and Mark Pleasant are known for giving a high energy, interactive, sing-and-clap-along comedy show at many Fayetteville venues. This local act will be performing for the first time at the festival and will close the night out.

    A CAN Do Attitude ticket can get you four drinks for $30, if purchased before the event. If purchasing at the gate, the ticket price is raised to $40. Non-drinking tickets are $10, and a single drink ticket is $5. There will also be a $5 discount for active duty military, front line workers, healthcare workers and educators.

    The $75 VIP Experience ticket holders will get an extra hour of the festival, 5 drink tickets, shaded seating, exclusive
    merchandise, a catered meal and “Unicorn Beer” from the Mash House.

    The money will go back to the Cape Fear Regional Theatre to help with costs of performances, their theater camps and renovations.

    “It’s not been an easy year to be a theatre,” Owen said. “The more people that will come to Blues-N-Brews, the better off we will be when we reopen our newly renovated theatre.”

    The fully renovated theatre is expected to reopen in December, if there are no further delays with supply chain issues.

    Owen says they are still looking for volunteers to help out with setup, help backstage, pass out beer, check-in guests, deliver ice to brewers and vendors, and help clean up. There are more than 200 positions available to sign up.

    Those who work two or more hours during the event will receive a free t-shirt. Those who work four or more hours will be able to attend the rest of the event for free and receive two tickets to one opening weekend show during the Cape Fear Regional Theatre’s 2021-2022 season.

    To find out more about how to volunteer, go to https://www.cfrt.org/bnb/

    The festival will take place in downtown Fayetteville’s Festival Park on Oct. 30 from 5 to 9 p.m. Tickets are available by phone at 910-323-4233, at the Cape Fear Regional Theatre Box Office Monday through Friday from 1 to 6 p.m. or at Anstead’s Tobacco Co.

  • 16 BnB Logo and Socials 2Cape Fear Regional Theatre invites the communty to “The Unofficial Bridgerton Musical Party: A Live Listening Experience” generously hosted by the Cape Fear Botanical Garden as a one-night-only special event on Friday, Oct. 15.

    Organizers say if you loved the books, the smash Netflix hit, or the new concept musical album by Barlow & Bear, you are sure to love this themed special event.

    Directed by Artistic Director Mary Kate Burke and featuring choreography by Emmy Award winner Tyce Diorio (“So You Think You Can Dance,” CFRT’s “Music City”), this party-meets-performance is sure to delight “Bridgerton” newcomers and devotees alike.

    “This event provides an exciting way for the theatre to celebrate current trends and share an exciting new work with our audiences. The album is a fantastic re-imagining of the ‘Bridgerton’ characters and story. We’ve added our own flair to create this evening of entertainment, including Tyce’s incredible choreography, period costumes and an awesome company of performers. Our Listening Experience will be a hybrid of camp, costumes and choreography, interwoven with narration for those who aren’t as familiar with the original content.

    Performers will be dressed to “Bridgerton” standards, and, while not required, audiences are invited to break out their hats, gloves and party clothes too!”

    Tickets are $25 and include a specialty cocktail. CFRT offers military, first responder, teacher and SNAP discounts.

    After experiencing supply-chain delays for their auditorium renovation, CFRT announced last week that their scheduled production of “Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story” has been postponed to the opening of their 2022-2023 season.

    Subscribers can use their Flex Tickets for “The Unofficial Bridgerton Musical Party: A Live Listening Experience” among other options. Tickets can be purchased or redeemed at CFRT.org or by calling the box office at
    910-323-4233.

  • 14 115567021 3633294656686224 5142382093780506115 nIt’s been a good year on and off the golf course for Thomas Owen.

    On the course, he played in his first USGA championship when he qualified for the U.S. Mid Amateur in Nantucket, Massachusetts.

    Off the course, Owen and his wife welcomed the birth of their second daughter in July.

    Now, Owen gets ready to defend his title in the Cumberland County Golf Championship on Oct.15-17 at Gates Four Golf & Country Club.

    “It’s been on my short list of goals to make a USGA championship,” Owen said. “I’m tickled to death. But I haven’t played as much golf as I did the last couple of years. We’ve got a newborn baby girl and I didn’t want to stray too far from her.”

    Owen, 33, has been the dominant player in the CCGC for the last five years. Since 2016, he has won twice and finished as the runner-up three times.

    “I’m always excited to play in that,” Owen said. “I have a better understanding of how to play that course successfully. I know what clubs to hit and how to play it. I’m looking forward to it.”

    Owen’s biggest challengers are expected to be two eight-time champions of the event — Billy West and Gary Robinson. They tied for third place last year but were a distant 10 shots behind Owen when the final round was rained out.

    “I think Thomas Owen is the favorite, not trying to put pressure on him,” West said.

    “He’s the defending champion, he qualified for the U.S. Mid Am and he’s among the top 10 amateur players in North or South Carolina.”

    Robinson, who will turn 63 on the first day of the CCGC on Oct. 15, has a remarkable record of longevity in the tournament. He is not only trying to win the event for the ninth time but is seeking to win it in a fifth decade. His first victory came in 1982.

    “The ninth time would be great, it is important,” Robinson said. “But winning it in five decades would be, to me, more important. It means more to me just to be able to compete at this age. I’m happy with that but it still doesn’t mean I don’t want to win.”

    West, who is 47, is impressed by what Robinson has accomplished and the way he still can play golf.

    “One thing I’ve always admired about Gary and the reason I have so much respect for his game is he’s obviously always set the benchmark,” West said. “One of the things I have the most respect for is the longevity of his career.”

    Robinson attributes being able to play at a high level for nearly 40 years to a couple of things.

    “One thing is, I’ve been blessed with good health,” he said. “I try to stay in shape. I did do physical labor most of my life. I did a lot of stretching and it kept me limber. I don’t lift weights but I do use bands and do a lot of stretching to try and stay loose that way.”

    West said Robinson can still hit the ball farther than him despite the difference in their ages.

    “The power he still has in his early 60s is incredible,” West said. “It gives him a competitive advantage in those senior events he plays in and allows him to compete and win when he’s playing people of all ages. He really is nothing short of extraordinary how he’s been able to maintain his game at his age.”

    But Robinson knows his chances of beating West and Owen, only 33, will be more difficult as he gets older.

    “I know Thomas and Billy with the age they are, they obviously still have more chances than I do,” he said. “I would like to win a couple more if possible but we’ll just take them one at a time.”

    West also is building quite a record in the CCGC. He also is trying for a ninth win and trying to win in a fourth decade. His first win came in 1994.

    “It would mean an awful lot,” he said.

    “The one reason I love this tournament so much is it has sort of followed me throughout my life. When I first played in it, I was a 16-year-old kid in high school. Then I was a college student, then a law student and then a young professional. Now, I’m married with two kids. To be able to win through the years, it links to each one of those points in my life and has been very
    special,” he said.

    “To be able to say I won it in four decades would be quite an accomplishment. I guess Gary and I, for the moment, have this competition going and it would be great to win another.”

    Robinson is coming into the tournament in top form. He teamed up with Preston Edmondson of Morrisville to win the N.C. Senior Four-Ball Championship in August in Clemmons.

    In September, Robinson had a top 10 finish in the Carolinas Senior Amateur in Pawley’s Island, South Carolina, and a top 20 finish in the North Carolina
    Mid Amateur in Sanford going against players who were mostly younger than him.

    There are other players expected to be in the field who could challenge the Big Three. Jake Barge finished second last year and Matt Hudson won the Cumberland County Match Play Championship in the spring. Chris Holland beat Owen in that event, ending his six-year winning streak.

    This will be the 53rd year of the CCGC, a tournament that has survived losing a major sponsor in 2014 and seeing a drop in participation.

    Bill Bowman, the publisher of Up & Coming Weekly, took over as tournament director and has staged the event at his home course of Gates Four. That is a change from the past when the event rotated to different courses in Cumberland County.

    “We almost lost this tournament altogether,” Bowman said. “There are few tournaments in North Carolina that have been around 53 years, that’s for sure. Keeping this one is extremely important, I think, to the community.”

    The tournament will take a step toward involving other courses next year. Bowman said King’s Grant has agreed to host the first round in 2022. Robinson is a co-owner of King’s Grant.

    “The sentiment of the players is they would like to see it moved around,” he said. “I think Bill Bowman is doing the best he can in keeping up with some of the traditions of the tournament. So, we’ll take the first round and see where it goes.”

    This year’s tournament will have a new wrinkle with the creation of a Junior Division for players 12-14 and 15-18. The field will be limited to 30 players. The entry fee is $145 and they will play Oct. 16-17.

    Entry forms for the CCGC and the junior division are available at cumberlandcountygolfclassic.com and at local golf shops.

    The entry fee for the CCGC is $175 for 54 holes for the Men’s and Senior Divisions and $145 for 36 holes in the Women’s and Super Senior (age 65 and over) Divisions.

    Players in the Adult Division must be 16 or older and live in Cumberland County. The deadline to enter is Oct. 10 at 5 p.m.

    William Schaefer won the Men’s Open Division last year, Michael Lane took the Senior title, Edwin Baez was the Super Senior champ and Clara Brown won the Women’s title.

    For questions, call Gates Four general manager Kevin Lavertu at 910-425-6667 or Bowman at 910-391-3859.

  • 12 IndigoMoonWhiteCir The 6th Annual Indigo Moon Film Festival will be held in-person and virtually Thursday, Oct. 7 through Friday, Oct. 15.

    “The purpose of the Indigo Moon Film Festival is to showcase films from around the world before a diverse audience,” said Pat Wright and Jan Johnson, co-founders of Indigo Moon Film Festival.

    “Film is an underrepresented cultural art in our community and by bringing it here we allow people to see the world through different eyes, enjoy entertainment, and be inspired and informed more than they normally would.”
    Wright added that they are independent films that you would not see in regular movie theaters.

    “Last year the event was 100% virtual due to COVID-19, but this year we found a way to safely social distance so we are having two in-person events at Segra Stadium and the rest of the event will be virtual,” said Wright.

    The event kicks off Thursday, Oct. 7 at 7 p.m. with a free Family Film Night in downtown’s Segra Stadium.

    “We are screening Disney’s ‘Raya and the Last Dragon’ and we hope that everyone will come out,” said Wright. “We will safely social distance and we are giving away free masks at the door.”

    The opening night film, “Peace by Chocolate,” takes place Friday, Oct. 8 at 7 p.m. in Segra Stadium. It is the story of a young Syrian refuge and his family who come to Canada to try to start over. The young refuge wants to become a doctor, but his family wants him to stay and help run the chocolate business.

    “It is a really uplifting great film and it falls right in line with our theme this year ‘Diversity and Resilience,’” said Wright. “We will have a live question and answer session with the filmmaker, Jonathan Keijser, of ‘Peace by Chocolate’ after the showing of the film.”

    “He has several short documentaries of this type of film and this is his first feature length film,” said Wright. “He is really excited about coming and helping to promote the film and I think they are getting a distribution deal with one of the big distribution groups too, so we are interested to hear more about that.”

    Saturday, Oct. 9 thruugh Friday, Oct. 15 is the Virtual Film Festival. More than 80 films will be represented and their categories entail Narrative Feature, Documentary Feature, Student Films, Documentary Short, Narrative Short and
    Animation.

    Some of the films include “Dreams of Emmett Till,” “Adventures in the Time of Covid,” “In Jesus’ Name,” “Love & Coffee,” “Validation,” and more.

    “The films will be available by website and you can purchase an individual ticket or buy a pass to look at all of them,” said Wright. “You can watch them on your computer, digital device and download the app on Roku, Fire TV Stick and Apple TV so you can watch it on your television.”

    She added, “You get to watch it from the best seat in the house — your own, it is definitely safe from COVID-19, and you can watch all of the films you want for an entire week.”

    GroundSwell Pictures is a 501(c)(3) with a mission of engaging and inspiring diverse communities by producing films, showing films, teaching filmmaking and supporting films that make a positive difference. “GroundSwell is the umbrella organization and Indigo Moon is one of the programs of GroundSwell,” said Wright. “We also create films that are of social significance, but right now we are focused on the Film Festival and creating films to make a positive social difference.”

    Even though the film entry deadline has passed, the process of entering a film for the contest is done through a portal called FilmFreeway.

    “The films that we are looking for are Narrative Features, Documentary Features, Student Films, Animation, Narrative Shorts, and Documentary Shorts,” said Wright. “We are going to open a new category next year for strictly North Carolina films.”

    “We have received some awesome grant funding from the Arts Council of Fayetteville/Cumberland County, Cumberland Community Foundation, and we have got so many great sponsors and supporters,” said Wright. “It is great because last year we hunkered down, did everything mostly in house, and had a couple of stalwart supporters, but this year we are reaching back out and people are happy to support us.”

    “This event is our way of saying thank you to the community for their support,” said Wright. “We are looking forward to the film festival’s comeback.”

    Ticket cost is $100 for VIP, $15 for a student pass, and $14 for three films or a film block. There is also a pay what you can option. Tickets are $5 for each film but you can pay as little as $3.

    Masks will be required inside Segra Stadium. Food and beverages will also be available for purchase.

    For more information call 910-309-6580 or visit the interactive website at www.indigomoonfilmfestival.com.

  • 10-22-14-pinwheel-masquerade.gifThe inaugural Pinwheel Masquerade Ball, the fall fundraiser benefiting the Child Advocacy Center, will take place at the Metropolitan Room on Nov. 1, at 7 p.m.

    The event features a wide variety of culinary sponsors that will be on-hand showcasing their fabulous foods. Culinary sponsors that will be in attendance include Sherefé, Sammios, Newk’s Eatery, Dorothy’s Catering 2, Evan’s Catering, Dairy Queen, R Burger and Sweet Surprise Candy Buffet. In addition, Latitude 35 will create a signature drink only available for purchase at the event.

    Five Star Entertainment is set to play your favorite music and will also provide a photo booth to capture great memories from the evening. In addition, there is a mask contest and prizes for the best masked male, female, couple and group.

    Event attire is semi-formal, with your mask.

    Always a favorite at any event, both a live and silent auction will take place. There are many great items for attendees to bid on, including a week stay in a Myrtle Beach Condo, a week of overnight camp at Camp Rockfish, a birthday bash at The Little Gym, six entries to Wine, Paint and Canvas and a gift certificate for Blessed Oasis Pet Resort for dog boarding or training.

    “We’re really excited about this event! It’s something new that no one else is doing. We’re hoping that people will make this their go-to Halloween event. There are lots of things for kids to do for Halloween; we wanted to help provide something for the adults, while helping to raise money for a great organization. The Metropolitan Room is a great venue for this type of event. The old bank vault really adds a great ambiance to our theme,” said event co-chair Krista Kessler. 

    The Child Advocacy Center serves child victims of abuse in Cumberland County, including Fort Bragg. The center brings together representatives from the Cumberland County Department of Social Service’s Child Protective Services; Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office; Fayetteville Police Department; Hope Mills Police Department; Spring Lake Police Department; the medical community via Southern Regional Area Health Education Center, Cape Fear Valley Health Systems and Womack Army Medical Center; Cumberland County District Attorney’s Office; Guardian ad Litem; and Rape Crisis Volunteers of Cumberland County. Working with community partners the Child Advocacy Center provides a safe and child friendly place that supports the prevention, investigation and prosecution of child abuse. The center is a place where children and families receive comprehensive services to help them heal from abuse.

    The Pinwheel Masquerade Ball will kickoff the 19 Days of Prevention, which the Child Advocacy Center celebrates annually. The 19 days are meant to serve as an awareness to prevent abuse and violence against children. The pinwheel, which is featured in the event’s logo and decorations, represents the bright future that every child deserves.

    Tickets are on sale now through the center’s website, www.childadvocacycenter.com, or by calling 486-9700. The event is expected to be a sell-out, so organizers are advising you to purchase tickets early.

    Auction items are still being collected, so if you’re interested in donating, please call the Child Advocacy Center.

    Photo: The Innaugural Pinwheel Masquerade Ball is slated for Nov. 1. The ball benefits the Child Advocacy Center.

  • 10-05-11-historic-hauntings.jpgHalloween is right around the corner, so while you’re carving your pumpkins, decorating your house and putting the finishing touches on your costume, go online and purchase your tickets to the 8th Annual Historic Hauntings in downtown Fayetteville.

    The hay ride will depart from the Transportation Museum and Annex every Thursday, Friday and Saturday of the third and fourth weeks in Oct.(October 20-22 and 27-29).

    “We have a wagon that leaves every half hour starting at 6:30 p.m. all the way up until 9:30 each evening.” says Carrie King, executive director of The Dogwood Festival.

    The Historic Hauntings tour consists of an hour hay ride that takes you through downtown Fayetteville to some of the city’s most haunted locations.

    “What we do is not only tell you stories and tales of mayhem and murder, but we also represent things that are historically accurate,” explained King. “So not only are you getting the scare factor, but you’re also getting real fi rst-hand accounts of events that have shaped our community and our history.”

    “We change the tour every year so the patrons are not going to hear the same ghost stories that they heard on the wagon last year,” she noted.

    Some of the stops this year will include Liberty Point, the Cross Creek Cemetery and the Transportation Museum. Each year the tour will take the patrons through the Cross Creek Cemetery and share stories about how some of the residents of the graveyard got there. This year, The Dogwood Festival takes it a step further and will have the patrons get off of the wagon and walk through the cemetery by torchlight.

    “We try to bring in those creepy little elements so you can really catch the eeriness,” says King.

    The Gilbert Theatre has also provided the Historic Hauntings tour with actors and re-enactors who will assist in bringing some of Fayetteville’s ghosts and spirits to life.

    Bruce Daws, the city’s historian, will be an onsite narrator at the Transportation Museum sharing some of his spine-chilling and bizarre stories about railroad accidents.

    “Some of our stories are really interesting, stuff that you’re not going to read about in a history book,” says King.

    This event is open to the general public and the admission is $15 per person.

    King added, “If there’s a hiney on the hay you have to pay.”

    This event can be child friendly, but it is up to the parent’s discretion and if the child is easily scared or not.

    “The cemetery will be pitch dark and the stories are true, so it depends on your child’s scare-factor level,” says King.

    All of the proceeds from the Historic Hauntings tour go to Bruce Daws to help preserve historic Fayetteville and Cumberland County, and to the Cross Creek Cemetery to help repair some of the old headstones that have been there since the early 1800s and those that have been vandalized throughout the years.

    “We definitely don’t spare any details as far as making sure everything that we’re talking about is accurate and putting on the best show for the dollar,” says King.

    Also, make sure to buy your tickets online ahead of time because they sell out fast, and show up early so that the wagon doesn’t leave you alone in the dark!

    For more information or to purchase tickets, visit the website at www.faydogwoodfestival.com/historic-hauntings.

    Photo: The Historic Hauntings tour consists of an hour hay ride that takes you through downtown Fayetteville to some of the city’s most haunted locations. 

  • October is such an exciting month here in North Carolina! There are fairs, festivals, concerts and bazaars all throughout the state. Fayetteville is no exception to the activity buzz and one of the most anticipated local events is the opening of the Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra’s Emerald Anniversary Season! Celebrating its 55th year, The FSO has scheduled a concert season that truly offers something for everyone, regardless of age!10-12-11-fso-show.jpg

    Just in time for Halloween, on Oct. 22, The FSO will open its season with a Symphonic Spooktacular which will feature musical pieces, hauntingly orchestrated, from some of today’s most well-known scary films!

    Fouad Fakhouri, music director and conductor of the FSO, said that, “Children, along with their parents, will recognize the music from the movies like Harry Potter, Pirates of the Caribbean and Star Wars. The rest of the program will reintroduce them to short classical pieces that they may have heard before but have forgotten … pieces like “Night on Bald Mountain” used in Disney’s Fantasia, as well as “Danse Macabre” that’s been used in many children’s cartoons.”

    In addition, the concert will also feature Fayetteville State University Percussion Professor, Dr. Don Parker, who will perform a Latin-inspired vibraphone concerto written by Brazilian composer, Ney Rosauro.

    When asked about the appropriate age to start introducing children to the symphony, Fakhouri explained, “I think it’s never too early to introduce children to the orchestra. Unfortunately, there is a misconception that symphonic music is not for everybody. Our aim for this concert is to try and change that perception.”

    Not only do the musical selections make this particular concert a little more youth friendly, but children (and adults) are encouraged to wear the costumes, especially those featuring characters from Harry Potter, Pirates of the Caribbean and Star Wars. Fakhouri stresses, however “audiences at this performance, whether children or adults, can expect great music as well as great entertainment.”

    Roxanne Harris, administrative coordinator for the FSO, adds that there will be some thrilling surprises in store during the Symphonic Spooktacular!

    One of the event sponsors, Spirit Halloween, will decorate the auditorium lobby to create an eerie ambiance. In addition, the 501st Carolina Garrison (an international Star Wars costuming organization) will be on hand to, according to Harris, “celebrate musical chills and blockbuster thrills.”

    While there are no food or beverages for sale during the concert, audiences are always invited to attend the reception, held after each performance, where complimentary refreshments are served.

    The box office for this event opens at 6:30 p.m. and seating will start shortly thereafter. The concert will begin at 7:30 p.m. Single concert ticket prices are $25 for adults, $20 for military ID-holders and senior adults over age 65, $5 for students with ID, while children 12 and under are free. For more information about this performance, or to see the entire concert lineup for the year, visit the FSO website at www.fayettevillesymphony.org or call 910-433-4690.

    Photo: Just in time for Halloween, on Oct. 22, The FSO will open its season with a Symphonic Spooktacular.

     

  •     “Step inside my house Babe / I’ll sing for you a song / I’ll tell you ‘bout where I’ve been / It shouldn’t take too long / I’ll show you all the things I own / My treasures you might say / Couldn’t be more’n ten dollars worth / But they brighten up my day.”
     — “Step Inside This House,” Guy Clark


        There’s a time capsule on Arsenal Avenue.
        It’s a white, Victorian mansion with its 13 rooms decorated as if the residents of the home simply disappeared on a cool fall day in 1917, leaving the artifacts and artifices of their existence untouched and unchanged for these 91 years — a child’s rag doll; a boy’s tin bugle; a Bible containing a lock of hair serving as a book mark in Acts. Lean in … listen to the old black-and-white photos lining the walls, speaking of days spent on the front porch watching the young men march off to the Great War, or carriages parading down Fayetteville streets when horse power really meant horse power.{mosimage}
        On Oct. 10-11, the public will get a glimpse into these days gone by when the Museum of The Cape Fear sponsors the 10th anniversary of the opening of the historic Poe House; the event will be from 1-5 p.m. on Friday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., on Saturday. Activities will include refreshments and games, crafts and cooking demonstrations. Admission is free.
        The Fayetteville landmark, built in 1897 by brick maker and former local politician E.A. Poe — a time also of unrest and inequity. The Poe House – donated to the state in 1987 and now a part of the Museum of the Cape Fear Historical Complex — is preserved with period-correct furniture and fixings from the 20-year period of 18 — full of memories come to life.
        “The house is a wonderful vehicle to interpret a time period,” says Bleazey, the Poe House’s education coordinator. “A hugely transitional time period … It’s a wonderful opportunity to talk about local servitude in a Jim Crowe era and women’s rights and the availability of education and employment opportunities for them.
        “And it’s a great old house full of ‘antiquey’ things,” adds Bleazey. “Everybody says ‘I remember or my mom remembers’ castor oil and chamber pots. It’s like a trip down memory lane for them.”
    Recently, one of those travelers was a member of the Poe family. Bleazey says one of the Poe’s granddaughters, now 93, sat on a sofa in the parlor and took a journey back to her childhood — a trip that gave some insight into the eating habits of Mr. Poe.
        “There were times she just glazed over and she was in that parlor as a young girl, sitting with whom she called ‘Mama and Papa Poe,’” said Bleazey. “And her voice got really deep and she said, ‘Oh, Papa Poe was so fat.’”
        A walk through the huge and well-stocked historic kitchen located separately from the main house — to protect the house from both the threat of fire and the oppressive heat generated by the leviathan black iron stove — gives gravity to Mr. Poe’s roundness, just as a trip through the daughters’ room gives depth to the connection between today’s modern teen and the blossoming divas of yesteryear.
        {mosimage}“We don’t have docents dressed in period-correct clothing doing guided tours,” said Bleazey, relating information about a recent school field trip. “You get to walk right in that room, which is very different from say, the Biltmore House, where rooms are roped off or there is Plexiglas to block you off.
        “We walked into the girls’ room and I told the children to look around, you might think you have nothing in common with these girls from 100 years ago, but look there’s a dresser — I bet you’ve got a dresser,” said Bleazey.  “You don’t have a fireplace, but what you do have is probably similar to what these children had almost 100 years ago. It takes history off the pages of a textbook and they (the children) can really see it for themselves.”
        For more information, contact the Museum of the Cape Fear at 486-1330.
  •     Transportation took center stage at the Fayetteville City Council’s work session on Monday, Oct. 6. During the meeting the council discussed the proposed multimodal transportation center and proposed changes to bus routes, which are designed to improve customer satisfaction by providing prompt service.
        The architectural firm of Gantt Hubberman Architects of Charlotte was hired to perform sit evaluation and a market feasibility study for the multimodal transportation center. On Monday, the architects were back to make their final recommendation for the location of the center. {mosimage}
        The architects recommended the city-owned property co-located to the current train depot and the Prince Charles Hotel for the site. The new center will serve not only the FAST buses, but the trains as well. It will provide a central downtown transfer site and offer an enclosed waiting space for people waiting to make transfers. In addition to the facilities for the transportation elements, the center will also offer retail space for rent and administrative offices for FAST. The proposed 24,000 square foot building has a price tag of $15.2 million. It is estimated that 80 percent or more of the cost would be covered by federal transportation funds.
        Turning their attention to FAST, the council heard from Ron Macaluso, the transit director, on proposed changes to the existing bus routes. The changes are in line with the city’s goal of improving the timeliness and efficiency of the bus system. The tardiness of the buses was one of the major complaints made by bus riders during a customer satisfaction survey.
        Several council members were uncomfortable with the proposed changes and asked that the council hold a public hearing to allow the citizens affected by the changes to respond to the changes.
        The changes are designed to shorten routes by altering transfer sites, deleting turns down side roads, moving bus stops to a centralized spot and eliminating unsafe turns on busy roads like Ramsey Street.
        The public hearing will be held during the Oct. 27 city council meeting. To see a PowerPoint presentation of the proposed changes, visit www.upandcomingweekly.com.
  • Take a Peek at a New Release10-03-12-buzz.gif

    This week we will get a sneak peek at the new WOW Hits release, find out where in the world the Passion worship team is and get caught up with Colton Dixon, a recent American Idol finalist.

    WOW Hits 2013— the best in Christian music is back.

    Only one record a year brings you the biggest Christian artists and songs. Featuring 36 of your favorite artists and their best songs of the year, WOW Hits 2013 Deluxe Edition captures the songs impacting our world. With songs about finding strength, placing your hope in Jesus and the promise of everlasting life, WOW Hits 2013 Deluxe Edition includes 21 number one songs and more than two hours of encouraging music.

    Songs on the two-cd set include:

    “10,000 Reasons (Bless The Lord)” by Matt Redman, “All This Time” by Britt Nicole, “Good Morning” by Mandisa (featuring TobyMac), “Where I Belong” by Building 429, “Courageous” by Casting Crowns, “Live Like That” by Sidewalk Prophets, “He Said” by Group 1 Crew (featuring Chris August), “Busted Heart (Hold On To Me)” by for KING & COUNTRY and “Strong Enough To Save” by Tenth Avenue North.

    The latest from Passion worship

    A new single from the recent number one multi-artist album Passion: White Flag is gaining a great response from listeners around the country. The heart-stirring “One Thing Remains” by Kristian Stanfill follows-up the project’s previous single, “White Flag,” by Chris Tomlin. You can find the radio version of “One Thing Remains” on iTunes and Amazon MP3.

    Also, the Passion team is currently in South Africa on the Passion World Tour 2012. Follow them on Twitter at twitter.com/passion268 for updates from Africa, plus news about the upcoming Passion 2013 Conference in Atlanta, Ga.

    American Idol Finalist Colton Dixon Releases First Single

    Season 11 American Idolfinalist Colton Dixon released his first digital single “Never Gone.” It’s available now on iTunes.

    Millions of viewers took notice of the 20-year-old Tennessee native thanks to his strong voice, outspoken faith and original songwriting ability. Colton’s first official radio single “You Are” will be heard on radio starting next month, and his full-length debut album is scheduled to release early 2013.

    “I have a little over 30 songs now to pick for a record, so it’s just about picking the right ones and seeing what God does with them,” the singer recently told CBN News about being in the studio finishing the album.

  • A month filled with pumpkins and ghosts, October is known for both fright and fun. Whether your aim is a scary adventure or a pleasant family hayride, Fayetteville offers several fun October events, with something for people of every age. 10-10-12-trail-clown.gif

    At Arnette Park there will be an open air hayride to Marlow Manor and a haunted trail. The ride is one-mile long and Marlow Manor is the park’s haunted house. The house is intended to be frightening and is not recommended for small children. It costs $2 per person and is on Oct. 26 and 27 from 7 to 9 p.m. both nights. For more information call 433-1547. In the event of inclement weather, call 306-7325. Arnette Park is located at 2165 Wilmington Hwy.

    Another popular October event is the Stoney Point Fire Department’s annual Trail of Terror. Using talented local high school students as actors and incredible room designs and props, the land surrounding the fire station is transformed into terrifying maze. This trail will operate every weekend in October and on Oct. 18, 25, and 28-31. The trail will be open from 8 p.m. until 11 p.m. Admission is $12 and the event is not recommended for children under 12. For more information call 424-0694. The fire station is located at 7221Stoney Point Rd.

    Sponsored by the Fayetteville Dogwood Festival, Historic Hauntings showcases the town’s most infamous criminals. The Historic Hauntings: Ghastly Ghost Tour is an hour-long tour that takes passengers through downtown Fayetteville revealing stories and personalities from the city’s past and even through the Cross Creek Cemetery — by torch light. Fayetteville’s haunted history ranges from Civil War soldiers to a murdered police chief and a female serial killer. There’s no telling what spirits may join the tour, but education on the eerie adventure is guaranteed. Reservations are required for this event, and the price is $15. Tickets for the hayride can be purchased by calling 323-1934 or online through etix. The departure point is 225 Dick St. it is recommended to arrive a few minutes early. The tour will run Oct. 18-20 and 25-27.

    Basements by nature are creepy, and like a fine wine age only improves them. The Heritage Square Haunted House is a guided tour through the basement of the Woman’s Club. For $5, patrons will be allowed to explore arguably the creepiest room in town. This damp and eerie basement located in the Sanford House is known for its haunting. Tickets can be purchased by calling 323-1934. The tour will be available Oct. 18-20 and 25-27 from 7 p.m. to 10:30 p.m.

    On Oct. 31 from 2 to 3 p.m., the region’s haunted past will be revealed through stories. Fayetteville is an area soaked with both history and legend, all of which will be revealed at the Ghosts of the Sandhills event at 631 Sherman Dr. at the J. Bayard Clark Park and Nature Center. Admission is free and the event is open to the general public. More information is available by calling 433-1579.

    The Hallow’s Eve Cemetery Walk is a combination of charity and creepy. For $10 Bruce Dawes, Fayetteville’s historic properties manager, will guide patrons on a one-hour tour through Cross Creek Cemetery. To make the walk even scarier, the only light provided will be candles. On the tour Dawes will explain all the chaos, murder and mayhem that lead the unfortunate demise of key residents buried in the cemetery. Additionally, all the proceeds generated by this event will be donated to the restoration of the horribly vandalized headstones of the Cross Creek Cemetery. Tickets must be purchased in advance and are available at The Fayetteville Dogwood Festival office which is located at 145 Person Street, or by calling 323-1934. This event takes place on Oct. 30.

  • 10-17-12-homecoming.jpgFor students, school becomes a home away from home — especially college students. It is hard to sleep, eat, study and socialize somewhere for a year and not form a bond. Starting Tuesday, Oct. 23, Fayetteville State University will celebrate its homecoming with various fun events for students, all centered around the main event: the homecoming football game.

    On Tuesday, Oct. 23, homecoming week kicks-off at 2 p.m. with the Bronco Pride Campus Parade. From 2-4 p.m., the A.U.T.O.S. Fest takes place at the Gazebo. At 8 p.m., the Show Time at Seabrook Talent Show shines the spotlight on the university’s talented students. Admission is free for FSU students and $5 for all others.

    On Oct. 24, The A.U.T.O.S. milkshake social takes place from 2-4 p.m. at the SBE & Knuckles Science Building. Also on Oct. 24, at 7 p.m., The Ailey II Dance Theatre will perform at the Seabrook Auditorium. For students admission is free, for the general public admission is $10.

    Thursday, Oct. 25, is also a day full of homecoming pride and fi lled with events to showcase FSU’s school spirit. From 2-4 p.m., A.U.T.O.S. will host a Kool-Aid Pie Eating Contest at the student center. From 6-11 p.m., it’s a free night of fun sponsored by the Offi ce of Alumni Affairs and FSU National Alumni Association at the Double Tree Hotel. Light refreshments will be provided. The Homecoming Coronation — “An Evening With Sparkle” starts at 8 p.m. in Capel Arena.

    Friday is the big day of homecoming week starting at 9 a.m. with the Jim Scurry Scholarship Golf Tournament at Baywood Golf Club. It is $65 for individuals to enter and $250 per team. The chairman of the event, Roy Parker, can be contacted at 875-7702.

    The Senior Academy Brunch takes place from 11:30 a.m. until 1 p.m. It costs $25 and will be held in the J.W. Seabrook Lobby. Starting at noon and lasting until 3 p.m. in the student center, is the FSU Spirit Day Pep Rally. The Old School Picnic — which is free for alumni — takes place at the J.W. Seabrook Auditorium from 2-3:30 p.m. In the Rudolph Jones Student Center, Room 236 at 3p.m., the A.U.T.O.S will host its Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony. The Hall of Fame Banquet will be held at the Holiday Inn-Bordeaux from 6-8:30 p.m. and costs $40. You won’t want to miss the the FSU Pan-Hellenic Council Step Show. It is held at Capel Arena. Admission for FSU students is $11 and general admission is $16. Tickets purchased the day of the show and at the door cost $21. “A Night with Ms. Alumni” and 2012 Awards Presentation are scheduled from 9-11 p.m. at the Double Tree Hotel. This event is free. Also at the Double Tree Hotel, but from 9 p.m. until 2 a.m. is the President’s dance. Tickets are $20 and the featured DJ will be Calvin Pee.

    Saturday, Oct. 27 is also filled to the brim with fun homecoming events. Beginning at 9 a.m. The “Red, White, & Bronco Blue Homecoming” is at Vick’s Drive-In on the corner of Rowan and Hillsboro Streets. The homecoming football game is in the Luther “Nick” Jeralds Stadium at 2 p.m. Tickets are available at FSU’s ticket offi ce Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. The ticket office can be reached at 672-1724. Ticket prices range from $25-$28 for adults. Registration is required to tailgate and can be obtained through applications available online at www.fsubroncos.com. Fayetteville State University also offers a homecoming pass for the best value. The pass includes tickets to the Presidents Dance, 2012 Scholarship Gala, Bronco’s Fellowship Breakfast and tickets to the Homecoming Football game. Passes cost $80 until Oct. 12. On Oct.13, the price goes up to $90. The Broncos will battle the Livingston Bears. Another event that is considered a highlight of this year’s homecoming is the homecoming concert. The concert will be held at the Crown Coliseum with admission for FSU Students costing $20. Reserved seating for other areas varies by section. The final event on Saturday is the 2012 Scholarship Gala at the Double Tree Hotel from 9 p.m. until 2 a.m. Admission is $25 and light refreshments will be provided. The Bronco’s Scholarship Breakfast is the final event of homecoming week on Sunday, Oct, 28. The event will be held at the Double Tree Hotel from 9-11 a.m. Tickets cost $20.

    For more information, visit www.uncfsu. edu/homecoming.

  • Sinister (Rated R) 4 Stars10-31-12-sinister.gif

    Director Scott Derrickson scores a run with Sinister (110 minutes), surprising for the guy who directed the crap-taculer remake of The Day the Earth Stood Still. When this first came out I was convinced it was the same people behind Insidious, but nope, completely different guys. Both films have the same fatalistic feel and the same sort of unsettling soundtrack featuring jarring musical cues for the scary bits. Insidious is the superior film, but Sinister was way better than I expected it to be.

    The film opens with some Super 8 footage that will figure prominently in the rest of the movie. This particular plot point is a little shifty in the digital age, but I’ll allow it since it speaks to continuity. In the home movie, a family of four are bound to a tree and killed by an unseen figure. A few months later a washed-up true-crime author and his family move into the scene of the crime. Ellison Oswalt (Ethan Hawke) opts not to tell his wife and kids that people died in the backyard, which seems a little optimistic on his part. Does he think his wife is an idiot? Unless she’s a bizarre shut-in who homeschools their kids (Clare Foley and Michael Hall D’Addario), she is going to find out. Isn’t the local mass murder a popular topic of conversation in small Pennsylvania towns?

    As the film goes on, their relationship just gets weirder and weirder. At one point he displeases her and she calmly tells him that if things get “spoiled” again she’s taking the kids to her sister’s. Since Tracy Oswalk (Juliet Rylance) has a British accent it seems like she’s threatening to leave him and take the kids to England. Extreme, but his reaction is pretty chill, since he’s like, yes, that’s fair. There’s clearly some backstory here that didn’t make it into the film. Sometimes that’s a nice touch, but this time it’s distracting because it muddies the emotional content of the movie. It is hard to root for characters that seem to vacillate be-tween apathy and mania. And honestly, Ellison isn’t that likable. Whether this is just bad acting or a deliberate choice by the director or actor I can’t say.

    So, the exposition fairy flies over and we find out that Ellison had one really good book, which not only pissed off police across the nation, but was also the high point of a career now running steadily downhill. Again, it seems like there was mate-rial left on the cutting room floor, because in an early scene it is implied that the bestseller he wrote ended up getting a killer released, but it’s never mentioned again.

    As the Oswalts move into the Murder House, Ellison heads up to the attic where he finds a box with five Super 8 film reels and a projector. He cracks open a bottle of whiskey and starts playing the films, which are innocuously titled. It turns out that each of the films is a recording of a previous murder. He immediately calls the police, who come to claim the mystery box, and the film ends happily. Just kidding, he instead sits down to watch graphic murders happen over and over again while drinking steadily. Upon closer observation, he notes that the same symbol appears in each film, as well as a mysterious figure.

    He contacts a local university professor (Vincent D’Onofrio) who says the symbol is associated with the pagan worship of a deity called Bughuul. In a bi-zarre directorial choice, the “local” expert is still easier to reach via Skype. Is this to add immediacy to the film? It didn’t work, and the fuzzy digital images of the professor sort of gave me a headache. Overall, the film was filled with decent scares, particularly a scene in which Ellison walks through the Murder House with a bat, failing to see what is actually there, but hearing things nonetheless. It’s a film to watch twice, because there are things in the background to look for.

    Now showing at Wynnsong 7, Carmike 12 and Carmike Market Fair 15.

  • 04 Dobbins2016 000 1Covid-19 has exposed the inadequacies of our society and economy.

    All across North Carolina and here in Spring Lake we’re seeing our families, friends and neighbors go without proper health care, jobs and sufficient unemployment benefits.

    North Carolina is one of only 12 states that has not adopted Medicaid expansion even though 90% of the costs would be covered by federal funds.

    It is past time for our elected officials to invest in North Carolina, our citizens and our hospitals.

    It’s time to send legislators to Raleigh who’ll put aside partisan politics and listen to the needs of our citizens.

    We can’t afford to be short-sighted any longer; we must begin investing now.

    Affordable and accessible healthcare is necessary to ensure the wellbeing of our families, friends and neighbors.

    Medicaid expansion will help close the coverage gap and increase economic growth to our state.

    As retired state employees, my wife and I were fortunate to have adequate insurance coverage through the North Carolina Teachers’ Retirement System.

    Because of the fact that she was insured, she received great medical care and treatment.

    We didn’t have to experience bankruptcy when she became terminally ill as her final medical expenses greatly exceeded $2,000,000.00.

    Many citizens of Spring Lake are not as fortunate, through no fault of their own.

    As the richest and most progressive country in the world, we have a responsibility to speak up in support of the less fortunate, the disenfranchised, the poor and our elderly.

    I speak on behalf of the 13,000 residents of the Town of Spring Lake, many of whom are on fixed incomes, working low-wage jobs, or have no jobs at all.

    Pictured: Spring Lake Mayor Larry G. Dobbins

  • 03 WhiteHouseFlagNot much is certain about the 2020 presidential race except one cold hard fact.

    No matter who is elected—Joe Biden or Donald Trump, he will be the oldest man ever sent to the United States White House by American voters. At 77 and 74 respectively, neither Biden nor Trump is anywhere near spring chicken status, and that triggers more than a few thoughts about the aging of our nation’s leadership.

    Are some of our leaders simply too old to serve—or as Trump sometimes put it, “losing it?”—or are we being ageist even to suggest that? Ronald Reagan was 77 when he left the White House, and more than one observer hinted that he had cognitive issues even then.

    Here are the facts. We have age floors to run for political office—25 for the U.S. House, 30 for the U.S. Senate, and 35 for President.

    We have no ceilings, however, and here are the ages of some of our other decision makers. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is 80. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is 78. The oldest House member is Don Young of Alaska, 87, and seeking his 25th term in Congress. Senator Diane Feinstein is also 87 and has 3 years left in her current term. Senator Strom Thurman died at 100 and was by many accounts well into la-la land when he met his maker.

    State and local officials around the nation skew a bit younger. Governor Roy Cooper is a spritely 63, and Fayetteville Mayor Mitch Colvin practically a teenager at 47.

    Leaders of other nations are generally younger than ours as well. France’s President is 42; Austria’s 34; North Korea 36; and New
    Zealand 40.

    To what do we attribute our aging leadership, our gerontocracy, defined as a state, society, or group governed by old people?

    Writing in Politico, Timothy Noah pictures a 3-legged stool.

    Our leaders age in place. Many factors contribute to this. The power of incumbency keeps them in their jobs. The seniority system in Congress and state legislators guarantee that the longer one stays in office, the more powerful he/she is likely to become. And, over the last decade, extreme gerrymandering—North Carolina is ground zero of this phenomenon—makes the vast majority of seats in both Congress and state legislatures the absolute property of one party or the other. A small percentage of seats are actually partisanly competitive.

    American voters are old. Pundits expound on the youth vote, which is certainly important, but reality is that Baby Boomers, born between 1946 and 1964, love to vote and do so reliably. This gives them clout that other demographics can only envy until they start voting in similar numbers.

    And, finally, our nation itself is old. We like to think of ourselves as a youthful nation on the world stage, but in truth we are the world’s oldest existing democracy. According to Noah, no nation in the world has an older written Constitution than ours, and ours has become a tad creaky. In this election season, our Electoral College is front and center as a Constitutional relic that needs attention unless we want to continue seating Presidents who do not prevail in the popular vote. Other provisions, enacted by white property-owning men in the late 1700s, could stand another look as well.

    So, do we establish mandatory retirement ages for our electeds? North Carolina has set 72 for our state judges, and we have lost many capable people and retained some we should not. The same could be true for Presidents, members of Congress, state legislators and others. There is a lot to be said for the wisdom that comes with age and the institutional memory that comes with service.

    Once we install the next elderly white man into the White House, national, state, and local efforts to decrease gerontocracy should focus on the structures and processes that have allowed it to develop and take hold, not on the individuals blessed with longevity.

  • 05 diverse group circleE Pluribus Unum or “Out of many, one” is the United States’ traditional motto. I can’t think of anywhere else in the world that such a slogan would even be proposed, let alone embraced. It has produced a society that is unique in human experience. Our national personality has morphed through the years as different cultures have been adopted and embraced the American experience.

    I see this in our cuisine. What shall we have tonight, Asian, Italian, Greek, Sushi, barbecue? All these are similar yet somewhat different from what you would get in the places of origin. Each is influenced by the different cultures that make up the American personality. I think they are better than the originals, and the same can be said about Americans. As a nation, I genuinely believe that we are the most accepting, generous and engaged people on earth.

    So how did we get to the point where we now find ourselves? A place where friends, families and portions of society are against one another. How do we get back to E Pluribus Unum? We could start with our Constitution. In the beginning, the Preamble lays out for us the intent of this steadfast document. “We, the people of the United States of America, in order to form a more perfect union...”

    Notice it says “a more perfect union,” not a perfect union. The Framers thought we should work towards perfection. They knew we had flaws, some of them severe. The challenge was to strive towards perfection, something they knew was unattainable but still worthy of the effort.

    Maybe the most important word is “union.” Defined, a union is an act of joining or being joined. It’s “a club, society, or association formed by people with a common interest.”

    Today we have people, agencies and organizations pitted against one another with what appears to be an all-or-nothing mentality. We seem to have lost our ability to empathize or compromise with opposing views. Worse is the willingness to vilify and demonize anyone who disagrees with us. The lack of civility in public discourse is stunning—the use of deception and falsehoods to silence someone who dares to think differently borders on being immoral. Is the willingness to resort to violence for the same purpose dangerous to individuals and the larger society? This will lead to catastrophe if we don’t get it under control. So how do we stop this level of intolerance?

    First, we must accept the fact that no one is the center of the universe. While we all have value, no one is inherently more valuable than anyone else. At the same time, as the Declaration of Independence states, “We are endowed by our creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” We should be steadfast in defending those rights as much for others as we do for ourselves.

    Secondly, we should not just be willing to listen to other opinions; we must make an effort to truly understand them. This is tricky because we often mistake opinions for facts — especially our own. It is essential sometimes to let go of your views and listen to the other person's concerns. Emotions have to be vented before moving on to an honest discussion.

    If you can bring yourself to consider the other person's point of view with an open mind and heart, you will begin to develop understanding. You may conclude that some things you thought were real and genuine are not. You may convince the other person that they were not 100% correct. You may even conclude that the things that have divided us are more about misunderstanding than they are about cross-purposes. At this point, we may even begin to drift back to E Pluribus Unum.

    This is why I am running for Cumberland County’s District 43rd Seat in the North Carolina House of Representatives. Communication is crucial, and if we talk with one another and treat each other with respect and fairness, there is no situation or problem we cannot collectively overcome. I have decades of public service experience and a verifiable record of working and communicating with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to solve problems and find workable solutions for my constituents. I will continue to do so as your representative in District 43 of the NC House.

    We have lots of work to do for Cumberland County and North Carolina. Recovering the economy, providing affordable health care, educating our children, protecting the environment, expanding broadband to rural areas, protecting our citizens and providing for our needy and vulnerable. These are my priorities, and they are all within our grasp. E Pluribus Unum. May God make it so.

  • In the “Game of Thrones” when a character wanted to scare people he would say “Winter is coming.” But before the Night King shows up in 2020, Halloween is coming. This column will grace the streets and bird cage bottoms the week before Halloween. As this year has been an abyss of boredom, it is only fitting to ponder what the endgame of 2020 might be able to bring us in the way of excitement and constitutional crisis. So far 2020 has been a mundane and forgettable experience. Nothing new has happened. Everyone has gotten along swimmingly.

    The lions have lain down with the lambs without tufts of bloody wool or even rancor in the air. As our old French pal Voltaire’s character Candide said: “This is the best of all possible worlds.” Voltaire may have been funning us just a little bit with this philosophy, but he wrote in French so who knows? The French also think that Jerry Lewis was the world’s greatest comic genius and that snails are good to eat. You might want to take French philosophy with a grain of salt. If you have some salt left over you can spread it on the snails in your back yard, fry them up in garlic and wine and have them for supper. But I digress.

    Back to Halloween, which next to Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday for anyone who is keeping score. Mr. Google opines that Halloween began once upon a long time ago as a Celtic festival called Samhain. Samhain is many centuries old, coming to us courtesy of the Druids. Samhain was the event horizon between the end of summer and beginning of the winter. Fun time was over and survival time was about to begin. The living and the dead bumped up against each other on Samhain. Ghosts came back to mess with the living. In order to prevent the ghosts from harming the living, the Celts turned to their priests, the Druids. Like Jerry Falwell Jr. and other religious leaders, the Druids were in charge of telling the common folks what they should do to stay on the good side of the Gods.

    It turned out the best way to keep ghosts at bay was to have a party. The Druids built bonfires to offer sacrifices to the Gods. The common folks dressed up in animal skins and costumes to boogie down around the sacred bonfires. They partied like it was 100 B.C. As smart as the Druids were, they weren’t smart enough to keep the Romans out. Around 43 A.D. the Romans ruled the Celts. No one ever accused Romans of missing the opportunity to have a party. The Romans combined Samhain with a couple of their festivals: Feralia which honored dead Romans and Pomona which honored apples and fruit trees. Mr. Google says Pomona is the source of the custom of bobbing for apples at Halloween.

    The Catholic church in 1000 A.D. declared November 1 and 2 as All Saint’s Day and All Souls’ Day to remember the dead. The proximity of the date of All Souls’ Day with Samhain was a means of getting rid of the Celt’s holiday but replacing it with a Vatican approved holiday doing about the same thing. The Medieval peasants partied down dressing as angels, saints and devils hanging out around bonfires. The night before All Saint’s day was called All-Hallows which eventually became our old friend Halloween. As you sit at home socially distancing this Halloween without trick or treaters or COVID-19 knocking at your door, kindly give a thought to the Druids who made this all possible.

    Now back to the premise of this written waste of your time. What comes at the end of 2020 that might wake us from our stupor of this most bland of years? There is an election coming up shortly that might be somewhat interesting. Recently our Dear Leader had a rally on the South Lawn of the White House with about 400 of his friends, the good people of BLEXIT. The BLEXIT fans may have had some of their travel expenses paid to attend the rally. Nothing says we are behind you like paid supporters. The White House rally was a striking super spreader festival of red hats and turquoise shirts. It appears as a result of this rally, that Dear Leader has wrapped up the Garden Gnome vote as the attendees all dressed like Garden Gnomes. In a close Presidential election, the Garden Gnome vote could be decisive. Like Hillary Clinton ignoring the voters of Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania in 2016, Joe Biden’s failure to court Garden Gnomes could prove fatal to his Presidential ambitions. There is no known Gnomes for Joe PAC supporting the Biden campaign. Biden has given short shrift to the Gnome vote.

    The Garden Gnomes are a mysterious cohort of voters. No one knows why there is a G in their tribal name of Gnomes. Wouldn’t a Garden Nome without a G smell as sweet? Our favorite antelope the Gnu also has a silent G. A gnat without its G would still be as irritating as a Nat. If The Rona is causing you to gnash your teeth at night from stress, wouldn’t your teeth wear down at the same rate if you dropped the G and just nashed your teeth? What’s up with that? Why does the English language waste all these G’s? Ponder this Mr. English Professor: Nome, Alaska has gotten along perfectly well without a G in its name since it was founded in 1901.

    As Tiny Tim almost said, “A Merry Samhain to us all; may the Druids bless us, every one!”

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    Pictured: The author postulates that POTUS may have secured the Garden Gnome vote since attendees at a recent rally were dressed as gnomes.

  • 03 we the people gavel constitutionIn less than 2 weeks, the U.S. presidential election and down-ballot races will be history. While it might take a while to sort out the top race, at some point either Joe Biden or Donald Trump will be declared the victor, and the United States will move forward just as we have done every year since 1792. Supporters of the winner will be elated and vindicated, and supporters of the losing candidate will be sad. There is a possibility, some observers say a probability, of violence in some parts of the nation no matter which candidate prevails.

    At some point, though, there will be acceptance. The president and other newly-electeds will take up the business of governance, and the rest of us will return to our lives, such as they are during COVID.

    America is going to have a monumental hangover, however, not from substances but from our own anger. Somehow politics in our country has gone from wanting the best for America, even though we might differ about how to achieve that, to anger, even rage, at each other. Both sides now call names and demean the other, although it has to be said that Donald Trump has turned rage driven name calling into a new and despicable art form. So intense is our national anger that political scholars have taken to studying and writing about it, as does Steven W. Webster in “American Rage: How Anger Shapes Our Politics.”
    In his book, Webster posits that “identity politics,” mixing partisan feelings with ethnic, cultural and ideological leanings are pitting “us” against “them,” with very little concept of “we.” He also addresses the rise of “niche” media, which allow us to listen only to positions we agree with in our own little echo chambers. Ditto for the development of the internet and other technologies that allow for little policing of fact and facilitate the spread of not only false but wacky and dangerous ideas, like QAnon.

    Anger operates within and motivates both Democrats and Republicans. Writing for University of Virginia Larry Sabato’s Crystal Ball,

    Webster says that in 2008, 43% of Democrats and 46% of Republicans reported anger toward the other party’s candidate (Barack Obama and John McCain respectively). By 2016, those numbers had zoomed to 89% of Democrats reporting anger at Donald Trump and 90% of Republicans expressing anger at Hillary Clinton. God only knows what those numbers are now with election day 2020 looming.

    The question becomes, at least for me, is anger any way to choose the leader of our nation who also remains the leader of the free world?
    Politicians, of course, stoke anger because it drives out turnout of their bases, and Donald Trump is the undisputed master. But we all pay the cost for that. The price is trust in government, down from 73% in 1958 to a woeful 17% in 2019, according to Webster. Government at any level is far from perfect, but it does act, at least theoretically, on behalf of the “we.” If “we” do not trust it even 20%, how can we ever keep support for programs like Medicare and Social Security that benefit millions of Americans? How can we hold our nation and our democracy together if we regularly hurl metaphorical—and sometimes actual—stones at each other?

    Both Trump and Biden can contribute to the problem, but neither of them can solve it. We, the American people, have got to want our democracy enough to work for it. We have to quit allowing ourselves to be played by anger and to think not just of “me and mine” but “we and ours.”

    This feels like the 11th hour.

  • 02 open our schoolsThe first segment of the 2020 Virtual Candidates Forums has aired, and the second segment featuring Cumberland County Commissioner candidates concluded Oct. 20. We can only hope that the second Commissioner's Forum provides more insights and substance than the first. With very few exceptions, the six school board candidates that participated (two did not) for the Cumberland County Board of Education segment were extremely unimpressive, lacking substance and details.

    The 2020 Virtual Candidate Forum introduces candidates to the community so voters can evaluate their talent, intelligence, desire and capabilities to be responsible public servants and successfully move our community forward. Regretfully, if you are a parent or guardian with children in the public school system, once you have viewed the candidates' forum, you will probably consider moving out of the county, advocating for school education vouchers, or scrambling to enroll your child in a private, Christian or charter school program.

    My disappointments with the segment were many. However, there were two that struck me as most conspicuous and egregious. First, the emphasis many candidates placed on the need for more funding and financial resources from the state and county. It was like their sole solution to a more responsive and effective school system was "more money!"

    More money seemed to be the answer and overall panacea for all the ills, woes and challenges facing the CCS. Crazy! I acknowledge the current school board had to spend a lot of their financial resources dealing with the COVID-19 situation. Yet, with approximately $13 million in reserve remaining, I hardly think anyone believes they can spend their way out of a steadily declining school system.

    Secondly, and the most disturbing to me personally, Cumberland County Schools Superintendent Dr. Marvin Connelly was never mentioned by any of the candidates during their interviews. The word "superintendent" was never spoken or even referenced in any context. How could this be? For decades Cumberland County has prided itself on the talent and leadership qualities of our school system superintendent. With Dr. Marvin Connelly, we have one of the best administrators with over a quarter of a century of proven success in North Carolina public education. School Board candidates did not even mention his name or indicate their willingness to work with him to support the school system's successful management. Several years ago, Dr. Connelly came to Cumberland County from Wake County, one of the state's largest school systems. The school board hired Connelly for his experience and expertise in managing large school systems. It is disturbing that no candidate recognized his contributions, accomplishments, leadership abilities, or indicated their enthusiasm and willingness to work with him and other board members to produce and secure the best possible education for the children of Cumberland County. Extremely disappointing.

    Yet, many of the candidates spoke openly of the importance and need for working together in harmony by having more productive and effective communications. Again, never mentioning the school superintendent. In my opinion, a very glaring omission for anyone serious about seeking a board position. You be the judge. Go directly to the 2020 Virtual Candidates Forum at https://vimeo.com/467489706 or log on 24/7 to any one of the websites hosted by the sponsors: Piedmont Natural Gas, The Fayetteville Observer, Longleaf Pine Association of Realtors, the Home Builders Association of Fayetteville, Greater Fayetteville Chamber, and Up & Coming Weekly community newspaper.

    Do this today. It is vitally important. Open Our School signs are popping up all over the county. There is a critical message here. Parents and guardians want to know who the people are looking out for their children's best interests. They want competent and responsible leaders. They want people who will reopen the schools to minimize and avoid the risk of raising our next generation of children intellectually deficient and socially ill-prepared to meet real-world challenges.

    Parents, guardians and teachers alike want intelligent nonpartisan education leaders who understand the consequences of humanity's harsh realities. These realities crush ignorant, uneducated and culturally disadvantaged children without empathy in as they are helpless while trying to survive in a competitive, ruthless environment. With fifty thousand Cumberland County student lives at stake, an unqualified, inept and politically charged board of education will be engaged in a high-risk gamble using our children and future generations' lives as table stakes. It's a sucker's bet we cannot afford to make. We must know beyond a shadow of doubt in whose capable hands we are entrusting our childrens' education.

    The following week's forum will feature North Carolina legislative races, and the last segment will include statewide offices, according to Henry Tyson, chairman of the Greater Fayetteville Chamber's governmental affairs committee. Forum segments are currently online. The questions presented to the candidates during the forums were provided by the Government Affairs Committee of the Chamber of Commerce, the Legislative Committees of the Longleaf Pine Association of Realtors and Homebuilders Association of Fayetteville.

    Get involved. Vote! Someone said, "…. the threat of losing our democracy and American freedoms is only one generation away." Well, folks, that generation is starting kindergarten in 2020. Thank you for reading Up & Coming Weekly.

  • 17 dad and son in pumpkin patchFunny how our perspective can change. Until recently, I didn't think I'd ever enjoy arriving somewhere to find it already crowded. The past few weeks have seemed completely alive in our part of North Carolina.

    Waking to cooler mornings and flipping the page on the calendar to seal the arrival of October made it really feel like fall. Overnight, it became more acceptable to lean into the colors that only seem appropriate at this time of year.

    Traditionally, it's a time for festivals celebrating harvests of one kind or another, and a time when people begin to drop the pretense the summer seems to carry with it.

    As I drove past the farms on Gillis Hill the past few weekends, I was thrilled to see the crowds. People lined up for ice cream, and families wandering through the pumpkin patch on a quest for the one that will perfectly adorn their porch. And the kids. It was a joy to see dozens of children, unaffected by all that's tainted their parents' worlds these past seven months, laughing, playing, jumping and just being together.

    If we've learned nothing else since we closed the doors on so many of our regular haunts since March, I hope we've learned how much we need each other. We're built for community. Whether or not we'll admit it, we all crave human contact.

    To hear a voice speak directly to us, see a smile directed at us, and even to shake a hand or feel an arm around our shoulder is irreplaceable.

    Being secluded at home and having to wonder as we wander in a store as we gather necessities has been trying at best. I wonder if he's smiling? Do I shake his hand? Is it going to freak my old friend out if I try to give her a hug? But the sunshine, the cooler days, and the feeling of fall has beckoned us all out of our castles and into the open where we can begin to share experiences once again.

    With all the forces that have seemingly been working to divide us, this fresh, new season has given us all a way to both forget and remember. Like a family reunion on a grand scale, coming together again gives us the opportunity to forget that bad news gets good ratings as we remember that we were always on each others' side.

    If you haven't done so already, I hope you get out and enjoy the company of other humans soon. Go for a walk in one of the great parks surrounding us. Enjoy lunch in the fresh air outside a favorite restaurant. Visit one of the many agri-tourism spots here in Cumberland County. Wear a mask if it makes you more comfortable, but let people get a peek at your smile every now and then. We need you. And we need each other.

    Pictured: The beginning of fall can give us a fresh perspective on sharing our lives with each other.

     

  • 06 mom and kids outside masksWhen Democrat Jen Mangrum and Republican Catherine Truitt first filed to run for state superintendent of public instruction, neither could have expected that the central issue of the 2020 race would be whether to allow public schools to provide in-person instruction to North Carolina children.

    No one would have seen it as a debatable issue. Of course local districts must teach their students in school, we’d all have said. Most students couldn’t succeed without it. Many working parents couldn’t keep their jobs without it. And the state constitution requires it.

    Yet here we are. Whether to reopen North Carolina’s public schools is, indeed, the central issue in the campaign, thanks to COVID-19 and the understandable concerns it raises about safety.

    Jen Mangrum, a former classroom teacher who now serves as an associate professor of education at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, is the more skeptical of the two when it comes to reopening schools.

    During a recent televised debate, she largely defended the go-slow approach of relying on distance learning rather than in-person instruction during the fall semester. For teachers, Mangrum argued, the first responsibility is to protect “student welfare.” Delivering academic content is fourth on the priority list, she said.

    “We know children are carriers” of COVID-19, Mangrum said, so it is necessary to prioritize the risk of spreading the virus at school over the risk that distance learning might prove inadequate for some.

    North Carolina’s educators have “been like ninjas” since the coronavirus outbreak in March, setting up their distance-learning systems overnight and then improving them significantly over the subsequent months. “There are populations of students who are falling behind” with schools closed, Mangrum said, but there are also “populations of students who have more one-on-one [attention] than they’ve ever had before.”

    The Republican nominee, Catherine Truitt, is also a former classroom teacher who now works in academia, in her case as chancellor of Western Governors University North Carolina. WGU is an all-online university, so one might expect

    Truitt to be at least as sanguine about the potential upsides of distance learning as Mangrum was. But Truitt argued during the debate that disadvantaged children, in particular, often require the kind of attention that only in-person instruction can provide.

    “We have children who were already significantly behind and unfortunately they are our most vulnerable students,” Truitt said. Only 28% of Hispanic eighth-graders can read and do math at grade level. For black students, the share drops to 14%. These students are frequently the ones who lack good internet access and parents available at home to supervise and assist with their children’s online learning, she said.

    “My first priority is to get kids back in school,” Truitt added, while Mangrum argued that the schedule for reopening public schools is “going to depend on metrics” such as the share of COVID-19 tests that come back positive in a community.

    While the reopening question has become the central one in the superintendent’s races, it wasn’t hard for Mangrum and Truitt to connect it to other longstanding issues of contention in North Carolina education. Mangrum argued that a lack of sufficient funding for personal protective equipment, cleaning, and training was a significant barrier to getting schools reopened — and that the state legislature, under Republican control for the past 10 years, hasn’t give the education system enough money to clear that barrier.

    Truitt argued that a “one-size-fits-all” approach was keeping North Carolina from grappling effectively with the COVID challenge. Local districts should have been given more flexibility to respond to the pandemic, she said, and parents should have more authority to decide what kind of educational setting — in-person or at home, district-run public school or something other option — best advances the welfare of their children.

    The state superintendent of public instruction is only one of many voices in formulating education policy. But it’s an important one. And North Carolinians have an important choice to make.

     

  • uac102611001.jpg The Holly Day Fair is right up there with Black Friday when it comes to shopping traditions in Eastern North Carolina. Perhaps one of the reasons is that the event gets bigger and bet-ter each year. In fact, it is the largest show of this type in this region of our state. In its 45th year, the Holly Day Fair is something that organizers and shoppers both look forward each fall. So November 3-6, loosen up those purse strings, head to the Crown Expo Center and shop till every last name has been crossed off that list.

    About 22,000 shoppers attend each year, and the more than 200 vendors that come are eager to impress the crowds.

    We’ve got a great selection of vendors this year,” said Jenny Beaver, Holly Day Fair chair. “We’ve brought back the favorites and added some new vendors too.”

    Shoppers can look for an extensive selection of unique handcrafted and manufactured products to select from including the best in holiday decorations, handmade crafts, stylish jewelry and clothes, children’s toys, specialty food items and much more. There will be Christmas trees — fully decorated and ready to take home and set beside the mantle — for sale. Not too many though, said Beaver, as each one is deco-rated by a professional designer.

    This year’s theme is “An All American Christmas.” With Fort Bragg right next door and the “All America City” title which was awarded to the city of Fayetteville earlier this year, the theme was a natural and easy fit. Besides, Bea-ver is hoping to draw in even more visi-tors than last year, including Fort Bragg residents and shoppers from surrounding areas like Pinehurst and Sanford.

    “We are working really hard to get the most out of our advertising dollars this year and to extend our reach,” said Beaver. “We’ve made some really big leaps this year in getting the word out. This is the first year that the Holly Day Fairhas its own website. We also have a Facebook page and will be doing a Facebook ad this year.”

    It’s an ambitious goal, but the Holly Day Fair organizers are looking to top the almost $275,000 raised last year. “We are hoping for $300,000,” said Beaver. “I know that is a big number, but we can do it.”

    The shopping is great and the festively decorated event puts shoppers in the holiday spirit, but what some people don’t realize is that all of the money raised by the Holly Day Fair goes right back into the community.

    More than 400 members strong, the Junior League of Fayetteville is an all-volunteer organization. According to their website, these volunteers “partner with various agencies to effect change in area of child health and welfare. The Junior League of Fayetteville is a member of the Association of Junior Leagues International (AJLI), which has 290 member Junior Leagues and 160,000 members internationally.”

    Last year alone, the Junior League of Fayetteville gave grants to 15 organizations ranging from Hope Mills Middle School for math reviews to Hungry Angela’s back pack buddies program, the Southeastern Regional Area Health Education Center’s child abuse and detection prevention program to the Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra concert for special needs children and adults and to the Child Advocacy Center’s program help for abused children under age 18.

    “A lot of people don’t realize just how much the Junior League of Fayetteville contri10-26-11-holly-day-fair-text.jpgbutes to the community,” said Beaver. “The organization has done a great job of branding their event — the Holly Day Fair — but they haven’t necessarily branded themselves as the sponsor. It’s important for the community to know that not only are they getting a wonderful shopping experience when they come to the Holly Day Fair, they are helping the children in our community too.”LaJuanMills, Junior League of Fayetteville echoes that sentiment.

    “Each year keeps getting bigger and better and we are proud to report that we raised over $270,000 for the community last year with this one fund-raiser,” said LaJuan Mills, Junior League of Fayetteville President, “We hope to surpass that amount this year, to sus-tain our focus of commit-ting programs, projects and advocacy to ensur-ing children ages 0 to 18 have the opportunity and services essential to their physical, intellec-tual, emotional and social well-being.”

    Holly Day Fair kicks off Nov. 3 with the Super Shopper event from 9 a.m. to noon. These special event tickets can be purchased for $13. Tickets are limited. Strollers and any type of rolling carts are strictly prohibited during Super Shopper hours.

    General admission tickets for the event are $9. All tickets include free parking. Chil-dren 5 and under are free. Regular hours of the event are as follows: Thursday, noon to 8 p.m., Friday, 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., Saturday, 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Sunday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tickets to the 2011 Holly Day Fair can be purchased in advance through Ticketmaster at www.ticketmaster.com, at the official Holly Day Fair Web site at www.hollydayfair.com, or at the following local merchant locations: Bell’s Seed Store, The Pilgrim, Luv My K-9’s and So Chic Bebe.

    Find out more at the Holly Day Fairwebsite www.hollydayfair.com/press.php and Facebook page www.facebook.com/hollydayfair.

  • Letter to the Editor

    05 Hank ParfittI appreciated Jim Jones’ thoughtful article in “Publisher’s Pen” about the Market House, current unrest, and Maslow’s Hierarchy (Oct. 7). I understand his and others’ concerns about the barricades surrounding the Market House, and I know some people are anxious for them to be removed.

    In fact, however, as a business owner with a store at “Ground Zero” in the 100 block of Hay Street, I have observed a steady increase in foot traffic and customers over the past two months.

    This is related in part to the gradual relaxation by Gov. Cooper of COVID restrictions but also because there have been no incidents downtown since the May 30 protest and since the Occupy Fayetteville tent city was taken down. I have not heard any complaints about the barricades from customers or fellow merchants. The barricades are
    not keeping people from coming downtown.

    However, taking them down prematurely may invite out-of-control demonstrations and protests, which will drive people away.

    As with any damaged building, the barricades must stay until needed repairs have been made.

    Beyond that, however, the barricades should stay until our entire community has had a chance to learn all the facts. good and bad, about the Market House. Only then can we can make sound, carefully considered decisions about its fate.

    In the meantime, we should at least begin to address racial inequality in the community.

    I disagree with Councilwoman Banks-McLaughlin who, at the Oct. 5 work session said “Council has yet to have that tough conversation on … the Market House. We need to vote and decide NOW, so that we can move forward and direct our attention to other issues that are impacting our city such as COVID-19, poverty, and infrastructure.”

    Unfortunately, she has the cart before the horse, her “NOW” in the wrong place.

    We absolutely must talk NOW about racial injustice in our society and how racial bias affects policing, education, joblessness, unemployment and even health care in our very own community.

    This is something we can do NOW, and we must. The city should consider hiring an objective, outside consultant to lead us in these difficult discussions. Not just “town halls” but meaningful, one-on-one and small group discussions. I am confident that as we work our way through this, as we sit down with each other and talk about these issues, we will find to our surprise that the question “What to do with the Market House” really wasn’t so difficult after all.

    Hank Parfitt
    Fayetteville

    Pictured: Hank Parfitt

  • Letter to the Editor

    04 Pastor letter to editorNorth Carolina is one of a few states that have not adopted Medicaid Expansion, even though 90% of the costs would be covered by federal funds, and more than 400,000 residents would benefit. It ought never be the case that a person has to choose between having insurance or having groceries.

    The request for Medicaid Expansion is not an issue of someone merely looking for a handout, nor is it an issue of providing assistance to someone who refuses to work. The simple fact of the matter is that 60% of the North Carolinians who fall into the coverage gap and would benefit from expansion are “working families.”

    Many of these persons work in the service industries. The current pandemic has shown us how critical a role our service industry workers play. They have not had the option of working from home, etc., to remove themselves from harm’s way. They have continued to serve in the midst of the dreadful virus, yet many of them cannot even afford insurance for themselves.

    It is a cruel irony to think that those who perhaps need health insurance the most, those who have helped guard the health and safety of so many of us, could benefit from Medicaid, but cannot currently do so because we have, at least to this point, neglected to approve Medicaid Expansion in North Carolina!

    There is no “good” reason for the fact that North Carolina is among the 12 states that have not approved expansion. Research has shown that states that have expanded Medicaid eligibility have been among the most likely to see decreases in the number of uninsured persons.

    Why haven’t we already gotten this done? We cannot allow, and morally should not allow, the political fights of the past, surrounding the Affordable Care Act, to cloud our current judgment regarding what is the right thing to do, which is to get this expansion done as soon as possible.

    Maintaining the status quo should not be an option. The status quo would guarantee that thousands will continue to go without medical assistance who could have otherwise been assisted; it would mean that many of the most hard-working among us will not be able to afford the most basic medical attention. “Just say no” to the status quo.

    Saying no to the status quo must be accompanied with corresponding action. So, please contact your state representatives by letter, phone, email or all of the above. They need to know that this is an issue that you care deeply about.
    If you are a person in leadership, share this issue with your constituents. If you use social media, discuss the issue online. We need to do everything within our power to get this done. Let’s help protect those who have protected us.

    Sincerely,
    Vincent D. Long, Pastor
    Bethel African Methodist Episcopal
    Zion Church, Spring Lake

    Pictured: Pastor Vincent D. Long

  • 03 20 20 lightbulbsWhen Americans woke up on January 1, 2020, we were looking forward to a fresh new year, hoping for a good one for our nation and for ourselves.

    The economy was humming, and a big political year lay ahead with a significant field of Democratic contenders to challenge the incumbent. Most Americans were beginning the year in good health.

    Then the bottom dropped out of everything.

    Americans began to understand the seriousness of COVID-19 in early March, when it became clear that the virus was spreading rapidly. We began behaviors Americans have rarely had to exhibit. We holed up with our families and sometimes alone.

    We did not go out for meals, shopping, or socializing, and those who could began working remotely. Schools shut down, and people began leaving—or losing—their jobs. The stock market tanked initially—though it has since rallied—but the economy slowed dramatically and has pretty much stayed that way.

    Small businesses struggled. Some set up Go Fund Me pages to meet payrolls and other expenses. We began a practice Asians have been doing for years. We put on face masks to protect people around us and ourselves.

    We are still at all of this as the year winds down, though, some government regulations have eased a bit.

    Then we entered what many Americans call the “silly season.”

    After a messy campaign season, Democrats did what observers had predicted from the outset.

    They choose former Vice President Joe Biden to challenge Republican President Trump, and it has gone downhill ever since. Trump pretends COVID-19 was not happening and gathers huge crowds, generally unmasked. Biden campaigns mostly virtually. Then came the debates, shouting matches really.

    In the Biden-Trump debate, Trump talked so much that Biden actually told him to “shut up, man.”

    Pundits speak openly about giving debate moderators mute buttons to cut off any candidate who talks over others, and someone even suggested a dunking booth so that candidates who do not stop when time runs out land in a barrel of water, like at a county fair.

    Then the president himself came down with COVID-19 as have dozens of White House staffers and others who attended a White House ceremony, again generally unmasked. The world watched as Trump took a joyride to wave at supporters camped out around Walter Reed Medical Center, though some joked that he was actually going to a McDonald’s drive-thru.

    Last week’s debate with vice-presidential hopefuls, Kamala Harris and Mike Pence, was calmer, but Harris was forced to remind Pence several times, “I am speaking!” That is a sentiment women all over the world well understand.

    The real winner of that debate, however, was the big black fly that landed and stayed on Mike Pence’s well-coiffed and highly shellacked head for more than two minutes without his feeling it through that hair. More than one American has suggested the fly needs a COVID-19 test after such close exposure.

    And then there is the story of a militia plot to kidnap and “try” Michigan's Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a stunning thought if there ever were one.

    Politics in North Carolina is less high profile but plenty nutty itself.

    In the U.S. Senate race, Democrat Cal Cunningham sent racy texts to a woman not his wife, certainly a marital mistake but nothing like other elected who have sexted photos of various body parts or a president who has paid a porn star and another woman for their silence.

    As a result, incumbent Republic Thom Tillis finds himself reading media rehashes of his two divorces (both from the same woman) who alleged “cruel and inhuman treatment” in their marriage. Does anyone actually care about the private lives of political office seekers?

    No one knows how any of this is going to come out, of course, but we can all agree on this. The year 2020 has been and continues to be almost beyond belief. No one, even Hollywood’s most talented screen writer, could have come up with all this.

    The only real question is, “What next?”

  • 05 special needs home schoolThe coronavirus pandemic has created many challenges for every part of our daily lives. If you’re a parent like me, you’re probably well aware of the difficulties with remote learning. Unfortunately, these difficulties have impacted some families more than others.

    Last month, I heard from parents and school administrators in our community about their concerns that special needs children were not able to access caregiving services during remote learning. This was due to a loophole that restricts families with special needs children from having respite care during the school day. This is an appropriate safeguard during normal times when students are able to attend school. But in a pandemic when children may be kept at home, these safeguards would not allow the program's intended purposes to work to provide care for children and relief for parents.

    As soon as I heard about this issue, I got to work. I immediately urged the Trump Administration to take action to rectify this situation and get support for special needs children in our community. After directly appealing to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Seema Verma, I am thrilled to report that last week, CMS granted a waiver for North Carolina to provide home and community-based services for these at-risk children.

    This would not have happened without parents reaching out to my office and is just part of my job to work on behalf of everyone in our community to solve problems. While the COVID-19 pandemic has created many challenges, families with special needs children deserve the peace-of-mind that they can continue to access caregiving services during this time. As we continue to address the coronavirus, I am committed to getting our community the resources we need so that ALL children can succeed.

    In addition to supporting students at this time, I also remain focused on rebuilding our economy.

    Also last week, I was proud to announce a $13.1 million Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements Grant award from the U.S. Department of Transportation for the Aberdeen Carolina & Western Railway.

    I have had the pleasure of touring the ACWR rail operations based in Montgomery County. A lifeline throughout our entire region, the ACWR is critical to transporting goods and supporting jobs across the 8th District and our state.

    Last week’s announced grant will enable many growth opportunities, particularly in rural areas, between Moore, Montgomery, Stanly, Cabarrus and Mecklenburg Counties. The funding will greatly improve ACWR's infrastructure and freight operations and will attract new industry and jobs into this service area.

    It was a thrill to call ACWR Railway President Julie White to tell her the grant was awarded. Julie told me this grant was a “game changer” that will allow critical improvements to the rail line that will benefit farms and other businesses throughout our region. I am also excited about the impact this will have on bringing new jobs to our community.

    As your Congressman, I will continue to fight for common sense solutions to rebuild our economy, renew the American dream for all Americans and restore our way of life. You can count on me to keep coming to work every day on your behalf, staying focused on public health, and doing whatever it takes to emerge from this time stronger than ever.

    Picture: A loophole prevented families with special needs students from accessing caregiver services during remote learning. After appealing to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, North Carolina was granted a waiver.

  • 02 Virtual Candidates Forums Quarter RegularFor the first time in my lifetime, I will be a Poll Observer during this election cycle. Why? Because rumors abound about the safety and security of the most cherished right we have as Americans: the right to vote. Voting is our constitutionally protected patriotic duty that defines and reinforces our freedoms as American citizens. This election year, I want to personally witness this freedom and, hopefully, dispel the conception that the process is diabolically being compromised.

    This 2020 presidential election may be the most important ever in our history as this country battles inside and outside enemies and political sources whose sole purpose is to transform America into a communist country.

    Make no mistake about it, the overly used, benevolently disguised and distilled term "socialism" is nothing more than the initial stepping stone to Marxism and, ultimately, communism. And, as predicted by many scholars decades ago, this socialist/communist threat is coming from within. You only have to look at the changing and catastrophic ideologies of the once-patriotic and honorable Democratic Party. In summation: its integrity has been breached, and its values are compromised. The U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights have been designated insignificant, making it a target of extreme compromise and ultimate obliteration. This is why all citizens who cherish American freedoms, safety and security, regardless of political affiliation, need to VOTE!

    Kudos to local Fayetteville businessman Henry Tyson, currently the Chairman of the Legislative Committee of the Fayetteville Chamber of Commerce. He has rallied with likeminded people, businesses, and organizations and created a unique forum to introduce local candidates to the community. The online platform is designed to create awareness of voting's importance while informing and educating local citizens on critical regional and statewide issues.

    Starting on Oct.13, these organizations will host a series of candidate forums ahead of the general election. The event will be conducted virtually and feature video interviews with local, county, state and federal candidates, who will discuss local, regional and state issues. Moderators will not distribute the questions in advance, and each candidate will answer identical questions as it relates to the timely and essential topics pertinent to their race. The interviews will be streamed online and available on all the websites of the hosts and sponsors.

    Residents will be able to tune in throughout the month as new candidate interviews are uploaded and streamed in segments, beginning with the Cumberland County Board of Education, Cumberland County Board of Commissioners, local N.C. legislative races and statewide and federal offices. The schedule will be posted online each morning.

    This effort took a lot of work and coordination. According to Tyson, everyone was on board from the very beginning: "We wanted to have a format that allowed for the community to be informed — especially during the time of COVID-19 — provide for a natural and unprepared response from those running for office and give the voters insight on the pressing issues we are faced with here in the greater Fayetteville area."

    I want to thank Henry Tyson for his leadership in shepherding this virtual forum and the five hosting organizations that saw value in the project. See the schedule on the flyer. Also, a special thanks to the forums cosponsors: Coldwell Banker Advantage, Tyson Commercial Real Estate, Up & Coming Weekly community newspaper, Bronco iRadio of Fayetteville State University and JerFilm Productions.

    Thanks for reading Up & Coming.

  • 04 Pitt trojan horse objects in mirror are closer than they appearThere are real moments of insight and clarity on late night TV if you will only look. Once upon a time, in a galaxy pretty close to ours, came such a moment of clarity. Heck, it was our very own Milky Way galaxy while I happened to be watching a rerun of “Highway Patrol.”

    “Highway Patrol” was a 1950s show featuring Sgt. Dan Matthews. Sgt. Dan seldom took off his hat and usually killed a bad guy in the last five minutes of the program. Right after Dan killed the bad guy, a commercial came on selling gold-plated fake buffalo head nickels for only $9.99 each. Each household was strictly limited to being able to buy five fake nickels. What got me interested was the tag line: “AVOID DISAPPOINTMENTS AND FUTURE REGRETS. You must order now!” The low, low price could only be guaranteed for five days due to the ever-increasing cost of gold plating and unlimited suckers with credit cards.

    I certainly wanted to avoid disappointments and future regrets. Who wouldn’t want to avoid disappointments and future regrets? If buying a fake gold-plated nickel is a vaccine against future regrets sign me up. If $50 worth of junk will avoid disappointment in the Year of Our Lord 2020, that is a small price to pay. I began pondering, was there a character in Greek mythology who had encountered disappointments and future regrets? Sure enough, consider the story of Paris, the instigator of the Trojan War. Instead of buying a fake gold-plated drachma, he had snatched Helen of Sparta winding up with the Trojan Horse at the gates of his city.

    Paris had a colorful background. His baby daddy was King Priam of Troy and his momma was Hecuba. Right before giving birth to Paris, Hecuba had a bad dream that she was going to give birth to a burning torch. Yikes! The oracle cyphered this meant the new baby would end up destroying Troy. King Priam ordered his Flunky to kill the newborn Paris. The Flunky took Paris up to a hill but couldn’t kill a baby. He just left the baby on the hill hoping Paris would have the good sense to die.

    Fortunately for Paris, a lactating Momma Bear lumbered along and nursed him back to health. The Flunky came back about a week later hoping to bring Paris’ body back to show the King. As Gomer would say, “Surprise, surprise, surprise!” Paris was still alive. The Flunky decided to adopt Paris. Then the troubles began. (Trigger warning to PETA fans) To prove to Priam that Paris was dead, the Flunky brought Priam a dog tongue claiming it was from Paris.

    The gods decided to have a Miss Olympus Beauty pageant to decide who was the most beautiful goddess of them all. The three finalists were Hera, Aphrodite and Athena. Zeus the King of the gods, was asked by the bevy of beauties to decide who was the best looking. Zeus wasn’t King for nothing. He knew whomever he picked, that the other two would hate him. So he delegated the judging to Paris. Paris was no dummy either. He had each of the goddesses undress so he could decide who was the best looking. Miraculously they were all so beautiful he could not decide. Each goddess then tried to bribe him to choose her as Queen of the Hop. Ultimately Aphrodite’s bribe won when she offered Paris the most beautiful woman on Earth, Helen of Sparta.

    Let me tell you, Helen was a doll baby. However, there was a catch. Helen was already married to King Menelaus of Sparta. Paris snuck into Menelaus’ palace and snatched up Helen. Then off he ran with her. Helen became smitten with Paris. They went back to Troy to live happily ever after. But there was another catch. Menelaus wanted her back pronto. He gathered up an army of angry Greeks and hightailed it to Troy. Paris refused to give up Helen, noting possession was 9/10s of the law. Menelaus replied to Paris, quoting Bugs Bunny saying “Of course you know, this means war!” Turned out it was the Trojan War.

    A whole bunch of fighting, stabbing, dueling and slaying ensued between the Greek and Trojan armies. Lots of Greek heroes ended up dead including Achilles who got an arrow right slam into his ankle. His ankle was the only place he could be killed. When Achilles was a baby, his Momma dipped him into a magic stream that would protect him from all wounds. She held him by his ankle when she dunked him. Medically, this meant his ankle didn’t get wet resulting in an unprotected spot. As luck would have it, Paris’ arrow hit him right in the wrong ankle resulting in Achilles expiring. That is why you have Achilles tendons in your feet to this very day.

    The Greeks hung around Troy for about 10 years doing siege stuff that didn’t work. Finally, the Greeks built a giant wooden horse to trick the Trojans into thinking the Greeks had given up. The Greeks filled up the horse with soldiers, leaving a note saying the horse was a gift and that they were going back to Greece. The Trojans saw the horse, read the note, and believed they had won. Counting their chickens before they were hatched, the Trojans hauled the horse into Troy to celebrate. Once inside the gates, the Greeks popped out of the horse and wiped out the city of Troy. Hence the old saying, beware of Greeks bearing gifts.

    So, what have we learned today? Once again, not much. While you should never look a gift horse in the mouth, buying a fake buffalo head nickel might lead you to avoid disappointment and future regrets. Neither Steve Reeves or any dogs were harmed during the writing of this column.

  • 03 teens school table laptopFormer presidential candidate Bernie Sanders got a lot of mileage with his proposal of “free college for all.”

    Other political hopefuls have embraced the same idea, at least in part, since at some level all human beings appreciate something for nothing.

    The notion is also appealing because higher education costs have exploded in both public and private institutions and lower income students graduate at lower levels than students from more advantaged families for all sorts of reasons, including money. Young Americans, not surprisingly, love this idea.

    Free college for all would also be so astronomically expensive it is difficult to contemplate. But should everyone go to college at all? And, if they do, can they, their families and the larger community expect them to graduate?

    The everyone to college question has been around for generations, and the answer is clearly no. Some students are not physically or mentally capable. Others are not interested in any way.

    That said, technology has greatly lessened the need for semi-skilled or unskilled labor, and jobs that require a high school degree or less are hard to come by and poorly compensated. Students and their families should understand that when the college decision is being made.

    Researchers have long known that college degrees are valuable personal assets. College grads earn more than nongrads almost from the outset and certainly over their working careers. Statistics show that they also live longer, are healthier, divorce less frequently and generally report happier lives.

    More affluent families with generations of college goers and graduates understand the value of a college degree, and their children are more likely to graduate than the children of middle- and lower-class families with less college going experience.

    The New York Times reported recently on a study by professors at Harvard and MIT that affirms the value of a college degree. Some students in the study were awarded significant scholarships while others paid their own ways. Scholarship recipients graduated at a higher rate than nonscholarship students, especially among minority and financially disadvantaged students, and those whose parents were not college grads. All of that seems to support the notion that a free education would help many students.

    Here again, one size does not fit all. Students from families with a history of college-going are likely to graduate anyway, since their families expect them to do so. They may also be more college-ready, having attended high-quality, sometimes independent, schools. It makes little sense to provide tax-payer funded higher education for them.

    Targeting capable students from other backgrounds for free education may make sense. American workers now compete not only against each other but against people literally on the other side of world, many in nations that do provide free educations. If we want our nation to be competitive in our global economy, our people must be prepared to do that, and education is an important aspect of that preparation. It would be expensive, of course, but not likely as expensive as a stalled economy or the long-term burden of individuals and families unable to support themselves sufficiently.

    So, no, not everyone should go to college, but those who do should have the support they need to be successful. And, yes, an educated and productive workforce in a humming economy benefits all of us, not just those who received the education.

    More than ever in today’s small world and global economy, we really are all in this together.

  • 02 IMG 5971In 1943, Psychological Review published a paper by Abraham Maslow called "A Theory of Human Motivation." Today, this work is better known as "Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs." It uses a pyramid of needs to describe what motivates humans, based on their basic, psychological and self-fulfillment needs.

    At the foundation of Maslow's pyramid are physiological needs: food, water, sleep, shelter, clothing and reproduction. Safety needs are the next highter level in the pyramind and include emotional, financial and personal well-being.

    Maslow's other needs include belongingness, love and esteem. At the top of the pyramid is self-actualization. Self-actualization is that place in life when a person has reached their full potential. Here is where they find that place in life called "joy."

    As a community, we are far from self-actualization. And we are coming up short on many fronts when it comes to belongingness, love and esteem as well. Locally, our preoccupation with the pandemic, civil unrest, unemployment, racial divisions, social justice and criminal justice all play on our collective psyche and create frustration accompanied by fears of a collapsing society. This sows seeds for further misunderstanding and conflict.

    I recently took a photo of the Market House in historic downtown Fayetteville. This nationally recognized landmark is now fenced-in — a visual metaphor reflecting our recent turbulent times. I wonder how residents and visitors view and interpret the fence that surrounds it. And the circumstances that led to the fence going up. Does the fence protect the Market House from people who want it destroyed because they view it as a symbol of hatred and suppression? Is it being used to keep people from enjoying it as an iconic backdrop for happy and fun events like family outings, weddings and graduations? Or, does it keep our growing homeless population from using it as an overnight shelter?

    With no access to the building, residents wonder what platform the Arts Council will use to celebrate its traditional Dicken's Holiday, which traditionally ushers in the holiday season. Perhaps the fence will stay up for years and become known as the infamous Fayetteville Wall. Maybe the building will become the Fayetteville Market Jail.

    No matter how it is defined, it is an uncomplimentary reminder that no one will enjoy the Market House in its current state.

    Today, basic human decency seems to be under attack almost everywhere you turn. It is a shame that people call their friends and family names like "fascist" or "communist" based on their political preferences. How are so many willing to sacrifice lifeling relationships on the altar of politics and division?

    Meanwhile, our current candidates differ greatly in their views about how to move forward as a nation and as a society. As citizens and constituents, it seems like we do, too. Both political parties/candidates should represent and define those things that are essential to every American — the basics such as food, clean water, shelter, safety and security. These should have the highest priority and should be the issues they address first. Americans should vote for whomever best represents their beliefs of what is best for them, their family, community and country.

    This upcoming election would serve everyone much better if all politicians focused on solutions that pursue Maslow's basic needs for their constituents, especially safety and security. This would guarantee a stable, safe and secure American way of life no matter who is elected and would enable us to experience more joy and less fear.

  • 16 shanatucker creditThe Carolina Civic Center Historic Theater, located in downtown Lumberton, is presenting two upcoming virtual concerts that have been pretaped on its stage while the theater is closed to in-person audiences due to COVID-19 social gathering restrictions.

    These performances were originally scheduled as part of its 2020-21 season and continue the theater’s commitment to programming during the ongoing pandemic and its related audience restrictions for performance centers.

    The first concert will premiere 7 p.m. Oct. 17 and will feature the Raleigh-based musician and singer-songwriter Shana Tucker and her quartet.

    With a deep respect for lyrical storytelling, Tucker delivers a unique voice through her self-described genre of "ChamberSoul.™ Her melodies weave strong hints of jazz, classical, soulful folk, acoustic pop and a touch of R&B into a distinctive rhythmic tapestry.

    The performances are premiering on the theater’s Facebook page at “Carolina Civic Center Historic Theater” and are shared on its website at www.carolinaciviccenter.com.

    The theater’s previous “Spotlight on Local Talent” Performance Series, featuring eight installments also can be viewed on its website. This performance is partially underwritten by a grant from the Robeson County Arts Council and the North Carolina Arts Council.

    Touted by JazzTimes Magazine as a jazz talent “…whose imprint and vitality has already been quite visible…” Tucker’s style and sound has been described as a blend of Dianne Reeves, Joni Mitchell and Tracy Chapman, with an efficient complexity that is reminiscent of Bill Withers.

    ChamberSoul™ best describes what the listener should expect when experiencing Shana’s music. “I’m intrinsically drawn to 'real' instruments, with resonance, tone and depth that can sound without amplification. Whenever and however possible, I always try to set a tone of acoustic intimacy with my colleagues on stage, and also with the audience, so that the music, performers and audience feel close and tangible, no matter the size the venue.”

    Tucker has opened for internationally-acclaimed artists including Norah Jones, Lisa Fischer, Sweet Honey in the Rock, Hamiet Bluett, Javon Jackson, the Blind Boys of Alabama and Indigo Girls.

    While the concert is free, a donation link will be available to help support artist fees and production costs. The next concert will feature the all-female bluegrass group Sweet Potato Pie and will premiere Thanksgiving evening, Nov. 26.

    For additional information, please contact the Carolina Civic Center at 910-738-4339 or visit
    www.carolinaciviccenter.com.

    Pictured:The first of two virtual concerts from the Carolina Civic Center Historic Theater will feature Shana Tucker and her quartet. The concert will premiere Oct. 17 at 7 p.m. (Photo courtesy Shana Tucker.)

  •  uac103112001.gif War was raging overseas when Fort Bragg was established in 1918. It was at Compiégne, France, that the armistice was signed; the armistice that called for the cessation of hostilities on the western front. The agreement took effect at 11 a.m., on the 11th day of the 11th month — Nov. 11. The Allies and the Germans stopped fighting and the war started winding down. Many of the Allied nations, including the United States, declared this day a holiday in remembrance of soldiers killed in the war to end all wars.

    After World War II, Armistice Day became Veterans Day, a time to honor and thank everyone who has served in the military. It’s different from Memorial Day. Memorial Day honors those who died in service to our country. Veteran’s Day is to thank and honor all of the service members who have served honorably — during war and peace times.

    Instead of taking just one day to honor veterans, Fayetteville is going all out and has an entire weekend of celebrations planned.

    On Friday, Nov. 9, the Airborne & Special Operations Museum is set to host a book signing. The Making of Our Warrior by Jeff Falkel tells the story of Chris Falkel through his father’s eyes. Chris was a Green Beret during Operation Enduring Freedom. He saved the lives of 16 Afghan National Army Soldiers as well as the lives of several in his detachment. The younger Falkel was awarded the Silver Star Medal (posthumously). His father, Jeff, shares the stories of his son’s unit, the men of Special Forces Operational Detachment Alpha 316. The book signing is at 4 p.m.

    Afterwards, at 5:30 p.m., don’t miss the flag dedication ceremony and paver unveiling. The ceremony is to honor Medal of Honor recipients and those killed in action. There will also be a ceremony to honor Spec. Carl D. Hall III who was killed in action. Hall was a member of the 325 Airborne Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division. A paver stone in his honor will be installed in front of the Iron Mike Statue on the museum grounds.

    On Saturday, the festivities start at 9 a.m. at the Fayetteville Area Transportation and Local History Museum with a car show. Prizes will be awarded in several categories and there is no fee to enter. At 10 a.m., join your fellow citizens in honoring our country’s veterans at the Veterans Day Parade. The parade is sponsored by the Cumberland County Veterans Council.

    George Breece and Kirk DeViere organized the parade this year, and they are excited about what is in store for the community. 10-31-12-2012-vdp-final-logo.gif

    “We have a great parade planned,” said Breece. “This year is the biggest Veterans Day parade we’ve had. We’ve put together a first-class parade, and we are looking forward to seeing everyone downtown on Saturday, Nov. 10.”

    The parade includes 21 military units, including vehicles and equipment. Local units include the XVIII Airborne Corps, the 82nd Airborne Division, the U.S. Army Reserve Command, the 440th Airlift Wing and the 43rd Airlift Group. All five of the branches of the service are represented in the parade as well: the Air Force, Army, Navy, Marines and Coast Guard.

    More than 25 chartered veteran’s organizations will march in the parade, and 11 local ROTC units are scheduled to participate.

    “We will have a U.S. Air Force flyover during the parade,” said Breece. “A C-130 will fly over when the Air Force marches by the grand stand.”

    While this isn’t Breece’s first rodeo, or parade so to speak — he’s played a part in planningthe local Christmas parade for years and more recentlyworked on the parade celebrating Fayetteville’s 250th — this parade holds a special place in his heart.

    “This parade brings our community together. It shows our love of the military and our veterans. When the world dials 911, the phone is answered here in our community. No community in America has greater love and respect for military and veterans than does the greater Fayetteville area. This parade brings our community together in one voice to say ‘Thank you,’ to our veterans,” said Breece. “This parade is to honor, welcome home and thank all of our nation’s vets who served in Iraq.” 

    The Grand Marshal of the event is Lt. Gen. Daniel B. Allyn, commanding general of the XVIII Airborne Corps and Fort Bragg.

    “It will be crowded and there will be a lot of noise,” said Breece. “We are expecting a large crowd, so we are asking that people leave their pets at home — for the safety of the animals.”

    While an event this size is a huge undertaking involving a lot of teamwork, Breece anticipates a topnotch event, thanks to the many people and organizations that helped plan and organize the parade.

    “I can’t say enough about the support we received from the Cumberland County Veterans Council, from the Fayetteville/Cumberland Parks and Recreation and Erica Brady with Parks and Recreation and the City of Fayetteville and former Parade Chair Don Talbot, who has helped Kirk and me along the way.”

    The parade starts at 10 a.m. at the Airborne and Special Operations Museum, goes down Hay Street, around the Market House and ends at Liberty Point. Find out more about this and other Veterans Day activities at www.heroeshomecoming.com.

    The North Carolina Veterans Park is hosting an opening ceremony at 12:30 p.m., followed by family day. Not only is it the perfect opportunity to visit the park and learn the heritage of North Carolina’s veterans and their humble service, it is a time to enjoy the family and be thankful for the sacrifi ces of those who have served. There will be local veteran’s organizations on hand to share information. Kids can enjoy the games and family-friendly activities while adults take in the music and displays. There will also be live music through out the afternoon.

    Sunday rounds out the event-fi lled weekend with a POW/MIA vigil at the Airborne and Special Operations Museum. Starting at noon, the Airborne & Special Operations Foundation, Rolling Thunder and service members will guard the POW/MIA table at the ASOM.

    Find out more about the Veterans Day Parade at www. ccveteranscouncil.org and other Veterans Day celebrations at www.heroeshomecoming.com.

  • 14 DSC 5176“Lady Day at the Emerson Bar & Grill,” the musical play that opened Cape Fear Regional Theatre’s long-awaited 2020-2021 season, is far from the blockbuster musical openers of previous seasons. This is a piece of serious theater particularly well suited to its makeshift staging. Performed in a parking lot behind an abandoned building on Hay Street, complete with ambient traffic noise as background, it is easy to imagine that one is seated in the gritty South Philly neighborhood where the play is actually set.

    “Lady Day” is the story of one of the great jazz legend’s last performances just a few months before her untimely death. A victim of her times (or of her own vices, let each member of the audience decide), Billie Holiday has been stripped of the cabaret card that entitled her to play the big clubs and reduced to singing in a small venue in a place she thought she’d sung herself free of.

    Janeta Jackson gives a selfless performance as Holiday. Those who saw her in “Crowns” know the power of Jackson’s voice, which breaks through most notably in numbers such as “Ain’t Nobody’s Business” and “Strange Fruit.” But Jackson is playing Holiday at the end of her career, when alcohol and drugs have taken their toll on her health as well as her voice. Her performance reflects this. Clad in mink and glitter at the outset, Jackson as Holiday disintegrates onstage and the songs follow her down. Brian Whitted as Jimmy Powers, Holiday’s accompanist, brings his piano in at critical moments to prevent a complete breakdown. Much as folks passing the scene of an accident, the audience is drawn along, mesmerized.

    “Lady Day,” written by Lanie Robertson, is called a musical play because there is much dialog in addition to the musical numbers. Holiday’s onstage ramblings give the audience an idea of the trajectory of her life. Some of her reminisces are hilarious but much of the dialogue is raw. Holiday is presumably speaking to a Black audience so theatergoers who are not Black may squirm a bit.

    Given COVID-19 restrictions and the fact that CFRT’s theater is undergoing renovations, Artistic Director Mary Kate Burke and company are to be commended for choosing an opener that is well suited to both our time and place. The cast is small. The lighting is low. The night itself becomes part of the show. Social issues that are still relevant over 60 years after Holiday’s death are served up, if not as entertainment exactly, then certainly as art. And art is always worth supporting. If you want to hear Billie Holiday at her best, buy a CD. If you want to witness a heroic performance of serious theater, book a ticket to one of the performances of “Lady Day at the Emerson Bar & Grill.”

    For information on performance schedules and ticket availability, please visit cfrt.org or call the box office at 910-323-4233.

    Pictured: Janeta Jackson performs as Billie Holiday in CFRT's "Lady Day at the Emerson Bar & Grill" through Oct. 25.

  • 01 Square Banners CFRT copyAfter closing its doors to audience members back in March, the Cape Fear Regional Theatre spent the last 6 months innovating and leading the way for regional theaters during the pandemic.

    One of the first to create daily online programming for kids, CFRT launched virtual Edutainment classes that offered daily lessons for students in grades K-5. After 9 weeks of online classes, CFRT opened its doors for 15 sessions of summer camps between June and August, following CDC guidelines for in-person camps and ultimately reaching almost 200 campers.

    In September, CFRT announced the receipt of a $225,000 Community Organization Resource grant from the Arts Council of Fayetteville/Cumberland County, Inc. for the 2020-2021 Season.

    "We are so honored to receive this grant from the Arts Council. This funding will allow us to continue producing high quality productions and serving parents and children adapting to this new paradigm. We know how essential art is to healing and processing, and we look forward to another year of creatively engaging with our community,” said Ella Wrenn, CFRT’s managing director.
    CFRT is committed to presenting an annual series of plays, performances, and special events that, in addition to entertaining, will enlighten, inspire, and educate performers and audiences.

    "We are proud of the work we’ve done throughout the last year to continue to provide the award-winning productions and nationally recognized education initiatives, and we could not have this impact without the tireless advocacy and support of the Arts Council,” said Artistic Director Mary Catherine Burke.

    Just last week, CFRT returned to in-person productions with “Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill.” The show is being performed outside, right down the block from CFRT behind Haymount Auto Repair. Extensive safety procedures are in place for these performances. Audiences will be limited to fewer than 50 people in accordance with state COVID-19 guidelines. Seating will be in six-foot distanced pods of two or four. Masks will be required of all audience members, and temperatures will be checked at the entrance. Robust sanitation will take place between performances and the show will be as low contact as possible with digital programs and no paper tickets.

    The rest of the 2020-2021 season will be performed in the spring. Dates for those shows will be announced later in the year.

    The Wizard of Oz
    Click your heels together and join Scarecrow, Tin Man, Lion, Dorothy, and her little dog, too. They’re off to see the Wizard in the magical land of Oz, but in order to make it there, they have to face the Wicked Witch of the West. This iconic musical reminds us that there truly is no place like home. Join us for this beloved family friendly musical that has entertained generations.
    The show is by L. Frank Baum and adapted by John Kane for the Royal Shakespeare Company. It is based upon the classic motion picture. It is rated G for everyone.

    Clue: On Stage
    It’s a dark and stormy night, and the host of a dinner party has turned up dead in his own mansion. Inspired by the board game and film, join Miss Scarlett, Colonel Mustard, Professor Plum, and other colorful guests for this hilarious murder mystery. As the guests race to find the killer, audiences will be in stitches to try and figure out who did it, where, and with what.
    Rated PG for parental guidance, this play contains mild and comedic themes of violence. It is based on the screenplay by Jonathan Lynn, the motion picture and the board game “Clue.”

    Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story
    Before the Beatles, there was Buddy Holly and the Crickets. It’s the 1950’s and a young man from Texas with big glasses and an even bigger dream of catapulting to the top of the Rock and Roll charts. With classic songs like “Peggy Sue,” and “That’ll Be The Day,” along with “La Bamba,” this high octane musical is a celebration of a man whose music and values were ahead of his time.
    The show is rated PG for parental guidance and contains some mild adult themes. It is written by Alan Janes.

    The Color Purple
    Based on Alice Walker’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, this landmark musical is about a remarkable woman named Celie. All she knows is heartbreak and despair, until her friend Shug helps her realize her own self-worth. Celie uses her flair for fashion to build a better future. With a joyous score featuring jazz, gospel, blues, and African music, it is a story of resilience and a testament to the healing power of love.
    The show is rated M for mature audiences, it contains some language and adult themes.Based upon the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel written by Alice Walker and the motion picture.

  • The veterans-supported nonprofit organization, Whole Vet Building Lives Together, makes its community-event debut in Cumberland County Oct. 24 with the Braggin’ Through the ‘Ville Car, Truck, Jeep and Bike Show at I-95 Muscle from 9 a.m.-4 p.m.

    A classic, used and new car retailer located at 4115 Legion Rd. in Hope Mills, I-95 Muscle is a frequent host to car shows, movie nights and community events. Benefiting Whole Vet, the show features multiple vehicle divisions in both judged and nonjudged categories, as well as food trucks, a DJ, drawings and raffles. The event is open to the public for viewing.

    “Life is all about connection that becomes trusted relationships” is the mantra and guiding life principle of Dale Robbins, the founder and CEO of Whole Vet, a 501c3 nonprofit serving veterans, service members and their families. The quote speaks to the doors that have opened to Robbins along his 10-year-journey with volunteer veterans affairs and with the start of this fledgling organization. However, the phrase also provides a glimpse into what matters to this local man — namely, building lasting bonds and putting programs in place to impact the lives of service members, both past and present.

    Whole Vet seeks to provide veterans, transitioning servicemembers from all military branches, National Guard and Reserve members, and their families, with the tools, resources and support to have a fulfilling civilian career and life.

    Robbins, a 19-year-veteran of Cisco Systems with over 25 years total spent in corporate America, never served in the military. His trajectory toward nonprofit work and interest in the nation’s armed forces and veterans began with a deep sense of admiration for those who serve and have served, coupled with years of physical and medical challenges both he and his family faced and eventually overcame. The times of struggle magnified his faith in God and belief that he was being called to do something more with his life. Already a long-term volunteer in his workplace with veteran relations and events, Robbins saw a real need and an open door to step-up and serve this population of selfless individuals more directly. Now engaged in full-time work with Whole Vet, Robbins explained his outlook for the organization.

    “This is a comprehensive vision to create a platform that can serve our military and veteran community,” he said. “Everything from helping them make connections at our events to getting jobs and internships to the mentorship piece that gives them someone that really cares — these are all components of Whole Vet.”

    According to Robbins, Whole Vet encompasses building up the life of the veteran physically, spiritually, mentally, social-emotionally, economically and beyond — the whole person, in other words. The organizational colors, purple and white, are symbolic of representing all branches of service memebers. Purple is the combination of Army green, Coast Guard blue, Air Force blue, Marine red and Navy blue. Hence the saying, “Purple Up!” a national slogan used to solicit support for military families and kids.

    In addition to purple up, Whole Vet seeks to build up the career and family of Whole Vet clients, a twofold mission, as well as create community between the private sector and military and veteran groups. Robbins established the Military and Veteran Enablement Coalition made up of vested parties to help get this job done. Like seed to soil, the tasks grow as the nonprofit does.

    While operating on Harnett and Wake county lines in North Carolina in Robbins’ home office in Willow Springs, the company founder describes his vision as stretching across the state, country and beyond. Since 2017, the Whole Vet’s Military Career Transition Event, has been held in Raleigh, Cary, Clayton and Wilmington.

    Employer-focused virtual sessions kicked off in 2020 in keeping with the pandemic, with programs serving Fort Bragg, Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, Cherry Point Marine Corps Air Station and more. These networking, employer-spotlight events help transitioning service members connect with corporate representatives from companies such as Biogen, Pike Corporation, PSA Airlines, NetApp, SAS, Biotest Pharmaceuticals. Educational entities like Campbell University, East Carolina University and North Carolina State University are also at the table.

    Large scale conferences from Whole Vet welcome governmental giants such as the North Carolina State Highway Patrol, NC Troops to Teachers and the State of North Carolina governmental agencies. Veterans-affiliated institutions that, on paper, reads like a Who’s Who list, have made a great showing at these Whole Vet days. Present and accounted for have been NC4ME, Onward2Opportunity, Hire Heroes USA, The Honor Foundation, USO-NC, Marine for Life Network, K9s Serving Vets and Hope for The Warriors, to name a few. Other event offerings include professional development panels, workshops, networking opportunities and inspirational speakers.

    In conjunction with transition events, Whole Vet hosts quarterly Military Corporate Networking campus visits. These tours have been held at host company campuses such as Biogen in RTP, Deutsche Bank in Cary and Caterpillar of Clayton to allow participants to experience the corporate environment while gaining valuable insight on civilian career paths. The tours also help participants make connections and build relationships, a familiar Whole Vet refrain.

    Though standard programming is on hold due to COVID-19, Robbins looks forward to resuming a regular schedule as soon as possible.

    After rolling out the red carpet to military members and veterans with exceptional and well-executed events, Robbins plans next to put mentorship, marriage and youth programs center stage. First up: The Military Mentorship Program.

    Mentors and mentees will be matched to align servicemembers who are exiting the military with a civilian that can share feedback, knowledge and contacts to ease the transition process to a nonmilitary career. Mentors will come from a participating MVEC company.

    The marriage and youth tracks will begin once additional program funding is secured from sources such as grants, donations, sponsorships and fundraising avenues. According to Robbins, retreats and conferences are in the line-up for marriage programming, while collaboration with the General H. Hugh Shelton Leadership Center at North Carolina State University is on tap for youth directives.

    Are you interested in learning more? Options exist to give your time, talents and resources to Whole Vet, as well as participate. Community events like the I-95 Muscle car show are held to bring fun, fellowship and some fundraising to bear.

    To learn more, go to https://www.facebook.wholevetinc. You can also check the T-shirt box by sporting Whole Vet gear available at their online store, https://wholevet.square.site/.

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    Pictured: Nonprofit Whole Vet raises funds through activities such as car shows to support veterans initiatives like mentorship programs, job networking conferences and counseling services.

  • uac100610001.gif It’s there, the tingle down your spine that makes you feel like you are not alone. The shadow that moves quickly by, the wayward sound. Most people have sensed that goose bump forming fear that comes when ghost stories or swapped or after watching a horror movie on TV. This Halloween you have to go no further than Hay Street to enjoy a hair raising experience that brings history to life, as Historic Hauntings returns.

    Sponsored annually by the Dogwood Festival, Historic Hauntings runs the third and fourth week of every October. The haunted hayride explores the eerie encounters and mysterious happenings of historic downtown. Local actors and actresses bring the night to life as you visit some of Fayetteville’s most infamous haunted locations on the back of the wagon.

    Each year, the hayride visits a number of spots that have traditionally been thought to be haunted, and this year is no different. According to Carrie King, the director of the Dogwood Festival and organizer of the event, this year’s ride will defi nitely give you a fright.

    “We are going to make stops at four different locations,” said King. “We’ll stop off at the Masonic Lodge, the Transportation Museum, the Fayetteville Light Infantry Parade Grounds and Cross Creek Cemetery.”

    King noted that the event has grown over the years, and that ticket sales are brisk.

    “We don’t have the normal problem of selling tickets,” she said. “The problem we have now is getting people to make reservations.”

    King explained that many people wait until the second week to try and attend, and fi nd that they have waited too late.

    “If we could get people to make reservations and attend the fi rst week, instead of everyone trying to pack in during the week of Halloween, we would have a lot less disappointed people,” she said.

    King added that while the organization would love to run more wagons and add days, the sheer size of the event and the work involved makes it impossible to do so. “Our volunteers give so much that adding anymore days would just overwhelm them,” she said.

    So, if you want to participate, you need to make your reservations early because the event only runs six nights every year. Rides begin at 6:30 p.m. and depart from the Liberty Point Building at 145 Person St., on the half hour until 9:30 p.m. All tickets are $15 and must be purchased in advance . To purchase tickets, call (910) 323-1934 or email info@faydogwoodfestival.com. This is a rain or (full moon) shine event. Please dress for weather conditions.

    In addition to the hayride, you can also sign up for the All Hallows Eve Cemetery Walk, which is led by Fayetteville’s historian, Bruce Daws. Follow Daws on the candlelight walk that takes you through Cross Creek Cemetery on Oct. 29 and 30.

    “Bruce knows everything about Fayetteville, and he tells really interesting stories about the people who are buried there, and you see their grave sites and headstones. He really brings their stories to life,” said King.

    Tickets for the hour-long tour are sold separately and can be purchased by calling the Dogwood Festival offi ce at 323-1934 and specifying the Hallows Eve Cemetery Walk. Tickets are $10 and walking tours begin at 7 p.m., with the last tour at 9 p.m.

    All proceeds for this particular event go towards the restoration of Cross Creek Cemetery.

    And whether you have an early or late reservation, you can still take part in the Boo and Brew Patio Party. The party will be at the Liberty Point Building, the starting point for the Historic Hauntings ride. “We wanted to jazz the event up a little,” explained King.10-06-10-haunted-grave.gif

    “We wanted families to be able to make an evening of it, so we created the Boo and Brew Patio party.”

    She explained that while you are waiting to go on your tour, or after your tour, you can grab a hamburger or hotdog to eat, share a beer or a glass of wine with your friends and enjoy some great entertainment. The entertainment will feature everything from acoustic musicians to fortune tellers to storytellers.

    The highlight of the patio party is the annual Halloween costume contest, which is open to people of all ages — even if you aren’t going on the tour. Pictures will be taken each evening and put up on the Dogwood Festival’s Facebook page. You can go there and vote for your favorite costume, with the overall winner winning a great prize.

    Historic Hauntings runs Oct. 14-16 and Oct. 21-23. This year, let your fear run wild downtown. You’ll be glad you did.

  • 10-02-13-cfbg-hosts.gifCome be a part of a living heritage as the Cape Fear Botanical Garden hosts the 10th Annual Heritage Festival. This event bridges the slow, steady reverence of the past, with the ever-expanding, tech-culture of the hurried present and teaches valuable lessons that stand the test of time.

    Focusing on life from1890-1920, the Heritage Festival focuses on our region’s turn-of-the-century agrarian roots that helped shape our way of life and the city in which we live today. With everything from butter churning, to cotton spinning and candlemaking, active opportunities will provide a first-hand experience of a more honest time. As well, the festival will spotlight the importance of tobacco crops and the significance in which they have played in North Carolina.

    Sharon Osborne, Cape Fear Botanical Garden’s director of events, believes that this event is important because it teaches young people about the history of this region.

    “I want to encourage people to come out and participate in a family, fun-filled day”, she said. “The point of this event is to give a history of where we come from.”

    There was a time when farm tools were driven by mule and the majority of Fayetteville was farmland. This event offers workshops and booths to show just that.

    Since its beginning in 1989, The Cape Fear Botanical Garden has been our region’s premiere garden. This facility does an incredible job educating the public on the beauties and wonder of nature. Many have gone to the garden to escape the city’s hustle and have discovered its relaxing allure. As well, it is the home of various flowers that add to the pristine view. A trail that leads around the garden allows for peace and tranquility that can be reached with the help of the calming roar of the nearby Cape Fear River. As well, the garden has become a very popular local destination for weddings and other special events like Ribbit the Exhibit.

    Live entertainment and vendors are scheduled to be on hand. The Parsons will perform live presenting the upbeat sounds of old-timey bluegrass. Nothing else illuminates a festival into the ways of past quite as well as that period’s music. Along with the Parsons, national storyteller Gran’daddy Junebug will fascinate the audience with accounts of the ways of the past that present a strong message of respecting where we come from and treating one another well. For the foodies, Dutch Oven Cooking will provide authentic cuisine made from the oven of its namesake. Finally, Karen Campbell from Ponies and Friends will provide pony rides and a petting zoo.

    Come be a part of The Heritage Festival and get a taste of the past with your friends and family. The celebration will last from noon to 4 p.m. Admission is only $8 for the general public, $7 for the military, $2.50 for children ages 6-12 and is free for those 5 and under. For more information, call The Cape Fear Botanical Garden at 910.486.0221.

  • 10-20-10-4th-friday.gifAhh, 4th Friday. A chance to enjoy some art, some entertainment, great shopping and dining, too. With the joyful sounds, colors and fl avors of the International Folk Festival still echoing in our ears, it’s time for downtown to roll out the welcome mat and wow the community with local talent and festivities once again, and like always the events that are planned for the evening are both impressive and entertaining. Come on downtown on Oct. 22 and enjoy the sights and sounds of the evening.

    The Arts Council Fayetteville/Cumberland County’s Cultural Expressions Invitational Exhibit is still hanging if you missed the opening last 4th Friday. In addition to the lovely exhibit, the Arts Council will also host a writer’s round table that evening.

    “It is going to be really great — we have a wide variety of writers planning to attend and share their thoughts and experiences on a variety of issues with the written word,” said Mary Kinney the organization’s marketing manager.

    There are six featured writers and each has an individual table. They will set up around the grand hall with a podium placed at one end.

    “At the start of the program, each of the writers will go to the podium and speak briefl y on their work — and they can speak on whatever is important to them or whatever they think would be important to the audience,” she continued.

    In the past, authors have talked about the writing process, inspiration, subject matter and have also read a passage or taken questions. Each writer will have roughly 10 minutes to speak and then they will be at their table. After the first hour or so writers will be available for book signings and one-on-one interaction with members of the audience. Authors will have their published works availabel for sale throughout the evening. The round table runs from 7-9 p.m.

    The Cumberland County Public Library & Information Center will host the 2nd Annual Storytelling Festival this 4th Friday, too. There is so much fun and entertainment planned that the library is dedicating Friday evening and all day Saturday to the event — and it’s free.

    Friday night’s event will feature Susana and Timmy Abell. Abell is a recipient of the North Carolina Arts Council’s Fellowship for Musical Composition and Songwriting. Lynne Heffl ey of the Los Angeles Times says “with folk-style wit and charm recalling the classic Pete Seeger, singer-musician Timmy Abell offers listeners a break from the everyday rush with tender, funny and celebratory songs that resonate no matter what your age.”

    The fun starts at 7 p.m. with a pre-show puppet play in the Pate Room at 300 Maiden Ln. Call 483-7727. Come back on Saturday at 10 a.m. and enjoy a full day of stories and entertainment.

    Going right along with the puppet theme, Fascinate-U Children’s Museum has hand puppets on the agenda for the evening. Admission is free, refreshments will be served and your little ones can make their own puppet to take home.

    Later in the evening, an interesting group of people will gather in front of the library for Fayetteville’s newest event — the Jazz Funeral and Zombie Walk.

    Wilmington-based artist Christine Cole and her husband Sameul Guin are teaming up with the Feral Art Collective to put on an event that will entertain the grown ups and have them dancing in the streets — literally. Come as a Zombie, or wait until you get downtown and let the Feral Art Collective help you get into character for the evening.

    Zombie dancers will perform to Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” performed by Voice.Zombies will congregate at the library at 9 p.m. and make their way to Maxwell Street where they will join the Jazz Funeral that will feature a live brass band and a hand-carried zombie procession. The walk ends at The Climbing Place with a performance by the Air Born Aerial Art’s Aerial Zombies.

    To fi nd out more about the Jazz Funeral and Zombie Walk visit www.facebook. com/pages/Fayetteville-Jazz-Funeral-and-Zombie-Walk.

    All in all there is an evening of great fun lined up. It officially starts at 6 p.m. with Arts Alive!, then 4th Friday activities start at 7 p.m. and run well into the evening.

  • 10-09-13-long-island-medium.gifThe Crown Coliseum presents Theresa Caputo, star of TLC’s Long Island Medium, on Monday, Oct. 21 at 7:30 p.m. She will give live readings to audience members throughout the show. During a recent interview, we discussed her life experiences and communicating with the dead.

    UCW: When did you first realize that you could communicate with the dead? Did it scare you?

    TC: I began seeing spirits at the age of 4. I did not know that I was communicating with people that had crossed over until the age of 28. I just actually thought it was normal that people just saw and heard things when no one else was in the room. I suffered with anxiety for many years; I went to a spiritual healer. She told me that I was empathic and was feeling other people’s feelings and emotions and also the emotions of people who have crossed over. I didn’t learn to be a medium. What I learned or understood was what the spirit was trying to tell me. My gift is always there; it is just a way of interpreting it in the way the spirit would like to tell the person that needs to receive a message.

    UCW: What should we expect to see this season on the show?

    TC:We had major construction in the house due to having mold in the house. Besides the bathrooms, we did some additional construction. Victoria and I went to a farm for a mother/daughter getaway. My son, Larry, thinks he can move out and make it on his own so he kind of sprung that on me. I meet some beautiful people with some amazing stories. What I love about what they have done this season is going back and catching up with people that I have met in the past and hearing from them firsthand how the experience changed their lives.

    UCW: When you come to the Crown on Oct. 21, what should Fayetteville expect with your live experience?

    TC: The only thing to expect is that I am going to show up with my hair and my nails done, great dress and fabulous shoes. Even if you do not get read, you will walk away that evening different. I will talk about 15 minutes about my gift. I incorporate some stories and examples of how the spirit will communicate in a large venue. I also include some answers to the most frequently asked questions that I get and then we go into spirit communication for about an hour and a half. It really is an experience.

    UCW: How do you handle non-believers?

    TC: I don’t handle them. It is what it is. I try to explain to people I am not here to prove or defend my gift. This is not about them believing in what I do. This is about you knowing that there is truly more to know in life that is here in the physical world. Also I have learned that we have all lost somebody who has died and we’ve all lost somebody in a common or similar way: heart attack, cancer, stroke or car accident. There’s nothing that I can do about it. That is the way people die. What separates it apart are the unique things that the spirit talks about. The spirit will talk about the things that happened after they left the physical world. It will describe intimate moments that you had after they died. I am not making the stuff up. Somebody is telling it to me. When I am in the presence of someone that needs closure or peace from their loved ones, spirits start making me feel things and hear things that mean everything to the person that is receiving the message.

    For more information about Theresa Caputo, visit www.tlc.com/tv-shows/long-island-medium. For more information about her appearance at the Crown or tickets, visit the Crown website at www.atthecrown.com.

    Photo: Theresa Caputo, also known as the Long Island Medium, will be at the crown on Oct. 21.

  • 10-27-10-omar-said.gifFayetteville is full of interesting people, and always has been. From the Highland Scots who settled here in the 1700s to the present day citizens who live, work and serve in the community to make this town a better place, you don’t have to look far to find infl uences from around the world that have shaped Fayetteville into a town with international fl air.

    Beginning Nov. 4, our town is celebrating yet another fascinating historical fi gure — Omar Ibn Said (pronounced Sa’eed), with the dedication of a historical marker. The Museum of the Cape Fear is hosting a corresponding exhibit that will open at 10 a.m. on Nov. 4.

    The exhibit will feature an original manuscript penned by Omar Ibn Said. A performance of The Life and Times of Omar Ibn Said at 71st High School at 7 p.m. will also be a part of the celebration.

    According to the N.C. Department of Cultural Resources, Omar Ibn Said was born in Africa in about 1770, in the modern day country of Senegal, to a Muslim family and was educated in the Qur’an, Islamic practices and prayers. He also learned how to read and write in Arabic and knew some math, too.

    Historians aren’t sure if Omar Ibn Said was convicted of a crime and sold into slavery by his family or if he was captured by an enemy tribe, but in 1807 Omar Ibn Said found himself a slave in Charleston, S.C.

    After running away from his harsh master in 1810, Omar Ibn Said arrived in Fayetteville, where he was arrested and put in jail for being a run away slave. While in jail, he turned to his faith and used coals from the fi replace to write prayers to Allah on the walls and ceiling of his cell. Being an educated Arab, all of his writings were in Arabic and the citizens of Fayetteville were intrigued by the markings he made in the jail.

    “They weren’t familiar with the writings, but it was obvious that this was an educated man,” said Museum of the Cape Fear Historical Complex Administrator David Reid.

    Omar Ibn Said was purchased by James Owen of Bladen County and went to live with the family there. “Omar was held in high esteem by the family and treated quite well,” Reid added.

    For years, Omar Ibn Said remained a practicing Muslim. Owen gave him an English copy of the Qur’an to help him learn English. Eventually, Owen, with the help of N.C. Chief Justice and Francis Scott Key, the author of our “National Anthem,” provided Omar Ibn Said with a Bible that had been printed in Arabic, hoping that he would become a Christian. In 1820, he joined First Presbyterian Church in downtown Fayetteville.

    “The local citizens were very excited that Omar converted to Christianity,” said Reid. “Missionaries even offered to supply him with Bibles and tried to get him to go back to his native country to share the gospel, but he chose instead to remain in the states with the Owen family.”

    Through the years Omar Ibn Said not only proved to be a mystery and an asset to the Owen family, but he also left some pretty signifi cant historical documents. He wrote a 15 page autobiography and also translated some religious passages like the Twenty-third Psalm and the Lord’s Prayer into Arabic.

    “One of the most significant things about Omar Ibn Said is that he is the only slave that produced an autobiography in his native language,” said Adam Beyah, event coordinator and the former Imam of Masjid Omar Ibn Sayyid. Other autobiographies left by slaves were either dictated or written in English after they were taught to read and write in America.

    “He was a very religious man, and it appears that perhaps in writing the biblical texts he was doing a comparative study of the Bible and the Qur’an.”

    In addition to the exhibit at the Museum of the Cape Fear, which will run through Dec. 5, and the performance at 71st High School, there will be festivities through out the weekend to honor the memory of Omar Ibn Said.

    At 10 a.m. on Nov. 5 there will be an offi cial unveiling of a Historical Marker dedicated to Omar Ibn Said in front of Masjid Omar Ibn Sayyid, 2700 Murchison Rd. followed by a reception at 11 a.m. and Jumu’ah Prayer (Congregational Friday Prayer) at 1:30 p.m. led by Imam Ibrahim Pasha, Atlanta Masjid. From 3-6:30 p.m., vendors will be open on the Masjid property. On Nov. 6 there will be workshops by scholars, including an Arabic workshop by Imam Darnell Karim. Vendors will also be on hand, and the event will be followed by a banquet at 7 p.m. at Masjid Omar Ibn Sayyid with guest speaker Imam Darnell Karim, Chicago, Il.

    To find out more or to participate in the festivities, call the Museum of the Cape Fear at 486-1330.

    Photo of Omar Ibn Said courtesy of North Carolina Collection, University of North Carolina Library at Chapel Hill.

  • 10-30-13-st-josephs.gifThis year marks the 140th anniversary of Saint Joseph’s Church, Fayetteville’s second oldest Episcopal congregation. Its history begins in 1873, when the Rev. Joseph Caldwell Huske, rector of Saint John’s Episcopal Church, aided the African-American members of his parish, approximately one-fourth of the total membership, in establishing their own church. He also served as the first rector of the newly organized church.

    Saint Joseph’s present location at the corner of Ramsey and Moore streets is the third site where the congregation worshipped. With financial support from Eva Cochran, the present church was built in 1896, and consecrated the following year by the Right Reverend Augustine Watson, 1st Bishop of the Diocese of East Carolina. Saint Joseph’s comprises a closely grouped set of buildings with church, parish hall and rectory connected by wooden arcades and complementing each other in form, scale and detail, and are arranged and landscaped to give the character of a small country village. The church buildings are finished in a bold and organic green-shingle with a unique architectural blend of Queen Anne, Gothic and Spanish styles.

    The interior of the church is also beautifully executed and is well preserved with beaded boarding above a high Gothic paneled wainscot reaching to the window sills and the ceiling is paneled in the same material as the upper walls, with a roof supported on trussed rafters. Original wood pews, pulpit and other furnishings add to the rich and warm interior appearance. Featured in the deeply projecting semi-octagonal chancel are five exquisite Resurrection windows produced by Tiffany of New York and an 1857 manual pipe organ built by Henry Erben. The west wall of the church is highlighted by a large three-part stained glass window set in a diamond pattern of amber glass and accented with fleur-de-lis symbols. Samuel Lloyd, a Vestry member, said that, “Saint Joseph’s is such a beautiful and peaceful church that is filled with a quiet spirit.”

    Over the years the Fayetteville Transportation and Local History Museum has had the privilege of conducting many tours of Saint Joseph’s and participants have always been amazed at the beauty and splendor of this rare architectural treasure. Saint Joseph’s is not only known for its rich history, or as an architectural gem, but also for its public service. In its long history, the church provided an early school for children, served as a site for the United Service Organization (U.S.O.) and was one of the first recreation centers established under the city’s newly formed Parks and Recreation Department in 1941. Also, the church has taken an active part in social programs ranging from the Homeless Coalition to a Breakfast Ministry which provides a nourishing breakfast to the needy.

    On Saturday, Nov. 2, Saint Joseph’s in partnership with the Fayetteville Transportation & Local History Museum, will celebrate a milestone of 140 years of service to the Fayetteville community. Jan Mumford who is responsible for decorating the church for the upcoming celebration indicated that “it was all a labor of love.” Carol Graham, who is in charge of catering the event said, “This church welcomed me upon my marriage to a life-long member, Gene Graham. I love this church.” The anniversary celebration will begin at 9 a.m. with a bus tour of historic sites related to church history, followed by a program in the Parish Hall on the History of Saint Joseph’s Episcopal Church. After lunch, the anniversary program will continue with opening prayer by the Reverend Teddra Smith, rector, and opening remarks by Mr. Donald LaHuffman, Senior Warden. Highlights of the program include a proclamation from the Mayor’s Office, a Historical Perspective by Dr. Bertha Miller, Professor of History, Fayetteville State University, remarks and special presentation by the Reverend Robert Alves of St. John’s Episcopal Church and music offered by Fayetteville Senior Ensemble and the Saint Joseph’s Choir. Donald LaHuffman, Senior Warden and a member of Saint Joseph’s from birth said; “Truly God blessed us with this church, and this celebration is to give God the glory.”

    Photo: St. Joseph’s Episcopal Church celebrates 140 years on Nov. 2.

  • uac102914001.gif It’s time to break out the holiday shopping lists — the 48th Annual Holly Day Fair is right around the corner. Nov. 6-9 shoppers are invited to check out the many unique and varied treasures at Eastern North Carolina’s largest holiday gift and craft show. With more than 200 vendors offering a wide range of items, shoppers are sure to find something fun and different for everyone on their Christmas list.

    The Holly Day Fair offers holiday decorations, handmade crafts, stylish jewelry and clothes, children’s toys, specialty food items and much more.

    For the better part of 50 years, the Junior League of Fayetteville has helped the area usher in the holiday season with this fun-filled event. On average, the Holly Day Fair draws about 21,000 shoppers over the course of the weekend. This year, the Junior League hopes to make it bigger and better than ever.

    “The Holly Day Fair is an exciting event that kicks-off the holiday season! It’s great to see returning shoppers and vendors year after year and meeting newcomers as well,” said Sarah Marie Stewart, 2014 Holly Day Fair Chair. “This year we have expanded our publicity efforts by reaching markets, not only to those counties and cities that surround Fayetteville, but also to several neighboring states. We hope you join us at our 48th Annual Holly Day Fairentitled, ‘A Classic Christmas!’”

    Since its inception the Holly Day Fair has served to bring holiday cheer to the community while fostering a culture of volunteerism and community service. Junior League of Fayetteville’s President, Shannon Geoly, says of the event, “The Junior League of Fayetteville is fortunate to host an amazing fundraising event. Last year was monetarily our most successful year, raising in excess of $300,000. This year, our 48th Holly Day Fair, we hope to surpass that amount. These funds make it possible for the Junior League of Fayetteville to continue to promote volunteerism, develop the potential of women and support programs and projects in our community that offer children services and opportunities that support their overall well-being. We live in a great community of amazing people who generously support one another, and we are pleased and proud to be a part of it.”

    The Holly Day Fair offers great shopping in a festive environment and the proceeds are all used locally to benefit the community. The event is the Junior League’s biggest fundraiser. The Junior League makes a big impact by choosing to focus on child mental health. Specifically, it partners with Cumberland County Boys & Girls Club and Operation Inasmuch’s Transitional Home Restoration. 10-29-14-holly-day-fair-1.gif

    Through the Smart Girl Program, girls 8–17-years-old receive guidance that helps them strive for healthy attitudes and lifestyles. The program offers encouragement, development and training to help the girls prepare for the responsibilities of adulthood and to encourage them to reach their full potential.

    The Operation Inasmuch Transitional Home Program offers meals to the homeless Monday through Friday. The organization has several programs that include skills training and home repair and housing assistance.

    Super shopper hours are Nov. 6 from 9 a.m. to noon. These special event tickets can be purchased for $14 and are limited. Strollers and any type of rolling carts are strictly prohibited during Super Shopper hours. General admission tickets for the event are $9. All tickets include free parking. Children 5 and under are free.

    10-29-14-holly-day-fair-2.gifHours for the event are: Thursday, Super Shopper hours from 9 a.m. to noon; general admission hours from noon to 8 p.m.; Friday and Saturday 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Sunday 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tickets for the 2014 Holly Day Fair are on sale now through Ticketmaster at www.ticketmaster.com. Tickets can also be purchased at the following ticket outlets: The Junior League of Fayetteville office, Bumbledoo, Mellow Mango located on Raeford Road, Ramsey Street and Hope Mills, The Pilgrim Gifts, Vibra’s in Dunn, Biggs Park Mall in Lumberton and Southern Pines Diagnostic Imaging.

    The Crown Expo Center is located at 131 East Mountain Drive, off Hwy, 301 in Fayetteville. For more information, please visit www.hollydayfair.com or the Junior League of Fayetteville’s website at www.jlfay.org.

    Photos: Shoppers enjoy the holiday spirit while shopping at the Holly Day Fair right.)

    The Junior League Holly Day Fair Committee (bottom left) 

  • 10-05-11-jazz-fest.jpgJazz fans have something to look forward to this month. On Oct. 13 at the Crown Center, prepare to hear some of jazz music’s finest per-formers at the Autumn Jazz Explosion. Performers Jay Soto, Paul Taylor, Warren Hill and Marion Meadows are pulling out all the stops to bring Fayetteville an evening of fabulous jazz music.

    Soto is a guitarist, singer, songwriter, producer, pianist, music in-structor and church music director. With songs on shows like Sex and the City and All About Us, Soto was also the grand finalist in Guitar Center’s Guitarmageddon Competition. With several albums to his name, Soto is a must-have in any jazz performance.

    Paul Taylor’s contemporary urban jazz sound has been honed over the 15 years that he’s been in the business. He’s no stranger to col-laborating. In fact, according to his website, “Paul’s in prime time mode with emotionally powerful 10 song collection of instrumentals and vocals which finds him vibing with a mix of old and new (and very funky) musi-cal friends.”

    In fact, Taylor, Hill and Meadows just finished up the Gentlemen of the Night Tour which was a collaborative effort that took them across the country to perform from California to Virginia.

    Warren Hill began playing the guitar when he was just 7-years-old. By the time he was 14, he was performing in shows in his hometown of Toronto, Canada. The night he graduated from the Berklee College of Music in Boston, he was picked up for a recording project with Chaka Khan. He’s released 11 CDs, been on many tours and is sure to deliver an evening of great entertainment when he comes to the Crown.

    Meadows is a West Virginia native who was raised in Stamford, Conn. He plays the tenor saxophone and soprano sax, is a composer and recording artist. With nine albums to his name, and collaboration projects with many big name performers, Meadows brings passion and experience to this performance.

    It is easy to find accolades for Lorber’s performances in his more than 30-year career in jazz fusion (a mixture of traditional jazz with elements of rock, R&B, funk and other electrified sounds). He started out in Portland, Oregon. And quickly had an international audience.

    Together, these five performers promise a fun-filled evening of smooth jazz.

    The show starts at 7:30 p.m. Ticket prices are $68.00, $55.00 and $48.00 (includes facility fee).

    Tickets are available at the Crown Center Box office and at Ticketmaster.

  • ARIES (March 21-April 19) Added stressors come into the mix this week. Soon enough, though, you’ll realize the gift in said “challeng-es” and be grateful that you accepted them.

    TAURUS (April 20-May 20) Give yourself the time and space to do what you want to do. It sounds simple enough, and yet there are many reasons why you haven’t been able to create the moment and fi nd the quiet, comfortable space to make magic happen. You will be more mind-ful and intent than you’ve been in a long time.

    GEMINI (May 21-June 21) The origami artists and physicists agree that the essence of life is folding. Whether it’s the folding of paper or DNA, the act of folding is sure to make a dramatic difference. And so will your efforts this week, which are likely to include bringing people into your “fold.”

    CANCER (June 22-July 22) Relationships are funny. Sometimes in life you have an attraction for someone but can’t guess the way to make a connection. Or you have a connection with someone and no attraction. You have both this week and should celebrate it for all it’s worth.

    LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) A person does not equal the sum total of his or her habits, tenden-cies and preferences. You can like someone without having to be like that person. Your ability to relate, empathize and be enriched by those who are very different from you will be highlighted this week.

    VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) What you read will be important to you later. Reading is not a tangent or an indulgence, though it sometimes feels that way this week, particularly when the reading material is good. You’ll collect new words and learn their meanings. Having a com-mand of language will increase your power and infl uence.

    LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23) You’ve seen relationships that were built on insecurity and need, and you’ve even been in them. They can transform into something stable and support-ive, though, as each party develops a stronger identity. You’ll be favorably affected by sucha transformation.

    SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21) The problem is that your nearest and dearest have become so accustomed to your charms that they take them for granted. When you get out and mingle among people you’ve never met before, your magic works anew.

    SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21) You may not always do the ideal thing for your overall physical health. Sometimes your intentions get trumped by what you need to do to feel better in the moment. But when you are well rested and the stressors of your life are at bay, you will revel in good, wholesome habits.

    CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) When you interact with another person, you are free to feel however you want about that person. You’ll be challenged by the behavior of others. They seem intent on making it difficult for you to be kindhearted. Love will win in the end.

    AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18) In a funny way, you wish you could return to a state of depen-dence on others, if only because it would show you once more that you are completely loved — and not for what you bring to the table, but just for being you. Someone will dote on you, and you’ll love it.

    PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20)You read the omens differently from the way others read them. You see the opportunities that exist in every situation. You may not be able to act on every opportunity, but noticing the promise that’s there will benefit you in the days and weeks to come.

  • 15 ParentingIn 2017, I was pregnant — not “super” pregnant, as in I could still see my feet but could still rest a soda can on my belly without it spilling — and I stumbled upon a video on Facebook of a college acquaintance and her 2-year-old son. She was sitting on the floor folding laundry while her son ran around the room giggling and playing. As I watched, I noticed she was asking her son a series of simple questions about God, called catechisms, most of which required an answer of only a few words.

    The series of questions went something like this:

    Mom: “Who made you?”
    Son: “God!”
    Mom: “And what else did God make?”
    Son: “All things!”
    Mom: “Why did God make you and all things?”
    Son: “For his own glory!”
    Mom: “How can you glorify God?”
    Son: “By loving him and doing what He commands!”

    Tears. I cried big crocodile tears as I watched it over and over again, joy beaming from the child's face as he responded to her questions, sometimes on his own, sometimes with her guidance. She was teaching her sweet 2-year-old boy who God is and how much he loves him — the call that is on every person's life if they claim to follow Jesus. That was discipleship (teaching and instructing others  about who Jesus is) in its simplest form and I needed to take notes.
    That has always baffled me. Where do you even start with someone, anyone, much less a child,  to tell them that there is a god who created the universe and everything in it, who specifically thought of them and formed them in their mother's womb, who has a plan and a purpose for their life, when they have no framework for who he is? How do you tell them that he sent his son Jesus, who is also God and part of the Trinity — pretty confusing, to Earth because of this ugliness called sin that's inside the human race, to die for them and save them from sin, so they can know him and his love and spend eternity in heaven? Yeah, say that five times fast. For someone who didn't grow up in church or around church, or has a bad taste in their mouth from people who call themselves Christians, it sounds absolutely insane, and I see that.

    But on the other hand, what a weighty, beautiful, glorious responsibility to start with a blank canvas — a child. Its almost too much to bear. It's terrifying. Disciple-ing my son means not only am I telling him about Jesus, but I'm teaching him. He's an eye witness to my life — my life with all of my sin, selfishness, pride and mistakes. He's going to observe how I'm living, and eventually what he will think about Jesus will be colored by whether or not I was a big, fat phony, or whether I truly tried to live for what I say I believe. He will see how I handle relationships, discipline, my health, blessings, heartbreak, finances, our home, apologies, loss, tough emotions, asking for help, hard work —the list goes on.

    My relationship with Jesus directly affects my son's future relationship with him, but here's the crazy thing about all of it: There is nothing I can do in and of myself to make him believe. Nothing. Nada. Zip. Zilch. The Holy Spirit must do something miraculous and supernatural with my measly attempts to show who he is and how he works. Then my son must make his own decision. I just pray with all my heart and soul that God will burn the “fake” out of me, that I learn to trust him more and that what was promised to the prison guard in Acts 16:31 was a promise for my family as well — “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.”
    May he choose you, Jesus. I pray I will, too.

  • Iuac101012001.gift’s only fitting that the first signs of fall hit the region this week. That chill in the air can only mean one thing — it’s time for FireAntz Hockey!

    Loyal FireAntz fans have waited out the dog days of summer, anxiously anticipating a new season. And when we say new, we mean new. Last season was a rebuilding season for the FireAntz; one that didn’t go exactly as planned. With a number of losses under their belt, the team fired its coach in February, something that is rarely done at this level of play.

    “It’s really tough changing coaches in mid-season,” said Dean Russell, the assistant general manager and vice president of sales. “At this level, when you hire a coach, you are all in for the year, but we felt like it was necessary at the time.”

    The team finished out the season, and the FireAntz organization went on a hunt for a new head coach. According to Russell, luck was on their side. Mark DeSantis, who had been their first pick last year, had finished his commitment to a team in Rapid City, S.D., and was ready to take on the challenge of being a head coach. The timing, according to Russell, was perfect.

    DeSantis has played professional hockey for 16 years, and served as the assistant coach to the championship Rapid City team for three years. A native of Brampton, Ontario, DeSantis has been busy over the summer recruiting what amounts to almost a completely new team. He is big on defense, and looks forward to building another championship team in Fayetteville.

    Joining DeSantis on the coaching staff is former FireAntz player Sean Edwards. Edwards, a native of Belleville, Ontario, is a realtor in town. He played for the team in 2004-2005 and on a fill-in basis in the 2007 season. This is the first time in its 10- year history that the FireAntz team has had an assistant coach.

    “Mark is ready to take on the team this year, and we are really excited to have him here as our head coach,” said Russell. “He has completely retooled the team, and they are bigger and tougher than they have been the past two seasons.”

    Russell noted that player turnover is not unusual in developmental leagues, but that Fayetteville fans will see many more new faces this year than they have in the past. But don’t worry, some of the fan favorites are returning including Josh McQuade, Mike Atkinson and Kyle Frieday. McQuade will be the Antz’s top returning scorer. He was third on the team last season as a rookie with 22 goals, 26 assists and 48 points. Atkinson spent 33 games with the Antz, scoring eight points in his rookie season. Frieday, a defenseman, will be entering his third professional season. He played 51 games with the FireAntz in 2010, scoring 13 points.

    Russell said fans can expect great things from veteran defenseman Andrew Smale. Smale, played for DeSantis for two seasons in South Dakota. He along with Bobby Reed and the team’s new goalie, Marco Edmond, fill the team’s roster as the team’s three veterans players.

    While you can expect things to heat up on the ice with the retooled team, the FireAntz staff is working hard to ensure that you get the whole entertainment package.

    “Every year we want to make the season new and exciting,” said Russell.“This year we are going to have more special events than ever before.” Here are a few of the things you can look forward to:

    Preseason: Saturday, October 20 vs. Augusta Riverhawks

    The season will start with a novel approach to the pre-season game that will be Saturday October 20th, where the entire game will be played “Backwards.” MacNaught said the players will not skate backwards but the “show” and the order of the game will be in reverse. The game will start with a shootout and then will play the periods in reverse. MacNaught who is known to always look to make things interesting was called crazy by many of his peers for doing a game in this manner. It is just a way to change the look for the fans while not compromising the competition.

    Opening Night: Friday, October 26 vs. “Rival” Knoxville IceBears

    Opening night is a Fayetteville tradition for the FireAntz. The night will kick off this year with the first of the very popular kids nights that is being sponsored by Lee Hyundai this year. There will be one kids night each month where every student in elementary andmiddle school is given a voucher for a free ticket. Seven counties participate and the Fireantz include public and private schools. Home-schooled students can call the FireAntz office to receive their voucher. Special opening night group packages are available by calling the FireAntz office at 910-321- 0123 or by going to the website at www.fireantzhockey.com.

    Lizard Lick Towing Night: Saturday, November 3 vs. Columbus Cottonmouths

    This is a “WOW” night for the FireAntz who will wear special Lizard Lick Towing styled jerseys. These jerseys will be auctioned off to the public after the game, and the proceeds will be used to provide tickets to the military for our first Military Appreciation night on December 1st. Ronnie and Amy from Lizard Lick Towing which is produced out of Lizard Lick N.C., near Wendell is Broadcast on the Tru TV Network will be on hand to sign autographs before the game. This is a “must see” game because you never know what’s going to happens when the people from Lizard Lick show up.

    For more information about the team and to check out the full schedule of events, visit www. fireantzhockey.com.

    Photo: The team has gone through some big changes since last year and is ready to get the
    season underway. 

  •     For 37 years, Fayetteville’s Vance Neal has battled the gas wars. {mosimage}
        The founder of Short Stop Food Marts, Neal possesses a perspective on the volatile nature of gas prices few men can boast. With 51 stores under his rein, he has an intimate knowledge of the ebb and flow at the pumps; and with more than three decades of retail experience, he has a very simple message for consumers who see red when they trade wads of green for precious gasoline: There’s no gouging on his watch.
        Neal recently opened his books to Up and Coming Weekly to show just how little profit his Short Stop convenience stores are making on inflated gas prices. Neal’s own records show that during the month of July, the Short Stop franchise sold approximately 2 million gallons of gasoline to consumers — yet made a profit of just 2.5 cents per gallon.
        “The general public, if you ask how them how much we make per gallon, I have heard in the neighborhood of 30 cents per gallon,” said Neal, speaking from his Arsenal Avenue office. “I don’t ever remember making 30 cents per gallon. The retailers, generally speaking, are reputable businessmen in the community and they are not out to gouge anyone.”
        When Hurricane Ike swept through the Gulf of Mexico in early September, threatening this nation’s oil supply, retailers across the nation raised prices sharply — some charging as much as $6 a gallon. Here in North Carolina, Gov. Mike Easley declared a state of “abnormal market disruption” and signed an order allowing Attorney General Roy Cooper to enforce the state’s anti-gouging law.
        The Consumer Protection Division of the attorney general’s office issued 26 subpoenas demanding information from gas stations in Cumberland, Buncombe, Craven, Guilford, McDowell, Mecklenburg, Montgomery, Anson, Ashe, Cherokee, Stanley, Transylvania and Yadkin counties asking them to explain why their prices were so high — these retailers reportedly sold gas for as high as $5.35 a gallon. Cooper’s office has received more than 4,300 complaints of gouging since Sept 12. The Circle B in Fayetteville was among those subpoenaed, reportedly selling regular gas for $5.49 following the hurricane.
        Neal refused to call out his competitor for gouging, saying the store’s owner may have simply “panicked.”
    Neal says that generally, when he gets a price increase from one of his fuel suppliers, he receives it in the form of a fax. On the day that Hurricane Ike hit, he received a fax from one of the companies showing the next load would cost $4.80 a gallon, plus 52 cents for road tax.
        “So, if we’d bought that product and put it in our locations and then in a few days didn’t sell that product, we would have had to drop our prices to meet the competition, otherwise, we would have sat there with a price out of the market,” said Neal. “And that’s generally the way the market works around Fayetteville.
        “We price according to the competition,” said Neal. “Locally, I noticed there was one competitor that went out of the market. He, being a small independent man, probably panicked. I know of one retailer from another city who got the same letter (from the fuel supplier) who said ‘I’m not going to buy it.’ He put bags on his pumps and just went home. He said he wasn’t going to ask his customers to pay that kind of price.”
    Neal said he and most other local retailers “sweated it out,” waiting for the prices to go down — which they eventually did.
        Neal said another factor adding to the hike in gas prices is the consumer, who he says also goes into a “panic” mode when there is a gas crunch.
            “People panicked and you had lines all over town,” said Neal. “In fact, the day that I had to go out of town, they were backed up in the streets buying and topping off. That creates a problem.”
            The demand got so high, in fact, that The Pantry posted signs at its 1,600-plus gas stations in 11 Southeastern states asking customers to pump only 10 gallons of gas each.
        Neal says that he’s just as upset as the consumer over the seemingly arbitrary price hikes in gasoline, but he says don’t blame the local retailer; instead, cast your eyes toward the real culprit: Big Oil.
        “About five years ago, when they (the oil companies) were buying each other out they eliminated all their competition,” said Neal. “So they can pretty much do what they want to. You haven’t got 12 fighting for the market share — you’ve got six, so they can do pretty much what they want to as far as pricing.”
        Neal says you also have to look at other factors affecting the cost of gas, such as the state and federal taxes on fuel. The nationwide average tax on gasoline is 47 cents per gallon. The federal tax on gasoline is 18.4 cents per gallon. The average state gasoline excise tax is about 18.2 cents per gallon. Other taxes add 10.4 cents per gallon to the average tax on gasoline. These other taxes include applicable sales taxes, gross receipts taxes, oil inspection fees, underground storage tank fees and other miscellaneous environmental fees. Adding these taxes and fees to the state excise taxes results in a volume-weighted average state tax of 28.6 cents per gallon. North Carolina has the 15th highest gas tax in the nation at 48 cents a gallon; California is first at 64 cents, while our neighbor, South Carolina, ranks 47th  at 35 cents a gallon.
        And then there are the credit card fees. Neal said VISA and MasterCard tack on approximately a 2 percent fee per gallon of gas.
        “So, if you got a $4 price for fuel, we have to give 8 cents a gallon to the credit card company,” said Neal.
        As far as the pricing among individual retailers, Neal explained that at each Short Stop, supervisors, or “runners,” travel the area to see what the competitors are charging, then report back to the home office.
        “We have to meet competition,” said Neal. “When it gets in a crunch, the shortage is chaotic and people don’t shop for gas — they’ll pay whatever is put on the pump. But that’s a situation where we (the retailers) have to live here and we’re going to have these customers for a long, long time. So we don’t want to make them mad … We try to do what is reasonable.”
  • Dear EarthTalk: Are there natural headache remedies that can get me off of Tylenol, Advil and other medicines whose side effects can be as bad as or worse than the pain that led me to use them?                                    – Jan Levinson, Portland, Maine

        {mosimage}Many of us may be too dependent on over-the-counter painkillers to treat the occasional headache, especially given the side effects of such drugs. Ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin) can increase the risk of heart and circulation problems — including heart attack and stroke — and is also tough on the digestive tract. Too much acetaminophen (Tylenol) has been linked to nausea, diarrhea and kidney and liver problems. Many natural health care practitioners disparage drugs for merely masking the symptoms of larger problems.
        All headaches are not the same and gobbling down pain pills will not address the causes, whatever they may be. Some headaches are caused by tension; others stem from sinus congestion, caffeine withdrawal, constipation, food allergies, spinal misalignment or lack of sleep. And then there are migraines, which researchers think are neurological in nature: The brain fails to constrict the nerve pathways that open the arteries to the brain, resulting in a pounding headache as blood flows in unchecked. Assessing what kind of headache you may have can help lead the way to a solution beyond deadening the pain with a pill.
        To make tension headaches go away, the Farmers’ Almanac recommends applying an ice pack to the neck and upper back, or, even better, getting someone to massage those areas. Also, soaking the feet in hot water can divert blood from your head to your feet, easing any kind of headache pain in the process.
        Another all-natural headache cure is acupressure (like acupuncture, but without the needles), which promotes healing throughout the body by stimulating channels of energy known as meridians. Victoria Abreo, alternative medicine editor for the Website BellaOnline, says that anyone suffering from a tension headache can employ a simple acupressure technique to help relieve the pain: “With one hand, press the shallow indention in the back of the head at the base of the skull. Simultaneously, with the thumb and forefinger of the other hand, press firmly into the upper hollows of the eye sockets, right where they straddle the bridge of the nose and meet the ‘t’ of the eyebrow bridge.” She says to press softy at first, and then more firmly, holding for three to five minutes.
        As for migraines, avoiding certain trigger foods might be key to staving them off. Abreo says migraine sufferers should try steering clear of dairy products, processed meat, red wine, caffeine and chocolate. New research has shown that some people with specific dietary deficiencies are more prone to migraines.
        According to Dr. Linda White, who writes about natural health for Mother Earth News, some recent clinical trials have shown three nutritional supplements — magnesium, riboflavin and coenzyme Q10 — to be particularly effective at reducing the frequency and severity of migraines. Also, a number of herbs — including feverfew, butterbur, lavender, gingko biloba, rosemary and chamomile — have proven track records in preventing or stopping migraines. Since herbs can be potent and are not regulated or tested, headache sufferers should consult a trusted doctor or naturopath before using alternative remedies.

    CONTACTS: Farmers’ Almanac, www.farmersalmanac.com; BellaOnline, www.bellaonline.com; Mother Earth News, www.motherearthnews.com.

    GOT AN ENVIRONMENTAL QUESTION? Send it to: EarthTalk, c/o E/The Environmental Magazine, P.O. Box 5098, Westport, CT 06881; submit it at: www.emagazine.com/earthtalk/thisweek/, or e-mail: earthtalk@emagazine.com. Read past columns at: www.emagazine.com/
  • ARE YOU AN OSTRICH?

    November is National Alzheimer’s Disease Awareness Month and it deserves attention from you. According to the Alzheimer’s Association report Changing the Trajectory of Alzheimer’s Disease, “The number of Americans age 65 and older who have this condition will increase from 5.1 million today to 13.5 million by mid-century.”

    The impact of this information on healthcare, senior care and the family unit is going to be devastating. Figuring out medical options, residential situations and financial resources are just a few areas which will be impacted greatly. As the research continues to try to find a cure for this dreadful disease, you must get informed.

    From personal experience, we know that seniors do not want to inform family when they are having problems with household management, paying bills or preparing meals. They do not want to admit when they get lost returning home from church or the grocery store. Seniors want to maintain their independence and not worry their children. This is reasonable but not practical.

    10-26-11-senior-corner.jpgThe practical side of the situation is that when there are obvious changes in behaviors or routines, strategies can be put into place to fix the situation. Family members or professional caregivers can plan, purchase, prepare and serve meals daily. An approved designee can pay bills or automatic drafts can be set up easily. Homes can have simple handrails and shower seats installed or retrofitted for entire handicapped accessible bathrooms. Safety measures can be implemented such as removing throw rugs, purchasing alert buttons, installing extra locks on doors to prevent wandering and locking away dangerous items. These are a few ideas, but the key is to know what needs attention.

    Often a senior will explain away why things are happening … just an accident, the bill got stuffed away in old papers or the peas burned because she just didn’t put enough water in them. The senior might say they planned to go a different way home than the usual route to cover up getting confused on the directions. When visits are short, explanations might continue to work. However, with an extended visit the symptoms become more evident to indicate the senior needs more help.

    Get informed. Know the symptoms for the onset of dementia, of which Alzheimer’s is the most prevalent.

    Research has shown the starting certain medications can slow the progression of the disease. Waiting is the wrong path to choose. Discuss it with your primary Physician. Consider seeking further testing.

    Our title, Are you an Ostrich? is simply to encourage you to Take your head out of the sand and know that you will have a family member, neighbor or close friend who will develop Alzheimer ’s disease, if you haven’t already.

    Become informed by reading materials available on the internet, at bookstores or in the library. Attend seminars in the community. Contact your local Area on Aging for upcoming events which might be helpful for you.

    Getting ready now will empower you to act appropriately when necessary.

    Photo: Become informed by reading materials available on the internet, at bookstores or in the library. Attend seminars in the community. Contact your local Area on Aging for upcoming events which might be helpful for you.

  • 14 PiaEvery quarter the Fayetteville Ladies Power Lunch hosts a luncheon for the women of this community. Not only does it include a meal and a keynote speaker, there are prizes, a Shopportunity Expo with a variety of vendors and a wine tasting, too. The next luncheon is set for Nov. 14 at Cape Fear Botanical Garden.

     A perfect fit for this event, the botanical garden offers a professional yet serene setting for the gathering.

    The Fayetteville Ladies Power Lunch board and partnering sponsor, Women's View Magazine, have been working diligently to heighten guests' experience going into 2020. "Changing the venue and caterer are a couple of the modifications that you will see going into this final event of the 2019 season. We think that everyone will agree that the Cape Fear Botanical Gardens offers a magical space and Two Brothers Catering provides top notch cuisine and we're very excited that we could make those changes happen in November," said Paulette Naylor, a member of the advisory board for the Power Lunch.

    Doors open at 10 a.m. with the Shopportunity Expo. Previous events have hosted fitness centers, locally owned and operated pet stores, home businesses, spas, events venues, home interior firms and more. Enjoy a glass of wine while shopping and networking before the midday meal is served.

    The formal portion of the luncheon starts at noon. The Vine will cater this month’s meal. The catering company provides delicious fare for all kinds of events, including weddings and gallery openings as well as business events.

    Pia Duncan is this month’s keynote speaker. Duncan is a college educator, an entrepreneur and the cofounder of Ben and Pia Duncan Foundation. According to its Facebook page, the BPDF is a charitable organization that seeks to “pioneer initiatives that will bridge the opportunity gap for youth in the areas of Health & Science, Arts, Global Education, Social Justice, and College accessibility for youth in the community. … The Ben and Pia Duncan Foundation strives to instill these principles in youth and in the community to help bridge the gap of opportunity to children and youth. The foundation will support education, through the granting of scholarships; provide valuable information, knowledge and resources; and to provide a framework for new and innovative research to help narrow racial gaps and to improve the quality of life of all Americans across a wide spectrum of areas.”

    Lunch ends at 2 p.m. with plenty of time left to continue shopping and networking before the event ends at 2:30 p.m.

    While the mission of the FLPL is to inspire, educate, empower and celebrate women in the community, the organization also supports local nonprofits. This year, the Power Lunch has chosen education as its charity of choice platform. A portion of the luncheon proceeds will benefit the Kidsville News Literacy and Education Foundation, a 501c3 nonprofit organization that provides funding assistance for reading and educational resources to school children in Cumberland and Hoke Counties.

    Tickets cost 45 dollars and are available at https://www.fayettevilleladiespowerlunch.com. Sponsorships are also available.

    Pictured: Pia Duncan, the keynote speaker for the Fayetteville Ladies Power Lunch

  • 11 PattiMost of America knows Patti LaBelle for her voice and music career spanning four decades, but she is a true entrepreneur in every sense of the word. If you’ve missed her on TV, or on the Broadway stage, the Crown Theater presents music icon LaBelle in concert Friday, Nov. 8, at 7 p.m.  LaBelle, born Patricia Louise Holte, is known as the “Godmother of Soul.” She began her musical career as lead singer and front woman of the vocal group, Patti LaBelle and the Bluebelles. She is a dramatic soprano who has sold more than 50 million records worldwide.

    LaBelle became a mainstream solo star in 1984 following the success of the singles “If Only You Knew,” “New Attitude” and “Stir It Up.” In 1986, she scored with the No. 1 album, “Winner In You” and the No. 1 duet single “On My Own,” with Michael McDonald.      

    Outside of touring she has written six books and started her own product line of cakes, sauces, cobblers and sweet potato pie. She has her own cooking show, “Patti LaBelle’s Place,” which premiered its second season on the Cooking Channel in 2017.

    Her humanitarian efforts include being an advocate for adoption, diabetes, cancer, HIV/AIDS and many other causes. In 1994, LaBelle was diagnosed with diabetes and became the spokesperson for the American Diabetes Association.    
    LaBelle has been inducted into the the Grammy Hall of Fame, the Hollywood Walk of Fame and the Apollo Theater Hall of Fame.       
    Ticket cost is $55, $70, $95 and $135. For more information call 910-438-4100.

  • 10-09-13-reading-rocks1.gifFor years, the people of Fayetteville and the surrounding area have come together to celebrate and promote literacy in the schools. The community does this by participating in Reading Rocks. It’s a great way to support local schools and participate in something healthy at the same time.

    “This year will be the best year ever! Reading Rocks started in 2004. This year is our 10th anniversary so it is a very special year and we are very excited. Last year we had more than 20,000 walkers and raised $245,000. Throughout the history of Reading Rocks, we have had 200,000 walkers and have raised $1.5 million,” Belinda Cashwell, the director of Media Services, explained.

    Reading Walks has two parts. First the students in the school system raise money by soliciting sponsors for their participation in the walk. Then there is the Reading Rocks Walk-a-Thon where all the students, teachers and parents walk through downtown and celebrate the contributions being made to literacy. The walk is through beautiful downtown Fayetteville, and schools that raise the most money get to lead the walk. There is a lot more going on than just walking however.

    “We call it a parade in reverse. There are school bands preforming all along our 1.2-mile walk, and the band of the school that raised the most money will get to lead the walk,” Cashwell said. “We will also have a host band that will entertain everyone before we get started and a 500-voice choir to sing the “National Anthem” and the “Literacy Rocks Song.”

    In the spirit of supporting the community, there is also a cause every year at the walk- a-thon to which walkers can donate.10-09-13-reading-rocks2.gif

    “We love to give back; last year we collected used cell phones to donate to women who are victims of domestic violence. This year we are working with Second Harvest Food Bank and are encouraging kids to bring canned foods to donate. Walking is free, but we do accept and encourage donations. We want to celebrate our 10th anniversary! We expect to do this at this years Reading Rocks by coming together and reflecting on our past and celebrating the present,” said Cashwell.

    In the past few years there has been a major change in Reading Rocks — it has gone digital. The money still goes to support the local schools, but the schools have been pushing to modernize.

    “This change has everyone involved extremely excited. Cashwell explained some of the ways the money raised will be used in schools. “The money goes to buy students digital books and other tools like iPads. Students will be able to read a book and then go to the library and take a test on it. Then the parents or grandparents, or whoever signed up for it, will receive a text or email telling them about the test. Reading Rocks is fun and a great way to support the schools’ initiative to go digital.”

    The walk will begin at 9 a.m. on Oct. 19. The walk is 1.2 miles long through downtown Fayetteville and will start in Festival Park located at the corner of Ray Avenue and Rowan Street. For more information, visit http://mediasrvcs.ccs.k12.nc.us/ccs-reading-rocks-walk-a-thon/. ERINN CRIDER, Staff Writer. COMMENTS? Editor@upandcom-ingweekly.com.

    Photo: Thousands turn out every year to participate in Reading Rocks.

  • 10 No ChildWith education being a hot topic on the county, state and national levels, discussions about the public school system are plentiful. By taking a humorous approach “No Child …” gives meaningful insight into the education system. The first show at the Cape Fear Regional Theater opens Oct. 31.

    The play, written by Nilaja Sun, is about her experience as a teaching artist who comes into a New York City classroom in 2006. With four years of teaching under her belt and a wealth of great ideas, she sets out to put on a play at the school, which is the worst-performing school in New York City’s district. 

    “It’s a story of a person coming to terms with the wonderfulness and resilience of the students that a lot of people have cast off, but also coming to terms with the education system and what’s guaranteed from a free public education,” said the play’s director, Kaja Dunn.

    The stars of the show are Ja’Maul Johnson, Tara Whitney Rison, Andrea Somera, Brandon Rivera, Monet Noelle Marshall.

    Rison plays Ms. Sun, an actor and educator who encounters experiences she’s never had before at the new school. She has to learn about herself and help students reflect on their lives to help them realize they can be better than what people expect them to be. In contrast, Rison plays Mrs. Kennedy, a seasoned administrator who, after working 17 years as a principal, has seen it all. 

    Somera plays Ms. Tam, Xiomara, Phillip and Mrs. Projensky. Ms. Tam is a teacher who worked in a law firm and is new to the world of education. Phillip, one of the students, is shy and Ms. Sun helps him get out of his shell.
    The characters have different backgrounds and perspectives and learn about themselves and each other.

    The show is humorous but has serious underlayers, so the theater recommends the play for ages 13 and up.

    The show’s set design will place the audience back in high school. “From the minute you cross into the theater, it’s like you’re falling through the wardrobe into Narnia, but instead of Narnia, you’re going into the Bronx,” said Mary Kate Burke, the CFRT artistic director. The seating for the production will be onstage.

    The play is a celebration of education and teaching, the power of art and the difference that good teachers can make to a group of children.
    The show will have a “Red for Ed” night, which is a teachers’ night that will offer a 25% discount and complimentary wine tasting to educators. In conjunction with the Junior League, CFRT is having a teacher basket giveaway. On CFRT’s Facebook page, people had the opportunity to nominate a teacher who impacted them for the chance to win.

    CFRT also has a program where, once a semester, they pick a show that 11th graders across Cumberland County can see for free with their English classes. “No Child...” is that show for this semester.

    On Nov. 6, Sun will attend the student matinee. After the evening show, there will be a talkback where the audience can ask questions.

    The play runs through Nov. 17. For more information or to buy tickets, call 910-323-4233. The cast pictured from L-R:The cast from L-R: Brandon Rivera, Monet Noelle Marshall, Tara Whitney Rison, Andrea Somera, Ja’Maul Johnson
  • 12 01 d0279a870e17b863288a00370f95dc227b3b4adbFall is in the air, and with it comes a bevy of activities ranging from hayrides and pumpkin patches to haunted trails and houses and even zombie-related events. Here are some favorites you won’t want to miss.

    The Poe House at the Museum of the Cape Fear Historical Complex may have a few skeletons in its closets. Come find out Oct. 23-25 as the museum partners with Gilbert Theater for the eight season of “Hallowe’en Revels: Night Tours of the 1897 Poe House.” This year’s theme is “invoking spirits.”  Call 910-500-4240 for more information.

    Maybe the Poe House isn’t the only local dwelling with ghostly visitors. The Sandford House at Heritage Square in downtown Fayetteville is said to have spirits with unfinished businesses lurking in its halls. Through Oct. 31, join Q98, Magic 106.9, Rock 103 and WFNC along with the Association of Paranormal Study to investigate Hauntings at Heritage Square. Participants in each tour will be provided ghost hunting equipment for the event. Tours last about 90 minutes. Call 910-401-9857 for tickets and information.

    12 02 Zombie WalkIf you’ve never been to a Zombie Walk or a Zombie Prom, head downtown Oct. 25. In addition to 4th Friday festivities, prepare for a zombie invasion. It’s open to everyone. The Zombie Walk preparty starts at 6 p.m. at Headquarters Library on Maiden Lane. There will be music, face painting, costume contests and more. Johnny Awesome will be the master of ceremonies and will conduct the walk and will be the MC until participants leave for the official Zombie Prom After Party at The Tap House, which is next door to Huske Hardware. The Zombie Walk starts at 8 p.m. — only those dressed as zombies will be part of the street walk. There will also be three bands, The Answers, KEYSE and The Sherman Neckties. Search Fayetteville Zombie Walk & Prom 2019 Downtown of Facebook for more information.

    If you are looking for something more low key to do on Oct. 25, check out the The All-American City Jazz Festival: Beach and Shag Music at Festival Park. The jazz festival runs through Oct. 27 and includes local as well as nationally renowned performers. Call 910-987-2426 to learn more.

     Halloween at the Boo-tanical Garden is the perfect family-friendly event for the younger set. Oct. 25-27, the Cape Fear Botanical Garden welcomes families to come and trick or treat throughout the garden and enjoy hayrides and lawn games. Visit capefearbg.org for details.

    The Stoney Point Trail of Terror is a hair-raising tradition for many in the area. Through Nov. 2, venture into the darkness at the rear of the Stoney Point Fire Department property for an experience that 12 03 N1404P17013Cincludes state-of-the-art sound, lighting and environmental effects and live actors determined to scare even the most stoic of visitors. Other events at the Stoney Point FD include a Zombie Rampage. Load up your paintball marker and take on the field of zombies as they come you. A more child-friendly event is the Trail of Candy. This takes place during daylight hours Saturday, Oct. 26 from noon until 2 p.m. Bring the kids, enjoy a costume contest, trick or treating, concessions and more. Call 910-424-0694 to learn more.

    Gallberry Corn Maze is one of several local mazes. Through Nov. 3, guests can enjoy 12 acres of nothing but fun. There are nearly 20 attractions designed to keep the entire family engaged —  farm animals, pig racing, hayrides, a jumping pillow, bouncy ball corral, corn hole, Spookley the Square Pumpkin barn, covered picnic area, a giant corn shack, pony lasso, barrel train rides, photo ops, double barrel tube slide, a fire pit, fantastic food, hay mountain, air cannons and much more. Find out more at gallberrycornmaze.com.

    Dirtbag Ales and Rogue Alpha Athletics will host the Dirtbag Ales Halloween Beer Mile Oct. 26 at Dirtbag Ales Brewery and Taproom from 5-8 p.m. Come in your best Halloween costume and run, jog, walk, crawl the 1 mile-ish course and enjoy four 10-ounce beers from Dirtbag Ales brewery. Participants must be 21 or older to drink beer. Search the Dirtbag Ales Halloween Beer Mile on Facebook for details.

    Trick or treat at the Poe House Oct. 26 from 11 a.m.-4 p.m. While you are there, search for ravens in the Poe House, play old-fashioned games, listen to a Halloween story and enjoy a free concert. Joy the Clown will be there, too, performing magic tricks. And don’t miss the costume contest, too. Admission is free. Call 910-500-4240 to learn more.

    Arnette Park will host a Fall Festival and Trunk or Treat Saturday, Oct. 26, from 4-6 p.m.  Enjoy food, candy, games, face painting, and inflatables for children. The event is hosted by Sapona Road Church. Find out more at https://www.saponaroadchurch.com. Everything is free, but registration is requested.
    12 04 Halloween
    Count Dracula’s Livery and Carriage Services will be downtown Oct. 31 to offer Perfectly Horrible Carriage Rides to kids and their families from 3-8 p.m. Dracula’s carriage, pulled by horses black as death, will rumble over the brick-paved streets of old downtown for a heart-stopping ride. Photo ops with the count are part of the adventure, so come in your best costume. Call 910-286-3979 to make reservations. Tickets cost $5 for children under 10 and $10 for adults. 

     

     

    12 05 Trick or Treat at the Poe House 2018

     

     

  •   11 Boo tanical arborTricks and treats await Halloween fans at the family-friendly Boo-tanical Garden event coming to Cape Fear Botanical Garden Oct. 25-27. Each night from 6-9 p.m., guests can enjoy a haven of all things Halloween. Costumes? Check. Fun and games? Check. Candy? Check. Check.

       Now in its fifth year, Boo-tanical Garden is a highly anticipated event for those wishing to expand the Halloween season beyond a one-day calendar celebration. The festival is one way, according to CFBG Director of Events and Marketing Sheila Hanrick, “to get your Halloween going before the actual day.”

     “Boo-tanical is for all ages — children, adults, families and individuals,” she said. “This year, we are offering the same community favorites such as the Boo-tanical holiday lights and trick-or-treat stations throughout the garden, but also some new activities our guests are sure to enjoy.”

    Candy stations are scattered throughout the nearly 16 acres of the garden proper lit with the Halloween colors of orange, purple, green and white found among garden flora and in the form of themed light sculptures. The warm glow of some 300 jack-o-lanterns, both friendly and frightful, will light up the Cypress Pond lawn.

    The fright factor is small, said Hanrick, emphasizing the child-friendliness of Boo-tanical. However, “any time it is Halloween, you have to have a little bit of fright going on,” she said.

    The smidgen of spookiness can be seen in the Boo-Crew skeleton vignettes, courtesy of Fayetteville Orthopaedics & Sports Medicine. Guests may find one of the Boo Crew planting flowers, weeding a garden bed, jumping rope or even fishing off the pond pier. They will be up to all kinds of mischief, said Hanrick, no bones about it.

    Friendly animated monsters will guide children in the Monster Bash dance on the garden’s Great Hall lawn. Singing pumpkins and friendly ghosts continue the animation action, with songs and skits galore. The children’s play area features lawn games, a hay bale maze and a giant tunnel slide built from hay bales. A tractor-pulled hayride around the Great Lawn completes the heyday of outdoor fun.

    Indoors the excitement continues with educational activities sponsored by Fayetteville Academy. Guests will learn about odd “monsters” in nature through hands-on lessons and touch boxes. They can meet CFBG’s eastern king snake, Duke, and eastern box turtle, Carlos. Face painting and balloon-animal making round out the inside fun.

    Don’t miss the festival fare, either. Boss Ross Dogs will be serving up hot dogs and sausages all evening, along with Nothin’ Fancy funnel cakes and the Pretty Stickie company’s candy and gourmet apples, and custom cookies. Find more food offerings at the newly opened garden cafe, including soups, salads and sandwiches.

    Tickets for Boo-tanical Garden can be purchased at the door each night. Tickets are $9 for garden members, $11 for nonmembers, $5 for children aged 2-12 and are free for children under 2. The event is weather dependent, so if in doubt, check the garden’s Facebook or website before heading out. For out more at https://www.capefearbg.org/.

  • 09 01 Cirque Mei6Founded in 1976 and hailing from People’s Republic of China, Hebei Province, Cirque Mei is set to take the stage at Givens Performing Arts Center in Pembroke Oct. 27. The world-renowned group has performed internationally and recently appeared on an episode of “The Ellen Show.”

    In its entirety, the company is made up of 130 performers. The performance at GPAC features 40 of the elite circus artists and acrobats, who will perform popular routines, including hoops diving, lion dance, collective bicycle skills, flying meteors, foot juggling with umbrellas, female contortion and a ladder balancing act.

    Givens promises traditional and contemporary Chinese circus acts in a colorful and lively celebration of the internationally renowned Chinese circus arts.

    Cirque Mei blends ancient artistry with high energy for a non-stop extravaganza of family entertainment. With 30 elite circus artists and countless acrobats and stunts, Cirque Mei thrills young and old alike with their feats of agility, strength and poise.

    “This is not just a circus act, it’s a real cultural experience,” said James Bass, executive director of Givens Performing Arts Center. “This is not just a Chinese acrobat performance. This show contains a lot of traditional Chinese circus artistry, and so while it is amazing to see, it also exposes audiences to some of the glorious performing arts of Asia.”

    Tickets range from $10 for children under 12 to $36 and can be purchased online at uncp.edu/gpactickets or by calling the box office at 910-521-6361.

    09 02 Cirque Mei2If you can’t make this show, there are still exciting performances in the season lineup, including the UNCP Holiday Extravaganza, which is set for Nov. 22. The Nutcracker Ballet follows on Nov. 24.

    Established in 1887 as a normal school to train American Indian teachers, UNC Pembroke today has an enrollment of more than 7,600 in 41 undergraduate and 17 graduate programs. UNCP is a constituent institution of the University of North Carolina System.

    For information about tickets and the full season lineup, visit uncp.edu/gpac or call 910-521-6361. Some shows on the season will also carry an option for the Act I Diner’s pre-show dinners. Call or check the website for dates.'

    Cirque Mei promises an evening of lively entertainment at Givens Performing Arts Center.

    09 03 Cirque Mei3

  • 37 powOn Oct. 19 and 20, the Crown Complex in Fayetteville will become the center of the geek universe with the Fayetteville Comic Con. Creators Michael Chaudhuri and Keith Gibbs are serious about living up to the theme, “If It’s Geek, We Got It!” This will be the fifth year of Fayetteville’s Comic Con. It will be a weekend full of all things geek, and all you need to do is show up. Everything from food to collectibles will make this weekend one worth spending at the Fayetteville Comic Con.

    UCW: What made you guys decide to do this in Fayetteville?

    FCC: We started this five years ago, and it was a one-day event. That first Comic Con, we had 8,500 people. We just knew then that Fayetteville really needed something like this, and we felt like they deserve it.
    Plus, for anyone visiting from out of town, we are giving them a reason to stay overnight in Fayetteville. One of our guests, Jack Stauffer — a veteran of TV and musical theater and a star in Battlestar Galactica — will perform an 80-minute cabaret show on the 19th from 9-11 p.m. at the Holiday Inn West Fort Bragg in Fayetteville. People can purchase tickets in advance for that, or at the door.

    UCW: For those that maybe don’t know, what’s the fascination with Comic Con?

    FCC: Comic books are the seed to all things pop-culture. They all tie into a graphic representation of an idea, which often led to an illustrated nonfiction book or other written works. And, as we know today, even television shows and movies are based on comic books. In fact, we have a great line-up of sci-fi fantasy writers that come to our show every year that have panels where people can talk to them. There are topics about exploring paranormal fiction, how to write good, believable military fiction. The list goes on.

    UCW: What can people look forward to if they’re coming to Comic Con this year?

    FCC: We have 140 vendors, 80 craftspeople, DJ Clash from Winston Salem, GEEK Speed dating, aerialists and sword fighting. And of course, we will have Cosplay contests and Cosplay lip sync battles. But wait, we also have belly dancing, comedy with Tyler Wood, Game of Throne Tribute Band, tabletop gaming, video games and motion capture demonstrations. Plus, we have numerous panels of different celebrities and writers. And if that’s still not enough, we will have live tattooing.

    We also have some great guests. For example, if you’re a “Star Wars” fan, you’ll be glad to know we have Colin Cantwell, who designed the Tie Fighter, x-wing fighter and co-designed the Death Star, here. There’s also Eric “Butterbean” Esch, a major icon of boxing during the 1990s, plus wrestling, kickboxing, MMA, and even his own geek style of writing. Plus, any “Harry Potter” fans will remember this name — Gregory Goyle. That’s right, Josh Herdman is all grown up and is now an MMA fighter, plus he is in the “Robin Hood” movie that came out last year. Josh is flying in just to attend our Comic Con.

    Maybe you’re a “Stranger Things” or “Guardians of the Galaxy” fan. Actor John Jacob Anderson, who was in both, will be here to chat with our guests, and he’ll be moderating the G.I. Joe panel. If you’re interested in voice-over artists, we have them, too. Dameon Clarke is returning for his second time to our Comic Con. You’ll recognize Dameon’s voice from “Dragon Ball Z” as Cell. He’s also been a live actor in shows such as “Supernatural” and “Castle.” But he’s not our only “Dragon Ball Z” voice-over artist; we also have Stephanie Nadolny, who does the voices of Young Goku and Young Gohan. Plus, she provides the voices for several other well-known animated series. This will be her first year in Fayetteville.

    We also have Power Rangers, such as Tracy Lynn Cruz and Michael Copon. Comic book creators, such as Larry Hama, Al Milgrom, Troy Little, Paris Cullins, Gary Cohn, Brian Shearer, Louis Small, Jr., Dan Johnson, Rodney Bennett, Budd Root. We will have a “Walking Dead” reunion with actors William Bell and Gregory French. We have cosplay actors Mick Grimes and Rocky Melvin. And finally, authors such as Chris Kennedy, Alex Rath and Frank Bennett. We literally have something for everyone!

    We don’t run your usual type of Comic Con. We break that wall that make our guests accessible. Our guests, celebrities included, love to come to our shows so they can interact with the fans. We make a point to not just put everyone behind a table and try to make you buy an autograph or get your picture taken, every one of our guests has at least one panel or curated interview on the main stage.

    We will also have raffles and door prizes. In fact, Sunday, we will have a grand raffle. The price is only $15 for one day or $25 for the whole weekend. And next year, we’ll be hosting it in April and October. We hope everyone comes out to our fan-run, family-friendly, two-day, comic book and pop-culture based extravaganza.

    Find out more at http://www.fayettevillecomiccon.com/.

  • 11 Trick or Treat at the Poe House 2018 Joy the Clown The Museum of the Cape Fear Historical Complex presents Hallowe’en Night Tours of the 1897 Poe House Wednesday, Oct. 23-Friday, Oct. 25, from 6-10 p.m.

    “The Hallowe’en Revels Night Tours is our annual Halloween night program that we do with the Gilbert Theater,” said Megan Maxwell, 1897 Poe House education coordinator  of the Museum of the Cape Fear Historical Complex. “We have actors come in, and they portray members of the Poe Family and their friends.”

     Maxwell added this is not like a typical Poe House tour that you get during regular hours because you are seeing a short Halloween play. “We have a different theme every year, and this year’s theme is ‘Invoking the Spirit,’ so we want people to join us for a spirited visit to the 1897 Poe House,” said Maxwell.

    “We are going to have a few ghosts in the house this year, so it will be a little bit different from what we have done in past years. Our event is family-friendly, so it won’t be a spooky scary haunted house.

     “All of our fall events are paid for by a grant from The Arts Council. Our foundation has to match that grant,” said Maxwell. “This is part of that grant match, and it pays for programming that we do in the fall, which includes both of these Halloween events coming up.”

     Trick or Treat at the Poe House will be held Saturday, Oct. 26, from 11 a.m.-4 p.m.

    “Trick or Treat is our fun event that we do for the little kids, and we encourage families and kids to come out in their costumes,” said Maxwell. “We do have a costume contest that we run as part of that event. There is a $1 entry fee to enter the costume contest.”

    Creative, historical and handmade costumes are encouraged. Prizes will be awarded for first, second and third place. The event is free and open to the public.

     The event also features the Sandbox Band from the Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill area.  “They are a kid’s band, and they play a lot of fun music for kids. They will play some Halloween songs as well,” said Maxwell. “They will have three performances that day at 11:30 a.m., 12:30 p.m. and 1:30 p.m.”

     Maxwell added the event includes Joy the Clown, who will be doing balloon-twisting and magic tricks. Cumberland County Library will have Halloween stories, and there will be old-fashioned carnival games in the backyard. Concessions will be sold.

     Tickets for the Hallowe’en Night Tours can be purchased online for $5 plus processing fees at www.museumofthecapefear.yapsody.com. Tickets can also be purchased at the museum.
    For more information call 910-500-4240.

  • 10 jazz Editor's note: After the publication of this article, the Sandhills Jazz Society announced that, due to circumstances beyond their control, the venuefor the All-American City Jazz Festival will be changing to Festival Park, located behind Segra Stadium. The dates and times of the performances and artists performing have not changed.

    What could be more All-American than a celebration of America’s unique contribution to music in one of America’s foremost patriotic cities? Welcome to Fayetteville’s first annual All-American City Jazz Festival debuting Oct. 25-27 at Festival Park. 


     “All That Jazz” is more than a catchy show tune. Dubbed “America’s classical music,” it is an accurate description of an ever-evolving musical genre that is a many-nuanced wonder. Originating in New Orleans during the late 19th century and subsequently flavored by West African, Caribbean, Latin, Afro-Cuban and European influences, jazz became the multicultural musical stew in America’s melting pot. In each decade, from the 1900s on, talented and innovative musicians improvised and expanded the genre, serving up the varied menu we can choose from today. “All That Jazz” encompasses ragtime, blues, Dixieland, swing, bebop, cool jazz, free jazz, hard bop, modal jazz, jazz-rock and jazz fusion.

     Great jazz musicians include the famous and forgotten. Among the legends are W.C. Handy, Scott Joplin, Jelly Roll Morton, Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Stan Getz, Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Thelonius Monk, John Coltrane, Herbie Hancock and Miles Davis. Among jazz vocalists, Billie Holliday, Ella Fitzgerald, Dinah Washington, Ethel Waters and Louis Armstrong stand out. Carrying on today, we have the likes of Wynton and Branford Marsalis, Diana Krall and crossover artists like Harry Connick, Jr. and Norah Jones.

     Here in Fayetteville, the Sandhills Jazz Society might just be incubating the next great jazz innovator. According to its website, SJS “…encompasses a wide spectrum of jazz, blues, world, creative and improvised music including evolving forms of jazz and the technologies and media that influence jazz as an art form.” Presented by SJS, the Fayetteville-Cumberland Youth Council, and Cumberland County Tourism Development Authority and supported by a grant from the Fayetteville/Cumberland County Arts Council, the All-American Jazz Festival will be held at Festival Park.

    “The Arts Council is pleased to partner with the city of Fayetteville in support of the All-American Jazz Festival,” said Greg Weber, Arts Council CEO. “Project Support Grants for 2019-2020 will help fund 26 projects. … These projects help strengthen our communities through festivals and concerts, youth education programs, art exhibitions, workshops and more.”

     The festival lineup promises something for everyone. Friday, Oct. 25, will be a night of beach and shag music with the Blackwater Band and the Embers, featuring Craig Woolard, performing. Saturday, Oct. 26, jazz stars Willie Bradley, Avery Sunshine, Julian Vaughn, Eric Darius and Brain Culbertson will perform. Sunday, Oct. 27, local high school and college jazz students will honor the legends of jazz by performing some of the standards for which they are noted.

    Friday’s concert begins at 7 p.m., while the concerts Saturday and Sunday begin at 4 p.m. For more information, including ticket purchases and prices, visit www.sandhillsjazz.com.
     

  • 09 Zombie WalkIt’s October and Spooky Season activities abound. Feeling festive? Are you a fan of “The Walking Dead”? Now you can be one of them. No, not the show. The Fayetteville Zombie Walk & Prom is returning to downtown Fayetteville on Oct. 25.

    The fun starts at the Headquarters library at 4 p.m., where people participating the walk can take part in do-it-yourself zombie makeup preparations and zombie games. Headquarters library will also host the Black, White and Red Masquerade party at the same time. Dress in those colors and join the fun, which will also feature a spooky story performance and a costume contest.

    At 5 p.m., the library will have a Haunted Tale. The Zombie Walk preparty begins at 6 p.m.

    Once you’ve dedicated some time to perfecting your zombie look, meander down to Ray Avenue, where the walk will begin. Three local bands, The Answers, KEYSE and The Sherman Neckties, will perform this year.  Live music will go till 10 p.m. Then the fun will move to the Drunk Horse Pub for the Zombie Prom, where there will be more live music and a zombie king and queen costume contest. The winners get $100 cash and A $50 Back-A-Round Records gift card.

    Aside from the zombie fun, other businesses and organizations downtown have events planned, too. The Arts Council of Fayetteville/Cumberland County will provide a variety of activities for attendees of 4th Friday. “We’re going to have a laser zombie shooting activity, but there will also be some kid-friendly alternatives as well,” said Bob Pinson, the operations director for the Arts Council. “We’re going to have the 82nd Airborne Division Band, Riser Burn, from 6:30 p.m.-8:30 p.m.” Other activities from the Arts Council will run from 6-9 p.m.

    “In the back, we’re still doing our beer garden,” Pinson said. The Arts Council will also open a new exhibit on 4th Friday in partnership with Cape Fear Studios called “Cooperation.” The first part of the exhibit is at Cape Fear Studios and the second will be at the Arts Council.

    Oct. 25 is the opening night of the inaugural All-American City Jazz Festival at Segra Stadium. Friday night will feature beach and shag music with the Blackwater Band, Starring the Embers, and Craig Woolard. Gates open at 5 p.m. and the show starts at 7 p.m.  The event will feature more musicians through Oct. 27. Visit https://www.sandhillsjazz.com/events for details.

    At Fascinate-U Kids Museum, children can create no-sew felt monsters. Fascinate-U has free museum play every 4th Friday.

    For more information about 4th Friday events, call The Cool Spring Downtown District at 910-223-1089.

  • “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”    –Benjamin Franklin 10-29-14-ftcc-health-fair.gif

    While staying healthy is not always easy, it is always the right thing to do. On Nov. 5 and 6, Fayetteville Technical Community College will host Harvest Your Health, a health fair dedicated to preventive health care. It is not just for FTCC students. The entire community is invited to attend.

    Susan Ellis, FTCC dean of health programs is one of the event organizers and she is excited about bringing the community together for such a good cause. “This is the third time we have done this, at least in recent years,” she said. In fact, the turnout is nothing to sneeze at. “We had several hundred people come through last year.”

    A new feature this year is the drunk driving simulator that is sponsored by the FTCC Student Government Association. “It is a great tool. People can sit in the simulator and see what it is like to drive while impaired. It is to prevent unsafe driving practices and tell people about their choices,” said Ellis.

    Some of the free health services available are: blood pressure screening, blood sugar screening, cholesterol screening and counseling, dental health education, family planning, fitness assessments, flu shots, healthy eating (free samples), HIV testing, know your number counseling, mental health screening, resources for the uninsured, smoking cessation and substance abuse.

    Participants will receive a card when they come in to the health fair and as they visit each booth they can record their information. Many of the booths have giveaways as well as useful information for the public. One of the biggest benefits said Ellis, is that there are resources for people who get screened and find that they may need follow-up care. “People are always surprised and appreciative of the affordable resource here. I suspect one of the most surprising things people find is that there are affordable and often free resources to help them with health-related issues. Finding out you have high blood pressure or blood sugar can be surprising because there aren’t really any symptoms. A lot of people think ‘If I don’t check it, it is not happening.’ This is an opportunity for people to find out what their numbers are and do something about them.”

    Some of the organizations that are participating are FTCC, Southern Regional Area Health Education Center, Better Health, Walgreen’s, Cumberland County Health Department, Cumberland Health Net and Alliance Behavior Health.

    This is also a great experience for FTCC students not just as visitors, but as resources, too. There are many students from the different health-related programs doing their part to help with screenings and passing out information.

    Look for representatives from the respiratory therapy, smoking cessation, dental health and nursing programs.

    “This gives students an opportunity to learn about the value of community involvement,” said Ellis. “It also gives them a chance to work on things like communication skills.”

    Harvest Your Health runs Nov. 5, from 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. and Nov. 6, from 9 a.m. to noon at the Horace Sisk Gymnasium on the FTCC campus. For more information, call 678-8372 or email elliss@faytechcc.edu.

    Photo: Preventive healthcare can help save money and lives. Don’t miss the free screenings at FTCC on Nov. 5-6.

  • 13 02 HogwartsWizards and dragons and werewolves — oh my! Fans of the wizarding world of Harry Potter run to, not from, such spine-chilling creatures. And, thanks to Cape Fear Botanical Garden’s Wizardry in the Garden event, the jaunt to Hogwarts just got a whole lot closer. Coming Oct. 18 from 6-11 p.m., this popular Harry Potter style attraction is back for its second year, thanks to a rabid-like response last year from locals that garden Director of Events and Marketing Shelia Hanrick affectionately calls, just as true followers themselves do, Potterheads or Potterfreaks. 
     
    And come they will, but in deep disguise. Present and ready for the night’s well-mannered frivolity may include the likes of Luna, Deloris Umbridge, Hermione, Ron, Hagrid, professor McGonagall, Hedwig the Owl, Harry Potter and maybe even “He Who Must Not Be Named.” But of course, they can’t say who that is. There will be robes and wands, scarves and scars, and above all, house colors to show one’s allegiance. Since “Harry Potter,” the only trend that came close to choosing a favorite house was taking up with Team Jacob or Team Edward in the “Twilight” heyday. Decisions, decisions. 
     
    Fast forward 22 years and the CFBG is celebrating the successful saga by bringing a fun-filled night and its own kind of magic to the adult-only attendees. As it turns out, the tale has something surprisingly in common with the botanical garden. According to Hanrick, the Hogwart is a flower that blooms in North Carolina and once grew at CFBG, though not currently. Hogwarts, similarly, is the alma mater of Harry, Hermione and Ron, the three musketeers of the myth, and the beloved school where the once amateur trio blossomed into skilled sorcerers and conquerors of evil, one page at a time.

    13 01 HogwartsUpon entering the garden the evening of Oct. 18, festivalgoers will leave the current world behind as they revisit the Potter epic in the re-created halls of Hogwarts. With activities in nearly every corner of the garden complex and even outside in the garden with the featured Boo-anical lights of October all aglow, there are enough options to satisfy muggles and magicians alike.

    Begin the evening in the Azkaban-like jailcell scene for a “Wizard Wanted” selfie photo for a personal memento. Next up is the garden’s Orangery room, transformed, abracadabra, into the Great Hall at Hogwarts, with suspended jack-o-lanterns, floating candles and other themed trimmings. Guests can participate in a rousing game of quidditch, green-screen style, in the Relyus sponsored photo booth. Photo prints are a complimentary event souvenir.

    Pop in to shop at the duplicated Diagon Alley, located inside the garden’s Grand Hall room, to visit vendors of all kinds. Merchants include Quilt Boutique, BeeHive Yourself, Oh So Southern Designs, the Upcycled Candle Company and Natural Eccentrics, with wares ranging from candles and honey to pottery and jewelry.

    You are sure to work up an appetite with all this action, so it’s food trucks to the rescue with Rookie’s Taco Truck, A Catered Affair and Elite Catering on-site. At dessert time, give in to temptation with LegenDairy Bakes’ famous French macaroons and treats or Gnam-Gnam Gelato’s creamy gelato. Marci’s Cakes and Bakes offers house-color cake pops, chocolate frogs and butterbeer cupcakes.

    13 03 HogwartsAnd speaking of beer, Wizardry in the Garden will have a full-scale bar available with a wide selection of alcoholic and nonalcoholic choices, including the signature drink of the night, butterbeer. Butterbeer, made with cream soda, is rich with butterscotch flavoring and can be consumed with or without a shot of something stronger.

    Cozying up to the bar in costumes of all types, guests can enjoy the rocking tunes of Hawthorne and Holly, a “wizard wrock” band playing original music back in the Great Hall. According to Hanrick, the nearby terrace area will be open for dancing, “if anyone wants to cut a rug.” At some point in the night, the microphone opens to a costume contest with an audience-picked winner and one grand prize.

    New this year, Xscape Factor of Fayetteville plans to set up a mobile escape room with a Shrieking Shack theme. This feature begs to ask: Can you get back from the Shrieking Shack?

    Live entertainment continues with the roaming Magic by David performances and the garden’s creature feature of Herpcentric reptiles from Lumberton. Snakes, aka serpents in the wizarding world, will be available for sight and even touch, if you dare. Not to worry, the beastly basilisks from the books aren’t bred here.

    Ready to win a prize? Harry Potter trivia is another of the night’s attractions, led by professional trivia talent Michael Thrash of Fayetteville. What is the name of Ron’s pet owl? What are the three deathly hallows? Only the right answer wins in this game of knowledge. The fun continues with Quidditch pong and cornhole, a Horcrux hunt and free invisibility cloaks for all.

    Tickets for the official Wizardry in the Garden, Hogwarts and All, event include admission and one signature drink ticket. Tickets for ages 18-21/designated drivers are $20 in advance or $25 at the event. Tickets for ages 21 and up are $25 in advance or $30 at the door. IDs will be checked. To purchase in advance at www.eventbrite.com.
     
  • I like calling Cumberland County home. One reason is all the hidden jewels that you discover only after making the effort to really10-27-10-diane-wheatley.gif get to know the community. One of these jewels is the Stanton Hospitality House on Roxie Avenue. At the Stanton Hospitality House, those from outside the area with a family member in the hospital can fi nd a little bit of home away from home.

    The Hospitality House, as it was originally known, was founded by Carolyn Gaskins. With the support of Cumberland County Medical Society Alliance, she established the house and its “home away from home” concept in 1990. The house was governed by an advisory board, fulltime director and part-time volunteer coordinator.

    In 1996, the house’s name was changed to the Stanton Hospitality House in honor of Margaret and the late Hawkins Stanton. Margaret has been and continues to be a staunch supporter of the house, its concept and its needs.

    In 1996, Cape Fear Valley Medical Center donated the necessary funds for the purchase of the house by the Cape Fear Valley Health System. Once the house was part of the health system, the former advisory board of the Stanton Hospitality House became the advisory committee and joined the medical center’s foundation, the Cape Fear Valley Health Foundation. The SHH Advisory Committee continues to advise and support the Stanton Hospitality House.

    Our community provides this service for a small fee or through funds available through Cape Fear Valley Hospital. It is an act of kindness that speaks volumes about us as a community.

    For those who have never been far from family and friends with a loved one in the hospital, it can be a period of fear, tension and loneliness that must be experienced to be fully understood. As a mother who was once thrown into a far away place, knowing no one and dealing with the reality that my 4-year-old was dying, I know what a comfort even the most simple act of kindness can be.

    Our youngest son had been operated on twice in his four short years of life for a congenital heart defect. Unfortunately, both the surgeries had failed. We held on to every minute trying to have a normal life with him and our other two children. We also had to work, but 30 days after the second operation, David was in heart failure.

    The doctors told us there was nothing else they could do and recommended a pediatric hospital in Massachusetts. We suddenly found ourselves in a strange place away from friends and family, with no idea what to do or where we would stay.

    Boston Children’s Hospital was an upbeat place, though. The staff was experienced and full of confi dence. We were not the even worst case in the building and hope was alive everywhere. That attitude was one of those simple acts of kindness.

    After seeing our son safely into the pediatric cardiac intensive care unit, we at last began to consider what to do next. An admissions person asked where we would be staying and we told her we had no idea. She gave us a number to the old nurses’ dorm where they had a few rooms for $7 a night. She said there weren’t many restaurants in the area, but we could eat in the cafeteria. Her taking time to care about the problems of two strangers was another act of kindness.

    So, the basics had been taken care of. There was one room left. It had only a single bed, so we took turns sleeping in the chair outside the intensive care. The heat in our little room was an old steam register. It was either on or it was off. There was no adjusting it. That said, I can’t tell you how grateful we were to be staying close to our son at a cost that meant we could stay as long as we needed to.

    While we were in Boston, many people took time to encourage and care for us. That gave us the strength to deal with what we were going through.

    My son is 27 now and doing great, but at the time we had no idea what would happen. These events in my family’s life and the kindness shown to us by so many strangers, got us through a very diffi cult time. Without them, I don’t know what we would have done or how things might have turned out.

    That brings me back to the Stanton Hospitality House. It is natural to be compassionate to friends and family, but the story of the good Samaritan teaches us that we should do more. I have always believed that a key test of a community is its heart and compassion. It is to our credit that Cumberland County has such a place as The Stanton House. It speaks volumes about who we are as a community.

    Thank you to the foundation and to those of you who support our efforts to provide comfort to those who need a place to feel a little bit of home away from home.

    Editor’s Note:For more information, visit www.capefearvalley.com/cancer/stantonhouse.html

  • 12 01 Spooktacular timeIt’s a Spooktacular time of the year for visiting the historic downtown district according to Hank Parfitt, who is on the program committee for the Cool Spring Downtown District. Parfitt would tell potential visitors that any time of the year is a good time to get downtown. There is so much to see and do that it’s hard to know where to start. One option is a carriage ride called Carriage Tours of Old Fayetteville that will take you and some of your friends on a 45-minute to one-hour tour with a professional tour guide through the historic district. Connecting guests with the past as they are pulled by two draft horses in a limousine wagon, this carriage tour engages you in the 250-year-old history of the city of Fayetteville in a fun and entertaining way. The carriage holds up to eight people and has a canopy for protection from the sun and light rain. The carriage rides take once a month. The next one is Oct. 19, and the next one is Nov. 16. Both rides are from 1-6 p.m. and the cost is $25 an hour, or $20 with military ID and children 12 and under are $15. Parfitt recommends that you call in advance, but it’s not required.

    On Oct. 31, get to downtown for a  special carriage ride. Not only do the owners of S&S Carriage Rides, Tina and Gary, provide the historic carriage tour, but they also go all-out during the different holidays. Count Dracula will be steering the carriage this particular evening, and the carriage will be in a Halloween costume, as well. Rides begin at 3 p.m. and end at 8 p.m. These rides last 15 minutes and are a great break from the trick-or-treating many will be participating in downtown already. The cost for this evening is $10 for adults, $5 for children 10 and under. However, if you’re an adult, and you arrive during that first hour, 3-4 p.m., it costs $5.

    All carriage rides begin and end at 222 Hay St. Pay using cash or debit/credit cards.

    For something that is a little more frightful this month, The Dogwood Festival is prepared to deliver. On Oct. 19, enjoy an eerie evening as historians guide you through Cross Creek Cemetery for a stroll among the tombstones. Tickets are $10. Call in advance to reserve a spot for your Historic Haunting: A History Cemetery Tour experience, as the spots do tend to fill up quickly. Visit the Dogwood Festival’s website https://www.thedogwoodfestival.com/fall-festival for more information.

    There is a lot going on in downtown Fayetteville this month, including spooky carriage rides. Photo Credit: VisitFayettevilleNC.com

  • The Fourth Annual North Carolina Fall Festival takes place Thursday, Oct. 17, through Saturday,  Oct. 19, on Main Street in downtown Raeford.

     “This is the fourth year of the Fall Festival, but it is the 35th year of our festival in Hoke County,” said Melissa Pittman, executive director of the North Carolina Fall Festival. “The name was changed five years ago from the North Carolina Turkey Festival to the North Carolina Fall Festival.”

     Pittman added the name was changed because at the time the festival was organized the largest employer and commodity of Hoke County was turkeys. “We changed the name to make it more inclusive of all of the businesses in Raeford,” she said.

     The celebration kicked off Saturday, Oct. 5 with the Second Annual Golf Tournament. Card Tournament Tuesday will be Oct. 15. Senior Day is Wednesday, Oct. 16, with bingo, lunch, health screenings and a guest speaker.

     The parade takes place Thursday, Oct. 17, at 5:30 p.m. “We do the parade every year, and that allows students to show off their band, their cheerleaders, their sports team. Each of our schools and several businesses in town will get a float,” said Pittman. “It’s a huge event that only happens once a year in Hoke County.”

     A “Stuffin’ and Stompin” dinner takes place from 5-7 p.m. at West Hoke Middle School Friday, Oct. 18. The cost is $8. The Turkey Bowl follows at 7 p.m. at Hoke High School in Raz Autry Stadium.

     The last day of the festival is Saturday, Oct. 19, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Live music will be provided by The Dowdy Boys, Dv8er, Donnie Henderson and Winslow Ratliff. The featured band is Soul DeCree, who will perform at noon.  “Our festival sets out each year to bring artists, different cultural events and craftsmen to (the) community,” said Pittman. “Many of our children have seen storytellers that they would have never seen if it had not been for the festival.”

     There will be a Children’s Corner at the festival that features a climbing wall, double slides, obstacle courses, a trackless train ride and games. “They get to come and participate in our Children’s Corner, which is entirely free this year with our county and city governments paying for that area so our local children and any child that comes will not have to pay,” said Pittman. “We will have craftsmen that do their work on the street, cultural dancers and a dance troupe that will perform, the Lumbee Tribe who will perform, step teams and bands.” There will also be a food court and a wine and beer court.

     Also, there will be an art contest between all of the students in Hoke County.  Cash prizes will be awarded, and their art will be displayed from Oct. 18 – Nov. 11. The school that wins the overall display receives a donation from the festival to go toward  the school’s art program.

     The event is free and open to the public. For more information, call 910-904-2424 or visit www.NCFallFestival.com.

  • 09 HAMLITWho knew tragedy could be so funny? The theater company of Sweet Tea Shakespeare did. Imagine if Shakespeare and Monty Python had a child, who was now a teenager; now you have a glimpse into the hilarious, interactive performance of “HamLIT.” You definitely don’t want to be caught taking a drink while you’re enjoying the show, or do you? You may be “voluntold” if you don’t volunteer to be a part of the drinking games in the first and the second act. “HamLIT” premiered at the Fayetteville Dinner Theatre Sept. 27 and 28 and will play at different venues through Nov. 9.

    The evening began with musician Dean Dibling leading the cast members in a few modern tunes to help get the audience in the right mood. Brandon Bryan, who plays Polonius, asked for the audience’s input for his monologue that he would perform later. It’s a sort of vocal Mad Libs group project. This led to an interesting, adult humor monologue that had the audience literally laughing out loud.

    Mary Gainer Mariyampillai is Ophelia and has incredible chemistry with Jacqueline Nunweiler, who plays Ophelia’s brother, Laertes. The blocking of their scenes and the dynamic in their relationship shows the audience the depths of each character’s personal struggles. At the same time, the two expose the comedy within the tragedy of their roles.

    Codirector Traycie Zapata plays Gertrude. Let’s just say if there was a “Real Housewives of HamLIT,” she would be running the show. Traycie engages the audience members in a way that makes you feel as though you alone are meant to be a part of the show. While at the same time, you are there to be entertained. However, her role is not complete without Claudius.

    Nathan Pearce, also a codirector, plays the roles of Claudius and The Ghost, who is Hamlet’s dead father. Nathan brings The Ghost to life with charm and wit. In his role as Claudius, he comes right to you. Really. He’ll sit right at your table, eat your cake, or your popcorn, or even hide behind you. He almost flutters about the audience while still weaving ideas of destruction to Hamlet and Laertes. The audience was so busy laughing at his ability to do this that we wanted to have disdain for him, but couldn’t.

    Nelson Soliva plays the role of Horatio, Hamlet’s Fortnite buddy and best friend. He’s also the friend who isn’t always down for the bad ideas but loves the latest royalty gossip — mostly because he delivers an occasional news broadcast of the recent gossip to the audience.

    And finally, Taj Allen, codirector and Hamlet himself. Taj makes the role of Hamlet appear not only natural but eloquent and hilarious. If both can exist as one, they definitely do with him. The audience feels Hamlet’s pain of losing his father but also sees how dimwitted Hamlet’s choices and behavior are, leading him down a path of self-destruction.

    Sweet Tea Shakespeare takes a classic story, adds impeccable improv, drinking games and audience interaction, for a night of memorable entertainment. Visit www.sweeteashakespear.com for tickets and information.

  • 13 QN Promo FlyerQueen has been a popular and prominent band since they started back in the early 70s. Their music and style are timeless, spanning generations of music lovers everywhere. In fact, the Queen tribute band, Queen Nation, has been around since 2004, but with the recent movie, Bohemian Rhapsody, there has been a revitalization of the music. So much so, that Queen Nation will have performed in 140 shows by the end of 2019. The group is set to perform at Givens Performing Arts Center in Pembroke, Oct. 11, at 8 p.m.

    After speaking with Mike McManus, who is the guitarist and provides vocals for the band, it seems they are a major part of the resurgence of not only lifelong fans who grew up listening to Queen, but young, new fans. It is no longer “their parents or grandparents” music.

    UCW: How did Queen Nation come together?

    Mike: We were brought together by our agent, Dave Hewitt. We all are musicians and performers. We love the music of Queen.

    UCW: Can you give us a quick introduction to the band members and who they are in relation to the band Queen?

    Mike: Gregory Finsley – vocals and keyboard, brings all the mesmerizing charm of Freddie Mercury to the stage. Pete Burke is on the drums and provides vocals. Parker Combs is on bass and I am on guitar and vocals.

    UCW: How long have you been performing together?

    Mike: Fifteen years, but I’ve only been full-time for the past year. I was the last one to quit my full-time day job.

    UCW: Where does the inspiration come from to perform as a Queen Tribute band?

    Mike: Gregory and I saw Queen perform live at one point in our lives, and we’ve all been big Queen fans. That has really helped with our performance today and how we represent them.

    UCW: Is this your first time performing in North Carolina?

    Mike: It is! We’re really looking forward to it.

    UCW: What is it you want to bring to the audience at UNCP?

    Mike: We really like it when the audience interacts. There’s a positive, uplifting, communal atmosphere that you can feel. We hope to make it a great, memorable experience.

    Call 910-521-6000 for tickets and information, or visit https://www.uncp.edu.
     
     
  • 12 Hamlit picIf you are a Shakespeare buff, you appreciate a modern — and grown-up —  twist on a classic story or you are just looking for a fun evening with friends and a chance to enjoy some drinks, then Sweet Tea Shakespeare has the show for you. The opening night of “HamLIT” is Oct. 4. The play premiered at the Fayetteville Dinner Theatre, Sept. 27-28.

    Unlike what one might typically expect from a Shakespeare performance, STS makes sure the attendees have a unique and exciting time by immersing them in the experience. “Sweet Tea is known for its audience interaction and, with a LIT show, we turn that up to 11, to use a Spinal Tap reference,” Nathan Pearce, one of the show’s three directors, said.

    Be prepared — STS will keep the audience on their toes.  “They should get ready to be in the middle of the action. Audiences will be seated on three sides of the stage, with the majority of the action happening right in the middle of them. Occasionally, actors will even walk amongst the audience to really give them the sense that they are part of the story and not just watching it unfold,” Pearce said.

    To keep with the “LIT” theme, craft beer, wine, Winterbloom tea and a special cocktail will be available for purchase at the show. Outside food and drinks are not permitted.

    “‘HamLIT’ aims to bring more of the subdued humor to the surface while also adding even more in the form of the drinking games, improv comedy and audience participation,” Pearce explained. By cutting down the classic Shakespearean play “Hamlet” to the bare bones storyline and adding in some games and improv, STS creates a theatrical frat party that you would think was organized by Will Shakespeare himself. “We want to bring that random, crazy atmosphere to each performance,” said Pearce. 

    One of the highlights of “HamLIT” is that the performers feed off of the audience’s reactions. “My favorite part is how much fun we as performers get to have with this show,” said Pearce.

    “Also, I love that each show is different. Since we rely on improv throughout the show, each performance has something new. That’s why we offer so many opportunities for people to see ‘HamLIT.’” Offering numerous performances across several venues, the audience will never see the same show twice.

    STS understandably describes its adult-only show as “bold and irreverent,” offering tragedy, comedy, improv and a quirky and unusual theatrical performance that attendees will not forget.

    “HamLIT” will be at the Arts Council from Oct. 4-Nov. 1. STS will also perform the show on Oct. 10 at Dirtbag Ales, from Oct. 11-26 at Paddy’s and from Oct. 18-Nov. 9 at Hugger Mugger.

    To learn more about buying tickets and the different venues, visit http://www.sweetteashakespeare.com/
     
  • 11 PinwheelFeathers, food, glamour and mystery are all on the playlist for the Child Advocacy Center’s sixth annual Pinwheel Masquerade Ball & Auction to Unmask Child Abuse, but topping the chart is the awareness and support raised to benefit this longstanding Fayetteville nonprofit. You can contribute to the safe and child-friendly center’s goals to interview, investigate and provide support for child abuse victims by joining in the fun and philanthropy Oct. 19, from 7-11 p.m., at this year’s new venue, Cape Fear Botanical Garden.

    CAC Executive Director Roberta Humphries is excited about the event’s new location.

    “The event has grown each year,” she explained. “The new garden venue will allow us to have more space in addition to indoor and outdoor seating. Guests will also have full access to view the Boo-tanical Halloween lights unique to the garden in October.”

    To get in the spirit, gala guests are invited to don their fanciest masks of the non-Halloween variety and ballroom attire for the event. Entertainment for the evening includes a DJ, dance demonstrations, photo booth fun, chic cuisine, mask contests and both live and silent auctions for amazing prizes. Expect to see a flurry of food choices from 10 local culinary sponsors, beer, wine and other beverages, including the night’s signature drink, a pumpkin martini. Auction items up for bid include jewelry, college sports tickets, wine baskets, gift certificates and trip packages from Amfund to many desirable destinations — redeemable for up to three years.

    Or instead of an item, why not bid on a service needed by a child abuse victim or family member? Stuffed animals priced to match the cost of essential resources will be up for bid, with a name and storyline to boot. For example, a plush dog tagged at $150 matches the price point of three mental health counseling sessions for a CAC client.

    The Pinwheel Masquerade Ball is one of two signature fundraisers the CAC has each year. Locals love the excitement and mystique of the fall gala and the musical merriment of the spring’s Fayetteville Ultimate Lip Sync Challenge, too. According to Humphries, the center depends on these events, grants and charitable donations to be able to serve the approximately 700 child abuse victims the center sees each year.

    Services include providing forensic interviews for child abuse victims in a safe setting, child advocacy to initiate the recovery process and direct assistance through mental health counseling and communitywide prevention education.

    Until Oct. 5, early bird pricing for the Pinwheel Masquerade Ball & Auction is $75 per person,  $140 per couple or $1,000 for a limited number of premier reserved tables for eight with added amenities to include Champagne, signature drink tickets, special table decor and signage.  Standard pricing begins after Oct. 5 at $100 per person, $175 per couple and premier tables prices of eight at $1,200. Tickets are available for purchase in person at the Child Advocacy Center at 222 Rowan Street or online at www.CACFayNC.org or www.Eventbrite.com.

    Last year, the Pinwheel Masquerade Ball & Auction raised more than $47,000 to help local children.

     

  • 10 ChicagoIt’s showtime!  Tuesday, Oct. 15, Community Concerts opens its 2019-2020 season with one of the longest-running and best-selling groups of all time — Chicago. It’s the first of a five-concert season for Fayetteville’s oldest arts organization.

     
    The band Chicago was formed in 1967 in, you guessed it, Chicago. The group’s bonafides include two Grammy Awards®, multiple American Music Awards, 11 No. 1 singles, five consecutive No. 1 albums and record sales over 100,000,000, with 47 albums earning gold and platinum certification. Chicago was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2016, and Chicago’s first album, “Chicago Transit Authority,” was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2014.
     
    Mannheim Steamroller rings in the holiday season Nov. 19, celebrating the 35th anniversary of this annual Christmas tour. When Mannheim Steamroller’s first album came out in 1984, blending classical music with new age and rock, it changed the holiday music landscape.

     

    “I remember when I came out with my first Christmas album in 1984 followed by our first tour,” said Chip Davis, the founder and creator of Mannheim Steamroller. “Back then, many in the music industry said focusing on Christmas just wouldn’t work. Now, 35 years later, we are still going strong. I want to thank our fans for making us part of their holiday tradition. Today we often see multi-generational families join us during the holidays each year.”

     
    Cozy up with your sweetheart as the Texas Tenors take the stage Friday, Feb. 14. In 2009, the Texas Tenors appeared on “America’s Got Talent.” In the 10 years since, they’ve released four albums, two television specials, four DVDs, several singles and a children’s book. They’ve won three Emmy Awards, The Gelett Burgess Award for Excellence in Children’s Literature and the distinction of being Billboard Magazine’s 2017 #10 Classical Crossover Artist in the World. Their most recent albums “Rise” and “A Collection of Broadway and American Classics” both debuted at #1 on the Billboard Classical Chart.
     
    Shake off the winter blues March 6 with The Temptations and The Four Tops. The Temptations have been wowing fans with smash hits for more than 50 years. Today’s members of the group, Otis Williams, Ron Tyson, Terry Weeks, Larry Braggs, Willie Greene Jr., continue the tradition of great music. “The Temps have always been known for great lead singers” said original member Otis Williams. “Today we have four of the greatest leads in the proud history of the group.”

    The Four Tops first came together in 1953 as the Four Aims. The band’s first hit was “Baby I Need Your Loving.” It was released in 1964 and made them stars. It was the beginning of decades of smash hits including, “I Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch,” “Reach Out,” “Standing In The Shadows in Love,” “Bernadette,” “Ain’t No Woman,” “When She Was My Girl,” “It’s the Same Old Song” and more. Today, the band is made up of original member Abdul “Duke” Fakir, singer and songwriter Alexander Morris of Detroit. Ronnie McNeir replaced the legendary Levi Stubbs and Roquel Payton, who is the son of original member Lawrence Payton, is part of the group as well.

     
    Stay tuned for the final 2019-2020 concert details, to be announced at a later date.
     
    In addition to great music, Community Concerts support great causes throughout the community. From scholarships to performance opportunities to the Fayetteville Music Hall of Fame, this all-volunteer organization not only brings first-class entertainment to the community at reasonable prices, but it also works to help grow the local arts community.
     
    To find out more about Community Concerts or to purchase tickets, visit http://www.community-concerts.com.  

     

  • 09 Indigo Moon Lights! Cameras! Action! Film lovers, gather round. The highly anticipated annual Indigo Moon Film Festival opens Oct. 11. 
     
    “Film is a way to present different viewpoints to a mass audience. All of the ones at the festival point to the fact that film can offer you a viewpoint into a world that is not right in front of you,” said Wright. 
     
    All of the films are ones to look forward to. But N.C. film “My Father’s Brothers” will feel close to home because — well, it is. It highlights the father-in-law of Elaine Kelly, owner of Turner Lane, and an ill-fated mission in Vietnam. The movie, made by Sean Kelly, will be shown at the Airborne & Special Operations Museum, a new addition to the film venues.

    The North Carolina Justice System is sponsoring a film called “Rigged: The Voter Suppression Playbook,” which is about gerrymandering, a recent hot topic in the news. Another  one of the many films offered is a short called “Boxed,” which is an Academy Award nominee. Wright and Johnson are excited that their festival puts a positive spotlight on Fayetteville. Every year, they said, people in the film industry who come to the festival are excited about what Fayetteville has to offer. “The filmmakers who come in are enchanted by Fayetteville, saying things like, ‘it’s a well-kept secret,’ and ‘I hope I can come back next year,’” said Wright.

    Thanks to a generous grant from the Tourism Development Authority, the Indigo Moon Festival can advertise outside of the community to bring more people to the area to see the films.
    New to the festival this year is a decision from the board to give 100% of the box office to Connections of Cumberland County. Additionally, the opening night film is “The Dog Doc.” 

    “We are partnering with the Fayetteville Animal Protection Society for this screening and asking people to bring dog or cat toys or food to the screening, which we will then pass on to FAPS,” Wright said.

    These kind efforts make the festival the most philanthropic of its kind in North Carolina. The motto of Wright and Johnson’s organization, Groundswell Pictures, is “film inspires change,” and those involved in the festival are putting those words to action.

    A variety of films are offered at the film festival every year, from animations to documentaries. To decide which film to see, Indigo Moon has created a movie matchmaker, which is a short quiz on the event website that customizes a list of movies for the people who take it. Since movies overlap over several locations, this feature will help attendees find a movie that matches their tastes.

    The Indigo Moon Film Festival opens Oct. 11 and runs through the 13th. Ticket prices vary. Visit http://www.indigomoonfilmfestival.com/ for more information on the movies offered, the different venues and to purchase tickets.
     
  • Straw Dogs  (Rated R) 3 Stars10-05-11-movie-review.jpg

    Straw Dogs (110 minutes) is a remake of Sam Peckinpah’s 1971 film, which was itself based on a novel, The Siege of Trencher’s Farm. Thankfully, they kept the übercool poster art. Too bad they also kept the completely unnecessary sexual violence (not original to the novel, FYI).

    Now, I suspect I am in the feminist minority when I say the 1971 original cut used the violence in such a specific way that I am not ready to dismiss the entire scene as a misogynistic waste of the viewer’s time. Of course, much of that sort of criticism is due to the studio’s foolish decision to edit the cut originally released in the U.S. The studio edit was intended to reduce the overall amount of sexual violence, but it tended to reinforce the mistaken idea that “No” means “Yes” by removing crucial scenes.

    The uncut original film showed far more violence towards women, but actually did a better job of demonstrating the female lead’s lack of consent. As far as the remake is concerned though, I don’t think the rape scene served any purpose besides Rob Lurie wanting to be Sam Peckinpah. And this should go without saying, but Lurie is no Peckinpah.

    Having said that, I wasn’t a fan of the original, and I am not a fan of the remake. I will totally give Kate Bosworth credit for doing a much bet-ter job with the complex material than Susan George. I will even say I didn’t hate James Marsden as much as I usually do, what with his Hollywood cheek bones and stupid bouncy hair. If you measure a movie by the amount of conversation it in-spires, than this one isn’t bad.

    The action is moved from the UK to Mississippi, which adds another layer of complexity to already weighty material, adding a commentary on class warfare and hinting at deep seated racial tension. One scene in particular points to a painful lack of beer variety in small southern towns.

    Passive Aggressive Fancy Pants David Sumner (Marsden) and his wife Amy (Bosworth) are taking a vacation from stardom to enjoy some bucolic scenery in Amy’s hometown. They need to hire some contractors to repair the barn roof, so naturally David hires the one guy in town who has a history with his wife. Because David has a pathological need to be liked.

    First, David is angry that Charlie (Alexander Skarsgård) starts too early. Then he is angry that Charlie starts too late. David is super hard to please. Also superhard to please? Coach Tom Heddon (James Woods), who is the violent angry kind of drunk who won’t leave the bar when asked. He spends most of the film starting fights with everyone who is not his daughter, but especially with Jeremy Niles (Dominic “PrisonBreak” Purcell). Jeremy is giving off a bit of a “Lenny” vibe, and I keep waiting for him to ask George about the rabbits.

    After establishing that Amy is not thrilled with David’s plan to move to smalltown America and that Skarsgård is the tallest man on the planet, the contractors promptly begin their work by taking a break to ogle Amy. David engages in some victim blaming, and Amy responds by performing a strip tease for the contractors.

    Despite Amy’s anger, David continues to sing the “Three Best Friends” song from The Hangover, even though the constructions guys are clearly not his friends. As the violent climax approaches, the tension ratchets up, perhaps a bit too quickly. Is the director leaving certain events unknown to lend the inci-dents a certain real life ambiguity? Or is the director moving so quickly in order to emphasize that spur of the moment decisions lead to tragedy?

    Now showing at Wynnsong 7, Carmike 12 and Carmike Market Fair 15.

  • Moneyball  (Rated PG-13) 2 STARS10-12-11-movie-review.jpg

    Moneyball (133 minutes) is not breaking any ground in the sport’s movie plot department. Much like every other sports movie, ever, an underdog (name a sport) team tries to (name a new strategy) so they can reverse their losses. But wait! (name authority figure) doesn’t believe it will work! But this team has heart, so after ignoring the experts who did not believe in them, they insist on trying (repeat name of new strategy). At the end of the day, the team wins an award/proves they can win/learns that winning isn’t everything.

    Two hours in the theater and that is what I am taking away from the whole experience. The film opens on the Oakland Athletics’ as they wrap up their 2001 season. They have just lost to the Yankees by a couple of hits, and they are about to lose the heart of their team, Johnny Damon, Jason Giambi, and Jason Isringhausen. Their general manager, Billy Beane (Brad Pitt) struggles to maintain the competitiveness of the team despite having the lowest salary budget in the league.

    While roaming the Earth to recruit players, Beane runs into Peter Brand (Jonah Hill). Brand has clearly read Freakonomics and he is pushing for a math-ematical assessment of players’ value. Bean is working through some issues related to the way he was recruited, which is revealed to the audience via some helpful soft-focus flashbacks.

    Convinced that Brand’s focus on recruiting otherwise undesirable players will pay off, Beane hires him and they start convincing random scouts and own-ers that they are smarter than they look. After making peace with the scouts, the scene shifts to dealing with Manager Art Howe (Philip Seymour Hoffman, chan-neling Tommy Lasorda a lot more effectively than he is channeling Howe). Howe insists on playing the roster his way rather than following the formula designed by Beane and Brand.

    Beane responds by trading the lone remaining superstar player so that Howe has no choice but to follow the strategy. Of course, the media gives the manager all the credit for the result-ing, record-breaking, winning streak. Flush with the prov-en success of the method he championed, and probably more than little bit pumped at having alpha-maled Howe, Beane wanders the locker rooms sprinkling words of wis-dom and motivation over the players’ heads.

    There are some nice scenes in the middle of the movie introducing players who are in it for the love of the game, who aren’t making a ton of money, and who are either trying to find their way into a secure contract after being labeled a liability or are on their way out, and struggling to hang on.

    There is also a brief scene introducing Beane’s ex-wife (Robin Wright) that serves to encapsulate Beane’s life. Basically, he had a lot of potential that he didn’t live up to, so the people he was relying on to support him hung him out to dry.

    This is a good example of a sports movie. If you like sports movies, you will like this. Moneyball’s strength lies in focusing on the dramatic tension inherent to the coach/general manager relationship, and the media scrutiny and second-guessing. The film is weakest when addressing non-team related issues. The flashbacks to Beane’s recruitment seem emotionally disconnected from the rest of the film, and the scenes with his ex-wife and daughter (Kerris Dorsey) seemed tacked on. I get that the director/writers tried to add an emotional center to the film, but I don’t think I am alone in saying the game itself is the only emotional center you really need.

    Now showing at Wynnsong 7, Carmike 12 and Carmike Market Fair 15.

  • uac102710001.gif There are several fun events that folks in the community look forward to every year, and one of them is just around the corner — the Holly Day Fair.

    For the past 43 years, the Junior League of Fayetteville has put on a one stop shopping event that hosts more than 160 vendors who bring the latest and greatest in trends, gadgets, gift ideas and goodies to the community.

    This year, the Holly Day Fair runs Nov. 4-7, and the organizers have quite a treat planned for the eager holiday shoppers that fl ock to this event annually.

    “It really is the latest and greatest for the holiday season,” said Jami McLaughlin, Holly Day Fair publicity chair. “We have vendors come from all over to set up, the Crown Expo Center is packed.”

    Whether you are looking for holiday decorations, handmade crafts, stylish jewelry and clothes, children’s toys, specialty food items or the perfect hard-to-fi nd gift for that special someone, it is a given that you will find wonderful treasures at the Holly Day Fair.

    “You can get lost spending an entire day going booth to booth and looking at all the different shops and vendors that are set up,” said McLaughlin. Not to mention food — there is a food court with a lot of food options. “We do homemade bake sales and we also sell Dewey’s, which is a customer favorite. They sell the sugar cakes and Moravian cookies.”

    Laura Mulkey, Holly Day Fair chair is excited about the goodies that the vendors are bringing to town. There will be plenty of local favorites, but look for the out-of-town vendors, too. They’ve got everything from knives to Christmas ornaments.

    “Some old booths that we are excited to have back are Helmuts Strudel,” said Mulkey. “We also have So Chic Bebe from downtown. Shea’s Wildfl ower which has a lot of decorations will be there, and TBIT Gifts. They have any Christmas ornament you could ever want ranging from a diet coke can to a piece of pizza!”

    If all that shopping proves to be too exhausting, Mulkey recommends looking for the Cape Fear Aesthetics booth. They are a title sponsor of the event and will be providing services and selling products at the event.

    “We are really excited about Cape Fear Aesthetics having a big booth,” said Mulkey. “If you get tired from all your shopping you can have a mani or pedi right there at the fair.”

    As if providing an awesome shopping experience full of fun, creativity and the Christmas spirit weren’t enough, the Junior League of Fayetteville then takes the funds that are raised at this event and uses it to support their mission of “promoting volunteerism, developing the potential of women, and improving the community through the effective action and leadership of trained volunteers. Its purpose is exclusively educational and charitable. The Junior League of Fayetteville, Inc. reaches out to women of all races, religions, and national origins who demonstrate an interest in and a commitment to voluntarism.”

    Specifically, they commit their programs, projects, and advocacy to ensuring children ages birth to 18 have the opportunity10-27-10-holly_day_fair_logo.gif and services essential to their physical, intellectual, emotional and social well being.

    “This is our number one fundraiser for the Junior League of Fayetteville,” said McLaughlin. “Last year we brought in more than $270,000 for the community and that goes to supporting our mission.”

    So, loosen those purse strings, break out the shopping list (remember to treat yourself, too), and prepare yourself for a day of retail therapy that will not only benefi t you, but will also improve the lives of the most vulnerable among us.

    “I think it it says something when you have thousands of people come in just in the fi rst few hours,” said McLaughlin. “This is something that Fayetteville really looks forward to — people know that when they come to the Holly Day Fair they are not only getting the best with gifts but they are also giving back to the community. It is the biggest holiday gift and craft show in NC, but it is also a fundraiser for our community and that is the best part.”

    Super Shopper hours are from 9 a.m. - 12 p.m. on Nov. 4 with an admission price of $12. No strollers please.

    Regular shopping opens at noon and runs through 8 p.m. Admission is $9. Friday, Nov. 5 hours are 9 a.m. - 9 p.m. Saturday Nov. 6, the Holly Day Fair opens at 9 a.m. and closes at 8 p.m. Sunday, shoppers are welcome from 12-5 p.m. Regular admission is $9 and includes parking. Children fi ve and younger are free. The event is held at the Crown Expo Center. Visit www.jlfay.org for more information.

  • 05 N1910P49004CThere are stories that stick with us, pictures seared into our minds and moments we’ll never forget. I’ll always remember a tragic video a local reporter took on Main Street in Salisbury of first responders treating a couple who overdosed on opioids. I’ll never forget hearing a local mother’s story about the death of her son who overdosed after doing drugs that were laced with fentanyl. And I still think about the soldiers and veterans who became addicted after being prescribed opioids for injuries sustained during combat or training.

    At the end of the day, the opioid crisis truly knows no bounds. It does not discriminate based on age, race, religion, geography or income. We all know people in our community whose families have been ravaged by opioids or have lost a loved one to a drug overdose — maybe you’ve even personally experienced that pain.

    For years, I’ve been deeply invested in this issue and continue to work to combat this crisis. As your congressman, I worked with my colleagues to get the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act and the 21st Century Cures Act signed into law and to ensure North Carolina receives tens of millions of federal dollars to address the opioid crisis. These were important steps, and they were considered by leading national advocates at the time as “the critical response we need” to the opioid epidemic.

    Last year, I authored three bipartisan pieces of legislation that focused on the safe and responsible packaging and disposal of unused opioids. My bill was called one of “the most important opioid bills,” and I was proud to see President Donald Trump sign it into law as part of H.R. 6, the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act. This is considered the most significant congressional effort against a single drug crisis in history, and this week marks the one-year anniversary.

    As a member of the Energy and Commerce Committee — the main Congressional Committee working on opioids legislation — I worked with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to learn about the opioid epidemic and what legislative solutions could be pursued.

    Because of these efforts and those of our state government, local leaders and care providers, we’ve made progress. In 2018, the number of overdose deaths in North Carolina caused by opioids dropped – for the first time in five years. This is great news, but our work isn’t done.

    Saturday, Oct. 26, was National Prescription Drug Take Back Day. This day serves as a reminder of the potential abuse of medications and provides a safe, convenient and responsible way to dispose of prescription drugs. DEA Take Back Days in the past have been hugely successful, collecting hundreds of tons of prescription medications over the past few years.

    To find a collection site near you, visit Hudson.House.gov or contact my office for more information at 704-786-1612.

  • 04 Ezra Merritt at Evers graveMy last column was titled, “History Center: Another Hijacking Underway.” I addressed the effort by Mayor Mitch Colvin and some members of the Fayetteville City Council to make major changes to the planned North Carolina Civil War & Reconstruction History Center. No matter what the outcome — stopping the project, making changes, or proceeding as the project organizers plan — the actions of Colvin and his group guarantee substantial racial division and tension in Fayetteville for years to come.

    This concern, regarding how our city will be negatively impacted by what I see as an effort to, at the last minute, generate opposition to the History Center was validated and deepened when I attended a meeting on Thursday evening, Sept. 26. That meeting was organized by Val Applewhite, former city councilwoman, with Advance Carolina and the Fayetteville Branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People as cosponsors. Clearly, the goal of this meeting was to generate opposition, in the black community, to this project.

    I left that Thursday night meeting totally frustrated and feeling tremendous sadness. My concern is not only the racial tension, but the overall adverse impact on a city that is trying to become a better place for all people.

    One change called for by Colvin is in the concept of the History Center. He made this point during his comments at the meeting. I sent the mayor an email asking what he understands to be the current concept and what changes he desires. Getting no response, based on his meeting comments, it seems there is concern that slavery and the Civil War will not be accurately presented. Given this “concept” concern, research for my column titled, “Needed: NC Civil War & Reconstruction History Center” shows that the Center’s focus will be on telling the stories of people in North Carolina during the Civil War and Reconstruction. This from the Center’s website:

    “Our State’s story needs room to breathe because it extends beyond those four years of war and because it cannot be neatly wrapped in Confederate gray. North Carolina’s enduring Civil War legacy is more like a quilt: a patch work of blue and gray, white and black, and various shades in between.”

    Then: “History is not always neat; it is often complicated and messy. It is about people, places, and events that are both admirable and shameful.

    “Here at the site of General Sherman’s ‘final march’ on the Fayetteville Arsenal, this definition comes into stark focus. The History Center takes an unflinching look at all sides of the Civil War, for all North Carolinians. Taking multiple perspectives and many untold stories into account, the collective memory of our state and our heritage becomes rich and multi-layered, and the many thousands who created this history will not be forgotten.”

    At the bottom line, the History Center will focus on the stories of North Carolinians of every color and gender and how they were affected by, and responded to, the Civil War and the Reconstruction period. Giving attention to these stories can help build greater understanding between people who, because of how history has been portrayed, live in separate and contentious worlds. Simply put, there is tremendous power in storytelling.

    On the same night as that disturbing meeting, I received a text from Dr. Ezra Merritt. He does not live in Fayetteville, but told me about an opinion piece that was in that day’s Fayetteville Observer online edition and in the print edition Oct. 27. The column was written by Carol Megathlin and titled, “Murder still shocks, 80 years later.” Megathlin wrote, “I am a white woman who grew up in the deep South of the 50s and 60s.”

    That bit of background comes after the writer reflected on an article she read by Rachel Cargle titled, “I Refuse to Listen to White Women Cry.” Megathlin explained that Cargle calls for action in response to her stories about discrimination.  Cargle’s comment about stories of discrimination and the call to action prompted Megathlin to write:

    “I submit that when confronted with firsthand accounts of the dehumanizing indignity suffered by African Americans, people of conscience naturally grow sick at heart.

    “I felt just such an emotion as we took our Honor Flight veterans on a tour of their war memorials in the District.”

    Megathlin goes on to recount how, on that trip, she met Dr. Ezra “EZ” Merritt, an 85-year-old retired U.S. Army Colonel who served 33 years. He was the only black in Megathlin’s group. In the heart of this column, she shares a story that Merritt told her while walking in Arlington National Cemetery. Merritt was the youngest of six boys and two girls. His father, Ezra “Pete” Merritt, was a sharecropper who refused to play by the boss’s rules. For instance, Pete kept his own records of purchases at the company store. He did this because the company store would keep records all year and then claim that sharecroppers owed more than had been earned. Based on Ezra Merritt’s account, the writer paints a word picture of a man, Pete Merritt, who was independent in his thinking, sought to advance himself and his family — even in horribly difficult circumstances — and refused to be victimized or manipulated by anybody.

    Megathlin writes: “One night, a black man named Tom Williams burst into the Merritt’s sharecropper shack. Pete was seated at the dinner table with his children. His wife and a daughter were in the kitchen.” He went on to kill Pete Merritt by shooting him in the back. Williams was sentenced to prison, but not death. Later, he received the death penalty for killing several people after he was released from prison. It later came to light that somebody paid Tom Williams $50 to kill Pete Williams. In that time, for a black man, this was the price of being independent in his thinking, seeking to advance himself and his family, even in horribly difficult circumstances, and refusing to be victimized or manipulated by anybody. Pete Merritt’s eight children, all of them, went on to have very successful lives.
    Near the end of her piece, Carol Megathlin writes this:

    “Ms. Cargle preaches ‘knowledge plus empathy plus action’ to whites. We rely on people like her and EZ Merritt to provide the knowledge. What we do with it – confronting racism in ourselves and others, or not – requires the humility to be honest with ourselves. Our response tests the depth of our courage, and reveals the quality of our character.”

    To more fully appreciate and understand the story of Pete Merritt and the writer’s response, read Carol Megathlin’s piece at https://www.fayobserver.com/news/20190926/megathlin-murder-still-shocks-80-years-later.

    I know this story well. Ezra “Pete” Merritt was my paternal grandfather. In the book that he and I wrote about my father’s life, Daddy explains the $50 payment to Williams. The chaplain who walked Williams to the electric chair told Daddy he asked Williams why he killed Pete Merritt. Tom responded, “The white folk gave me $50.”

    I was in my early 20s when my father told me the whole story. For some 50 years, that story has inspired me and influenced my approach to life, but is has not filled me with hatred of white people. I suppose it helped that I saw my father assess people based on their life story and actions, not their skin color. He could take this approach because sharing his story with others, including white Americans, and hearing theirs with an open mind, allowed for forming positive and close relationships with many people... regardless of race.

    Obviously, Megathlin was positively affected by hearing Uncle Ezra tell our story. I have also been positively impacted by this story. There is power in storytelling. However, the stories that can touch hearts, change minds for the better and heal broken relationships are not limited to stories of black Americans and slavery. All of us have stories, and there is power in sharing them. Storytelling is central to the concept of the History Center. Let it happen... let it help us be reconciled in Fayetteville and across this nation. 
     
    Pictured: Dr. Ezra Merritt, at the grave of Medgar Evers is attached.
     
     
     
     
  • 03 anthony tran i ePv9Dxg7U unsplashSince Hinton James hoofed it from New Hanover County to Chapel Hill in 1795 to become the first student at the first public university in our fledgling nation, the University of North Carolina has educated generations of North Carolinians. First came white, land-owning men like James from all across what was once an entirely rural state. Today, the 17-campus system, including Fayetteville State University, serves nearly a quarter of a million students, the majority — but not all — from North Carolina. The university system has been our state’s crown jewel and has shaped our progress since its founding.

    All is not perfect, however, and the flagship institution, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, has just had some of its dirty laundry aired on a national scale. The prestigious Association of American Universities has released a survey of nearly 200,000 students at 33 elite schools, which finds that more than a quarter of women students at UNC-CH for at least four years have experienced “nonconsensual sexual penetration,” otherwise known as rape. Most, but not all, victims were women, and the rates have risen from a similar study in 2015.

    Yep, you read that correctly. Twenty-seven percent of students at UNC-CH reported that experience on the AAU survey and they are not alone. The numbers are consistent with those from Ivy League schools, including Harvard and Yale, although far above government statistics, probably because only a small percentage of university assaults are reported to law enforcement authorities. Such numbers, if true, would mean that rape occurs in Chapel Hill, New Haven, Cambridge and other bastions of academia at rates higher than in war-ravaged and otherwise traumatized nations. It seems fair to say that if this were happening in Fayetteville and Cumberland County or some other nonacademic community, residents would be up in arms.

    The response from UNC-CH has been muted, with an understandable emphasis on education, prevention and overall awareness of what is acceptable and what is not. Part of what makes these numbers problematic, and the situation difficult to address, is that it is almost always a “he said, she said” circumstance. In addition, campus encounters often involve alcohol or some other mind-altering substance, a potent cocktail when mixed with raging youthful hormones. Low reporting occurs for all sorts of reasons, including embarrassment and not understanding what constitutes appropriate behavior or what to do about it, despite the rise of the #MeToo movement.

    UNC-CH is responding to the AAU report with several measures: working with students, faculty, and staff to beef up prevention efforts; working on bystander intervention more frequently, promoting consent education so that “no” actually means “no”; and confronting and changing the culture of sexual harassment throughout the university community. These are reasonable responses to what in other settings would be a law enforcement emergency.

    One cold, hard reality is that many of these situations involve serious criminal offenses, felonies for which many people have been imprisoned, even executed in years past. Another is that cases cannot be made, much less prosecuted, and convictions obtained if victims do not report, bystanders do not intervene, and people do not understand that a criminal offense has occurred.

    We already know we have a serious problem with sexual harassment and abuse in our nation. The takeaway from the AAU survey is that the problem is even more pronounced on the campuses of our nation’s most elite colleges and universities, including the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

  • 02 01 helmet 1 2 1 DLast week our legislative delegation, along with some of the members of the New Hanover delegation, were invited to visit the Fayetteville Chemours plant to see what the plant is doing to abate the GenX contaminant that has severely affected our river, streams, air, soil, area wells and people’s health. GenX is a man-made chemical compound whose practical uses extend life in products we all use —from clothing to pots and pans. Its durability allows it to have myriad uses. But, its durability also makes it very difficult for Mother Nature to break down and restore it to its original state. It makes one wonder if we can coexist with these chemical compounds. This question is complicated by Chemours’ actions, despite significant pressure from our governor and legislature concerning the need to reduce, clean up and prevent these chemical compounds from entering our rivers, streams, groundwater, soil and air. To put it bluntly, we are still facing challenges in understanding the nature and degree of the harm GenX might do and how to protect our residents.

    The good news is you have a committed local delegation determined to fix and abate the GenX situation we are facing. With that determination, we attended a meeting with Chemours Plant Manager Brian Long. The meeting began with Long answering some concerning GenX questions from the delegation. I cannot speak for everyone, but I was amazed at how little I knew regarding chemical compounds like GenX and the long-term challenges they pose. Initially, it appeared that Chemours had a genuine commitment to Cumberland County and North Carolina residents. But, like many citizens, I have become wary of excuses and delays and want action now.

    The meeting got more interesting when Long introduced us to Chemours’s latest big investment, which we were surprised to learn was currently under construction. A brand-new $199 million thermal incinerator. That’s Chemours’ solution to the GenX problem. To infer this is a mammoth project does not come close to doing it justice. The site enhancements include an underground foundation and piping that extends 40 feet below the surface. However, what is on the surface is even more impressive. In simpler terms, it is a giant all-in-one furnace and washing machine. A thermal incinerator produces intense heat then scrubs the compound elements, after which additional heat is 02 02 CHRMOURS SIGNreapplied. This leads to the breakdown of GenX into its basic elements, which are then recycled back to nature, presumably here in our county. The plant is scheduled to be operational by December.

    At first look, it appears Chemours has made a major commitment and investment into providing a solution to the ongoing GenX problem. I, like many others, am skeptical even though it does seem to be a better alternative than shipping and relocating 40,000 gallons of GenX-laced water to deep-water wells in Texas. Especially since deep-water wells pose their own set of issues, and I don’t particularly like dumping North Carolina problems onto another states.

    Incinerating GenX chemical compounds appears to be a viable option going forward, and Chemours is betting the farm on this alternative means of disposal. The Chemours leadership also hopes the new incinerator will be profitable for Chemours. When it goes online in December, it will be operating at less than half its capacity. It has far more capacity than Chemours needs. This being the case, either Chemours intends to grow its production or invite other industries to use the facility to dispose of their toxic compounds. I immediately became curious as to what Chemours’ true motives are.

    We want to trust Chemours. The company employs over 700 workers and pays reasonably good salaries. It has made a capital investment into technology that leadership believes will solve 99.9% of the GenX concerns. But, was this investment for our benefit — or was it to be a profit center for Chemours stockholders or a convenient dumping point for other contaminants for other industries?  After all, the new incinerator will only be operating at a 40% capacity, leaving availability for an additional 60% more compounds capable of being processed at the Fayetteville plant. This could mean more contaminants being shipped into North Carolina for disposal. And those imported contaminants will travel over our roads and through our communities and arrive at our ports as they work their way to their ultimate destination, the Fayetteville Works-Chemours plant.

    Many questions need to be addressed and answered. Will North Carolina and our community be the final destination for the nation’s contaminants? Or, will Chemours’ new incinerator prove to be a successful, viable solution, creating high-paying jobs and greater economic opportunity for our region?  It is puzzling and somewhat concerning that Chemours’ $199 million commitment to build something of this magnitude could move forward without benefit of public hearings, if only to share its intentions and provide citizens and commissioners an opportunity for public input.

    It begs the question: Has Chemours, under the pretext of solving the GenX problem, outwitted local and state officials and circumvented the checks and balances needed to safeguard the community? Chemours has now invited, or will be inviting, other chemical businesses to offload their chemical products to the local plant to be processed using the natural resources of our state. Sure, if all goes well and the processes are executed properly, then everything may be fine.

    However, what if it doesn’t? What if there are accidents or spills along the way to the plant? Or at the plant? What if the technology doesn’t work as planned or becomes inoperable, breaks down and creates additional contamination of our air, rivers and soil?   

    Well, it doesn’t look like Chemours is going anywhere anytime soon. It is here to stay and in a major way. Is this because no other state wants them or because North Carolina has the fewest and most lax environmental laws in the country and too few inspectors to enforce laws or provide oversight of the permits we do have? 

    Lastly, the most important question yet to be answered is: What is Chemours going to do for all the North Carolinians who already have contaminated wells and soil in and around their homes, businesses and schools? Here is a modest proposal for Chemours that would go a long way in restoring their good faith and credibility to residents. Consider investing twice the sum it spent on the incinerator and its future by fixing wells and eliminating contamination, providing North Carolinians the confidence to drink and use their water without fear or risk to their health, the health of their children, livestock or the air they breathe. Cumberland County does not have countywide water and sewer. Chemours could assist the county in placing real infrastructure in our Grays Creek area. Simple filters under the sink will not make our people safe. We need real solutions. I hope that Chemours embraces these ideas, addresses the problems by restoring clean water sources to our communities and embracing the community they claim. It’s the right thing to do.

    Picture 1: We are still facing challenges in understanding the nature and degree of the harm Chemours’s GenX might do and how to protect our residents. The good news is you have a committed local delegation determined to fix and abate the GenX situation we are facing.

    Picture 2: We want to trust Chemours. The company employs over 700 workers and pays reasonably good salaries. It has made a capital investment into technology that leadership believes will solve 99.9% of the GenX concerns.

  • 04 history centerIn my recent column titled “History Center: Another Hijacking Underway,” I referred to questions that had been sent to Mayor Mitch Colvin and all nine members of Fayetteville City Council. In reporting responses, it was indicated that Councilman Dan Culliton did not respond. After reading that column, Culliton called me to say that he did respond. I did not receive his initial email. He was kind enough to send it again. The eight questions, along with his responses, follow.
     — Karl Merritt
     
     1. Has Council (or is it planning to) held events that, in an unbiased fashion, inform citizens as to the reasons so many people view this project as good not only for Fayetteville, but for the state and even the nation? At this time, I do not know of any such events council has officially established or discussed. Any forums that I know of so far have been orchestrated by private individuals. However, I believe we should. If or when we do, it should be done in a manner that includes accurate information as to the intent and scope of the project as well as the various funding sources (exactly where and how Fayetteville’s 7.5 million portion comes from), its continued operation funded by the state and the projected $20 million dollar economic impact it’s to have annually to our city. This will allow folks to form a more educated opinion on the project and hopefully dispel some of the misinformation that is being bandied about.

     2. What steps are being taken by Council to accurately determine the magnitude of opposition to and support for this project? None that I am aware of; further, I do not recall the same amount of attention or concern for public input directing council policy on other projects like the MLK Park, Segra Stadium, etc. Although a proper gauge of public opinion is vital, I do not believe there is ever a project that garners 100% support without any opposition.

     3. Given that a previous council approved the funding and organizers have substantially moved ahead depending on that funding, do you have concern that pulling the funding will cause future distrust of Fayetteville government? I cannot speak for the entire council but it is a grave concern of mine. Business and other economic investment interests, to include the state, federal and private, need to know we can and will follow through on our commitments, otherwise they will look past us.

     4. If the $7.5 million is withdrawn, how will it be used? What will be the economic impact of the alternative use? There has been no discussion of this that I am aware of specifically. Again, I think an accurate transparency of these funds needs to be shown and a real world evaluation of return on investment (ROI) given.

     5. Have you made a public statement regarding the “Build it so we can burn it down” sign that was held up by one attendee during the public hearing on this matter? No, I have not personally. However, I think it is disturbing, reckless and unbecoming that folks, especially a former elected councilperson, would support or promote violence such as this, that in my opinion, borders on the threat of domestic terrorism and seeks to cause such divisiveness within our community.

     6. Specifically, what actions have the organizers failed to fulfill that would justify rescinding the $7.5 million commitment? (Be reminded, reporting indicates the County is still onboard.)There is some debate on what constitutes “qualifying” funds.

     7. Are you, at all, concerned that Council’s revisiting of this matter will cause the General Assembly to disapprove the funding currently in the budget that is moving through that body? Absolutely and this would be an incredible loss to our local economy that will negatively impact it for decades to come.

     8. What is your level of concern that there are certainly white citizens who support this project, but will not speak up for fear of being called racist and supportive black citizens who fear retribution from other blacks? I find it very concerning that we are in a political climate where anyone feels threatened to voice their opinion politically or otherwise, as protected by our constitution. It is beholden upon us as public servants to make every assurance that citizens feel safe to express their opinions and give input and that they do not suffer any type of retaliation or retribution for doing so. In fact, that is the basis of our democracy.
     
  • 03 philippe goulet zg9dfG9IHL0 unsplashAt the past Cumberland County Veterans Council meeting we were informed by an assistant director of the VA Medical Center that, effective Oct. 1, there will be no smoking on the campus grounds of VA facilities. It came across that there was no warning that this prohibition was coming, and it hit the ears as a slam-dunk directive and (was) effective immediately.

    I do believe most people will agree that a no-smoking policy should stand and be enforced inside all VAMC buildings for health reasons. VA has instituted many smoking cessation programs, and they are well received and are helping many veterans. However, over many recent years, medical practitioners have noted that some people are truly addicted to tobacco and will not quit or break their habits. Some truly enjoy smoking the various tobacco products and have done so for years and years, regardless of the known risks smoking entails to themselves and others.

    VA set up outside pavilions so smokers could go outside the facilities, and they served the smoking veterans well and kept them away from the nonsmokers — which was also well received. Now these smoking areas are off limits, forcing the veterans who smoke to leave the VA campus. This decree coming down from VA, in my humble opinion, is not well studied in regards to the psychological affects it will have on many veterans who have PTSD and other debilitating health issues.

    Smoking and its nicotine gives them a calm and relaxing time,  which helps them cope in their own way. Taking this away from these veterans will not serve their general well-being by forcing them off campus to smoke. Will this adverse action cause veteran suicides to increase? Personally, I suffered immensely over my 79 years being raised in a smoking family. My parents, brother, sisters, nephews, nieces, aunts and uncles all smoked. In 26 years in the U.S. Army, I was forced to attend countless meetings and conferences with smoke clouds so thick, at times, you could not see across the room.

    I have never smoked and don’t like being subjected to it by others. I find it quite discourteous of some smokers, regardless of rank or position, who force their rancid and smelly habits upon others and expect us to tolerate them.

    I still must offer words of support for my brother and sister veterans who have served their country well and find themselves in health harm’s way only to find comfort in having a smoke but having to leave the premises to do so. This is not helping the psychological well-being of the military veteran. Keep the smoking pavilions open on campus for those who need them. This situation that VA has slam-dunked on the veteran smokers should be discussed and challenged by every military fraternal organization from local to state and national headquarters, as with your help this adverse situation can be corrected by VA.

  • 02 sven scheuermeier XCBW03rNaNQ unsplashIf you have a television, you may have noticed that not all is peaceful and bright in the world. Each day is filled with the active ingredient of televised depression. As the noted attorney Jackie Chiles pointed out on Seinfeld, the state of the world is “… outrageous, egregious, preposterous. The world is totally inappropriate, it’s lewd, lascivious, salacious, outrageous.” We have troubles not only right here in River City but all over the world.

    At the time of the writing of this column, Dear Leader had just pulled out of Syria, leaving the Kurds to the tender mercies of the Turks. No telling what fresh horrors have occurred in the 10 days after this column escaped from the word processor. Pondering the abandonment of our former allies — the Kurds — I am reminded of a scene from “Animal House.” Remember when Flounder lent his brother’s car to the frat boys of Delta House for their road trip? After the trip, the car is pretty banged up. Flounder is distraught. Otter puts his arm around Flounder and tells him: “You screwed up. You trusted us. Hey, make the best of it.” The Kurds screwed up. They trusted us. They need to make the best of it. The occupants of the evil Middle East Omega House; Russia, Syria, Iran and ISIS are happy as Dean Wormer was when he revoked Delta’s double secret probation. Turns out Dear Leader revoked the Kurds’ double secret probation and welcomed the hungry Turks in.

    Way up north on I-95, Congress is having impeachment fits. There is not a version of Kum Ba Yah to be heard in Washington, D.C. Crankiness abounds. If you watch the impeachment news on TV, after each depressing story you are treated to a series of depressing prescription drug ads for dreaded diseases. The diseases range from the usual suspects of old reliable diseases to brand new exotic diseases that have just been discovered by Big Pharma. The new diseases coincidentally come in tandem with new expensive drugs recently approved by the FDA.

    The ads all have the same format. First, you see happy, peppy people doing all sorts of athletic and fun things despite their crippling diseases. A soothing voice comes on to tell you that this medication will make your symptoms and cares go away. You may even find true love if you take our pills. Patients with rheumatoid arthritis swing happily on trapezes, doing back flips with perfect dismounts due to a new wonder drug. Everyone is a vitamin duck in the ads. No one is sick. No one has any side effects. Then the soothing voice speeds up a little and begins to recite the ugly side effects of the drug. If you take our drug, you may get tuberculosis, cancer, toenail fungus, bad breath, be last picked for the basketball team or possibly suffer a fatal event. You pays your money. You takes your chances.

    I have a modest suggestion. In the interest of fairness, while the soothing voice is telling you all the possible nasty or fatal side effects from the medication being pushed, the ad should show people actually suffering from said possible hideous side effects. Instead of showing people enjoying near Olympic athletes’ levels of fitness, having fun, going on vacation and riding bikes, show people who got actually developed bad side effects from the medication. Make the Sackler’s company Purdue Pharma show the side effects of Oxycontin by running ads with opioid addicted patients dying in back alleys from overdoses of Oxycontin or its street replacement drug heroin. Side effect ads might result in the sale of smaller amounts of brand name opioids. Realistically, the strength of the drug industry lobby will make such ads showing side effects yet another impossible dream. So, what is a mother to do?

     Like the two main characters in Samuel Beckett’s “Waiting for Godot,” we are all waiting for something that will never happen. Godot will actually arrive before Big Pharma has to show ads complete with side effects. Shall we just curse the darkness instead of lighting a candle? Perhaps not. There is hope. The answer to televised depression comes from John Prine’s great song, “Spanish Pipe Dream” in which John wrote: “Blow up your TV, throw away your paper/ Go to the country, build you a home/ Plant a little garden, eat a lot of peaches/ Try and find Jesus on your own.” Not everybody is going to move to the country. But even if you are not willing to blow up your TV, you could watch it less often. You don’t have to worry so much about The Fayetteville Observer as it continues to be the incredible shrinking newspaper. You could plant some tomatoes. You could try to find Jesus.

    Gentle reader, allow me to leave you on a positive note by quoting the late, great singer Warren Zevon who wrote these lines: “Don’t let us get sick/ Don’t let us get old/ Don’t let us get stupid alright/ Just make us be brave/ And make us play nice/ And let us be together tonight.”

    You are now free to turn off your TV. Dare to eat a peach.
     
  • 08The 53rd annual Cumberland County Golf Championship turned into a father-son celebration. Brian Dreier won the CCGC at Gates Four Golf & Country Club, while his son, Sutton Dreier, won the inaugural CCGC Junior Division title.

    "I'm proud of him," Brian Dreier said about his 15-year-old son. "He's just getting his feet wet with tournament golf. He's improving a lot, but he's got a ways to go. I'm excited for him. But considering the field I competed against and the field he competed against, I'm going to say my win's a little bit better."

    "I think it's awesome that we both won the same year. They said we're making history, so I guess it's the first time it's ever been done. I'm excited to see what I can do in the future,” the Northwood Temple sophomore said.

    Brian Dreier had to come from five shots behind in the final round to win his first CCGC title since 2012. This was the first time he had played in the event since 2015, when he turned professional.

    He just regained his amateur status in January. Brian Dreier, 48, shot the only subpar round, a 1-under 71, on the last day of the 54-hole event.

    The playing conditions toughened up with cooler, windy weather moving in, and the tees moved back to 6,962 yards.

    "This was very unexpected with the quality of players in the field," Brian Dreier said. "But today was one of the best ball-striking rounds I've had. That's what it takes when you play a tough golf course in the wind. You've just got to be patient. You can't force anything. It was good enough to hold everybody else off."

    As Brian Dreier headed to the tenth tee box of the final round, he was locked in a battle with some of the best amateur golf talent in Cumberland County. Defending champion Thomas Owen, the two eight-time CCGC champions in Billy West and Gary Robinson, Jack Keefe, the leader after the first two rounds, and Brian Dreier were separated by only two shots.

    Things started to change quickly on the back nine. Keefe bogeyed three holes in a row and finished in third place at 3-over par after rounds of 69-71-79 — 219.

    Robinson saw his chances end with bogeys at 11, 12, and 13 and a double-bogey at 15. He tied for sixth place with rounds of 72-72-79 for a 7-over 223.

    He did end his tournament on a high note with a birdie on the last hole.

    Owen's putter let him down on the back nine. He tied for fourth place with Spencer Goodnough after rounds of 70-75-75 — 220. West made the turn at even-par and held a one-shot lead over Brian Dreier with four holes left to play.

    But he missed the green at the 15th and 16th holes and couldn't get up and down. Those two bogeys opened the door for Brian Dreier. He took advantage by making a 10-foot birdie putt on the 52nd hole of the tournament, the 16th, to open a two-shot lead.

    Brian Dreier had a 12-foot birdie putt at the par-5 17th, but he slapped his leg in frustration when it slid by the hole.

    "I left myself a perfect look on 17 up the hill," he said. "I was trying to get that putt to go in to give myself a little bit of a cushion."

    West, 47, needed to birdie the last two holes to tie.

    He missed his 12-foot birdie putt at 17 to end his chances. However, he did walk off the 18th green smiling when he holed a 30-foot birdie putt to lose by one shot.

    "It was ironic to make a 30-footer when I had missed some six to eight footers that you need to make to hold onto the lead," West said. "Brian just went out and played an excellent, clean round of golf. I couldn't be happier for him. I'm disappointed that I wasn't able to get it in one or two better."

    West, who was trying to win for the ninth time, shot rounds of 72-69-75 for a one-over 217. West could blame his loss on the par-4 16th hole, which he played in 4-over par for the tournament.

    "I thought whoever shot par or better on the back nine was going to win," he said. "Brian played the best golf down the stretch."

    West pointed out that when he was trying to win the CCGC title for a third straight year in 2012, Brian Dreier beat him.

    And this year, when he was trying to break the tie with Robinson who holds the most championship titles, Brian Dreier was his nemesis again.

    Ironically, Brian Dreier's father-in-law is Gary Robinson.

    That may explain why Sutton Dreier is off to a good start in his young golfing career with his dad and grandfather as teachers.

    "His granddad and I are trying to instill as much wisdom as we can," Brian Dreier said. "I think it's important for him to see me and his granddad play well. It gives him something to move him along and help him gain
    confidence."

    Sutton Dreier won the CCGC Junior Division title in a playoff over Chris Bucholtz. Both players shot 167 in the 36-hole junior tournament.

    Sutton Dreier parred the 18th hole while Bucholtz made a bogey to force the playoff. In the playoff on the par-4 first, Sutton hit his tee shot into a fairway bunker.

    But he blasted the second shot to within 15 feet of the hole and made the birdie putt to win. Next up for Sutton Dreier will be trying to beat his dad on the course.

    "He hasn't beaten me yet," Brian Dreier said. "But it's not going to be long. He already hits it past me. He's going to put together a good round, and I'm going to have a so-so day. But I'm going to beat him as long as I can."

    13-year-old Taft Courie won the first year of the CCGC Boys Middle School Division with rounds of 72-74 — 146.

    Allison Ferguson shot 103-99 — 202 to win the Girls Middle School Division.

    Charles Robertson won the men's Open Division with rounds of 77-82-81 — 240. He won by two shots over Brett Miller and Jon Riddle.

    Mike Lane took the Senior Division title with rounds of 73-74-74 — 221.

    Scott Azzarelli finished two shots behind. In his 27th consecutive CCGC tournament, Charles Franks was the Super Senior champ with rounds of 82-79 — 161. He won by four shots over Ray Miranda.

    Jennifer Eavenson shot 84-91 — 175 to win the Women's Division CCGC Title three shots over the 2020 Women's Champion Clara "Duckhee" Brown.

    "I'm pleased with the momentum the tournament is getting," said tournament director Bill Bowman.

    "These are the champions of tomorrow. They will carry on the golfing tradition in Cumberland County. Yes, I think the tournament is in good shape for the future."

    The 54th Annual Cumberland County Championship dates have been set for Oct. 7 – Oct. 9, 2022, with registration beginning on Aug. 1, 2022.

    Gates Four will remain the "official" site of the CCGC with some new enhancements designed to make the tournament more enjoyable, competitive and accessible to more Cumberland County golfers.

    Additional information and tournament updates can be found on the CCGC website: www.cumberlandcountygolfclassic.com.

  • woman with flagPolitics are on everyone’s minds during intense campaign seasons like this one, and progressive Democrats like Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio Cortez — aka AOC — have a lot to say about wealth distribution and associated inequities. They fret publicly about the top 1% holding and securing most of the financial cards, tamping down the dearly held American Dream of upward mobility for those who work hard walk the straight and narrow.  

    Turns out, they are probably right.

    Richard Reeves is a Brookings Institution researcher and author of the 2017 book, “Dream Hoarders: How the American Upper Middle Class Is Leaving Everyone Else in the Dust, Why That Is a Problem, and What to Do About It.”

    Reeves defines the upper middle class as those earning the top 20% of income and addresses the growing gaps in family structure, neighborhoods, attitudes, educations and general lifestyles between that fortunate percentage and everyone else. His premise is that those at the top are increasingly effective at ensuring their status for their children, whether or not those offspring are as capable as their achiever parents. The result, Reeves says, is not just an economic gap but a fracture in our American culture.

    The human experience over centuries informs us that some people will always have more than others. Some people will have great resources. Some people will have few, and most people will fall in between. This has been the American story as well, accompanied by Horatio Alger stories, true and apocryphal, of individuals pulling themselves from rags to riches, the quintessential American Dream.    

    Apparently, upward mobility has stagnated. Reeves and other researchers find that people born in 1940 had an overwhelming chance, 90%, to earn more than their parents. For people born in 1984, early millennials, the opportunity is 50-50, but with not much movement either way. In other words, millions of people are stuck in place.

    What Reeves points out is not so much the difficulty of rising up as the difficulty of falling down by those already in the upper 20%. Says Reeves, “There’s a lot of talent being wasted because it’s not able to rise, but there’s also a lot of relatively untalented people who aren’t falling and end up occupying positions they shouldn’t.” Parents are passing their status on to their children, which economists call “stickiness.”

    Reeves calls this phenomenon the “glass floor” and notes that upper-middle-class offspring are often employed by their parents or friends of their parents — think the Trump children — setting them up for permanent membership in the 20%. This entitlement system is aided and abetted by an elite higher education system that gives preference to already privileged students. A recent Duke University study found that children from the highest 1% income families are 77 times more like to attend Ivy League universities than the lowest 20% and that the class of 2022 at Harvard has more legacy students than African Americans. Reeves points out that this system of educational entitlement not only leaves talented low-income students behind, it elevates less talented students—more stickiness.

    The terrifying aspect of entrenched entitlement is that through education, our tax system and other structural factors, we are stratifying our nation and permanently building in the toxic resentment that already permeates and poisons our politics and our culture. We are putting the American Dream on the endangered list.

    The progressive left may not have all the answers, but it is asking the right questions.

    Is the American Dream in danger? If so, what has changed?

  • 06Cumberland County schools’ Joy Williams, a 23-year veteran educator, has been named the 2022 Principal of the Year. Queesha Tillman, a 16-year educator, was selected assistant principal of the year.

    Williams is principal of Luther "Nick" Jeralds Middle School. She began her career as a classroom teacher at Douglas Byrd Middle School after graduating from Fayetteville State University. She later earned her Master of School Administration from FSU.

    "We strive to find real-world examples that include culturally relevant language for students which allows them to relate to what is being taught," Williams said.

    Tillman is the assistant principal of Loyd Auman Elementary School. She too graduated from FSU and joined the school system as an exceptional children's teacher in 2002.

    There were eight other finalists for principal of the year and six other finalists for assistant princpal of the year.

  • 03 MargaretIn 2008 voters across America shouted in great numbers, and they did so again in 2016 for entirely different reasons.

    In 2019 across North Carolina and in Cumberland County, voters barely even whispered. So softly did the small number of voters speak that it was hard to tell there were elections at all. The few voters who made the effort, an embarrassing 3% in Cumberland County, will have an impact on all of us much larger than their pitiful numbers would indicate. Their choices are now everyone else’s choices, whether we agree or not.

    Voters of 2008 and 2016 turned out in record numbers to vote for Barack Obama and Donald Trump, vastly different presidents for sure. As impactful as each of them has been, though, chances are their actions and decisions have had far less impact on our daily lives than the decisions made by local and state elected officials.

    All presidents, including Obama and Trump, have testy relationships with Congress at times, and sometimes partisan bickering is so intense there are few relationships at all. We all watch and read about Washington shenanigans, but rarely do they affect our daily lives directly and clearly. No matter what happens with the Trump impeachment effort, most of our lives are going on routinely. Ditto the terror occurring in Syria, ongoing gun control initiatives, even who gets elected to Congress. All of that occurs far from us among people most of us are unlikely ever to meet.

    Our local elected officials and state legislators, on the other hand, are people we may well know — or at least have an opportunity to reach if we choose to do so.

    They are our neighbors, our fellow faith members whose children may go to school with our children and individuals whom we might encounter and chat with in the produce aisle. They are people who do make decisions that directly affect our families and us and impact our daily lives regularly.

    Generally speaking, legislators adopt a state budget that pays teachers, oversees schools, funds roads and oversees highway planning, funds our courts and passes criminal laws, and provides for elections at all levels. Legislators create local governments and oversee some of their functions. They license and regulate various professions, including physicians, attorneys, realtors and all sorts of personal care services.

    County commissioners also provide schools, human services, public health services, law enforcement, fire and rescue services, public records such as deeds and court proceedings. Local school boards draw district lines that determine which schools our children attend, hire the people who administer our schools and teach our children, and advocate for public education.

    Municipal officials are also responsible for police, fire and other public safety services. They maintain city roads, provide water and sewer services, make zoning decisions that determine where we might want to live and work and often provide mass transit, like buses.

    We Americans love our politics, especially a presidential race, but where the rubber hits the road is at home, not in Washington. D.C. No matter what Obama, Trump, or any other president is up to, it is more immediate and more important to us where our children go to school and how well that school is funded, whether our water is flowing and our sewer working, whether a strip club has been zoned next door and whether 911 will show up when we need them.
    Neither Obama nor Trump — or even our member of congress — is making any of those decisions. Those decisions are being made by people from our community, people we have the opportunity to talk to and share our perspectives with. The 97% of eligible voters who chose not to participate in last week’s municipal contests should ponder why they abdicated their voting privilege and responsibility when municipal decisions play a significant role in all our lives.

    Our communities are successful only if citizens participate, both by considering running for political office and by voting for those who do.

    In 2019 across North Carolina and in Cumberland County, voters barely even whispered.

  • 05Expensive runway repairs at Pope AAF have been completed under budget along with improvements to the airfield electrical system, according to an Army news release. The project was budgeted at $100 million.

    "Since World War II, Pope Army Airfield has served as a critical component of America's national security infrastructure," said Lt. Gen. Michael Kurilla, commander of the 18th Airborne Corps.

    Until a realignment of military facilities a few years ago, Pope was a U.S. Air Force base. The Army said Fort Bragg units temporarily used civilian airports, including Fayetteville Regional Airport, during the repairs.

    The main runway and taxiways were reconstructed with concrete instead of asphalt.

    The airfield had not been "completely resurfaced" in more than 50 years, said Col. Joseph Vanoni, commander of the 43rd Air Mobility Operations Group.

    The first aircraft to touchdown after the airfield reopened was an Air Force C-17 with Fort Bragg Commander, Col. Scott Pence on board.

  • 13 apple harvestSo long, summer! Though I always tip my hat to greet the warmer months of the year, I genuinely look forward to autumn. There's something about the mornings becoming cooler and the trees shedding their leaves in a blaze of color that evoke a sense of welcome.

    From the cool breezes on the coast to the amazing show of color north and west of us, North Carolina has given my family plenty of reasons to love calling North Carolina home each fall. You might be surprised to learn how many festivals and fall-flavored events there are within reach for a day or weekend trip from the Fayetteville area.

    Without ever leaving home you can take in the North Carolina Fall Festival in Raeford, which kicks off a weekend of small town festivities on Oct. 17, with something to please people of all ages. If you're itching to hit the road for the weekend, you can take in the early color as you head for the hills the same weekend. The Apple Harvest Festival in Waynesville is one of the tastiest trips you can make, and the Fall LEAF Festival in Black Mountain will treat you and your entire troupe to the charm only a small mountain town can offer. If you're ready for the most unique festival of them all, you simply have to make it to the Annual Wooly Worm Festival in Wilkesboro at least once in your life.

    Regardless of whether you go uphill, downhill or stay within a few miles of home, I hope you'll find a way to welcome the fall season. Embrace it and you'll find it's much more than a gateway to winter as it paves the way to shorter days and warm family celebrations.

    One month-long celebration that is worth mentioning is Clergy Appreciation Month. October has been set aside as a time to express gratitude to some of the most selfless and underrated individuals you may ever meet. Too often relegated to someone we think of only on Sunday as we shake their hand and tell them, 'great message!' on our way out the door, most members of the clergy — pastors, ministers, deacons, elders — are frequently the first to respond to family emergencies from illness to injury. They bring us together as we start our journeys in marriage, and see us off as in death we do part.

    I'd encourage you to take a moment to jot a little note of gratitude and send it to your pastor this year. And don't forget the youth leader. They gladly bear the burden of helping our children navigate some rough terrain in some of the most tumultuous years of their lives, and we need to show our gratitude.

  • 04New employees of the Cumberland County School district have received signing bonuses four months into their new jobs. The board of education approved a recruitment and retention plan to pay staff members who were hired June 1, and were still on the job Sept. 30, $1000 bonuses.

    These bonuses were funded through the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund.

    Employees hired after June 1, who continued to be employed on Sept. 30, received $500 bonuses.

    The retention bonus concept gave school officials the opportunity to thank new employees for the challenges they faced because of positive COVID-19 cases while serving the district's 49,700 students.

    The Durham Public School System is giving all full-time employees, including teachers, $1000 bonuses to those who remained with the district during the COVID-19 pandemic.

  • PUB PENThe political climate is changing in Hope Mills, and it is changing for the better. Why? Because residents are realizing that Hope Mills is no longer a media desert. The more informed Hope Mills residents are, the more they become involved and learn about the community and its challenges and opportunities and about the people entrusted with managing the town’s valuable assets. Through the citizens’ engagement, the town becomes more vibrant, relevant and livable.
     
    Of course, all the above will take a little time and effort on the part of the residents. However, as the recent series of Community Roundtables sponsored by our newspaper and the Hope Mills Chamber of Commerce and the 2019 Candidates’ Forum sponsored by the ALMS HOUSE and hosted by the Hope Mills Shrine Club so aptly demonstrated, positive, constructive and open conversation combined with limited exposure to negative and gossipy social media outlets will make for more trusted, healthy and effective communication.
     
    Get involved. This type of personal interaction has never failed to build relationships and net positive, constructive results. Eventually, it will displace that traditional nagging cloud of negativity that hovers over Hope Mills as a result of the abundant dissemination of hate talk, misinformation, deception and just plain lies perpetrated by selfish self-serving people, people who care more about themselves than the wellbeing of 16,000 Hope Mills residents.
     
    Recently, a near-perfect example of this has been reported several times in The Fayetteville Observer. Hope Mills Commissioner Meg Larson has opted out of running for a second term because she couldn’t stomach the thought of serving another term with fellow commissioner Pat Edwards and Mayor Jackie Warner. Yet, she has allowed Lisa Carter Waring, writer for The Fayetteville Observer’s Sandspur and founder and administrator of the Hope Mills Chatter, a private, hatemongering social media blog that encourages and bolsters the childish antics of malcontents like Larson. Waring initiated a write-in campaign to re-elect Larson. Larson, by the way, has gone on record to declare that if she is elected she will serve, but only if political compadre, Mayor pro tem Mike Mitchell defeats Jackie Warner for the mayoral spot. If Warner wins, she will not serve. This is proof positive that these people have vindictive hate agendas. This is an explicit indication that the best interest and welfare of the town of Hope Mills and its residents are not being served.
     
    In closing, this is my invitation for you to join us at the next Hope Mills Community Roundtable and see for yourself what a positive, progressive community Hope Mills is and meet the people who are making the difference.
    Hope to see you there. Thanks for reading Up & Coming Weekly.
     

    Hope Mills Community Roundtables bring citizens together to effect positive change in the community.

     
     
  • 15 snappy lunch I am looking for iconic North Carolina eateries for a new book.

    The dictionary defines iconic as “widely recognized and well-established” or “widely known and acknowledged especially for distinctive excellence.”

    The iconic restaurants should be (1) widely known in North Carolina, and better yet, known throughout the country and the world; (2) have been in business for many years and have a compelling backstory that includes ownership by interesting people; (3) have a loyal following; and last, and maybe least, (4) put good food on the table.

    Sunnyside Oyster Bar in Williamston, Sanitary Fish Market in Morehead City and the two Bridges barbecues (Red’s and Alston’s) in Shelby are examples.

    Keeping these considerations and examples in mind, what would you say is our state’s most iconic eatery?

    My answer is one that might surprise you. The most iconic eatery in North Carolina is Snappy Lunch in Mount Airy. Why would a simple sandwich shop in a small North Carolina town get my nod? Following the criteria outlined earlier, here are the reasons:

    1. Widely known: Without a doubt, Snappy Lunch’s name is better known throughout the world than any of our other eateries. For that, give Andy Griffith the credit.

    Although Andy died in 2012, the continuing re-runs of his television program still make him a celebrity throughout the world. It has made the TV character Andy’s fictional hometown, Mayberry, a part of the world’s language, meaning “idyllic small town.”

    Though Mayberry’s sandwich shop gets mentioned only a few times during the TV program’s series, many Andy Griffith fans all over the world remember its quirky name: Snappy Lunch.

    The fictional Mayberry is based on Andy Griffith’s real hometown, Mount Airy, where there is a real Snappy Lunch.

    2. History: Mount Airy residents – like the real Andy and many others – have eaten here since it opened in 1923. “Make it snappy,” some  customers said when they ordered sandwiches. Hence the name, Snappy Lunch.

    Although the founder, Charles Dowell, died in 2012 at age 84, his legacy is still present. He created Snappy Lunch’s classic, a pork chop sandwich described as “a boneless, tenderized loin chop dipped in sweet-milk batter and fried until golden crisp.” His widow, Mary, and daughter, Jamie, own and operate Snappy Lunch, with help from Jamie’s husband Seth Dowell-Young, who is in charge of the grill where Charlie held court. The family is determined to keep Charlie’s legacy alive.

    3. Loyal following: Snappy’s customers include a host of locals and visitors. One local is Raymond Keith Massey, who was eating breakfast when I dropped by. He said he comes five times a week. When I asked why so often, he said, “It’s cheap; two eggs and a big piece of pork, just $2.14.”

    4. Food: The food is special. On my visit to this icon, Mary’s great-nephew, Brady Horton, took my order for the famous pork chop sandwich, all the way. He brought it to me wrapped in wax paper, almost dripping with juicy slaw, tomato and sauce, with pork so large it was poking outside the bun. I needed several napkins to keep this delicious mess from spilling into my lap.

    The other fare is simple and good. Breakfast is a great time to visit and listen in on the talk of the regular local clientele who gather and hang around until after 10 a.m.

    There you have it. Snappy Lunch is known throughout the world, and it’s got history, loyal followers and a special food dish. No other North Carolina eatery fits these considerations so well.

    So, Snappy Lunch it is – North Carolina’s most iconic eatery.

    If you are willing to share your opinion, whether you agree or disagree, drop me a line at nceateries@yahoo.com.

  • 03The Biden Administration has released a plan to tackle toxic PFAS pollution. The plan could create a national drinking water standard and designate certain chemicals as hazardous. The project is the result of an analysis conducted by the Environmental Protection Agency Council on PFAS that EPA administrator Michael Regan established in April 2021. As a former North Carolina official, Regan dealt with an unregulated variant of toxic chemicals called GenX that was spread from a Chemours plant east of Fayetteville into local private water wells and the Cape Fear River.

    Senator Kirk deViere said that he applauds the plan, but believes there could be more short-term solutions to help people get access to clean water now.

    The strategies include increasing research, leveraging authorities to restrict PFAS chemicals from being released into the environment, and accelerating the cleanup of PFAS contamination.

    “This is a public health crisis and the time for drastic immediate improvement is now,” deViere said. “I am calling on NCDEQ Secretary Biser, Governor Cooper, as well as Chemours to provide bold and aggressive leadership to ensure clean water and help my constituents and so many others affected by PFAS pollution."

  • 04 LyreYou are probably asking yourself the musical question, “How did Up & Coming Weekly’s copy editor let such a stupid mistake creep into the title of this stain on world literature?” Or you may even be asking a more profound question, “Why are these annoying columns impinging on my eyeballs before they get turned into fish wrap?” Alas, some questions don’t have answers. But as to the spelling of lyre, it is correct. Today’s visit into the swamp of free media is going to consist of a visit to our old Greek friend, the lyre-playing Orpheus. For those of you who may have missed the class on Ancient Greek Music Appreciation 101, a lyre is a small U-shaped harp.

    We are exploring the story of Orpheus because the talking heads on the news are reporting on everyone calling everyone else liars. You have probably heard enough about Ukraine this week and who is lying about whom. So today, take a break from political liars and ponder musical lyres.

    Orpheus was the Elvis of his day. He could pluck his lyre till the cows came home. When Orpheus sang and played the lyre, trees and rocks would dance, rivers would change course and lions would lie down with lambs. After listening to Orpheus, cannibals gave up human protein and became vegans. Orpheus was that good. Naturally being a Greek god helped as Orpheus had a supernatural musical talent that would have made John Lennon jealous. Like all Greek mythology, there are many versions of Orpheus’ story. Today you will get the version I like best.

    Orpheus’ baby daddy was probably Apollo. The ancient Greeks didn’t have 23 & Me to test their DNA, so the paternity of most gods is a guess at best. As a lad, Orpheus had the old wanderlust. He scratched that itch by sailing with Jason and the Argonauts. On their course on the Love Boat, Orpheus and the Argonauts had to sail by an island populated by the Sirens. The Sirens were a bunch of bodaciously beautiful babes who were singers themselves. The Sirens made Jennifer Lopez look like a boy — if you know what I mean, and I think you do. Sailors would hear the Sirens singing and it was Katy, bar the door. To hook up with the Sirens, sailors would jump into the water and drown or crash their ships into the rocks, ending up in a watery grave. When the Sirens began belting out their songs for the Argonauts, Orpheus whipped out his lyre and played “Fire on the Mountain.” His music drowned out the Siren songs, letting the sailors keep sailing safely onward.

    Like all Greek gods, Orpheus had a troubled love life, sort of like yours. But I digress. Orpheus fell in love with the elegant Eurydice. He proposed to her, and she accepted. Alas, the course of true love never runs smooth. At her wedding, Eurydice was walking around in the tall grass when she was set upon by a satyr. Satyrs have horns on their heads as befits a half goat and half man. Satyrs liked to drink and make whoopee. Eurydice knew all this. She ran to try to escape the satyr. Unfortunately, in her haste, she stepped into a nest of vipers. She sustained a viper bite to her heel, which caused her to expire. Sad.

    Eurydice, being dead, had no choice but to descend into the Underworld, where the dead folks hung out under the watchful eyes of the Underworld’s rulers, Hades and Persephone. Orpheus, being love struck, went down into the Underworld looking for his beloved. Normally, when you go into the Underworld, you don’t get to come back. However, Orpheus rosined up his bow and started playing that lyre to beat the band. The bosses of the Underworld were so taken with his music that they agreed to let Orpheus take Eurydice back to the land of the living. There was one condition. Orpheus had to walk in front of Eurydice without looking back at her until they both got out of the Underworld. Naturally, Orpheus messed up this simple task. Like most men, he couldn’t follow directions. When Orpheus got back topside, he turned around to look at Eurydice, who was still in the Underworld. Yuge mistake! He got one good look at Eurydice, and then she disappeared forever.

    Orpheus wandered lonely as a cloud while weeping piteously after he realized what he had done. He had some more adventures until he finally went to see the Oracle of Dionysus. A funny thing happened to him on his way to the Oracle. The Oracle had a cult following of women called Maenads. These ladies were wild dancers who did all sorts of things about which we cannot speak in a family newspaper. The Maenads were plenty riled up when Orpheus came into view. Unhappy with being interrupted, the Maenads tore Orpheus into shreds — even breaking his lyre.

    What, if anything, have we learned today? To quote Winston Churchill: “If you are walking through Hell, keep going.”

    Gentlemen, if you are lost, ask directions and follow them. If you come upon a crowd of ladies wilding in the woods, turn around. And as Andy Griffith once said, “Don’t ever, ever, mess with the ladies of the Altar Guild.”

    Orpheus was the Elvis of his day. He could pluck his lyre till the cows came home.

  • 13 dinner theatre Paul Thompson, owner of Paul’s Place, is multifaceted. In addition to being an entrepreneur, he is a veteran, a musician, a comedian and now a producer. He’s bringing these passions together Nov. 10 for “A Patriotic Dinner Theatre” at VFW 670.

    “I am (a retired Army first sergeant), and I was at VFW 670 for a wake,” said Thompson. “I looked at the facility and thought it would be a great place to put on a show. I talked to the commander and decided to do something to help get (VFW 670) back on its feet. I got a great chef – a young lady who is starting her catering service – and got together some good entertainment.”

    Not only is Thompson helping to organize the event, he is also the master of ceremonies for the evening. “I am an amateur comedian,” Thompson said. “I have been on comedy stages at Myrtle Beach. I will do some comedy and introduce people. I host a lot of events at Paul’s Place, but this is my first show that I have produced.”

    Lee Jean Music, Richard Garey from “Mark Twain Himself,” and Elvis and Neil Diamond tribute artist Bobby J. will share the stage. 

    Lee Jean is a former “American Idol” competitor. “He placed in the top eight in season 15 of the show in 2012,” said Thompson. “He’s good.” Jean is known for covering song from the folk, soul and pop genres.

    “I went to high school with Richard Garey,” Thompson said. “He owns a theater in Missouri where he does a lot of Mark Twain, including his play ‘Mark Twain Himself.’”

    Garey has entertained audiences in the United States, Canada and Bermuda for more than 30 years. He has committed more that seven hours of original Twain writing and letters to memory and interacts with the audience as Twain to provide an engaging experience. Garey said that while no two shows are exactly alike, all of his shows are 100 percent Twain.

    Garey credits his high school English teacher/ drama coach for inspiring his acting career. “If you can hold the interest of high school sophomores for nine months, you can rivet just about any audience for 90 minutes.”

    “Making people happy,” said Bobby J. “That’s my reason for doing my tribute to Elvis.” As a performer, J. said he has performed all over the continent “from New Jersey to Venezuela.”

    He’s performed with Bobby Rydell and been featured on the “Today” show as well. He loves creating an energy with the audience no matter where he performs; it’s what keeps him returning to the stage. “I take pride in duplicating the voice and the moves that made Elvis famous,” J. said. “I am constantly working on my craft.”

    Thompson said the audience can expect to see both of J.’s impersonations – a set featuring a Neil Diamond impersonation and another featuring Elvis.

    The evening’s menu features a choice of two meats – a ribeye roast or herb-crusted pork loin – and includes two vegetables and dessert. “I’ve tried the food,” said Thompson. “It is delicious. This event is a sit-down dinner. And it will be a familyfriendly show.”

    Thompson added that if the event is a success, VFW 670 has invited him to produce dinner theaters there quarterly.

    Dinner is at 6 p.m. The show starts at 7 p.m. on Nov. 10th and will be at VFW 670 at 3928 Doc Bennett Rd. Tickets cost $30 per person or $50 per couple.

    Call 910-476-9524 or visit Paul’s Place at 719 Starling St. in Fayetteville for tickets and information.

  • 11 Women of Power BrunchA brunch for women leaders by women leaders. The Women’s Business Center of Fayetteville, part of the Center for Economic Empowerment & Development, will be hosting a networking event at the end of October that will focus on connecting women entrepreneurs with each other. The theme for the first annual Women of Power Brunch is the “State of Women in Business.”

    Caitlin Chastain, the Business Consultant for the Women's Business Center of Fayetteville, says the goal of the event is to create an overall understanding of how women in the county are doing.

    “We want to create a dialogue of what is going on with women in business, what is going on with women in leadership in Fayetteville,” Chastain said. “We really want to start recognizing women entrepreneurs and women in business in our city that often get overlooked.”

    Another one of the goals of this networking brunch is to create mentorships for younger women and for women who are new to the area, including military wives.

    Chastain hopes women will leave with a sense of motivation, inspiration and an understanding and awareness of how they can better themselves. By doing that, these women can then better the community.

    “They can get educated on facts in our community on women in leadership, get inspired by entrepreneurial stories, and can have fun networking,” Chastian said.

    According to the U.S. Census, women-owned businesses make up little more than 41% of all businesses in Cumberland County. In Fayetteville, that number rises to at least 43%.

    This event also launches the partnership between An Affair to Remember and the WBC of Fayetteville to celebrate and acknowledge female leaders making a difference in the local community.

    The owner of An Affair to Remember is Mayor Pro Tem Kathy Jensen and she will be speaking at the bruncheon about her Women of Power Society, a group that hosts a local local fashion show, and her entrepreneurial path to success.

    Jensen will be announcing the theme of her Women of Power Fashion Show for 2022.She will also be accepting nominations for next year's Women of Power class that will walk at the Affair to Remember Fashion Show.

    Lashanda Shaw, a local real estate agent and owner of Lashanda Shaw Realty, will also be speaking at the event. She will be focusing on her doctoral dissertation about the lack of women leaders in Cumberland County.

    Suzy Hrabovsky, the Executive Director of CEED and the 2021 Woman of Power Alum, will also speak.

    Brunch will be provided by Dorothy’s Catering. The event will take place on Monday, Oct. 25 and will be at the Cape Fear Botanical Garden from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Tickets are $25 per person.

    Tickets are available at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/women-of-power-brunch-tickets-172208800157 until Oct. 24.

  • 02 01 Master PlanThis week, Up & Coming Weekly Publisher Bill Bowman yields his space to columnist Karl Merritt to discuss the challenges faced by the North Carolina Civil War & Reconstruction History Center.
    For over 10 years, a group of volunteers, along with some paid staff, has been working to develop a concept for the North Carolina Civil War & Reconstruction History Center, as well as raise funds, design the building and build it. As of this writing, they have, with the help of extremely capable individuals, started to collect information consistent with their concept for the Center. Even further, millions of dollars have been raised and an award-winning architectural design is complete.

    Beyond what is happening locally, the budget currently being considered by the North Carolina General Assembly includes $46 million for this project. That budget was vetoed by Gov. Roy Cooper, but the House voted to override the veto. At this moment, action by the Senate is pending.

    A study conducted by ConsultEcon, Inc. in 2014 stated about the Center, “The preliminary attendance potential is estimated at 75,000 to 135,000, with a midrange estimate rounded to 105,000 in a stable year of operation.” Considering this assessment was before SEGRA Stadium, the Woodpeckers 02 02 Bill Crispbaseball team, the Prince Charles Hotel resurrection and all the other development coming to downtown, the economic impact of the Center will be substantial.

    With all that in place, and the project moving ahead, Mayor Mitch Colvin, who is black, has now stated he opposes proceeding with the Center under the current concept and name. He explained that his objection is based on input from citizens — not just black citizens — who oppose the project. As best as I can determine, two considerations are central to the opposition by black citizens with whom the mayor has talked: Because of slavery references, they are uncomfortable with discussion of the Civil War and they do not trust that slavery and the Civil War will be accurately addressed. Colvin also argues that the $7.5 million that the city of Fayetteville promised to provide in support of this project can be used better elsewhere. To obtain state support, Fayetteville and Cumberland County were required to commit that they would invest $7.5 million each in the project.

    The summary of Colvin’s position in the preceding paragraph is based on various reportings in The Fayetteville Observer and his comments during a public meeting Thursday, Sept. 26. I attended that meeting. It was organized by Val Applewhite, former city councilwoman, with Advance Carolina and the Fayetteville branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People as cosponsors. Given the content and flow of the meeting, I concluded it was an obvious attempt to build opposition to the Center. Aside from some elected officials, the attendees were overwhelmingly black citizens. 

    Given the amazing progress that has been made to this point by organizers, the reasonable question is what gives Colvin, some City Council members, and a few vocal citizens justification to demand changes to the name and concept of this project? Do the math. Considering price increases, the cost of the Center will certainly be more than $65 million. The state will put in $46 million and forever pay the cost of operating the facility after construction. Organizers are raising millions of dollars. Cumberland County
    will provide $7.5 million. Add the fact that this is a state facility, not just for Fayetteville. For a one-time investment of $7.5 million, Fayetteville receives a tremendous economic return over many years to come.

    02 tisha waddellIn the final analysis, $7.5 million from Fayetteville is minuscule and will be recouped in taxes, not to mention added jobs. This being the case, why would Colvin and his group try to take over, and even risk losing, this project? My thinking is this is more identity politics. Consider the primary population categories in Fayetteville as available at http://worldpopulationreview.com: White: 45.95%; Black or African-American: 41.54%; Two or more races: 5.83%; Asian: 2.88%; Other race: 2.59%.

    Here is my unpacking of that assessment. If Colvin and other black politicians, as well as some like-minded whites, can appeal to the emotions of the 41.54% of black Fayetteville citizens and drive substantial voter turnout, they can easily win elections. Add some of the other nonwhite groups, and the odds are even better. This is the game played across America.

    This is not the first time Colvin has convinced some members of City Council to force a group to make major changes in their program based on an alleged concern for Fayetteville’s black citizens. It also happened in 2016. I wrote about this episode in a column titled, “Dogwood Festival Music Diversity: An Opportunity for Exercising Leadership.” Please read the column at http://www.karlmerritt.com/2017/02/03/dogwood-festival-music-diversity-an-opportunity-for-exercising-leadership/. In my estimation, Colvin, and some other members of City Council, in an atmosphere of total disrespect toward officials of the Dogwood Festival and lack of appreciation for the contributions of the Dogwood organization to this city, bullied festival organizers into adding music genres that are inconsistent with what had been a very successful concept. The Dogwood Festival was “hijacked” and the same thing is being attempted with the Center.

    In preparation for writing this column, I emailed eight questions to Colvin and all nine members of City Council. Councilwoman Tisha Waddell was the only one to answer the questions in writing. Councilman Bill Crisp answered every question during a phone conversation. Councilman D.J. Haire, after some back-and-forth by email, sent one saying that he saw me at the Thursday meeting and what he said there is his position. That is, he is talking with his constituents. Mayor Colvin’s response was to ask if I sent the questions to Cumberland County Commissioners. I responded that I had not sent the questions because I understood they were still on board and asked if he knew differently. There was no further response. I received no response, email or otherwise, from the remaining members of City Council.

    Space will only allow me to share responses to a few of the eight questions. One question was, “What steps are being taken by Council to accurately determine the magnitude of opposition to and support for this project?” Neither Waddell nor Crisp made any claim of an organized process for accurately measuring opposition or support. In the Thursday meeting, Haire indicated that he is holding listening sessions throughout his district. Waddell indicated that she received two phone calls and one email expressing opposition to the Center. Crisp said, from his district, one person advised him of opposition while several indicated support for the project. Given Fayetteville’s population of over 200,000, it is impossible to conclude that there is a fair and effective effort to measure opposition to the History Center. I say “opposition” because I sense there is no effort on the part of the mayor and his cohorts to measure support. If that were the case, there would be serious outreach across racial lines and presentations would be balanced.

    Another question was, “Given that a previous council approved the funding and organizers have substantially moved ahead depending on that funding, do you have concern that pulling the funding will cause future distrust of Fayetteville government?” Waddell and Crisp fully recognize the danger in the wrangling that is going on regarding city support of this project. In my estimation, this discourages citizens, businesses or anybody who might be willing to invest in the advancement of this city; they must be able to trust City Council to live up to its commitments. Even further, our legislative delegation, based on a supportive vote of a previous City Council, fought to get state funding for this project. Now, at the last minute, the rug is being toyed with in what I hold is an indefensible manner. I find it laughable that, given how City Council is handling this matter, anybody would have the audacity to question the honesty and integrity of the Center organizers.

    A third question: “If the $7.5 million is withdrawn, how will it be used? What will be the economic impact of the alternative use?” It has become common knowledge that the $7.5 million city commitment is not budgeted. Consequently, there is no plan for how that money would be used elsewhere. That also means no effort has been made to determine the economic impact of using the money elsewhere and how any return compares with putting it toward the Center. This failure to budget highlights, again, the trust issue with this Council.

    One other question from the eight: “Have you made a public statement regarding the ‘Build it so we can burn it down’ sign that was held up by one attendee during the public hearing on this matter?” The sign referred to in this question shows in a photo accompanying an article in The Fayetteville Observer by John Henderson titled, “Fayetteville mayor: Growing number of black residents concerned about Civil War center.” The person holding the sign is sitting on the front row. Other signs are also being held up in the chamber. In their responses, Waddell and Crisp expressed concern that the sign was there but stated that they had not made any public comment. Waddell wrote: “I have not made a public statement about it, but I find all references to violence and/or criminal behavior abhorrent. I believe that regardless of whether one supports something or not, we should always support civil dialogue and should be encouraging open communication without fear of retribution.” Neither Haire nor Colvin addressed the question. I have no doubt that if such a sign were held up regarding a project supported by, and seen as favorable to the black community, the outrage from Colvin and his cohorts would be deafening. What message is received by white Fayetteville citizens?

    So much for the questions.  As to the concept for this Center, it appears Colvin, and those who join him in thinking there will be an overwhelming focus on slavery and justifying the South’s actions in the Civil War, do not understand the current concept. To be fair with the mayor, I sent him an email asking what he understood the concept to be and how he wanted it changed. No response. A few months ago, I wrote a column titled “Needed: NC Civil War & Reconstruction History Center.” It is at http://www.karlmerritt.com/2019/06/25/needed-nc-civil-war-reconstruction-history-center/. The concept is to focus on the stories that show how all people were affected by, and responded to, the Civil War and Reconstruction. It does not take much effort to get accurate information on this matter of concept or the whole project. Informing and encouraging the black community to do so does not fit with the strategy and tactics of identity politics.

     In the end, due to political maneuvering, short-sightedness and misinformation, Fayetteville will probably lose this project and suffer for years to come because of doing so. That suffering will include even greater racial tension than we know now. That will be because, even though most white citizens are scared into silence where identity politics is at work; frustration, disgust, and even anger, must be present in many of them. If the concept and name are changed and the project survives, the negative impact on race relations will be the same, if not worse. What’s being done here is “treacherous territory.” Yes, another hijacking is underway.

    A study conducted by ConsultEcon, Inc. in 2014 stated about the Center, “The preliminary attendance potential is estimated at 75,000 to 135,000, with a midrange estimate rounded to 105,000 in a stable year of operation.”
    In preparation for writing this column, I emailed eight questions to Colvin and all nine members of City Council. Councilwoman Tisha Waddell (bottom) was the only one to answer the questions in writing. Councilman Bill Crisp (top) answered every question during a phone conversation.


     

  • 12 Chili Cook Off FB

    On Saturday, Nov. 10, the Hope Mills Area Chamber of Commerce will hold its Annual Chili Cook- Off. Once part of Ole Mill Days, this year, the Hope Mills Chamber decided to partner with Dirtbag Ales Farmers Market, WKML, Heroes Homecoming and The Lone Survivor Foundation to make this event even better.

    “We wanted to change the venue because of the date, mainly,” said Hope Mills Chamber President Jessica Seagroves. “Last year, it was so hot we were sunburnt when we left Ole Mill Days! We wanted more ‘chili appropriate’ weather. October in North Carolina? It’s still 90 degrees outside sometimes.

    “We wanted to partner with Dirtbag Ales to add a fun change to the chili cook-off. This is our second year serving on the Heroes Homecoming committee, and I felt that if we were able to get everyone together for this event, it would be a better event for the veterans and our community.”

    Locals who have not been to a Hope Mills Area Chamber Chili Cook-Off in the past are missing out. Chili enthusiasts from all over the area bring their best dishes for a chance to win one of eight cash prizes. There are hot and mild categories, which will have three different winners for each category. There will also be a veteran’s choice winner and a people’s choice winner.

    Not only will there be cash prizes for the best chilis, a cornhole tournament has been added as well. Teams can pre-register or register the day of. There will be a cash prize awarded to the winner. The cornhole tournament starts at 2 p.m.

    The event is scheduled to coincide with Veterans Day. A tent to include live music, food and swag bags will be set up for veterans. Veterans eat free at the event, and there will be several veteran-focused groups in attendance that exist to serve our military community better.

    “We wanted to find a way to make this more for the members of our community, and a vast majority of those are veterans,” Seagroves explained. “We wanted to show our support of the men and women who have gone above and beyond for our community. I really love Dirtbag Ales Farmers Market and how much they support the veterans. That made it a natural transition to partner with Lone Survivor Foundation for the chili cook-off and to focus on the veterans in our community. It all came together to make a great event.”

    This event is ideal for the entire family. In addition to the Chili Cook-Off, cornhole tournament and various vendors, there will be a bounce house for children as well as face painting, live music and local food trucks. Dirtbag Ales Farmers Market also includes a dog park and a playground.

    If you would like to submit a chili for the event, email the Hope Mills Chamber at hmacc@ hopemillschamber.org or call 910-423-4314. The cost to register is $15. All entries are welcome. Vendor spots are still available as well.

    Tickets will be available the day of the event and are offered at several levels. It’s $10 to taste each chill or $5 for one bowl of chili. The $20 VIP bands include chili tasting, a bowl of chili and specialty beverage. Veteran bands are free and include chili, food and drink in the VIP tent. Additional beverages (non-alcoholic) are one dollar.

    The event runs from 1-5 p.m. and will take place at 5435 Corporation Dr. in Hope Mills. Call 910-423- 4314 or email hmacc@hopemillschamber.com for more information.

  • 05 ERAPThe Fayetteville City Manager announced at last week’s City Council meeting that the money for the emergency rental assistance program have been used as of Oct. 7. The city did not plan for that money to be fully used until December.

    “I am asking you to recharge that pot of money with an additional two million dollars in what we call an ERAP 2.1,” City Manager Doug Hewitt told the council. “Once that money is in the pipeline, that additional two million dollars. then we'll go back to the federal government and ask for an additional three billion dollars to be able to draw down to recharge that for a total of over 10 or 11 million dollars that we hope to be able to provide to our residents in Cumberland County.”

    However, many people voiced concerns that even though they were awarded money, they have not received it. Hewitt told the council that the average time to distribute money after it has been awarded is around 3 weeks, but they need more staff to help cut down those costs.

    City Council unanimously approved to request a little more than 2 million dollars from the U.S. Department of the Treasury as well as allocate $280,000 to Innovative Emergency Management Inc. to hire more staff to reduce the wait times and issues that people have been having.

  • 03 MargaretCredence Clearwater Revival’s John Fogarty nailed it.

    It feels all déjà vu all over again.

    Presidents Richard Nixon and Donald Trump appear on parallel tracks, nearly 50 years apart.

    Nixon may or may not have known about a criminal office break-in, but he and his administration went to great lengths to cover up that break-in and associated criminal activities. His lies were exposed when a staffer revealed to congressional investigators a secret Oval Office taping system, which recorded Nixon’s lies and duplicity — not to mention his racist and obscene language. Nixon resigned the presidency in disgrace after Republican congressional leaders told him there was not enough congressional support to save him from impeachment in the U.S. House and conviction in the U.S. Senate.

    After a whistleblower came forward about Donald Trump’s requests for political favors from the president of Ukraine, Trump admitted soliciting several other foreign leaders for dirt on American political rivals, and has actually done so on worldwide television. At least one whistleblower, and perhaps more, have reported Trump’s behavior to Congress, and impeachment investigations are underway. Trump continues to threaten the whistleblower(s), insinuating treasonous behavior that may have been punishable by death in earlier times.

    What remains to be seen is whether congressional Republicans, including North Carolina’s House delegation and Senators Richard Burr and Thom Tillis, have enough intestinal fortitude and strength of character to put the welfare of the United States before Trumpian politics. A political cartoon once depicted Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and former House Speaker Paul Ryan as subjects for medical study as they are the only two human beings known to walk upright without having spines.

    To quote Trump, “We’ll see what happens.”
     
        ******************
    Medicaid expansion has been a hot topic in the North Carolina General Assembly for most of the decade, with Democrats pushing for it and Republicans resisting. Democrats rightly argue that emergency rooms are the most expensive way on God’s green earth to provide routine health care to uninsured people and financially burdens local hospitals. Republicans say expanding coverage for low-income uninsured people is just too expensive, even though the federal government picks up 90% of the tab. Last week, influential former Republican North Carolina House member and business leader, Danny McComas of Wilmington, came out in favor of Medicaid expansion. McComas says it would help combat North Carolina’s opioid epidemic and points out that North Carolina ranks eighth from the national bottom in health insurance coverage.

    Wrote McComas in the Wilmington Star News, “Why are we ceding the competitive advantage and sending our federal tax dollars to 37 other states to stimulate their economies, to create thousands of jobs in their communities and to provide affordable health insurance to their citizens?... It certainly is not a good business decision.”
     
     ******************
    And, finally, happy belated birthday to former President Jimmy Carter, who celebrated his 95th birthday Oct. 1. That milestone makes Carter the longest-lived president in American history, eclipsing former President George H. W. Bush, who died last fall at 94. He survived a metastatic melanoma diagnosis in which cancer spread to his brain and continues to do the physical, mental and emotional work of building houses for Habitat for Humanity all over our nation, with an upcoming foray to Nashville, Tennessee. Carter and his wife, former first lady Roselyn Carter, have been married for 73 years and continue to live in tiny Plains, Georgia, where the former president of the United States regularly teaches Sunday school.

     Partisan politics aside, Jimmy Carter is in an entirely different league than Richard Nixon and Donald Trump.
     
    Republicans say expanding Medicaid  coverage for low-income uninsured people is just too expensive.
  • 11 FSO kids2 For several years, Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra has brought the magic of live music to Cumberland County Public Schools third-graders via a free concert. On Nov. 3, FSO is changing up the format and offering a free children’s concert open to all families with children, no matter where they live or go to school. As a nonprofit, FSO can’t do free educational programming like this without the support of the community it serves. Nov. 9, the orchestra will host a Friendsgiving Brewery Tour, with 100 percent of the proceeds going toward FSO’s education programs.

    “Once Upon a Symphony, A Children’s Concert”

    The free event takes place this Saturday, Nov. 3, at the Fayetteville Academy Gym, 3200 Cliffdale Rd. It will start at 11 a.m. and last about 45 minutes.

    It’s not hard to imagine why hearing orchestral music performed in person by professional musicians is thrilling for young ones. Brief selections of music are accompanied by child-friendly interactive elements and explanations.

    These elements include using the introduction to

    “Peter and the Wolf” to talk about how instruments and sounds can create different personalities; using Darth Vader’s theme from “Star Wars” to explain tone and mood; and offering an instrument “petting zoo” for the children to touch and try different instruments.

    “We added (music from) ‘Frozen’ to the children’s concert two years ago and the kids just burst into song,” said Christine Kastner, FSO president and CEO. “We realized that they were putting together that music they know was produced by an orchestra. We wanted to expand it.”

    “Once Upon a Symphony” will also feature selections from “Harry Potter,” “Jurrasic Park” and “Trolls.”

    Children will also get to act out a tea party to George Frideric Handel’s famous “Water Music,” march to John Philip Sousa’s “Stars and Stripes” and take a field trip to a farm with Joseph M. Daly’s “Chicken Reel.”

    Fayetteville Academy’s gym has a capacity of about 600. Seating will be in the bleachers, or families may bring blankets to sit on the floor.

    Kastner said the concert is designed to be appropriatefor children with special needs. “It’s one ofthe reasons we chose to do it in a gym instead of in a concert hall,” she said, referring to the more relaxe and spacious environment and there being more lighting and sensory-friendly elements.

    The concert is sponsored by Terri Union andBrown and Associates Investment Services.

    To learn more or to view a list of FSO’s 2018-19 season concerts, visit www.fayettevillesymphony.org.

    Friendsgiving Brewery Tour

    Promoted as a chance to “party for a purpose,” FSO’s Friendsgiving Brewery Tour is an opportunity for friends to celebrate Thanksgiving together by both giving back and having a fun night out.

    Attendees will gather for dinner in the FSO’s community room at 6:30 p.m. for a meal and then hop on a bus at 7 p.m. for a tasting tour of the area’s breweries that will end at midnight. Stops include Bright Light Brewing Company; Dirtbag Ales Brewery & Taproom; Mash House Brewery Company; World of Beer; and Paddy’s Irish Pub.

    Each brewery will highlight a seasonal beer. Coolers on the bus are also welcomed.

    In between stops, Friendsgiving-ers will learn about what their money is supporting: FSO’s numerous education programs.

    “It’s a way of taking this group of people out, having a fun evening together and also introducing them to the idea that their funds will be supporting charities in this community,” Kastner said.

    Registration is required and costs $75 per person. Groups of six or more will receive a $10 discount per head. Beer tastings at each stop are not included in the price of admission. The FSO offices are located at 308 Green St. To reserve your spot, call 910-433-4690.

  • Chante OatesA Fayetteville Police Officer was hit and dragged by a car while investigating a hit-and-run, Oct. 12.

    The suspect, Chante Oates, 24, allegedly hit her grandmother and then hit her grandmother's home with her car while driving while intoxicated.

    After crashing into the home, Oates drove to Beuer Street. The officer attempted to stop her, but Oates allegedly hit the officer and ran over her leg.

    The officer was transported to the hospital and is recovering.

    Oates is facing a number of charges including assault with a deadly weapon on a government official, assault on a law enforcement officer inflicting serious injury and driving while impaired. She is currently being held in the Cumberland County jail on a $153,500 bond.

  • In Munich, Germany, Oct. 6 marked the end of one of their oldest and most celebrated traditions, Oktoberfest. However, at St. Patrick Catholic Church on Village Drive, last Sunday’s celebration of Oktoberfest marked over four decades of food, fun, frolic, music and be02 01womener — lots of beer, sauerkraut, potato salad and sausages. All Bavarian-style. This annual event, hosted by the St. Pat’s Knights of Columbus organization, is a major fundraiser for the church. Traditionally, Up & Coming Weekly rarely writes about programs and events that have already taken place; however, this event was special and so impressive I felt impelled to make an exception and advise our readers to put it on their calendars for the first Sunday in October 2020.

    I guess with this event coming on the heels of the Fayetteville Greek Festival and the International Folk Festival, it made me cognizant and appreciative of our incredibly diverse community.

    Knight Fred Cutter was the chairman of this year’s festivities, and he and his committee went to the far extreme to capture the authentic ambiance and culture of a true Bavarian festival, right down to the decorations, food, music and costumes. Surprisingly, many in attendance dressed in traditional Bavarian attire; the men wore lederhosen, and the ladies wore colorful dirndls — pronounced dern-DULL — which is an ensemble that includes a blouse, skirt and apron. The music was exceptional. Throughout the evening, attendees marched, sang and danced to the Little German Band and Dancers out of Raleigh. They were quite talented, performing songs, waltzes and polkas from the Bavaria region of Germany that energized and electrified the audience. The German word “Gemütlichkeit” describes a state of belonging when being surrounded by good friends, with good music and good times.02 02 Oktoberfest

    So, nothing to do in Fayetteville? What nonsense. There’s plenty to do here. And, the best common denominator all these community events and venues have is the people themselves. We encourage everyone to get involved and get to know our residents and our community. St. Patrick’s Oktoberfest is only one example of the excellent events that define our unique community.

    Thank you for reading Up & Coming Weekly.

    St. Patrick’s Catholic Church on Village Drive celebrated Oktoberfest this past Sunday with a fun family affair.
    Picture 1, L-R: Lia, Lexie and Yiotta Hasapis

  • 01 cover Fort Bragg has sent America’s sons and daughters across the world to fight wars,

    keep peace, build nations, undo the damage left by Mother Nature’s wrath and other countless missions. For the past century, the citizens of Cumberland County have stood in the gap for military families as their friends and neighbors answered Uncle Sam’s call. So, it’s no surprise that proper Veterans Day celebrations around here take more than one day. Heroes Homecoming is packed with activities and ceremonies showing respect to the many generations of veterans who have served this country.

    Through Dec. 31

    “Celebrations While Deployed”

    Displayed at Headquarters Library in the Local and State History Room, this display showcases holidays and other family celebrations during deployment. Call 910-483-7727 to learn more.

    Nov. 1-30

    “Happy Birthday United States Marines”

    The North Carolina Veterans Park will host a monthlong exhibit. Call 910-433-1457 for more information.

    Friday, Nov. 9

    Military and veteran spouse empowerment luncheon

    Sponsored by the Stephen A. Cohen Military Family Clinic and Military Child Education Coalition with Cumberland County Schools, this event is for spouses of active-duty military member and veterans. It will include motivational speakers and will cover topics like empowerment through volunteering, employment, starting your own business, education and resources within the community. It will take place at Cape Fear Botanical Garden and includes a free lunch and free childcare. The luncheon starts at 11 a.m.

    Veterans Day Concert and art exhibit

    The Airborne & Special Operations Museum will host a gallery reception for the exhibition “The Arts and the Military.” There will be a musical performance afterwards. The event runs from 6-9 p.m. It is free. Call 910-643-2778 for details.

    Saturday, Nov. 10

    Veterans Day Parade

    The Veterans Day Parade has more than 100 participants, including active-duty military members, numerous veterans’ organizations, military equipment, and ROTC units and marching bands from local high schools and universities. It begins on Hay Street at ASOM and ends on Person Street at Liberty Point. It starts at 10 a.m. and is free to attend. Call 910-920-0454 to learn more.

    City of Fayetteville Veterans Day Proclamation

    Immediately following the Veterans Day Parade, head to the North Carolina Veterans Park for the Veterans Day Proclamation, a ceremony honoring the veterans of the community, state and nation. It is free and open to the public. Call 910-433-1457 for details.

    Heroes Homecoming Community Challenge

    From noon to 4 p.m., Fort Bragg Harley Davidson

    invites the community to enjoy family-friendly

    entertainment, including a hot wing eating contest;

    strength competitions, such as tire-flipping and

    pull-up and push-up competitions; face painting and

    arts and crafts; bouncy houses and a kids’ obstacle

    course; K-9 demonstrations and cute civilian dogs to

    pet; live music; food trucks; mini-golf; and resources

    for suicide prevention in our community. The event is

    free. Call 910-615-3714 to learn more.

    Second Annual Heroes Homecoming Motorcycle

    Rally

    Bikers interested in riding as a group, meet at the old Bank of America building across from Festival Park after the Veterans Day Parade. The group will ride together to Fort Bragg Harley Davidson for an afternoon of wholesome entertainment, including live music, vendors and food. Call 910-567-2221 to learn more.

    Hometown Hero Awards and Centennial of Service Speaker Series

    ASOM will honor retired Gen. James J. Lindsay with the Hometown Hero Award for his efforts to nurture and develop the relationship between the city of Fayetteville and the military. After the ceremony, there will be three speakers – part of a series featuring ordinary

    people doing extraordinary things. The speakers are EJ Snyder, Kevin Maurer and Lewis Hunt. The event runs from 1-5 p.m. Call 910-643-2778 to learn more.

    Hope Mills Chamber Chili Cook-Off and Veterans Appreciation Day

    Hosted at Dirtbag Ales Brewery & Taproom, the Chili-Cook-Off and Veterans Appreciation Day is designed with families in mind. It will include food, cornhole, entertainment, craft brews and more. Veterans can relax in the Veterans Tent. The cook-off will include the usual hot and mild categories as well as a people’s choice and a veteran’s choice award. It runs 1-9 p.m. Call 910-423-4314 for details.

    243rd Marine Corps Birthday Celebration

    The Shawn Knisely Detachment, Marine Corps League, Dept. of North Carolina will host a celebration at Stryker Golf Course. The evening includes a reception, opening ceremony, dinner and a cake ceremony. It runs from 6-9 p.m. and costs $40 per person. Call 910-263-1102 for tickets and information.

    “A Patriotic Dinner Theatre”

    From 6-10 p.m., enjoy a patriotic dinner theater at VFW 670 with Paul Thompson as Master of Ceremonies. Dinner is served at 6 p.m. and the show starts at 7 p.m. Tickets cost $30 per person or $50 per couple. Call 910-424-8675 for tickets and information.

    “I Was There: A Staged Reading of Veterans’ Oral Histories”

    Headquarters Library will host this event from 6-7:30 p.m. Dr. Cyndi Briggs and Dr. Brook Davis of Winston-Salem and Wake Forest University are interviewing Fayetteville area veterans. Actors will present segments of these interviews in a staged reading. Call 910-483-7727 to learn more.

    Sunday, Nov. 11

    Armistice Day Bell Ringing

    Armistice Day marks the end of World War I. In celebration of the 100th anniversary of Armistice Day, the Museum of the Cape Fear invites all residents, churches and businesses in Cumberland County to ring a bell 11 times at the 11th hour on the 11th day of the 11th month (Nov. 11, at 11 a.m.), in recognition of the anniversary. Call 910-500-4240 to learn more.

    Balloon Doves Release

    From 6-9 p.m. Hope Mills will celebrate the 100th anniversary of Armistice Day at Hope Mills Lake. At dusk, 100 biodegradable balloon doves will be released at the lake. Call 910-424-4555 to learn more.

    Field of Flags

    From 8 a.m.-8 p.m., Veterans Memorial at Hope Mills Municipal Park will sport flags in memoriam of all residents, past and present, who have served in the U.S. armed forces. Call 910-424-4555 for details. Hope Mills VFW Post 10630 Veterans Day Ceremony Honor local veterans at the Veterans Day ceremony at Hope Mills Veterans Memorial. Refreshments will be served in the Parks & Recreation Building afterward. The ceremony starts at 3 p.m. Call 910-424-4555 for information.

    Reading of Names

    Local JROTC cadets will read from a list of names of all Hope Mills veterans. The reading will start after the ringing of the bells at 11:11 a.m. and will pause during the VFW Ceremony. Call 910-424-4555 for more information.

    Spring Lake Memorial VFW Post 4542 Veterans Day Ceremony

    Held at the Spring Lake Memorial VFW Post 4542, the Veterans Day Ceremony will be from 2-3 p.m. Search the event on Facebook to learn more.

    Home Front

    Eastover’s Veterans Day event incorporates the families and friends left behind when the service member deploys. It will include agencies that are available to provide different types of support, and some agency representatives will be serving as guest speakers at this event. The event runs from 3-5 p.m. at the Eastover Civic Club. Search the event on Facebook to learn more.

    Veterans Day Run and Veterans Services Fair

    There will be a 5K and a 1-mile run/walk, both starting in Festival Park. After the race, enjoy the Veterans Services Fair. The event lasts from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Search the event on Facebook to register.

    Veterans Day at the 82nd Airborne Division War Memorial Museum

    Celebrate Veterans Day at the 82nd Airborne Division War Memorial Museum. See artifacts of the soldiers who celebrated the end of World War I a century ago. The museum is located at 5108 Ardennes Rd., Fort Bragg. It will be open from noon-4:30 p.m. Call 910-432-3443 to learn more.

    Monday, Nov. 12

    Hope Mills Chamber Veterans Appreciation

    Luncheon

    The Hope Mills Chamber of Commerce wants to thank all veterans by treating them to lunch during the chamber’s monthly meeting. The luncheon is from 12:30-2 p.m. at VFW 10630. Call 910-423-4314 to RSVP.

  • 04 FT Bragg Sharp GO BagSix Army posts, including Fort Bragg, have been selected for a one-year pilot program that creates additional locations for soldiers to report sexual harassment and assault.

    They will have all the resources needed for personal recovery and prosecution.

    The “fusion directorate” is part of the planned redesign of the Army’s Response and Prevention program, known as SHARP.

    A pair of recent independent reports found the Army was failing the soldiers who report these crimes.
    The directorate creates facilities that will include care providers, investigators, and criminal prosecutors, “allowing them to...keep victims better informed at each step of an emotional and complex process,” the Army said.

    The program serves as an additional resource for soldiers that is outside of the chain of command.

    “Soldiers and civilians must feel comfortable raising allegations of sexual harassment or sexual assault, and quickly receive the care and services they need,” said Lt. Gen. Gary M. Brito, the deputy chief of staff for the Army’s personnel office.

    Congress is poised to pass a measure that paves the way for this change in the 2022 National Defense Authorization Act.

    If the soldier chooses to make an unrestricted report, which does attempt to hold their perpetrator accountable, the chain of command receives all the same information that it would from any other method of reporting.

  • 15 Collecting leavesPlanning fun doesn't sound like much fun, does it? I used to think fun wasn't fun unless you're flying by the seat of your pants.

     My husband always says, “If you're not standing on the edge, you're taking up too much space.” Spontaneity is fun, but somehow as I age, there's, ironically I might add, not much room in our schedule for it — responsibilities take precedence over unplanned weekend trips and doing nothing wins over filling our days with busyness, which I'm mostly thankful for.

    Even still, fall only creeps in once a year and I want to be fully present for it. Though I don't care for it, planning fun fall activities, whether at home, when we want to do nothing, or away, ensures that I can and will experience all there is to fall and its colorful, crisp, pumpkin-y goodness.

    So what does one do when one doesn't plan very well? Make a list. Lists are magical. They make you feel like you're accomplishing so much more than you actually are, which makes you want to get more done. Really, you're just tricking yourself into being productive, and I need all the help I can get. Sometimes I'll even put things I've already done on a list, just so I can cross them off because, dang it, I am getting things done.

    This year, I've decided to make a fall bucket list full of fun only-experience-in-the-fall kind of activities — some for at home when you want to do “nothing,” and some mini-getaways. Here are some ideas you and your family might enjoy as well.

    • Make some sort of fall treat — pumpkin/chocolate chip bread, apple cinnamon muffins, apple pie, cinnamon chip scones, etc.
    • Visit the Biltmore Esate in Asheville.
    • Go apple picking.
    • Make a fall playlist on Spotify.
    • Decorate the front porch for fall/Halloween/Thanksgiving.
    • Carve pumpkins.
    • Find and press 20 different leaves, maybe frame some.
    • Drink a lot of apple cider.
    • Visit a corn maze.
    • Go to a football game.
    • Host a bonfire and make s'mores.
    • Buy Halloween candy — to pass out to trick-or-treaters, or just to eat.
    • Go hiking after the leaves turn.
    • Watch a Halloween movie — I love "Hocus Pocus" or the "Addams Family" or "Casper"!
    • Make a big pot of chili.
    • Make a gratitude list.
    • Go for a hay ride.
    • Rake leaves for a neighbor.
    • Go to the State Fair.
    • Take a fall foliage drive. I love Hwy 421 in the fall.

    I could add a million things to this list, but there's just not enough time. I love fall. Now... Where can I plug these into my calendar?

    Need some help with that fall playlist I mentioned? Tune into Christian 105.7. We're here 24/7 with fresh fall sounds to help you ease into the coziest season ever.
     
  • Screen Shot 2018 10 30 at 2.28.40 PM Four times a year, The Fayetteville Ladies Power Lunch brings local women together to inspire, educate and empower one another. Wednesday, Nov. 7, is the final power lunch of the year, featuring keynote speaker Lisa Saleeby-Powell.

    Now the president of Future Unlimited, Inc., Saleeby-Powell started working at the business’s first McDonald’s franchise restaurant in 1982 when her parents switched from building restaurants to owning one. After attending a meeting and seeing the energy in a room filled with entrepreneurs, she decided she wanted to own a McDonald’s and worked toward that goal for 10 years.

    Now the company owns six McDonalds restaurants here in Cumberland County and employes more than 300 people.

    Lisa has won several civic and business awards as well as the Outstanding Woman Entrepreneur of the Year from Methodist University’s Reeves School of Business. She serves on the board of a number of local organizations and is involved with numerous charitable organizations.

    The power lunch starts at 10 a.m. with a shopportunity, which includes vendors as well as a wine bar and tasting. The luncheon and Saleeby-Powell’s talk follow from 11:45 a.m. to 2 p.m. After the meal, attendees are invited to stay and shop until 3 p.m.

    A portion of the proceeds from the event will be donated to the Kidsville News Literacy and Education Foundation. The Kidsville News Literacy and Education Foundation is a 501c3 nonprofit organization that offers funding assistance for reading and educational resources that are provided at no charge to children grades K-6. Since 1998, Kidsville News! has been distributed to all elementary school children in Cumberland and Hoke Counties.

    The luncheon takes place at the Ramada Plaza at Bordeaux. Visit www.fayettevilleladiespowerlunch.com or call 910-273-2820 to make your reservation. Tickets cost $35.

    Photo: Lisa Saleeby-Powell

  • 03 Cumberland County SchoolThe Cumberland County Board of Education narrowly voted to approve bonuses for Superintendent Marvin Connely Jr. and his cabinet for the upcoming year.

    Connely will receive a $10,000 bonus. The nine employees on Connely’s cabinet will each receive a $5,000 bonus.

    The Cabinet includes Dr. Mary Black, Ruben Reyes, Joe Desormeaux, Nick Sojka, Clyde Locklear, Lindsay Whitley, Betty Musselwhite, Dr. Stacey Wilson-Norman, and Ron Phipps. 

    The raises and the one-year contract renewals come after the Board did their annual review of the Superintendent and the Cabinet and found they were doing a “satisfactory job.”

    The board approved the raises and the one-year extnded contracts with a five-to-four vote. Board members Alicia Chisolm, Donna Vann, Nathan Warfel, Greg West and Susan Williams voted for the approval while board members Deanna Jones, Charles McKellar, Judy Musgrave and Carrie Sutton voted against it.

  • 05 N1910P35011CI don’t think North Carolina should expand Medicaid under the provisions of the Affordable Care Act. It’s the wrong response to the wrong problem, paid for in the wrong way — with massive federal borrowing.

     
    But if North Carolina lawmakers choose to proceed with expansion, anyway — perhaps in response to political pressure from Gov. Roy Cooper or the promise of “free” federal money in perpetuity — they should at least insist on enforceable work requirements for new Medicaid recipients.
     
    A number of Republican-led states included work requirements in their Medicaid expansions. The proposal currently making its way through the North Carolina House, H.B. 655, also requires work as a condition for able-bodied adults to receive coverage from Medicaid expansion.
     
    Although North Carolina progressives have previously argued that expanding Medicaid on Republican terms is better than not expanding at all, they strongly dislike work requirements. So do their counterparts in other states. Indeed, the left has used litigation to block the enforcement of work requirements in Arkansas, New Hampshire and Kentucky.
     
    Conservatives and progressives have been arguing about the proper size and scope of the welfare state for decades. Even when they agree that government should provide aid, however, they often disagree about the details. Which level of government should be primarily responsible for funding the program? Should it distribute cash, use a voucher-type instrument or directly provide services such as housing and health care? And to what extent should recipients be required to work or perform community service in exchange for government aid?
     
    I have strong opinions about each of these questions. If this shocks you, then I welcome you as a new reader of my column. But for today’s purposes, I’ll focus on the latter question. For adults with no severe disabilities, work requirements in my mind aren’t just permissible. They are essential. They reduce the risk that welfare programs will breed dependency and perpetuate the cycle of poverty.

    When a Republican-led Congress and Democratic President Bill Clinton reformed the nation’s cash-welfare programs in the mid-1990s, work requirements were a centerpiece of the strategy. Following the lead of successful welfare-reform initiatives at the state level, the federal legislation truly was a bipartisan accomplishment. But it had its progressive critics. They asserted that requiring recipients of the former program Aid to Families with Dependent Children to work would be both ineffectual and heartless.

     
    They were mistaken. The subsequent Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program was a significant improvement over AFDC. According to new research from Princeton University economist Henrik Kleven, increases in workforce
    participation by single mothers since the mid-1990s are more likely the result of welfare reform than of increases in the Earned Income Tax Credit, as some progressives contend.
     
    Moreover, until court action interrupted the process, the pioneer state for work requirements, Arkansas, was effectively implementing them for Medicaid. The process included large-scale campaigns to inform potential recipients about the work rules and reasonable exemptions for recipients facing inordinate challenges such as natural disasters or caring for infirm family members.
     
    Some North Carolina critics have questioned the efficiency of a work requirement, arguing that taxpayers wouldn’t save enough from lower Medicaid enrollment to offset the cost of administering the rule. They are missing the point. Work requirements aren’t intended to be punitive. They aren’t really about saving money. They promote personal responsibility and affirm the dignity of work.
     
    If the General Assembly were to enact Medicaid expansion with a work requirement, it would be the responsibility of the Cooper administration to enforce it. North Carolina conservatives would be wise to doubt the success of such a venture. The governor is just as full-throated in his condemnation of work requirements as are progressives inside and outside the legislature. And attempts to block enforcement through litigation are sure to follow.
     
    All Democrats and some Republicans in the North Carolina House favor Medicaid expansion. But be careful not to misinterpret that. There isn’t broad agreement on the details. They matter, a lot.
     

    Conservatives and progressives have been arguing about the proper size and scope of the welfare state for decades.

     
  • 10 better healthBetter Health will host its 60th Anniversary Ribbon Cutting and Open House Tuesday, Oct. 30, from 5-6:30 p.m. at Better Health. 

    “We were founded in 1958, so we are celebrating 60 years of being a nonprofit and providing free services to our community, which is exciting for us,” said Amy Navejas, executive director of Better Health. “We decided that we were going to do a ribbon-cutting in conjunction with the Chamber of Commerce as well as an open house, and it will be at Better Health.” 

    She added, “We are going to have our board there as well as our staff. We will be able to offer tours of our facility; it is a small facility, but there is a lot that goes on within those walls.” 

    Better Health has a new children’s program called Fayetteville Fit, for children who have been struggling with childhood obesity. Better Health’s partners in this program are KidzCare Pediatrics, Cape Fear Valley Pediatric Endocrinology and Fayetteville Parks and Recreation’s Massey Hill site. 

    “We will have some people from our new kid’s program to talk to people who want to learn more about it, find out what that program is and share what their experience has been,” said Navejas. “They will be participating in our Red Apple Run, which is exciting for us because it is a really hard thing to do when you struggle with your health.” 

       There will also be a tour. “We will show our different education rooms, supply rooms and the things that we do,” said Navejas. “We will also have our dietician, Anna Matteson, do a couple of small cooking demonstrations just to give people a feel for the types of things our clients would experience when they come into Better Health.” 

       Better Health’s programs and services include emergency direct aid, emergency dental extractions, eye exams and glasses, foot screenings, help with limited travel to Duke and Chapel Hill, Fayetteville Fit program, loaning of medical equipment and diabetes clinics. 

       “As part of our diabetes program, one of the things we do is talk a lot about nutrition, but we also do cooking demos, and there will be some samples and recipes,” said Navejas. “We will also have blood sugar screenings for diabetes available. People can meet with the nurse and see if there are any indications of anything there.” 

       The event will have food and wine. “The food is going to be catered by Dorothy’s Catering 2. They are donating the food for our event,” said Navejas. “We will also have drawings for prizes. We invite everyone to come out and meet our incredible staff and board members. We are the best-kept secret, and we want you to ask questions and learn more about what we do.” 

       Better Health is located at 1422 Bragg Blvd. For more information, call 910-483-7534. 

  • .02 market house

    It will likely be next spring before the Fayetteville community learns the future of the historic Market House.

    An ad hoc citizen's committee has begun a project to fulfill a city council directive to recommend repurposing the center city landmark. The group includes young people, people of various racial/ethnic backgrounds, faith leaders, civil rights advocates and service providers.

    A U.S. Department of Justice representative has been appointed to help facilitate receiving feedback on the Market House. The first of two private meetings were held a week ago. A second event will be scheduled for early 2022. The USDOJ and the Fayetteville-Cumberland Human Relations Commission created the group to represent the community.

    The committee has been asked to prioritize at least three potential options for repurposing the Market House.

  • 04 N1910P36004COn Sunday, Sept. 8, I found myself quietly crying during our pastor’s sermon. This was at First Baptist Church, at 201 Anderson St., where Rev. Rob James is pastor. It did concern me that, although my crying was silent, I could not stop it. Further, I was struggling to determine why I was crying. As the service ended, I went through the rear doors of the sanctuary and tried to avoid talking with anybody as I rushed to my truck.
     
    It was on the drive home that I started to identify the reason for my tears. The primary prompt was an event from the previous week. On Thursday, Sept. 5, I finished writing a column titled, “Challenges to faith and reason.” That column responded to comments received from three readers relative to a couple of my recent columns. In my view, rather than addressing the thoughts put forth in those columns, they challenged the validity of my Christian faith and my capacity for reason-based thought. One of the three readers verbally assailed me for being a black male who dares to think as I do.
     
    After finishing my response to those readers, I spent Friday and Saturday asking myself, “Given this kind of feedback and the accompanying alienation of me by so many people, especially in the black community, why the heck do I write?”
     
    Answering that question is difficult because there are so many factors that say I should not be writing. First, I do not like writing; I do not enjoy it. That is especially true in light of the topics I find myself addressing. For me, producing a column every two weeks is draining mentally, emotionally, spiritually and even physically.
     
    I suppose the draining aspect is because I love people and I love America. My 21½-year naval career took me all over the world — from the Western Pacific to Europe, North Africa and the Middle East. No matter where I was overseas, no matter how beautiful or enjoyable the location, I always longed to be home in America. I thank God that I was born here. Seeing all that threatens the future of our nation, of our citizens, scares me, pains me. When I research to write about these threatening conditions, the deeper understanding of dangerous circumstance compounds my fear and pain.
     
    Second, in these senior citizen years, I could be alternating between playing golf, fishing and traveling. Instead, with little or no financial benefit, I find myself in front of a computer doing something I do not even enjoy.
     
    Third, in light of one particular experience, I wonder about the sanity of my commitment to writing when the personal cost is rather high. I have been here before. In 2006, I joined with two other individuals to start a nonprofit organization: Great Oak Youth Development Centers, Inc. The aim was to help black boys build a foundation for successful living. In 2006, I was a Realtor® in Fayetteville. I loved the business, thoroughly enjoyed it and worked with wonderful people. However, in 2009, I left real estate to volunteer full-time with Great Oak. I do not think there was a week when my volunteer hours were less than 50.
     
    However, I was forthright regarding my conservative views. That was not only the case in my interactions with others in the organization but also in my writing and public speaking. That conservatism was not welcomed internally, or externally. At one point, it was brought to my attention that people were calling to say they would not financially support the organization as long as I was there. In 2015, I left Great Oak.
     
    One would think, after this experience, I would have gone back to real estate and enjoyed the rest of my life. Instead, I got more involved in the political process and far more vocal in espousing my conservative views. Now, in 2019, I find myself still paying the price for believing what I believe and not hesitating to proclaim it.
     
    It is against this backdrop that I found myself crying amid a Sunday sermon. Rob James, this young, extremely gifted, cowboy-boot-wearing preacher steps to the lectern. He starts what is the second in a series of sermons. The point of the series is to have us understand God is calling each of us to ministry, regardless of the work we do. That ministry is possible in, and through, our work. He makes it clear that this call is also extended to retirees. To demonstrate this truth, he spends time working with people in their daily employment. The sermons share where he saw ministry happening through the actions of people with whom he worked.
     
    The first sermon was based on his time spent as a barista in a coffee shop. My crying came during the second sermon as he talked about working with two gravediggers. Among other details, James explained how these gravediggers are made to feel ostracized. He related riding with them in a van, headed to a gravesite. At a point along one street, a vehicle comes alongside them; the people in that vehicle make eye contact and seem pleasant. Then, seeing the funeral home name on the van’s side, and the backhoe being towed, they look straight ahead and drive on. They want no further connection.
     
    The two gravediggers share with Rev. James their experience in grocery stores when wearing their uniforms. Their observation is that recognizing what they do and that they are associated with death, people refuse to make eye contact. These men must feel separated and alone. However, James reported that when he asked why they work as gravediggers, both responded that they love what they do.
     
    What I realized on the drive home was that I was identifying with those gravediggers in their having reason to feel alienated and ostracized. That is, because of my experiences, although not recognizing what was happening, I was feeling great compassion for those men. This identifying during the sermon was painful. I believe that explains my crying, but since I do not love writing, it does not explain my commitment to writing.
     
    I love and appreciate God more than words can adequately describe. My absolute desire is to know and do his will, what he calls me to be and do. I am convinced that his calling now is for me to write. However, in my humanness, during experiences such as referred to in the opening, and then this crying episode, I wonder why such suffering if I am in God’s will?
     
    God used James to, at the end of that sermon, bring me back to where I belong. That is, at peace, at this computer doing what God desires of me. He quoted from, and commented on, Matthew 5:11-12 (KJV) where Jesus says:
     
    “11 Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.
     
    “12 Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.”
     
    Love of God — and of people — and commitment to doing his will mandate that I write; being reviled and persecuted come with the assignment. My “Why the heck …” question was answered. If it comes up again, and it likely will, I will go back and read this column. This is my story, but, with different pieces, it might be yours, too. If so, I hope my sharing and transparency help you answer your “Why the heck …” question.
     
    (Watch the sermon “Holy Jobs: Grave Digger-Sacred Groundskeeper” by Rev. Rob James at
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZN6CPWNBOdk)
     
    Love of God — and of people — and commitment to doing his will mandate that I write; being reviled and persecuted come with the assignment.
     
  • 09HomecomingCheerFayetteville State University will celebrate its 2018 homecoming week Monday, Oct. 22-Sunday, Oct. 28. 

    “Homecoming is a welcoming home for our alumni, supporters and the community; we ask the community to celebrate in homecoming with us,” said YaKima Rhinehart, senior director of alumni affairs at Fayetteville State University. “We also want to acknowledge our students; it is their homecoming as well.” 

    Rhinehart added this is the time when students will begin to create their own traditions of how they celebrate, create their memories and do the things that will bring them back to campus years from now. 

    The homecoming activities will begin Monday and progress through the week. “The student activities that kick off the week are the coronation for Ms. Fayetteville State and Ms. Homecoming,” said Rhinehart. “Fayetteville State has long been a campus that supported a large commuting student population, and we are always very deliberate about making sure our commuter students feel (as) much a part of the on-campus experience as possible.” 

    “On Thursday evening, Oct. 25, we will have alumni headquarters set up at two hotels, which are the Doubletree by Hilton Hotel and The Holiday Inn on Cedar Creek Road,” said Rhinehart. “That evening at 7 p.m., we will have a Bronco Paint & Sip Expo at The Holiday Inn as an opportunity to mingle and reconnect with one another while sipping on a glass of whatever it is you choose and paint.” 

       The homecoming parade takes place Saturday, Oct. 27, at 10 a.m. followed by the football game at 2 p.m. FSU will play Livingstone College. “After the game, we will celebrate our class that is in their 50th reunion,” said Rhinehart. “That will be with a reception at 5 p.m. on the lower level of The Rudolph Jones Student Center.” 

       Saturday evening concludes with the Fan2See Fest Concert featuring Young Dolph, G Herbo, Key Glock and special guests at 8 p.m. at the Crown Coliseum. 

       Other homecoming activities include the Gospel Explosion, Greek Yard Fest, the Alumni Sundown Party, the IA Homecoming Cookout, a Heroic Women-Comic & Pop Culture Art Exhibit, Toni & Terence Live Homecoming Podcast, McDougal Scholarship Dinner, SAC/WAC Bazaar, tailgating, The Alumni Welcome Center, Miss FSU Alumnae Queens’ Legacy Tea and much more. 

       “I like to remind our alumni that it is not just about reconnecting, it is also about reinvesting in the university as well,” said Rhinehart. “We would not have careers and these livelihoods that we have was it not for the time we spent and were shaped and molded along with the education we received at Fayetteville State University.” 

       Following homecoming, on Oct. 28, FSU will host The Walls Group and Koryn Hawthorne, a Gospel concert, at Seabrook Auditorium as part of the Seabrook Performance Series. It starts at 6 p.m. 

       For more information about FSU’s scheduled activities, visit www.uncfsu.edu. 

  • 15 dif kinds breast cancerMillions of women are diagnosed with breast cancer every year. According to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation, more than 2.3 million women across the globe were diagnosed with breast cancer in 2020.

    The BCRF also notes that breast cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer among women in 140 of 184 countries worldwide.

    Breast cancer statistics can give the impression that each of the millions of women diagnosed with the disease is fighting the same battle, but breast cancer is something of an umbrella term. In fact, there are various types of breast cancer, including ductal carcinoma in situ, invasive ductal carcinoma, inflammatory breast cancer, and metastatic breast cancer. Learning about each type of breast cancer can help women and their families gain a greater understanding of this disease.

    Ductal carcinoma in situ
    DCIS is a non-invasive cancer that is diagnosed when abnormal cells have been found in the lining of the breast milk duct. The National Breast Cancer Foundation notes that DCIS is a highly treatable cancer. That’s because it hasn’t spread beyond the milk duct into any surrounding breast tissue. The American Cancer Society notes that roughly 20% of new breast cancer cases are instances of DCIS.

    Invasive ductal carcinoma
    IDC is the most common type of breast cancer. The NBCF reports that between 70 and 80% of all breast cancer diagnoses are instances of IDC. An IDC diagnosis means that cancer began growing in the milk ducts but has since spread into other parts of the breast tissue. This is why IDC is characterized as “invasive.” Though IDC can affect people, including men, of any age, the ACS notes that the majority of IDC cases are in women age 55 and older.

    Inflammatory breast cancer
    The NBCF describes IBC as an “aggressive and fast growing breast cancer.” Breastcancer.org notes that IBC is rare, as data from the ACS indicates that only about 1% of all breast cancers in the United States are inflammatory breast cancers.
    Many breast cancers begin with the formation of a lump, but Breastcancer.org reports that IBC usually begins with reddening and swelling of the breast, and symptoms can worsen considerably within days or even hours. That underscores the importance of seeking prompt treatment should any symptoms present themselves.

    Metastatic breast cancer
    Metastatic breast cancer may be referred to as stage IV breast cancer. When a woman is diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer, that means the cancer has spread, or metastasized, into other parts of
    the body.

    The NBCF indicates that metastatic breast cancer usually spreads to the lungs, liver, bones or brain. Symptoms of metastatic breast cancer vary depending on where the cancer has spread. For example,
    if the cancer has spread to the lungs, women may experience a chronic cough or be unable to get a full breath.

    These are not the only types of breast cancer. A more extensive breakdown of the various types of breast cancer can be found at https://www.breastcancer.org/symptoms/types.

  • 03 animal beach black 2960172North Carolina has long prided herself on the wild horses along our Outer Banks coast. Bankers, as they are known, are descendants of Spanish horses brought to the New World in the 16th century. They are compact animals, resourceful enough to have survived for centuries along the Outer Banks in what can be a harsh and unforgiving environment. The few hundred feral horses remaining in North Carolina are a major tourist attraction, the subjects of countless vacation photographs.

     
    Last month, 28 of the 49 Bankers living on Cedar Island were confirmed dead, swept away in a mini-tsunami caused by Hurricane Dorian, a storm that bypassed most of North Carolina’s long coastline but slammed our eastern-most islands. No human beings were lost, but homes and businesses on Ocracoke and Cedar Islands are badly damaged and await state and federal assistance. The National Park Service and several private organizations keep watch on the remaining bankers, but 28 is a major loss.
     
    Climate scientists say Dorian and its extraordinary flooding results from worldwide climate change — some use the terms “climate crisis” or “climate emergency” — that is causing more extreme weather patterns, including higher temperatures and more violent storms.
     
    Less than a month after Dorian’s landfall on Cape Hatteras, a wave of climate change protests erupted around the world as hundreds of thousands of young people rallied, marched and railed against what is happening to Mother Earth. They gathered in cities in Australia, Africa, Asia, the Middle East — and German police reported a gathering of more than 100,000 in Berlin. The message to their elders was simple and stark. Today’s adults and generations before us have been poor stewards of our environment, and it is they — the young people of our world — who will pay the price, which for many will be suffering and death. “Fix it,” they said forcefully in many languages. Fix it now, not in 10 years, but now. Do not push the ball down the road anymore.
     
    Ground zero for the message was the United Nations Climate Action Summit, attended by leaders from all over the globe. Chief messenger to those world leaders was 16-year-old Greta Thunberg from Sweden, who sailed to New York for 15 days on an emissions-free yacht, instead of flying for a few hours, to save carbon emissions. Her boat was met by young climate activists chanting, “Sea levels are rising and so are we.”
     
     Appearing at the UN conference clearly emotional and enraged, Thunberg told delegates, “We will be watching you.” As for past promises of action on climate change, Thunberg responded, “You have stolen my childhood with your empty words.... All you can talk about is money and fairy tales of eternal economic growth.” Shaking with outrage, Thunberg thundered, “How dare you?”
     
    From the departments of No Good Deed Goes Unpunished and Kill the Messenger come harsh and personal criticism of both Thunberg and her parents, who have supported her environmental activism. Whatever one’s opinions about young Thunberg, it is clear that her heartfelt and powerful message is resonating with young people around the world because it is true. Today’s young people and future generations are indeed the people who will experience whatever calamities climate change brings — not this writer and not many of the people who read this column.
     
    That climate change is occurring is no longer debated by credible scientists and reasonable observers. The debate now is how quickly to address it and how. Thunberg and millions of young people all over the globe are correct in shouting “Now!” for humanity and all other living things, including North Carolina’s bankers.
     
    Last month, 28 of the 49 Bankers living on Cedar Island were confirmed dead, swept away in a mini-tsunami caused by Hurricane Dorian, a storm that bypassed most of North Carolina’s long coastline but slammed our eastern-most islands.
     

     

  • 08 spookyCumberland County’s cooler weather accompanies abundant and diverse ways for locals to get spooky. 

    Hallowe’en Revels Night Tours of the 1897 Poe Housecapitalizes on the building’s namesake, a man named Edgar Allan Poe who was actually not the author of iconic American works “The Raven” and “Annabel Lee.” This Poe was the owner of a brick company. None of that factual nonsense gets in the way of the creepy imagination associated with Poe the author, though. Oct. 24-26, the Gilbert Theater brings a series of short, early 20th-century vignettes featuring music and poetry that run every 20 minutes from 6-10 p.m. For details, call 910-486-1330. 

    The Fayetteville Zombie Walk, presented Oct. 26 by Back-A-Round Records and Cool Spring Downtown District, is one big community party that’s now in its ninth year. A hoard of friendly zombies descends on the downtown to moan, shuffle and check out each other’s makeup – er, blood. 

    Headquarters Library hosts a Zombie Pre-Party at 6 p.m. with a deejay, kids activities, and face-painting and zombie makeup for $5. Awards for best costumes are announced around 7 p.m., and the official walk begins at 8 p.m. Zombies proceed down Ray Avenue and up Hay Street, with the walk terminating at the Outdoor Zombie Walk Main Stage adjacent to Back-A-Round Records, at 1 Market Square. Live music from Nephilym, Motorjunkie and Carolina Committee’s DJ Moodswing will run from about 8:20-10 p.m. 

    Zombies 21 and older can end the night at Paddy’s Irish Pub for the official after-party and Zombie Prom. Call 910-223-1089 or 910-568-5654 for more information. 

      Cape Fear Regional Theatre’s film screening of “The Rocky Horror Picture Show”takes place Oct. 26 and 27 at midnight. The cult classic film is, in CFRT’s words, “a rock-musical send-up of old science-fiction and horror films.” 

      Guests are encouraged to engage in the interactive experience by coming in costume and utilizing their bag of props that CFRT will provide with admission. Tickets are $25. For details, visit www.cfrt.org. 

    Halloween at the BOO-tanical Gardeninvites Harry Potter enthusiasts to enjoy this year’s family-friendly Hogwarts theme. Oct. 25, an adult-only Hogwarts & Allevent features Quidditch Pong, a horcrux hunt, a costume contest, free invisibility cloaks and more. From 6-9 p.m. on Oct. 26, 27 and 28, costumed attendees of all ages can walk the garden’s jack-o-lantern-lit pathways. Other luminous Halloween decorations, crafts, candy and food trucks will complete the experience. To learn more, call 910- 486-0211 or visit www.capefearbg.org. 

    The Stoney Point Trail of Terrorstarted as a fundraiser for the Stoney Point Volunteer Fire Department 15 years ago and has grown into a statewide attraction. The Trail incorporates live actors and state-of-the-art sound, lighting and environmental effects to create memorable scares. Remaining dates include Oct. 26, 27, 30 and 31. Visit http://undeadfd.com for more information. 

    Perfectly Horrible Carriage Rides with Count Dracula, hosted by CSDD, offers a chilling twist on an idyllic jaunt. Oct. 31 from 3-8 p.m., take a ride with the Count in his ghoulish carriage that came all the way from Transylvania. Rides leave every 15 minutes from 222 Hay St. Ticket sales start there at 2:30 p.m.; $10 for adults and $5 for children. For details, call 910-286-3979. 

    After or before your ride, check out downtown trick or treatingfrom 3-5 p.m., also hosted by CSDD. Bring your little ones to the candy stops throughout downtown as over 30 local businesses participate in handing out treats. Call the CSDD office at 910-223-1089 for details. 

  • 08 warnign signs domestic abuseDomestic violence is a serious issue that’s more prevalent than people may realize. Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicates that nearly 20 people per minute are victims of physical violence by an intimate partner in the United States, and researchers suggest the pandemic contributed to increased instances of domestic violence.

    A study from the University of California, Davis released in February 2021 found that 39% of the nearly 400 adults surveyed indicated they had experienced violence in their relationships during the COVID-19 pandemic. Researchers noted that the increased social isolation during the pandemic created environments in which victims and aggressors, or potential aggressors in a relationship, could not easily separate themselves from each other.

    Victims of domestic violence often feel helpless against their aggressors, and those feelings might have been exacerbated during the pandemic, when people were urged to stay home as much as possible. But domestic violence victims are not alone.

    Anyone can help by learning to recognize the warning signs that someone is being abused, and WebMD notes that such signs include:
    -Excuses for injuries
    -Personality changes, like low self-esteem in someone who had previously been a confident individual
    -Constantly checking in with their partner
    -Never having money on hand
    -Overly worried about pleasing their partner
    -Skipping out on work, school or social outings for no clear reason
    -Wearing clothes that don’t align with the season, such as long sleeve shirts in summer to cover bruises

    Concerned individuals also can learn to spot the warning signs of an abuser. According to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, abusers come from all groups, cultures, religions and economic backgrounds. In fact, the NCADV notes that one study found that nine out of 10 abusers had no criminal records and were generally law-abiding outside their homes.

    That can make it hard to spot abusers, though the NCADV indicates that such men and women may exhibit certain warning signs, including, but not limited to, the following:
    -Extreme jealousy or possessiveness
    -Unpredictability or a bad temper or verbal abuse
    -Cruelty to animals
    -Extremely controlling behavior
    -Antiquated beliefs about gender roles within relationships
    -Forced sex or disregard of their partner’s unwillingness to have sex
    -Sabotage of birth control methods or refusal to honor agreed upon methods
    -Blaming victims for anything bad that happens
    -Sabotage or obstruction of the victim’s ability to work or attend school
    -Controls all the finances
    -Abuse of other family members, children or pets
    -Accusations of the victim flirting with others or having an affair
    -Control of what their victim wears and how the victim acts
    -Demeaning the victim, either privately or publicly
    -Embarrassment or humiliation of the victim in front of others
    -Harassment of the victim at work

    Instances of domestic violence have been on the rise since the onset of the pandemic. Anyone who is a victim or suspects a loved one or acquaintance is a victim of domestic violence is encouraged to call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 (SAFE) or 1-800-787-3224 (TTY) immediately.

  • 02 Hope Mills Pub PenPublisher’s Note: This week I am yielding my space to editorialist Elizabeth Blevins a resident, community activist and advocate for all residents of the town of Hope Mills.  Blevins’ voice and actions have become synonymous with trusted insights, observations and analysis that provide transparency and understanding to the conflicts and hypocrisy emerging from the current Hope Mills leadership.  The topic she talks about below is disturbing and should concern all residents of Hope Mills and Cumberland County. No body of leadership should ever condone racist behavior as described here. This issue deserves full transparency. For the record, I was not at this particular event. I did, however, see the social media post in question and if you live by the social media sword, you die by the social media sword. In this case, Pat Hall, chair of the Hope Mills Preservation Commission, seems to have stabbed herself while the other four Hope Mills Commissioners tried to resuscitate her. Their advocacy, loyalty and support for Hall has created an unintended consequence in making them advocates of her message and behavior and exposing to the public their lack of empathy for Hope Mills residents and an even deeper trend of governmental and ethical hypocrisy that threatens the future of the Hope Mills community. Read Blevins’ article and you draw your own conclusions. In closing, I attended the Hope Mills Community Roundtable that was held on Sept. 26 at the Harmony at Hope Mills. There were over three dozen Hope Mills residents in attendance who came together to talk positively about the growth and future of the Hope Mills community. The atmosphere was positive, fun and enjoyable as we heard from prominent Hope Mills residents and Cumberland County leaders. Dolores Schiebe, director of the Hope Mills ALMS HOUSE updated us on the organization’s work in the community. Hope Mills Commissioner Jessie Bellflowers spoke on behalf of the Hope Mills and Cumberland County veterans while John Malzone, commercial real estate developer, provided an overview and insights into how important Hope Mills is to the successful development of Cumberland County and the many opportunities the town offers. This is the type of community local elected officials should be advocating for. Hope Mills deserves it, and it serves as a major contrast to what now exists.  This needs to change. Vote in November. Thank you for reading Up & Coming Weekly.

     
    The Hope Mills Creative Arts Council hosted a rock-painting event the morning of Sept. 21 on the lawn of Mayor Jackie Warner’s children’s boutique. The event was attended by two Girl Scout troops, local artists and several members of a local rock-painting group. As the event was winding down, one guest asked to have her photo taken with her family and the mayor. Later she posted that photo, along with several others from the event, on social media and tagged Warner.
     
    Within minutes of the photo being uploaded, resident and chairman of the Hope Mills Historic Preservation Committee, Pat Hall, posted a comment, “With her black heart hard as a rock she fits right in.”
     
    Whether or not Hall realized the comment sounded racist is unknown, but she deleted it about an hour after it was posted. But not before several people saw it and took screenshots of it.
     
    On Sept. 23, the Hope Mills Board of Commissioners discussed the issue. Commissioner Pat Edwards made a motion to remove Hall from the commission and reminded the board that in February of this year the nominating committee —Mayor Pro Tem Mike Mitchell, who is currently running for mayor against Warner and Commissioner Jerry Legge, who is running for re-election — made it clear they wanted to populate the various boards and committees with citizens who are “in harmony” with the Board of Commissioners. Hall’s comment, which was directed at Warner, clearly indicates she’s not in harmony with the mayor.
     
    But the bigger issue was the perceived racism in the comment. The woman who posted the photo viewed it as racist, as did most of the citizens who saw it.
     
    Commissioners Meg Larson, Mitchell, Legge and Bellflowers voted against Edward’s motion, leaving Hall on the committee. Several commissioners mentioned asking Hall directly about her comment, but the board didn’t instruct the town manager to invite Hall to the next meeting. And none of them asked what the mayor thought of the comment, which was aimed at her; or what the woman who posted the photo thought of Hall’s comment.
     
    Two weeks earlier, Larson suggested an amotion hearing was called for because Warner received an email from Up & Coming Weekly Publisher Bill Bowman in February 2018 with an advance copy of an article that Larson didn’t like. Warner didn’t participate in the article; she simply received a copy a few hours before it was posted online. If the punishment for that is being forcibly removed from office, what would they have done if Warner had posted a racist comment offending the public and insulting a fellow board member? Would the board have been so quick to defend her?

     

    This is simply another vulgar display of the double standard by which the board has operated for nearly two years. They’ve wasted hours reversing longstanding rules to limit the scope of Warner’s power. They’ve even created new ordinances designed to limit her activity, just to violate the ordinances themselves.

    Pictured: Carla Welsh of the newly formed Hope Mills Historical Society chats with commercial developer John Malzone at the Hope Mills Community Roundtable held on Sept. 26.

  • 01 coverLike his eponymous character, J.M. Barrie’s tale of never growing up seems to never grow too old for a new audience. Cape Fear Regional Theatre will showcase the latest telling of the boy who refuses to grow up with “Peter and the Starcatcher” onstage Oct. 27 through Nov. 11. 

    Barrie’s very own Peter first made an appearance in a chapter of his novel “The Little White Bird” in 1902. Barrie then made Peter the center of his play “Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Wouldn’t Grow Up” in 1904. Following the play’s success, Barrie republished a few chapters of the first book under the title “Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens” in 1906. Barrie then expanded on the play’s storyline in his 1911 novel “Peter and Wendy.” 

    The story of Peter Pan, Wendy, Tinker Bell, the Lost Boys and Captain Hook has been entertaining audiences of all ages in books, plays, movies and television shows ever since. 

    “Peter and the Starcatcher” is intended to be a prequel of sorts to the story of Peter Pan. It is based on the 2004 children’s book “Peter and the Starcatchers” by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson. Their book was adapted for stage by Rick Elice with music by Wayne Barker. It uses an ensemble cast to portray several characters to include children, sailors, pirates, naval officers, natives and orphans. 

    “It is an incredible origin story,” said Mary Kate Burke, CFRT artistic director. “It’s a smart, funny adaptation of characters everyone knows so well.” 

    The story, Burke said, offers something for adults and children. “It’s about growing up, (asking) when does childhood end, and also (examining the) choices we make about growing up. And there’s pirates and swashbuckling and mermaids!” 

    The play provides a backstory for beloved characters Peter Pan, Wendy, Tinker Bell, Mrs. Darling, Captain Hook and even a certain crocodile many may remember. 

    “We know the end,” said Timothy John Smith, who plays pirate Black Stache, but “we’ll see those familiar characters before they became those characters.” 

    “Peter and the Starcatcher” takes the audience on an adventure on the high seas and on Mollusk Island as a young girl named Molly befriends an orphan boy and together they battle pirates and thieves to keep a magical secret safe. The two face marauding pirates and jungle tyrants while the play explores the depths of greed, despair and the bonds of friendship, duty and love. 

    If it sounds too heavy for some younger viewers, the script also includes poetry, fart jokes, lyricism and many Easter eggs that are sure to keep audience members of all ages interested. 

    The heavy moments are balanced, said Paul Urriola, who plays Alf, a sailor aboard The Never Land. “(The writer) lightly weaves in brevity and humor into heavy moments.” He said it makes for a fun performance. 

    Alf is a character who is new to the Peter Pan narrative. The audience doesn’t know him or how his story plays out, so we will get to see him transformed by his love for Mrs. Bumbake, Molly’s nanny, Urriola said. The role of Alf is only a slight departure from the actor’s last time on the CFRT stage, where he played Horton in “Seussical.” 

    For those die-hard Pan enthusiasts, your reward is learning how the orphan becomes the legendary Peter Pan, what exactly a “starcatcher” is, what makes Peter fly and where that ticking crocodile came from. For those new to Pan, the tale promises to be fun and adventurous. 

    When first staged, the original production of “Peter and the Starcatcher” deliberately used minimal sets and props. Subsequent productions have followed suit, staging scenes that relied on suggestion and imagination to do the storytelling instead of expensive, elaborate set pieces. 

    Using stagecraft instead of elaborate sets and props mimics a child’s imagination, where children will use whatever props are available to carry out their adventures. 

    “Something as basic as two beds become so much,” said Urriola. “The beds are beds, rooms and ships.” 

    The characters use their imaginations to create another world. 

    “It’s like kids in the backyard thinking, ‘what can we use to be a ship?’” said Becca Vourvoulas, who plays Mrs. Bumbrake. That creativity is something that has been both fun and challenging as an actor, she added. 

    Creating such effects as water without the use of water is a challenge that director Michelle Tattenbaum is eager to present to CFRT audiences. 

    “Looking at the script on the page and having to turn it into something magical … has been discovery and invention in the rehearsal room,” Tattenbaum said. The result, which is a testament to the strengths and quirkiness of the actors, she says, will entertain the audience. 

    “Kids will be like – ‘yeah, this is what theater is,’ and their parents will feel childlike and surprised,” Tattenbaum said. “Parents will come out with a sense of magic.” 

    Tattenbaum’s cast includes Urriola, Vourvoulas and Smith, as well as Graham Baker as Peter and Malena Pennycook as Molly. 

    “Peter and the Starcatcher” runs Oct. 27-Nov. 11. Military Appreciation Night will be Nov. 1 at 7:30 p.m. A Sensory Friendly Performance sponsored by Blue Cross Blue Shield will be Nov. 4 at 2 p.m. Both of these performances will feature discounted ticket prices. 

    Burke said the Sensory Friendly Performance is a “shush-free” performance designed for individuals with autism spectrum disorders, sensory sensitivities or other disabilities. During this performance, patrons can enjoy the play with family in an inclusive, relaxed space. 

    Modifications intended to make the experience more pleasant include more space for audience members, lighting and sound adjustments, and an additional separate viewing room equipped with closed circuit television. 

    These modifications can also alleviate the pressure on the parents, Burke said, for families who might have one child with a sensory issue and another child without. A parent’s guide for the play is also provided. 

    It is also a good first point of entry to the theater for families with children who might not otherwise enjoy a regular performance where they have to sit still and be quiet for up to two hours, Burke said. 

    To reserve your tickets or get more information, visit www.cfrt.org or call 910-323-4233. 

  •     If you take a poll, many people will tell you that fall is their favorite time of the year. The nip in the air, the warmth of the Carolina sun and the gold and red of the leaves as they change their color are an invitation get outdoors and explore the beauty of our state.
        One of the best ways to take in that beauty is by taking in one of the countless fall festivals that are staged every weekend in our state. Below you’ll find a round up of some of the upcoming festivals that are within a day’s drive of our community.

    Carolina In the Fall Festival
    Oct. 17-18
    North Wilkesboro

        On the edge of the mountains, North Wilkesboro is an ideal place to spend a weekend, particularly if you love bluegrass music. The festival starts at 5 p.m. on Friday and continues throughout Saturday. This year the North Carolina Banjo Championship will be hosted at the festival, with the competition starting at 10 a.m.     For more information, visit www.carolinainthefall.com

    Wooly Worm Festival
    Oct. 18-19
    Banner Elk

        In Pennsylvania they have their groundhog to predict the weather. In North Carolina, we look close to the ground as well, as mountain folks turn to the wooly worm to determine how severe our winter will be.
        These days folks may not take the prediction that seriously, but they sure enjoy the party that surrounds it. The Woolly Worm races begin around 10 a.m. Each heat consists of 20 worms and races continue all day until the grand final around 4 p.m. The winning worm on Saturday is declared the official winter forecasting agent. The Sunday worm races are for prestige, fun and small prizes.
        In addition to the Woolly Worm Races, the festival features crafts, food vendors, live entertainment and much more. Last year’s festival attracted an estimated 20,000 fans, 140 vendors and around 1,000 race entrants.
        The Woolly Worm Festival is sponsored by the Avery County Chamber of Commerce and the Kiwanis Club of Banner Elk and a portion of the proceeds go to support children’s charities throughout the county.     For more information, phone 828-898-5605 or visit www. Averycounty.com

    Fairmont Farmers Festival
    Oct. 17-19
    Fairmont

        A little closer to home, the Fairmont Farmers Festival offers music, food, golf, pageants and much more. The event kicks off on Friday at 1 p.m. with the Fairmont Chamber of Commerce Festival Golf Tournament.     Opening ceremonies at on Saturday, Oct. 18 at 9:40 a.m. The ceremony will be followed by a parade, a car/motorcycle, antique tractor show, Civil War Reenactment, entertainment and a tobacco barn dance. For more information, visit www.fairmontnc.com.

    Nascar Day Festival
    Oct. 18
    Randleman

        On Saturday, Oct. 18, 2008 from 9 a.m. until 7 p.m., NASCAR excitement will once again invade Randleman. If you can imagine 40,000 people coming together to celebrate racing, you will get the picture.     An enormous amount of fun happens in Randleman during NASCAR Day & Festival.
        Each year, Main Street is transformed by its vendors to include something for everyone. There is a large selection of things to see, buy or do . . . handmade crafts, food booths, live bands and entertainment, NASCAR show cars, drag cars, vintage antique automobiles, official NASCAR souvenir vendors and games for kids. Visitors especially enjoy the opportunity to meet and visit with members of the Winston Cup Old Timers Club, and admire the collection of vintage race cars on display. A highlight of this annual event is the glittering fireworks display near the downtown festival area that is sponsored by Richard and Lynda Petty.
        Also, the Richard Petty Museum is located within one block of Main Street and visitors enjoy touring the 12,000 square foot facility, rich with mementos the Petty family has collected during several decades of racing. Racing highlights include awesome automobiles, an intimate video theater, as well as numerous awards won by Richard Petty. Apart from racing, the museum even includes Lynda Petty’s fabulous doll collection. For more information, visit  www.randlemanchamber.com/nascar.htm.

    N.C. Oyster Festival
    Oct. 18 -19
    Ocean Isle Beach

        The 28th Annual North Carolina Oyster Festival will feature live entertainment, arts and crafts vendors, festival food, a road race, kid’s area, North Carolina Oyster Shucking Championships and an Oyster Stew Cook-off.{mosimage}
        This event is wildly popular with beach lovers, and lovers of beach music. This year’s entertainment lineup includes beach music luminaries like The Coastline Band, the Embers, the Band of Oz and the Craig Woolard Band. For more information, visit  www.brunswickcountychamber.org/OF

    25th Annual Barbecue Festival
    Oct. 25
    Lexington

        Lexington is North Carolina’s barbecue capital. To hear the folks from Lexington talk, it’s the barbecue capital of the world. Don’t believe them, then head up to Lexington to check out their legendary barbecue. You’ll find yourself in good company, as more than 100,000 people turn out for     the annual affair.
        The 25th Annual Barbecue Festival is set for Saturday, Oct. 25. In addition to the festival, the City of Lexington and Davidson County officially declared October as “Barbecue” month. Events are held throughout the month of October which lead to the grand finale, the Barbecue Festival. Events that are held during the month of October include the Tour de Pig - the annual cycling event benefiting the Mental Health Association in Davidson County. Also included are a golf tournament, a tennis tournament, the 5K Hawg run, and the Hawg Shoot Air Rifle Tournament. All of these events draw talented athletes from across the Southeast.
        The Festival is held in Uptown Lexington. An eight block stretch of Main Street is closed to traffic, with banners at either end announcing the Festival with a logo featuring four dancing pigs. Over four hundred exhibitors sell everything from handmade crafts to homemade fudge. Also a Juried competition includes artists and craftsmen from across the country. This competition, sponsored by Carolane Propane Gas, Inc., is held throughout two blocks of Main Street in front of the Davidson county Museum of Art. Five stages of entertainment showcase local and national artists. The festival is for people of all ages and includes a special section of rides and games for children, Piglet Land. Barbecue is served at three locations through the festival area. These are amazing places where no fewer than 35 people work beneath each red and white tent chopping barbecue, fixing slaw, and serving french fries. Here from Mission Central, the heart of the Festival, comes the special Festival barbecue, which is a result of the combined effort of seven masters of the trade. a
  • 07 wpns testing 1Operational testing of the Army’s newest generation sniper system — the MK-22 Precision Sniper Rifle (PSR) — marks the project’s final hurdle before fielding.

    “The modular nature of the PSR allows it to be tailored to meet mission requirements and is appealing to airborne Snipers who are typically armed with long-barreled precision rifles of a single caliber offering,” said Sgt. 1st Class Marcus Love, Airborne and Special Operations Test Directorate, Test Noncommissioned Officer.

    Because of the single-caliber offerings, snipers requiring additional capabilities must deploy with additional weapons. The PSR can be configured for multi-calibers by the sniper in the field and requires no higher level maintenance to reconfigure. It will also extend engagement ranges for both anti-material and anti-personnel target engagements.

    “The increased engagement range will keep snipers safer and increase the options for the local commander employing these combat multipliers,” said Sgt. Austin Stevens, a sniper assigned to the 1st Battalion, 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division.

    “With a folding stock and removable suppression system, the PSR will provide airborne Snipers a more compact load during airborne infiltration operations without reducing their lethality while providing a precision rifle platform more conducive to their combat environment,” said MK-22 Project NCO Sgt. 1st Class Jonathan Copley.

    Spc. Michael Liptak, a sniper with Headquarters & Headquarters Company, 2nd Battalion, 325th Infantry Regiment immediately identified the attributes of accuracy in regards to the MK-22. “I was surprised at the accuracy and the straightforward approach to testing the PSR,” he said.
    Prior to testing, snipers from across the airborne and special operations community took part in new equipment training which included familiarization with
    the system, maintenance, target engagement, system configuration and zeroing procedures.

    For Spec. Nathanael Keffer, a sniper with 2nd Battalion, 508th Infantry Regiment, the PSR’s versatility to adapt to multiple mission sets was a marked advantage. “The PSR is a very versatile weapon system that can be tailored to meet multiple mission requirements,” said Keffer.

    Larry Harris, ABNSOTD Deputy Chief of Test said, “The critical task in testing any small arms platform intended for use by airborne forces is ensuring zero retention of the primary optic subsequent to airborne insertion. “This is a critical gauge of the paratrooper’s lethality during airfield seizure and other follow-on operations.”

    To evaluate this performance measure of the PSR, the ABNSOTD test team applied the organization’s mobile weapons boresight collimator to the rifle after jumping to make sure the sniper’s pre-mission zero was not degraded by shock during the jump.

    “This process establishes a baseline for sight reticle locations prior to and post airborne insertion,” said Miles Crawford, Test Technology Branch Chief, ABNSOTD. “Testers can monitor any shift in the weapon sight reticle that may have been induced by shock associated with static line parachutes,” Crawford said.

    The Airborne and Special Operations Test Directorate is based at Fort Bragg. It plans, executes and reports on operational tests and field experiments of airborne and special operations forces equipment, procedures, aerial delivery and air transportation systems to provide key operational data for the continued development and fielding of doctrine, systems and equipment to the warfighter.

    The U.S. Army Operational Test Command is based at West Fort Hood, Texas, and its mission ensures systems developed are effective in a soldier’s hands and suitable for the environments in which they train and fight. Test unit soldiers provide feedback by offering input to improve upon existing and future systems soldiers will ultimately use to train and fight.

    Pictured above: A sniper conducts post-drop live-fire test trials of the MK-22 Precision Sniper Rifle at Range 61 on Fort Bragg. (Photo by James Finney)

  • 14IndivisibileI met Army Chaplain Darren Turner and his wife Heather at a movie screening a few weeks ago. My wife and I were invited to attend and learn more about the movie, which was pitched as an inspiring new film about families finding the faith and love to fight through hardships that threaten their marriages. Chaplain and Mrs. Turner attended because the movie was their story. Literally. 

    “Indivisible” revolves around the true story of Darren Turner – an inexperienced Army chaplain who believes his faith and resolve will transcend circumstances. He finds himself haunted by battlefield experiences that put his marriage in jeopardy. 

    If you’ve lived in Cumberland County or around the military for long, you have likely encountered wives like Heather Turner: strong, supportive and ready to fight for her marriage. In the movie “Indivisible,” we see a reflection of those wives as we witness how this resilient family bravely fights to reintegrate with each other and for love to ultimately win. 

    “‘Indivisible’s’ true story shows there is no marriage too broken for God,” said Director David Evans. “We hope husbands and wives who see the Turners’ story on film will stop fighting one another and join forces to fight for their marriages together instead.” 

    “Indivisible” isn’t just another movie – it’s a tale of heroic love and the will it took for a marriage to survive both the rigors and aftershocks of combat. This extraordinary true story follows a couple whose lives are fully devoted to serving God, family and country. From the comfort of a seat in a movie theater, we see that devotion face its greatest foe as war etches deep battle scars – both overseas and on the homefront – as the Turners’ rock-solid marriage is shaken to its core. 

    Each carrying burdens the other can’t comprehend, they must decide if they’re willing to face one more battle: the fight to save their marriage. 

    The film premieres in theaters nationwide, including AMC’s Fayetteville 14, on Oct. 26, featuring Sarah Drew, Justin Bruening, Jason George, Tia Mowry and Madeline Carroll. 

  • 06 voteEarly Voting in Hope Mills will kick off on Oct. 14 and run through Oct. 30. as residents of the town start voting for their next Mayor and five Town Commissioners. The winners of the election will serve for the next two years.

    The candidates for Mayor are Jessie Bellflowers, a current commissioner and military veteran, and Jackie Warner, the current Mayor. Warner has served as Mayor for the past ten years. Bellflowers has been a town commissioner for the past four years.

    Up & Coming Weekly will conduct a joint Q&A session with the two candidates. That interview will be published in the Oct. 27 edition.

    There are seven people running for Town Commissioner. Only five will be voted in. The candidates are: Sally Bailey, Jerry Legge, Bryan Marley, Kenjuana McCray, Grilley Mitchell, Jim Morris and Joanne Scarola.

    No photo identification is needed to vote unless you are a newly registered voter.

    If you want to register to vote and cast a ballot on the same day, you will need to bring an ID with your name and your current address. The document may be a digital image on your cell phone.

    When entering the polling location, you will be asked to state your name and your address.

    Curbside voting will be available at all voting sites for those who cannot enter the polling location due to age or physical disability.

    Voting sites have designated parking indicating curbside voting and will have an alert system that will notify the election officials. An election official will come to the vehicle to obtain the voter’s name and address. Before a ballot is issued, the voter must swear an oath affirming his or her qualification to use curbside voting.

    During early voting, voters can go to the Cumberland County Board of Elections at 227 Fountainhead Lane in Fayetteville to cast their ballots. The poll is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
    Monday through Friday.

    On Oct. 30, the poll is open from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.

    On Election Day, Nov. 2, there will be six polling locations which will be open from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.

    For those who live in the Cumberland 1A, 03 and 04 precincts, the polling location is E. Melvin Honeycutt Elementary School.

    For those who live in the Hope Mills 1A precinct, the polling location is at the Hope Mills Recreation Center.

    For those who live in Hope Mills 1A or Hope Mills 1B precincts, the polling location will be the Cotton Fire Department.

    For those who live in the Hope Mills 3, Pearces Mill 2A and Pearces Mill 2B precincts, the polling location will be at the Hope Mills Middle School.

    For those who live in the Hope Mills 4 precinct, the polling location will be at C. Wayne Collier Elementary School.

    For those who live in the Stoney Point 1 or Stoney Point 2 precincts, the polling locations will be at the Lighthouse Baptist Church.

    If you don’t know your precinct, look it up at www.cumberlandcountync.gov/departments/election-group/elections/resources/polling-sites or call the elections office at 910-678-7733.

    The last day to hand deliver an absentee ballot will be Nov. 2 at 5 p.m. at the Board of Elections office. Absentee ballots that will be sent by mail must be postmarked by Nov. 2 and the Board of Elections must receive it no later than Nov. 5.

  • 09chordsmenThe term “barbershop quartet” often brings to mind a vision of men wearing boater hats and striped vests. But local crooners The Cross Creek Chordsmen are anything but dated. With a modern twist on a classic theme, this chorus brings the best of both worlds to every show. The group offers a unique blend of sounds combined with crazy humor and a lot of fun. The Chordsmen have come a long way since the group formed five years ago, and they’re proud to announce their first fundraiser concert, “Fun, fun, fun,” Saturday, Oct. 20. 

    The Cross Creek Chordsmen consists of 15-20 men varying in age, profession and background. Many of its members have been singing together for much longer than five years. Some of them originally belonged, in the ’70s and ’80s, to a different group, which eventually dissolved. 

    “We are going to showcase many of our classic barbershop songs with a modern twist,” said Joshua Gray-Heim, events coordinator for the Chordsmen. “We are so excited to have our District Quartet Champions, ‘Technically Sound,’ as our guest quartet as well as a quartet from our singers.” 

    The theme for “Fun, fun, fun” came from one of the group’s new songs that morphed into an entire show because the whole group loved it so much. The group is close-knit, and the members describe it as more than just a group of men who sing together. 

    “For me, it’s like being in a fraternity,” Gray-Heim said. “It’s another family. Each of us is completely different from the next; however, we all come together for the love of music.” 

    This group has a lot more to it than “Fun, fun, fun.” The members participate in several community events for local nonprofits, including “Christmas in the Garden” at Cape Fear Botanical Garden; Heritage Days at the Poe House; Singing for the Carolina Highlands and Carolina Inn Facilities; Cottonade Parade of Homes; SwampDog Games; Eastover Days; and many others. 

    Part of the attraction of this group is the fact that the performers specialize in being unique. They customize each performance. Heading into the holidays, the Chordsmen are booking up quickly for Christmas sets. 

    “I first met the Crosscreek Chordsmen last Christmas season when they performed live on The River/106.5 WMRV,” said Christy “Sweet Tea” Andrulonis, afternoon host on All American Country/100.1 WFAY. “If you are planning an event and are in need of a unique sound and lots of fun, this is the group for you! Weddings, local events even singing telegrams. – you name it, and these talented vocalists can sing it.” 

    The Chordsmen also have a special event planned for Oct. 28 called “Paint Fayetteville Pink.” It is a breast cancer awareness fundraiser. This event will be located at Huske Hardware in downtown Fayetteville and will feature a classic car show and special guest local musical talent Kascie Page. 

    “Fun, fun, fun” is set for Oct. 20 at the Arran Lake Baptist Church Family Life Center, which is located at 1130 Bingham Dr. Showtime is 7 p.m. Tickets are $10. Call 910-729- 2063 for more information. 

  • 04 fayetteville police departmentIn August, Fayetteville City Council created a citizen police review committee.

    The mission of the Community Police Advisory Board is to provide advice and recommendations to the Council, City Manager and Police Chief to improve the quality of policing.

    Applications to serve are being taken through Oct. 20.

    The agency is described as a cooperative effort between the community and the police to review and recommend policy changes and enhancements to better meet the needs of the community.

    The idea is to support a training curriculum that allows police and the community to share public records to improve the perception of law and order and enhance trust of the police.

  • 14powwowThe ninth annual Running Water Singers Powwow is set for this Friday, Oct. 12, from 5-11 p.m., and Saturday, Oct. 13, from noon-11 p.m., at 102 Indian Dr. in Fayetteville. 

    “A Native American powwow is where several different tribes come together, and we dance, sing and do everything that has to do with our culture,” said Bradley Jacobs, event representative. “There will be handmade crafts and beadwork, speakers, dancers, Native American flute music, a hand drum segment, 20 cultural dances and competitions, three food vendors, 20 merchandise vendors, cultural songs, the honoring of veterans and much more.” 

    Jacobs added that some individuals make a living by selling their handmade crafts at all the powwows throughout the East Coast. 

    “We hold our powwow at Les Maxwell Indian School; it is the school where all Native Americans from Cumberland and surrounding counties were bussed to during segregation,” Jacobs said. He added that the opening ceremony is a significant part of the events each day. “There is one thing that we always do at the beginning of the powwow each day, and that is bring the American flag, Native American flag and our sacred Eagle Staff out.” 

    One of the highlights of the powwow is the delicious Native American food. Look forward to Indian fry bread, buffalo burgers, buffalo Indian tacos, col- lard sandwiches and more. 

    Like most cultures, dance plays a big part in Native American history. “There will be $10,000 in prize money for the Native Americans who compete in the dance competitions,” Jacobs said. 

    Native American cultures across the United States are notable for their wide variety and diversity of lifestyles, customs, art forms and beliefs. “The pow- wow is more for cultural awareness and is open to the public, so you can come out and see how we really (are) rather than how TV portrays us,” said Jacobs. “We don’t go scalping people, and we don’t hit (anyone) over the head with sticks.” 

    Native Americans have a rich history and a lot to share, which is why powwows are so important – so they can share their heritage with people who want to learn more about Native Americans and their tribes. 

    “My grandfather, Chief James Pernell Jacobs, was the first Indian chief that was elected by ballot for the Coharie Indian Tribe of Sampson County,” said Jacobs. “He was awarded so many awards throughout his lifetime, received the Jefferson Award and was known for helping his tribe and others no matter what.” Jacobs added that growing up, he was taught about unity and helping others. 

    The nonprofit organization is always in need of donations to support the event. “We do a lot of legwork, and we ask people we do business with for help,” said Jacob 

    “The only thing we reap from the powwow is to educate the public and help the young kids to not lose their heritage.” 

    This is a drug- and alcohol-free event that is open to the general public. Admission is $7 for adults, $5 for youth ages 7-12, $5 for seniors 60 and older, $5 for military with ID, and free for children ages 6 and under. The weekend pass is $12. For more information, call 910-308-7249. 

  • 05 05 Horizontal County LogoThe Cumberland Community Foundation, Inc., recently awarded the Cumberland County Department of Public Health a $64,000 grant to support the department’s Improving Health Outcomes through Mobile Clinics and
    Social Determinants of Health program. Over a two-year period, the Health Department will identify patients with high unmet needs by screening all patients for social determinants of health with a focus on patients with food, transportation and housing needs and those experiencing violence.

    Identified patients will meet with a public health social worker on an ongoing basis for case management, care coordination and referral through NCCARE360, the statewide coordinated care network.

    Money from this grant will be used for direct payments to vendors to provide services for Health Department patients’ unmet needs including transportation to appointments, utilities, rent and childcare. This will allow clients to improve health outcomes by meeting basic needs. This support will be provided when clients are in a situation which they are unable to receive financial support from other sources.

    “We look forward to using this grant to assist those citizens of Cumberland County currently in need,” said Dr. Jennifer Green, the Health Department Director. “Our goal is to make Cumberland County a better place to live for each of our friends and neighbors, and this grant will go a long way to make that a reality.”

    Funding will also support communication strategies and small incentives to help improve access to health services by implementing mobile and outreach clinics in underserved areas.

    For more information about the Cumberland Community Foundation, Inc., please visit their website at https://www.cumberlandcf.org/

    Find out more about Cumberland County Department of Health programs by visiting cumberlandcountync.gov/departments/public-health-group/public-health

  • 12TOURS MAR 2017 1When strolling through downtown Fayetteville, it’s almost like taking a step back in time. The quaint local shops, the historic buildings, and, of course, the horse-drawn carriage rides. Run by the Cool Spring Downtown District, the rides run spring, summer and fall. There are two more regular tours scheduled for this fall – Oct. 13 and Nov. 15. 

    For more than three years, S and S Carriage Rides has been meandering along the cobblestones of downtown, offering rides to couples, individuals and families. There is nothing like the nostalgia of hearing the clip-clop of the horse’s hooves along the pavement. Not only are the rides a relaxing, unique way to enjoy downtown, they offer a great way for newcomers and visitors to learn more about the area. Over one-third of carriage riders are from out of town, with two-thirds of those being from out of state. 

    That being said, the rides can even provide life- long citizens with surprising historical tidbits and narratives that aren’t often heard. 

    Dr. Hank Parfitt has been organizing the carriage rides since they started in Fayetteville, and it’s easy to see his passion for the job. “We have a love for local history. We don’t just rattle on, we relate the events to the people and the times,” Parfitt said. 

    His favorite part of the job is watching guests connect with Fayetteville. “You see somebody with that ‘aha!’ moment with a new historical fact,” he said. “It’s so much fun to see people respond like that. We are exposing people to the best side of Fayetteville.” 

    The carriage rides are not just a job for Parfitt, they are a part of his life. “All of our tour guides go to a one-on-one training session with the city historian,” he said. “We are constantly looking for ways to increase our knowledge.” 

    Parfitt is currently enrolled in American History courses at Fayetteville State University. 

    In addition to the regularly scheduled monthly rides, there are themed rides that take place throughout the year. Themed rides are some of the most popular offerings, especially around the start of the holiday season with A Dickens Holiday taking place in downtown Fayetteville the day after Thanksgiving. 

    “It’s a gentler, kinder way to start the season” Parfitt explained. “You can avoid the crazy chaos of the mall and Black Friday.” 

    The rides during A Dickens Holiday on Nov. 23 run from 1-9 p.m. Expect to see the drivers, carriage and even horses decked out for the occasion. 

    There is also a Halloween tour led by Count Dracula, a Christmas ride with Santa Clause and an Easter ride with the Easter Bunny. Valentine’s day is also a very popular time of the year – the carriage drivers have seen their fair share of proposals and anniversaries. Mother’s Day gets its own theme as well.

    Whether riders are seeking a romantic date, a charming family outing or a spur of the moment jaunt around town, they can relax and enjoy the beauty of downtown Fayetteville – and learn some- thing new – on a historic carriage ride. 

    Carriage rides are offered throughout the year, with a small break during the colder months. Tours take place from 1-6 p.m., leaving from the Cool Springs Downtown District office at 222 Hay St. Tickets cost $25 for adults, $20 with a military ID and $15 for children under 12. 

    To make a reservation, call City Center Gallery & Books at 910-678-8899 or visit www.sands- carriagerides.com/ or www.facebook.com/ Sandscarriagerides. 

  • 19 women breast cancer awareness(StatePoint) October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, an annual opportunity to spend your dollars on products and services that benefit breast cancer advocacy, research and patient care services.

    However, experts say that the clutter of pink products on store shelves and online can make savvy shopping a challenge.

    “Determining if a given product sold during October actually benefits a breast cancer charity, is not always easy,” says Sarah Rosales, vice president of Corporate Partnerships at Susan G. Komen, the world’s leading breast cancer organization.

    One way to ensure that your purchases are making the impact you think they will is by shopping with Komen’s Annual Live Pink program.

    This year, Komen has partnered with more than 25 companies, and the lineup of products and services available includes everything from specially designed clothing and skin care products, to bagels and bikes.

    By shopping with the brands in the Live Pink portfolio during October, you can help fund research and care services that support people through their breast cancer diagnosis, treatment and beyond.

    Program details are transparent on the Live Pink site. To learn more and to shop, visit www.komen.org/livepink.

    For other purchases you make this National Breast Cancer Awareness Month that make charitable claims, Susan G. Komen recommends asking the following questions:

    What charity is the program supporting? Do promotional materials about the product or service clearly and conspicuously state this information?

    How will the benefitting charity use the donation? You should be made aware where your money is going and what charitable programs your purchase will support. Funds raised to benefit Komen, for example, go to support the organization’s advocacy for breast cancer patients, investments in research and a number of direct patient care services.

    How is the program structured? What percentage or exact amount of the proceeds will go to the charity? Will the company be making a minimum or maximum donation to the charity? Shop only with companies that offer transparency with regards to program details and how donations are structured.

    By shopping savvy this October, you can support the fight against breast cancer and ensure your purchases are making the biggest impact possible.

  • 10eagle hero imagePrimary Health Choice, Inc. presents Hotel California – “A Salute to the Eagles” band Friday, Oct. 19, at 8 p.m. at Givens Performing Arts Center. 

    “We actually had Hotel California back in 2011, so this is their second time coming here,” said Chad Locklear, director of marketing of GPAC. “They came before and we had a great turnout from the community, so we thought we would invite them back again for our 2018 Homecoming.” 

    Hotel California, the original Eagles tribute band, will perform during UNC Pembroke’s homecoming celebration. The band will showcase classic hits that include “Take It Easy,” “Desperado,” “The Long Run” and “Hotel California.” 

    The band was founded with intentions of filling the void left by the demise of The Eagles. For three decades, the band has been recreating the legendary sounds. They’ve captivated audiences all over the world since then and set the bar in 1986 by remaining the industry lead substitute for The Eagles. 

    The band toured relentlessly in the ’80s through today and have shared the stage with The Doobie Brothers, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Gretchen Wilson, REO Speedwagon and more. 

    Their stage show has evolved into one of the most popular productions on the North American festival circuits that has audiences dancing and enjoying the music. 

    The homecoming festivities for UNCP will take place Oct. 15-20 and will include athletic games, a step show, a homecoming dance, a tailgate party, an alumni awards banquet, midnight madness event, a bonfire, Ms. UNC pageant and much more. 

    “We try to bring acts here that will engage and entice our alumni,” said Locklear. “We have a lot of alumni that come home for homecoming, so this is one of the shows that is geared more towards that crowd. 

    “We are looking forward to a festive week, so come join us for the fun.” 

    Tickets cost $31-$36. Alumni tickets cost $18, $15 for children, $16 for faculty and staff and $10 for UNCP students. For more information, call 910-521-6361 or visit www.uncp.edu/ advancement/alumni/homecoming-2018. 

  • 18 kids outdoor exploringThe pandemic has impacted learning experiences for students across America. Educators, parents and students will continue to navigate these challenges as they look for ways to redefine learning.

    With new norms of educational learning still being defined, we have a real opportunity to find creative and engaging ways to expose young and diverse thinkers to the vast world of science around them. One of the ways to do this is by connecting science to the things kids are already passionate about — sports, music, dance, art, gaming, or anything else they may be interested in.

    America’s favorite rapping teacher, Dwayne Reed, shares creative ways educators and parents can help kids find a “way-in” to science that will ignite their passion for STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) learning and make science more approachable:

    1. Extend STEM Beyond the Classroom. Show kids how to apply the scientific method in their day-to-day lives and activities. As individuals, we make observations daily and ask questions — or hypothesize — based on what we observe. Parents and educators can foster an inquisitive mindset by challenging kids to explore the world around them. This creates fun and relatable learning experiences inside and outside the classroom.

    2. Connect Personal Passions to STEM Learning. When students lack confidence in a particular subject, it can feel intimidating. As a result, they can often have a hard time seeing themselves as successful in that subject or can lose interest altogether. We want to encourage our kids and show them they can be anything they want. One of the ways to do this is by connecting what they already love to something they are not as confident in. STEM is a perfect example of this. Show students how science can be applied to their other interests. By helping connect the dots for students, they can turn their passions into something that can benefit the world around them.

    3. Keep A Pulse on New Educational Resources. Stay updated on new resources and information that could positively impact your students by reading blogs, educational articles, and looking for resources on social media. One learning resource to check out is 3M’s Science at Home video series. This online library of DIY science experiments uses common household items to help make STEM learning fun and accessible while showing kids they can connect science to just about anything. Teachers will also note that the step-by-step resources include national science teaching standards for easy lesson planning.

    4. Challenge Kids to Try Something New. Challenge kids to put themselves into roles they may not naturally see themselves in. Provide encouragement and resources to get them to the next level. With a bit of creativity, you can open their eyes to a whole world of opportunities. Make STEM learning feel relatable and fun — even if it’s new for them. It’s all about reframing the way students look at the world and giving them assurance and an opportunity to explore what’s around them.

    The importance of maintaining a stable and engaging learning experience for students remains a priority. And with just a few creative learning techniques and models, educators and parents can ensure their students are connected, actively learning and feeling encouraged both in and out of the classroom.

  • 01UAC101018001new“It’s an incredible gathering of fans of anything that’s geek-related; anything that’s just fun,” said co-organizer Michael Chaudhuri of the Fayetteville Comic Con. “It’s a colorful mirage of cosplay, comic books, toys, anime, sci-fi and gaming all under one roof.” The con, started four years ago by Chaudhuri, Keith Gibbs and a few other proud geeks, returns to Fayetteville Oct. 20-21 at the Crown Complex.

    “It’s a place where people can get together and not be judged, too,” Chaudhuri added. “We’re accepting, and we’re family friendly. Everyone can be themselves.” FCC has quickly grown into an event that draws people from all over the country and is supported by what Chaudhuri estimated to be nearly 100 local volunteers.

    “Everybody has a different reason for coming,” he said. “Most have more than one reason.”

    First, there’s the cosplay. Cosplayers often spend months laboriously and lovingly creating costumes to “play” a character from any medium, usually comic books, TV/film or video games. Essentially, it is intense dress-up for adults, and it’s great fun – whether you’re participating or simply taking in all the zany creativity.

    But not everyone who cosplays is just there for fun – some have their eye on multiple prizes. Two cosplay competitions, which are organized and overseen by Candace Harrell and Nickolas Phillips, create a sense of friendly competition at FCC. The junior-level competition for 15-and-under offers trophies and gift certificates and takes place Saturday at 2 p.m. For everyone else, there’s the senior-level competition on Sunday at 2 p.m. It features gift certificates, cash prizes, Dell laptops and a yet-to- be-revealed special grand prize.

    “(The judges) love creativity and craftsmanship and energy and enthusiasm,” Chaudhuri said.

    The FCC’s Gaming Alley also draws a huge crowd. Gamers and newbies alike can do a demo, join a tournament or play for free on an old-school arcade cabinet brought in by Stop Button Arcade. Dragon Ball Z and Star Wars will be featured.

    For those rich in nerdom but lonely at heart, Geek Speed-Dating (previously called Sci-Fi Speed-Dating) is returning. Multiple relationships, both romantic and platonic, have blossomed from this event. There’s even been a marriage that resulted from the FCC speed dating event two years ago.

    But the strongest pull for many comic con fans is the Q&A panel – the chance to meet, take photos with and ask questions of iconic childhood and/or current heroes, including actors, artists and writers.

    FCC has more than 28 panels planned, and its guest list is impressive.

    Butch Patrick, who played Eddie Munster on the classic TV show “The Munsters,” will bring with him several original props from the show, including both the Drag-U-LA and the Munster Koach. Patrick is about to start filming his next project, “Eddie’s Monstrous Movie Mausoleum,” in which he said he’ll play the straight-man commentator on classic horror films everyone loves to make fun of.

    Patrick said his favorite part of attending comic cons is the family aspect. “The new generation of fans that are walking to the table with grandparents and parents; there’s a good, strong family bond,” he said. “That’s my favorite part. You get to put a smile on peoples’ faces, you’ve got extended family you never knew about. You were an important part of their growing up, and they share those stories with you.”

    Iconic horror film actors who will be in attendance include Tony Todd, Tom Savini, Warrington Gillete and multiple actors from “The Walking Dead.” Todd played the titular villain in “Candyman,” Kurn in “Star Trek: The Next Generation,” Ben in “Night of the Living Dead” and William Bludworth in the “Final Destination” franchise.

    Anime, animated shows originating from or associated with Japan, has experienced enormous popularity in the U.S. thanks to English-dubbed versions of various original series. Veronica Taylor, the original voice of Ash Ketchum in “Pokemon,” and voice actor Dameon Clarke of “Dragon Ball Z” and “Fullmetal Alchemist,” are two anime giants who fans will get the chance to meet at FCC.

    None of these actors would have a job if not for the team of creatives responsible for the stories, and plenty of content creators will be on hand at FCC. For example, guest artist Russ Braun has drawn dozens of prominent comics, including “Jack’s Fables,” “The Boys,” “Swamp Thing” and “Where Monsters Dwell.” He also worked with Disney on the art for many feature films, including “Lilo & Stitch” and “Mulan.”

    Steve Orlando wrote the “Midnight” series for DC Comics along with “Mighty Morphin Power Rangers,” “Supergirl” and “Justice League of America.”

    Bob Wiacek wrote Marvel Comics’ “Star Wars,” “The Uncanny X-Men” and “X-Factor,” along with DC Comics’ “Superman.”

    These are just a few of the iconic figures who will be in attendance.

    Attendees can also look forward to nerd trivia slams, informal art portfolio reviews, martial arts and swordplay demonstrations, aerialists, live tattooing, live comedy, photo ops, door prizes and more – all backgrounded by tunes from DJ Clash of Winston-Salem. “Dragon Ball Z” fans will even get to sit in a 10-foot-tall Saiyan Pod that’s traveling all the way from Texas.

    FCC will also host the world premiere of a new comic book from Aftershock Comics, an independent publisher that’s on the brink of mainstream success. Several of its comics are currently being adapted for big-screen films. Braun and Orlando, who work with Aftershock, will debut their new comic, “Kings # 1.” “The first place in the world you can buy it is at the Fayetteville Comic Con,” Chaudhuri said. “There will only be 300, signed by the writer and artist.” He added that Aftershock will also have many rare, exclusive comic books available for sale.

    All in all, FCC is a community event that welcomes people from all walks of life, whether they consider themselves part of geek culture or not. “If someone wants to just come as themselves (and not dress up), that’s fine too; that’s part of being yourself,” Chaudhuri said.

    A portion of the proceeds from the event will benefit the Fayetteville Animal Protection Society in support of their animal rescue efforts during Hurricane Florence.

    The FCC takes place Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 20- 21, at the Crown Expo, 1960 Coliseum Dr. It runs 10 a.m. to 7 p.m Saturday and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday.

    Advance tickets cost $15 for each day of the con or $25 for a weekend pass. A VIP Weekend Pass is available for $69.95, which grants early bird admission, a dedicated VIP entry line, no wait for autograph lines, reserved seating in the largest panel room and a VIP goody bag and lanyard. Advance tickets can be purchased in person at the Crown Center Box Office or the Fort Bragg Lesiure Center or online at www.fayettevillecomiccon.com/tickets. Active-duty service members will receive a discount.

    Day-of prices are $20 for Saturday, $15 for Sunday or $32 for the Weekend Pass. Children 10 and under will be admitted free if accompanied by a paying adult. Parking is free.

    To explore the full list of FCC’s guests, activities and attractions, visit the event website at www.fayettevillecomiccon.com.

  • 17 cybersecuirty digital lockFighting cyber threats on the firewall frontlines has become increasingly more challenging as a result of heavy workloads due to the shortage of cybersecurity professionals, unfilled job openings, and limited time for workers to learn the latest security technologies.

    Cybercriminals are sophisticated in their attack schemes, which means that security techniques must become more vigorous. Employees’ skillsets must align with the progressive expertise needed by companies as they combat the persistent cyber-attacks faced daily. Without this specialized skillset, cybersecurity teams are ill-equipped to protect companies — the same companies we entrust with our personal and financial information — from being compromised by cybercriminals who have every intention of stealing data for their personal gain.

    Fayetteville Technical Community College and Montreat College have partnered to establish the Carolina Cyber Network to correct the cybersecurity workforce gap in North Carolina. The idea behind the initiative is to revamp the talent pipeline of workers to better align with the needs of employers. CCN created a unique triadic approach in response to this situation by providing support to K-12 educators, collaborating with neighboring colleges and universities, and partnering with businesses.

    As high school students complete an Information Technology track, they can progress through the talent pipeline as they pursue higher education. CCN connects universities and colleges across the state to create a collaborative environment for students to receive specialized training to enhance their technical and essential skills. The initiative will help provide college students with real-world experience through work study, internship, and apprenticeship opportunities. With coveted skills and entry-level experience, students will be well-equipped, work-ready, cybersecurity professionals.

    In addition to FTCC’s involvement with CCN, FTCC’s Small Business Center, the Cyber Defense Education Center, and the Fayetteville/Fort Bragg Chapter ISSA are presenting two free webinars:

    Protect Your Business from Cyber Attack!
    Oct. 6 from 6:30-8:30 p.m. Register at www.ncsbc.net/workshop.aspx?ekey=200410069

    Build a Company or Career in Cyber Security! Oct. 12 from 6:30-8:30 p.m. Register at www.ncsbc.net/workshop.aspx?ekey=200410070
    The spotlight on cybersecurity awareness during the month of October reminds everyone about the importance of cybersecurity and the demand for individuals to be properly trained to fill in-demand jobs in the field. FTCC’s Cyber Defense Education Center and involvement with the CCN represent a unique training opportunity for individuals wishing to pursue a rewarding career in the field.

    FTCC provides students with expertise through many training options to pursue a great career in cybersecurity. FTCC is working to strengthen the existing workforce and decrease the employment gap. FTCC is also helping cyber-compliant businesses become better staffed and skilled in cybersecurity to handle attacks by malicious hackers.

    Learn more about cybersecurity and other areas of study in the Computer Technology program area at FTCC. Fall 8-week classes begin Oct. 14, and Spring classes begin Jan. 10. Find your way forward at FTCC with a career in the high-demand field of cybersecurity.

  • 12ChristmasThe largest and second-oldest historic property in Fayetteville, Heritage Square boasts struc­tures dating back to the late 1700s. These buildings tell the stories of some of Fayetteville’s founding families – and have intriguing tales of their own. Sherman’s Army headquartered in one during the Civil War. Another is an oval stand-alone ballroom – part of an 1850s murder trial dubbed “The Trial of the Century” at the time. Still another was the home of one of the area’s most powerful landowners in the 1700s. The grounds and gardens are tended by master gardeners, creating the serenity and sense of nostal­gia that can only be found in a well-kept Southern estate. It’s all nestled in downtown Fayetteville at 225 Dick St. Oct. 6-7, the Heritage Square Historical Society will open this property and all the fascinat­ing buildings to host its annual Christmas Bazaar. 

    “We did this last year, and it was a huge success,” said Heritage Square Historical Society President Elaine Kennebeck. “We had people donate Christmas decorations and art, and we got beautiful things. A lot was brand new and still in the boxes.” 

    From tchotchkes to substantial pieces, rustic to refined, Kennebeck promises it’s worth coming to see the offerings. “Last year, we had... some vintage items from the ’70s. We still have some left. We have a little of everything - thousands of items.” 

    If the eclectic inventory of one-of-a-kind and hard-to-find items is not enough reason to come, Kennebeck is certain the deals are. She searches websites like eBay for similar items and prices the bazaar pieces at about half what the online auction sites demand. Shoppers get to see and handle the wares before buy­ing, and the atmosphere is relaxed and jovial. There will also be a room filled with costume jewelry and other assorted items for sale, includ­ing gift baskets. 

    The fact that the event is held inside is a bonus because guests get to experience the property as well. 

    Like much of Fayetteville, Heritage Square suf­fered significant damage from Hurricane Florence, some of it not covered by insurance. “Every nickel of this goes to maintaining and preserving the homes,” said Kennebeck. “We are trying very hard to recu­perate from (the hurricane).” 

    The Heritage Historical Society does more than maintain the properties. Its goal is to share them as well. It rents out the property for events like weddings, receptions and baby showers. “We have beautiful grounds,” Kennebeck said. “We also have the oval ballroom, which is unique. The property is for people to enjoy. If you are looking for an authen­tic intimate Southern wedding, this is a great place. We have a full working kitchen, which caterers love. People can bring their own food, too.” 

    There is also an educational initiative in prog­ress designed for students of all ages – and it’s not your standard historical tour. The experience uses common Victorian-era items and relates them to modern life. Not surprisingly, many of the examples connect to modern-day cell phones. Today’s phones do the work of a bevy of appliances from yesteryear. We talk to each other, listen to music, correspond, take pictures and more. It used to take wall phones, record players, typewriters and cameras to do the same. And the Heritage Historical Society can share what that was like. 

    The Christmas Bazaar at Heritage Square, 225 Dick St., is open Friday, Oct. 5, from 8 a.m.-4p.m. and Saturday, Oct. 6, from 8 a.m.-3 p.m. It’s free to attend. Call 910-483-6009 for more information.

  • 15 2021 Walk to End Alzheimers stock photo2The Alzheimer’s Association is inviting Cumberland County and surrounding area residents to join the fight to end Alzheimer’s by participating in the Alzheimer’s Association Walk to End Alzheimer’s® on Saturday, Oct. 30. The Walk is the world’s largest event dedicated to Alzheimer’s care, support and research.

    Presented by McKee Homes, the Alzheimer’s Association Eastern North Chapter will be hosting Walk to End Alzheimer’s – Fayetteville at Segra Stadium. Check-in opens at 9 a.m. with an Opening Ceremony at 10 a.m. The Walk route will open at check-in time and remain open throughout the event to allow teams to start walking when they are ready.

    “We invite the community to join us in taking steps for Alzheimer’s disease. More than ever, we need to come together to support all those affected by Alzheimer’s and other dementia,” said Lisa Roberts, executive director of the Alzheimer’s Association, Eastern North Carolina Chapter. “With the dollars raised, the Alzheimer’s Association provides care and support to families while also advancing critical research toward methods of treatment and
    prevention.”

    On Walk day, participants honor those affected by Alzheimer’s with the poignant Promise Garden ceremony — a mission-focused experience that signifies our solidarity in the fight against the disease. The colors of the Promise Garden flowers represent people’s connection to Alzheimer’s — their personal reasons to end the disease.

    Added Roberts, “The Alzheimer’s Association is moving forward — and we’re offering options for supporters to join us at our local event or Walk From Home in their own neighborhoods. No matter where people walk, their health and safety are our top priorities.”

    The Fayetteville Walk will implement safety protocols including physical distancing, contactless registration, hand sanitizing stations and more. The Alzheimer’s Association will continue to closely monitor Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, state and local guidelines to ensure Walk events adhere to recommendations and are safe for attendees. Per CDC guidelines around crowded outdoor settings, the Association asks that all Walk attendees be vaccinated against COVID-19 or wear a mask when in an overcrowded area. Masks will be available on-site. Options will also be offered to participate online and in local neighborhoods. Those who prefer to walk from home can still engage in many Walk-day experiences through the Alzheimer’s Association’s website and mobile app.

    More than 6 million Americans are living with Alzheimer’s disease — a leading cause of death in the United States. Additionally, more than 11 million family members and friends provide care to people living with Alzheimer’s and other dementias.

    In North Carolina alone, there are more than 180,000 people living with the disease and 358,000 caregivers.

    To sign up as a walker or Team Captain or to learn more about becoming a sponsor of Walk to End Alzheimer’s – Fayetteville, visit act.alz.org/fayettevillenc or call 800-272-3900.

    The Alzheimer’s Association hosts 17 walks across North Carolina including: Alamance County, Asheville, Charlotte, Gaston/Cleveland/Lincoln Counties, Fayetteville, Guilford County, Henderson County, Hickory, Iredell County, Jacksonville, Moore County, Mount Airy, New Bern, Rowan-Cabarrus Counties, Triangle (Raleigh and Durham), Wilmington and Winston-Salem.

    To register and receive the latest updates on any of this year’s Walk to End Alzheimer’s, visit the website at alz.org/walk.

  • 11CAREEvery year, The CARE Clinic hosts a dinner – an Evening of CARE. It is a fun, intimate evening of food and fellowship. Local residents assume the responsibility of hosting and serv­ing a dinner. The hosts choose how many guests they can accommodate, many opening their homes for the evening. They provide the location, beverages and appetizers while The CARE Clinic provides the main meal - unless the hosts wish to do that as well. While the dinner is not until Feb. 2, now is the time to sign up to be a host (or to purchase tickets). 

    “This fundraiser is unique because you are doing it in your own home and you can do it any way you want,” said Cynthia Deere, The CARE Clinic development and marketing direc­tor. “When it started 22 years ago, hosts were holding it in their homes and using fine china and crystal. That has changed. Last year, we had a host who did the dinner, and after everyone ate, there was a band and firepit outside. They basically threw a party. We had people who, because the next day was the Super Bowl, they did a pre-party. You can do a game night or a girl’s night out. It doesn’t have to be a formal affair. 

    “We want to get young people involved and let them know they can have fun with it. We do have people who still do the formal dinners, and we love that, too. Put your own spin on it.” 

    Deere noted that the host gives a brief explanation about the purpose of the dinner and what The CARE Clinic does. 

    Two years ago, because of Hurricane Matthew, a number of host homes could not participate. This is a concern this year as well because of Hurricane Florence. 

    “We would really like to see people sign up to host. This is our biggest fundraiser of the year,” Deere said. “There are many people that have either hosted or attended the event since the beginning. If you are not able to host a dinner on this specific date, you could hold it the following weekend and provide your own food.” 

    In 2018, the Evening of CARE raised more than $60,000. 

    “What many people don’t realize is that it costs about $44,000 a month just to keep The CARE Clinic doors open,” said Deere. “So, if this raises $60,000, that is only six weeks of ser­vice to people. 

    “The biggest need we have is phar­maceuticals. Our patients who come in and need medicines like antibiot­ics, diabetes medications or things like that, can get them filled with us at no cost to them.” 

    The clinic offers multiple services ranging from basic medical care and chiropractic care to commu­nity resource information, social services and limited referrals to specialists. To be seen at The CARE Clinic, patients must be: an adult; be uninsured; meet a household income requirement; and have a valid and current NC DMV picture ID or license. 

    Patients of the clinic seeking a medical appointment must call between Monday and Thursday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. For dental appoint­ments, patients must call on Fridays from 9 a.m. to noon. Patients are seen every Tuesday and Thursday as well as the second and fourth Wednesday evenings. 

    Visit www.thecareclinic.org or call 910-485-0555 for more information about how to become involved with The CARE Clinic and the Evening of Care.

  • 11 N1506P22010HThe Cumberland County Department of Public Health will host a “Vax Your Pet, Vax Yourself” event Oct. 9 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Health Department located at 1235 Ramsey St.

    Rabies vaccinations will cost $5 per pet. COVID, flu and back-to-school immunizations will be free.

    Organizations will distribute free items and information about programs and services. The Cumberland County Public Library, Positive Parenting Program, the public health education team and tobacco cessation education program will participate. Gift Cards of $100 to various grocery and retail stores will be raffled off every hour.

    North Carolina Law states requires cats and dogs over four months of age to be vaccinated against rabies. Dog and cat owners in Cumberland County who have not vaccinated their pet in accordance with this law are subject to a civil penalty in the amount of $100. Cash is the only accepted method of payment. Please bring exact change to pay the $5 per animal fee. Please do not bring rolled coins.

    North Carolina Law requires students K-12 to receive necessary vaccinations to attend school. The Back-to-School vaccination list can be found at https://immunize.nc.gov/schools/k-12.htm.

    North Carolina requires parents to present the required immunization record for their student within 30 calendar days from the first day of their child’s attendance. After 30 calendar days, students will not be allowed to attend school. This deadline has been extended to Nov. 1.

    Flu shots are free to everyone regardless of insurance status. If insured, a copy of insurance cards will be made, and the insurance company will be billed.

    Children 18 and younger can receive a free flu vaccine through the Vaccines for Children program. Anyone accompanying a minor must show proof of custody.

    The Department of Public Health administers Pfizer and J & J COVID-19 vaccinations. Vaccines are free to all regardless of insurance status. Anyone aged 12 and older is eligible to take the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine.

    CDC now recommends people 65 years and older and residents in long-term care settings to receive a booster shot of Pfizer-BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine at least 6 months after their primary series.

    People aged 50–64 years with underlying medical conditions should receive a booster shot of Pfizer-BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine at least 6 months after their primary series.

    People aged 18–49 years with underlying medical conditions may receive a booster shot at least 6 months after their Pfizer-BioNTech primary series, based on their individual benefits and risks.

    People aged 18-64 years who are at increased risk for COVID-19 exposure and transmission because of occupational or institutional setting may receive a booster shot of Pfizer-BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine at least 6 months after their primary series. This is based on their individual benefits and risks.

    For now, boosters are only for those that had the Pfizer vaccine. Eligibility criteria for individuals seeking an additional third dose or booster shot can be found on the Department of Public Health website.

    The CCDPH Sexually Transmitted Disease clinic will also be open during this event. Confidential testing for HIV, gonorrhea, chlamydia, syphilis and other STDs will be available. Testing is free, regardless of insurance status. Walk-ins are welcome.

    For more information about Cumberland County Department of Public Health programs visit www.cumberlandcountync.gov/departments/public-health-group/public-health.

  • 10Pinwheel Ball Belize 1In the Fayetteville community and all over the world, people rise up and dedicate their time and resources to serve and protect those who can’t protect them­selves. Fayetteville’s Child Advocacy Center runs with this mission in mind. In that spirit, Saturday, Oct. 13, the CAC presents its fifth annual Pinwheel Masquerade Ball and Auction to Unmask Child Abuse at the Metropolitan Room in downtown Fayetteville. This fundraiser and others like it help the CAC keep its services for survivors of abuse and their families free of charge. 

    The CAC works with 19 community agencies, from the District Attorney’s office to Cumberland County Schools, to support child abuse victims. Its integrated system allows the CAC to work with children in the most empathetic and efficient way possible. 

    Guests to the Pinwheel Masquerade Ball and Auction are encouraged to dress up and attend wearing creative masks. As in past years, awards will be given for best mask in the categories of male, female, couple, group, overall ensemble and most unique. There will also be a DJ, dancing, a photo booth and delicious food and drinks. 

    For many, the evening’s highlight is the live and silent auctions. Trips, pack­ages and various items will be up for grabs. 

    Trips to bid on include luxurious vacation packages for stays in Bali, Argentina, Belize, Italy, Tuscany, Canada, California, Alaska and Kentucky. As an exam­ple of what these packages offer, the trip to Tuscany is an eight-day, seven-night stay at a five-bedroom restored 16th century villa in Cortona. A dinner and wine pairing prepared by a master chef is included. “A group of five couples could go in on this trip and have the possibility of winning a vacation of a life­time at a very affordable price,” said CAC Executive Director Roberta Humphries. 

    Other locations include activities like scuba div­ing, wine-tastings, spa treatments and more. A 2019 Wimbledon Tennis Tournament experience will also be auctioned off. 

    Smaller auction items include fine jewelry, North Carolina athletic event tickets, fitness classes or rec­reation experiences, events at the Crown Complex, restaurant offerings, gift baskets and more. Nearly 50 local business donated these items. 

    Volunteer committee members Sue Perkins and Sharon Mozingo headed up the search for culinary sponsors, and their results will not disappoint. The evening’s diverse food spread will be provided by Evans Catering, Inc.; R Burger; Chris’s Steak House; Sherefé; Sammio’s Italian Restaurant; Metro Diner; Agape Bakery; Southern Coals; and Burney’s Sweets & More. Guests can look forward to enjoy­ing a spread and dip buffet, bacon and blue cheese sliders, pork medallions, chicken pot pie, mac and cheese, shrimp ceviche, spanakopita, croissants, pinwheel cookies and more. 

    Emily Herring, chair of the event, said there’s no question that the evening will be enjoyable, but that the real point of it all is to serve the children. “It’s a fun time for everyone, but it’s benefitting a cause that is truly (remarkable),” she said. “I want people to know that what they are paying to come experience is helping children feel safer, (giving) them a voice. 

    “Those children and their families can get the help they need because of this event and other events like it that the advocacy center puts on.” 

    Tickets to the Pinwheel Masquerade Ball and Auction on Oct. 13 cost $100 per individual, $175 per couple and $1,200 for a table of eight. They can be purchased in person at the CAC at 222 Rowan St. or online at www.CACFayNC.org.

  • 10 249853 1520696195Bright Light Brewing Company has been a member of the downtown Fayetteville community since November 2016 and opened its doors to the public in April 2017. They call a remodeled-gym-turned-taproom home. Joining forces, BLBC, AOP Orthotics and Prosthetics and Silverback Fitness, all local veteran-owned downtown businesses, are offering the Fayetteville community an avenue to remember 13 fallen U.S. service members.

    The fallen include Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Darin T. Hoover, 31, of Salt Lake City, Utah; Marine Corps Sgt. Johanny Rosariopichardo, 25, of Lawrence, Massachusetts; Marine Corps Sgt. Nicole L. Gee, 23, of Sacramento, California; Marine Corps Cpl. Hunter Lopez, 22, of Indio, California; Marine Corps Cpl. Daegan W. Page, 23, of Omaha, Nebraska; Marine Corps Cpl. Humberto A. Sanchez, 22, of Logansport, Indiana; Marine Corps Lance Cpl. David L. Espinoza, 20, of Rio Bravo, Texas; Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Jared M. Schmitz, 20, of St. Charles, Missouri; Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Rylee J. McCollum, 20, of Jackson, Wyoming; Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Dylan R. Merola, 20, of Rancho Cucamonga, California; Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Kareem M. Nikoui, 20, of Norco, California; Navy Hospitalman Maxton W. Soviak, 22, of Berlin Heights, Ohio; Army Staff Sgt. Ryan C. Knauss, 23, of Corryton, Tennessee.

    The 13 service members above were killed outside Hamid Karzai International Airport Aug. 26. They were in Kabul “while supporting non-combatant evacuation operations,” according to a U.S. Department of Defense press release.

    “We decided to do this to honor these soldiers as all three of us are veteran-owned businesses,” said Olivia Caughey, event manager, BLBC.

    “We believe … honoring late soldiers, current soldiers, military mental health and spreading awareness of those who risk their lives for our freedom are incredibly important.”

    Community members will meet at the BLBC taproom at 444 West Russell St. as early as 1 p.m., Oct. 10. BLBC will be offering their American Lager for $4 a pint as opposed to $6 in honor of the event. The 13-block memorial walk will commence at 2 p.m. As the group walks through downtown Fayetteville, they will encounter a flag on each block they pass bearing one of the names of the fallen 13.

    The walk will close with a moment of silence at the U.S. Army Airborne and Special Operations Museum’s 14th annual Field of Honor installation. The Field of Honor Installation is on display until Nov. 14.
    One of the service members who plan to be in attendance recently returned from Kabul and will attend with their family. This service member was near enough to feel the blast at HKIA, according to AOP Orthotics and Prosthetics co-owner Nick Rahl.

    This event is near to these businesses’ hearts.

    “It’s an honor to do it,” Rahl said.

    BLBC will be hosting two additional events over the next few weeks. Beers and Bouncing is a free fitness event co-sponsored with 9Round Fitness, Oct. 16, from 1 to 2 p.m. and a Halloween event is planned for Oct. 30 at 1 p.m.

  • 09CHOIRMANCommunity Concerts celebrates its 83rd season this year with a full slate of diverse entertainment. The 2018- 19 season opens strong with “The Choir of Man” on Wednesday, Oct. 10, at 7:30 p.m. at the Crown Theatre. 

    Billed as the “ultimate feel good show,” “The Choir of Man” is more than a concert. It’s a 90-minute fun-filled party complete with singing, dancing and just the right amount of good-natured carousing. 

    The multitalented cast features nine handsome blokes that sing pub tunes, folk songs, Broadway hits and classic rock, including the works of Adele, Queen, Paul Simon, Katy Perry and Red Hot Chili Peppers. The performers are world-class tap danc­ers, acrobats, singers, instrumental­ists and poets. 

    “The Choir of Man” is the latest show from Nic Doodson and Andrew McKay, the creative duo behind Soweto Gospel Choir, The Magnets and North by Northwest. 

    “The guys have spent the last couple of years touring the UK and Australia, and they are ready to bring this show to American audiences,” said Doodson. “This concert is such a great time for all – whether it’s a ladies night, first date, guys night out or even a bachelorette party! So, grab your best mates and we’ll see you at the venue.”

    The second performance of the Community Concerts season will be by Grammy award winner Michael McDonald at the Crown Theatre. Set for Tuesday, Nov. 27, at 7:30 p.m., this show is a part of McDonald’s “Season of Peace” tour. The Steely Dan and Doobie Brothers alum has won five Grammys and has pro­duced several chart-topping hits. He’s also collaborated with many prominent artists. 

    His latest album, “Wide Open,” was released Sept. 15 and includes collaborations with Warren Haynes, Robben Ford, Marcus Miller and Branford Marsalis. This is McDonald’s first album of original material in 17 years. It was recorded in his Nashville studio over a number of years with drummer Shannon Forrest, Faith Hill, Tim McGraw, Toto, Blake Shelton and Nashville session musicians. 

    Three Dog Night heats up the stage at the Crown Feb. 22. This legendary group had more top 10 hits and sold more records and more concert tickets than any other band between 1969 and 1974. 

    The band includes founder and lead vocalist, Danny Hutton, along with Michael Alsup, Paul Kingery, Pat Bautz and David Morgan. 

    Songs like “Mama Told Me Not to Come,” “Black and White,” “Shamba­la and “One” keep fans coming back year after year. 

    Hall of Famers and iconic coroners The O’Jays are the fourth concert of the season. Scheduled for March 15, the concert will include chart-top­ping fan favorites like “Love Train,” “Put Your Hands Together,” “For the Love of Money,” “I Love Music,” “Darlin’ Darlin’ Baby (Sweet, Tender, Love),” “Livin’ for the Weekend” and “Use Ta Be My Girl.” 

    April 4, America closes the Com­munity Concerts season. The band has six Gold or Platinum albums with 11 Hits and have been inducted into the prestigious Vocal Group Hall of Fame. They topped charts with “A Horse with No Name” in the 1960s and dominated the ’70s with “I Need You,” “Ventura Highway,” “Don’t Cross the River,” “Tin Man,” “Lonely People” and “Sister Golden Hair.” 

    Community Concerts was started in 1935 and is Fayetteville’s oldest art organization. The nonprofit’s mission is to bring top-notch entertainment to Fayetteville and the Fort Bragg/ Cumberland County community at affordable prices. 

    Purchase tickets online at CapeFearTix.com or by calling 1-888-257-6208. For season tickets, visit www.community-concerts.com or call 910-303-3996.

  • 09 candle vigilThe ”Remember My Name” candlelight vigil will be held Thursday, Oct. 7, at 5:15 p.m. on the steps of the Judge E. Maurice Braswell Cumberland County Courthouse at 117 Dick St., to raise awareness for domestic violence.

    Kelly Taylor will be the keynote speaker. She is a Womack Army Medical Center registered nurse and advocate for victims of domestic violence.

    Others scheduled to speak at the event include Chairman of the Cumberland County Board of Commissioners Charles Evans, Fayetteville Mayor Mitch Colvin, District Attorney Billy West, Chief District Court Judge Toni King and Fort Bragg Garrison Commander Col. Scott Pence.

    The U.S. Army 82nd Airborne Division Band and Chorus will perform.

    This ceremony will memorialize the victims of domestic violence homicides in North Carolina over the past two years since “Remember My Name” was not held in 2020 due to COVID-19.

    Retired Chief District Court Judge Beth Keever will read the names of the victims.

    Cumberland County Family Court, the CARE Center Family Violence Program, The Phoenix Center, Army Community Services, Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office, Fayetteville Police Department, Legal Aid of North Carolina and the Hope Mills Police Department have collaborated to hold the event.

    Community resources available for domestic violence victims include:

    • Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office: 910-323-1500; victim assistance 910-677-5454 or ccsonc.org
    • Cumberland County Family Court: 910-475-3015 or www.nccourts.gov/locations/cumberland-county/family-court-administration
    • Cumberland County Clerk of Court Lisa Scales, Safe-Link Domestic Violence Assistance Program: 910-475-3000, Cumberland County Courthouse, Room 340, 3rd floor
    • Cumberland County District Attorney’s Office: 910-475-3010
    • Fayetteville Police Department: 910-433-1529; Victim Assistance 910-433-1849 or fayettevillenc.gov/city-services/police
    • The CARE Center Family Violence Program: Crisis Line 910-677-2532 or office 910-677-2528
    • Army Community Services: 910-396-8262 or myarmybenefits.us.army.mil
    • Legal Aid of North Carolina-Fayetteville Chapter: 910-483-0400 or legalaidnc.org
    • The Phoenix Center Hot Line: 910-485-7273
    • U. S. Army Family Advocacy Program: 910-322-3418 or hotline 910-584-4267
    • Hope Mills Police Department: 910-425-4103; Victim Assistance 910-705-3560
    • Spring Lake Police Department: 910-436-0350

    In the event of inclement weather, the vigil will be held inside the courthouse in Courtroom 4A with Courtroom 4B serving as an overflow room with a television monitor so participants can watch the event live.

    For more information about “Remember My Name,” contact Family Court Case Manager Bobbi Mattocks at 910-475-3225 or Bobbi.L.Mattocks@nccourts.org.

  • 07 trolleyThe Cool Spring Downtown District and Coldwell Banker Advantage are bringing a new ride to the streets of downtown Fayetteville. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Bianca Shoneman, CEO and president of the Cool Spring Downtown District, approached Ralph Huff, founder of H & H Homes and co-owner of Coldwell Banker Advantage, with an idea to bring trolleys to downtown Fayetteville.

    “I told her it was a fabulous idea and that I would be interested in helping,” Huff said.

    Three months ago, once restrictions started to loosen, Shoneman revisited the trolley idea. Two 2004 “Molley Trolleys” have been selected. They have 36-person seating capacities, Cummins diesel engines, wooden benches, internal PA system, Shoneman said. “One of the trolleys is wheel-chair accessible.”

    The Cool Spring Downtown District will be responsible for scheduling, operating and maintaining the trolleys. The trolleys began test runs Sept. 24 to gain input on routes and scheduling.

  • 06 McLITIG datesSweet Tea Shakespeare, a theatre and music company in Fayetteville, continues their raucous take on drunk Shakespeare, the LIT series, this October. “McLIT” is a stripped-down version of Shakespeare’s famous tragedy of murder, guilt and rebellion combined with improv, games and a pub-like atmosphere.

    “McLIT” will visit a variety of venues including Hugger Mugger Brewing in Sanford, and the Church at Paddy’s Irish Pub in Fayetteville. “McLIT” imagines the writer, director and actors of Macbeth know the story they want to tell, but get lost at a frat party on their way to the show. Performances feature live music, drinking games and a lot of heart.

    LIT performances are recommended for adults 18 and up only. “McLIT” performs Oct. 16 and 23 at Paddy’s Irish Pub, and Oct. 22 and Nov. 12 at Hugger Mugger Brewing. All events start at 7:15 p.m.
    Sweet Tea Shakespeare’s 2021-2022 season is possible due to a generous grant from the Arts Council of Fayetteville/Cumberland County. Additional season partners include the Capitol Encore Academy, Holy Trinity Episcopal Church, Museum of the Cape Fear Historical Complex, Paris & Potter Management and Napkins.

    General Admission Advance tickets for McLIT are $20; seniors/military advance tickets are $18; student Advance tickets are $10. All tickets at the door are $25. Tickets can be purchased at sweetteashakespeare.com/tickets/.

    Call the Sweet Tea Shakespeare Box Office at 910-420-4383 or email tickets@sweetteashakespeare.com for more information about upcoming shows.

  • 08 Emerg Services smoke alarm grantIn September, Cumberland County Emergency Services received a $4,989 grant from South River Electric Membership Corporation’s Operation Round Up program. The funds will go towards smoke alarms which will be distributed to residents for free in the county.

    Residents can request a smoke detector for their home by contacting the volunteer fire station in their district. To find the closest one, visit www.cumberlandcountync.gov/emergencyservices/fire-marshal and use the Fire Station Lookup tool, then call the station to schedule a day and time to have a smoke alarm installed.

    “We’re so grateful for this grant which will allow us to get about 350 additional smoke alarms,” said Fire Marshal Kevin Lowther. “Emergency Services is planning to canvass various neighborhoods within the county to ensure residents can have a smoke alarm.”

  • 05 Horizontal County LogoCSX Transportation has awarded Cumberland County Emergency Management a $5,000 Community Service Grant.

    The funds will partially offset the purchase of a damage assessment drone to enhance the county’s ability to evaluate property damage in the wake of disasters. It will also help first responders with search and rescue operations.

    The drone’s features include a thermal imaging camera, high visibility strobe light, and a loudspeaker for communicating instructions to victims or responders.

    “This drone will provide an additional way to support our community as well as our first responders before, during and after disasters,” said Cumberland County Emergency Management Coordinator Garry Crumpler. “Our goal is to find new and innovative ways to respond to emergencies and improve the safety of our citizens.”

  • 04 07 Cumb CtyThe National Parent Teacher Association recently designated Seventy-First High School and Stoney Point Elementary School as 2020-2022 Schools of Excellence for their "commitment to building an inclusive and welcoming school-community." They join nine other North Carolina schools and 351 schools nationwide to be recognized as schools of excellence.

    The objective of the School of Excellence program is to encourage best practices for improving family engagement, building inclusive school communities and increasing local PTA participation.

    "We congratulate Seventy-First High School and Stoney Point Elementary School, along with their PTAs, for receiving this recognition," said Dr. Marvin Connelly, Jr., superintendent of Cumberland County Schools.

    For more information about the National PTA School of Excellence program, visit the program's website.

  •     Creation Festival: The Tour, the blockbuster event of the Fall, is coming to the Crown Coliseum on Thursday, Nov. 6 at 6 p.m.Patterned after the Creation Festivals, the nation’s largest Christian music festival and the premier name in Christian music events, this “mini Creation on wheels” will be headlined by BEC Recordings band, Kutless, with special guests, Thousand Foot Krutch and Pillar.  The line up is rounded out by female-fronted rockers, Fireflight, Run Kid Run and Integrity’s Worth Dying For providing a time of praise and worship. 
        KJ-52 will also perform and serve as MC for the night. World-renowned speaker, Bob Lenz, will share the gospel each night, with Pastor Harry Thomas, Creation Festival director and co-founder and Teen Mania’s founder, Ron Luce, also joining the tour on select dates. A special “pre-show” will kick off the event, featuring performances by Esterlyn and Capital Lights. {mosimage}
        “I think Christian rock needs this tour,” explains Rob Beckley, frontman for Pillar.  “It is a great effort from Creation to have the guts to put this together.  Christian rock needs the tour; one, for the strength of the line up and two, because this generation needs the masses to come together and be encouraged every night through music and leave stronger than they came in.  Pillar is excited to be a part of the tour, and I’m excited to see the other bands!”  
        The goal of Creation Festival: The Tour is to not only provide an exciting evening of great music, but also present an opportunity to impact the local community through outreach. Each city will partner with a local ministry, such as a food bank or clothing drop and attendees are asked to bring a can of food, thick socks or a warm blanket to donate to the cause.  Details for the outreach for each date can be found online at www.creationfesttour.com/itstartswithyou.  
        “The center purpose and mission of what we do at the Creation Festivals and now thru this tour is to give ‘Tribute to our Creator,’” says Nick Kulb, executive producer of the Tour. “That simple founding principal from 30 years ago is still in the forefront of our operations and is proving the test of time. This tour is extremely ministry and community active — we are looking forward to seeing thousands of lives changed as they accept Christ in the nightly alter call — we’ve teamed up with Compassion International and we’ve also launched the ‘It Starts With You’ campaign.  This tour is so much more than the artists performing nightly; collectively, each of the bands and speakers are heading out on a united front with the Good News of Christ Jesus and to see lives radically changed for Him.”
        Tickets are $25 to $38 and are on sale now. Additional fees may apply. Group discounts are available. Tickets may be purchased at the Crown Center Box Office, all Ticketmaster outlets, Ticketmaster.com or by calling 910-223-2900. The Crown Center main box office is located at the Crown Coliseum and open Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
        The Crown Center is owned and operated by Cumberland County. Located in Fayetteville, North Carolina, the complex features a 60,000 square-foot exposition center, a 2,400-seat theatre, a 4,500-seat arena and a 10,000-seat coliseum.  For more information on the complex, visit www.AtTheCrown.com.
  •     Hurry, tickets are going fast. Limited seating, Reservations required!
        The Fayetteville Animal Protection Society spends the majority of its time throughout the year making life better for our four-legged friends. On Friday, Nov. 7, they are asking you to give those same four-legged friends an early Christmas present by attending the annual Join us FAPS Holiday Benefit at Highland Country Club. This fun, casual affair will begin at 6:30 p.m., and tickets are still available.
        {mosimage}A $40 per person donation will allow to you to enjoy good old American eats of hotdogs, hamburgers, grilled chicken, french fries, onion rings, pasta salad and an array of deserts. Icy cold, refreshing beer, wine and soft drinks, will also be provided. A cash bar will be available.
        Once you’ve filled your tummy, event organizers hope you’ll help fill the FAPS coffers by participating in a silent auction. The auction has an array of irresistible items, including jewelry, art, lamps, antiques, pet-themed items, golf packages, pottery by Mark Hewitt and Ben Owen, salon & spa treatments and much more! A 32” Samsung Flat-Screen LCD HDTV will be auctioned off and raffle tickets are available for $10 each.
        The winner need not be present to win. The night will conclude with a live auction open to all attendees.
    Proceeds from the holiday benefit will go towards sheltering FAPS homeless animals, the agency’s spay/neuter and humane education fund, sick and injured fund and shelter operating costs.Featured items, donated by local businesses make great gifts for friends, family or yourself, just in time for the holiday season! {mosimage}
        For more information on how you can help homeless animals, attend the holiday benefit or purchase a raffle ticket, please call the FAPS shelter at 910-864-2077, Monday-Friday from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. or check the organization out on the Web at www.fapspet.org.
  •     Disneyland has long been a dream destination for small children. The idea of Cinderella’s Castle, parades of favorite Disney characters and rides of all degrees of thrills put a glimmer in a child’s eye and a longing in their heart.
        One drawback about Disneyland is it is thousands of miles away on the West Coast, but don’t worry you can bring the magic of Disneyland to your child right here in Fayetteville as Feld Entertainment brings a Disneyland Adventure to the Crown Coliseum Oct. 23-26.
        Disney on Ice brings the magic of Disney to life on the ice. Disney has brought together some of the most talented ice skaters in the world together to glide into your child’s heart through their imagination. During this iteration of Disney on Ice, one of Disney’s favorite families, The Incredibles ask you to join them on a trip to the Magic Kingdom.
        {mosimage}The Parr family (the Incredibles) choose to go to Disney Land after Mother Nature ruins their initial vacation plans with a volcano (this incident is in the short  comic book The Incredibles in: “Holiday Heroes”). One minute into the Main Street Parade (for which the Parrs are reluctant Grand Marshals), an android replica of  Syndrome, ( an archenemy of the Incredibles) attacks the resort, kidnaps Mickey and Minnie Mouse, and makes plans to build his own theme park, SyndromeLand in the resort’s place, forcing the Parrs to become the Incredibles and come out of hiding once more.
        The robot Syndrome imprisons Mickey and Minnie in the Pirates of the Caribbean section of the park, but is forced to lock them up in laser prisons instead after the Incredibles attack him. When Frozone imprisons the robot Syndrome in ice, Mickey and Minnie are liberated and the resort is restored.
        Goofy, Pluto, Donald Duck and Chip and Dale, along with characters from The Jungle Book, Toy Story, Cinderella, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and Alice in Wonderland, make cameo appearances through out the early half of the show before coming together at parade time when they all manage to escape Syndrome. The  Enchanted Tiki Room, Jungle Cruise, Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Haunted Mansion, Mad Tea Party, Main Street, U.S.A., It’s a Small World and Pirates of the Caribbean, sections of the Magic Kingdom, as well as the entrance to the Cinderella Castle centerpiece, are all part of the show
        Tickets for Disney On Ice presents a Disneyland Adventure are $13.50 to $19.50 for reserved seats and $26.50 to $36.50 for VIP and Rinkside seating and go on sale Friday, Aug. 1 at 10 a.m. Group and military discounts are available. All seats excluding VIP and Rinkside are only $12 for opening night. Additional fees may apply. Tickets may be purchased at the Crown Center Box Office, all Ticketmaster outlets, Ticketmaster.com or by calling 910-223-2900. The Crown Center main box office is located at the Crown Coliseum and is open Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.  
  •     {mosimage}It’s been a long, hot summer for the FireAntz faithful, but summer’s over and the FireAntz are ready to skate their way back in to the hearts of their fans, as FireAntz hockey comes to the Crown Coliseum on Oct. 31.
    While this will be the first home stand for Fayetteville’s most popular athletes, the hockey team will storm into the Crown after adding two notches to its belt this past weekend, defeating Richmond 6-3 on Saturday, Oct. 25; and schooling last year’s league champions, Knoxville, 3-2 on Friday, Nov. 24.
        Those wins come as no surprise to Jason Fleming, the team’s vice president. Fleming doesn’t hesitate to talk about the upcoming season and the team’s players with enthusiasm.
        “We’re really excited about this upcoming season,” said Fleming. “Last year we were just one win away from reaching the finals for the second consecutive year.”
        While many teams in the league are experiencing a rebuilding season, the FireAntz are blessed to have eight of their returning starters back on the line this season. The team’s future may very well be built on the quick reflexes and leadership of its returning goaltender — Chad Collins. Collins, a fan favorite, has already taken the lead in the Southern Professional Hockey League, and Fleming and company expect him to continue to shine throughout the season.
        He’ll be joined again this year by Kyle Knechtel, who played his rookie year last year. Collins was out for six weeks last year, and Knechtel carried the standard and kept the puck out of the goal for the team during that period. “Kyle was a rookie player, but he really stepped up to the plate and had a huge impact on the team last year. He was an awesome goalie, and we are looking forward to his getting his second playing year under his belt,” said Fleming.
        Six other players are returning – four forwards and two defensemen – to keep the FireAntz in control of the ice. Corey Hessler, the team captain and assistant coach, will lend his maturity and skills to the mix to lead the team to what Fleming and company hopes is certain victory.
        The team is looking to Rob Sich, another fan favorite, and Justin Keller to lead the team’s offense. The two didn’t disappoint in the opening weekend of the season, with both players delivering stellar performances.
    If the hockey isn’t enough to entice you, the team will again a host a number of special events throughout the year, starting with the first home game.
        “Our home opening is on Friday, Oct. 31, so we have to compete with Halloween,” said Fleming. “We’re encouraging everyone to come out and Trick-or-Treat with the FireAntz.”Fleming explained that all of the team’s business partners will have candy stands set up around the coliseum, passing out candy to all of the little FireAntz fans in costume. “It’s a fun, safe atmosphere for trick-or-treat,” continued Fleming. “On top of it, you can a chance to watch the FireAntz at home!”
        The team will also sponsor a costume contest for the best costume (and it doesn’t matter how old you are to compete in this contest.) First prize is a $100 cash prize; second prize is a team jersey; and third place is a team T-shirt.
        The second game in the opening home stand is a repeat of last year’s military events – Operation Welcome Home. “We’re going to sponsor Operation Welcome Home V in conjunction with the Home Builder’s Association of Fayetteville,” explained season. “We are providing 5,000 tickets to the men and women of our military who have recently returned from deployment. We think it’s a nice way to give back to the men and women who have put everything on the line for us. It’s a very small token to say thank you.”
  •    {mosimage} If you were in Fayetteville last year about this time and happened by Festival Park, you may have noticed some strange sights: a Bavarian band, stein relay races, polka dancing and a parade of folks dancing around the park. In case you didn’t figure out what they were doing, they were celebrating Oktoberfest.
        This year, the celebration returns on Saturday, Oct. 18 from 4-8 p.m. The event, sponsored by the Cape Fear Regional Theatre, brings a little of the old country to Fayetteville in an afternoon celebration of fall and fun.
    Oktoberfest, traditionally is a celebration of beer, and while the traditional beer tent will be on site, organizers want people to know that this day-long event is about more than beer.
        “This is one of those festivities that I was thinking to myself that when I had young children, it’s the kind of thing I would like to take them to,” said Marlene Shelton, the managing director of the CFRT. “There’s going to be games, face painting, balloons, something for them to eat, and for adults there will also be beer, pretzels and polka dances. It’s going to be a great family fun event. There’s going to be something for everybody. I like to say there’s going to be something for everyone from grandma to baby.”
        This is the second Oktoberfest sponsored by the theatre. Last year’s event drew crowds to the park; however, it wasn’t much of a fundraiser for the theatre. This year the organization looked at ways to make it a more effective fundraiser. One of the ways of ensuring its financial success was to add an entrance fee. Tickets for people 12 and up are $10 at the gate. With the ticket purchase, you will receive five $1 coupons to be used for games or food once inside the venue. Shelton said that the games will have prizes awarded.
        Celebrants at the Oktoberfest can listen to music, participate in a sing-along, play games, eat food, lots of food, imbibe of their favorite adult beverage and maybe even take a hayride..
        And for the young-at-heart, but long-in-the-tooth (you adults), there are games for you, too. These games center around the traditional celebration of Oktoberfest, and no, we’re not talking about beer pong. The first event, the Beer Stein Holding contest, is a lot harder than it sounds. The object of the contest is to extend your arm and hold a large beer stein in front of your body without spilling it. The mug can only be held in on hand, and once the competition begins, you cannot switch hands. Participants are eliminated when the level of their mugs drop enough to allow beer to spill. The winner is the one who outlasts everyone else.
        The Beer Stein Relay is a great team competition. The object of this game is to transfer beer from one full bucket to another. Each team will be composed of six members. Team members take turns, relay-style transferring the beer. Sound easy? Think again. The trick is that each player must do this by balancing the beer-filled mug on the palm of their hand as they transport it from one end of the course to the other. If a team member spills his or her beer before dumping it into the other bucket, that member has to start over. The first team to overfill their bucket wins.
        And, of course, Oktoberfest wouldn’t be Oktoberfest without the beer and food. The beer tent will sale several different beers, and will have as its featured beers Hefewiezen and a specially-brewed Oktoberfest beer. Soft drinks, wine and other beers will also be available.
            The theatre board of directors will be manning the grills to offer up the favorite food of Oktoberfest — the bratwurst. “We thought, ‘Hey, they can’t get any better chefs than us,’” said Shelton.
        In addition to the bratwurst there will also be a variety of other foods — ranging from hamburgers and hotgos, chicken kabobs, ice cream and other carnival fare.
        While in the tent, you can raise your mug to the tunes of the Bavarian Brass Band. “They will be playing on and off through the afternoon,” said Shelton. “They’ll perform all of the traditional polkas and German music. They just played in Savannah and ran into some people from Fayetteville. They asked them why there wasn’t something like the event in Fayetteville and they told them there was.”
        For more information about the event, at www.cfrt.org.
  •  Literacy begins in infancy.  Parents, guardians, caregivers and schools should provide a rich literacy environment in order to help our Cumberland County students acquire literacy skills.    
          The Cumberland County Education Foundation and Cumberland County Schools will tout the benefits of literacy at the Reading Rocks Walk-A- Thon on Saturday, Nov. 1 at 9 a.m. in Festival Park in downtown Fayetteville.  Registration begins at 8 a.m.
          “This is our fabulous fifth year that we have had the Reading Rocks walk-a-thon to celebrate literacy,” said Belinda Cashwell, director of media services for the Cumberland County Schools System. “It is our only countywide signature program within the greater Fayetteville area.” 
          {mosimage}The fundraiser began in 2004 when the Cumberland County Schools, in partnership with the Cumberland County Education Foundation, brought together more than 4,000 people in downtown Fayetteville to participate in the first annual Reading Rocks Walk-A-Thon. Cumberland County Schools raised more than $100,000 to buy additional books to enhance classroom libraries. Since then the annual fundraiser has become a huge success and continues to expand.  The books are processed through the schools’ media centers and used in the classroom setting.    
          To meet this year’s goal, Fabulous Fifteen, 15,000 walkers are needed at the event. “Last year the schools raised over $100,000,” said Cashwell.  “This year we raised over $101,000 and that is amazing considering how the economy is.” 
          The 1.5 mile walk will begin in Festival Park. “The route will be the same as last year but will be done in reverse,” said Cashwell.  The Cumberland County Education Foundation will have coffee and doughnuts for sale and Rush Campus Ministries will provide bottled water for all walkers.
         The kickoff for the event features Dr. William Harrison, superintendent of Cumberland County Schools and his cabinet members, CCS Board Members, Mayor Tony Chavonne, the CCS Teacher of the Year Karen Koonce, the North Carolina Teacher of the Year Cindi Rigsbee, Media Coordinator of the Year Jody Phillips, county commissioners and city council members. Recognition will be given to the most improved schools, schools that raised the most in donations and raised the most money per capita. 
         The band of the high school that raises the most money will lead the walk along with the elementary, middle and high schools that raised the most money. There will be many high school bands participating this year and they will be stationed along the route to play for the participants as they walk. “It is an exciting day for the community to celebrate literacy,” said Cashwell. “All 87 Cumberland County Schools will participate.”     
         Donations can be designated to a specific Cumberland County School or to the countywide fund that will be distributed equitably among all schools.  All donations are tax deductible.  Donations can also be submitted to the Cumberland County Education Foundation at P.O. Box 2882, Fayetteville, North Carolina 28302.
          “We look forward to seeing everyone at the walk-a-thon,” said Cashwell. “We are asking that everyone be on time by 8 a.m. due to the inside perimeter of the downtown area being closed off for the walk.” 
          For more information contact Cumberland County Media Services at 678-2613 or the Cumberland County Education Foundation at 221-8800.  No pets are allowed at the event. 
  •     I’ve been dating my boyfriend for two years, and I’m miserable. I want to break it off, but he moved to Colorado to be with me while I finish college, and has no friends here. The last thing I want to do is hurt him. I was thinking about moving back home and finishing college there.
    — Stuck


        How could you ditch him in that barren wasteland where he toils in the biting cold breaking rocks on the work gang and eating only stale crusts of bread and watery soup? All because he moved to Siberia to be with you. Oh, sorry — Colorado. No, breaking up isn’t a laugh riot, but if a guy’s going to get dumped somewhere, a mountain paradise with hordes of hot ski bunnies isn’t exactly the Gulag annex. And besides, he chose to move there. I’m guessing you didn’t encourage him to do it, thinking, “Hah! I’ll lure him out, ditch him and ruin his life!” As for your idea of moving home to finish school, if it’s for educational reasons, have at it. Otherwise, maybe you could do the adult thing and tell him what he surely already knows — that it isn’t working — instead of giving him the idea that you aren’t breaking up, just moving. Well, eventually giving him the idea. When the U-Haul pulls up, he’s sure to figure it out.

    In Need Of A Good Butch Slapping
    I’m straight, but women sometimes think I’m gay. I’m 24, and have what some describe as “pretty boy” features. Apparently, I also have “gay mannerisms.” Is there something I can do to become more masculine? Are there masculine traits or hobbies I could adopt?
    — Straight But Misunderstood


        Um...having sex with women? Then cutting out at 3 a.m., and saying “I’ll call you.” And then don’t. You could also burp a lot and scratch your groin. Of course, then you’ll probably just seem like a gay guy with indigestion and crabs. Okay, so maybe if you start hanging with a bunch of stereotypically straight guys, and really practice walking the walk and talking the talk (keeping hand gestures to a minimum, especially those involving a lot of wrist), you might seem a notch or two butchier. But, ultimately, some bit of swishy business is going to slip through, and you’ll be mistaken for, well, you. Your best bet is just accepting that, and hitting on women you find attractive — lots of them, since you need to find those few who like their men less masculine, and because you’re bound to attract more than a few who’d like a gay best friend. Before long, you should be sashaying off on dates with gayish pride: “We’re here, we’re straight but a little femmy, get used to it!”
  •     The Fayetteville After Five Performing Arts Concert Series comes to a positively ghoulish ending on Thursday, Oct. 16 beginning at 5:30 p.m., when Festival Park becomes home to chilling tunes and a host of supernatural spectators, including ghosts and goblins and perhaps a gremlin or two.
        The hugely succesful event, which raises funds for the Fayetteville Museum of Art, ends the season with a costume concert and the percolating sounds of Mr. Coffee and the Creamers. There will be prizes awarded for the best costumes. There will also be free goodies provided the truly scary cast of characters from the staff of Up and Coming Weekly.
        Mr. Coffee and the Creamers specializes in Motown soul and R&B. It features a diverse array of musicians whose backgrounds include everything from punk to funk, hip-hop to jazz. While performing various classic cover cover songs, the Creamers still manage to bring a unique energy to these old hits while remaining true to the spirit and soul of the music. {mosimage}
        Among the band’s many cover songs are: “My Girl,” The Temptations; “Reach Out (I’ll Be There),” The Four Tops; “Think,” Aretha Franklin; “Soul Man,” Sam & Dave; “Superstition,” Stevie Wonder; “I Want You Back,” Jackson Five;  “Ain’t Too Proud To Beg,” The Temptations; “Sittin’ On The Dock Of The Bay,” Otis Redding; “Tears Of A Clown,” Smokey Robinson and the Miracles; “I Heard It Through The Grapevine,” Marvin Gaye; and “Son of a Preacher Man,” Dusty Springfield;
        Band members include: Erik Aagaard and Jon Christie on guitars;  John Crouch on drums; Carl Dorr on keyboards; Noah Fiorentino on bass; Jason Gabriel on sax and vocals; Dan Kinney on vocals and auxiliary percussion; Andy Kleindienst on trombone and vocals; Tim Smith on sax, flute and vocals; and Robeson County’s own Charly Lowry on vocals.
        Lowry gained a measure of fame when she was a contestant on American Idol several years ago, competing in the show’s third season. Lowryís performance of Creedence Cleawater Revival’s “Proud Mary” earned her a spot among Idol’s final 32 and a trip to Los Angeles.
        A member of the Lumbee tribe, Lowry has released a solo CD entitled Movin’ On, which reflects her heritage, boasting such songs as the single “Brown Skin.” She released the CD on the Greensky Records label.
        For more information on Mr. Coffee and the Creamers, check out the Web site, www.mrcoffeeandthecreaners.com.
        Fayetteville After Five is a free event that raises money for the Fayetteville Museum of Art. In addition to the music, there are vendors and tents featuring such activities as the Young at Art Tent, which allows children to participate in making art, as well as the Visual Artist Tent, which features artists creating arts and crafts on-site, as well as a selection of unuque, hand-crafted art.
        No coolers or food are allowed — bring a blanket or lawn chair and arrice early to get a good view of Mr. Coffee and the Creamers.
  •     {mosimage}With a shake of her head and a slightly embarrassed shrug, a current member of the Spring Lake N.C. Ghosthunters commented, “I can honestly say that of all the hobbies that I ever imagined myself becoming involved with, ghost hunting never was one of them.” But she added with a shy, almost apologetic smile, “But now, I just love it!”
        Ghost hunting is becoming one of the nation’s fastest growing hobbies. Much of the credit for the emergence of ghost hunting’s gain in popularity and legitimacy is given to Jason Hawes and Grant Wilson, the founding members of The Atlantic Paranormal Society (TAPS). Several years ago, these two average men, who are plumbers by day, managed to get the SciFi Channel to film their team’s ghost hunting investigations as a regular, weekly TV show.
        This public exposure of how ghost hunting can be done using scientific and experimental methods, along with specialized equipment, took away much of the scary, and often comical, stigma that was once attached to intentionally encountering ghosts and the study of the paranormal. Other networks picked up on the theme and now have their own ghost hunting and/or paranormal shows. An offshoot of the popularity of the programs is that underground groups that secretly or privately investigate or that have existed quietly within the structure of many religious bodies and organizations, are now going public.
        Ghost hunting and studying the paranormal has gone mainstream.
        In our community, the Spring Lake N.C. Ghosthunters have been conducting paranormal investigations for years. The group, founded by two childhood friends, Mick Barraza and the late Dave Gilfillan, conducts scientific investigations and to help those who are experiencing — or seem to be experiencing — paranormal activity. Upon request, the current team performs free paranormal investigations of homes, businesses or sites on a regular basis.
        By using special equipment, experience and skill, Barraza said that one of his group’s main purposes is to attempt to “debunk” or to investigate and try to explain through logical and feasible means any occurrences that might appear to be paranormal in nature. He added that he and his team go into investigations with a healthy dose of skepticism — but also with the understanding, compassion, and knowledge that not everything can be logically explained.
        According to Barraza, the group is grounded in scientific theory. Members conduct their investigations with a professional demeanor and use equipment such as digital and regular cameras, video cameras, K-II meters, laser thermometers that measure temperature fluctuations, and several other experimental ghost hunting devices.
        Using this equipment, the team attempts to capture sometimes unseen images or record unheard human voices, or obtain other types of evidence of ghosts and of paranormal activity.
        So just who are these people who choose to investigate the existence of ghosts, spirits and unexplained phenomenon?
        Members of the group are an extremely diverse group of individuals. The team is made up of business professionals, blue-color workers, a few ministers, grandmothers, several mediums and retired individuals. Barraza noted that his team comes from a cornucopia of professional, social and religious backgrounds, but the members strive to respect one another’s differences and individual gifts. He said that he considers one of the group’s greatest strengths to be its multi-faceted membership.
        The broader answer to the question of why someone chooses to become a ghost hunter, however, is more complex. Some people become ghost hunters for the thrill, and maybe the fright factor of seeing or experiencing a ghost or something paranormal. Others join because ghost hunting is one aspect or expression of their religious or spiritual journey or personal belief system. Many join out of curiosity about the paranormal or because of personal experience with the paranormal.
        Though many people are becoming more open to the scientific examination of ghosts and hauntings, many people still do not approve or understand the nature of scientifically-based ghost hunting. They still have no idea about the practices, skills and knowledge required and involved in this emerging science, Barraza said. Some people even assume that ghost hunters are non-religious individuals, witches, Satanists or people who focus solely on the occult. Barraza said those stereotypical and prejudicial notions are not true of the vast majority of ghost hunting groups.
        Belonging to a ghost hunting group definitely does have an upside, according to Barraza. Not only does a member occasionally get to encounter a ghost, but one also may find a place of refuge and safety within the group. One of the key drawing points is the common and unifying element of members being able to share their personal stories about their own paranormal encounters and experiences with other individuals who have had similar experiences or who are open to hearing about these encounters. The group is a safe place to talk about this subject that many people avoid.
        Members also learn what could almost be considered a new language of paranormal, spiritual, supernatural, and technological terminology and subject matter: “Did anyone feel that cold spot?” “Look at this orb I caught on film. Do you think it is a water spot, or a dust particle, or since it glows, could it be an energy orb?” “Anyone know the best place to buy an EMF meter?” “Do you think that black shadows are a form of negative energy, intelligent dark matter or the manifestation of a human spirit?”
        When it comes to scientific ghost hunting, there is a lot to learn, and there’s more to it than running around in the graveyard at night.
        Well, maybe.
        Barraza admits that sometimes his team does actually run around in graveyards in the middle of the night — but with permission, with proper regard for the gravestones and the graveyard property, and most importantly, always with the utmost respect toward any spirit that may be encountered by the team.
        If you have a paranormal problem and want help from the Spring Lake N.C. Ghosthunters, please call 436-2337. Leave a message on the machine and the case manager of the team will call you back. On Halloween, Up & Coming Weekly staffers will accompany the team on an investigation. Check back next week for the outcome of that investigation.

     Rules for Ghost Hunting

    Here are a few final words of wisdom from the members of the Spring Lake N.C. Ghosthunters:
    •Ghost hunting might be fun and exciting, but understand that it can also be potentially dangerous.
    •ALWAYS let someone know where you are going.
    •Never ghost hunt alone.
    •Always obtain permission before investigating a site because you can get charged with trespassing  —  or maybe even shot  —  if you investigate a site without permission.
    •Find out beforehand what the visiting hours and policies are of graveyards that you might want to investigate, especially at night.
    •If possible, give local law enforcement advance notice that you will be conducting an investigation in a certain area. They tend to get nervous and ask lots of questions when they unexpectedly encounter a group doing an investigation in the middle of the night.
    •Be aware that not everything that goes bump in the night is friendly and sometimes what you investigate can be extremely frightening and even dangerous…and might even follow you home.
    •Never use ouija boards because you may inadvertently open spiritual doorways that are often extremely hard to close.
    •ALWAYS bring extra batteries.
    •Wear appropriate clothing.
    •Remember to check for ticks after ghost hunting outdoors.
    •Never bring children along with you on a ghost hunt or investigation.
    • ALWAYS be respectful of any spirit that you might encounter or are hoping to encounter.
    •And finally, from the Spring Lake N.C. Ghosthunters, “Have a happy and most importantly safe ghost hunt!”


  •     Angela Pusateri, 79, may be unconventional, but, according to Jenna, 13, “She really is a cool grandmother.” The Hallandale Beach, Fla., woman is a rap-music singer with a new CD (Who’s Your Granny?) and occasional playdates, where she shows up in hockey jersey, jewels, sunglasses and baseball cap. Sample rap: “I can bring the noise better than P-Diddy / I am older and wiser, I ain’t a disguiser / I am condo commando in a high-riser, Who’s your granny?” Also, “Move over, Trick-Daddy, ‘cause this is my town / I gotta shuffleboard posse and we’re known to get down.” Actually, conceded Jenna to the South Florida Sun-Sentinel in September, “Sometimes it’s embarrassing.” 

    Latest Religious Messages
        Toward a More Accessible Anglican Church:
        In August, Birmingham Cathedral announced plans to open a series of wine bars in London, as (according to an official) one of the “alternative ways” of engaging non-church-goers.
        The new church curate in Dursley, Gloustershire, is Rev. Skye Denno, 29, a married mother of two, whose down time is spent in biker boots, hot pants, a dog collar and her six piercings, listening to the Sex Pistols. Said she, “I don’t do it to be difficult. (I) think it makes me more approachable.”

    Undignified Deaths
        A 21-year-old man fishing off Jones Beach on New York’s Long Island in July was killed when he yanked his line back too quickly, propelling his 3-ounce lead sinker out of the water, where it struck his head and penetrated his brain.
        A 32-year-old man lounging beside a pool in Leland, N.C., in August was killed when a burst of wind dislodged a canopy umbrella, thrusting the tip into his skull.
        A 79-year-old motorist watching a crane lift a steeple onto a new church in Oklahoma City in July was killed when the crane toppled over and crushed his car.

    Fine Points of the Law
        Joey Bergamine, 19, who is preparing for a re-trial in Fayetteville, N.C., on a DUI charge stemming from a July 2007 incident, will argue that he should have been advised of his right to have a lawyer present when his father kicked open his bedroom door hours after the incident to help police officers who had come to question him. Joey’s father is the police chief of Fayetteville, and Joey’s lawyer said entering a locked room, as well as the subsequent interrogation, constituted “police” action and not “parental” action, and since his dad failed to “Mirandize” him, the charge should be dismissed.
  •    {mosimage} From fire came a phoenix... a songbird.
        And so it was with Cape Fear Music, which survived two fires... figuratively and literally.
        The first one was a fire sale of sorts when longtime Fayetteville music retailer McFadyen Music was bought out by the conglomerate Brooke Mayes Music Company about three years ago, sparking a quartet of musicians and artisans — Tony Harrison, Jeff Stone, Dave Waylett and Tyrone Green — to start their own venture... Cape Fear Music. Well-regarded guitar instructor Guy Unger joined the team at a later date.
        They began anew, bringing 120 years of combined teaching and playing experience to their new location at the Gas House on Rowan Street.
        Then, in 2007, the second fire... real this time... burned their business down in a sad symphony of strings and snare drums, melting away $160,000 in instruments and machinery — some of it irreplaceable, such as Harrison’s vintage Gibson ES-175, and Old World musician’s tools; however, Cape Fear Music rose from the ashes again, regrouping and relocating to its present location at 128 Maxwell St., offering lessons, instrument sales and band and orchestra rentals and repairs.
        “As far as I know, we’re the only shop in town that rents, repairs and offers instruction in band and orchestra all under one roof,” said Harrison.
        Cape Fear Music also offers a diverse mix of musical instruments from major manufacturers such as Gretsch, Samick and Roland. However, it’s the lessons, the education of musical minds young and old alike, that drives the staff.
        “We knew after McFadyen Music was bought out that there would be a void in music education and repair,” said Harrison. “That’s why we started this. In Guy, we have one of the most respected guitar teachers in Fayetteville. I mean, we do sell instruments... it helps pay the bills... but our focus really is education.”
        Cape Fear Music offers courses in guitar, piano, bass, drums and voice. The shop’s instructors are big proponents of teaching music theory and performance, sponsoring a regular 4th Friday event at the Cotton Exchange in which young students perform on stage with fellow musicians.
        “The performances and the classes allow the students to develop their creative side,” said Stone, who teaches drums. “The 4th Friday performances are a way to teach the students as well as allow them to interact with other musicians.”
        The shop acts as a haven for local musicians, with jam sessions often going long into the night after the doors are closed. And it’s not just local musicians — Cape Fear Music is sponsoring a pair of workshops featuring world renowned musicians Greg Bennett and Pat Petrillo.
        Bennett is known as a world class fingerstylist as well as guitar designer; he will offer demonstrations of both his guitar technique and guitar building skills at Cape Fear Music on Oct. 28, starting at 7 p.m. (Location is subject to change — check out the latest news concerning the venue at the shop’s Web site, www.capefearmusiccenter.com.)
        Petrillo is a major league drummer who has taught at The Collective School of Music in New York and is currently an adjunct professor at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke. The date and time of his workshop has yet to be finalized — check out the Web site for updates.
        Again, the staff at Cape Fear Music is unanimous in the belief that it’s their core mission to educate the masses on the magic of music.
        “We like to think we have a comfortable atmosphere for moms, as well as musicians,” said Harrison.     “Some moms drop off their kids and leave because they know they’re safe here.”
        “We have students from age 5 to 55,” added Stone. “We help students not only learn about music, but learn about themselves. Some kids come here and decide they don’t want to play an instrument... they want to do something else. And that’s OK, too.”
  •     There will be a “Bohemian Rhapsody” at the Cumberland County Public Library’s Pate Room on Sunday, Nov. 2, when the 3rd Annual Bohemian Arts & Music Festival hits all the right notes with a tantalizing  cultural stew served up by an eclectic variety of musicians and performance artists.{mosimage}
        Local blues musician Claudia Swartz, the guiding force behind the festival, says she started the event to expose local folks to the often overlooked musical form that is the blues; however, she that the event has taken off into the stratosphere, soaring like a B.B. King guitar solo.
        “Last year’s event drew over 1,800 people to the seven-hour show,” said Swartz. “I started this when I noticed the lack of inclusion of blues music in town and the lack of local venues to display the local talent, such as Robby Reid. But it’s become so popular that we now have many different types of musicians... I’ve even had to turn away some bands that wanted to play the festival.”
        In addition to the blues, bands will present salsa and bluegrass music, to name just a few of the diverse forms, and performance arts will include the always popular belly dancing. There will also be works by local artists for sale at the free event, with 20 percent of the proceeds going to the Friends of the Library program. The event is cosponsored by BeatHeart Productions and the Fayetteville United Musicians and Artists.
        Swartz, who describes herself as a “community activist,” says she’s organized the past festivals — including the recent 4th Annual Artist Blues Showcase — mostly on her own, and is hoping to get a little help.
    “It would be great to get some sponsors,” she said. “It’s really gotten so big that it’s hard for me to do it all on my own.”
        Swartz says she is looking for folks to help provide the following goods and services: monetary donations to purchase old doors and other decorating items for the Pate Room, food donations for the musicians, rental of lighting for the art works, help transporting bulky items to the Pate Room.
        Among the musicians and bands on tap for the show — which is scheduled to run from noon to 7 p.m. — are: Mighty Blue, Andrea P., Mama’s Pride, Danny Nieves, Jan Petty, Pitch Blue, Corky Jones, Tony Baldwin, In That Tone, Mandy Barnes, Chris Cox, the Greg Grimes Band, Giant Drum, Ray King, Tom Beckwith, Kenny Huffman, Robbie Reid, Blue Sky, and Steve Trank.
        Visual artists include: Courtnee Hummel, Judy Anderson, Jeff Coleman, Tracy Gow, Dorothy Finiello, Robin Garr, Harold Grace, Govina Taylor, Ashley Jones, Fayetteville State University students and Flossie Wilson.
    Swartz, who came here from Atlanta, says the event has helped initiate local residents to the blues — a musical art form often relegated to the dustbin of artistry by popular culture.
        “I helped to really start a renaissance of sorts in the blues when I was in Atlanta and it is really spreading there now,” said Swartz. “With the help of local blues musicians such as Robbie Reid and jazz musician Corky Jones, more and more people are getting turned on to the blues here in Cumberland County.”
        She says here intent is to use the blues to help transform her adopted hometown of Hope Mills into a musical showcase of sorts for local artists.
        And she wants to get the youngsters turned on to the blues.
        “Next year I want to bring a blues program, to the schools,” said Swartz. “And I also want to start up a summer blues camp for guitar players.”
        If you’d like more information on the Bohemian Arts & Music Festival, or would like to donate money, goods, or time, contact Swartz at blueslover51@yahoo.com.
  •  

    30WhatsUp• Nov. 2 Hope Meals See flyer, LEFT.

    • Nov. 4-12 Heroes Homecoming V at the Hope Mills Public Library, 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Nov. 4 is the first day of a nine-day ceremonious event to honor veterans. The focus will be on Vietnam veterans. Visit www.heroeshomecoming.com for more information. The event is free and open to the public.

    • Nov. 4 - 12 Cumberland County’s display of Missing Man Tables The public is invited to tour these tables, thank the businesses participating and – most importantly – honor our MIA/POW soldiers. Visit www.heroeshomecoming.com for details.

    • Nov. 5 Vietnam Veterans Memorial Ceremony and Flag Display hosted by The Hope Mills Veterans Advisory Commission at the Hope Mills Veterans Memorial from 3-4:30 p.m. Special guest speaker will be retired Lt. Col. Walt Brinker. Free and open to the public.

    • Nov. 6 Bench Dedication at Hope Mills Lake by the Hope Mills VFW Post 10630. The dedication starts at 5 p.m. and is free and open to the public. Visit www.heroeshomecoming.com for details.                     

    • Nov. 8 Veteran Movie Extravaganza Millstone 14 on Camden Road in Hope Mills will honor veterans by presenting an evening of military-themed movies. The event is free for veterans and their families. The event begins at 4 p.m., and space is limited. Call (910) 354-2124.                     

    • Nov. 10 Building Dedication Ceremony by VFW Post 10630 honoring retired CW4 Edwin S. Deaver, former Hope Mills mayor and commissioner.

    • Nov. 11 Veterans Day event at VFW Post 10630 3-5 p.m. Call (910) 424-4555 for details.

     

  •  

    11VRCSometimes in life, we take certain things for granted. Just imagine what life would be like without having the sense of sight. There are over 900 blind and visually impaired individuals in Cumberland County, which is why the Vision Resource Center presents its Out of Sight Blindfolded Dining Event Saturday, Nov. 18, from 5-10 p.m. at the Hellenic Center.

    “The purpose of the Out of Sight Dining Event is to give people the opportunity to get an idea in that space to see what it is like to be blind and visually impaired and how they would feel in that position,” Terri Thomas, executive director of The Vision Resource Center, said. “This is why we need funding for the things that we do with the blind.”

    What does it feel like to be blind? Thomas asked this question to blind and visually impaired individuals she did an exercise with. Their answers: scared, vulnerable, not trusting and isolated.

    “When I participate in activities and I am blindfolded, I am scared – and it is not a good feeling,” Thomas said. “I can take my blindfold off at the end of the activity, but they don’t have a blindfold on, and this is their reality all day long.”

    Proceeds from the event will be used for training and skills development for blind and visuallyimpaired individuals.

    “The funding from the event will be used for adaptation/socialization skills and to support the transportation that is needed to transport these individuals,” Thomas said. “They want to do more things that they really like, and they want to be able to socialize with each other.”

    Thomas added that blind and visually-impaired individuals want to get out and socialize just like everyone else. They want to enjoy life and have fun.

    Transportation has also been an issue this year at The Vision Resource Center. “The air conditioner is not working in our bus,” Thomas said. “We have to be able to transport our people and cannot afford a new one.”

    Adaptive technology is also needed for these individuals. This includes iPhones and technology to help them as they navigate around their homes to perform daily tasks and chores.

    “It is so disheartening to want to get these items but we just don’t have the money for them,” Thomas said. “I struggle every year, and it is by the grace of God that we make it every year.”

    Ticket cost is $75 for individuals, $125 for couples and $600 for a reserved table of eight.

    The Hellenic Center is located at 614 Oakridge Ave. For more information, call (910) 483-2719.

     

    PHOTO: The Vision Resource Center’s Out of Sight Dining Event raises funds for blind and visually-impaired community members.

     

  •  

    10FLPLThe quarterly Fayetteville Ladies Power Lunch creates a space where women in Fayetteville network with, learn from, empower and celebrate each other. The final lunch of 2017 takes place Nov. 9 at the Ramada Plaza. Retired Col. Marsha Lunt, a veteran who accomplished many firsts during her time in the Army, is November’s keynote speaker.

    Lunt served in the U.S. Army Medical Corps for 30 years. After being commissioned as a U.S. Army officer in 1978, she was among the first women to be integrated into the Army when the Women’s Army Corps was disestablished in 1978. She was also among the first women to graduate the Army’s Airborne School and later was one of the first female commanders of a medical clearing company supporting an Army Infantry Division.

    After retiring from the Army, Lunt served and succeeded in another male-dominated profession as the emergency manager for Womack Army Medical Center for 15 years. She retired from her position at Womack in July, at which point she received the prestigious North Carolina Order of the Long Leaf Pine award. This honor is conferred by North Carolina’s governor and, according to the award website, “is awarded to persons for exemplary service to the State of North Carolina and their communities that is above and beyond the call of duty and which has made a significant impact and strengthened North Carolina.”

    Lunt said her speech will focus on the way Fayetteville is such a unique community due to its large population of veterans and how that relates to opportunities for female business owners and entrepreneurs.

    “I think the Power Lunch is all about finding out what other businesses are out there and networking with those ladies,” Lunt said. “There are some very good, strong businesswomen in this community, and I think they can benefit from just interacting with each other. It empowers them. To know somebody else, to see what they’re doing – you pick up on their drive and their initiative. … Each time I go, I understand more and more how valuable this program is.”

    Paulette Naylor, FLPL board of directors member, said she appreciates the timeliness of having Lunt as a keynote speaker. “As we honor and recognize our military veterans this month, I think it’s only fitting that we would invite a prestigious female officer to join us to discuss her path and challenges in breaking through the glass ceiling,” Naylor said.

    The Power Lunch opens at 10 a.m. with registration and an exclusive Shopportunity expo featuring dozens of local, women-owned vendors. 

    “This event presents lots of opportunities to spend your dollars locally and help support the outstanding women in your community,” Naylor said. There will also be a wine bar and wine-tasting.

    Seating for the Thanksgiving-themed lunch begins at 11:45 a.m. The entrees are turkey with dressing or stuffed pork chop.

    At noon, opening remarks will be followed by lunch and Lunt’s keynote speech. At 1:45 p.m., there will be door prizes courtesy of every vendor, a 50-50 raffle and closing remarks. The formal portion of the event concludes at 2 p.m., leaving an hour for continued networking and conversation before the Power Lunch officially concludes at 3 p.m.

    This year, the Power Lunch has chosen education as its charity of choice platform. A portion of the luncheon proceeds will benefit the Kidsville News Literacy and Education Foundation, a 501c3 nonprofit organization that provides funding assistance for reading and educational resources to school children in Cumberland and Hoke Counties.

    The Fayetteville Ladies Power Lunch takes place at the Ramada Plaza, 1707-A Owen Dr., and costs $35 to register. Vendor tables and sponsorships are available. To learn more, or to register, visit www.FayettevilleLadiesPowerLunch.com.

     

    PHOTO: Retired Col. Marsha Lunt

     

  •  

    01CoverThe Vietnam War was a divisive one. But what is unquestionable is the human heart of those in military service. Retired Navy Master Chief  (TMCM SS) Patrick J. Moore is one of those men. He joined the U.S. Navy in 1959 and served for 30 years. At the time of the Vietnam War, he was an E-6 torpedo man aboard the U.S.S. Bang.

    “It’s hard on a submarine, and you go to sea for three or four months. But I had the best camaraderie there has been with the crews on submarines. I had the best,” he said.

    Reflections like these are necessary to hear and important in understanding the veteran point of view. For the upcoming fifth annual Heroes Homecoming, events will take place throughout Cumberland County from Nov. 1 to Nov. 12. Heroes Homecoming honors the sacrifices of all military veterans, but each year it turns its focus to a specific conflict in our nation’s history. This year, Vietnam War veterans are the honorees.

    According to John Meroski, president/CEO of the Fayetteville Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, Vietnam veterans were chosen as honorees once again because “we can’t thank them enough.”

    Here is the schedule of events:

    Saturday, Nov. 4

    The annual Fayetteville Veterans Day Parade will start at 10 a.m. It will take place downtown on Hay Street, with Cumberland County students and Vietnam veterans in attendance.

    At 2 p.m., the Museum of the Cape Fear is hosting “A Soldier’s Heart: Understanding Vietnam Veterans’ Experiences through Oral History,” led by Dr. Cyndi Briggs. Her discussion will focus on stories she collected from Vietnam veterans over the years.

    Sunday, Nov. 5

    From 3 to 4:30 p.m. at the Hope Mills Veterans Memorial, a memorial ceremony and flag display will take place to honor Vietnam veterans. Retired Lt. Col. Walt Brinker, a Vietnam veteran, will be a guest speaker.

    Monday, Nov. 6

    At the Hope Mills Lake at 5 p.m., there will be a veteran’s bench dedication.

    Tuesday, Nov. 7

    From 1 to 4 p.m., the Museum of the Cape Fear will host a meet-and-greet with Vietnam veterans. Lt. Col. Walt Brinker will lead a presentation on his experience with PTSD and what other veterans can do to deal with their trauma.

    Wednesday, Nov. 8

    Starting at 4 p.m., Millstone 14 will present a military-themed movie night free of charge for veterans and their families. Call (910) 354-2124 for details.

    Thursday, Nov. 9

    From Thursday to Sunday, Nov. 12, the Airborne and Special Operations Museum will host the traveling replica of the Washington ,D.C., Vietnam Veterans Memorial. Also known as The Moving Wall, it lists the names of all who perished during the Vietnam War.

    ASOM will honor Gold Star Families in a Vietnam Veteran pinning ceremony at 6:30 p.m. Nov. 9.

    Also at 6:30 p.m., a Yellow Ribbon Tribute dinner will be hosted at the Spring Lake Recreation and Parks Building honoring Vietnam veterans’ families.

    Friday, Nov. 10

    U.S. Armed Forces veterans and their families will be honored at the Eastover Community Center. There will be refreshments and speakers, starting at 7 p.m.

    Saturday, Nov. 11

    ASOM will show “On the Air: A Tribute to Bob Hope and America’s Heroes” and “Hello Vietnam: A Tribute to Bob Hope and America’s Heroes.” Showings will take place at 11 a.m. and 3 p.m.

    Sponsored by the Freedom Biker Church and Rolling Thunder, the first Heroes Homecoming Motorcycle Rally takes place from noon to 8 p.m. It will start at Fort Bragg Harley-Davidson and make its way to The Moving Wall dedication ceremony at ASOM before ending at Festival Park. There will be food trucks, tattoo and beard contests, speakers, bands – and a VIP tent for all Vietnam veterans.

    ASOM’s The Moving Wall dedication takes place at 1 p.m. on the parade field. It will feature speakers such as Ray Scrump, who is a former prisoner of war, and Jim Hollister of Rolling Thunder.

    Sunday, Nov. 12

    From 1 to 3 p.m., ASOM will host a discussion and book signing with Mark Bowden. Bowden is best known for “Black Hawk Down: A Story of Modern War.” He will discuss his latest book, “Hue 1968: A Turning Point of the American War in Vietnam.”

    Several other events will take place throughout the entirety of Heroes Homecoming. This includes exhibits at both the Hope Mills and Cumberland County Public Libraries, a Vietnam War display at the Visitors Center at the North Carolina Veterans Park, and an exhibit called “Hugh’s Crate” at Museum of the Cape Fear. According to Meroski, FACVB has also set forth a Missing Man Table Initiative, with more than 200 businesses and organizations pledged to participate. The Missing Man Tables will honor those missing in action or who were prisoners of war during the Vietnam War.

    “When I say Heroes Homecoming, brought to you by the communities of Cumberland County, it really is,” said Meroski. “It goes to show when you have an overarching, pure, good deed, people are going to rally around it.”

    All Heroes Homecoming events are free and open to the public. Visit www.heroeshomecoming.com to learn more.

     

  •  

    • Oct. 2-Nov. 18 Registration for Youth Basketball at Hope Mills Parks and Recreation Center, 5766 Rockfish Rd. The center is open Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. and Saturdays 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. There is instructional basketball for ages 5-6 and regular basketball for ages 7-17. The cost is $30 per child. Address and birth certificate must be presented when registering. Call (910) 426-4105 for details.

    • Oct. 28  Medicine Drop-off from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. at The Hope Mills Fire Department, conducted by the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office.

    • Oct. 31 Trunk ’R Treat at Hope Mills Municipal fields 1 and 2, 6-8 p.m. Ages 1-12. Call (910) 426-4109 for details.

    • Nov. 4-12 Heroes Homecoming V at the Hope Mills Public Library, 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Nov. 4 is the first day of a nine-day ceremonious event to honor veterans. The focus will be on Vietnam Veterans. Visit www.heroeshomecoming.com for more information. The event is free and open to the public.

    • Nov. 4 - 12 Cumberland County’s display of Missing Man Tables.

    The public is invited to tour these tables, thank the businesses participating and – most importantly – honor our MIA/POW soldiers. Visit www.heroeshomecoming.com for details.

    • Nov. 5 Vietnam Veterans Memorial Ceremony and Flag Display hosted by The Hope Mills Veterans Advisory Commission at the Hope Mills Veterans Memorial from 3-4:30 p.m. Special guest speaker will be retired Lt. Col. Walt Brinker. Free and open to the public.

    • Nov. 6 Bench Dedication at Hope Mills Lake by the Hope Mills VFW Post 10630. The dedication starts at 5 p.m. and is free and open to the public. Visit www.heroeshomecoming.com  for details.

    • Nov. 8 Veteran Movie Extravaganza 

    Millstone 14 on Camden Road in Hope Mills will honor veterans by presenting an evening of military-themed movies. The event is free for veterans and their families. The event begins at 4 p.m., and space is limited. Call (910) 354-2124 or visit www.heroeshomecoming.com.

    • Nov. 10 Building Dedication Ceremony by VFW Post 10630 honoring  retired CW4 Edwin S. Deaver, former Hope Mills mayor and commissioner.

     

  • An L.A. socialite bottoms out in The Starter Wife

        I panned The Starter WifeTV movie last year, which is hard to believe now that I’ve seen its new incarnation as a series (Friday, 9 p.m., USA). This time, the production strikes me as a masterpiece, an inside-Hollywood satire worthy of Entourage. All I can say is: My new medications must be working like a charm.
        {mosimage}The Starter Wife is Entourage from the female point of view. Molly (Debra Messing) once lived the high life as a smarmy producer’s spouse. Post-divorce, she has no money, no job and no prospects. To grow as a person, she must find the fortitude to “face the day in machine-wash clothes. ”Messing shines in this role, her face expressing 20 shades of comic humiliation. And the series’ take on Hollywood manners and mores is just plain wicked. Molly’s 7-year-old daughter wants a BlackBerry because other kids at her exclusive private school - namely “Skyler M. and Skyler P.” — have them. A typical movie-producer’s pitch goes something like this: “Think Big meets Die Hard. I call it Big and Hard.”
        I hope The Starter Wife holds up, along with my medications.

    Kath & Kim
    Thursday, 8:30 p.m. (NBC)
        This adaptation of an Australian hit stars Molly Shannon as a tacky hairdresser and Selma Blair as her tacky daughter. They yell at each other, stuff chips into their mouths and get jealous of their tacky boyfriends. The screen is thick with condescension: Look how stupid lower-class people are! If the jokes clicked, fine; but since they don’t, you have plenty of time to get offended by the snobbery. Shannon and Blair act broadly idiotic, trusting their loud outfits to supply all the humor.
    “Let’s go someplace fun!” Kath cries.
        “Applebee’s?” Kim answers, as if the mere mention of a moderately priced restaurant would send us     into hysterics.
        To be honest, Applebee’s sounds a lot more fun than Kath & Kim.

    Life on Mars
    Thursday, 10 p.m. (ABC)
        A modern-day detective named Sam (Jason O’Mara) gets hit by a car and wakes up in 1973. Sam can’t believe he’s really time-traveled, and sadly, neither can we. Life on Mars is chock-full of detritus from the early ‘70s: eight-track tapes, bushy sideburns, Nixon portraits, Harvey Keitel. But it never seems authentic, and the script pushes the cute anachronisms way too hard. “Diet Coke, now that would be somethin’,” a 1973 bartender tells the perpetually disoriented Sam.
        I turned on the producers for good when they showed our hero gazing in awe at the intact World Trade Center towers, blithely milking our national tragedy for their two-bit drama.
        “I had an accident and woke up 35 years in the past,” Sam says. “That either makes me a time-traveler, a lunatic, or I’m lying in a hospital bed in 2008 and none of this is real.”
        You forgot one possibility: You’re in a lousy TV show.
     
    Eleventh Hour
    Thursday, 10 p.m. (CBS)
        Dr. Jacob Hood (Rufus Sewell) is a brilliant scientist who solves mysteries for the FBI. You can tell he’s brilliant by his penchant for talking like the World Book Encyclopedia. He alludes to Rene Descartes and Catherine de’ Medici in the course of an investigation, and even finds an opportunity to quote Nietzsche: “What doesn’t kill me makes me stronger.”
        Yes, Dr. Hood is smart, but Eleventh Hour isn’t. It takes the low road for emotional effect — dead children, anyone? — and offers the silliest solution to a mystery that I’ve seen in years.
        What doesn’t kill me makes me stronger, but Eleventh Hourmight just kill me.

  •  

     15HopeMills KiwanisThe Kiwanis Club of Hope Mills has been active and productive in the last few weeks. Sept. 26, Kiwanis hosted its annual banquet with District 11 Lt. Gov. Susan Chriscoe as the special guest of honor. Dwayne Jacobs was awarded Kiwanian of the Year and recognized for his dedication and hard work.

    During the Kiwanis meeting held Oct. 10, the Fayetteville Marksmen assistant general manager/director of ticket sales, Nathan Driscoll, was a special guest. He spoke of the Fayetteville hockey team’s mission and goals and how they apply to the community. He noted that civic organizations such as the local Kiwanis Club are key entities in bringing the community together along with the local team to better benefit the youth. Driscoll, husband and father of five, said he looks forward to working with local civic groups to formulate programs that will provide ways for families to interact with the Fayetteville Marksmen. 

    The Kiwanis Club held a successful barbecue fundraiser Friday, Oct. 13, and sold over 800 plates. This raised money to help with community efforts such as buying school supplies for local children, helping provide for the local K-Kids and high school Key Clubs and helping low-income families.

    Jan Spell, Kiwanis treasurer, agreed that the sales from the barbecue fundraiser were a blessing. “God is great,” she said. 

    Members from the Kiwanis Club of Hope Mills will travel to Lake Waccamaw Oct. 28 to participate in Kiwanis One Day. This is a day in which Kiwanis clubs from all over the world take part in a variety of community service projects. Kiwanis of Hope Mills will be helping the Boys and Girls Homes of North Carolina with different services from yard work to mentoring the children of the Boys and Girls Home. 

    “It’s surreal,” Jan Spell said.  “This is the one day where every Kiwanis club in the world works together on the same day to make it better. It’s this day when you learn what being a Kiwanis (member) really means.”

    The next meeting will be held Oct. 24 at Mi Casita’s in Hope Mills at 5:30 pm. New members are always welcome, and there is never a shortage of community activities in which to partake. For more information on becoming a member, or if you have any questions, call the Kiwanis of Hope Mills at  (910) 426-7256.

     

     

  •     {mosimage}For one Fayetteville girl, fame is a wrap... or rather, a rap.
    Almost.
        Tati Hilton, 12, is one of 15 finalists in a national talent contest sponsored by Kidz Bop. Hilton was chosen from thousands of finalists after submitting a video called “Bubble Gum Wrap” in which the she raps about positive things, such as good grades and her unconditional love for her pet iDog, Nemo. Hilton, is the only finalist from North Carolina.
        And unlike much of the misogynistic and misanthropic rap filling the airwaves, Hilton’s beats have a “positive” vibe.
        “I want to change the culture of rap music for kids,” said Hilton. “I want to make it more positive.”
        Hilton also wants positive reinforcement for her video. In order to win the Kidz Bop contest, Hilton’s video must be voted on by visitors to the Kids Bop Web site — www.kidzbop.com. The winner will earn a shot at various prizes, including a chance to star in her own Kidz Bop original series; runner-up prizes include an all-expenses paid family vacation to the Beaches Spa and Resort in the Turks and Caicos Islands, as well as a starring role in an official Kidz Bop music video.
        “I’m so excited about this opportunity,” said Hilton. “It’s great to see that all my hard work has started paying off.”
    Hilton has been performing since the age of 3 and has starred at numerous events, including belting out the national anthem at the Foxy 99 Summer Jam at Fort Bragg and singing at the Cumberland County Fair. She also played Addy in a Fayetteville production of the popular American Girlseries and has been featured in several Citi Trends commercials.
        Hilton has also shown journalistic skills, contributing a column to Peace magazine.
        The preteen diva has dived head first into the show biz gig, going so far as to adopt a stage name; her real name is actually Tahtiana Dantzler — she adopted the Tati Hilton moniker as an homage to one of her idols, Paris Hilton. Other entertainers she admires include Missy Elliot and Andre 300 of OutKast.
        Despite having her head in the clouds over her newfound fame, Hilton manages to stay grounded, earning all As (and one B) at the Christian Learning Center.
        “School comes first,” insists Toni Bryant, Hilton’s mother. “She even jokes in ‘Bubble Gum Wrap’ that if she makes good enough grades she’ll earn a Porsche.
        “I’m excited and very proud of her,” said Bryant. “She deserves this.”  
        Though Hilton has her eye on the grand prize, she admits she’s already honored by the recognition from having her “Bubble Gum Wrap” video distributed to the world via Kidz Bop.
        “I don’t even have to win,” said Hilton, who, in addition to her good grades and musical skills,volunteers at PetSmart. “Maybe this will help me prepare for my future; I would like to rap professionally and someday own a veterinary clinic.”
        If you would like to see the hometown girl win, go to www.kidzbop.com and click on the “Contests” banner. You can only vote once, but, as Hilton said with a gleam in her eye, “You can always vote more than once by setting up multiple e-mail accounts.”
        The contest deadline is Nov. 1.
  •  

    11cool spring 4th friday4th Friday provides an opportunity to enjoy and participate in the city’s growing culture that prioritizes the arts and local businesses. Friday, Oct. 27, is unique in that it will benefit from the involvement of Cool Spring Downtown District, a nonprofit organization dedicated to re-branding Fayetteville’s artistic identity and increasing connectivity between the city’s art-related organizations and individuals.

    The Zombie Walk is one of October’s biggest 4th Friday events, a time to dress up in your best zombie costume and makeup and roam the streets of downtown. Back-A-Round Records – a new record store and recording studio space set to open soon – and Cool Spring Downtown District present the Zombie Walk pre-party from 6- 8 p.m. in the parking lot of Headquarters Library. In partnership with the library, Fayetteville’s Paul Mitchell school will provide facepainting and zombie makeup for a $5 donation that will go toward breast cancer research.

    First, second and third place for best costumes will be awarded before the official walk begins at 8 p.m. Zombies will proceed up Ray Avenue and east on Hay and Person Streets, with the walk terminating at the stage on Green Street, adjacent to Back-A-Round Records. Live music from Nephilym, Motorjunkie and Carolina Committee’s DJ Moodswing will start around 8:20 p.m. Zombies ages 21 and up can end the night at The Church at Paddy’s for the official after-party and Zombie Prom. Call (910) 568-5654 for details.

    Zombie revels are not everyone’s cup of tea, though, and there are plenty of other options to enjoy. Concurrent to the Zombie Walk pre-party, WCCG 104.5FM will host a street dance from 6-8 p.m. on Person Street near the new Taste of West Africa building.

    The Arts Council will host Riser Burn, the 82nd Airborne Division Band’s rock ensemble, playing on the sidewalk at Hay and Maxwell Streets from 7-9 p.m. As an alternative pre- and after-party, Cape Fear Regional Theater is partnering with the American Tattoo Society to present a film screening of “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” at 11:59 p.m. For $25, guests receive a prop bag and entrance to the pre-party at Latitude 35 in addition to the midnight showing admission. Tickets for Oct. 27 may sell out; the show will also run Oct. 28 and Oct. 31. Find out more at www.cfrt.org. The Arts Council’s new exhibit, “Reclaimed,” debuts on 4th Friday. The exhibit features art that uses old materials recycled into new, unique forms and will be open 7-9 p.m. Cape Fear Studios at 148 Maxwell St. opens its exhibition of Mark Gordon’s pottery, and the Ellington-White Gallery at 113 Gillespie St. continues its exhibition “Robert Motherwell: Works on Paper.”

    Other galleries open for 4th Friday include Alter Egos Gallery & Studio at 108 Gillespie St., City Center Gallery & Books at 112 Hay St., Old Towne Gallery at 124 Maxwell St., and Gallery 116th at 116 Anderston St.

    “We’re trying to be more diverse in our offerings to the community,” said Mark Regensburger, president and CEO of Cool Spring Downtown District. “We try and bring people together who might not otherwise know about each other, and as our organization grows, we’re seeking to be more of a matchmaker for people to be able to do wonderful things. … We’re working with all the organizations like (the Dogwood Festival), the Arts Council, all the museums downtown, the Cameo, the Indigo Moon Film Festival.”

    Sam DuBose, Cool Spring Downtown District general manager, added that the organization wants to help artists and entities new to Fayetteville’s arts and culture scene. “We try to bring them downtown, help them through the permitting process, advise them on how to navigate the systems effectively and legally,” he said.

    Cool Spring Downtown District is also facilitating a volunteer programming committee chaired by Isabella Effon, owner of Taste of West Africa. “The idea is to extend our 4th Friday beyond just the sweet spot of three blocks on Hay Street,” DuBose said. All community members are welcome on the committee. Call the Cool Spring office at (910) 223-1089 if you are interested in  volunteering in any capacity.

     

  •     Developing Democracies: Candidates for local office in Brazil can either register under their own names or make them up, and in the October election this year, three candidates chose “Barack Obama” (none won), and others registered under “Bill Clinton,” “Jorge Bushi” and “Chico Bin Laden,” but more than 200 offered themselves under the name of the country’s popular president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
        And in July, when the government of India tried to push its historic nuclear pact with the United States through the parliament, it found six more votes among elected members who were serving prison sentences, and ordered them released so they could vote for the bill. (Nearly one-fourth of the 540-member parliament have criminal charges pending against them.)

    News That Sounds Like a Joke
        Britain’s Bristol City Council warned residents in government housing in September to always leave their sheds unlocked. Otherwise, thieves would have to break the doors down to get inside, and taxpayers would be stuck with the repair bills.

    Great Art!
        Chilean-Danish artist Marco Evaristti is working with condemned Texas inmate Gene Hathorn, 47 (convicted killer of three in 1985), on an anti-capital-punishment exhibit to be staged after Hathorn’s execution. The murderer’s body would be frozen, then made into flakes that museum visitors could feed to goldfish. Evaristti is most noted for his 2000 exhibit in which he placed live goldfish in several electric blenders and invited museum-goers to turn them on.
        An unfortunate burst of wind disrupted an outside art installation at the Paul Klee center in Bern, Switzerland, in August, ripping an inflatable exhibit from its moorings and carrying it away. The exhibit, by American Paul McCarthy, was a sculpture entitled “Complex Shit,” and the inflatable item was supposed to be a dog dropping the size of a house. Explained the Klee center’s Web site (challengingly), the show features “interweaving, diverse, not to say conflictive emphases and a broad spectrum of items to form a dynamic exchange of parallel and self-eclipsing spatial and temporal zones.” (Or, wrote London’s Daily Telegraph in broken French, it is “what happens when la merde hits le ventilateur.”)

    Dignified Death
        From the self-composed obituary in the Casper (Wyo.) Star Tribune of James William “Jim” Adams, who died September 9th: “Jim, who had tired of reading obituaries noting other’s [sic] courageous battles with this or that disease, wanted it known that he had lost his battle... primarily as a result of... not following doctor’s orders.... He was sadly deprived of his final wish, which was to be run over by a beer truck on the way to the liquor store to buy booze for a date.

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    10zombie apocolypseThe Old Wagram Prison has been taken over by the Scotland County Parks and Recreations department and turned into an unconventional haunted house. Saturday, Oct. 28, and Tuesday, Oct. 31, you can step into a genuine abandoned prison and find yourself wading through the zombie apocalypse as a tale of terror and desperation unfolds with you right in the center of it. The cost for such a pleasure? Just $10.

    This is no clichéd haunted house with nothing to do but shuffle through strobe lights and wait for a teenager in a latex mask to jump out at you. Bryan Graham, who helped found the project said, “It’s almost like a theatre production. This isn’t a standard haunted house where you enter and walk through. This has a build up.”

    Unlike other haunted attractions, the Insanitarium at the old Wagram Prison has a unifying plot that the guests take part in. Graham said, “This has a story to it, a script – and paramilitary guys at some points who defend you from the zombies.”

    To make the experience more immersive and terrifying, many of the actors have gone through a fourhour paramilitary training session. The Gryphon Group, which helps train soldiers in everything from surviving gunfights to protective mission programs, counseled the actors so they could move with the kind of professional lethality that lends authenticity to the performance. The zombies they will be fighting received costumes and makeup from the St. Andrews University theatre department. 

    To further distinguish this event from other haunted houses, all proceeds will go back to the community. The Old Wagram Prison is in the process of being transformed by the Growing Change organization into a youth recreation center and will be partially funded by the event proceeds.

    The rest of the profits will go to the Laurinburg Chamber of Commerce, the Parks and Recreation department and other nonprofit organizations.

    Graham, along with his fellow project founders Noran Sanford and Chris English, have “high hopes and expectations. The mystique of the facility already sets you up for success.”

    If you are interested in becoming an actor next year or lending your talents to future performances, contact Graham at the Laurinburg Parks and Recreation department via email at bgraham@ scotlandcounty.org.

    For those who wish to go through the Insanitarium, tickets are $10 and sold only at the venue. The event will run from 7:30 p.m. to midnight on Oct. 28 and 31 at 22600 Wagram Rd., Wagram.

    The experience is estimated to last between 20 to 25 minutes, and Graham suggests patrons come wearing close-toed shoes. “We plan to scare you so that you think that you need to be running,” he said.

     

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     01coverThis weekend, the newly-named Fayetteville Marksmen will drop their puck on home ice for the first time. Friday, Oct. 27, the Marksmen take on Huntsville Havoc at the Crown Coliseum from 7-10 p.m. Spectators should expect more than a new name from the team; the first home game of the season will demonstrate a new atmosphere and a shift in focus, too.

    The Marksmen will measure success in terms of community engagement and the consistent creation of a quality experience for spectators, according to co-owners Chuck Norris and Jeff Longo.

    “The results of the team that we put on the ice are very important, but they’re not nearly as important as the overall success of the organization in being a community asset,” Norris said. He added that as a re-branded organization, the Marksmen want to be very involved “in the local scene; be at different events, have our players in schools.”

    “We’re more than a professional hockey team,” Longo said. “We know there’s a fairly finite number of hardcore hockey fans in Fayetteville, and we want to appeal to people who might not know as much about hockey but who are looking for a very fun yet affordable evening.”

    Norris and Longo hit the ground running when they took over management of the previouslynamed FireAntz in mid-March. Norris, an Army veteran now located in Charlotte, who lived and did business in Fayetteville for 20 years, serves as CEO. Longo, who spent over 20 years in professional hockey in upper management positions, serves as president.

    Their plan to position the team as a community asset rather than simply as a sports team involves working with over 70 local partners and sponsors, including the Cumberland County Commissioners, the Cumberland County Crown Commission, the Salvation Army, Special Olympics North Carolina, Fort Bragg MWR, United Service Organizations of Fort Bragg, Cape Fear Youth Hockey, Fayetteville Kiwanis Club and Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing.

    These partnerships and the overall goal of quality entertainment will be reflected at home games throughout the season, which runs through April 2018. “We got really lucky this year; our schedule features 24 Fridays and Saturdays,” Longo said. He explained that 14 of the team’s 20 home games this season will feature extras in terms of entertainment, with seven of those 14 having big themes and being the most elaborately planned.

    Kicking off these “big seven” is the first home game of the season on Oct. 27. Appropriately themed Opening Night, the evening will feature food trucks in the parking lot prior to the game and a Marksmen flag giveaway for the first 2,000 spectators to enter the building. Those who purchase special ticket packages will receive a free flag as well. Fans will also receive a voucher from Bubba’s 33 for a buy-one, get-one-free pizza when they purchase tickets. The other biggest games of the season are:

    Friday, Nov. 25: Teddy Bear Toss – After the first goal of the game is scored, fans rain teddy bears they brought from home down onto the ice. Players later give the bears to children at Cape Fear Hospital. There will also be a puck giveaway and $1 hotdogs.

    Friday, Dec. 22: Star Wars Jerseys – After the game, at center ice, Star Wars jerseys that have been worn and autographed by players will be up for live auction. A portion of the proceeds will directly benefit the Salvation Army. Beer will be available for $2.

    Saturday, Jan. 20: Pooch Party – Bring your dog to the game. Marksmen military-style cap giveaway and $1 hotdogs.

    Saturday, Feb. 10: Pink in the Rink – The team will partner with Highland OB/GYN of Fayetteville to raise breast cancer awareness. Pink T-shirt giveaway and $1 hotdogs.

    Saturday, March 10: Nickelodeon Night – Look out for your favorite Nickelodeon characters! Youth jersey giveaway and $1 popcorn.

    Friday, March 30: Fan Appreciation night. Last game of the regular season.

    Longo said he hopes many of these themed nights, including the Teddy Bear Toss and the Pooch Party, will become annual traditions. But games not falling within these dates will still have fun incentives and extras of their own.

    For the second game of the season – Saturday, Oct. 28 – a ticket package includes four tickets, four pucks and a $50 gift certificate to Carrabba’s for $49.

    Boy scout nights are Oct. 27, Jan. 13 and March 10. Scouts will have the opportunity to camp out at the Crown following the game on Jan. 13. Nov. 4 is the first of many military nights, when service members will get the best seats in the house for only $10.

    12Marksmen1At the time of this article’s publication, Marksmen first-time head coach Nick Mazzolini and director of hockey operations Ryan Cruthers will have just finished finalizing the Marksmen’s 2017-18 roster. Mazzolini recently retired from a successful career in professional hockey. His first season as a professional player was with the Alaska Aces of the East Coast Hockey League; he served as captain for the 2013-14 season, during which time the Aces won the Kelly Cup. He’s also played for Italy’s top hockey league, Hockey Club Bolzano, and Germany’s second-tier professional hockey league, Del2.

    Longo shared his excitement about Mazzolini: “As soon as Nick’s name became available, (Cruthers) said, ‘We’ve got our guy.’ … Nick was asking us so many questions about the community and wanting to get just as involved as we did.”

    Since the Marksmen is a developmental league, the team experiences a high turnover rate – about 40 percent of players returned each season while they were the FireAntz, and that trend will probably continue, according to Longo.

    That’s why the new name and team mascot were chosen so carefully, Norris and Longo said. They want fans to connect with a team name – the Marksmen – that honors Fort Bragg’s elite, and a mascot – the Carolina red fox – that “can be vicious and ferocious … and also the big cuddly mascot that children want to hug.”

    The Marksmen are working from a good foundation. The FireAntz helped found the Southern Professional Hockey League in 2004 and hosted eight of the nine largest crowds in SPHL history.

    “The support is there; the community wants the product,” Longo said. “We just needed a little punch in the arm and a new approach. Chuck’s got a great vision for what success looks like, and we’ve tripled the size of our staff so we can execute everything we’re talking about.”

    Jim Grafstrom, general manager of the Crown Complex, couldn’t be more excited about the future of the team. “The new ownership tandem of Chuck Norris and Jeff Longo are a dynamic group that are looking to not simply re-brand the team, but re-brand the experience,” he said. “The Marksmen organization has made a concentrated effort to transform the standard hockey event into a memorable fan experience that the whole family will enjoy. … It’s not just about the game, it’s about the fan experience.”

    Purchase tickets and learn more about the team at www.marksmenhockey.com.

     

     

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    17WhatsUpComing• Oct. 19 Hope Meals Food Truck Rodeo at 5770 Rockfish Rd. from 5:30-8:30 p.m. See flyer, right.

    • Oct. 19-21 Ole Mills Days Festival 

    Celebrate the Mills Way! Details: (910) 429-4109. Oct. 21 is the Hope Mills Chamber of Commerce’s and WKML 95.7’s annual Chili Cook-Off and corn hole tournament. Chili entries are due no later than Oct. 18. Go to www.hopemillschamber.org and click on the events tab to enter. Contact Lela Schimmel at (910) 423-4314 with any questions.

    • Oct. 31 Trunk ’R Treat at Hope Mills Municipal fields 1 and 2, 6-8 p.m. Ages 1-12. Call (910) 4264109 for details.

    • Nov. 4-12 Heroes Homecoming V at the Hope Mills Public Library, 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Nov. 4 is the first day of a nine-day ceremonious event to honor veterans. On this day, the focus will be on Vietnam Veterans. Visit www.heroeshomecoming.com for details.. The event is free and open to the public.

    • Nov. 5 Vietnam Veterans Memorial Ceremony and Flag Display hosted by The Hope Mills Veterans Advisory Commission at the Hope Mills Veterans Memorial from 3-4:30 p.m.

     

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    01coverZZtopThe ZZ Top concert has been postponed due to an illness in the band. All previously purchased tickets for this concert will be honored for the new date when announced. For those patrons who seek a refund, please contact your point of purchase before Friday, October 20. Refunds will only be permitted before October 20 and only at your point of purchase.

    ZZ Top is set to open the Community Concerts 82nd season Saturday, Oct. 20, at the Crown Complex. ZZ Top released its first album in 1971. It was aptly named “ZZ Top’s First Album.” Based in Houston, the band is still composed of its original members: bassist and lead vocalist Dusty Hill, guitarist Billy Gibbons – who is also the band’s leader, main lyricist, lead vocalist and musical arranger – and drummer Frank Beard.

    “With six No. 1 singles and 10 platinum-plus selling albums, ZZ Top is one of the few groups to still have all its original members,” said Michael Fleishman, attractions director for community concerts. “ZZ Top will be one of our biggest shows ever, and it promises a night of down-home, Southern rock!”

    Inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2004, ZZ Top has deep roots in blues music, claiming Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf and Jimmy Reed as sources of inspiration.

    “Then again, most stack the deck with none other than Keith Richards, Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton, and of course, Peter Green,” Gibbons said. “Them all is Mount Rushmore-worthy.” In fact, as songs outside their catalog go, when it comes to the band’s favorite song, “I’d have to go with Muddy Waters’ ‘Standing Around Crying’ because you just can’t beat a song that starts ‘OH, BABY...!’ Gibbons added.

    For this group, close to five decades of performing together has produced an intuitive bond that results in onstage chemistry that keeps fans mesmerized.

    “We have this kind of telepathy between us,” Gibbons said. “We don’t have to necessarily speak, glance or nod to each other, but we seem to instinctively know what the other guys are about to do. Yes, we rehearse, but this is something beyond being well-prepared. It’s beyond preternatural – it’s supernatural and a case of the sum being greater than the parts.”

    For the fans, it feels like magic, but for the band, it is “just us having a good time,” Gibbons said. “We get a kick out of getting out there and playing for the audience, and they, in turn, return that excitement, so things just kind of ramp up. It’s a natural, organic process that fuels itself – and us.”

    Gibbons promised to keep the set list interesting for the Oct. 20 show, saying the band will be delivering “ZZ songs you know, ZZ songs you think you know but don’t really know, and some you don’t know but will get to know. It’ll be loud. And fun.”

    Although they stay busy touring, the band has been spending time in the studio as their tour schedule allows.

    “We’ve got a few sides down and anticipate doing some in a sequence of releases,” Gibbons said. “There’s definitely a continuum of that bluesy thing going on.”

    With five concerts scheduled for this season, Community Concerts has set the bar high coming out of the gate with ZZ Top. The next four concerts of the season promise to continue the excitement.

    Nov. 11, Dirty Dancing – The Classic Story on Stage brings heart-pounding music, passionate romance and sensationally sexy dancing to the Crown. The show includes “Hungry Eyes,” “Hey Baby,” “Do You Love Me?” and the anthemic “(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life.” The musical spectacular tells the story of Baby and Johnny as their summer together unfolds.

    Jan. 30 brings Riverdance – the 20th Anniversary Show. The much-loved show returns with new costumes, new lighting, new projections and the addition of a brand-new number, “Anna Livia,” featuring the female members of the Irish dance troupe in an a cappella hard-shoe number.

    This tour takes the show to more than 60 U.S. cities. On the show’s website, www. riverdance.com, producer Moya Doherty said, “The success of Riverdance across the whole world has gone beyond our wildest dreams. The fact that the show continues to draw and excite audiences is a tribute to every dancer, singer, musician, staff and crew member who have dedicated themselves to the show.

    “This 20th Anniversary Tour is a thank you to our audiences and a celebration of what has been an incredible journey across two decades.”

    The Commodores with special guest Landau Eugene Murphy take the stage Saturday, April 14. Walter “Clyde” Orange, William King and J.D. Nicholas make up this group of more than three decades. This musical powerhouse is known for hits like “Brick House,” “Night Shift,” “Three Times a Lady” and “Sail On.” The group formed in 1968 at Tuskegee University. From there, they went on the sell more than 60 million records.

    Closing out the season, The Illusionists Live from Broadway showcases the talents of five incredible illusionists. The show is billed as being “packed with thrilling and sophisticated magic of unprecedented proportions.” The performance includes stunning acts of grand illusion, levitation, mindreading, disappearance and, for the first time in history, a full view water torture escape. It’s classic magic that reaches back to the likes of Harry Houdini but with a contemporary feel.

    Community Concerts is on a mission to bring the finest in top-notch entertainment to Fayetteville and the Fort Bragg/ Cumberland County community. The driving force behind this organization is its passion for the community. Bringing amazing performers to the area could be enough – but Community Concerts does not stop there. In 2008, Community Concerts founded the Fayetteville Music Hall of Fame “to honor those who have brought musical distinction to the community,” inducting new members each year.

    Local high school students benefit from college music scholarships from Community Concerts – a tradition for the organization since 2004. The program has generously awarded more than 28 scholarships.

    While bringing great music to Fayetteville is an important part of its mission, Community Concerts supports local musicians as well through its local artist showcase program. In recent years, Voices of the Heart appeared as an opener for Gladys Knight while children from the Linda Kinlaw School of Dance performed with Martina McBride. Local, emerging country music star Trae Edwards performed the Ricky Skaggs show as well.

    Community Concerts provides free concert opportunities to groups ranging from children to deserving seniors. In recent seasons, recipients have included people at the Vision Resource Center, Urban Ministry, The Sunshine Center, members of local fire and police departments, high school theater art classes, members of our military, and many more.

    To purchase tickets, or to find out more about Community Concerts, visit  www.community-concerts.com.

     

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    12caledonianA new festival is coming to Fayetteville – and it’s giving off serious “Outlander” vibes. “Outlander” as in the television series on Starz that features kilt-wearing, time-traveling adventurers. The Carolina Caledonian Festival takes place at Campbellton Landing Oct. 28-29. Kilt-wearing and time-traveling is optional but not entirely unexpected.

    “Caledonian” refers to any person of Scottish descent. It originates from the old Roman name for Scotland. So naturally, the festival’s purpose is to celebrate Scotland, its traditions (particularly of Highlanders) and descendants.

    The festival was borne out of event organizer Allen McDavid’s connection to his own lineage. His ancestors are originally of the Argyll Colony, which has more than a million descendants in the Fayetteville and surrounding area today, according to McDavid.

    McDavid detailed how the Caledonian Festival will have a “Renaissance fair-like” feel but with a more historically accurate representation of Scottish culture. There will be a traditional market with merchants selling foods and wares. Re-enactors will be dressed and speaking like famous 18th century Scots. Demonstrations of Highland swordfighting and Scottish dancing will also take place.

    “(The festival) will be like living history,” McDavid said.

    Several musical performances will also be held at the festival, including the Celtic band Tuatha Dea, the Irish band Lift, the Cross Creek Pipes and Drums (home-grown in Fayetteville), and the Tan & Sober Gentleman and Carolina Ceili groups.

    With the Caledonian Festival revving up on the weekend before Halloween, a few spooky treats are in store. Young ones will be able to trick or treat throughout the market or see the pumpkin-carving stations – a practice that originated in Scotland.

    But the festival doesn’t intend to leave out Samhain. This refers to an ancient Gaelic festival celebrated in Scotland that represented the seasonal end of the harvest on Oct. 31. It was also seen by pagan ancestors as a time when fairies could easily cross over to our world. Think Mexico’s Dia de los Muertos. On Saturday night of the Caledonian Festival, there will be a bonfire and a telling of Samhain lore to attendees.

    The imprints left behind by the Scottish Highlanders who settled in this region more than 200 years ago can be felt in almost every corner of Fayetteville. Seventy-First High School, for example, is named after the 71st Highland Regiment that fought in the French and Indian War. The Loch Lomond neighborhood bears the name of the largest lake in Scotland and the British Isles.

    So, a festival dedicated to celebrating Highland culture is not only necessary to the area but also great fun for the season.

    “I hope that attendees learn what seems to have been forgotten in these parts – that Fayetteville’s name may be French, but its DNA is Scottish,” said McDavid.

    The Caledonian Festival has also partnered with the Second Harvest Food Bank of Southeast North Carolina. Two dollars will be taken off admission for those who bring a non-perishable item or can of food to the main gate. Adult tickets are $10 per day, and admission is free for children under 12. The festival runs Saturday, Oct. 28, 8 a.m.-11 p.m. and Sunday, Oct. 29, noon - 6 p.m.  Learn more at www.caledonianfest.com.

     

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    14Ole MillsIt’s that time of year again. Time to celebrate and remember the reason why Ole Mills Days are important to Hope Mills. 

    A Little Piece of History

    The Town of Hope Mills was founded upon the mill industry, beginning with the first saw mill on Little Rockfish Creek in the 1700s. Later, Bluff Mills was established in 1841 close to what is now the intersection of Camden Road and Hope Mills Road. These mills flourished, and the town and economy boomed.

    But when the Civil War began, turmoil followed. Bluff Mill survived, but eight cotton mills along with the mill houses that provided room and board for the mill workers were ruthlessly burned to the ground during Gen. William T. Sherman’s infamous March to the Sea.

    Though the mills were destroyed, Hope Mills would not be what it is today without the hard work of the lumber and mill workers and the ingenuity of the cotton, saw and grist mills. 

    Let’s Have Fun

    Thursday, Oct. 19, jump-starts the fun of Ole Mills Days with the Hope MEALS Food Truck Rodeo at 5770 Rockfish Rd. from 5:30-8:30 p.m.

    Bring your dancing shoes and enjoy the party Friday, Oct. 20, with the Ole Mills Days Street Dance on Trade Street from 6-9 p.m.

    Saturday, Oct. 21, is the annual celebration of Ole Mills Days in Municipal Parks 1 and 2 from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. The Hope Mills Area Chamber of Commerce will hold its annual Chili Cook-Off for the duration of the event. There will be cash prizes for both hot and mild categories as well as a People’s Choice award. It costs $5 to sample all the chili and vote for the People’s Choice winner. Call (910) 423-4313 for more information about the Chili Cook-Off.

    The Mill Worker Reunion will be held from 2-4 p.m. Throughout the day there will also be tractor pulls, food, craft vendors and a kids’ corner. The celebration will end with a movie night.

    Debbie Holland, interim town clerk, said the Town of Hope Mills looks forward to having residents of Cumberland County come and enjoy the family-friendly festivities.

    “This is a great time for everyone from Hope Mills and the surrounding areas to learn about our history while having fun,” she said. “We will have many vendors and activities for everyone to enjoy.”

    For more information about Ole Mills Days 2017, call (910) 429-4109 or visit  www.townofhopemills.com.

     

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    13gaitherThe distinguished Gaither Vocal Band will be perform at the Crown Complex Theatre Saturday, Oct. 14, at 6 p.m.

    Singing quartet-based gospel music since the ’50s, Grammy Awardwinning Bill Gaither and his family have long been a powerful force in the music industry. Their successes have earned them the opportunity to hold yearly tours around the world and to perform at esteemed venues like Carnegie Hall. The band has also created hits that topped the Billboard charts. While performing at the Crown, the band will be on its “Better Together Tour.”

    The group will release an all-new studio recording, “We Have This Moment,” Oct. 13. It will be released on the band’s website, www.gaither.com, as well as aired on numerous television stations.

    The band includes the group’s founder Bill Gaither, Adam Crabb, Reggie Smith, Wes Hampton and Todd Suttles. The tour will feature guests including gospel singers Kevin Williams, Charlotte Ritchie and Gene McDonald.

    Gaither is the group’s primary songwriter and producer, along with his wife, Gloria Gaither. He has written over 700 songs, including “Let’s Just Praise the Lord,” “Something Beautiful,” “It Is Finished” and “The King Is Coming.” Gaither and his wife have won eight Grammy Awards. Gaither believes gospel music is much more than music; it gives him the ability to spread the message of Jesus Christ to others around the world.

    Band member Adam Crabb is no stranger to music. Whether in the studio or performing live, he has been learning and perfecting his craft for most of his life. He is a member of the Crabb Family, which is a Grammy-nominated and Dove-nominated southern gospel group. He is now a lead singer for the Gaither Vocal Band, which was one of his life-long dreams. He believes gospel music is his calling in life.

    Reggie Smith is another singer and producer for the band. He has performed all over the world in places like Carnegie Hall and at the Super Bowl. He has also, along with his wife, recorded music for “The Lion King” soundtrack. He and his wife started their careers singing as backup singers in Tennessee but have been singing as a duet with the Gaithers for 18 years.

    After completing college, Wes Hampton was asked by Gaither to be a part of the Vocal Band in 2005. He sings tenor in the group. Hampton was already experienced in the music world, and Gaither noticed that he brought his heart and passion to the group. These qualities Hampton brought to the table helped the Vocal Band win a Grammy with its song “Lovin’ Life.”

    Todd Suttles sings baritone with the Gaither Vocal Band. Suttles left the group he was originally in, Settles Connection, and joined the Vocal Band in 2014. Not only is he skilled in vocals, but he has an educational background from Vanderbilt University.

    For more information, visit www.gaither.com. For tickets, visit www.crowncomplexnc.com.

     

    PHOTO: The Gaither Vocal Band is set to perform at the Crown Oct. 14.

     

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    12Dogwood2The weather is cooler. The air is crisp, and mischief is afoot. Fall is here, and that means harvest festivals, haunted houses, hayrides and more. This year, there is an extra-special event downtown to celebrate the season. Bud Light presents the Fayetteville Dogwood Fall Festival Thursday, Oct. 19, from 7– 9 p.m.; Friday, Oct. 20 from 5–10 p.m.; and Saturday, Oct. 21 from 3– 11 p.m. at Festival Park.

    “We are doing a new haunted house this year called Dogwood’s Dark Dream that will run Thursday, Friday and Saturday,” said Sarah Suggs, marketing and events coordinator for the Fayetteville Dogwood Festival Organization, Inc. “Some of our more classic elements that have been with us since the beginning of our fall festival are Historic Hauntings and hayrides.”

    Suggs added that Historic Hauntings is a guided walking tour through the cemetery, and it is not intended to be super scary but is more of an interesting, informative tour.   

    There are several other elements of the event, one of the popular ones being Bands ’N Brew. “Friday, we will have 20 Ride as our headlining act at 8:30 p.m., and that is a Zac Brown tribute band,” Suggs said. “And we have local country band Avner Clark before that. Then Saturday we have the local band Cool Heat at 3:30 p.m., Rivermist beginning at 6 p.m., and we end the night with our headlining act SkyDog at 8:30 p.m.” Rivermist won Best Local Musician/Band for this year’s Best of Fayetteville awards.  

    Forty food trucks will be on-site along with the craft beer festival featuring 10 craft beers and favorite domestics starting Saturday at 3 p.m. Some of the food trucks will be local, and the others are from surrounding areas.

    This year’s festival also features a new children’s area called KidZone. “Kids will have access to the entire area that will have two inflatables, a climbing wall, a barrel train and mini golf,” Suggs said. “The kids’ area will be in Linear Park across the street.”

    The Fayetteville Dogwood Fall Festival is a community fundraiser in which the Fayetteville Dogwood Festival Organization partners with other nonprofit agencies. The agencies loan their volunteer force to the festival to create a fun-filled event for the community. The festival, in turn, gives back some of the proceeds to these nonprofit agencies.

    The cost for the Dogwood’s Dark Dream haunted house is $10, hayrides are $5, Historic Hauntings is $10 and KidZone is $10. For more information, call (910) 323-1934.

     

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    10AuthenticityOn Oct. 14, the 2017 Authenticity Professional Women’s Retreat is set to take place at Ramada Plaze. Daphne B. Latimore, event hostess and founder of DB Latimore, chatted with Up & Coming Weekly about the event.

    UCW: What takes place at Authenticity Professional Women’s Retreats?

    DBL: The Authenticity Professional Women’s Retreat is a full day starting with a continental breakfast. We kick off the retreat with Jazzercise to help us to get energized and to discover techniques that allow us to incorporate exercise into our daily activities.

    We will have seven sessions. Our moderator, Kim Gray, will lead us through the day where we will explore the dimensions of wellness. We will have four main sessions coupled with fun-filled breakout sessions all designed to enlighten, engage and energize. We will have a networking buffet luncheon with a keynote presentation. We conclude the day with a networking reception to allow participants to network with our presenters.

    UCW: Why are events like this important?

    DBL: As women, we embody a number of roles, personally, professionally and publicly. The Authenticity Retreat is designed as a space for women to explore leading an integrated lifestyle. As such, it is important for us to take time out to reconnect with ourselves, reintegrate the personal with the professional and enjoy the company of like-minded women. For this reason, we were inspired to create the Authenticity Professional Women’s retreat.

    UCW: Are there special speakers/ presenters?

    DBL: All our speakers are dynamic. We are excited to feature three local speakers from Fayetteville — Coach Billie Crutcher, Dr. Tracey Jackson and best-selling author Suzetta Perkins.

    It is very important that we include local presenters in our retreats so that our attendees might continue the experience after the retreat with professionals that will assist them on their professional journey of Authenticity. We are excited that Christina Eanes, a mother of a soldier stationed at Fort Bragg and a renowned author and coach, takes us on the journey to achieve more in life.

    UCW: What can attendees expect at this event?

    DBL: Individuals can expect open and honest dialogue coupled with tools that can be immediately incorporated into our day-to-day lives.

    UCW: What led you to found DB Latimore?

    DBL: DB Latimore Professional Services Group was founded to allow individuals and organizations to maximize workforce productivity. We do this through individual, group and team coaching, management consulting and retreats such as the Authenticity Professional Women’s Retreat.

    Our hummingbird logo represents the potential agility of any workforce. We support the belief that minor adjustments to the way work is defined and delivered will improve the productivity. The hummingbird possesses the innate ability to adjust quickly to any situation by shifting its wings in motion either forward, backward, by hovering and, when necessary, upside down. Our methodology allows you to embed this ability within your life and experience significant gains in productivity and performance.

    UCW: What is something you wish every woman understood about herself and her life path?

    DBL: That each of us is different. Our life plan is a journey, and how we manage that journey will enable us to live a fulfilling life. It is important that we as women know that our lives are integrated and that we must tend to each dimension: physical, spiritual, occupational, social, intellectual and environmental.

    UCW: Who/what inspires you in your career and your life?

    DBL: I am most inspired by my mother who raised seven children, worked full time, supported her marriage and maintained social relationships. My husband/co-owner has been very inspirational, supportive and encouraging of my life’s journey.

    Find out more at www.dblatimore.com.

     

    PHOTO: Daphne B. Latimore

     

  •  

    09JohnBlueThe John Blue Cotton Festival is not new. In fact, the 34th festival is set for Oct. 14 and 15 in Laurinburg. Jim Blue has been the chairman of this festival for 31 years. He’s a descendant of John Blue, whose home is a big part of the event. After being rained out by Hurricane Matthew last year, Blue is excited for the festival’s return. “We have hayrides, clogging exhibitors (and) many different kinds of demonstrations, including a woodwright who builds amazing things without using modern tools,” Blue said. “We will also have a chainsaw carver there.”

    It is a weekend of good old-fashioned fun that includes things like craft vendors, demonstrators, antique engines, a mule pull, a cotton gin, antique cars and more. Blue said, “We have contests and all kinds of homemade crafts and foods, too.” He added that families can look forward to pony rides and a mini train that runs on a half-mile track.

    The activities provide plenty of reason to attend, but Blue said the John Blue house is the icing on the cake. The home will be open for tours and is furnished in period (circa 1890).

    “If you stand and look at it from the right angle, you can see the house is designed after a steamboat,” Blue said. According to Jim, John Blue had family in Mississippi. “When he visited his family he fell in love with steamboats, and that inspired this home’s design. You can see where the water wheels would be, and you can see that it looks very similar to a steamboat.”

    Over the years other buildings have been added to the festival, including a restored sawmill that dates back to 1920.

    Reaching back to simpler times, children can look forward to games like marbles, walking on stilts and balance beams, playing hopscotch and checkers, blowing bubbles, face-painting and more.

    All the standard fair food will be on hand, including funnel cake, fried apples, pulled-pork barbecue and Hawaiian ice. One of the vendors Blue is most excited about, though, is one that sells collard sandwiches. “It involves two pieces of flat cornbread topped with fatback and collards and dressed with your choice of vinegar, pepper relish or whatever you fancy,” Blue said. “If you’ve never had one, I think you should try them.”

    The festival sits on about 10 acres, which allows plenty of room for attendees to explore the grounds and take in the stage, which hosts a variety of performers throughout the weekend. There will also be musicians roaming the grounds playing different instruments like banjos and guitars “and maybe stopping under a tree to sing a tune or coming to a crowd to take a request,” Blue said.

    He added that Sunday morning, although the festivities don’t start until 10 a.m., those interested in attending can come to an outdoor church service. “It lasts about 30 or 40 minutes,” he said. “There are a choir and a sermon under the pecan trees, and it starts at 9 a.m. This is something we originally started for the volunteers and vendors. Then people from the community started joining us. Everyone is welcome.”

    Pulling everything off usually involves about 220 volunteers, and on a good weekend, Blue noted, the festival draws 9,000 to 10,000 attendees. The gates open at 10 a.m. Saturday and Sunday. Find out more at www.johnbluefestival.com.

     

    PHOTO: The John Blue House

     

  • 08PinwheelFayetteville’s Child Advocacy Center works with 19 community agencies, from the District Attorney’s office to Cumberland County Schools, to support victims of child abuse in an integrated, efficient and empathetic way. Every service the CAC provides comes at zero cost to the child’s family, as financial burden can be an impediment to getting child abuse victims the help they need. The CAC’s annual Pinwheel Masquerade Ball & Auction to Unmask Child Abuse is one of the ways it raises funds to keep its services free of charge. 2017 marks the fourth year of the Pinwheel Ball, which will be held Saturday, Oct. 14, at the Metropolitan Room in downtown Fayetteville.

    The gala invites guests to get creative and have fun dressing up. As in past years, awards will be given out for best masks in the categories of male, female, couple, group, overall ensemble and most unique.

    The evening also features a DJ, dance demonstrations, a photo booth and live and silent auctions with items donated from all over the county and state. Big items include a football ticket package to the UNC vs. vs. the Miami Hurricanes game, tickets to the 2018 NCAA final four basketball tournament, a trip to Bali, a one-week stay at a condo in Myrtle Beach, and tickets to a Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra concert.

    Smaller items include themed gift baskets and locally made items like jewelry and hand-painted mugs. Vanessa Deering, co-chair of the event with Ann Shaw, said the live auction is her favorite part of the night every year. “We have so much fun watching the reaction of the bidders, especially when there is a bidding war,” she said.

    Trish Neely, culinary chair of the event for the second year in a row, said guests can expect delicious food from Chris’s Steakhouse, R Burger, Dorothy’s Catering 2, Evans Catering, Elite Catering, Sherefe, Sweet Palette, Sweet Surprise Candy Buffet and Agape Bakery. Specific menu items include crab dip, chopped sirloin, jalapeno sliders, spanakopita and special pinwheel cookies. Beverages will be provided courtesy of Healy Wholesale, The Wine Café and The Coffee Cup.

    Roberta Humphries has served as executive director of the Child Advocacy Center since 2009. She explained that the Pinwheel Ball is named for the initiative that Prevent Child Abuse America started in 2008, Pinwheels for Prevention. “The blue ribbon used to be a symbol for child abuse prevention, and (nine) years ago … they switched and came out with the symbol of the blue pinwheel,” Humphries said. “Basically, they wanted to change the way our nation thinks about child abuse prevention.” As stated on the Prevent Child Abuse America site: “What our research showed, and what our experiences since then have borne out, is that people respond to the pinwheel....the pinwheel connotes whimsy and childlike notions. In essence, it has come to serve as the physical embodiment, or reminder, of the great childhoods we want for all children.”

    Securing the future that all children have the right but not the access to takes organizations like the CAC and the community’s support of them. Deering said a committee of 15 volunteers helped put the Pinwheel Masquerade Ball together while more volunteers help set up and tear down. “I love how the participants are genuine in giving and supporting such a wonderful organization,” she said. “It’s not truly about getting a deal on (an auction package), it’s about raising money to help this organization. It truly shows the love our community has for children and their well-being.” The CAC is hoping to raise $45,000 this year, all of which will go toward providing support and a voice to children in this community. The organization saves the community about $700,000 a year with its integrated approach.

    Tickets to the Pinwheel Masquerade Ball on Oct. 14 cost $100 per individual, $175 per couple and $1,200 for a table of eight. They can be purchased in person at the CAC at 222 Rowan St. or online at  www.CACFayNC.org.

  •     {mosimage}The Fayetteville State University Homecoming Concert featuring T-Pain and guests Plies, Shawty Lo, Ace Hood and Hot Stylz, will be held at the Crown Coliseum on Friday, Oct. 17 at 7:30 p.m., according to FSU Student Activities Council and Diamond Life Concerts announced today.
        Tallahassee-based MC and vocalist T-Pain (born Faheem Najm) came up in a rap group called Nappy Headz but eventually went pro as a solo R&B artist. Recording artist Akon heard  the first release by T-Pain and took him under his wing with a contract on his Jive-distributed Konvict Muzik label. Produced and written mostly by T-Pain, Rappa Ternt Sanga was released in December 2005, led by the Top 20 single “I’m Sprung.” Top selling album Epiphany followed in June 2007. He is currently touting in support of his newest album, Thee Ringz.
        Tickets are $29.50 to $37.50 and are on sale now. Tickets may be purchased at the Crown Center Box Office, all Ticketmaster outlets, Ticketmaster.com or by calling (910) 223-2900. The Crown Center main box office is located at the Crown Coliseum and open Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. A limited number of tickets are available for $25 to FSU students with ID and may be purchased on campus at the Seabrook Auditorium only.
        The Crown Center features a 60,000 square-foot exposition center, a 2,400-seat theatre, a 4,500-seat arena and a 10,000-seat coliseum.  For more information on the complex, visit www.AtTheCrown.com.
  • 01ComiccoverEvery kid has a singular moment of blinding inspiration. They begin to realize that the world is bigger than their backyard. They realize people are capable of creativity, kindness, strength, gumption … but also have a Dark Side. For more than a century, no area has been able to accomplish this quite like science fiction. Its many forms — comic books, animation, games, television and movies — have bred legions of dedicated fans. These fans will have the chance to celebrate some of their favorite characters and stories at the Fayetteville Comic Con Oct. 21-22 at the Crown Coliseum.

    According to Michael Chadhuri, the chief organizer, FCC is expecting at least 10,000 people to attend its third year.

    “I’m just a long-time comic book geek,” Chadhuri said. “We said, ‘Why are there no conventions in Fayetteville?’ It was baffling to us, so we said let’s just try one to see what happens, and it blew up with the first year. Just incredible. It’s very participatory. We like to have something for people to do, not just see this, see this. You can play a game. You can dance on the stage.”

    One of the most recognizable features of a comic con is the cosplaying, which just means anyone dressing up as one of their favorite characters. Note: someone needs to dethrone the greatest cosplay ever done that went viral this year — an 85-year-old woman dressed as Olenna Tyrell from “Game of Thrones.” Fayetteville, you have been challenged.

    There will be two cosplay competitions at FCC. On that Saturday at 1 p.m., the junior competition (15 and under) will take place, with gift certificate and trophy awards. The adult competition (16 and up) will be on Sunday at 1:30 p.m., also with various prizes such as gift certificates, cash and an X-Box bundle grand prize.

    For all the single nerds out there, FCC will also have Sci-Fi speed dating. Who knows, you start chatting with another like-minded person about “Star Wars” or “Full Metal Alchemist,” and you could end up with a lifelong partner or friend. 

    Gaming will also play a huge part in FCC. An entire wall of the convention center is reserved for the “Gaming Alley.” Do a demo, join a tournament or even hop on an old-school arcade cabinet.

    The heart of any comic con, though, lies in the panels and Q&As that fans can attend. 

    Chadhuri said, “There’s something for everybody. Every year we try to bring a whole new slew of guests to the convention and to Fayetteville.”

    One of the most anticipated guests this year is Lou Ferrigno, who played the Hulk in the original 1978 television series. Though he has been to conventions across the country, he has never been to Fayetteville’s own before.

    Ferrigno said, “It always puts a smile on my face to chat with them and get a photo with them because I have three different generations now (of fans) because the Hulk was 40 years ago. It should be very exciting.”

    Ferrigno relates to why fans still idolize the Hulk all these years later.

    “As a kid, I had to overcome adversity because I had to deal with speech and hearing issues, so I use to read comics, and I was obsessed with the power (of the characters),” Ferrigno said.

    A modern-day phenomena featured at FCC is anime, which has grown exponentially in America thanks in large part to original Japanese anime shows being dubbed in English. Several anime voice actors will be guests at FCC, one of whom is Vic Mignogna.

    “I played Vega in ‘Street Fighter 2,’” Mignogna said. “I just thought that was a fun little weird, one-time, random thing to do. But it just took off from there. I was very blessed to be on the ground floor of this expanding anime world, and so now, 18, 19 years later, I’ve voiced over 300 different animated series.”

    Some of Mignogna’s characters include Broly in “Dragon Ball Z” and Edward Elric in “Full Metal Alchemist.” Like many others, Mignogna became intrigued by pop culture phenomena as a fan at a young age.

    “When I was 9, 10, 11, I discovered the original series of ‘Star Trek’ and it changed my life,” Mignogna said. “It inspired me in so many ways to try new things, like building props and making uniforms and costumes and shooting little home movies and building sets.”

    His love of “Star Trek” eventually evolved into its own passion project. About five years ago, Mignogna started his own web series called “Star Trek Continues.” He executive produces and stars in it as Captain Kirk. “Star Trek Continues” has millions of views online and has won several awards, including a Webby Award for People’s Voice Drama. After Mignogna’s Q&A, he will be screening its latest episode for attendees.

    “It will blow your mind,” he said. “You’ll feel like you’re watching episodes of the classic series that were somehow locked in a vault for 50 years. One of the main reasons I go to these events is to meet fans. I really love getting out and meeting people that have enjoyed my work over the years.”

    Mignogna will be joined by fellow voice actors Chris Sabat, Linda Young, Eric Vale and Mark Dodson.

    Of course, you can’t say comic con without comics. And FCC will have creators, writers and artists of comics in spades. Professional artist Steve Butler will even be bringing kids onstage for drawing demonstrations.

    Editor-in-chief Mort Todd and members of his Charlton Neo team will also be leading a panel. Charlton Neo revives the Charlton Comics that ran from 1945 to 1986. Todd is perhaps best known as signing Don Martin onto Cracked magazine after working at Mad for decades. His Charlton Neo Comics team have made a special FCC edition and will be signing 250 copies for attendees.

    Though Todd works more in his editor capacity nowadays, he has some advice for the aspiring artists out there.

    “When I was 13, I brought my art portfolio to DC Comics,” Todd said. “The art director told me I would never work in comics, and I was crushed. Then 10 years later, he’s looking for work from me. So my bottom line is for anyone, any age, no matter how far they are in comics, is just keep doing it. Keep writing. Keep drawing because the more you do, the more you know and learn to make it better.”

    These are just a select few of FCC’s guests. Actors from “Power Rangers,” zombies from the “The Walking Dead” and many others are expected to be in attendance.

    We’re living in an age where letting your nerd flag fly is pretty cool. As Felicia Day once said, “The world opened up for me once I decided to embrace who I am — unapologetically.” These words embody the life blood of a comic con.

    FCC will run from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday. Visit www.fayettevillecomiccon.com to learn more.

  •     Bring your coolers, lawn chairs and blankets for an afternoon of Jazz In The Park as Fayetteville native John Brown and his Grammy-nominated John Brown Orchestra perform at a free concert celebration at Festival Park on Sunday, Oct. 19, at 2 p.m. {mosimage}
        The Arts Council of Fayetteville/ Cumberland County, along with the City of Fayetteville, Draughon Brothers Incorporated and WFSS-91.9 FM, will join Brown to honor his mentor, Fayetteville’s own jazz legend Ray Codrington, on the weekend of his 74th birthday. A student jazz ensemble from Fayetteville State University will open the show at 2 p.m. and Brown’s full 19-piece orchestra will take the stage around 3:30 p.m.
        This performance brings Brown full-circle. In addition to mentoring, training and coaching him from childhood, Codrington is a regular member of the John Brown Orchestra.
        As a graduate of Howard University and with a career spanning nearly 50 years, Codrington remains in high demand among musicians in the southeastern United States. He has performed and recorded with Eddie Harris, the JFK Quintet, Larry Willis and Hugo Montinegro. His experience includes recording for the Godfather II soundtrack and has taken him to the famed Apollo Theater in New York.
        Brown is the director of the jazz program at Duke University and a graduate of the School of Music at The University of North Carolina at Greensboro and the School of Law at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He has performed all over the world with artists such as Elvin Jones, each member of the Marsalis family, Nnenna Freelon, Rosemary Clooney, Nicholas Payton and Mark Whitfield. He has performed regularly with the North Carolina Symphony since 1992 and his experience includes performances at venues such as Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center the Blue Note and the Hollywood Bowl.
        When John Brown’s musicians get together, they form an exciting mix of talent and brotherhood encompassing the past, present and future of jazz. The combination of the diverse backgrounds of each band member, and the fire they bring to the music, makes this group the perfect setting for dynamic and creative ideas to flourish. The group performs a wide range of jazz styles including the timeless classics of the Great American Songbook, original versions and new arrangements of traditional jazz standards, modern jazz pieces and original compositions of each band member.
        The parking lot adjacent to Festival Park Plaza Building on Ray Avenue will be reserved for handicapped and special needs drivers. Coolers and lawn chairs will be allowed and attendees are encouraged to bring drinks and snacks. Please remember that dogs or domesticated animals are not allowed in Festival Park.
  • • Oct. 5 Hope Meals Food Truck Rodeo Community Event from 5:30-8:30 p.m. at 5770 Rockfish Rd., featuring BaBann’s Southern Fried Chicken, Straight Drop Seafood, Big T’s and the Blind Pig. Music will be live streamed from an internet radio station. Visit www.townofhopemills.com to learn more.

    Oct 7. Peace, Love and Walk Meet at 3770 Rockfish Rd. Contact ALMS HOUSE at (910) 425-0902 for details.

    Oct 9. Hope Mills Area Chamber of Commerce Monthly Luncheon at 12:30 p.m. at Hope Mills Parks and Recreation, 5770 Rockfish Rd. $10 per guest.

    Oct 9. Board of Commissioners meeting at 7 p.m. at the Hope Mills Town Hall, 5770 Rockfish Rd.

    Oct 13. Kiwanis BBQ Fundraiser in the grassy area between the Hope Mills Main Street Wal-Mart and Food Lion across from gas station. 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Monies raised will go toward ALMS House, Shop-with-a-Cop, Bicycle Presentation for Terrific Kids, Boys and Girls Club of Cumberland County, Boys and Girls Homes of Lake Waccamaw, and many other community services. Call (910) 426-7256 for more information.

    Oct. 20-21 Ole Mill Days Festival Celebrate the Mills Way! Ole Mills street dance from 6-9 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 20. Saturday, Oct. 21, runs from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. in Municipal Parks 1 and 2. Family fun to include: tractor pull, kids’ corner, movie night, food, vendors, craft vendors, and a Mills workers reunion. Details: (910) 429-4109.

    Oct 21. Hope Mills Area Chamber of Commerce’s Chili Cook-off as part of Hope Mills Ole Mills Days from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. in the Municipal Ball Park.

    • Nov. 4-12 Heroes Homecoming Vat the Hope Mills Public Library. 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Nov. 4 is the first day of a nine-day ceremonious event to honor veterans. On this day, the focus will be on Vietnam Veterans. Visit www.heroeshomecoming.com for more information. The event is free and open to the public.

    • Nov. 5 Vietnam Veterans Memorial Ceremony and Flag Displayhosted by The Hope Mills Veterans Advisory Commission at the Hope Mills Veterans Memorial from 3-4:30 p.m. Special guest speaker will be retired Lt. COL Walt Brinker.Free and open to the public.

  •     I’m 24 and my boyfriend of five months is 28. He was adamant about knowing the number of sexual partners I’ve had. I’m not comfortable sharing that, but he said he had to know what he was getting into to take the relationship to the next level. He’s had 14; I’ve had four, but I told him two. It was an honest mistake - two were hookups and I forgot them. Honesty is super important to him, but I’m stressed about coming clean. He doesn’t even like that I have guy friends, so he was really upset about the two boyfriends, and wanted complete details. When I didn’t want to tell all, he claimed I was hiding something. He’s sometimes condescending, yet if I don’t respond in a pleasant fashion when I’m upset, we’ll have to have a long talk about it. Still, I’m afraid I’m misrepresenting him. He’s a great man, always tells me how wonderful I am, and appreciates the little things I do like cooking dinner. I feel he deserves my honesty, but how significant is my actual number of partners?
    — Distressed


        For Rick and Ilsa, it was “We’ll always have Paris.” What will your parting words be, “We’ll always have Guantanamo”?
        And make no mistake: You should part — pronto — because the relationship you’re in is pretty much a textbook case of abuse. Sure, the average guy gets rattled at the thought of his girlfriend naked with previous boyfriends — or even the sight of her, fully clothed, talking to some guy friend who isn’t a disfigured, 85-year-old gay troll. The appropriate response is playing it cool, not taking the girlfriend home and waterboarding her for hours.
        You actually were honest with your boyfriend — you told him you “didn’t want to tell all.” That should’ve been that. Being in a relationship doesn’t mean signing away your right to privacy. Anything short of “My last three boyfriends are buried in the backyard” or “I have these weird red bumps all over my girlparts” is information you don’t owe anybody. While guys will get curious, an emotionally healthy boyfriend doesn’t demand to know who, how many, how often and how well your being double-jointed worked out for you and the last dude.
        As for what sheer numbers say, your sexual history could look like a line for free tickets to Coldplay; it’s your ethics that predict whether you’ll cheat. This is all about control and confession and forgiveness on his terms. It’s classic abuser behavior: Isolate you - first, from your guy friends; later, from anybody who might talk some sense into you. Cut you down, build you up a little (“What a lovely stew!”) and cut you down some more. He’s essentially smacking you around, then kissing your booboo. And no, he’s not literally smacking you around now, but that’s where emotional abuse often leads. What are you waiting for, a sign? Two black eyes? A couple broken bones? Or, maybe something in writing; a death certificate, perhaps?
        Get out.
  • 20ThomasRhettThe Crown Complex hosts a variety of events and entertainers from across the globe throughout the year. Its repertoire includes things like conventions, plays, concerts and ice hockey games. There is something for everyone in the family to enjoy during any month. October is no exception this year. On Oct. 6, Thomas Rhett will perform as part of his 2017 Home Team Tour. This performance will be followed by REO Speedwagon on Oct. 7.

    Rhett’s career in the music business started in 2009 in Nashville, Tennessee, when he was first hired to write songs. In 2013, he broke onto the scene with his first No. 1 hit “It Goes Like This.” Since then he has released eight chart-topping singles and has taken his unique sound and huge concert performances across the country and Europe. He is currently one of the most popular up-and-coming music stars in the business. The past few years, he has been adjusting to this new lifestyle. As he becomes more comfortable on the stage, the infectious energy of his performances grows.

    Rhett’s music is known for an addictive mixture of country, pop hooks, rhythm and blues grooves, rock and soul. It is this sound that earned him numerous awards such as the title ACM Male Vocalist of the year and Grammy nominations. Because he is influenced by so many different sounds, his music is ever-evolving. A performance with Rhett is always innovative, engaging and exciting. Coming to a live performance is a way to experience the excitement and growth with him in a way that an album could never fully capture.

    REO Speedwagon will take the stage at the Crown Coliseum Oct. 7 at 7:30 p.m. The group was first formed in the late 1960s in Champaign, Illinois, where audiences helped to build and define the Midwestern rock movement.

    Like many bands, the group started playing small local gigs. Now, after decades of passion and hard work, they have cemented themselves as rock legends, having sold more than 40 million records with 13 Top 40 hits. Their most successful album, “High Infidelity” spent 15 weeks at No. 1 and is nearly 10-times platinum. In the 1990s, the group redefined touring by introducing the co-headline tour concept and touring with Fleetwood Mac and
    Pat Benatar.

    Kevin Cronin, the man behind the lyrics, will be joined onstage by Bruce Hall on bass, Neal Doughty on the keyboard, Dave Amato on lead guitar and Bryan Hitt on the drums.

    The members of REO Speedwagon maintain their ability to fill large stadiums because their shows are incredible. The music is timeless, and they dominate the stage with energy and personality. Since the beginning, they have tirelessly demonstrated their talent, passion and creativity. This concert is an opportunity to have fun and see art 50 years in the making.

    The Crown Coliseum is located at 1960 Coliseum Dr. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit www.crowncomplexnc.com/events. The Crown Complex has exciting events all year long.

    Photo caption: Rhett’s career in the music business started in 2009 in Nashville, Tennessee. Photo credit: www.crowncomplexnc.com

  • 16FSOCapeFEarFayetteville Symphony Orchestra’s 2017-18 season, “Gone to Carolina,” kicks off Saturday, Oct. 14, with a Cape Fear-themed concert. Anticipation has been building for this day since FSO announced the appointment of its new music director Stefan Sanders this April. Sanders and FSO president and CEO Christine Kastner planned a six-concert season from October to April that celebrates the Carolinas’ unique history and geography.

    The family-friendly season opener, aptly titled “Cape Fear,” features a mixture of classical and pop music performed by the full symphony. The program celebrates the world of mythical and historical pirates and shipwrecks associated with the Carolina coastline. Classical pieces include Wagner’s “Overture to The Flying Dutchman” and Rimsky-Korsakov’s “Sheherazade,” which invokes a fairy-tale feeling and is associated with the adventures of Sinbad the Sailor. Contemporary pieces include music from the popular films “Hook,” “Jaws” and “Pirates of the Caribbean.”

    “I think there’s a little something for everyone,” Kastner said. She added that even if the audience isn’t familiar with some of the classical pieces, Sanders will briefly describe each one before the orchestra plays so that listeners have context.

    Children of all ages (right on up to their 90s) are encouraged to attend the concert dressed in pirate- and sea-themed costumes. Sanders and some of the musicians will be dressed up, too. “The idea is that this is our first concert of the year, and it’s fall, so close to Halloween, and people are already in the (spirit),” Sanders said. “All these characters of the sea and what they have inspired in music — that’s what this concert is all about.”

    FSO also partnered with the Ellington-White Community Development Corporation to display pirate-themed art the night of the concert. Ellington-White CDC held its 10th annual Discovering the Arts Summer Program in June. The program serves Cumberland County youth ages 10-18 who have been labeled “at risk” by EWCDC partner CommuniCare, Inc., as well as youth from the community’s low-wealth population. Project director Dwight Smith described the program as “a four-week curriculum of visual art, dance, and drama and creative writing,” and said it can have a life-changing and positive effect.

    “We have a donor who is paying for those kids to attend the concert with their families,” Kastner said. “It was a neat partnership that really worked with this concert. … They did a little pirate art, and now they have the opportunity to come to a symphony concert and hear some music and see their art displayed.”
    FSO put out calls for local art for many of its other concerts this season and will display that art and use it for promotional purposes. “We’re trying to foster some cooperation and support for the other arts in the community,” Kastner said.

    Sanders said it occurred to him recently that it’s been almost a year since his audition to become FSO’s music director. “I’ve been to Fayetteville many times now for events and fundraising and advocacy and everything, but we haven’t actually had any concerts,” he said. “So I can’t wait to actually make music. … I’m very, very excited, and I think the musicians are really excited, too, to have the search completed and to really begin the next era of the orchestra’s history.”

    “Cape Fear” takes place Oct. 14 at 7:30 p.m. in the Huff Concert Hall at Methodist University. FSO “Music Nerd” Joshua Busman will give a pre-concert talk at 6:45 p.m. To purchase tickets, and to view the full list of concerts for the 2017-18 FSO season, visit www.fayettevillesymphony.org.

  • 15IndigoPat Wright and her partner Jan Johnson head the nonprofit organization GroundSwell Pictures, which was founded in 2014. The organization makes films, shows films, teaches filmmaking and supports filmmakers. It also organizes a summer camp that teaches children about filmmaking. But they wanted more. Before long, they realized that Fayetteville lay in an inexplicable dead zone: There was never a film festival within an hour’s drive. Luckily, they were already equipped with an organization and a passion. That is why Oct. 13-15 , at various venues in historic downtown Fayetteville, the community will be able to enjoy the Indigo Moon Film Festival.

    Indigo is meant to bring to mind the word independent, as in indy films, and Moon refers to the phrase “once in a blue moon,” meaning rare or infrequent. Taken together, the title is meant to subtly reiterate Wright’s goal to create “a festival and celebration of the cultural art of film” and to provide the art form that had been so scarce in the Fayetteville community.

    Already Wright has succeeded in her goal. The opening night film, “HONDROS,” is sold out and is being scheduled for a third screening due to its immense popularity.

    The film is about director Greg Campbell’s best friend, Chris Hondros. Hondros was a 1988 graduate of Terry Sanford High School, started his career at The Fayetteville Observer and ended up being a globally-recognized conflict photographer before he died while on assignment in Libya in April 2011.

    The night of the opening film’s screening will be commemorated with a ceremony including food from downtown Fayetteville restaurants and live music. Starting the next day, the festival will show 45 films in just 12 hours. There will be animations, documentaries, fantasy stories, cultural examinations, narrative tales and films ranging from just three minutes long to over and hour. Several directors will be present to discuss their works in Q&A sessions. Experts will also be present to give insights on acting for film and TV as well as how to successfully use crowd funding.

    “You can eat, shop, watch films and have a great time without ever having to leave downtown Fayetteville,” Wright said. Furthermore, on the final day of the festival, there will be an awards ceremony and catered barbecue. After the awards are presented, there will be encore screenings of the films that win the audience and judges’ awards. Whatever the need, be it food, film, friends or just to support a hometown nonprofit, Indigo Moon Film Festival has something to offer.

    Tickets are $10 per film or $10 per block of 6-10 short films. There are discounts for soldiers, students and senior citizens as well as VIP Passes for $100. The VIP pass covers access to all screenings as well as the price for both the opening night reception and the final awards ceremony. All tickets and passes will be available online until noon Oct. 12. After that, tickets can be purchased at the box office in the Rainbow Room at 223 Hay St. For tickets and more information, visit  www.indigomoonfilmfestival.com.

  •     Having tried to stage this show for 15 years, the Gilbert couldn’t have found a better time for the premiere of Stephen Sondheim’s Assassins. With political drama taking center stage of a large majority of the American populous, snubbing even our most celebrated sitcoms to watch debates, seeing Assassins allows us to revisit history in the hope that surely, with all that we’ve learned, we won’t repeat it.
        The play opens with the number “Everybody’s Got the Right” sung by the Proprietor (with an excellent stern but tongue-in-cheek delivery by Paul Wilson), who hands out guns to the play’s collection of mal-intents. The song portrays them as frustrated American dreamers: “No job? Cupboard bare?/One room, no one there?/Hey pal, don’t despair--/ You wanna shoot a President?” Given today’s shaky economy, many viewing this play are sure to identify with these defeated dreamers who lash out at the ailing system that only pretends to serve us, just as I did. The American dream takes many on a loopy de loop spinning in circles that inevitably leave a few sputtering and crazy. The sputtering and crazy are seen here, in a tug of war for the American dream that leaves them flat on their backs yet gracing the pages of history books.
        The audience is then taken to the moment in which John Wilkes Booth (played captivatingly by Jonathan de Araujo) assassinates President Abraham Lincoln. Booth has the opening assassination, and as such, plays the devil on the shoulder of almost every assassinator henceforth. He does so with great relish, and Araujo’s capability as an actor allows the audience to see how Booth believes he was betrayed by history and violence of the Civil War. It is achingly beautiful to watch as he becomes the charismatic snake that leads all into their garden of demise.
        The production was replete with capable performances; however, a few went above and beyond. James Johnson’s Samuel Byck seethes with a terrifying lunacy that remarkably, makes sense. The line “You know the world is a vicious stinking pit of emptiness and pain,” carries its weight in irony when it comes from a man wearing a Santa suit. Caroline DePew, though in a smaller role, truly understands Emma Goldman’s belief in anarchy as a means of reason, and her lines “They make us servants, Leon. We do not make servants of each other,” to me, embodies the theme of the play in a memorable way. Lastly, Tim Kranz’s Guiseppe Zangara does much more than characterize desperation; he breathes it in a way in which I truly pity. 
        Assassins is criticized as a play that skirts the haunting moments of America’s history, and I tend to agree. From viewing Sweeney Todd, I expected disillusionment and terror going into the play, but was met with a pigeon-holed depiction full of humor. However, there is a moment in which the play digs deeper, that of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. After Oswald completes his deed, the song “Something Just Broke” allows the audience a moment of reflection on history without forcing us to look at in humor.
        The Gilbert has its limitations in producing such a large scale musical production, however, each actor’s adeptness and the quality of the lines and score allow us to revel in the humor of horror while pushing to pause and reflect post-show on how, while not excusable, the most terrifying acts in history are understandable. The play gently reminds its audience with the invocation of Arthur Miller’s “Attention must be paid” that those in power in America need not forget those in need, those who made them what they are.   
        As the sneer of Halloween draws near, and the interest of the election explodes, there couldn’t be a better musical production to take in. Check it out at the Gilbert Theater through Oct. 19t. Tickets are  $12. For more ticket information and showtimes, call 678-7186 or e-mail  gilberttheater@aol.com.
  •     What is there left to say about Sarah Palin?
        Since her public debut just before Labor Day, observing the endless cycle of leftist attacks on her and ponderous conservative commentaries on why the left attacks her has become tedious. Yet like many Americans, I am anything but indifferent to the governor and if a 60-minute news show promises a 30-second blurb on her at the end, I will stay tuned.
        But no one has yet to fully answer, why does the left hate Sarah Palin?
    Disclaimer: I am a conservative Republican and I like our VP nominee for her drive, determination, her record of reform in unseating an incumbent Republican governor, her small town, small government philosophy and her stands on certain issues. Her critics, on the other hand, some of whom do voice legitimate concerns, hate her not just because she is supposedly unqualified or because she is Rush Limbaugh in a dress (I forget who said that). We political junkies tend to look at life through the prism of ideology when some answers reflect simple human nature.
        They hate her because she is so darn perfect. No, they will never admit that, but let’s be honest, Sarah Palin flits from one career-topping achievement to the next without ever losing her gosh-darn small-town charm. Her whole life seems to be a seamless, upward trajectory — basketball star, hometown beauty queen, city council member, mayor after defeating a nine-year incumbent and you know the rest.
        High on my resume is that I have learned to lose gracefully. As I write this, though I don’t hate her, I am starting to highly resent her.
        And, of course, she is attractive and is the mother of a beautiful brood who could’ve stepped out of a Sear’s catalog. The oft-played image of the successful governor, holding her newborn to her bosom just after accepting her party’s nomination for VP should have served as an iconic feminist moment, but in some their lesser selves took over and a certain green-eyed monster reared its ugly head.
    Then, of course, there’s Todd — handsome, rugged, manly and supportive of his ambitious wife and the consummate stay-at-home dad. What aging, unmarried heterosexual feminist wouldn’t want a man like Todd waiting for her at home after running the state all day?
        {mosimage}Is it any wonder that an unattractive mess like “comedienne’” Sandra Bernhard of an entertainment industry littered with drugs, alcohol, broken relationships and attention-seeking social misfits, would spout off an obscenity-laden attack on even the very idea of a Sarah Palin? And Sarah Palin will probably never know and will surely never care.
    She is not in the least contentious and there is not an ounce of arrogance or ego about her. She doesn’t even give her critics the opportunity of dropping the b-word on her. It just doesn’t fit her and they know it and they hate her for it.
        Appearances, of course, can be deceiving and no one knows what, if any, private heartbreak she bears. There is always the suspicion and sometimes the hope that the outwardly successful pay for their fortune like some figure out of Greek tragedy. Certainly, a Down Syndrome baby and a pregnant teen daughter present challenges but she seems no worse for the wear.
        Certainly politics and ideology matter. To many she is simply wrong and even some conservatives think she is unqualified. Nonetheless, a media sensation was born when an Alaska reporter remarked that the new governor, clad in leather boots and a skirt, didn’t fit his image of a Republican. In a celebrity-obsessed, media-saturated culture, she will draw attention even if McCain loses — especially with the prospect of a 2012 presidential run. Everyone is vying for fame in this age of blogs and YouTube and Sarah Palin has already exceeded her 15 minutes. For some that is reason enough to hate her.
  •     You’ll find that going to motorcycle auctions can actually have several benefits. You’ll be sure to find an excellent deal on a motorcycle when you purchase at one of these auctions, and for sellers, it provides a way to get great profits easily as well.
        If you’re looking for a great motorcycle and you want a real deal, then you may want to check out one of these auctions. If you’re a consumer in the market for an excellent motorcycle that is in nice shape, this is a great way that you can find cheap motorcycles. In fact, you may even be able to get one that is almost new for a price that is excellent.
        While it usually will cost you big time to purchase a new motorcycle, you can definitely find one for a deal that is affordable when you check out these motorcycle auctions.{mosimage}

    Great Public Auctions
        There are a variety of great public motorcycle auctions that are out there that will allow you to get great prices. However, you’ll usually find the very best deals when you check out auctions of motorcycles that have been seized by the government. Often you’ll find great bikes that were taken by the government from people who were getting involved in criminal activities. Some places hold these auctions on a regular basis, so you will need to look for them. Usually the government just wants to get rid of these auctions, which is why you can get such a great deal on a motorcycle when you attend these auctions.

    Things to Remember
        Of course before you purchase a motorcycle at motorcycle auctions, there are several things that you are going to keep in mind.
        • Inspect Carefully - First of all, if you are going to purchase a motorcycle at these kinds of auctions, you need to make sure that you inspect the motorcycle before you make the purchase.
        • Come Early - Coming to the auction early is a great idea as well, since it allows you to take a closer look at the motorcycles that are being sold before there are too many people around.
        • Have a Budget - Last of all, it is so important that you have a budget already laid out before you even get to the motorcycle auction so you are sure to stick to it and not spend more than you can afford.
        While you may be able to save a lot of money at these auctions, you should always follow the old maxim “Buyer be ware,” and know what you are getting into before you put your money down.

  •      Marriage is a beautiful commitment if both parties are willing to give their all and of course, compromise. Compatibility or being “equally yoked” is an essential component. Oh how I, Shanessa Linette Fenner, long to be married one day to my African-American king.  To get married and live happily ever after is the dream for some women.   
        Tyler Perry’s current stage production The Marriage Counselorfrom Oct. 24-26.  Show times are Oct. 24 at 8 p.m., Oct. 25 at 3 p.m. and 8 p.m. and Oct. 26 at 3 p.m. His tenth production profiles relationships, tells how in the end love conquers all and is a reflection of everyday living in today’s society.      
      
    {mosimage} Palmer Williams Jr. plays the character Floyd in the production as well as the character Floyd the barber in Tyler Perry’s House of Payne.  “Floyd is a character who is the father of one of the main characters,” said Williams. “I lost my house due to Hurricane Katrina and now living in my son’s house.” Williams added that his son is an accountant and taking care of the whole family.           
       The plot entails Roger Jackson, a hard working good man, who is an accountant. He takes care of his wife, Judith; his pop, Floyd; and his wife’s mom, TT.  Floyd and TT do not get along.  Judith is a professional Ivy League educated marriage counselor who gives marital advice everyday but cannot get her own marriage together.  
        The scene switches to the married couples seeking advice.  Dr. Jackson has the answer for everyone but a turn of events causes the marriage counselor to need some advice once a college friend drops by the office. “As the play unfolds the audience will see that even though Judith is a marriage counselor, she is still distracted just as other couples become,” said Williams. “There’s counseling going on, distractions from the past and other situations.”     
         Tyler Perry, the writer-director-producer-actor-composer-playwright, opened Tyler Perry Studios in Atlanta in September 2007 which is one of the first movie studios in this country owned by an African-American. Perry was inspired by Oprah Winfrey to channel his creativity and talents through writing. He has had nine successful stage productions, two collaborations, five hit movies and one hit TV sitcom since 1997.  Some of his movies and plays include Daddy’s Little Girls, Diary of a Mad Black Woman, Why Did I Get Married, Madea’s Family Reunion, Madea Goes to Jail, Meet the Browns and more.  His current movie, The Family That Preys, is a must see and the title evokes a message that when “prey” turns to “pray,” good things are likely to happen.          
        “I encourage everyone to come out and enjoy this production,” said Williams. “It is a play that everyone can relate to.”   
        For more information or ticket information call 438-4100 or visit  www.tylerperry.com”   

  •     I’m a 30-year-old woman who started seeing a guy in his early 40s a month ago. He’s very healthy and confident, and seems pretty balanced. We get together about once a week, on weekends, and he’s amazing in bed! He wants sex three to four times in a 12-hour period, and lasts quite a while. I’m loving this, but just once on some days would be fine, too. Also, I’m thinking this is unusual for a guy above 25. Would it be out of line to ask if he’s taking Viagra?
    —Wondering


        Don’t look a gift stallion in the mouth. The problem comes if, say, all that wild adult fun starts to seem like having a newborn, with you being awakened every night at 3 a.m. by something pawing for your breast.
    For now, if you’re enjoying your new pony, why fret about why? Maybe he’s got a high sex drive, and his idea of abstinence is going without for three hours. Maybe he’s like that right now, on account of this being something new. Maybe he’s trying to impress you (okay, he’s 40-something, but he can still lead a girl to bed and show her around the circus). On a less sexy note, maybe he’s in a feeding frenzy after a long hiatus or maybe he’s doing the squirrel thing and stocking up in case there’s a long winter.
        As for parsing whether he’s naturally extra-perky or pharm-fresh, it’s kind of like worrying, “Are you somebody who doesn’t have hideous body odor, or are you just wearing deodorant?” You are right that the guy rebounds like a 25-year-old. Dr. Jacob Rajfer, chief of urology at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, explains that the big difference between younger guys and guys in their 40s is a longer “refractory period” — the penile coffee break they have to take before they can come back up for more (sometimes a day or days for the 40-something penis). Viagra, often mistakenly thought of as a libido booster, actually works on the mechanics of the penis, increasing blood flow to allow for an erection. But, more and more, guys without erectile problems are using it to last longer and to shorten the downtime between playdates.
        Rajfer doesn’t have a problem prescribing Viagra for these purposes, providing a guy’s not taking nitrates — for cardiovascular problems or as “poppers,” a potentially deadly mix — and his heart’s strong enough for him to survive sex. (It isn’t the Viagra that kills you, it’s the sexathalon.) Of course, with any drug there can be risks, maybe yet-unknown, maybe long-term and serious. In healthy men, however, Rajfer said there are mainly temporary complaints of facial flushing, a headache, maybe a little indigestion, and “some men may see a blue halo.” (And then there’s the gummy residue from the gold star their girlfriend sticks on their forehead.)
        After essentially four dates, it’s a little early to start taking the guy’s medical history. You could mention that once is sometimes enough for you — relieving any pressure he might be feeling to keep the Tilt-A-Whirl on overdrive. Meanwhile, take a pill yourself, the chill kind. It takes time and settling in to figure out whether you’re compatible — whether you want what he wants as often as he wants it, or you find yourself longing for the days when you could get off an airplane without three new bruises: one for hot, one for cold and another for the soap dispenser.
  • Max Payne  (Rated PG-13) 1 Star

        What Hollywood schlockmeister greenlit this fly-spotted waste of celluloid? Max Payne(100 minutes), despite having (finally) knocked Beverly Hills Chihuahua off the top of the box office, is not even interesting enough to properly make fun of. Even for a movie based on a video game this is a sluggish, misinformed effort. It somehow succeeds at being worse than the travesty that was Doom, and less intelligent than the lamentable Alone in the Dark. Frankly, this unimaginative dreck is to be expected from Director John Moore, who finished the ridiculously unnecessary remake of The Omen immediately prior to this film.
        {mosimage}Perhaps we cannot blame screenwriter Beau Thorne for the on-screen missteps since this is his first movie, but we can certainly write angry letters to the casting department. Who told casting directors Deirdre Bowen and Mindy Marin that Mila Kunis could play the “tough” character? And what in the world is Nelly Furtado of all people doing in this movie? That’s just weird. Seriously, someone must have gathered some great secrets and blackmailed the entire main cast to get them to agree to appear in this shameless, meaningless exercise in foolishness.
        So, what is the plot of this mind-numbing waste of almost two hours of my life? Well, it does follow the video game to some extent, and fans can have fun looking for “insider details” like the “V” graffiti. A New York City detective named Max Payne (Mark Wahlberg) is working in the cold case files after his wife and child are violently killed. He has become obsessed with bringing their murderers to justice, and spends most of his time stalking the streets in search of answers. During the course of his investigation Max is introduced to Natasha Sax (Olga Kurylenko). Later, Natasha is attacked and Max’s old partner Alex Balder (Donal Logue) investigates, only to be attacked himself.
        Meanwhile, assassin Mona Sax (inexplicably played by Mila Kunis) runs around the city in black leather stiletto boots that would put a Pussycat Doll to shame, occasionally shooting at (and usually missing) random flunkies in an attempt to find her sister’s attackers. Eventually Mona and Max join forces, believing their two missions are related.
        While Max chews scenery in the “A” Plot, an internal affairs officer named Jim Bravura (Chris “Ludacris” Bridges)…actually, he doesn’t do much of anything. He certainly is in a lot of scenes, but nothing seems to happen.
        Luckily, there is another plot revolving around the evil AESIR Corporation headed up by B.B. Hensley (Beau Bridges). Also working for AESIR is Jason Colvin (Chris O’Donnell), whom Max brutally beats during an unofficial interrogation late in the movie. During the beating, Colvin reveals important secrets that lead Max closer to the killers he so desperately seeks.
        Following the grand finale I was so desperate to leave I admit I missed the after credits sequence. Anyone who is still alive and kicking following the so-called climax of the WORST MOVIE I HAVE SAT THROUGH IN 10 YEARS is welcome to stay and watch Mona and Max in the bar, discussing some very important information.

  • 17 Different Stages Sometimes, you are on top of the world, and other times, the world is on top of you. Fall has finally arrived, and people are out there riding. With all of the crazy weather we have had this year, I am not sure how long good riding weather will actually last, but every mile is a good mile, almost.

    This year, my riding season has been tame. In fact, except for a decent few days before Memorial Day, my riding has been almost nonexistent. For those of you who follow this article (thank you), you know that I will quickly put 1,000 miles down over a few days with no problem. But this year has been an exception.

    About 10 years ago, I started riding with some local guys here. We would meet about every other weekend and tear up the roads between here and Chapel Hill, Pittsboro or Uwharrie National Forest on Sunday mornings.

    Some of these guys have 10 years on me. At first, the conversations were about motorcycling, bikes, maintenance, riding techniques and all the crazy things we have done in our lives. We’d laugh and joke like good-oleboys do. Over time, I noticed the conversations started changing to health issues, retirement, disability, Social Security and Lord-knows Medicare Part A and Part B.

    To be honest, it was kind of a fortune cookie to my future. As I am now older, I have witnessed that the longer we live, the more stages we pass through. I see new riders, “infants.” Beginner riders, “no fear.” Experienced riders, “technical.” And those who are slowing down, “aging riders.” For those who live long enough to be forced to give up riding, “retired riders.” Sad, but no matter what we do in life, we all go through various stages. We all evolve.

    This year I have been hit with medical issues, and like everyone else here, the weather. It was either raining or too hot to enjoy a day’s ride.

    Now I’m the guy who has to consider his health. For now, I may not be able to jump out there and ride a Trans American Trail and travel offroad across the county.

    My original riding friends have all retired. We still ride when we can. Now we talk about riding, our aches and pains, who is sick and funerals we have attended. They have worked through their setbacks and are loving life, telling me to go ahead and retire so I can ride more. Part of me appreciates their enthusiasm, but the other part is cautious because, in the end, retirement is a math problem and a betting game.

    Ideally, we probably all would like to retire while we are still young enough and in good enough health to enjoy ourselves, and if the Lord is willing, we will live a long and happy life. Of course, as anyone who rides knows, it does not take long to rack up some severe costs on the road. As a general rule, I usually estimate $150 a day for a road trip. That is $4,500 a month to get out there and ride. That does not include maintenance or new tires every 6,000 to 8,000 miles. And there are still bills on top of that and those fact-of-life necessities like room and board. Then there is that problem of how much in retirement savings it will take to enjoy riding, enjoy life and make it to our final day on earth.

    Ideally, we would pass away on the same day we run out of money. That seems like the perfect financial plan! Of course, the Bible says, “A good man leaveth an inheritance to his children’s children” (Proverbs 13:22). No pressure there – now I can’t die broke because the Good Book just told me to leave some goodies for my heirs.

    Age, medical setbacks and rough times do not mean there is not some good riding left in us. I think that is the difference between a phase and stage.

    If there is a topic you would like to discuss, you can contact me at motorcycle4fun@aol.com.

    RIDE SAFE!

  • 05 letter to editor In the State Senate District 19 election, you have a choice between two very different candidates. We have an opportunity to elect a senator who will put the interest of our entire community first. In me, you will have a senator who will fight for a quality public education system, not dismantle it; who will work to expand Medicaid, not reduce it; who will protect our drinking water from poison, not ignore it; who believes in the equal rights of all people to vote and live their life the way they see fit, not restrict their rights. A senator who will stand up and fight to ensure that everyone has equal access to the opportunities and basic rights they deserve no matter what zip code they live in or were born in.

    I have had the honor of serving our country in the U.S. Army and serving Fayetteville as a city councilman. In both positions, I learned firsthand the value of service, of giving back, and of bringing people together to find common solutions. Too often today,our current state senator has just “looked out” for partisan interests and not the best interests of the people. He claims to have “brought millions of dollars back to our community,” but the sad truth is that many of the policies he voted for hurt people that live in our community. Though he helped bring a residency program to our hospital, he has shut patients out from accessing treatment by blocking the expansion of Medicaid – who is he really helping?

    I will work to expand Medicaid to provide access to affordable healthcare. It is time we put patients over politics. We have over 500,000 people in our state without healthcare, which is why I support expanding Medicaid. Every person deserves access to affordable health care. Expanding Medicaid can lower insurance rates as well as create jobs and help our rural hospitals. The expansion of Medicaid will also renew our commitment to address mental health issues in our state.

    My top priority is the education of our children and reinvesting in our public schools and teachers. I will give our teachers, children and school employees the support and respect they deserve. My fight is to boost  public education spending, and increase teacher pay to match or exceed the national average so we can recruit and retain the best and brightest. I will support investments in our schools’ infrastructure and in classroom resources so that our teachers don’t have to pay for needed items out of their own pockets.

    We must also protect our drinking water and waterways from pollutants and poisons. Safe drinking water shouldn’t be a partisan issue. This is a public health issue and demands our attention. We need to provide the resources to our state departments that are there to protect us. I will fight for the need to review and potentially reverse many of the environmental deregulation bills that have been put in place over the last 8 years. Many of these laws give polluters amnesty for their dumping and pass the cleanup cost on to taxpayers. Additionally, we need to work with our local officials for a county-wide water system.

    Everyone deserves an opportunity to succeed and we must work to create an economy that supports this success. Too many families in our community are being left behind in the economic recovery, and reinvesting in education is only part of the solution. We need to create a skilled labor force to attract good paying jobs to our state and community. Supporting the university system, community colleges and trade schools is critical to investing in our people’s success.

    There is a clear difference between the two candidates in this senate race. My commitment is to put people first when creating policies and ensure they are equitable and fair. I expect to be held accountable for my votes. I ask that we hold our current senator accountable for his votes over the last eight years that have hurt families and people in our community.

    I am a father, husband, veteran, small business owner and community servant who asks for your vote for State Senate. Together we can find common solutions to the critical issues that are facing our state and community.

  • 04 Karl Do I wish President Donald Trip would be less confrontational, less “in your face” with some of his comments? Yes, I do. However, I confess that I give him more latitude than I give to Democrats when it comes to assessing strategy, tactics and general conduct.

    There are two major reasons for this response. One is that Trump is producing extremely positive results for America and even the world. The other is that what I see as negative in his conduct pales in comparison to the mob-inspiring actions and comments of Democrats. They are desperate. Alexander Suvorov spoke truth when he said, “There is nobody more terrible than the desperate.”

    Consider recent comments by several leading Democrats. References are not given here because the statements have been reported widely in printand by video:

    Hillary Clinton to CNN’s Christiane Amanpour: “You cannot be civil with a political party that wants to destroy what you stand for, what you care about. That’s why I believe, if we are fortunate enough to win back the House and/or the Senate, that’s when civility can start again.”

    Eric Holder, Attorney General in the Obama Administration: “It is time for us as Democrats to be as tough as they are, to be as dedicated as they are, to be as committed as they are. Michelle always says, Michelle Obama, I love her. She and my wife are really tight. Which always scares me and Barack. Michelle always says, ‘When they go low, we go high.’ No. No. When they go low, we kick them.”a

    Representative Maxine Waters, D-C.A., referring to the Trump Cabinet: “If you see anybody from that Cabinet in a restaurant, in a department store, at a gasoline station, you get out and you create a crowd and you push back on them and you tell them they’re not welcome anymore, anywhere.”

    The three individuals quoted above will likely argue that they were not calling for violence against those who differ with the positions taken by Democrats. The problem is that no matter what one intends by their words, the speaker must always consider how people might react to what is said. These pronouncements, and others like them, have, and are, contributing to creating a mob mentality among many adherents to Democratic intentions for the direction of this nation.

    Merriam-Webster dictionary defines a mob as “A large and disorderly crowd of people especially: one bent on riotous or destructive action.” The following incidents certainly fit the mob criteria.

    From an article by Leah Millis titled “DHS Secretary

    Nielsen Shouted Out of Mexican Restaurant by Protesters:” “Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen was chased out of a Mexican restaurant Tuesday evening by protesters confronting her over the Trump administration’s policy of separating migrant children from their parents at the U.S.-Mexico border. Protesters crashed her meal, yelling ‘shame!’ and ‘If kids don’t eat in peace, you don’t eat in peace!’ while Nielsen appeared to look down at her phone before eventually exiting the restaurant.”

    From an article by Avi Selk titled “Ted Cruz and wife are shouted out of D.C. restaurant over his support for Kavanaugh:” “Members of protest group Smash Racism DC heckled Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and his wife until he left a restaurant in Northwest D.C., on Sept. 24. Heidi Cruz stood frozen in the middle of the restaurant, hands clenched beneath her shawl, teeth bared in what might have started as a grin before it changed to something else. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, had not yet removed his overcoat. He and his wife had not yet reached their table, which sat set and ready for them just a few paces away: a cream-cushioned booth, as reserved. But the Cruzes had not ordered all this chanting.”

    These are just two examples of the mob action I believe is being prompted by the Democrats’ ruthless disregard for life and privacy; a ruthlessness rooted in their desperation. Look again at how Heidi Cruz was affected by this mob action. If this is what we want – and are willing to accept – in our political process, this country is in far more trouble than I realized.

    Another outgrowth of desperation is to, at almost any cost, seek to control the thinking of people who, by their speech and actions, make a desperate situation even more desperate. The current prime example of this point is Kanye West, an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, entrepreneur and fashion designer. This is a black man who unabashedly supports Trump. He, along with Jim Brown (former outstanding player in the National Football League), recently met with Trump in the Oval Office.

    To appreciate the lesson from how West is being treated because of his support for the president, one must view the video at www.youtube.com/watch?v=oRY3UHI7cTU.This video shows the entirety of what West said during the portion of the meeting that press were present. Summarized below is just some of what he addressed:

    1. Welfare is the reason so many black Americans are Democrats. There came a point when jobs were limited and fathers lost their employment. Democrats offered welfare that came with more money for having more babies.

    2. There is a connection between decreased mental health facilities and the increased prison population.

    3. “Bravery helps beat the game of life.” He talks about his mother and father separating; leaving his home with not a lot of male energy. His view of himself as a man is helped by the way Trump makes things happen.

    4. If the president does not look good, we don’t either.

    5. When a reporter asked why he said President George Bush did not care about black people, West responded that he was “programmed to think from a victimized mentality, a welfare mentality.” He has broken free of that destructive mentality.

    6. “Stop and Frisk” is not a tool that would help relationships in Chicago.

    7. Open industries in cities like Chicago so that people have employment. Implement tax breaks so that creating jobs in cities can be profitable. Bring jobs back to America.

    8. Relook at how we teach. Kids lose interest in school because they are bored. Be creative, such as using playing basketball to teach math.

    Look at that partial list of what West said to Trump. Now consider some of what was said in the media about his visit, as reported by Craig Bannister in an article titled “CNN Panel: ‘Kanye West Is What Happens When Negroes Don’t Read,’ ‘Token Negro of the White House.’”

    “CNN panelists repeatedly slurred rapper Kanye West over his support for President Donald Trump, and host Don Lemon did nothing but laugh when they did. A former South Carolina state representative, Democrat Bakari Sellers, now a CNN contributor, warned that Kanye’s opinions show ‘what happens when Negroes don’t read:’ ‘Kanye West is what happens when Negroes don’t read. And we have this  now and now Donald Trump is going to use it and pervert and he’s going to have someone who can stand with him and take pictures.’”

    “Another CNN contributor, Tara Setmeyer, called West the White House’s ‘token Negro.’ ‘He’s an attention whore, like the president. He’s all of a sudden now the model spokesperson. He’s the token Negro of the Trump administration.’ She went on to suggest that West’s support of Trump is a sign of mental illness.”

    Note that Lemon, Sellers and Setmeyer are black; however, their attacks on Kanye are totally representative of what, without regard to race, gushed forth from liberal media types and their followers. Tucker Carlson asked the right question: “If they think he is crazy, why are they attacking him?”

    They are attacking Kanye because he is thinking for himself and exposing the Democratic game of making amazing promises to Black Americans while delivering little or nothing. Democrats cannot afford to have black people start thinking for ourselves. That’s why they must stop the Kanyes of the world, almost at any cost. Desperation demands it.

    Sadly, in pursuit of power, Democrats not only seek to control thought, but they will literally destroy lives in pursuit of power. That is especially the case when power seems beyond their reach and desperation sets in. The latest example here is their despicable treatment of then-Judge Brett Kavanaugh in his Supreme Court confirmation process. Equally reprehensible was their treatment of Dr. Christine Blasey Ford. This lady made what proved to be totally uncorroborated sexual assault allegations from 36 years ago against Kavanaugh. She wanted to remain anonymous. Her allegation was only known to Democrats but was passed to the media. That act of leaking resulted in Ford losing her anonymity and having her life turned upside down.

    The picture here is one of Democratic desperation that is producing a mob mentality, which results in loss of civility, attempts to control thought and employing tactics that unfairly negatively impact the lives of people. We cannot allow this mob approach to reside in America.

  • 03 Margaret It is no exaggeration to say that our great American free press in all its various forms is under siege. Our own president calls the Fourth Estate “the enemy of the people” and demeans its work as “fake news.” But the greatest threat to our oldest and most traditional medium, the American newspaper, comes not from Donald Trump but from technological developments and proliferation of niche media, including social media. The American newspaper that was our watchdog during the founding of our nation, the Civil War, the Great Depression and great social upheavals into the 21st century faces severe diminishment if not outright extinction.

    Into the early years of this century, the newspaper on our kitchen table told us a bit of everything about the world around us – hard news, sports, trends in living, who had died – and gave us the crossword puzzle. Its core mission, as our nation’s founders understood and supported, was to be a check on governments at all levels, but it strove to be the total package. As technology exploded in this century, though, bringing us cable and satellite television, the internet and smart phones – all of which operate in the moment 24/7 – newspapers could not keep up. Throw in the Great Recession and the future got even shakier and scarier.

    Consider these facts from a study just released by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Media and Journalism.

    More than one in five newspapers has folded its tents since 2000.

    Newspapers that remain are sometimes called “ghost papers” because they are now ghosts of their former selves. Dramatic drops in advertising revenue mean greatly pared-down staffs unable to provide the news coverage they once offered to local communities – city council and county commission meetings, school board happenings and local spot news. What is more, over half of our nation’s newspapers have changed hands in the last decade, often moving from locally owned and operated businesses to newspapers chains, owned and headquartered elsewhere, accountable to shareholders, not local communities. As the UNC-CH study puts it, “the people with the least access to local news are often the most vulnerable – the poorest, least educated and most isolated.”

    The Fayetteville Observer, North Carolina’s oldest continually published daily newspaper and owned and operated by a local family for almost a century, was sold in 2016 to a newspaper chain headquartered in New York with a stable of 144 daily papers, according to its website. Up & Coming Weekly remains a locally owned and operated community newspaper distinguished by its community engagement rather than a commitment to news content.

    Several weeks ago, I sat in on two focus groups, one composed of Democrats and the other of Republicans, talking about various political topics. Everyone in each group was conversant on and shared opinions about national politicians and national issues, but almost no one in either camp had any idea who represented them in the North Carolina General Assembly nor what the legislature has been up to in recent years. Most had a vague sense that Gov. Cooper was focused on hurricane recovery, but that was about it for state concerns. In a word, both groups were clueless about state issues and state candidates.

    All sorts of entities, many of them digital, are working to fill the void left by the dramatic shrinkage of Americannewspapers, but most of these are in major metropolitan areas, leaving the hinterlands to become what are increasingly known as “news deserts.” The cold, hard reality, though, is that no fixes are on the horizon, which leaves us, the American people and voters, on our own to find out what our governments, especially at the state and local levels, are doing. It also gives both elected officials and bureaucrats much more rein to do whatever they want to do with very little public scrutiny.

    No matter how one feels about “the media,” we should all understand that a free and available press is fundamental to the operation of our democracy. As the UNC-CH study authors put it, “We need to make sure that whatever replaces the 20th century version of local newspapers serves the same community-building functions. If we can figure out how to craft and implement sustainable news business models in our smallest, poorest markets, we can then empower journalistic entrepreneurs to revive and restore trust in the media from the grassroots level up, in whatever form– print, broadcast or digital.”

    You can learn more about this national problem atwww.usnewsdeserts.com.

  •     {mosimage}Today’s music has a wide range of styles and influences. Some of it can be over the top. If you long to spend a quiet evening relaxing to music that makes sense and tells a story, then you don’t have to look any further than the Givens Performing Arts Center on the campus of The University of North Carolina at Pembroke.
        Each year Givens puts on one of the best shows in town when it brings its Nostalgia Series to the stage. This year’s series opened in September with the incomparable Glenn Campbell, and continues on Friday, Oct. 17, with the Commodores.
        The band formed at Tuskegee Institute in 1968, and went on to become one of the biggest funk and soul bands in the ‘70s and ‘80s. The group is best known for its ballads, “Remember,” “Easy” and “Three Times a Lady?” Those mellow sounds launched many a romance and were the centerpiece of a number of weddings.
        But just as the band could mellow you out, they can also rock you out — with hits like “Brick House,” “Say Yeah,” and “Too Hot Ta Trot.” “Machine Gun” the instrumental title track from the band’s debut album, became a staple at American sporting events, and is similarly featured in many films, including Boogie Nights and Looking for Mr. Goodbar. Another instrumental, “Cebu” (named after an island in the Philippines), later became a staple in the Quiet Storm format. Three albums released in years 1975 and 1976 (Caught in the Act, Movin’ On, Hot On The Tracks) are considered the peak of their harder funk period. After those recordings the group started to move towards softer sound.
        Originally known as The Jays, the band changed names over confusion with the O’Jays. To get their new name, they opened a dictionary and pointed. Band member William King noted, that it was sheer luck that the band wasn’t called the Commodes.
        The band is much different today than it was in its heyday; popular front man Lionel Richie left the band in the early ‘80s, and today, only two original members — Clyde Orange and William “WAK” King” — remain. The band performs 50 concerts a year, always to a sold-out house.
        The show at Givens begins at 8 p.m. Tickets are $40, $38, $20* / $12 child or student,
    $5 UNCP student and $15 for faculty or staff. For more information, visit the Givens Web site at www.uncp.edu/gpac/nostalgia.
  • 02 pub pen In just a few days the midterm elections will be history, and many of us will be overwhelmed with joy.

    Politics at all levels havegotten completely out of control, mean-spirited and ugly. And it’s not about the people and issues any more. It’s about power, it’s about control, and it’s about money– but mostly about power and control. And our current politics know no boundaries; just check your mailbox.

    On the bright side, it was refreshing last week to read an article by a former North Carolina representative, Rick Glazier, in the Oct. 27 issue of The Fayetteville ObserverGlazier wrote about the need for civility in politics, saying, “I see campaigns again this election cycle demeaning the process, filling every media possible with disgusting, debasing, destructive ads. And, being positive on one side of a piece of a mailer, but talking smack on the other, hardly enhances public debate of policies and positions in an intelligent, informed and thoughtful manner – which is precisely what we look to and need from our leaders. Of course, campaigns do this because they believe negative campaigning works. To a degree they are right, if by ‘works’ you mean winning an election. But holding public office is a public trust that goes far beyond winning elections – a contract between the office holder and the people who elected him or her. We breach that contract when we fail to campaign with dignity, or use the power of our office in a retaliatory or intimidating manner, because once that breach of trust occurs, you never get it back – with your constituents or your colleagues with whom you have to work while in office.”

    He continues, “Only we can break that cycle. Only we the people can stop empowering these tactics by voting, even outside our own party preference, for candidates who don’t lower public discourse into the gutter. Indeed, if we mean it when we say we hate negative campaigning, then now is our chance to prove it with our vote; otherwise it is just whining without meaning.

    “Words here are no substitute for deeds. In the end, Admiral Hyman Rickover had it right: ‘Great people talk about ideas; average people talk about events; and small people talk about other people.’

    “Let’s together elect folks to office who talk about ideas! Let’s give rise to our better nature and selves.”

    These sentiments are not surprising coming from a Southern gentleman like Glazier. You may not agree with his leftleaning political ideology, but no one can argue against his integrity, sincerity, statesmanship and lethally effective utilization of facts, logic and common sense when it comes to discussing and debating important issues.

    Glazier’s observations here are accurate. Common sense, logic, compassion and decency seem to have dissolved at all levels of government. In Fayetteville and Cumberland County, we must ask ourselves some very serious and important questions: Do we have the best and brightest filling our elected positions or have we given in and surrendered to identity politics, intimidation and political correctness? Are these people innovative, thoughtful leaders with ideas and vision for the future, or are they self-serving political hacks taking up space and collecting pay checks for literallydoing nothing?

    This begs another question. Why are good men and women shying away from public office? I believe the short answer is that they do not want to be associated with these do-nothing, ineffective scoff-offs who have no incentives to cooperate or compromise. Their priority is to stay in office at all costs – hence the ugly slander, personal attacks and assault on humanity. This is all they have left in the absence of knowledge, vision and compromise.

    The good news is, this is America. We are an innovative and self-correcting nation. We are resilient. We are a country that will not easily yield to this kind of craziness long term. We have a responsibility to leave our children and grandchildren a nation that is freer, safer and better off. In the short term, this might be painful. However, in the long term, logic, common sense and civility will prevail and return as we realize these traits are essential to our survival as the greatest nation in the world.

    Thank you for reading Up & Coming Weekly.

  • Unclear on the Concept
        Bernard LeCorn, running for the school board in Ocala, Fla., declared himself the best-qualified school steward among the three candidates because of his “doctorate,” but the Ocala Star-Bannerdiscovered that not only was it from a well-known diploma mill (cost: $249), but that Alabama A&M, a real school where he had claimed to be a faculty member after receiving bachelor’s and master’s degrees, had never employed him and had enrolled him for only one year.
        (In another diploma-mill fraud indictment in August, one alleged purchaser of a doctorate was Bart Anderson, superintendent of a school district in Columbus, Ohio.)

    Can’t Possibly Be True
        Jose Rivera, 22, survived two tours in Iraq, but back home in California, he took a job at the high-security Atwater federal prison, where officers cannot carry even non-lethal crowd-control weapons, and Rivera was murdered 10 months later by two inmates armed with handmade shivs. “Every single inmate in there is armed to the teeth for his own protection,” complained one officer, but a Bureau of Prisons spokesman told CNN in August that “communication” with inmates is a better policy than even modestly arming guards.
    When Eric Aderholt’s house in Rockwell County, Texas, burned down in June, it wasn’t because the fire department was too slow. They arrived within minutes, but none was aware that local hydrants were locked. Apparently, departments know that hydrants in rural areas have been shut off, as part of post-9/11 security, and must be turned on with a special tool, which no one brought that night. Texas law even requires shut-off hydrants to be painted black, but the firefighters still arrived without the tool, and by the time they retrieved it, Aderholt’s house was gone.

    With Too Much Time on Their Hands
        In December 2003, Yves Julien worked a regular 11-hour shift, plus overtime, all at premium pay, for the Canada Border Services Agency, and then demanded an additional $9 (Cdn) for a sandwich he had purchased when asked to put in the extra hours. The agency said he was not entitled, by contract, because the overtime was already at premium pay. In September 2008, after nearly five years of multiple reviews, hair-splitting legal decisions and lengthy appeals, Julien won his $9.
  • 13Public action committee forms in Hope MillsThe Hope Mills Citizens for Change PAC, which began with just four founding members, has grown to 24 members in the last few weeks. The group, which unofficially refers to itself as the “Getting Stuff Done Committee,” has wasted no time getting stuff done. Last week, the group filed with the Cumberland County Board of Elections as an official political action committee and purchased signs to support its first objective: convincing the public to vote no on the four-year referendum in Hope Mills. 

    The PAC formed due to a shared concern over the actions of the Hope Mills Board of Commissioners. During their short tenure, the board members have doubled their salaries and given themselves stipends for travel and cell phone costs as well as other benefits. But by all accounts, they haven’t accomplished much else. 

    In early February, Commissioner Mike Mitchell suggested changing the town’s charter to allow board members to serve four-year staggered terms beginning with the 2019 election. The mayor and the top two vote-getters would all serve four-year terms while the remaining three seats would convert to four-year terms in the 2021 election. 

    The Hope Mills Board of Commissioners held a public hearing in April to consider citizen’s input. After citizens argued against the referendum, the board immediately voted to move forward. In July, the board voted to approve Resolution 2018-10, and the referendum was placed on the November ballot. 

    It’s been argued that four-year staggered terms would lend continuity to the board and decrease the period of adjustment for freshman commissioners. Mike Mitchell served four years and then took a brief hiatus before returning to the board in 2017. Since returning, he’s struggled to re-acclimate himself. During a January meeting, Mayor Jackie Warner had to remind him of details that had been discussed years earlier during one of his previous terms. 

       In July, the board voted to hold a public hearing to get public input on the offer made by Lone Survivor Foundation to buy municipal land. A week later, the board voted to cancel that hearing until they’d received the initial results of a Hope Mills Parks and Recreation survey. Board members were told in January the survey would not include detailed instructions on how to develop the available municipal lands. 

       The board received those results Oct. 1, and LSF president Tim Byrom submitted a second offer to purchase land the same day. He also asked to be added to the Nov. 5 meeting agenda to formally present his offer and field questions. While citizens waited for the board to set a date for a second hearing, the board voted to reject LSF’s offer. 

       Hope Mills citizens have used social media to express their disappointment and to accuse the board of wrongdoing. It’s been suggested the board never meant to hold a public hearing, fearing the results would be overwhelmingly in favor of the sale to LSF. To date, three citizens have publicly spoken against selling land to LSF. 

       It’s also been suggested the board voted quietly and quickly because Commissioner Jerry Legge would be absent during the November board meetings. With his absence, the vote would have been 2-2, and Warner, who has consistently supported the sale, would have been the deciding vote. 

       Grilley Mitchell, a founding member of the PAC and one of the citizens who spoke against the referendum, has lost faith in this board. He said, “I want someone in office that will only vote on the facts and do what is best for all of the people. Someone that will allow the citizens to have a voice to address issues that matter. Someone that will share the whole truth and not bits of information that only complicate issues.” 

       While the PAC was only established in the last few weeks, its members have created a long-term agenda to address the systemic issues plaguing Hope Mills politics, and they’re optimistic about creating positive change. 

       You can help by staying informed. Up & Coming Weeklyis committed to bringing readers news from Hope Mills every week. Also read hopemills.net. Every article posted is full of links to tangible evidence of the board’s wrongdoing. And you can get involved by joining the PAC. The group is on Facebook at www.facebook.com/HopeMillsCFC. 

  • The Daily Show turns election night into a joke

        All day long, I despair over the state of the U.S. Then, at 11 p.m., I laugh about it. The Daily Show has a gift for making comedy out of national tragedy. Comedy Central’s mock newscast lays bare the hypocrisy, mendacity and idiocy in politics and media, fighting absurdity with absurdity.{mosimage}
        Of course, The Daily Show is not just absurd. Beneath the gags is a savage indignation worthy of Jonathan Swift. On some nights, host Jon Stewart is not only the country’s best political comedian, but its best broadcast journalist. He asks probing questions that the real news networks don’t have the courage to ask. In the interview segments, he’s capable of challenging political figures more vigorously than his counterparts at CNN or CBS. If you don’t believe me, Google his April 2007 jousting match with John McCain over the Iraq War.
        For some, the presidential campaign will end with a sigh of relief. I plan to watch The Daily Show’s live election special (Tuesday, 10 p.m.) to make sure it ends with a guffaw.

    UFO Hunters
    Wednesday, 10 p.m. (History Channel)
        I saw a UFO in St. Louis (orange, noiseless, football-shaped), so this is the one spooky Sci Fi reality series I will not make fun of. This week, the UFO Hunters head to Trumbull County, Ohio, where police officers and a 911 operator saw a blue-green cylindrical object hovering over the tree line. One officer reports that his radio went out of commission as he approached the mysterious craft.
        As if the Iraq War and the economic crisis weren’t enough, here’s yet one more problem for the new president to deal with.

    The Simpsons
    Sunday, 8 p.m. (Fox)
        Oh my God! The geniuses at The Simpsons have created another “Treehouse of Horror” Halloween parody! Purely for our enjoyment! And it’s all free! (Sorry — every once in a while I’m struck all over again by the wonder of TV.)
        This year’s trilogy includes a Transformers satire, a Mad Men satire and a Peanuts satire about a Grand Pumpkin who goes on a Halloween rampage after observing human atrocities against his fellow gourds. (“You roast the unborn?!” he cries when offered a tray of pumpkin seeds.) Typically, many of the best jokes lie on the margins, as in a quickly glimpsed daycare billboard: “Where Your Child Learns to Trust Strangers.”
        The prologue exploits the nightmare of the moment: malfunctioning electronic voting machines. When Homer pushes the button for Barack Obama, the machine counts his vote for McCain; he tries again, and it’s yet another vote for McCain. “This doesn’t happen in America!” Homer moans. “Maybe Ohio, but not America!” 

    All the President’s Men
    Sunday, 8 p.m. (TCM)
        Watergate felon John Dean introduces a screening of the 1976 movie about criminal activity in the Nixon White House. It’s weird how yesterday’s devastating political scandal has become today’s polite cable entertainment, featuring a once-despised, now-avuncular wrongdoer who was at the center of the scandal.     Can we expect a TCM screening of W. sometime in the next decade, introduced by a grinning Scooter Libby?

  • 04 pittLet us now praise famous vampire bats. Today’s hemorrhagic stain on world literature is going to swoop down into a mysterious and misunderstood world. Vampire bats have their very own alias, Desmodus rotundus, which sounds a lot like some fat guy named Desmond picked out their genus names. If you are a sensitive soul or have a sensitive stomach, please skip the rest of this column and go to the crossword puzzle. 

    Vampire bats have gotten a bad rap. We shall try to erase some bat stigma. Bats are forever associated with Dracula and things that go bump in the night. The literary Dracula was dreamed up by novelist Bram Stoker. Dracula was based upon the real-life Vlad Tepes. Vlad was a bad dude who lived in the 15th century in Transylvania. His nickname was “Vlad the Impaler,” which indicates he was not a guy to be trifled with. Vlad’s hobby was sticking his enemies up on sharp poles to scare away invaders. This tactic is even more frightening than forcing your enemies to watch 24 hours of Fox News. 

    When Dracula wants to get into a castle bedchamber of a voluptuous sleeping lady, he transmogrifies himself into a bat. Taking a hint from an old Beatles song, Dracula in his vampire bat form comes in through the bathroom window protected by a silver spoon. Once inside m’lady’s bedchamber, Dracula reverts from his bat shape back into Count Dracula. The Count then begins to drain his next victim. 

    Count Dracula is not nearly as sweet as Count Chocula. Count Dracula is much more likely to cause anemia than the diabetes that Count Chocula causes. It’s a question of choosing your poison. 

    But back to our friends the vampire bats. The actual facts in this column are based on an excellent article written by Michael Greshko in “National Geographic’s” November 2015 issue. The alternative facts in this column are made up by me. 

    The diet of vampire bats is blood. They don’t care about the blood type, just that it is blood from people or animals. All they eat is blood. All you need is love. 

       Being busy critters, they need to consume blood at least every two days, or they can starve to death. Each night, vampire bats go out on a hunting trip to find someone to love and drain. Among their bat superpowers is the ability to sense body heat, which leads them to supper. They are so adept at stealthily removing blood that a person may not wake up while serving as Soylent Green for a bat picnic. After their meal, the National Geo says bats will then urinate half of the ingested blood volume in 30 minutes. Don’t look up. 

      Vampire bats, like Trump voters, live in groups. Bats are more politically evolved than humans in that female bats appear to rule the bat covens. Bats share. If one of the bats comes back empty after finding no one to snack upon, the other female bats will share their bloody dinner with the hungry bat. Lacking an Easy Bake oven, the blood stuffed-bat can’t prepare a soufflé for the hungry bat. Instead, the full female bat will regurgitate blood into the mouth of the hungry bat. In effect, a bat full of donor blood becomes a flying blood bank that the Red Cross would envy. 

        Bats are social animals. They know who their friends are who has shared blood with them in the past. They also know who refused to share blood with them when they were hungry. 

        A fellow named Gerald Carter who worked for the Smithsonian Institution took it upon himself to go hang with the bats in zoos to study bat etiquette regarding bat “vomit snacks.” According to the National Geo, Gerald spent three years   “crouching in the bottom of their enclosure with a camcorder” observing bat feeding habits. 

       One wonders if, when Gerald was a little boy, did he always dream of crouching in a bat habitat for three years watching bats throw up? What childhood trauma could have led Gerald to such an odd career choice? But then, one could ask the same question of a proctologist or a member of the North Carolina General Assembly. 

        Gerald reports that if a non-sharing bat returned with an empty stomach, the other bats would not share their vomit snacks with the non-sharer. If a previously sharing bat came home empty, the other bats would provide vomit snacks of blood to the sharing bat. Bat karma is a killer. 

       So, what have we learned today? Vampire bats are nicer than some people. What seems a disgusting vomit snack to some people is ambrosia to bats. We would all be better off if we followed the advice of the late, great Rodney King, who once plaintively asked: “Can’t we all just get along?” 

       Bon Appetit. 

  • Richard Jenrette was a North Carolina boy who made good. 

    Born in Raleigh in 1929 – just before the stock market crash that brought on the Great Depression – to an insurance salesman and his gardening wife, Jenrette went to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, known then as Carolina. After a stint in counterintelligence during the Korean War, he headed to Harvard Business School, and the rest is both a stunning success story and American financial history. In 1959, he and two other Harvard Business School grads founded the first American brokerage firm to sprout since the Great Depression and took it into the financial stratosphere. 

    Along the way, he collected, preserved and lavishly restored more than a dozen of our nation’s finest historic homes, including Ayr Mount outside Hillsborough, North Carolina, and the Roper House in Charleston, South Carolina, where he died earlier this year at 89. He was a meticulous and disciplined record-keeper and left behind a handwritten list of 24 rules of what he had learned about success and living a long and happy life. The rules were first shared with those who attended an intimate service for family and friends shortly after Jenrette’s death. 

       It is hard to argue about someone who apparently achieved both great success and happiness, goals deeply held by most human beings no matter our situations in life. Here are Jenrette’s rules, distilled through the lens of his well-lived life. 

    1. Stay in the game. That’s often all you need to do – don’t quit. Stick around! Don’t be a quitter! 

    2. Don’t burn bridges (behind you). 

    3. Remember – Life has no blessing like a good friend! You can’t get enough of them. Don’t leave old friends behind – you may need them. 

    4. Try to be nice. And say “thank you” a lot. 

    5. Stay informed. Keep learning. 

    6. Study – stay educated. Do your homework. Keep learning. 

    7. Cultivate friends of all ages – especially younger. 

    8. Run scared – overprepare. 

    9. Be proud – no Uriah Heep for you – but not conceited. Know your own worth. 

    10. Plan ahead but be prepared to allow for change when opportunity presents itself. 

    11. Turn problems into opportunities. Very often it can be done. Problems create opportunities for change – people (should be) willing to consider change when there are problems. 

    12. Present yourself well. Clean, clean-shaven, dress “classically” to age. Beware style trends. Look for charm. (Use) good grammar. Don’t swear so much – it’s not cute. 

    13. But be open to change – don’t be stuck in the mud. Be willing to consider what’s new, but don’t blindly follow it. USE YOUR HEAD – COMMON SENSE. 

    14. Have some fun – but not all the time! 

    15. Be on the side of the angels. Wear the white hat. 

    16. Have a fallback position. Heir and the spare. Don’t leave all your money in one place. 

    17. Learn a foreign language. 

    18. Travel a lot – around the world, if possible. 

    19. Don’t criticize someone in front of others. 

    20. Don’t forget to praise a job well done – but don’t praise a poor job. 

    21. I don’t like to lose – but don’t be a poor loser if you do. 

    22. It helps to have someone to love who loves you (not just sex). 

    23. Keep your standards high in all you do. 

    24. Look for the big picture, but don’t forget the small details. 

    Dick Jenrette was not known as the “last gentleman of Wall Street” for no reason. 

  • 02 pub penMany residents of Hope Mills are scratching their heads trying to figure out the thought processes and logic behind Mayor Pro tem Mike Mitchell and Commissioners Meg Larson and Jerry Legge’s position on rejecting the Lone Survivor Foundation’s offer to purchase property on Lake Bed #2 for the construction of a $1.5 million military veterans retreat. The retreat would serve local vets and their families by dealing with the numerous physical, emotional and mental injuries caused by the ill effects of combat. 

    What are these commissioners thinking? This proposal was rejected without much discussion or debate. More puzzling and even more disturbing to the residents of Hope Mills is that this hasty decision was made without a public hearing that would give the residents an opportunity to voice their opinions on how they felt about the LSF project or the best use of the town’s assets. 

    There are so many questions and so few answers as to why this trio of elected officials would be so adamantly against a Hope Mills economic development project that would generate jobs, benefit local military veterans and area businesses and uplift the entire community – especially when Hope Mills is participating in Cumberland County’s Hometown Heroes celebration, and the local Hope Mills Chamber of Commerce is honoring the Lone Survivor Foundation and all local Hope Mills veterans at its annual Chili Cookoff Nov. 10. 

    Maybe we can remedy some of this frustration with an explanation. First, Larson and Mitchell don’t get along with each other. Both of them have their sights set on being the next mayor of Hope Mills. However, they bonded together after finding one objective they had in common, and that is to make sure they dismiss, obstruct and eliminate any and all Hope Mills initiatives that may reflect positively on Mayor Jackie Warner. 

    In other words, neither of them are going to do anything, say anything or initiate anything that would reflect positively on the mayor – even if it means ignoring the citizens of Hope Mills, stifling economic development, retarding business growth or embarrassing and damaging the reputation of the town. This is why they nixed the LSF project and then concocted the conspiracy theory that the mayor and her son Teddy, who works for the Fayetteville Cumberland County Economic Development Corporation, were in collusion on the LSF deal. 

    Collusion? And to what end? Wanting to bring economic growth and development to Hope Mills? Attempting to sell virtually useless land for the purpose of providing veterans medical and therapeutic services that could enhance the lives of thousands? 

    Unfortunately, Larson and Mitchell will continue to be obstructionists when it comes to anything the mayor could possibly get credit for or anything they feel would further ingratiate her into the hearts and minds of Hope Mills residents. Well, to that I say, “lots of luck!” 

    Mayor Jackie Warner loves Hope Mills, and Hope Mills loves her. She and Commissioner Jessie Bellflowers were the only Hope Mills elected officials who took the time to attend Cumberland County’s State of the Community Luncheon hosted by the Greater Fayetteville Chamber last week. They were surrounded by the Hope Mills management team that Warner so graciously recognized. Warner didn’t speak long and barely looked down at her notes as she spoke about Hope Mills with pride and confidence. 

    Here is a leader who is honorable, talented, compassionate, empathic and energetic. She has no reason to feel threatened by petty politicians like Mitchell and Larson, who have already exposed the flaws of their character. Legge sits to their left hopelessly waiting for his only relevant directive, which is to raise his hand when he gets their nod. 

    The two beacons of hope for the town are allies Commissioner Pat Edwards, who has never wavered from supporting Warner, and Bellflowers. Bellflowers once fell victim to the pressure and intimidation of Larson and Mitchell, but, unlike Legge, has seen the light and has begun to think for himself and express his own opinions without being bullied or influenced by the others. 

    At this moment, Hope Mills has one of the most talented and competent leadership teams ever assembled under the direction of Town Manager Melissa Adams. These hardworking folks create a solid foundation upon which to build a bright and prosperous future. We see people coming forward and Hope Mills organizations starting to form to discuss the future of the town and the type of leadership that is capable of achieving goals. This is a good thing. Actually, this is a great thing. We do not see four-year terms for elected officials in Hope Mills’ future, but come 2019, we see not a wave of change but a tsunami of positive leadership coming forth for the betterment and growth of the Hope Mills community. We can’t wait. 

    Thank you for reading Up & Coming Weekly. 

    Photo: Mayor Jackie Warner

  • 04question mark 2492009 1920For some time, I have thought that objectivity is dying in – or disappearing from – America. The confirmation process for Brett Kavanaugh solidified my suspicion. Objectivity is very near death in America. From the Cambridge Dictionary, objectivity is “the state or quality of being objective and fair.” Then, for being objective: “Not influenced by personal feelings or opinions in considering and representing facts.” Given these definitions, consider some of what transpired during this confirmation process. 

    President Donald Trump nominated Judge Brett Kavanaugh to serve on the Supreme Court. He met, individually, with all senators who were willing to do so. Included was Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-C.A. Kavanaugh also testified for over 30 hours before the Senate Judiciary Committee. 

    After his testimony, but just before the committee was to vote on making a recommendation to the full Senate, an allegation of sexual assault against Kavanaugh from 36 years ago was made public. The allegation was made by Dr. Christine Blasey Ford who had written to her congresswoman, Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-C.A. 

    Ford requested anonymity. The letter was passed to Feinstein, who did not act to address the allegation in accordance with procedures of the Judiciary Committee on which she is the senior Democrat. Instead, after the letter was with Feinstein for about two months, in a manner yet unexplained, the media was given the allegation and ran with it. 

    Ford’s allegation is summarized as follows in an article by Eli Rosenberg and Lindsey Bever titled “‘Shut up and step up:’ Sen. Hirono’s blunt message to men.” 

    “In an interview with The Washington Post, Ford alleged that Kavanaugh corralled her into a bedroom during a gathering in Maryland when she was in high school, pinned her to a bed, groped her over her clothes and attempted to pull off the clothing she was wearing.” 

    There were two other women who later made allegations against Kavanaugh – these also from 30+ years ago. They were Deborah Ramirez and Julie Swetnick. After extensive negotiations with Ford and her attorney, a hearing was set before the Judiciary Committee. Ford and Kavanaugh testified. Republicans engaged Rachel Mitchell, an Arizona prosecutor specializing in sex crimes, to question Ford. Democratic senators did their questioning of both. 

    When it became clear that the nomination was about to move forward, Democrats on the Judiciary Committee, along with opponents of Kavanaugh around the country, pushed for and got a supplemental FBI background check. Indications are that the FBI report did not unearth any additional information to support the sexual abuse allegations. 

    In the end, Judge Kavanaugh was confirmed. However, this highly accomplished man who had a sterling reputation as a judge, Harvard professor, father, husband, public servant and gentleman has had all of that destroyed. Not only was his life destroyed, but those of his wife and two little girls were also tremendously adversely impacted. These human beings were treated as meaningless by Democrats in the Senate and by others across this country who are so focused on possessing power at any cost. 

      That quest for power by any means also ensnared Ford. She wanted to remain anonymous but was forced into the fray by one or more opponents of the Kavanaugh nomination when their primary tactic of obstruction failed. Sexual abuse allegations should be, and must be, investigated. Women and men who make such allegations must be heard and treated with respect. 

      The great challenge is to address these cases, and all matters, with objectivity. The Democrats’ handling of the Kavanaugh abuse allegations came nowhere close to objectivity. Prosecutor Mitchell provided a report as to her conclusion based on the testimony of Ford. It is available at www.axios.com/brett-kavanaugh-rachel-mitchell-prosecutor-memo-2c3233cc- 1d42-416b-af04-02700aa9a711.html. Her summary follows, but I encourage reading the full report. 

      “In the legal context, here is my bottom line: A ‘he said, she said’ case is incredibly difficult to prove. But this case is even weaker than that. Dr. Ford identified other witnesses to the event and those witnesses either refuted her allegations or failed to corroborate them. For the reasons discussed below, I do not think that a reasonable prosecutor would bring this case based on the evidence before the Committee. Nor do I believe that this evidence is sufficient to satisfy the preponderance-of-the evidence standard.” 

      Mitchell explained, “There is no clear standard of proof for allegations made during the Senate confirmation process.” 

      Given this situation, she provides an assessment of Ford’s allegations in the legal context. That is, the world in which Mitchell operates. Consequently, she presents facts and reaches a conclusion based on examination of those facts. This is being objective and fair. Here are a few of the facts presented and assessed in her report. 

    • “Dr. Ford has not offered a consistent account of when the alleged assault happened.” 

    • “Dr. Ford has struggled to identify Judge Kavanaugh as the assailant by name.” 

    • “Dr. Ford has no memory of key details of the night in question – details that could help corroborate her account.” (Who invited her; how she got there; location of the house where the attack took place; how she got home.) 

    • “Dr. Ford has not offered a consistent account of the alleged assault.” 

    • “Her account of who was at the party has been inconsistent.” 

    • “Dr. Ford’s description of the psychological impact of the event raises questions.” (Afraid to fly but flies frequently.) 

      Mitchell’s list of facts goes on. Now turn to how Democrats conducted themselves during this process. Without any corroboration of the allegations, they labeled Kavanaugh a sexual abuser. The following quote from an article by Thomas Jipping titled “Opposing Kavanaugh by ‘Whatever Means Necessary’” sent a clear message that Democrats would not be objective in considering the Kavanaugh nomination. 

      “Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.) is out to show us that he’s one politician who can keep a promise. On July 9, within minutes of President Trump’s announcement of Judge Brett Kavanaugh as his Supreme Court nominee, Schumer vowed to ‘oppose Judge Kavanaugh’s nomination with everything I have.’ When he said everything, he meant it.” 

      Then there is this, regarding Kavanaugh, from Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, as reported in an article by Tyler O’Neil titled “Dem. Senator: Kavanaugh Doesn’t Deserve ‘Presumption of Innocence’ Because I Disagree With Him.” 

      “‘I put his denial in the context of everything that I know about him in terms of how he approaches his cases,’” the senator said, suggesting that the presumption of innocence — a core tenet of English common law and American law going back more than one hundred years — depends on a person’s judicial philosophy.” 

      Hirono sees no need to review this candidate in light of qualifications, experience, intellect, judicial temperament or basic facts. No, simply reject this man and destroy his life while doing great harm to his wife and daughters simply because you disagree with what you think is his judicial approach. There is no objectivity here. 

      I could go on for pages making the case that Senate Democrats and their cohorts across this country showed zero objectivity in this confirmation process. The question now is how will those Americans who recognize the great danger that is faced by our country in this near-death condition of objectivity respond to the crisis. My hope is that we will take action to save objectivity from death. Doing so requires that we follow the example of now-Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh. 

      In the face of the onslaught by Judiciary Committee Democrats, he said, “You may defeat me in the final vote, but you’ll never get me to quit. Never.” By voting and every other action that is civil and legal, we must act – never quit. 

      As you decide how to respond to the Democrats’ treatment of Kavanaugh, consider the following from an article titled “Howie Carr: We are all Brett Kavanaugh.” 

      “We are all Brett Kavanaugh now. The politics of personal destruction that the Democrats and the media – but I repeat myself – have used in this despicable campaign to crush Kavanaugh could just as easily be deployed against anybody who gets in their way, male or female.” 

  • 03HudsonWe’ve all heard the phrase, “Bad news travels fast.” That seems like the case these days. In fact, a reporter once told me the news doesn’t report on planes landing. I guess no one would read a story with the headline “Plane successfully lands at Charlotte Douglas.” That’s why I’m very happy to see folks here in North Carolina report on good news that really matters. 

    A little over a week ago, WSOC-TV Channel 9’s headline read, “Senate sends President Trump bipartisan opioids bill.” This comprehensive, bipartisan package will help get to the root of the opioids epidemic that’s ravaging communities across the country, including many right here in North Carolina. The package includes three of my bipartisan bills to help get unused opioids out of medicine cabinets and off the streets. 

    While this might seem minor at first glance, it’s a huge issue – over 70 percent of heroin addictions begin in the medicine cabinet. As many as 92 percent of patients don’t use their full opioid prescription. Making sure we safely dispose of opioids before they fall into the wrong hands is a critical step in solving this national problem. 

      As your voice in Congress, I’ve worked to combat the opioid crisis for years, and I’m proud to be a leader on this front. 

      This isn’t a partisan issue – it’s an American one, and I’ll continue to work with my colleagues, President Trump and local leaders to stop the deadly cycle of opioid addiction. 

      In The Fayetteville Observer, another recent headline read, “Trump signs spending plan, avoiding government shutdown.” Representing Fort Bragg, the epicenter of the universe, I was proud to not only support this critical funding bill, but also to have my amendment included to provide more training for our Special Forces. Overall, this bill provides $17 billion to our military to increase training for our troops and improve warfighter preparedness. And it gives out troops a well-deserved 2.6 percent pay raise. This is in addition to another pay raise last year. 

      The Charlotte Business Journalalso reported, “Ivanka Trump talks higher education, workforce pipeline during Mooresville visit.” As Senior White House Advisor, Ivanka joined Congressman Ted Budd and me at the NASCAR Technical Institute to discuss job training. As a former trustee of Rowan- Cabarrus Community College, I know these programs are some of the best avenues we have to train workers for jobs in high-demand fields that would otherwise go unfilled. That’s exactly why I’ve made this a top priority and worked with the Trump administration to transform our career and technical education system. 

      We’ve made incredible progress – especially with the recent signing of the Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act (H.R. 2353). I will continue to work to close the skills gap and help equip workers with the tools they need to get good jobs. 

      Last, but not least, The News & Observerreported, “Washington sends $1.7 billion to the Carolinas in Hurricane Florence aid.” Getting responsible disaster relief funding was truly a bipartisan effort. This is just the first installment to help families in North Carolina rebuild, and I’m glad to see this bill head to Trump’s desk to be signed into law. 

      You see, if you look closely, there is some good news out there. We’ve taken major bipartisan steps on issues that impact our daily lives, and we’ll continue to do so through the end of this year and beyond. 

  •     Several years ago Dr. Eric Mansfield left the Army and started his private ENT practice in Fayetteville. Mansfield and his then partner, Dr. Edward Dickerson, agreed that they needed to give something back to the community. They were committed to the idea to offer a hand to others — and that commitment was the impetus for the start of the Fathers Foundation.
        The foundation, formed three years ago, offers scholarships to those who otherwise might not have the opportunity to continue their education. Since its inception, the foundation has helped a number of individuals — individuals like a high school student whose parents — one who was in prison, the other who was on crack — attend school. That young man was living in an apartment, taking care of his siblings and working a job. His drive and determination to succeed are what the foundation is all about.{mosimage}
        “None of us make it on our own,” said Mansfield. “We’ve all gotten a hand from someone. Fayetteville has been so kind and generous to myself and my family, so I feel obligated to help someone else.”
        During the first year of the foundation’s existence, the board awarded $10,000 in scholarships. This year, the third year, $30,000 will be given away. The scholarships are for all four years of a student’s education. Students must maintain a 3.0 grade point average to maintain their scholarship. But it isn’t just about giving money. During the school year Mansfield stays in contact with the students to encourage them, to let them know they aren’t in it alone. “We try to develop a relationship with them, so they know someone is rooting for them,” said Mansfield.
        He explained that the scholarships are awarded to people who have a compelling need and a compelling desire to succeed. “If a person has a 4.1 GPA, a strong family support system and scholarships out the wazoo, they will never get our scholarship,” said Mansfield. “We look at people who have financial difficulties. We look at their grades, other circumstances and a personal interview. We look at those compelling stories.”
        In addition to funding those scholarships, the Fathers Foundation also strives to bring a unique entertainment to the community at least once a year. This year the foundation is proud to present “Ballet Identity — Celebrating Individuality through Dance” on Oct. 10 and 11 at the Cape Fear Regional Theatre.
    Mansfield is excited about the ballet because it features a “homegrown” talent,” Monica Stephenson. “This is a local girl who has done well,” he said. “She attended the local dance schools — schools where people are told they’ll never make it. But she did. She has one of those compelling stories you never hear about. And she wants to come back and find more exceptional people and help them do well.”
        Stephenson, the daughter of local physician Dr. Shelby Stephenson and Alice Stephenson, has performed with the Los Angeles Ballet, the Dance Theatre of Harlem, the Washington Ballet, Ballet Black in London, Ballet New York and the Pennsylvania Ballet. She received her training from the Houston Ballet Academy and the North Carolina School of the Arts. She will be joined by a number of other talented dancers, many of whom she met at the N.C. School of the Arts.
        Tickets for the VIP reception and performance on Friday, Oct. 10, are $50. Tickets for the show only on Saturday are $25. Group discounts are available for the show on Saturday, Oct.11. For ticket information, please visit w or call (910) 574-8029.
  • 02PubPenComicConThe city of Fayetteville needs and wants a vibrant downtown. The new Astros baseball stadium and tens of millions of dollars in new construction and economic development on our doorstep bring us nearly endless opportunities. Now is the time for city officials and downtown organizations like the Greater Fayetteville Chamber, the Arts Council of Fayetteville/Cumberland County, the Downtown Alliance and Cool Spring Downtown District to come together to define and solidify a joint mission and to brand downtown as a destination. It’s time to find common ground that nurtures cooperation, instills confidence and exudes enthusiasm and hospitality. 

    Spending $38 million on a baseball stadium will not be enough to accomplish this. Case in point: the unfortunate closing of the Walmart store in the Murchison Road community. I’m not a Walmart shopper, nor am I a fan of its overall national corporate strategy. However, this was a national corporate entity that stepped up to solve a Fayetteville community problem after a study identified that neighborhood as a food desert. 

    Walmart Inc. is savvy when it comes to corporate planning and development. Walmart built that store on the premise that not only was it needed, but it would be supported by the people of the community and serve as the economic catalyst for Fayetteville’s future development of the Murchison Road corridor. 

    But in less than four years, those warm and fuzzy sound bites and politically motivated assumptions failed to materialize. 

    Why? Three reasons. 

      The study was based on political bias and faulty information. There was a lack of sufficient planning. And there was no advertising, marketing or promotion. Lesson learned? We’ll see. 

    Back to downtown Fayetteville and its future possibilities. Cool Spring Downtown District, a nonprofit organization under the interim direction of former Fayetteville mayor Tony Chavonne, seems to be emerging as the catalyst for promoting the history, charm and attributes of downtown Fayetteville. Most impressive is the recent hiring of a marketing professional who understands how media works and acknowledges that if we want people to come downtown, they must first be invited and have a reason for coming. 

      I say this because for the first time that I can remember, downtown Fayetteville – via the CSDD – is actively marketing and promoting Fayetteville to more than 10,000 visitors who will attend the annual Comic Con at the Crown Coliseum the weekend of Oct. 20-21. 

      Like I said, the first step is to invite them. Comic Con visitors, vendors and celebrity guests have all been invited downtown, and we are giving them a welcoming party on Saturday night at Huske Hardware House Oct. 20 from 8-10 p.m. And guess what? You are also invited! 

      We tip our hats to CSDD and the folks at Huske Hardware. This is a wonderful example of how to successfully market, promote and advertise our community. We want to invite people to visit downtown to experience our history, view our art, eat in our restaurants and shop in our stores. And this is a great start. 

      Congratulations to CSDD. This is the start of something good, and we are proud to be a part of it. 

      Thank you for reading Up & Coming Weekly. 

  •     Who would’ve guessed that angels wear leather?{mosimage}
        For more than 25 years, a laid back, loose confederation of female bikers and bike fans known as the Gypsy Women  have performed angelic deeds to benefit the folks of Cumberland County.
        Spearheaded by Holly Whitman, owner of Fayetteville’s legendary Legendís Pub, the Gypsy Women are most famous for the Gypsy Women Spring Fling — an annual party held at Legend’s to raise money for local folks in need through an auction, poker run and other biker-centric events.
        “When we started the Spring Fling about 12 years ago we decided then that we didn’t want to do it to benefit any particuar organization,” said Whitman. “It’s just a good time and a way for us to give back to the community.”
    “We (the Gypsy Women) are not a real organized group of people,” added Whitman. “There’s no membership roster or rules or anything like that; we just get together to have a good time.”
        In additon to the Spring Fling, the Gypsy Women put on a number of events throughout the year, including a golf tournament to benefit bikers and their families in need and other worthy beneficiaries. This year’s golf tourney will be held Saturday, Oct. 18, at Hope Mills Golf Course — registration for the tourney is at 9 a.m., with the blind draw, captain’s choice event to start at 10 a.m.
         “We’re sponsoring it along with Bob Marlow’s Motorcycles,” said Whitman. “The cost is $45 to play and everyone is welcome. It’s always a good time.”
        Of course, if you find a good woman, chances are there’s a good man standing behind her. Whitman says all the good works performed by the Gypsy Women would not be possible without the “men behind the scenes.”
        “I really have to thank the husbands and boyfriends and all the men who help us put on the Spring Fling and the golf torunament and all our other events,” said Whitman. “They support us in so many ways.”
        If you’d like to volunteer to help out the Gypsy Women – or possibly join up with this female caravan of do-gooders on wheels – go by Legend’s Pub (4624 Bragg Blvd.) any night of the week itís open and just ask for Holly.
        “Like I said, we’re not an organized club or anything,” said Whitman. “We’re just a bunch of gals who like to get together and have a good time and do good things for deserving people.”
        You can contact Holly at Legend’s Pub at 867-2364.
  • 16Christine Blasey Ford swearing in “You’d better be careful,” my wonderful seventh grade teacher, Miss Winifred Potts, preached to my class more than 65 years ago. 

    Miss Potts had a set of strategies to encourage us to behave, in and out of class. To discourage mischief- making while she was writing math problems on the blackboard, she told us that people said she could see out of the back of her head. 

    Her most persuasive tactic, one she used when one or some of us were flirting with serious trouble, was to tell us about her visits from the FBI. 

    “They come to talk to me when one of my former students is up for a big job in the government. I have to tell them the truth about what I know that person did in my class. Just remember that when you are thinking about getting into trouble with me.” 

    Ironically, federal intelligence agents did visit my hometown about 10 years later to ask questions about me. I do not know whether they talked to Miss Potts, but one of my high school teachers told me that federal agents had asked about my connections to suspected troublemakers. 

    Those questions were, I think, because of my effort to gain a top security clearance when I was in the Army and being considered for a position in the Army’s counter- intelligence corps and training in counterintelligence operations. 

    That training was designed to prepare me to work on background investigations for others who were seeking security clearances or assignments to sensitive positions. 

    After my counterintelligence training, I took on other positions in the Army and never had a chance to use the investigative skills I learned in training. 

    Later on as a lawyer, I once was employed to investigate an alleged scheme to secretively and illegally funnel corporate funds into a political campaign. Working on this project, I learned the frustrations of seeking the truth from people involved in the activities that brought about the investigation and from their friends and colleagues. 

    Finally, many years later, the FBI came to interview me about my connection to a political candidate. This connection was remote, but investigators heard that I had been in the same room with the accused when important information was promulgated. 

    At first, I had no memory of the event whatsoever. But the FBI agent kept coming back until I remembered a few details. Then he requested copies of all of my emails that might have any connection with the accused or his family. I was impatient with what I thought was wasted time and effort on the part of the agent. But I was impressed with his diligence and commitment to get to the bottom of whatever connection I might have had. 

    Why have I burdened you with all these personal details and unexceptional personal experiences? 

    It is only to assert that I know just a little something about the intricacies and difficulties of conducting FBI and other serious investigations. I think that “little something” puts me in a position to assert that I know investigations can be amazingly productive when diligent investigators with good resources are put on the case and given the time to find the facts. 

    Time is critical. 

    Time to prepare and conduct the interviews. Time to run down leads and to follow up. The facts don’t magically appear, and when the facts do appear, they are often conflicting and require more follow-up. 

    So at the end of a hard-charging but time-limited weeklong FBI investigation of Judge Kavanaugh and Dr. Ford, we may know much more than we do now. 

    But that will not be nearly all there is to know. 

    Photo: Dr. Ford

  •     {mosimage}In 1991, musical groups all over the country banded together to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the death of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. In Fayetteville, more than 80 people banded together, under the tutelage of Methodist University Professor Alan Porter, to perform Mozart’s Requiem Mass in D Minor.
        Since that first performance, the group, now called the Cumberland Oratorio Singers, has performed across the county during its annual season. The 2008-2009 season will open on Sunday, Nov. 2 at 4 p.m. in the Reeves Auditorium on the campus of Methodist University. The season will open with Magnifact – featuring “The Lamb” by John Tavener, “Rejoice in the Lamb” by Benjamin Britten; and “Magnificat” by John Rutter.
        The performance is more than an opening for the group, it’s also a new beginning, as Michael Martin begins his inaugural season as the group’s conductor. Martin, a native of Maine, took the baton from Dr. Alan Porter last year. Porter, who led the group since its inception, retired from Methodist University, where he served as the head of the Music Department and the Division of Fine Arts.
        Martin, now the director of choral activities and music education at Methodist, was appointed the artistic director and conductor of the group earlier this year. In 2007, he completed his doctoral studies and is currently a Ph.D. candidate in Music Education with an emphasis in Choral Education through Kent State University, Kent, Ohio. He has taught in grades 4-12, in the capacity of orchestral, choral and instrumental education positions throughout New England. He has received recognition as a teacher and conductor, having been the recipient of several teaching awards, and serving as a guest conductor, vocal clinician, and judge for New England and Midwestern festivals. Martin has also conducted a semi-professional community choral group in New Hampshire and an award-winning barbershop chorus in Maine.
        The group is comprised of members from a wide range of ethnic backgrounds and experiences. The season includes four performances, the Nov. 2 performance, one on March 20, 2009 and May 17, 2009. A Christmas concert is free and open to the public.
        Season tickets cost $30 and admit one. The subscription concerts will be held in Reeves Auditorium at Methodist University; the Christmas concert will be presented at Holy Trinity Episcopal Church. Individual tickets are $12 per performance. College students of any age (with ID) and schoolchildren are admitted free.
        To order season tickets, send a check (payable to Cumberland Oratorio Singers), your name, address, and the number of season tickets being purchased to: Cumberland Oratorio Singers, c/o Methodist University, 5400 Ramsey St., Fayetteville, N.C. 28311
        For more information, call COS President Mary Potter (822-4447) or Director Michael Martin (630-7153).
  • 21Florence copy For many people in the Carolinas, this week has been hellish with the aftermath of Hurricane Florence. My heart goes out to so many that have lost so much. 

    A few days prior to getting my storm preparation on, I was doing a mental inventory of what I needed versus what I had. Then I thought to myself, my motorcycle has a lot of things that I might be able to use. 

    I have two bikes, a Suzuki DR-650 and a BMW R1200GS. Both are great bikes on and off the road. 

    I have traveled on both bikes for weeks in some very remote places, so I am capable of living off the grid with them. As I looked at the situation, I started breaking things down. I’ve always had a Plan A and Plan B for critical situations. Plan A was to stay at the house. Thus far, I have not experienced flooding but could easily be land-locked. Plan B, if needed, was to evacuate to a friend or family member’s house. 

     

    For Plan A, the motorcycle bags non my GS could be used as water- proof luggage. I have a Rugged Geek RG1000 Safety 1000A Portable Car Jump Starter, Battery Booster Pack and Power Supply with LCD Display, INTELLIBOOST Smart Cables, LED Flashlight and USB and laptop charging. This is great for keeping things charged around the house. 

    My bike has a nice first-aid kit that has tourniquet supplies in the event of a serious motorcycle emergency. This includes stitches, Band-Aids, trauma bandages, blood clotting bandages and a few other things. 

    My wife had bought me a generator after Hurricane Matthew for a Christmas present. Gas was somewhat a concern for me since I have not used the generator before, so I was not sure how much gas I needed. I had three 5-gallon gas cans but was not sure how long that would last. However, I knew I had two motorcycles with almost 5 gallons each that I could siphon from and my wife’s car, which has about 18 gallons. 

    I did discover I had a small problem with my hose that I had in the bike. It was cut
    to siphon gas from motorcycle to motor- cycle and not from the bottom of a car tank to the bike’s tank. SoI was short about 5 feet. This put me in a small panic. Before the night of the storm, I found a hose at Auto Zone. Relief!

    I have a SPOT emergency transponder that I have mounted on whichever bike I’m on. This device runs on AAA batteries and is waterproof. It is very small and has a snap-link that can clip onto anything. The SPOT works over satellite to an emergency call center that in turn will notify 911. 

    As a last result, I could also use the power adapter on the bike to charge electronics or use my electric air com- pressor to blow up our air mattress in the event we needed to put up an extra guest. 

    If I needed to execute Plan B and get the heck out of dodge, I’d need maps. Detailed maps. I didn’t have time to get them for the state, but my Garmin GPS on the bike has a car mount. That would be great because my Garmin GPS has detailed trails and other specifics that my cell phone or car GPS does not have. 

    For travel water, I have a few cases of water in the garage, but for the bikes, I have two 2-quart canteens and a CamelBack hydration pack for extra water. 

    I also have a small gas stove that I could use to cook or boil water if I needed to purify water. 

    Although the hurricane has passed, our day-to-day things we have around us can always be used as dual-purpose. 

    I hope we never have to go through another storm like this again, but Mother Nature always does what Mother Nature does. 

    If there is a topic that you would like to discuss, you can contact me at motorcycle4fun@aol.com. RIDE SAFE! 

  • 05SchoolsThis editorial originally ran in The Fayetteville Observer, Sunday Sept. 23, 2018. It is reprinted here, with Bill Harrison’s permission. 

    Wesley Meredith has been a state senator for eight years, providing him ample time to build a record with the people of Cumberland County. If his latest television ads are to be believed, Senator Meredith wants the people to weigh that record come November, particularly his record of support for public schools. It’s important then that the voters of Cumberland County receive the whole story, so they can judge Senator Meredith’s record accordingly. 

    Before Senator Meredith went to Raleigh, North Carolina was viewed as a shining light for education policy in the South. Our state was a national leader in bipartisan education reforms that had real, positive impacts on the students of this state. We led the nation in high-quality pre-kindergarten programs, attracted the best and brightest into teaching via the Teaching Fellows program and we helped students earn college degrees while still in high school via the state’s award-winning Learn and Earn program. 

    These investments drove student performance gains through the nineties and into this century. In 2011, North Carolina students outperformed their peers from educational juggernauts like Finland, the United Kingdom, and Canada on international math tests, and was singled out by Harvard University as one of six states for making the most academic gains per dollar spent. 

    Things were not perfect. School districts were operating on tight budgets, teacher pay was below the national average, and too many students – especially those from low income families – weren’t provided the resources necessary to overcome barriers to success. These problems were compounded when a historic recession required substantial cut- backs in North Carolina’s budget. We assumed the budget cuts were going to be temporary, and that the state would continue on the path of growth and improvement once the economy recovered. This was the state of education when voters sent Wesley Meredith to Raleigh. Unfortunately, he’s failed to address the problems facing our schools. In many instances, he’s actually made things worse. 

    In eight years in office, Meredith has starved our public schools of the resources needed to succeed. Adjusted for inflation, per-student funding remains 5 percent below pre-Recession levels. Under Senator Meredith’s watch, our schools are now getting fewer teachers, assistant principals, and teacher assistants. Funding for textbooks and classroom supplies is about half of where it was before the Recession. And over a period where school shootings are becoming distressingly more frequent, Senator Meredith has reduced funding for school nurses, psychologists, and counselors by 9 percent. 

    Senator Meredith touts his record on teacher pay, but there’s little for him to be proud of. When Senator Meredith got to Raleigh, average teacher pay in North Carolina trailed the national average by 16 percent. Seven years later (no data exists yet for this school year), average teacher pay in North Carolina continues to trail the national average by 16 percent. In fact, a new report from the Economic Policy Institute singled out North Carolina for exceptionally poor marks in teacher pay. The gap between what teachers earn in North Carolina and the pay earned by other college-educated professionals in the state is the second-highest in the nation. It is no surprise then that enrollment in university teaching programs has plummeted under Meredith’s watch. 

    Rather than providing schools with the resources they need to succeed, Senator Meredith has pursued an agenda grounded in misguided ideology, rather than evidence of what really works for our kids. Meredith has championed virtual charter schools that have failed in every other state and have been among the worst-performing in North Carolina. He has supported unaccountable voucher programs that have done more to boost fraud and embezzlement than they have to boost student performance. He supports an A-F grading system that stigmatizes high-poverty schools, even those making huge gains. And his effort to boost third grade read- ing scores by threatening to retain young children failing their end-of-grade test has backfired tremendously, with third grade reading scores nosediving precipitously over the past five years. 

    Senator Meredith has gone to unprecedented ends to advance his misguided agenda. He and his colleagues have illegally gerrymandered voting districts and sought to make it harder for regular folks to vote. He has buried controversial programs in massive budget bills, released in the dead of night, to avoid open debate and input from knowledgeable stakeholders. Through it all, Meredith has consistently ignored and shunned our state’s greatest asset for shaping education policy: the expertise of experienced educators. 

    A change in leadership in Raleigh will put our schools back on a path that will raise opportunities for success for all of Cumberland County’s children. 

    First, Cumberland County needs education leaders who will invest in programs that help students from low-income families overcome poverty- related barriers to learning. Expansion of the state’s high-quality pre-kindergarten program and invest- ments in student health and nutrition will help to ensure that all students arrive at our schools ready to learn. 

    Second, policymakers must admit that choice is not a substitute for quality. It does families little good to give them “a choice” between an under- funded charter school and an underfunded traditional public school. 

    Third, we must continue to uplift the teaching profession, aiming for pay packages that are competitive with other professions, providing teachers with greater flexibility to mold curriculum to meet their students’ needs, and meaningfully including educators in the policymaking process. 

    Finally, leaders must restore investments to the classroom to ensure that all students have the textbooks, supplies, and equipment necessary for all students to thrive. All students deserve field trips, after-school programs, exposure to the arts and music, and high-quality learning opportunities that engage students at all levels. 

    If there’s one lesson to take away from Wesley Meredith’s eight years in office, it’s that he has no intention of putting Cumberland County’s schools back on that path to success. Despite what his misleading ads try to claim, his actual track record shows that his concern for our schools and teachers is – at best – an afterthought. Luckily, Cumberland County voters are smart enough to see through his claims and put North Carolina schools back onto a successful path. 

  • 04UC QuitosTo quote the Apostles in the musical “Jesus Christ Superstar,” “What’s the buzz, tell me what’s happening?” In response, to quote the Entomologists, AKA Bug Exterminators, “The buzz is our old friend Psorophora ciliata, better known as the giant mosquitos from Hell.” To mangle the opening lines of the old Superman TV show, “Look up in the sky, it’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s Super Mosquitos! 

    “A horde of strange visitors from another planet who came to Earth with powers and abilities far beyond those of mortal mosquitoes. Psorophora ciliata, who changed the course of the mighty Cape Fear River, chewed through metal window screens with their bare proboscises, and who, disguised as zillions of mild-mannered dormant mosquito eggs lying in Florence floodwaters, fight a never-ending battle against DEET, for Insect Triumphalism and the Mosquito Way.” 

    Jerry Lewis’ closing song in the annual Muscular Dystrophy Association telethon was right. Since HurricaneFlorence, when you go outside, you will never walk alone. You will be surrounded by a horde of bloodsucking beasts. I do not refer to politicians or lawyers.You have just crossed over into the Mosquito Zone. It is a dimension as vast as the Kavanaugh judicial hearings and as timeless as infinity. It is the middle ground between light and shadow, between fruitlessly swatting mosquitos and splattering blood- gorged skeeters on your arm. It lies between the pit of man’s insect fears and the summit of his ability to develop mosquito repellant. Your next stop, the Mosquito Zone. 

    North Carolina’s Florence mosquito infestation has kept us in the national news. Viewers in less flooded locations can’t get enough of the biblical plague of mosquitos that has descended upon our fair city. I encountered the full blast of the Mosquito Zone while carrying a chair into a shed in the back yard. The chair took two hands to tote, leaving my bald head defenseless against Mosquito Attack Force Zebra. It was a short walk through the yard. The mosquitos spotted me immediately, descending on my head armed with battle axes, pikes, hypodermic needles and C4 explosives. I was defenseless. Both hands were occupied, so I was an all-you-can-eat buffet for the skeeters at the Country Corral Bald Head Café. Hordes of Psorophora swooped in and began chewing. Bald heads are not particularly attractive. A bald head covered with mosquito welts looks worse than that slice of 2-week-old pizza that you forgot at the back of the refrigerator after the power went off during Florence. 

    Things are grim on the mosquito front. Reports from the usually unreliable sources have come in about citizens being raptured up into the sky by mosquitos to be eaten at leisure. FEMA is reported to have purchased 300,000 complete suits of armor from China for the citizens of Cumberland County. The armor serves the dual purposes of slowing mosquito bites and being so heavy that mosquitos cannot carry off voters. To sign up for the mosquito armor, dial BR 549 and wait until Hell freezes over – which, incidentally, is when the mosquitos will finally disappear – at the first frost in December. 

    The relentless mosquito attacks got me thinking about the Insect Fear genre of all the great 1950s science fiction horror movies that featured giant bugs eating people. A classic example is the movie “THEM!” starring giant radioactive ants under Los Angeles. 

    “The Incredible Shrinking Man” was a poor guy sprayed by a mosquito truck with bad chemicals that shrank him down to a nub. He ended up in a terrifying fight with a normal-sized spider that was the size of an elephant compared to his shrunken size. Our hero was armed only with a straight pin, which he used like a spear to fight the spider. 

    In “The Fly,” the hero gets into a trans- porter that zaps a human from place to place. Unfortunately, he doesn’t notice a fly has gotten into the transporter with him. He comes out with a fly head and a fly arm. Double plus ungood. 

    “The Day of the Triffids” has Hollywood being attacked by hordes of giant praying mantises. The “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” has space aliens who burrow into people and wrap their victims up in creepy cocoons until they take over their bodies.

    In “The Thing from Another World,” James Arness, who ultimately became Marshal Matt Dillon, plays a giant, intelligent carrot from outer space who lands at the North Pole. This movie has the greatest line of dialogue ever written – Scotty: “An intellectual carrot. The mind boggles.” While a giant carrot is not technically an insect, the principle is the same. Some small, everyday item becomes giant and malevolent and tries to eat people. Just like our newest insect foe: the Psorophora ciliata. 

    The next time you swat a mosquito, realize you are not only defending your own skin, but you are defending the earth from Insect Fear. The mind boggles. You may now resume itching and scratching. 

  • 03MargThe #MeToo movement has been with us for a year or so now and has taken down a handful of powerful men, including movie producer Harvey Weinstein, journalists Charlie Rose and Matt Lauer and television executive Les Moonves. In the midst of all this, 81-year-old comedian Bill Cosby– once viewed as America’s doctor who holds a doctorate in education – has begun serving prison time for an assault that occurred more than a decade ago, with other allegations against him still pending. Layer on top of all that the U.S. Senate Judiciary hearing involving a Supreme Court nominee and a woman who accuses him of sexual assault, and it is fair to say that Americans have been swimming in uncharted waters. 

    Never in the history of our nation have sexual harassment and sexual assault been more on our minds as we struggle with issues involving both workplace and private interactions between men and women. Survivors of sexual harassment and assault are swamping social media with stories of what happened to them, how they reacted at the time and how it affects them today. Ditto for abuse hotlines and other support organizations, which report that victims of sexual assault and rape suffer more anguish than any victims of violent crimes. Their experiences, many of them years in the past, are being dredged up by recent media attention. For many victims, these memories are a re-victimization that affects their lives long after the actual experience. 

    Writing in The New York Times, Hayley Kirscher has some suggestions for how to deal with freshly stirred and painful memories. “Be kind to yourself,” she said. 

    Assault survivors and sufferers of PTSD often experience thoughts of shame and judgment, and for them, self-care or self-compassion can help. The idea is to promote healing, and experts suggest ask- ing yourself what you need that you can provide for yourself. It may be time with friends and family, time alone, a change of scenery or something as simple as a bubble bath. These “gifts” to yourself will not erase memories or give closure, but they may ease suffering and point the way toward healing. 

    Another technique is to acknowledge what you are feeling. Pretending the pain is not there simply pushes it back, and it will return, often when you are least prepared. Journaling can help by putting feelings on paper in private. So can sharing those thoughts with people close to you or with a professional counselor. Don’t be afraid to cry. It can be cathartic. 

    Remember, we are all creatures of both mind and body. Our physical, mental and emotional selves are intertwined and affect each other. Rutgers neuroscientist and psychology professor Tracey Shors recommends both meditation and aerobic exercise. She says survivors who practice these techniques have fewer trauma- related thoughts and feel better about themselves than those who do not. 

    Finally, Josie Torielli with the New York City Alliance Against Sexual Assault recommends “grounding,” a technique to keep us in the moment and not dwelling on past memories. She suggests finding and naming five objects you can see in a room, four sounds you can hear, three things you can touch or feel, two things you can smell and one good quality about yourself. Laugh as much and as often as you can – it is both a physical and an emotional release. 

    All human beings harbor and sometimes nurture painful memories, few more than survivors of sexual abuse. But it is harder to dwell on them when we reach outside ourselves and toward others. Help and support are out there – both from within ourselves and from the outside. 

  • 02brett kavanaughLast week, Brett M. Kavanaugh was finally confirmed as the newest Supreme Court justice, though by one of the narrowest margins in recorded history. Now the Supreme Court of the United States will have a conservative majority that will hopefully met out fair and sensible judgments based on the rule of law and not partisan politics.

    All judicial decisions need to be determined and interpreted on their merit and in relation to the Constitution of the United States and the rule of law – not partisan politics. Any Supreme Court justice, Republican or Democrat, performing outside these parameters needs and deserves to be removed. This is one American institution that needs to be purely objective. After all, this is how we maintain civility, fairness and law and order throughout the nation.

    Unfortunately, Kavanaugh’s appointment has angered and divided the liberalleft whose passions, emotions and actions play out via screaming store-bought protesters and activists. This kind og desperate and outrageous behavior is contrary to American values and is embarassing to both parties and all Americans. It only breeds more hostility and does little to build consensus or instill confidence in our national leadership.

    In this hostile environment of “say anything – do anything” politics, there are no real winners. Only losers. It’s sad when a debate over judicial ideology creates a month-long disagreement among parties and morphs into a contentious national debate over alleged sexual misconduct.

    Unfortunately, this bizarre behavior and political divisiveness in our nation’s capital is having a trickle-down effect onstate and local governments everywhere. Here in Fayetteville and Cumberland County, we have experienced the effects of identity politics and the aforementioned ugly “say anything – do anything” political strategy. This keeps good, intelligent, fair-minded and well-intentioned people from stepping up and serving in government. It also allows those less qualified to restrict community development and progress.

    This effect on our community is not openly discussed in public and is often cloaked under a dark veil of political correctness. But this situation does exist. The Fayetteville community has untold potential and opportunity. We need to be aware that identity politics breeds incompetence and personal agendas that can lead to corruption – i.e. Tyrone Williams – and slow community growth.

    We excel in so many ways! We need to be on our guard and not allow identity politics to slow or destroy our community’s commitment to its residents.

    Stay alert and thank you for reading Up & Coming Weekly.

    Photo: Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh

  • 06HogsEditor’s note: The following submis­sion is in reference to Rep. Billy Richard­son’s opinion piece titled “Profit before people? No thanks, Smithfield!” which ran in the Sept. 19, 2018, issue of Up & Coming Weeky. 

    Livestock farms stink. They always have. 

    We should be extremely grateful for hog, poultry, cattle and dairy farmers who are willing to work long days in tough conditions to provide food for our tables. 

    Recent outrageous and excessive jury awards against the hog industry in our state threaten to put farmers out of business, so it is important that those representing us in the North Carolina General Assembly understand the appropriate role of government in ad­dressing this challenge. 

    Sound public policy is needed – not reckless spending. 

    A battle has been brewing in the North Carolina hog industry for some time. It boiled over this spring. The story really started several years ago when a group of attorneys developed legal arguments that would allow them to circumvent caps on the amount of punitive damages a jury could award - legal arguments that allowed for a $50 million judgment this spring on behalf of 10 homeown­ers living near hog farms. The appeals process may reduce that amount to $2.5 million, but more plaintiffs have been recruited, and their cases are awaiting trial. Total jury awards could reach half a billion dollars. 

    The problem is clear. Homeowners living near hog farms have been able to secure judgments many times greater than the entire value of their home and property – something that our laws never intended. 

    Our legislature did the right thing during short session this year. They changed the law. Judgments in any future lawsuits for “nuisance” livestock odors may no longer exceed the total value of the property exposed to the natural consequences of livestock operations nearby. That is good public policy. We should not be punishing our farmers who are fol lowing the rules in place. 

    There have not been any new hog operations permitted in North Carolina the past 20 years, so the sparse populations nearby are not just figuring out there is a hog farm around. Yet, many lawsuits remain in the pipeline, and the agenda driving them is searching for an agreed path forward. 

    What ought to be clear is that it is not the respon­sibility of taxpayers here and across the state to come up with what is likely to be hundreds of mil­lions of dollars for new state-of-the-art technology that can contain most of the odors. The hog industry is a highly profitable business controlled by multi-national corporations, who need our farmers. 

    Rep. Billy Richardson has proposed asking Governor Roy Cooper to call a special legislative session, so that the General Assembly can appro­priate taxpayer dollars for upgrade costs of nearly 2,300 hog operations in North Carolina. He wants to use millions of dollars from our state’s rainy day fund to provide matching money for the upgrades that will reduce odors. 

    This is where sound public policy needs to push back. It is not the respon­sibility of the taxpayers in North Caro­lina to retro-fit hog lagoons. And, Rep. Richardson is wrong to suggest spending down rainy day funds intended to carry us through the next economic downturn or natural disaster. 

    It was just a decade ago that recession struck, and despite the highest tax rates in the southeast at that time, our state did not have sufficient funds to meet payroll. Teacher pay was cut in May and June 2009, and remained frozen for five years, while our state repaid a $2.6 bil­lion debt, and climbed out of the hole. All because we had been spending and borrowing so freely that we had little in reserve. We are only now able to offer substantial pay raises that will once again allow our teachers here to earn above the national average pay – for the first time in a decade. Why? Because our current legislature has not been lured into throw­ing money at problems that are not the responsibility of government to fund. 

    If Rep. Richardson is successful in persuading Gov. Cooper to call a special session of the legislature to prioritize hog farm subsidies over critical needs that ARE the responsibility of govern­ment – such as schools and resource officers for our children’s safety – we should insist that the effort be defeated – because it is bad public policy. 

    North Carolina families should not be asked to pay for hog industry upgrades that subsidize private production costs – no matter how much we love our bacon.

  •     {mosimage}Oktoberfest at Fort Bragg is a Fayetteville tradition. The 10-day fair brings the community out in droves to celebrate the cooler weather, and of course, the spectacle of the fair.
        The 2008 OKTOBERFEST, held at the Fort Bragg Fairgrounds will be held Oct. 9-19. The fair combines some really great things: rides, food, music and people. It’s a not to be missed good time.
        The OKTOBEFEST has at its center food — lots and lots of food. And, taking a looking at the name of the fair, it’s pretty obvious that a lot of the food will have a German flair. For those of you who crave sausages and kielbasa, you’re sure to leave with a smile on your face.
        Giving yet another nod to its namesake, there is the inevitable Beer Garden. Just remember, you are not in Europe, so you must be 21 to enjoy the adult beverages.
        If you really want to get a natural high, take a spin on one of the many rides that dot the fairgrounds. There are unlimited rides with the price of admission, which makes the fair one of the most economical events  in town.
    So we’ve covered, food and rides — now there’s music. The fair is known for its diverse live musical offerings, with this event focusing on a numbef of the talented musicians who call Fayetteville home.
        On Thursday, Oct. 9, the Holtz Hackren Band, a German band, will take to the stage at 7 and 9 p.m. On Friday, Oct. 10, the Soul Shakers, a variety band, will be on stage at 7 and 9 p.m.
        The Fifth, one of the area’s most popular rock bands, will put on three shows on Saturday, Oct. 11 at 5, 7 and 9 p.m. Sunday will pay tribute to country music, with Craig Boyd and Southland hitting the stage at 3, 5 and 7 p.m. Music resumes on Thursday, Oct. 1, with Dan Speller and his Bluespell blues band at 7 and 9 p.m. On Friday, the Time Machine Band is on stage at 3, 5 and 7 p.m. Morris Cardenas will rock the fairgrounds on Saturday, Oct. 18 at 5, 7 and 9 p.m. the Holtz Hackren Band will wind up the musical offerings on Sunday, Oct. 19 with three shows — 3, 5 and 7 p.m.
        The fairgrounds are publicly accessbile to the public from Bragg Boulevard via Howell Street. Gates open at 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Sunday and Columbus Day (Monday, Oct. 13).
        Take advantage of Customer Appreciation Days, Mondays through Thursdays, 5-7 p.m. with admission at $5 for ages 3 and over. Children under 2 are admitted free of charge throughout the fair, and there is no charge for parking.
    Admission prices are as follows: Monday to Thursday, $5 for entrance between 5-7 p.m.; $10 general admission; $8 children ages 3-9; $8 military and Department of Defense civilians; $5 for handicapped invidividuals, seniors and non riders.
        Admission Friday to Sunday is $14 general admission; $12 children ages 3-9; $12 military and DoD Civilians; and $5 for handicapped invidividuals, seniors and non riders.
        For more information, call 396-9126 or 396-6126.
  • 05fayetteville fast transit center at dusk matt plylerIn my writing, I frequently criticize American governmental entities at every level. That is, from local to federal, I do not hesitate to voice my general disappointment with the actions, and lack of action, by various political bodies and individuals. Granted, failure to act is an action. It is against this back­drop that I share what, for me, was an encouraging, absolutely refreshing, experience. Even in the midst of my despair regarding the condition of our nation and world overall, I do see and write about hope-inspiring observations. 

    On Monday, Sept. 10, I attended a meeting of the Fayetteville City Council. There was a time when I attended these meetings on a frequent basis. The meetings became so chaotic, confrontational and filled with grandstanding by council members, that I stopped attending. I would watch meetings on television from time to time. Given my interest in one item expected to come up during the meeting, I went to that Monday night’s meeting. 

    It happened that Michael Worrell, chairman of the Fayetteville Advisory Committee on Transit, was on the agenda to give a report. This was not my reason for being there, but his report proved to be, in my esti­mation, very encouraging. One source of my ongoing disgust with governmental bodies is the scarcity of thoughtful assessment of issues followed by actions that make sense and hold promise of proving effec­tive. I saw all of these rare qualities in Worrell’s report. Here is a summary of what he presented regarding the work of his committee over the last year: 

    1. The transit center was certified and is fully oper­ational. The bidding process is underway for renting office space and attracting food service vendors. 
    2. Greyhound and Megabus are operating from the transit center. 
    3.  Bus routes were modified. Sunday bus service was added. 
    4. Shelters and benches were added at various bus stops. 

    These actions are planned for the coming year: 

    1.  Identifying and instituting procedures for moni­toring system performance. 
    2. Rework the marketing plan, with a focus on col­lege students. FAST was represented at Fayetteville State University’s Freshman Orientation. The presentation was well received. Similar efforts will be made at Methodist University and Fayetteville Technical Community College. The aim is to inform students so that they get into traveling the city on the bus system. 
    3. Educate citizens regarding use of the system. The desire is to provide the basic information – from purchasing a ticket to actual travel. Given that the system is looking at ways to better use technol­ogy, the resulting improvements in this area will be part of the citizen education endeavor. Among the technology improvement possibilities is ticketing through mobile devices. This effort will also seek to, among citizens, develop pride in the system. 
    4. Introduce shuttle service for major events such as The Dogwood Festival, baseball stadium events and so forth. 
    5. Discuss expansion of the FAST service that is now available to Fort Bragg. 
    6.  Prepare a five-year plan for the system that will detail system efforts for each year and include finan­cial projections/analysis. 
    7.  Work on a fare discount program for students. Such an arrangement must be approved by the city council. A semester pass is one idea that’s being considered. 
    8. Work with human resources to revamp the current FAST personnel evaluation process to give better feedback to employees. Further, action will be taken to share the impact of and responses to key initiatives with employees. Have employees know that their performance influences how citizens view the system. 
    9.  Give attention to improving connectivity with other nearby municipalities. 

    I realize what is presented above is a long list. My contention is that the list is worth reviewing because reflected in it is a high level of thought, planning and execution that is rare in government. It only takes a moment of pause and reflection to see the truth in that statement. 

    When you finish reading this column, go to your television. Turn on any of the networks that do news and commentary 24 hours a day, seven days a week. I guarantee that you will see report after report, commentary after commentary, that ad­dress actions, and lack of action, at every level of government that make absolutely no sense. They reflect zero productive thought, a lot of meaning­less talk by politicians who are far more concerned with winning reelection than doing what is good for their constituents, and citizens protesting, or otherwise complaining, while accomplishing noth­ing that improves the conditions underlying their protest or complaint. 

    What I observed in the council meeting was tremendously impressive and encouraging. That refreshing experience was extended when I visited the city’s website to research FACT. The statement of purpose reads: “To address the public transporta­tion needs of Fayetteville North Carolina in a proac­tive way by providing recommendations to the City Council, management, users and the general public in an effort to create a comprehensive and cohesive transit system that responds to our community’s present and future needs.” 

    Wow – a governmental entity that is actually deliv­ering on its stated purpose. 

    As though that “wow” was not enough, I looked at the composition of the commission. Here is what it shows: “One FAMPO director or designee; One Lo­cal Community Business Representative; Two ADA riders or representatives; One Bus rider; Two city residents; One city resident who resides outside the area services by FAST; One FAST driver/operator. All Commission members must reside in Fayetteville.” 

    At the bottom line, in the midst of paid elected officials and employees, this committee is made up of volunteers. In my estimation, they are performing in a fashion that provides a model for others in every area of service or business, not only in government. However, given that this is a governmental entity, their approach and performance should be seri­ously studied and adhered to by other individuals and entities in government at every level. 

    Fayetteville Advisory Committee on Transit, I commend and thank you.

  •    {mosimage}Blindness (Rated R) Four Stars

        If Blindness(120 minutes) conveys anything, it is that the ability to see atrocities does not necessarily translate to a willingness to stop atrocities.
        Yes, like many other end-of-the-world movies, this is a shockingly violent film that attempts to explore the fragility of civilization. Yes, there is sexual violence against women, a theme that appears far too often in this kind of movie. Yes, there is an overwhelming amount of degradation, and blood. Certainly, the day-to-day life of the blind is not depicted in a realistic or positive way. In fact, the only sighted character is several times treated as morally superior and more functional than all the blind around her. Even so, there is something compelling about it.
        I am accustomed to enjoying films that others find repulsive or without redeeming social value, but in this case so many overly critical reviewers seem to have missed the forest for the trees, failing to appreciate the moral stance of the film amidst all the horror.
        An unnamed city in an unspecified location experiences a medically improbable epidemic of sudden blindness. The first man affected (Yusuke Iseya) spreads the affliction to his wife and several others, who themselves pass the blindness along to those they meet. His doctor (Mark Ruffalo) is infected, and along with others he is quarantined in a dilapidated, inadequately provisioned, quarantine facility. The doctor’s wife (Julianne Moore) has accompanied him despite her seeming immunity to the problem, and she is s silent witness as criminals prey on the weak. The doctor has increasing difficulty coping with his loss of sight and his wife’s new role as his caretaker, and his wife is unable to act decisively without exposing herself to the overwhelming demands of the sightless masses.
        Powerful secondary roles include the bartender (Gael Garcia Bernal), the woman with dark glasses (Alice Braga), and the man with eye patch (Danny Glover), all of whom deliver excellent characterization even with the absence of back story. Some of the quarantined eventually escape the facility, only to walk into a changed world where the only ones they can depend on are each other.   
        What makes this particular movie stand out is the use of a visual medium to convey the widespread lack of sight in its protagonists. The camera manipulates us, nothing can be taken for granted, and the audience is constantly reminded that the ability to see is a fragile gift, easily lost. A boy stumbles, the film flickers, and only then do we see the table he fell over. Director Fernando Meirelles delivers a horror movie that actually will give you nightmares, because he is using a visual style that will trick you into lingering looks at horrible things we should not want to see. In short, the cinematography, the use of color and the use of darkness is incredibly cool.
        Let me confess, there are plot holes. It is a neat idea to present a film without providing any history or even names for the main characters, but it also leaves many questions unanswered. Although it is nice to see an international cast, failure to provide a specific location for the movie results in a lack of audience connection to the story. And the plot resolution, although providing a much needed catharsis, is far too long in coming. Overall, a challenging film that intelligently re-imagines the science fiction class, Day of the Triffids.

  • 02Brett Michael KavanaughAmericans watched in horror last week as the U.S. Senate Judiciary Commit­tee contorted itself over the nomination of Brett Kava­naugh to the U.S. Supreme Court. Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, a woman from his distant past, has accused the nominee of sexual assault, and the commit­tee heard from both the accuser and the accused. Both gave emotional and riveting testimony to the committee. No matter whether one believes Ford is a blatant liar or Kavanaugh is either that or a blackout drinker, the entire process was excruciating to watch. 

    Decades ago, I was part of a small group of women who founded Rape Crisis Volunteers of Cumberland County, an agency that continues to provide coun­seling and other support services to victims of sexual assault, both women and men. 

    Here is what I know from my own experiences and from factual data from the U.S. Justice Department and its various data reporting arms. 

    Nearly a quarter of a million Americans 12 and older are victims of sexual assault every year, with the highest risk being between the ages of 12-34. About 10 percent of them are men. All victims of a completed rape sustain physical injuries as do many victims of other sexual assaults. In addition, victims are three times more likely to suffer depression and six times more likely to suffer post-traumatic stress disorder than non-victims. 

    More than half of all sexual assaults are reported to have occurred in the victim’s home or in the home of a friend, rela­tive or neighbor between 6 p.m. and midnight. The closer the relationship between the victim and the assaulter, the less likely the assault is to be reported. Two-thirds of all assault­ers are known to their victims. Stanford University research finds that about 2 percent of sexual assault claims are false, making 98 percent true, though only about 40 percent are reported to authorities. 

    Our nation’s highly charged and toxic partisan poli­tics have victimized both Ford and Kavanaugh. It has exposed a woman apparently motivated by the good of her nation and a man with a long and distinguished career and turned them into puppets for partisan purposes. Their lives and those of their families will never be the same after national exposure and result­ing death threats. Republicans in Washington, D.C., see Ford as a Democratically controlled Jenny-come-lately obstructionist trying to block decades-old plans to control federal courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court. Democrats see Kavanaugh as a pawn of the right wing, whose appointment could hijack our nation’s highest court for a generation. Both of them – indeed all Americans – are being jerked around by a handful of U.S. Senators while they attempt to strong-arm enough votes to confirm Kavanaugh. 

    All any of us can do is watch and wait while the power struggle continues behind closed doors in Washington. The cold, hard reality is that even with an FBI investigation, truncated as it may be, we may never know more truth than we know now. This painful episode may go down in history as “she said, he said” forever. 

    One way or another, Ford and Kavanaugh will eventually exit our national stage’s glaring spotlight. What will remain and continue to poison us is the toxicity of our highly charged partisan politics. Two emotional women identifying themselves as survi­vors of sexual assault confronted Republican Sen. Jeff Flake of Arizona in a Capitol elevator last week, with one demanding, “Look at me and tell me that it doesn’t matter what happened to me. Don’t look away from me.” 

    She was talking about sexual assault, but we can­not look away from our political reality either. 

    The partisan politics that everyone despises has so tainted our public life that we are allowing it to undermine the foundation of our country. If we or our elected representatives cannot act for the good of country over the good of party, we are endanger­ing our democracy.

    Photo: Judge Brett Kavanaugh 

  • 03PubPenFayetteville has a big heart and an even bigger spirit. This community’s outpouring of generosity, love and compassion was well demonstrated dur­ing Hurricane Florence. Though the storm is over, repairing the damage, destruction and heart­break will be a long-term endeavor. The news cov­erage and headlines that swirled around Florence will soon dissipate, but for hundreds of citizens, the suffering is far from over. Clothes, food, shelter, medical care and money will be needed over the long haul to bring these tattered lives back to a sense of nor­malcy. Sunday, Oct. 7, St. John’s Episcopal Church is set to host an event that will help move the city forward. 

    Inspired to help with hurricane recovery, St. John’s Episcopal Church new director of music, Ryan Pagels, took action. Pagels and his commit­tee organized a concert to benefit the community that will include ensembles from the Fayetteville Symphony Orches­tra, the FSO Youth Orchestra and the Methodist University Chorale. There will also be performances by MU faculty and students as well as from Fayetteville Academy and a host of other local pro­fessional musicians. 

    “It is truly a community effort for the community,” Pagels said. “We were very blessed that the church sustained mini­mal damage from the hurricane and the flooding that followed.” 

    St. John’s has a long history of giving back to the area it calls home. It has been doing so since its founding in 1817. And according to Pagels, hosting this concert is yet another way to meet the needs within the area and help those who were significantly impacted by the storm. 

    Up & Coming Weekly will be at the concert, and we look forward to a mag­nificent turnout and outreach by the community. We look forward to sup­porting many other local businesses and organizations as they each bring their unique strengths to the effort to rebuild and heal our city, too. 

    Fayetteville is home to many institu­tions built on the honorable legacy of serving humanity. And you don’t have to look far to see the positive and long-last­ing effects they have each had with their active in­volvement in Fayetteville and Cumberland County. Along with St. John’s, the Salvation Army, Operation Inasmuch, Fayetteville Urban Ministry and Con­nections of Cumberland County are just a few organizations dedicated to making this community a better place. 

    We salute Pagels and all those at St. John’s who helped organize this con­cert. Up & Coming Weekly community newspaper is all about promoting and showcasing the assets and good things that are hap­pening in our community, and it doesn’t get any bet­ter than this. 

    The Hurricane Relief Benefit Concert is set for Sunday, Oct. 7, at 2 p.m. at St. John’s Episcopal Church. The event is free, but dona­tions are welcome. All monies collected during the concert will go the Hurri­cane Disaster Relief Fund that is be­ing administered locally by the United Way of Cumberland County and the Cumberland Community Foundation. For more information, contact Pagels at 910-483-7405 ext. 119. 

    St. John’s is located at 302 Green St. in historic downtown Fayetteville. We hope to see you there. Thank you for reading Up & Coming Weekly.

  •     Relive favorite Disneyland® memories when Disney/Pixar’s The Incredibles meet Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse and other beloved Disney characters while experiencing famed Disneyland attractions like the Haunted Mansion, “It’s a Small World” and Pirates of the Caribbean in the Disney On Ice spectacular, a Disneyland Adventure.
        A Disneyland Adventure, a one-of-a-kind, action-packed production, produced by Feld Entertainment, visits Fayetteville from Oct. 23 - 26 for six performances at the Crown Coliseum.
        {mosimage}As the park gates open, Disney characters fill the arena with excitement. Audiences swing with Baloo through the Jungle Cruise, fly like a space ranger through Space Mountain® with Buzz Lightyear and accompany Snow White and Cinderella during the Main Street USA® parade.  And just when things get a little too crazy, audiences help everyone’s favorite super family — The Incredibles — save the day. Disney on Ice is a fun family-oriented event that is sure to steal the hearts of children of all ages.
        Tickets for Disney On Ice presents a Disneyland Adventure are $13.50 to $19.50 for reserved seats and $26.50 to $36.50 for VIP and Rinkside seating and are on sale now. Group and military discounts are available. All seats excluding VIP and rinkside are only $12 for opening night. Additional fees may apply.
        Tickets may be purchased at the Crown Center Box Office, all Ticketmaster outlets, Ticketmaster.com or by calling (910) 223-2900. The Crown Center main box office is located at the Crown Coliseum and is open Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
        Showtimes: Thursday, Oct. 23 at 7 p.m.; Friday, Oct. 24 at 7 p.m.; Saturday, Oct. 25 at 11 a.m., 3 p.m. and 7 p.m.; Sunday, Oct. 26 at 2 p.m.
     

     


  • Chocolate News is the African-American Parody of Current Affairs

        Finally, a worthy successor to the late, lamented Chappelle’s Show. In Chocolate News (Wednesday, 10:30 p.m., Comedy Central), the talented comedian David Alan Grier purports to explore current affairs from an African-American perspective. What he really does is lampoon black culture, stereotypes about black culture and the white culture that traffics in those stereotypes.
        {mosimage}One “report” profiles a self-important hip-hop bonehead who, hired to make a public service announcement for No Child Left Behind, merely adapts one of his usual filthy videos to the educational theme. (The sexy dancing girls supply the “behind” in No Child Left Behind.) We hear from Caucasians for the Fair Use of the N Word Commission and Maya Angelou (Grier in drag) recites a pseudo-profound poem about Barack Obama. Clearly, no sacred cow is safe during this half-hour.
        In the event of an African-American president, Chocolate News could be the go-to fake news program of the next four years. Watch your back, Daily Show.

    LIVING PROOF
    Saturday, 9 p.m. (Lifetime)

        Harry Connick Jr. got famous doing a bad impersonation of Frank Sinatra. So you can hardly blame him for sticking with his forte — bad impersonations — in this TV movie about the real-life researcher who developed the breast cancer treatment Herceptin. Connick tries to look all scientific in a white lab coat, but you can only laugh at his earnest-Ph.D. line readings. “Two-hundred thousand women a year are diagnosed with breast cancer!” he barks at his new assistant (Amanda Bynes). “Getting Herceptin to work can save a lot of those lives!”

    THE LIFE AND TIMES of TIM
    Sunday, 11 p.m. (HBO)
        This animated series follows an excruciatingly normal guy named Tim. The humor and animation are low-temperature — a perfect match for Tim himself, a young man who’s going nowhere slow. He has a cruddy corporate job, an okay girlfriend and a penchant for getting sucked into dubious situations. In this week’s episode, a family baptism goes bad, suggesting that there’s little hope for today’s alienated man.
        You’d have to be as much of a loser as Tim to find this series funny. That’s why I…um, hate it.

    FRANK TV
    Tuesday, 11 p.m. (TBS)
        With the presidential campaign in full swing, you’d think that impressionist Frank Caliendo would be in hog heaven. But in the season premiere of his sketch comedy show, he wastes time on toothless bits about David Letterman, James Gandolfini and Star Wars. The only political sketch is a clunker about John McCain’s whiteness.

  •     In a time when everything old is new again, it’s not surprising that Harry Wayne Casey is still packing venues across the nation. For those of you who may not be hip enough to figure out who Harry Wayne is, he’s the front man for K.C. and the Sunshine Band, the band that got everybody on their feet and shaking their booties in the ‘70s.{mosimage}
        If you remember those days of bell bottoms, platform shoes and disco with a certain degree of fondness, you’re not going to want to miss the opening concert of the Community Concerts series, which kicks off on Saturday, Oct. 18, at the Crown Auditorium at the Crown Coliseum Complex, at 8 p.m.
        The Community Concerts is an all-volunteer, nonprofit arts organization whose sole mission is to bring the finest in topnotch entertainment to Fayetteville. In addition to concerts, the group’s mission includes an ever growing list of outreach programs including support for Boy’s and Girl’s Club members and deserving seniors, music clinics for children and a new music scholarship fund. Other outreach programs are only a beat away. The concert series is Fayetteville’s oldest arts organization, having been in existence for 73 years. The group’s goal is to make Fayetteville a better place.
        And nothing will lend itself to making Fayetteville a better place than spending a night remembering the golden days of disco with K.C. and his Sunshine Band.
        The band, formed in Miami in 1973, had its first breakthrough hit in 1975 with its mega hit “Get Down Tonight.” The song topped not only the rhythm and blues charts, but also the Billboard charts. That song was followed with a string of hits, including “That’s the Way ( I Like It), “I’m Your Boogie Man (Shake, shake, shake, shake your booty),” “Keep It Coming Love” and “Please Don’t Go,” which hit the charts in 1979 and was the band’s last major hit. But that hasn’t stopped fans from continuing to listen to and introduce their kids and grandkids to the music of K.C. and the Sunshine Band.
        The concert is the first of four concerts planned for the 2008-2009 season. Other performers scheduled to perform include Michael Bolton, Natalie Cole and Boyz II Men.
        Tickets for the Community Concert Series are on sale now and range in price from $50 to $5,000.         Admission to all concerts is by season membership only. Concerts and attractions are subject to change, and refunds are not available. It is requested that all ticket holders enter the facility by 7:45 p.m.
        For more information, visit www.community-concerts.com


  • 12 N2004P64099HMarch 13, 2020, is a date that will be added to our ever-growing dates of historical events in the United States. Why? It was the date many of our states’ governors issued stay-at-home orders for all of its citizens amid growing concerns related to the coronavirus. By 5 p.m. on March 13, CNN.com reported that at least 1,666 coronavirus cases and 41 deaths had been confirmed in the U.S.

    At Fayetteville Technical Community College, we were already on alert, as the news of the deadly virus spread. Faculty received training on how to use Blackboard Collaborate, a tool much like Zoom or Google, and were directed to teach from home. In addition to this training, College administrators surveyed students regarding their access to wi-fi services and computers when away from the campus.

    I will admit that when the notification of the email flashed across my i-phone, I was a little taken aback. I knew how to prepare for a snow storm or hurricane but not a pandemic.

    Thoughts filled my head about what I needed to do and how to get it done. The only computer I had at my home was more than ten years old and had no web-camera. I had no printer, and to be honest, I did not have the money to purchase what I needed to continue serving my students.

    Fortunately for me, FTCC provided the needed computer with a web-camera for my use. I still had no printer, but because I teach math, my job doesn’t entail a great deal of printing. Internet service providers offered free internet service, and my cell phone service provider gave an additional 8 GB of data for the remainder of the month of March.

    That Saturday back in March, I was busily trying to help my middle-schooler adapt to his new learning environment—the kitchen table—while I set up my new office in the dining room.

    I fielded myriad emails from students.

    I did my best to reassure my students that we would all work together to get through this ordeal. Then the day arrived for us to have our first of many virtual class meetings.

    My experience felt like the first day of school all over again … I had to take time to help students find their virtual classroom, navigate the tools within the software and go over proper etiquette for meeting online.

    Needless to say, by the end of the first day, I was exhausted yet very pleased that my students could continue learning. They could continue to explore the concepts of binomial experiments, hypothesis testing and compounding interest rates!

    Fast forward, and here we are in month eight of this pandemic. Even though no one knows if and when our COVID-19 situation will go away, one thing is for sure: at FTCC, we are working to ensure that our students can continue to learn.

    Spring classes begin January 11; we hope you will register today and begin the new year staying connected to something positive — education at FTCC.

  • 10 01 sibling IMG 1952 COPYJared and Janna Rhodes are a brother and sister duo who have always been close despite their 8-year age difference. Jared, 25, is a house parent at Falcon Children's Home and Janna, 17, is a senior at Pine Forest High School. The two wrote a murder mystery book that was released earlier this year and is available online. The pair recently sat down with Up & Coming Weekly to share the idea behind the book, their writing process and future projects.

    Tell us how you conceived the idea for “Speak No Evil.”
    We kind of have a specific way of talking to one another. Something happened and she said something smart to me and I said, “You better shut up before I sew that mouth shut.” We kind of laughed about it and thought it was an interesting idea. We started discussing it and it became this whole idea of what if there was a serial killer named 'The Seamstress' who killed people who used their words to destroy rather than to build people up. To tell you the truth, it was the easiest project that we have ever worked on, the first draft was probably done in about two weeks.

    What is the inspiration behind this book?
    We are both musicians and are big TV people. A show that we had started watching is "Broadchurch." It is a British television crime story so that was kind of fresh on our minds. We were also thinking about the show "How To Get Away With Murder." It was almost like the stars aligned and all the information that we needed was in our heads and we were like "let’s just make this happen."

    What is the purpose of the book?
    I think the main purpose of it is entertainment, but we definitely have something to say in the book as well. We talk a lot about how words mean something. Words can build people up and they can destroy people as well. We thought what better way to show the power of how bad words can be. It is literally having someone take on this persona where he decides to physically shut someone up and then to emotionally and mentally shut the whole town up.
    Also, a purpose is to show how two different people can work on something like writing a book or trying to solve a mystery. The two main characters in the book are very much like my sister and I. We kind of use that to make a more cohesive dynamic when it comes to the main
    characters.

    What can you tell us about the book without giving away any spoilers?
    It is set in the fictional town of Little Heaven, Georgia. We follow the exploits of a seasoned detective, Leroy Stone, and his police commissioner, Marleen Stricker. They are trying to find out who is killing these prominent members of the community. 'The Seamstress' is killing people who are not good people for the community or just in general not good individuals. To help out with the case, intrepid reporter Simone Garcia joins forces with the police to essentially uncover what’s going on in this town.

    Did you encounter challenges during the writing process?
    Yes, just really sweating the details because both of us are very much cut-to-the-chase big picture people. I had a friend of mine read through the first draft. We knew where the story was going but we just needed a little bit more meat so it felt like a more vibrant and cohesive story throughout.

    What has been your greatest achievement with this book?
    I think it may very well be the book itself. Neither of us ever thought we would write something like this. We love working with each other because we both think the same but we communicate things very differently. We can both say that we have a book that’s out and we did this and it was fun. We just want to do it again.

    What do you hope to gain from this book?
    Another aspect of my life is that I am a house parent at a children’s home. My boys love this kind of genre so I’ve been reading it to them. Them coming up to me having a theory about who 'The Seamstress' is or them wanting me to read them the next chapter is the best part. The fact that it is resonating with kids that have come from really bad situations and it puts a smile on their face is what we are really after.

    Will there be other books in the future?
    Maybe, yes. We have nine other books planned from one level to another. I can definitely say that they are not all going to be murder mysteries but they will be in the same universe.

    Final thoughts?
    Focus on the little details when you read the book. We put in a lot of details that if the right person knows this set amount of information they are going to find out who the killer is by the first couple of chapters. We also have a pen name and it is Grant Griffin. In the foreword and the afterword we write those things in the voice of this fictional author and he gives a thesis of the book and lets us be as weird as possible. It is just a way to spice up the book reading process.

    "Speak No Evil" is available online https://www.amazon.com/Speak-No-Evil-Grant-Griffin/dp/1663206376/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?dchild=1&keywords=speak+no+evil+grant+griffin&qid=1598115086&sr=8-3

    10 02 Speak No Evil

  • 07 Suzanne OwenThe principal of Cliffdale Elementary School, Suzanne Owen, has been named Cumberland County Schools’ 2021 Principal of the Year during the district’s first-ever virtual celebration.

    With 24 years of experience in education, Owen has served as principal of Cliffdale Elementary since 2018. Under her leadership, students met growth in all measures, exceeding growth in reading.

    “Her dedication to supporting teachers and building positive relationships with students is commendable, and we are fortunate to have her in CCS,” said school superintendent Dr. Marvin Connelly.

    Tianna O’Brien, assistant principal at Bill Hefner Elementary School, was named the CCS 2021 Assistant Principal of the Year.

    As the district’s Principal of the Year winner, Owen received $3,000 from Lafayette Ford-Lincoln ($1,000 for personal use, $2,000 for school use), a cash award, iPad mini and floral arrangement from CCS, a commemorative Principal of the Year ring, an engraved desk clock and a trophy from the board of education.

    “This year—more than ever before—it’s important that we celebrate our school leaders who have shown resilience during a challenging and unprecedented school year,” said Dr. Connelly. As the district's Principal of the Year winner, Owen will now compete for the regional title.

    Pictured: Suzanne Owen

  • 01 01 kid abuse crayon drawingThe month of October is recognized as Domestic Violence Awareness Month to bring attention to the continued prevalence in the community and highlight resources and information available to victims and those trying to help them.

    About 1 in 4 women and 1 in 9 men experience intimate partner physical violence, according to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence. Taking a closer look, about 43.9% of women and 19.3% of men in North Carolina experience intimate partner physical violence, intimate partner sexual violence and/or intimate partner stalking in their lifetimes.

    “We have seen an increase in calls not only in our county but in surrounding counties and out of state, all domestic violence shelters are filling up and staying at capacity,” Amy White, program director for Care Center Family Violence Program said. “As a result of COVID-19, many shelters to include the Care Center have had to reduce our capacity to be able to promote social distancing and keep everyone safe from not only domestic violence but from the virus too.”

    Cumberland County has a high volume of domestic violence cases, and most cases are referred to them by Child Protective Services, law enforcement, hospitals, and a lot of self-referrals, White said.

    “Our call volumes are pretty close to pre-pandemic numbers, but our crisis calls have increased from the short time-frame,” she said.

    County Resources

    The Care Center functions under the Cumberland County Department of Social Services to provide domestic violence counselling and education to both victims and abusers, as well as a safe house in the event that a victim and their children need to flee from an abusive situation.

    White said the center offers a 24-hour crisis hotline, women and children support groups, as well as outreach to educate the community on domestic violence. The Center also has a victim advocacy program offering guidance in the legal system such as how to obtain domestic violence protective orders, with a victim advocate that can accompany the victim to court to be a support system.

    The Care Center offers support groups in English and Spanish for women and children who have experienced domestic violence.

    Another available resource at the Care Center is the ‘Resolve Batter Treatment Program’ for abusers who attend a 26-week intensive class to be educated about domestic violence and it costs $175 dollars, she said.

    The Care Center sees the victim and the abuser separately and has three Human Services Clinical Counselors that are assigned either to the victim or the abuser. The counselors provide a domestic violence assessment (series of questions) to determine how much counseling the victim and the abuser would benefit from. Once the determination is made of how many sessions are needed, the victim and the abuser will begin counseling sessions.

    “During the sessions, our counselors focus on educating customers on what is domestic violence, how to avoid domestic violence, and provide coping skills to decrease the possibility of reoffending and victimization,” White said.

    We don’t allow them to graduate or get certificates because we don't know if they reoffend or not, but focus on providing the indication they need. Often times the abusers that enter the program are court-ordered to attend or are on probation, she said.

    The Care Center is the only domestic violence shelter in the county that offers stay at an undisclosed location where victims are escorted in by Fayetteville Police.

    “If someone calls in to get immediate shelter, we assess them to find out if they need emergency shelter, do they have any other family that they can go to and if they don’t then we accept them into the shelter,” White said.

    The shelter connects victims with legal aid, medicine and clothing among other needs.

    Fort Bragg Resources

    Fort Bragg’s Family Advocacy Program has eight victim advocates and a 24-hour hotline said Tom Hill, program manager at Family Advocacy which falls under Army Community Services.

    The program focuses on prevention but also provides advocates for victims of
    partner abuse.

    “The one thing we do have to tell them if an advocate is talking to them is that ‘hey if you bring up that you have been abused by your spouse or partner or child has been neglected, then the Family Advocacy Program kicks in which is mandatory,’ and there’s a review board that goes over each case,” he said.

    Hill said if victims aren’t ready to give their names yet and want to be anonymous, the program will help them as much as they can.

    Hill said that when working with soldiers, advocates remind them that there are rules of engagement in a combat zone and rules of engagement when they’re at home too.

    “Say a wife catches her husband cheating on her, she maybe punches him or something and a lot of us would do that but rules of engagement, you can't let your feelings get the better of you and not strike out,” Hill said. “Folks really need to know that this program will kick in if you have lost your temper and abused a spouse or a child.”

    The Family Advocacy Program will inform the service members command within 24 hours of a reported case.

    The Army offers a variety of rehabilitation efforts and corrective behavior programs, Hill said. All reports of abuse are taken very seriously, he said. A repetitive offense may lead to a discharge from service.

    “If a person has had time to get treatment done and has a second case of abuse then they are considered for a chapter or discharge but they do try very hard to rehabilitate,” Hill said. “The most difficult is to get dependents who are perpetrators into treatment.”

    When family members are the victims, they are often hesitant to report abuse because of the instability it would cause to the family if the spouse were discharged from the military. Hill said when a person is thinking about leaving their spouse they might have to completely start over with housing, finances, job, and FAP has many resources that can help with that process.

    “So [the Army] created a program called ‘Transitional Compensation’ where if a dependent comes forward and says I am being abused and their partner gets kicked out of the military, or incarcerated they will still be eligible for pay, medical and dental insurance and PX and Commissary privileges for up to three years after,” Hill said.

    The FAP works with the courthouse to provide a person a domestic violence protective order electronically by meeting the judge online at Fort Bragg. The program works closely with shelters in Hoke, Cumberland and Moore
    counties.

    Signs of healthy versus unhealthy relationships

    White said part of the Care Center’s responsibility is to educate both victims and abusers of what a healthy relationship looks like.

    “The main important part of a healthy relationship is communication, you must be able to express your thoughts and feelings, bottling your emotions often results in an explosion and increases the risk of domestic violence,”
    she said.

    Other important factors of a healthy relationship include trust, being a good support system for one another and having time to yourself.

    “Being together 24/7 is not healthy in a relationship, it is important to be able to have time apart and do things you enjoy doing,” White said. “The saying is true about absence makes the heart grow fonder.”

    White said other signs of an unhealthy or unsafe relationship can be if the partner wants to move in after two weeks of meeting, if they become easily jealous, checking your whereabouts or your phone, throwing things when they get angry, calling you names or belittling you, making you feel like it’s your fault that they hit you.

    “If you spot these early in your relationships, then you need to get out as quickly as possible. The longer you stay, the worse the abuse becomes,” she said.

    Hill said the Care Center works with cases every week that involve other forms of abuse. “Some are emotional abuse, verbal abuse, financial abuse by controlling the money, or holding onto a person's ID cards and such,” she said.

    COVID-19

    “COVID-19 and the pandemic absolutely has affected the hotline, we have seen an increase in the number of calls,” White said. “They are cooped up together, they don't have an outlet, this seems to have increased the hostility in the home, so we have seen a major increase in calls.”

    Fort Bragg hasn't seen an increase in cases during the COVID-19 pandemic, Hill said, noting that The Army Times released an article that said the Army overall has seen less cases during
    the pandemic.

    “But it's still worrisome to know that there’s still folks out there that could be cooped up with an abuser and we really have to get the word out,” Hill said.

    Be an ally

    If you see someone who has suspicious bruises, or if you know someone who is experiencing domestic violence, give them the Care Center Crisis Line which is 910-677-2532.

    White advised it is up to that victim or the abuser to seek out help, and it is important for the community to know that sometimes all you can do is provide them with resources that can help.

    “Be a listening ear, let them know you are there for them. It usually takes up to 7 times before a victim finally leaves their abuser,” she said. “Often, when we have a friend who might be in an abusive relationship, we are quick to tell them to leave - do not do this. It is up to that victim to decide when they feel comfortable to leave, it is their decision.”

    She said there could be several reasons a person may not be leaving a relationship some of them being financial, fear of life and safety, no place to stay.

    The Care Center is always in need of donations for things like hygiene items, women’s products, clothes, diapers in different sizes for kids, twin bed sheets and comforters. To help call 910-677-2528 and the Care Center will provide a list of immediate donation needs.

    Although the Care Center has been around for 41 years, many people are not aware of it, White said.

    “We just want them to know that we are here for them, and if they know someone out in the community that experienced domestic violence to provide them with our contact,” she said.

    Available Resources
    Local area resources for victims of domestic abuse are listed below:
    Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office
    Non-emergency 910-323-1500
    Victim assistance 910-677-5454 or https://ccsonc.org/
    Cumberland County Family Court
    910-475-3015 or https://www.nccourts.gov/locations/cumberland-county
    Safe-Link Domestic Violence Assistance Program
    910-475-3029, Cumberland County Courthouse Room 340, 3rd floor
    Cumberland County District Attorney’s Office
    910-475-3010

    Fayetteville Police Department
    910-433-1529; Victim Assistance 910-433-1849 or
    bethebadge.com
    The CARE Center Family Violence Program
    Crisis Line 910-677-2532 or office 910-677-2528
    •Legal Aid of North Carolina-Fayetteville Chapter
    910-483-0400 or legalaidnc.org
    Rape Crisis Center Hot Line
    910-485-7273 or https://www.rapecrisisonline.org/
    Army Community Service
    910-396-8262 or bragg.armymwr.com/us/bragg/
    U. S. Army Family Advocacy Program
    910-322-3418 or hotline 910-584-4267

  • 10 HolmesMy name is Heather S. Holmes and I am your Republican candidate running for the House of Representatives District 44. I am a single mom and have a 12-year-old son.

    I am a Christian and a member of First Baptist Church in Raeford. I’m acting youth leader at my church and the VBS director as well as a member of the choir and handbell choir.

    I have humble roots. My maternal grandfather was a WWII veteran and coal miner in West Virginia. My paternal grandfather had only a 4th grade education, but as an entrepreneur taught my parents the values of hard work, perseverance, pride of self and country and instilled not only those but my Christian values in me and my younger sister.

    Professionally, I’m a government contractor and I work to provide commercial products to federal and military customers with the Defense Logistics Agency.
    I want to be the one to represent you in Raleigh by introducing new legislation to protect our children from pedophiles and sexual abuse. There needs to be stricter laws and harsher punishment for those who rob the innocence of others. I will be the voice for those silenced.

    I believe in school choice. As a full-time working mom who homeschools I believe parents should have the right to choose how to educate your child.

    As the daughter of military veterans and law enforcement veterans, I have seen first-hand the impact of war both abroad and local to our community. Our military and law enforcement (both active and veteran) are mistreated, neglected and forgotten when it comes to their mental health. I will work with medical and naturopathic doctors to provide safe and alternative treatments for those who suffer with PTSD, depression and anxiety and other mental illness. They have given so much and don’t ask for anything in return.

    I am a card carrying member of the NRA and North Carolina Grassroots and will vote to protect North Carolinians’ right to keep and bear arms.

    As a Christian, I believe that all life is sacred. I am a strong pro-life advocate and will fight for the lives of unborn children.

    The coronavirus has hit our state pretty hard and the restrictions that were initially put in place for safety have now become about control. North Carolina needs to reopen businesses and get back to normal life in a safe way. Small business owners especially are struggling with the shutdown and it has and still is affecting their way of life. It's important to balance the needs of the economy with the concern’s citizens have for their health. I will work with the governor and other legislators and medical officials to reopen our state and bring back our thriving economy.

    North Carolina has made significant improvements in education funding and teacher pay and we are committed to continuing improvement. Democrats and Governor Cooper voted against every teacher pay raise because they said they weren't good enough.

    Not only do we need more teachers, we need better education, vouchers for parents wanting to use other options for their children’s education as well as more materials and funding for the arts.

    I won't play politics. I will do whatever I can to improve educational outcomes for students and help retain teachers.

    I will not make promises I cannot keep but I will work very hard for the citizens of Cumberland County to not only make our county better, but also our state.

    I hope you will vote for me to be your House of Representative for District 44.

  • 09 araguesMy name is Christina M. Aragues, a single mother of three and Army veteran who is currently running as a write-in candidate for Cumberland County School Board District 3 in North Carolina.

    I came to Fayetteville in 2010 for assignment to Fort Bragg and made this my home. I have a varied and unique background that I can draw from to help our community. I am the daughter of a retired public school teacher. I worked for special programs in California teaching math, essay writing and SAT skills in disadvantaged schools. I was an EMT in the Air Force and then an officer in the active duty Army. I have planned and helped build training areas in Romania and Bulgaria. I have worked as a project manager for a major bank developing diverse technological solutions for its customers. Developing multiple contingency plans is my expertise.

    When I first learned of the lack of solutions for returning to school whether in-person, in a hybrid manner or remotely, I was appalled. I could not understand how the board had not worked with experts in the community to find solutions. We are not the only ones in the world, country or state facing these challenging decisions. We need more diversity among our school board. We need parents with diverse backgrounds who will seek to communicate and listen to all in the community.

    The school board’s mismanagement during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic was the final straw that convinced me to enter the race. As an Army officer, I was taught to think about and plan for second- and third-order effects. This approach is clearly lacking with the current school board’s response to COVID-19 and I will point out why.

    First, the current school board voted to keep schools closed and continue with online education. They decided this without listening to the plan that Superintendent Dr. Marvin Connelly had worked hard to create. Sadly, there are currently over 10,000 children in our county who have not logged onto the training and 7,000 special needs children. With each passing day, these kids fall further and further behind. The gap is greatly increasing between the privileged and underprivileged children. Had the school board planned for second and third-order effects they would have ensured that no child was left behind.

    This leads me to my next point: the current school board members do not have children who attend school. In essence, they do not have a dog in the fight. It is easier to dictate closings, openings and school schedules when it doesn’t impact you at all. What was the impact of the school closings on single parents or dual-military parents? The school closings added an additional expense of up to $600 per month per kid for parents and single parents who already have tight budgets. Parents need a voice.

    Lastly, if the school board failed to plan and adjust for COVID-19 , can we really expect them to handle the next pandemic or crisis that will arise? Are they planning for the reintroduction of children back into the school system? How many kids will get left behind under the current leadership? Since I’ve been in North Carolina my current district has dropped from 47% to low 30s% in test scores. We cannot let our children suffer anymore. The time for change is now.

    As a last-minute write-in candidate, getting the word out is especially difficult. Our current board member is running unopposed on the ballot. Unless someone hears my name, she is the only choice. When elected, I plan to ensure that Cumberland County Schools are doing the right thing for all students.
    For more information visit www.facebook.com/christinaaragues1/

  • 01 01 vmacocss05 1190982319063 1 123 1Thomas Owen put the 52nd annual Cumberland County Golf Championship in his pocket even before rain canceled the final round.

    Owen shot 68-67 for a 135 total of nine under par at Gates Four Golf & Country Club. It gave him a likely insurmountable lead of nine shots over runner-up Jake Barge.

    “It would have taken a pretty special round,” said Owen, when asked if he thought anyone could have caught him. “I was playing well with tough conditions so I would have liked my chances, but it's certainly possible.”

    Barge, who shot 70-74 for an even par total of 144, would have liked an opportunity to play one more round.

    “I don't think I could have caught him,” Barge said. “My goal was just to put a little pressure on him. As far as catching him, the way he was playing, I don't think that was a possibility.”
    Billy West, who tied for third with a 145 total, agreed with Barge.

    “Thomas played incredible golf considering how difficult Gates Four was playing,” West said. “The rough was as high as it's ever been out there. No one would have caught Thomas. He was clearly playing the best. He is a smart player with great course management.”

    The win continued an amazing streak for Owen in the county championship tournament. Except for a few strokes, he could have five straight victories. He won the title in 2016 and then finished as runner-up three straight years before this year's victory.

    “I was motivated to play my best after feeling like I let a couple slip away,” he said. “I didn't want to let another one slip away.”
    Owen made 13 birdies and only four bogeys.

    “I played really well,” he said. “My putting has really clicked and that's the difference in shooting really good scores. I did not three-putt which is always helpful.”

    Owen has a unique way of practicing his putting. He doesn't even have to go outside.

    “I putt in my living room quite a bit,” he said. “I have a good rug for putting. Even though, that's not playing golf, it's helpful to just get the ball started on the line you want it to and try to putt the ball to a small target.”

    Tournament officials made the decision to cancel the final round after heavy overnight rain following the second round and an unfavorable forecast from the remnants of Hurricane Delta.

    “We told the guys when they were checking in Saturday to play hard because we may have to shorten the tournament,” said Gates Four General Manager Kevin Lavertu. “We didn't see any clearing for Sunday and transitioning to cart path only. Plus, we've got some holes that from time to time hold some water on them. Overall, I think it was the right decision.”

    Lavertu said the course received six-tenths of an inch of rain overnight.

    “Even though it's a competitive event, you still want people to have a little bit of fun,” he said. “If people go out there and they're miserable, it just makes the whole experience bad. I always try to take the pulse of the players and weigh all the outcomes.”

    Owen said he understood the decision to cancel.

    “I know Gates Four can sometimes get pretty wet out there,” he said. “It can make the playing conditions almost unmanageable on some holes and the forecast was pretty terrible. It was bittersweet because I wanted to play some more golf since I was playing well. But at the same time, I was leading the tournament, so I will take it.”

    Owen said he wasn't thinking that the second round might be the last one.

    “That never crossed my mind,” he said. “I was a little late to realize how bad the weather was supposed to be. I was just trying to keep the pedal to the metal.”

    West, who has played in all but one of the county championships in the past 30 years and is sort of an historian of the event, said it was the first time the final round had been canceled by weather since 1996.

    He said another final round was canceled in the 1980s and, ironically, both rain-shortened tournaments were won by Gary Moore.

    West was tied for third place with Gary Robinson, also at 145. Both men have won the most county titles with eight.

    William Schaefer won the men's open division by shooting 78-79 for a 157 total. He won by one stroke over Luke McCorquodale, Michael Gonsalves and Trenton Reid.

    Michael Lane shot 72-73 for 145 to win the senior division by two shots over Gary Moore.

    The men's super seniors and the women's division were scheduled to play 36 holes but only played 18.

    Edwin Baez shot 74 to win the super seniors by four shots over Charles Franks and Marv Houghton.

    Clara Brown, who won the women's senior division last year, won the overall title this year with a round of 88. She won by four shots over Lisa Harvey.

    There were only four women competing this year and that is a focus for tournament director Bill Bowman.

    “We've got good women golfers in Cumberland County,” he said. “We just need to get them out and the way we're going to do that is we're going to raise the prestige of the women's play and we're going to promote it.”

    Bowman has another idea to grow the tournament. Next year, there will be a youth division for players age 13-17.

    “We want to try to cultivate players of the future,” he said.

    There were only 63 players this year compared to 88 last year. Bowman feels COVID-19 hurt turnout.

    “Covid has just overshadowed everything this year,” he said. “We had a lot of last-minute signups because a lot of people didn't think we were going to have it.”

    Bowman has worked hard since he took over as tournament director in 2016 to try and increase participation. He said next year's final two rounds would remain at Gates Four but he wants to hold the first round at another county course. Last year, the first round was held at Stryker Golf Course on Fort Bragg.

    “Gates Four has been really gracious in helping me retain and build this project,” Bowman said. “We're very excited about next year’s tournament, and the dates for the 53rd Annual Cumberland County Golf

    Championship have already been confirmed for October 15, 16, 17 in 2021."

    Details and updates can be found on the official CCGC website www.cumberlandcountygolfclassic.com. Further information may be obtained by calling the CCGC Tournament office at 910-391-3859.

    Pictured above:  52nd Cumberland County Golf Champion Thomas Owen poses with his daughter and the 2020 championship trophy.

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    Pictured: Women's Division champion Clara Brown (left) poses with CCGC tournament director Bill Bowman (right) at Gates Four Golf & Country Club.

     

  • 02 Virtual Candidates Forums Quarter RegularYou can watch the Election 2020 Virtual Candidates Forum at https://vimeo.com/467489706.

    This forum features candidates for the Cumberland County Board of Education.

    The next forum will be Oct. 20 at 3 p.m. featuring Cumberland County Board of Commissioners candidates.

  • 15 virtual ddeviceOn Oct. 8, Fayetteville Technical Community College hosted College Transfer Day via a virtual platform. While this year’s event looked slightly different than years past, the Office of University Outreach adapted and was pleased to continue this opportunity for FTCC students.

    College Transfer Day serves as an avenue to promote the transferability of students’ community college academic credits to public and private four-year colleges and universities.

    College Transfer Day represents an important opportunity for students to connect with other college representatives to receive answers to questions regarding admissions requirements, programs of study, and financial aid processes. The ability to connect with a multitude of educational representatives at the same time is a valuable and convenient resource for students.

    The process of transferring to another college is not identical to applying to college for the first time. While a student’s high school transcript and SAT/ACT scores may be reviewed, these items typically take a back seat to the academic college transcript that a student has earned at the community college level. Students need to be cognizant in earning strong grades if they hope to stand out in the application process utilized by some extremely competitive transfer programs. The community college student’s academic college transcript will be reviewed more rigorously than the high school transcript.

    College Transfer Day presented by University Outreach is a great way for students to learn about each school’s unique policies and deadlines. Transfer students need to be mindful of adhering to a university’s specific deadlines, a contrast to the open-door admissions policy held by many community colleges. Universities not only have deadlines that may vary from one school to another, many also have specific policies for transfer students.

    College Transfer Day is a great way for students to learn about these policies and deadlines firsthand from advisors and college admissions representatives. It is also an avenue for students to make contacts, receive college and university literature, and have specific questions answered as related to academic requirements for transferability.

    While the current pandemic has presented students and universities with several challenges, the challenge of being able to visit university campuses before deciding if it is the right fit is one that seems to have been solved. Many universities have begun offering virtual tours of their campuses to allow students the opportunity to assess whether or not a school meets the student’s needs both academically and emotionally.

    FTCC’s Office of University Outreach provides many opportunities and programs to promote a better understanding of the academic landscape of various colleges/universities for community college students who are interested in pursuing a four-year college degree. Transfer Thursdays are offered every Thursday and allow students to make an appointment with the University Outreach office to receive an evaluation of three universities of the student’s choosing with regards to the major they are seeking. A student’s current course load is evaluated, the student is given additional advisement, and the student is then registered, if this is their end goal.

    Questions regarding the Virtual College Transfer Day event or other services offered through FTCC’s University Outreach office can be directed to me at
    nelsonl@faytechcc.edu or 910-678-8205.

  • 12 IMG 5968Fayetteville City Council wants a select committee created by Mayor Mitch Colvin to study controversial issues pertaining to the Market House.

    Council decided Oct. 5 to not take immediate action to repurpose or tear down the building. Council voted 6-4 rejecting Councilwoman Courtney Banks-McLaughlin’s efforts to require council to take a formal vote to demolish the historic landmark. Banks-McLaughlin serves District 8 on the city’s west side.

    The debate over whether to tear down the historic landmark has been at the center of controversy for decades because it was a place where enslaved people were sold during the early 1800s.

    Many African-Americans consider the building a constant reminder of oppression. “The Market House has been an eyesore to many citizens within the city of Fayetteville due to slaves being bought and sold,” Banks-McLaughlin said. She said people representing both sides of the debate have already made their views known to the council through comments, letters, emails and protests.

    Those who support the building acknowledge that enslaved people were once sold there but point out that they were also sold at other city buildings and locations.

    They note the building is on the National Register of Historic Places and has a rich and significant history not tied to slavery, as well as noted architectural significance. North Carolina ratified the U.S. Constitution at the site where the Market House now stands in center-city Fayetteville. The University of North Carolina, the oldest public university in the country, received its charter there in 1789.

    Protests calling for an end to racism and police brutality have been centered around the Market House following George Floyd's death. On May 30, demonstrators tried to set fire to the building which “sustained charring and mass wood loss to the second story floor,” according to federal prosecutors. Two men have since been arrested and charged with “maliciously damaging property.”

    When Fayetteville was the temporary capitol of North Carolina, the Market House was described “in a statement of significance as performing two functions: under its arches meat and produce were sold by local farmers, while the second floor served as the Town Hall.” The paperwork does not, however, mention the buying and selling of slaves.

    According to a study by Duke University professor John Cavanagh the sale of slaves “happened occasionally at the State House and Market House” for about 75 years up until 1865.

    “Sales were spaced on the average about two months apart, if that frequently, and in most instances very few slaves were involved in each transaction,” Cavanagh wrote.

    Most of them were reportedly sold “in conjunction with the settlement of estates.” Unlike Charleston and Richmond, Fayetteville was not a slave market.

    Twenty years ago, a plaque commissioned by the city was posted on a Market House pillar acknowledging the enslaved people's occasional sale. As for Mayor Colvin’s vision of a pair of ad hoc committees to deal with issues associated with contemporary race relations his hope is regular meetings will get underway soon.

    “This is not on the back burner,” Colvin said.

  • 11 Public Library HeadquartersThe Cumberland County Board of Commissioners has established temporary virtual learning centers at six of the county’s public libraries for school-age children of county employees.

    County Manager Amy Cannon came up with the idea of using the libraries to assist employees who have been unable to report to work because they’re at home with their children.

    It is “out of a dire need to ensure that critical and needed services can be provided without delay or disruption,” Cannon said.

    Approximately 160 children are expected to participate. Under the agreement, Cumberland County Schools will provide lunches and snacks for the children and assign staff members to assist with operation of the sites.

  • 10 Remote Learning 2The Cumberland County school system has created a COVID-19 dashboard to provide up-to-date information on positive COVID-19 cases. District staff updates the dashboard every Friday.

    “As we navigate through this pandemic, we encourage everyone to follow the guidance of health officials,” said Shirley Bolden, director of Health Services for CCS. “It’s important that we continue to practice the three Ws.”

    CCS is currently operating under Plan C, whereby students participate in remote learning through the end of the first semester.

    The origin of each COVID-19 case varies based on the individual; not all the cases listed in the dashboard originated on CCS campuses.

    To comply with federal privacy laws, the school district does not release information about individuals who have tested positive for COVID-19 beyond what is indicated in the dashboard.

    The district remains in close contact with the Cumberland County Department of Public Health and continues to follow necessary protocols related to the coronavirus. To access the dashboard, visit
    http://bit.ly/CCSCOVID-19Dashboard.

  • 09 vote by mailThe Cumberland County Board of Elections is meeting frequently to review absentee ballots for the Nov. 3 election.

    The meeting schedule and links for each session are posted on the Board of Elections webpage at www.electionready.net. The five-member board meets twice weekly through Oct. 16 and each weekday from Oct. 19 through Election Day.

    At the first absentee meeting on Sept. 29, the elections board approved 6,793 mail-in ballots.

    Before each meeting, staff members review all absentee mail envelopes received. Staff members determine whether envelopes have been properly completed, and if so, recommend to the board that it approve the applications and ballots. During absentee meetings, board members review deficient ballots and perform random checks of those that have been recommended for approval by staff members.

    After each meeting, the board notifies voters that had problems with their ballots and provides them with a process to verify that the ballots are theirs. At least one member from each political party is represented at each absentee meeting when the board is approving absentee applications.

    For more information on the Board of Elections, visit co.cumberland.nc.us/departments/election-group/elections.

  • 08 Road Rage IncidentFayetteville Police detectives continue an investigation into a shooting that officers say stemmed from a road rage incident.

    Police spokesman, Sgt Jeremy Glass, did not describe the incident, saying only that the victim was hospitalized with life-threatening injuries.

    The preliminary investigation indicates that the shooting involved the victim and another motorist who was driving a late model black Ram pickup truck.

    The police department’s aggravated assault unit has requested the public’s assistance in locating the suspect and vehicle involved in the incident that occurred on the night of Oct. 2 at Yadkin and Fillyaw roads, near an entrance to Fort Bragg.

    Glass said the suspect fled the scene in the Cottonade neighborhood. Police ask that residents with Doorbell or security cameras contact the police.

  • 07 Ruritan Club LogoThe 71st Ruritan Club announced that District 45 Representative John Szoka and Wesley Meredith, candidate for North Carolina Senator District 19, will be special guests at its regularly scheduled meeting Oct. 15 at 7 p.m.

    The public is invited, according to Ruritan spokesman Ronald Sharpe. The 71st Ruritan Club of Fayetteville meets every third Thursday of the month and membersdedicate themselves to improving the community and building a better America through "fellowship, goodwill, and community service."

    The upcoming program is part of the regular series focusing on people, businesses, organizations and programs that affect Fayetteville and Cumberland County's quality of life. These programs have included representatives from the Fayetteville Police Dept., CrimeStoppers, Fayetteville Homeless Officer, Hospice, Warriors on the Water. The club also supports and sponsors organizations like Habitat for Humanity, Salvation Army, Special Olympics, Boy Scouts/Girl Scouts, Warriors on the Water, Student Essay Contest, Scholarships and Fayetteville Beautiful.

    The public is invited to attend monthly meetings and get involved in their community projects. The 71st Ruritan Club is located at 240 Ruritan Drive.

    For more information, contact Ronald Sharpe 910-391-1241.

  • 13 FORT BRAGG EAPFort Bragg’s Employee Assistance Program held an event Sept. 25 to educate and inform the community about substance abuse awareness and resources available for treatment.

    The event held at the Soldier Support Center on post was in honor of National Recovery Month. The theme “Join the Voices of Recovery: Celebrating Connections” highlighted two Fort Bragg family members who shared their stories of addiction and sobriety.

    “Recovery month gives us the platform to address the total community and Fort Bragg is a big part of that community, to be responsive, our theme this month has to do with community connectedness,” said Lisa Lofton-Berry, Fort Bragg Employee Assistance Program coordinator.

    The event allowed people to hear success stories and come away knowing that if they are not satisfied with their level of risk, there are things they can do to make a change, Lofton-Berry said.

    The EAP, under the Army Substance Abuse Program, is the branch that focuses on all non-uniform personnel like the Department of Defense civilian employees, military family members, retirees. The goal is to support their work life well-being and mission readiness, Lofton-Berry said.

    Military spouse and Alcoholics Anonymous member, Kate (*last name withheld by request), whose alcohol addiction began at the age of 11, said it’s a problem not just in the military but everywhere.

    “The most difficult part of my struggle was admitting that I needed help and asking for help,” she said. “I tried to quit several times but was unable to, which surprised me because I am usually able to do anything I want.”

    Having struggled with alcoholism for 13 years, she attended her first AA meeting at the age of 24 and is now celebrating 34 years of sobriety.

    She said it was much more helpful to talk to people who understood the struggle from personal experience.

    “Since I have been sober, I have been very active in AA here in Cumberland County, and the best way to help my sobriety is to help other people,” Kate said.

    AA offers in-person meetings, virtual meetings, a hotline, and you can find out more at FayAA.org.

    “When I was drinking, I was running from my problems. Because of AA, I can face my problems, walk through them and get to the other side much more easily,” Kate said.
    Active-duty family member Jenny Schumacher grew up in a stable, fun-loving house.

    Her struggle began following a life-altering deadly car accident in high school, leaving her with a broken pelvis and fractured back, which eventually led to her narcotics addiction later in life.

    “That changed the whole turn of everything, the song and the drums that I was dancing to,” she said. “I realized, you know, that I was never going to be a Rockstar, I was not going to be anything that I wanted to be, I was just going to be average, and that was the arrogance of my mind.”

    Having moved on with her life, and gotten married, she faced multiple complications during her pregnancies due to her injuries.

    Multiple tests, different diagnoses like osteoporosis among others, she was addicted to the drugs to combat her pain.

    “Long story short, I wanted to be the mom that can pick her kid up when he's skinned his knee and wanted to be able to run after the other toddler,” Schumacher said.

    After losing her marriage and kids, and blowing up her sister's house manufacturing methamphetamine and being sentenced to prison, she chose the path to recovery through a faith-based outlook.

    She said every duty station she goes to, the first place she walks into is PWOC — Protestant Women of the Chapel — and she has sisters running up to her.

    “If I miss a Tuesday, there's someone there to call me on the phone, and say ‘hey, I didn't see you this Tuesday. Are you sick, do you need some soup, do you need something?’ and vice versa,” Schumacher said.

    "We are all there to help each other and hold each other accountable, and I recommend you reach out," she said.

    “There are chapel communities out there that are available to help, and it's not just the faith-based community. There are other communities here on post that are here to love on those with substance abuse issues, injury issues, PTSD issues, chronic pain issues,” Schumacher said.

    People sharing their story makes all the difference in the world because It’s a personal connection, Lofton-Berry said.

    “When you hear real-life stories of how people have experienced challenges and how they have reached out and found ways to turn their lives around in the direction they want, if I'm listening to that, I am like ‘hey if they can do it, I can do it, let me get started today.’” she said.

    "We have a weekly class where people know that they can come and get on the path to moving in the direction they'd like to," she said.

    “It is a courageous first step, so it is our goal to provide a safe space where people feel comfortable to reach out,” she said. “We manage and invite people to share what's going on and then receive a non-judgmental response.”

    Jacqueline Truitt, director of the Addiction Medicine Intensive Outpatient Program at Womack Hospital said she works with soldiers and family members who are in a need of higher-level care to address substance abuse concerns.

    “I have patients come and they are in groups five days a week. They get individual counseling as well as other services, (such as) art therapy and meditation to make sure they are ready and really able to integrate with their families and the community,” Truitt said.

    "Addiction is a disease, and that’s how we treat it here, and make sure to follow evidence-based practices," she said.

    “We want to make sure that people feel confident that when they come in, they receive the help that they need and remove any type of stigma that may be attached with getting help,” Truitt said.

    The community can reach them at 910-907-6825; select option 1 to make an appointment and be connected with a licensed clinician.

    “This is a huge mission that we have on Fort Bragg. These folks make sacrifices to protect our nation and we want to be there for them,” Lofton-Berry said.

    Kate said it is important for people to know they don’t have to struggle. “You can find help with people who understand your problem. We are out there, and we really want to help you.”

    “This month is focusing on substance abuse issues, but substance abuse comes from another core issue in our spirit and so if I could say anything, I want to leave people with that message of hope that change does happen,” Schumacher said.

    Individuals have an opportunity to explore the level of risk in their lives revolving around substance use by attending weekly classes. They can call 910-396-5784 available Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

    Picture: The Fort Bragg Employee Assistance Program office is located in the Soldier Support Center, Bldg. 4-2843 Normandy Drive on Fort Bragg. The EAP offers resources to non-uniformed personnel (DoD civilian employees, military family members and retirees).

  • 11 PCH ComplexCOVID-19 is having a significant impact on commercial real estate. The pandemic directly affects the demand for office space through quarantines, shutdowns, supply chain disruptions, employment loss and a shattering of consumer confidence, according to real estate research experts who spoke with Development magazine. “One investor told me that he cannot close on a building because he cannot get an appraiser to go out and look at it,” said Emil Malizia,” a research professor at the University of North Carolina. “What does that do to occupancy, particularly office buildings?”

    “Similar to Fayetteville, office tenants across the country are pausing new office leases as officials re-evaluate how they use their offices and how many employees businesses will have due to financial harm from COVID-19,” said Jordan Jones, manager of the PCH expansion projects in downtown Fayetteville.

    “We have to recognize that this is not a financial crisis,” said Timothy H. Savage of NYU’s Schack Institute of Real Estate. “It’s a natural disaster in which it is not the physical capital that is being affected — it is the human capital … that directly impacts the economy.”

    PCH developers have proposed building a seven-story office building and a five-story Hyatt Hotel atop the recently completed five-story parking garage on Hay Street. The city of Fayetteville agreed to purchase the garage and did so at a cost of nearly $18 million. The structure will provide parking for the new hotel, the office building, Prince Charles apartment tenants and to a limited extent, the public. The projects were initially slated for completion next year. “We are unable to provide an updated timeline on the projects moving forward,” Jones said. “We remain committed to executing phase two above the parking garage and continue to actively move these projects forward.”

    The $40 million Segra baseball stadium to the rear of the parking deck and PCH’s acquisition of the Festival Park Plaza building were also elements of a $120 million economic development undertaking in mid-town. What about the planned hotel? “On the hospitality side, the industry's occupancy across the country (including Fayetteville) has seen a significant decline,” Jones noted.

    “Without occupancy, a hotel is not financially feasible.” But a firm with expertise in the hotel industry has concluded that Hyatt is the hotel chain that has instituted the best customer-friendly and customer-safe policies during the COVID-19 pandemic. NerdWallet analyzed and graded the policies of eight hotel companies and found that Hyatt's face mask requirement and staff training procedures set it apart from the others.

    The chief executive officer of Hyatt Hotels Corporation is optimistic about the new normal. “I think there is clear evidence that there will be a robust return to travel even without a vaccine as long as you have a really rigorous, committed and vigilant approach to managing the virus,” Mark Hoplamazian said. “The more practice we all have in being vigilant, being compliant, making it a part of our lives, the better off we’re going to be. That’s my aspiration and my hope for the near future.”

    Pictured:The PCH expansion projects in downtown — to include an office building, hotel and parking garage — were slated for completion next year, but have been delayed due to the COVID-19 impact.

  • 10 Battlefield communicationArmy soldiers want network communications on the battlefield that can connect at any time, from any place, is secure and reliable.

    The Army’s modernization effort is delivering new radios, applications, satellite terminals and cross banding solutions to allow coalition partners to better share information with the troops. All American Division soldiers are at the forefront of this modernization effort, which is called Capability Set 21 and the Integrated Tactical Network.

    For more than a year, 82nd Airborne leadership and soldiers have been testing and evaluating new network gear and have provided feedback to help shape technology across the Army.

    Feedback from Fort Bragg soldiers has helped the Army prioritize units which will receive new network kits starting in 2021.

  • 09 road constructionThe N.C. Department of Transportation has begun distributing $132.7 million in street aid to municipalities. Also known as Powell Bill funds, 508 municipalities will receive funding. Half of the allocation went out last week. The other half will be paid by Jan. 1.

    The Powell Bill statute requires municipalities to use the money primarily for street resurfacing, but it can also be used for the construction and maintenance of roads, bridges, drainage systems, sidewalks and greenways.

    “Powell Bill funding helps local governments improve transportation systems within their communities,” said state Transportation Secretary Eric Boyette.

    The amount each city receives is determined from an established formula, with 75% of the funds based on population, and 25 percent based on the mileage of locally maintained streets. Charlotte receives $13.7 million based on its population of 863,985. Fayetteville is receiving $4.9 million.

  • 08 early voting signRegistered voters may cast absentee ballots in person during the early voting period. In North Carolina, this period is sometimes called “one-stop early voting.”

    This year the in-person early voting period begins Thursday, Oct. 15, and ends Saturday, Oct. 31.

    During early voting, Fayetteville area voters may cast ballots at any early voting site in Cumberland County. This is different from Election Day, when registered voters must vote at their assigned precincts.

    Find early voting sites and schedules at https://vt.ncsbe.gov/ossite/.

    Voting sites and schedules change for each election and are only available through the search tool once finalized.

    To see the voting equipment Cumberland County uses for one-stop early voting, go to https://www.ncsbe.gov/voting/voting-equipment, and check the map for “One-Stop Early Voting Equipment, by County.”

  • 07 NC supreme courtThe North Carolina Supreme Court has ruled that three death row inmates will have their sentences reduced to life in prison through the state’s now-defunct Racial Justice Act.

    The 2009 law allowed death row inmates to go through an appeal process to receive life without parole if they could prove racial bias was a significant factor in their original death sentences. The law was repealed in 2013.

    The American Civil Liberties Union represented Christina Walters, Tilmon Golphin and Quintel Augustine in the original hearings in Cumberland County.

    Walters, who led a Fayetteville street gang, was convicted of the 1998 murders of 18-year-old Tracy Lambert and 21-year-old Susan Moore and the attempted murder of Debra Cheeseborough.

    Augustine was convicted of killing Fayetteville police Officer Roy Turner Jr. in November 2001.

    Golphin killed State Highway Patrol Trooper Ed Lowry and Cumberland County Deputy Sheriff David Hathcock during an I-95 traffic stop in September 1997.

    Superior Court Judge Gregory Weeks, in 2012, cited a “wealth of evidence” of racially biased jury selection in all three cases.

     

    Pictured: North Carolina Supreme Court

  • 06 suicide pain depression WORDSSenior Army leaders say they have seen a 30% increase in active duty suicides so far this year.

    Army officials said discussions in Defense Department briefings indicate there has been a 20% jump in overall military suicides this year. The numbers vary by service. The Army’s 30% spike, from 88 last year to 114 this year pushes the total up because it’s the largest service. Fort Bragg’s 82nd Airborne Division has endured 10 suicides so far this year, a number that stood at four during the corresponding period last year.

    In 2018, six paratroopers in the division took their own lives; four did so in 2017. Maj. Gen. Christopher Donahue, who assumed command of the 82nd in July, believes forced periods of isolation and other stressors caused by the COVID-19 pandemic have been major factors.

    “There is absolutely a stigma that’s out there,” Donahue said. “And if we don’t acknowledge that, we’re lying.”

    The increase has pushed Donahue to make suicide prevention a priority and a frequent topic of conversation within his ranks. James Helis, director of the Army’s resilience programs, said virus-related isolation, financial disruptions and loss of childcare all happening at the same time has strained troops and their families.

    “We know that the measures we took to mitigate and prevent the spread of COVID could amplify some of the factors that could lead to suicide,” said Helis. Army leaders also said troops have been under pressure for nearly two decades of war and that deployments compounded by the virus have taken a toll.

  • CoverFrom the decorations to the vendors to the hum of anticipation in the ticket line, it is obvious that the Junior League’s Holly Day Fair committee is passionate about the annual show. This year, the Holly Day Fair is Nov. 3-6. The fact that it is the 50th Holly Day Fair makes it that much more special — on several levels. 

    Jami McLaughlin is the chairperson this year, but she’s served on the committee for several years. “It is so rare that a fundraiser lasts for 50 years. The fact that we are still doing this and it is still going strong is an honor for all of us,” she said. “We will definitely be rolling out the red carpet.”

    This year’s presenting sponsor is Carolina Pottery, bringing so much inventory that the event organizers have set aside and entire space just for them. “Carolina Pottery will have a huge space outside our normal foot print. They really know how to do Christmas right and will be bringing all kinds of things that our shoppers will just love,” said McLaughlin. “We are excited about them coming and especially about their level and quality of items. They will help decorate the lobby, too.  I think our shoppers will be impressed.”

    The main shopping gallery is already filled to overflowing with 165 vendors, including returning favorites as well as some new vendors. Quality and variety are key when it comes to selling here. And with an impressive track record for success, the Holly Day Fair is a show vendors want to attend. Unique clothes for adults and children, home accents, gift items, food related items, accessories, sports-related items are just a few of the treasures available at the Holly Day Fair. “We try diversify and make sure we have something for everyone. We love our vendors. Over the years so many of them have become like family. We look forward to seeing them every year and watching how much shoppers enjoy the products they bring to the show,” said McLaughlin. “And our vendors look out for us, too. Many of them are professionals and make a living at shows like this. So it is not unusual for a vendor to call and say ‘Hey, listen, I was just at a show and there was a vendor there selling X,Y,Z, and they had a line down the aisle. You may want to give them a call.’” 

    Researching new vendors is responsibility the committee takes seriously. Before opening vendor applications online, the committee visits shows in places like Raleigh, Charlotte, Myrtle Beach, South Carolina and even Richmond, Virginia. “Recruiting and selecting the best vendors is an important part of the show,” said McLaughlin.

    By any standard, the Holly Day Fair is a successful show. The fact that the Holly Day Fair is celebrating 50 years is just one way to measure its success. The 50/50 raffle that lands the winner a five-figure prize is a sure sign of the size and scope of the Holly Day Fair. The more than 22,000 shoppers that come every year — that’s a successful show by anyone’s standards. The more than $250,000 this event raises each year and that the Junior League returns to the community — for a total of more than $5 million to date … also a huge success. But when a group like the Junior League of Fayetteville’s volunteers invest in something like this, it is about more than numbers. “One of the parts that is very heartwarming is when you see the Holly Day Fair actually happening. When you see the vendors that return year after year, when you experience the camaraderie with the other volunteers, when you see the shoppers get so excited when they come through the doors and when you see how happy they are with their purchases when they leave — things they won’t be able to find anywhere else … it is just a happy time,” said McLaughlin. “Because the Holly Day Fair has been around for 50 years, we have generations of shoppers that come and shop together. Grandmothers who started coming years ago — now they bring their daughters and granddaughters and it is part of their family holiday tradition. We have shoppers that come from as far away as Ohio and Virginia and South Carolina every year. There is one group that comes from South Carolina that makes T-shirts for their trip to the Holly Day Fair. It is their girl’s weekend. It is always so much fun to see them and watch them enjoying themselves.” 

    For the volunteers, that’s success.

  • zombiesOn Oct. 28, the streets of downtown Fayetteville will be flooded with zombies. This month the official theme of 4th Friday is the Zombie Walk. 

    This event is an annual family-friendly event that allows for the people of Fayetteville to transform into a remarkably friendly hoard of zombies. Zombies, ghouls and the occasional zombie hunter should begin gathering at the Headquarters Library (300 Maiden Lane) at 6 p.m. for the pre-party and preparation. The walk to downtown will begin at 8 p.m.

    Headquarters Library, the initial gathering spot for the hoard, will join in on the ghoulish fun. Free family-friendly games are planned on the front porch from 4 until 7 p.m. Even the youngest of zombies can join in. From 7 until 9 p.m., storytellers will present frightening local legends, scary fictional stories and classic ghost stories. This is also a free event, though it may not be entirely suitable for young children. 

    In addition to roaming ghouls, 4th Friday also features incredible local art. The Arts Council, located at 301 Hay Street, will host the opening of Recycle: The Art of Transformation. This installation features local artists taking discarded materials and recycling and reusing them to create incredible and beautiful pieces of artwork. The exhibit is open and free to the public from 7 until 9 p.m. The exhibit is presented with The City of Fayetteville’s Environmental Services Department.

    Fascinate-U Children’s Museum is designed specifically to engage children in fun and safe learning. Exhibits mimic real life situations like broadcasting studios and stores, and are intended to be touched and played with to stimulate exploration and learning. Fascinate-U will also offer a free creative craft. From 7 until 9 p.m., children are invited to make a cute cat and enjoy free admission in the museum, which is located at 116 Green Street.

    Cape Fear Studios is hosting a gallery opening on Oct. 28, 6-8 p.m.  The exhibit is the 20th Annual Nellie Allen Smith Pottery Competition. This competition has grown from a local to a national competition, but it has always maintained the core goal of giving clay artists the opportunity to compete with peers. This year the juror is potter Simon Leach, who comes from a family of potters. His work is influenced by his fathers and grandfathers work as well as by Japanese and Korean art. He will also  attend the opening reception and the exhibit will run until Nov. 23.  

    The Fayetteville Transportation Museum offers the perfect place to explore local history on a crisp October evening in Downtown Fayetteville. Located at 325 Franklin Street, the museum is open and free from 6-8:30 p.m.  The current exhibit is called Cumberland County Goes to War. It focuses on the areas involvement in the Civil War both on the battlefield and at home. The Market House also focuses on area history. From 6 until 10 p.m., 4th Friday participants can visit the Market House and see Post Cards of Fayetteville and the permanent exhibit A View from the Square: A History of Downtown Fayetteville

    To learn more about 4th Friday, call 323-1776.

  • zombiesOn Oct. 28, the streets of downtown Fayetteville will be flooded with zombies. This month the official theme of 4th Friday is the Zombie Walk. 

    This event is an annual family-friendly event that allows for the people of Fayetteville to transform into a remarkably friendly hoard of zombies. Zombies, ghouls and the occasional zombie hunter should begin gathering at the Headquarters Library (300 Maiden Lane) at 6 p.m. for the pre-party and preparation. The walk to downtown will begin at 8 p.m.

    Headquarters Library, the initial gathering spot for the hoard, will join in on the ghoulish fun. Free family-friendly games are planned on the front porch from 4 until 7 p.m. Even the youngest of zombies can join in. From 7 until 9 p.m., storytellers will present frightening local legends, scary fictional stories and classic ghost stories. This is also a free event, though it may not be entirely suitable for young children. 

    In addition to roaming ghouls, 4th Friday also features incredible local art. The Arts Council, located at 301 Hay Street, will host the opening of Recycle: The Art of Transformation. This installation features local artists taking discarded materials and recycling and reusing them to create incredible and beautiful pieces of artwork. The exhibit is open and free to the public from 7 until 9 p.m. The exhibit is presented with The City of Fayetteville’s Environmental Services Department.

    Fascinate-U Children’s Museum is designed specifically to engage children in fun and safe learning. Exhibits mimic real life situations like broadcasting studios and stores, and are intended to be touched and played with to stimulate exploration and learning. Fascinate-U will also offer a free creative craft. From 7 until 9 p.m., children are invited to make a cute cat and enjoy free admission in the museum, which is located at 116 Green Street.

    Cape Fear Studios is hosting a gallery opening on Oct. 28, 6-8 p.m.  The exhibit is the 20th Annual Nellie Allen Smith Pottery Competition. This competition has grown from a local to a national competition, but it has always maintained the core goal of giving clay artists the opportunity to compete with peers. This year the juror is potter Simon Leach, who comes from a family of potters. His work is influenced by his fathers and grandfathers work as well as by Japanese and Korean art. He will also  attend the opening reception and the exhibit will run until Nov. 23.  

    The Fayetteville Transportation Museum offers the perfect place to explore local history on a crisp October evening in Downtown Fayetteville. Located at 325 Franklin Street, the museum is open and free from 6-8:30 p.m.  The current exhibit is called Cumberland County Goes to War. It focuses on the areas involvement in the Civil War both on the battlefield and at home. The Market House also focuses on area history. From 6 until 10 p.m., 4th Friday participants can visit the Market House and see Post Cards of Fayetteville and the permanent exhibit A View from the Square: A History of Downtown Fayetteville

    To learn more about 4th Friday, call 323-1776.

  • zombiesOn Oct. 28, the streets of downtown Fayetteville will be flooded with zombies. This month the official theme of 4th Friday is the Zombie Walk. 

    This event is an annual family-friendly event that allows for the people of Fayetteville to transform into a remarkably friendly hoard of zombies. Zombies, ghouls and the occasional zombie hunter should begin gathering at the Headquarters Library (300 Maiden Lane) at 6 p.m. for the pre-party and preparation. The walk to downtown will begin at 8 p.m.

    Headquarters Library, the initial gathering spot for the hoard, will join in on the ghoulish fun. Free family-friendly games are planned on the front porch from 4 until 7 p.m. Even the youngest of zombies can join in. From 7 until 9 p.m., storytellers will present frightening local legends, scary fictional stories and classic ghost stories. This is also a free event, though it may not be entirely suitable for young children. 

    In addition to roaming ghouls, 4th Friday also features incredible local art. The Arts Council, located at 301 Hay Street, will host the opening of Recycle: The Art of Transformation. This installation features local artists taking discarded materials and recycling and reusing them to create incredible and beautiful pieces of artwork. The exhibit is open and free to the public from 7 until 9 p.m. The exhibit is presented with The City of Fayetteville’s Environmental Services Department.

    Fascinate-U Children’s Museum is designed specifically to engage children in fun and safe learning. Exhibits mimic real life situations like broadcasting studios and stores, and are intended to be touched and played with to stimulate exploration and learning. Fascinate-U will also offer a free creative craft. From 7 until 9 p.m., children are invited to make a cute cat and enjoy free admission in the museum, which is located at 116 Green Street.

    Cape Fear Studios is hosting a gallery opening on Oct. 28, 6-8 p.m.  The exhibit is the 20th Annual Nellie Allen Smith Pottery Competition. This competition has grown from a local to a national competition, but it has always maintained the core goal of giving clay artists the opportunity to compete with peers. This year the juror is potter Simon Leach, who comes from a family of potters. His work is influenced by his fathers and grandfathers work as well as by Japanese and Korean art. He will also  attend the opening reception and the exhibit will run until Nov. 23.  

    The Fayetteville Transportation Museum offers the perfect place to explore local history on a crisp October evening in Downtown Fayetteville. Located at 325 Franklin Street, the museum is open and free from 6-8:30 p.m.  The current exhibit is called Cumberland County Goes to War. It focuses on the areas involvement in the Civil War both on the battlefield and at home. The Market House also focuses on area history. From 6 until 10 p.m., 4th Friday participants can visit the Market House and see Post Cards of Fayetteville and the permanent exhibit A View from the Square: A History of Downtown Fayetteville

    To learn more about 4th Friday, call 323-1776.

  • zombiesOn Oct. 28, the streets of downtown Fayetteville will be flooded with zombies. This month the official theme of 4th Friday is the Zombie Walk. 

    This event is an annual family-friendly event that allows for the people of Fayetteville to transform into a remarkably friendly hoard of zombies. Zombies, ghouls and the occasional zombie hunter should begin gathering at the Headquarters Library (300 Maiden Lane) at 6 p.m. for the pre-party and preparation. The walk to downtown will begin at 8 p.m.

    Headquarters Library, the initial gathering spot for the hoard, will join in on the ghoulish fun. Free family-friendly games are planned on the front porch from 4 until 7 p.m. Even the youngest of zombies can join in. From 7 until 9 p.m., storytellers will present frightening local legends, scary fictional stories and classic ghost stories. This is also a free event, though it may not be entirely suitable for young children. 

    In addition to roaming ghouls, 4th Friday also features incredible local art. The Arts Council, located at 301 Hay Street, will host the opening of Recycle: The Art of Transformation. This installation features local artists taking discarded materials and recycling and reusing them to create incredible and beautiful pieces of artwork. The exhibit is open and free to the public from 7 until 9 p.m. The exhibit is presented with The City of Fayetteville’s Environmental Services Department.

    Fascinate-U Children’s Museum is designed specifically to engage children in fun and safe learning. Exhibits mimic real life situations like broadcasting studios and stores, and are intended to be touched and played with to stimulate exploration and learning. Fascinate-U will also offer a free creative craft. From 7 until 9 p.m., children are invited to make a cute cat and enjoy free admission in the museum, which is located at 116 Green Street.

    Cape Fear Studios is hosting a gallery opening on Oct. 28, 6-8 p.m.  The exhibit is the 20th Annual Nellie Allen Smith Pottery Competition. This competition has grown from a local to a national competition, but it has always maintained the core goal of giving clay artists the opportunity to compete with peers. This year the juror is potter Simon Leach, who comes from a family of potters. His work is influenced by his fathers and grandfathers work as well as by Japanese and Korean art. He will also  attend the opening reception and the exhibit will run until Nov. 23.  

    The Fayetteville Transportation Museum offers the perfect place to explore local history on a crisp October evening in Downtown Fayetteville. Located at 325 Franklin Street, the museum is open and free from 6-8:30 p.m.  The current exhibit is called Cumberland County Goes to War. It focuses on the areas involvement in the Civil War both on the battlefield and at home. The Market House also focuses on area history. From 6 until 10 p.m., 4th Friday participants can visit the Market House and see Post Cards of Fayetteville and the permanent exhibit A View from the Square: A History of Downtown Fayetteville

    To learn more about 4th Friday, call 323-1776.

  • hauntingWhat do murder, a séance and Edgar Allen Poe’s Tell-Tale Heart have in common? Heritage Square. On Oct. 27, 29 and 30, the Woman’s Club of Fayetteville invites the public to Historic Hauntings for a peek into the macabre past of the Oval Ballroom on Dick Street followed by a basement performance of Edgar Allen Poe’s Tell-Tale Heart. Led by Dr. Gail Morfesis, Historic Hauntings is nothing like other local Halloween haunts and trails. 

    In 1849, Ann Simpson and her husband, Alexander, lived in Fayetteville. They dined in what is now the Oval Ballroom at Heritage Square. By 1850, Alexander was dead and Ann stood accused of poisoning her husband.  She was the first Fayetteville woman accused of murder. It’s said she was encouraged, maybe even coached by her friend and soothsayer Polly Rising. Historic Haunting at Heritage Square delves into the case of Ann Simpson with Morfesis’ production of Arsenic and Old Fayetteville. The piece includes local thespians Staci Graybill, Claudia Warga, Gary Clayton and Stanley Seay.

    “The property lends itself very well to that time period and to the time of this murder,” said Morfesis. “The murder took place in the ballroom, so we do a scene there. We go upstairs and have a story time and talk about the Harvard transcripts that document the case, then we have a séance.   Polly Rising was a fortuneteller in this story and many say she encouraged Ann to kill her husband, so we call her forth and hear more about the details of the murder.”

    After the séance, the production moves to the basement for a performance of Edgar Allen Poe’s A Tell-Tale Heart. It’s a one-man show and Stanley Seay is the sole performer. 

    “I’m a big fan of Edgar Allen Poe. My English teacher in eighth grade requested I do a dramatic reading of one of Poe’s works and that is where I got into it. He did some fantastic writing. I thought it would be a fun cool show to do,” he said.

    While Seay doesn’t change the words in Poe’s work, he says this performance is “interesting and a little different.” The setting itself makes it the perfect place for a performance like this. 

    “The house is phenomenal. Anybody that likes Edgar Allen Poe, Halloween, tales of the macabre, this is something they will enjoy. Even Steven King fans can easily relate to this as well as — Goosebumps fans.”

    While Historic Hauntings at Heritage Square is family-friendly, Seay noted that younger children may find it overwhelming.

    Proceeds from this event benefit Heritage Square. 

    “Over the years, the Woman’s Club has worked very hard to raise funds to support these three buildings that make up Heritage Square,” said Morfesis. “The buildings are more than 200 years old. It takes a lot of money to maintain the properties and they do it mainly by fundraising. We did A Christmas Carol Revisited last year during the holiday season and will have it again on Nov. 18-20 this year.”

    Historic Haunting at Heritage Square is on Oct. 27, 29 and 30 at Heritage Square. Admission is $10. Tickets are available at the door or at the Pilgrim in Westwood Shopping Center. For more information, call 483-6009.

  • cotton clubOn Nov. 5, Fayetteville State University will host Cotton Club II, which is a jazz-inspired performance by Fayetteville State University students who are part of the Department of Performing and Fine Arts. Associate Vice Chancellor for Communications Jeffrey Womble is looking forward to the performance. “Singers, dancers, artists and theater students will provide entertainment of the highest quality. A live jazz band consisting of FSU students and musicians from the Performing and Fine Arts Department is slated to perform. We had a similar event last year that featured actress Jasmine Guy and it was such a hit, we decided to do it again, but this time put the spotlight on the many talented students we have at Fayetteville State University.”

    The name of the event is inspired by the famous Cotton Club in Harlem in the 1920s. The students, inspired by the incredible jazz music of the era, will capture the electric atmosphere of creativity that emerged in the Cotton Club. “Men attending the club wore zoot suits, wide-brimmed hats and wing-tipped shoes. Gold chains dangled from their pockets. The women donned flapper dresses made of fringe and sequins and bell-shaped hats. In its heyday, The Cotton Club was the spot to be and be seen. The venue featured singers and dancers, and it helped launch the career of many artists to include Duke Ellington, whose orchestra was the house band there for four years,” Womble explained. “Cab Calloway and Dorothy Dandridge were regulars. We are going to recreate that entire scene at The FSU Cotton Club II on Nov. 5 with singing, dancing, champagne and great food.”

    Cotton Club II has been billed as a tribute to Duke Ellington and celebrates his classic songs and style, but the performances are truly a tribute to jazz and to the era. “Music featuring other jazz artists from the Harlem Renaissance era is also on tap. You just might hear some Ella Fitzgerald, some Dorothy Dandridge or Cab Calloway. There’s going to be something for the jazz lover in everyone,” Womble said.

    The event is in part a fundraiser. 

    “It is part of First Lady Nancy Anderson’s initiative to raise money for the Department of Performing and Fine Arts at Fayetteville State University,” Womble said. “Proceeds from the event will provide scholarships and other needed support for the department.” 

    Nationally, arts programs have been struggling fiscally, but the arts are an important aspect of having a prosperous and healthy community. This event allows the region to support their local students and the artistic future of the area. 

    “This is a community effort and it’s for the community. While we have many university employees involved in the planning and execution, much of the work is being coordinated by Nancy Anderson and a committee consisting of community leaders and friends who want to see the performing and fine arts at FSU flourish and provide quality programs for the citizens of this region,” Womble said. “Great food, incredible music and the champagne will flow. Attendees are encouraged to dress in attire reminiscent of the Harlem Renaissance era and come help us bring The Cotton Club II to life. This is an event that you don’t want to miss.”

    For tickets and information, visit the website at www.uncfsu.edu/arts.

  • soylent greenSustainable Sandhills presents the viewing of the 1973 film Soylent Green on Saturday, Oct. 22, at 11 a.m. at the Cameo Art House Theatre in downtown Fayetteville.  

    The purpose of this event is to start a dialogue on climate resiliency in Fayetteville. The film is a part of the Sustainable Saturdays film series and the plot entails the year 2022. Food rations are short, global warming has taken effect and the earth is overheating. Investigator Robert Thorn, from the New York Police Department, investigates the death of an executive at the company that makes the food ration Soylent Green. 

    “The film was produced in the early ‘70s and people are rioting and the government is trying to control the riots,” said Denise Bruce, environmental outreach manager for Sustainable Sandhills. 

    “We chose this film because it is actually one of the first films that Hollywood produced that references climate change,” said Bruce, adding that although they use the term global warming, Hollywood in the ‘70s took a look at what could happen if the population on Earth continued to grow and they wanted to take a look at what would happen if global warming continued. 

    “At the end of the film we are going to have a discussion about climate change, where science is now on climate change and the UN’s climate talks,” said Bruce. “We are also going to talk about the Fayetteville-Cumberland County climate change action plan.” Sustainable Sandhills and many partners throughout the county created a climate change resiliency plan for whenever we have major climate events such as a major hurricane, heatwave or flooding. How do we not lose people at the hands of a climate event in our area?

    Sustainable Saturdays feature documentaries that have generated lively discussions among the group. 

    “We try to put forth a topic that creates a dialogue,” said Bruce. “We understand that some of the issues that we work on can be very political and polarizing.” 

    Bruce added that rather than hammering away on that side of it, we look at what the real solutions can be.  

    Donations are strongly encouraged. Doors open at 10:45 a.m. For more information, email Bruce at greenaction@sustainablesandhills.org. 

  • dogwood festivalBud Light presents Fayetteville’s Dogwood Fall Festival from Thursday, Oct. 27 – Saturday, Oct. 29. 

     “There are many elements that make up this event and lots of things that fold into it that make it what it is,” said Carrie King, executive director of the Fayetteville Dogwood Festival Incorporated. “Saturday is our big day with the food truck and craft beer festival end of it.” 

    King added that this event started many, many years ago with Historic Hauntings, which was a fundraiser for the Dogwood Festival. Patrons were put on a wagon for a hayride and they would be taken to downtown Fayetteville and get off of the wagon to see skits and vignettes that told the history of Fayetteville.  Visitors to this year’s festival can enjoy a variety of activities.  

    Historic Hauntings (Thursday – Saturday) 

     There will be a guided walking tour in the dark through Cross Creek Cemetery Section II.  It features ghostly reenactors and storytellers that share the creepy side of Fayetteville’s history. 

    “This year, you must go online to purchase the tickets and set up a time,” said King. “Then you go to Festival Park and ride the shuttle to the location where you will be taken on a guided tour through the cemetery in the dark.” Tickets are $10 and can be purchased online. 

    Haunted House (Thursday- Saturday)

     The LaFayette Insane Asylum, better known as the haunted house, is guaranteed to deliver the hair-raising chill that thrill seekers desire. It will be located in the back near the Ray Avenue entrance to Festival Park.  Tickets are $10 or $9 with a canned good donation to benefit our local food banks. Seventy-five percent of the proceeds will benefit Fishing to Fight Cancer.  

    Hayrides (Thursday-Saturday)  

     There will be 20 – 30 minute narrated hayrides through historic downtown. Hayrides will be offered Thursday from 7 – 9 p.m.; Friday from 6:30 – 10 p.m. and Saturday from 3 – 10 p.m. Wagons depart at the corner of Mason & Ray Avenue every 30 minutes. Ticket cost is $5 at the gate.  

    Bands and Brews 

     “We have a national headliner coming and it is country artist Brett Young,” said King. “Chase Bryant will also perform.” Beer and wine will be available for purchase. There will be over 20 craft and domestic beer selections. This is a free concert on Saturday presented by WKML 95.7.  If you would like to sit in the front two rows at the concert the cost is $25 per person.  A wristband will be mailed to the address provided during the purchase. Brett Young will take the stage at 7 p.m. and Chase Bryant will perform at 9 p.m.  There will be entertainment on the stage all day Saturday starting at 3 p.m. featuring local artists.  

    Fayetteville’s Food Truck Festival 

     This event takes place on Saturday, October 29 from 3 – 10 p.m. It hosts 28 food trucks from North Carolina featuring gourmet foods and culinary favorites. Purchase a Dine & Dash pass for $5 and get in 30 minutes before the crowd at 2:30 p.m.  Tickets will be on sale in October. 

     “Every event that we do we give a portion of the proceeds to a nonprofit organization that assists us,” said King. “So, 50 percent of the ticket sales for Historic Hauntings go back to unbudgeted funding items for Bruce, who is our city historian and items for display.” King added that over the past nine years, the Dogwood Festival has contributed over $110,000 to other nonprofit agencies that assist them.  

     “We look forward to seeing everyone at the festival,” said King.  For more information call 323-1934. 

  • PRINCEIt’s homecoming week at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke and Givens Performing Arts Center is pulling out all the stops with two unique performances. The shows are open to the public. Shanghai Nightsfeatures China’s premier acrobats, while the second show, The Purple Xperience is a tribute to musical great Prince.

    “We’ve brought acrobat acts to GPAC previously, and our audiences have loved them. It’s a family-friendly show that thrills everyone regardless of age,” said GPAC Marketing Director Chad Locklear. “We usually bring a concert during UNCP homecoming weekend to add to the festivities. There are UNCP alumni returning to campus and families and friends of our students are visiting, so it gives them a time to come together to celebrate and another option of entertainment during the week.”

    On Oct. 18, don’t miss the Shanghai Acrobats of the People’s Republic of China debut of their brand new program Shanghai Nights! Visit the Far East through performance art. The acrobats use stories and vignettes along with movement, music and color to take the audience to the lively and diverse city of Shanghai. The sophistication, bustling energy and beauty of the city are all played out on stage. More that 50 of China’s finest acrobats come together to bring the Shanghai experience to the audience.

    “The performances are breathtaking, and you can sense the enthusiasm from the performers. Many of them train their entire lives to perform. Audiences can expect to be mesmerized by their talents, focus and energy. They really are pushing the limits of the human body. Many of the acts you witness seem impossible,” said Locklear. 

    The company of Shanghai Acrobats of the People’s Republic of China 2016 belongs to the artistic entities of governmental finance allocation. An elite performance group, the company is one of China’s most decorated company, performing in more than 30 countries since the 1980s and bringing home awards from acrobatic and circus competitions around the world. In 2009, the troupe won the Silver Clown award at the Monte Carlo International Circus Festival. 

    “The Shanghai Acrobats started in 1959 and are considered one of the best acrobatic troupes in the world,” said Locklear. “They’ve won many awards throughout the years and traveled extensively. You might see similar circus acts to the ones you would see in Cirque du Soleil, but many of these are unique to this company and you won’t see them anywhere else. The costumes, music and occasional dance that you will see are all Chinese in origin.” 

    On Friday, Oct. 21, The Purple Xperience takes the stage with Matt Fink leading the five-piece Prince tribute band. Find is a three-time Grammy Award winner and an original member of the Prince and The Revolution. The Purple Xperience started in 2011 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The performance includes all the fan favorites from the Prince catalog.

    “This show is going to be a lot of fun,” said Locklear. “Audiences are going to see Dr. Fink perform who was Prince’s original keyboardist for years and even has co-writing credits for some of Prince’s songs. Marshall Charloff will perform as a Prince impersonator. He sounds very much like Prince and does a great job at channeling Prince’s appearance and stage presence. Many people didn’t get a chance to see the legend before he passed away earlier this year. With one of Prince’s original band members, this is one tribute band that can perform the music of Prince’s catalog authentically.”

    Purchase tickets online at uncp.edu/gpactickets or by calling 910.521.6361. 

  • COVERIt’s been more than 30 years since Flash Gordon came to Fayetteville. Actor Sam Jones, known for his role as Flash Gordon in the 1980 film of the same name, is one of the many guests attending this year’s Fayetteville ComicCon on Oct. 15 and 16. More recently, Jones was also in Ted and Ted 2 with Mark Wahlberg. Like many events, ComicCons come in a variety of genres, and Fayetteville’s ComicCon encompasses just about all of them. 

    Michael Chaudhuri cast a wide net when he set out to host Fayetteville’s 2015 ComicCon last year. And why wouldn’t he? He knows the area and the diversity that thrives here. In short, last year’s event was a success, drawing more than 8,000 visitors. Chaudhuri could have stopped there. Instead, he decided to go even bigger this year. “Our con features a little bit of everything. If its geek, we got it,” said Chaudhuri, adding, “We do more than most conventions in the country. We have great guests, gaming, cos play, a kids dome, sci-fi speed dating — we put Fayetteville on the map. We had a lot of people say Fayetteville wouldn’t support an event like this … then people came and were amazed.”

    With 72,000 square feet of space to fill, Chaudhuri pulled out all the stops bringing in special guests from the world of comics and popular culture; MtG, Heroclix, Yu-Gi-Oh other items of interest include video game tournaments; panels; portfolio reviews; trivia contests; martial arts and swordplay demonstrations; door prizes; photo ops; free comics or packs of non-sports cards to everybody (while supplies last); and two cosplay contests, with prizes galore, including one for best active-duty military entrant. 

    Jones has been attending ComicCons for about 20 years, but the last two years have been especially busy. For fans, this is a great opportunity to come out and talk with Jones one-on-one and take pictures with him. “I am usually scheduled for a panel, and I really enjoy these because the moderator usually opens it up to the fans. The questions are always really good,” said Jones. “One common comment is, ‘It must have been a lot of fun making Flash Gordon.’ Believe it or not, because I was in every scene, I didn’t get any time to enjoy it. It took five months to complete. I was sent from one set to another to shoot a scene, to rehearse a scene, to practice with a bullwhip artist, the list went on. And in your 20s, it is easy to do. Now, I get to do screenings and other events with the fans, and I enjoy that.”

    The guest list is impressive with ghost hunters, actors from a variety of films and shows including Power Rangers, Pokémon and The Walking Dead. Comic book artists and authors, Tugg the Super dog, Kitt the car from Knight Rider and the Scooby van will also be onsite.

    For Chaudhuri, bringing guests like Jones to the event is an important part the activities, but it is one piece of a big and colorful puzzle. “It is going to be crazy for us,” he said. “I like to see the smiles and people having fun. One of the highlights was dancing and a main stage … last year we had 10 Harley Quinns dancing together. There were Dead Pools, dancing furbies and other characters. We didn’t have a plan for that, but when I saw 12 Dead Pools dancing together, I knew we had something good.”

    If EJ Snyder looks familiar, there’s a good reason. This retired Army combat veteran fell in love with survival training when he was at the U.S. Army Ranger School. He was a U.S. Army Ranger School instructor, a Survival and Tracking instructor and a drill sergeant. He went on to appear on Discovery Channel’s Naked and Afraid three times, TNT’s 72 Hours and History Channel’s Patton 360. He’s currently the host of Discovery Channel’s Dual Survival. “A lot of people don’t realize I am a Fayetteville resident. I get asked all the time what I am doing here,” said Snyder. Being a retiree, it works for my family. It was nice having survival work waiting for me. I’ve been on three Naked and Afraid’s, and I am the host of Dual Survival. We did three episodes in Brazil, we went to Utah and the Louisiana swamps as well as the country of Georgia. That episode aired recently. Our last two episodes take place in Africa.”

    While the Dual Survival season is almost over, Snyder says he’s not done with survival shows just yet. “We are waiting for Dual Survival to let us know if we are going to do another season. We will see what happens. I have several other shows I am getting ready to pitch to different networks, too.”

    When he’s not filming, Snyder stays busy in the community. He is a motivational speaker, makes appearances at local venues and looks for opportunities to share his survival training and knowledge wherever and whenever he can. “I offer classes for backpacking and survival training. I do demos at schools and have even done birthday parties,” he said.

    Fans can find Snyder at the Fayetteville ComicCon Rocket Fizz Soda Pop and Candy Shop booth on from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on both Saturday and Sunday. “I’ll be there to meet and greet fans and talk with them,” said Snyder. “There will be some survival items for sale. I am also bringing items I used on Naked and Afraid and Dual Survival. I will answer questions about any of the shows. We are talking about maybe doing a Zombie Apocalypse survival panel, too.” 

    For more information about Snyder, visit www.ejsnyder.com.

  • SPOOKYOct. 15 is the beginning of the Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra’s 2016-2017 season. The concert, Fall Spooktacular is focused on fun, seasonal music and sponsored by Sandhills Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery. For this concert, the musicians perform a mix of classical and popular music with the idea of celebrating a fun, spooky and family-friendly Halloween. All of the music is set to stories of witches and sorcerers. Some of the featured pieces are works like Bach’s “Toccata & Fugue in D Minor,” music from Harry Potter and even music from Psycho. Families are encouraged to get into the spirit of the season and to enjoy the concert, in Huff Concert Hall at Methodist University, dressed in their finest Halloween costumes.

    Another exciting aspect of this concert is that it is part of the Final Five Series. This series highlights five conductors applying for the position of music director/conductor of the Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra. In order to give the community a voice in the decision of who will be the Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra’s next conductor, these five applicants have been invited to guest conduct a concert. These concerts are essentially public auditions. After each concert, an opportunity for audience members to comment on the concert and on the conductor is planned. The feedback received in this manner is used by the Symphony Board of Directors to make the final decision. 

    The guest conductor for the “Fall Spooktacular” is Alfred Sturgis. He is currently the conductor of the Tar River Orchestra, Carolina Ballet and the North Carolina Master Chorale. Audience members will have the opportunity to get to know Sturgis a little before the concert with the Pre-Concert Talk. Joining Sturgis on the stage is the FSO “Music Nerd.” The Pre Concert talk will start at 6:45 p.m., and everyone is invited to learn more about the potential new leader of the orchestra. 

    Tickets for the “Fall Spooktacular” are $27 and can be purchased at www.fayettevillesymphony.org. However, there are also season packages available that offer discounts with the purchase of multiple tickets. 

    From it’s inception in 1956 the Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra has been dedicated to the citizens of Cumberland County. The symphony works to educate, entertain and inspire through its artistic excellence. Having community input in the selection of the new musical director/conductor is vital for the future of the Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra. This is a unique opportunity to help shape the artistic nature of the musical community in Fayetteville. Community support and participation is what makes this work, and it may be difficult to pick your favorite conductor if you have only seen one of the five auditions.

    The next guest conductor is Stefan Sanders who will lead the concert, “Czech is Out!” on Nov. 19. During this concert, the Fayetteville Symphony will bring to life Dvorak’s “Symphony No. 8,” which harkens to Bohemian folk music. Mozart’s “Piano Concerto No. 8 in E-Flat Major” is also part of the performance by soloist Scott Marosek. Sanders is currently the Associate Conductor of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra. He will also be available for conversation during a Pre-Concert Talk with the FSO
    “Music Nerd.”

  • rock the blockCumberland County Schools presents its 13th Annual Reading Rocks Walk-A-Thon & Block Party on Saturday, Oct. 15, at 8:30 a.m. in Festival Park in Downtown Fayetteville. 

    “Reading Rocks is an event that Cumberland County Schools hosts each year and it promotes literacy among our schools,” said Jody Hawley, executive director of information technology and media services. “We actually have several events going on during Reading Rocks.” Hawley added that after the walk, the school district’s Parent Teacher Association will have a “Rock the Block” party. 

    The walk-a-thon is a 15-minute walk in Fayetteville’s historic downtown area. “We have thousands of walkers attend each year,” said Hawley.  “Last year our schools raised more than  $265,000, so we would love to top that amount this year.” 

    The proceeds are used to purchase books, digital tools and other learning items that will benefit the students and media centers in Cumberland County. 

    The agenda consists of the mayor and Dr. Frank Till, superintendent of Cumberland County Schools speaking. John Malzone is the emcee of the event. Choruses and band ensembles will provide entertainment. “We have invited mascots from the community as well as mascots from our schools to attend the walk,” said Hawley. “We will have our high school host band inside Festival Park leading the music for the chorus and we will also have other middle and high school bands along the route so all walkers can enjoy the sights and sounds of our school bands.”         

    A new addition to the event this year is the “Rock the Block” party sponsored by the district’s Parent Teacher Association that takes place after the walk. There will be a deejay, food trucks and community vendors on site.  “We are excited to partner with our district PTA this year and we hope the block party will be a success,” said Hawley.  

    Promoting literacy among students is very important to Cumberland County Schools. “We know children who gain literacy skills at a young age are more successful,” said Hawley. “All subject areas require reading and we know kids who have a high vocabulary do well in reading and other subject areas.” Hawley added that reading is fun and it lets kids’ imaginations run wild when they read fiction. They also get to learn new things when they read nonfiction and be explorers. She noted that it truly is a wonderful thing to see a child who can master reading.    

    Sponsor categories range from $25 for Book Buddy to the Platinum Superintendent’s Circle for $5,000. Any amount is appreciated. Checks can be made payable to your child’s school or CCS’ Media Services to support the countywide Reading Rocks fund. 

    “We look forward to seeing everyone at the event,” said Hawley. 

    The event is rain or shine. Gates open at 8 a.m. The walk will begin at 9 a.m.  For more information or to become a sponsor, call 678-2613.                   

  • heritage squareFayetteville is filled with gems and secrets and history... lots of history. The Woman’s Club of Fayetteville oversees three especially significant pieces of Fayetteville’s history at Heritage Square. On Thursday, Oct. 13, the club is set to host a Wine, Brews and Silent Auction. 

    “The proceeds from this event are earmarked for the restoration of Heritage Square. We don’t get any money from the state or federal government, but it is important for people to know that every dollar that comes in is used to keep the property up.” said Woman’s Club President Elaine Kennebeck. This particular project is an undertaking that will benefit local school children. The Woman’s Club is looking to expand its educational outreach efforts to area schools. “We are in the process of framing a lot of our archives. We have had them for years and no one gets to see them. We have a closet full of old dresses and uniforms that students love to see. We have an old rope bed. We have all these things for school kids to see on the tour of the property. We hope to see more field trips so we can share this history with students.”  

    The evening’s events include an assortment of top-shelf wines and beers, food and appetizers, live music and a silent auction. “We are serving high end beverages with delicious food,” said Kennebck. “We will have a string trio for the first hour of the event followed by a jazz trio. We have more than 100 items for auction. We have all kinds of gift certificates, a TV, handbags, entertainment packages — there really is something for everyone.

    At 225 Dicks Street, the Sandford House, Oval Ballroom and Baker-Haigh-Nimocks House make up Heritage Square. These structures are a significant part of Fayetteville’s past and the Woman’s Club is dedicated to preserving their history and sharing their story.

    Mark Russell was the original owner of the land that is now Heritage Square. Duncan McLeran purchased the property in 1797. It is McLeran who is credited with building the Sandford house and the Nimocks house. The property changed hands in 1804 when McLeran sold the house to John Adam and his wife, Sarah, and again in 1820 when Sara Adam sold the house to John Cameron. Cameron sold the house to the United States Bank. John Sandford worked as the cashier at the bank where he also lived on the second floor. He purchased the house in 1839. The house changed hands a few more times before the Woman’s Club purchased it in 1945. 

    When Margaret Halliday married John Sandford in 1830, the family had a ballroom built for the reception and ball that would follow the ceremony. One hundred years later, it had become the Colonial Inn, a popular tourist stop during the depression. Visitors enjoyed fine southern fare and enjoyed the history of the building. Once the Woman’s Club purchased it in 1956, the group moved the ballroom to its current location on Heritage Square. The Oval Ballroom is an elongated octagon in form on the outside and a perfect oval on the inside. Because of its unique design, the room is registered in the Library of Congress, Washington, D.C., and featured in the book Early Architecture of North Carolina by Johnson and Waterman.

    In 1818, James Baker bought some land and a house from Duncan McLeran. He moved his young bride in and they lived there until 1849 when he sold it. By 1852, Charles T. Haigh owned the house, which he gifted to his daughter-in-law and her husband, William. In 1893, after William died the house was sold to Quincy K. Nimocks. The Woman’s Club purchased the house in 1966.

    Tickets are $40 per person, $75 per couple. The events runs from 6-9 p.m. For tickets and information, call 483-6009.

  • CoverThe Indigo Moon Film Festival will bring 38 independent films to Downtown Fayetteville Oct. 7-9, featuring the work of students and seasoned professionals alike. The films were submitted from around the world, including some from local filmmakers.

    “If you love films, I hope you will make your way here,” Pat Wright said.  

    Wright and Jan Johnson, founders of local non-profit GroundSwell Pictures, organized the event. Both Johnson and Wright are award-winning producers/directors/writers. After years of attending other film festivals, the pair decided to organize a festival locally.

    “We do have a thriving arts community here,” Johnson said. “But film is not well-represented to enhance our cultural arts options.”

    The festival is the first of its kind in Fayetteville, Wright said.  

    “There will be films from around the world,” Wright added, noting that films were submitted from the U.S., Great Britain, Australia, Myanmar, Thailand, India and Hong Kong. “Through these films we get to see other cultures, feel empathy and understanding.”

    At about a dozen of the screenings, the actual filmmakers will be on site to discuss the film afterward, Johnson said.  

    The pair explained how they came up with the name of the festival.

    “Independent films are called ‘indie,’” Johnson said. 

    “You have an opportunity like this once in a blue moon,” Wright added.  “This is our chance, our once in a blue moon.”

    No strangers to taking chances or filmmaking, Wright and Johnson created GroundSwell in 2014 to engage and inspire others by making films, teaching filmmaking, showing films and supporting other filmmakers.  Their own films tackle tough topics such as child pornography, the effects of desegregation and recovery efforts in Haiti after an earthquake killed more than 230,000 people in 2010. Wright and Johnson say they are committed to educating the public and creating a groundswell of constructive change.

    While some of the films shown during the festival will cover serious topics such as genocide in Iraq, suicide and domestic violence, there are also lighter and humorous topics — the story of a 100-year-old artist, the happenings at a hotdog stand, nuns cited with “radical feminism” by the Vatican.

    First-time festival-goers should visit the website www.indigomoonfilmfestival.com  to review descriptions of the films and watch the trailers. With 38 titles and a wide variety of genres, there is something for every viewer. The selections range from two-minute short films to two-hour features.  

    Not only for those who enjoy viewing films, the IMFF is a competition. There are six cash awards and five awards voted on by the audience. The categories are: narrative feature, narrative short, documentary feature, documentary short, animation and student film. All films will be shown over three days in four venues Downtown: the Cameo Art House Theatre, the Arts Council, Hay Street United Methodist Church and the Cumberland County Headquarters Library.

    Maya Angelou: And Still I Rise will open the festival on Friday at 7 p.m. at the Cameo, Wright said. The film, released earlier this year, is a documentary about poet, author and performer Dr. Maya Angelou. It reflects on how the events of history, culture and the arts shaped Angelou’s life and how she inspired others through her autobiographical literature and activism.

    The film has been on the independent film festival circuit, Johnson said, explaining it is a rare opportunity to be able to show it in Fayetteville.  

    “We all kind of embraced her as our own,” Johnson said, “We thought we knew her.” 

    Before her death in 2014, Angelou taught at Wake Forest University and made her home in Winston-Salem. The documentary includes clips from older interviews as well as her final interviews, and goes into parts of her life most are unfamiliar with, Johnson said. 

    After seeing the film about Angelou’s life, “You can’t help but feel inspired and motivated,” Wright said.

    On Sunday, the final day of the festival, an awards banquet BBQ is slated at SkyView on Hay Street at noon with an encore showing of the winning films at 1:30 at the Cameo.

    There are several options for film-goers. To attend the opening night film and party at SkyView, tickets are $25. Tickets are $15 to attend the awards banquet. Individual tickets for films are $10. Tickets to see blocks of the short films, which range from two to 30 minutes each, are $10. You can also purchase a VIP pass for $80-$100 which includes the opening night film and party, the awards banquet, tickets for up to five film blocks, an IMFF festival tote and first admittance to screenings. There are discounts for students, seniors, military and Moon Shadow Film Society members.

    There is limited seating in all venues, and you must pre-select your choice of films when you purchase tickets/passes to guarantee your seat.  You can purchase passes on the website or go to the Rainbow Room on Hay Street.

    Any unclaimed seats will be made available for $10 cash only five minutes before the screenings.

    Under GroundSwell Pictures, Johnson and Wright also run the Moon Shadow Film Society, which hosts a screening of an independent film at the Cameo Art House Theatre the first Tuesday of the month at 7 p.m. Fittingly enough, October’s film was The Last Film Festival.

    “It is the film Dennis Hopper was working on when he passed away,” Wright said. Hopper stars as a movie producer whose film has been turned down by 3,999 of the 4,000 film festivals in the world.

    Like the Indigo Film Festival, the actual filmmakers are often on hand to answer questions and discuss the film after the screening. Also after each Film Society screening, the audience is invited to a reception at the Rainbow Room.

    The next Film Society screening is Oddball on Nov. 1. The film is based on the true story of a chicken farmer who trains his mischievous dog to protect a wild penguin sanctuary from fox attacks and in the process tries to reunite his family and save their seaside town. The film is appropriate for the entire family.

    Tickets for Moon Shadow Film Society showings can be purchased at the Cameo. 

    For more information on the Indigo Film Festival or the Moon Shadow Film Society, visit www.groundswellpictures.co

  • coverLAFAYETTE’S BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION

    Fayetteville’s history is as vast and varied as the people who live here. From her earliest days, Fayetteville has embraced and celebrated the strength diversity brings to a community. On the weekend of Sept. 9-11 two of Fayetteville’s most-loved events offer a bevy of activities that are sure to keep attendees entertained, enlightened and well-fed: Lafayette’s Birthday Celebration and the 26th Annual Greek Fest.

    Fayetteville, North Carolina, was the first city to take Lafayette’s name and the only one he ever visited in person. The significance of this is not lost on history buffs. Those unfamiliar with the Marquis’ adventure and his role in the founding of our country can get a feel for the contributions our city’s namesake made to a fledgling republic centuries ago. “If you live in Fayetteville you need to understand how far back our history goes,” said Lafayette Society spokesperson Hank Parfitt. “We have a unique connection to a real hero of the Revolutionary War.” And that is just what this celebration is about – connecting the community to its history, while having fun.

    The Lafayette Birthday Celebration starts on Friday, Sept. 9 at Methodist University with Arias and Artifacts. View artifacts and new additions to Methodist University’s Lafayette Collection. It starts at 5:30 p.m. and includes a short program. “There are ceramic pictures, snuff boxes, scarves and other items that manufacturers made to celebrate Lafayete’s visit,” said Parfitt. “Much like you would by a T-shirt at a rock concert, it is an early example of merchandising.” The program is followed by a live performance of French music by Gail Morfesis and Friends. The concert is at 7 p.m. at Hensdale Chapel. 

    On Saturday, Sept. 10, trace Lafayette’s steps through Fayetteville on the Lafayette Trail Tour.  Commander Bruce Daws of the Fayetteville Independent Light Infantry leads the tour and shares relevant facts and information about Lafayette and what it was like for him to serve under George Washington during the Revolutionary War. The tour begins at the Transportation and Local History Museum and includes coffee and croissants. Tickets cost $30. Call 678.8899 for information.

    From 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., the Museum of the Cape Fear presents Festival of Yesteryear, which features reenactors, music, toys, games and more from the Colonial and Revolutionary War periods. Lafayette, portrayed by reenactor Mark Schneider will be in attendance as well. Youngsters will enjoy Apprentice Alley where they can make crafts and participate in hands-on activities. Find out more at www.ncdcr.gov/ncmcf.

    Downtown shops host the Lafayette Birthday Sidewalk Sale from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

    From noon to 2 p.m., enjoy birthday cake and ice cream at Cross Creek Park. The 82nd Airborne Band Jazz ensemble will be in attendance and Lafayette is scheduled to make an appearance at 1 p.m. “He is the official Lafayette at Colonial Williamsburg and probably the country’s premier Lafayette reenactor. It is truly a performance to remember.

    While you are downtown, visit the Market House exhibit Lafayette in Fayetteville -1825. Lafayette spoke from the Market House balcony on his visit to Fayetteville in 1825. Take a peek inside and learn more on the second floor where the exhibit is housed. 

    Mysteries of the 1825 Lafayette Map of Fayetteville is a new event in this celebration. “The Lafayette map was printed in 1825. It is a very detailed map of what was Fayetteville, and compared to modern day survey technology, it is very accurate,” said Parfitt. “At one time it was thought were only 15 copies in the world, including one in the Library of Congress. Then a cache of these maps were found in the home of local descendants of John McRae.” McRae was an early publisher of The Fayetteville Observer. Bruce Daws will speak about the map at City Center Gallery and Books at 6 and 7 p.m., where a copy of the map will also be on display.

    From 6-8:30 p.m., the Wine Café, located at 108 Hay Street, will host a French wine tasting. A guest speaker is set to explain the characteristics of wine from different French region. This event is free. No reservations are required, but it does fill up fast. 

    For more information about the Lafayette Birthday Celebration, go to http://www.lafayettesociety.org.

    GREEK FEST

    For more than a quarter century, Fayetteville’s Greek residents have opened their churches and their hearts to the community at the annual Greek Fest. It is an entire weekend of music, culture, food and fun. This is 26th annual Greek Fest. It is a great way to get a taste of the Greek culture without even leaving town. The celebration starts on Friday and runs through Sunday. “We really want to make this a community event, not just a Greek event. We have several organizations from the community that will be there including the Sheriff’s Department, the state patrol, the fire department and even artillery displays from Fort Bragg. The mayor is coming to speak, too.” said Dr. John Poulos event co-chair. “We continue to use proceeds from the festival to support autism research, the Cape Fear Valley Foundation, the American Red Cross and other charities in the community.”

    This longstanding tradition has many favorites. The food is always a big hit with vendors offering traditional Greek fare like gyros, souvlaki and more. Follow up your meal with a delightful homemade Greek pastry. Baklava, is a favorite, but just one of the many delicious confectionary options. Wash down the pastries with authentic Greek coffee or a refreshing glass of Greek beer or wine. 

    Music is an integral part of the Greek culture. It is lively and upbeat and brings home the flavor of the festival. Throughout the weekend, members of the congregation wear traditional costumes and demonstrate the dances of their homeland. “We will have a lot of dancing throughout the weekend,” said Poulos. “If anyone wants to join in or learn the dances, we will teach them how to do it. We want to share our culture and our religion with the community. There will also be guided church tours throughout the weekend.”

    Each year, the festival sells raffle tickets for a trip to Athens, Greece. Tickets are $5 or 5 tickets for $20.

    There are some new things to look for this year as well. “We are adding at Zorbathon,” said Kelly Papagikos. “Since exercise is a big part of people’s lives, we wanted to include it in our festivities as well. So we are having a zumbathon on Saturday morning to benefit Victory Junction.”

    Poulos noted there is even more to look forward to, “We have simulators that people can get inside and also there will be military equipment on display for people to enjoy. We will also have more vendors.”

    The festival takes place at the Hellenic Center at 614 Oakridge Avenue. Find out more about the Greek Festival at  www.stsch.nc.goarch.org.

    While it makes for a full weekend, both the Lafayette Society and the congregation of Saints Constantine and Helen Greek Orthodox Church have much to offer in the way of entertainment, activities and education. “We are happy to partner with the Lafayette Society to bring two great events to Fayetteville for one great weekend.”

  • uac101514001.gif As the temperatures drop, things are heating up at the Crown Coliseum as Fayetteville FireAntz fans get ready for the opening puck of hockey season.

    With seven strong returning players and what Director of Media-Communications Jason Fleming calls, “some very exciting new blood,” the team is poised to strike. The first home game of the season is set for Oct. 24 with a quick turn around and another game on Oct. 25.

    Head Coach Emery Plauson is returning for a second year. A native of Canmore, Alberta, he joined the team midway through the 2013-2014 season. No stranger to the game, Plauson played nine professional hockey seasons. He played on the Fayetteville FireAntz team from 2008-10. According to his bio, in 508 professional games played, he tallied 199 goals, 242 assists and 441 points. He is a graduate of St. Thomas University.

    Plauson is hard at work building a team that he hopes will bring home a trophy from the Southern Professional Hockey League championships later in the season.

    Fleming is excited about the new lineup. Austin Daae comes to the team from the Saskatchewan Hockey League in Canada, where he was the leading scorer and MVP last year.

    “Emery, our head coach, is familiar with that league and has seen Austin play. He is going to score a ton of points,” said Fleming.

    It’s looking good for the team’s goalies, as well. At the time of this writing, the team faces a tough decision in choosing two out of three goal tenders interested in signing with the team.

    “We have three really outstanding goal tenders coming into to camp,” said Fleming. “Sam Marotta — he is a rookie — who attended Mary Mac College and the Vancouver Cannucks camp when he was a junior in college. Kevin Murdock played with Lake Superior State, which is also a Division One school, for all four years of his college career. It is great to get Division One guys here. This is going to be spectacular. He put up tremendous numbers in college. Scott Lewan is another rookie. He’s from Wisconsin River Falls. These three outstanding goal tenders will compete for two spots on the team.”

    The roster of returning players is looking good, too, and Fleming expects to see great things from the FireAntz team in the 2014-2015 season. “Forward John Clewlow was our leading scorer last year. He’s back and we are looking forward to having him back on the team,” said Fleming. “We have re-signed Ryan Hand, a forward defenseman who who put up a fight in every game. Overall, our top two lines are going to be exciting to watch and will put up a lot of points. Our third line is really tough and will be hard to play against. Our defensive unit, led by returner Cory Toy and Zach Carriveau, is set to be the best defensive unit in the entire league.” 

    Playing a good game is important to the FireAntz but the team is also committed to its fans and to the community. Look for a variety of theme nights and fun events throughout the community this season. Opening weekend is Oct. 24-25 and is sponsored by Black’s Tire. The FireAntz will have a presence at all of the Black’s Tire locations in the community. Stop by and meet the team and get into the spirit of the game. The 82nd Airborne Chorus is set to sing at opening night. The chorus is a favorite in the community and adds a sense of patriotism to any event.

    The FireAntz team has always been a strong supporter of the military. This season is no different. Saturday, Nov. 1 is Military Appreciation Night. This is always a fun time. Several of the FireAntz corporate sponsors have purchased blocks of tickets to give away.

    “Something fun we are doing for this particular Military Appreciation Night is that the team is wearing military-themed jerseys that represent all of the different branches of the military,” said10-15-14-fireantz-john-clewlow.gifFleming. The jerseys will be auctioned off to the fans after the game.

    The team is eager to start the season and Fleming expects it to be one that the fans willenjoy.

    “Our Head Coach does a heck of a job recruiting,” said Fleming. “I am more excited about this season than I was our championship year in 2006-2007.”

    Find out more about the FireAntz at http://antzhockey.pointstreaksites.com/view/fireantz/home-page-861.

    Photo: John Clewlow, last season’s leading scorer is back this year, bringing excitement and goals to the Crown.

  • Veterans Day traces its origins back to the ending of World War 1, “The War to end all Wars.” The actual hostilities of World War I ended on Nov. 11, 1918, the day was then declared Armistice Day by President Wilson. Since then, every Nov. 11 has been set aside to honor the great feats of courage and heroism of the men and women who serve this nation.10-29-14-veterans-day-parade.gif

    An annual tradition in Fayetteville that shows gratitude towards these veterans is the Veterans Day Parade. This year it is specifically focused on honoring the veterans of Operation Enduring Freedom-Afghanistan.

    “Over the past few years we have honored veterans from the Vietnam War, the Iraq War, the Korean War and this year is the Afghanistan War. We have a theme each year,” said George Breece parade co-chair.

    This year the parade is bigger than ever with more than 2,000 participants marching through Historic Downtown Fayetteville the morning of Nov. 8. For first time attendees, Breece explains, “They should expect an opportunity to be a part of honoring our Afghanistan War veterans past present and future. We are going to have 90 units in the parade. Some are military. We will have people from the XVIII Airborne Corps, the 82nd Airborne Division, the United States Army Special Operation Command, some Air Force personnel from Pope Army Airfield and from the U.S. Army Civil Affairs and Psychological Operations Command. These units will have military equipment with them, as well.

    “We also have some military bands in the parade, and five high school bands. All ROTC units from Cumberland County are going to march together. There are representatives from the American Legion, The Veterans of Foreign Wars and Disabled American Veterans. It is also wonderful that the parade is broadcast live on WRAL and again on UNC T.V.,” he concluded.

    This year the theme of honoring the veterans of the Afghanistan war extends to the official Grand Marshalls of the parade. “Our Grand Marshalls this year are Gen. (Ret) Dan K. McNeill and Command Sgt. Maj. (Ret) Steven R. England. They were both among the first to go into Afghanistan. Our Honorary Parade Chairs for the parade are Lt. Gen. Joe Anderson and Command Sgt. Maj. Isaia Vimoto. They are both currently serving in Afghanistan,” Breece said.

    Though there are many challenges in organizing more than 2,000 participants into a cohesive event, the dedication of those involved in the Veterans Day Parade guarantees an amazing event every year.

    “This is a labor of love and the challenges are just things that you work through,” Breece said. “Seeing the veterans that have served in all these conflicts take part in this and seeing their excitement … being able to honor those who serve in all branches is very rewarding. There are lots of moving parts to this. It’s something that you have to stay on top of, but when it all comes together, it is worth every second, every hour, every day that you put into it. “

    The Veterans Day Parade is on Saturday, Nov. 8, beginning at 10 a.m. along Hay Street. It is free for the public. For more information, visit www.ccveteranscouncil.org or call 910-920-0045.

    Photo: The Veteran’s Day Parade is set for Nov. 8 at 10 a.m.

  • 10-29-14-10-miler.gifRoad races are compatible with the mission of soldiers. If you visit Fort Bragg, you will always find people running — a lot of them. It is not surprising that the Fort Bragg Family and Morale Welfare & Recreation, home of the airborne and special operations, is hosting the 18th Annual Fort Bragg 10-Miler. The event is scheduled for Friday, Nov. 7, at 6:30 a.m. on Longstreet Road, which is adjacent to Hedrick Stadium. The event is open to the general public.

    “Historically we conduct the race on a weekday in order to honor soldiers and oftentimes if the soldier participates in the event their command will give them the rest of the day off,” said Steve Johnson, intramural sports director. “We normally get about 2,000 people to take part in the event.”

    Johnson added that the goal is to honor soldiers and to provide a challenging event for them.

    This event was first initiated in 1996 by the command group as a way to identify the top runners on the installation so they could send teams to the Army 10-Miler in Washington, DC. Since then it has gained a strong following and is a much anticipated event locally in its own right. Most of the race course is relatively level but there is a significant climb just beyond the 1-mile mark and at the 9.6 mile mark for about .3 of a mile.

    After the race, awards are presented to the men’s overall champion, women’s overall champion and the top three finishers in each classification. Team competitions are conducted exclusively for active-duty personnel in men’s, women’s and mixed divisions. Pets, bicycles, headphones and rollerblades are not permitted on the course. Participants should report to Hedrick Stadium by 6 a.m. on race day. The 9th Annual Fort Bragg 4-mile Walk for Fun is conducted in conjunction with the Fort Bragg 10-Miler. This is a non-competitive event.

    “Fitness and soldiering are interrelated so we do try to do events which challenge their fitness,” said Johnson. “This has been a popular event and we are looking forward to a huge turnout for the race.”

    Registration is open now. Entries will be accepted until Nov. 6, for the first 2,500 runners. The entry fee for the week of Nov. 3-6 is $35. Cost for online entry is $25 plus a service charge and the deadline is Oct. 31. Race packets are available for pickup from Nov. 3-5 by 6 p.m. Non-military/government ID card holders must apply for a visitor’s pass to participate. Volunteers are needed to assist with water points and the finish area administration. For more information call 396-1218.

    Photo:  The Fort Bragg 10-Miler is a great way to prepare for the Fort Bragg Marathon scheduled later this spring.

  •  

    42PhishingTen years ago, most of us had never heard the term “cybersecurity.”  Now, the term surfaces across our news feeds on a monthly, weekly, or – unfortunately – daily basis. As an instructor at Fayetteville Technical Community College, I like to use the catch phrase “think before you click” with my students. With the influx of mobile technology combined with years of using computers, we tend to click away well before we have the chance to think about the possible repercussions of that action. Let’s face it, technology today is woven into American society from the home, the workplace, government and private-sector business. 

    Every October, we computer nerds pay homage to this situation through National Cybersecurity Awareness Month. So I chose this topic to promote cybersecurity and remind everyone to think before you click.

    One area we all deal with daily is email. Most organizations work hard to prevent malicious email from showing up in inboxes. But no matter how hard the good guys work to stop malicious email, the bad guys also work hard and are savvy. Eventually, some emails will make it through the system. Some of the most effective attacks have come from phishing emails. Just do a web search on this term, and you will be surprised. A phishing email is an email created to look like a valid email with the goal of tricking the recipient into sharing sensitive information or clicking on something that could allow malicious software to be loaded onto a computer.

    What can you do to prevent becoming a victim of a phishing attack? 

    1. If you do not recognize where an email comes from, consider deleting it or report it to your technology department before opening it.

    2. Remember that no reputable bank is ever going to email you and ask you to click a link to reset your password. Some emails are sent out during tax season telling recipients they owe money to the IRS or were made to look like employee benefits would be lost if the desired action is not taken. The people who orchestrate cyber attacks know that fear is a powerful tool. If you receive an email about sensitive information (banking, taxes, insurance, etc.) and it looks legitimate, before taking any action with the email, simply call your company representative to speak with an actual person who can confirm that they sent the email. 

    3. Make sure to use good passwords, change them frequently and do not use important banking passwords for leisure websites.

    4. Have an antivirus program on your machine and keep it up to date. 

    5. Most importantly, avoid clicking on any hyperlinks or popup windows unless you are 100 percent positive they are safe. The bad guys write software code that can launch malicious software on your machine even if you think you are simply clicking on that little “x” to close the window. 

    Keep in mind that your phone is just as vulnerable to cyber attacks as your computer, so make sure to follow the same safety protocols no matter how you are accessing the internet.

    Remember, a phishing email could look like anything. So how can you be sure you don’t become a victim of a cyber attack? Simply think before you click. For more information about cyber security, go to Stop Think Connect Toolkit from the Department of Homeland Security. You can learn more about FTCC’s Systems Security and Analysis program at www.faytechcc.edu.

     

  •  

    Up & Coming Weekly keeps the community informed about elections. As in years past, we’ve reached out to the candidates to give them an opportunity to make their case to you, the voter.

    In the following, you will find their responses. You will also find that not every candidate is represented. That was a choice by the candidate. The Fayetteville And Hope Mills candidates were all given the option to participate. Each candidate vying for similar office was asked the exact same set of questions. We have not altered or amended their answers.

    Because we believe so strongly in the privilege of voting, we wanted to ensure that you have all the information you need – not only about the candidates and the issues – but also about where, when and how you can vote.

    For Cumberland County voters:

    •  Early one-stop voting is ongoing.

    •  Saturday, Nov. 4, one-stop voting and same-day registration ends.

    •  Tuesday, Nov. 7, is the big day. Polls open at 6:30 a.m. and close at 7:30 p.m.

    Learn more: www.co.cumberland.nc.us/election_board/voter_info/guide.aspx

     

    Election 2017 Hope Mills Mayoral Candidates

     

    31KeithBowenKeith Bowen

    UCW: What do you hope to accomplish for Hope Mills if you are elected?

    Bowen: What I’d like to bring to HopeMills, I’d love to make it a more family/ resident oriented town, meaning, our families have more places to go and enjoy their time together, safer streets to allow them the time together with no worries. Residential meaning, so our residents are always kept in the know, and they’ll see a working government that’s working for them. I want to bring public transportation to our people. I want to invite more small businesses to our town, coming up with a plan that’ll help them come to our town and flourish. I’d love to ger a lot of these sitting commercial buildings occupied. Bringing money to our town without having to raise taxes on our residents.

    UCW: What experience and strengths would you bring to this office if elected?

    Bowen: My strong points. Im young, I like to execute using action, I’m a successful business owner of 10 years who brings great knowledge to the table as far as hiring outside contractors to perform work for us, and also great negotiating skills to assure we’re using our towns tax dollars for good use.

     

     

     

     

     

     

    32Jackie WarnerJackie Warner


    UCW: What do you hope to accomplish for Hope Mills if you are elected?

    Warner: I hope to complete projects that we have started and to continue the progress we have made during my term as mayor. Completion of the lake park, Heritage Park, our museum – creation of a strategic plan for our golf course property – strategic plan for our facilities to be funded and built – completion of a side walk plan and implementation of the multimodial congestion plan. Continuation of the support and funding for our police and fire department. Addressing our infrastructure needs to include storm water and roads – I encourage the application for grants that are available to assist in the cost of all projects.

    I will continue to seek our fair share of sales taxes and will be a voice for Hope Mills at the Mayor’s Coalition, FAMPO and with our County Commissioners. I believe in transparency in government – keeping our citizens informed and involved in decision making. I fully support the Citizens Academy as a venue for our citizens to learn about our town. I will work with board and staff to provide unified leadership for our town.

    UCW: What experience and strengths would you bring to this office if elected?

    Warner: My experience as an educator – teambuilding, budgeting, hiring and evaluating qualified personnel. and time management. Being a leader requires one to know when to lead and when to follow – to get goals accomplished or to complete a plan – the role I need to assume – My experiences as Mayor to include the successful settlement through negotiations and deposition for our dam – to working to save our sales tax revenues – and influence a traffic study for our town to providing leadership during tough times such as Hurricane Matthew or being a spokesperson for our town when times are good as well as bad – I appreciate the opportunity to serve Hope Mills – Hope Mills Proud – Hope Mills strong because this Mayor cares!

     

    Election 2017 Hope Mills Commissioner Candidates

     

    33JessieBellflowersJessie Bellflowers

    UCW: What do you hope to accomplish for Hope Mills if you are elected?

    Bellflowers: Without any question, the top priority on my agenda is public safety. Over the years, both police and fire departments have out-grown their current facilities alongside our community’s fast growing population. This does not mean both departments lack equipment and technology to do the job, they just need new facilities in which to operate. We must find a workable, affordable solution to build at least one or two new satellite facilities, and a new “main” facility over the next several years. Another top priority is community recreational programs whereas the town must invest in improvements to existing facilities, programs, development of the Hope Mills Former Golf Course Community Recreational Project in order to maintain and enhance community quality of life. Finally, another “hot topic” priority in our community is massive growth and traffic congestion. We need a good balance of residential and economic growth. Therefore, we must continue to meet and work with the Fayetteville Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (FAMPO) Transportation Advisory Committee to find sustainable solutions. 

    UCW: What experience and strengths would you bring to this office if elected?

    Bellflowers: My experience includes: I currently serve as Chairman – Town of Hope Mills Lake Advisory Committee; Graduate, Town of Hope Mills Citizens Academy (Charter Class); Graduate, Cumberland County Board of Commissioners “How to be an Effective Board Member,” Graduate (Class Leader), Institute for Community Leadership Course; Past All-American State (North Carolina) Commander; District 8 Commander, and Post 10630 (Hope Mills) Commander, Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW); Past Board Member, North Carolina Department of Military and Veterans Affairs Committee; Past Board Member, Hope Mills Area Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors; Past Member, Town of Hope Mills Veterans Affairs Commission; Past Charter Board Member, Friends of Hope Mills Lake.   

    My strengths include: I believe in a workable, open and transparent government. One that practices fiscal conservatism instead of wasteful spending. One that listens and understands citizen issues and concerns, values town employees, and One that seeks consensus while always moving our community forward in a position direction.

    I believe in a strong fiscal conservative approach to spending taxpayer dollars while ensuring our community citizens continue to enjoy quality of life services in the most cost-effective manner possible while always moving our community forward in a position direction.

    My vision is simple: “Continuous improvement of quality of life for our community that will naturally grow and progress in an economically sustainable and healthy environment.” We must focus every day on enriching the lives of our town citizens by creating an exceptional community to work and live in while providing exemplary town services that enables our community to thrive and prosper. Addressing the many challenges that face our community will require effective leadership and a tremendous amount of teamwork.

    I bring to the table many years of strong leadership and pledge to listen to citizen issues and concerns, have an open mind on all decisions, and spend a significant amount of time researching community issues facing our community.

    It is an honor and I would be humbled to serve the citizens of our community as a Town Commissioner on the Hope Mills Town Board of Commissioners. I am passionate and look forward in working closely with fellow Town Board members and our senior (staff) leadership team to address and solve the various challenges facing our community.

     

    34Tonzie Collins ITonzie K. Collins I

    UCW: What do you hope to accomplish for Hope Mills if you are elected?

    Collins I: Communicately effectively and efficiently with the citizens of Hope Mills. Communicately effectively and efficiently with staff and other council members. Will do what is best for the town and its citiziens.

    UCW: What experience and strengths would you bring to this office if elected?

    Collins I: 1. I have the ability to work with all the citizens of Hope.

    2. Organization and planning

    3. Problem solving

    4. Team work

    5. Communication

    6. Prioritizing

    7. Abilities to cope with failures and mistakes.

     

     

    35Pat EdwardsPat Edwards

    UCW: What do you hope to accomplish for Hope Mills if you are elected?

    Edwards: A transparent government, creative thinking, building cooperation and community team work. One commissioner or mayor cannot do it alone. We need to work together for the betterment of our town. Citizens working with our Mayor and Commissioners would be great.  A lot of great ideas are out there. Our retired Military and Seniors Citizens have a wealth of history they could share with us. I definitely recommend our citizens to attend (at no cost) our Citizens Academy offered by the town manager and town clerk. A great opportunity to get involved, meet the staff and learn exactly what goes on in your Town. What is required in the day to day operation is amazing. The Mayor and Commissioners rely 24/7 on our first responders, staff and employees. To stay involved with and work closely with our Hope Mills Chamber of Commerce.

    UCW: What experience and strengths would you bring to this office if elected?

    Edwards: I have served as your commissioner for six years,. We have had our ups and downs and we didn’t always agree on the same issues. All considered I feel we have accomplished a lot for the betterment of Hope Mills.  Our “Lake” is well on its way to completion.   It will be Beautiful!!  We will all be so proud. I have experience and strengths in some of the inter workings of Hope Mills by getting involved in Civic Groups and serving as liaison for several commissions (past and present) I am serving on the Board of Directors for the Hope Mills Chamber of Commerce and on the Board of Directors for the Hope Mills Kiwanis Club (twice past president) , Board of Adjustments, Cumberland County Community Grant Committee, Ft. Bragg/Pope AFB Regional Land Use Advisory (RULAC), Air Quality Stakeholders, Veterans Affairs, Special Events Nominating Committee and Appearance Committee.

     

     

    36BobGormanBob Gorman

    UCW: What do you hope to accomplish for Hope Mills if you are elected?

    Gorman: Thank you to our Hope Mills citizens for allowing me to be one of your town commissioners for 7 terms. I have worked honestly and tirelessly for our community throughout much growth and change; but, there are many existing projects that I would like to see completed as follows:

    *Historical Preservation Commission which will preserve our Historic District and set guidelines for future development in that district.

    *Our Museum which has already collected artifacts and should be open  in 2018.

    *Heritage Park which is in the third phase of our Lake Park Plan and will offer our citizens another recreational opportunity as well as education and remembrance of our community roots.

    You are aware, I am sure that Hope Mills has outgrown our present police and fire facilities. Our board has prioritized our infrastructure needs with the results of a facilities study. The top priority is a new public service facility for our police and fire departments.

    A plan for our former golf course is being developed with input from our citizens. This opportunity is to plan recreational facilities for our community and this a major priority for me.

    There are areas that I believe are important and will work to see improvements: traffic congestion, transportation issues for our seniors, parks and recreation issues and veterans’ issues. These are important to our quality of life in Hope Mills.

    UCW: What experience and strengths would you bring to this office if elected?

    Gorman: Over the years, I have been involved in my community by being active in the Hope Mills Planning Board (4 years served as vice -chairman) I have been committed to community volunteer work:

    *Cumberland County Rescue Squad 12 years serving as Sergeant, Lieutenant Training Officer and Board of Directors (4 years)

    *South View Band Boosters for 25 years serving as president and president elect

    *Grays Creek Band Boosters for 3 years

    As an elected commissioner, I have served on various committees as a liaison of the board, as Mayor Pro Temp, I have assumed the responsibilities for the Mayor if needed. As a member of the Finance Committee I have worked directly with the budgeting process. My experience in all areas of town government and a concern for our community and citizens is my priority #1. It would be an honor to serve our town for another term, I humbly ask for your vote.

     

    37MegLarsonMeg Larson

    UCW: What do you hope to accomplish for Hope Mills if you are elected?

    Larson: If elected, I plan to work diligently towards responsible growth and development, wise use of tax dollars to plan, budget, manage and complete projects and the development of an atmosphere of cooperation and trust between citizens, local businesses and government. Hope Mills is growing by leaps and bounds and we must ensure that our decisions are
    always in the best interest of the town. I want to work towards continuing to make Hope Mills a beautiful and enterprising community that will also attract people and businesses to relocate here. I plan to be accountable to the taxpayers when it comes to town spending. Taxpayers should expect wise use of their tax dollars and the completion of projects that are currently underway. Wasteful spending on consultants and unnecessary studies should be eliminated. I would like to work with the board to find ways to intentionally encourage, not discourage, citizen input through cooperation, trust and transparency, especially when it involves the use of tax dollars and decisions that will shape the future of our community.

    UCW: What experience and strengths would you bring to this office if elected?

    Larson: If given the opportunity to represent the citizens of Hope Mills, I hope to bring new ideas, a fresh perspective, common sense and a lot of energy to the board. I hold a Bachelor Degree in Marketing and years of work experience in retail management and internal loss prevention. I also have experience working in education in Cumberland County Schools. I have been active in the community for years, regularly attend town board meetings and stay abreast of town issues through the town website. You can count on me to listen and thoroughly research issues in order to make logical, practical and fiscally responsible decisions that are right and fair. I am organized, self-motivated and a team player but I am also willing to stand alone and fight for what is right if necessary. I would greatly appreciate your vote for Hope Mills Commissioner.  https://www.facebook.com/votemeglarson 

     

    38Jerry LeggeJerry Legge

    UCW: What do you hope to accomplish for Hope Mills if you are elected?

    Legge: I would like to see:

    The completion of the lake project and have water impounded in the lake.

    Build a new Public Safety Center for the Police and Fire Departments,

    Sidewalks in all new housing developments in town and in the areas around our schools.

    The development of the golf course area with input from the Hope Mills Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee along with ideas that we have received from some of our citizens.

    UCW: What experience and strengths would you bring to this office if elected?

    Legge: I was the owner/operator of Better Built Builders for 30 years. I have served the town as a commissioner for over 12 years. During this time I had the opportunity to learn from the retreats that we have attended and being part of the town board as a whole. I take a lot of calls from citizens and listen to their concerns and take them to the board to be heard by my fellow commissioners.  I am business-minded and I apply that knowledge to the issues of our town. I have served on several committees past and present: such as the Planning Board and the Town Finance Committees. I was a member of the HM Zoning Board of Adjustments and a member of the Air Quality Control Committee. I have been involved with the HMYA for over 30 years teaching sports to our youth.

     

    39Bryan MarleyBryan Marley

    UCW: What do you hope to accomplish for Hope Mills if you are elected?

    Marley: I would like to see the current projects such as the new lake park, police/fire complex and history museum finished. Would also like to see progress from the stake holders committee in reference to the golf course. We need to also be able to maintain our current level of services to the citizens.

    UCW: What experience and strengths would you bring to this office if elected?

    Marley: I have served the town as commissioner for the past four years. Before being a commissioner I served as a full-time employee for fourteen years in the fire department. I bring a desire to serve the town and make the best decisions that I can for the town of Hope Mill. I understand the importance of teamwork and look forward to keeping our town moving forward.

     

     

     

     

     

    40Kenjuana McCrayKenjuana McCray

    UCW: What do you hope to accomplish for Hope Mills if you are elected?

    McCray: Hope Mills has been my home for 10 years. I love this town and I will help tackle infrastructure issues to include traffic congestion, sidewalks and storm water issues. I will ensure that our new recreational facility adds value to our community and serves everyone to include children, millennials, middle agers, the disabled, veterans, and senior citizens. Most importantly, it will offer teen activities to keep kids off the street and out of trouble. Finally, I will create a living environment that welcomes businesses that will add jobs that pay living wages to Hope Mills and create educational enrichment programs for children and adults.

    UCW: What experience and strengths would you bring to this office if elected?

    McCray: I am trained in researching best practice, critical thinking, and problem solving. I have the knowledge and willingness to collaborate with stakeholders to move the Town of Hope Mills forward. I work to connect Fayetteville State University and Fayetteville Technical Community to our community. This is critical in educating and training our population to market themselves to employers. As I have taught at FTCC for 11 years and have been involved in the alumni association at FSU, the needed contacts are already in place.

    My background makes me valuable, I have been a public school teacher, a retail manager, family consultant, and currently I teach and serve in a leadership position in higher education. All of my positions have been to serve and protect.

    I am a board member and volunteer of the Second Harvest Food Bank of Fayetteville that strives to combat hunger in Cumberland County and seven other surrounding counties for over six years. This work is important as North Carolina is ranked as one of the “10 Hungriest” states in the United States and 20 % of individuals in our service areas are critically food insecure. A Hope Mills Commissioner usually serves as representative to work with Action Pathways and The Second Harvest Food Bank is under Action Pathways. I already have a relationship with Action Pathways. The Alms House in Hope Mills is one of our member agencies.

     

    41Mike MitchellMike Mitchell

    UCW: What do you hope to accomplish for Hope Mills if you are elected?

    Mitchell: As part of Team Hope Mills and a representative of our citizens,  I plan to assure: (l) Hope Mills Lake is returned to its original glory (pre 5/26/2003). (2) Completion of plans/funding  for our various parks (old golf course, Heritage Park, etc) (3) Completion of our Congestion Management Study and work with DOT to improve traffic. (4) Beautification of Hope Mills by working closely with our Town management and staff. (5) Citizens are heard  and  mutually  respected  in Town  Board  meetings as well as everyday. (6) Establishment of a Young Citizens Committee to help bridge the generation gap in Town.

    UCW: What experience and strengths would you bring to this office if elected?

    Mitchell: (I) Previous Mayor Pro Tem/Commissioner (12/2011 to 1/2014).

    (2) Experienced Certified Public Accountant and  business consultant/trusted adviser.

    (3) Current Chairperson of the Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee.

    (4) Extensive Town citizen committee and nonprofit board experience.

    (5) Will complete the Citizens Academy for our Town on 10/26 /2017.

    (6) Overall,  plan to continue to be a voice of the citizens.

     

     

     

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    28MoreThanANameAs part of the commemoration of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial’s 35th anniversary, I was selected as a reader in the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund’s Reading of the Names. This national event takes place in honor of the sacrifice and the last full measure of devotion to our great nation demonstrated by these service members. I am scheduled to read on Tuesday, Nov. 7, at 7:04 p.m. I will read one page containing 30 names from the time period of Feb. 1-3, 1966, on Wall Panel/Line 4E, 129-135, in approximately a two-minute interval.

    In Washington, D.C., the reading of the names of 58,318 service members inscribed on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial (commonly referred to as The Wall) will take place for 65 hours over a four-day period from November 7-10. The opening ceremony is Tuesday, Nov. 7, beginning at 3 p.m. The reading of the names will begin at 4 p.m. A large number of government officials and dignitaries will attend the opening ceremonies as speakers and continue as readers.

    The VVMF is hosting the Reading of the Names as part of the special activities planned this November to commemorate The Wall’s 35th anniversary. The Reading of the Names has taken place just five other times in The Wall’s history, with the last event occurring during the 30th anniversary in 2012.

    Based in Washington, D.C., the VVMF is the nonprofit organization authorized by the U.S. Congress in 1980 to build a national memorial dedicated to all who served with the U.S. Armed Forces during the Vietnam War. Incorporated on April 27, 1979, by a group of veterans led by Jan C. Scruggs, the organization sought a tangible symbol of recognition from the American people for those who served in the war. The result was the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, which has become one of the most visited memorials in Washington, D.C., with an estimated 4.5 million visitors annually.  

    It is quite the honor to participate in the commemoration of The Wall’s 35th anniversary. The names on The Wall are more than just names. They represent a family, just like our families. One example is U.S. Army nurse 1st Lt. Sharon Lane, one of eight women to die in Vietnam, and the only one to die from hostile fire. These brave men and women left behind friends, brothers, sisters and parents. They represent courage, sacrifice and devotion to duty and country. They are the true heroes of the Vietnam War. By reading their names, we will never forget them and their families that were changed forever.     

    I cannot express in words the personal honor and respect I deeply feel to be selected as a reader of the names during The Wall’s 35th Anniversary. I entered the U.S. Army in 1976, and all my military trainers were Vietnam veterans, including the military equipment for training. These combat veterans had a direct impact on my life and helped shape me into the 26-year career retired U.S. Army soldier, college instructor and active community citizen I am today.

    Please take the time and attend the Heroes Homecoming V, a nine-day (Nov. 4-12) ceremonious event to honor veterans and an annual celebration hosted by Fayetteville Area Convention and Visitors Bureau and the communities of Cumberland County.

    This year, numerous events are dedicated to honor and acknowledge the sacrifices made by area Vietnam Veterans. These include, various Vietnam War exhibits, ceremonies and The Moving Wall dedication Nov. 11 at the Airborne & Special Operations Museum Parade Field. For a full list of calendar events, visit www.HeroesHomecoming.com.

    It is an honor to represent our community Vietnam veterans and their families during the commemoration of The Wall’s 35th Anniversary.

    Thank you for your service and sacrifice to our nation. May God bless you and continue to bless our great nation!

     

  •  

    Up & Coming Weekly keeps the community informed about elections. As in years past, we’ve reached out to the candidates to give them an opportunity to make their case to you, the voter.

    In the following, you will find their responses. You will also find that not every candidate is represented. That was a choice by the candidate. The Fayetteville And Hope Mills candidates were all given the option to participate. Each candidate vying for similar office was asked the exact same set of questions. We have not altered or amended their answers.

    Because we believe so strongly in the privilege of voting, we wanted to ensure that you have all the information you need – not only about the candidates and the issues – but also about where, when and how you can vote.

    For Cumberland County voters:

    •  Early one-stop voting is ongoing.

    •  Saturday, Nov. 4, one-stop voting and same-day registration ends.

    •  Tuesday, Nov. 7, is the big day. Polls open at 6:30 a.m. and close at 7:30 p.m.

    Learn more: www.co.cumberland.nc.us/election_board/voter_info/guide.aspx

     

    Election 2017 Fayetteville Mayoral Candidates

     

    13NatRobertsonNat Robertson

    UCW: Elected city officials and Cumberland County Commissioners have not been able to agree on who would operate a joint 911 emergency center and continue to be at odds over which sales tax distribution method the county should implement. And now, the county seems to be pushing back on how much money it should devote to the city’s baseball stadium. What will you do specifically to create better communication and cooperation between the two governing bodies?

    Robertson: Soon after being elected as Mayor in 2013, recognizing there are many issues between the City and County that needed reconciling, I re-established the City/County Liaison Committee.  A contingency of City, County, School Board and Ft. Bragg representatives who can talk about and present ideas back to our respective Boards. We have discussed many common issues and problem solved on issues involving both bodies.  A couple of successes from this Committee have been; the creation of the Fayetteville/Cumberland Youth Council and the red light camera agreement.

    Both government bodies have different responsibilities, different chartered tasks and different missions to fulfill for our residents.  We come together and work toward a common goal when we can.  Often time, while best representing our own residents, our jurisdictional responsibilities don’t fit together. This may often appear that we are not able to get along, but that’s not true.  As two government bodies, I feel our relationship is as strong now as it has been in decades.  I look forward to continuing transparent and open discussions with the County Commissioners both on an individual personal level as well as collectively as governmental bodies.      

    UCW: The city’s tax base is more dependent on residential properties than any other major city in North Carolina. This is primarily because of Fayetteville’s lack of economic development and our continued failure to attract large corporate headquarters, technology companies and manufacturing firms. What role do you feel the city plays in local economic development?

    Robertson: We have had many successes over the past couple of years with attracting jobs to Fayetteville.  Since being elected, we have lowered our unemployment rate from 8.9% to 5.6%.  This means more people are working and our local economy has picked up.  Good news!  But, we still have work to do…  I continue to work with the Fayetteville Cumberland Economic Development Corporation to court companies and industry to look at Fayetteville for their future home.  And for those business who are already here?  I continue my pledge to make our City a friendlier place for businesses to do business.  When our local businesses grow organically, we all win!

     

    14mitchColvinMitch Colvin

    UCW: Elected city officials and Cumberland County Commissioners have not been able to agree on who would operate a joint 911 emergency center and continue to be at odds over which sales tax distribution method the county should implement. And now, the county seems to be pushing back on how much money it should devote to the city’s baseball stadium. What will you do specifically to create better communication and cooperation between the two governing bodies?

    Colvin: A harmonious relationship between the governmental bodies is critical in any community. The problems of community are too large for any one  governing body to handle alone. In order for our city to be successful we must work together.

    During my four years on Council I have witnessed first hand the disconnect between the City and the county. As a result I have made this my number one platform issue during the campaign. If

    I am elected Mayor, I would propose a joint committee consisting of the leaders from the City Council, County Commission,School Board, Fayetteville State, Methodist College, Fayetteville Technical College, Cape Fear Valley Health system and Ft.Bragg to discuss the direction of our community.

    Furthermore, I would encourage Council to ask the County Commissioners and the School Board to Annual Joint strategic planning meetings. Areas like joint purchasing in our procurement and service consolidation could save tax payers Billions of dollars over time.

    This lack of coordination has and continues to cost our citizens millions of dollars in loss opportunities.

    Projects like Rooms To Go and Sanderson Farms have cost us thousands of Jobs.

    The divisive politics that has existed with some of our leaders has to stop. We must have leadership willing to build bridges not walls.

    UCW: The city’s tax base is more dependent on residential properties than any other major city in North Carolina. This is primarily because of Fayetteville’s lack of economic development and our continued failure to attract large corporate headquarters, technology companies and manufacturing firms. What role do you feel the city plays in local economic development?

    Colvin: To correct this problem we must use a comprehensive approach. We Must first begin by updating the 2012 Garner Report. This was an in depth analysis of our community highlighting our strengths and weaknesses. This report also tells us the areas and the industries that work best with our population’s skill set. We should begin to aggressively go after companies in these areas.

    At the same time I would convene a Work Force Summit to begin to strengthen our work force. Thai is critical in the recruitment of industry. Our steady supply of trained laborers from the military has not been marketed in an effective way.

    Also we have failed to take advantage of our location. We are only 83 miles from Wilmington. An inland terminal to distribute goods and cargo would provide a boost to our economy. For example, Atlanta/Savannah, Charleston/ Dillon, are a few examples.

    Furthermore, I would also advocate for an expansion in the cargo flights in our airport. The ability to move merchandise around is very attractive to large industry.

    Finally, the city must rebrand and redefine who we are regionally. All of our municipal peers have a regional identity. For instance, Charlotte/Mecklenburg is the Financial Hub, Raleigh/Durham Tech and Medical, etc. Once we define ourselves we promote the brand, nationally and internationally. After all we live in a Global economy. The Mayor should be on the front lines with our economic development team as an ambassador for our city. Let’s get started.

     

    Election 2017 Fayetteville City Council Candidates

     

    15Curtis BrownCurtis Brown

    District 1

    UCW: Elected city officials and Cumberland County Commissioners have not been able to agree on who would operate a joint 911 emergency center and continue to be at odds over which sales tax distribution method the county should implement. And now, the county seems to be pushing back on how much money it should devote to the city’s baseball stadium. What will you do specifically to create better communication and cooperation between the two governing bodies?

    Brown: While I fully understand the differences in the roles and responsibilities of city and county government. I would highly recommend, both city council and the county commissioners schedule an off-site summit to discuss unifying, synchroning and maximing our efforts to better serve all of the constituents we all represent. To help city and county government better understand that we are stronger and more effective together, I would strongly advocate for this summit to include the FLIPPEN GROUP with both city council and the county commissioners attending.

    The FLIPPEN GROUP with over 25 years of experience has mastered the art and science of optimizing team performance. They have worked with some of the largest state and federal government agencies and organizations in the world. They fully understand how to help government leader’s work and serve more effectively together. The FLIPPEN GROUP further understands that people represent the greatest investment opportunity in any government agency or organization. Additionally, the FLIPPEN GROUP has identified that people are also the greatest challenge for leaders. Here’s how the FLIPPEN GROUP helps. Their behavioral analytics tools, combined with expert coaching, helps government leaders solve the complex people issues that make serving in the public sector challenging. Even the strongest government teams can perform better. The FLIPPEN GROUP combines the science of customized team behavioral analytics with the art of engaging in transformational workshops, all supported by intentional follow-up processes to maintain our teamwork momentum in both city and county government.

    Upon the completion of this workshop we will be able to identify the seemingly “invisible” behaviors in our two governments that hinder performance, delay projects and slow down all progress. The process of optimizing the city and county team begins with understanding the needs of both entities and obtaining behavioral data on all city council members and county commissioner’s using the Flippen Profile. Through group workshops and 1-on-1 coaching sessions, both your team’s will develop a customized action plan to leverage individual and team strengths while also breaking constraints. The FLIPPEN GROUP craft a series of briefs, customized follow-up workshops and gradually empower city and county leadership to champion the identified processes internally. My vision for District 1, Fayetteville and Cumberland County is a growing and vibrant world-class place--proud of its diversity and full of life with amenities and activities. I envision a community of cooperative inclusion (Government and Citizens), a community that is flourishing economically with a pristine environment, where all people are safe, healthy and have equitable opportunities for success and happiness. With better communication and cooperation between City council and the County Commissioners we are better and stronger together!!

    UCW: The city’s tax base is more dependent on residential properties than any other major city in North Carolina. This is primarily because of Fayetteville’s lack of economic development and our continued failure to attract large corporate headquarters, technology companies and manufacturing firms. What role do you feel the city plays in local economic development?

    Brown: The city in partnership with the Economic Development Alliance of Fayetteville & Cumberland County plays a vital role in our overall local economic development. One of the primary factors behind Fayetteville and Cumberland County’s continued economic health and growth is the unusually cooperative relationship between city and county government and the local business community. The work of the Economic Development Alliance of Fayetteville & Cumberland County is just one example of that partnership. When new companies considering our area, see that partnership approach right away they want to know more about our city. New companies are consistently impressed at how well everyone works to streamline the process of permitting, licensing, title work, and developing infrastructure to keep from creating delays. If you’ve ever thought that true cooperation between government and the private sector was impossible, you’ve never done business in Fayetteville and Cumberland County. Having said all of the above, the city must focus on better opportunities to link our educational institutions and veteran administration(VA) to industries to provide viable skills through education and certification that maximizes our citizens’ capabilities. We must incentivize enduring companies and develop a decent incentive package for incoming industries/ businesses. Our city leadership must get out and visit successful cities like North Charleston, SC, to determine cause factors in their overall success in the area of economic development and job creation. We must review and reduce burdensome regulations, permits and codes on small businesses to promote smart economic and industrial growth. Our city government plays a very important role in our overall economic development and must continue to invest in the Economic Development Alliance of Fayetteville & Cumberland County as it has become the heartbeat of our success in the area of Economic growth.

     

    16Kathy JensenKathy Jensen

    District 1

    UCW: Elected city officials and Cumberland County Commissioners have not been able to agree on who would operate a joint 911 emergency center and continue to be at odds over which sales tax distribution method the county should implement. And now, the county seems to be pushing back on how much money it should devote to the city’s baseball stadium. What will you do specifically to create better communication and cooperation between the two governing bodies?

    Jensen: Communication and cooperation between the county and city happen on a daily basis.  We have had many successes through the City County liaison monthly meetings.  The Fayetteville Cumberland Youth Council, Red light camera program for our school systems, economic development commission, working on homelessness and the merger of parks and recreation years ago are to name just a few.  The three subjects you have mentioned are not topics that are not easy fixes with easy answers.  I believe that we are very close to an agreement on all three.  I was asked to serve on the PWC negotiation committee, because of my willingness to listen with patience and to negotiate. I have said for the past four years, we need to make sure that the decisions we make today are the best decisions for our future. 

    UCW: The city’s tax base is more dependent on residential properties than any other major city in North Carolina. This is primarily because of Fayetteville’s lack of economic development and our continued failure to attract large corporate headquarters, technology companies and manufacturing firms. What role do you feel the city plays in local economic development?

    Jensen: Four years ago, we made a commitment to the residents of Fayetteville to make Economic Development a priority.  We have done just that.  In collaboration with the county we have formed a new Fayetteville Cumberland Economic Commission.  I have had the privilege of serving on that committee for the past year.  Losing the Sanderson Farms manufacturing plant has made getting new manufacturing firms in Fayetteville an uphill battle.  But as you can see we are steadily making progress.  The announcement of our K3 Enterprise partnership that will bring over 30 jobs at approximately $91,000 salary yearly.  The addition of the baseball park will bring in over 65 million in new development.  Real economic balance is when everyone has the opportunity to work. Fayetteville is moving forward and is succeeding working with our partners, the county commissioners, PWC, and our local state delegation.

     

    17Dan CullitonDan Culliton

    District 2

    UCW: Elected city officials and Cumberland County Commissioners have not been able to agree on who would operate a joint 911 emergency center and continue to be at odds over which sales tax distribution method the county should implement. And now, the county seems to be pushing back on how much money it should devote to the city’s baseball stadium. What will you do specifically to create better communication and cooperation between the two governing bodies?

    Culliton: The city of Fayetteville’s 911 Call Center is a Center of Excellence and who’s accreditation’s far surpasses that of the county’s. We would need to ensure these superior standards are maintained if jointly operated. This holds true for the fire and emergency medical services as well, where the demand and higher service level expectations are much greater within the city. This is why the city took back over those services from the county in 2011. Currently, the county’s publicsafety answering point (PSAP) does not hold these same accreditations.

    With regards to the county’s sales tax distribution, Fayetteville is by far the largest of the 9 municipalities located within the county. However, by state law, the county commissioners ultimately decide how the funds are distributed, despite that over %80 of the collected sales tax in the county is generated within the city limits of Fayetteville. Another critical factor is the recent annexations that now place a larger financial burden on the city. This includes things like city police protection of over 43,000 residents that the county’s sheriff’s department is no longer responsible for. Despite this, the Sheriff’s department budget increased and no funds from the county were diverted to the city to compensate for this. This is despite the fact that a primary factor for the “Big Bang Annexation” was to get the city above the 200,000 population threshold, which is the benchmark in order for major companies to consider investment in an area, which is mutually beneficial. The bulk of these economic initiatives have also been the burden only the city of Fayetteville has shouldered despite the obvious benefit to the rest of the county. 

    So it boils down to fairness and an equitable distribution of funds. We need collaboration but in order to achieve that all parties need more objectivity and reasonableness in their assessments. All parties must realize that the city and county are involved in a very symbiotic relationship and therefore our goals should be on parallel paths as our combined future growth are inextricably tied together. All parties need to start looking past the short term and gain a bigger picture of that combined future growth. Only then, with that shared vision, can the city and county grow effectively and for the betterment of all. To this end I am for full financial transparency of each parties positions so that the voters of not only the city but the county can have to opportunity to evaluate their elected officials performance and effectiveness.

    I have proven to be a leader who can bring this type of collaboration and consensus building within a diverse group of interests, by finding the common ground and keeping the discussions on track, in order to be effective.   This is the type of leadership that is needed, at like no other time in our city/county evolution, as we are experiencing significant growth and have an opportunity to finally realize our collective potential. We need to increase the frequency of face to face meetings with county commissioners and city officials in order to build a rapport both professionally and personally. Regular, combined budgetary meetings should also be the goal in order to keep everyone on the same page with open communication between all. I also believe that a combined bi-annual press announcement would go a long way to show solidarity and improve the citizens faith in their elected officials ability to work together.

    UCW: The city’s tax base is more dependent on residential properties than any other major city in North Carolina. This is primarily because of Fayetteville’s lack of economic development and our continued failure to attract large corporate headquarters, technology companies and manufacturing firms. What role do you feel the city plays in local economic development?

    Culliton: We need to take a serious look at limiting the burden of the city’s revenue off the backs of the property owners. The people, especially in district 2, already have a hard time making ends meet yet they are not being afforded jobs that allow them to earn a realistic, living wage. It is absolutely dependent upon the city to set an environment that allows job generation to occur. That is a complex process that entails various pieces of the “puzzle” to be in place, as well as collaboration and consensus between the citizens and city officials. It’s imperative that we as a community present a unified front when we are approached by major corporations for potential investment and job creation or we risk others passing over us the next time around. If we want jobs to come here we need to show, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that Fayetteville, NC is Open For Business.

    We have undergone a tremendous amount of growth and I wish to see that growth continue, however, I feel we need to ensure it’s “Smart Growth”. As the candidate experience in planning I am well positioned to offer insight and direction on the type of development that benefits the city the most, both in revenue generation and as a catalyst to future economic growth. We should look to promote multi-use projects like that of 300 Hay or the Prince Charles, as these can generate significantly more revenue for the city per acre then a sprawling single use project where the infrastructure investment and maintenance alone can produce a negative revenue situation.  The person District 2 picks to represent them on this next council, if they wish to have effective leadership occur, must not only possess the experience but an understanding of these complexities.

    Further, we should look to support and stimulate small business as, collectively, they are major employers and economic generators in and of themselves. Small business allows a diverse range of employment opportunities as well. We are a diverse population that make up the All American City so these types of diverse employment opportunities are very important for those with unique or non-traditional skill sets. We need to look at expanding and improving access to vocational programs and ones like the PWC’s STEM program that can produce Job Ready high school graduates and help place them within our local workforce. These programs not only train our young people with needed skills but provide contacts within the community that they may later use upon entering the workforce.

    I will also work continuously to encourage hiring Fayetteville First as well as working to encourage a percentage of minority participation. Finally, I will look to promote local businesses to be hired in order to secure those available contracts. I would also look to ensure regular notification of open contracts as well as classes and online resources so that local contractors can learn how these bid processes work in an attempt to level the playing field. I will always support initiatives that look to grow local small business.

    As your next District 2 City Councilman, one of my top priorities will be working on multiple levels to attract a variety of both small and large businesses so that everyone can have an equal opportunity in moving their families forward in obtaining their piece of the American Dream.

     

    18Tyrone WilliamsTyrone Williams

    District 2

    UCW: Elected city officials and Cumberland County Commissioners have not been able to agree on who would operate a joint 911 emergency center and continue to be at odds over which sales tax distribution method the county should implement. And now, the county seems to be pushing back on how much money it should devote to the city’s baseball stadium. What will you do specifically to create better communication and cooperation between the two governing bodies?

    Williams:  I would first want to meet with fellow members of the city council to discuss how we all should take part in collaboration meetings with the Cumberland County Commissioners.  I would then aim to create a standard meeting time and date between myself, fellow council, and all of the Cumberland County Commissioners.  In this meeting, I would also involve other key stakeholders such as the Cumberland County School Board members, when needed.  These meeting would be a part of our elected official duties, just as work sessions are conducted.  I would be transparent with the community on these meetings and make sure that official minutes are taken, recorded, and distributed if asked.  I will then update my district and community via email, social media, and any other means of communication to ensure clear messaging.  I believe that these proposed meetings must be conducted when there are any projects that cause for a city-county collaboration.  

    I would push for these collaboration meetings to be open to the public and become a standard procedure when collaboration projects are on the agenda. As citizens you need to be able to hold each vote on City Council and the County Commissioners accountable all the time and not just when it is convenient.

    UCW: The city’s tax base is more dependent on residential properties than any other major city in North Carolina. This is primarily because of Fayetteville’s lack of economic development and our continued failure to attract large corporate headquarters, technology companies and manufacturing firms. What role do you feel the city plays in local economic development?

    Williams:  The city is the local economic development machine.  The city is responsible for planning and attracting business.  By doing so, we alleviate putting the financial pressure on homeowner’s who simply want a better quality of life.  The money that would be spent paying property tax could then be used to patronize a small business, company, or organization in the area.  This drives more development.

    As a city, we must push for private and public funding to develop and grow small businesses and welcome large business.  But, I do think it should not be at the expense of the homeowner’s.  We have to look beyond Fayetteville for large funding and prepare our small businesses for expansion within our districts. CEED, FTCC, and the North Carolina Military Business Center are all great local organizations that help prepare small businesses for this growth.  We must lean on them to drive local economy and equip them with the tools to win. 

    We also must prepare our districts for economic development.  Neighborhood educational programs, mentorships, interns, and other workforce programs should be planned to bring residents to the table.  For example, If we are attracting a technology business or corporate headquarters to come into the district, we should provide workforce opportunities for the residents within the district and the city to become fully trained and job ready to work in that specific business when it opens. This helps raise the average wage earned, lower’s crime, and eventually revitalizes the neighborhood.  If they are not homeowners, we want them to be able to be given a chance to buy a home.  And if they are already a homeowner, we want them to increase the quality of life in their neighborhood and enjoy their district.

    Some areas of the district may not have a problem with wages, but rather need better options within their district to enjoy life.  We need to help provide this atmosphere.  Each area of my district is different, and as councilman, I can address every area of my district equally to provide a better quality of life for all.  My economic development goal will be to encourage residents and businesses to move into District 2.  And for the residents and businesses in District 2, my economic development plan is to provide a better life for you and your business.

     

    19Tisha WaddellTisha Waddell

    District 3

    UCW: Elected city officials and Cumberland County Commissioners have not been able to agree on who would operate a joint 911 emergency center and continue to be at odds over which sales tax distribution method the county should implement. And now, the county seems to be pushing back on how much money it should devote to the city’s baseball stadium. What will you do specifically to create better communication and cooperation between the two governing bodies?

    Waddell: My experience as a conflict resolution coach would definitely be a plus in working to resolve communication issues and promote cooperation between both governing bodies. The number one recommendation when there is a standoff or obstacle preventing agreement is to encourage active listening. This is where each party makes a conscious effort to understand the complete message being sent by the other. There is an overlap in responsibility regarding the citizens in Fayetteville where the County Commissioners and City Council are concerned and we must maintain the ability to compromise when needed in order to make sure the needs of those citizens are always at the forefront.

    UCW: The city’s tax base is more dependent on residential properties than any other major city in North Carolina. This is primarily because of Fayetteville’s lack of economic development and our continued failure to attract large corporate headquarters, technology companies and manufacturing firms. What role do you feel the city plays in local economic development?

    Waddell: The City Council is responsible for creating an atmosphere that is conducive for economic expansion. Unfortunately we have not been strategic in planning to encourage growth and development beyond the call centers we have successfully acquired over the past few years. While these are accomplishments, they are limited in the impact they make on our economy, tax revenue and overall quality of life and demonstrate our need to take a close look at the factors that have stunted our progress. When elected, I will be diligent in advocating for the implementation of the recommendations that have been made through numerous studies commissioned by the City Council to determine how we move Fayetteville forward.

     

    20Jeremy WrightJeremy Wright

    District 3

    UCW: Elected city officials and Cumberland County Commissioners have not been able to agree on who would operate a joint 911 emergency center and continue to be at odds over which sales tax distribution method the county should implement. And now, the county seems to be pushing back on how much money it should devote to the city’s baseball stadium. What will you do specifically to create better communication and cooperation between the two governing bodies?

    Wright: Often when observing share issue of the city and county, it involves a righteous rant about what is happening in our communities (city and county) and who is to blame. You can pick many of today’s current issues concerning the two and see fingers pointing and accusations of the “other side” being wrong. However, the leaders of both governing bodies are merely produces or our contentious society.

    Whether it is conversations with people in line at Starbucks or seeing the headlines in our inbox, there is an underlying trend: we have stopped listening to people who have a different perspective. We are so sure of our own rightness (or “leftness”) that we no longer listen to others. Instead, we are smugly content in our own assumed correctness. This intellectual bullying erodes the sense of community and connectedness in our community.

    When another person voices an idea that is different than our own, we fail to acknowledge that the other person may have some truth in what they are saying. I would first encourage both governing bodies to listen and keep an open mind. This will yield to an understand of the assets or benefit each body present to finding a resolve.

    UCW: The city’s tax base is more dependent on residential properties than any other major city in North Carolina. This is primarily because of Fayetteville’s lack of economic development and our continued failure to attract large corporate headquarters, technology companies and manufacturing firms. What role do you feel the city plays in local economic development?

    Wright: The city plays an important role in economic development. By achieving economies of scale, agglomeration, and localization and providing efficient infrastructure and services through density and concentration in transportation, communications, power, human interactions, water and sanitation the city establishes the substratum on which economic development is built.

     

    21D.J. HaireD.J. Haire

    District  4

    UCW: Elected city officials and Cumberland County Commissioners have not been able to agree on who would operate a joint 911 emergency center and continue to be at odds over which sales tax distribution method the county should implement. And now, the county seems to be pushing back on how much money it should devote to the city’s baseball stadium. What will you do specifically to create better communication and cooperation between the two governing bodies?  

    Haire: It can sometimes be difficult to bring people together that have strong and different opinions on a subject matter that can be beneficial to both sides.  A few years back while serving on Council, both bodies came together and had several discussions on how the two boards could combine certain City & County Departments to include Parks and Recreation.

    It was a long process, that took many conversations between the City, County, staff and residents, but we eventually moved forward.

    I think that open dialogue is a “must” even where there are non-agreements. I would suggest that not only we have combine full body meetings, but also small meetings, or one on one meetings, and even social gatherings between the two boards. This can help build trust, better communication, and better mutual understandings. I have found in my on business negotiations that sometimes social gatherings help to open up better dialogue. I would pursue these actions.

    There’s always give and take, but we have to continue forward progress for the citizens that we represent.

    UCW: The city’s tax base is more dependent on residential properties than any other major city in North Carolina. This is primarily because of Fayetteville’s lack of economic development and our continued failure to attract large corporate headquarters, technology companies and manufacturing firms. What role do you feel the city plays in local economic development?

    Haire: I feel that our city plays a major role in our local economic development. When negotiating with future investors or our own local stakeholder investors, we should stay open to tweaking existing policy’s that may hinder growth. We should continue to help create an environment of a business friendly city.

    I was apart of the initiative to hire our very first Federal Lobbyist. I think we should continue with that investment on the State and Federal level. I also think that our economic development growth is not just seeking larger companies to our city. We should continue supporting our “Hire Fayetteville First” priority, where we invest in our local and future companies in every area so that they can grow, hire and expand.

    We should also continue working with our veteran population that brings an abundance of skills to our workforce market. There should also be full collaboration with our Education System, working together on how to better equip our up and coming work force.

     

    22Chalmers McDougaldChalmers McDougald

    District 4

    UCW: Elected city officials and Cumberland County Commissioners have not been able to agree on who would operate a joint 911 emergency center and continue to be at odds over which sales tax distribution method the county should implement. And now, the county seems to be pushing back on how much money it should devote to the city’s baseball stadium. What will you do specifically to create better communication and cooperation between the two governing bodies? 

    McDougald: Better Communications start with simple discussion of what we see our respective bodies doing for the people we represent. At the end of the day the majority of people we all represent are all the same people. I believe we all want to do the best job we can for the citizens. However, until commonsense dialogue happen we will not see a coming together of the respective governing bodies. I will help in fostering a commonsense dialogue between the governing bodies, to assist us in developing a compromise, and thus meeting the needs of the people we all represent.

    UCW: The city’s tax base is more dependent on residential properties than any other major city in North Carolina. This is primarily because of Fayetteville’s lack of economic development and our continued failure to attract large corporate headquarters, technology companies and manufacturing firms. What role do you feel the city plays in local economic development?

    McDougald: The role of the city in economic development is as vital as any other governmental or nongovernmental entity. We all want to create viable opportunities for our citizens to live, work and play. Economic development is a key part of that equation. Good jobs that pay healthy wages are more important than the industries that decide to locate in the city. The decision to locate in Fayetteville is not the city’s to make, but the business that has explored the opportunity to come here. I know first-hand that Fayetteville has given everything it has to give to attract those businesses that come looking. The major difficulty for the governing body is not knowing exactly why a company does or does not locate here in most cases. The city has many roles in local economic development, such as funding, negotiating terms, and helping business to achieve success.

     

    23Johnny DawkinsJohnny Dawkins

    District 5

    UCW: Elected city officials and Cumberland County Commissioners have not been able to agree on who would operate a joint 911 emergency center and continue to be at odds over which sales tax distribution method the county should implement. And now, the county seems to be pushing back on how much money it should devote to the city’s baseball stadium. What will you do specifically to create better communication and cooperation between the two governing bodies?  

    Dawkins: The first thing the City Council and the County Commissioners must do, is to agree to meet monthly for the next year.  Then, after a year, we may be able to move to a quarterly joint  meeting, as was done when I was previously on the City Council.  I have proposed a dinner meeting, but if lunch works better, for the majority, then we should meet at lunch.  I’ve found that you shouldn’t talk, when you have food in your mouth.  We have two ears and one mouth, and we should use them accordingly.

    Each member of the City Council and the County Commission must understand, and must appreciate, the needs of the city and the county.  With better understanding, and with mutual respect, we should be able to iron out our differences, and we should be able to create solutions, which will best serve all of our citizens.  Open and transparent meetings, on a regular schedule, is what I recommend.

    On the issue of the 911 Emergency Center:  the city is fully accredited, and the county’s 911 center has a lapsed accreditation.  The city needs to operate the 911 center for the county, because the 911 center is a core competency of the city.  The county staff, earlier, even recommended the city operate the 911 center.

    On the issue of the sales tax distribution:  I favor a multi-year phase out of the agreement made over 10 years ago, to go back to the distribution which will be most fair to Fayetteville.  The majority of the sales, generating sales tax revenue, in Cumberland County, occur in the city of Fayetteville.  Yet, the change should not be immediate, because the county and the other municipalities need five to seven years to prepare.  Plus, by that time period, the county and the other municipalities should have substantial sales and economic growth to offset any reduction in sales tax revenue, which they are receiving today.

    On the issue of the new baseball stadium:  The property tax revenue amounts generated by the over $60 Million of new private investment, around the baseball stadium, will benefit the county by over 50% more than the city.  My hope is the county will realize this new property tax revenue, and offer to assist the city in paying for this new baseball stadium.

    UCW: The city’s tax base is more dependent on residential properties than any other major city in North Carolina. This is primarily because of Fayetteville’s lack of economic development and our continued failure to attract large corporate headquarters, technology companies and manufacturing firms. What role do you feel the city plays in local economic development?

    Dawkins: The city’s primary role is to create an environment for private enterprise to take risks, create jobs, and succeed in whatever business endeavor undertaken.  If we are hoping to bring new industry to our area, the city should support the Fayetteville Cumberland County Economic Development Corporation.  The FCEDC must work closely with the federal Department of Commerce and the state of NC Commerce Department, the county of Cumberland, the Chamber of Commerce, and the city staff to create an attractive package to bring new industry and jobs to Fayetteville.  They must leverage our job-ready, highly educated members of the military, when they separate or retire from the US Army or the US Air Force.  Moreover, FSU, FTCC, and Methodist University are graduating highly educated, energetic young people, who are ready to start their careers.  If we don’t have job opportunities available for them or for the military separating or retiring, then they move to other cities.

     

    24Henry TysonHenry Tyson

    District 5

    UCW: Elected city officials and Cumberland County Commissioners have not been able to agree on who would operate a joint 911 emergency center and continue to be at odds over which sales tax distribution method the county should implement. And now, the county seems to be pushing back on how much money it should devote to the city’s baseball stadium. What will you do specifically to create better communication and cooperation between the two governing bodies?  

    Tyson: Government should be a community resource and use tax dollars effectively to not waste taxpayers’ money. It is most important for our residents to receive the services that meet the needs within their individual communities.  If there is a prudent possibility to merge services, the City and County must share the burden, responsibility, and services to save funds. Ongoing communication and cooperation between elected boards will improve our community and not overtax our city and county residents with duplicate services. The challenges with implementation are two distinct elected bodies with differing statutory and constitutional requirements, differing philosophies, and unique budget goals. The county is mandated by the state to provide funding and maintain: social service programs, hospital & EMS services, mental health services, our school system, health department, the sheriff’s department, and our judicial facilities. This mandated funding makes some of the county’s budgetary spending non-discretionary. Our city government provides key infrastructure like storm water control, city street maintenance, and other services like fire protection services.  I stand ready to work with our commissioners on the areas
    of community where these services overlap, like our parks and recreation departments, to make sound fiscal decisions. My business success requires me to bring parties together. This experience will help facilitate agreement among all elected officials.

    UCW: The city’s tax base is more dependent on residential properties than any other major city in North Carolina. This is primarily because of Fayetteville’s lack of economic development and our continued failure to attract large corporate headquarters, technology companies and manufacturing firms. What role do you feel the city plays in local economic development?

    Tyson: If Fayetteville is to successfully compete with Raleigh, Charlotte, Greensboro, and other major cities, our priority is to pursue and attract new job creators and new opportunities for our residents. Residents, stakeholders and leaders in the private sector must create opportunities, with a work strong work force and educational experiences that will attract and keep good paying companies. As we attract new businesses, provide new homes and develop new amenities, regulations must be tailored to meet our needs.  Economic development must engage the entire community, educational institutions, the private sector, and City and County governments to focus on government as an asset and not a hindrance to growth. Having a competitive tax base and structure, giving law enforcement tools to help make the city safe and providing needed amenities with our hard-working work force will provide us the advantage.

     

    25Toni StewartToni Stewart

    District 6

    UCW: Elected city officials and Cumberland County Commissioners have not been able to agree on who would operate a joint 911 emergency center and continue to be at odds over which sales tax distribution method the county should implement. And now, the county seems to be pushing back on how much money it should devote to the city’s baseball stadium. What will you do specifically to create better communication and cooperation between the two governing bodies?  

    Stewart: Unfortunately, the city and county have had a reputation of being unwilling or unable to agree and communicate on matters that ultimately affect the citizens. What all the members of the county and city must keep in mind is everything that they do is about those that we serve and not about personal agendas, special interest groups, political advancement or who’s coming out on top. Effective productive communication with the best interest of the citizens should be at the forefront of each and every endeavor that requires a joint effort. To ensure that effective and productive communication takes place, I would use the teammate approach. It must be understood that on joint endeavors, we need to operate as a team. We all have a role to play, but our ultimate goal is for Fayetteville to win. Listening to our teammates, understanding what contributions each member brings and being willing to compromise will ensure a WIN for Fayetteville.

    UCW: The city’s tax base is more dependent on residential properties than any other major city in North Carolina. This is primarily because of Fayetteville’s lack of economic development and our continued failure to attract large corporate headquarters, technology companies and manufacturing firms. What role do you feel the city plays in local economic development?

    Stewart: When a business looks to expand or open in a new city it considers everything from the tax rates to the quality of life, therefore our city has played a major role in the lack of economic development in our city. As a city we have not done well in marketing our professional workforce. If we are going to attract  large corporate headquarters, technology companies and manufacturing firms we must do better at marketing our workforce, providing incentives for businesses and improving our quality of life in order to attract the businesses that we so desperately need.

     

    26Trevone McNeillTrevone McNeill

    District 7

    UCW: Elected city officials and Cumberland County Commissioners have not been able to agree on who would operate a joint 911 emergency center and continue to be at odds over which sales tax distribution method the county should implement. And now, the county seems to be pushing back on how much money it should devote to the city’s baseball stadium. What will you do specifically to create better communication and cooperation between the two governing bodies?  

    McNeill: I believe that we are responsible to the people when elected. The thing that will bring both governing bodies together to agree and make the progress needed will be both parties coming to the table with one goal in mind- the quality of life for those who elected us. I’ve stated many times since being on this campaign trail that I’m a firm believer of being a voice for the people. I believe that the people make the decision we are just the voice for the the resource to help push the decision that best benefits the progress of our communities. In the end, I must remain true to my constituents and my convictions which hold me accountable to every individual who’d vote me into office. Doing so keeps me in position to help see our governing bodies work together for the benefit of all the people.

    UCW: The city’s tax base is more dependent on residential properties than any other major city in North Carolina. This is primarily because of Fayetteville’s lack of economic development and our continued failure to attract large corporate headquarters, technology companies and manufacturing firms. What role do you feel the city plays in local economic development?

    McNeill: I believe that our city not only plays a major role, but the primary role in our economic development. It should be the goal from this moment forward of our city government to provide economic security for families in our communities. We should focus on providing economic growth that will allow single parents to be secure in their ability to financially care for their families, build promising futures for their children, and bring to our communities a greater investment than they were first able to make. Our city should focus on paving avenues of opportunity and preparation for our citizens to be positioned for career focused economic development and expansion.

     

    27John MinerJohn Miner

    District 8

    UCW: Elected city officials and Cumberland County Commissioners have not been able to agree on who would operate a joint 911 emergency center and continue to be at odds over which sales tax distribution method the county should implement. And now, the county seems to be pushing back on how much money it should devote to the city’s baseball stadium. What will you do specifically to create better communication and cooperation between the two governing bodies?  

    Miner: The first thing the City and the County must do is put their egos aside and remember why they hold the positions they were elected to by the people. Secondly, in order to create a better level of communication between the two governing bodies, each body must have a clear understanding of what its role is in the projects in question. The issue that I see is a control issue and that issue arises when clear expectations are not understood. The City and the County bring these matters again before the people and LISTEN to the voters.  What are the people saying about these items? How do the people feel? We constantly forget that we serve at the PLEASURE and DIRECTION of  the people.

    It’s not about us, it is and SHOULD always be about the people. The people of this City were and still are hard pressed against the baseball stadium and the majority of them were not a part of the deliberation process and those who were and who voiced their objections were utterly ignored. There is a silent majority that demands to be heard, and if the City and the County would simply learn to listen to those voices crying out across this City and County we would have less friction between these two elected bodies. As far as the Joint 911 Center is concerned. The City’s 911 Center along with the County’s are both about $15M away from being compliant, which would place a roughly $30M financial burden on the two bodies combined, which will eventually be pushed to the people for repayment. However, the city’s system is fully accredited as is not the case with the County.

    I believe that in this case, the City should maintain jurisdiction over the 911 Center if and when it was to become joined. If they come together that would alleviate about $15M worth of financial burden on taxpayers. I believe that they should also strongly consider Ft. Bragg in that partnering equation, which would help to minimize 911 misfires that take place when certain calls to 911 are made and are routed to the wrong dispatch center simply because the systems as with the City and County don’t communicate with each other. As far as which sales tax distribution the County should implement. Again, for me, it always goes back to the people. Which implementation would be less painful and more beneficial to the citizens and residents? The people should never suffer because those they elected are incapable of doing what they were tasked to do on Election Day.

    UCW: The city’s tax base is more dependent on residential properties than any other major city in North Carolina. This is primarily because of Fayetteville’s lack of economic development and our continued failure to attract large corporate headquarters, technology companies and manufacturing firms. What role do you feel the city plays in local economic development?

    Miner: I feel the City plays a Major role in the local economic development and/or the lack thereof. Fayetteville seems to have an inclusion problem. The reason I believe that Fayetteville can’t or has a hard time convincing major corporations to come to the City and headquarter here is that Fayetteville does not know how to capitalize on the resources that it already has. You have to be able to convince board members and shareholders and stakeholders that your municipality is conducive for growth. Are people coming to your city and planting there which is good for the corporate bottom-line or is this an environment with a high turnover rate.

    High population turnovers are never good for the corporate bottomline because corporations have a fiduciary responsibility to shareholders and stakeholders and population instability makes them nervous. Also, what is the workforce comprised of? If it is too expensive to hire and train your employable workforce you will send corporations in the other direction. You must have a well-balanced workforce. When your workforce is too top heavy corporate leaders begin to fear your market and move on elsewhere to a move user-friendly market. If Fayetteville wants to be attractive to major corporations seeking a new place to call home we MUST ensure that they have something worth coming home too and that the people who will occupy positions within these corporations are properly, trained and ready to meet the corporate demands that accompany such a corporate transition.

     

  •  

    07EntrenchmentNinety miles down-river from Fayetteville, at the Cape Fear’s exit into the Atlantic, sits Bald Head Island. The island houses a maritime forest that forms a canopy of cedar, native palmettos and massive live oaks with Spanish moss. If you haven’t visited Bald Head and have any appreciation for our coast, do so, if even for a day. It’s a timeless place.

    If you spend any time in the thick of the island, you’ll spot several long mounds of earth and trenches that are out of place among the flat forest-bed. They make up what was once Fort Holmes, a Confederate battery constructed to keep the inlet free for blockade runners. Like its better-known cousin Fort Fisher, Fort Holmes fell and was abandoned. Today, its entrenchments are covered in trees and brush, but they still abide a century-and-a-half later, scarring the natural landscape. You don’t even need a map to find them.

    When my father is not seeking refuge on Bald Head, he’s spending time in the halls of our legislative building, where the majority party recently passed a bill to carve up Cumberland County’s judicial districts along racial lines. In short, the bill creates a “city” district in central and northwest Cumberland County, with a high minority and democratic vote. Surrounding it is a Republicanleaning, majority-white district comprised of the wealthiest neighborhoods of central Fayetteville and the surrounding county. District and Superior Court judges are distributed among the two districts.

    In the past several District Court elections, which are countywide, many in the Republican Party have failed to win, particularly against African-American candidates.

    No Republican judges sit on our Superior Court bench. The aim of the bill’s supporters is to change all this, using the built-in partisan advantage of one of the new districts. The proponents will succeed in this attempt in the same way they have succeeded in obtaining a veto-proof majority in the legislature by packing AfricanAmerican citizens into a district to dilute their overall voting power. It’s insidious, but it’s effective.

    As we have come to know with gerrymandered legislative districts, it’s likely that the only election that will matter in these new judicial districts will be the partisan primary. Gerrymandering forces even the most moderate candidate to ideological extremes to win the hearts of their particular “blue” or “red” district, after which they often run unopposed in a general election, unaccountable to the needs and desires of the public at large. It’s a bad blueprint for democracy, but it’s a horrible way to elect qualified individuals to govern one of the last places of public refuge in our society, the courtroom.

    For Cumberland County, this bill means more division in our courthouse. Judge shopping will certainly occur as lawyers and litigants jockey to have their cases heard by a judge of their race or party. This is to be feared, and the reason is simple: equal protection under law is threatened when partisanship and race are added to the scales of justice.

    Long after we come to our senses in this state and take race and party out of our judicial elections, the harmful effects of this bill will endure. They will become entrenched, as racial lines always have and always will. You won’t even need a map to find them.

     

  • 06golfIt was the last day of the class, and she was sitting on the front row ready to turn in her final project. I asked her how the class had been. She smiled the biggest smile and said:

    “This class has been amazing. I’m so sad it’s over. A friend asked if she could look at my final project. I didn’t really want her to read it because I wasn’t sure if it was all that good. You see, my friend is the daughter of a pastor and missionary. She knows the Bible! I finally caved in and let her read it. She was astounded. She said to me, ‘You learned all that in this course? Wow!’ Honestly, I’m tearing up just thinking about what this class has meant to me.”

    Her story is very similar to many students who take Carolina College of Biblical Studies’ signature course, How to Study the Bible.

    At CCBS, our mission is to disciple Christ-followers through biblical higher education for a lifetime of effective servant leadership. We’ve been doing that since 1973. 

    Signature Course

    One way we’re achieving this mission is through the course How to Study the Bible. Since we introduced this course in 2008, more than 680 students have completed it on campus, online or in their church.

    Most Christians want to know the Bible better. So, the college began offering this tuition-free course to help as many people as possible to read and understand their Bible better. The course is tuition-free because we want as many people as possible to take the course. But someone pays that cost.

    Accredited Programs

    The other way we’re achieving that mission is through our accredited associate and bachelor’s degree programs. Instead of getting a degree from anywhere in anything, CCBS strives to give a solid education from a biblical worldview. Whether that is achieved on campus in our face-to-face classes or online with students in 17 states and two countries, the goal is the same – solid, biblical education. 

    Scholarship Tournament

    We don’t want to limit anyone from achieving their dream of getting a college education. That’s why CCBS is hosting a Scholarship Golf Tournament Saturday, Nov. 4, at Anderson Creek Club golf course in Spring Lake. The proceeds will fund the How to Study the Bible courses as well as the General Scholarship Fund.

    When you give to the Scholarship Fund, you can help someone learn to read, interpret and apply the Bible. You can help a pastor strengthen his preaching skills. You can train a missionary to serve the people where God has called him or her to go. You can help students achieve their dream … all through the Scholarship Golf Tournament.

    For more information, visit www.ccbs.edu/golf.

  •  

    05HitsandMissHIT (Festival) – Fayetteville’s Dogwood Fall Festival was certainly a “hit.” Culinary offerings were aplenty: 39 food trucks.

    A popular children’s zone was a first this year. Local bands entertained from the stage. A haunted house was popular given the time of year. And the weather couldn’t have been better.

    MISS (Mediocrity) – Many of us suspect we know one of the reasons that Greater Fayetteville hasn’t grown in recent years. The buzzword is “mediocrity.” Not all business and civic leaders may agree, but many locals, past and present, who’ve been successful know exactly what we’re talking about. Some are so frustrated they’re talking about moving, and Southern Pines and the Triangle are popular potential destinations.

    HIT (Gratitude) – The Cumberland County Disaster Recovery Coalition was founded by Steve Rogers in the aftermath of the tornado that ripped through much of Cumberland County in 2011. Last month, the coalition held a “Heart of Matthew” luncheon to honor community heroes who helped others recover from Hurricane Matthew a year ago. “This is what we do when we love our neighbor as ourselves,” said Chip Grammar.

    MISS (Roadway Sign Clutter) – The median in the newly-paved section of Bragg Boulevard between Filter Plant Drive and Pearl Street has two dozen little signs to distract drivers’ attention. They are unnecessary instruction signs that only add clutter to the streetscape. Some of them tell motorists not to make U-turns – despite the fact the medians have made U-turns necessary and completely legal. 

    MISS (Sidewalks) – Forty years ago, the developers of Montclair off Raeford Road built houses and sidewalks, but to this day, sidewalks are few and far between in new Fayetteville neighborhoods. When businesses are built in commercial areas, they’re required to put in sidewalks or pay a fine. A section of Sycamore Dairy Road between Morganton and McPherson Church Roads is missing a sidewalk between the State Employees Credit Union and a hotel a hundred yards away. Why? It’s a vacant lot, and the city hasn’t seen fit to fill in the gap. Progressive thinking? Hardly! 

    HIT (Tallywood Shopping Center) – The developers of the new Publix Mega Market on Raeford Road had the good sense to retain the Tallywood name. The iconic Tallywood Tower remains, too, as does Mi Casita. It was the only existing store to survive the otherwise total makeover of the center. Tallywood, whose name was derived from the family that developed one of Fayetteville’s first strip malls, has a dozen or so storefronts for businesses.

    MISS (Fayetteville Chamber of Commerce’s choice for a Candidate Forum moderator) – Tim White

    White is The Fayetteville Observer’s only remaining editorial page editor. Understanding that The Fayetteville Observer’s new owner, Gatehouse Media, has cut its local professional journalistic talent down to the bone helps us understand the void this community is experiencing in balanced, comprehensive and informed local news coverage.

    After all, it’s one thing for a resident invested in Fayetteville and Cumberland County to be vocal and critical of issues concerning our community, leadership, quality of life and economic development initiatives. However, when you don’t live here, you lose the right to pass judgment on the people, policies and processes that affect our local citizens and community.

    Tim White not only doesn’t live in Fayetteville, he lives in a different county 50 miles from here – Chatham County – on the western edge of the affluent Triangle. So, for White to be passing his judgments, critiques and criticisms on our residents, policies and politics is insulting. Posing questions and drilling community political candidates who have stepped up to serve as potential governmental leaders of this community and who care about the future of Fayetteville and Cumberland County is beyond ironic. It’s disrespectful to our community.

    HIT (Comic Con Convention)

    Congratulations to event organizer Michael Chauduri, Crown Coliseum general manager Jim Grafstrom, Crown staff and Linda McAlister of Up & Coming Weekly community newspaper for making the two-day Comic Con such a wonderful, pleasant and memorable experience for the thousands of whimsical, fun and fantasy fans who attended. Not only was it a great event and huge success, but the local outreach of friendliness and hospitality toward the attendees is just what this community needs more of to reflect positively on the Fayetteville community and help us develop our brand. They sent thousands of visitors home saying great things about the Fayetteville community.

     

  •  

    04karlMuch of my writing and speaking address what might be seen as the failings of American society. Among these failings are poverty, troublingly high crime rates, rapidly disappearing standards of morality, a political system out of control and tremendous racial and economic tensions. By no means is this a complete list. Part of what wears on me – scares me – is that the solutions applied to the myriad failings are, far too often, destructive rather than helpful. In the face of this reality, I struggle to hear from God as to what he would have me do by way of contributing to turning this tide of helping, which keeps proving destructive instead of productive.

    My thought that efforts to help often prove destructive is not a widely acknowledged or accepted premise. Consequently, a recent experience was unexpected and shocked me almost beyond belief. My wife is a marriage and family therapist. That means she attends a good many conferences. When she is in a generous mood, I get invited to tag along – to freeload. My latest invite was for a trip to Nashville, Tennessee. She was staying at the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Conference Center, which is within easy walking distance of the Grand Ole Opry. The resort provides a shuttle to downtown Nashville. I planned to go to the Opry, eat barbecue downtown and enjoy the resort amenities.

    That plan went well until my wife came in one night and told me she had met some people she wanted me to meet. They were in the exhibit area sharing information regarding their nonprofit. Meeting these people, or even going to the conference, was not in my plan. Denise, my wife, was excited and told me I had to meet these people. In the interest of peace in my marriage and not jeopardizing future freeloading opportunities, I agreed to meet the couple.

    They were Meredith and Rob Kendall, who lead Renewing the Mind Network. Their brochure states, in part: “RTMS has grown nationally and is used to help men and women conquer the pain, anger and anxiety from their past and write a new story founded in Christ.” The 180 Program is a division of Renewing the Mind Network. It was because of the 180 Program that Denise said I had to meet this couple. Foundational to this program is The New Beginnings Study that, according to a brochure, “leads students to identify, understand and overcome the thoughts, feelings, behaviors and patterns that are the root cause of their negative cycles.”

    The New Beginnings Study covers these topics: job readiness; Budgeting 101; relationships; parenting; and leadership. What I find encouraging is that these topics are presented in a fashion that addresses the causes of poverty and other societal ills. For example, there is no doubt that less-than- adequate parenting can contribute to the perpetuation of a generational cycle of poverty. This description is given for the parenting section: “Parenting is a four-week study for the student to learn that their actions and attitudes impact their children and focuses on directing the heart of the child and not merely gaining obedient behavior.”

    My constant argument, my lament, is that we, as a nation, do not seriously look for the causes of conditions that are indicative of our failings as a society. Instead, we put programs and efforts in place that feel good and seem right but do little or no good. In fact, when it comes to addressing poverty and some other challenges, societal actions, especially those of governments, are destructive. When I met Rob and Meredith, Rob started making this point; I knew Denise was right to insist that I meet these people. Rob talked, Meredith monitored, and I listened. I walked away with a “180 Sample Book” and Rob’s book, “Breaking the Broken: Debunking the Myth of Social Justice.” Please go to www.youtube.com/watch?v=L1PK10z2AvI and view Rob Kendall being interviewed by Monica Schmelter regarding his book.

    Talking with Kendall and reading “Breaking the Broken” has provided some relief now that I realize I am not alone in my thinking about the lack of effectiveness of most social programs. Talking about their previous efforts to help the poor, he writes, “Our service to the poor had been counterproductive. We were making things worse and adding to their struggle. We were actually breaking the broken. Trying to make someone more comfortable in a life that is falling apart isn’t really helping.”

    Therein is the point. Regarding poverty, look at all the programs that have been put in place. Many studies have taken on this task. Several that I looked at contend some programs are helpful; however, the overall effect is not impressive by any means.

    In a 2014 article titled “Paul Ryan’s Audit of Federal Anti-Poverty Programs Finds Many Are Actually Very Effective,” Igor Volsky wrote regarding an assessment by the House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, R-W.I. Here is some of what Volsky wrote:

    The assessment, which is designed to kick off his campaign to revamp federal welfare programs, broadly characterizes federal aid as counterproductive and ineffective. Ryan argues that federal programs have contributed to the nation’s high poverty rate and ‘created what’s known as the poverty trap.’ The report argues, “Federal programs are not only failing to address the problem. They are also in some significant respects making it worse.”

    Volsky then says, “Ryan’s own analysis points out, numerous progressive-minded spending programs have helped millions of Americans and significantly reduced the nation’s poverty rate. Below are 16 examples from Ryan’s own report of how the government can help lower-income Americans make ends meet.” He lists 16 programs. I find it revealing that the first program on the list of 16 is the Veterans Health Administration. He is talking about the VA. Given all that has happened with that organization, I hardly think it should be held up as effective.

    Our goal should be ensuring that actions intended to help do help. The 180 Program brochure says that “Only 33 percent of inmates remain out of jail/prison more than three years.” Regarding inmates who participate in the program, the brochure states, “76 percent of inmates remain out of jail/prison more than three years.” The 33 percent statistic also appears in a 2014 report by the National Institute of Justice. The information here clearly shows the 180 Program to be very effective.

    American governments at every level, especially the federal, are in the business of passing out money and in-kind support to citizens in poverty and other dire circumstances. Rob Kendall and congressman Paul Ryan are totally correct in saying, for the most part, these efforts do not move people to some higher level of living. They are made more comfortable in their difficult, challenging circumstance.

    Kendall contends we should be about ensuring that people have resources, opportunities, instruction/work and relationships. This is not the approach of government, or of most efforts, to help people overcome poverty or other life challenges.

    I encourage Americans to face the fact that very little of what our society is doing to help people is proving effective. As stated above, we are making life even worse for many people who are supposedly being helped.

    Meredith and Rob Kendall are offering an effective approach – God’s approach. My call is for serious examination of what they offer. It is different, and we desperately need a different approach.

     

  •  

    03FakeNewsWe Americans have heard a great deal about “fake news” in the last two years, but the concept is far from new. Orson Welles’ sonorous broadcast of a fictitious “War of the Worlds” panicked many Americans in 1938, and there are still people looking for space aliens in Roswell, New Mexico.

    Decades ago, my mother and I had a running joke about who scored the “fakest” news perused in tabloids while waiting in the grocery store checkout line. You know the type. Headlines scream about a woman in some unpronounceable – and perhaps nonexistent – foreign place who gave birth to a giraffe and the infant who was swallowed by a snake and emerged laughing at the other end. Sometimes we tried to outdo each other by making up our own fake news.

    Our creative behavior seems to have become more prevalent these days, as people from President Trump on down author their own versions of news, facts be darned. Stories like those my mother and I enjoyed are easy to spot, but fake news has become more sophisticated. What all fake news has in common – whether it is in tabloids, on television, on social media or an internet website – is that it is fabricated with the intent to amuse, deceive, manipulate, damage or do all of the above.

    Fake news has been documented in ancient Egypt and continues to this minute. Earlier fake news came with various motives from innocent to nefarious, just as ours does today. Current fake news is often overlaid with a profit motive as well – the more outrageous or salacious the story, the more clicks on it and the more money made. The goal may be deceit, but it may also be plain old greed.

    Even the definition of fake news has become squashier. Instead of an outright lie, it might be satire a la “Saturday Night Live,” “The Daily Show” and the “Late Show with Stephen Colbert.” It is fair to say the subtlety  – and I use that word with great respect – escapes some people who mistake satire for fact. Oh, well!

    So how do well-meaning and serious news consumers inoculate ourselves from fake news? How do we filter the reasonable-sounding though bogus from the nutty but true? We probably cannot do so completely, but there are some defenses we can try.

    If there are more !!! than simple …, more CAPITALS than lowercase letters, if it says, “THIS IS NOT A HOAX,” if it asks you to forward to all your friends (or those who are not), chances or better than not that it is bogus!

    Tried and true advice always works, so consider the source. Have you ever heard of it? Is it credible? Is it really a source, or did someone just make it up? Not everything in print is true, nor is everything on the internet or TV. If you do not know the source and cannot find out anything about it, be very careful. This holds true whether the source is an organization or a person. If credentials look real, investigate a little more. If the author purports to have been awarded a Pulitzer Prize, which would give him or her credibility, double-check at the Pulitzer website. If a research center says it is associated with Princeton University – again a credibility enhancer – check with Princeton to confirm.

    Don’t just read or listen to the headline. Even real news stories cannot convey all the information in a headline. It may be factual, it may be a satirical piece, or it may be fake, but the devil is in the details. The more you read and hear, the better your sense of real versus fake will become.

    And finally, be aware of your points of view and, yes, your own biases. Are you seeking out stories and other information that merely preach to your private choir? Are you predisposed to stories about Barack Obama’s Kenyan birth or Donald Trump’s rocky relationship with facts? Do you challenge yourself to understand stories you are uncomfortable with or with which you disagree? If you are a Fox News devotee, do you ever switch to see what is being said on MSNBC and vice versa? Both are news outlets with distinctive points of view that dance around facts they may not like.

    The bottom line here is that we Americans are truly blessed to have a constitutional right to our own opinions, no matter how wacky they may be.

    What we are not entitled to is our own set of personal facts.

     

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    02PubPenIf the town of Hope Mills were a new Wall Street stock offering, I would add it to my financial portfolio. Why? Because it has all the right indicators for growth and prosperity based on its leadership, management, policies and services. The previously small, sleepy mill town of Hope Mills is neither small nor sleepy any longer. With a population of nearly 17,000, growth and development are both evident and inevitable. During the last several years, the population has grown, schools have expanded, and more property is being designated for professional and commercial use. Yes, economic growth and development are inevitable.

    The leadership of Hope Mills has faced many challenges in recent years. Constructing the dam and restoring the town’s signature lake after a 10-year hiatus has presented multiple herculean challenges. Yet, Hope Mills elected officials and town staff have risen to the occasion through perseverance, dedication, hard work and love for their community. The future of Hope Mills looks bright.

    Hope Mills residents need to keep a good thing going. Next Tuesday, when the polls open on Election Day, they need to get out and vote for the candidates they feel will help the town to grow and prosper and take its rightful place in the 21st century. Hope Mills leadership can no longer afford to spend its time dealing with whispers, gossip and innuendo  – all of which serve as a distraction and stifle progress. Distractions that stifle progress and waste time. Time that could be spent expanding town services, promoting local businesses, attracting economic development and providing amenities to residents.

    It is unfortunate not much attention or publicity has been given to the upcoming Hope Mills mayoral race or commissioners race. Fayetteville’s municipal election has cast a shadow over all the other countywide races. And, until recently, Hope Mills residents did not have consistent and reliable access to information about the candidates or important issues concerning the town. In the Hope Mills section of this week’s issue, Rod MacLean, a popular Hope Mills resident and community activist, writes about the value and importance of voter turnout in the upcoming Hope Mills election. Informed voters will elect, and re-elect, those people who have a positive vision for Hope Mills growth and prosperity.

    Up & Coming Weekly is looking forward to being Hope Mills’ community newspaper. We want to tell the Hope Mills story, keep the residents informed of important issues and developments and introduce candidates and future leaders to the community. Also, we are looking forward to being Hope Mills’ positive voice to the other 300,000 residents of Cumberland County. There is no doubt Hope Mills will become one of our area’s “must-see” destinations.

    Thank you for reading Up & Coming Weekly, Hope Mills’ community newspaper.

     

  •  

    18from the roadCritters: they are everywhere. And they are crazy. Critters and motorcycles don’t get along. I tried to think of how many people I know who have hit an animal while on a bike and walked away. I came up with two – me and my friend Rick, who has hit two deer and survived.

    I was in Colorado, and I hit a bird at 60 mph. It hit my arm. At first, I wasn’t sure what had happened because it happened so quickly. Then I had a sensation that my arm was missing. I checked and saw it was still with me. Then I saw the feathers. I was lucky it was not a direct hit to the face. Everyone else I’ve ever talked to who hit something wound up on the pavement. It is painful, expensive and sometimes life-threatening.

    Critters come in all shapes and sizes. In the past few months, I’ve encountered several animals, including dogs, raccoons, turkeys, possums, cats, a turtle and deer. I’ve also been stung on my face by bees on three different occasions. It stinks (I’m putting that as nicely as I can for a family-friendly newspaper). One got inside of my full-face helmet and went to town on the side of my face. It died a quick and horrible death. When something like that happens, it is good to keep calm. Don’t panic. Slow down and get to the safe part of the road, all along bearing the pain shooting through your face. Once you and your bike are safe, have as much fun as you can getting away from or killing the bee as you wish.

    Deer and dogs put me on high alert. When I see either, I go into the defense mode real quick.

    Deer are beautiful creatures, but they are crazier than most of the animals we encounter on America’s roads. Deer season is in full swing in most areas of the state. The deer have all received their NC Hunting Regulation Digest and have studied the rules, locations and hunting times just to keep life interesting. They study these things so they will know where and when it is safe to roam and laugh at the humans trying to hunt them. This means that these beautiful animals are hanging out near the roads because they know that hunters can’t shoot them there. These animals see you coming and, for the fun of it, will jump right out in front of you just to watch you freak out. Sometimes, they will stay on the road and play chicken with you. Judging by the dead deer on the side of the road, I suppose some are just suicide deer.

    The point of the story is that you should avoid animals at all cost. Even a small animal can ruin your day. Once, I spotted a beautiful deer in the brush ahead of me. I slowed to see what the doe was going to do because animals are slow to respond to lights, horns or motorcycles. I was almost at a complete stop when suddenly the crazy thing jumped up and over my front tire. It was so close I could smell it, and I’m telling you – they look nice, but they stink.

    Whether the animal is small or large, if you hit one on a bike, chances are you are going to lose. Pay attention to deer crossing signs. They put signs where they collect numerous carcasses. When you see these signs, be on your guard. As evening approaches, be aware that animals are attracted to paved roadways because they provide warmth – particularly on cool nights.

    When you see an animal, it is best to try to move the animal out of your way. Hollering, horns and loud pipes seem to work for most animals – except for the crazy motorcycle-chasing dog. The top speed for the crazed dog is about 30 mph. If you come upon one, just stay focused, roll the throttle up or down and get out of its way. If you get in a tight spot and find yourself side by side, you’d better have your wits about you. If you kick at it, you can easily lose your balance and swerve off your line and wreck. If you screw up and drop your bike, you may be laying there with a bike on you and a dog taking you for a snack. It is tempting to stick your foot out, but I like to keep my leg out of the path of the dog’s teeth. No matter what evasive action you take, remember to stay focused on your driving first and then get out of the danger zone as quickly as possible.

    If you encounter an aggressive dog on your regular route, you may want to contact the local authorities. Depending on the owner, law enforcement official or ordinance, this tactic may not work. If it doesn’t, I would suggest stopping and talking to the owner. Be polite and tell him or her that their pet is a hazard. If the owner refuses to do anything about it, you might just ask the owner if you can get the name of their insurance agent and lawyer and let them know that if you wreck because of their dog, you will be forced to take legal action.

    We share the road with lots of people, critters and unexpected hazards. So, be careful out there. It’s a jungle.

    RIDE SAFE!

     

     

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    13DG MartinWhat is North Carolina’s bestknown and most influential college? It might be an institution that went out of business 60 years ago, Black Mountain College. Still today, educators praise and criticize the college’s progressive and collaborative approach. In 2015, Boston’s Institute of Contemporary Art’s exhibit, titled “Leap Before You Look: Black Mountain College 1933-1957,” celebrated the college’s “cultural force long felt” and the “school’s ethos, in which experience was the basis of knowledge, and objects were not fixed things, but mirrors of their environment, the result of action and experimentation.”

    A book recently released opens the door to understanding the college’s enduring allure.

    Surprisingly, that book, “Hidden Scars” by Mark de Castrique, is not a Black Mountain guide or history book.

    It is a detective story.

    “Detective story!” I can hear you screaming, “What can a murder mystery have to do with a closeddown college?”

    De Castrique is the author of a series of novels set in modern-day Asheville featuring the detective team of Sam Blackman and Nakayla Robertson. Sam is a veteran who lost his leg in military action and wears a prosthesis. Nakayla, his partner in business and in love, is African-American.

    De Castrique makes Black Mountain College the center point of action in the detectives’ investigations of suspicious deaths in two different time periods.

    First, an 80-year-old woman asks them to look into the death of her brother, Paul Weaver. He was student at the college in the 1940s who died in a reported hiking accident. Seventy years later, his sister suspects foul play.

    Second, their first investigation takes them to the former site of the college. There, a film crew is making a commercial film set in the college’s heyday in the 1930s and ’40s. Soon there are new deaths to investigate.

    In trying to crack the 70-yearold case, Sam and Nakayla track down former Black Mountain students who might have known Paul. They fly to New York City to visit Eleanor Johnson, an African American who was a student of the legendary dancer, choreographer and Black Mountain faculty member Merce Cunningham.

    Eleanor remembers Paul as a good friend but does not believe their interracial friendship prompted violence against him. However, she tells them Paul had a special bond with a Jewish refugee, Leah Rosen, who lives in a retirement village in Chapel Hill. A long drive to Chapel Hill for a visit with Leah confirms her friendship with Paul but nothing more.

    Another contemporary of Paul’s at the college, Harlan Beale, is a handyman on the film set. He also provides filmmakers with background information about the college. Shortly after agreeing to help Sam and Nakayla find others who might remember Paul, Harlan is found dead at the Black Mountain College Museum in Asheville.

    In scarcely over 200 pages, Sam and Nakayla, aided by Asheville city police, Buncombe County sheriff’s deputies and the FBI solve, these mysterious deaths, both contemporary and 70-years past.

    In following the investigations, readers learn of the special progressive educational experiences the college provided: Buckminster Fuller and his attempts to build a geodesic dome, Merce Cunningham, and a host of artists, craftsmen and authors who became teachers and mentors and jump-started their students’ careers.

    The college attracted political liberals, racial integrationists and even some communists. These ideas and the people who held them were not welcome in the North Carolina mountains. And the progressive learning model the college projected did not attract the financial support necessary to fund even a modest college operation.

    While Mark de Castrique is giving us a well-crafted and satisfying detective story, he reminds us of what we lost when the college closed.

     

  •  

    05Reader supports Kathy JensenKathy Jensen has many titles and roles in our city. You might know her as Councilwoman, business owner, ECU alumni, huge Pine Forest High School fan, others fondly know her as friend, sister, wife, or mom.

    I have so much respect for Kathy Jensen in her many roles and leadership in our city. Her passion spans beyond the North Side of Fayetteville where she has represented her
    District so well.

    Additionally, she has been the only woman to represent us for the past four years on the City Council. Through starting the Fayetteville Youth Council, she has empowered young students across our city to get involved making a difference and additionally they get exposure to the inner workings of Fayetteville through attending City Council meetings.

    Kathy has practical experience collaborating, providing input and solutions for city ordinances, a voting record that speaks for itself on infrastructure and economic development. The decisions made on City Council require a higher level of thinking problem dedicated and invested in our community.

    She has served our city well and her trajectory moving our city forward is evident as you continues forward in her role as a member of our City Council.

    Thank you,
    Kelly Twedell

     

    PHOTO: Karen Jensen

     

  •  

    04 candidates speakThis is a first for me.

    I’ve never run for office. To be honest, I never even thought about running – until earlier this year, when some close friends and family members encouraged me to launch a campaign for city council.

    I blew them off at first. I’m not a politician, and I’ve never had much regard for the folks who will say whatever it takes to get elected and then ignore their constituents once they get into office. But I also grew up here in Fayetteville, built my business here, and hope to be here for the rest of my life. I love this city. I love its potential. And I know we ultimately won’t reach that potential if we keep electing the same people and hoping for a better result.

    I also know our local government could use a little more real-world experience. In business, you have to work with people to get things done. You have to find common ground. That doesn’t mean you compromise your core principles, but it does mean you have to listen and find creative ways to solve problems. I think we could use a little more of that experience at every level of government, but maybe especially the level closest to the people.

    After countless hours praying and thinking about this, I would like to be your District 5 City Councilman. And here’s what I can promise you, if elected:

    • Responsiveness. I’ll listen to you and your concerns, and I’ll do whatever I can to help resolve any problems you have with the city’s bureaucracy.

    • Honesty. I’ll tell you the truth, even if it’s not what you want to hear.

    • Common Sense. I’ll do everything I can to make decisions that make sense for our district. I hope I can earn your vote in the upcoming election. In the meantime, if I can ever answer any questions about me or my campaign, please don’t hesitate to reach out.

     

    PHOTO: Henry Tyson

     

  •  

    03pittdickeyThe president tweets, and America either cheers with delight or recoils in horror. There is no middle ground. As the Irish poet Willie Yeats wrote in “The Second Coming,” “Things fall apart: the center cannot hold/... The best lack all conviction, while the worst/are full of passionate intensity.”

    We currently have more passionate intensity than you can shake the proverbial stick at. Our current civil divisions may not turn out as well for us as we hoped with all the momentum frothing up on the fringes of society.

    On a similar but less lofty version of Yeats’ point, recall the immortal advice from Johnny Mercer: “You’ve got to accentuate the positive/eliminate the negative/ and latch on to the affirmative/don’t mess with Mr. In-Between.”

    Taking a hint from Mercer, I tried to find something positive in President Trump’s recent comments about the press writing things he doesn’t like. The president branded the mainstream media as the “Enemy of the People.” He has tweeted, “With all the Fake News coming out of NBC and the Networks, at what point is it appropriate to challenge their license? Network news has become so partisan, distorted and fake, that licenses must be challenged, and if appropriate, revoked. Not fair to the public!” He finished up by saying, on TV, “It’s frankly disgusting the way the press is able to write whatever they want to write. And people should look into it.” George Orwell has already looked into it.

    Pondering the president’s statement about how disgusting it is that the press is able to write whatever they want to write got me thinking about how the president might get the press to write stuff that he likes. Fortunately, our old buddy George Orwell spelled out the solution in his laugh-a-minute book, “1984.” With the savings from gutting the subsidies to pay for health insurance, the EPA and the State Department, the president can create a new department: The Ministry of Truth as described by Mr. Orwell. The Ministry of Truth (Minitrue) is just what the president needs to combat Fake News, which is any news he doesn’t like.

    Imagine what Trump’s Minitrue might look like using Orwell’s Newspeak from “1984.” Orwell was kind enough to include a Newspeak dictionary in “1984” which defines the Minitrue as “the department of government in charge of all record keeping, history re-writing and trashy entertainment and spurious news, which the Party handed out to the masses. This includes written literature, movies, music and other forms of propaganda handed out to the proles.” News or history that doesn’t meet the approval of the Minitrue goes down the old memory hole into the furnace in the basement.

    The new U.S. Ministry of Truth will be in charge of granting prior approval for any news reported by TV, newspapers, social media or individuals. Let’s walk down Orwell Lane and review his Newspeak concepts.

    Censorship by any other name would smell as sweet. The goal of the Minitrue is to prevent thoughtcrime, which consists of even considering any thought not in line with official standards. Thoughtcrime will be enforced by the Thought Police, who will monitor all statements, facecrime (facial expression reacting adversely to news supported by the State), and activities of citizens. The goal of controlling the news is to create bellyfeel, which is blind, enthusiastic acceptance of a concept.

    The goal is to create citizens with blackwhite, which is “the ability to accept whatever truth the party puts out – no matter how absurd it may be. It means the ability to believe that black is white and forget that one has ever believed to the contrary.”

    A double-plus good citizen must have the ability to doublethink, which is “the power to hold two completely contradictory belief’s in one’s mind simultaneously and accept both of them.”

    Good citizens will participate in a daily Two Minute Hate Session where all televisions and smartphones will show pictures of enemies of the State like Anderson Cooper or Rachel Maddow for the viewers to boo, hiss at and curse. Orwell provided the blueprint for the Ministry of Truth. All that is needed to stop the disgusting news media from reporting double-plus ungood facts offensive to the president is a little old Constitutional Convention to abolish the First Amendment or indifferent citizens. The first Secretary of the Ministry of Truth ready to enforce rightthink is already on the national scene.

    May I introduce the Secretary of Minitrue, the Honorable Steve Bannon. Behind his tiny hands, Big Brother is watching you.

     

  •  

    02pubpenEditor’s note: With the election right around the corner, former city council candidate Jason Brady has some salient thoughts on the future of the greater Fayetteville area. Publisher Bill Bowman yields this space to Brady this week due to the relevance and timeliness of the topic. 

    Since I’m no longer a candidate for Fayetteville City Council, I can write about this topic without breaking an agreement I had with Bill Bowman. We agreed that I not bring my candidacy into my column.

    So, today I want to write about my campaign issues that obviously didn’t resonate with voters, but which I think are still relevant.

    I didn’t pull them out of the air. Instead, months before I filed for office, I started a conversation with people. It was an informal conversation at first. I simply asked people what they disliked about living in Fayetteville.

    Let me emphasize again – it was an unscientific survey. I used social media, direct mail, hand-delivered surveys and just pure conversations with people who would listen and answer. Heck, I even jotted notes on paper napkins and paper place settings from the Greek Pancake Breakfast.

    The most telling thoughts people had about Fayetteville came from my first two questions:

    1.  What three things don’t you like about living in Fayetteville?

    2.  What three things do you like about living in Fayetteville?

    I included other questions to gauge opinions about local government. I asked if they believed Fayetteville and Cumberland County spent tax dollars wisely. I asked for their take on the bond referendum for parks and recreation amenities, and I asked what they thought about spending $33 million on a baseball stadium and if downtown was the best place to build it. I received interesting answers and more fodder for future columns.

    But first, about the first two questions and answers – on which I based my campaign message.

    While I asked for three reasons someone might dislike living in Fayetteville, the responses seemed to center mostly on four dislikes. They may have been worded differently, but the core thread about our city was obvious. They are listed below in no particular order:

    •  Lack of professional-level jobs, the kind of full-time jobs that pay a salary that can entice a family to live in Fayetteville. We have plenty of low-paying, part-time jobs. We don’t have jobs that keep young people in Fayetteville. The only young people coming back are those whose families own businesses and can employ them.

    •  A trashy appearance, especially along the gateways into the city. It’s not just trash, but the appearance of property. Despite efforts of people like Councilman Bobby Hurst, who spearheads the Fayetteville Beautiful efforts, we have more people who don’t care how we present our community to visitors who could be potential employers.

    •  Violent crime. People hear about gunfights in crowded parking lots or dead bodies floating down the Cape Fear River. Violent crime has risen nationwide for two consecutive years, and Fayetteville is no exception.

    •  Finally, people dislike the traffic. The responses about traffic varied. For some, it’s those “damned” center medians the highway department is putting on every street, making it nearly impossible to get where you’re going. For others, it’s the sheer volume of traffic coupled with crazy aggressive drivers who’ll change a lane and cut you off like it’s the right thing to do. The reasons people like living in Fayetteville, sadly, have nothing to do with our city. Rather, it’s because of Fayetteville’s position in relation to other amenities: family who live nearby, military-affiliated services and proximity to the beach and mountains.

    Our soon-to-be elected council has a lot of work ahead to address these types of issues. I hope voters are smart enough to elect representatives who can work toward solutions and not for candidates based on superficial motives.

     

  •  

     07MissionariesActs 1:8: “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be my witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.”

    Jesus commands all followers to be worldwide witnesses. Yet, while all are commanded to be worldwide witnesses, some are called as vocational missionaries to minister interculturally. For those called to be a missionary, the journey often appears to be extensive, expensive and seemingly insurmountable. Here are a few things to consider when asking how to become a vocational missionary.

    The importance of a local church

    Matthew 16:18 “… I will build My church …”

    Jesus promised to build His Church. Thus, a person called to vocational missions must see that charge confirmed and fulfilled through a local church. The church in Antioch functioned as a sending church: “Then, when they had fasted and prayed and laid their hands on them, they sent them away” (Acts 13:3). This is also the working of the Holy Spirit through a local church, as Acts 13:4 says: “So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit.”

    The importance of training

    Once set apart by the Holy Spirit and confirmed by a local church, a missionary must also be equipped.

    Many local churches require a vocational missionary to prepare by means of rigorous training in obtaining a bachelor’s degree and often delegate such training to a Bible college. Carolina College of Biblical Studies is called to come alongside the local church to be of help.

    Courses that serve the missionary well include:

    1. History and Philosophy of Missions  This course is designed to develop insight regarding the strengths and weaknesses of missions throughout history with an analysis of missions movement from apostolic times to the present.

    2. Contemporary Issues in Missions  This course is a study of the major issues, trends and problems related to modern missions. It will include an analysis of mission agencies and the local church, moral integrity, short term missions, church planting, teamwork and the role of prayer in missionary outreach.

    3. Cross-Cultural Adaptation  This course introduces the challenges of living and working in a culturally foreign environment. It exposes the processes of culture shock, cultural adaptation and re-entry stress.

    4. Missionary Life  This course is a practical study of missionary life and ministry. It surveys the procedures involved in becoming a missionary candidate and the various stages all the way through reaching the selected field of service.

    5. Missions Practicum  A mission’s practicum covers practical concerns with missions service under the direction of supervisors and the program adviser. Ministries in and through the local church and/or mission agency will provide entry-level experience for the missions trainee.

    We’re here to help

    Carolina College of Biblical Studies offers training for missionaries by means of a minor in intercultural studies. The minor is designed to provide practical experience for those expecting to participate in some aspect of world evangelization in cross-cultural situations as a missionary.

    By the end of the minor, students will be able to:

    • Create a personal philosophy of missions to guide leadership capabilities.

    • Explain the purpose of missions and demonstrate an understanding of the history of the modern missionary movement.

    • Identify elements of the support structure for missions, including the roles of churches, individuals, mission agencies and other para-church organizations.

    • Evaluate and create various types of written and oral communication for both intercultural and cross-cultural settings.

     

     

  •  

    05NFLAs I was driving home from church Sunday, Sept. 24, a report of NFL players kneeling during the national anthem rumbled from my truck radio. The Baltimore Ravens and Jacksonville Jaguars were playing in London. The number of players participating in this protest had dramatically increased from previous games. The explanation was that the kneeling players were responding to comments made by President Trump in which he said players who do not stand during the anthem should be fired. My response was one of outrage, disgust, confusion and a multitude of other similar reactions. When I got home, I shared the account with my wife, who is a committed NFL fan. My final statement to her was, “I won’t be watching any NFL games.” That is my position while this protest continues; however, it might be that I never watch another NFL game, even when the protest ends.

    As I have researched and thought through this “refusal to stand” protest, my opposition to it has simply grown more concrete. Colin Kaepernick, former San Francisco 49ers quarterback, was the first athlete who refused to stand during the national anthem. This was during the 2016-17 season. His was a protest against police treatment of minorities. The current refusal to stand during the national anthem is said to be in protest of the oppression of black Americans.

    My research and thinking through started with the claim of oppression. Cambridge English Dictionary defines oppression as “a situation in which people are governed in an unfair and cruel way and prevented from having opportunities and freedom.” As I look at all that is available to blacks in this country, I cannot come anywhere close to seeing oppression. Americans are, by no means, perfect in how we treat one another, but to label treatment of blacks in America as “oppression” defies reason. There are examples in the lives of millions of us (black Americans) that defy this claim of oppression.

    Put the millions of examples aside and simply consider the average annual salaries of some of the black NFL players who are participating in this protest. Here are four players from a list of nine in an article by Brent Scher titled “Here Are the Highest Paid NFL Players Who Protested the national anthem on Sunday.” Denver Broncos’ Von Miller – $19 million; Buffalo Bills’ LeSean McCoy – $8m; New England Patriots’ Devin McCourty – $9.5m; Los Angeles Chargers’ Melvin Ingram – $16m.

    These are black men who are paid millions per year to play a game that is substantially supported by whites in America. These players certainly do not appear oppressed. This is a nation that affords black citizens free public education through high school; programs that enhance the likelihood of college admission; protections from discrimination in employment; equal access to various government entitlement programs; access to military service; protections for equal access to housing. The list goes on. Again, I say, America has racial challenges, but defining the condition as oppression is inaccurate, unfair and hinders successfully addressing issues of race in this country.

    I cannot understand how anybody thinks that not standing during the national anthem will rally Americans to seriously seek to resolve issues of race. The Free Dictionary includes two statements that explain my inability to understand this mode of protest: “A national anthem is a song formally adopted as the anthem for a nation. An anthem is a song of devotion or loyalty (as to a nation or school).” Given this explanation, Americans who refuse to participate in the prescribed manner during the national anthem open themselves to charges of being disrespectful of and unpatriotic to our nation.

    No matter what is intended, given the role of the national anthem, refusing to stand is viewed by many Americans as totally unacceptable. In great part, objection to people not standing is driven by appreciation for the human cost paid and being paid to ensure our freedom. Those few minutes when the anthem is shared calls us to reflection. That is, remembering those who serve and have served in the military of this nation … those who gave their very life in defense of America. Beyond that, there is reflection on all that is good about our country. This is a solemn time that holds tremendous meaning for those who love and appreciate America. Consequently, protesting during the anthem is doomed to failure.

    When challenged regarding their protest, participating players and others rush to The First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. They argue that players, even at work, have free speech rights under that amendment. The amendment says: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.” The focus here is on government not being allowed to compress freedom of speech.

    The amendment does not apply to actions by employers. The truth of this statement shows through in NFL rules that affect players’ freedom of expression. The examples abound: even though recently relaxed, there are very detailed rules on end zone celebrations and what players may and may not wear during a game. The Dallas Cowboys were not allowed to, during preseason or regular season games, wear a decal showing support for Dallas police and family members of five officers killed by a sniper July 7, 2016. Add to this list the following from an article by Hank Berrien titled “NFL’s Free Speech: Kneeling For the Anthem Is Fine, But Fighting Breast Cancer And Domestic Violence? Shut Up:”

    In 2013, Chicago Bears wide receiver Brandon Marshall was fined $5,250 for wearing green shoes in honor of Mental Health Awareness week, which was especially poignant because Marshall himself suffered from Borderline Personality Disorder, as FOX Sports noted.

    Pittsburgh Steelers running back DeAngelo Williams was fined $5,787 in 2015 for wearing “Find the Cure” eye black with the message “We will find a cure” printed along with a pink ribbon, according to Aditi Kinkhabwala of NFL Network. His mother died of breast cancer in 2010.

    The preceding discussion shows the NFL, or individual team owners, are not bound by First Amendment provisions. Consequently, allowing the anthem protest is not required. That leads me to wonder why the league and owners are allowing these protests to continue. I think former Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke partially answers the question as reported in an article by Todd Beamon titled “David Clarke: NFL Protests Part of Left’s ‘Culture War.’” Here are two Clarke quotes from that article:

    “‘Really what it’s designed to do... is to shake the foundations of this country, this great country.’”

    “To create as much chaos as they can,” he added. “To pit brother against brother, family against family – and ultimately bring down the Constitution of the United States and this great republic.”

    David Clarke is correct. Across this nation, groups and interests are being pitted against one another for political gain and dangerous societal change. In the process, the Constitution of this great nation is being shredded, and chaos is engulfing us. This anthem protest clearly advances this strategy of division, chaos and eventual control of the minds of people.

    At the bottom line, we have a protest that is based on a false narrative (oppression); disrespects a solemn practice intended to express love for our nation and appreciation for those who preserve our freedom; is wrongly seen as protected by the First Amendment; and is helping advance the destructive strategy of division, chaos and mind control.

    The sad truth is, in the end, most Americans lose – especially black Americans. In this anthem protest, we are being further divided and absolutely nothing is being accomplished by way of positively addressing issues of race in this country.

     

  •  

    Dear Mr. Thompson,

    I am a long-time fan of the Fayetteville Up & Coming Weekly and your articles! This letter is in response to your most recent opinion piece, entitled “Hits and Misses” in Volume 22 Issue 40 of the magazine. 

    While I often agree with many viewpoints in your articles, I was cautioned by your response to the recent traffic congestion caused by road construction and traffic accident investigations in our community.  I don’t view this as a contractor or a law enforcement problem. According to the US Department of Transportation’s Work Zone Management Program, there has been an increase of 7.8%  in work zone crashes, with more than 96,000 accidents occurring each year. There are at least 70 work zone-related incidents every day in the U.S. that also include an injury (https://ops.fhwa.dot.gov/wz/resources/facts_stats/safety.htm). This is primarily caused by less mindful drivers who are either in too much of a hurry or not cognizant of the hazards that they approach on the roadway. For this reason, contractors and police have expanded their boundary markers, in the need to exercise much greater caution in order to protect themselves, as well as,  sidelined vehicles.

    The bigger issue that is avoided in this discussion is the overall increase in the number of road construction projects that are occurring simultaneously across the entire county. Every major thoroughfare, from Ramsey Street, to Owen Drive, to Hope Mills Road has some type of long-term road construction going on at this time. This began in the late half of last fiscal year. What is apparent to me is that the big push for new projects fell in line with end-of-year expenditure of funds and was poorly planned.  I have an 11-mile commute to work from home and it now takes me just shy of an hour of one-way travel each day to make this trip due to commuter congestion and rerouting caused by the work zones that are peppered about our region.

    I think we both agree that the road construction zones are a big “miss” for our community. But our leaders and decision makers for these projects need to design more responsible plans in the future to ensure that our citizens can efficiently, and safely, reach their destinations. The contractors and law enforcement are just doing their job. It’s not their fault and they aren’t to blame for this problem.

    Thank you, Rebecca – Hope Mills, NC Citizen/ Workday Commuter to North Fayetteville


    04LetterstoEditorDear Editor:

    I am writing this letter in response to the Publisher’s Pen, dated Oct. 3. After reading this particular article for the fifth time, it is disturbing how anyone can demoralize the reason why Colin Kaepernick started to take a knee. To state that it is disrespectful to the veterans, military service members, and the United States, it just absurd given the fact that there are several service members of different nationalities that continue to be disrespected by racial slurs, injustice, and inequality. All this article did was just ignore the fact that it continues to happen, and deflect the real issues that are going on in America. The NFL is not an issue in my book. As an African American female veteran, I have experience this social injustice in the military and after I got out.

    Since we are on the subject of Donald Trump, NFL, the American Flag, and the National Anthem, there is no one that is discussing why the American Flag was laying on the ground at one of the NFL games (https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DLOi2E7W0AI4Am0.jpg). From the opinion of someone that has served, this is the upmost disrespect that the service members and veterans that have served or continue to serve to protect this great nation. When politics started to play a part in regards to the NFL, they created the upmost distraction, and an abundance of people are falling for it. At the end of the day, this article is just an opinion and it doesn’t represent the reason why I served in the military.

    Chanda Walker

     

  •  

    03Harvey Weinstein Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein is apologizing for decades of sexual misconduct with multiple women, some of them household names, and is even accused of rape by some of the women. News reports have him atoning by checking into a European sex addiction clinic. So widespread were rumors of Weinstein’s behavior that it has been joked about on national television.

    So what else is new?

    Men in powerful positions have been treating women in such ways since time began and getting away with it for two reasons. The women involved are often too fearful of losing their jobs, whether movie star or housekeeper, to speak up, and others who are aware of the abuse turn blind eyes. Shameful as such conduct is, no one should be surprised by the accusations against such a powerful figure.

    Maybe the surprise here is Weinstein’s acknowledgment of “mistakes” and his plea for a “second chance.” Perhaps he meant an umpteenth chance.

    Sexual misconduct occurs in all sorts of circumstances.

    My mother introduced several of my girlfriends and me to the concept when we were in middle school. She took us aside one day and suggested that we not get close to a then-powerful educator in Fayetteville with whom we had contact in school. Why was that, we asked. She explained that, while the man was a fine educator, he had “HF.” I thought she meant he had the flu or some other contagious illness, but when we asked, she explained that HF meant Hand Fever. He had the odd and unwelcome predilection of massaging girl students and women teachers up and down their backs. We got the point and gave the man wide berth in school hallways until we moved on to high school.

    My mother did not know it, but she was participating in what is now known as a “whisper network,” which The New Yorker defined earlier this month as “the unofficial information channel that women use to warn each other about men whose sexual behavior falls on the spectrum from creepy to criminal.”

    If you are a woman, you know exactly what I am talking about because you have likely advised other women or been advised yourself with something along the lines of, “Make sure someone else is in the room if you meet with John Smith.”

    If you are a man, you have very likely been discussed on the network, either as safe and delightful company or as a jerk to be avoided if possible, and, if you cannot avoid him, take a friend with you.

    Technology has turned whisper networks into more concrete entities, for better or for worse;  yet they still serve the same function – to save women from experiences that can range from unpleasant to actual trauma. After the Weinstein story broke, a spreadsheet entitled “S****y Media Men” began circulating on the internet among women in media, with the disclaimer that it was a collection of “allegations and rumors.” It will not be the last of such modern whispering.

    Virtually every woman alive has some experience with sexual misconduct, and it is difficult in all circumstances whether she keeps it to herself or speaks about it, setting up a “he said, she said” exchange.

    Such misconduct is tricky to prove because it almost always occurs in a private setting, which is why so many women keep quiet about it, either enduring it or simply moving on.

    World-famous actresses Gwyneth Paltrow and Angelina Jolie have said that Weinstein made unwanted advances toward them, but it took them years and the accusations of other women to make this statement publicly.

    Allegations of Weinstein’s misconduct continue rolling in. He is the latest in a string of powerful men accused of taking advantage of less powerful women in their workplaces. Think Bill Cosby, Roger Ailes, Bill O’Reilly and Donald Trump, all variations on the same sick theme. Right now, with headlines still screaming, it feels like we may be reaching critical mass on this issue – the point at which society will say “enough.”

    Cynics, however, argue that shining the spotlight on the issue may create another workplace issue for women – exclusion from power and responsibility. The risk, they say, is that women will be excluded from the halls of power because men fear finding themselves accused of sexual misconduct. Cynics predict a return to golf course decision-making and power exercised in places women are less likely to be.

    The cynics have a point, but I believe that making bad behavior public and the massive humiliation that follows will give pause to other men who think they are entitled to do anything they please.

    To think anything else is simply too scary and thoroughly revolting.

     

  •  

    02PubPenWell, with one municipal election candidate forum over, it remains difficult to assess the public’s overall interest or participation in Fayetteville’s upcoming municipal election. This is not surprising. Candidate forums are valuable – especially if you have a good turnout of residents. However, once you separate out the participating candidates, their family, friends, campaign staff members and the personnel of the sponsoring hosts, it makes you wonder who in the audience is really a registered, taxpaying resident there to be informed and enlightened.

    Reaching and communicating with the local masses has always been difficult. This year’s candidate forum hosts, the Greater Fayetteville Chamber and The Fayetteville Observer, are advertising and promoting that they will broadcast the event live on Facebook.

    Really? Well, obviously the Observer doesn’t want to miss this excellent opportunity to solicit “likes” on its Facebook page. But effective communication? I think not. Social media is good for sharing information; however, it is not an effective medium for building an audience of loyal, informed and caring constituents. Not only does it lack reach, but it also lacks sincerity and credibility.

    If Facebook and social media were, in fact, effective and credible media sources, the Oct. 10 primary election would not have had such a dismal and disappointing turnout. Again, in all fairness, social media can be a good means of communication once a relationship has been established. That is, of course, if fact-checking is not your thing. People who rely on the internet and social media for their news and information are by far the most uninformed and misinformed people.

    What the Fayetteville/Cumberland County community needs more than anything else is a local TV station that practices journalism’s basic Fourth Estate standards. A daily newspaper with management and staff entrenched in local matters and committed to these standards would also be a valued asset. For the most part, we live in a community that is uninformed about what is going on around us. Why? Because we lack access to responsible local news and information on a consistent basis. This breeds skepticism and apathy toward our Fayetteville and Cumberland County leadership. This situation curtails citizen participation and community involvement.

    Even in the most ideal of circumstances, it takes a focused and dedicated effort to be an informed voter. In Fayetteville, it takes a lot more effort due to limited access to local news and information. It is a sad situation that leaves the resident on his or her own to figure out what the issues are and what the truth is. This task is very difficult, and many people just stop trying. The result? Apathy. Many new families moving into our community don’t even start! The perception becomes reality. We just make it too hard to get to the truth. This year’s candidate forums are a good example. No offense intended, but it looks like we are going backward when it comes to exploring relevant issues and gaining insights into the qualifications and motives of local candidates.

    Last year, the Greater Fayetteville Chamber was on the right track. It took control and created a candidate’s forum that was a multimedia event promoted and marketed throughout the community and involved journalists from WRAL TV, Up & Coming Weekly and The Fayetteville Observer.

    This forum was a widespread community and media event supported and hosted by several local businesses and organizations. It was also promoted and televised on FayTV. The results were impressive and complimentary to all involved. This year, it seems we have lost that momentum at a time when Fayetteville is on the cusp of economic growth and becoming a more respected major metropolitan city. Can it happen? Will it happen? We’ll see in the next few weeks.

    I have tracked Fayetteville’s progress, accomplishments and development for over 21 years. I have built a successful publishing business by accentuating the good and unique features of our local quality of life. No one is in a better position to recognize and applaud the good works of the people, businesses, organizations and opportunities that have come before us during the last two decades.

    However, collectively, these good works and accomplishments pale in light of the hundreds – maybe thousands – of missed opportunities our county and city have endured because divisive sectors in our community refuse to give up their silos and cooperate and communicate for the betterment of all.

    Only honest, trustworthy leadership along with a huge dose of integrity will enable our community to seize the right opportunites and continue our forward momentum. And it will all be on the ballot come Election Day in November.

    So, do your part. Read the newspaper. Listen to the radio. Attend the forums. Ask hard questions. Seek out the truth. Be informed, and vote.

    Once the last ballot is counted, I cannot promise you will get what you want, but this community will certainly get what it deserves. It always does.

    Thank you for reading Up & Coming Weekly. Go to www.upandcomingweekly.com and subscribe to our Free Early Bird online edition and like our Facebook page. You’ll be one step closer to being better informed.

     

  •  

    I don’t know about you, but I am getting along with my fellow Americans. No matter the angle — race, culture, religious belief or anything else — that the mainstream media tries to use to divide us, I am getting along with my fellow Americans.

    The reason is quite simple. It’s respect. It’s treating others the way you want to be treated. The majority of people want to go through their day with little fuss and little drama. Most people smile back when you smile at them.

    There are racists, misogynists and cruel people in every culture. It doesn’t matter the skin color, the gender or religious or political background.

    I was once the only Caucasian in my line of work and was constantly harassed and abused. For example, I was chased off the road and almost driven off the overpass by my coworker. When I reported her, HR asked her for her reasoning and she pointed at my skin. Yet she was not fired — only reprimanded. I moved into a neighborhood in Fayetteville in 2001, and someone wrote a vulgar message on my mailbox in reference to my race. They threatened my life and the lives of my family members.

    But I chose to not let those experiences create a belief that everyone from the same race is bad because of what a few of them chose to do. How we respond to such behavior can either provoke more hatred or stop it.

    What we see online and on TV and what we hear on the radio could lead us to believe there is no unity in America, that we hold each other in contempt and that we choose to fight hate with hate. That has not been my experience — in fact, quite the opposite.

    Walk into Sammio’s or Food Lion, and people of all backgrounds will greet you. Drive down Main Street and watch as cars allow others out of the parking lot to Rose’s or Lowe’s. Each car has someone in it who is different than you.

    It happens every day. Strangers — people of different genders, races, religions, lifestyles — treat each other with kindness and respect. It’s wonderful when you think about it. All these people have a story to tell. Some may be sad. Some may be tragic. Some may be exhilarating. Yet each one is a small part of something that leads to a greater community.

    For the most part, Americans want peaceful lives. They want to be able to go to work and provide for themselves and their families. They want to be able worship how they choose. They want to be able to express their opinions, rightfully so, without being harassed or threatened.

    Don’t let the news on TV or radio lead you into believing that everyone is against you because of who you are.

    Please note, I am in no way, shape or form, diminishing the evil actions of people like the Vegas shooter or the Orlando shooter. I am not in denial. I’m not looking through rose-colored glasses. I see the evils of this world. I do believe in being aware of the world around you.

    But I also believe in living each day to the fullest and not letting the hatred that the media is trying to spread overshadow what is truly going on in my community. And when you stop and look at how the majority of the people within this community treat each other, the reality sets in. So please don’t feed into the hype.

     

  •  

    Is your love life a bit bumpy? Do other people seem to be on a happier romantic level than you? Here’s a love story that will make you feel better about your situation because it’s about people who had a bad time in love. Go waltzing with Matilda down Greek Mythology Lane. Let’s visit our old friends Hades and Persephone, who had a rough trip on the rocky road of love. Your love life compared to that of Hades and Persephone won’t seem half bad after reading today’s contribution to world literature.

    Once upon a time, Hades was the god of the Underworld. Persephone was the daughter of Demeter, who was the Goddess of Nature. Hades was a bachelor looking for a bride. It was hard for Hades to meet nice women because he lived in the Underworld with the dead folks. He didn’t get out much because being in charge of dead people was a full-time job.

    As luck would have it, one day while Hades was up above ground, he happened to spot the beauteous Persephone. Lovestruck, Hades had to have her for his bride. He foreshadowed Andy Griffith’s ode to love: “Sure as the vine twines round the stump / You are my darling, Sugar Lump.”

    Hades wasn’t much to look at, so he cyphered that he would have to trick her into marrying him. Fortunately for Hades, his brother was Zeus. Zeus, as king of the gods, was a smart dude and cooked up a plan to twine the sugar lump Persephone’s heart around Hades.

    On Take Your Daughter to Work Day, Demeter brought her daughter Persephone to Earth so Demeter could check out Nature. Demeter left Persephone to play with some sea and freshwater nymphs while she oversaw the forests. Persephone was supposed to stay with the nymphs, but she saw a real pretty flower called a narcissus in a distant field. Persephone left her nymph friends to pick the narcissus. This was a mistake. Zeus had gotten Gaia, the earth goddess, to plant the narcissus to draw Persephone away from her friends.

    Persephone started yanking on the narcissus. The narcissus put up a real fight but finally came loose, leaving a small hole in the ground. The hole didn’t stay small. The hole became as big as the U.S. deficit. It was gigantic. Hades popped up out of the hole and grabbed poor Persephone, dragging her down to live in the underworld with him. This is not a good start for a long-lasting marriage.

    Demeter looked all over for her daughter. Milk cartons had not yet been invented, so Demeter put Persephone’s picture on Greek urns to try to find her. Eventually, Helios the Sun god told her that Hades had shanghaied Persephone into the Underworld to hang out with the dead. Hades is Demeter’s brother, which makes him Persephone’s creepy uncle.

    Demeter begged Hades to let Persephone come back to the land of the living, but Hades didn’t want to let her go. Finally, Hades had a sit-down with Zeus over whether to let Persephone come back to the land of the living. They agreed to let Persephone come above ground for six months out of the year, spending the rest of the year in the Underworld.

    The story gets complicated when Persephone eats four seeds of a pomegranate before leaving the Underworld. Chowing down on the pomegranate seeds means she will always have to return to the Underworld, but only for four months instead of six.

    Greek mythology is not always internally consistent as there are many different versions of most stories. However, I like the pomegranate seed version so I include it here.

    Persephone’s leaving and returning to the Underworld is mythology’s explanation for the change of the seasons. When Persephone returns to the land of the living for six months, she brings spring. When she leaves for the Underworld six months later, she brings winter.

    This explanation for the changing of the season makes as much sense as the Ground Hog’s Day’s version of climate change, although it lacks Bill Murray for comic relief. Perhaps if Punxsutawney Phil ate four pomegranate seeds before looking for his shadow, that would allow Persephone to leave the Underworld and return to the Land of the Living earlier, thereby cutting off winter by six weeks.

    If you see a ground hog in late January 2018, kindly feed him four pomegranate seeds. The spring you save may be your own.

     

  •  

    03Tipped“Nothing Divides Voters Like Owning a Gun,” read a New York Times headline last week. The story was full of facts that surprise no one. Donald Trump voters are gun owners. Non-gun-owning households voted for Hillary Clinton. Ditto for white voters who went for Trump and nonwhites who voted for Clinton. Same goes for rural versus urban, marrieds and unmarrieds, religious and notso-religious and union and nonunion voters.

    Even with these deep divisions in our political and cultural lives, the massacre in Las Vegas may mark a moment of change. Fifteen years ago, writer and keen social observer Malcolm Gladwell published “The Tipping Point,” described by Amazon as “that magic moment when an idea, trend or social behavior crosses a threshold, tips and spreads like wildfire.” Whatever is tipped can be small and insignificant, like Pet Rocks in the ’70s and the more recent acceptance of tattoos as “body art,” or profoundly meaningful and life-changing, like the distrust of government in the wake of Watergate and the Vietnam conflict and the complete reversal of social acceptance of smoking.

    At some point, something unknown becomes highly desirable, something that was unquestioned becomes suspicious or something once acceptable is no longer.

    If we are lucky, or in religious terms, “blessed,” Las Vegas’ mass murders will become the tipping point that makes reasonable gun control measures as acceptable in the United States as they are in the rest of the developed world.

    I know. I know. After each of our numerous mass shootings, we say this is it — this is the one that will make us focus on the link between lax gun regulation and shooting deaths.

    Remember the murders of kindergarteners, firstgraders and their teachers at Sandy Hook? Who could have imagined that nothing would change after that atrocity committed by a person with both mental disorders and firearms?

    Mass shootings, shocking as they are at the time, have settled into a macabre American routine. We learn of an “active shooter.” We expect a “self-inflicted gunshot” or “death by police.” When it is over, news organizations interview survivors and families of those who did not make it, lovingly profile victims, and try not to say much about the shooter lest he — and I cannot remember any shes — becomes a model and inspiration for other disturbed wannabes.

    The Las Vegas shootings seem to have taken us to a new level.

    A shooter with automatic weapons 32 stories above a concert venue mowed down 58 of his fellow human beings. So stunning was this new kind of attack that even the National Rifle Association says the availability of “bump stocks” — the gun accessories that turn semi-automatic weapons into automatics — should be re-evaluated. The NRA’s openness to at least discussing regulation of these devices marks a change in its usual opposition to any and every gun control measure. The NRA’s campaign contribution tentacles are deeply entwined in our Republican Congress and Republican legislatures throughout the nation, rendering gun control efforts dead on arrival even after the Sandy Hook murders. As U.S. Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut told MSNBC bluntly last week, “The gun lobby is much stronger now than the anti-gun-violence movement.”

    Cynics are already suggesting that the NRA’s new receptiveness regarding bump stocks is merely a ploy to stall and derail broader gun control measures. Bump stocks, after all, are hardly household items, even in a nation that has more guns than people. Also, polls find that some gun owners are open to a federal database of gun sales and additional restrictions on assault weapons. The NRA may be willing to give a little on bump stocks to head off attacks on issues it holds dearer.

    Whatever the motivation, the NRA’s openness on even this small issue indicates that America and American politicians may be ready for our long overdue conversation about guns and gun violence in our nation. We do ourselves no favors by pretending gun violence is not an issue, and we certainly do not honor its victims by avoiding the conversation.

    In “The Tipping Point,” Malcolm Gladwell gives numerous examples of how tiny social trickles become roaring waterfalls. The United States has endured increasing numbers of mass shootings as well as countless other incidents of gun violence. It will take courage to confront this volatile and painful scourge. 

    Let’s hope that some good can come from the Las Vegas massacre by finally initiating our national discussion.

     

  •  

    02ChangeMahatma Gandhi is credited with saying, “Be the change you wish to see in the world.” Eldridge Cleaver is known for a rougher version of the same idea: “There is no more neutrality in the world. You either have to be part of the solution, or you’re going to be part of the problem.”

    There is no shortage of changes to make or problems to solve. Let’s look at the people and organizations being the change they want to see, the ones who are committed to being part of the solution — and there are many. Up & Coming Weekly readers recently recognized many of the people, business and organizations that foster positive change every single day in this community. Four hundred people came to the party to celebrate these change-makers with us.

    The thing about change is that it sometimes happens slowly and is based on small acts like consistently amazing customer service, high-quality products and experiences and acts of kindness and generosity repeated day in and day out over a long period. This is often the story of our Best of Fayetteville winners.

    Other times, change is swift and farreaching. Four years ago, Cross Creek Mall was 46,000 square feet smaller and sans Loft, White House/Black Market, Lane Bryant and Men’s Wearhouse — businesses we used to drive to Raleigh to frequent. Just three years ago, there was no Fresh Market, H&M, Jos. A. Bank, Vans, Lumber Liquidators, McAlister’s Deli, Mission BBQ, Freddy’s Frozen Custard or Steakburger in Fayetteville. Add local businesses like Rogue American, Pierro’s, Little Italy, Grapes & Hops, Scrub Oaks, Zorba’s, 316 Oyster Bar, Bit of Carolina, High Cotton Consignment, Carolina Pet Care and Ben Stout Construction, and the potential for employment- and economic growth-fueled change is impressive.

    Projects like the baseball stadium and the Prince Charles Hotel renovation are bringing big changes, too: financial changes, quality-of-life changes, cultural changes.

    The City of Fayetteville’s 2016 Parks & Rec Bond has projects in the works and coming to fruition that will bring change for many in the community: splash pads, skateboard parks, a tennis center, a senior center and more.

    Cultural organizations like the newlynamed Cool Spring Downtown District, the Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra, Cape Fear Studios, the Arts Council of Fayetteville/Cumberland County, Cape Fear Regional Theatre, Gilbert Theater, Community Concerts, the Airborne & Special Operations Museum, the Dogwood Festival, Cape Fear Botanical Garden and the Fayetteville Marksmen hockey team, among many others, positively impact the community as well, bringing a different kind of change. Organizations like these are vital to improving the community’s quality of life and fostering a sense of well-being.

    Nonprofit organizations like the Care Clinic, the Rape Crisis Volunteers of Cumberland County, Better Health, Guardian ad Litem, KidsPeace, Friends of the Cancer Center – Cape Fear Valley Health, the Dream Center and more improve lives every day in countless ways.

    This is just a small sampling of the change-makers among us. We are moving forward. Is it fast enough and far enough? Maybe not. Is there still work to do? Oh, yes. Plenty. Are there still problems to solve? In spades. Big ones.

    But if the Chinese proverb is true and a journey of a thousand miles really does begin with one step, we are well on our way.

    At the time of this writing, there is no shortage of local candidates vying to serve their fellow citizens. Oct. 19, one-stop voting begins for the Municipal Election. Voting ends Nov. 7.

    What we need now is good leadership to continue to push our community forward; to tackle the difficult and ugly obstacles we still face; to see projects and development opportunities through; to lead us in solving the tough problems within our community.

    If ever there was a time to be heard and to be a part of the change this community needs, it is now. Participate. Show up. Vote.

    Be the change you want to see right here, right where you live. Thank you for reading Up & Coming Weekly.

     

  • 21ConciergeWhat is your time worth? Let’s face it. No one likes to spend one minute waiting to get anything worked on, especially our motorcycles. A few years back, some friends and I rode to the Arctic Cycle. Before the last leg of the trip, we needed new tires and an oil change. A friend who lives there gave us the name of a guy who works out of his garage in Fairbanks. I ordered tires and had them shipped to his house.

    On the day of my appointment, it was first come, first served. I waited in his garage for 3 hours while he finished the bikes before he got to mine. Although I did not like the wait, it was easier than dealing with the dealership in Fairbanks, and my day was a little more on my timeline.

    A few months ago, Jon Ross opened Mr. Beemer’s BMW Concierge Service. Jon has a great reputation throughout the Carolinas as a top- notch BMW mechanic and super friendly guy. When Jon told me about his business, he said he wanted to add something a little different in regards to the service aspect of the business. He would come pick up your bike and drop it back off. At first, I was not sure if it made sense to me, but he is getting great feedback.

    A few weeks ago, I needed new tires and an oil change before a long trip. Because I did not have a lot of time on my hands, I called Jon. He told me to order the tires online and have them shipped to his house. I did, and we set a date for him to come and pick up my bike. He showed up at my house on a Monday night after work. It just happened that he had to drop off another bike the next day, so he worked on my bike that night. The next day when I got home, Jon was parked in front of my house and my bike was in the driveway.

    I was very happy with this arrangement. Although there was a charge for pick-up service, I saved myself at least a day of my time spending it at a dealership, and it was cheaper because I was able to save money by buying my tires online. All in all, it was good deal for what I needed.

    I hope this idea takes off. The number one complaint I hear from every motorcyclist, no matter what kind of bike they have, is getting their bike to the shop and the wait time. As much as I enjoy going to the dealership, the day of my appointment is not always convenient for me. I try to get my bike in on a Saturday (so does everyone else), and I end up burning up a day at the shop. Due to the distance from the dealership to where I live, if it is a weekday appointment, I have to drop it off on a Saturday and pick it up the next Saturday.

    If you’d like to reach Mr. Beemer, you can call him at (919) 749-3987 or email him at MrBeemernc@gmail.com.

    If there is a topic that you would like to discuss, you can contact me at motorcycle4fun@aol.com. RIDE SAFE!

  • 19HopeMills4The Hope Mills Citizens Academy class held Sept. 21 offered an insider’s view on how the Hope Mills Parks and Recreation Center keeps everything running smoothly and at the different types of programs it offers to children and seniors aged 55 and up.

    Directing the Citizens

    At the class, Kenny Bullock, Parks and Recreation director, informed students of the importance of community involvement and input concerning the master plan of the Hope Mills Golf Course and the park amenities needed for the “Park within a Park” at the Hope Mills Recreational Complex.

    “We ask for monies on a need-only basis. If we don’t need it, we don’t ask,” Bullock said. He added that even though it would be great to have several new trucks and new equipment that it is not truly needed and the HMPR is not one for wasting money.

    There are suggested ideas for new playgrounds, picnic shelters, walking/running trails, open space/unprogrammed play/ an amphitheater/outdoor events, environmental education, outdoor fitness, disc golf, a community center, ballfields, multi-use fields/courts, and even a fishing pier, splash park, water sports and a swimming pool. Bullock emphasized the impact that citizens’ opinions have on the changes within and around the recreation center.

    Maintenance Department

    Jamie Bahma, Parks and Recreation supervisor, and her staff, work diligently to keep the Hope Mills baseball, football and soccer fields in tip-top shape. Cutting the grass, painting and chalking boundary lines, measuring the proper distances and keeping the dirt at the correct level and texture are just a few of the tasks Bahma and her staff carry out.

    Some of the Citizens Academy students chalked the foul line from third base to home plate — Commissioner Pat Edwards was one. Other students painted the grass line. Bahma and her staff used John Deere Gators and three-wheelers to even out the dirt around the bases. Exact measurements are needed for the batters box. This is done using a metal template.

    One of the most well-known events held at HMPR is the fireworks for the 4th of July/Independence Day celebration. As with any of the events held by HMPR, they prepare early. Placing the flags, games, banners and canopies, preparing for the parade, testing all outlets, trimming branches, checking equipment, checking stage power and marking vendor spots are just a few of the details the maintenance crew handle for each event.

    Sports

    From baseball to football to cheerleading, there are several activities for the youth of Hope Mills to participate at the HMPR. Athletic director Maxey Dove and Athletics and Programs assistant Don Wilson gave a few examples of how they train the teams and what they expect from members and their parents.

    “It’s ok to have fun, but we don’t laugh at each other,” Wilson said. “If I hear you laugh at or make fun of another teammate, then I will send you back to your parents. We believe in sportsmanship and we will show it.”

    It is football season. Therefore, the students participated in a couple of football drills. The first drill was sprinting. They had to run 20 yards as fast as they could. The second drill was the “angle step drill.” The students had to run a few steps, plant their right foot, turn and catch the ball.

    More Youth Programs

    For ages 1-5, the toddler programs help kids learn about utensil safety and cooking healthy meals in the Young Chefs program. Toddlers need to burn off a lot of energy and they can do that with the Little People, Big Fun program in which they can run, play and bounce in the open gym.  

    Senior Citizens 55 and Up

    HMPR offers a variety of programs for senior adults aged 55 and up. Senior Programs Director Kasey Ivey and Assistant Senior Programs Director Anne Evanco ensure healthy activity for the seniors of Hope Mills. Arts and crafts, Zumba, line dancing and Bingo and Brunch are a few of the programs that seniors may choose to participate in.

    Senior citizens also may join programs to help those in need such as the Plastic Sleeping Mat program. This program aids the homeless within Cumberland County. Each mat is hand-woven with plastic grocery bags and are so well-made that they resemble a cloth mat. They are thick, weatherproof and easy to carry. These special mats are given out at the VA Medical Center, Alms House, NC Works (which works with homeless veterans), Connections of Cumberland County and Fayetteville Urban Ministry. The seniors enjoy making these mats and have already surpassed their quota for the year.

    The Senior Program has had a 180 percent increase in overall participation, causing it to outgrow the Sunshine Senior Center and become part of the HMPRC. Between Nov. 1, 2016, and Sept. 21, 2017, there have been 206 new participants.

    Between youth sports, senior programs and special events, there is always something to do at the HMPRC, located at 5770 Rockfish Rd. Learn more about the facility and the programs by visiting www.townofhopemills.com or by calling (910) 424-4500.

    Photo caption: On Sept. 21 Citizens Academy students learned about the work that goes into maintaining Hope Mills’ sports fields and about hand-woven mats that senior citizens make to give to the homeless within Cumberland County.

  • The latest effort in Washington to repeal and not actually replace the Affordable Care Act has a different name, the Cassidy-Graham plan, but it should look familiar.

    It is essentially a proposal like the ones that came before it this year to make massive cuts in Medicaid, end subsidies that make it possible for low-income families to afford coverage and give insurance companies the ability to both charge people with pre-existing conditions more and offer sketchy policies that don’t cover essential benefits.

    Some of the mechanisms are different in this plan, most notably the cuts are camouflaged in Medicaid block grants to the states that are reduced, capped and then ended, leaving North Carolina $8.7 billion short in 2027. That’s right, the bill not only repeals the Affordable Care, it ends Medicaid as we now know it.

    No one knows exactly how many people in all will lose their health care under the latest attempt to undo the progress that the Affordable Care Act has made. And Senators won’t know either when they vote, as the Congressional Budget Office says there is not time to fully evaluate the new plan.

    But it appears Congress is voting anyway, without committee hearings, without real debate, even without information about exactly what their disastrous new legislation will do.

    A few things are certain. Millions of people will lose their coverage and again be one illness away from bankruptcy as they use the emergency rooms for primary care. Other will forego preventive care altogether because they cannot afford it. And the folks at the lower ends of the economic ladder will feel the effects most acutely. That last one, folks in North Carolina are used to.

    The troubling news from Washington comes on the heels of the release of the latest data from the U.S. Census Bureau that shows that while poverty declined slightly in 2016 in North Carolina, there are still roughly 1.5 million people in the state living below the poverty line and 21 percent of the state’s children.

    The slight progress in 2016 was more the result of the strength of the national economy and programs like the Affordable Care Act that allowed hundreds of thousands of people to access health care than any initiatives by the folks who have run the General Assembly for the last six years.

    The record of how legislative leaders treat low-income people is clear. They gutted the state’s unemployment insurance system to the point that it is now harder for laid off workers in North Carolina to get benefits than virtually everywhere else in the country.

    A few years ago, the General Assembly abolished the state Earned Income Tax Credit, giving North Carolina the dubious distinction of being the only state ever to create a state EITC to help low-wage workers and then take it away from them.

    Just this past session, House and Senate budget writers ended the state funding mechanism for legal services for low-income people and made it almost impossible for judges to waive court fees in minor cases where the defendants have no ability to pay.

    Of course, they also refused to expand Medicaid like 30 other states have done which would have provided coverage for 300,000 low-income people. This session, despite having a budget surplus and putting hundreds of millions of dollars in the state savings account, they forced the Department of Public Instruction to cut funding that provides extra support for struggling schools, most of them with a majority of low-income students.

    Even this year’s progress reducing the waiting list of at-risk kids for NC PreK was an odd choice. It was funded with federal block grant money currently at risk in President Trump’s budget when the state could easily pay for it and make sure every eligible child could enroll.

    There is plenty more but you get the idea. State lawmakers have waged war since 2011 on programs that help low-income people in North Carolina.

    And it is not because they needed the money to balance the budget. The General Assembly has cut taxes by $3.5 billion since 2013 with the bulk of it going to corporations and the wealthy. The top one percent of taxpayers, with average annual incomes of a million dollars, have received an annual break of $22,000 a year.

    Now legislative leaders may have the chance to strike an even more devastating blow by rationing federal Medicaid dollars as they see fit without federal oversight until the money disappears completely in ten years. Given their record recently, that is a scary prospect indeed. You can almost hear them licking their chops.

    That is what is at risk in this latest pernicious health care plan bubbling up in Washington, a proposal that would make some insurance companies happy but take health care away from the folks who need it the most, the folks in North Carolina already reeling from six years of a combination of neglect and outright attacks. No thanks.

  • 18RememberingWhy did the powerful Hurricane Irma get me thinking about the football stadium at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill?

    Think Kenan Memorial Stadium where the Tar Heels play football and Kenan-Flagler, the name of UNC’s business school.What did these names have to do with the hurricane that attacked the Florida Keys on Sept. 10?

    Folks in Florida are surrounded by the Flagler name. It’s on streets, statues, colleges, museums, counties — it seems to be everywhere. All these Flagler connections honor the legendary Henry Flagler. At the turn of the last century, he transformed Florida’s East Coast from inaccessible swampland to the home of resorts, including those he built at St. Augustine, Palm Beach and Miami by extending the Florida East Coast Railroad from Jacksonville to Miami.

    According to Lee Standiford’s 2002 book, “Last Train to Paradise: Henry Flagler and the Spectacular Rise and Fall of the Railroad That Crossed an Ocean,” Flagler paid for this progress from the wealth he earned as John D. Rockefeller’s partner in Standard Oil Trust.

    He might have been satisfied with his achievements at Standard Oil. But he wasn’t. He might have been satisfied with the Jacksonville-Miami connection of his railroad. But he wasn’t. He dreamed of connecting Key West to the mainland more than 100 miles across the narrow islands of the Florida Keys and the open ocean that surrounded them. Flagler believed that the Panama Canal, when completed, would make a mainland-connected Key West into a perfect port location to serve the shipping needs of the entire Caribbean.

    In 1905, the Florida legislature granted him approval to construct a railroad to Key West. However, Flagler’s dream was an engineer’s nightmare — an impossibility, according to almost everybody but Flagler.

    When Flagler told his friend George Ward, a Presbyterian minister and president of Rollins College, of his plan, Ward said simply, “Flagler, you need a guardian.”

    Other skeptics referred to the Key West project as “Flagler’s Folly.”

    But construction began in 1905, overcoming obstacles in the swampland south of Miami and then along the narrow keys and over deep ocean waters. Battling hurricanes, mosquitoes, illnesses and labor problems, in addition to the “impossible” engineering challenges, the project came to completion in January 1912, forging an approximately 350-mile route from Jacksonville all the way to Key West.

    When the first train arrived in Key West, the 82-year-old Flagler was aboard. Newspaper headlines proclaimed the completed project “the eighth wonder of the world.”

    Flagler died the next year, but his Key West connection dream had been fulfilled.

    At his death he left more than $100 million to North Carolinian Mary Lily Kenan, his third wife, whom he married in 1901. At her death, she left much of that fortune to her siblings, including brother William R. Kenan Jr. and several sisters. The siblings have been generous to the University of North Carolina. William Kenan provided the initial funds for Kenan Memorial Stadium. He, the trust he established and other Kenan relatives have funded professorships, buildings and other projects at UNC and other universities as well as other worthwhile projects in North Carolina and throughout the country.

    On Labor Day in 1935, a devastating hurricane even stronger than Irma passed over the Florida Keys and demolished Flagler’s Key West dream. It caused great destruction and permanently severed the rail line, thereby destroying Flagler’s eighth wonder of the world.

    Whenever a mighty hurricane passes near Key West, this North Carolinian remembers Flagler and his close and continuing connection to good projects in North Carolina. This writer joins others in mourning nature’s destruction of Flagler’s greatest triumph.

    Photo caption: When the first train arrived in Key West, the 82-year-old Flagler was aboard. Photo credit: flaglermuseum.us

  • When North Carolina is competing with other states and nations for investment, business startups and expansions and high-value professionals, we start out with some important advantages. Our tax code, for example, is now one of the most growth-friendly systems in the country.

    In another area, land-use regulation, North Carolina also ranks above average — but not by much. We ought to strengthen property-rights protections in our state, not only because North Carolinians deserve more freedom but also because such protections appear to boost growth, job creation and income gains.

    A new study posted at the National Bureau of Economic Research by Kyle Herkenhoff of the University of Minnesota, Lee Ohanian of UCLA and Nobel Laureate Edward Prescott of the University of Arizona found that heavy regulations on land use increase the price of housing, thus chasing away investors, entrepreneurs and workers from the states and localities that impose them.

    The effects of rent control, rigid zoning laws, density and parking limits, eminent-domain abuse and other land-use policies aren’t just negative for the jurisdictions that impose them. Herkenhoff, Ohanian and Prescott found that the American economy as a whole suffers from the distortions created by differential regulations and housing costs. If just California and New York alone had kept their regulatory burdens the same since 1980 rather than increasingly them dramatically, the nation’s productivity would be substantially higher than it is.

    I wouldn’t count on California and New York getting the message. Their politicians seem, if anything, to be intent on regulating more. But even as North Carolina continues to welcome highly productive economic refugees from these higher-cost places, our leaders still need to do more to strengthen property-rights protections in our state.

    According to the Cato Institute’s “Freedom in the 50 States” index, North Carolina ranks 21st in the nation for land-use freedom. While clearly superior to the regulatory policies prevalent in the northeast and Pacific coast, only Virginia (#26) among the states of the southeast has a worse ranking than we do on this measure. Tennessee (#7) and Florida (#11) are particularly strong protectors of property rights.

    The right to own, control, develop and sell land and other real property is not some limited civil right, granted under certain conditions by governments only to fulfill public needs. It is a natural right, derived from the rights of human beings to own their own labor and the fruits of that labor, including the land people live on and develop for their needs.

    Governments do have a legitimate power to regulate what people do on or with their land — but only to the extent that such private actions directly impinge on the rights of others by imposing nuisances or polluting either their own private property or the air and water “commons” that all share. You don’t have the right to use government to force other people to conform to your aesthetic preferences, to prop up the market value of your property by restricting development or competition or to keep “those people” out of your neighborhood.

    North Carolina has authorized local governments to impose certain kinds of land-use regulations. Some are justified. Others are abusive, and state lawmakers ought to rescind such power to violate individual rights. This may well be an opportunity for some Left-Right alliances, by the way, because some lot-size and zoning regulations prevent the construction of the very affordable housing and high-density projects that many progressives advocate.

    We should also amend the state constitution to protect landowners against eminent-domain abuse. Governments should be allowed to condemn and acquire private property only for public use — to construct a public asset — and not for the purpose of transferring property from one private owner to another on the grounds that the politically preferred owner would be best for “the community.”

    If we want healthy, vibrant and growing communities, the best thing to do is to respect the rights of the people who live in them. Freedom, it turns out, is actually good for the economy. Who knew?

  • 08DanLet me first thank you for being engaged and taking the time to read this. I ask that you read it through because there are many, very important issues facing our city.

    As the current Chairman of Fayetteville’s Planning C ommission, I am extremely proud of the progress and growth we have made in the past few years. We have moved past the negative monikers of the past and are poised, at like no other time in our cities history, to benefit from outside investment to include state, federal and private sources. We are rising rapidly in both recognition and interest at not only a state but a national level.

    However, we also face many challenges in managing that growth to see it be inclusive, continue in the right direction and not repeat the mistakes of the past. This will require experienced, sound and balanced leadership. Your next Fayetteville City Council will be vital part of that process. I want to offer my proven leadership and facilitative capabilities to ensure that our community continues to become a safer and more attractive home for our families.

    There is much work to be done. We are losing too much development to the county and other areas due to the economic feasibility of building in Fayetteville. We need to do a better job at incentivizing economic growth by becoming more business friendly in order to attract much needed jobs. We need to continue the community based policing efforts so our streets are safe and we need to correct the lack of walkability and interconnectivity of our great city as well as the problems with our storm water infrastructure.

    District 2 has realized some significant improvements over the past few years. We have over 100 million dollars pouring into our downtown entertainment district alone. Projects like Hope VI that revitalized the blighted and distressed Campbell Terrace area, providing safe and modern housing for many of its residents, are also evidence of this. I want to continue this positive momentum to areas like Grove View Terrace and Buckingham area. We need to look at creative incentive programs for city owned, blighted properties to encourage home ownership. This will not only get them off the cities books and increase revenue but will keep local communities together while building social capital in those neighborhoods.

    I have garnered a wealth of experience working within the community as well as on municipal levels. I co-founded Happenin’ in Haymount with my wife Ashely, which is now over 4,000 strong. This not only created a more effective community watch of our local area but promotes social engagement, improving the overall quality of life for our neighbors. I wish to continue that movement to the rest of District 2 so that others can become more engaged and invested in their local neighborhoods. This is not campaign rhetoric. We need viable solutions to improve the overall quality of life for all our residents and I have proven that I am the man to do that on your next city council.

    I am committed and willing to do the work that needs to be done and I give you my word that every decision or action I take, while in your employ as a City Council member, will be made in the best interest of the citizens of Fayetteville.

  • 10FuneralLosing a loved one who transitions to our Lord is difficult. As my pastor told me during the death of my mother, grieving requires hard but necessary work. A process and part of grieving is going with family and friends to the gravesite to inter and say goodbye to the earthly body.

    That process certainly does not need to be interrupted by a rude and reckless driver, either ignoring the laws of this state or not paying attention. So, what does North Carolina law require when a motorist either comes upon a funeral procession from behind or from the opposite direction?

    Our law is contained in N.C.G.S § 20-157.1. The law requires each car in the procession to have both its headlights on and hazards flashing. The cars shall drive on the right side of the roadway and may proceed through stop signs and stop lights as long as the car is in the procession line.

    The cars not in the procession shall not join the procession for purposes of securing the right of way. All operators shall use reasonable care and all must yield to emergency vehicles and law enforcement.

    Surprisingly, operators of the vehicles driving in the opposite direction do not have to pull over, although they may. Operators driving in the same direction may pass when there are two or more lanes. They may not drive between vehicles in a procession unless directed by law enforcement and they may not enter an intersection knowing a funeral procession is proceeding, but again, they are permitted to pass the procession in a second lane.

    Finally, it is not negligence per se when causing a wreck while violating this law. This means an injured party must prove the negligence beyond violating this law to recover.

    Now the safe practice and certainly the most courteous practice is to pull over and not pass. Most drivers do this, but as my father once told me, there is no law against being stupid and rude.

    I can remember when my father’s best friend and a close mentor to me, Colonel Karl Wombrod, died. The Colonel played football for Tennessee and was badly wounded at the Battle of the Bulge in World War II. He was also on the team that surveyed the 38th parallel in Korea. He was/is an incredible man. After delivering his eulogy during his funeral in Southern Pines, I was with the family as we drove to the Veterans Cemetery in Fayetteville.

    It was spring of that year, and farmers were busy plowing and preparing to plant. Despite them being on large machines and very busy, I was overwhelmed and touched with emotion to see each farmer take the time to come down from their equipment and stop what they were doing to remove their hats and pay their respects. Not only do they feed us, they teach us.

    It costs us nothing but a few minutes of our day to be courteous and respectful. Unfortunately, no law can make us do so. Like so much in life, it’s our choice.

  • 07jasonbradyOn a Tuesday evening in February 2015, I stood near the stage of the Crown Auditorium and watched a crowd gather. They were there to talk about a slice of Fayetteville’s economic future.

    I was talking to a newspaper editor. As I looked over his shoulder at the seats behind him filling up, I said to my self: “Good grief, we’ve done it again!”

    There were people in red shirts and green shirts filing into the auditorium. A few wore white shirts and the phrase “Jobs Stop Bullets” printed on the front.

    It was the public hearing over a proposed chicken processing plant. The red shirts were against the plant coming to Cumberland County’s vacant industrial site.

    The green shirts were hungry for the roughly 1,000 full-time jobs the $100 million facility would bring to the community.

    The color of the shirts was roughly divided along racial lines. A majority of white people wore red, and a majority of African Americans wore green.

    The irony was that Sanderson Farms, the NASDAQ traded chicken rendering plant from Mississippi, had already lost interest in Cumberland County.

    They had gotten the cold-shoulder message at a previous County Commission meeting. There, a vocal group believed a chicken processing plant in an industrialpark was either beneath us or perceived environmental affects were too costly. A well-organized group, they made their point. And, besides, business goes where it’s welcomed and stays where it’s appreciated.

    On stage that night were two governing bodies, the Cumberland County Board of Commissioners and the Fayetteville City Council. Both dutifully listened to those against and who favored the plant.

    In the end, the commissioners voted down any thoughts against giving incentives to Sanderson Farms to locate here. The City Council shrugged and told everyone it was a county decision.

    That’s true, but an epiphany for me that evening was that no one had another solution, a win-win situation, another stab at getting jobs here in Fayetteville.

    The events of that evening got me talking to people. I’ve talked to many over the past months and asked what they believe stops Fayetteville from being better then it is.

    I took my conversations to social media and sent surveys. Here’s what they said:

    1. We don’t have professional-level jobs that pay enough for a family to live in Fayetteville. Part-time retail jobs won’t do.
    2. We lack the kind of industry — other than retail — that can share the tax burden to pay for the amenities necessary to make our city better.
    3. We have a violent crime problem that hurts victims and our chances of getting potential employers to locate here.
    4. We have horrendous traffic congestion made worse by aggressive drivers.
    5. Finally, we are trashy; both in roadside litter and how we keep
    our property.

    Whether real or not, that’s generally what many people think about our community.

    By focusing on fixing those core issues, we can recruit the kind of jobs that keep people in Fayetteville. More jobs might help lower crime, and may even build enough pride in our community to make us care how it looks. It’s why I am running for Fayetteville City Council.

  • 09JudgementTommy thought life was great. He loved to play in the “rice forest” as his Mom and Dad called it. He and his brothers and sisters and aunts and uncles and cousins loved to scamper down the long trails where the tall rice grew. Occasionally there were large sunny patches, but mostly they could play in the areas shaded by the tall rice leaves. And when you were hungry, you just cut down a “rice tree, ” and lunch was served. What a delicious environment.

    The day after tomorrow Tommy was going to marry Susie. She lived over five rows and down beside the little hump. As Tommy sat munching his rice pilaf for lunch, he kept a wary eye out for hawks. But you don’t have to worry much because the tall rice trees made it not only easy to hide but almost impossible to be caught.

    “Yes,” Tommy thought, “it’s a pretty good life.”

    He and Susie (she’s the slender gray chick with the black eyes and cute nose) are planning on starting their family immediately. Tommy prided himself on being pretty “row smart,” so he felt he could take care of his family.

    Tommy had heard from a couple of elderly uncles about a huge, gigantic animal (thousands of times bigger than a hawk) with immense round feet that ate whole forests, crushed homes and destroyed families. “But,” thought Tommy, “that’s just an old uncle’s tale.” One uncle had tried to get Tommy to move to the flat land next to the forest. He claimed it was safe. “What does he know?” mused Tommy. “It’s more dangerous because of the hawks, and it’s tougher to get food. Here I have instant rice. My uncle’s just a gloom and doomer. He probably has an end-of-the-world philosophy. But not me. I’m looking on the bright side! In fact, I’m going to buy a section in that new mouse hole that just opened up on row seven. If I buy two and sublease one and the price goes up like they’re projecting, I’ll make enough to put all of Susie and my little mousekins through mouse college.”

    Well, it’s time to play, decided Tommy. As they lined up for the races that afternoon, they heard an ominous sound. It sounded sort of like thunder when it rained except it was more regular. Also, it would fade and then get louder. Fade and grow loud again — and all the while it seemed to get closer.

    Suddenly Tommy looked up. There it was! The huge forest-eater his uncle described. The immense round feet were tracking down Tommy’s row. He was racing, trying to stay ahead. He turned to run to the next row — but it was too late. He heard his cousin scream. In that instant, before the round foot stepped on

    Tommy, he thought of all his uncles’ admonitions.
    “…and the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels. Therefore just as the tares are gathered up and burned with fire, so shall it be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send forth his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all stumbling blocks and those who commit lawlessness and will cast them away into the furnace of fire; in that place, there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” — Matthew 13: 39-43, NASB

    Poor Tommy. He was only a mouse. He didn’t understand that combines are inevitable and that the harvest is coming.

    But what are we? Mice? or men?

  • 06HitsMissesMISS - City council members and county commissioners don’t agree on much of anything: which local government should run a joint emergency call center; the formula for future sales tax revenue sharing; and whether county government will make good on its promise to help financially support the new minor league baseball stadium. Shameful!
    HIT - Raeford’s NC Fall Festival has become a fall tradition. Founder Jean Hodges dubbed it the NC Turkey Festival back in the day, and the turkey still rules the roost. The highlights include the annual “Turkey Bowl” high school football game and the “Stuffin and Stompin” community dinner.

    MISS - Street construction contractors should not be allowed to close more traffic lanes than necessary. Case in point: Recently, on busy Ramsey Street on at least two occasions, two of the three inbound lanes were closed off with orange barrels while work was being done on only one lane. It’s about time NCDOT cracked down on these contractors.
    MISS - Fayetteville police close off entire roadways sometimes to investigate serious traffic accidents, with no apparent regard for the inconvenience of the motoring public. Road closures, which can last for hours, may be necessary in some instances, but there are situations where lanes of traffic could be left open.

    HIT - Fayetteville’s annual International Folk Festival observed its 39th year last month. It was three days of fall fun in Festival Park and downtown Fayetteville. A parade, music, dancing, food and games made the event a big hit for tens of thousands —as it always does.

    MISS - Fayetteville City Council needs a better understanding of who its customers are. Take trash collection for example. Half the homes in Fayetteville are occupied by renters. They come and go, and don’t know the rules — and shouldn’t be expected to. The city’s weekly garbage and yard debris collection regulations must be relaxed. After all, this is a basic service of municipal government. As former City Councilwoman Juanita Gonzalez famously once said, the city should “just pick it up.”

    HIT - The annual Best of Fayetteville awards dinner was indeed the best yet. It publicly acknowledged winners of Up & Coming Weekly’s best of the best as determined by readers. You’ll find all of them in this year’s special edition of Fayetteville’s only locally-owned newspaper.

    HIT - PWC, Fayetteville’s hometown utility, had line crews in Florida to help with recovery from recent hurricanes. It’s an obligation that dozens, if not hundreds, of utilities have as part of statewide and national mutual aid agreements to help each other when needed. Praise and gratitude to the PWC crews who responded.
    MISS - Motorists in Fayetteville need to understand that center turn lanes on five-lane roads are not for merging into traffic. They are for making left turns only. Cops should enforce this law — and red-light running, and speeding, and reckless driving, and drunk driving and... If they did, they would find many violators don’t have driver licenses, proper registration or insurance. Fayetteville needs more traffic cops.

  • The start of fall is always a special time. The return of the crisp air and autumn foliage brings special memories for a lot of us. When I look back on my childhood,

    05hoke fairI remember going back to school, getting excited for football to return and spending Friday nights at the county fair. That’s one reason why I was so excited to attend the ribbon cutting ceremony at the Hoke County Fair. I had a great time speaking with constituents about their priorities and concerns, and I even got to meet and take a picture with a local celebrity, Baby Miss Fayetteville.

    While I was in Hoke County, I was also able to visit Hoke County High School and learn about all the great programs they offer to help students prepare for a successful future. Like me, teachers here believe we must align our education programs with the needs of employers, so graduates are prepared not only for the jobs currently out there but also the careers of the future. I am happy to see Hoke County High School put a priority on classes in Science, Technology,

    Engineering and Mathematics for cutting-edge jobs as well as Career Technical Education classes for critically important jobs like firefighters and emergency medical technicians.

    Of course, to help create those careers of the future, we need to make it easier for people to take a risk and start new businesses and for existing small businesses to create new jobs. That’s why I stopped by two small businesses in Troy and Concord that demonstrate how a simpler, fairer tax code could benefit our economy.

    In Concord, I toured Ketchie, Inc., a manufacturer that has been operating locally for 70 years. And in Troy, I visited Uwharrie Mercantile, a coffee and gift shop that’s breathing new life into the historic Hotel Troy, which originally opened in 1909. I’m so impressed with these small business success stories. I believe they and businesses all across our community could be doing so much more if our tax system was reformed so they had more resources to hire people, expand and continue to invest in our community.

    Along the same lines of getting more resources to our community, I presented a Staffing for Adequate Fire Emergency Response grant to the Aberdeen Fire

    Department while I was traveling across the district. This grant will help the Aberdeen Fire Department hire more trained firefighters, and I was happy to help in their quest for this grant. We had a great cross-section of local leaders at this announcement, and we continued the discussion of other ways we can partner to help Aberdeen and all of Moore County.

    And last, but certainly not least, I visited the Carolina Panthers to discuss my efforts to increase collaboration and advance the understanding of concussions, as well as the steps being taken by the Panthers and the National Football League to reduce injuries. This is an issue that I have followed closely and examined over the years because concussions affect people of all ages — from Bank of America Stadium to our local peewee football field.

    Despite all the progress made, there’s still a lot we don’t know about head trauma. I serve as Chairman of the Pediatric Trauma Caucus because trauma is the No. 1 killer of our nation’s youth. The cutting-edge work being done by the Panthers to prevent, diagnose and treat player injuries goes hand in hand with this priority. I appreciate the emphasis the NFL is placing on player safety, and I’ll continue to work with them to shine a light on this issue and improve our understanding of concussions.

    Overall, I had a very productive week traveling across our district and talking about issues that matter in our community. If you have ideas you’d like to share with me, especially on tax reform as I continue to work to simplify our tax code, please contact my office at Hudson.House.Gov or call (202) 225-3715. I look forward to continuing these important conversations.

  • 04DACAMuch of my writing emphasizes the need for, and repeated lack of, Americans thoughtfully examining and responding to the challenging issues of our time. The current DACA debate provides an opportunity to see thoughtful examination and response both happening and not happening.

    The following overview at www.raicestexas.org/pages/faq provides a reasonable starting point for thinking through DACA:

    In June of 2012, after pressure from community organizations, President Obama announced DACA. DACA stands for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. We refer to this program as DACA 2012; the program essentially means that certain children, those who arrived to the United States prior to turning 16 years of age, would no longer be a priority for deportation. In addition to having arrived before the age of 16, in order to be eligible for DACA one must meet a few other criteria:

    • Have lived in the United States for at least 5 years, beginning in June of 2007;
    • Are currently in school , have graduated from high school or completed an accredited GED program (or are enrolled in a program);
    • Does not have a felony, more than three misdemeanors or any significant misdemeanor.

    While there are other requirements, these are the most basic in order to qualify for DACA as announced in 2012.

    There are two key considerations from the quote above. They are “Deferred Action” and “no longer a priority for deportation.” Given these conditions, the reference later states, “It is important to know that the granting of deferred action does not, directly, lead to the grant of any form of permanent legal status; deferred action just means that you are no longer a priority for deportation.”

    The “raicestexas” reference in paragraph two above also explains that on Nov. 20, 2014, President Obama announced an expansion of the 2012 DACA and a new program for parents. Per the reference, “This expanded version of DACA removes the previous age-cap as well as well as only requiring proof of continuous presence from Jan. 1, 2010. Expanded DACA would grant deferred action for a period of three-years, instead of the traditional two-year period.” The program for parents was Deferred Action for Parental Accountability. The program addressed parents of a United States citizen or legal permanent resident.

    Coupled with the provisions of DACA, President Obama provided an avenue for program participants to get work permits. This means persons who entered the country illegally would be allowed to work and receive benefits, such as health care insurance.

    President Obama took all the actions outlined above despite earlier making the following comment as reported in an article by Hans A. von Spakovsky titled “DACA Is Unconstitutional, as Obama Admitted:”

    Responding in October 2010 to demands that he implement immigration reforms unilaterally, Obama declared, ‘I am not king. I can’t do these things just by myself.’ In March 2011, he said that with ‘respect to the notion that I can just suspend deportations through executive order, that’s just not the case.’ In May 2011, he acknowledged that he couldn’t ‘just bypass Congress and change the (immigration) law myself.... That’s not how a democracy works.’
    A court challenge to DAPA brought by 26 states and led by Texas went to the Supreme Court. The result of that challenge gave some support to President Obama’s initial assessment reflected in the preceding quote regarding DACA.

    The course of this lawsuit is recounted in an article by Adam Liptak and Michael D. Shear titled “Supreme Court Tie Blocks Obama Immigration Plan.” The plaintiffs contended that the president ignored “administrative procedures for changing rules and of abusing the power of his office by circumventing Congress.” Judge Andrew S. Hanen of the U.S. District Court in Brownsville, Texas, agreed with the plaintiffs, as did the appeals court. The appeals court did not stop at confirming Judge Hanen’s ruling: It added that the program exceeded President Obama’s statutory authority. The decision of the Supreme Court was a 4-4 tie; consequently, the rulings by lower courts stood. DAPA was not implemented, although it could be brought up again now that the court is fully staffed.

    What happened in the legal proceedings regarding DAPA is important to thinking through DACA. I an article addressing DACA, “‘Dreamer’ Plan That Aided 800,000 Immigrants Is Threatened,” Miriam Jordan wrote: “But discussions about it inside the White House took on new urgency after a group of conservative state attorneys-general threatened to sue the Trump administration in federal court unless it begins to dismantle the program by Sept. 5.”

    There are several more bits of information that might be considered in thinking through DACA. I contend that what has been presented to this point is sufficient.

    President Obama signs an executive order that he had indicated was beyond his authority. Even if, as he later agued, his action was one of prosecutorial discretion, he went beyond that authority by providing for work permits being given to people who should not have received them. “Prosecutorial discretion” means he could, based on various factors, decide who to prosecute and who not to prosecute.

    The fact of life is that deferring deportations does not solve the problem at hand. It simply passes the problem from one presidential administration to the next.

    This approach is absolutely irresponsible and reflects a governing process that is approaching disarray.

    The legal action that precluded implementation of DAPA likely foreshadows a similar fate for DACA if it were challenged in court. Given that a group of state attorneys-general clearly stated their intention to sue if dismantling of DACA were not started, a DACA-like decision is on the horizon.

    Considering this landscape, President Trump was correct to call on Congress to, by legislation, settle the situation that was inadequately, and very likely illegally, addressed by DACA. Regarding the Trump decision, Sabrina Eaton wrote the following in an article titled “President Trump cancels DACA program for unauthorized immigrants after a six-month delay:”

    Attorney General Jeff Sessions said the DACA program will wind down after six months to give Congress time to address the fate of the program’s participants.

    He said the Department of Justice evaluated the policy’s constitutionality and determined it conflicts with immigration laws.

    The Trump approach reflects thinking through DACA. There is a multitude of examples demonstrating how it looks when thinking through does not happen.

    Consider individuals and groups that are verbally attacking President Trump for his response to the DACA dilemma. People are protesting his decision and labeling him in all kinds of despicable terms. How is it thoughtful that a person attacks Trump instead of addressing Congress, which should have settled the matter years ago? It leads me to think this is about destroying Trump and not about solving the problem.

    This lack of thought and questionable motives shows through time and again. In an article titled “Pelosi: Dreamers’ parents ‘did a great thing’ in sneaking them into U.S.” Stephen Dinan writes: “House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said Wednesday that illegal immigrant parents who brought their children to the U.S. in defiance of the law ‘did a great thing,’ giving the country an infusion of successful young people.” I cannot see how a statement such as this reflects serious thought regarding the issue at hand. It simply feeds the atmosphere that produces thoughtlessness.

    My hope is that thoughtful people will call on Congress to fairly and expeditiously address the DACA issue. Granted, I will be pleasantly and totally surprised if Congress acts at all.

  • 03StrangeLet’s be totally honest about this.

    American politics is and always has been a contact sport. The presidential campaign of 1800 between John Adams and Thomas Jefferson birthed negative campaigning, and blistering rhetoric has continued ever since. Modern technology exploded the ugliness.
    That being said, the presidential election of 2016 ramped up the negativity to heretofore unimaginable levels, continuing into the Trump presidency. There are casualties not just among the candidates but among we the American people. I will never feel quite the same about a longtime acquaintance, who during the campaign greeted her lunch companions with, “Well, the number is up to 43.” When asked “Forty-three what?” she coolly replied, “Forty-three people that Hillary Clinton has killed.”

    Love her or loathe her, what rational person believes that Hillary Clinton has personally murdered 43 people? Suspending disbelief is one thing, but deluding oneself and others is quite another. I find myself avoiding conversations with people I know have different political views, simply because I do not want to beat the dead horse of last year’s election yet again.

    I am not alone in feeling my personal relationships shift during and after campaign 2016.

    A Reuters poll of more than 6,000 Americans taken early this year found that the number of people who have argued with family and friends over politics leapt six points above levels of disagreement in the final weeks of the campaign.

    According to Reuters, “after the most divisive election in modern US politics, fractured families and upended relationships, a number of Americans say the emotional wounds are as raw as ever and show few signs of healing.... The rancor has not dissipated as it has in the aftermath of other recent contentious US elections.” The poll suggests “a widening gulf between Republicans and Democrats and a hardening of ideological positions that sociologists and political scientists say increases distrust in government and will make political compromise more difficult.”

    The poll cites comments from several participants.

    Gayle McCormick, 73, a retired prison guard, has separated from her husband of 22 years over his support of Donald Trump. “It really came down to the fact I needed to not be in a position where I had to argue my point of view 24/7,” she told pollsters.

    On the other end of the spectrum, Trump supporter Rob Brunello, 25, said he has faced antagonism from both friends and family for his political views.
    Writing for the Huffington Post, Anna Almendraia recounted the pain of Jennifer Conti who begged her father not to vote for Trump after he bragged about groping women in the same way Conti had been groped as a child. Her father supported Trump anyway.

    Almendraia suggests asking ourselves several questions before we try to heal broken relationships or decide to move on without them.

    1. How do you feel now that you know about a dear one’s views? Are you willing to work on your relationship or are you willing to walk away?
    2. Did the 2016 election create a rift or uncover an existing one?
    3. Is your dear one willing to work on the relationship with you? If so, can you cope if you cannot come to terms?
    4. Finally, is it time to walk away from people with whom you profoundly disagree?

    The Reuters poll revealed some positives to balance the negatives, at least partially. About 40 percent of those polled have not quarreled with dear ones over the 2016 campaign. What is more, 21 percent reported that they have made new friends because of the election.
    An Illinois woman said she has a new circle because of shared support for Hillary Clinton. None were mentioned, but presumably some Trump supporters became chummy as well.

    The bottom line for many Americans is that arguing over politics, and specifically over Donald Trump, is an utter and bitter reality, and some of us are not going to “get over it.” Arguments are both facilitated and amplified by technology and social media, leaving few places in either reality and or in cyberspace acrimony-free. Today’s reality leaves many Americans, including this one, suspicious of others’ beliefs in ways we have not been during my lifetime.
    It is not a comfortable place to be.

     

    Photo caption: A Reuters poll of more than 6,000 Americans found that the number of people who have argued with family and friends over politics leapt six points above levels of disagreement in the final weeks of the campaign.

  • Football fans take a knee to NFL games, tickets and merchandise: Go fans!

    02NFLIt makes no difference what your beef is: social injustice, political discourse, racial inequality, police brutality, Black Lives Matter — it doesn’t make any difference. When an NFL player takes a knee and disrespects the nation and flag, that cause, no matter how passionate, is instantly invalidated by such an ugly, un-American and unpatriotic gesture. Sort of like John Hinckley Jr. trying to justify shooting President Ronald Regan by saying he was in love and trying to impress Jodi Foster. Nobody bought that either.

    I have never been a big football fan; however, I can’t help but be amazed at the way politics and self-serving righteousness has crept into the mighty world of NFL football. 

    It was probably just a matter of time before our national Monday and Sunday night pastime became politicized. All that was needed was the right catalyst, and that was provided by now-free-agent Colin (“Oh, please help me, J. Cole”) Kaepernick when he decided to “take a knee” for whatever reason during the playing of our nation’s national anthem. That was when he was employed by the San Francisco 49ers. Now, he’s unemployed and reduced to being nothing more than J. Cole’s dependent. Lesson learned, Mr. Kaepernick. Disrespecting your country was not a smart move, regardless of your feelings and stance on the First Amendment. 

    Nearly 75 percent of Americans interviewed felt Kaepernick’s actions were disrespectful, unpatriotic and asinine. Unfortunately, this situation could have been avoided if NFL management would have stepped in and taken control of its employees and the situation, but they chose not to. Of course, managing a team with players (employees) making salaries of 10,15 and $20 million a year could prove to be a little delicate and a mite difficult. No doubt it was, and the NFL opted out. As a result, disrespecting the flag and nation became the NFL players’ mantra, embraced for all the social/racial and political woes that ailed these mighty, mental midgets. 

    So, now it looks like the NFL, as a business and corporation, may be forced to “take a knee” of its own. Football fans, consumers and corporate sponsors are not happy about the situation. These constituents feel passionate that America’s value and virtue far exceed NFL player paychecks and personal social-political agendas. Yes, President Trump weighed in on the controversy, and that did intensify the situation. But, remember, Trump is a president without filters, and he speaks his mind. 

    Good or bad, like it or not, agree or disagree, once the words are out of his mouth, or once his tweet has left his Tweeter, it is what it is. The bell can’t be unrung. And, the fact that NFL TV ratings are down nearly 20 percent, tickets sales are off by double digits, ardent football fans are canceling their NFL cable packages and some are not only boycotting NFL purchases but are burning their NFL merchandise speaks volumes. Expect this decline to continue. 

    In the end, although they will try, NFL management, players and the political left will not be able to pin the blame for this situation on the president. This time, it’s the NFL versus America and the Star-Spangled Banner. I mean, who cares what J. Cole thinks or whether Colin Kaepernick ever gets a job or plays another day in an NFL uniform? He’s collateral damage. And, J. Cole’s boycott of the NFL only magnifies the hypocrisy of the entire situation and exposes and accentuates the lack of respect NFL management has for the players, their fans and the American people in general. 

     In conclusion, let me offer up a little advice to the NFL: fans are customers. And to be successful, you must keep customers happy by providing them a good product and great customer service. In return, you will gain their loyalty, their respect and their business. Become arrogant, demanding and self-righteous, and your customer base will deteriorate. In other words, pay attention to your fans. Don’t disrespect them. Their message is loud and clear: Respect the flag, the nation and the national anthem. Honor our veterans and active military and stop pampering and patronizing those who don’t know how to express and direct their feelings properly. Do these things and football will have a bright, peaceful and profitable future. Until then, America, support the new NFL:

    No 

    Football 

    Likely!

    Thank you for reading Up & Coming Weekly.

     

    Photo caption: Number 7 is unlucky for Colin Kaepernick. Now, J. Cole needs help finding him a job.

     

  • 12 CoverstoryWhen the Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra set out to find a new executive director, the committee was delighted to receive applications from around the world. In the end, it was a Fort Bragg soldier who won their confidence. Jesse L. Hughes Jr. is retiring from the Army and is set to begin his tenure at FSO Dec. 4. Hughes has played the trumpet professionally and has more than 15 years of leadership in the Army as a musician, instructor and organizational adviser, managing 28 military-connected musical organizations and 400 personnel. He has extensive experience in organizing and coordinating high profile musical events. Hughes has a Bachelor of Music in music performance from Wichita State University, a Master of Music in jazz studies from Howard University and a Ph.D. in Educational Leadership from Northcentral University.

    “We did a national search, and we had some international candidates, which we did not expect,” said Deborah Teasley, FSO interim president and CEO. “The committee, comprised of board and nonboard members, went through the applications and did a first screening and some phone interviews and then narrowed the group and did another round of interviews.”

    Candidates were interviewed and the top seven were asked to write a scenario about their vision for the future of the symphony. “This allowed us to see their writing and their vision for FSO,” said Teasley. When the time came to select someone for the position, Teasley added, “The search committee’s recommendation was unanimous.”

    Although Hughes’ resume checked all the boxes from experience and educational requirements to management experience as well as a knowledge of the performing arts, it was his personality that stood out. “It was clear he is someone who had vision and would jump in and help in a variety of situations that come operating nonprofits,” Teasley said.

    Hughes knew he wanted to stay in the area after leaving Fort Bragg, finding a job that matched his skill set and passion so perfectly was a bonus.

    His music career started in earnest when Hughes was in high school. At 15, he was playing the trumpet and taking music lessons. At 18, he was at college on a music scholarship. “I went all the way through college and grad school,” said Hughes. “Then I got interested in military bands and started going to auditions. The Army was the branch most interested in me. I joined with the intent to do one tour and see the world and then get out. Once I got in, though, I was hooked. As I progressed, I wanted to learn more about how things work behind the scenes as well. In 2013, I enrolled in a doctoral program in educational leadership.”

    Hughes said he is looking forward to establishing a rapport with the community and with the other arts organizations here. He also has some big plans for helping FSO continue to grow. “I want to capture a wider audience and extend the organization’s reach to the schools to help solidify the future of the performing arts,” Hughes said. That might sound like a tall order for some, but Hughes disagrees. “It is like eating an elephant. You do it one bite at a time. There are a lot of people who don’t know there is a symphony here.” And he plans to change that.

     There are already initiatives in place that make FSO accessible and unintimidating to those unfamiliar with the symphony. “The Music Nerd,” Joshua Busman, who has a Ph.D. in musicology from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, hosts a preconcert chat before most every performance. He spends about 45 minutes before each concert talking about the performers, the composers and their inspiration for the pieces they wrote as well as many other interesting facts that make the music make sense.

    The symphony was founded in 1956, and its mission is the educate, entertain and inspire the citizens of Fayetteville and the surrounding era. That means connecting with audiences. Making concerts affordable is one way to work toward achieving that goal. “We are totally indebted to our major donors,” said Teasley. “Our biggest donor is the Arts Council of Fayetteville/Cumberland County, but we also have a variety of grants. In our program, we have 29 corporate sponsors who give their money because they believe in the symphony and believe in bringing music to the community. We also have an endowment. The endowment, which has been gifted to symphony, provides our operating funds. Tickets to our concerts cost $25, and we have discounts for seniors, the military and kids. It is an incredible bargain.”

    There are several concerts remaining in the season. Thursday, Nov. 14, is “Copland in Paris.” It will be at St. John’s Episcopal Church on Green Street. “It is performed by three musicians,” said Teasley. “A flute, a piano and a clarinet. It features the music of Aaron Copland, the era in the 1920s and 30s, and his peer composers. The music is incredible. It is going to be a wonderful performance.”

    Saturday, Dec. 7, don’t miss “Deck the Halls” at Fayetteville State University’s Seabrook Auditorium. “That is our community holiday concert … and we are doing it jointly with Cumberland Choral Arts (formerly the Cumberland Oratorio Singers) and the Fayetteville  Academy choir,” said Teasley. “It will be a huge production. It will be everything from singalongs to nice classics and even some contemporary music.”

    Find out more about FSO, programs and future concerts at http://www.fayettevillesymphony.org/. Tickets are available on the website as well.

    Pictured: Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra‘s new executive director is set to begin his new duties Dec. 4.

  • When Creed Kolasa was featured in a recent article in Up & Coming Weekly that told the story of his battle with a rare ailment called Duchenne’s disease, he wanted to share it with a friend of his.

    That friend is Duke University basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski, and last Monday Creed and his family were given the perfect chance to do just that.

    Creed, his parents, Jessica and Doren, and brother and sister, Jaren and McKinley, were invited to attend a closed basketball practice at Duke’s Cameron Indoor Stadium.

    The audience at practice included other families from Duke Children’s where Creed is being treated, along with boosters who had paid to attend.

    Creed’s mother, Jessica, was asked to speak to the group about Creed’s treatment and the work Duke Children’s had done on his behalf.

    Creed and his family toured the Duke Hall of Fame in Cameron and stayed for almost the full three hours of the practice.

    The children were allowed to go on the court to shoot baskets and talk with the Duke players.

    Later, everyone attended a dinner with Krzyzewski where he spoke, took pictures and signed autographs.

    McKinley, Creed’s sister, got to sit and talk with Krzyzewski’s wife, Mickie.

    McKinley loves softball and learned that Mickie Krzyzewski played softball growing up and in college.

    McKinley came away with a signed softball.

    Creed returned the favor to Coach Krzyzewski, giving him a signed copy of the Up & Coming Weekly article about Creed that included a picture of him and the coach.

    Creed Kolasa, bottom, with brother Jaren, sister McKinley. They are showing the note from Coach Mike Krzyzewski’s daughter, Debbie Savarino, excusing them from school Monday to attend a Duke basketball practice.

  • 08 military housing familyFamily concerns about health and safety issues in military housing are widespread, according to a recent Army Inspector General report that reveals systemic problems with relationships between the Army and housing contractors. The government’s current oversight of these projects was insufficient to identify housing challenges. Inspectors found there was lack of joint authority, confusion regarding roles and responsibilities, lack of training, dramatic personnel cuts and lack of transparency among privatized housing companies. Inspectors uncovered a 2013 Army policy that specifically prohibited health and welfare inspections of military housing.

    Two-thirds of the 1,180 residents of military privatized housing communities who participated in the IG survey stated they were dissatisfied with their overall housing experience. Sixty-four percent said they would move off post if there were no financial costs or concerns, according to the report. The review was ordered by then-Secretary of the Army Mark Esper in the wake of reports about widespread problems of mold, water leakage, vermin infestations and other problems in military housing.

    Scores of Fort Bragg soldiers and family members complained to U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., about their military housing at a recent town hall meeting. It was the latest in a series of stops Tillis is making at military installations. It was his second town hall at Fort Bragg since summer. About 200 people bombarded him with complaints. The No. 1 issue was about mold in housing units. “I’ve seen the mold, and it’s legit,” Krista Lindholm said of mold in a neighbor’s house. “They’re sick, their kids are sick, and housing is just not coming and dealing with it.”

    Tillis said problems with military housing won’t be fixed overnight, but he said he hopes the information he gathers at town hall meetings helps him put things in place to speed up the process. “At every one of these town hall meetings, I ask people to call my office and open up a case so that we make sure we prioritize where medical professionals have said the conditions in the home are most likely the root cause of their health conditions,” he said.

    During the meeting, someone suggested that Fort Bragg commanders be given authority to hold private contractors to the same standards civilian landlords must meet. Off-post housing can and is placed off-limits when landlords fail to comply with military requirements.

    The IG report “validates the experiences of the brave military families who have spoken up for change,” said Shannon Razsadin, executive director of the Military Family Advisory Network, which conducted an online survey in early February of military families in all branches of service about their experience with privatized housing. More than half of 14,558 military families reported negative experiences. “There is a remarkable overlap between the Army IG report and MFAN’s research,” Razsadin said.

    Corvias Property Management is under contract at Fort Bragg and has committed $100 million for rehabilitation and new housing units on post.  Corvias relocated 4,670 families from their existing homes to newly built or renovated homes. The homes were then backfilled after renovation with another round of relocations to ensure all families received upgrades. The Army is already addressing most of the 20 recommendations in the IG report, according to a statement issued by Army officials.

  • 07 FireTrainingCenter copyFayetteville Technical Community College and county government have formally broken ground on the new Cumberland County Regional Fire and Rescue Training Center to serve the county’s volunteer fire departments. The ceremony took place Oct. 21 at the intersection of Corporation Drive and Tom Starling Road in the county industrial park. The complex will be constructed on 30 acres of property adjacent to the sheriff’s training center and will support Fayetteville Tech’s Fire Protection Technology program of study. The state-of-the art center will provide training opportunities for rural fire departments and other emergency responders in Cumberland County.

    The Center will enable FTCC to add classes not currently offered, including fire investigation/arson certification, thermal imaging, vehicular extrication and high-angle rescue.  In addition to classrooms, the complex will include live fire buildings, fire engine bays, technical rescue areas and specialized training areas. FTCC’s Corporate & Continuing Education Fire Training Program offers a number of certification courses that will allow volunteer fire fighters to keep their certifications current and their skills up to date.

    Classes will be available in daytime and evening schedules for fire academy certification courses. Interested individuals must be affiliated with recognized local fire departments and have appropriate training verification letters plus personnel protective equipment. “An educational facility that combines dynamic learning experiences for students in the classroom, laboratory, and through specialized training areas … leads to amazing results for students of Fayetteville Technical Community College and the citizens of Cumberland County,” said FTCC President Dr. Larry Keen.

    Cumberland County is responsible for funding capital projects at FTCC. The local facility is projected to cost $18 million. FTCC is committing $8 million, which the college was allocated from the Connect NC Bond Referendum. Cumberland County government has included $10 million for the project in its capital investment budget and will pursue grants and other funding opportunities to support the project.

    The paid Fayetteville Fire/Emergency Management Department will continue to operate its training division out of its own facility located at the airport. “The bulk of our recruit academy classes and multi-company training evolutions will be conducted at the airport training facility,” said Fayetteville Fire Chief Mike Hill. “However, we will participate in specialty classes and use some of the technical props planned for the new FTCC training grounds.” The Fayetteville Fire Training Center provides many of the same training facilities and opportunities to be offered at the county center.

    The city complex also offers training in specialized fields, such as confined space and trench rescue. A confined space simulator provides several tunnels and containers that allow trainees to conduct exercises that help prepare them for actual emergency situations. Each year the Fayetteville Training Division conducts a series of benchmark drills in accordance with National Fire Protection Association standards, which allow the department’s personnel to measure their ability to effectively mitigate situations on the fire ground.

    “Quickly gaining control of an emergency situation is equally as important as responding to it,” Hill noted.

  • 06 01 N1805P67008CThe Cumberland County Board of Health has adopted suggested amendments to the local smoke-free ordinance to include e-cigarettes and vaping products, which are suspected links to recent nationwide deaths from severe lung disease.  As of Oct. 17, there were 54 cases of suspected vaping and e-cigarette related lung disease reported in North Carolina in individuals ranging in age from 13 to 72. No deaths related to vaping have been recorded in Cumberland County. The Board of Health has prepared draft language to be included in the proposed ordinance amendment, which will be submitted to the Board of County Commissioners for adoption.

    In related news, the health department is offering flu vaccinations to children and adults at its Immunizations Clinic on Ramsey Street. Uninsured children 6 months to 18-years-old may receive the vaccination free. For other patients, the cost depends on the type of flu vaccine received. The immunizations clinic is open Monday through Thursday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., every second and fourth Tuesday evening until 7 p.m. and Fridays from 8 a.m. to noon. For more information, phone 910-433-3633 or 910-433-3657.

    Child Safety teamwork

    Most adults, particularly parents, can’t fathom the idea of neglecting a child. Sadly, though, thousands of cases of child neglect exist in the United States. During 2015, the U.S. Department of Health 06 02 neglected girl 4and Human Services estimated that 683,000 children in the country were victims of abuse or neglect. Even worse, the agency estimated that 1,670 children died in 2015 from abuse or neglect. Locally, the Cumberland County Department of Social Services has been awarded a best practice award in recognition of a program that forged relationships between community partners. DSS received the award for its multi-team approach in assisting a large group of children after an investigation uncovered unsafe living conditions. The outcome of the investigation was the successful removal of 16 children. DSS joined with law enforcement to remove the children without incident or additional trauma. Other community partners included medical providers, schools, nonprofit organizations, county, state and federal governing bodies. The collaboration saw to it that the children were immediately provided foster homes, medical attention, clothing, hygiene supplies and food.

    PWC Community Solar Farm

    Fayetteville’s Public Works Commission has built North Carolina’s first municipal community solar farm, and it’s a big one. It’s a large-scale, ground-mounted solar array of 3,384 solar panels offering electricity customers a shared renewable energy option and an alternate to rooftop solar. The solar farm is adjacent to PWC’s Butler-Warner Generation Plant in Eastover. All PWC utility customers — whether they own or rent their homes — can participate as subscribers in this program. Customers can enroll in the program beginning Nov. 1, pay a monthly subscription fee and in exchange receive bill 06 03 PWC Solar Farmcredits for the value of the solar less the cost to operate it. The solar farm will help provide cleaner, greener power for the community. And, according to officials, it will reduce the amount of electricity PWC purchases from Duke Energy.

    Outer Loop section to open

    In anticipation of opening the next segment of the Fayetteville Outer Loop, the future Interstate-295, a N.C. Department of Transportation contractor last week replaced overhead signs and restriped the pavement of the new segment of the thruway. Previous signs directed all I-295 southbound traffic to exit at the All American Freeway beyond which construction continued. Next month DOT will open the six-mile section of the highway from the All American Freeway to Cliffdale Road in west Fayetteville. The 39-mile outer loop will bring unprecedented interstate connectivity for the region and provide Fort Bragg direct connections to I-95. The Fayetteville Outer Loop will help support the military, promote continued economic growth and strengthen North Carolina’s ability to attract and retain business and 06 04 I 295 New Segmentindustry, DOT said in a news release. Other benefits include a reduction in the volume of traffic on the local network of city streets and connect major routes in the south, west and north portions of Fayetteville.

    Deer Season Safety

    As daylight hours get shorter and deer become more active, the North Carolina Department  of Transportation is reminding drivers to be alert at roadway deer crossings. Last year, there were nearly 19,000 animal related crashes across the state. Over the past three years, these collisions have resulted in nine deaths and injuries to 3,000. DOT urges motorists to slow down in posted deer crossings and heavily wooded areas, especially during the late afternoon or early evening. Deer often travel in groups so assume that if one crosses the road in front of you there may be others following.

    06 05 DEER CROSSING 1 Cumberland County Schools Study

    Cumberland County Schools are charting a course to reduce out-of-school student suspensions. The school system and the Cumberland County Chapter of the NAACP recently held a forum to review strategies and develop new approaches to embrace restorative justice practices and reduce suspensions. Restorative justice is an approach in which the response to an incident is a meeting between the victim and the offender, the goal being to share their experience of what happened and create a consensus for what the offender can do to repair the harm from the offense.

    The forum aimed to stop the school-to-prison pipeline and how the community can work together to improve academic and life outcomes for students.

    Associate Superintendent Lindsay Whitley said the most up-to-date information that has been certified and can be released is from the 2017-2018 school year: “Out-of-school suspensions by ethnicity,” involved 6,526 African-American pupils compared to 1,175 whites. Lindsay said 29.07% of the student body was African American. 
     
    06 06 Cumberland County Schools
     
     
     
  • 10 Veterans Day Parade The Cumberland County Veterans Council is sponsoring the Fayetteville Veterans Day parade this year on Nov. 9 at 10 a.m. in downtown Fayetteville.

    According to the U.S. Census Bureau, in 2018, 8-9.9% of the adult population of North Carolina was made up of veterans. Across the nation, and especially in a town so near to Fort Bragg, honoring the sacrifice of military service members is important.

    This year, the parade’s theme is “Celebrating Gold Star Families.” “(For themes,) we’ve done female veterans, we’ve done gold star mothers, we’ve honored our veterans and thought it was time we honored the families,” said Penny Cacoulidis, president of the Cumberland County Veterans Council and the parade director.

    “A gold star family is one that has lost a loved one, be it a father, a mother, a brother, sister, son, aunt or uncle — a family that has lost a loved one due to protecting this nation and our freedom,” she explained.

    Although the theme is centered around gold star families, the event honors all veterans. The Council plans the event, but hosting an event like this one in Fayetteville requires help beyond what the Council alone can do. With the help of the city of Fayetteville, several Cumberland County departments and an abundance of volunteers, veterans can be honored at the ceremony. More volunteers are still needed for the event.

    The grand marshall of the parade will be a gold star mother. The people walking in the parade will represent 114 organizations. These groups include Sons of the Revolution, bike organizations and high school bands and more.

    Businesses will not advertise in the parade so as to keep the focus on the veterans.

    “They are all veterans organizations,” Cacoulidis explained.

    Established in 1919 and originally called Armistice Day, Veterans Day was started by President Wilson to honor soldiers who died while serving their country.  Wilson said, “To us in America, the reflections of Armistice Day will be filled with solemn pride in the heroism of those who died in the country’s service and with gratitude for the victory, both because of the thing from which it has freed us and because of the opportunity it has given America to show her sympathy with peace and justice in the councils of the nations.”

    Cacoulidis urged, “It’s time we go out and say to our nation, ‘The strength veterans showed by joining the military, whether they were called up in the draft or they joined out of their own will — they do it to support our nation.’”

    Heroes Homecoming will host a variety of events that weekend.

    “We’re attempting through the council to do a sponsorship for the Gold Star Dinner which will be on October 8. We are hoping to get the sponsorships that we are needing,” Cacoulidis said.

    Volunteers are going to go through the crowds and pass out signs that say “thank you” that people can hold.

    The parade route begins at the intersection of Hay Street where Bragg Boulevard and Robeson Street meet, by the U.S. Army Airborne & Special Operations Museum, and proceeds down Hay Street around the Market House, and ends on Cool Spring Street.

    For more information on the Veterans Day Parade, visit the website at http://www.fayveteransdayparade.com/ or call Penny Cacoulidis at 910-200-7242.

  • 13 ftccAt Fayetteville Technical Community College, you can have lots of fun while majoring in electronics engineering technology. One of the courses offered, ELN-133 “Digital Electronics,” provides the opportunity to have fun programming gate arrays. Field Programmable Gate Arrays are electronic components used to perform a specific task or tasks. One really cool aspect of using these devices is that you get some great hands-on experience with both coding,  or software, and implementation on a development board, or hardware.

    Want to create a really neat calculator? Use the toggle switches to represent 1s and 0s for your input numbers and LEDs for your output result. As an added bonus, you get to learn binary numbers. Want to implement a stopwatch to time how long it takes you to do 10 push-ups or 10 sit-ups? Use a push-button switch to perform the start or stop operation and the seven segment displays to show how many minutes and seconds have elapsed during your workout. Want to write a fun message for your friends? The seven-segment displays will allow you to accomplish this.

    In addition to using the development board, you can also run simulations on your design on the computer. This process allows you to make sure your stuff is working right. Simply provide the inputs you desire and validate the outputs. For example, if I perform 2 + 2 on my calculator, do I get 4? Does my stopwatch start when I press the push-button and display the elapsed time? Is my message what I expected or did I make a typo?

    How about using the seven-segment display to count in hexadecimal? Show your friends how cool you are because you know both binary and hexadecimal.

    FPGAs are a great application of electronics engineering technology. They provide a fun way to learn about different aspects of the field of study. Let’s use the calculator as an example. You learn about the theory of how computers do arithmetic using 2s complement. You learn how to program in a language called VHDL as well as doing schematic capture. You gain valuable hands-on experience doing both simulation on the computer and verification on the development board. Learn more about all of these things at FTCC.

    In addition to this single course, the Electronics Engineering Technology program at FTCC offers many more classes, which prepare you for a career as a technician or for further study in the field leading to a bachelor’s degree. Classes in computer programming, programmable logic controllers, microprocessor applications, robotics as well as others provide fun ways of learning about electronics.

    Visit our website at www.faytechcc.edu and enter “electronics engineering technology” in the search tool for more details about the Electronics Engineering Technology program of study:
    www.faytechcc.edu/academics/engineering-applied-technology-programs/electronics-engineering-technology/

  • 08 N1809P59007CThe VFW Post 670 presents its 2nd Annual Veteran’s Day 5K Run/Walk and 1 Mile Walk of Honor to honor America’s Veterans Sunday, Nov. 10, at 11 a.m., at Festival Park in downtown Fayetteville. 

    “We started this run last year, and last year was the 100th anniversary of the origination of Armistice Day,” said Thomas Dosier, chairman of the 5K Veteran’s Day Run Committee of  the VFW Post 670. “The purpose of Armistice Day was to honor the 116,000 people that we lost during World War I. They signed the armistice to go into effect on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918.”

    Dosier added that after World War II and the Korean War, Congress changed Armistice Day to Veteran’s Day and made it a national holiday to honor all veterans of all wars.   
     
    BJ’s Wholesale Club will supply water for the participants. All participants will receive a finisher’s coin.

    Participants who registered by Oct. 18 will receive a T-shirt. There will be awards given to the different age categories for first, second and third place winners and top overall male and female winners.

    The VFW Post 670 started in 1933. “Our mission has always been to assist veterans, and all funds that we raise will be used in that purpose,” said Dosier. “We pay a lot of electrical bills and rent for young soldiers and veterans during difficult months.”

    Dosier added that the name of the post was changed in July. It is now called the Corporal Rodolfo P. Hernandez Post 670.

    “This event is going to be an annual thing from now on,” said Dosier. “We look forward to everyone participating in this event to honor our veterans.”     
     
    The event is open to the public. Ticket cost is $35. Pricing will be $40 Nov. 9-10.  Ticket cost for the 1 Mile Walk of Honor is $20. You can register for the run at http://it’s-go-time.com/veterans-day-run/. Sponsorship packages are available for purchase.

    For more information call 910-922-2809.  

    The 2nd Annual Veteran’s Day 5K Run/Walk and 1 Mile Walk of Honor to honor America’s Veterans is set for Nov. 10 at Festival Park.

  • 07 Matthew Goldstayn 2War hero or murderer? It’s a question that has dogged the military career of Army Maj. Mathew L. Golsteyn for eight years. Golsteyn’s story is an extraordinary one — a Green Beret decorated for valor in combat who, during a job interview with the C.I.A. in 2011, volunteered that he had killed a suspected bomb-maker a year earlier in Afghanistan. The Army opened an investigation but did not charge Golsteyn, instead stripping him of a Silver Star and issuing a letter of reprimand.

    President Donald Trump intervened in the case via Twitter, saying, “I will be reviewing the case of a U.S. Military hero, Major Matt Golsteyn, who is charged with murder.” As commander in chief, Trump complicated the military’s case against Golsteyn, raising questions of undue command influence, as well as the possibility that the prosecution is bound to be short-circuited by a pardon. With that tweet, Trump made an extraordinary intervention into the American judicial system.

    “Major Golsteyn admitted to what appears to be a summary execution — a very serious crime under international law, and it is vital that the investigation go forward,” said Patricia Gossman, senior researcher for Afghanistan at Human Rights Watch.

    Three years ago, in an appearance on Fox News, Major Golsteyn again said he had shot the Afghan. The Army opened a second investigation in late 2016, and charged Golsteyn with murder. In an interview, Golsteyn’s lawyer, Phillip Stackhouse, called the Army’s decision to charge his client with murder a case of “political correctness,” and said he was glad that Trump was going to look into it.

    Golsteyn was in Afghanistan in 2010 during the battle for the city of Marja in the Helmand Province. More than 15,000 American, Afghan, British, Canadian, Danish and Estonian troops attacked the Taliban stronghold. Over the next several months, dozens of Americans were killed, and hundreds were wounded. In February of that year, a roadside bomb killed two Marines who had been working with Major Golsteyn’s Green Beret team. There are conflicting accounts of what happened next.

    Army documents, which claim to recount what Major Golsteyn told the C.I.A., suggest that he and his team began clearing buildings looking for the source of the roadside bomb, eventually finding explosive materials like those used in the bomb that killed the Marines. The team took a suspected bomb-maker back to its base where he was identified as a member of the Taliban. Golsteyn and another American soldier, concerned that if released, the man would kill American troops, took him off the base, shot and killed him and buried his remains in a shallow grave, the documents say.

    According to public reporting and his admission, Golsteyn returned to the burial site to retrieve the body and burned it in a burn pit. Prosecutors say such alleged actions provide powerful insight into the major’s criminal state of mind at the time of the killing. A court-martial is set for Dec. 2 at Fort Bragg, the home of Army Special Operations. Golsteyn will stand trial for premeditated murder. He pleaded not guilty in July.

    Pictured: Maj. Matthew Goldsteyn

     

  • 06 01 Christina DiGaudioDr. Christine DiGaudio, principal of Ireland Drive Middle School, is Cumberland County Schools’ 2020 Principal of the Year, and Dr. Natasha Brown, an assistant principal at Lewis Chapel Middle School, was named the CCS 2020 Assistant Principal of the Year. The winners were made public Oct. 14 at the 2020 Administrators Dinner to honor educators for their leadership and commitment to student success.

    DiGaudio, a 21-year veteran educator, began her career as a middle school teacher in 1998 after graduating from the State University of New York’s Buffalo State College. She later obtained a master’s degree from Ashland University, an Education Specialist Degree from East Carolina University and a Doctor of Education Degree from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington.

    DiGaudio has served as principal of Ireland Middle School since 2013. “Leaders cannot and should not be trusted or respected solely due to their position or title; leaders must earn trust and respect,” said DiGaudio. She now moves on to compete against other local award recipients from the Region IV Sandhills/South Central Region of the state.

    Brown has served as an assistant principal for six years. She began her career as an English-language arts teacher at Spring Lake Middle School after graduating from Fayetteville State University. She has since received a master’s degree from Fayetteville State University and an Education Specialist Degree as well as a doctorate from Liberty University. “As an instructional leader, it is my responsibility to ensure that every student has the opportunity to engage in a quality educational experience,” said Brown.

    As the CCS Principal of the Year winner, DiGaudio received the Principal of the Year Award from the Cumberland County Board of Education, a cash award, an iPad mini and floral arrangement from CCS, an engraved desk clock from Herff Jones, a commemorative Principal of the Year ring from Jostens, two season tickets to the Fayetteville Marksmen Hockey games, a weekend stay at the Embassy Suites 06 02 Natasha BrownFayetteville/Fort Bragg, a $5,000 check for school use and a $1,000 check for personal use from Lafayette Ford Lincoln.

    As CCS Assistant Principal of the Year winner, Brown received the Assistant Principal of the Year Award from the Cumberland County Board of Education, a cash award, an iPad mini and floral arrangement from CCS, two season tickets to the Fayetteville Marksmen Hockey games and a $500 check for personal use from Olde Fayetteville Insurance.

    Other Principal of the Year finalists were recognized at the event and received cash awards and iPads from CCS. They were Dr. Michele Cain from Cumberland Road Elementary, Christina Tucker from Ponderosa Elementary, Erica Fenner-McAdoo from Howard Hall Elementary, Stephanie Wall Rivers from Montclair Elementary, Shannon Booth from Cumberland Mills Elementary and Reggie Pinkney from Ramsey Street High.

    Assistant Principal of the Year finalists were also recognized and received cash awards from CCS. The finalists were Kelly McKoy from Cumberland Road Elementary, Eric McLaurin from W.T. Brown Elementary, Ricky Tucker from John Griffin Middle, Niesha Witherspoon from Jack Britt High and Royvell Godbolt from Terry Sanford High.

    Pictured from top to bottom: Dr. Christine Di GaudioDr. Natasha Brown

  • 05 01 Rowan StIn the 1970s and 80s, Fayetteville’s Rowan Street Park was a popular family gathering place for picnics, recreation and outdoor concerts. It won’t be long before the park will regain its long-lost popularity — but for an altogether new reason. A glance at the park from West Rowan Street or Woodside Avenue. reveals a major construction project. City Council decided over the summer to build a skateboard park where the natural amphitheater used to be. Voters approved a $35 million parks and recreation bond referendum in 2016 and about $1 million of it is for this park. A preliminary sketch indicates it will have a concrete bowl for skaters to ride rapidly up and down to do tricks. There also is to be a large “street skate” area with ramps and fixtures to simulate skateboarding on public streets. The park will have a concession area and restroom facilities and viewing stands. Team Pain Skate Park Design & Construction of Winter Springs, Florida, is building the park.
     
    Combatting roadway deaths

    The North Carolina Governor’s Highway Safety Program has awarded more than $18 million in grants to keep travelers safe on N.C. roads. “Reducing the number of traffic deaths and serious injuries is a top priority,” said Mark Ezzell, director of the Governor’s Highway Safety Program. Ninety-seven community-based grants will be allocated during the federal fiscal year from October 05 02 State Patrolman2019 to September 2020. The grants will address drunk driving, speeding and seat belt usage — the leading causes of traffic deaths and injuries. The grants will be used to train prosecutors and law enforcement officers and will continue support for DWI treatment courts in Cumberland, Robeson and Buncombe counties. More than $3 million is allocated to expand blood-alcohol testing, toxicology and field sobriety testing training. About $8.7 million — the largest share of the grant funding — will aim to reduce drunk driving. About 30% of the state’s traffic deaths each year involve drunk drivers. A complete list of grant recipients is available online at www.ncghsp.gov.
     
    New Spring Lake fire station

    The town of Spring Lake broke ground last week on Spring Lake Fire Department’s new Station 11. It will serve the northside of town at 2355 Lillington Highway/N.C. Highway 210. It will be the second firehouse for the department and will also serve the former Manchester Fire District in an adjoining unincorporated area of Cumberland County. The Manchester Fire Department was dissolved approximately 20 years ago. Cumberland County provides funding and contracts with the Town of Spring Lake to provide fire service in the Manchester Fire District.
     
    05 03 Spring Lake Fire DeptUNC Pembroke street update

    A major reconstruction of the main gateway to the UNC Pembroke campus is open to traffic and pedestrians. The N.C. Department of Transportation spent $5 million overhauling a mile of North Odom Street/Prospect Road off West Third Street. The improvements make the roadway safer and more bicycle- and pedestrian-friendly. A median, two roundabouts and sidewalks were built. Bike lanes and 12 crosswalks were added. The roundabouts improve safety by slowing traffic and providing a U-turn location. The wide, grassy median replaced an open center turn lane. It provides a refuge for pedestrians when crossing the roadway. “With so many of our students, faculty and staff crossing Prospect Road throughout the day, this was a much-needed project on our campus,” said University Chancellor Robin Gary Cummings. “We are so thankful to the Department of Transportation for their efforts to help us increase the safety on our campus as we accommodate and continue the growth we are experiencing.”

    The orange barrels will be removed after a few remaining touch-up items are completed.
     
    05 04 Pembroke State Univ roadwayPWC solar weatherization project

    The N.C. Weatherization Assistance Program has awarded grant funds of $128,000 to three organizations that provide community solar resources for qualified low-income residents. NCWAP will provide $3,200 per home to Fayetteville’s Public Works Commission, Roanoke Electric Cooperative and Blue Ridge Energy for a pilot program covering a total of 40 homes. The funding allows NCWAP clients to participate in the community solar programs of these electric utilities.

    “This is an innovative approach that allows low-income households to support and participate in a clean energy resource that would otherwise be inaccessible,” said Secretary Michael S. Regan of the Department of Environmental Quality.

    NCWAP will also provide weatherization services to these single-family households. Services can include energy-related health and safety issues like duct sealing, insulation, air sealing, lighting upgrades and refrigerator/heating/cooling system evaluations. PWC will use its funding to support the participation of 10 eligible households in its Community Solar Weatherization Pilot project. Target benefits of the community solar pilot program will be approximately $365 per year per eligible household for no less than 15 years. 
     
    05 05 PWC Solar
     
     
     
  • 07 Myeshia Johnson LaDavid Johnsons widowThe U.S. is offering a $5 million reward for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the militants who committed or aided in the deadly Oct. 4, 2017, attack on a joint U.S.-Nigerien military patrol that left four Fort Bragg soldiers dead. The U.S. Department of State’s Rewards for Justice Program is offering an additional $5 million reward for information on the whereabouts of Adnan Abu Walid al-Sahrawi, the leader of the ISIS offshoot known as Islamic State in the Greater Sahara, according to a news release.

    The ISIS affiliate in West Africa claimed responsibility for the deadly attack that overwhelmed an American special operations team and roughly 30 Nigerien soldiers who accompanied the patrol near the village of Tongo Tongo, Niger. The patrol was pursuing an ISIS commander named Doundoun Cheffou when it was ambushed, resulting in the deaths of Sgt. 1st Class Jeremiah Johnson, Staff Sgt. Bryan Black, Staff Sgt. Dustin Wright and Sgt. La David Johnson. They were assigned to Army Special Forces Operational Detachment Alpha 3212.

    An investigation into the deadly firefight uncovered several things that went wrong with mission planning before the patrol. The team was not authorized to conduct capture or kill missions. Team leaders were not clear in its concept of operations paperwork that they were to pursue Cheffou. However, the investigation noted that the officers who filed the paperwork were not deceptive. A few people, mostly enlisted Green Berets, were reprimanded following the ambush, including Maj. Gen. Marcus Hicks. He was the commanding officer of Special Operations forces in Africa.

    Family members expressed their unhappiness in interviews with ABC News with the Pentagon’s decision not to punish other senior commanders for their role in the circumstances that led to the deadly attack. The decision that two officers in the Green Berets’ former chain of command — Col. Brad Moses and Lt. Col. David Painter — would not receive administrative punishments means that they will be eligible for future promotions and commands. Painter, according to multiple sources, received a reprimand, but it wasn’t a career-ending punishment, and he is reportedly up for a promotion.

    Family members complained that Painter, as well as Moses, commander of Fort Bragg’s 3rd Special Forces Group, should be accountable for placing the team near ISIS fighters. Rep. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., who advocated for the families, called the decision to not punish higher-ranking officers “a shirking of responsibility to the memory and families of the deceased.”

    The fallen soldiers in the ambush were posthumously awarded medals for valor. Wright’s family was presented with the Silver Star in August. Wright’s father said he was told his son had been nominated for the Medal of Honor, but that it “was downgraded twice” and that he would receive a posthumous Silver Star. Sgt. La David Johnson’s family was also presented with a Silver Star. He was a mechanic assigned to the special operations team. Sgt. 1st Class Jeremiah Johnson and Staff Sgt. Bryan Black were posthumously awarded Bronze Stars.

    Pictured: Sgt. 1st Class Jeremiah Johnson’s widow, Myeshia

  • 06 Vote HereThe voter turnout in this month’s Fayetteville primary election was so small that absentee ballots had a substantial influence in the city council District 2 race. Fewer than 3% of the 31,000 registered voters in two primary districts went to the polls. Twenty-seven primary election day ballots initially separated Shakeyla M. Ingram, 28, and Janene M. Ackles, 49. A third challenger, Arnita Bristol, was a distant third in the District 2 voting and was eliminated. Next month, Ingram or Ackles will succeed Dan Culliton, who was appointed to the council to replace former councilman Tyrone Williams who resigned under pressure amid allegations of misconduct. District 2 includes East Fayetteville, portions of Haymount and much of downtown Fayetteville.

    District 6 Councilman Bill Crisp, 79, decided to retire. He has served sections of West Fayetteville since the 2005 big bang annexation that brought him into office. Three candidates vied for his seat. When one more candidate than twice the number of seats available runs, all but two are eliminated in a primary election. Chris Davis and Carlos Swinger placed first and second, eliminating Mary Johnson Ferguson. Davis was endorsed by Crisp and won more than twice the number of votes Swinger received. 

    Unlike the county board of commissioners and the local board of education, city council races are nonpartisan. The nine city council districts were established in 2000, following a citizen task force recommendation that resulted in a reorganization of the governing body. The only member of council elected citywide is the mayor. Mitch Colvin is unopposed and seeking his second term.

    Three other incumbent council members are opposed in the November general election. District 1 member Kathy Jensen is being challenged by Valencia Handy, who has no elective office experience. Jensen is seeking a fourth term. Five-term Mayor Pro Tem Ted Mohn is opposed by Courtney Banks McLaughlin, who is also seeking elective office for the first time. District 9 Councilman Jim Arp is opposed by Yvonne Kinston, who has a leadership background in organized labor.

    The city of Fayetteville is geographically the second largest city in North Carolina, encompassing 148 square miles requiring 36 polling places from fire station 17 on Bailey Lake Road on the westside to fire station 19 off Andrews Road on the northside. The North Carolina State Board of Elections provides an easy online website for a resident to locate his/her polling place.

    Early voting for the general election is underway and will continue through Fri., Nov. 1. One-stop early voting is being held at the Cumberland County Board of Elections Office, located in the E. Newton Smith Center at 227 Fountainhead Lane, downtown Fayetteville. Dates and times are:

    Oct. 19-20, 8 a.m.-5 p.m.
    Oct. 23-27, 8 a.m.-5 p.m.
    Oct. 30-Nov. 1, 8 a.m.-5 p.m.

    Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 5. The polls will open at 6:30 a.m. and close at 7:30 p.m.

     

  • 05 01opioid abuseThe U.S. Department of Justice has given $900,000 to Cumberland County’s health department for a comprehensive opioid abuse site-based program. It’s a three-year project. The award for fiscal year 2020 is $289,131. Interim Health Director Duane Holder said the grant provides for a full-time project coordinator position at the health department, implementation of a post-overdose response team, enhanced pre-arrest diversion programming, a community education campaign and establishment of an overdose fatality review team. Data collected for Cumberland County since 1999 indicated an average of eight to 14 deaths annually related to opioids. By 2014, opiate-related deaths spiked to 34 and continued to increase with 79 unintentional opioid overdose deaths verified in 2017. Cape Fear Valley Medical Center was ranked in the top five in the state for opioid-related overdose emergency department visits. A community meeting for interested residents will be held Oct. 24, at 2 p.m., at the Department of Social Services, 1225 Ramsey St. 

    FTCC Foundation annual gala and tribute

    The Fayetteville Technical Community College Foundation will hold its annual Foundation Chair’s Gala Thursday, Oct. 24, at Gates Four Golf and Country Club. The theme for this year’s event is Gatsby Casino Night. The Foundation will honor FTCC board of trustees member Charles Koonce and FTCC Foundation Board Member Dan Dederick at the event. Koonce’s 05 02 FTCC Foundation Logo copyhistory with FTCC dates back to 1964 when he first joined FTCC as a teacher. He served in several leadership positions at FTCC during his 34-year career and has been a member of the board of trustees since July 2006.

     Dederick is a retired Marine Corps officer with 29 years of service. He has served as a member of the FTCC Foundation Board of Directors since 1996, and until his recent retirement, he was general manager of the Hendrick Chrysler-Jeep dealership. The FTCC Foundation exists to raise money from private sources to build up the FTCC Foundation financial base and to provide meaningful programs and services to alumni and friends. Tickets for the Chair’s Gala are $100. Online registration is available at www.faytechcc.edu/giving/gatsby-casino-night.

    Fort Bragg change of command

    U.S. Army Lt. Gen. Paul LaCamera arrived home at Fort Bragg last month following a one-year combat deployment. He served as commanding general of 18th Airborne Corps and Fort Bragg for 05 03 Change of Commandthe last two years. LaCamera and 400 Corps Headquarters troops returned to Fort Bragg Sept. 15. He was commander of the Combined Joint Task Force of Operation Inherent Resolve in Iraq, Syria and Kuwait. LaCamera is on the move again, having been reassigned to lead U.S. Army Pacific at Fort Shafter, Hawaii, which is a four-star command. His successor, Lt. Gen. Michael Kurilla, was promoted just before the change of command Oct. 7. As is often the case, Kurilla formerly served as commander of Fort Bragg’s 82nd Airborne Division.

    Veterans Affairs health information expansion

    The Department of Veterans Affairs is notifying veterans that the agency is now sharing health information with doctors outside the VA without notifying vets first. Under the 2018 VA Mission Act, the department is working to ensure that VA physicians and non-VA medical personnel can access health care information to treat them without delay. “The Mission Act gives veterans greater access to care, whether at VA facilities or in the community,” said VA Secretary Robert Wilkie in a news release. The VA will give providers access to laboratory results, medications, health history and illnesses, allergies and occupational health information. Veterans are receiving notifications of the change in letters from the VA. The agency says it will not sell any veteran’s health information.

    05 04 VA Health Care 2Military spouse employment data

    Are military spouses being hired by federal agencies under a special hiring authority that’s been in effect for more than a decade? The Office of Personnel Management wants to know and has sent memos to human resources directors of all federal agencies. The agencies must submit detailed information by Dec. 31 about how many spouses have been hired in fiscal year 2019. The hiring authority gives agencies the ability to appoint military spouses to jobs without using traditional competitive examining procedures. Military spouses often face challenges finding meaningful employment because of frequent relocations to new duty stations.

    “We’re very encouraged they’re following up to get this data,” said Jen Davis, government relations deputy director for the National Military Family Association. The law was enhanced in August 2018, to temporarily expand eligibility for the hiring authority to include all spouses of service members on active duty.

    05 05 Resources For Military Spouse JobsFayetteville baseball team honored

    The Fayetteville Woodpeckers are Ballpark Digest’s 2019 Best New Logo/Branding minor league team. “To see us win the award is very humbling,” said Woodpeckers President Mark Zarthar. “It’s a testament to our staff here and in Houston to put together a fantastic product for our community.”

    The name carries a strong connection to the local community and nearby Fort Bragg, where the endangered red-cockaded woodpecker is now plentiful. Fort Bragg changes were extensive, as nesting habitats were marked to diminish impacts on the red-cockaded woodpecker. Since its rollout, the Fayetteville Woodpeckers brand has caught on. According to Zarthar, the Woodpeckers ended their initial Fayetteville season with more than $1.2 million in merchandise sales. 
     
     
    05 06 fayetteville woodpeckers copy
     
     
     
  • 04 shakirThe American Cancer Society challenges us to imagine a world free from cancer. In 2019, there will be an estimated 1,762,450 new cancer cases diagnosed and 606,880 cancer deaths in the United States. More than 20,000 of those deaths will be in North Carolina. The Mayo Clinic defines cancer as any one of a large number of diseases characterized by the development of abnormal cells that divide uncontrollably and have the ability to infiltrate and destroy normal body tissue. Cancer is the second-leading cause of death in the world. But survival rates are improving for many types of cancer, thanks to improvements in cancer screening and cancer treatment.

    Locally, the Shakir Family and Friends have had several members impacted by breast cancer, and as a result, they wanted to give back to an organization supporting people in that situation. “They were led to Cape Fear Valley Health System’s Friends of the Cancer Center because of the impact we have with local cancer patients in this community,” said Sabrina Brooks, executive director of Cape Fear Valley Health Foundation. “The Shakir Family and Friends felt our work lined up with the impact they hoped to make through their events.”

    These are people who want to raise money to help cancer patients.

    “We brainstormed about what to do and how to get other people involved,” the Shakir Family and Friends said. “That way, we could donate more money to the foundation.”

    The month of October is breast cancer awareness month and a time of year that the Shakir Family and Friends hold an annual fund-raising dinner. They hold a fish fry and raffle each spring. The Shakirs have donated more than $20,000 over the past five years, according to Brooks.

    Marge Betley, with Cape Fear Valley Health, conducted interviews with the six men and women who identify as the Shakir Family and Friends. “We chose Friends of the Cancer Center because we wanted the money to directly help a family or individual in need during their battle with cancer,” they said.

    “After all the hard work is done, handing Cape Fear Valley Friends of the Cancer Center the check of the money we raised … is our most favorite part of the work that we do,” family members said. Shakir family members and friends involved in the project include Charles Smith, Jeanetta Smith, Trena Shakir, Shaheed Shakir, Esther Ligon and Bernard Ligon. The Shakir Family and Friends have learned firsthand that “those that you are helping really need the help and appreciate everything that you do.”

    The Shakir Family and Friends (left to right) Charles Smith, Jenetta  Smith, Trenna Shakir, Shaheed Shakir, Esther Ligon and Bernard Ligon have had several members impacted by breast cancer, and as a result, they wanted to give back to an organization supporting people in that situation.

  • 15 CybersecurityIt’s October, so that means it is National Cybersecurity Awareness Month. The Department of Homeland Security uses this month to remind everyone of the importance of cybersecurity. This year’s campaign — "Own IT. Secure IT. Protect IT." — is designed to encourage everyone to be proactive about their cybersecurity and to take responsibility for their online behavior. As part of that effort, there are several methods that can be used to create strong passwords to protect accounts.

    Creating an online account starts with a username and a password. Most websites require users to use email addresses as usernames, which is easier to find online than most of us would like. All that is left for a hacker to figure out is your password — the same one many people use on many websites. In one survey, 83% of respondents used the same password for multiple sites. If you use your one good password on a website that gets hacked, you are at risk of losing something valuable from an account with that same password, such as your bank account information.

     Below are some steps to consider taking regarding passwords.

    1. Use a password manager. With so many accounts requiring a unique password, it is hard to remember them all. Password managers can be used on a desktop and/or a mobile phone via an app.
    2. Create unique, hard-to-guess passwords for every account.
    a. Shorter passwords, no matter how complex, are easier to crack. Allow the password manager to create 20-character or longer passwords or use passphrases (i.e. Joe=Rides=2Yam$=Back2Back).
    b. Do not use common words or easily determined passwords. Is your password one that many use, such as P@$$word1? Can a hacker guess your password by your online information, such as your child’s name, birthdays or hobbies? Many password-cracking tools can quickly crack passwords from a dictionary, a famous quote, or line in a book.
    c. Do not use patterns. When you create or change your passwords, do not use a pattern that makes it easy to guess other or future passwords. For example, many users change the end of their passwords to the current year or go from a single "!" to two "!!" or add a "1,""2" or "3" for three passwords for three different sites, for instance. With the many breaches that have occurred, there is a good chance an old password or two of yours is online.

    3. Add login protection to your accounts. Enable multifactor or two-factor authentication, also called an MFA or 2FA, if available. When logging in to an MFA-enabled account, you enter a username, password, and something that you can only get from your MFA device or that you can provide because it is unique to you, like a fingerprint. If you use your mobile phone as an MFA device, then you might have an app to open and get your code or receive a text message with a code you must also enter. If given a choice, the app is more secure than text.

    4. Do not enter login credentials via an unsolicited email or website. No legitimate organization will send you an email that asks you to click on a link and enter your username and password, unless you just requested a password reset or just created an account and this is the account verification email.

    Visit the National Cybersecurity Awareness Month website at https://niccs.us-cert.gov/national-cybersecurity-awareness-month-2019 for more information. To learn about FTCC’s Systems Security Analysis program of study visit www.faytechcc.edu or call 910-678-8400.

  • 08 Miki PhillipsMore than 40 years ago, Miki Phillips’ doctor told Miki she had just five years to live. She was 23 at the time and in her senior year at Duke University when the diagnosis of systemic lupus was doled out to her. “I was scared,” Phillips said. “I was put on steroids that utterly destroyed my health.”

    She didn’t let that stop her though. Phillips has Bachelor of Arts degrees in both Chemistry and Biology from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington and a Bachelor of Health Sciences degree in Medical Technology from Duke University Medical Center. Today, the mom of two and grandmother of four has had her share of adventures and career successes and conquered enough challenges to last several lifetimes, including six pulmonary emboli, diabetes, fibromyalgia and liver, kidney and stage-four thyroid cancer.

    When it came to her health, Phillips played by the rules and followed her doctors’ orders — for 20 years.  She worked at the VA and later ran clinical drug studies for 25 years. “I loved what I did, but six pulmonary emboli grounded me from flying, and traveled a lot for work,” she said. “After 20 years of steroids, my doctors told me, ‘we can’t do anything else to help you.’”

    With no other options, “I took matters into my own hands,” Phillips said, “I stepped up and took responsibility for my health.”

    That meant being open to a more holistic approach and alternative therapies. During her research, Phillips found the quantum biofeedback machine. After more research, she bought one. “In 10 months, I went from sleeping 14 hours a day and working one job to working two jobs and playing tennis five days a week,” she said. “My doctor has been blown away.”

    She knew she had to share what she’d discovered. Today, Phillips owns Mind Body Seimei and works as a natural health coach, working in conjunction with her patients and their doctors to bring balance to lives and bodies. “Traditional medicine is great, especially for diagnosis and trauma,” said Phillips. “Definitely listen to your doctor. But there is more information and there are other treatments out there for many of the conditions people suffer from.”

    Mind, Body, Seimei offers biofeedback treatments. A frequency-based modality, biofeedback includes a three-minute scan measuring how patient’s body responds to  10,000 frequencies. “It’s not diagnostic,” said Phillips. “It identifies what is out of balance. Then I can help you start addressing them.”

    Seimei is another component of Phillips’ work. Seimei is a Japanese, hands-free pain relief technique that can change/resolve the expression of a person’s pain, for example,  sharp, shooting, burning, tightness, as well as the intensity of their pain.

    She also offers customized Healthy living programs and sells Nature’s Sunshine Products health supplements as well as embracing the benefits CBD oils and other natural products.
    Find out more at http://www.mindbodyseimei.com/.
     

  • 07 CCSCumberland County Schools are charting a course to reduce out-of-school student suspensions. The school system and the Cumberland County Chapter of the NAACP recently held a forum to review strategies and develop new approaches to embrace restorative justice practices and reduce suspensions. Restorative justice is an approach in which the response to an incident is a meeting between the victim and the offender, the goal being to share their experience of what happened and create a consensus for what the offender can do to repair the harm from the offense.

    Dozens of community stakeholders met at the Cliffdale Regional Branch Library for a School Discipline Forum, according to a news release provided by Cumberland County Schools. The forum, entitled Alternatives to Suspensions: Rethinking School Discipline, provided information on the effects of suspensions, aims to stop the school-to-prison pipeline and how the community can work together to improve academic and life outcomes for students.

    Up & Coming Weekly asked CCS to elaborate on student racial inequities. Associate Superintendent Lindsay Whitley said the most up-to-date information that has been certified and can be released is from the 2017-2018 school year: “Out-of-school suspensions by ethnicity,” involved 6,526 African-American pupils compared to 1,175 whites. Lindsay said 45.09% of the student body was African-American. He did not respond to an inquiry as to what the administration attributed the imbalance, saying that “there are many factors that may contribute to suspension rates in CCS.”

    Peggy Nicholson of the Youth Justice Project and the Southern Coalition for Social Justice acknowledged the work is being done to reduce suspensions and racial inequities, while noting that there is still more work to be done. She provided two major strategies to help CCS move forward — increasing institutional equity while decreasing suspensions and court referrals.

    School Superintendent Dr. Marvin Connelly, Jr. shared a variety of strategies that school officials currently use to reduce suspensions, including conferences with students and parents, restorative justice practices and positive behavioral interventions. “A suspension is not discipline — it is the consequence of an action,” said Connelly.

    The National Center for Education Statistics disagrees saying “suspensions and expulsions are disciplinary actions taken by a school or district in response to a student’s behavior.”

    Connelly added that “when students are not in school, they cannot learn. We’re committed to reviewing policies and procedures through an equity lens, with the goal of reducing the number of out-of-school suspensions and expanding alternatives to suspensions.”

    The NCES notes that grade retention, suspension and expulsion are all associated with negative outcomes, such as an increased risk of dropping out of school. Retention, however, can be related to both disciplinary and academic issues; a student might be retained because of behavioral issues or because the student is not academically ready to progress to the next grade level.

    “The forum was a call to action to create better outcomes for our youth,” said Emily Chapman Grimes, education committee chair for the NAACP. “We’ve talked about racial disparities in school suspensions for far too long. It’s time to do something. School leadership, community members, the NAACP and its coalition partners are ready to collaborate to create better outcomes for the youth in Cumberland County.”

    Dozens of community stakeholders met at the Cliffdale Regional Branch Library for a School Discipline Forum, according to a news release provided by Cumberland County Schools.

  • 06 CommissaryMilitary commissary officials have stepped up their efforts to beef up savings, convenience and overall shopping experiences for customers. When are beer and wine coming to your commissary? No answer yet, according to DoD officials. Right now there is a limited test selling beer and wine in 12 military commissaries. Fort Bragg is not one of them. Commissary and exchange officials are “gathering and analyzing all factors related to beer and wine sales,” said DoD spokeswoman Jessica Maxwell.

    The 12 test stores have limited selections and restricted floor space for beer and wine, typically a four-foot shelf space each for beer and for wine. The selections have been purposely kept small at the 12 stores, and are being culled and changed, said one industry source. Beer and wine sales are expected to be rolled out slowly to other stores, he said, as officials evaluate the initial sales and remain sensitive to the needs of customers and the military services’ desires to deglamorize alcohol.

    One industry source said the Fort Myer, Virginia, commissary — the store closest to the Pentagon — has the best sales of all 12 stores. Although its selection is the smallest, its placement near the meat section is key, a local official said. “It’s all about where you put it, and how you stage it.”

    Even with just four-feet of shelf space devoted to each of their beer and wine offerings, that store sold $165,596 worth of libations. Its wine sales brought it over the top: 66% of the sales were wine, which far surpassed the other 11 stores.
    Following a 90-day pilot program in the last half of 2018, DoD decided to continue sales of beer and wine at the 12 test stores while it evaluated whether to expand sales to the rest of the system’s 226 commissaries in the U.S. and abroad. As of December 8, 2018, some $394,315 worth of beer and wine were sold in the 12 commissaries — $190,574 in beer, and $203,741 in wine, according to Lt. Col. Carla Gleason, a Pentagon spokeswoman.

    The spirits industry had been hoping that a test of spirits sales at the commissaries might follow. But the DoD decided it will not move ahead with a pilot test for spirits. “The department has evaluated the sale of alcoholic beverages in commissaries,” Gleason said, “and stands by its original decision to limit sales to a small selection of beers and wines.”

    “Spirits, wine and beer all compete for the same drinking occasions,” said David Ozgo, senior vice president for economic and strategic analysis for the Distilled Spirits Council. “By discriminating against spirits, the DoD is picking marketplace winners and losers and trying to dictate consumer preferences … excluding spirits puts us at a competitive disadvantage.”

    Following a 90-day pilot program in the last half of 2018, DoD decided to continue sales of beer and wine at the 12 test stores while it evaluated whether to expand sales to the rest of the system’s 226 commissaries in the U.S. and abroad.

  • 05 Aerial ViewThe North Carolina Department of Transportation has begun distributing more than $147.5 million in state aid to municipalities. Powell Bill funds are distributed twice annually to 508 cities and towns across the state. The initial allocation of $73.8 million was sent out in late September. The next allocation in the same amount will be paid by Dec. 31. Powell Bill funds are used primarily for the resurfacing of streets within the corporate limits of municipalities but can also help pay for construction, improvements, repairs of streets and public thoroughfares — including bridges, drainage systems and curbs and gutters, as well as bikeways, greenways and sidewalks.

    “Funding provided through the Powell Bill helps cities and towns pay for needed repairs, maintenance and construction of their transportation network,” said Transportation Secretary Jim Trogdon. The amount each municipality receives is based on a formula set by the North Carolina General Assembly, with 75% of it based on population, and 25% based on the number of local street miles. Charlotte is receiving $20.5 million. Fayetteville’s allocation is $5.2 million.
     
    School bus driver award

    For Ellen Swinson, student safety is always her top priority. As a bus driver for Ashley Elementary School, she is constantly going the extra mile to ensure all students make it to and from school safely — even students who ride other buses. Recently, after finishing her route for the day, Swinson noticed a bus from Vanstory Hills Elementary had pulled over due to mechanical issues. She immediately stopped to help, offering the students an air-conditioned place to wait. After speaking with Vanstory’s administration, Swinson ended up finishing the bus route so that the students would arrive home on time. For literally going the extra mile, Swinson is Cumberland County Schools’ Extra Mile Award recipient for October. She was nominated under the Compassion category by Carolyn Ortiz, a teacher’s assistant at Ashley Elementary, who praised Swinson for putting children first. Swinson received a certificate and was recognized at the October Cumberland County Board of Education meeting.
     
    Getting to sleep isn’t easy for everyone

    Cape Fear Valley Health System has opened a fourth sleep center lab to help area residents get a good night’s rest. The new four-bed lab is now open at Hoke Hospital, located at 210 Medical Pavilion Dr. near Raeford. Cape Fear Valley Sleep Center in Fayetteville already serves a growing number of civilian and military patients in the region. The sleep centers treat a variety of sleep disorders, including sleep apnea, insomnia, narcolepsy, periodic limb movement, restless legs syndrome and more. The new Hoke sleep lab offers a wide array of testing, including Polysomnography, CPAP titration, daytime studies, multiple sleep latency tests and more. Cape Fear Valley also has sleep labs at Health Pavilion North in Fayetteville, Bladen Hospital in Elizabethtown and the main Sleep Center on Owen Drive in Fayetteville. Cape Fear Valley Sleep Centers are accredited by the American Association of Sleep Medicine and The Joint Commission.
     
    The Fayetteville Area Transportation and Local History Museum

    The Fayetteville Area Transportation and Local History Museum is a hub for history in downtown Fayetteville. From the history enthusiast to families looking for fun, there is something for everyone. Deep within the museum collection are artifacts that are a bit unusual. Many of these items are job-specific tools or household items that have become obsolete. Do you think you can identify them? Museum Collection Oddities is an exciting and interactive exhibit that opened Oct. 8 and will run into the 2020 calendar year. The museum is located 325 Franklin St. and is open to the public Tuesday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Admission is free.

    Energy Action Month

    Fayetteville Mayor Mitch Colvin has declared October Energy Action Month in the city. The proclamation acknowledges national Energy Action Month, a federal campaign by the U.S. Department of Energy to increase public awareness about energy conservation, efficiency and technology.

    “Energy is one of our most vital resources,” Colvin said. “Accessible, viable, dependable and affordable energy resources are critical to the city of Fayetteville and to each and every one of our residents.” City employees and Fayetteville residents can support the mayor’s proclamation by being mindful of their energy use — not only during October but throughout the year.
     
    31 Days of Love

    The Cumberland County Public Library & Information Center system is participating in the 31 Days of Love campaign. Each branch is hosting pet-related programs and accepting donations of pet supplies for animals at the Cumberland County Animal Control Shelter. For animals at the shelter, responsible pet owners can make a difference by adopting animals. For those who are unable to adopt, donations are greatly appreciated and needed. The library is working to increase awareness of animal control services and to facilitate the donation drive. Donations can be delivered to any library location. Pet food, cat litter, toys, flea-control products, treats, shampoo, plastic crates and carriers are accepted.
  • 14 01 TinctureEditor’s note: Though they are related, marijuana and hemp are not the same. A lot of that has to do with chemistry and how the plants are used. Hemp has a long and noble history. It’s used to make rope, textiles, shoes, food, insulation, paper, biofuel, paint, varnish and more. Locally, hemp’s history runs deep. The town of Robbins in Moore County was officially named Hemp from 1935-1943 because of its connection to hemp rope. Hemp was grown from Colonial times in southern Appalachian states, including North Carolina, until the early 1940s, when it was no longer legal to grow.
     
    Hemp is back, though, and North Carolina is one of the states looking to explore its potential as a safe and healthy crop for its residents. It brings health benefits, medical benefits, potential economic benefits and more.
     
    Let’s talk about hemp, what it is — and what it is not.
     
    Cannabis. Marijuana. Hemp. Though related, these three pseudo-synonyms have important biological and functional differences. U.S. Marine Corps veteran Robert Elliot, owner of farmer for Broad River Hemp on Robeson St., sheds some light on this controversial topic:
     
    “When you talk about hemp and you talk about marijuana, (the difference) boils down to what we call in the horticulture world – in the plant science world — a cultivar.” According to 14 02 joyce romero tC TOGGEODI unsplashElliot, cultivars are genetic characteristics that result from breeding. “Every single one of us are humans, but we’re all different,” Elliot said. “The same thing is true with plants.”
     
    As varieties of the cannabis plant, hemp and marijuana share certain traits. One key cultivar, or genetic trait, that characterizes cannabis is THC — tetrahydrocannabinol. If a cannabis plant’s percentage of THC falls below 0.3%, we call it hemp. If it’s over 0.3%, we call it marijuana, Elliot said. “That is literally the definition of the whole thing.”
     
    To clarify, hemp does not make a person high. And hemp plants aren’t likely to transition to marijuana in the growing process. According to Elliot, it’s all in the THC content. “Most cultivars of hemp, take for instance cherry, is so well known for never going over the limit for THC, it will always be a hemp plant.”
    “Hemp and CBD oil are two different products too, and that’s extremely important for the consumers to know.” According to Elliot, CBD oil comes from hemp. Hemp oil contains less THC than CBD oil, and is therefore less effective.
     
    CBD Products

    So, why is CBD so popular? According to Elliot, CBD treats ailments like arthritis, inflammation, muscle pains and anxiety, naturally. “It’s the best of both worlds. (The) main demographic that we’re after is the older crowd, ‘cause they benefit the most from CBD.”

    CBD products come in a variety of forms, and Elliot recommends that consumers use what works best for them. “The most common form on the market right now is tincture,” Elliot said, referring to CBD oil mixed with a carrier oil, like coconut oil.

    Tincture is typically ingested under the tongue or mixed in drinks, but since it’s an oil, it doesn’t mix very well, Elliot said. It can also be smoked like Marijuana, but without the high.

    Some consumers like to cook with CBD. “It can replace the majority of oils in food,” Elliot said. “But it’s got to be done just right, ‘cause if you overheat it, you’ll cook it and kill all the CBD.”

    CBD can be applied topically as well. Broad River Hemp carries several skin creams and muscle lotions, said Elliot. The dosage, like the medium, depends on the user. “We advise people to start with a smaller dose and see how it affects them. If it doesn’t work, we take the dose up.”

    Elliot offers what he considers the most important step when purchasing CBD or Hemp products: “Get educated. Not all CBD is created equal. Make sure that (you) are buying a quality product from people that know what they’re talking about.”
     
    Hemp and CBD — the particulars

    “CBD oil is broken down into a few different types. Most prominent are full spectrum CBD oil or isolate.” The difference, Elliot said, is how far along the maturation process the cannabis flower has gone.

    Full spectrum CBD contains not just CBD molecules, but a host of other vitamins, proteins and fatty acids, said Elliot. “It’s basically trying to get as much of the good stuff out of that flower as humanly possible.”

    Isolate, on the other hand, is just the CBD molecule. “(It’s) CBD in the purest form. The difference is that full spectrum is much more effective. Isolate doesn’t really do much for the human body.” For noticeable results, Elliot recommends full spectrum CBD over isolate.

    Regardless of the spectrum, consumers should be careful when purchasing CBD products. In North Carolina, a test confirming THC levels of 0.3% or less is the only regulation currently placed on CBD production. “Yes, it is safe, to a very good degree,” Elliot said. “However, … what we see a lot in the industry is white labeling.”

    “An opportunist will go and find someone who’s producing hemp or who’s processing hemp into CBD oil, and they will take that oil and bottle it and put a label on it and sell it as if it’s their own product,” Elliot said.

    Since white labelers are typically less experienced farmers, their extraction methods can be unsafe. “Some (processes) aren’t as clean as others. It can be pulled out of the plant in a very crude fashion. Which means you can extract the oil yourself with some pretty common stuff you’ve got in your kitchen already.”

    According to Elliot, this approach can manufacture a product that may be risky for consumers. But there are ways to recognize the difference between legitimate products and white labels.

    “We work with people that we know. That’s probably the most important part. We can see the farmers – we know what they’re doing,” Elliot said. Broad River Hemp recommends that consumers educate themselves before purchasing hemp or CBD products. “First and foremost, it should be something you can find information on and the person in the store should be able to tell you about it, where’s it from.”
     
    Hemp’s future in North Carolina

    As the home of Fort Bragg, the United States’ largest military base, Fayetteville has seen a lot of action regarding CBD. “A lot of the veteran community is very much in support of cannabis … simply because it helps reduce PTSD symptoms for somebody who’s been through the ringer,” Elliot said. “If somebody gets anxious about something, they might get a lot of use out of CBD.”

    Elliot is more than enthusiastic about involving veterans in the hemp industry. Honor Hemp Company, founded by Elliot, is a North Carolina veteran co-op designed to help veterans transition into the farming world.

    However, since the THC in CBD shows up in drug tests, active duty military members are prohibited from using CBD products. “We … try to educate any active duty service member when they come around. We don’t want anybody losing their military career over the CBD product,” said Elliot.

    There’s a lot more to come in the Hemp world, particularly in N.C., Elliot said. “There’s stuff out there that we can’t get our hands on in North Carolina yet, like clothing and handbags and wallets.” According to Elliot, these products are made with fiber Hemp, an industrial stream of the plant.

    “Prices will bank on CBD. Probably faster than most people speculate. However, one of the things that I’ve been trying to do is set up fiber production.”

    Elliot warns that the Hemp market as we know it today will likely crash within the next 10 years, but a more stable market will take its place. For N.C., that market will likely include fiber hemp.
  • There will be a vacancy on Fayetteville City Council come the first of the year. Longtime councilmember Bill Crisp won’t be there. Crisp, 79, has served for 12 years. He was first elected as a result of the so-called Big Bang annexation of western Cumberland County in 2005 when more than 40,000 people were involuntarily annexed into Fayetteville. The controversial move was a major reason that the state legislature did away with unsolicited annexations.

    Crisp became an influential and respected member of City Council. He served in the U.S. Army for 27 years, retiring with the rank of Command Sgt. Maj. in 1987. When asked about his greatest satisfaction of serving on council, Crisp said “I love people and appreciated being able to serve them.”

    The area Crisp serves is one of nine political districts, each representing approximately the same number of people. District 6 is on the southwestern side of the city. To this day, Crisp says the big bang annexation “was a disaster” calling it “a land grab for tax dollars.”

    The result made the city of Fayetteville the second largest in the state geographically, encompassing 148-square-miles. Only Charlotte has more land area. Crisp is among those who believe that bigger isn’t better, that the government lacks the capacity to serve its 210,000 residents. He takes pride in significant accomplishments he contributed to in his dozen years, including development of the multimillion-dollar Hope VI residential community off Old Wilmington Road. Modern apartment buildings replaced a post-World War II housing project.

    Crisp is especially proud of Fayetteville’s designation as home of North Carolina’s Veterans Park, the nation’s first state park dedicated to military veterans from all branches of the Armed Services. Then-Gov. Beverly Perdue was on hand for the ground-breaking in February 2010. Crisp was a major supporter of the city’s $40 million commitment to build Segra Stadium on Hay Street. Officials say it will be the impetus of more than $100 million of private development.

    City council colleagues have come and gone during Bill Crisp’s dozen years. He did not hesitate when asked who he most enjoyed working with on the governing body. District 1 councilwoman Kathy Jensen is his favorite. “She isn’t as experienced as most, but is one smart lady,” he said.

    Crisp noted he developed a partnership with District 8 member Ted Mohn, who was also elected as the result of the 2005 big bang annexation.

    Crisp’s decision this year to not run for another term was based on his poor health. “It’s an ordeal for me,” he said. Crisp has had prostate cancer surgery, spinal infusion and has had three tumors removed from his lungs. Diminished lung capacity and a weakened heart required that the people of District 6 elect a new member of council. Suffice it to say Councilman Bill Crisp will be missed.

    Pictured: Fayetteville City Councilman Bill Crisp

  • 07 Chief Hawkins 1Fayetteville Police Chief Gina V. Hawkins testified on community policing practices before the U.S. House Judiciary Committee Sept. 19. She appeared on behalf of the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives, or NOBLE. Hawkins is treasurer of the organization. The judiciary committee has oversight responsibility for federal and local police practices.

    Rep. Gerald Nadler, D-NY, chaired the meeting. “Without question, the vast majority of law enforcement officers serve honorably under difficult conditions, often risking, and sometimes losing, their lives to protect us,” Nadler said. “There have been, however, a disturbing number of incidents of excessive force used by police against civilians — many of whom were unarmed, most of whom were people of color, and many of which resulted in tragic death — that have put incredible strain on the relationship between law enforcement and their communities.

    “We should consider legislative proposals to end racial profiling and to restore trust between law enforcement and the community. And we should explore ways to strengthen data collection on the use of force and racial profiling so police departments can measure the practices they manage,” Nadler said in his opening remarks.

    Committee Ranking Member Rep. Doug Collins, R-Ga, said he was “concerned that my colleagues on the other side of the aisle will turn today’s hearing into a crusade against all law enforcement officers based on isolated incidents.”
    Collins added, “We — as Congress and as Americans — are nothing without the rule of law and its fair and uniform enforcement.”

    “My predecessor used technical assistance resources … to help the agency establish a strategy to improve engagement at all levels of the department and particularly with communities of color,” Hawkins said. Her reference was to U.S. Department of Justice police assistance programs that retired Fayetteville Police Chief Harold Medlock sought out to improve local policing. In his three-and-one-half years at the helm of the FPD, Medlock worked tirelessly to improve relations in the African American community.

    Chief Hawkins has said law enforcement agencies implement various strategies and methods to combat crime and ensure public safety. Those strategies extend beyond traditional models of responding to calls for service and often seek to increase crime prevention, intervention and response effectiveness. Community outreach, efficient resource distribution, crime mapping and data collection are concepts which comprise CompStat, a crime-reduction strategy that concentrates on improving physical and social order in high-crime locations.

    “The safety of police officers and civilians alike depends, in large part, on the strength of the relationship between the police and the public,” said Seth Stoughton, a law professor at the University of South Carolina and a former police officer. “Public distrust of the police can decrease cooperation with law enforcement, which can, in turn, lead to an increase in violent crime. Police distrust of the public, in turn, can lead to an increase in officer misconduct and the use of force, as well as the adoption of aggressive, zero-tolerance tactics that further exacerbate the tension.”

    Fayetteville Police Chief Gina Hawkins appeared before the U.S. House Judiciary Committee  representing the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives.

  • 06 MeningitisThe Cumberland County Health Department said last week that bacterial meningitis had been confirmed in a member of the Methodist University community who is hospitalized. The patient has meningococcal meningitis. No additional cases have been reported. The best way to protect against bacterial meningitis illness is to be vaccinated. All 11- to 12-year-olds should get a vaccine, with a booster dose at 16 years old. More information about meningococcal vaccine recommendations for teenagers is available online by searching Meningococcal Vaccination for Preteens and Teens: Information for Parents. Methodist University individuals who may have been exposed have been contacted and administered protective antibiotics. The health department cannot provide further details about the case to protect confidentiality. Bacterial meningitis can be spread to other people through direct contact with saliva through activities such as kissing or by sharing items such as eating utensils, beverage bottles or cigarettes. If you have questions about immunizations, contact your primary care provider or the Cumberland County Health Department at 910-433-3600.
     
    Health director hired

    The Cumberland County Board of Health has selected Dr. Jennifer R. Green to serve as the county’s new public health director effective Nov. 18. Her starting salary is $139,000, according to Assistant County Manager Sally Shutt. Green fills a post that was vacant for two years following the resignation of Buck Wilson. Green has been director of the Riley County Health Department in Manhattan, Kan., since 2016.

    “Dr. Green’s educational background, public health leadership experience and passion for meeting the health needs of diverse communities make her well suited to serve as Cumberland County’s Public Health Director,” said Dr. Connette McMahon, chairperson of the board of health. Green received her Bachelor of Science in health science studies and master of public health in community health education from Baylor University. She earned a doctorate in health promotion sciences and public health from the University of Oklahoma Hudson College of Public Health. The Health Department is planning a Community meet-and-greet with Dr. Green on Oct. 15, from 4:30-6 p.m., in the third-floor boardroom of the Public Health Center, located at 1235 Ramsey St.
     
    Visitor’s Bureau commendation

    The Fayetteville Area Convention and Visitors Bureau received a gold Tourism Achievement Award at the North Carolina Travel Industry Association’s banquet this month. Tourism Achievement Awards recognize best practices, creativity and results accomplished through the tourism industry’s marketing efforts. FACVB’s sports e-newsletter “Hometown Huddle” was recognized in the Group Visitors category.

    “Knowing that marketing and tourism professionals from around the country recognized one of our initiatives for its innovation and creativity is humbling,” said John Meroski, FACVB President and CEO. The awards are presented annually by the NCTIA. Each entry was graded on a sliding point scale system and was evaluated on its own merit and demonstrated success in achieving the stated objectives.
     
    New County Planner

    County Manager Amy Cannon has hired Rawls Howard as Cumberland County’s new Planning and Inspections Director effective Oct. 14. Howard is currently the Director of Planning and Community Development in Mooresville, N.C. Howard, a native of Tarboro, has served as a planning director or manager for several local governments of various sizes and complexity in North Carolina, including North Wilkesboro, Greensboro, Greenville, Sunset Beach and Linville Land Harbor, as well as Cedar Park, Texas. He also spent two years in the Peace Corps and assisted with BRAC-style analysis for the Ukrainian government, which involved redevelopment of military bases for civilian economic development purposes. Howard earned a Bachelor of Science degree in geography and urban planning from East Carolina University and a Master of Arts in geography from Appalachian State University. The department’s mission is to promote a safe, stable, culturally and economically viable environment for the citizens of Cumberland County through comprehensive and coordinated planning, with the provision of responsible code enforcement and trade inspections.
     
    2020 Woodpeckers schedule
     
    The Fayetteville Woodpeckers, Class A Advanced MiLB affiliate of the Houston Astros, have announced the schedule for the 2020 season, plus the release of the 2020 half-season ticket package. The Woodpeckers open the season at Segra Stadium on Thursday, April 9, at 7 p.m., against the Frederick Keys.

    “Over 250,000 people visited Segra Stadium during our inaugural season,” said Mark Zarthar, president of the Fayetteville Woodpeckers. “The response from our community was remarkable. We are eager to reward our fans by offering a 2020 season full of surprises and hopefully, a Carolina League Championship.”

    Half-season packages feature 35 games and come with a variety of benefits, including schedule flexibility, a ticket exchange program and first right to special events. Half-season packages start at $340. Full season tickets are also on sale and start at $500 with one-, three- and five-year term options. The full 2020 schedule can be accessed at www.fayettevillewoodpeckers.com
     
     
  • jeff8Three people died in Cumberland County during Hurricane Matthew which struck Fayetteville on Saturday, Oct.  8.  Throughout the day, 14 inches of rain fell, followed by another eight inches Sunday, Oct. 9. The previous weekend, an eight-inch rainfall had already inundated Greater Fayetteville. 

    The damage it caused was catastrophic. Six hundred homes in King’s Grant on Fayetteville’s north side were cut off from the rest of Fayetteville when a utility culvert beneath Shawcroft Road blew out causing the roadway itself to collapse. It’s the only city street providing King’s Grant residents ingress and egress to the subdivision. Fayetteville Engineering and Infrastructure Director Rob Stone estimates it will take six months to make repairs. Meanwhile a temporary access road has been created by extending Cottage Way to Shawcroft. It crosses private property owned by Cedar Falls Baptist Church and the Kings Grant Home Owners Association. 

    The Cedar Falls Church parking lot became a marshaling area for the Red Cross and North Carolina Baptist Men disaster relief organizations. The Red Cross at one time had 400 volunteers working in Fayetteville from across the state and as far away as New York. 

    Rayconda is another community hard hit by Matthew. The earthen dam beneath Siple Avenue partially collapsed and more than 200 homes were cut off from Raeford Road. A contractor hired by the City of Fayetteville and city crews repaired the roadway and reopened it for emergencies only on Oct. 20. Full-size fire engines and ambulances now have access to Rayconda. Siple Avenue is expected to be opened to all traffic by Oct. 28, which is two weeks ahead of the original schedule. 

    The Mirror Lake Drive dam in Van Story Hills washed out, again. The first time was when Hurricane Fran washed it out in 1996. In Aaran Lakes, the dam at Greenoch Drive was blown out as was a dam on Sykes Pond Road.

    Across the county, 40 homes were destroyed. In all, 900 structures were damaged, said Cumberland County Manager Amy Cannon. Initial estimates include residential property losses totaled $30 million. Other areas of significant damage included Veterans State Park on Bragg Boulevard. Underground electric pumps were destroyed. Recreation and Parks Director Michael Gibson reported three feet of water in the building. The basement of the headquarters library downtown was flooded. One building on the Public Works campus off Wilmington Road had 12 inches of water in it at one point, according to PWC General Manager David Trego. Three city owned buildings on Alexander Street were damaged by high water. They housed traffic services and engineering departments. Forty thousand homes on the PWC system were without power during the height of the hurricane. Efforts to restore power were completed by late Tuesday, Oct 11. 

    Associate School Superintendent Tim Kinlaw said 38 of the county’s 86 schools suffered temporary power outages, but none had significant damage. Eight county vehicles including sheriff’s patrol cars were damaged in the storm. Seventy-one city vehicles were damaged, 20 of them seriously. Twenty PWC vehicles were damaged.

  • jeff7The City of Fayetteville is experiencing an unprecedented increase in homicides this year, and is on track to set an all-time high record. The current total is 28 with two months to go in the year. The city’s worst murder count was in 1993 when the number hit 30, but it was an anomaly. In August of that year four people were killed and eight others wounded in a mass shooting at Luigi’s Italian Restaurant. Fort Bragg solider Kenneth French Jr., was tried and convicted and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. 

    This year’s increase follows a significant decline in murders in 2015 with only 19 which makes the turnaround more baffling.  Police officials say it’s difficult to attribute reasons for the annual ups and downs of killings. 

    “Law enforcement cannot predict when a son will murder his parents, why a husband kills his wife and then himself, why individuals recently released from long prison sentences become victims or suspects in homicides,” said Interim Police Chief Anthony Kelly. These are actual cases this year. 

    The police department, adds Kelly, is committed to programs designed to reduce violent crimes, but they may not show results for years to come. They include the EKG program (Educating Kids on Gun Violence), the LEAD program (Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion) for low-level drug offenders, and the newly created Misdemeanor Diversion Program intended to keep 16- and 17-year-olds from being put in a system that could have the unintended consequence of life-long involvement in criminal activity. The Police Activity League and Operation Ceasefire are other programs designed to help combat crime. 

    Kelly notes homicides have increased nationally this year, but police professionals don’t entirely understand why. Major cities across the U.S. have experienced a surge in homicides. Murders are up in roughly 30 big cities so far in 2016, according to data released by the Major Cities Chiefs Association. Kelly says the FPD evaluates each murder and reaches out to the families of victims and suspects in efforts to understand the whys and wherefores as well as to reduce additional violence. Fayetteville Police records show that all of this year’s murder cases have been cleared with arrests.

    How can police and local leaders mobilize the citizenry to stop the killing in their communities? Police chiefs generally agree that homicide is a community problem with solutions present in the community. Washington, D.C.’s recently retired Chief of Police Cathy L. Lanier, pointed out after a rash of homicides that there is a limit to what law enforcement alone can do to prevent killings.* Chief Kelly, a 22-year veteran of law enforcement, agrees that fighting crime is a shared societal responsibility. 

    “Social and economic issues related to the lack of educational opportunities, affordable housing, limited job opportunities, substance abuse and mental health issues contribute to crime,” he says. “Everyone plays a role in keeping the community safe, and we endeavor to do everything we can to continue our efforts to reduce violent crime.”  

    * “Another Shooting Adds to District’s Deadly Weekend,” The Washington Post, Metro Section, Monday June 2, 2008.

     

  • jeff6Creating a brand and building an image for a new minor league baseball team is not something that concerns the Fayetteville City Council. At least that’s the belief of Council’s baseball committee chaired by Mayor Pro Tem Mitch Colvin. In Colvin’s eyes, that’s up to the owners of the franchise. 

    By the end of this month the City expects to finalize a binding contract with the Houston Astros to host a Carolina League Single A minor league ball club. The City has chosen the site behind the former Prince Charles Hotel downtown for a $33 million stadium to be patterned after a Triple A stadium in Columbia, South Carolina. The city owns the property, which represents a significant saving.

    If the project remains on schedule, the City hopes to begin construction of the ball park in July. Mayor Pro Tem Colvin points out that their obligation is to provide the ball park. The Astros will manage the team and operate the stadium under a $250,000 annual lease with Fayetteville. 

    “The city is not involved in the operation of the team and their decisions,” he said. 

    A question under consideration is where will the Fayetteville team play while the stadium is under construction? That decision is the province of the parent organization. But it appears that team won’t be playing in Fayetteville. 

    “I am certain we will begin to see more activity in the days to come by the Astros,” Colvin added.

    J.P. Riddle Stadium on Legion Road has been considered as a temporary home for the team. It hosted previous minor league teams — the Fayetteville Generals and Cape Fear Crocs. County government, which owns the stadium, was asked by Minor League Baseball to upgrade the facility to help boost sagging attendance. The county declined. The Crocs were sold in 2000, and moved to New Jersey. For the last 15 years, the college summer league Swamp Dogs have called Riddle Stadium home. Colvin tells Up & Coming Weekly that an unnamed county commissioner said he “did not believe the Swamp Dogs were interested in subleasing their stadium to the Astros Minor League team.”

    An option that the Astros organization may consider is playing at Jim Perry Stadium at Campbell University. According to Campbell’s website, the park’s refurbished grandstand seats 630 fans. It’s 35 miles from Fayetteville in Harnett County. Colvin doesn’t see that as an impediment to developing support for the new team.  “I am confident in the ability of this professional organization to engage and get the support of the local community,” he said.  

    When asked whether his committee has given any thought to playing at Methodist University or Fayetteville State University? Colvin said “I do not have an answer on Methodist University’s field, and I am not aware of FSU having a viable baseball stadium that would accommodate the new team,” noting again that it was the City’s job to build the stadium and The Astros make decisions concerning the team’s operations.

  • “Fayetteville and Cumberland County have suffered enough,” said Interim Police Chief Anthony Kelly. 

    He joined Mayor Nat Robertson and District Attorney Billy West in cautioning residents to beware of scammers in the wake of Hurricane Matthew. 

    “We will not tolerate re-victimization of our citizens,” said West. 

    Fraudulent solicitation of people in need of help carries jail terms and financial restitution, West added. Most commonly, predators approach elderly and poor residents offering to make home repairs. They often require some money up front to purchase supplies. That’s part of the scam. Legitimate contractors do not require down payments or deposits. Robertson was unable to cite local instances of scam artists at work in Greater Fayetteville. West hopes to keep it that way by alerting the public to illicit contractors saying North Carolina district attorneys have teams of financial prosecutors who are prepared to take rip-off artists to court. Officials say home owners should get two or three repair estimates before hiring a contractor.

     

    jeff2PWC Water is Flowing

    Fayetteville’s Public Works Commission doesn’t say how much water was saved in the wake of Hurricane Matthew when a pair of conservation measures were put in place after two water treatment plants failed during the storm. 

    Emergency generators kicked in at both, but broken water mains prevented maintaining pressure in the system, PWC spokesperson Carolyn Justice-Hinson said. 

    Mayor Nat Robertson declared a Stage IV water crisis the day after the hurricane struck. It was followed three days later by  Stage I voluntary conservation measures as conditions improved in the water system and at the water treatment plants. 

    “The emergency declaration was in response to the need to rebuild acceptable water pressure levels in the PWC system,” said Justice-Hinson. She said at the time there was a temporary loss of water pressure because electrical power was lost at the plants and water mains in the distribution system had burst. 

    “The plants were able to pump enough water to refill all the storage tanks while crews checked 2,400 miles of water lines for any problem areas which were not immediately identified after the storm,” Justice-Hinson added.  

     

    jeff3New Rowan Street Bridge 

    The State Department of Transportation says construction on the new multi-million dollar Rowan Street Bridge is expected to get underway as soon as Nov. 1.  Construction of the six-lane dual span bridge and realignment of Bragg Boulevard, Murchison Road and Rowan Street is expected to take three and a half years. A $24 million contact has been awarded to S.T. Wooten Corporation of Wilson.  The new structure will be built adjacent to the existing bridge which dates back to 1956. It will be demolished once the new overpasses are up and running. Motorists can expect periodic detours throughout construction. Project completion is slated for May of 2020. This was one of six road and bridge projects recently awarded by N.C. DOT. They came in at about $95.5 million, which was $5.8 million under the estimated budget.  Photo credit: N.C. DOT.

     

     

     

     

    jeff4Military Job Fair

    CivilianJobs.com, where America’s military connects with civilian careers, will conduct 35 job fairs across the country in November. One of them is at Fort Bragg. 

    The company offers recruiting and staffing services. “Military job fairs not only connect companies with the sought-after talent they’re looking for, they put candidates face-to-face with companies excited about hiring military,” said Jake Hutchings, general manager, CivilianJobs.com. The local event is Tuesday and Wednesday Nov. 8-9, at Fort Bragg’s Conference and Catering Center at 2658 Reilly Road from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. Major employers will offer both local and national job opportunities. 

    The event is open to all active duty soldiers, veterans, retirees and reservists as well as spouses, dependents and civilians. Active duty and prior military can pre-register at www.civilianjobs.com.

     

     

     

    jeff5Fort Bragg Medics Graduate

    Fayetteville Technical Community College’s first class of Army paramedics graduated last week and are now eligible to take state and federal paramedic license exams. FTCC’s program was started with the encouragement and cooperation of Womack Army Medical Center. The class began in January with 28 active duty combat medics and two employees of Fort Bragg EMS. The course consisted of 600 hours of classroom instruction and 600 hours of internship. 

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • margaretI am living for Nov. 9.

    That is the day after Nov. 8, Election Day 2016.  On the ninth, we will know who our next president, our next governor, our next U.S. senator, and a host of other honorables will be for at least the next two years and some up to eight years.  I have been confused by much of what has occurred during this election season, words and behaviors of both candidates and their supporters, and it is clear that we are a nation deeply divided in many ways.

    It is also clear that a dialogue has opened about American women, who we are, what we are doing with our lives and how society regards us.  Love her or loathe her, Hillary Clinton is the first woman in our nation’s 238-year history to head the ticket of a major political party, despite the fact that women make up about 51 percent of our population.  And, love her or loathe her, her candidacy is a major American historical benchmark.  If North Carolina elects a woman senator this year, she will become one of fewer than 40 women elected to the Senate over that same time period.  It is also clear that much of this year’s campaign rhetoric revolved less around the accomplishments of American women than about our physical appearances in the workplace and elsewhere.  And, it is crystal clear that a distressing conversation has begun about what is acceptable touching between men and women, but it is a conversation we need to have as a nation.

    The Dicksons made it a priority to teach respect for all people to the Precious Jewels, and if they are so blessed, I hope they will do the same with their children.

    To that end, I am sharing with them some advice from US. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, known fondly as the “Notorious RBG.”  The justice has written a new book, My Own Words, and she shared some thoughts with Bill Murphy writing in the New York Timesin advance of her book’s publication.  Ginsburg’s advice applies to everyone, but she is aiming her words at parents who want their daughters to become confident, competent, and high-achieving women.

    Here is part of what she prescribes.

    Nurture a love of reading.

    Reading is the tool that opens the door to the entire world.   It allows us to explore any topic that grabs our interest, and it does not matter whether we are rich or poor or in what part of the world we live.  If we can read, we can go anywhere.  Reading enlarges our thinking and trains us to want more knowledge.  And knowledge, once we have it, is ours forever.

    Teach them to be independent.

    If nothing else, election year 2016 has shown us all how many directions we can be pulled in and how much diversity — both positive and negative — is competing for our attention.  If we learn to know ourselves, trust ourselves and enjoy our own company, we are less likely to be led astray.  Independence is the way we stay true to ourselves and our own values.

    Encourage them to seek excellent teachers and mentors.

    I can count on one hand the teachers who really made a difference in my life, beginning with my third grade teacher all the way through graduate school.  Ditto for people who guided me in my professional life.  It makes all the difference when a young person knows she has people to turn to for advice and counsel.

    Help them learn to ignore from time to time.

    Successful people know that sometimes it is better not to react to some slight, some offense, some unkindness whether they come in the workplace or in a relationship.  Put simply, not everything deserves a response — or in our era, a Tweet.  Ginsburg’s mother-in-law advised her new daughter-in-law that sometimes it is helpful “to be a little deaf.”  She was right.

    Encourage them to focus on achievement, not on the barriers to it.

    Barriers always exist and certainly did for women when Ginsburg, now 83, was establishing her career and had a young family.  She plowed through the days when it was legal to pay women less than men for the same work and when she could not get a credit card without her husband’s signature.  She persevered.

    Akin to that advice is this.  Teach them that they can create their own luck.

    Circumstances outside our control always affect us, but it is largely our reaction to those circumstances that determines our outcomes.  This may be perseverance as well.

    And finally, keep your fingers crossed that they marry the right person.

    Handsome, wealthy, and charming are wonderful attributes, but a supportive partner willing to go the distance with us is the goal.

    The Notorious RBG looks nothing like a supermodel, but she makes a perfect role model for our young women.

  • Pub PenFriday evening, several weeks ago, I attended a special event in downtown Fayetteville at the Cameo Art House Theater. Afterwards, around 9:30 p.m., I had only two blocks to walk to the reception held at SkyView on Hay. In these two short city blocks, I was approached three times by panhandler’s and vagrants. 

    I was brought up to be compassionate, kind and generous and cannot remember when I have failed to offer assistance to someone truly in need... “By the grace of God go I.” However, if you live or work in Downtown Fayetteville your nerves, resources and patience are probably being tested by what seems to be this ever growing influx of vagrants and panhandlers. 

    I’m not going to use the word “homeless” because our community has yet to define that term. However, the problem is real and getting worse as Downtown Fayetteville becomes their preferred sanctuary. A shameful circumstance that quickly turns sympathy, generosity and empathy into fear, apprehension and frustration. Fear, initially from the abrupt unknown approach. “What is going to happen next?” Apprehension from our crazy, unpredictable and erratic judicial system that puts in question what rights we actually have to defend ourselves should this panhandler or vagrant become overly aggressive or violent. These concerns are real. Will I be sued or go to jail for defending myself from this derelict? Or, maybe I’ll be accused of violating his human rights. 

    The frustration comes from thinking about the impression we are making on first time visitors to Fayetteville or on someone who has just moved into one of the lovely apartments or condos downtown or recently set up business downtown. Frustration also comes from knowing it doesn’t have to be this way. All that is needed is a show of “law and order,” an increased police presence, enforcement of existing laws and an inclination to address the problem. It’s doable.

    Without punity these vagrant and panhandling intruders use our bushes and landscapes as camp sites, our back doors, parking lots and alley ways as toilets and downtown pedestrians as a revenue source. Those worried about the new downtown Transportation Hub attracting and harboring these undesirables have a legitimate concern, which I believe is soon to become a reality. 

    The city bureaucrats who claim we have no money to address this situation also have no idea what the real cost to the city will be if the problem is not addressed. New stadium, new baseball team, innovative arts and entertainment district. Now is the time to address this issue, not later. Continued denial is not an option. Agree? 

    Thank you for reading Up & Coming Weekly.

  • MargaretI started this column on Sept. 22, while watching reports and commentary on rioting the previous night in Charlotte, North Carolina. Businesses in the downtown area were looted, police officers were attacked and one person was shot. This situation came about in the aftermath of a Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officer shooting resulting in the death of a black man named Keith Lamont Scott. As with Ferguson and Baltimore, I sat there wondering why this kind of chaos happens. That is: the rioting, looting and absolute destruction of property owned by people who had nothing to do with the shooting of Scott.

    I think a part of the answer shows in an event at a pw

    “A history teacher in Cumberland County was placed on paid administrative leave Tuesday after coming under fire for stepping on the U.S. flag as part of a lesson on the First Amendment.”

    “He was teaching a junior-level American History class with 26 students when the incident happened Monday. He had been teaching about Texas v. Johnson, a case that upheld that flag desecration was protected by the First Amendment and the Bill of Rights.”

    The teacher referred to is Lee Francis. The McCleary/Banks article referenced above reports that Francis is surprised and disappointed by the tremendous public opposition to his treatment of the American flag and his teaching technique. His approach to teaching is quoted as follows:

    “But this is exactly what I teach: You don’t teach kids how to think or what to think; you teach them to go their own path,” he said. “If they feel so convicted that this is their cause they’re going to stand for, I don’t blame them. It’s an upper-level school for those who aspire to go to college and in that regard, we have rigor and expectations, so I treat them as such.”

    What this teacher says is a major part of the answer to my question in regards to why people choose to act as they did in Charlotte on Sept. 21, in Ferguson, Baltimore and so on. I agree we should not tell people what to think, but there must be instruction on how to think. One’s thinking is done within the framework of what is believed to be right, to be acceptable behavior.

    The apostle Paul understood and spoke to this critical factor of framework for thinking and its impact on behavior. In Romans 12:2, Paul writes: “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is — his good, pleasing and perfect will.” The apostle is calling on us to adopt a framework for thinking that is controlled by what God wills for us and not by what is acceptable to society, in general, apart from God’s desires for us. Dr. David Jeremiah invites us as we consider taking a particular action, ask if we would be comfortable taking that action in the presence of Jesus.

    Although Francis obviously does not realize it, by his flag-stomping action and saying “... you teach them to go their own path,” he is teaching students how to think. His message is, “Say whatever you want and you are protected by the First Amendment.” Without doubt, promoting this position likely contributes to a mindset, a framework for thinking, which leads one to conclude that what happened in Charlotte, Baltimore, Ferguson and elsewhere, is acceptable behavior. 

    I remember well when commitment to the common good was taught and encouraged as an essential element in a person’s framework for thinking. An article at www.scu.edu titled “The Common Good” speaks to this matter by saying, in part:

    “Commenting on the many economic and social problems that American society confronts, Newsweekcolumnist Robert J. Samuelson once wrote: ‘We face a choice between a society where people accept modest sacrifices for a common good or a more contentious society where groups selfishly protect their own benefits.’ Newsweekis not the only voice calling for a recognition of and commitment to the ’common good.’’’

    “What exactly is “the common good,” and why has it come to have such a critical place in current discussions of problems in our society? The common good is a notion that originated over 2,000 years ago in the writings of Plato, Aristotle and Cicero. More recently the contemporary ethicist, John Rawls, defined the common good as ‘certain general conditions that are... equally to everyone’s advantage’.”

    These quotes precisely describe America’s present reality and we appear locked-in on the course that is totally contrary to what made us the greatest nation in the world. Commitment to “the common good” is now becoming a relic on the dusty shelf of “what used to be.” In great part, this is the case because thought frameworks of individuals are being dangerously shaped by actions and influences such as the flag-stomping done by Lee Francis. Again, in his words, “…you teach them to go their own path.” The result is that far too many people live life selfishly, while likely identifying with and promoting the interests of some group to the detriment of other individuals or groups. 

    In America, the examples of how this plays out in real life seems endless. Consider Charlotte. A man is killed, and even before minimal facts are collected and examined, people are rioting, looting and even shooting in downtown Charlotte. Be reminded, the owners of those businesses or people working in that area to earn a living had absolutely nothing to do with the officer-involved shooting. On a news broadcast, I saw one black speaker calling for a boycott of Charlotte. All of this is a clear picture of disregard for “the common good.” Simply put, this is the willingness of one small group to penalize innocent people in the name of protest. 

    I see, in the same light, actions by many who oppose HB2, which is often referred to as North Carolina’s Bathroom Law. Key wording from the law follows:

    “Single-Sex Multiple Occupancy Bathroom and Changing Facilities. Public agencies shall require every multiple occupancy bathroom or changing facility to be designated for and only used by persons based on their biological sex. Accommodations Permitted. – Nothing in this section shall prohibit public agencies from providing accommodations such as single occupancy bathroom or changing facilities upon a person’s request due to special circumstances, but in no event shall that accommodation result in the public agency allowing a person to use a multiple occupancy bathroom or changing facility designated under subsection (b) of this section for a sex other than the person’s biological sex.”

    Individuals, groups, businesses and organizations opposed to this legislation have brought tremendous financial harm to North Carolina citizens in an attempt to force repeal of HB2. The NBA moved the 2017 All-Star Game from Charlotte; the ACC moved 10 neutral-site championships out of North Carolina for the 2016-2017 academic year; NCAA moved seven championships scheduled for this academic year; PayPal cancelled plans to bring 400 jobs to North Carolina. This is only a sampling of what is being done which does not consider common good. An op-ed in The News & Observer by Chris Armstrong titled “Potentially $5 billion in losses from HB2 and still no repeal” says of HB2, “In total, a report from UCLA estimates the law may cost the state up to $5 billion a year.”

    All of this is being done so that a small group of men may go into restrooms and changing areas with women and vice-versa. Note that the law only applies to public agencies. Businesses and other non-public entities may do what they want. Further, single occupancy bathroom or changing facilities are allowed and should satisfy the concerns of transgender persons. In spite of this accommodation and the horrendous financial, mental, and emotional strain being placed on millions of innocent hard-working North Carolinians, many opponents of HB2 totally disregard “the common good.” 

    The Charlotte events described above and opposition actions regarding HB2 are just two examples that show consideration of “the common good” is becoming an American relic. Indications are that this consideration hardly ever appears as a component in the thought framework of many citizens, or our leaders. This dangerous progression toward relic status is fueled in great part by words and actions like those of Lee Francis before that class of young minds developing a framework for thinking. Does the Constitution allow him to say and do what he did? Yes. Did he consider the common good? No. Does that failure by him and others likely affect the thought frameworks that produce what we saw in Charlotte and in the devastating responses of many opponents of HB2? Yes. We better give attention to helping individuals develop thought frameworks that produce right actions. 

  • coverThe Department of Performing and Fine Arts at Fayetteville State University would like to invite the public to join more than 100 visitors arriving from six states to attend a distinctive gallery crawl on Nov. 4. 

    The exhibits are the direct result of the indirect support of two national conferences taking place at FSU on Nov. 4-5, the 16th National Alliance of Artists from Historically Black Colleges and Universities and the National Conference of Artists, an organization of African-American artists and educators that has been in existence since 1959. 

    Although there is a small fee to attend the conference, it is an historic event on the campus of Fayetteville State University and for the community; the conferences have been committed to the works of African-American artists and their canon in the history of art. During the past five decades the NCA has counted among its membership some of the leading African-American artists and historians of the 20th century. Through its annual meetings and related exhibitions, it has been in a position to monitor the evolution of African-American artists throughout that period as well as assess the work of their African-American forebears. 

    Six galleries are participating in the gallery crawl on Friday, Nov. 4, between 3 and 8 p.m. Students from many historically black college/universities and their professors/alumni will be exhibiting in local galleries; while other galleries are involved by hosting exhibitions that include significant contemporary or historical African-American artists. 

    Rosenthal Gallery on the campus of Fayetteville State University is hosting the faculty and alumni from the NAAHBCU and organization of historically black colleges and universities. Many of the artists exhibiting are historically significant and have contributed to the history of the African American canon in art.

    Ellington White Contemporary Gallery is hosting the Charles White Sketchbook exhibit. The exhibit features 17 sketchbook drawings and watercolors by one of America’s most historically important and recognized African-American and Social Realist artists. His work is included in the Smithsonian, Metropolitan Museum, the Whitney Museum and many more well respected institutions. 

    The Arts Council of Fayetteville and Cumberland County has included several African-American artists who use recycled materials in their annual recycle exhibit titled Recycle: The Art of Transformation. The student exhibits are in three gallery spaces: Gallery 208, Gallery 116 and the Rudolf Jones Student Center at Fayetteville State University. 

    Schedule of Gallery Crawl Openings on Friday, Nov. 4:

    Rudolph Jones Student Center at FSU (Student Exhibit, FSU): 3:30-5:30 p.m. 

    Rosenthal Gallery, FSU   (HBCU Faculty and Alumni Exhibit, FSU): 4:30 - 8 p.m. 

    Gallery 208 (Student Exhibit, 208 Rowan Street): 5:30 - 8 p.m. 

    Gallery 116 (Student Exhibit, 116 Anderson Street): 5:30 - 8 p.m. 

    Arts Council of Fayetteville and Cumberland County (301 Hay Street, Recycle: the Art of Transformation includes several African-American artists who recycle): 5:30 – 8 p.m. 

    Ellington White Contemporary Gallery (113 Gillespie Street, Charles White Sketchbook Exhibit): 5:30 - 8 p.m.  

    The gallery openings are free to everyone, but there is a $50 fee to attend the 16th NAAHBCU and 54th NCA conferences. The theme for the conference and its presenters at Fayetteville State University is Into the New Millennium: New Media Abstractions and Identity Politics.

    Conference events begin in the FSU Rudolph Jones Student Center on Friday, Nov. 4 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and continue on Saturday, Nov. 5, in Seabrook Auditorium and FSU Rosenthal Building (classrooms and the recital hall) from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The featured conference speakers will include: 

    Dr. Regenia A. Perry, a retired Virginia Commonwealth University Professor of African-American Art History, is the first African-American woman to receive a Ph.D. in Art History. She is also the foremost expert in African-American folk art. 

    Lisa Farrington, chair of the Art Department at John Jay College CUNY and is a curator, author and art historian specializing in Haitian, African-American and women’s art. She has published widely, including Common Goals, Common Struggles: Women of the Harlem Renaissance (University of Mississippi, forthcoming), Creating Their Own Image: the History of African-American Women Artists(Oxford University, 2005), and two monographs on artist Faith Ringgold. 

    Dr. Jeffery C. Stewart, a Professor in the Black Studies Department at the University of California at Santa Barbara, has an extensive list of publications and essays. His most important research has been on the Harlem Renaissance, the black arts movement of the 1920s, and his specialty has been the work of black philosopher Alain Locke. 

    Willis “Bing” Davis, is the Founder and Director of the EbonNia Gallery in Dayton, Ohio. He has served as past President of the National Conference of Artists and has had a distinguished career as a curator and an artist who exhibits in galleries and museums in America, as well as West Africa and Germany.

    Dr. Leo Twiggs, is widely seen as the country’s main pioneer of batik as a modern art form. He is an important and noted South Carolinian artist since the 1960s. The subject of his art is about issues and people close to his Southern upbringing. 

    Although all the exhibits will be up a month, the night of the official opening is a gallery crawl to visit each Fayetteville gallery participating in the exhibition as part of the conference between the hours of 3:30 p.m. – 8 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 4, and the public is invited. For information on the conference events and times, contact the conference coordinator: Dwight Smith, Assistant Professor of Art, at 672-1795. 

    For conference details and events, go to the FSU Department of Performing and Fine Arts, click on Fine Arts Series website: http://fsuarts.com/event/national-alliance-of-artists-from-hbcus-exhibition/

  • Pub PenLast week about this time, some of us were still without power and water. We were in that window of hope where our world would soon be made right. And for most of us, it was, but for many, their world was just starting to unravel.

    Our kids lost a week of school. Some of us had to find creative ways to get to work. And once there, we had to find creative ways to get our work done. But for others in our state, the pain had just started. As the Cape Fear River began to slowly move back into its banks, rivers across the state began to crest and our neighbors to the south in Robeson County and to the East, in areas like Kinston and Goldsboro, began to flood.

    It would have been easy for our community to say we have enough to take care of and leave our neighbors to fend for themselves. But we didn’t. Instead, we rolled up our sleeves and began to look for ways to help not only our neighbors here in Cumberland County but also those we do not know.

    On Fort Bragg, commands reached out to the soldiers and civilians who work there to see what kind of damage had occurred, and then they put hands and feet to work helping to salvage what could be salvaged and to find ways to get assistance to those in need.

    The civilian community worked the same way. Neighbors offered shelter to those who had lost everything. Clothes drives were launched, volunteers started cooking for those in need and collecting the basics to share.

    This reminded me of the question asked in the Bible: Who is my neighbor? Is it the person who lives beside me? Is it the person who looks like me, believes like me and has the same economic condition that I do? I’m proud to say that our community knew the answer to that question. That became readily apparent as groups all across the county scrambled to help our neighbors in Robeson County.

    At the church I attend, Green Springs Baptist, an immediate call to action was given and people answered wholeheartedly. Clothes, blankets, pillows, soap, deodorant, tooth brushes and tooth paste … whatever the need, began appearing, and each evening volunteers made a run to the shelters in Robeson County to distribute all the donations. Each day, the donation room was full again. At my office at Fort Bragg, I mentioned the work the church was doing, and I loaded my SUV three days in a row with things brought to me by my coworkers and friends. That’s just my experience. Many of you have similar experiences.

    People can say what they want about our community, and I will stand and tell them they are wrong. Fayetteville/Cumberland County is a community of heart. It is a community that cares. I am proud to call Fayetteville home.

  • pub penI am what most would call a weather geek. I love watching the weather. I study it. I often give weather forecasts to friends and family. That’s why I was uncomfortable with the cavalier attitude our local weather forecasters had concerning our recent unwelcome guest, Hurricane Matthew.
    Being a weather geek, I follow the different models. And, I can say with no hesitation, always look at the European model. Its accuracy is far better than ours. So while everyone around was telling us not to worry, the storm wasn’t going to come anywhere near the Cape Fear region, the European model was SHOUTING, “Hey, you guys! Get ready.” Unfortunately, no one paid attention.
    Instead, we all sat here, thinking ourselves safe and out of harm’s way. Until we were in harm’s way. Then everyone acted surprised. I would like to say that I smugly thought, I told you so. But I didn’t. I worried about my friends and neighbors. I worried about our first responders out in the midst of the storm. And I worried about those lookey loos who always find themselves stuck because they didn’t think it was that bad.
    Sitting here, in the darkness of my home, I listened to the wind blow and watched the water levels keep rising. My neighborhood became a lake, and many found themselves under water. While I was safe, city and county officials hovered, trying to make a plan. And, while they planned, our law enforcement, fire department and EMS were out in the midst of the storm — taking care of us. 
    They saved countless people who thought they could drive through 3 feet of water. They helped those stuck in their homes. They rescued those who simply had no sense. And they mourned those they couldn’t save. Friends I know who are among our heroes worked double shifts. They left their families alone, to fend for themselves, so they could take care of our community. 
    When so many want to talk about police relations, this community saw who had their back. They saw who braved the storm to take care of them … no matter their creed or color. 
    Our community leaders used every means possible to keep the local citizenry informed. They were on news casts. They were on Facebook. If there was a means to get the word out, they used it. I don’t want to single any one person out, but I have to say that I followed Kirk deViere’s Facebook posts religiously. I also followed Jimmy Keefe and Mayor Nat Robertson. The Fayetteville Observer also did a great job keeping us up to date.
    Of course, I can’t pass up the opportunity to heap praise on the fearless men and women of all of our local utilities. They worked through the storm.
    They were wet, cold and tired. But they kept going. 
    I will admit, I was unhappy sitting in the dark. I was unhappy being without water. But I wasn’t wet and cold. I wasn’t facing downed electric lines and pouring rains and wind. They kept going. They are among the heroes of this storm. So, too, are the neighbors who came together to cut trees and move them from roads and houses. They offered help when others needed it. 
    People can say what they will about Fayetteville and Cumberland County. But I know it is truly a community of heroes, people who care about their neighbors and go the extra mile. Matthew may have surprised the weather forecasters, but the reaction from our community did not surprise me one bit: Heroes, history and hometown. They all surely define our community.

  • JEFF7The issue has bubbled beneath the surface for years: Does the annual Dogwood Festival have a broad appeal to Fayetteville’s diverse population? The most recently available demographic data indicates the city’s population of 204,000 residents is 45 percent White, 41 percent African-American and 10 percent Hispanic. Mayor Pro-Temp Mitch Colvin alluded to the figures at a Fayetteville City Council meeting when questioning whether festival musical headliners appeal to all segments of the community. Colvin had met privately with Festival Executive Director Carrie King prior to the meeting to discuss musical diversity that might broaden the appeal to African-Americans. Historically, Friday and Saturday night headliners have been country and rock performers. 

    Colvin, and Councilmen Chalmers McDougald and Larry Wright contend the main acts do not represent music preferences of half the community. King contends that over the course of the three-day festival as many as 25 diverse acts appear on stage. Colvin said the city contributes more than $100,000 in in-kind services and should expect main events to appeal to a broad swath of the community. During the popular three-day spring festival, King says, the events attract from 200,000 to 250,000 people each year. “We think we do a fair job of programing,” King said, adding that a 2011 study found the top four musical genres favored by festival-goers were country, rock, jazz and Christian.

    More than once King invited Council members to join with the organization’s board in the selection of performers. She said the board of directors takes into account festival goer’s preferences, sponsor considerations and the budget in selecting musical acts. “I think there is a way that we can amicably work this out and make this more of a community event,” Colvin said during the Council meeting. Mayor Nat Robertson agreed. But McDougald pointedly took note that only one member of the festival board present was black. “It’s really lacking a little bit,” he said. “We have never excluded anyone from the decision-making process,” King insisted. She has been executive-director of the private organization since 2006. 

    “The Dogwood Festival recognizes the … growing diversity in the community and inclusion at festivals,” Board Chair Mary Beth MacKenzie said in a news release issued immediately following the Council meeting. “We have already planned our 2017 festival and entertainment, but this discussion will potentially frame the 2018 process,” she added. King would not disclose the performers or musical genres chosen for next year. MacKenzie pointed out the board has a non-scientific survey available on the Festival’s website asking about musical preferences. The survey choices are country, rock, urban/R&B/hip hop and jazz/blues. 

    For nearly 35 years Fayetteville’s Dogwood Festival has placed among the top festivals in North Carolina. The organization has donated more than $110,000 to other non-profits in the community. It’s stated purposes includes in part “encouraging unity through celebration and fostering civic pride.”

  • JEFF6Houston Astros President Reid Ryan came to Fayetteville last week, four days after he purchased a California minor league baseball team for $10 million. He plans to move the club to Fayetteville where it will join the Carolina League as an expansion team. Reid, 43, is one of the youngest team presidents in the game. He stopped in at Fayetteville City Hall for a few minutes to introduce himself to members of City Council’s Baseball Committee. Consultant Jason Frier was on the phone as the son of Hall of Fame Major League pitcher Nolan Ryan was introduced. 

    Frier is Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Hardball Capital whose core business is the operation of affiliated Minor League Baseball teams. He owns stadiums in San Antonio and Columbia, S.C., and has been hired to guide Fayetteville through the process of building a $33 million stadium. City-owned property behind the downtown Prince Charles hotel building is the site of the new ballpark. It will be modeled after Frier’s Triple-A stadium in Columbia. He told the committee that he expects a formal lease agreement will be ready for council’s consideration in the next 30 to 45 days. “That’s when the city’s memorandum of understanding becomes a binding contract,” said Frier. At the same time, a stadium architect will be selected. Thereafter business details will be finalized with an eye toward executing the contract and beginning site construction in July. 

    The South Carolina facility, Spirit Communications Park, was honored by Ballpark Digest as its 2016 Ballpark of the Year. It was selected as the top park across Minor League Baseball nationally for 2016. “Spirit Communications Park is not only our Ballpark of the Year, it’s also one of the best ballparks opened in the last decade,” said Publisher Kevin Reichard. It’s “the centerpiece of serious economic development in Columbia,” he added. Fayetteville’s Baseball Committee members and city staffers visited the Columbia facility this summer and came away committed to patterning the local stadium after it, albeit on a smaller scale. 

    The team the Houston Astros purchased is one of two franchises that are leaving the California League at the end of the 2016 season. Both will join the Carolina League. Kinston, which has a professional baseball history dating back to 1956, landed a Texas Rangers MiLB team. With the Sept. 30 purchase of its California team, the Astros have committed to Fayetteville for the second Carolina League club. “We are happy that professional baseball will return to Kinston and we are pleased with the steps Fayetteville has taken to bring professional baseball back to that great city as well,” said Minor League Baseball President & CEO Pat O’Conner. 

    Fayetteville won’t be thought of as home of the new team during construction of the stadium. It will play in a yet to be determined temporary location, probably not in Cumberland County because officials are not optimistic that a Fayetteville location can be found. County government is said to be negotiating an extension of its agreement with the summer college league Swamp Dogs for use of J.P. Riddle Stadium. Jim Perry Stadium on the campus of Campbell University is under serious considered as the temporary home until the new Fayetteville stadium opens for the 2019 season. Jim Perry Stadium seats fewer than 700 fans. Buies Creek is 35
     miles from Fayetteville in Harnett County.

  • JEFF5About 50 people were present at the Fellowship Hall of Highland Presbyterian Church for a community meeting some knew nothing about until they got there. The City of Fayetteville’s Planning Division organized the session as a follow-up to some brainstorming about the future of Haymount over the summer. Urban Designer Eloise Sahlstrom told the group she wanted to hear ideas from Haymount residents and business people about their hopes and concerns for the future of the community. 

    Haymount was named for a prominent 18th century citizen of Fayetteville, John Hay, whose estate was named Hay Mount. Hay Street bears his name. In 1789, Hay was made one of the original trustees of the University of North Carolina. 

    Sahlstrom and Fayetteville Planning Director Scott Shuford said ideas from residents would help the city better understand key planning issues that are critical to the future of Haymount.

     “How do you envision Haymount 20 years from now?” Sahlstrom asked. An hour later, the responses gleaned from a dozen or so roundtable discussions were varied, but there were some common concerns. Many residents are disappointed that older houses are being torn down and replaced with newer homes that don’t always match the traditional character of the neighborhood. Parking in the five points business area has always been a problem. Some bemoaned the lack of sidewalks in some areas. The retail community is varied but residents would like to see a small, mom and pop grocery, which they believe the community would support.  What they don’t want is a big box supermarket. 

    City planners came up with the idea of “Uptown Haymount” as a way of branding the historic area. 

    “One hundred-year-old homes could qualify for the National Register of Historic Places,” said Sahlstrom. 

    She displayed a map of century-old homes and others known to be 75-years-old. She told the gathering that the study conducted by the city is especially timely and pertinent given a number of factors, including the recent destruction by fire of the Haymont Grill. Many are still wondering if it will be rebuilt. She also pointed to talk of building a Civil War History Center at Arsenal Park. As envisioned, the center would replace the Museum of the Cape Fear, and once built would be operated and maintained by the state.  

    Some of those in attendance said they had no idea what the meeting was all about but had heard about it by word-of-mouth from neighbors. They were the same longtime residents who recently persuaded the Fayetteville City Council not to allow conversion of an historic ante bellum house on Morganton Road known as Fair Oaks into a private school. City officials describe the community is “very neighborly” and self-protective. A follow up meeting is planned for Nov. 3.

  • JERFFFormer Fayetteville City Manager Ted Voorhees is working for an executive recruiting firm that has been retained by Cumberland County to find a new director of the Solid Waste Management Department. Developmental Associates is a North Carolina-based company that most recently conducted searches for county government to hire an assistant county manager and tax administrator. “Voorhees is doing consulting work for Developmental Associates, which … is assisting with our Solid Waste recruitment process,” said county spokesperson Sally Shutt. Voorhees is employed by and being paid by Developmental Associates and is not employed by the county, she added. Former Solid Waste Director Bobby Howard retired on Dec. 31, 2015. He was with the county for 33 years and was Solid Waste Management director for 11 years. Engineering and Infrastructure Director Jeffery Brown is serving as interim director. Voorhees resigned under fire earlier this year after three-and-a-half years as Fayetteville city manager. 

     

     

     

     

     

    JEFF22017 Principal of the Year

    Dr. Vernon S. Lowery, principal of Westover Senior High School, is Cumberland County Schools’ Principal of the Year. Lowery will now compete against other regional award recipients. One of them will be selected as North Carolina’s 2017 Wells Fargo Principal of the Year. Lowery has served as a school administrator for nine years. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Microbiology and Chemistry from Methodist University. Lowery later obtained Master’s in Education and School Administration and a Ph.D. in Education from Fayetteville State University. Lowery only recently was appointed principal of Westover High. As Principal of the Year, Dr. Lowery received an award from the Cumberland County Board of Education, plus a cash award and floral arrangement, an engraved desk clock, a commemorative Principal of the Year ring, a $5,000 check for school use and $1,000 for her personal use from LaFayette Ford/Lincoln. E.E. Smith High School Principal Melody Chalmers won statewide accolades this past year as the North Carolina Principal of the Year.

     

     

     

     

    JEFF3Police Command Staff ChangesThe retirement of Fayetteville Police Chief Harold Medlock has resulted in a number of personnel changes in the police department’s command staff. Interim Police Chief Anthony Kelly has named Captain Jesse Devane an acting assistant chief. He will supervise the Uniformed Patrol Bureau for the next 10 weeks while Assistant Chief Michael Petti is away attending the FBI National Academy. Assistant Chief Chris Davis is in charge of the Administrative Bureau, which provides technical services and training. Davis also heads the training and communications division. Assistant Chief Katherine Bryant continues to lead the Investigative Bureau as Chief of Detectives. Petti will resume his post as Administrative Bureau Chief when he returns to duty and Davis will lead the Patrol Bureau, said spokesman Lt. Todd Joyce.

     

     

     

     

     

    JEFF4Fox Attacks Two Men

    The State Public Health Lab in Raleigh has confirmed a positive result of rabies in Cumberland County. Animal Control picked up a dead fox at Rosamond Drive, off Ramsey Street near Methodist College Oct. 4. County spokesman Jon Soles says the fox chased two men, one of whom was in a golf cart. The men jumped over a fence into a nearby resident’s yard. “The fox tried to jump over the fence, but the two men killed the animal by striking it with a golf club and a tree limb,” said Soles. Animal Control officers retrieved the fox’s body afterward. It was the seventh case of rabies in the County this year.

  • Deep in our hearts, we all know what is most important in our lives — who and what are dearest to us, who and what have shaped the lives we are living. For me, outside my own family, closest friends and good health, my education has shaped and enriched my life more than any factor I can name. My education, most of which was delivered in the public schools of North Carolina and in our revered UNC system, has given me the tools to understand at least some of our world, helped me enjoyed cultural and artistic creations by my fellow human beings and encouraged me to satisfy my curiosity about whatever crosses my mind, first in libraries and now in the comfort of my own home with my own computer. I even confess to waking up in the middle of the night with some question on my mind and researching it right then and there with my tablet computer. This is the real gift of technology for me! Like everything else, though, education is changing. I would not change my liberal arts studies — I was an English Literature major —a s I know I would not be “me” without all that reading — some engrossing, some boring, and lots somewhere in between. I also know, though, that the way many people view education and particularly higher education has changed dramatically. Gone are the concepts of education’s inherent value to individual and his quality of life and of the critical importance of an educated society. In is the notion that education is merely a ticket to a better job and higher income with no emphasis on less quantifiable but undeniable enrichment of education. As the concept of education as a ticket to income and little else spread, so did the idea of the receiver of an education as a “consumer,” not as a student. And, if that person is a consumer, he must then pay for what he consumes, resulting in rising tuitions and falling public funding for education at all levels. This is the thinking that education is an individual expense, not a public good, that has turned education into a business saddled millions of Americans with debts some of us will never be able to repay. Now you know some of the worries that keep me up at night, researching on my tablet or just tossing and turning. A new documentary, Starving the Beast, takes a hard look at what is happening in American public higher education, including such respected research institutions as Louisiana State University and the Universities of Iowa, Wisconsin, Virginia, and our own University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. All have seen significant funding cuts from state legislatures, so deep in some cases that LSU actually considered filing bankruptcy. Writing in Inside Higher Ed, Ellen Wexler describes the issue the film confronts this way. “The film lays out an overview of the debate’s philosophical underpinnings: originally, states saw public colleges as a worthwhile investment in their residents. Poor students could gain useful skills and move up in the world while also contributing to their states’ economies. In the early days of public higher education systems, many states charged little if any tuition. “On the other side, there are the reformers and think-tank leaders, the anti-spending politicians and political operatives... say that public colleges are too wasteful, and lawmakers feel an obligation to keep taxes low.” Count me on the side of quality public education at all levels in North Carolina, as our state Constitution clearly mandates. Article 1 reads, “…. knowledge being necessary to good government and the happiness of mankind, schools, libraries and the means of education shall forever be encouraged.” Article 9 tells us whose responsibility higher education is. “The General Assembly shall provide that the benefits of the University of North Carolina and other public institutions of higher education, as far as practicable, be extended to the people of the State free of expense.” I believe that education is not a product but an enriching experience that grows and lasts a lifetime. I believe that education strengthens both the individual and society at large, and that is important to know the history of where we come from and to recognize works of great literature and art. I believe that if we think of education the same way we think of buying a car or a house, we are not seeing the big picture of what it means to be an educated person or an educated society. Someone can take your car or your house, but once you have an education, you can share it with others without losing it and no one can ever take it away.

  • karl merrittI spend substantial time in the Fayetteville Community Garden. This is because I grow vegetables in a plot there, along with volunteering to help maintain and beautify the garden. This five-acre, 94-plot garden is proving to be a microcosm of what I see in our country from a distance. That is, I see media reports and hear accounts from other people that trouble me as to what is happening in America. In the garden I see close-up incidents that corroborate what troubles me about the larger society.

    Among these corroborated concerns is the course America seems to be taking relative to redistribution of wealth. I agree with Charles Payne, a Fox Business Network contributor and host of Fox’s Making Money with Charles Payne. I understand Payne to say there are many people who believe America has peaked in ability to expand the economy and provide opportunity for financial advancement; consequently, there must be redistribution of wealth. This assessment is even more troubling when one considers the primary approach being used by those who so strongly pursue redistribution of wealth. I contend what they are doing is summarized well in an article titled “Work Ethic Definition & Elements of a Strong Work Ethic” at www.cleverism.com when speaking of socialism:

    “Traditionally, work ethic has been understood as a value based on hard work and diligence. Capitalists, for example, believe in the necessity of working hard and in consequential ability of enhancing one’s character. Socialists suggest that a concept of ‘hard work’ is deluding the working class into being loyal workers of the elite; and working hard, in itself, is not necessarily an honorable thing, but simply a way to create greater wealth for those at the summit of the economic pyramid.”

    Given that the thinking in the second half of the quote above is prevailing in America, the result is a multitude of entitlement programs where citizens receive benefits without having invested anything. Federalsafetynet.com states, “Welfare Programs include 13 separate programs to fight poverty (…) and the Medicaid Program which provides healthcare to low-income Americans. Welfare Programs and Medicaid are non-contributory, meaning recipients are entitled to the benefits even though they have made no contributions to the programs through taxes.” 

    The pressing question is: Are these anti-poverty programs effective? A paper by Robert Rector and Jennifer A. Marshall titled “The Unfinished Work of Welfare Reform” states that when measuring poverty, the U.S. Census Bureau “omits more than $800 billion in means-tested government cash, food, housing and medical benefits; it takes into account only what Americans earn on their own, without government assistance.” Referring to that approach, Rector and Marshall give this assessment:

    “And what does this measure tell us? That there has been essentially no improvement in self-sufficiency since the War on Poverty began more than four decades ago. In 1966, the share of the population living below the poverty (self-sufficiency) threshold was 14.7 percent; by 2011, it had actually risen — to 15.0 percent. While the material living conditions of less affluent Americans may have improved over time, when it comes to President Johnson’s original goal — reducing the “causes” rather than the mere “consequences” of poverty — our welfare policies have failed. Many parts of the population are in fact now less capable of self-sufficiency than they were when the War on Poverty began.”

    Also in this wealth redistribution effort that I see from a distance is welfare reform from 1996, during the presidency of Bill Clinton. Two bits of information from the paper by Rector and Marshall referenced above. First, focus on the work requirement of that reform:

    “For all the hype about the 1996 law, it dramatically reformed only one of nearly 80 federal means-tested programs providing aid to the poor. The reform replaced the largest cash-welfare program, Aid to Families with Dependent Children, with a new program, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, which included work requirements and a time limit on aid — all funded through block grants to states.”

    Then on the impact of this reform:

    “The immediate results clearly vindicated the conservative hypothesis about ‘workfare,’ as droves of former (and potential future) welfare dependents became productive employees in the private economy. So successful was the policy overhaul, in fact, that many conservatives concluded that their work on welfare was finished. But the reactions of both sides were overwrought: Liberals’ dire predictions that millions more Americans would fall into poverty and that social dysfunction would increase proved mistaken; conservative workfare, meanwhile, has become the victim of its own success.”

    Then Robert Rector writes in a 2012 article titled “How Obama Has Gutted Welfare Reform:” 

    “But the Obama administration has jettisoned the law’s work requirements, asserting that, in the future, no state will be required to follow them. In place of the legislated work requirements, the administration has stated, it will unilaterally design its own ‘work’ systems without Congressional involvement or consent. Any state will be free to follow the new Obama requirements ‘in lieu of’ the written statute.” 

    The cost of existing entitlement programs is tremendous and growing. Many politicians promise even more programs and intend to pay for them by raising taxes on the wealthy.

    To this point is what I see from media and research. This can be summarized as America rapidly moving from espousing hard work and seeking opportunity for advancement to a nation discouraging hard work; fermenting disdain by citizens of low income toward the wealthy; and promoting an entitlement mentality that causes far too many people to believe society is to provide for them “from the cradle to the grave.”

    Now a couple of experiences from the community garden that corroborate this summary assessment of what I believe America is fast becoming. I was working in my garden plot when a lady rode up in a car driven by another lady. The passenger gets out, approaches me and explains that she needs food for her family because her Food Stamps will not come for another two days. I tell her there is nothing in my garden, but maybe two men sitting near their plots might help. She talks with them and comes back mumbling about how they would not help her. I asked if she realized she could rent a plot for just $25 per year and grow vegetables. Her response was she had three kids, was a single parent, and did not have $25 to rent a plot. In a huff, she got in the car and left.

    My thought was, by gardening, she could not only grow food, but have those three children help and, in the process, learn the value and necessity of work. This won’t happen because she has come under the new American spell that others are to provide for her. Sadly, by observing their mother, those three children will likely take on the same attitude. 

    Another day, a lady drives up in a nice SUV, gets out, and starts asking me to name various vegetables in several plots. I begin answering her questions, but then asked if she has a plot. She says, “No,” but she wants to pick some vegetables. I explain I can’t give her permission to take vegetables from plots that belong to other people. She responds, “This is a community garden.” I explained to her that “community garden” does not mean that you take what you want without permission and I ask her to leave. She moves to leave and I walk away, but look back. The lady is in a plot picking tomatoes. I yell, “Ma’am, please stop taking vegetables and leave the garden.” She gets in that nice SUV and kicks up dust on the garden road as she leaves, obviously angry. By the way, this lady had a young girl with her who looked to be about 12-years-old.

    I hold here is another person who not only feels entitled, but also disrespects the rights and property of others. This is an attitude born of, and nurtured by, all of what is described in the opening of this column. Furthermore, given a choice of the woman she rode up with, or me, as a role model, that young lady will likely choose the woman and take on her attitude to the detriment of herself and American society.

    If not already done, I encourage you to read this column slowly and thoroughly. Then determine what you might do to help turn America back to the course where hard work, individual responsibility and respect for others prevail.

  • margaretAll the markers tell us that we women have indeed “come a long way, baby.” For the first time, a woman is running for President of the United States on a major party ticket, and a North Carolina woman is poised to unseat an incumbent United States Senator. Women lead major corporations, direct films and television programs and blossom in entrepreneurial startups. More and more of us are stunningly successful, and the rest of us of all ages are watching and taking notes.

    It is all good, but there is no question we are also conflicted.

    Deborah Spar, president of Barnard, the women’s college associated with Columbia University in New York, wrote a column last month about women “of a certain age” fighting back through plastic surgery. Cosmetic plastic surgery is an option for relatively few of us because it is expensive and rarely covered by insurance, but for those so inclined and willing and able to pony up, Spar’s column is making big waves among both the pros and cons of cosmetic surgery. She lays out the dilemma this way: “Like most women in my liberal, feminist-leaning, highly educated peer group, I am ideologically opposed to intervening in such a natural and inevitable process as simply getting on in years.

     “But like many of my peers, I am also a two-faced hypocrite, at least when it comes to parts of myself that may well benefit from a twinge of not-quite-so-natural intervention. Almost every woman I know colors her hair in some way, whether from a box or at a pricey salon….Does a little face-life along the way constitute treason, or just a reasonable accommodation. I don’t know.

     “What I do know, though, is that for women in certain professional or social circles, the bar of normal keeps going up. There are virtually no wrinkles on Hollywood stars or on Broadway actors; ditto for female entrepreneurs or women in the news media…women in Congress and even fewer on Wall Street….Just saying no — to chemical, peels, lasers and liposuction — becomes harder under these circumstances, even if no one wants to admit that’s the case….”What is more, as with so many issues that surround women and beauty and aging and sex, there is a paradox today that seems to strike women of the postfeminist generation with a particular force.”

    Weighing in about women on another front is Sheryl Sandberg, chief operating officer of Facebook and author of Lean In, her bestseller encouraging women to tackle both our public and private lives with gusto, energy, and enthusiasm. Writing in the Wall Street Journal, Sandberg acknowledges pushback against women’s advancement in the workplace, with words like “bossy” and “aggressive” tossed around when women ask for responsibility and promotion. She also points to an annual study from Women in the Workplace, which found that women are still a century away from gender equality in corporate suites.

    Not surprisingly, Sandberg urges women to keep negotiating and pushing —t o keep “leaning in,” and to do so until the day that it’s seen as perfectly normal, and even expected, for women to ask for more.”

    Says Sandberg, “These things matter — not just for women, but for all of us. Research shows that gender equality is as good for business as it is for individuals. Diverse teams and companies produce better results and higher revenue and profits, which lead to more opportunity for everyone, not just women.”

    Sandberg and Spar address different aspects of the nearly two-century long struggle for gender equality in our country, and both acknowledge that women of all ages have work to do both in the workplace and in the many ways we see ourselves and allow others to see and judge us. They — and I —would love all of us, both men and women, to be aware of stereotyping of women in daily conversation, including some of the conversation in this year’s political campaigning.

    Speaking of cosmetic surgery, Spar says this, and her words go to the heart of how women both perceive ourselves and the costs of advancing in our culture:  “…an entire generation of feminist and post-feminist women who stormed the barricades of the American workforce, planned their reproductive destinies, and even got their partners to fold the laundry occasionally, are now engaged in an odd sort of collective self-delusion. Everyone….is doing it, and very few are confessing, a fact that in some ways is more disturbing than the surge in the surgeries themselves. Because not only are we nipping, suctioning and using hormones, but we’re also feeling embarrassed about it, and lying. Neither of which was really the point of women’s liberation.”

    Hmmmm…..

  • pubpenIs Fayetteville finally coming of age? That is the $64 million dollar question. On the surface, it sure looks like it. But, then again, we have all been fooled in the past. Let’s look at the list: Docs, Festival Park building, J. P. Riddle Stadium, the Crown Coliseum, the County Jail and several times just on the Prince Charles Hotel. Not to mention the most recent ill-fated decision by our Fayetteville City Council  to allow an auto parts junk yard to mar a great opportunity we had  to develop our Cape Fear River resources. What were they thinking? 

    Only time will tell what our future holds. Fortunately, at least for now, the word on the street is actually pretty positive and enthusiastic about all the new developments taking place in our city. It’s pretty obvious Fayetteville residents want positive change and want our community to step up. They are looking forward to the quality-of-life venues promised by our local government officials. 

    Taxpayers are waiting in anticipation to see what they are going to get for the money they approved and are being assessed for in the recent bond referendum. More importantly, they are waiting to see if our local elected officials have the talent, judgment or intestinal fortitude to get the job done. No doubt, the people’s sentiments are being acknowledged loud and clear: passage of the $30 million Parks and Rec bond, approval by the City Council of the $33 million baseball stadium, creation of a downtown Arts & Entertainment District with the prospect of attracting $60 million of additional private investment and development for our inter city. 

    This is all good stuff, but, can it be managed? That’s the ever-recurring question on the street. Fueling this skepticism and damping down the enthusiasm are Fayetteville’s failed track record in real estate development, the recent lost opportunity to reverse the decision to allow a junk yard on the Cape Fear River, a weak City/County economic development organization, a weak and deteriorating Chamber of Commerce and, most recently, talk about having Fayetteville’s Class A Advanced baseball team start its debut season playing baseball in another county!

    Our new downtown stadium won’t be ready for occupancy until 2019, so our new Fayetteville team would have to find another place to play ball. Moving it outside of Fayetteville for this period of time will take away the excitement and every initial opportunity to market, advertise, promote and brand this new baseball team as Fayetteville’s own. 

    Building brand loyalty is extremely important to a product’s success. Getting the Fayetteville community to support a team playing ball at Campbell University or anywhere other than in Cumberland County is virtually impossible. Serious thought needs to be given to this idea. The city will only get one chance at getting this right. Once they start playing baseball outside of Cumberland County, “the shine will be off the apple” and they will no longer be Fayetteville’s team. This will make getting corporate support more difficult and establishing brand loyalty almost impossible.

    These projects have our total support. These concerns are what people are talking to us about. They should not be interpreted as negative. 

    Thank you for reading Up & Coming Weekly.

     

  • Okay, we get it! Everyone is excited and ready to “play ball” in the new $33 million baseball stadium proposed for downtown Fayetteville. Hey, I’m excited and ready! 

    Well, now that the Memorandum of Understanding has been completed and sent to the Astros by our city leadership, they must now come up with a way to finance it and, hopefully, without the debt burden falling on local taxpayers. Doable? Sure it is. 

    More importantly, I think the bigger challenge will be in keeping the residents of Fayetteville informed, involved and excited about the prospect of having our own stadium and Class A Advanced Minor League team here in Fayetteville.

    This will be a challenge, one that can only be accomplished by effective and open communications with the community and keeping it involved in every step of the process. More importantly, an exerted effort must be made to make sure residents understand the city’s vision and the long-term positive economic development impact this successful venture will have on them as well as the quality of life of the community. 

    The community must understand that this project is really not just about a baseball stadium. It is about economic development, creating jobs, attracting new businesses and industry and providing for our citizens those amenities now enjoyed by residents of other North Carolina municipalities. We need to build and enhance a vibrant Downtown Fayetteville that not only can we be proud of, but what every major city needs to be successful. Our city, county and community leaders must be diligent in this effort. So far, local residents seem to be open-minded about the stadium project, but they are naturally skeptical about the execution of the deal and rightfully so.

    After all, the City of Fayetteville’s track record when it comes to getting directly involved with real estate and economic development hasn’t done much over the years to enhance  the taxpayer’s  confidence. (Festival Park/PWC buildings (both for sale), Prince Charles Hotel (shambles), Doc’s at the Capitol Building (fiasco) and the jury is out on the location of the new transportation hub still under construction on the corner of Robeson and Russell Streets. Skeptics think it is ill placed and being built backwards (like the Festival Park building) on a lot that is too small. Only time will tell. 

    Couple these ill-fated projects with Cumberland County’s leadership decisions of putting the J.P. Riddle Baseball Stadium in the boondocks off Legion Road, a brand new county jail downtown where the baseball stadium should have gone, a $247 million dollar (bogus) ethanol plant next to a north side residential community and a more than $55 million Coliseum Complex in a field that no one wants to be associated with. Hmm? 

    Altogether, I would say there is a pretty good case for healthy skepticism. This being said, both city and county taxpayers ultimately want what is good, fair and practical for the community in general. Hopefully, both city and county leadership have learned much from these failed and tainted ventures, thus assuring us that they are much better equipped and prepared to move the community forward.

    Everyone, surely hopes so. A word of caution about our enthusiasm for the accomplishments of other cities. Example: Sure, Winston-Salem’s Forsyth County and Cumberland County have about the same overall population. However, the city of Winston-Salem has a population of more than 236,000, and unlike Fayetteville, when you drive around Winston-Salem you see the pulsating skyline of a busy and thriving city. There is Downtown commerce, industry, skyscrapers, stadiums, restaurants, parks and factories. You see the homes of 24 major corporate employers, half of which are headquartered in the city of Winston-Salem. BB&T, Pepsi, Hanes, Lowes Foods, R.J. Reynolds, K&W Cafeteria and Krispy Kreme donuts are just a few. Sure, we have Fort Bragg, but, it is not the same when it comes to being a strong economic development driver. 

    My point is, we are not Winston-Salem, Durham or Columbia, South Carolina. We are Fayetteville, North Carolina. We need to move forward with this project, but at our own pace and with extreme caution. It needs to be supported, accepted and embraced by the residents of the community so they will feel good about it. And, the only way they will feel good about it is if they feel they are a part of it.  Transparency and good communication will be key. We do not want to build a baseball stadium under a cloud of skepticism or negativism. 

    History has shown us that the Crown Coliseum has never really recovered from the hard, hurtful and negative feelings that surrounded that project. Over the years this has taken its toll in support, participation and economic development. No one wants to be associated or affiliated with anything that negative in nature. 

    The baseball stadium and the Astros project must happen, and it must be done in a way that it becomes not only a positive catalyst for downtown economic development, but a catalyst for other important and worthy projects like the Performing Arts Center and Civil War History Center. Done right, this is a win-win for the Fayetteville/Cumberland County community. A win that will contribute greatly to the infrastructure of our local economy, our art and cultural awareness and our quality of life, now and for generations to come.

    Let’s get it done! Thank you for reading Up & Coming Weekly. 

  • School SUpplies My students are my everything.  I spent the entire summer wondering if they are eating well, reading and having fun. It is not an easy task for some students to obtain school supplies for the upcoming school year and that is why the Register of Deeds Office is having its annual backpack school supply drive for Cumberland County’s homeless students. 

     The idea started when one of the senior staff members at the Register of Deeds Office expressed her concern that she was at church and a Fayetteville police officer had done a presentation about homeless students in the Cumberland County School System and the need they had for school supplies.   It really bothered her and she wanted to help with that need. A staff meeting was held and all of the staff members agreed that they wanted to help. This was the beginning of a wonderful sentiment that has turned into an annual event. 

     “This is our ninth or 10th year that we have collected school supplies for backpacks for Cumberland County’s homeless students,” said Lee Warren, registrar of deeds for Cumberland County. “We have an awful lot of good folks in our community that whenever there is a need, they step up to the plate and help fill the need.” 

    Warren added that they try to think of what a child will possibly need to ensure that they will be a success in school and start school with all of the same supplies that any other child will have.  

     The items needed include pencils, notebook paper, pens, binders, glue sticks, scissors, hand sanitizer, toothbrushes, toothpaste, toothbrush holders, notebooks, rulers, folders, composition books, pencil sharpeners, erasers and crayons.    

     The goal this year is to collect items for 600 backpacks for students.  “For many years there were 800 homeless students and now there are 600,” said Warren. “What we would like to do is work ourselves out of a job and not have any homeless students next year.” Warren added that they are preparing 800 bags because in addition to preparing 600 bags for Cumberland County’s homeless students, they are preparing 200 bags for other agencies.  

     School supplies, cash donations and gift cards can be dropped off at the Cumberland County Courthouse in Room 114 throughout the month of August.  

     “I anticipate that we will do the school supply drive again next year,” said Warren. “This is something that really touched our hearts and we have done every year since.”  

     For more information call 678-7775.  

  • 08 vote The greater Fayetteville area is a transient community, and this election, many people may be voting locally for the first time. Voting places are assigned by the Cumberland County Board of Elections office when residents register or change addresses. Voters registering to vote for the first time will have provided required identification and will have received voter cards that indicate the names and locations of voting places. Or, voters may call the elections office at 910-678-7733 for locations.

    There are 36 polling places in Fayetteville, five polling places in Hope Mills and 39 others across Cumberland County. Registered Democrats outnumber Republicans 98,744 to 49,686 locally, according to October 2018 board of elections statistics. Women typically vote more often than men in off-year, or mid-term, elections. Of the 218,339 registered voters in Cumberland County 113,817 of them are women; 92,686 are men.

    Persons who move but fail to update their change of address by the registration deadline may go to their old precincts and fill out voter update/transfer forms. They would then take the forms to the new precincts where they will be allowed to vote.

    Voting rules and regulations change in all 50 states from time to time. In North Carolina, residents are no longer able to register on Election Day, according to board of elections director Terri Robertson.

    On Nov. 6, to receive a ballot, a voter must give his or her name and address to the election officials. North Carolina currently does not require voter identification. At most precincts, people can choose if they want to use paper or electronic ballots. If properly registered, they will proceed to the voting booth. If precinct officials are unable to locate registration records, voters may be asked to vote provisional ballots. They must return provisional ballots in the sealed envelopes provided to a precinct official.

    If age or physical disability prevents someone from entering the polling place, he or she will be allowed to vote in their vehicle. Curbside voting is available at all voting sites on Election Day. Voting sites have designated parking spots for curbside voting as well as alert systems that advise election officials that a curbside voter has arrived. Before a ballot is issued to a curbside voter, the voter must swear an oath affirming his or her qualification.

    Registered voters qualified to vote are entitled to assistance from a spouse, brother, sister, parent, grandparent, child, grandchild, in-law, stepparent or stepchild. Disabled voters may receive assistance from a person of the voter’s choice, other than the voter’s employer or agent of that employer or an officer or agent of the voter’s union or by telephone.

  • 07 annexation The eventual development of barren property three miles north of Fayetteville “is going to be fabulous” for the northside, said City Councilman Johnny Dawkins. The city has agreed to a voluntary annexation of 254 acres of land by Broadwell Land Company. The property is located in a triangular area west of Ramsey Street between Elliot Bridge and Elliot Farm Roads.

    Dawkins believes the multiuse development proposed by Broadwell will lure residents of the unincorporated area between the old Fayetteville city limit and the new project to also request annexation.

    The Public Works Commission has developed a plan to extend city water and sewer to the Broadwell property. That makes the utilities available to others along the route, but they have to agree to voluntary annexation.

    The Broadwell firm proposes to build 350 single-family homes in two phases over the next several years. Attorney Johnathan Charleston, who represented the company in talks with the city of Fayetteville, said the homes will range in price from $250,000 to $400,000. Also planned are 250 multifamily units, a school, commercial buildings and 24 acres of green space. The entire venture will take 10 to 15 years to develop.

    The huge project is the first of its kind in Fayetteville. Broadwell and the city say it’s the area’s first smart growth neighborhood. Smart growth is a concept of serving the economy, the community and the environment. It changes the terms of the development debate away from traditional growth patterns to how best to accommodate the community as a whole. Charleston noted the neighborhood would become the southernmost part of the Research Triangle region.

    Fayetteville city planner Jerry Newton told city council that stakeholders had worked cooperatively for several months to perfect the project. PWC’s willingness to provide water and sewer utilities was considered the key to bringing the area into the city.

    “No matter what we decide up here, it’s going to be built,” Councilwoman Kathy Jensen said. She represents the district on city council. “The real question is whether the project will be built to county standards or more stringent city standards,” Jensen added.

    A few residents of nearby neighborhoods objected. Businessman Jimmy Jones, who lives just south of the proposed development, worried about whether apartments would negatively impact his property value. “All the impact in that area will be positive,” Councilman Larry Wright countered.

    Dennis DeLong, who lives on Ramsey Street, said he will do everything he can to stop the annexation. “Any legal avenue I can possibly take, I will” he said.

    Newton was unable to provide specific details on multi-use plans, which could range from duplexes and town houses to three-story apartment buildings. City council voted unanimously to grant the satellite annexation and initial zoning established earlier by county commissioners.

  • 06 news digest Longtime county commissioner and civic leaderEd Melvin died last week. He was 72. Melvin servedhis community in many ways but is best remembered as a four-term county commissioner. He chose not to seek re-election in 2014.

    Melvin was admitted to Cape Fear Valley Medical Center Oct. 18 after suffering an apparent heart attack. He died five days later.

    A native of Bladen County, Melvin spent his adult life in Cumberland County but never lost touch with friends and family in the Tar Heel area. He belonged to dozens of civic, advisory and business groups and owned and managed 50 rental homes.

    Melvin also had a chain of auto repair shops. Several years ago, he sold all but one of them: Ed’s Tire and Auto Shop on Murchison Road.

    Melvin was a U.S. Army veteran and a member of Village Baptist Church. He is survived by his wife, Julie, and their five children.

    Health department leadership post still vacant

    The Cumberland County Department of Public Health hasn’t had a permanent director for nearly a year and a half. In August, the board of health selected an executive search firm to help recruit the next health director, but it has not yet begun the search. Former director Buck Wilson resigned in June of last year. Other county executives have filled in since then.

    “We are excited to initiate our search for a permanent health director,” said Interim Health Director Duane Holder.

    The board’s search committee met with the firm on Oct. 17 to begin the formal recruiting process. Staff and community listening sessions are being planned. Public input will be solicited, and the board of health says it welcomes feedback.

    Four-year terms on the ballot

    Local ballot issues Nov. 6 include proposals to change the terms of Fayetteville City Council members and Hope Mills Town Commissioners. Both bodies want to extend terms of office from two years to four.

    The prospect has raised little voter interest in Fayetteville, but opposition by Hope Mills residents has surfaced since the board rejected offers made by Lone Survivor Foundation to purchase property at Hope Mills Lake Bed #2 for a military veterans’ retreat. Residents have organized Hope Mills Citizens for Change, a political action committee opposed to longer terms. They have distributed signs around town.

    The four-year referendum idea was first proposed by Hope Mills Commissioner Mike Mitchell in February. If adopted, four-year terms wouldn’t begin for Hope Mills commissioners until the 2019 election. The mayor and five board members would serve staggered terms.

    The Fayetteville City Council proposal is nonbinding. If authorized by voters, council would then decide whether to make the change.

    Local youth wins statewide honor

    A Cumberland County NCWorks Career Center student, Lamonty Bullock, 24, was named Outstanding Young Adult at the 2018 Governor’s NC Works Awards of Distinction ceremony held Oct. 11 in Greensboro.

    Bullock was enrolled in the Fundamental Skills for Substance Abuse Counselor Program at Fayetteville Technical Community College when nominated for the honor. He has completed part one of the program and is preparing for part two, with a goal of becoming a Certified Substance Abuse Counselor to help teens and young adults.

    “I really want to focus on prevention because that’s where it all starts,” Bullock said. He was living in a group home until he turned 18, when he aged out of the foster care system. He did not complete high school but later obtained his diploma and approached Cumberland County NCWorks for career training assistance.

    Bullock’s former NCWorks career advisor, Victoria Grey-Allen, described him as an “extraordinary example of what resilience, hard work and determination can accomplish.”

    Local university leader honored

    Fayetteville State University Chancellor Dr. James Anderson was honored this month by the North

    Carolina Justice Center for his years of “extraordinary advocacy for and commitment to social justice, inclusive community engagement, and educational opportunities.” The NC Justice Center describes itself as the state’s preeminent voice for economic, social and political justice.

    “My task is to apply leadership and management strategies that reflect integrity, quality, transparency and excellence,” Anderson is quoted as saying on Fayetteville State University’s website. “Our most precious commodity is our students and everything that we do should support their growth, maturity, and success.”

    Fayetteville Technical Community College

    still top notch

    Military Times has ranked FTCC No. 5 nationally in its 2019 Best Colleges for Vets. The rankings are based on the results of Military Times’ annual survey, considered the most comprehensive schoolby- school assessment of veteran and military student services. About 500 colleges took part in this year’s survey.

    Military Times’ Best for Vets designation... can’t be bought with advertising dollars – unlike some other supposedly veteran-friendly rankings – only earned through a record of steadfast service and dedication to those who have served,” said George Altman, the editor in charge of the rankings. The publication also factors in data from the Veterans Affairs and Defense departments.

    Photo: Ed Melvin

     

  • dnPlaying the 50th Cumberland County Golf Championship on his home course at Gates Four Golf and Country Club, Jack Britt High School senior Spencer 

    Oxendine wasn’t lacking for confidence. “I told my mom if I didn’t win this thing I’m going to be pretty upset,” the N.C. State golf commit said.

    He had little reason to be upset Sunday after turning in a 74-72-146 that led him to the title over previous champions Billy West and Gary Robinson. 

    Robinson and Thomas Owen tied for second, Robinson shooting 79-72-151 and Owen 74-77-151. West, the defending champion, recorded a 75-77-152. He apparently made history in the process, becoming the first CCGC champion in the tournament’s 50-year history to win the event while still attending high school. 

    In 1984, Pine Forest product Mitchell Perry won the title after graduating the previous June. The tournament was held in September that year. Oxendine just began his senior year at Jack Britt this fall. 

    Oxendine, who blistered the Gates Four course with a 62 this summer that was one shot off the course record of another Cumberland County high school star, South View’s Todd Gleaton, said his effort over the course this weekend was “nothing stellar.”

    He felt he drove the ball well and kept it in play for the most part. “ I played the course how I always do,” he said. “I play this course very aggressive. This is not a golf course where you can hit it off line, because if you start to hit it off line, you can make some big numbers.”

     Oxendine’s goal was to keep the ball in play and get it on the green. The first day he recorded four bogeys and only three birdies. He finished Sunday’s round with three birdies and three bogeys.

     
    His near-course record 62 over the summer featured nine birdies, an eagle and one bogey. He called the win a great confidence boost going into his senior season of golf next spring at Jack Britt and looking ahead to his freshman season with the N.C. State team a year from now. 

    “Winning is always good no matter what it is,” he said. Oxendine said he was looking forward to playing the full three days of the tournament and was disappointed when bad weather forced cancellation of Friday’s first round. 

    “I was kind of upset but there was nothing we could do about it,” he said. “We didn’t want to tear up Stryker.” The tournament had been scheduled to open on Fort Bragg’s Stryker Golf Course, which would have been a first for the event. 

    “It didn’t change my approach,” he said. “My approach was I was probably going to shoot par on Stryker, maybe one or two under, then I would kind of tear it up on Gates Four. That was my mindset.”

  • 12 anatomy 145696 1280 copyWhen visiting the hospital, most people have no problem recognizing the doctor, nurse and even the lab technician. But how many can identify the respiratory therapist? 

    Respiratory therapists are often those unsung heroes who care for our loved ones – or us – at crucial times. Respiratory therapists touch the lives of many. The work of the respiratory therapist may involve a patient receiving supplemental oxygen or perhaps a life-saving respiratory medication to ease the work of breathing during a crisis. In other situations, the respiratory therapist may assist individuals who are on advanced life-support equipment while in the emergency room or intensive care unit. 

    Respiratory therapists are highly trained pulmonary specialists who effectively assess, educate and treat patients with heart and lung problems. They apply their expertise to every patient population, from newborns and infants to children and adults. They work in all areas of hospitals, doctor’s offices, diagnostic centers, home health, education, research, rehabilitation centers and medical equipment sales. 

       These practitioners are highly skilled in critical thinking, patient assessment and cardiopulmonary diagnostics, cardiopulmonary physiology and pathophysiology, pharmacology, advanced life support, evidence-based clinical care and advanced biomedical engineering and technology. 

       According to the U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median pay for respiratory therapists in 2017 was $59,710 per year. The entry-level education level required to enter the profession is an associate degree from a CoARC-accredited program. CoARC, or the Commission on Accreditation for Respiratory Care, is a governing body that sets standards for respiratory therapy programs to ensure they prepare highly competent respiratory therapists for practice, education, research and service. The Bureau of Labor Statistics also projects that the respiratory therapy profession will grow by 23 percent within the next eight years, which is cited as being much faster than average. 

       Fayetteville Technical Community College offers an associate of applied science degree in respiratory therapy. The program is an advanced-level program that fully prepares the graduate to enter the profession right away and begin quality patient care and practice in all areas of respiratory therapy. The associate degree also prepares students to continue education and pursue degree advancement, such as a bachelor’s degree. 

       FTCC’s program accepts 24 students every August and runs for five consecutive semesters. Students will complete classroom lecture, laboratory skills practice and clinical rotation and application during each of these semesters. Students focus on patient assessment, critical thinking, diagnostics, and skills development and application in all aspects of the professional practice of respiratory therapy. The program accepts applications from Nov. 1 through Jan. 30 every year for admittance into the program during the following August class. 

       FTCC’s respiratory therapy program is competitive, so it is important to know and follow all the procedures and requirements for the program. 

       Those interested in becoming a respiratory therapist can begin their journeys at FTCC by calling 910- 678-9869 or emailing thompsok@faytechcc.edu. 

  • 07 Senior Center West 2   The city of Fayetteville is making its first significant addition to facilities for seniors in decades. The city broke ground last week on the much-anticipated Senior Center West. It is being built along the western edge of Lake Rim, in the vicinity of 7510 Old Raeford Rd. Senior Center West is the sixth project to get underway with funds generated by the $35 million Parks & Recreation Bond Referendum secured in 2016. 

       The building will be a 19,000-square-foot lakefront property with a fitness room and a warm-water indoor pool. It is one of two nearly identical facilities funded in the referendum. A location for the Senior Center East has not yet been selected, but “the city is working on partnering with (Fayetteville State University) on the site located at the corner of Murchison (Road) and Filter Plant (Drive),” said city spokesman Nathan Walls. “That partnership will be presented to council for consideration soon.” 

       The new senior centers will address two growing needs in the community: providing more space and adequate facilities in Fayetteville to assist the heavily used Senior Center on Blue Street and providing quality programming and activities to a growing senior citizen population. 

       Studies from the National Council on Aging have shown the need for more senior citizen activities as statistics have shown that the more seniors remain active, the better quality of life they have and the longer they live. Senior centers focus on several wellness factors in efforts to improve those numbers: emotional, intellectual, physical, social, spiritual and vocational wellness. 

       In addition to the Blue Street Senior Center, Fayetteville/Cumberland Parks and Recreation operates the Tokay Fitness Center for Seniors and the Dorothy Gilmore Therapeutic Recreation Center. Tokay provides residents six treadmills, six stationary bikes, six ellipticals, three lower body and six upper body Nautilus machines, plus an abdominal machine, dumbbells, exercise mats, exercise balls and table tennis tables. Physical Activity Readiness Questionnaires must be filled out before using the equipment. 

       The Gilmore Center on Purdue Drive offers “recreation and leisure programs to people with disabilities to improve functional abilities, enhance well-being and facilitate independence,” according to the city’s website. The staff of the Gilmore Center uses recreational services and leisure experiences to help people with limitations make the most of their lives. 

       The new senior centers are not operated jointly under city/county auspices. Cumberland County Commissioners chose not to participate in the bond referendum. So now city government keeps separate books for projects undertaken as the result of the $35 million Fayetteville package. Payrolls and other operating expenses for the senior centers have not been publicly discussed. 

       Splash pads at Kiwanis, Massey Hill and Myers Park recreation centers have already been constructed and opened since passage of the bond issue and initial sale of bonds. Other completed projects include Seabrook Park and pool deck upgrades and the new Massey Hill universally accessible playing field. It has been utilized by Buddy Sports programs, which have seen a 15 percent increase in enrollment since the field opened. 

  • 06 General Robert BThe Senate recently finalized plans for a new leader of U.S. military forces in South Korea. The move came in wrap-up work as lawmakers headed back to their districts for a monthlong legislative break for midterm campaigning. 

    Senate Republican leaders had threatened to keep their chamber in session for all of October if a deal hadn’t been reached on a host of pending judicial nominations opposed by Democrats. Fifteen such nominees were approved in the deal, the latest in a sizable wave of new judges chosen by President Trump. 

    The Senate also agreed on less controversial defense nominations. Without opposition, lawmakers moved ahead with plans to transfer Army Gen. Robert “Abe” Abrams from the lead role at Army Forces Command at Fort Bragg to head U.S. Forces in Korea. If the general’s name sounds familiar, he is the son of retired Army Chief of Staff Creighton W. Abrams Jr., who commanded U.S. forces for four years during the Vietnam War. 

    Abrams will replace Gen. Vincent Brooks as the commander of U.S. Forces Korea. He takes over as a rare public display of discord between the U.S. and South Korea has raised concerns about a growing rift over efforts to persuade North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons. 

    At the heart of the issue are fears that Seoul is moving too fast and letting its guard down by embracing North Korea despite a lack of progress in denuclearization, although the U.S. and South Korea insist they remain in agreement on the final goal. South Korea’s foreign minister, Kang Kyung-wha, revealed that U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had complained about a recent inter-Korean military agreement. “It was discontent about how he was not briefed sufficiently, and he had a lot of questions,” Kyung-wha said. 

    The two Koreas have agreed among themselves to a series of hostility-reduction steps in and around the heavily fortified demilitarized zone that separates the two countries. Steps taken include halting military drills, setting up a no-fly zone and beginning to remove land mines and guard posts. 

    Forces Command Deputy Commanding General, Lt. Gen. Laura J. Richardson, has assumed command of FORSCOM until a successor for Abrams is selected. Richardson was the first female Army officer to officially hold the No. 2 position of the largest command in the U.S. Army. 

    Fort Bragg is often referred to as Pentagon South since Forces Command headquarters was realigned there 10 years ago. It is responsible for training and preparing active, reserve and National Guard troops to meet the requirements of combat commanders around the world. 

    “Richardson personifies the highest standards of the Army and our officer corps,” said Abrams as Richardson received her third star. “Throughout her distinguished career, she has led by outstanding personal example from the front – in combat and in challenging command and staff positions of great responsibility.” 

    Photo: Gen. Robert “Abe” Abrams 

  • 05 news digestsThe global business services provider eClerx has cut the ribbon in celebration of its Fayetteville delivery center at 235 N. McPherson Church Rd. Local elected officials and business leaders toured the center on the second floor of the building, which houses Hamrick’s Department Store. 

    The company has more than 9,000 employees worldwide, but the eClerx location in Cumberland County is the company’s only delivery center in the United States. The company expects to create 150 new jobs. eClerx says it offers a competitive salary and comprehensive benefits package. 

    Headquartered in Mumbai, India, the firm provides business operations service to over 50 Fortune 500 companies around the world. Its clients include financial service, cable and telecom, retail, entertainment, manufacturing and technology firms. 

    At the ribbon-cutting celebration in Fayetteville, eClerx presented donations to representatives from Second Harvest Food Bank of Southeast North Carolina and Americares to assist with relief efforts associated with Hurricane Florence. 

    Trump approval slipping among service members 

    President Donald Trump’s approval rating among active-duty military personnel has slipped over the last two years. That leaves today’s troops evenly split over the commander in chief’s job performance, according to the results of a new Military Timespoll of active-duty service members. 

    About 44 percent of troops had a favorable view of Trump’s presidency, the poll showed, compared to 43 percent who disapproved. 

    The poll was conducted in September and October and indicates a decline in military members’ support of Trump since he was elected in fall 2016. A similar Military Timespoll from 2016 showed that 46 percent of troops approved of Trump compared to 37 percent who disapproved. During that same period, the number of neutral respondents has dwindled from almost 17 percent to about 13 percent. 

       Peter Feaver was an adviser to former President George W. Bush and is now a political science professor at Duke University. “In this case, we’re seeing military members shifting along with the public but still staying a little more pro-Trump than the rest of the country,” he told the Military Times

       The new survey results also show that enlisted men show Trump the most overwhelming support. Military women, meanwhile, have a much harsher view of Trump’s time in office. Officers still have a lower opinion of his presidency than enlisted soldiers. 

    Watch out for deer 

       Fall weather corresponds with a higher than usual number of car accidents involving deer. Animals darting onto roadways increases the risk of vehicle damage and personal injuries. Deer are more present on the roadways throughout the fall and early winter due to the hunting and mating seasons. Unfortunately, they also tend to travel more at times when it is harder to see them, including dawn and dusk. 

       The North Carolina Department of Transportation said there were 18,540 animal-vehicle collisions in the state in 2017, which was 629 more than the year before. The total number of animal collisions over the past three years was near 54,500. 

       The DOT’s latest study on animal collisions shows those crashes killed 14 people, seriously injured 69 others and resulted in 3,265 injuries. For the 15th year in a row, Wake County had the largest number of animal-related accidents. Cumberland County ranked 46 in the state last year. 

       The DOT has some helpful tips for motorists to decrease their risk of being in a deer-vehicle crash: Drive slowly in areas posted with deer crossing signs. Reduce speed in heavily wooded areas, especially during the late afternoon and evening. If your vehicle does strike a deer, do not touch the animal. A frightened and wounded deer can hurt you or further injure itself. Get your car off the road if possible and call 911. 

    Flu vaccines available 

       The Cumberland County Health Department is offering flu vaccinations to children and adults at the immunization clinic at 1235 Ramsey St. Uninsured children six months to 18 years old may receive the vaccinations free of charge. For adults, the fee depends on the type of flu vaccine received. 

       The Health Department’s Immunization Clinic is open Monday through Thursday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., every second and fourth Tuesday until 7 p.m. and Fridays from 8 a.m. to noon. Walk-ins are welcome except for Friday afternoon service, which is limited and available by appointment only. 

       For more information, call 910-433-3633 or 910- 433-3657. 

    Donated veterinary supplies benefit local dogs and cats 

       Cumberland County Animal Control has received 10,000 doses of dog vaccines and 6,300 doses of cat vaccines from GreaterGood.org, in partnership with Elanco Animal Health. The organizations donated the vaccines to areas affected by Hurricane Florence. Animal Control Director Elaine Smith said the combined 16,300 vaccines were more than the animal shelter could use, so Cumberland County shared them with a dozen other counties as well as local rescue groups and animal welfare organizations. 

       “Vaccinating dogs and cats on intake at the shelter is considered to be the standard of good care and can be a considerable expense for shelters,” said Smith. 

       Animal Control has also been awarded a $14,000 grant from the Banfield Foundation to purchase veterinary medical equipment, which will allow minor surgery to be performed on animals at the shelter. The equipment will allow Dr. April Kelly, who recently joined the department as staff veterinarian, to provide a more advanced level of medical care for animals at the shelter. 

  • 07Tax image 3North Carolina has a lower-than-average state sales tax rate of 4.75 percent, but actual combined sales tax rates are higher than average when local sales taxes from the state’s 322 local jurisdictions are taken into account. Cumberland County’s combined rate is 7 percent, which is a higher tax rate than 56 percent of North Carolina localities. Taxable sales in Cumberland County for fiscal year 2017 totaled approximately $4 billion, which represented a 5 percent increase over fiscal year 2016. 

    The way sales tax receipts are distributed among local governments has been a contentious issue the last year and a half. State law says county governments choose how to divide the money based either on property taxes or population. An interlocal agreement between Cumberland County and the municipalities dates to 2003 and states sales tax receipts would be shared based on population. 

    In 2005, Fayetteville annexed 42,000 county residents and 27 square miles of land, provoking the county board of commissioners to consider changing the way sales tax revenues are divided between the county, the city and towns. The county would get more money under the property tax formula and less under the population method, while the city and towns would get less with property taxes and more with population. 

    The various jurisdictions eventually agreed to keep dividing the money based on population, with the city of Fayetteville reimbursing the other towns one-half of the additional sales tax revenue they get from annexed areas. Mayor Mitch Colvin has noted that most of the retail sale of goods and services take place in Fayetteville. 

    The 2003 contract, which has been amended a couple of times, expires the end of June 2019, and leaders have tried to reconcile their differences since early 2017. “This has been a lingering issue,” Colvin said during a recent city council committee meeting. 

    City Manager Doug Hewett came up with a proposal to renew the arrangement for 10 years. “The county wants certainty and a long-term agreement,” he said. The committee of five council members agreed to it. 

    Beginning in year two, reimbursements made by the city to the smaller towns would be gradually reduced and would end in year six. Reimbursements to county government would continue as currently calculated over the first five years, after which repayments to the county would be capped at the dollar amount paid in year five. 

    Fayetteville City Council and the Cumberland County Board of Commissioners each have internal subcommittees studying probable solutions to the sales tax allocation. They haven’t met publicly as a combined group in more than a year. 

    Tax revenue reimbursements of $86 million have been made by the city to the county and small towns since 2004. 

  •  06Jay Reinstein 4 Assistant City Manager Jay Reinstein, 57, is leaving his post with the city of Fayetteville this week after five years on the job. He has been diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s disease, which affects people under 65. Early-onset Alzheimer’s, sometimes known as younger-onset Alzheimer’s, is a form of dementia. It means a person has a progressive and sometimes chronic brain condition that causes problems with thinking, behavior and memory. 

      Dementia itself is not a disease, but a syndrome; its symptoms are common to several brain diseases. Alzheimer’s gets worse over time. But medications sometimes slow that decline and help with symptoms such as behavior changes. More than 5 million Americans have been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. It’s what most people think of when they hear “dementia.” 

      “I will go out on family medical leave and use my accumulated sick time through April or May of 2019,” Reinstein said. 

      He is not yet eligible for retirement but has had time to educate himself about the benefits available to him through his employer. Disability insurance provides income for a worker who can no longer work due to illness or injury. 

      “Two months prior to leaving the city, I will apply for short-term disability through the NC State Retirement System,” Reinstein said. “Then, about 12 months after getting approved for short-term disability, I will apply for long-term disability until I can officially retire in 2022.” 

      “Tell me, doctor, how long do I have?” That, says Dr. Gregory A. Jicha, M.D., is the first question patients ask after receiving a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease. Jicha did a comprehensive study of 1,300 patients and found that the majority of people with early-onset Alzheimer’s have sporadic Alzheimer’s disease. It is the most common form of the illness and is not attributed to genetics. The average amount of time that people live with Alzheimer’s disease is approximately seven years, according to the Encyclopedia of Mental Disorders. Life expectancy varies from person to person. 

      Like many people with early-onset Alzheimer’s, receiving an accurate diagnosis is important. Reinstein said the first clue that there was a problem was a day several months ago when, on the way home from work, he drove two doors past his home before realizing it. 

      “It’s the little things,” he said, like “what dresser drawer the underwear is in.” Memory issues don’t occur all the time, he added, “but there is a lot of frustration.” 

      “I’m really a workaholic; it’s going to be difficult not being a leader.” 

      City Manager Doug Hewett said, “Jay is an asset to our organization. His care and concern for others is evident in everything he does. We will all miss our daily interactions with him, and we wish him all the best as he transitions from public service.” 

      Reinstein has been dealing with the realities of his illness long enough to have come to grips with it. He noted it’s his caretakers who will struggle over time. He has tried to make it easier for his family by saying he doesn’t want sympathy – he wants support. He looks forward to spending time with his family and doing volunteer work. He is already involved with the Alzheimer’s Association and has organized a team that raised $23,000 for research. 

      Filling Reinstein’s position won’t be easy for city. “I plan to fill the position temporarily with an internal interim appointment and likely won’t fill the position for several months,” Hewett said. 

    Photo: Jay Reinstein

  • 05Storm DamageCumberland County residents whose homes were damaged by Hurricane Matthew now have a reliable source of information for cleaning assistance. The Home Cleanup Hotline is 1-800-451-1954. The hotline is provided by Crisis Cleanup, a national organization that helps coordinate the work of volunteer organizations with survivors whose homes have been affected by natural disasters. Residents can ask for assistance from reputable relief agencies that can assist with services such as cutting fallen trees, tarping roofs and removing debris such as drywall, insulation and flooring. The services are free and are completed by volunteers who provide the necessary tools and equipment. 

    For information about resources that can assist with these services, visit co.cumberland.nc.us/community-resource-directory1. 

    Florence caused a sticky situation at one local shop 

    Hurricane Florence caused a lot of damage to local businesses as well as dozens of homes. Rocket Fizz, the popular candy store in Marketfair Shopping Center, survived the storm, but much of its inventory did not. 

    Co-owner Ann Sims said she lost a thousand pounds of bulk candy, which melted when the power went out, including 100 flavors of salt water taffy. Taffy must be kept in a dry, cool environment. Her store was anything but dry and cool during the three days it was without electricity. 

    “We iced down the chocolate in coolers and took some of it home,” as the hurricane approached, she said. It was next to impossible to clear out the nearly 2,400 different items in the shop, which is much more than a candy store. 

    Rocket Fizz sells a lot of Halloween treats this time of year, from candy corn to Pez, and Chuckles to Hershey bars. It also carries a variety of 400 craft soda pops, tin signs, replica concert posters and novelty items such as retro memorabilia and prank gifts. Sims said the average sale is $12 for a four-pack of soda and bags of candy. “Selection and service is what we pride ourselves in,” she said. 

      Rocket Fizz is located next to the Marketfair AMC Theatre. 

    Baseball team name to be revealed 

      Minor league baseball officials had hoped to announce the name of the local Houston Astros affiliate, which will begin playing ball in Fayetteville in the spring, over a month ago. The approach of Hurricane Florence caused postponement of the announcement. The Fayetteville Baseball Club says it will unveil its team name on Sunday, Nov. 4. 

      Team memorabilia, T-shirts and ball caps will also be available at the name reveal event. 

      Team President Mark Zarthar told Up & Coming Weeklythat at least three firms have indicated serious interest in sponsoring naming rights of the new stadium, which is under construction on Hay Street. 

      Houston acquired the Advance Single-A minor league team when it played in California. The Carolina League had indicated an interest in expanding by adding two additional clubs to the league. One moved from California to Fayetteville, the other to Kinston. 

    Busking comes to town 

      Busking has become popular in communities across the country. And now, Cool Spring Downtown District, in conjunction with Sweet Tea Shakespeare, has launched a busker program for local artists and performers. Sidewalk entertainers perform anything that people find entertaining – usually for money – singing, clowning, juggling, musical performances, fortunetelling, animal tricks, dance and much more. Organ grinders were among the original buskers. 

      Sweet Tea Shakespeare presents accessible performances of Shakespearean and other classical plays complete with delicious food, beer, wine and its signature sweet tea. 

      “Sweet Tea Shakespeare is delighted to partner with Cool Spring Downtown District to pilot its busker program, said Jeremy Fiebig, STS artistic director. “We have live music built into our culture, and it’s a natural extension of what we do to help build this exciting new program.” 

      Ten busking spots have been designated throughout the downtown district for performers selected by STS. Registration is required. Performance schedules are Thursday through Saturday evenings from 6-10 p.m. and weekends from 11:30 a.m.-2 p.m. 

    County Employee Health Fair 

      The annual Cumberland County Employee Wellness Fair is set for Oct. 22-26 at the Crown Expo Center, 301 E. Mountain Dr. About 400 county employees are expected to attend the fair each day. The county has contracted with Novant Health to operate the events. 

      During the annual wellness fair, Novant will screen employees for risk factors such as high blood pressure, cholesterol and diabetes. Vendors will provide employees with information on topics such as cancer, heart disease, diabetes, weight management, hearing, vision, tobacco cessation, physical activity, nutrition, stress management, behavioral health, safety and more. The goal of the fair is to encourage county employees to lead a healthier lifestyle and improve their overall health status. 

      Hours will be 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Oct. 22 and 24 and 6 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Oct. 23, 25 and 26. 

  • 01coverUAC101718001Where do leaders go for inspiration? For new ideas? To grow? To get refreshed? For the past three years, the Fayetteville Business 2 Business Expo & Refresh Leadership Simulcast has provided all these things and more to local leaders. Oct. 24, Express Employment, the Greater Fayetteville Chamber, the Better Business Bureau, Ramada Plaza and Up & Coming Weeklyinvite local leaders to the 4th Annual Fayetteville Business 2 Business Expo. It’s a daylong event packed with insight from national and local leaders, learning and networking opportunities, vendors and fun, and it lasts from 8 a.m. until 7 p.m. There is one ticketed event, the keynote luncheon, and the rest of the day’s offerings are free. 

    Express Employment has hosted this annual event on a national level for eight years, and the Fayetteville business community has benefited from the event for almost as long. 

    “Express Employment and the Greater Fayetteville Chamber are making the day inclusive by rolling in the Chamber’s Coffee Club and Business After Hours into the expo, and it ends with a reception,” said Up & Coming WeeklyPublisher Bill Bowman. “We will have food, prizes and giveaways – and a lot of networking. Local businesses will be there with employees and will have vendor booths. We will have a panel of local experts, business people and leadership authorities so the attendees can ask questions.” 

    The day starts with the Chairman’s Coffee Club at the Ramada Plaza at 8 a.m. This business networking breakfast has rotating local guest speakers from Cumberland County, the city of Fayetteville, Fort Bragg and Cumberland County Schools. The speakers discuss key issues in the community each month. 

    The Refresh Leadership Simulcast follows at 9 a.m. with a welcome and then a simulcast featuring the day’s three speakers. 

    Mark King is the first speaker. King is an innovation expert and the former president of Adidas North America. His simulcast begins at 9:05 a.m. The topic is “Lessons in Leadership: Competing with Creativity.” In it, King will share how to inspire a workforce of creativity and confidence. He’ll encourage leaders to, by coming to work with big dreams, vision and energy, create things consumers won’t believe are possible. 

    At 10:15 a.m., retired U.S. Army Gen. Colin Powell, who also served as U.S. secretary of state from 2001-2005, will speak on the topic of taking charge. Using his experiences as a leader on the world stage, Powell will lay down exactly what it takes to be a leader during times of change and crisis. 

    Powell was the first African-American chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Author of two books, Powell crafted and articulated the U.S. position on the world stage. 

    He’ll share his insight on efforts to stabilize a troubled world and discusses the diplomatic and leadership skills needed to transform unstable regions into havens where societies and cultures flourish. 

    At 11 a.m., Paralympian Josh Sundquist will give a talk titled “1MT1MT: One More Thing, One More Time.” That was his motto during his training for the Paralympics: One more thing, one more time. 

    This athlete and bestselling author is both humorous and inspirational. He motivates audiences to elevate performance in sales, customer service, quality, leadership and more. 

    The simulcast portion of the event ends at 11:45 a.m. The breakfast and simulcast are both free to attend. 

    There is a special ticketed event following the simulcast. Starting at noon, the Keynote Leadership Luncheon features speaker and innovative authority in sales and management marketing Kyle Burrows. There will also be entertainment by special guests – the Fayetteville Chapter of the Barbershop Harmony Society, the Cross Creek Chordsmen. 

    Burrows’ speech is titled “Becoming Famous and Fabulous.” 

    “It is based on observations,” Burrows said. “It is a simple mental tool that helps people and organizations find their sweet spot in a world that is always changing. It will provide a deeper dive into becoming famous and fabulous and will help attendees walk through the process of a leadership principle that is three-pronged.” 

    Sponsorships and vendor spaces are still available. To become a sponsor or purchase individual tickets for the luncheon, visit http:// b2bshoplocal.com. The afternoon and evening events are free and feature several leadership workshops with local leaders and a panel of experts. 

    Kent Hill, director of the Center for Innovation, Entrepreneurship & Small Business at Fayetteville Technical Community College, started his career working in the marketing departments of The Coca-Cola Co. and Kellogg’s. His career is divided almost evenly between working for blue-chip corporations and cofounding several successful (and a couple not-so-successful) startups. His leadership workshop topic is “Branding is Everything. Everything is Branding.” 

    There has never been a marketplace as competitive as the one we live and work in today,” said Hill. “And it will be even tougher tomorrow. To succeed in this hostile and volatile environment, you need to see and understand the entirety of your business from the customer’s experience.” 

    In this fast-paced workshop, Hill will share some secrets to keeping pace with your customers’ expectations – and a step ahead of your competitors. 

    President of the Better Business Bureau of the Coastal Carolinas, John D’Ambrosio, is also a speaker for one of the leadership workshops. He will be doing a track talking about integrity and research in business. It will include the importance of having confidence in businesses and organizations. 

      “What I hope to impart is how important honesty and integrity are to establishing trust in the marketplace,” D’Ambrosio said. “Businesses that care about customers and put them first is what is important in the marketplace today because there are so many choices out there. Knowing how to lead your business in that direction is vital.” 

        PWC Chairman Darsweil Rogers is one of the panel experts. For him, events like this matter – a lot. 

        “The future of our community is in the hands of our leadership, and we are at a point in time where we have to rethink and even re-envision where the community is heading,” Rogers said. “There is so much technological change taking place right now, and with the proper vision, we can leapfrog other communities. That’s is why I am excited to participate in events like this. 

     “Opportunities like Refresh Leadership let us talk with leaders about having a broader vision. Leaders can say we want to be a smart community, but we need to talk about what do we need to do to make that happen.... This idea of having a bigger vision needs to be a groundswell.  

       “Research Triangle Park didn’t just happen; it required leadership at the state level, and Duke, Wake and Orange counties had to come together and re-envision that community. 

       “We can do something similar here.” 

       The event concludes with an after-hours reception. Visit B2Bshoplocal.com to learn more, to register for the events or to purchase tickets for the luncheon. 

     

  • 15cyber Fayetteville Technical Community College’s Systems Security &Analysis program is a concentration under the information technology major. This curriculum provides individuals with the skills required to analyze and implement effective, comprehensive information security controls. Upon completion of the program, students receive an associate degree in System Security & Analysis and will be well equipped to enter the growing field of cyber security.

    Alumni of this program have gone on to work for companies including the city of Fayetteville, Dell, and Cisco. 

    The National Security Agency and the Department of Homeland Security have designated FTCC as a National Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense Two-Year Education. This designation is known by the acronym CAE2Y. FTCC’s Systems Security & Analysis program offers students a diverse educational opportunity by exposing them to materi- als from several academic partners, such as Cisco, CompTIA, EC-Council, Palo Alto, and Red Hat. 

    The Systems Security & Analysis department is also a member of the National CyberWatch Center, a Data Privacy Day champion, and a National Cyber Security Awareness Month champion. The Department partners with the Fayetteville/Fort Bragg chap- ter of the Information Systems Security Association. 

    Fayetteville Tech offers a broad range of programs of study lead- ing to the award of associate degrees, certificates and diplomas. Many educational choices are available in the field of computer and information technology, where graduates can seek employment as designers, developers, testers, support technicians, system administrators and programmers. Specialty areas include business intelligence, database services, healthcare informatics, security and more. 

    Specific program areas to explore at FTCC include CISCO Networking Academy, Computer Programming & Development, Cyber Defense Education Center, Database Management, Digital Media Technology, Game & Interactive Programming, Mobile & Web Programming, Network Management, PC Support & Services, Systems Security & Analysis, and Simulation & Game Development. Within each of these program areas are additional specialty programs of study, which allow students broad choices for expansion in becoming well equipped for a great career in the computer technology field. 

    Fall eight-week classes begin Oct. 18, and the spring semester begins Jan. 14. For students inter- ested in pursuing an exciting career in a high- demand field, FTCC is the smart choice for educa- tion in computer and information technology. Visit www.faytechcc.edu to apply now and begin the enrollment process. 

    For more information about the program, visit www.faytechcc.edu/academics/computer-information-technology-programs/systems-security-analy- sis. Call 910-678-8509 or email herringc@faytechcc. edu with questions about pursuing Systems Security & Analysis education at FTCC. 

    FTCC’s Cyber Defense Education Center also has information concerning the program, ISSA meetings and other current events. Visit www.faytechcc.edu/ academics/computer-information-technology-pro- grams/cyber-defense-education-center to access that information. 

  • 09SHURERIn January 2016, the Pentagon ordered the armed services to conduct a sweeping review of medals of valor awarded since the 9/11 terror attacks. Officials directed service leaders to determine whether individual military members had been shortchanged in the medals they received. As a result, former Army Staff Sgt. Ronald Shurer II’s Silver Star was upgraded to the Medal of Honor for heroism above and beyond the call of duty. Shurer fought through an enemy ambush, saving his teammates’ lives 10 years ago in Afghanistan. 

    Shurer was as a Green Beret medic with Fort Bragg’s 3rd Special Forces Group. He joined the Army in 2002 and was deployed with Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force in Afghanistan for six months, from November 2007 to May 2008. Shurer was one of 10 members of his unit to receive Silver Stars for their heroics. He was honored with the nation’s highest award for valor by President Donald Trump Oct. 1. 

    On April 6, 2008, Shurer and his team were assigned to take out high-value targets of the Hezeb Islami al Gulbadin in Shok Valley, according to the Army. As the soldiers moved through the valley, they were attacked by enemy machine gun, sniper and rocket-propelled grenade fire, the White House said. The lead assault element suffered several casualties and became pinned down on the mountainside. 

    Shurer ran through enemy fire to treat a soldier who had been hit in the neck by shrapnel from an RPG blast. He then fought for an hour through a barrage of bullets and enemy fighters up the mountain to the rest of the lead element. There, Shurer treated and stabilized four more wounded soldiers before evacuating them aboard medic helicopters. 

    The Green Berets honored for their heroism in the Battle of Shok Valley represented the largest set of citations for a single battle since the Vietnam War. After the citations were read, the then-commander of Fort Bragg’s U.S. Army Special Operations Command, Lt. Gen. John F. Mulholland Jr., stated: 

    “There is no finer fighting man on the face of the earth than the American soldier. And there is no finer American soldier than our Green Berets. If you saw what you heard today in a movie, you would shake your head and say, ‘that didn’t happen,’ but it does, every day.”

    Shurer was honorably discharged in May 2009 and went on to serve with the U.S. Secret Service. He was eventually assigned to its Special Operations Division. Shurer lives in Virginia, with his wife and two sons. 

    Photo: Former Army Staff Sgt. Ronald Churer, II

  • 08ParkingA consultant for the city says downtown Fayetteville parking will not be a problem when the Hay Street minor league baseball stadium opens. Jon Martens of Walker Consultants told city council that the current system is adequate “with lots of room to grow.” Marten’s firm counted just over 2,500 public parking spaces within a five-minute walk of the stadium. 

    Few disagree with the consultant, from city staff to downtown realty professionals. “Forty-five years ago, there were many more businesses and half as much parking,” said realtor John Malzone. City Manager Doug Hewett noted that parking availability improves after business hours, which is when baseball games are played. 

    “Peak parking occurs at 1 p.m. weekdays,” Martens said. Even then, he noted, only 45 percent of the spaces are used. 

    Special events and large promotional celebrations will require parking opportunities beyond the five-minute walk parameters, Martens said. Park and ride shuttles from areas beyond the immediate center city could be adopted according to city traffic engineer Lee Jernigan. He said a more detailed report of additional considerations such as providing convenient parking for the disabled will be available in a month or two. 

    The Franklin Street Parking Deck is typically underutilized. It is two-and- a-half blocks from the stadium and just within the five-minute walking distance, Jernigan said. “A short walk to the ballfield is part of the professional baseball experience,” said Mark Zarthar, Fayetteville Baseball Club president. 

    Estimated game attendance will vary from 2,700 to 3,500 fans depending on who you talk to. A sold-out event would consist of 4,700 people. Jernigan said private business people and county government are being asked to make their parking lots available for ballgames. 

    The owner of the Medical Arts building at the corner of Robeson Street and Hay Street has agreed to lease its parking lot to the city. City Hall, the Airborne & Special Operations Museum and NC Veterans Park lots are governed by the city and will be popular parking areas for fans. 

    Making the public aware of available parking is a major challenge to be undertaken by city government. “We can use technology to provide customer information,” said City Councilman Jim Arp. 

    The consulting firm suggested that an automated parking guidance system be adopted. Martens urged officials to proceed with a multifaceted plan combining new parking technology and an informational campaign showing where parking spaces are available downtown, including promoting the Franklin Street Parking Deck. Lighted LED signs with colorful, bright, moving messages would attract customers. Smaller permanent, custom signs could direct motorists to clusters of inner-city parking availability. 

    The new ballpark is being built at a cost of nearly $38 million. Features will include a 360-degree concourse, a grand stand and casual outdoor dining areas for group gatherings and parties. Zarthar said at least three firms have indicated interest in stadium signature naming rights. 

    The name of the Advance Single-A team owned by the Houston Astros will be announced early next month. 

  • 07I 95Twenty-five miles of interstate highway in Cumberland, Harnett and Johnston counties are going to be widened from four to eight lanes. Construction on a local segment of I-95 will begin next year, according to the North Carolina Department of Transportation. The public is invited to attend an open house meeting to review the accelerated schedule and preliminary map designs. The public meeting from 5-7 p.m. will be held Thursday, Oct. 18, at the Falcon Children’s Home Activity Building in Falcon. 

    The DOT plans to award a contract next spring to a design and construction team that will widen I-95 from Eastover exit 56 in Cumberland County to Dunn exit 71 in Harnett County. In 2020, the DOT is scheduled to award another contract to extend the interstate expansion beyond exit 71 to exit 81 in Benson, where I-95 and I-40 intersect. 

    I-95 additionally will need new interchanges and overpasses in Harnett County. “We have to rebuild six interchanges with new bridges and overpasses and ramps and loops,” said DOT spokesman Andrew Barksdale. “They are not up to modern design, and the bridges are substandard for height.” The structures will be raised in height to better accommodate truck traffic. 

    Crashes and overall traffic safety are some of the factors used by DOT in determining which projects will get funded in the Transportation Improvement Program. Fatal and otherwise serious crashes have occurred regularly in Eastover, and north into Harnett County where the highway has narrow medians and archaic metal guard rails. 

    “I-95 is our East Coast main highway and a vital link in our state for business expansion, residential growth and tourism,” said Grady Hunt, who represents Division Six on the N.C. Board of Transportation. “This will be a significant investment in North Carolina.” 

    The projects will mark the state’s first substantial upgrade of I-95, which was funded in the 1950s as part of what became known as the Eisenhower interstate system. The combined projects are estimated to cost more than $700 million in land acquisition and construction, including appropriations the state transportation improvement program and a $147 million federal program known as Infrastructure for Rebuilding America. The DOT was awarded the federal grant this summer. State transportation officials hope to widen other sections of I-95 in future projects. 

    The open house Oct. 18 will be informal, designed to allow people to examine maps, talk with DOT representatives and provide feedback. The department will accept comments on the projects through Nov. 2. 

    For more information or to send comments, contact Scott Pridgen at Division Six at 910-364-0603 or on- line at gspridgen@ncdot.gov; or P.O. Box 1150, Fayetteville, NC, 28302. 

    NCDOT will provide auxiliary aids and services under the Americans with Disabilities Act for disabled persons who wish to participate in the Oct. 10 workshop. People requiring special services should contact Diane Wilson at pdwilson1@ncdot.gov or 919-707-6073. 

  • 06The Champions Eastover Central Elementary School of Arts 1The U.S. Department of Education has named Eastover-Central Elementary School of Arts a 2018 National Blue-Ribbon School. The honor is reserved for exemplary high-performing schools whose students are among the state’s highest achievers. 

    “I’m pleased to celebrate with you as your school is named a National Blue-Ribbon School,” saidU.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos in a video message to the honorees. “We recognize and honor your important work in preparing students for successful careers.” 

    Eastover-Central was one of only eight schools sanctioned in North Carolina and 349 schools ac- knowledge across the country. “This national honor recognizes the tremendous work being done at East- over-Central to help each student achieve success in the classroom and beyond,” said Dr. Marvin Connelly Jr., Cumberland County Schools superintendent. 

    School honorees will be formally recognized at an awards ceremony in Washington, D.C., Nov. 7-8. 

    Fayetteville murder rate on par 

    At least one city council member claims the city’s murder rate has skyrocketed since Police Chief Gina Hawkins took over. Police command staff members said they haven’t heard that. 

    Hawkins’ first day on the job was Aug.15, 2017. During the13 1/2 months since then, there have been 32 homicides in Fayetteville, according to FPD spokesman Lt.Gary Womble. So far this year, the FPD has investigated 18 murder cases. 

    Police records indicate that the annual murder rate trend over the last 10 years has been in the mid to upper 20s. Fayetteville’s all-time-record of 31 homicides was set in 2016 before Hawkins came to Fayetteville. 

    Mosquito control 

    Favorable weather conditions have been helpful as mosquito control efforts got underway locally. Cumberland County’s mosquito control contractor trucks have sprayed most sections of the county over the past week-and-a-half. The spraying is done overnight. The product being sprayed is EcoVia, a botanical insecticide with low toxicity to humans and pets. Beekeepers registered with DriftWatch.org were notified of the spraying by the Health Department’s environmental health division. 

    “The (mosquito control) vendor has GPS, which allows these locations to be plugged in and avoided while they are spraying,” said Rod Jenkins, deputy health director. 

    Mosquito dunks have been distributed to residents upon request. A Mosquito dunk looks like a small donut, which floats on standing water. As the dunk slowly dissolves, it releases a bacterium that is toxic to all species of mosquito larvae. Mosquito experts say floodwaters can cause eggs that would have otherwise laid dormant to hatch. The mosquitoes plaguing the Carolinas are called “Gallinippers,” according to entomologist Michael Waldvogel of North Carolina State University. 

    Thousands of military veterans affected by Hurricane Florence 

    Hurricane Florence dumped dozens of inches of rain on southeastern North Carolina, causing Veterans Affairs clinics to close. Appointments were cancelled, and untold numbers of veterans’ homes were ravaged from Fayetteville to the coast. Fayetteville VA officials continue to play catch-up with thousands of rescheduled appointments. 

    VA Secretary Robert Wilkie, who grew up in Fayetteville, toured VA facilities here and in Wilmington. He also met with emergency VA employees who responded to Fayetteville from across the country and who continue to work to help local officials cope with the storm’s affects. 

    “I could not be prouder of VA,” Wilkie said. “I could not be prouder of my hometown.” 

    Wilkie said local officials will have the resources they need to recover from the storm. “This is my home. This is my wife’s family’s home,” he said. 

    The Fayetteville VA covers communities around Fort Bragg and Camp Lejeune. It is among the fastest growing regions in the VA, Wilkie said, with 2,000 veterans added each month. Close to 17,000 appointments were canceled because of the storm, officials said. 

    The VA Medical Center on Ramsey Street remained open during the hurricane, despite being located along the Cape Fear River. 

    Food stamps for Hurricane Victims 

    Thousands of residents of 27 North Carolina counties impacted by Hurricane Florence got help buying food through the Disaster Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services received federal authority to implement the program. Cumberland, Harnett, Hoke, Bladen, Moore, Robe- son and Sampson counties are among those that were eligible for supplemental food stamps. 

    “For North Carolinians working to get back on their feet after Hurricane Florence, help feeding their families will make a tremendous difference,” Gov. Cooper said. 

    This program helped people who suffered losses buy food for their families. Most application sites were local social services offices. Wait times were long because of the volume of people who applied. 

    New downtown Fayetteville official 

    The Cool Spring Downtown District has hireda new marketing official. Melissa Purvines joined the team Sept. 17 as the marketing and communications manager. She brings with her 15 years of experience in advertising, marketing and sponsorship sales. Purvines holds a Bachelor of Arts from Texas Tech University. 

    Originally from Amarillo, Texas, Melissa moved to Fayetteville in early 2018 to join her husband, Scott, who is stationed at Fort Bragg. Their son, Connor, is a seventh-grader at the Capitol Encore Academy in downtown Fayetteville. 

    “I am excited to call Fayetteville my home and look forward to helping the Cool Spring Downtown District continue growing as the vibrant center of artistic, cultural, civic and commercial activity,” she said. 

    Former mayor Tony Chavonne has been named interim president & CEO of the organization. 

  • 08Election polling placeLabor Day historically launches annual election campaigning. This year’s election is a so-called off-year, or midterm, election because it is midway through the term of the U.S. president. It’s an off year for Fayetteville City Council, but impor­tant county and state elections will be held in November. 

    October is an important and busy month for the fall election. Voter registration in Cumberland County closes Oct. 12. Residents who cast ballots on a regular basis remain per­manently registered so long as they continue to vote. The board of elec­tions periodically purges those who do not vote from the books. 

    Wednesday, Oct. 17, one stop voting begins for the November election. It’s a two-week early voting period that ends at 1 p.m. Oct. 31. 

    The last day to request an absentee ballot by mail for the general election is Oct. 30. Absentee ballots, which are the last to be counted, can be delivered two ways, either by hand to the board of elections no later than 5 p.m., Nov. 5, or by mail. Mailed ballots must be postmarked and received no later than the third day following the general election to be counted. 

    Also on Nov. 5, ballot requests for the sick and disabled begin at 8 a.m. 

    The first Tuesday in November, which is the 6th, is election day. 

    There’s a popular expression that all elections are local, and that’s never more important than in off years. Elec­tions in the United States are adminis­tered in a highly decentralized process through which each state shapes its own election laws, which in turn shape the roles counties play. The nation’s 3,069 counties traditionally administer and fund elections at the local level, in­cluding overseeing polling places and coordinating poll workers for federal, state and local elections. 

    This is an off year for presidential and North Carolina gubernato­rial elections, but voter turnout will determine who at least one new local congressman will be. The state’s 9th Congressional district is without an incumbent. The 8th Congressional district is also up for grabs, but a three-term incumbent has the edge. There is no U.S. Senate race this year. 

    The two state senators represent­ing Cumberland County in the North Carolina General Assembly, one a Democrat and the other a Republi­can, face challengers. The four mem­bers of the North Carolina House of Representatives have opponents. Cumberland County’s appointed sheriff is being challenged and is seeking election for the first time. The district attorney does not have an op­ponent. Two women are running for the Superior Court clerk’s office, one of whom is serving in an appointed position. Three local superior court judges and seven lower court district judges are up for election. 

    Cumberland County Commis­sioners serve staggered terms. This year, the three incumbents elected at large face challenges from two oth­ers. The two incumbent candidates elected from District 1 have in effect been re-elected since they have no opposition. 

    The board of education is structured similarly. This year, the three at-large members are seeking re-election. The six board members elected from indi­vidual districts are in an off year. 

    For information about where or how to vote, visit http://www. co.cumberland.nc.us/departments/ election-group/elections.

  • 07FEMA CenterThe state of North Carolina and Federal Emer­gency Management Agency are operating a joint disaster recovery center at the Cumberland County Department of Social Services, 1225 Ramsey St. It is open seven days a week, Monday-Saturday, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Sunday, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. 

    The center offers in-person support for individu­als and business owners who sustained major Hurri­cane Florence disaster damage and damage caused by subsequent floods. 

    Homeowners, renters and business owners should register for disaster assistance before visit­ing the recovery center by calling 800-621-3362 or texting 800-462-7585. Be prepared to provide the location where the damage occurred, current mailing address and telephone number, insurance information, total household annual income, rout­ing and account numbers for checking or savings accounts and a description of disaster-caused damage and losses. 

    Initial hurricane damage assessment 

    FEMA’s Hurricane Rapid Damage Evaluation is complete regarding all accessible residential prop­erties. Homes have been categorized as affected, minor, major and destroyed. 

    Cumberland County has completed its prelimi­nary Hurricane Florence damage assessment for unincorporated areas and the six smaller towns in the county. The loss does not include damages in Fayetteville, Hope Mills or Spring Lake. A total of 731 residential structures were damaged for an estimated loss of $28,119,667, according to Assistant County Manager Sally Shutt. A total of 16 commer­cial structures in the county were damaged for an estimated loss of $2,984,260. 

    In the city of Fayetteville, just under 1,200 hab­itable structures have evidence of wind or flood damage. About 100 of those structures were found to be damaged because of flooding. Two-thirds of the impacted structures are categorized as affected. Another 300 plus are categorized as minor. Four dozen houses received major damage. 

    “It is important to realize that this assessment is not the same as what private insurance adjust­ers continue to conduct throughout our city,” said Development Services Director Jerry Newton. The total loss countywide will be in the tens of millions of dollars. Flood- and wind-damaged structures throughout the city are likely higher than the 1,200 found through the FEMA assessment, Newton said. 

    The city of Fayetteville was unable to provide a preliminary monetary estimate of the damage. Damage assessment work is still underway. Teams have not been able to access some areas because they have been hampered by floodwaters and poor road conditions. The initial estimate does not in­clude commercial properties. 

    Hometown utility shines 

    The Public Works Commission’s Emergency Op­erations Center was staffed more than 100 straight hours from Thursday, Sept. 13, through Tuesday, Sept. 18. Just over 500 PWC employees and 100 mu­tual aid workers responded to the storm. More than half of those stayed at PWC’s headquarters for five days on a 24/7 basis, sleeping on cots and airbeds. Many remained on hand despite power outages and flooding at their homes. 

    PWC linemen worked 16-hour shifts and were able to get 97 percent of the utility’s 50,000 customers who lost service back on line within 96 hours, the vast ma­jority of them within 30 hours. A week after the storm, only 33 customers remained without service because of needed home repairs and inspections. 

    During the storm, PWC’s water distribution system had no interruptions or water quality issues. PWC’s water and wastewater plants, all located along the Cape Fear River, remained operational throughout the storm. 

    Debris removal underway 

    Hurricane debris removal is underway, but of­ficials say it could take weeks. Contractors have been hired by the city and county and are prioritiz­ing rubble removal based on which areas where Hurricane Florence generated storm debris can be safely accessed. 

    Residents of impacted areas who can safely do so are asked to place any storm-generated rubbish roadside. Place logs (no length restriction), plants and larger tree branches in one combined pile at the curb. Place leaves, small branches and twigs, pine straw and pine cones in yard waste containers or separate piles. Construction rubble such as building materials, carpet, drywall, furniture, lumber, mat­tresses and plumbing items should be piled sepa­rately also. Only loose debris will be collected. 

    Regular household trash, recycling and bagged debris of any kind should be separated from storm debris and be put at the curb on regularly scheduled pickup days. Do not place rubbish near a water me­ter, fire hydrant or beneath a power line. It should be placed in the public right-of-way but not in the street. 

    News and information 

    The Fayetteville community had the ad­vantage of reliable news and information during Hurricane Florence like never before. The city of Fayetteville and county of Cumberland com­bined their resources in a joint media opera­tions center, bringing together a dozen staff­ers whose job was to keep residents updated during and after the storm. 

    Local governments and the Public Works Commission provided special coverage on their websites. A week without cable television and live over-the-air coverage demonstrated the impor­tance of people having battery-equipped portable radios. Emphasis was placed on the importance of keeping the public informed so as to prevent rumors and misinformation. 

    Recognizing the public’s widespread use of social media, Fayetteville Police and PWC used Facebook to keep the community informed. The city used its new mobile app to provide storm updates. Tradi­tional news media provided information, but power outages limited television coverage. WRAL-FM preempted regular programming and simulcasted the audio of its sister television station on the radio during the week.

  • 10-06-2010wrecking-ball3.gifThe Prince Charles Hotel and the Capitol Building have garnered a lot of press and a lot of headlines over the past year. And it doesn’t look like that’s going to stop anytime soon.

    No surprise to most of us, John Chen has packed his bags and headed back up north where he says he can make more money. That’s probably true. There isn’t a lot of profit in renting rooms for about $400 a month to 30 people. Especially when you bought the building for more than a million dollars.

    There really can’t be much profit in that when you take into account the fact that he is paying the electric bill and phone bill for those folks. And there really can’t be much profit in the Prince Charles when he’s accumulating fines on a daily basis.

    And it looks like Chen’s problems are only getting worse. As of Monday, all of the residents of the hotel were supposed to be out of the building. It seems Chen likes doing construction that isn’t quite up to code, and that in essence, turns the hotel into a fire trap if local fire officials can be believed.

    At this point, they seem way more believable than Chen.

    From his office in New York, Chen refused fi re marshals access to the building and called the City of Fayetteville hostile. I think the city would probably use the same words in regard to him. This has been a no-win situation from the get go. For the Prince Charles to ever be more than an albatross around the neck of its owner or the city, it will take a massive infusion of cash (in the millions) to renovate and restore the building to its former glory.

    Not to be a downer here, but that’s never going to happen.

    Sometimes, and it’s a painful thought to those of us who love old historic buildings, you have to get down to the economics of things. Is the land the hotel sitting on worth more than the decrepit building? And on the face of it, I believe it is.

    Would it be better for a developer (or if the city condemns the building) for it to be torn down and something be built that could actually add to downtown rather than take away from it? From where I’m sitting, the answer is yes.

    If the building remains in its current state, it is only going to go down into further disrepair. Is Chen or is anyone going to pump millions of dollars into the facility in today’s economy?

    Let’s be real.

    So the question for the Prince Charles isn’t whether there is a vinyl window sticking out like a sore thumb, it’s really should there be any windows at all?

    Down the street, the Capitol Building had millions of dollars infused in it, and today, it’s closed, and as of last week, the bank had taken ownership of it.

    This leaves the city in a sticky wicket because of the money invested through the Community Development Block Grant. It seems, from what we hear, that the city was remiss in not keeping financial checks on the health of the Docks venture. Now the city is holding a bad note, and the bank has collateral.

    It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out who the loser is here.

    The building should be going on the auction block in December. Who is going to buy it? Will it be another Chen? Heaven help us if it is.

    Downtown can be a viable place to conduct business, but not for people flying on wing and a prayer. It takes a sound financial business plan and you have to be committed to working the long hours and keeping your doors open past 6 p.m. Just ask Josh Collins, owner of Huske Hardware House.

    Greatness for downtown can’t only happen on 4th Friday and on festival weekends. It has to happen every day. And that means the streets don’t roll up at 7 p.m.

    It also means that downtowns hopes can’t only be tied to galleries and artists. Ask the gallery owners who have shut their doors over the past couple of years.

    t must be tied to financially sound businesses and retailers who will keep their doors open after 5 p.m. every day and will open on weekends. That’s what will build a downtown with heart, whether the Prince Charles is there or not

  • 10-20-10-marriage.gifThe Great Recession has played havoc not only with our finances but with what many of us consider the normal course of life.

    Young people who have long assumed that they would complete their educations and take their expected places in the workplace and in their communities have had to re-think that one.

    Jobs are harder to come by, and often that has meant postponement of other adult markers like living on one’s own and participating in community life. Part of this changing narrative has been speculation that young folks are not tying the marital knot. Maybe it is the expense of getting hitched or maybe it is a reluctance to make a life-long commitment in these uncertain times, but pundits have had a field day speculating about the health and future of marriage in America.

    With the recent revelation that the percentage of Americans between 25 and 34 who are married has fallen below the percentage of those who have never married, some have wondered aloud whether marriage as we have known it is on the decline. Add to that, the Pew Research Center’s announcement earlier this month that for the fi rst time college-educated 30-yearolds are more likely to have been married than their less educated contemporaries, and the hand-wringing over the impact of the Great Recession on marriage continued in earnest.

    Is American marriage on the decline?

    Writing in the New York Times, Justin Wolfers says no, but that like all institutions, it is evolving. Wolfers, an assistant professor of business and public policy at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and a visiting fellow at the Brookings Institution, says that marriage has remained remarkably steady in our country over the last century and surprisingly, at least to me, unaffected by our economic ups and downs.

    Most of us, it seems, do get married at some point. If we look at 40-year-olds instead of 20 and early 30 somethings, 81 percent have tied the knot at least once. This is lower than when marriage rates peaked at 93 percent in 1980, but it is still a higher percentage than most other life experiences we Americans have in common. It is also true that divorce is also somewhat less common, meaning that many of us are married for the long haul.

    It is also true, though, that how we operate within our marriages is changing.

    Today’s marriage is much different than the marriages of most of our grandparents and maybe even our parents.

    The model of the stay-at-home wife and the bring-home-the-bacon husband might have been an effi cient one, though not necessarily satisfying to either party, but it certainly is not the model for most marriages today. Today’s marriages, the Great Recession aside, are far more likely to have both husband and wife in the workplace, and they have more disposable income and more leisure time. Their union is likely based more on commonalities and shared interests than on economic realities and a division of labor.

    In addition, couples are indeed marrying later as the hand-wringing statistics indicate, and both partners are likely to have invested in their educations and started careers before they married. Both careers are viewed with equal or at least similar importance. Neither partner is as tied to the home as in past generations, and having a family is more an option than an accident.

    It is also true, though, that living together without a marriage certifi cate is also on the rise among young people, and some older ones as well. Some of this may be the sheer economic reality of rent and scarce jobs in these challenging times, and many such couples will eventually get married. In that sense, perhaps the Great Recession is pushing people together instead of keeping them apart.

    Wolfers notes that one group for whom marriage does seem to be somewhat on the decline is women with less than a college education. It may be that for them, marriage with a man of similar education is less appealing than going it alone now that few career doors are closed to women. The Great Recession has been particularly cruel to men with little education, and young women may see few reasons to commit themselves to a man with limited career possibilities.

    It seems to me that marriage has always been a fl uid institution, ranging from economic and political alliances engineered by family members for couples who barely know each other to today’s concept of marrying for love and the pursuit of mutual interests. How we come into a marriage and how we live within it changes, but marriage remains an enduring institution and our primary relationship for most of us.

    I believe that just as long as we human beings want to eat, we will have farmers, that as long as men and women exist on this planet, we will have marriage of one sort of another.

    I do.

    I do.

  • Paging Cotton Mather

    Does anyone remember Cotton Mather, 1663-1728?

    How about Jonathan Edwards, 1703-1758?

    The 47 girls in my parochial high-school class probably do, because we were required to read their Puritan, pre-Revolutionary sermons and other writings — grim, unforgiving and deathly boring as they seemed to us and to many modern readers. We were tested on them, too, and we must have passed since we all managed to graduate.

    At any rate, we were well schooled in early Puritan writers and their impact on both American religious life and on American character and culture, both then and now. One of our nation’s most dearly held values is not called the Protestant work ethic for no reason. Our nation was built on Puritan thinking, and while most of us no longer wear only black or refer to others by “thee” and “thou,” we still hear the voices of Mather, Edwards and their Puritan/Protestant brethren echoing in our nationa10-17-12-margaret.gifl debates, including this year’s Presidential contest.

    The Protestants — ie. people protesting the religions in the lands from whence they came — laid the foundation for the nation we and the rest of the world know as the United States of America. Their concept of this nation as “a city on the hill” with a special place in the world and a destiny to lead others toward freedom and democracy has been used by American politicians of all stripes for more than two centuries. Their concept of voluntarism and charitable giving to those in need continues to set Americans apart from many other nations.

    Fast forward to the fall of 2012.

    Maybe it is because of my early acquaintance with the Reverends Mather and Edwards, but for whatever reason, I was bowled over to read earlier this month that only 48 percent of Americans now consider ourselves to be Protestants. What is more, the trend seems to be not only well underway but accelerating. Without overwhelming you with numbers, the Pew Research Center found the percentages of Americans who identify ourselves as Protestants fell from 53 percent in 2007 to 48 percent this year while unaffi liated from rose15 to 20 percent. Other faiths, including atheists and agnostics, rose slightly, from 4 to 6 percent. Catholics dropped only one point, down from 23 to 22 percent. Obviously, the growth in religiously unaffi liated Americans is the real driver of this change.

    Declining religious affi liation and growing secularism have long been trends in Western Europe, and here is confi rmation that they have indeed leapt across the big pond.

    In fairness, you and I are living in the Southern Bible Belt, with its heritage of conservative, evangelical Protestantism in religious institutions with hand-carved pews with centuries of ministry and in tents and storefront churches born yesterday whose members sit in folding chairs. It is hard not to feel the presence of religion in our community, in which blue laws are just barely a thing of the past and where men and women in suits and hats are common sites on Sundays after church.

    There is no disputing, though, that things are changing, even here. Southern Baptists, our nation’s largest Protestant denomination have seen a slowing of growth, and the United Methodist Church has lost more than half a million members over the last decade.

    Outside the Bible Belt, the change is more apparent. According to the Pew Research Center, the shift away from mainline religion is seen across gender, education and income levels, and is most obvious in the Northeast and West. Young people are less religiously inclined than older adults, as one might expect, with fully a third of adults under 30 claiming no religious affi liation while only 9 percent of those over 65 saying that.

    You can take all of this as good news, bad news or just plain news depending on your own religious inclinations, but it was a jolt to me.

    Even the Reverends Mather and Edwards, rigid as they were, would likely have understood that life evolves and that their brand of Puritan Protestantism would not remain the same. I doubt, though, that they could have imagined the mega churches of today with no creeds or canons of belief but with state-of-the-art fi tness centers and accredited daycare centers. Nor would they have grasped the mercenary ministers so brilliantly skewered in the 1970s by the comedian Flip Wilson portraying the Reverend Leroy, which — by the way — is well worth a trip to YouTube if you need a good belly laugh.

    There is good news, too, at least in my view. The Pew Research Center found that two-thirds of us do express belief in God, whatever that means to us individually, but say we are disenchanted with organized religions’ emphasis on rules, money, power and politics.

    Why am I not surprised?

    Photo: A recent Pew Research Center poll found that the number of Americans who identify themselves as Protestant has fallen.

  • uac102010001.gif Well, if you haven’t yet already “early voted” then the contents of this edition will surely assist you in becoming familiar with some of the candidates who will ultimately be asked to serve our community, our state and our nation.

    This is a very, very important calling. Seventy-two percent of Up & Coming Weekly readers are registered voters. This is no wonder since community newspaper readers tend to care about their communities and issues that affect their families, jobs and quality of life.

    If you haven’t noticed this community is on the grow and the signs of progress, growth, development and prosperity can be seen in many aspects of living in Fayetteville, Fort Bragg and Cumberland County. At no time has this been more evident than last weekend when Festival Park hosted thousands of Cumberland County children, educators and dignitaries during the 10th Annual Reading Rocks Walk-A-Thon. Directed and organized by Belinda Cashwell, hosted by School Superintendent Dr. Frank Till, supported by local businesses and organizations and emceed by community and education advocate John Malzone, this event was the near perfect snapshot of how a community invests in its future.

    The fi rst big news of the morning was the announcement that the event raised more than $200,000 in support of reading and literacy programs for local children. This is a strong indication and reflection that the Cumberland County Commissioners are spending tax payers money wisely when they invest in Cumberland County children and provide money to an organization that puts forth an exerted effort to help itself. This is leadership personified.

    The second highlight was when Debbie Lister, the senior director of the Washington, D.C. based America’s Promise Alliance, presented Fayetteville and Fort Bragg with a combined award that recognizes the community as one of the America’s Promise Alliance’s 100 Best Communities for Young People. This is a major honor and one that confirms that our local leadership has set the correct priorities...reading, literacy and children.

    It is my hope that Fort Bragg and the City of Fayetteville make a big deal about this and encourages the promotion and posting of the APA emblem of distinction at all entrances to the city and Fort Bragg, on city vehicles, stationery, etc. This is a very a big deal!

    So, why does your vote count? Because the people we elect on Nov. 2 will be the ones charged with continuing the task of keeping our children and the welfare of our community the top priority for all levels of government.

    Anyone can run for offi ce but only a few are capable of leading with contemporary wisdom and vision. It will be up to us on election day to make the distinction. Vote.

    Thank you for reading Up & Coming Weekly

  • More Americans are born in September and October than in any other months, and it does not take a rocket scientist or a brain surgeon to make the connection between holiday festivities and what happens nine months or so later.

    I am one of those millions of Americans, and as a proud Baby Boomer I am happy to be here to have a birthday and happy to be breathing steadily and uneventfully. My birthday this year did not involve a zero, so it was not so monumental and passed with small family celebrations, several hilarious cards, and a breakfast with my girlfriends at the K&W after our morning exercise class. I splurged and ate a veggie omelet with cheese.

    Jim Jenkins, an insightful, articulate, and often laugh-out-loud funny writer for the News and Observer in Raleigh did observe one of those once a decade zero birthdays recently and wrote about his milestone in a column called “When the bloom’s off the boomer,” which left me both chuckling and pondering.

    Rather than discussing our aches and pains, ailments and treatments, Jenkins suggests we consider not our own evolutions but the changes in the world around us as we grew up and cruised life’s continuum.

    Here is part of Jenkins’ spin on some of what has happened since we Boomers arrived.

    “Take food: We’re older than Goldfi sh crackers, pizza rolls, instant rice, boil-in bags, high-carb crazes, low-carb crazes, gluten-free crazes, and sugar-free chocolate. We had no clue about vegan. We’re older than10-03-12-margaret.gif Trident, Big Red gum, Lemonheads, Starburst and Reese’s Pieces. Except for Trident most of us have given up the rest of it thanks to high blood sugar.

    “We’re older than the use of the term ‘free-range chicken,’ although my grandmother had some chickens and we ate the eggs on occasion, so perhaps we were groundbreakers and didn’t know it. Now we know ‘free range’ as a term that means more expensive in the local la-de-dah eatery …

    “We are older than cell phones.

    “We grew up without remote control. Now, that’s old. When I tell young people this, they ask things like, ‘I’m doing a paper in school. Can I interview you about what Cleopatra was really like?’...

    “We have been around for 12 Presidents, or more than a fourth of those who have served since our country’s founding.

    “When we were born Clint Eastwood had not yet made his first big movie or his first speech at a political convention. He’s not made his last movie, but we probably did get in on this last convention speech...

    “In 1952, Elizabeth Taylor was already a movie star. No one had ever heard of, or anticipated hearing of, Justin Bieber or Britney Spears. That’s why we talk about the good old days.

    “We were on the planet for the birth and death of disco. When we’re bending the knee replacements for nightly prayers, there’s something for which to be grateful.”

    Jim Jenkins clearly gets the entire aging phenomenon and can make us laugh about it to boot!

    Back, though, to my lesser birthday occasion.

    I have written on this page on several occasions about my complete incomprehension of the wave of mass tattooing which struck our nation a decade or two ago. My most recent written foray into tattoo territory suggested that the wave has crested and is on the way back out into our vast pop cultural ocean.

    Apparently not with other Dicksons.

    One of my family birthday celebrations involved a dinner cooked by the Three Precious Jewels, two of whom were extremely behind schedule — about two hours. When they finally arrived, I was delighted to see them, of course, and then utterly flabbergasted when one, wearing shorts, crossed the room to reveal a large “something” on the back of his right calf! I shrieked, only to be shown a second “something” on the forearm of Precious Jewel # 2!

    They had been out being tattooed — an anchor and a bolt of lightening, both emblazoned with the word “MOM!” — nominally in honor of my occasion but really to get a rise out of their mother who has yet to bridge the generation gap about putting ink under one’s skin.

    They succeeded and how! My hair has only begun to lie back down in the last few days.

    I suspect that Jim Jenkins and millions of other Baby Boomers would agree with me that we are delighted to be here taking in the sights and waiting to see what comes next as our world seems to spinfaster and faster and get smaller and smaller.

    I also suspect that they join me in thinking thank goodness for henna!

    Photo: Perhaps the tattoo craze is not over.
  • 'Tis the Season10-10-12-margaret.gif

    I cannot imagine any living, breathing American over school age not knowing that this is a presidential election year and that voting is almost upon us. Early voting in North Carolina begins Thursday, Oct. 18, so it is really just a matter of days before we will begin deciding who will be our leaders for the next two to four years. Terms in the United States Senate are six years, but there is no U.S. Senate race in our state this year.

    Having voted in every election I can remember since I registered too many years ago to ponder and having been through five election cycles as a candidate, I have some thoughts I would like to share.

    Most of us have long since decided whether we will support President Barack Obama’s re-election or whether we would like him to be replaced by challenger Mitt Romney, so there is not much to say here except do your duty and get to the polls on your candidate’s behalf. If you are still an undecided voter — a real rarity, I will pray for you. You are probably getting so much mail and so many phone calls, it feels like a siege.

    Next on the ballot will be North Carolina’s 13 Congressional seats, all of which are on the ballot.

    If you have turned on your television any time since Labor Day, you have seen countless ads promoting — or more often — trashing one candidate or another. Some are so outrageous, they are actually funny, and I have laughed out loud at more than one. The bobbing heads attached to fake bodies are my favorites. That being said, ignore them all. They are filled with half-truths, and the occasional outright lie. Think of them as amusing television interludes, and failing that, hit the mute button until they pass.

    Do not allow yourself to be taken in by this deliberate and bottom-feeding political manipulation.

    Then will come the race for North Carolina’s open Governor’s mansion.

    More Tar Heels are probably still thinking about this one than we are in the presidential contest, so see above and skip over the political ads for Governor which seem less amusing to me than the Congressional ads but still loaded with half-truths and innuendos. Read what you can about Walter Dalton and Pat McCrory. Observe them in action — not in paid advertising and judge for yourself which man is more knowledgeable about our state and the issues we face and which man is willing to answer honest questions from the public, even personal ones. This is not a beauty contest or one about likability. It is a question of knowledge, experience and capability.

    Next come North Carolina’s Council of State races which are always tricky, because they involve specialized fields of expertise like insurance, financial investing, public education, labor laws and such. Moreover, the people who run for these offices, even incumbents, are rarely well known outside their areas. I have found it helpful on occasion to talk to people I know who work in a particular area, say farming or my insurance agent, to get his or her take on the most qualified candidate in their fields. Checking out their campaign websites to determine whether they have actual experience in the areas they seek to address might also be helpful. Generally speaking, running for office demands few requirements beyond adulthood, livin

    g in the district and breathing. Candidates for the North Carolina General Assembly will come next. These races are much like Congressional races, highly contested and highly partisan. The advertising at the state level is generally more mailers than TV, but it all arrives with the same issues as above, so beware. The good news is that since the candidates who are running for the legislature live right here among us, we are more likely to know them personally or know someone who does. That makes their characters, capabilities, experience and political positions easier to find and to assess. Ditto for candidates for local offices, like county commissioner and school board.

    All of this is vastly magnified by the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling two years ago that allows outside parties — including corporations, unions and entities created just for this purpose — to spend unlimited and unreported amounts of money on behalf of candidates. The races, especially the federal ones, generate most of such spending, but it is a factor in the Governor’s race as well and in some legislative contests, each of which has become much more costly and much uglier.

    So here you have my take on the political landscape in this presidential year.

    Ours is a flawed election system, to be sure, but I have yet to see one for which I would exchange it.

    Please remember to exercise your right and responsibility and vote this year.

  • Hope Mills: Time Is on Your Side10-02-13-pub-notes.gif

    Well, it’s been nearly a week since the town of Hope Mills gave Tonzi Collins his walking papers by a four to one vote after a day long amotion hearing. Maybe I should say the Hope Mills town commissioners gave Collins his walking papers because “the town” could actually put him back in the office come the November election.

    If that happens, the amotion process will no doubt start all over again. This is a real possibility since friends and associates of Collins could very well put him back in the office. This would be unfortunate and again waste much valuable time and taxpayer money. Currently, Hope Mills has the leadership to make sure that the town stays in a position to move forward. Jackie Warner is a dedicated and extremely competent and conscientious mayor; she leads a board of commissioners that has already displayed the perseverance and intestinal fortitude to make sure the values and integrity of Hope Mills remain the first and foremost priority.

    However, as unfortunate as the Collins circumstances are, the town also has to deal with an equally distressing situation: the ill-fated Hope Mills Lake and dam situation. Here, lawsuits abound with accompanying blame, finger pointing and accusations. It’s a real mess. The fact remains that the hideous and monstrous concrete structure and the ugly overgrown acres of what was once a beautiful picturesque lake serves as a constant reminder that there are major deficiencies in the town’s system.

    This being said, Hope Mills is one of the fastest growing areas in Cumberland County. This means that time could actually be on the side of Hope Mills in solving both the Collins and dam problems. More housing, more shopping, more population all signs of solid progressive growth. Millstone Shopping Center is already becoming the central focal point of the town. It won’t be long before all this new development and thousands of new Hope Mills residents do not know who Tonzi Collins is and that there was ever a lake in Hope Mills.

    So, my point is this: In time, these are going to become non issues and the town’s leadership will be able to focus on real quality-of-life issues. No doubt, these two issues alone have cost the town hundreds of thousands of dollars and distracted attention away from the real productive issues of running the town.

    Time is on the side of Hope Mills. It is a town poised for prosperity, with good government leadership, a sound civic base and an active and progressive Chamber of Commerce. Planned growth and development is good for our county. Who knows what the future holds, there may even be a beautiful landscaped public park where Hope Mills Lake used to be. There will be plenty of such options since growth brings on many changes.

    I am confident Hope Mills can will deal with these changes but, only after they have outgrown the small town mentality that allows situations and controversies like that of Collins to persist and escalate. Onward and upward Hope Mills, you’re on the right track and time is on your side.

    Thanks for reading Up & Coming Weekly.

    Photo: Tonzie Collins

  • What I Learned at RENT10-09-13-rent.gif

    I ran into Lynn Pryor, actor, director and founder of the Gilbert Theatre, this past weekend at Sharon Valentine’s garden party prior to Methodist University’s weekend football game. He was happy, excited and smiling ear-to-ear, talking vigorously about the success of the Gilbert Theater’s first production of it’s new season — RENT.

    You see, it was closing on Sunday and he knew that there would be only two more opportunities (Saturday night and Sunday) for his friends to experience it. Well, my wife and I saw the production the day before, so we knew exactly where his pride, excitement and sense of urgency was coming from. And, rightfully so.

    The production was simply awesome and Pryor had every right to be proud. The show’s director Ruth Crews and the entire cast and crew need to be congratulated. “They did it!”

    Honestly, had I seen the show when it first opened on Sept. 20, you would have been reading this article last week. I will not make that mistake again.

    Here’s why: When Gilbert’s Artistic Director Robyne Parrish announced its season opener was going to be the legendary musical RENT, eyebrows were raised. RENT was one of the longest running shows on Broadway opening in the mid-90’s and closing in 2008 after a successful 12-year run. It’s music and lyrics (by Jonathan Larson) are beautifully difficult and the story line sensitive, tragic and controversial for the times. Alternative lifestyles, HIV and AIDS, perhaps not so much today.

    RENT is a warm and compelling story of young, struggling artists and musicians trying to survive in New York City’s Lower East Side. Expert local acting with great music (Leeann Valcarcel is the music director) and dance movements incorporated pop, salsa, rock’n roll and R&B. Simply magnificent!

    The Gilbert Theatre is one of Fayetteville’s unique treasures. If you haven’t experienced it, I recommend that you do.

    One other thought I want to share with you this week. I’ve called Fayetteville home for more than 40 years and when watching RENT I realized that I know a lot of people but I did not know or recognize any of the young and talented cast members.

    Also, seated in the house that night were more than 100 people appreciating local theatre and local culture at it’s very best and I didn’t know hardly anyone in the room. My point? Fayetteville is changing.

    The faces in Fayetteville are changing. New people are here. The community is evolving. New people, new ideas, new cultures are all coming together to create a new Fayetteville dynamic. We need to get ready for it. Better yet, we need to be a part of it. We need to encourage these young people to get involved and become part of it. The timing is perfect.

    Now that Fayetteville’s Primary Elections are over, we know who the candidates are and what issues and challenges lie before us. We must get involved, study the issues, ask the tough questions and demand responses and action that will steer this community in the direction that will assure future generations the same quality of life we enjoy today.

    There are new voices in our city. I hope we will hear them. In the meantime, I am going to do a better job getting to know these folks. I can think of “Five-hundred twenty-five thousand/six-hundred” reasons to do this.

    Thank you for reading Up & Coming Weekly.

  • The Future of Fayetteville

    Well, for many there were absolutely no surprises in last Tuesday’s mayoral elections. And, if you are a regular reader of Up & Coming Weekly you could have connected all the dots yourself weeks before the election.

    No secrets here. Nothing mystical or10-16-13-pub-notes.gifmagical and we surely are in no one’s inner circle, however, our audits have shown that 70 percent of our Up & Coming Weekly readers are registered voters, care about their community and tend to resist partisan political labels. So, after 18 years of publishing, I can confidently say we know our readers and we know this community.

    During the primary period we opened our publication up to all of the candidates who wanted to speak to the residents of Fayetteville about their positions on important issues facing our city in the not so distant future. Many took advantage of the offer.

    That invitation is again extended to those who have made it to the general election in November. Needless to say, most of the real attention will be on the Fayetteville mayoral election between current City Councilwoman Val Applewhite, who lead the primary election with 44 percent of the vote, and local businessman and former City Councilman Nat Robertson.

    It will be a race determined by the residents of this community and I’m not talking about voter turnout. I’m referring to how the voting residents feel about what direction they want to see the City of Fayetteville go over the next couple of years.

    Here’s what to watch for.

    Even though both candidates agree on many of the same issues, their priorities and methods for achieving these goals and solving problems are radically different. Who can get the job done is the $64,000 question and that will be left up to us to decide. So, let’s just hope each of these candidates not only clearly articulates and defines their positions on the important issues but, shares with us how they intend to achieve these goals and with what resources.

    Fair questions all, besides, this is the leadership they are supposed to bring to the table. Here is what our readers are telling us they want to see and hear from the candidates.

    They want the candidates’ campaigns to stay objective, positive and focused on the issues.

    They want to hear specifics on how they will proceed in solving the community’s problems and improving our city and quality of life.

    During the upcoming forums they would like to hear the candidates speak to each other rather than answer redundant questions from boring, lackluster moderators.

    Finally, they want no partisan politics or references to race. The Mayor of Fayetteville represents all of the people — all of the time.

    There should be no need for partisan attacks or race baiting between candidates the quality and caliber of Robertson and Applewhite. Both are successful in their own right and both are educated and articulate.

    It is our hope that they will bring these qualities to the forums and will rationally and realistically discuss the very real problems that are facing our community from economic development to dwindling resources to crime. This is the time when true leaders need to lead from the front in an open and definitive manner.

    We wish all of the candidates great success in the upcoming election, but remember, we will be watching.

    Thanks for reading Up and Coming Weekly.

    Photo: Elections are scheduled for Tuesday, Nov. 5. Don’t forget to cast your vote. 

  • Chicken Plant: Not Dead Yet10-01-14-pub-notes.gif

    The proposed Sanderson Farms plant in Cumberland County was pronounced dead before arrival last week, but, thanks to the City of Fayetteville, it’s not quite dead yet.

    We’ll see. The whole Sanderson Farms issue has dragged on so long and the arguments, both pro and con, have become so tiresome, illogical and redundant, it sounds like a police officer shooing away rubberneckers at a crime scene.

    “Ok. Keep moving. Move on. Nothing to see here.”

    Well, it would be interesting to find out just what Sanderson Farms thinks about all this local hubbub. Me? I haven’t changed my opinion on the entire circumstance since last week.

    If you missed my comments in last week’s edition several segments of that article are reprinted below. Like I said, nothing much has changed.

    “Well, it is the observation and opinion of many well-versed, educated and respected members of the community that these aspects of a fine-tuned and expertly executed offensive campaign in favor of Sanderson Farms has been nonexistent. Hey, don’t shoot the messenger.

    “These are the comments and questions that are coming up far too frequently from local residents who are not in the N.I.M.B.Y. (Not In My Backyard) category.

    However, they cannot be easily dismissed. They are residents who want to see our community seize the opportunity to grow inclusively and economically with the potential of lifting thousands of Cumberland County residents out of poverty and into a more enjoyable quality of life.

    “What’s not to like about that? This is why the question continues to come up: How a few hundred people affect the lives, future and well-being of several thousand county residents? This is extremely confusing, disappointing and puzzling. Unless, that is, you understand the dual concepts of the “haves and have-not’s” and “money talks and bull walks!”

    “So, where is the leadership? Is it true that the majority of our locally elected public officials and the wannabes are more focused and concerned in securing their future campaign support and donations rather than prioritizing the growth and development of our community along with the well being of their 327,000 constituents?”

    Now that you have caught up on last week’s notes, let me say that if I were a betting man, I would surmise that the “destiny” of this project will lie with those remaining Cumberland County Commissioners who have not already stated their positions.

    Dr. Jeannette Council and Jimmy Keefe are IN. Ed Melvin is OUT. Four to go. So, this being the case, who will be willing to “man up” and take a firm stand without worrying about the loss of future political support, influence or further intimidation that may come with the threat of losing a small, loyal and dedicated voting block of county residents and the campaign contributions associated with such a block?

    On the other hand, county commissioners like Billy R. King and Charles Evans may face an additional challenge. Both have a large following of black constituents. Many of which would welcome and benefit from this economic development employment opportunity. Evans, who has done a stellar job building his political career and reputation on being a crusader for the working class and the lone voice of the downtrodden, may find it a little more difficult and uncomfortable trying to convince his local constituents that their best interest has been served by turning their backs on 1,000 jobs at $11.71 an hour with health benefits. Oh, my!

    What a moral dilemma for Evans.

    Oh, well, one thing for sure, it will not make any difference whether Sanderson Farms comes to Cumberland County or not. Once the county commissioners vote on this one single issue, the result will serve as an affirmation to the level of empathy our leadership has to the other 324,049 residents of Cumberland County.

    Remember, “Weebles wobble but they don’t fall down.” Do you know how to keep a Weeble from wobbling? Don’t elect them! Thank you for reading Up & Coming Weekly.

  • Chief Medlock: You Are Not Alone In Your Frustrations

    Last week headlines across the state, both in print and via the airwaves, proclaimed the frustration of Fayetteville Police Chief Harold Medlock with the lack of cooperation his department is receiving in its investigation into the death of Joseph Braxton III, a 16-year-old, who was killed at a party last week.

    Chief Medlock, you are not alone. In recent months headlines across the nation have focused on senseless killings. People have taken to the streets, screaming for justice. While in Fayetteville, those who know the truth behind this young man’s death are covering it up. What a travesty.

    The police believe that numerous people in attendance at the party, where the young man was shot, not only saw the shooting but may have also videoed it on their cell phones. And no one is talking. No one. Why?

    Are they afraid that the guilty party will turn a gun on them or their loved ones? Or are they just covering up for a friend or family member?

    To me, it doesn’t matter. For those who know, for those who witnessed the senseless killing of this young man, their failure to speak is criminal and it should be treated that way.

    Chief Medlock should serve warrants on the host of the party and every single person in attendance and charge them with every single possible thing he can. Maybe he can charge them with obstruction of justice for impeding a police investigation.

    Maybe he should charge them with accessory to murder. Yes, charge every single person at the party, every single person on the street with accessory to murder. Put them in jail and let them rot until the truth comes out.

    Because that is what it is going to take. If people will not man up and take responsibility for policing their own neighborhoods, for protecting the children in their care, then they need to pay the consequences. Too many times over the past few years, young people, who by all accounts have had promising futures, have been killed senselessly. And, it keeps on happening. Why?

    Maybe because as parents, and yes, I’m speaking as a mother, we fail to take responsibility for our children. If my son were invited to a party where you had to have a bracelet to come in because of fear that trouble would happen, he wouldn’t be going. If you, as a host of a party, have to take so many precautions to have it, don’t.

    Maybe as community members, we fail to take responsibility for our community. In my neighborhood, we all know each other. We know whose kid belongs to whom, and we think they all belong to all of us. If a kid is out of line, an adult gets on them and then lets their parents know. If someone is in our neighborhood who does not belong, we are all aware of it. We watch out for each other. We call each other if someone leaves their garage door open or if one of our kids is driving too fast down the street. We take ownership of our neighborhood because that’s what makes it a community.

    What occurs in my neighborhood should be happening all over our county. It’s what happened when our parents were growing up and for many of us when we grew up. Now, our communities have become nameless, souless places. They are void of caring.

    How else can you explain that a number of people saw a young man gunned down and nobody’s talking? It is from a lack of responsibility and caring. It is from a lack of humanity.

    This month is anti-bullying month. In Grays Creek, where I live, there are signs everywhere calling attention to the fact that bullying won’t be permitted. Do we need signs all over our city reminding people of the value of human life? Do we need signs all over our city reminding parents not to let their kids go where it isn’t safe? Do we need signs reminding people to care? It seems so.

    I am mad. All of the residents of Cumberland County should be mad. They should be furious. And the people in the community where the shooting happened should be beyond mad. They should be on the streets in front of the house where the shooting occurred. They should be in the churches praying for their community. They should have their children on lock down until the truth comes out.

    And Fayetteville Police Chief Harold Medlock, who says he is beyond frustrated, who says he’s angry, should use every law in the book to hold those who are silent responsible.

  • Venues Today Magazine says: Crown Coliseum,

    You’re Doing Great!

    I must have missed that piece of good news. Some people say good news travels fast. Unfortunately, here in Fayetteville, it sometimes doesn’t travel at all.  Last week I heard some great news after a wonderful and very enlightening conversation with the Crown Coliseum’s Director of Marketing, Katie Mikos.

    10-15-14-pub-notescrown_coliseum.gifThe conversation was enlightening because she shared some very good news about the Crown Coliseum of which I was totally unaware. It was wonderful because it demonstrated that we continue to make notable progress in developing our $60 million entertainment facility into a valuable countywide quality-of-life asset. So let me share it with you.

    Venues Today Magazine ranked the Crown Coliseum Complex the fourth best entertainment venue in the Carolinas. That’s huge! According to Mikos, this ranking was based upon capacity, gross sales of the facility, total attendance and number of shows booked between August 2013 and July 2014. Global Spectrum has managed the facility since November 2013. Venues Today Magazine is the leading authoritative source for reporting on live entertainment and its events industry. It serves industry management, owners and suppliers to music, sports and meetings’ venues internationally. It also provides high-profile entertainment industry leaders with the information they need to know about operating a successful business. As the industry authority, Venues Today Magazine provides the who, what, when, where and how information to industry management and executives.  

    There is no doubt that Global Spectrum’s capable and talented management team, under the leadership and direction of General Manager Jim Grafstrom, is responsible for these ratings. The Crown Coliseum Complex is one of the newest additions to the Global Spectrum family and has never even made the Top 10 in the past. Grafstrom took the management reigns in November 2013 and has been working hard to improve the facility while, at the same time, embracing a very diversified community.

    This is an extremely difficult task when we lack a local TV station and have limited effective local media coverage. Nonetheless, the Crown’s fourth place ranking is an awesome accomplishment when you consider that Global Spectrum has been in charge less than a year, managing more than 69,000 square feet of meeting and convention space with a 10,000+ seat coliseum, 4,000+ seat arena and 2,400 seat theatre. In addition, there are many new and exciting innovations on the horizon for enhancing the Crown entertainment experience.

    Fayetteville Mayor Nat Robertson is a current Crown Coliseum board member and a vocal proponent of Global Spectrum’s management style. When asked recently about their progress and this recent breakthrough achievement he said:

    “This is an exciting new chapter for Cumberland County and the Crown.  Being recognized for the first time ever amongst our peers in the top four venues is confirmation that the Crown Coliseum Board and the Cumberland County Commissioners made the right move a year ago in bringing in Global Spectrum to manage the complex.  The Global management team and the Crown staff have really stepped up their game, and that has been recognized by Venues Today Magazine, the region’s other venues and the residents of Cumberland County.  I’m still looking forward to more great things from the Crown.”

    My sentiments exactly. Now, let’s tell the story! Let’s start banging the drum loudly and blowing our own horn and getting people to pay attention to what’s going on at the Crown. Sure, we have increased events, and fewer expenses, which have saved Cumberland County taxpayers more than $500,000 in their first year of operations. Yes, the Crown has a new logo, an updated user-friendly website, refinished concourse floors, upgraded and refurbished club seats, upgraded catering and food concessions, renovated luxury suites and, future plans to design a new and innovative full service bar and restaurant on the coliseum’s hospitality level.

    All of this, and our Crown Coliseum is ranked the  # 4 best entertainment venue in the Carolinas. Now, that’s a story that needs to be told. That’s a headline! That’s news to this community and surely worth more than a couple puny sentences buried deep in the bowels of our four section daily newspaper.

    If you have no local TV station, a daily newspaper that covets, controls and dictates its journalistic priorities, 14 radio stations with “no community reporters” and a unique and diverse county population that practically changes and reinvents itself every 30 days, what are your alternatives? Well, you do it yourself!!!  Get proactive. Get aggressive. Put a strong local advertising, marketing and promotion campaign together that includes an enthusiastic, aggressive and vibrant “ground game.”  

    Take control of the media. Control the advertising. Control the promotion and ultimately you will control the brand. Do not depend on the generosity of others to define who or what you are or to what level of success you are entitled. In the end, the Crown and the entire community will move in the right direction. Guaranteed! Global Spectrum, welcome to Fayetteville, Fort Bragg and Cumberland County. Fayetteville, Fort Bragg and Cumberland County, go out to the Crown Coliseum and see what you’re missing. Crown Coliseum, extend the invitation.

    Thanks for reading Up & Coming Weekly.

    Photo: Crown Complex

  •  

    29Millstone landingFriday, Oct. 20, Millstone Landing had its Grand Opening and Ribbon Cutting Ceremony. The 88-unit apartment complex, located behind Stone Theatres’ Millstone 14, is an affordable housing complex and is already at full capacity. Millstone Landing is a manifestation of a public-private partnership that includes public and private investments but is privately owned and managed. 

    Murray Duggins, chairman of United Developers, Inc., has been developing affordable housing for 40 years since his first one at Village Green. Duggins said he believes his company has developed over 100 different complexes. 

    “We are committed to doing this and are pleased to be part of the Housing Finance Agency group,” Duggins said as he welcomed the guests. He introduced his wife, Nancy, and his children, Denise, Wade, Murray and his son-in-law, Jim Smith. Duggins said, “This is a family business, and I think it’s important to know that we’re in this for the long haul. We’re not in it just to get in and get out.”

    Guests included Paul Kennedy, Board of Directors for North Carolina Housing Finance Agency; Nirav Shaw, Community Investment and Lending from Wells Fargo Bank; Mayor Jackie Warner of the town of Hope Mills; Mayor Nat Robertson of the city of Fayetteville; N.C. House Representative John Szoka, R-N.C.; Chris Maples from NC Representative Richard Hudson’s office, R-N.C.; and Janet Bradberry of Senator Richard Burr’s office., R-N.C.

    Kennedy praised United Developers, Inc. on its level of quality and stated that these are the best properties because they are here to stay. He informed guests that Congress gives bipartisan support to developments such as Millstone Landing and that $1 private money is about equal to $5 federal with projects such as this. 

    The development cost $10.6 million and has provided over 200 jobs. Sixty days after completion, the complex was completely leased with each unit filled.

    Mayor Jackie Warner said, “We are very proud to have Millstone Landing here.” She continued by explaining that Hope Mills is in a productive and economic state of growth because “if you build it, they will come to Hope Mills, and that is wonderful for us.” Hope Mills is a community now because it is walkable and there are family functions on the weekends. Families that live in Millstone Landing will be able to participate in these functions because they have easy access and will also be in close proximity to the shopping district.

    Mayor Nat Robertson said, “We are one community, and I’m proud to stand up here with Jackie and welcome such a great-looking project because of the great quality of work. It’s great to have United as a partner.”

    Rep. Szoka said that public-private partnerships work and that he is happy to vote for budgets that put more money into the North Carolina Housing Financing Agency. He said he knows projects like Millstone Landing will not be around for just two or three years but for many years to come because of the quality of work and effort that United Developers, Inc. puts into its projects. 

     

  •  

    Hope Mills is a town of 17,722, as of October 2017. Why is this significant? Well, as most of us know, the time for elections is again upon us, this time for municipal elections. We have heard a considerable amount about the election in Fayetteville; they even had primaries. In Hope Mills, we didn’t have that problem. We have two candidates running for mayor – Keith Bowen and Jackie Warner – and nine candidates running for five seats as commissioners: Jessie Bellflowers, Tonzie Collins I, Pat Edwards, Bob Gorman, Meg Larson, Jerry Legge, Bryan Marley, Kenjuana McCray and Mike Mitchell. So here is my problem: last municipal election, 1,092 people voted to place the Board of Commissioners. That is 6 percent of the population.

    Have you ever thought that the town of Hope Mills is not doing the best it can for you? Who do you think they are working for? The answer is they are working for the citizens, but then again it was only 1,092 that decided who should be in charge. Can 1,092 people decide the correct path for 16,630 others? What is also alarming is that about 8,000 people voted in Hope Mills for the president – and he does not affect your wallet as much as the commissioners do.

    I have attended Board of Commissioners meetings for the last five years and have been a participant in town governmental activities by serving on the Lake Advisory Committee and the Historical Commission. When something comes up that I agree with, or disagree with, and I think it needs comment, I am not above standing up and speaking during public comment sessions. However, I do feel alone, as many times there are only a few diehards who attend alongside me. There is little citizen participation. I would love to see that the plans for a new town hall will have a much larger auditorium so that more citizens could attend, but as of today, there are at least 30 seats empty every meeting. We have little publicity in the newspapers – business openings and dam updates are the best we can hope for. If citizens voted and came to meetings and made comments, we would see more reporting on our town and more people would be able to learn what is happening and act to promote the good things and help root out the bad.

    So, I ask each of you to give up just a smidgen of your time and look at the candidates and make a choice as to who will bests represent you – and vote for them. I am not going to promote anyone here – that is not my intent – but I do want you to participate. Remember, if you don’t vote, you should not be allowed to complain.

     

  •  

     09FireCumberland County rural fire departments have faced increased operational costs for a couple of years with no increase in revenue. County commissioners provided short term, temporary relief for some departments earlier this year by borrowing money from a surplus fund. “We’ve outgrown the current funding model,” said County Manager Amy Cannon.

    Rural fire districts are supported by a 10cent tax, which is tacked onto the ad valorem property tax. Fayetteville, Hope Mills and Spring Lake home and business owners do not pay the extra tax because their costs are included in municipal property tax levies.

    Cannon said the county could ask the state legislature to allow county government to increase the fire district tax. It’s one option available to county government. A small increase in the sales tax is not available, Cannon said, because the county has maxed out its sales tax limit. “We have no hidden agenda going forward,” Cannon told the Cumberland County Public Safety Task Force. She’s leaving it up to task force members to come up with some ideas for an additional “sustainable funding source.” 

    Fire chiefs believe the solution must be one that will meet the needs of the county’s 17 rural fire departments, large and small. Suburban departments whose districts adjoin the city of Fayetteville are the largest, with annual budgets approaching $1 million. Their tax bases are urban in nature, comprised of residential subdivisions, commercial businesses and industry. The tax bases of smaller departments serving rural areas like Godwin, Falcon, Cedar Creek and Beaver Dam include scattered housing, farmland and forestry lands.

    Wayne Lucas, chief of the Godwin-Falcon Fire Department, pointed out that his protection district includes a large section of I-95. Expenses mount up for departments responsible for responding regularly to motor vehicle crashes on major thoroughfares. Lucas was quick to point out that the lives of small-town residents and interstate travelers are just as important as those who have the good fortune of being served by larger fire departments.

    “We’ve been putting Band-Aids on the system for a long time,” said County Commissioner Jimmy Keefe, who also serves as the county’s fire commissioner.

    The fire chiefs who comprise the public safety task force agreed to form a committee of seven to study possible supplemental funding ideas.

    Cannon asked that the group try to have a recommendation to her by February 2018 so she can review it and present it to county commissioners in April for possible inclusion in the 2019 fiscal year, which begins July 1.

     

     

  •  

    08NewsDigestThe city of Fayetteville continues to deal with remnants of damage caused by Hurricane Mathew a year ago. Crews continue to work on repairs to the unique pair of square water features at the NC Veterans Park downtown. They work for three or four days and then shut down, according to Parks & Recreation director Michael Gibson. They, and many other elements of the park, depend on underground computer-operated facilities.

    “We’ve been working on the fountains for three or four months,” Gibson said. The state built the park, but the city is responsible for maintenance. Gibson acknowledges that the public has become impatient because repairs to the water feature have taken so long.

    “Matthew dumped 4 feet of water in the main building,” he said, “and the Federal Emergency Management Agency covered that damage.” He added that the city has hired a full-time engineer to work on the park computers. 

    An end to Spring Lake’s road project is near

    A massive highway project in Spring Lake is almost finished. NCDOT says motorists will encounter intermittent lane closures over the next few weeks as workers put the finishing touches on the $32.3 million project that widened and resurfaced three major roads.

    DOT spokesman Andrew Barksdale said the lane restrictions are needed so crews can place permanent lane markings on Bragg Boulevard, Murchison Road and Lillington Highway. State highways 24, 87 and 210 merge in Spring Lake.

    “This new road system was a collaborative effort between the North Carolina Department of Transportation and local officials working together to address a challenge,” Spring Lake Mayor Chris Rey said.

    Not all local business people are thrilled with the outcome. Some retail outlets went out of business because of limited access to and realignment of Bragg Boulevard. The project included these major improvements: A Poe Avenue overpass on Bragg Boulevard; closure of a major entrance to Fort Bragg at Butner Road and Bragg Boulevard; and relocation and widening of Murchison Road from four lanes to six. Murchison Road now ties into the future I-295 on the Fayetteville end of the project.

    It took politics to bring Gov. Cooper to Fayetteville

    Gov. Roy Cooper came to Fayetteville last week to campaign for city council member Mitch Colvin, who’s running for mayor. Both are Democrats. Cooper’s predecessor, Republican Pat McCrory, previously campaigned on behalf of incumbent mayor Nat Robertson, who’s also a Republican. Had McCrory been re-elected, Robertson has said he would not have run for re-election. He had been promised a top administration post in Raleigh.

    The Fayetteville City Council election is nonpartisan, but some candidates have felt party politics was good strategy. Cooper attended a fundraiser in downtown Fayetteville for Colvin. Tickets ranged from $150 to $1,000.

    ASOM has a New Director

    The board of directors of the Airborne & Special Operations Museum Foundation hired a new Executive Director, Michael (Mike) Lynch. He retired from the Army after 39 years of ser
    vice, 33 of which were at Fort Bragg. He has previously served on the Foundation Board as an  ex officio member and adviser. He was Director of Plans, Training, Mobilization and Security for the Army, which included supervision of Army Museums.

    He’s been involved with ASOM since its formation in 2000. “We are excited about the continued success of the museum and the foundation as it looks toward the future plans and development of the foundation and museum activities under the hand of such a proven, experienced and faithful leader,” Jim Soffe, president of the foundation board, said.

    Lynch has held several leadership positions in professional, civic and community organizations during his tenure in the Fayetteville area.

    Local teen receives national recognition

    Kennedi Whitener-Mason of Fayetteville has been selected from a pool of national candidates to attend The First Tee Outstanding Participant & Leadership Summit, Nov. 8–11, in Orlando, Florida. The First Tee is a youth development organization that introduces young people to the game of golf and its inherent values. The summit will be held in conjunction with The First Tee Network Meeting, a biennial conference of more than 800 local representatives.

    Whitener-Mason is a member of The First Tee of the Sandhills. She attends Pine Forest Senior High School where she is in the Key Club, National FFA Organization and is a cadet in the Air Force Junior ROTC.

    “I’m looking forward to continuing my education and learning new skills as I meet other participants with similar goals and interests,” she said. She has been a participant in The First Tee of the Sandhills for 10 years and recently attended the USGA Learning Science through Golf Academy.

     

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    16 John HoodLotteryState Sen. Rick Horner can quip with the best of them. During a recent debate about school construction needs in North Carolina, the Wilson County lawmaker and former school board chairman argued that the state lottery ought to fulfill its original mandate by producing more money for local facilities.

    “There’s nothing more important than running a casino honorably,” Horner deadpanned.

    It was a funny line and got lots of laughs from his audience of educators, community leaders, journalists and parents assembled at the Booker T. Washington Theatre in Rocky Mount. Horner, a Republican, joined Sen. Erica Smith (D-Northampton), John Locke Foundation analyst Terry Stoops and North Carolina Justice Center analyst Matt Ellinwood on the panel for the debate, which was hosted by Loretta Boniti, a reporter and anchor for the statewide cable channel Spectrum News.

    But Horner’s point was a serious one. For decades, advocates of a government-run lottery for North Carolina promised that its net revenues would boost education spending in the state.

    Opponents, including me, predicted that whatever the original language of a lottery bill might be, future legislatures would find it convenient to redirect money to whatever budget hole lawmakers wanted to fill at the time – even if that meant supplanting current education funding, derived from generally applied taxes, with gambling proceeds.

    I don’t think the government should prohibit gambling, mind you. I believe in individual freedom, including the freedom for individuals to make incredibly bone-headed decisions coupled with the responsibility of living with and learning from the results of those decisions.

    What I and others objected to was putting state government in the gambling business with a monopoly that would manipulate its marks into bearing a disproportionate share of the cost of government services. The propensity to play the lottery isn’t equally distributed, and the resulting tax bite is a regressive one – poorer households spend a larger share of their incomes buying tickets than wealthier ones do.

    To swap broader taxes on sales, income or property with a narrower revenue source was, of course, one of the main attractions of the state lottery for some proponents, who didn’t plan to play themselves but welcomed the idea of someone else paying government’s bill. This, however, was and is bad public policy.

    One way to lean against it – and one that Horner, Smith, Stoops and Ellinwood all endorsed in some form – would be to restore the share of net lottery proceeds dedicated to school construction to the original 40 percent contained in the 2005 law that created the lottery. In recent years, that percentage has dropped into the teens, although state leaders already seem to be headed in the direction of pushing it back up.

    As the lawmakers and policy experts emphasized during the Rocky Mount forum – the first in a series of “Hometown Debates” on education hosted by the North Carolina Institute of Political Leadership and its local partners – school construction has traditionally been the primary responsibility of local government, not the state. Thus, dedicating more lottery funds to it poses less of a risk of supplanting other state funding streams, at the very least.

    During the debate, which was broadcast on television by Spectrum News and on radio by the North Carolina News Network, the panelists disagreed about other funding approaches for school facilities. Smith and Ellinwood said the legislature ought to place a $2 billion school construction bond on the statewide ballot in 2018.

    Stoops said the 2016 Connect NC bond package should have included K-12 capital needs, while Horner questioned the wisdom of statewide borrowing for local school construction, arguing that local communities are in the best position to determine and address their own needs and that putting out lots of capital projects for bid at the same time across the state would bid up the price tag, given the limited number of contractors available.

    I don’t think a radical rewrite of the division of labor between the state and localities is warranted. But a more honorable government casino would be welcome.

     

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    14Carla WelshAntiques and international cuisine. Who knew they could blend together so well to create such a calm, cozy and welcoming atmosphere in a historic boarding house? Mason Steele and Carla Welsh knew. Steele is an antique collector of over 30 years, and with a nudge from Welsh, the two decided to open The Boarding House Treasures & Tea Room located on Ellison Street at the corner of West Patterson Street in historic Hope Mills.

    Welsh, owner and chef, traveled all over the world as an airline flight attendant with Pan American World Airways for 21 years and has brought back delicious cuisines from across the globe – Africa, the Mediterranean and India, just to name a few.

    “I like to entertain, and I like to share the recipes that I’ve learned,” Welsh said, explaining why she took an interest in restaurant management and later in owning one.

    Welsh said she likes to recreate the recipes from her memories of her travels around the world. She is passionate about what she does and loves to see others enjoy her food. She changes the menu the first and third week of the month.

    Steele noted that Cumberland County is an international county due to the armed forces, and the restaurant will help cater to the many different cultures while allowing people to learn the various styles of cuisine that many may call different but some will call home-cooking.

    Steele and Welsh are both ServSafe certified, which means they have taken training courses for food and alcohol safety.

    Donations

    Welsh said, “We receive a lot of donations; beautiful donations,” as she was pointing to different china tea pots and other dishes. Mayor Jackie Warner has donated, along with others within the community. 

    Steele said, “It’s a pleasure when you see people like Pat Hall and other guests bring in a gift.” Both Steele and Welsh are involved with the local government and strive to help make the community better for themselves and others to enjoy. Steele is also a member of the Historic Preservation Commission.

    Why is this location?

    The Boarding House Treasures and Tea Room used to be a boarding house for the workers of Mill #4. It was built in 1907, and Steele and Welsh have remodeled the building while honoring its historic heritage.

    Welsh explained that one reason they chose this spot is because “you can get out of the traffic and come here. You have an intimate ‘getaway’ for two people of your family.”

    Steele retired in 2013 and walked by the building every day. He got excited when he saw a man placing a “For Sale by Owner” sign in the yard. Steele was looking for a place because he was a vendor in downtown Fayetteville at the Cotton Exchange and The Livery, but there was not enough room for his collections. He even went across the street to Lode Stone Art and Antiques and still did not have enough room.

    “I called Carla and talked to her about joining me to make this into a tea room,” he explained.

    Welsh said she knew this market would not support just a tea room. “You have to have a variety of foods, including the meat and potatoes,” she said. 

    14Mason Steel“I had a lot of things. Well, not a lot, but a fair amount of things,” Steele claimed while Welsh jokingly stared at him, indicating that he indeed had a lot of things. “I needed to downsize, and being part of this has helped. That was the main purpose.”

    Steele also said that by opening the business in the century-old home, he and Welsh were saving the home from being demolished. The home is mentioned with the mill houses in the National Registry. The house belonged to Mill #4 until 1954 when it was bought by Fred and Elizabeth Taylor. Welsh said the physician for the Taylor family, who is now in his 90s, came to have low tea (tea served with desserts on fine china), and they were honored to have served him. Steele and Welsh excitedly spoke of a guest who came and told them of the time he was a
    boarder and mill worker at the young age of 16. They told of various guests that frequent their tea room and how they enjoy getting to know each person that comes.

    “We invite people to sit together in the European style … we do have the two large tables,” Welsh said. “And we don’t want someone waiting to come in and have a seat when there are some available,” she added.

    “It allows for everyone to meet others from the community if they don’t already know each other,” she said.

    Steele said he has been a collector for decades. “I became more of an accumulative picker in the ’70s, and I put a taper on it when I met this lovely lady,” Steele explained, referring to Welsh.

    Steele used to sell his treasures at the North Carolina State fair grounds and would travel “all over” to discover more valuable items. His most interesting pieces are precious metals and gold nuggets. His experience from working in the mines in West Virginia helped him gain knowledge of precious metals and stones. He explained how he has been to depths of 200 feet vertically and has gone horizontally underground from one mountain to another. One of his favorite experiences was when he was underground and the gems glittered like stars in the darkness.

    “It was like seeing all the color spectrums of the rainbow,” he said.

    Honoring the Military

    The Boarding House Treasures & Tea Room will host a Fallen Soldier Table in honor of MIA/POW military servicemen and women who have yet to make the journey home. They appreciate the sacrifices that members of the military have made and continue to make.

    Time for Tea

    The Boarding House Treasures & Tea Room is open Thursday-Saturday from 11:30 a.m.-6:30 p.m. and Sunday from 11:30 a.m.-5 p.m . The tea room also hosts events such as baby showers and birthday parties.

    “Mrs. Carla is so sweet, and the food is awesome,” Madison Vaught said in describing her 18th birthday party that was hosted by The Boarding House Treasures & Tea Room.

    “Mr. Mason showed us the rooms of the house and his treasure collection. I really enjoyed talking with them,” she continued. “They made me feel right at home.”

    For more information about The Boarding House Treasures & Tea Room, call  (910) 491-7777.

     

    PHOTOS: (Top to Bottom) Owner and chef Carla Welsh; Owner and collector Mason Steele

     

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    08news general electionsLocal municipal general elections will be held Tuesday, Nov. 7. Early voting is underway now and will continue through Saturday, Nov. 4. Elections for governing bodies are held in Fayetteville, Hope Mills, Spring Lake, Falcon, Godwin, Linden, Wade, Eastover and Stedman plus the Eastover Sanitary District.

    One-Stop early voting is held only at the Cumberland County Board of Elections Office, in the E. Newton Smith Center at 227 Fountainhead Ln., Fayetteville. Dates and times for early voting are:  Oct. 25–Oct. 27, 8 a.m.–5 p.m.;  Oct. 30–Nov. 3, 8 a.m.–5 p.m.;  Nov. 4,  9 a.m. – 1 p.m.

    Officials did not say why the polls would not be open on most Saturdays and Sundays. Citizens who want to take advantage of early voting but are not registered to vote may do so when they arrive at the board of elections office. They must provide acceptable identity documentation. Would-be voters should be prepared to show documents that list current names and addresses in Cumberland County. A complete list of allowable forms of identification is outlined on the county’s website.

    Regular office hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Voters who because of age or disability are unable to enter the voting place are permitted to vote curbside from their cars. The process is overseen by an elections official. A curbside voter is entitled to the same level of assistance, privacy and instruction provided to voters in the polling place. For more information and for links to voter information, general election polling places and the N.C. Board of Elections, go to www. co.cumberland.nc.us/elections or call (910) 678-7733.

     

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    07news industrial siteLocal government has approved incentives to encourage private investment in a $44 million distribution operation that would employ 140 full-time workers at the Cedar Creek Business Center east of Fayetteville. City and county governments have authorized incentive packages for the unnamed company, which hopes to build a 650,000-squarefoot fulfillment center in the park on NC-53 east of Fayetteville. Robert Van Geons, president and chief executive officer of the Fayetteville/Cumberland Economic Development Corp., said state officials also are considering incentives for the company in the form of state grants. A fulfillment center is a modern term for e-commerce packing warehouses. The term was coined in the middle of the 1990s and usually refers to a self-contained product packing and shipping facility.

    Firms like Amazon have their own fulfillment centers, while smaller e-commerce companies outsource their warehousing, packaging and shipping to larger companies. Amazon, for one, offers to handle order processing to third-party sellers. Another example was Fingerhut, which in the 1990s expanded its own fulfillment center to take on services for other companies.

    Van Geons said he expects the company, which he has not yet identified, to decide whether to locate in Cumberland County soon after the incentive deals are finalized. Conditions being offered by local and state governments have ostensibly been agreed to by the company.

    “All that remains is for the state to agree,” Van Geons said. The company’s decision could come within 30 to 60 days, he said. Van Geons told county commissioners and Fayetteville City Council that the company expects to employ 18 managers, 30 clerical staff and 92 warehousemen. The managers would make an average of about $62,000 per year each, he said, while the other workers would earn from $28,000 to $32,500, plus benefits. The city and county agreed to rebate up to 75 percent of the company’s annual property taxes for seven years, according to resolutions that both bodies adopted. The county will sell 98 acres of land in the industrial park for $1.23 million, which is half a million dollars less than its fair market value. That’s a windfall for the county, which has owned the Cedar Creek Industrial Center for 18 years. It’s the same location where Sanderson farms proposed to build a poultry processing plant that would have employed 1,000 workers. County government rejected that proposal.

    As part of the project, the State Department of Transportation has agreed to improve Cedar Creek Road and create a signalized intersection at the entrance to the plant. The company agreed to create at least 112 jobs by the end of 2019. Seven other jobs would have to be created in each of the next four years. “I think it sets the stage for further development there,” Cumberland County attorney Rick Moorefield said.

     

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    06news digest Crystal MatthewsA woman identified by Fayetteville Police as the mother of a juvenile who was killed about 10:30 a.m., Oct. 21, is in the Cumberland County jail charged with her son’s murder. Police “responded to a report of a domestic disturbance at the Fairfield Inn & Suites at 4249 Ramsey St.,” said Police Sgt. Shawn Strepay.

    He said a hotel guest called 911 to report what was described as a physical disturbance in a thirdfloor room. Strepay said officers found Zamarie Chance, 9, badly injured and unresponsive. He died soon after arriving at Cape Fear Valley Medical Center. His mother, Crystal M. Matthews, 35, of the 6000 block of Whitemoss Court, a community of quarter-million-dollar homes off Andrews Road, was charged with first-degree murder and felony child abuse. She was taken into custody at the scene and later jailed without bond.

    Mall to close for Thanksgiving

    Fayetteville’s Cross Creek mall will be closed Thanksgiving Day. All CBL & Associates shopping malls across the country will not be open on Thanksgiving Day. Cross Creek Mall is a CBL property. Owners say their decision is in response to “Black Friday creep,” which has resulted in retailers opening their doors on Thanksgiving to gain a competitive edge. It’s the company’s second year of closing on the holiday. There is a caveat to CBL’s decision: Anchor stores and others with separate entrances will be allowed to open if they like. That is unusual because management’s rules generally apply to all stores, big and small. Cross Creek Mall will open at 6 a.m. Friday.

    Veterans Affairs proposes new choices

    The Department of Veterans Affairs is suggesting that Congress overhaul how veterans receive health care in the private sector. The VA wants to do away with the widely criticized “30-day/40-mile” rule. The new plan is called the Veterans Coordinated Access & Rewarding Experiences Act, or CARE. It would give veterans and their VA physicians flexibility in choosing whether they receive care at a VA facility or from a privatesector provider.

    “We want veterans to work with their VA physicians to make informed decisions that are best for their clinical needs, whether in the VA or in the community,” said VA Secretary David Shulkin.

    He announced earlier this year that he intended to do away with the rule that allows veterans to go outside the VA for health care only if they had to wait more than 30 days for an appointment or if they live more than 40 miles from a VA clinic. The rule was implemented as part of the Veterans Choice Program in 2014. It has been criticized by some veterans as complicated, bureaucratic and restrictive. Some health care providers claim the VA has been slow to reimburse them for services provided under the program.

    Air Force workhorse retired

    The last C-130H Hercules cargo plane in the active-duty Air Force bade sayonara to Japan this month. The aircraft was the last of its kind assigned to the Yokota-based 36th Airlift Squadron, which has been trading out its 14 H-models for newer J-models in recent months.

    “It’s sad to see it go,” said Lt. Col. John Kerr, shortly before he took the controls of the plane for the long flight to Montana. Some H-models are being reassigned to Air National Guard units. Others are being retired.

    It wasn’t too long ago that Pope Field said goodbye to its C-130H models. The 440th Airlift Wing had 16 of them supporting worldwide airborne response and providing training missions for the XVIII Airborne Corps and 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg. The 440th was an Air Force Reserve unit that was transferred to Pope as the result of the 2006 Base Realignment and Closure Act.

    Despite opposition from North Carolina congressmen and senators, the 440th was inactivated as an Air Force cost savings measure. And Pope’s last C-130 departed in June 2016. The 440th was deactivated three months later. Pope is now an Army airfield hosted by Fort Bragg. As for Lt. Col. Kerr, his trip home was also his last flight. He’s retiring from the Air Force and is looking for work in commercial aviation, he said.

    Womack Army Medical Center’s holiday schedule

    Fort Bragg’s hospital has published its holiday schedule. All primary care and specialty care clinics will be closed on Veterans Day, Nov. 10. This includes Byars Medical Clinic, Clark Health Clinic, Joel Health and Dental Clinic, Robinson Health Clinic, Womack Family Medicine Residency Clinic, Fayetteville Medical Home, Hope Mills Medical Home and Linden Oaks Medical Home.

    The hospital will take the usual two days off for Thanksgiving, Nov. 23 and 24. All primary care and specialty care clinics will be closed for Thanksgiving, including the clinics mentioned above. There will, however, be a consolidated care clinic Nov. 24 from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and a flu vaccination clinic from 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. in the Womack Family Medicine Residency Clinic. The consolidated care clinic will operate by appointment only. The appointment line phone number is (910) 907-2778. The flu vaccination clinic will be on a walk-in basis.

    This year’s Christmas Holiday will be observed from Friday, Dec. 22, through Monday the 25. All primary care and specialty care clinics will be closed Dec. 22 through 25 for Christmas. On New Year’s Day, Monday, Jan. 1, 2018, all primary care and specialty care clinics will be closed. To make an appointment at a clinic, log on to www.TRICAREOnline.com or call (910) 907-2778. The Emergency Department is always open for medical emergencies.                 

    Chemours is cooperating with the state

    The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality has directed Chemours to provide bottled water to nine more well owners near the company’s Fayetteville facility. This is because the most recent preliminary test results show GenX above the provisional state health goal in residential drinking wells. That makes 35 residential well owners living near Chemours’ Fayetteville Works facility on the Bladen County line who are receiving bottled water because of GenX detections in their well water.

    DEQ is sending all well owners test results as well as health and other information. “Bottled water is a short-term fix, and we’re working with the counties and the company to find a long-term solution for families who rely on these wells,” said Michael Regan, secretary of the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality. DEQ is working on longer-term water solutions for residents with affected wells, most of whom live north of the facility. Among the possibilities are installing home water filter systems or connecting affected homes to uncontaminated wells or a nearby public water supply. “We all count on having access to a clean, reliable source of drinking water, and these well owners deserve no less,” Regan added.

     

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    16Cindy L MurrayMonday, Oct. 9, the Town of Hope Mills held its monthly town meeting. Mayor Jackie Warner called the meeting to order and Reverend Mike Wells of Hope Mills Church of God led the invocation.

    Scott Garner of Garner & Brown Architects PA from Charlotte, North Carolina, presented to the Board of Commissioners the plans for the Public Safety Facility Project. According to Garner, the facility will be complete in two-and-a-half years or more. The Public Safety Facility, which would house the Hope Mills Fire Department and the Hope Mills Police Department, will be built in the location where the departments are now. The BOC authorized Town Manager Melissa Adams to retain Garner & Brown Architects PA for its services and approved them to move forward on designing and building the facility.

    Mayor Warner presented a certificate of recognition to Cindy L. Murray for employment with the Town of Hope Mills for 37 years. 

    Mayor Warner and the BOC approved to establish Oct. 9 as PANDAS/PANS Awareness Day. PANDAS is pediatric autoimmune neuropsychiatric disorders associate with streptococcal infections and is a subset of PANS, or pediatric acute-onset neuropsychiatric syndrome. The mayor read an explanation of PANDAS/PANS: “The diagnosis means the child has a sudden, dramatic change in personality, displays obsessive-compulsive disorder together with accompanying symptoms of streptococcal, viral or bacterial infection.”

    She then presented a Certificate of  Proclamation to Jennifer Woods.

    Royal Presentations

    Amaya Rae received a certificate of recognition for her accomplishment of receiving the 2017-18 title of Little Miss Fayetteville State University.

    The Miss Hope Mills Cotton Pageant queens were also recognized and will represent Hope Mills at various events in the upcoming year, such as Ole Mills Days, the Christmas parade and the 4th of July parade.

    The first to be recognized was 3-year-old Harper Sullivan, daughter of Rachel Arnold. She was crowned 2017 Hope Mills Wee Miss Cotton and Miss Photogenic.

    McKala Sallie, daughter of Carlton and Michele Sallie, was recognized for being crowned 2017 Hope Mills Junior Miss Cotton.

    Jada Thomas, daughter of David and Dorothy Thomas, was recognized as 2017 Hope Mills Young Miss Cotton.

    Amanda Hall, daughter of Ron and Nola Hall, was recognized as 2017 Hope Mills Teen Miss Cotton.

    Bailey Haggins, daughter of Jamie and Jennifer Haggins, was recognized as 2017 Hope Mills Miss Cotton. Each received a certificate.

    Change in Direction

    Drivers in Hope Mills can expect a change in the traffic pattern for Johnson Street and Hill Street. Public Works Director Hector Cruz explained the safety issues with changing the pattern from a two-way on Johnson to a one-way direction. The traffic pattern would be reversed on Hill Street. It would still be a one-way, but traffic would flow towards Rockfish Road rather than away from Rockfish Road.

    Cruz anticipates traffic flow to be smoother and with less chance of accidents.  These changes will also allow for a sidewalk. The start date is to be determined. 

    A Very Special Thank You

    Elaine Saleeby and her late husband were recognized by the mayor for their contributions to the town. Saleeby has given a generous donation of her land off of Fountain Lane to the Town of Hope Mills. The land, which includes a mill house with the true Mill Stamp, will be part of Hope Mills Lake Park and possibly Heritage Park.

     

    PHOTO: Cindy L. Murray & Mayor Warner

     

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    15Deputy Chief Steve LopezAs students of the Hope Mills Citizens Academy learned Thursday, Oct. 5, being a firefighter takes commitment. Deputy Fire Chief Steve Lopez told the class there is a high turnover rate in the department due to lack of commitment. 

    “We will risk a lot to save a lot, but we won’t risk much to save a little,” Lopez said as he described the ratio of benefits to risk in his line of work.  “Like the military, the lessons learned typically are written in blood.” 

    With firefighting comes injuries. Back injuries are very common. Unfortunately, so are heart attacks. Lopez said the reason for the high incidence of heart attacks among firefighters was not so much mental stress as it was physical stress caused from the heavy equipment, clothing and heat.

    A firefighter must be willing to spend countless hours away from his or her family. Sometimes time away means a few days. Sometimes it means a week or more, especially during a devastating event such as a hurricane. 

    Operations

    Lopez  said the Hope Mills Fire Department is one of the two largest employed departments in the Town of Hope Mills. He went on to explain that his staff members work a three-day, 24-hour cycle with three shifts. They come in, work a 24-hour shift, go home for a day and repeat that cycle two more times. After that, they are off for four days.

    There are no less than 15 people working on a daily basis.   Ten individuals work per shift. There is the captain, the lieutenant and the firefighters. The engineer drives the trucks. 

    A-shift is the training shift. This shift administrates over the training division so all firefighter training is done either outside or inside the department and is recorded by them. The A-shift staff then fills out the required state forms that have to be reported on an annual basis.

    B-shift is the supply and logistics shift. The B-shift staff is responsible for maintaining the “household” portion of the department. They make sure supplies such as soap, paper towels and other necessities are in stock and filled. 

    C-shift is the maintenance shift. They handle light apparatus maintenance such as changing bulbs and filters and performing other duties that do not require certification.  “This shift has my plumbers, my heating and air guys, my electricians,” Lopez said. 

    “Almost all of my people have a part-time job,” Lopez said. “The majority of those folks work at other fire departments. Some are plumbers. Some are HVAC. Some are welders.” Lopez, a veteran and a certified welder, sends his employees to Hercules Steel to become certified. 

    The HMFD averages about 12-15 calls per day. Lopez said, “It’s difficult to sleep sometimes here because the radios and tones and all that are going off. The squads are going out the door. The ladder truck is going someplace. An active fire house is not a restful sleep kind of place.”

    “However, our guys live here,” Lopez continued.

    Every October, the HMFD tests its hose. They do this by pressure testing the hose against the rated pressure required by North Carolina. It’s to ensure enough pressure and water flow will occur when putting out fires. 

    On a daily basis, firefighters clean the debris from trucks and run maintenance checks that ensure not only the people of Hope Mills’ safety but theirs as well. 

    For the trucks, the HMFD has a great relationship with H and H Freightliner, which helps them maintain proper use. 

    The HMFD is not just a fire department. It also has a team for rescue/recovery and for land search. HMFD staff have traveled all over the state and out of state to help other first responders in times of disaster. 

    The Most Dangerous Fires

    According to Lopez, we are coming into a time when there will be many more fires because of “the age of construction, the age of the wiring, the... lack of discipline.” He gave a few tips to prevent fires. Citizens should maintain fresh batteries in their alarms. They should clean the hoods over their stove and oven units whether at home or their place of work. They should keep their fire extinguisher up to date. Lopez said that if your fire extinguisher is expired, you can turn it in to the fire department and get a new one. As Lopez pointed out, “It’s much cheaper to spend $35 on a new extinguisher from Wal-Mart than it is to replace your house.”

    Lopez taught the class that because heat causes metal to expand, a steel structure collapses quicker than one made from wood. Also, most homes and businesses have items that are sprayed with chemicals that, when burned, cause deadly fumes.

    Lopez also said that one of the downfalls of modern structures, from a firefighter’s point of view, is when particle board began to be allowed in the walls and ceilings. Pressed board is also dangerous. Firefighters call it “gas wood,” and it is not dependable or durable. 

    “It’s not just smoke we have to worry about now,” Lopez said. “It’s toxic gases from manufactured materials.”

    History

    HMFD was formed in 1945, and its district extended from Hope Mills where the Communications Workers of America building is located on Patterson Street all the way to downtown Fayetteville.

    Its original truck came from the Navy during World War II and was part of the surplus. It was made of part of a garbage truck that the Town of Hope Mills acquired and part of a Chevrolet truck that Junior MacLean’s father had. 

    At that time, the only two fire departments were in the Town of Hope Mills and the City of Fayetteville.

    The HMFD was one of the first to utilize a First Responder EMS, which also allowed it to be one of the first to have a defibrillator.

    Exploring the Trucks

    After class, students were able to view and learn about the engines and the First Responder EMS. They were allowed to go up in the bucket on the ladder truck. Assistant Chief Wayne Dutterer controlled the ladder, which extends to 101 feet. Dutterer took the students up 94 feet. With his sense of humor, he had fun showing the class how sensitive the controls were. 

    Deeper Respect

    The students left with a deeper respect for their town’s fire fighters. They learned the dangers and sacrifices these men and women make on a daily basis to make the Town of Hope Mills safer. They saw the compassion from Deputy Fire Chief Lopez as he spoke about situations he and his crew have been through, whether it was fighting a fire, stopping an infant from having a heart attack, or helping other departments during devastating weather. And they learned some important safety tips to protect themselves and their families.

     

    PHOTO:  Deputy Fire Chief Steve Lopez has been with the Hope Mills Fire Dept. since 1994.

     

  •  

    14FTCC docThe Fayetteville Technical Community College Spring Lake campus offers a variety of corporate and continuing education classes to expand opportunities for career advancement, employment and lifelong learning.

    Phlebotomy

    The Phlebotomy program offers students an opportunity to learn a technical skill while maintaining a normal life schedule. This corporate and continuing education program requires a high school diploma or GED and a current CPR certification. The primary role of the phlebotomist is to obtain blood specimens and transport specimens for diagnostic testing. A student who completes the training and receives certification as a phlebotomist will be a key representative of any laboratory. 

    Basic Law Enforcement Training

    Students of the Basic Law Enforcement Training curriculum receive essential skills required for employment as a law enforcement officer with state, county or municipal governments, or with private enterprise. FTCC offers a BLET informational/application workshop once a month. FTCC staff will email the date, location and time for the workshop to anyone who inquires with interest. Contact  blet@faytechcc.edu

    Emergency Medical Services

    The EMS program offers various levels of EMT, paramedic, critical care and community paramedic courses. Upon graduation, students are prepared to take the National Registry and/or North Carolina Certification exam, which then allows them to seek job opportunities in the EMS field.

    EMS is not limited to working in an ambulance. Doctor’s offices, hospitals, sporting events, factories and schools employ EMS personnel. Students will often utilize training in the field of EMS to propel them further into the medical field with the goal of becoming physician assistants, physical therapists, respiratory therapists and medical doctors.

    In January 2016, FTCC’s program received national accreditation through COAEMPS and CAAHEP, the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs. FTCC offers a variety of courses including day, night, weekend and online classes. If you believe that emergency medicine is for you, we invite you to try one of our courses. Emergency Medical Services is a very rewarding profession. 

    Pre-registration is required; visit Room 8 of the Neill Currie Building at the Fayetteville campus, call (910) 678-8251, or email EMSCONED@faytechcc.edu.

    Registered Medical Assistant

    FTCC’s Registered Medical Assistant Program is a two-part course designed to prepare students to become a vital part of the ambulatory care setting as well as polish and perfect interpersonal skills. Students also learn administrative and clinical skills in this exciting, comprehensive medical assisting course. FTCC’s program allows students to grow both professionally and personally and become a respected, marketable registered medical assistant.

    The program offers flexible course choices including, day, night and hybrid options on two campuses and an instructor and administrative support system that is second to none. More than 150,000 medical assistant jobs are projected for the year 2020. Preregistration is required for this course. Visit Room 8 of the Neill Currie Building at the Fayetteville campus. For more information, call (910) 486-3923 or email healthprograms@faytechcc.edu.

    Visit the Spring Lake campus to learn more about these and other programs available at FTCC.

     

  •  

    11fsuFayetteville State University presents its Homecoming Week 2017 “No. 1 Homecoming on Earth” as students, faculty, staff, alumni and the community celebrate 150 years of excellence Sunday, Oct. 15, through Saturday, Oct. 21.

    “Homecoming is really geared toward the alumni and to our current students,” said  Dr. James Anderson, chancellor of Fayetteville State University. “So when you look at the schedule of events, you will see most of (the activities) pertain to them.”

    Anderson added that there are a couple of events that celebrate historic kinds of groups such as the alumni queens. They still celebrate the queens that have existed over the years. Some of the former queens come back and are involved in the coronation of the new queen. For the first time this year, the younger queens will be present. 

    The heart of homecoming is of course the football game, which takes place Saturday, Oct. 21, at 2 p.m. “The football game is against our rival, Saint Augustine,” Anderson said. “We should expect for it to be a tenacious game.”

    Anderson added that Saint Augustine knows it is the FSU homecoming, and both bands are expected to go all-out on the field during halftime. This is the best-attended game during the football season.   

    The homecoming parade takes place Saturday at 10 a.m. on Murchison Road, and it is an opportunity for different groups to show they are part of the homecoming festivities and to showcase themselves as part of the Fayetteville community. These include civic groups, student organizations and high school bands. This year there will be four grand marshals of the parade – two alumni and two women in law enforcement.

    “Each year, as part of our engagement with the city, we have a homecoming parade,” said Anderson. “Different groups from the city petition us to be part of the parade, and sometimes we have a minimum of 80 to 90 cars and floats and a maximum of 120.” 

    Some of the other events include the step show, fashion show, volleyball game, an art exhibition, a concert, FSU’s history with Chesnutt Library, basketball frenzy and the Philadanco Dance Company.

    “This is the best way in the school year that the entire Fayetteville community  can come together and really show out,” said Anderson. “There is a little bit of everything for everyone.”  

    The chancellor said his favorite part of the homecoming festivities is the parade. He enjoys the ride in a convertible as he sits and waves to the crowd.

    “Homecoming shouldn’t just be about the university or just about the football game,” said Anderson. “It should really be about the embracing of the university by the community and the embracing of the community by the university.” 

    For a list of all homecoming events, visit  www.uncfsu.edu/ia/marketing/homecoming.

    All tickets are available at the FSU ticket office located in the Seabrook Auditorium. Call (910) 672-1724 for more information.

     

  • 10Rowan St BridgeConstruction of a pair of multimilliondollar railroad overpasses in downtown Fayetteville has been ongoing since November 2016. The project includes construction of a larger than usual 1,200-foot culvert to carry water beneath the roadway.

    Cross Creek flows adjacent to Bragg Boulevard and has historically resulted in major flooding during hurricanes and heavy storms. The new structure will replace the aging Rowan Street bridge that was built 60 years ago. It will have six lanes of traffic, three in each direction, and a center concrete median. There will be sidewalks and retaining walls on each side.

    The project is running about 15 percent ahead of schedule, said North Carolina DOT spokesman Andrew Barksdale. “We have not adjusted the original completion date of May 2020 because there is still a lot of intricate work to be done, and we may encounter weather delays in the future.”

    The Rowan Street bridge carries N.C. 24-210 over CSX railroad tracks, and separately the Norfolk Southern Railroad along with Hillsboro Street. The project is about a half mile in length. The new bridges will be opened to traffic in late 2019 with other minor work to occur afterward. The project will culminate in May of 2020, Barksdale added. Motorists are already seeing improvements to streets that will radiate from the Bragg Boulevard side of the bridges.

    Rowan Street, Murchison Road and Bragg Boulevard will be realigned to meet at a single intersection. Except for the temporary rerouting of Hillsboro Street, there has been little disruption of traffic in the area.

    Payments to the contractor are running 1 percent over what had been projected to have been paid at this point, according to Barksdale. The minor increase is because of some additional items of work that were identified after the contract was approved last year. “Spending may even out or be below the project bid of $24.3 million,” Barksdale added.

    The massive construction project is expected to be completed about the time season one of Fayetteville’s Houston Astros minor league baseball team concludes. The adjoining stadium is to be completed well before the spring of 2019.  What about the old bridge? It will be torn down.

  •  

    09PrimaryPolitical analysts will tell you it’s difficult to forecast local general election outcomes following primaries in off-year elections. One reason is the historically low voter turnout. This month’s turnout for the Fayetteville City Council election was dismal, but not unprecedented.

    Standalone local elections rarely if ever generate voter interest the way statewide and presidential year elections do. Fewer than 13,000 people, or 10 percent of registered voters, cast ballots Oct. 10, of the nearly 130,000 registered voters in the city. It would not be unusual for twice that number of residents to vote in the general election Nov. 7. Pundits say the city council outcome will be decided by how well the finalists get their supporters to the polls. That’s another one of those indeterminate factors.

    City council, day to day, has a more direct impact on local daily life than the state legislature or Congress, making decisions on important issues such as crime control, public transportation, affordable housing, parks and community centers and future growth of the city. There are 10 members on city council. The mayor is elected citywide. Nine council members are elected from individual districts. Not all the district councilmen were involved in primaries, which are held if one more than twice the number of candidates are seeking the available seats.

    Districts 4, 8 and 9 have only one candidate each running against the incumbents. 

    District 3 council member Mitch Colvin won the day Oct. 10 in the citywide mayor’s race. Colvin has been serving as the council-elected mayor pro-tem since early 2016. He got 45 percent of the vote.

    Incumbent Mayor Nat Robertson was second with 31.6 percent. “We will be fine, but we’ll have to fight for it,” Robertson said as the primary outcome became clear. That sentiment was echoed by District 1 council member Kathy Jensen who failed to finish No. 1 in her primary. Of 1,024 ballots cast in the district, 20 votes made the difference for Curtis Brown Sr., who placed first. “Mr. Brown ran a good campaign … time for me to get to work,” Jensen said.

    The District 2 race was even closer. The two finalists in a field of 10 were separated by only three votes. The winners were Dan Culliton who got 430 votes and Tyrone Williams who got 427. Both District 2 and 3 elections were hotly contested because the incumbents, Colvin and Kirk deViere, gave up their seats to run for mayor.

    In District 3, newcomers Tisha Waddell and Jeremy Wright won the right to face off Nov. 7. In District 5, incumbent Bobby Hurst chose not to seek re-election. That means at least three new council members will be elected next month. Six candidates filed to succeed Hurst. Johnny Dawkins and Henry Tyson were successful and will vie for the seat next month.

    Longtime councilman Bill Crisp and newcomer Toni Stewart will face each other in the general election. Crisp took an impressive 53 percent of his district’s votes, making him the top per capita voter getter of the day.

    Trevone McNeill will meet incumbent Larry Wright in the District 7 general election.

     

  •  

    08NewsDigestThe state of North Carolina has rejected environmental plans by Duke Energy and three other power companies to build the proposed Atlantic Coast Pipeline. It’s an interstate pipeline to carry natural gas from West Virginia into southern North Carolina.

    The letter of disapproval from the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality is the first decision on the proposed Atlantic Coast Pipeline from any state or federal government agency in its three states. Duke Energy is also expecting a decision this month from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on whether the $5 billion pipeline is necessary.

    The 600-mile underground pipeline, which would plow through eight North Carolina counties including Cumberland, does not meet the state’s standards for erosion and sediment control. The project also needs an air-quality permit for a compressor, a machine that pushes the gas through the pipeline. And it needs a water-quality permit allowing developers to drill through streams and wetlands.

    Duke Energy has been buying up land along the proposed pipeline route but has been stymied by some property owners in the Wade and Cedar Creek communities of Cumberland County.

    “At the very least, (this) represents a significant hurdle the Atlantic Coast Pipeline will have to overcome,” said Doug Jackson, spokesman for the Sierra Club. The pipeline would carry natural gas from a giant depository spanning Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio and New York. The gas would be extracted from shale through hydraulic fracturing, or fracking.

    Fort Bragg, North Carolina

    The United States has some of the largest and most advanced military bases in the world. Fort Bragg is considered one of the eight most advanced military installations operated by the U.S., according to TheVeteransSite.com. Fort Bragg’s size alone makes it one of the most renowned military bases not only in the country but around the world. It houses 238,646 people over its 163,000 acres, making Fort Bragg the world’s largest military base regarding population as of this year. Other than the massive number of military personnel, students, families, civilian employees and other people who call Fort Bragg home, the army post is known for serving as a place that fostered the development of military tactics during World War II.

    The base is home to several elite Army units including the four-star Forces Command, the 82nd Airborne Division and the U.S. Army Special Operations Command. More general officers are stationed at Fort Bragg than any other installation, making it second only to the Pentagon. The post is often referred to as the Pentagon South.

    AUSA National Convention

    Defense Secretary Jim Mattis pulled no punches last week during the annual convention of the Association of the U.S. Army. He said in no uncertain terms that they should “be ready” with military options should diplomacy fail with North Korea. When asked what the U.S. military could do to make war with North Korea less likely, Mattis said, “You have got to be ready to ensure that we have military options that our president can employ, if needed.”

    The former Marine general said the U.S. is currently pursuing a “diplomatically led effort” that has seen the U.N. Security Council twice vote unanimously to sanction North Korea. “The international community has spoken, but that means the U.S. Army must stand ready.” In the event of war, the 82nd Airborne Division would be among the first elements to get the call. The division’s ability to rapidly deploy forces around the world is a critical component of the Global Response Force. Marines on Okinawa would also immediately join the fight. U.S. Army Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Milley put the threat of war in perspective during a news conference at the Army convention, saying there are “no risk-free options” in dealing with North Korea.

    “It would be horrible, there’s no question about it,” Milley said of a war with North Korea.

    A New Fayetteville Neighborhood

    Fayetteville Area Habitat for Humanity hosted a groundbreaking ceremony to kick off the first phase of the construction of Oakridge Estates in West Fayetteville. The Oakridge Estates project is a collaborative effort between Habitat, the City of Fayetteville and the U.S Department of Housing and Urban Development to build 49 single-family homes on 14.2 acres in what was once a rundown mobile home park.

    “This community needs affordable housing now more than ever,” said Mayor Nat Robertson. It marks a historic partnership between the organizations in providing affordable housing in underserved and disinvested communities.

    Veterans Day Vietnam Moving Wall

    To celebrate Fayetteville’s Heroes Homecoming, the Airborne & Special Operations Museum Foundation will again host The Moving Wall on the museum’s parade field Thursday, Nov. 9, through Sunday, Nov. 12. The half-size replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., will allow visitors to experience seeing the more than 58,000 names of those servicemen and women who lost their lives during the Vietnam War.

    Rolling Thunder and other volunteers will assist with locating names for visitors. The Moving Wall will be open to the public 24 hours each day. A torchlight ceremony will be held Nov. 9 beginning at 6:30 p.m. Gold Star family members will walk the length of The Moving Wall to the Iron Mike statue where the torch will be passed to each member as they say the name of their loved one. Rolling Thunder will also have a Missing Man table during the ceremony.

    The ASOM Foundation is selling 30-inch flags for $5 each to be displayed on the museum’s grounds.

    “Having a veterans’ flags in a place of honor directly in front of The Moving Wall (will) help give these veterans the added recognition they deserve,” said Mike Lynch, executive director of the museum’s foundation.

    The Invisible Empire

    The Klan is still alive in North Carolina. The Loyal White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan headquartered in Pelham recently distributed position papers at a Friday night Gray’s Creek High School football game.

    School officials said they had no advance knowledge of the distribution. Gray’s Creek principal Lisa Stewart told reporters that the distribution of the fliers violated school system policy and that the matter was being investigated. A spokesman for the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office said it is not investigating the incident.

    “Whites in America need to unite and start coming together,” an unidentified Klan official told a Charlotte television station. The man apparently told the WBTV reporter he didn’t want to be identified by name. “White people have always had the KKK, and we’re not going anywhere,” he concluded. Pelham has long been a haven for the Klan. The unincorporated village is on the Virginia state line just below Danville in Caswell County. It was named for Confederate Army Col. John Pelham.

     

  •  

    06LocalfarmersMy roots run deep here in the eighth district and in North Carolina’s agriculture community. I can trace my family back seven generations, from humble beginnings as tobacco, hog and row crop farmers down east. It’s one reason why I was so thrilled to spend some time last week with farmers and agriculture leaders at the Moore County Farm Bureau’s annual meeting.

    Like I told them, Washington could learn a lot from North Carolina’s farmers. They know what it’s like to wake up early, roll up your sleeves and get to work. Work from sun-up to sun-down that lets you fall asleep at night knowing you did your part to provide for your family, honor our God, and make our community a better place. Our farmers work tirelessly to provide for their families and to provide food and fiber – not just for our nation but for the world. For that, we are grateful.

    As your congressman, I will continue to work to make sure they have the tools – and freedom – they need to keep their farms thriving and to improve our communities. One way I’m working to do that is through comprehensive, pro-growth tax reform.

    Last week, we made good progress. I was proud to support H. Con. Res. 71, a budget resolution that sets spending limits for our government and puts us back on the path to fiscal responsibility. In the budget, we are taking a close look at the programs that matter most and funding them in a responsible manner.

    This budget calls for preserving Social Security and Medicare for current and future generations, will reduce deficit spending by $6.5 trillion, and will balance in ten years. It also includes the largest mandatory spending reform in 20 years and paves the way for a smaller, more limited government.  This budget is a critical first step, not only in addressing our nation’s dire fiscal situation but also in creating an avenue for us to pass tax reform. Now, the Senate must pass a budget so we can unlock a powerful tool known as reconciliation that will allow us to pass tax reform with a simple majority in both the House of Representatives and the Senate.

    At the Farm Bureau meeting, we discussed the impact that tax reform would have. One key provision included in our framework is my bill to eliminate the Death Tax. I have been a longtime advocate for eliminating the Death Tax, which can take up to 40 percent of a family business’s assets if the owner passes away. As a champion of this cause, I believe we must end the double taxation that threatens the existence of family farms, small businesses and jobs.

    At the end of the day, tax reform will have a meaningful impact all across our district – not just for our farmers. Because our tax code isn’t working for anyone. For working families, the system is far too complicated, requiring legal experts to help us navigate it. And taxes are too high and take too much of our hard-earned money. For businesses, rates are so high that the small businesses we love and that make our communities so special can barely afford to operate.

    The bottom line is tax reform means higher wages, more jobs and more money in your pocket. I’ll continue to work because I care about you and your family.

     

  •  

    15Drew HollandThe Hope Mills Citizens Academy aids the residents of Hope Mills in learning about the inner workings of town government while also making the town government more accessible.  On Thursday, Sept. 28, the 2017 class learned some of what it takes to monetarily run the Town of Hope Mills. 

    Finance Director Drew Holland and Senior Accountant Ricky Ramey explained the vital part of maintaining the budget and of knowing how to prioritize spending.

    Holland noted that the Finance Department is doing well and that everything is thoroughly examined before it goes to Town Council for adoption. The annual budget dates are from July 1 through June 30 of the following year. 

    Holland described how each date on the budget calendar is vital to a successful year and what roles other departments play. It is important to note, he added, that the public has a say in how the budget is used on behalf of the town. There is a required public hearing every year in the spring. Only after the proposed budget is approved, adopted and signed by the council does it then become accessible to the public. 

    The Citizens Academy class on Sept. 28 participated in a mock budget exercise in which the budget was overdrawn and five situations needed to be balanced. Class members also actively asked questions concerning the maneuvers of the Finance Department and how long the documents had to be kept. Holland gave examples of projects, like the refilling of Hope Mills Lake, to explain the regulations. After each project is finished, he said, the documents must be kept three years from that date. They are kept electronically. There are many regulations and guidelines that must be followed closely. 

    The Finance Department remains in good standing. For further information about the budget for the Town of Hope Mills, visit  www.townofhopemills.com.

     

    PHOTO: Hope Mills Finance Director Drew Holland

     

  •  16WhatsUp• Oct. 2 - Nov. 18 Registration for Youth Basketball at Hope Mills Parks and Recreation Center, 5766 Rockfish Rd. The center is open Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. and Saturdays  9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. There is instructional basketball for ages 5-6 and regular basketball for ages 7-17. The cost is $30 per child. Address and birth certificate must be presented when registering. Call (910) 426-4105 for details.

    •  Oct. 13 Kiwanis BBQ Fundraiser in the grassy area between the Hope Mills Main Street WalMart and Food Lion across from the gas station, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Monies raised will go toward ALMS House, Shop-with-a-Cop, Bicycle Presentation for Terrific Kids, Boys and Girls Club of Cumberland County, Boys and Girls Homes of Lake Waccamaw and many other community services. Call (910) 426-7256 for details.

    • Oct. 14. Community Clean Up from 9 a.m. to noon at Hope Mills Parks and Recreation Center, 5766 Rockfish Rd. Gloves, safety vests, trash bags, water and lunch will be provided to volunteers. Call (910) 426-4109 for details.

    •  Oct. 19 Hope Meals Food Truck Rodeo at 5770 Rockfish Rd. from 5:30-8:30 p.m.

    • Oct. 19-21 Ole Mill Days Festival  Celebrate the Mills Way! Details: (910) 429-4109.

    • Oct. 31 Trunk ’R Treat at Hope Mills Municipal fields 1 and 2, 6-8 p.m. Ages 1-12. Call (910) 4264109 for details.

    • Nov. 4-12 Heroes Homecoming V at the Hope Mills Public Library, 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Nov. 4 is the first day of a nine-day ceremonious event to honor veterans. On this day, the focus will be on Vietnam Veterans. Visit www.heroeshomecoming.com for more information. The event is free and open to the public.

    • Nov. 5 Vietnam Veterans Memorial Ceremony and Flag Display hosted by The Hope Mills Veterans Advisory Commission at the Hope Mills Veterans Memorial from 3-4:30 p.m. Special guest speaker will be retired Lt. Col. Walt Brinker. Free and open to the public.

    • Nov. 6 Bench Dedication at Hope Mills Lake by the Hope Mills VFW Post 10630. The dedication starts at 5 p.m. and is free and open to the public.  Visit www.heroeshomecoming.com  for details.

    • Nov. 8 Veteran Movie Extravaganza  Millstone 14 on Camden Road in Hope Mills will honor veterans by presenting an evening of military-themed movies. The event is free for veterans and their families. The event begins at 4 p.m., and space is limited. Call (910) 354-2124 or visit www.heroeshomecoming.com for details.

     

  •  

    04Safe Imagine being in a Wal-Mart parking lot, piling your bags of groceries or Christmas decorations in the back seat of your car. Then you hear it: POP, POP, POP.

    Your ears are ringing, and before you know it, someone you hardly noticed a few seconds earlier in a car a couple of spaces from yours has been shot. They look scared and bleary-eyed, and they wonder if there’s anyone who can help them or if they’ll live to see another day.

    And then it hits you. After the initial shock, you realize that you were there, and you or a loved one could easily have been hurt — or worse — by a stray bullet. Then you get mad that something like this can happen right next to you... in your community.

    Well, it happened in Fayetteville on Sept. 27, during daylight hours, in a crowded parking lot. The police say it was a drug deal gone wrong. But the potential for innocent bystanders getting hurt was real.

    September was a banner month for crime in Fayetteville.

    Sept. 1, a robber at a Cedar Creek motel shot his resisting victim in the upper leg, leaving him seriously wounded.

    Sept. 3, two men robbed a woman as she was leaving a Raeford Road grocery store. They put a pistol to her head and pulled her handbag out of her shopping cart.

    Sept. 5, Fayetteville police discovered two murdered men. Someone shot them while they sat in a car parked next to a popular Cross Creek Mall area restaurant.

    Sept. 21, a lone gunman robbed a Raeford Road bank.

    Sept. 22, a predator raped a woman along Old Wilmington Road.

    Sept. 24, a man walked into a CVS pharmacy, pulled out a pistol and demanded Oxycodone pills.

    And a day later, Sept. 25, a heartless subhuman shot two men just off Raeford Road. He left a 19-year-old dead and an 18-year-old seriously wounded.

    We’ve become numb to violent crime in Fayetteville. They are statistics, headlines on a page. Besides, we’ll be fine in our homes.

    Maybe not.

    There was a time when your home was your castle.It was a haven from the freezing rain or searing sun. It was a place where you gathered with your family for dinner or an evening around a television. It was your sanctuary from all the bad things in the world.

    But times have changed.

    A couple of years ago, a 57-year-old woman living just off Rim Road started her summer day grocery shopping. I won’t mention her name. Instead, you can substitute the name of your mother, your wife or your daughter. That’s because this story can happen to anyone.

    After coming home and bringing in her groceries, the doorbell rang. Like most people our age, she was a trusting person. She had no idea what was about to happen.

    Before she could react, two thugs forced their way into her home. They held her hostage at gunpoint. They ransacked her home, stealing her jewelry, her money and more importantly, her belief that nothing bad would ever happen to her in her castle.

    It wasn’t the first home invasion. Two weeks earlier, the same thieves robbed a 63-year-old man in another residential neighborhood, stealing money and a gun. He also answered his doorbell.

    In fact, that summer, breaking into the homes of elderly became a popular crime.

    Violent crime used to be a thug-on-thug event... a drug deal gone wrong. Home invasions are different. Criminals target innocent, mostly older adults... people who work hard for their money... people who should be safe in their homes.

    We need to stop criminals who shoot people in crowded parking lots in the middle of the day or outside busy restaurants where families gather to eat.

    You pay your taxes. That makes you the boss. Let’s demand that people getting your tax dollars do something about crime in our city... especially violent crime that has been happening way too often in Fayetteville.

    I propose we establish a communitywide task force that figures out how to deal with Fayetteville’s violent crime disease.

    Crime not only hurts people, it hurts our reputation. Employers who could put people to work don’t want to set up shop in a place where shooting people is an everyday event.

    We have a good Police Department, be we need EVERYONE on board. That means the Sheriff’s Office must work with the Police Department; the County Commissioners must work with the City Council.

    Finally, the court system — magistrates, judges and prosecutors — must work with everyone on the team.

    And that team has to include people, citizens who have been victims, who are concerned about crime and what it’s doing to our reputation.

     

  • 07PanhandlingNine years ago, Fayetteville City Council unanimously adopted an ordinance regulating panhandling. The ordinance makes it illegal to panhandle anywhere in the city after dark. It prohibits panhandling in the downtown area, along busy roadways and within 50 feet of ATMs and outdoor dining areas. The law is rarely enforced and hardly ever prosecuted in the courts. Unlike Raleigh, Fayetteville doesn’t require that panhandlers be registered with the police. Police permits are designed to help identify panhandlers while also listing guidelines. Raleigh permits say there will be no aggressive begging and no blocking of traffic. 

    Fayetteville City Council believes it’s time it tightened regulations governing begging in public. “I’m troubled with panhandling; they’ve become more aggressive,” said Mayor pro tem Mitch Colvin. He would like to see the police given additional enforcement tools. The Center for Problem-Oriented Policing notes that “Most researchers and practitioners seem to agree that the enforcement of laws prohibiting panhandling plays only a part in controlling the problem. Public education to discourage people from giving money to panhandlers, adequate social services (especially alcohol and drug treatment) for panhandlers are the other essential components of an effective and comprehensive response.” 

    Fayetteville’s Downtown Alliance tried a different approach to deal with panhandlers in 2015. The organization put up drop boxes on lamp posts downtown where people could make donations to agencies that assist the homeless. It was not a resounding success in that many panhandlers are not among the homeless individuals who are seeking assistance. Jason is an Army veteran who lives in a small apartment provided by the VA. He’s turned down minimum wage jobs because, in his words, “I can make more money panhandling.” Jason knows and respects the law and has picked a spot on Ramsey Street at the I-295 off-ramp to do his begging. “I can make $130 on a good day,” he said. 

    City Councilwoman Kathy Jensen knows of Jason. She told her colleagues that he stands in an area that is just outside the city limits. “He’s usually there during morning drive and in the late afternoon,” she said. He catches a bus to return to his apartment after a couple of hours begging.

    “Panhandlers are having a chilling effect on commerce,” said Councilman Jim Arp. “We need more aggressive enforcement.” He notes that panhandling is prohibited in the downtown area, and a police officer who walks a foot post attempts to shoo them off. 

    “It’s getting worse,” said Councilman Larry Wright. Retiring Councilman Bobby Hurst asked what other cities are doing to combat the problem. City Manager Doug Hewett said the administration would research the matter and report back to council with some ideas. It was Hewett who, as an assistant city manager several years ago, hosted the city’s now-defunct TV program called “Kaleidoscope.” It aired on FayTV-7. Hewett did a program in 2009 on panhandling rules that council now believes need updating.

  • 06GinaHawkinsWhat’s the biggest difference between policing in metro Atlanta and Fayetteville? It’s the people, said Fayetteville’s new Chief of Police Gina Hawkins. She came from Clayton County, Georgia, where she was deputy chief. Before that, she was a police officer in Atlanta. 

    Hawkins was sworn in as Fayetteville’s eighth police chief seven weeks ago. “I’ve found people in our city are engaged; they’re involved in the community,” she said. “And that makes my job easier.” Hawkins inherited a law enforcement agency already highly respected for its professionalism, much of that the result of retired chief Harold Medlock’s three-and-a-half-year tenure. 

    Hawkins’ assessment of the department: “We still have a long way to go.” Medlock was a highly visible figure in the community. He responded to every homicide that occurred during his term of office. He required that the three assistant chiefs also do so. Hawkins does not. Medlock held frequent news conferences and photo opportunities. Hawkins, while readily accessible to the media, has not held a news conference. “I don’t want to upstage my commanders,” she said. “I encourage the leaders to make decisions for themselves.” 

    She agreed with Medlock that the Fayetteville Police Department command staff is highly motivated and professional. But, she added, assistant chiefs and captains can be more creative in their day-to-day duties, and that’s part of her ongoing assessment of the department. 

    Fayetteville doesn’t have enough police officers in her opinion. She pointed to its population of 210,000 and its sprawling land area. Fayetteville is the second largest city in North Carolina, covering 148 square miles. 

    Hawkins is examining how some of her 433 officers might be redeployed to specialized duties. For example, she believes there’s a need for additional traffic enforcement officers. The chief said she hopes she never hears about a hot police pursuit taking the lives of innocent people, which happened recently in Greensboro. She expects patrol supervisors to call off a high-speed chase before it jeopardizes lives. 

    Hawkins recently accepted an invitation that included repelling off an office building in Raleigh. It was a fundraiser for the North Carolina Special Olympics. Hawkins learned later that she’d be repelling from the top of the 30-story Wells Fargo skyscraper, but it was too late to back out of the commitment. She and four other members of the department raised $5,000 in the daring act for the Special Olympics. 

    A couple of weeks ago, Hawkins joined three other minority, female police chiefs in New York City for a nationally-televised TV appearance. They were on Megyn Kelly’s show “Today” to talk about how they broke racial and gender lines in their advancement up police ranks. 

    “Chief Hawkins is representing the city and the law enforcement profession in an exemplary fashion,” said City Manager Doug Hewett. “I have full confidence in Chief Hawkins and the entire staff of the Fayetteville Police Department.”

                                 

  • 05NewsDigestPolice Cameras Not Working

    The Fayetteville Police citywide network of surveillance cameras has been out of service for a year now. “The FPD has 133 cameras that are currently offline as we are working with a new vendor to get the system fully functional,” said police spokesman Lt. Todd Joyce. 

    The cameras were purchased with drug forfeiture funds returned to the city by the federal government. Joyce said they went down during Hurricane Matthew in October of last year. A heavy rainfall within days of the hurricane made matters worse. “We have been working with a new vendor... and work has been progressing to upgrade the system’s infrastructure,” Joyce said. There is no projected completion date.

    Work on the Prince Charles Underway

    Renovation of the former Prince Charles Hotel and demolition of the pavement and grounds where the adjacent minor league baseball stadium will be built are underway in downtown Fayetteville. 

    PCH Holdings project manager Jordan Jones said renovations to the interior of the eight-story building come first. “Barnhill Contracting of Rocky Mount, North Carolina, has a completion date of October 2018,” he said. The PCH Durham development firm is spending up to $15 million to bring the eight-story building back to life. It will have 62 apartments and a posh penthouse where the eighth-floor ballroom used to be. 

    No Parking

    The always-full Amtrak train station parking lot is no longer available to the public. That’s where a four-story hotel topped with a four-story parking deck will be built. 

    Many city hall and police headquarters employees who have used that lot for years are now finding themselves having to park three blocks away. There are a privileged few who have reserved parking spots in the rear city hall lots. City Manager Doug Hewett told other city employees they can use free parking in a lot at the corner of Russell and Donaldson Streets. Or, for a reduced fee of $20 a month, they can lease spaces in the Franklin Street parking garage. 

    “Staff is actively pursuing additional parking opportunities,” Hewett said. “But those resources are not expected to be available within the next six months.” 

    Breast Cancer Awareness

    During this month you’ll see Fayetteville Police officers wearing pink patches in support of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Over the past few months, the Fayetteville Police Department and the Fayetteville Police Foundation raised money from the sale of the pink patches and donated $2,300 to the Cape Fear Valley Health Foundation. 

    Breast Cancer Awareness Month is an annual campaign to increase awareness of the disease. The National Breast Cancer Foundation’s mission is to help those affected by breast cancer through early detection, education and support services. 

    Crime Stoppers Update

    Fayetteville/Cumberland County Crime Stoppers has launched a new website and alert system. Both are designed to keep the community informed and to encourage anonymous tips from community members. The Crime Stoppers website, www.fay-nccrimestoppers.org, has been completely redesigned and will allow the organization to keep the community informed of crime alerts, wanted subjects and other concerns in the community. Anonymous tips can be submitted electronically via the redesigned website which is also mobile-friendly. The Crime Stoppers hotline is (910) 483-TIPS. 

    Since its inception in 1984, Fayetteville/Cumberland County Crime Stoppers has provided information to law enforcement agencies, resulting in the arrest of more than 3,000 and the recovery of more than $6.7 million in stolen property and narcotics. Local Crime Stoppers has awarded callers with more than $300,000 in cash rewards.

    Small-Business Seminar

    The Fayetteville Area System of Transit’s multimillion-dollar downtown transit center won’t open until November, said Transit Director Randy Hume. That’s 18 months behind schedule. Inspectors are wrapping up their work, and Hume said FAST will need at least four weeks to prepare for operations. 

    In the meantime, FAST and the U.S. Department of Transportation are partnering to co-host a free small-business seminar on Thursday, Oct. 26, from 3-5 p.m. The workshop is entitled “Small Business & Human Resources Basics” and will be held at FAST Headquarters at 455 Grove St. 

    It’s an interactive workshop and will feature business planning strategies, an explanation of hiring employees versus taking on independent contractors, an overview of the basics of workers’ compensation insurance and small business assistance resources. To register, visit www.eventbrite.com/e/small-business-big-growth-tickets-38496247312. 

    U.S. DOT’s Small Business Transportation Resource Center is assisting FAST with the workshop. 

    4-H Camp Fund Raiser

    A fundraiser in support of the Millstone 4-H Camp will be held Oct. 21. Pickin’ in the Pines will be staged at the Millstone Camp at 1296 Mallard Rd., Ellerbe, North Carolina, from 6-11 p.m. Admission is $50 per person. Proceeds will go toward scholarships for children to attend the Millstone 4-H Camp. 

    For 78 years, Millstone has provided life-changing learning and recreational opportunities for children. It strives to provide rich camping opportunities to as many children as possible, regardless of their parents’ ability to pay. Pickin’ in the Pines will include bluegrass music, a live auction and a pig-pickin.’ 

    For additional information, visit: go.ncsu.edu/millstone4hpickininthepines or see the Facebook page: PickininthePinesatMillstone. 

  • On Monday, Sept. 25, the Town of Hope Mills held its Board of Commissioners Regular Meeting with several items on the agenda.


    Public Hearings: Business Registration

    The Board unanimously adopted the proposed Business Registration Ordinance that will require businesses to pay a $20 registration fee. No civilian opposed it.

    Town Manager Melissa Adams explained that this ordinance would help keep track of businesses and help with initial fire inspections. New businesses will require a zoning sign-off. Town Attorney Dan Hartzog Jr. stated that this fee is not a replacement fee for a business license or taxes but that it is an annual fee set up from the date a business registers with the town.

    Public Hearings: Pier/Dock Ordinance


    Several citizens spoke to the Board about the proposed pier/dock ordinance. According to the findings of the Lake Advisory Committee, which was set up based on research, the ordinance presents problems that could make the town liable for accidents on personal property. Chair of the LAC, Jesse Bellflowers, brought to the Board’s attention that the ordinance, particularly Chapter 62, is a copy of Lake Waccamaw’s ordinance (which was drawn up for a recreational lake) and that the regulations could reduce value to property, cause liability to the town, and that some piers that are 20 years or older should be grandfathered in. LAC member Al Ferri also brought up the fact that the dam is a different style than that original one that was lost in 2003 because of poor maintenance. Owners paid lakefront property taxes for a dam that could be raised to lower the lake when needed. The new dam will not allow the lake to be lowered and will require heavy equipment.

    This could cause potential for a lawsuit from the property owners.

    Hope Mills resident Rex Johnson shared his concerns about the speediness and timing of the new ordinance. He stated that many citizens were not informed of the draft and reminded the BOC that Lake Waccamaw and Hope Mills Lake are considerably different in that the number of piers at Lake Waccamaw require more interaction because of the vast amount of piers compared to less than 20 piers on Hope Mills Lake. Therefore, he said, the new ordinance is insufficient.

    The citizens agreed that the new ordinance is not in the best interest of the town of Hope Mills. It places the town in a “new position of insuring pier dock safety,” which has never been in effect for privately owned piers. Attorney Bruce Armstrong noted that since he moved to Hope Mills in 1984, “no major accidents or fatalities have occurred on the piers.”

    Retired police officer Tonzie Collins concurred with Armstrong, stating that no accidents have occurred on the lake.

    Mike Mitchell introduced the problem with logistics and said the new ordinance may cause problems with inspections. He also stated that it is not right for the BOC to have total discretion concerning piers when the covenant of lake owners allows piers to be built up to the tree line. He told the BOC that this could present a legal problem.

    Rev. Grilley Mitchell advised the BOC that it “comes down to ‘What is the liability to the town?’”
    Military wife and mother Erin Solomon told the BOC that she and her husband could not buy a home on the lake until they bought insurance for the pier. She told them that insurance covers for any accident and that this ordinance causes an undue burden on homeowners. She held up her hand and said, “The last time my husband was home, he was able to stay for five days. Three of those days were spent upgrading and repairing our pier.” Solomon told the BOC that it’s homeowners like her husband who are most concerned about the safety of the pier because of their children. “We want our kids to enjoy the lake and not worry about keeping up with taxes,” she said.

    LAC member Rob MacLean asked the BOC to not rush the ordinance through and reminded them that the LAB worked for almost three months researching, investigating, and writing a document that, according to Town Attorney Hartzog, will stand in court.

    Lisa Waring asked the BOC to let the ordinance be tabled, re-examined and looked at. “Please don’t pass it until the Lake Advisory Board revises it,” she requested.

    Commissioner Jerry Legge praised the LAB for its integrity and requested that Town Attorney Hartzog meet with the LAC to “develop an ordinance to fit the Town of Hope Mills.”

    Mayor Warner asked Town Manager Adams to appoint someone from the Inspections Department to also work with the LAC to devise an ordinance that will work.

    The Pier/Docks Ordinance was NOT voted upon. The citizens who spoke were against it and the Board of Commissioners agreed to “table” it until further notice.

  • 17 printingIf there is an emerging technology that easily fascinates both young and old, that technology is the 3D printer. A seeming magic act that makes something from nothing, the 3D printer has the ability to revolutionize industry in that it could enable the return of the cottage industry and the redistribution of the production of goods from the mega-factories of the present to the mom-and-pop shops of yesteryear. In addition, the potential applications of 3D printing extend far beyond the commercial. They reach into realms as fundamental as healthcare and as speculative as extraterrestrial colonization.

    As this technology is perfected and the number of printable materials grows, its application will grow geometrically and impact not only industry but also society itself.

    Another technology that has impacted society in the last score of years is the technology of the video game in an entertainment and cultural shift as powerful as the one driven by the moving picture. Today, 3D game worlds rival the real world in grandeur and scope. These worlds generate their own economies based on real money exchanged for for virtual goods, and they generate tangible excitement and contentment from imaginary people, places and things.

    So what’s the connection between these two when video games dwell in the virtual word of a cyber plasm and 3D printers craft the real from molten plastic? The connection is 3D. Every 3D printed object begins its life in the cyber world as a computer-generated ghost of itself — a virtual blueprint on whose precision lies the fate of every form that springs from printer’s nozzle.

    Game developers craft 3D objects in virtual environments — those objects and more can be printed by 3D printers. Thus, two outcomes emanate from the same skill. The higher the demand for 3D prints, the higher the demand for 3D modelers to visualize them.

    Now, almost anyone can buy a 3D printer, and just like that, become a 3D factory. However, most people rely on pre-packaged prints. A child can print a Millennium Falcon toy, but a child did not make the model for the print. A dentist may 3D print a crown, but a dentist is not going to model one. These objects would be garbage without the precision geometry that is the handiwork of an experienced 3D modeler.

    Sure, there are 3D scanners and other such devices that create models from real-world objects. But these models still need a human hand to smooth out the rough imperfections that such devices generate.

    At Fayetteville Technical Community College, we have created a 3D printing lab in our Simulation and Game Development department because we already teach the 3D modeling skills that make 3D printing possible. FTCC seeks to broaden the career potential of our students and to provide a workforce that can carry Cumberland County and its environs through the 21st century.

    The skills we are giving students will spur new ideas for the use of 3D printers and will help keep the Simulation and Game Development program at FTCC vital and relevant.

    Still, we strive to expand beyond our core students with our 3D printing lab. It is our goal to open the lab and courses to all students at FTCC, and it is our desire for 3D printing students to participate in collaborative projects involving engineering, healthcare, art and criminal justice curricula students, among others. To this end, we are offering a certificate and a diploma as credentials in the specific area of 3D modeling and printing going forward.

  • 14FTCCA 2013 impact study shows that Fayetteville Technical Community College affects Cumberland County significantly, bringing more than $530 million to the local economy. Established in 1961, FTCC serves over 40,000 students annually by providing over 250 occupational, technical, general education, college transfer and continuing education programs to meet students’ needs and desires. On Sept. 21, the community college announced that according to AffordableCollege.com, FTCC’s Early Childhood AAS program ranks 12th in the nation.

    Families need well-trained, highly qualified professionals to care for their children, which means there is a need for caring, professional educators with a special skillset to guide young children through their first educational environment. An early childhood education online associate degree lets students who are new to the field explore it with minimal financial commitment.

    FTCC offers an Early Childhood online associate degree. Making things even easier for potential students, the institution accepts applications year-round. The five-semester, 64-credit program requires that applicants have a high school diploma or placement test equivalent. Graduates of the program will find plenty of job opportunities, including working in childcare services, private households, elementary and secondary schools, Head Start programs, religious organizations and other school-age programs. The courses offered in the ECE associate program include two practicums, child development I and II, child guidance, classroom management and active play.

    While FTCC is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges, the Early Childhood AAS program is accredited separately by the National Association for the Education of Young Children. For additional information about either of these accrediting agencies, or to learn more about FTCC’s Early Childhood program, contact Angel Bryant, FTCC chair for Early Childhood Associate, at
    (910) 678-8566.

    There are thousands of degree programs available to college students, and an increasing number of higher education institutions are aiming to ease the strain on student pocket books to bring in fiscally conservative students. With this in mind, AffordableColleges.com designed a sophisticated methodology to serve as a reliable indicator of quality, affordability and student success. Additional information can be found at
    www.affordablecolleges.com.

    Visit FTCC’s website at www.faytechcc.edu to learn more about the institution.

  • 13RogueWes Whitlock is a Marine who’s also served as a high-threat security professional and executive protection specialist in the Middle East, Europe and the U.S. Last June, he opened a store called Rogue American in Austin, Texas. The Rogue American brand he’s built, which grew from an online apparel store he founded in 2011, inspires and appeals to those who have lived and continue to live in extreme and challenging ways.

    Whitlock planted a second Rogue American store right next to Fort Bragg, on Yadkin Road, soon after opening the Texas location. It opened a few weeks after Hurricane Matthew last October.

    Krystal Shipley, who’s lived in Fayetteville since 2013, was a Rogue enthusiast from the brand’s online beginnings. She met Whitlock at the Arnold (as in Schwarzenegger) Sports Festival in 2016. Today, she’s the general manager of the Fort Bragg location. It’s a story that well-represents the Rogue culture of community and bringing in people.

    “We like to call it an American brand,” Shipley said. “It’s kind of for everybody. But we’re definitely geared towards the military, first responders, police and (vocations) like that.”

    Everything Rogue American sells is made in the U.S. Items include custom apparel, beard wash and oils and coffee. Merchandise is crafted and branded with the local community in mind. For example, Pat McNamara owns a gym in Southern Pines, and his name is stamped on one of the coffee blends Rogue sells. “It’s probably one of our darkest blends,” Shipley said. “If you met Pat, it would make sense. He’s very intense.” The store also sells Brothers in Arms Foundation coffee, donating $1 for every bag sold back to the nonprofit that supports the Marine Corps Special Operations community. Rogue also makes tribute shirts and donates 100 percent of the proceeds to the person or family the shirt honors.

    “Anyone can print stuff on a shirt, … but the people behind the company are what make it special,” Shipley said. “Excluding myself, everyone here is either a veteran, active duty or a military spouse. The stuff that they’ve all been through relates to other people.”

    And Rogue really is about the people, not just the products. The Fayetteville Rogue staff have worked with the Green Beret Foundation, local CrossFit competitions and the U.S. Veterans Corps, along with donating items to local charity raffles. They helped with Calliber Collision’s Changing Lanes initiative, “the first program in the country to provide active duty service members with training and employment opportunities in the explosive collision repair industry prior to transitioning out of the U.S. Armed Forces.” When a local soldier recently passed away, Rogue donated all its coffee sales for two days to the soldier’s family.

    Rogue has demonstrated that it’s more than an apparel store and that the opening of its Fayetteville location was purposeful. “Yes, we’re part of a bigger store, but we’re here for Fayetteville and Fort Bragg,” Shipley said. “That’s why we’re here.”

    Rogue American in Fayetteville is located at 6460 Yadkin Rd. To learn more about the company, visit www.rogueamericanapparel.com.

  • 12City Hall FayettevilleRyan Ashley appeared before Fayetteville City Council the other day to make an unusual request. In so doing, he not only fought city hall, he won.

    It all began when someone complained to the city about a utility trailer that was parked on a side yard of Ashley’s home on Fairview Street off Sapona Road in East Fayetteville. A code enforcement agent checked it out and issued Ashley a citation. The problem wasn’t that the trailer was parked there. The city’s policy states that only single-axle trailers are allowed on residential properties. Ashley’s is a dual- axle trailer. It has four wheels instead of two.

    City council adopted the policy a couple of years ago at the urging of now-retired planning director Scott Shuford. Since then, the city has strictly enforced the regulation. Records indicate five cases have come before the planning commission this year. Only Ashley’s case was appealed after the commission upheld the violation. City council has the final say, and Ashley made his appearance on Sept. 25.

    Ashley came well-prepared and addressed the governing board respectfully. He told council that other homes in his neighborhood have dual tandem trailers and RVs, but only he had been cited. A city staffer verified that code enforcement agents were aware of that, but no other complaints had been made. In other words, it’s apparently OK to violate policy so long as no one complains.

    “I have a problem with this policy,” said City Councilman Jim Arp. He said it makes little sense to distinguish between trailers with two wheels and those with four.

    “This trailer is not a danger to anyone and is not visible from the street,” added Councilman Larry Wright. A council majority agreed, and they voted 6-4 to overturn the planning commission’s ruling. Councilman Bill Crisp was among those who supported the planning commission’s decision. He intimated that residents with tractor-trailer semis will now ask the city to allow them to park in their yards. Arp and Councilman Ted Mohn argued that a situation like this is dealt with on a case by case basis and does not set a precedent.

    City Attorney Karen McDonald verified that the appeal process was a legitimate course of action for Ashley. In a subsequent action, Mohn made a motion to approve Ashley’s original request for the neighborhood compatibility permit, which had been denied by the planning agency. It too passed 6-4.

    There is a stipulation. The trailer must be parked on a concrete surface adjacent to the carport, which is where Ashely has kept it.

  • 11NewsDigestThe City of Fayetteville’s 2017 municipal primary election is just days away. The mayoral race once again dominates the pre-election day frenzy. Two of the four candidates will be eliminated on Oct. 10. Two-term incumbent mayor Nat Robertson seems confident and reportedly is holding off a media blitz until after the primary.

    Councilman Kirk deViere is seeking the office a second time. He was eliminated in the 2013 primary by Robertson and then-councilwoman Val Applewhite. Robertson went on to win the general election by a narrow margin. deViere publicly accused Applewhite of mudslinging in that race. The two have apparently patched things up. In a mailer, deViere and Applewhite are pictured together, and she asks her supporters to “stand with me one more time and help elect Kirk deViere mayor.”

    The other candidates are District Three Councilman Mitch Colvin and community activist Quancidine Gribble.

    U.S. Army Beefs Up Aid to Puerto Rico
    The Pentagon is shifting its response to Hurricane Maria-ravaged Puerto Rico to a land-based operation as it clears airfields and adds communications capabilities.
    U.S. Northern Command has sent 16 Army helicopters to Puerto Rico, including eight Blackhawks and their crews from Fort Bragg’s 82nd Airborne Division. The Army is also sending a segment of a sustainment brigade of 1,000 soldiers who specialize in distribution of goods in hostile environments to the U.S. territory of 3.4 million people.

    Retired Lt. Gen. Russell Honore, who coordinated the military’s response to Hurricane Katrina, has been sharply critical of the federal government’s slow response to the humanitarian needs of the 3.5 million Americans stranded in Puerto Rico. “The president again has shown he doesn’t give a damn about poor people and people of color,” Honore said in a CNN interview. Lt. Gen. Jeffrey S. Buchanan, commander of U.S. Army North (Fifth Army), has recently been dispatched to take charge of ground recovery operations.

    Part-Time Job Opportunities
    The Fayetteville Cumberland Economic Development Corporation has announced that Issues & Answers Network, Inc., a global marketing research firm, will open a location in Fayetteville in the coming months. This new facility will employ 50 or so part-time workers as well as offering a few full-time management opportunities. The company said it may eventually employ 300 people in its call center on the second floor of Hamrick’s Department Store on McPherson Church Road. Call center interviewers will be paid a bit more than minimum wage. They will have no benefits.

    Issues & Answers Network, Inc. is an independent, global marketing research firm providing scalable research services, including survey and sampling design, in-house data collection, focus group research, project management and data analysis and interpretation.

    Law Proposed to Protect DACA Children
    U.S. Senators Thom Tillis, R-N.C., James Lankford, R-O.K. and Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, have introduced the Solution for Undocumented Children through Careers, Employment, Education and Defending Our Nation Act, or SUCCEED for short. They believe it’s a solution to address legal uncertainties facing undocumented youngsters and young adults who were brought to the United States as children.

    Tillis described the legislation as a “fair and compassionate solution that requires individuals to demonstrate they are productive and law-abiding members of their communities to earn legal status.”

    The proposal provides a fair but rigorous track for undocumented children to qualify for conditional permanent resident status. They must have high school diplomas or equivalencies, submit to international criminal background checks, be gainfully employed and be prepared to enroll in postsecondary or technical colleges.

    Womack Retiree Appreciation Day
    Fort Bragg will host a Womack Army Medical Center Retiree Appreciation Day Oct. 20 and 21. On Friday, a retiree golf tournament will be held at Stryker Golf Course from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. A Garrison Commander’s Retiree Town Hall is scheduled at the Iron Mike Conference Center from 10:30 a.m.–11:30 a.m.
    Retiree Appreciation events on Saturday, Oct. 21, include health screenings from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the hospital’s clinic mall. The event will be open to retirees and their families. Services offered will include physical therapy information, mammograms, vision and hearing screenings, blood pressure screenings, flu shots and other vaccinations, tobacco cessation support and more.

    Fayetteville Joins Research Group
    The City of Fayetteville has been selected to join What Works Cities, the largest philanthropic effort to improve the effectiveness of local governments by enhancing their use of data and evidence. Winston-Salem, Cary, Baton Rouge, La., and Hayward, Calif. were the other cities chosen to participate in the initiative.

    The What Works Cities project will help refine a comprehensive set of performance measurements for stormwater projects and operations that will assist in making evidence-based policy decisions. It will allow the city to better communicate the efficiency and effectiveness of its fledgling stormwater program to residents. “The City of Fayetteville is very excited to be chosen as a What Works City,” said Rebecca Rogers Carter, performance analytics director. “The City prides itself on being an engaged leader in the community for innovation, effective change management and continuous improvement strategies.”

    Launched by Bloomberg Philanthropies in April 2015, What Works Cities is now partnering with 90 cities across the country. Cities are teaming up with What Works Cities’ expert partners to develop the skills to apply data-driven tools such as performance management and results-driven contracting to their most pressing challenges. For more information, visit www.whatworkscities.org.

  • What I Learned On My Furlough

    Like the majority of Fort Bragg employees, I was one of the folks sent home on Tuesday, Oct. 1. I was also one of the people that watched the news from the time I got home on Sept. 30 until the official shutdown at midnight. Call me a glutton for punishment.

    10-23-13-pub-notes.gifWatching the news that night was painful. In order to ensure that I was getting all sides of the story, I channel surfed. I watched CNN for 15 minutes, Fox News for 15 minutes, MSNBC for five, because come on, who can really watch it longer than that? And then I turned to the traditional news outlets, ABC, NBC and CBS. While watching the television, I also surfed the Internet and read the various sites. Oh, and I also watched the live action on Capitol Hill via CSPAN.

    What did I learn through this flurry of media? That our Congress is indeed broken, but more frightening for me, is the fact that our media is broken. Instead of reporting facts, every channel, yes every single channel, was looking at its own way to spin it. Some talked about the past shut downs; Wolf Blitzer kept showing pictures of his younger self during the CLinton shutdowns. Others tried to assess blame, yes CNN and FOX, I’m talking to both of you. And some were just completely lost. No honest questions were asked, only questions framed to get the answer or sound bite they wanted to further their spin. American journalism is broken and I don’t know if it can be salvaged.

    Then of course, I marveled over the stupidity of the correspondents (yes, Piers Morgan, I’m talking about you) who were beside themselves over the fact that the monuments, parks and museums would be closed. I get it, a lot of tourism money pours into America’s coffers from visits to the parks and museums, but that wasn’t the biggest story of the shut down. They totally missed the point.

    The shut down was about the people who earned their livings working in those museums and parks. From the college student who makes $8 an hour at one of the kiosks in the National Zoo to the workers who mow the lawns, sweep the floors and secure our national treasures.

    Closer to home, the story was about the men and women who keep Fort Bragg running every day. And yes, I know everyone thinks federal employees are over paid and don’t do anything. That’s an old stereotype and there are many more folks working at Fort Bragg who are living pay check to pay check than you think.

    A friend of mine is 65. She has worked every day of her adult life. Most of the time, she worked more than one job. She is widowed and supports an adult child. The shut down had her making some very tough real-world choices. What would she pay, what would she let slide? On the table was eating or paying her mortgage. That’s the real story that needs to be told about the shut down. Not that people couldn’t watch the panda camera at the National Zoo.

    Over the four days that I did not work, I spent a lot of time reading, listening and thinking about the failure of our government to conduct business. I know everyone wants to assign blame to someone, but believe me there is enough blame to go around and no one government entity is exempt. But then again, neither are we.

    We have allowed big business, lobbyists and special groups to form our government instead of the voice of we the people. We the people have gone to the polls uninformed and in many cases, like sheep to the slaughter. We haven’t studied the issues, we haven’t held our leaders accountable and we’ve drank the Kool-Aid of the month.

    What did I do on my furlough? I pondered the state of our nation, and came to this:

    If we want to fix our government, we have to fix ourselves. And for many, that will be painful. We, as a nation, have got to learn that there really aren’t any free lunches or free rides. Somewhere, somehow, somebody has got to pay — and unless there is fundamental change in our government, it’s always going to be people like you and me.

  • Listen to My Mother10-30-13-margaret.gif

    Among the best-known axioms in advertising is this: Sex sells. Hence, print and broadcast ads featuring scantily clad young women pitching everything from cars to home appliances. These ads can be so ludicrous that viewers wonder to themselves, just as one of my children once did out loud, “Why that girl has on her bathing suit in the kitchen?”

    If sex sells, so too does food, and food sells itself especially well. Scenes of happy people cooking and eating together make us want to have whatever is being pitched so we will be happy, too. Images of people enjoying a particular food make us want that food, too.

    I find myself drawn to a current television ad for a national restaurant chain featuring a slightly chubby, middle-aged fellow gazing lovingly at a tub of fried chicken which he begins nibbling, of course. Ditto for images of all the food at the State Fair, bizarre concoctions of incongruous ingredients so fat laden and salt infused that the words “calorie bomb” come immediately to mind.

    The inescapable conclusion is that images are so powerful that we might find ourselves the surprised new owners of red convertibles and eating drippy cheeseburgers served on glazed donuts.

    If my mother were here, she would say that once a year is probably okay for such donut burgers or even a fried peanut butter and jelly sandwich, but such consumption is a real problem if indulged in regularly, or — heaven forbid — daily.

    So what are we to do in the face of images of what passes for yumminess everywhere we turn?

    There are a myriad of eating tips out there from mothers, nutritionists and people who have just learned the hard way. I confess up front that I do not always follow hints I know to be helpful and prudent, but I take comfort in the fact that I do think of them and increasingly do what I know I should do.

    Here, in no particular order, are some eating tips I have found helpful from people I know, from various published sources and some that just seem like common sense.

    • When you are shopping in the grocery store and pick up a product with more ingredients that sound like a chemistry lab than ones you recognize as coming from plants or animals, you might consider putting that one back on the shelf.

    Ditto if the word “processed” is on the packaging, especially if it is on it more than once.

    • Shop the “perimeter” of your grocery store. This way you get fresh produce, fresh dairy and fresh meats, poultry and fish. Avoid the proceessd items generally on middle-of-the-store shelves. These include crackers, chips, cookies and many other things which provide little nutrition and lots of calories

    .• Portions should be different for women and men and for children and adults, but generally speaking, meat portions should be about the size of your palm, whatever size you might be

    .• Keep an eye on people you know who are healthy and of normal weight. Watch not only what they are eating but how much of it. Chances are they are doing it right, so consider following their examples.

    • Sometimes you can trick your eye and your stomach by using smaller plates with smaller portions. This does not always work for me, but it might if I did it more consistently.

    • Acknowledge to yourself that restaurant portions are often way too generous. I know one smart eater who, when she places her order with the server, also asks for a “to go” box. When it all arrives, she puts as much as half her meal in the box and takes it home. This saves her from overeating at one meal and provides her one for another time.

    • Face the fact that buffets, as wonderful and varied as they can be, are dangerous places. Self-control is the operative word, and many of us are simply not good at this, especially if we are hungry and the food is good. I am in this camp too often.

    • Try not to let yourself get too hungry lest your next meal or next raid of the fridge turnsw into a complete rout of everything in sight with no vestige of self control in sight.

    I suspect you have plenty of healthy eating tips that help you on occasion and which you thoroughly ignore on others. I would love for you to share them with me by email as I am always in the market for ways to stay healthy.

    In the meantime, with Thanksgiving less than a month away, just remember that getting and staying healthy is a journey, not an event, and that if we fall off the wagon one day, we can climb back on the next.

    I also hear my mother’s words, “Margaret, you can eat anything you want as long as you do so in moderation.”

    Photo: here are many tips for healthy eating. One of the easiest is to always remember to buy fresh first.

  • Voorhees Vigilantes: Lemmings in Pursuit of the Golden Goose

    10-22-14-pub-notes.gifLast week, PWC filed a law suit in Superior Court against the City of Fayetteville and the Fayetteville City Council to clarify its authority and responsibility to operate as a city-owned utility. What?

    After decades of nearly flawless operations, superb management, national achievements and recognition, Fayetteville city officials and staff, under the misdirection of City Manager Ted Voorhees, have embarked on a “money grab” that equates to the killing of the fabled goose that laid the golden egg.

    It is a shame that tens of thousands of taxpayers’ dollars will be wasted needlessly because Voorhees and his lemmings have an acute case of greed and “competency envy.”

    This is unfortunate.

    In America, greatness is best achieved by hard work, dedication, perseverance and mimicking the virtues, values and work ethic of other successful people, businesses and organizations. Today, as this sad situation demonstrates, it’s easier to connive, finagle, dumb down or ravish those operations, businesses and organizations that have achieved greatness in hopes that the greatness of the organization will become their reality. Well, I have news for the city manager and his lemmings; it doesn’t work that way and it never has.

    Objectively, the management and leadership at PWC has proven itself efficient, competent and capable of being good stewards of taxpayer money through decades of successful operation. I repeat, decades. They have never embarrassed our city and, have actually brought us a great sense of Fayetteville pride as PWC employees and management maintain their status as the most visible, most active, most engaged and most responsive organization in all of Cumberland County. In this writer’s opinion, it must remain that way.

    The framers of the original PWC Charter knew that for successful and profitable operation of the utility, and, to create a sustaining platform for future growth of the utility, it had to be free of outside influences and local political hijinks that comes with two-year elections of city councilmen, some of whom do not have the capacity to grasp the massive magnitude of responsibility and complexities of operating a public utility. Again, the existing PWC Charter addresses this by allowing the City Council to appoint a four-member board to oversee, direct and advise the operation of the city’s utility.

    To date, the board has been extremely competent at this task. Responsible Fayetteville citizens like Terry Union, Wilson Lacy, Wick Smith, Lou Olivera, Lynne Green, Mike Lallier, Darsweil Rogers and the newest appointed member, Wade Fowler, are perfect examples. With this being the case, what does our Fayetteville City Manager and his lemmings know that these intelligent and responsible people do not?

    The answer is, absolutely nothing.

    It’s a money grab in the purist sense of the word. The pretense? Transparency. Yes! This means they want to know more about what’s going on at PWC, right? Well, the first thing they should want to learn more about is how PWC manages to run an efficient operation. Why? Because that is what makes PWC so successful.

    In closing this column, I will leave you with a question.

    Why wouldn’t the city council, city manager, city staff and management not want to mimic this type of operation?

    The PWC Charter is a sound document and, I feel confident that the Superior Court will find that past history and performance is an indicator of positive future outcomes.

    PWC touches hundreds of thousands of lives in this community. Voorhees and his lemmings would have a difficult time elaborating on this.Why?

    Because they don’t know how. We’ve seen it time and again in decisions made by Voorhees’ administration. Sadder than that, they don’t care. Responsible citizens need to speak up and have their voices heard on this matter. PWC vs. the City of Fayetteville? There are no winners here, only losers and that’s you and me: the tax paying residents and businesses of Fayetteville.

    You can count on this: When the legal bills come due, the PWC coffers are ravaged and depleted and we are faced with higher utility costs and increased local taxes, rest assured that our city manager and his lemmings will all be long gone.

    Thank you for reading Up& Coming Weekly.

  • PWC’s Court Filing: Clarifying Our Responsibilities

    10-29-14-pwc-1.gifYou may have heard about a recent court filing involving PWC and the City of Fayetteville. As Chairman of the PWC Board of Commissioners, I’d like to explain what it is all about:

    The Fayetteville City Council has taken actions during the last year that have caused confusion about the authority of PWC’s Commissioners regarding who has the ultimate responsibility for our utility services. We are concerned that this uncertainty may interfere with our normal operations and our ability to effectively serve our customers.

    That’s why we have asked the court, whose purpose is to interpret the law, to clearly define who has what roles and responsibilities regarding PWC. 10-29-14-pwc-2.gif

    What actions have the city council taken that have caused the commission concerns? Here is one example: The council recently announced it would not honor its agreement with PWC to pay its share ($70 million) to help fund new sewer lines that are necessary because of the city’s Phase 5 annexation program. We had relied on that agreement and a change would hurt our ability to effectively plan ahead — and it could hurt our customers, too. Without the city’s contributions, rates will most likely increase.

    For more than a century, PWC has operated independently and free from political influence, in accordance with the charte10-29-14-pwc-3.gifr established by the North Carolina General Assembly. That model has worked well — PWC is consistently recognized for its financial stability, low rates, reliability and outstanding customer service.

    With new questions being raised about the commission’s authority, we have asked the court to settle this issue. In addition, we have asked the city to participate in mediation in the hope that we can resolve these concerns without going to court.

    For information and updates related to this, please visit www.faypwc.com.

  • Defender of the Faith

    Tom Ross has a really, really tough job.10-12-11-margaret.jpg

    Ross was inaugurated last week as the fifth president of the University of North Carolina system, which now has nearly 225,000 students. He has already been on the job for nine months, long enough to understand that his challenge is to continue providing higher education to more and more sons and daughters of North Carolina at a time of fewer and fewer resources.

    I do not know anyone who does not think that public education at all levels is under serious assault in our state. During its recent session, the General Assembly cut funding to all educational levels — K-12 an the community colleges. The university system took the hardest hit of all. Federal and private dollars are harder to come by in this grim economy as well.

    Parents moan, often with justification, about all sorts of issues in K-12 schools — curricula, discipline, red tape and more, and they often vote with their feet by putting their children in independent schools or home schooling them. These choices affect public schools in many ways, including decreased funding, decreased diversity with the cultural enrichment it brings and less parental input and support. In some cases, there are also political attacks against public schools. I heard candidates in the last election cycle referring to public schools as “government schools,” insinuating that this is negative and not the glue of common experience that binds much of our nation.

    In our community colleges, courses that lead to well-paid employment are being curtailed for lack of funding, and instructors endure among the lowest pay in our nation.

    But here in the land of the first publicly supported university in the country, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill chartered by the legislature here in Fayetteville in 1789, the elected descendents of those enlightened people cut university system funding by almost 16 percent at a time when North Carolina’s population is exploding and higher education is more important than ever in our global economy. That first public university, by the way, took an 18 percent hit, the largest in the UNC system.

    Tom Ross is the guy who has to deal with that this year for the foreseeable future.

    He has clearly been thinking a great deal about our university system as evidenced by recent interviews and by his inaugural address last week.

    First off, Ross refuses to whine.

    He continues to focus on the university system’s charge to deliver quality higher education. N.C.’s Constitution states that this education shall be free, “as far as is practicable.” The problem is that no one knows what that means, and as the state pulls back funding, tuition increases loom large. Couple that with the reality of diminishing financial-aid for students, and the door of educational opportunity inches shut for families of low and modest means. Moreover, some political circles do not support any sort of student financial aid, a position that bodes ill for many who seek higher education.

    University classes are already getting larger and fewer, meaning that some students will not graduate in four years because they could not get into all their required courses. In addition, there are calls to limit enrollment in the 17 constituent institutions of the UNC system at the same time nations challenging the United States in this global economy are ramping up their education systems.

    North Carolinians who value education and who understand the profound difference it makes in the quality of life of both individuals and families are deeply concerned. Appalled may be a better word.

    Study after study confirms that educated people make more money and lead more satisfying lives than those who are less educated. We can tell ourselves that being educated is an individual achievement and blessing, that one person’s education has nothing to do with the rest of us, but we would be wrong. It is in everyone’s best interest that North Carolina have an educated population prepared to keep our state and our nation competitive as the world continues to shrink.

    Tom Ross put it this way in a recent interview with the Raleigh News and Observer, “If you look at most communities, most states, many, many of the leaders of those communities … and their institutions, are people who are college-educated. Our institutions are in the business, I think, of producing leaders for our society, and we’re in the business of helping people understand about a civil society, and how and why we come together in a society. So there’s a value to the common good.”

    Thousands of North Carolinians have saved and planned for their own educations and for those of their children, secure in the belief that education will improve their lives and in the hope that their children’s lives will be better still.

    This is the deepest heart of the American dream, and in North Carolina, it is in peril.

    Photo: Tom Ross, president of the University of North Carolina 

  • 10-19-11-wfss_logo.jpgWhen it comes to advocating government subsidies of National Public Radio (NPR), I stay neutral on the topic. This is because after listening to NPR for nearly 30 years, I am confident it is a venue that can support and sustain itself.

    Here, in our hometown of Fayetteville, we are extremely lucky to have our own NPR station, WFSS, located on the campus of Fayetteville State University. We are even luckier to live in a community that appreciates the contributions WFSS makes locally. After all, WFSS (91.9 FM), has been our hometown NPR radio station for 34 years, continually growing and providing useful local and national news, interviews with community and business leaders and supporting its neighbors who are making a difference by contributing to our quality of life.

    This month, WFSS has its semi-annual fund drive. As this area’s weekly community newspaper, we intend to support this effort and hope our readers will also.

    The entire station operates on donations. Over the years it has proven to be a good investment and the money raised by WFSS directly benefits the listeners by providing NPR programming, quality local programming and community outreach.

    Local is the key word here. It does get rather confusing in this part of North Carolina. There are 16 public radio stations in our state and each one is independently owned and operated. Each must raise its own funds and no money is shared between them. No one NPR station represents all the public radio stations in our state. That means contributions to WFSS in support of public radio here in our neighborhood must be contributed locally. That is not to say WFSS doesn’t have a broad reach.

    WFSS broadcasts into 13 counties in southeastern North Carolina, covering a 60-mile radius. Joe Ross, Kathy Klaus, Janet Wright and the entire staff live and work in this community. They are professionals and are committed to every market they serve, including: Fayetteville, Spring Lake, Hope Mills, Fort Bragg, Raeford, Sanford, Pinehurst, Southern Pines, Lumberton, Clinton, Dunn and Elizabethtown.

    Need I say more about this wonderful media outlet? Yes. A special thank you to the Cumberland Community Foundation Inc., for challenging the NPR listening audience and WFSS team to bring in new members and to encourage lapsed members to come back. The CCF will match every basic membership pledge of $60 or more. Now, that’s a commitment!

    Below, I have listed the many ways you can support this valuable asset to our community. You can’t beat “free!” Tune in and let’s keep public radio in the Fayetteville community. Contributions can be made by calling 672-1621 or 1-800-245-9377. You may also pledge online at www.wfss.org or you may mail your pledge to WFSS, 1200 Murchison Rd., Fayetteville, NC 28301, ATTN: Fall Fund Drive.

    Tell them that your favorite community newspaper, Up & Coming Weekly, recommended them.

  • “October is the weirdest month” as T.S. Elliot might have writ-ten. The weather finally becomes perfect but people and institu-tions seem to come unhinged with the first chill of Autumn. That fluttering noise you hear is the sound of the wings of the chickens coming home to roost on Wall Street with the Occupy Wall Street campers. If you listen closely to the Republican Presidential de-bates, the angry candidates seem to be chanting, “It’s zombie time in America.” And the zombies are hungry.10-26-11-pitt-.jpg

    As much as would-be Presidents try to reanimate Ronald Reagan, Ronnie ain’t coming back. And they are no Ronald Rea-gan. Each Republican candidate has to prove he has more bumper sticker ready solutions to complex problems than the next one. It’s the end of the world as they know it, and they don’t feel fine. The sunny optimism of the Gipper cannot light the doom and gloom of the Presidential debaters.

    The Republican Presidential debates are even more gruesome than the return of AMC’s cable show The Walking Dead. There are a few living humans among the candidates, Mitt, Cain and Perry. The others are undead but don’t know it. They won’t lie down or go away. They haunt the Republican debates from the far ends of the stage, sniping at first one front-runner, then another.

    “Brains! Brains! We must have brains!” they mumble in Zombie-speak. Michele Bachmann, the Newtster and Santorum are politically dead but still walk among us. Huntsman, believing in evolution, has no chance. Ron Paul is auditioning for his third party run against Mitt and President Obi. Ron is not among the undead. Like Dracula, he will rise up as the Tea Party’s candidate for President to suck the life out of Mitt’s campaign and re-elect President Obi. Thanks, Ron Paul.

    Whereever you look, spookiness is on the march. It’s not just the Presidential debates and the return of the usual Halloween/Christmas shopping season. Lions, tigers and bears escape a private zoo in Ohio to terrorize mid America. Weirdness stalks the land like that piece of moldy celery in the far back of your refrigerator’s vegetable crisper. It remains in the recesses of the crisper until it smolders into a wretched gooey bio-mass.

    Speaking of wretched gooey bio-masses, I have learned a lot about zombies from watching The Walking Dead. For those of you who are not familiar with this excellent show, a summary is in order. A plague swept the Earth wiping out most humans except for a hearty band of intrepid souls who are trying to find happiness and sanctuary from the undead somewhere in Georgia. Zombies are traveling in herds looking for human grub. Fortunately zom-bies are not really smart and can often, but not always be avoided. Being undead, zombies have certain medical impairments. Zom-bies suffer from conjunctivitis. Their eyes, when they have them, are always red and runny. Zombies seldom bath. They are decom-posing so you can smell them before you actually see them. Most zombies need extensive dental work as good oral hygiene is not a priority among the undead. They don’t floss or even brush their fangs. Zombies need orthotics. They suffer from foot drop, a condition in which the muscles of the foot malfunction in lifting the zombie’s feet, causing the distinctive shuffle that zombies have when pursuing prey.

    Not all zombie qualities are suboptimal. As zombies do not breathe, they never get winded. They can chase human prey for many miles without tiring. Zombies are egalitarian. They will eat anybody. They have no leader. As such, all zombies are created equal. The opinion of one zombie, no matter how humble, is respected by all the other zombies, much like the organizational style of Occupy Wall Street.

    The Occupy Wall Street movement has spread across the globe like kudzu on steroids. There’s camping in the streets, from Baltimore to D.C. Our friendly Tea Baggers have been pushed off the nightly news by the Occupy Wall Street crowd as the media’s flavor of the week. The Tea Baggers are crankier now. Mitt is going to be the Republican nominee and the OWS people are stealing their limelight. They are reduced to yelling at those dratted neighbor kids to get off their lawn

    .The most frightening October news is the return of Beavis and Butthead to MTV after many years ab-sence. The horror. The horror.

  • Character Education: Learned and Reinforced

    I just returned from Washington D.C., where I attended a character-education partnership conference. Yes, there is an entire industry dedicated to teaching character-development traits to young children. This is pretty amazing (and sad) when you think about it.

    10-30-13-pub-notes.gifTwenty years ago character development was something that happened and evolved naturally from the relationships we had with our family, friends and community. Our behavior and sense of being were guided and built around strong Christian values, our unwavering belief and confidence in the Golden Rule. Today, character-education traits like respect, honesty, integrity, trustworthiness, kindness, fairness, caring and citizenship are now introduced and taught to young children just as the basics of reading writing and arithmetic.

    The problem with teaching character by rote is that the traits of good character should not be presented and considered as mere suggestions or options. Character-education curriculums in the classroom were designed to promote, reinforce and reward these values and behavior. This is where the success of these programs has been. They were never intended to take the place of a loving nurturing family environment.

    In my opinion, it is the deterioration of the family unit and family values that are driving this need to supplement character education in our young people today. I applaud the efforts made in this direction. However, my real concern is what we are now teaching them in the classroom is not what they are seeing or experiencing in real life.

    Where are their role models?

    Where are our stellar examples of cooperation, honesty, integrity and responsibility from our government leaders that they should be following? Are they not supposed to be setting the examples for our future generations? I think so.

    It is concerning to me that we are confusing our children by teaching them one thing and then demonstrating another. When politicians are corrupt, when teachers cheat, when we fail to take responsibility for our actions or hold others responsible for theirs, are we not sending the wrong messages to our children?

    I am a strong believer in character education and development at all levels. However, I also believe that character education is designed to reinforce strong values... not to create them. If we are going to do justice to our future generations it is our adult behavior that must change. That old cliché “Do as I say, not as I do,” is having a crippling affect on American children. Good character and values must be practiced. Healthy self esteem, pride, confidence and courage are needed to survive in a very complicated world.

    Thank you for reading Up & Coming Weekly.

    Photo: In years past, character was taught at home and passed from one generation to the next.

  • Election 2014: You Decide

    “The ignorance of one voter in a democracy impairs the security of all.” — John F. Kennedy

    President John F. Kennedy’s brief words on voting really define why Up & Coming Weekly creates its election guide. There is no greater responsibility or privilege of being an American citizen than that of voting. It is the basis for this great experiment we call a democracy.

    10-29-14-pub-notes.gifBut with great privilege and responsibility there comes a price and that price is knowledge. You cannot go the polls unless you are armed with knowledge; knowledge to make informed decisions and not vote based on the party line or on personality. You must know what people stand for. You must know their background and you must know their record. Without this basic information, you are going to the polls unarmed and uniformed. An uninformed voter is like an unattended loaded gun — dangerous!

    So, for the past 19 years, we have worked to give our community a snapshot of the candidates who are running for office. We do it by letting the candidate’s speak for themselves. Our process is simple.

    We send out a request to every candidate on the ballot asking them to either respond to a series of questions, or in the case of this year, we gave every candidate 500 words to let you, the voter, know why you should vote for them.

    This year we emailed the request to every candidate and followed it up with a phone call. The candidates whose answers are found inside the guide are the ones who took the time to respond. If a candidate is not in the guide, it is not because they were not afforded the opportunity to speak directly to you, but rather they chose not to take it. That speaks volumes.

    If you are like me, your mailboxes have been inundated with mailers that tell you little about the candidate but a lot of bad things about their opponent. That is not the kind of information any of us need to go to the polls. Instead we need to go to the polls armed with the facts, armed with the truth. And you can’t find that on negative mailers or through political action committee-sponsored 60 second commercials on your television.

    The truth about candidates can be found in what they have to say about themselves and in what their past actions, whether in office or in the community, say about them. And you can only know that by questioning and by studying the candidates.

    Some of you may have already gone to the polls. If you have, I hope you took the time to educate and inform yourselves. If you have not voted yet, then use this guide as a stepping off point. Read about the candidates and then research them. Look at their voting records. Look at where they spend their money and who spends money on them. Look at their experience and see if they have the experience that will allow them to make good decisions for you. It’s your future. It’s your children’s future.

    Voting may be one of the most important things you will do in the coming weeks. Don’t take it lightly. Don’t do it as a matter of habit, and definitely don’t do it based on party lines. Do it because the candidate in question deserves your vote, because they have earned it. Do it because you want this great experiment in freedom to succeed. It’s your privilege, but it’s also your responsibility. Do not take it lightly.

    Thanks you for reading Up & Coming Weekly.

  • 093015_quartet.jpg

    The Turtle Island Quartet and Cyrus Chestnut will entertain the community on Oct. 4 as part of the Fayetteville State University Fine Arts Series. 

    “The Turtle Island Quartet is not your typical string quartet. That is, they perform jazz standards rather than standards from classical composers like Mozart, Haydn or Beethoven. This performance is actually a collaboration between the quartet and jazz pianist Cyrus Chestnut. The program they will bring to Fayetteville is called Jelly, Rags & Monk. It  will feature music by Jelly Roll Morton, ragtime and Thelonius Monk. Interestingly, Monk was born in Rocky Mount in 1917,” explained Dr. Earnest Lamb, chair of the Fine Arts Series . 

    The Turtle Island Quartet began in 1985, and has been innovating ever since. They bring old European traditions and modern American music together in seamless and unique performances that anyone can enjoy. They’ve also revived the century old, but lost tradition, of string improvisation, normally associated with Jazz music and musicians rather than string instruments. String improvisation is often  identified with more classical tunes. 

    Joining the Turtle Island Quartet is Chestnut an acclaimed jazz pianist whose talent, passion, drive and creativity echoes the quartet’s. Their creativity and innovative nature lends itself well to incredible Jazz, a classic American genre still much loved today. 

    “It is an art form that keeps evolving and renewing itself. This program is a perfect example — the quintet will create fresh interpretations of early jazz great Jelly Roll Morton’s and bebop giant Monk’s music for a contemporary audience. It’s like everything old is new again,” Lamb says, “I recommend just coming to the concert with an open mind and be prepared to be amazed.”

    Adding another dimension to the excitement of the concert, Turtle Island Quartet and Cyrus Chestnut will also contribute to the inspiration and education of other musicians. 

    “Cyrus Chestnut and the Turtle Island Quartet will offer master classes for area musicians as part of their appearance in Fayetteville,” says Dr. Lamb. 

    This workshop illustrates how the FSU Fine Arts Series is such a great asset to the community. It brings high caliber artists not only for the enjoyment, but also the betterment of the community as a whole. 

    This performance is just the beginning of what the Fine Arts Series has to offer this year. Dr. Lamb says, “This fall semester I’m excited about exhibition of works by Latino visual artists that will open in October in Rosenthal Gallery and the appearance of The Baltimore Consort in November.  he Baltimore Consort performs music from the 16th century and earlier. Their appearance in Fayetteville will feature music from Shakespeare’s time and will include excerpts from FSU Theater’s upcoming production of Hamlet, which opens in November. This is an exciting collaboration.”

    Turtle Island Quartet and Cyrus Chestnut perform on Oct. 4 at 4 p.m. in Seabrook Auditorium, which is located on the FSU campus at 1200 Murchison Road. Tickets are $10. For more information, visit www.uncfsu.edu/arts or call 672-1571. 


  • As the Arts Council of Fayetteville-Cumberland County closes the exhibit Recycle! It’s Natural, the exhibit in the small west gallery will remain open until Oct. 23. Accumulation: A Collage Invitational is a small, but powerful exhibit that dominates the space in presence, professionalism and originality.

    Seven artists were selected to show two works each in an effort to partner professionals with the open competition for the exhibit in the main gallery. The result was an exhibit that reveals the power and variety of styles within the collage technique.

    Collage, the attaching of individual parts to an existing surface to create composition and meaning, was explored by Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque in the early 20th century. The technique has continued to strongly influence image making by artists from Pop art to the present. Accumulation is an exhibit that readily reveals the variety of styles professional artists use to incorporate collage into their works.

    Included in the exhibit are quotations from each artist verbally communicating how collage is being used in the work — quotations will evoke the “ah ha!” moment for visitors to the gallery. Each quotation has the potential of bringing new meaning to the already existing multiple meanings of each work.

    James Biederman, a Brooklyn, N.Y.-based abstract painter, joined the University of North Carolina at Pembroke’s art faculty in 2007, and was named the Martha Beach Distinguished Professor of Art at UNC Pembroke. Most recently he was awarded the 2008 Joan Mitchell Foundation Sculptors and Painters Grant. (The foundation issues $25,000 grants to 25 artists annually.)

    Biederman is exhibiting two small abstract works titled “Amorous” and “A Year from Monday, John Cage.” Both works are no larger than 14” x 14” and appear twice their size in presence on the gallery wall. He combines the mark making of two painted surfaces joined to create what Biederman refers to as “unfi xing the fixed.”

    With the masterful strokes of simplicity and limited color, Biederman refers to his paintings as “fragments of thought and moments realigned and seemingly fi xed; something not whole but complete; disjointed time, vision and space.” Upon seeing the paintings, the words will make perfect sense to viewers. His juxtaposition of surfaces and even using a stapler to create marks all appear effortlessly masterful. In Biederman’s works, what is absent is equally important to what is present.

    Two other artists are representing UNC-P in the exhibit — Carla Rokes and Janette Hopper. The works of Rokes, a graphic designer, are in strong contrast to the more spacious work by Hopper.

    The impressions Hopper transfers in the printmaking process are complemented by the Sumi painted marks incorporated into her images — quiet, refl ective and poetic moments are evoked in the two works titled “Low Country” and “Duality.” In our present age of information, Hopper combines an array of information to bring us back to a place of quietude. The artist states, “Direct drawing using Sumi ink, the collage and simplistic printing processes mimic the contemplative wealth provided to us by nature. Meditative is the word that comes to mind to describe this process and the resulting works.”

    Rokes’ images are a combination of computer graphic images to create an interpretation of the female fi gure in space. The fi gure is active in movement; the sensuous texture is enclosed, locked within a sparse and minimal background. “Losing Equilibrium” and “Gush” are both works which, according to Rokes “explore feminine identities with the assemblage of disparate visual elements; the image is re-contextualized to create a new whole.”

    The collage images of Fayetteville Technical Community College art instructor Chuck Lawson echo Rokes’s comment, “assemblage of disparate visual elements.” Lawson takes the disparate combination to make a more traditional collage of torn paper parts combined. Yet the content of Lawson’s work is anything but traditional. His work refl ects a solemn message about what he calls the “disjointed psyche of modern humans.”

    Lawson’s works titled “Been Workin’ Out” and “Tips for Gorgeous” scream about a condition of American culture: Desire is a foil for the sinister and glamour is a foil for the ridiculous. The messages in Lawson’s works directly challenge states of being in our culture.

    Peggy Hinson and Silvana Foti represent two of the art faculty at Methodist University. Both Hinson and Foti are long standing professional artists in the community who have exhibited extensively.

    Hinson’s collage images are a mix of architectural places, dry humor and often individuals we can recognize in art history books. Both works, “Romie at the Met” and “Happening at the Met,” are humorous spins on individuals interacting in a staged setting, the collage becomes a place of discovery as the viewer slowly identifi es individuals they recognize among the crowded narrative.

    Years ago, Hinson decided to take the collage approach after completing a major shadow-box construction based on the life and art of Romare Bearden. After that experience she noted, “I decided to integrate collage into my work. I expanded my subjects and discovered that I could tell stories, make commentaries, and use humor with combined imagery from old master artists.”

    Foti is exhibiting two works which refl ect a more well-known style and her most recent approach after a sabbatical from teaching. Individuals who have followed her career will be able to compare “Underwater Maze” and “Underwater Tapestry.” The use of metal in combination with color and pattern has moved from a geometric-design composition to having a highly organic quality.

    Foti explains her work concisely, “Parts are combined to create a new space — each part, a microcosm in itself, is a component of a larger universe. Parts, as a collective, create rhythm within the work; as10-12-11-soni-martin.jpg well as the energy of space.”

    Dwight Smith is the artist/assistant professor representing Fayetteville State University in the exhibit. Smith is known in the area as an abstract artist who integrates iconic symbols into his collages. Color and texture have always been an integral part of Smith’s technique for creating space and rhythm — movement across the picture plane or “push/pull” in space.

    As with all the art in the exhibit, as well as being an integral part of contemporary sensibilities, multiple meanings are always present in Smith’s work. His comment on the two works in the exhibit is as follows, “Collage is a method of integrating opposites into a state of harmony and balance. Iconic symbols, abstract shapes, patterns and textures merge as a sum that is greater than its parts.”

    The exhibit is small, only 14 works of art by seven artists, but it is a wonderfully diverse and potent exhibition of professional originality and high standards. For information about this exhibit and upcoming exhibitions, call the Art Council at 323-1776 or visit the website at www.theartscouncil.com.

    Photo: “A Year From Monday, John Cage,” by James Biderman is one of 14 works on display in Ac-cumulation: A Collage Invitational at the Arts Council.

  • Where Is the Logic in Occupying Wall Street?10-19-11-pub-notes.jpg

    Occupy Wall Street, the current movement du jour, is bringing together tens of thousands of protesters. Unfortunately, the only thing this diverse group is coming together on is that they are victims of a rotten economy and incompetent, irresponsible and failed government leadership at all levels.

    Oh yeah, it’s sad, but true. In our own community hundreds of Fayetteville/ Cumberland County residents stood in long lines for hours last week at a job fair held at the Crown Center by the Cumberland County Department of Social Services. This event served as a dismal reminder of what comes from ineffective and failed government policies and blatant incompetence and dishonesty.

    The constant sound bites of rhetoric about the nation’s $14 trillion dollar debt, the 25 million out-of-work Americans and the prospects of increasing taxes to raise enough money to pay our bills ring hollow, when the most serious concerns are ignored.

    Concerns like the gross Medicaid/Medicare fraud that totals billions. Solyndra’s $535 million dollar bankruptcy and loss of taxpayers money. We can’t forget, my all time favorite example of government incompetence — the covert hair brained operation of Fast and Furious which placed hundreds of lethal weapons into the hands of criminals and gangsters who are currently using them not only to commit crimes, but, to actually kill Americans.

    No wonder people are angry. Targeting Wall Street, capitalism and rich people is easy. The sad truth is most of the protesters have little or no knowledge of local, state or national affairs or of how economics really work. Their time and passion is so misplaced.

    Our nation was built on capitalism and through the blood, sweat and tears of true risk-taking entrepreneurs. How can this reality be ignored by protesters wearing $110 tennis shoes, Old Navy hoodies and Gap jeans while communicating on cell phones and entertaining themselves with ipads, ipods and iphones? Where is the logic?

    My suggestion to these folks, and the 35 people who rallied locally around the Fayetteville Market House last week, is to first become responsible for their own actions and well being. Take control of their futures and realize that the redistribution of wealth is not the answer to their problems. The second thing they need to do is find a job. Only 4.3 percent of the unemployed have college educations. Maybe they should get educated.

    Third, stop blaming everyone else. The realization that our nation was built on a foundation of hard work, free enterprise and capitalism will eventually prove them silly. Locally, we have plenty of examples of people who exercised their talents, worked hard, took their chances and succeeded in participating in the American Dream: The late Bobby McCoy, M.J. Soffee and Putt Putt Golf creator and founder Don Clayton immediately come to mind. Some of these amazing, hard working, dedicated risk takers I see everyday like Ralph Huff of H&H Homes, Ron Darden of Darden & Miranda Insurance Company, Mike Karaman of Karaman Communications, Jimmy Townsend of Townsend Real Estate, Jim Pittman of Fast Signs, Bill and Mary Mathews of M & M Leather, Don Price of Lafayette Ford and Holly Whitney of Legends Pub on Bragg Boulevard.

    Entrepreneurs and risk takers everyone, and, not a “silver spoon” to be found anywhere. My list could go on and on but you get the point. The system works. It is the government that is broken. It is our government at all levels that has fostered programs and policies that cripple all Americans not just the poor and working middle class.

    Only we can fix this problem and the solution is to get involved with the process. Vote in the upcoming election and let your voice be heard. This is where and how justice will be done. Not on Wall Street and not by protesting ambiguities where each fruitless day only showcases and defines the hypocrisy of the uninformed. Vote, work, educate. If you never earn a million dollars your pride, dignity and happiness will bring you wealth beyond compare. Thank you for reading Up & Coming Weekly.  

    Photo: Protesters rail against Wall Street while embracing the corporate culture as seen by name-brand camping gear and communications devices.

  • 093015_hgames.jpg

    The 2015 Scotland County Highland Games take place on Friday, Oct. 2 through Sunday, Oct. 4, on the grounds of the John Blue Home and Historical Complex in Laurinburg. The event provides an immersion into the Scottish-American historical experience of this region. There will be plenty to see and do all weekend long.

    The schedule of events includes a visit to historic Laurinburg and Scotland County on Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. A Whisky Tasting and Gathering takes place at 3 p.m. at the Storytelling Arts Center in downtown Laurinburg. There is a reception for the sponsors and honored clan at 6 p.m. The evening concludes with a concert featuring Piper Willie McCallum at the Avenger Auditorium at 8 p.m. Tickets are $10 at the door only. 

    On Saturday, Oct. 3 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., the lineup includes the piping, drumming and athletic competition, Highland dancing competition, sheep dog demonstrations, opening ceremony demonstrations, Scottish athletic events, pipe bands, entertainment, clan tents, awards presentations, closing ceremonies and “Live after Five” performances by Rathkelter and Seven Nations at 6 p.m. 

    Colin Grant-Adams is a performer on the entertainment stage. Food, beer and vendors are available on site. Admission is $10 for adults and $5 for kids after 5 p.m. It is free for those in attendance at the games field.  

    One of the most popular events is the Whisky Tasting. The single malts and food pairings this year are Aaran’s Robert Burns of the Isle of Aaran paired with goat cheese and mushroom on toast points; Talisker’s 10 year-old Isle of Skye paired with smoked salmon; Jura’s superstition of the Isle of Jura paired with smoked scallops and orange marmalade; Highland Park’s warrior series of the Isle of Orkney paired with salted toffee; and Ledaig 10-year-old Isle of Mull with their very own Jack’s family recipe for shortbread cookies.    

    The EUSPBA Premier Piping Competition will begin at 9 a.m. and admission is free.   

    The Kirkin’ of the Tartans Worship Service begins at 11 a.m. on Sunday, Oct. 4 at Old Laurel Hill Presbyterian Church.   

    There is a custom-made kilt raffle and the drawing is on Saturday, Oct. 3. Tickets for the raffle are $10 and only 300 tickets will be sold. Raffle tickets can be purchased via mail at SCHG, 1615 Dial Road, Red Springs, N.C. 28377.  Corporate sponsorships are available. No pets, firearms or outside alcohol are permitted. 

    For more information, visit www.schgnc.org. 

  •     It’s that most wonderful time of the year, the last week before the Presidential elections. You gotta love it. Herein lies the harmonic convergence of Halloween and the October surprises. Tis the season of the three Vs: venom, vileness and vituperation. Who knows what headlines of political ugliness will have hit the body politic by the time this contribution to world literature graces the pages of Up & Coming? While you are killing time waiting for the Apocalypse, how about a little idle speculation about what will happen in the last week of the Presidential race ? Don we now our Nostradamus beanie and fire up the old Prediction Machine. Here’s some fairly predictable headlines to watch for in this last week of President Bush’s unofficial Lame Duckiness. Next week he’s officially a lame duck. We shall all shed a silent tear at his waterfowl status.

    Malfunctioning Voter Machines in Florida
        {mosimage}Long lines greeted voters in predominantly Democratic counties all over Florida as optical scanning voting machines refused to read thousands of ballots. Florida’s Secretary of State announced that either humidity, cheap paper ballots imported from China or an infestation of flying roaches caused the ballots to be rejected. Yoshiteru Taskahashi, a spokesman for DEMBEGONE, the manufacturer of Florida’s voting machines which were rejecting the ballots, explained that an unintended design error in the software was causing the machines to refuse to scan the ballots. Mr. Taskahashi stated, “The voting machines were designed to allow the ballots to be accepted by the machine. The machines were intended to have the appearance of fairness. The miscounting of the ballots was supposed to take place after the ballot had entered the machine so it would not be so obvious to the voter that his ballot for Democratic candidates was being rejected. I sincerely apologize to my Republican friends for this result. Please be assured that the outcome will be the same however, Democratic votes will be either morphed into votes for McCain or ignored totally.”

    Voter Fraud Alleged in Chicago
        Republicans challenged the votes of thousands of dead voters in multiple Chicago precincts. A spokesman for the Republicans, Jim “Buffy” Hoisington protested that rampant dead voter fraud was endemic in Chicago. Mr. Hoisington said “It is bad enough that dead voters are allowed to vote in our elections, although in Chicago we are used to that sort of thing. What really sticks in my esophagus is that dead voters are being allowed to vote outside of their home cemetery precincts. We have reports of dead Democrats buried in south Chicago being allowed to vote multiple times in other areas of the city. The gentleman’s agreement we had with the Democrats to limit dead voters to voting only once in their cemetery precinct has been grossly violated. I am shocked, shocked that Chicago Democrats would sink to such a level.”
        George Jefferson, the spokesman for ACORN strongly disputed Republican complaints of dead voter fraud. Mr. Jefferson stated, “This is just another example of Republicans trying to disenfranchise one of our most important Democratic voting blocks — Dead People. Just because a person is dead is no reason to disenfranchise him or her. ACORN will not allow the electoral participation of dead voters to be blocked by nefarious Republicans bent on limiting the privilege of voting to living people. There are more dead people in the world than living ones. The votes of the dead are every bit as valuable to them as the votes of the living. It is troubling when a person dies that his ungrateful heirs start bickering over his property. A dead person loses his property but not his precious right to vote Democratic. ACORN’s principal of eternal universal suffrage for the dead will not be crucified on a cross of Republican gold.”

    Stock Markets on a Wild Ride
        Despite the promise of additional free money from the U.S. Treasury and the Federal Reserve, world stock markets continued to spike up and down leaving investors reeling. Bad puns about 401K accounts continue to flood late night TV comedy shows. On a brighter economic note, sales of Paxil, Welbutrin and Thorazine soared as the public attempted to drug itself into a state of comfortable numbness.

  • Who Do You Trust?

    I have been on the road a bit of late, with all the packing and unpacking that goes with travel. It dawned on me during a recent and frantic session that my packing has changed without my being aware of it. It was a small revelation.

    For one thing, I am more organized about it than I used to be.10-05-11-margaret.jpg

    I keep a vanity kit packed at all times with toothpaste, shampoo and the like. It is ready to toss into a suitcase after I add my vitamins and other current items. I keep a stash of no-iron clothes that survive travel, if not exactly unscathed, at least looking like no one slept in them. I have also learned to keep a travel umbrella in my regular suitcase, because you just never know no matter what the forecast says.

    The main difference, though, is what I now deem essential to have that I never imagined in travels past.

    As I left on my most recent jaunt, I had a moment of mini-panic when I thought I had left my mobile phone at home and another when I could not find the charger. Fortunately, I had packed both, and the same charger does double duty by fueling both my phone and my now-necessary tablet computer. The heretofore unknown tablet now goes everywhere I go, and I hardly know what I did without both it and the mobile phone.

    I am comforted by the knowledge that I am hardly alone.

    A stroll through any airport in the entire world reveals thousands of people yakking on their mobiles — or “handies” as they say in Europe, hunched over laptops or cradling tablets in their laps. They do this on planes as well in “airplane mode.”

    Technology makes this possible, of course, and drives us to use it as well. There is an element of “keeping up with the Joneses,” of course, but there are also practical reasons. If the Precious Jewels are going to send me texts, which they do regularly, I have to have a device that can receive them and allow me to respond.

    There is more.

    In what seems increasingly like the olden days, we got most of our news and information from our local newspapers and television, which really meant three networks — ABC, CBS and NBC. Today, the options seem endless. There are hundreds of cable TV channels, some of which seem fairly sketchy to me but are there nonetheless. And, oh my goodness!, the Internet! If there is some topic impossible to search, I have not found it. Online is now the go-to source for news and information of all kinds, so much so that many people wonder what is going to happen to all those libraries full of actual books.

    A recent report by the Pew Research Center and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation confirms what we are all up to now days, media-wise. We still depend on local newspapers, like Up and Coming Weekly, for local news and information. We read them at least once a week, although we do so increasingly online. Beyond that, media consumption is “Katie, Bar the Door!” Television remains our primary source of news — primarily weather, traffic and breaking stories — but radio and all manner of websites are in the mix as well.

    The bottom line is that we are taking advantage of all the choices technology has brought us.

    The situation is fluid, though, and there are aspects of it I find troubling, most notably that young people gravitate toward “softer” news stories, often passing on the more complex stories. Maybe that is just a matter of maturity, but… A separate Pew Research Center study tells us how confl icted we are about our media. Overwhelmingly, we distrust “the media.” More than two-thirds of us believe news is often inaccurate, that news organizations have agendas and that they are infl uenced by those in power. That is, all media except the outlets we personally like, which we fi nd fair and balanced.

    We feel the same way about our elected offi cials.

    By astounding margins, as much as 90 percent, we disdain Congress as a body but generally like our own representatives and senators. And in what social scientists refer to as “cognitive dissonance” — holding confl icting views at the same time — we do not seem concerned about where our news and information comes from. With so many options available, we lack interest in exactly who is generating our news content, or what, for example, would happen if local newspaper disappeared.

    Who would tell us about local events and discuss local issues? Some website based in China? Who would write the news and disseminate it and would they try to be truthful or to advance their own points of view?

    I am packing for another trip as I write this and have my gizmos stashed for the ride. I know they open new worlds of media, and I know something else about them as well.

    They are driven by human nature, which is as old as time.

    Photo: In what seems increasingly like the olden days, we got most of our news and information from our local newspapers and television, which really meant three networks.

  • As someone who appreciates the social and economic value of advertising and marketing, I don’t mean the comparison as a slight. Politics is the means by which human societies confer and legitimate the power of force. It is — or at least ought to be — a serious endeavor, conducted by people who seek such power for legiti-mate ends, rather than to enrich themselves or oppress others

    Just because people market useless diet pills and tedious rap “music” through advertising, public relations, social media and other modern techniques doesn’t mean that they aren’t well suited to more serious causes. Effective marketing is simply effective mass communication. And the alternative to seeking political power through marketing campaigns is to seek it through corrupt or forceful means

    So thank goodness politics is about marketing.

    As the technologies and tools of marketing have changed, so has our politics. In the early American republic, when true mass communication was impossible and the voting franchise was limited anyway, political campaigns consisted of letters, meetings, personal appearances, and grassroots organization. As mass media pro-liferated through the 19th and early 20th centuries, political campaigns increasingly focused their attention on securing favorable press coverage and producing high-quality display and broadcast ads.

    In today’s social-media world, mass communication has become mass customization. Political campaigns now use tools such as Facebook to target messages to potential voters and donors based on stated interests and preferences.

    For example, those Facebook members who list church, community service, and social causes among their interests will get a very different advertising message than members who list hunting, sports, or playing the stock market. All these mem-bers may be Republican-leaning voters, and they may all end up voting for the same candidates. But their reasons and motivations likely differ — which is why candi-dates differentiate the messages accordingly.

    There are at least two major concerns I’ve seen expressed about the onset of political mass customization. Both deserve serious consideration.

    The first is that by using Facebook preferences, magazine subscriptions, and other consumer information to personalize their messages, political parties and candidates are violating the privacy of potential voters and donors.

    In a free society, people ought to be able to protect their privacy from unwant-ed intrusion, be it by government or by private parties violating their contractual responsibilities. For the most part, however, the information that political actors use to customize their messages is either freely disclosed (as with personal Facebook pages with privacy screens off) or obtained legally through agreements between companies and customers (as with many subscription and mailing lists)

    If I thought there were gross, widespread intrusions of privacy here, I’d be worried about it. So far, that doesn’t seem to be the case. Remember that targeted advertising is good for consumers — it serves to inform potentially interested in-dividuals of something they may value, be it a consumer good or a political cause, while sparing those unlikely to be interested from having to see or hear the ad in the first place.

    The second concern is about the loss of shared experience. While Americans have often found political ads and other campaign messages annoying, they have helped to create a common body of knowledge. Think about the Helms-Hunt Senate race in 1984. While many North Carolinians were annoyed by the TV ads they saw from each side, the most-despicable material was relegated to small-circulation newspapers aimed at rural audiences — messages that many urban and suburban voters never saw.

    Of course, the difference is that even if you customize your message in 2012, that doesn’t mean it won’t quickly leak into the mass media if it is libelous, ridicu-lous, or shameful. A couple of clicks and a “targeted” message with a potential to upend a campaign will go viral.

    My sense is that customization of electoral marketing will bring more upsides than downsides for most voters, and for the political process. Social media offer the promise of persuading and motivating voters at a cost many cash-poor candidates can afford. Sounds good to me.

  • OM.....10-19-11-margaret.jpg

    One of my favorite columnists recently wrote a column on one of my favorite topics.

    The New York Times’ ever-clever Maureen Dowd devoted her piece, entitled “How Garbo Learned to Stand on Her Head,” to the benefits and dangers of practicing yoga.

    I read Dowd regularly, but this column grabbed me since I have had an active yoga practice for well over a decade. It has seen me through the sale of a third generation family business, the Precious Jewels’ departures from the nest, five political campaigns and countless untold and largely unremembered stresses of daily life. I began yoga at a time when I was facing unwanted surgery, though not because of my medical problem. The upshot is that my medical issue long ago resolved itself without surgery, and I take no medication for it — nada! I never even think about it unless I tell someone this story. 

    Yoga is an ancient tradition — some would say art, involving both body and mind. There are many different practices, some more physical, some more mental, some more spiritual. American Baby Boomers have adopted yoga by the millions, and it is now practiced in gyms across the nation as a form of exercise, though there are certainly many people whose practices are more cerebral.

    Dowd and I agree on many things, including this: Yoga is not for everyone, but then neither are triathlons, polo, mountain bike racing or sitting on the sofa drinking martinis and savoring chocolate.

    I found Dowd’s yoga column a riveting read, both because she suggests yoga as a cure for some of our most intensely partisan politicians and because she touches on possible negative effects of yoga, which has not been my experience at all. Interesting as her column is, the 114 literate reader comments the Times allowed may be even more so. They come from people who believe they have benefi ted from the practice of yoga and from others who see it as hogwash.

    Here is a sampling of those comments: “

    We can learn to relax our bodies and minds, and we need to regularly for our health and well-being. Well-taught yoga in moderation is one way. I wonder why this simple idea, with many years of research and common sense behind it, still makes people … well, nervous.” Margaret in New York City

    “I tried standing on my head and found that it was easier and more fulfilling to stand on someone else’s head.” Richhorn in University Place, Washington

    “Oh brother. I’d rather have a couple of martinis than listen to a yoga teacher for an hour instructing me to make my body do things it doesn’t want to do on a dirty mat with crummy music …We Baby Boomers are the most obnoxious generation that ever lived. No wonder the 20-somethings can’t stand us.” Louise in Kansas

    “I always thought that if you could look that silly in a room full of other equally silly-ly posed people then you must have achieved a state of complete oblivion. I find it now just too uncomfortable. However yoga has saved my sanity. When in my life I have found myself under extreme stress, I will lie flat on the floor, do the circular breathing and relax. It works. Amazing.” Scientella in Palo Alto

    “With the economy in downward dog, the 99 percent and 1 percent in warrior, and all of our politicians in child’s pose, yoga may very well be our undoing, after all.” Jacob B. in Seattle, Washington

    “Get a dog. No nagging, nor alimony, no university tuition, always glad to see you.” Dan Green in Delray Beach, Florida

    “As a holistic physician I routinely ‘prescribe’ yoga to my patients. ‘Behavioral prescriptions’ are slowly replacing the U.S. obsession with meds. Yoga, however, historically comes from Eastern culture. Although Harvard’s Herbert Benson ‘Westernized’ yoga … any medical intervention from other cultures is inherently mistrusted by arrogant U.S. bio-medicine … U.S. patients are light years ahead of the stuck U.S. profession of organized medicine. But I doubt U.S. politicians are among our most enlightened patients.” Dr. Rick Lippin Southampton, Pennsylvania“

    A soothing massage, a nice piece of Stilton and some Chivas on the rocks, sipped slowly, works wonders for me after a hard day at my volunteer job … Finally, unplug all media and communication devices for an hour or two before bed and read a few pages of a good book. Good night….ZZZZ..zzz” Renolady in Nevada

    “I’ve done every type of exercise and fitness regime for my entire life. Took up yoga at 40 and am now 50 and it is unquestionably the best thing I’ve ever done for my mind and body...Harmony with yourself is what allows harmony with others and all your environments: social, family, work, etc…” Mr. Spock in New York City

    Larry Eisenberg in New York City wins the Maureen Dowd Ever-Clever Award, though, with this little ditty:“

    I’m raring to discard my toga, Resume my old practice of Yoga,End sexual disorder,Put frayed nerves in order,Pretend that I’m not an old foga.” Namaste.

  • Yin Yang

    If a pollster rings up today and asks us what we think of the Tea Party and the newer Occupy10-26-margaret.jpg Wall Street movement, many of us would say that they are different groups entirely, maybe even polar opposites.

    Some of us might go on to say that the Tea Party is a right-wing movement, giving a more boots-on-the-ground boost of energy to Republicans but also giving the GOP establishment a bad case of heebie jee-bie anxiety lest the rightest right Tea Partiers scare independent voters directly into the Democratic fold. Some of us might also say that Occupy Wall Street is a liberal movement, well intentioned but risking damage to American free enterprise with a credo and goals so amorphous that not even the die-hard adherents camping out all over American are able to articulate them.

    Some of us might well be wrong.

    The Tea Party rose to national prominence in the weeks and months preceding the 2010 General Elections. It is a seemingly populist movement born of the frustration of a sour economy and fueled by animosity toward government at all levels. If the Tea Party had a slogan, it would almost certainly be the words of its iconic President, Ronald Reagan, who intoned at every opportunity, “Government is the problem, not the solution.”

    The Tea Party mopped up for Republicans in the 2010 off year elections, changing the balance of power in Congress and in state legislatures across the land.

    Enter Occupy Wall Street carrying signs saying “Eat the Rich” and attacking the excesses of American Big Business, the financial institutions and their practices which drove us smack into the Great Recession from which we have yet to thoroughly emerge. Its Democratic leaning mes-sage says that the rich must pay their fair share of taxes, at least in the same percentages as middle-class teachers, policemen, fire fighters, and mom and pop businesses. You and I may be counting our pennies, but Forbes recent release of the 10 highest-paid CEOs in the nation shows that some people need not worry at all. Someone I have never heard of, John Hammergren of McKesson, a health care conglomerate, will bring home the top paycheck this year at a cool $161,000,000. Everyone’s favorite polo enthusiast, Ralph Lauren, comes in a somewhat distant second, bringing home $66,700,000 worth of bacon this year. It is hard for people out of work and maybe even for some diehard free-enterprisers to make sense of those numbers, but they are kerosene on the flames for Occupy Wall Street.

    So, can we expect our television screens to be covered by Tea Partiers and Wall Street Occupiers yelling at each other every second between now and Election Day 2012?

    I suspect not as much as one might think, because while their political leanings may indeed tilt in opposite directions, both movements were birthed by the same tired mother.

    Both were born of economic frustration and alienation from society at large. President Obama spoke about this to ABC News on his visit to North Carolina last month.

    Addressing Occupy Wall Street, the President said, “I understand the frustrations being expressed in those pro-tests. In some ways, they’re not that different from some of the protests we saw coming from the Tea Party. Both on the left and on the right, I think people feel separated from their government. They feel that their institutions aren’t looking out for them.”

    The President is right.

    Millions of Americans do feel that way, even those of us who are neither Tea Partiers nor Occupy Wall Streeters.

    For several months now, I have been explor-ing different eras of American history, particu-larly our Civil War and World Wars I and II, pondering what events and movements gave rise to massive societal change. My own generation initiated tremendous change during the 1960s, although this Baby Boomer certainly did not grasp the magnitude of change and its repercussions at the time.

    Could it be that the Tea Partiers and Occupy Wall Street are the advance guard of a larger movement that will demand reform of both gov-ernment and business? Are we witnessing the first stretches and stirrings of the tiger of change of the Precious Jewels’ generation, a tiger that will sweep away the old and tired and replace them with something yet to be formed?

    No one knows the answers to those questions, but 2012 and the elec-tions next fall will certainly reveal clues. As unscientific as this may be, I sense significant change not unlike what I experienced earlier in my life forming at this later stage of my journey.

    Yin Yang.

    Perhaps.

    Polar opposites.

    I think not.

    Photo: No one knows the answers to those questions, but 2012 and the elections next fall will certainly reveal clues.

  •     It is that time of the year again when the mountains of North Carolina sing with color. October is a great time to get on your bike and head to the hills. There are two great destinations for your riding pleasure: the Blue Ridge Parkway and the Great Smoky Mountains.{mosimage}
        The Blue Ridge Parkway is the most visited park of America’s national park system, attracting about 20 million visitors annually.
        The parkway is loaded with great rides, however, for me, the best riding is from Boone south to Cherokee. This portion of the Blue Ridge offers fabulous curves and spectacular views. Along the way you will visit some of the highest peaks east of the Mississippi. These mountain tops are accessible by road and within short drive off of the parkway. About 30 miles from Spruce Pines (at mile marker 330) is Roan Mountain. The Roan as the locals call it, straddles the North Carolina and Tennessee border and is at 6,285 feet elevation. About 30 miles down from Spruce Pines you will find Mt. Mitchell. Mt. Mitchell is 6,684 feet tall and is the tallest mountain east of the Mississippi. Past Asheville you will find Richland Balsam Overlook at milepost 431. This is the tallest point of the parkway at 6,047 feet. All these locations provide beautiful sights, great roads, and a nice day trip.
        One of my favorite spots to stop is the Mountain View Restaurant located in Little Switzerland, around mile marker 330. The view is incredible and the food is reasonably priced and tasty. Also at marker 330 is Big Lynn Lodge, another nice little place to stay. There is a restaurant at the lodge and very nice views looking to the east of North Carolina.
        Past Asheville is the Pisgah Inn. At milepost 408.7 it is the only inn and restaurant on this stretch of parkway and is located at 5,000 feet. It’s a great place (and very popular) to stop for lunch since their dining room has big windows with beautiful vistas. It is opened through October. Before you travel south of Asheville be sure to fill your tanks with gas. There are few stops along this stretch of the parkway with exits to get gas. At one point it is 50 miles between stations, so fuel up so you can enjoy the view.
        The parkway continues to milepost 469.1, ending near Cherokee at the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. At the end of the parkway you will hit U.S. 441. Turn left and travel to New Found Gap and turn right to the road that goes to Clingman’s Dome. Clingman’s Dome is 6,643 feet elevation with a nice paved walkway to the top from the parking lot and large 360 degree observation deck. Clingman’s Dome is located along the North Carolina and Tennessee border and is the highest point in Tennessee, the Great Smoky Mountain Park and the Appalachian Trail. It is the second highest peak east of the Mississippi. If you want to head back towards Cherokee you will find lots to do. One town over is Maggie Valley where you can visit Wheels Through Time museum. This museum features more than 100 motorcycles dating back over 100 years.
        If you want to know where and when to see the best colors for the leaves check out the Weather Channel’s Web site www.weather.com, maps, fall foliage. RIDE SAFE!
  •     My world-travelling, city-dwelling daughter sends me articles on all manner of cultural matters, and a recent missive stirred up thoughts about matters generational.
    My maternal grandmother had strong opinions on most everything. Her husband, my grandfather, was a rock whose values remain solid to this day. My parents were clear about what they thought on issues large and small.
        {mosimage}One of my daughter’s latest emails springs from the London Times, suggesting the possibility that the members of Generation X someday might just follow their parents, the Baby Boomers, down the well-trodden path to the same garden once they reach retirement age. Shane Watson, the author of the article and no doubt a GenXer himself, writes that “according to a new study published by the Economic and Social Research Council, the generation that rejected… every single convention of adult life are making like their parents in retirement… They may have more wind chimes in the garden… but the disciples of the new age are using their golden years like every pensioner before them — for home improvements and long walks.”  Well, duh!
        Both common sense and scientific research tell us that sooner or later, all of us develop habits and interests that closely resemble those of our parents and others whose opinions, attitudes and general presence formed us. We share genes and histories with our parents, so the fact that we do things like our parents comes as no surprise. As a know-it-all college student in the early 1970s, I thought my father’s dismissal of long-haired hippies terribly provincial and my mother’s convictions regarding social behavior decidedly old fashioned. We Baby Boomers did it our own way — long hair, Birkenstocks, peace signs, as we labored to find ourselves. We proudly gave ourselves an absolutely unique place in the culture of the world, and for a time that was true.             Now, I know better. 
        Even being special turns into history, and experiences, thoughts and values flow from generation to generation.
        As a parent of young adult children, my own words are coming back me. Talking to my city-dwelling daughter recently, she repeated something that I said many times in her childhood: “If you think you can, you can. If you think you can’t, you can’t.” It came out of her mouth verbatim and with conviction.
        She has had similar experiences with parental advice. Having worked at a camp for many summers, she has found herself telling her campers the very things that she resisted hearing from her own parents.
    Some advice stands the test of time.
        As we move along life’s continuum, we exchange the excitement of youth for the comforts of maturity. When we would have once jumped at the prospect of a rock concert or a spontaneous road trip, it is now enough to listen to NPR. When we might have dreamed of climbing Mount Everest, it becomes enough to look forward to a window-watching, garden-peeping walk through the neighborhood with a good friend. It becomes enough to look forward to an evening with friends with a social hour, a wonderful — even fabulously cooked dinner, and home quite a bit before midnight.
        All parents want our children to live lives filled with success and happiness and independence. We want to be able to watch from afar as they fulfill their dreams and ours for them. Admit it or not, we also want and need to see a bit of ourselves in them as they move through life’s adventures.
        It is a comfort, revelation, and source of much satisfaction to me to listen to my children’s conversation with each other. Much of it involves their friends, their common experiences which do not include me, and current cultural influences too au courant to have reached me yet.
        I do see, though, the common thread passed down to me from my parents and grandparents, and no doubt to them from their parents and grandparents, of how to build a life, how to treat other people, and how to live in a way that satisfies you and enriches those around you.
        Those teachings transcend generations, whether we wear Birkenstocks or Jimmy Choose, whether we listen to our music on the radio or on an iPod, whether we have flowing tresses or a buzz cut, whether we are plain as the way nature made us or decorated with body art.
        I have found as a parent that it is hard to know what your message to your children really is much less whether it is getting through.  There are days you are sure it is not, and days when you think it might be after all.
        There can be signs, though.
        I was absolutely thrilled not long ago when my daughter repeated in casual conversation that “Anything worth doing is worth doing well.”
  • jeff5Recovery from Hurricane Matthew in Cumberland County will take months, even years for some. The record rainfall of 24 inches over two days was unprecedented and totally unexpected even by the National Weather Service. It resulted in urban flooding directly attributed to the storm as well as utility issues caused by downed power lines and uprooted trees. Hundreds of homes were heavily damaged, some beyond repair. PWC crews worked well into last week restoring electricity across Fayetteville. Even the water treatment plant lost power. The state had to test the water once the plant was up and running. And, as is the case in almost every facet of state operations, it took days for test results to come up negative as to contamination. 

    The statistics are record setting: 15 inches of rain in one day. More than 700 people saved during 255 high water rescues by late Sunday of last week. No serious injuries or fatalities were directly attributed to the storm. Property losses are staggering. Some estimates place the total monetary loss of homes and businesses across Cumberland County in 10 figures. And it wasn’t just in Fayetteville. Hope Mills and Spring Lake were also hit hard. Just about everyone agrees, the record-setting storms, which began on Oct. 4 and continued Oct. 8 and 9, were unprecedented in modern memory.

  • jeff2At least three local deaths have been attributed to Hurricane Matthew. 

    Isabelle Ralls, 81, of Falcon was found dead in her car Oct. 10. The state Medical Examiner’s office ruled the death accidental by drowning.The body of Tarry Faircloth, 53, was found the afternoon of Oct. 13 on Clinton Road near an I-95 exit ramp. Faircloth had been  missing since the night of Oct. 8. A third storm-related death was  reported by the governor’s office. An unidentified 63-year-old man died,  but state officials provided no details. His death is the 26th in North  Carolina related to Hurricane Matthew. There have been at least 43 nationally.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    jeff3Aftermath of the Storm

    An unheralded response to the aftermath of Hurricane Matthew was that of regular people, neighbors and concerned citizens. Local organizations and individuals reached out to help communities from Fayetteville, Hope Mills and Spring Lake to Lumberton and Pembroke. The recovery effort involved prominent faith organizations from Baptist Men to Manna Church and Covenant Love Church/Operation Blessing’s Disaster Relief. Manna Church on Cliffdale Road helped coordinate volunteer efforts related to trash and debris removal. One-on-one assistance included providing water and food, and help filing claims with insurance companies. Covenant Love Church and Operation Blessing Disaster Relief on Dunn Road served hot evening meals daily. Volunteers also helped with debris removal as well as packing and salvaging personal belongings. Green Springs Baptist Church, on the Cumberland-Robeson County line served as a drop-off point for people to bring clothes, blankets and hygiene items for distribution to the numerous shelters in Robeson County serving the victims of the flooding in Lumberton.

    A Van Story Hills resident collected items including water, diapers, paper cups and plates, blankets and more, and drove them to Lumberton, which was hard hit by flooding. And the Sandhills Chapter of the Red Cross coordinated the arrival of volunteers from out of state who came to North Carolina to help. The Red Cross mobilized more than 400 workers and 80 response vehicles.

     

    Holiday Wreaths

    Holy Trinity Church’s Preschool is taking orders for Christmas wreaths and accessories through Nov. 1. They’re fresh from Alleghany County, North Carolina. The 20 - 22 inch Fraser Fir wreaths are $21. Wreath bows are $4 and 20 feet of white pine garlands are $15. Advance orders and payments can be made at Holy Trinity Episcopal Church, 1601 Raeford Road. The items will be available for pickup on Nov. 19 at the church parking lot. 

     

    Jeff1Public Assistance

    Cumberland County residents who receive food and nutrition benefits and have experienced flood damage or power outages may apply for replacements by doing so in person at the Department of Social Services on Ramsey Street. Also, because Cumberland County is included in a presidential disaster declaration, the Federal Emergency Management Agency is making its assistance available locally to supplement state, tribal and local recovery efforts. Federal funding is available to effected individuals to include grants for temporary housing and home repairs as well as low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses. Federal funding is also available to local governments and certain private nonprofit organizations to help defray the costs associated with emergency work. Fayetteville City Council dipped into its reserves to provide $1.5 million dollars for emergency relief. 

     

     

     

     

     

     

    jeff4Museum Enhancements

    The 82nd Airborne Division War Memorial Museum on Fort Bragg will undergo a major exhibition gallery upgrade starting next month. The $2.5 million upgrade is expected to continue through August of next year. The new gallery will be open in time to honor the Division’s centennial according to an 82nd Airborne Division spokesman. 

    The U.S. Army Center of Military History funded the improvements to better tell the story of the 82nd Airborne Division’s combat service from 2003 to 2015. During the construction, museum exhibits will remain displayed in the Hall of Heroes on the museum grounds on Ardennes Road, Fort Bragg. The museum gift shop will remain open.

  • PINWHEELIt’s not always easy for big organizations to work together, especially when it comes to sensitive subjects like child abuse, but the Child Advocacy Center and its partners do just that. They work together to provide a safe place for abused children (more than 670 of them last year alone) to talk about traumatic events — one time. Then local agencies and law enforcement get to work on behalf of the young victims. There is no telling and retelling. No reliving the drama. A mission this big and this important takes a lot of planning and coordination. And money. On Saturday, Oct. 15, the Child Advocacy Center is set to host its Third Annual Pinwheel Masquerade Ball and Auction to Unmask Child Abuse at the Metropolitan Room in Downtown Fayetteville. 

    This is Ann Shaw’s third year on the planning committee, and she’s looking forward to the big day. “My favorite part of the whole thing is watching everyone and seeing how they are dressed up. The thing I really like about the ball is that it is almost like walking into a winter wonderland. The decorations and lighting are fantastic, and seeing every one dressed up and getting into the theme is a lot of fun. We wanted to make sure is that it didn’t look like a prom. We wanted it to be a fascinating event, and I think we did that.” 

    Come ready for a good time, and don’t forget to bring a mask for pictures in the photo booth that will be on site and the mask contest. A deejay, dance demonstrations, live and silent auctions including things like vacation packages and other items are planned. Come hungry, too. The 11 culinary sponsors are going out of their way to impress the crowd with food and drink options.

    “We have a mask contest and that is fun to watch. Some people really get into it,” said Shaw. “We have seen everything from handheld eye masks to painted on masks to a porcelain mask that was custom made to fit the person wearing it,” said Shaw. Mask contest categories include (most unique mask, best mask couple, best mask female, best mask male, best mask group and best ensemble from head to toe.)

    The menu is designed to enhance the already elegant event. All 11 of the culinary sponsors come ready to impress. This year, the food is provided by Evans Catering, Inc.; Sweet Surprise Candy Buffet; R Burger; Chris’s Steak House; Dorothy’s 2 Catering; Sammio’s Italian Restaurant; The Wine Café and The Coffee Cup; Elite Catering; PDQ; Sherefe; and Cooking Connection; and A Taste of West Africa. “We also have a signature drink that will be provided by Broadslab Distillery,” Shaw added.

    The auctions, both silent and live, are a big part of the evening. Items up for bid are: lodging and breakfast at the Cape Fear Winery; a golf package for golf enthusiast; Alaska Cruise on Royal Caribbean; UNC football game tickets with signed UNC football; private villa for eight in Cabo San Lucas; Costa Rica getaway; two Myrtle Beach vacations and many more exciting live and silent auction packages. 

    Proceeds from the event go to the Child Advocacy Center and bolster efforts and programs to serve local children. “Growing up in a community where people watched out for each other’s children gave me a sense of security as a child. Remember the old saying, ‘It takes a village to raise a child?’ Finding that mentality today is very rare. That is why the need to provide educational programs that recognize and prevents child abuse is greater now than it has ever been before. Victims of child abuse are often left without hope, and it saddens my heart. I’ve always felt very blessed as a child and as a mother, and so I want to be a part of an organization that provides hope, help and healing to victims of child abuse,” said Shaw. 

     Tickets are $100 per person, $175 per couple and $850 for a table of eight. Tickets can be purchased at the Child Advocacy Center, or order online at CACFAyNC.org; Eventbrite or text PINWHEEL to 44222. 

  • jeff6Cumberland County’s Veterans Treatment Court is one of 463 courts nationwide that offer mandatory rehabilitation and medical treatment for veterans arrested for certain misdemeanors and non-violent felonies. Last week, the U.S. Justice Department pledged to support more courts in this growing system, awarding more than $4 million to 13 state and local jurisdictions to develop their own programs. North Carolina is not among them this year. Some of the programs will likely be patterned after the one started nearly two years ago by District Court Judge Lou Olivera. It was launched with a grant from the Governor’s Crime Commission. 

    The Veterans Treatment Court is an alternative sentencing program designed to address the specific needs of veterans “who have returned from combat with injuries that are not visible,” said Olivera. Veterans are able to take part in a holistic program that addresses mental health and substance abuse issues, housing, employment, education and healthcare. The veteran must attend counseling, community support meetings, participate in a stringent drug testing program and perform community service. At the end of the year-long program, successful graduates may be eligible to have his or her original charges dropped or expunged.

    Principal Deputy Associate Attorney General Bill Baer said that with one in six Iraq or Afghanistan veterans abusing alcohol or drugs — a situation that can contribute to arrest — the nation is obligated to help them productively reintegrate into society. 

    “Our military veterans risk life and limb for their country,” Baer said. “We owe our very best to help those who struggle with substance abuse,” he added. Baer spoke during a forum hosted by the justice department to mark Prescription Opioid and Heroin Epidemic Awareness Week. The abuse of opiates, especially heroin, is a national epidemic especially prevalent in Greater Fayetteville. Five years ago, Cape Fear Valley Medical Center recorded just one heroin overdose. Through Oct. 7 of this year, the number of overdose reports had grown to 96. 

    Fred Wells Brason II, director of North Carolina’s Project Lazarus, says the heroin problem in Fayetteville is worse than other areas of the state because of the presence of generally young, transient, lower income military men and women. They are more susceptible to depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and other mental health problems that can lead to drug and alcohol abuse. The good news is that according to data provided by Justice for Vets — an advocacy group that provides training for court staff  — two-thirds of veterans who go through the Veterans Treatment Court system successfully complete the program. The system has proven so successful that the VA has mandated that every VA medical center have a veterans’ justice outreach specialist to provide legal assistance to veterans in their region. While veterans court advocates had sought $15 million for programs nationwide in 2016, they said any amount helps safeguard against veterans winding up in the prison system. 

    “I won’t let them fail,” said Judge Olivera who is himself a veteran. “I’ll help them find their way again,” he promised.

  • jeff5Following in the footsteps of retired Fayetteville Police Chief Harold Medlock would be a daunting task for most. Anthony Kelly accepts the challenge saying “Someone’s got to do it.” Kelly has been an assistant police chief since January of 2015. Until this week, he commanded the FPD’s uniformed patrol bureau, the largest division in the department. City Manager Doug Hewett named Kelly Interim Chief a week or so before Medlock stepped down. “I identified him as a true leader and he’s proven my decision was correct,” Medlock said. 

    Kelly graduated from Fayetteville State University while living at home on Amanda Circle with his mom and dad. His first love was the military, but he was afraid (and still is) of flying. He went to work part time at Food Lion, and then moved to Charlotte to join the Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Department. He graduated from the Basic Law Enforcement Training course in December of 1994, and the following spring decided to move back home. Kelly applied for a job with the Fayetteville Police Department. He’s 48 now and has been in law enforcement for 22 years. He says the last two years were a turning point for him and the more than 400 officers of the department. 

    “Chief Medlock allowed us to think big, and when we thought big, good things happened,” he said.

    Medlock brought big-city experience and police training to Fayetteville from Charlotte where he served as a deputy chief. Kelly says officers began getting anti-bias training during those two years. Police officers in this city, he says, are constantly exposed to young black men in hopeless, negative situations. “If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change,” he said. 

    These days, he says, a police officer is one bad day away from having a bad career, which is why he reinforces to the men and women of the FPD that proper training is the key “to being good police.” One of the most important elements of Fayetteville Police training in dealing with street crime, he says, is what’s called “cover and concealment.” De-escalation of a potentially violent situation begins with the cop taking himself out of the equation. Instead of approaching a volatile situation, Fayetteville police officers are trained, when possible, to take cover and conceal themselves in such a way that they can speak with others involved while not getting involved themselves. It’s called situational policing.

    Kelly told of police officers who responded to a 911 call a couple of weeks ago about a woman in her yard brandishing a shotgun. She apparently suffered from mental health issues. First officers on the scene concealed themselves where she couldn’t see them, but they were close enough to speak with her. A police sergeant noticed there was a lock installed in the shotgun trigger housing. He engaged her in conversation, and she told him about her grandchildren. The sergeant said he hoped to have grandkids one day and asked her the names of hers. With that, the woman dropped the weapon and began crying. “That situation could have gone horribly wrong had it not been for our training,” Kelly said.

    Kelly comes from a middle class family, and credits his parents for the person he has become. He says he never got that warning from his mother and father that many African-American youngsters do about how to behave if stopped by the police. 

    “My mom and dad taught me how to act, period,” he said. “I can’t stand it when people tell me they were taught how to act during a traffic stop.” 

    Kelly reflected on an incident when he was a child that he’s never forgotten. He was in the fifth grade and got five Fs on his report card. At a parent/teacher conference his teacher told his mom of the bad grades, and that he seemed more interested in girls. “I looked at my mom and there was a tear coming down her cheek,” he said. “When we got home with my mom not saying one word, she grabbed a belt and whooped my behind.” Kelly said she grounded him for one year; he couldn’t leave the house for a year. His grades improved, he said. “I served nine months of that sentence when my dad asked mom to let me off.” 

    Kelly speaks of how fortunate he was to come from a two-parent household. He’s just as proud to have come up through the ranks of the Fayetteville Police Department and to have served with Harold Medlock. 

    “We’re setting the police standard in this state and perhaps the country for how to have relationships in the communities we serve,” said Kelly.             

  • jeff4Seventeen days, not seven — The North Carolina General Assembly reduced early voting opportunities a few years ago to only seven days. But when the federal courts got involved, one-stop voting rules were changed. The Republican-dominated Cumberland County Board of Elections declined to implement changes ordered by the court, so the State Elections Board did so. Now, North Carolina voters have 17 days to vote early this year. There are 10 locations to cast early ballots. 

    Early voting begins on Thursday, Oct. 20 and continues through Saturday, Nov. 5 and includes two Sunday afternoons. There are 10 early voting locations in Cumberland County. They are the Board of Elections Office on Fountainhead Lane in Downtown Fayetteville, Kiwanis Recreation Center on Devers Street, Smith Recreation Center on Slater Avenue, North Regional Library on McArthur Road, East Regional Library on Clinton Road, Cliffdale Recreation Center on Cliffdale Road, Grays Creek Recreation Center on School Road, Hope Mills Recreation Center on Rockfish Road, E.E. Miller Recreation Center on Rim Road and Spring Lake Community Center on Ruth Street. For hours, contact the Cumberland County Elections Office at 678-7733. It should be noted that early voting localities are not necessarily the location of election day voter precincts. If you do not know where your election day polling place is, you can use www.ncsbe.gov to find your voting precinct and location.

    Voters are no longer required to present photo identification at the polls. However, certain first-time voters must provide proof of identity if they did not do so when they registered. Individuals may once again register and vote on the same day during the early voting period. Curbside voting is available at all voting locations for disabled individuals. The elections office also provides assistance to persons in hospitals, clinics, nursing homes and other care facilities. Again, the local board of elections should be contacted.

    Of all the states, the best early voting statistics are available for North Carolina, where absentee voting by mail began on Sept. 9. Requests for absentee ballots by registered Democrats and unaffiliated registered voters are running ahead of 2012, for the same number of days prior to the election. Requests by registered Republicans are down. Given that Mitt Romney beat Barack Obama by two percentage points, the early voting statistics appear to confirm polling averages which show a narrow lead for Hillary Clinton. According to the U.S. Constitution, the 2010 Census Reapportionment provides that North Carolina will have 15 electoral votes through the 2020 presidential election. North Carolina, which was one of the original 13 colonies, entered the Union in November 1789. Like many other southern states, it voted almost exclusively Democratic from 1876 through 1964. Tar Heel voters flipped and began voting Republican in 1968. The shift was largely in response to white conservative voter uneasiness with Civil Rights legislation passed in the mid-1960s. In 2008, Barack Obama reversed the trend of Republican dominance in North Carolina barely defeating John McCain by about 14,000 votes out of 4.3 million cast. It was the second closest race of the 2008 election (behind Missouri). In 2012, North Carolina was again the second closest race (this time behind Florida) as the state flipped back to Republican and Mitt Romney beat Obama by about 2 percent. This year, the Tar Heel State is a toss-up battleground, given the flip flops of the last two Presidential elections. 

  • jeff1In a few days, Doug Hewett will officially be named city manager. City Council decided during an evaluation session that he deserved to be elevated from his temporary position after five months on the job. Council is working out details of his employment including salary, benefits, severance and term of office. Council is considering offering Hewett a one-year contract. It’s not unusual for government executives to have renewable contracts, although it’s a first for Fayetteville. 

    “Hewett had a very positive performance evaluation…and we have unanimously decided to ask (him) to accept the position of city manager,” said Mayor Nat Robertson. 

    Hewett didn’t hesitate to accept the offer.  During the personnel performance closed session, City Attorney Karen MacDonald received a ‘satisfactory’ rating according to Robertson. That’s a midrange evaluation in a five step range.

     

     


    Free Smoke Alarms Distributed

    Every night in Eastern North Carolina about five house fires occur, leaving families helpless, confused and alone. In Cumberland County, Highlands Chapter Red Cross volunteers respond routinely to local house fires. Last month, nearly 300 Red Cross volunteers from 27 groups, including Fayetteville Firefighters, gathered in Fayetteville to install more than 1,000 smoke alarms in homes of military members and their neighbors. 

    “Brave men and woman of our military work every day to make sure we are safe in our homes,” said Barry Porter, chief executive officer, of the Red Cross in Eastern N.C. “We want to return the favor and protect them in their own homes with new smoke alarms.” 

    Four volunteers visited the home of Cory Hall, an active-duty military member and former firefighter. They installed four smoke alarms and tested his existing alarms. Hall said he feels confident his family is safe in their home should a fire start. 

    “Over 500 households were reached in the Bonnie Doone, Shaw Heights, and Montclair Communities,” according to Fayetteville Fire Chief Ben Major.

     

    jeff2Gilbert Theater’s New Season

    Fayetteville’s Gilbert Theater in the former City Hall Building on Bow Street announces two projects thanks to a pair of grants from the Arts Council of Fayetteville/Cumberland County says Robyne Parrish, artistic director. “This year, in addition to our usual five-show main stage season, we will continue our second stage this year,” she added. It’s called the ‘next stage’ and will feature six one-act plays and two glee club shows. “The Arts Council is proud to partner with Gilbert Theater in support of their 2016-2017 season,” says Executive Director Deborah Martin Mintz. The Arts Council’s programs and services are funded in part by contributions from businesses and individuals and through grants from the City of Fayetteville, Cumberland County and the North Carolina Arts Council.

     

     

    Cumberland County Master Gardener Volunteer Training

    Cumberland County’s Extension Master Gardeners Volunteer program is offering a training class for local residents interested in increasing their gardening knowledge and volunteering in the community. The extension service is providing advanced notice. The classes aren’t scheduled to begin until Jan. 12, 2017. They’ll be held weekly through May 4 in the Cooperative Extension Auditorium at 301 East Mountain Drive in Fayetteville. There is a fee to cover training supplies and the Extension Master Gardener Training Manual. Applications are now being accepted and can be obtained by calling 910-321-6405. Applications may also be found online at the Cumberland County Cooperative Extension Service website (https://cumberland.ces.ncsu.edu). The deadline for accepting applications is Nov. 18. 

     

    Clarification

    A News Digest article in last week’s edition misstated that Fayetteville Regional Airport has been awarded three $10 million dollar grants to renovate the 47-year-old terminal. Actually, it’s receiving two such grants. Other federal funds include $6 million in entitlement funding and $2.8 million in passenger facility charges. A local airport share of between $5 and $7 million rounds out the revenue. Total funding for design and construction is estimated at $34 to $36 million, according to Airport Manager Brad Whited.

     

  • The Computer-Integrated Machining curricu-lum at Fayetteville Technical Community College is designed to prepare students for a career in manufacturing by providing them with the skills required to enter into various machining positions. We emphasize all aspects of machining that are required to take a product from the initial design to the final product. To accomplish this, we utilize a wide variety of metalworking equipment that in-cludes manual and computerized machines, such as drill presses, lathes, and milling machines. We also have a new computerized EDM (electrical dis-charge machine) that cuts extremely precise, com-plex geometry without ever touching the part. The operation is accomplished by using fine sparks that jump from a brass wire to the product to burn the material out of the cut.

    In general, a machinist is a skilled craftsman who uses machine tools to manufacture parts from various materials. These parts can be one-of-a-kind parts used in special ap-plications or numerous parts used in a high-volume production operation. To understand how a machinist impacts your daily life, we need to understand what a machinist produces. Production machinists produce multiples of parts used in production requirements. Specialized machinists include mold makers who produce molds used to manufacture plastic or die cast parts, die makers who pro-duce stamping dies that cut and form sheet metal parts, and general machinists who produce almost any product needed. One of the best examples of a machinist’s work is a car. The panels that form the shape of a car are typically stamped from dies. The plastic components, such as the grill, lights, hub caps, dashboard and console, are produced from molds. The engine, transmission, axles, wheels, and various other parts are made by production machinists.

    In order to properly produce a part, a machinist must also be able to read blueprints, interpret the geometry and specifications, select the proper tools and processes, and use all the necessary machines and gages required. A machinist must also be able to manufacture precise parts. In our training, we manufacture parts to tolerances of ±.0002 of an inch (approximately 1/20th of a human hair). To meet these require-ments, we include classes in blueprint reading, general math, geometry, trigonometry, metallurgy (the properties of metals) and metrology (the study of measurements). Since computers have become such a vital part of manufacturing, we also teach classes in CNC, CAD and CAM. CNC (computer numerical control) is the computer interface that allows a machinist to write a computer program that controls the movements of a machine. CAD (computer aided design) is software that allows the design of products through a specialized computer program. CAM (computer aided machining) is software that allows a machinist to take a CAD drawing or model and generate the CNC code for a machine to produce the part.10-12-11-ftcc.jpg

    Although the field of more than 400,000 machinists is expected to remain steady, job prospects are expected to grow as more machinists retire or change careers than new candidates enter the field. As with many fields, the pay varies widely, with the typical starting pay for a machinist ranging from $14-$18 an hour and a top pay that can exceed $25 an hour.

    Come and see how you can begin a rewarding career in this highly technical and challenging field and visit our state-of-the-art lab facility at Fayetteville Technical Community College. For more information, please contact Gary Smith, program coordinator, at 678-8375.

    Photo: Although the field of more than 400,000 machinists is expected to remain steady, job prospects are expected to grow as more machinists retire or change careers than new candidates enter the field.

  • jeff9Governor Pat McCrory and a host of local, state and federal officials cut the ribbon on a six-and-a-half-mile section of Fayetteville’s Outer Loop last week. The $146 million project extends the future I-295 from Ramsey Street to Bragg Boulevard, providing Fort Bragg with direct access to I-95, something the Army has wanted for decades. 

    “This is a game changer,” said City Councilwoman Kathy Jensen. 

    The project has been on the drawing board since the 1980s, but was given unprecedented acceleration in the aftermath of the 9/11 terror attacks. The first phase from I-95 to Ramsey Street opened in 2005. The section still under construction will extend from Bragg Boulevard to the All American Freeway, and completion is expected by the end of the year. Then the next section of the Outer Loop will span three miles from the All American Freeway to Cliffdale Road. The N.C. Department of Transportation awarded an $85.2 million contract for this project in June. It will be completed by 2021. 

    “This is one of the many sections of the Fayetteville Outer Loop we are completing to meet growing transportation, military and logistics demands,” said N.C. Secretary of Transportation Nick Tennyson of the section just opened.

    Construction of Interstate 295 from US 401 to the All-American Freeway was actually scheduled to begin in late 2008, and be completed by 2012, according to the NC DOT. But this project was put on hold in November 2008 because of the recession and the severe shortage of money for highway construction in North Carolina. The delays continued through 2011. Instead of this segment being undertaken as one contract, DOT split the work into three smaller contracts. It began in 2009 on the section from Bragg Boulevard to Murchison Road, using federal stimulus money. The section was completed in 2014. Meanwhile, in March 2011 a contract to construct the portion of the loop between US 401 and Murchison Road was awarded but did not include final paving. Three years later the contract for paving was issued. This is the six-mile segment that opened this month. 

    Gov. McCrory last year encouraged the legislature to accelerate construction of the Outer Loop even faster. It and other local road projects were included in the 2015 state budget. The North Carolina Board of Transportation approved them in January 2016. 

    “The reforms I signed into law will get these roads built sooner,”  said McCrory. 

    The section extending the loop from Camden Road to Interstate 95 South of Fayetteville will see construction accelerated from 2021 to 2020. The remainder of the 39-mile future I-295 is funded through the state’s new transportation funding formula, which Gov. McCrory championed to take the politics out of transportation planning. Under the formula, more than $400 million is targeted to complete the entire loop by 2025. 

  • jeff8A natural gas explosion can be devastating. A single gas leak has leveled city blocks. Recently, a house in the King’s Grant community exploded because of a gas leak, badly injuring the homeowner. “Causes of such instances cannot always be detected,” said Fayetteville Fire Marshall Michael Martin. “Natural gas is a safe, reliable and affordable energy choice, but it should be handled properly and with care,” according to Piedmont Natural Gas. The company says it’s important to be educated about the properties of natural gas and of the potential hazards if natural gas is released through damaged or leaking pipelines.

    Carbon monoxide gas is deadly when inhaled. CO monitors are almost as common as smoke alarms in homes. But, rarely do we hear about alarms that protect against combustible gases. Natural gas and propane gas have pungent odors. The best detector, Martin says, is your nose. “If you smell gas, get out right away.” Natural gas is not toxic to humans but it will displace oxygen. This means that a natural gas leak in a confined space could significantly reduce the amount of oxygen in the air and create a dangerous environment. Explosions or fires from leaking propane or methane gas can be prevented. Several companies manufacture home monitors. Safe Home ™ natural gas alarms can be purchased at home improvement stores and online. For homes that use natural gas for heating and cooking, the company recommends mounting monitors above appliances within six inches of the ceiling or on the ceiling 12 inches from a wall. That’s because natural gas is lighter than air and rises. Propane is heavier than air so propane alarms should be mounted 4 to 20 inches off the floor near appliances. Combustible gas alarms sound when the concentration of gas is less than 25 percent of the lower explosive limit. Safety Siren Pro 3 gas alarms plug directly into outlets. Safe-T-Alert, in 120VAC and 230VAC models, have a line cord for correct placement without a nearby outlet.

    Piedmont Natural Gas recommends the following when someone smells natural gas: After leaving the area, call 911 and Piedmont Natural Gas at 1-800-752-7504 from a neighbor’s house or from a location far from the smell of the gas. Do not use anything electrical that may create a spark; this includes cell phones. Do not operate any light switches or strike a match or cigarette lighter. Do not attempt to locate and stop a leak. Do not return to the area until the fire department has declared it safe.

    Gas fired appliances, including fireplace gas logs, have pilot lights. “They should have blue flames that are yellow near the tip,” Fire Marshall Martin said. If the pilot light in your gas appliance or heater shows a lot of yellow, orange, red, purple or green color, this indicates inefficient combustion and the presence of potentially hazardous chemicals. A yellow or orange pilot light will produce carbon monoxide — an odorless, colorless gas that can fill your home and cause carbon monoxide poisoning. 

  • jeff7The new owners of Fayetteville’s Prince Charles Hotel have suffered numerous setbacks in getting renovations underway. One of the obstacles was the lack of money to do the job. Urban developers with sterling reputations and decades of commercial construction experience across North Carolina could not get a bank to finance their plan to refurbish and reopen the rundown building. Investors in what is now Prince Charles Holdings Development, LLC, approached 10 North Carolina banks for loans and were turned down by all of them, according to PCH Development Manager Jordan Jones. Why? “… because it was a downtown Fayetteville project,” he said. “The banks haven’t gotten beyond the city’s Fayettenam reputation,” Jones added. He and Michael Lemanski, both of Durham, are overseeing a $15 million restoration of the nearly century-old Hay Street landmark. “I’m excited about the opportunity to bring one of Fayetteville’s iconic buildings back to life and contribute to the revitalization process already underway in downtown Fayetteville,” lead investor Michael Cohen said in a statement when he acquired the property last year.

    The investment group bought the hotel at auction for $200,000. The adjoining 2.5-acre property was another $2 million. After being turned down by the banks, Prince Charles Holdings began exploring non-traditional financing and is confident about the prospects of a $9 million urban mixed-use loan from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, according to Jones. Ironically, his great grandfather’s company, J.A. Jones Construction Company, built the hotel, which opened in 1923. Most of the rest of the construction costs will be offset by federal and state historic tax credits, some of which were only recently restored by the state legislature at the urging of Governor Pat McCrory. “We see a lot of potential in the future of downtown Fayetteville,” said Jones.

    Lemanski’s firm, Greenfire Development, has managed more than $300 million of investment in distressed properties in downtown Durham. There’s a lot of work to be done on the Prince Charles. The interior of the eight-story building will be entirely overhauled and rebuilt, resulting in 62 one-and two-bedroom apartments Jones told Up & Coming Weekly. They will rent from $800 to $1,200 a month. The former eighth floor ballroom will be transformed into a three-bedroom, three full-bath penthouse. It will contain 3,300 square feet with 14’ ceilings and historic hardwood floors. The tenant will have exclusive access to the terrace, which overlooks Hay Street. “This unit has the potential to be the most exclusive residential unit in downtown Fayetteville,” Jones declared. It will rent for $3,300 a month.

    $2 million alone will be spent on the building’s façade, according to Jones, including $800,000 to refurbish the windows. They cannot be replaced because the building is in an historic district. The windows can be repaired so long as they retain their original appearance. Retail shops and an upscale restaurant will occupy the first floor and mezzanine and will be entered from Hay Street. Apartment dwellers will enter from a private side entrance near the elevators. “This is going to change Fayetteville,” declared Jones. “The apartments will fill a void in the market,” he added, citing “the many people who work downtown and have no place nearby to live.” Use of the historic tax credits requires that units be leased for the first five years. They could be converted to owner-occupied condominiums after that. “The market will decide which way to go,” according to Jones. Construction isn’t expected to get underway until next June and will take about a year to complete.

    With an executed memorandum of understanding with the City of Fayetteville, Prince Charles Holdings is planning an estimated $60 million in commercial development around the planned baseball stadium. That could include a parking deck, hotel, more apartments and other amenities. Also planned is a pedestrian foot bridge over the CSX mainline railroad tracks. It would connect the Airborne and Special Operations Museum with the stadium, providing convenient additional parking. Jones tells Up & Coming Weekly that plans for restoration of the Prince Charles Hotel will go forward regardless whether the ballpark is built.

  • Up & Coming Weekly has jefff-1learned that the proposed construction cost of a minor league ballpark planned for downtown Fayetteville will not exceed $33 million. A Fayetteville City Council stadium committee has been meeting privately for several weeks to hammer out a “non-binding memorandum of understanding with the Houston Astros that will set the stage for further negotiations,” said Councilman Jim Arp. He went on to say he would not support the stadium if he thought the project would require a tax increase. The committee also recommends that additional project costs such as architectural fees and other charges not exceed $2 million. City Council must agree to terms of the memorandum of understanding this week for it to move forward. Council held a public hearing to gauge initial citizen interest in a stadium. Sixteen people spoke … ten of them were opposed to the idea, five supported it. One speaker wasn’t clear as to his position.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Spring Lake Police Chief to Retire            jeff2

    Spring Lake Police Chief Troy McDuffie is retiring at the end of the year. “It was not an easy decision, but I know it is the right decision for me personally,” McDuffie said in an announcement. His last day will be Dec. 1.

    “It has indeed been a distinct honor and privilege to serve as Chief of Police for the great Town of Spring Lake,” he said.  

    He ends a 30-year career in law enforcement, the last seven as chief in Spring Lake. Before that he was a detective with the Fayetteville Police Department. McDuffie led the agency in the rebuilding of the department after it was relieved of its police powers in the wake of a scandal. The department “has been transformed into an independently-functioning department with 35 sworn officers dedicated to protecting and serving the Spring Lake community,” he said. 

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     


    jeff3Fayetteville Mountain Bike Trail   

    Fayetteville-Cumberland Parks & Recreation has opened a new mountain bike trail. Bikers can access the three-mile trail from Clark Park on Sherman Drive or the Jordan Soccer Complex on Tree Top Drive. The trail is the result of support from various volunteer groups and individuals. The course features technical terrain and biking challenges. Tight turns and changing conditions require vigilance and constant attention. Riders are required to wear helmets at all times. The first half mile is located near the Cape Fear River, providing beautiful scenery and interesting terrain. The trail crosses the Cape Fear River Trail and continues along a winding route that allows bikers to explore nature in the middle of the city. The goal of Parks & Recreation is to stimulate the interest of users to justify additional mileage. 

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    jeff4Mental Health Crisis Intervention 

    The latest class of the Fayetteville-Cumberland County Crisis Intervention Team academy has graduated following a 40-hour course of instruction. The 27 graduates are now among nearly 800 CIT-certified public safety and court system officials to advance through the program. Gail Staley, former program coordinator for law enforcement training at Fayetteville Technical Community College, received the first ever CIT Founders Award in recognition of her efforts in helping establish Cumberland County’s jail diversion program. The program provides specialized law enforcement response to individuals experiencing crises related to mental illness. First responders are trained to recognize mental or emotional incapacitation so they can provide appropriate treatment and avoid incarceration. 

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     


    jeff5Train Station Gets an Overhaul
       

    The passenger platform canopy of the downtown Fayetteville Train Depot is getting what the city calls “an overdue and necessary” makeover. Pressure washing and painting of the lengthy canopy has been underway for several days. The city is also replacing the  roof of the protective passenger canopy. City spokesman Nathan Walls says the project should be completed next month. Repairs are estimated at $46,500. The Building Maintenance Division of Fayetteville-Cumberland Parks & Recreation is overseeing the work. 

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    jeff6Fayetteville Award Winner       

    Barbara Brooks, a volunteer counselor with the Seniors’ Health Insurance Information Program has received the Mickey Hanula Volunteer of the Year award. It is one of four statewide awards for outstanding work in providing free, unbiased counseling about Medicare and other health insurance issues to seniors in North Carolina. Brooks counsels at the Cumberland County Coordinating Council on Older Adults in Fayetteville. She became a volunteer six years ago after retiring as Director of the Department of Social Services in Cumberland County. This year’s awards were presented at the Annual North Carolina SHIIP Coordinators’ Training Conference in Greensboro. 

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Correction

     In the Aug. 12 article titled “Cumberland County Property Revaluation Is Coming,”  Up & Coming Weekly stated that “County commissioners will adopt the SOV in November which will be effective Jan.1. The bills will go out that month, and must be paid by September to avoid penalties.”

    Actually, the 2017 notices of new values will go out that month or January 2017.  Bills will be mailed in August 2017 and must be paid by January 5, 2018 to avoid penalties.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • Eagle Eye (Rated PG-13) 4 Stars
       

        Eagle Eye(118 minutes) is a neat action-thriller, with a little sprinkle of mystery thrown in to keep the audience guessing. While it bears similarity to several classic movies from the last 30 years, giving specific titles would probably give away the entire plot. There are two overriding themes that guide the logic of the movie. First, there is the danger of relying too heavily on technology (especially government controlled technology). Second, the film offers a very subversive take on the dangers of taking the Constitution too literally, making this one of the best timed movies in years. The film is particularly interesting in light of the current Democratic/Republic divide, as well as the various Supreme Court justices’ opinions on literal interpretation of the Constitution. 
        {mosimage}We open in the middle of a crucial decision — destroy a suspected terrorist without confirmation of his identity, or strike first and ask questions later. The Secretary of Defense (Michael Chiklis), keenly aware of the politics of the situation, is in favor of holding back. The President overrules him, and the strike results in terrorist retaliation on American citizens. 
        Meanwhile, as shown in the trailers, Jerry Shaw (Shia LaBeouf) comes home to find his apartment filled with terrorist paraphernalia. Despite a woman’s voice on the phone telling him to escape, Jerry is arrested and interrogated by FBI Agent Thomas Morgan (Billy Bob Thornton). As Air Force Investigator Zoe Perez (Rosario Dawson) arrives to speak with Jerry, the mysterious voice assists him in an escape. During his flight from the law Jerry meets up with single mother Rachel Holloman (Michelle Monaghan), who is also receiving her orders from the mystery woman. 
        Jerry and Michelle execute a series of maneuvers that land them in Washington D.C., in time for the State of the Union Address. It is here that the climax of the film takes place, involving some very nice explosions, but a lamentably high body count. In fact, for a PG-13 movie, the casual way in which police officers and random bystanders are violently dispatched calls into question MPPA standards for movie ratings.
        Director D.J. Caruso seems to know what he is doing with the action genre, but the ending of the film seems like too much of a compromise between a good ending and an audience-friendly ending. Billy Bob usually drives me up a wall, so it is no faint praise to say that here he gets all the best lines and is hardly grating at all. As much as I love Michelle Monaghan (do yourself a favor and check out the criminally underappreciated Kiss Kiss Bang Bang), I wish they had written less Monaghan and more Rosario Dawson. 
        Yes, Eagle Eye requires above average suspension of disbelief. Yes, it borrows from other, better films. However, the movie gods are smiling on this film. What might have been a sad little pastiche quickly disappearing into second run theaters actually holds its own. All the elements are old, but they are combined well. 

  •     On Nov. 4 many of us will head out to the polls. If television pundits and the stances they take can be believed, more of us will head to the polls this year than any other time in recent history.
        For some, the trip to the polls will be spurred on by the historic nature of this year’s election. For the first time in our history, we may elect a bi-racial President or a female Vice-President. My, how the times have changed! It is the excitement about these historic firsts that may drive many to the polls.
        {mosimage}Others may head to the polls because of the state of the nation’s economy. They believe that the leaders we elect on Nov. 4 may be able to make a difference in their lifestyles. Or, even if they don’t believe they’ll be able to make a difference, they have hope they will.
        For many other people, the trip to the polls is not something new and is not out of the ordinary. I count myself in that number. I have voted religiously since I was old enough to exercise that civic responsibility. It’s one I take very seriously. I refuse to go to the polls uneducated, so I take the time to find out about the people who are running and the stances they take. For me, that’s part and parcel of that civic responsibility. To go to the polls uninformed is quite frankly, a crime.
        For the past 12 years Up & Coming Weekly has worked hard to ensure that our readers do not commit that crime. This year is no different. Inside you will find our Voter’s Guide. Here’s the nuts and bolts of it. We sent out a set of questions to the candidates on our local ballot. The answers you find inside these pages come from those candidates who took the time to make sure that voters knew where they stood.
        You’ll find many sections where candidates failed to respond. It’s not because they didn’t have the chance. Our questionnaires were sent out by certified mail. Believe it or not, we had candidates call who didn’t want to make a trip to the post office to pick it up — they wanted to know if it was important enough to go. A number of candidates didn’t find it that important.
        Here’s my take on that, if giving me information that will help me make an informed decision is not important to a candidate, then they probably aren’t important enough for me to vote for. You decide what you think about that matter.
        We have printed their answers verbatim. Nothing has been changed. We did not want to worry about changing the context or meaning of what they wrote — so we didn’t change anything at all.
        We hope you will take the time to read through this guide, and then use it to make informed, intelligent decisions on election day. It’s  your future.
  • 10-12-11-senior-corner.jpgAs Baby Boomers who are also caregiv-ers for elderly parents, we know firsthand of the situation Jonathan Rauch recently shared in Reader’s Digest September 2011 issue. His story began as he was attempting to move his 80-year-old father closer to him in Alexandria, Va. so that appropriate care could be provided.

    That move eventually happened, but not before many months of falls, calls from neigh-bors and resistance from the father who said he was “fine” and wanted to be left alone. During the heart-wrenching experience, Rauch sponta-neously shared his frustrations with a variety of people. They might have been shocked at what he said, but some listeners offered concern and sometimes good advice. But Rauch continued to think: How could so many people be unpre-pared for one of life’s near certainties?

    That is a great question!

    1. Do we not want to admit that our parents will age?

    2. Don’t we say that the two guarantees in life are death and taxes?

    3. Didn’t we watch our parents care for their parents?

    4. Isn’t the news full of information about diseases, retirement options, se-nior living communities, long term care insurance and Medicare?

    5. Isn’t AARP the largest lobbying group in the country?

    6. Are we blinded to think it will happen to other people … just not us?

    Actually, if we are fortunate enough to have family members live long enough, we will most likely need to provide care for them. That care may in-clude: bill paying, medication monitoring, coordinating doctor visits, grocery shopping and driving for them. These needs could expand into dealing with safety issues such as hygiene, nutrition and fall prevention.

    Regardless of which specific needs the parent has, adult children can benefit from having support from other people who are “in the same boat.” But where is this support of-fered?

    • Area Agency on Aging

    • Reading periodicals: Up & Coming Weekly, Stroke Connection Magazine, Caring Today Magazine, etc.

    • Some Local churches have groups focusing on Children of Aging Parents.

    • Support Groups for target groups sponsored through medical and rehabilita-tion centers: such as Stroke, Parkinson’s or Alzheimer’s Support Groups

    • Neighborhood Recreation Centers• Websites: www.caregiverstress.com

    • Friends and relatives

    • Professional Caregivers

    Essential in the process of caring for a loved one is not feeling alone in the process. It is helpful and possibly necessary to seek fellow-ship among others experiencing the same concerns as you. Consider starting a group if one is not available in your neighborhood or church. You can do this by yourself, but why would you want to when there is support out there?

  • 101415_story.jpg

    Storytelling is a way to enjoy imagination beyond words. It is a way to entertain, share history and build community. Telling stories was popular before television and even books. Before anyone could read, stories were passed down through generations. It’s how family histories were preserved; how older generations taught the younger members of tribes and villages. Even though it may not seem as common, storytelling is still a big part of our world. From dinner tables to playgrounds, stories connect people to each other and to significant events and ideas. The Storytelling and Arts Center celebrates its 10th anniversary Oct. 16 -18.

    Story telling is not just for children. It is  for adults as well, and the Storytelling and Arts Center has rounded up some of the best for the weekend. Entertainers include Bil Lepp, Bill Harley, Sheila Arnold Jones and Diane Ferlatte. Regional teller Martha Johnson and the winner and People’s Choice of the Bold-Faced Liars’ Showdown winners  Pamela Alberda and Jadie Fuson are in attendance, as well.

    Bil Lepp, storyteller and comedian, is known for his tall tales and clever stories that people of all ages can appreciate. Lepp has received many awards and is the author of three books of tall tales, 10 audio collections, a non-fiction book and a novel.

    Martha Reed Johnson, a well-traveled storyteller, uses her own experiences to connect with her audiences. Since traveling across three continents, Reed can relate to any audience through her storytelling.

    Diane Ferlatte, a natural born nurturer, has spoken to audiences across the globe.  Her listeners can be from all walks of life. After performing internationally many times over, anyone can relate to her words.

    Bill Harley, is also known as a children’s entertainer with many witty ways of connecting with children. Also awarded a Grammy for Best Spoken Word album
    for Children.

    Sheila Arnold Jones, has used her talent to perform during historic character presentations, Christian monologues, motivational speaking for schools, churches and organizations throughout the U. S. Jones tells original, folktales, tall tales, African-American, multicultural, historical and personal stories.

    Participants can choose the teller they would like attend by the schedule provided on the SACs website.

    SACs invites students, both public and homeschooled, to join during the student sessions on Oct. 16 from 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. The student sessions will include special storytelling segments for youth. 

    Look for craft vendors, a children’s play area and five storytelling workshops.  

    The festival takes place at the John Blue House Complex in Laurinburg, North Carolina, tickets are available online at www.storyartscenter.org.

  •  The Arts Council of Fayetteville/Cumberland County has announced a series of grants to benefit local arts organizations.

    The Arts Guild
        The Fayetteville Art Guild today announced a project, which will increase participation in visual art both for the artists and the viewing public by producing a series of seven art exhibitions with the help of a grant from the Arts Council of Fayetteville/Cumberland County
        “The Arts Council Grant will aid the Fayetteville Art Guild in continuing to provide artistic representation of and outlets for our community’s many diverse cultural groups and opportunities for artists of all levels to develop and show their work,” said Starr Oldorff, president of the guild.
        The mission of the Fayetteville Art Guild is to illuminate the richness and diversity of local art while cultivating art appreciation in Fayetteville and the surrounding communities. The Guild strives to preserve local culture yet introduce international flavors through exhibits, community activities, education, competitions, workshops and monthly meetings devoted to the advancement of art. Thousands of community members visit and enjoy the annual juried and non-juried exhibits, including collaborative exhibits with Fort Bragg and Fayetteville State University. The Fayetteville Art Guild is a nonprofit organization dedicated to building a vibrant and enduring art community. For more than 40 years, the guild has served the Cumberland County community in this capacity. Current membership includes approximately 85 member artists of varying skill levels. The guild has four at large board members representing business, art and community interests as well as five member officer board members. All board members and officers serve voluntarily. 
        The Arts Council of Fayetteville/Cumberland County has awarded the Friends of the Cumberland County Public Library & Information Center a $4,000 project support grant for The Big Read set for mid-February through March.

    The Big Read
        {mosimage}Cumberland County’s The Big Read 2009 will encourage the community to read and discuss “The Maltese Falcon” by Dashiell Hammett. Published in 1930, “The Maltese Falcon” set the standard for all subsequent hardboiled detective stories. It follows private investigator Sam Spade as he sets out to find a jewel-encrusted falcon statue and prove he is innocent of his partner’s murder.
        “The generous support of the Arts Council will allow the Friends of the Library and our community partners to shine a bright spotlight on a great American literary classic,” said Gail Byrd, president of the Friends of the Library. “We hope the community will enjoy reading the book and attending the many programs scheduled at various libraries and museums.”
        The Big Read is an initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with the Institute of Museum and Library Services designed to revitalize the role of literature in American culture and bring the transformative power of literature into the lives of its citizens. The Big Read brings together partners across the country to encourage citizens to read for pleasure and enlightenment.
        The Friends of the Library received a $20,000 grant from the NEA for the 2009 project. This is the third year in a row the NEA and Arts Council have awarded funds to support Cumberland County’s The Big Read. In 2007 the community read “Their Eyes Were Watching God” by Zora Neale Hurston, followed by Ray Bradbury’s “Fahrenheit 451” this spring. The library and its community partners hope to build on the success of the past two projects. More than 2,800 people attended programs related to “Fahrenheit 45” held throughout the community in March and April.
        Funding from the Arts Council will support programming such as the March 10 appearance of Dr. Richard Layman, editor of Discovering The Maltese Falcon and Sam Spade and Hardboiled Mystery Writers: Raymond Chandler, Dashiell Hammett, Ross Macdonald: A Literary Reference, as well as a March 31 presentation by Margaret Maron, one of North Carolina’s best-selling mystery writers.
        The Friends of the Cumberland County Public Library & Information Center, Inc., is a volunteer organization whose mission is to create an awareness of the services and resources offered by the Cumberland County Public Library & Information Center, to focus attention on library needs and to enrich programming opportunities available to county citizens of all ages.
        “The Project Support Grants truly makes a difference,” said Deborah Martin Mintz, executive director of the Arts Council. “We’re proud to partner with The Fayetteville Art Guild to provide arts related programming that engages our residents in projects that make our home a better place for everyone.”
        The Arts Council’s Project Support Grants are awarded to local non-profit agencies, who produce programs of artistic merit and who demonstrate financial and administrative stability. The purpose of Project Support Grants is to recognize and support exemplary forms of artistic expression.
        The Fayetteville Art Guild was incorporated as a nonprofit corporation on June 6, 1967 for “the furtherance of the art interest” of residents, to provide a “focal point for practicing artists” and “to provide an organization to hold and engage in exhibitions, workshops and critique activities concerning art.”  Members are welcome at monthly meetings that are held the third Monday of each month at the Arts Center at 5:30 p.m. Yearly membership dues are $20 per person. For more information, please call Starr Oldorff at 910-635-6114.

  • (PG 122 minutes) Rated: 5 Stars
      

        Okay, at the risk of inflaming those who think the mention of God is against the Constitution, I’m warning you: This movie is about God, and I’m going to mention God a couple of times in this review. If you have a problem with that, STOP READING RIGHT NOW. Whew, now that that’s out of the way, let me tell you about this movie.
        {mosimage}Fireproofis the third film by Sherwood Pictures. You might not have heard of Sherwood. It’s not based in Hollywood, its corporate headquarters is a Baptist church in Georgia. The films are written, produced and filmed in the town of Albany, Ga. So, don’t expect high tech graphics or Hollywood pyrotechnics or any of that kind of stuff. There’s only one famous person in the movie — Kirk Cameron, who’s mostly known for his role as Mike in the TV comedy Growing Pains. More recently he has been seen in The Left Behind series of movies. Cameron, a born-again Christian, has traded Hollywood for his faith, and it looks good on him.
        The movie didn’t have a huge budget or promotional campaign, but it finished third over the weekend, having only played in 800 theaters nationwide. I think that alone says something about the movie.
        The movie tells the story of Caleb Holt, a fireman in the town of Albany. Caleb is married to Catherine, a public affairs person at the local hospital. The couple would seem to have everything: great jobs, two cars, nice house. But something is wrong and that something is tearing their marriage apart.
        The two are at the point of divorce when Caleb’s father steps in and makes Caleb promise to complete The Love Dare. It’s a 40-day program designed to save a marriage. Caleb accepts, although his heart isn’t in it. Over the next few days, he halfheartedly pursues the dares in the books. When he’s called on to do something thoughtful for his wife, he buys a handful of day-old flowers. When he needs to do something unexpected, he pours a cup of coffee. You see where this is going. It’s only when Catherine hits him in the face with these words, “I don’t love you,” that Caleb starts to take the dare seriously and we are introduced to the idea of selfless love.
        So before you think this is too preachy or too serious, let me throw out some of the other stuff. This film is funny. There’s one scene when the two are telling their side of the story to their respective friends. It’s a classic he said/she said. The theater was filled with laughter — but most of it was probably self-conscious laughter — we’d all been there, done that before.
        The movie’s tag line also speaks to an ideal that flourishes among the military — never leave a fallen man. But in this case, it’s never leave your partner behind. And while on the face of it, it’s talking about the firemen, in the subtext, it’s talking about your spouse. The movie drives home the point of never giving up on your marriage; never taking the easy way out; and ever, forgetting that love is a choice. I think everyone should have to see this movie before they get married and at least once or twice along the path of marital bliss.
        So you won’t think I’ve led you astray, there is some preaching. The movie, again, it’s made by a Baptist church, talks about the fact that if you can’t love yourself through God, you can’t love anyone else. There is a very moving evangelical scene in the movie, which made me think not only of my marriage, but also of my relationship with God; and it made me want to give both a lot more.
        This is a movie that will touch your heart and maybe even change your life.

  •     In just a few days, North Carolina voters will elect a new governor, lieutenant governor, and perhaps a dozen or more new members to the General Assembly.    

        I wonder how many will, on second thought, decline the honor. The coming legislative session in 2009 isn’t going to be pleasant. The economic downturn could well persist far into next year, with the jobless rate reaching as high as 8 percent and many North Carolinians experiencing weak or nonexistent income growth. Among other adverse effects, economic downturns do a double-whammy on the state budget — boosting demand for public assistance while slashing revenue collections.  {mosimage}   

        According to the latest estimates from the legislative staff, the state received $230 million less than expected during the first quarter of the 2008-09 fiscal year. If the trend persists through June, that suggests the possibility that revenue collections will be more than $1 billion below projections (other quarters have bigger revenue numbers, so the same percentage drop would be worse).    

        Factor in the likely increase in Medicaid, other welfare spending tied to the business cycle and the need to plug a hole in the state employees health plan in the range of a quarter-billion dollars, and it isn’t hard to imagine a scenario in which North Carolina’s newly elected chief executive and legislative will be faced with a budget gap exceeding $1.5 billion.    

        That’s not the end of the story. Remember that North Carolina continues to grow, albeit not as rapidly as in the recent past. There’ll be plenty of demands on state coffers to fund enrollment increases in schools and colleges, staff new state prisons and facilities, and at least give state employees enough of a raise to partly offset inflation. Typically, these bread-and-butter expenditures total hundreds of millions of additional dollars.    

        Therefore, many longtime budget watchers think that the state’s fiscal deficit next year will approach if not exceed $2 billion, or roughly 10 percent of the state’s General Fund budget.    

        On the campaign trail, Beverly Perdue and Pat McCrory have both argued for more state spending on programs they consider high priorities (early childhood and higher education for Perdue, law enforcement and transportation for McCrory). It may be their sincere intention to launch new initiatives, but at least in the initial budget biennium, reality will intrude. Although the Easley administration has already begun to cut back, and the state has $800 million in its savings reserve, the magnitude of the state’s fiscal woes will likely overwhelm most other issues next year.        

        The next governor will need to propose a balanced budget that fulfills the state’s core responsibilities without making North Carolina’s economic problems worse. Right after the election, the political establishment in Raleigh will begin pressuring that incoming governor to do the “courageous” thing and raise taxes — again. It will take real courage to say no, to recognize that there will be no better time to make the tough decisions that past governors have side-stepped, to set firm spending priorities and make them stick.    

        There will be no better time to streamline North Carolina’s convoluted array of state departments and agencies, reduce bureaucracy, increase transparency and end the political patronage and pork-barrel spending that pad budgets and reduce efficiency. Both Perdue and McCrory have endorsed the idea of creating a committee of budget experts, inside and outside of government, to help identify such savings opportunities and sell the resulting package to key political constituencies and the general public.     

        That’s a good idea. It was a good idea years ago, when state lawmakers heard similar recommendations from blue-ribbon committees and then failed to act on most of them. In 2009, policymakers will need to demonstrate that they don’t just talk a good game when it comes to fiscal restraint but will actually go out on the field and score.    

        The downturn is affecting many states. They’ll be merging, pruning, and downsizing, too. Some will probably raise taxes. Unfortunately, when strong economic performance in recent years pushed North Carolina’s revenues up significantly, state leaders chose to spend the money on new and expanded programs — ratcheting up our long-term fiscal obligations while leaving our marginal tax rates relatively high. As a result, North Carolina has less room to maneuver. Only the deluded could believe that jacking up our income and sales tax rates further above those of our neighbors and regional competitions won’t have deleterious effects on entrepreneurial activity and job creation in North Carolina.    

        We’re about to discover just how far delusion pervades the political class in Raleigh. In the meantime, it might be a good idea to prepare some post-election letters of condolence — to the winners.

  • 10-26-11-letter-to-editor-produce.jpgHeads up, everyone! We have an opportunity here.

    The N.C. Farm Center, Cumberland Co. Extension Service and Sustainable Sandhills have banded together to test the market for a CSA (Community S

    upported Agricultural) project.The All American Home Grown organization will allow all you city-folk to place orders for all your favorite seasonal fruits and veggies and get them delivered from your local farmers right to your table.

    Watermelon, blueberries, asparagus, squash, okra, sweet potatoes and cantaloupe — getting hungry yet? Maybe throw in the availability of local honey, fresh eggs and flowers.

    The “farm to table” co-ops exist in our neighboring counties. Farm2Table in Moore County has 800 members and SE Feast is supplying the chefs in Myrtle Beach. Cumberland County certainly has citizens with sophisticated and varied tastes as recently proved again with the International Folk Festival. Now it’s your turn here in Fayetteville to buy truly fresh produce directly from the farmer — if we get enough support.

    The All American Home Grown will expand the market and support local farmers who will plant to meet your culinary desires. And the variety of fresh produce you receive is truly fresh — not having traveled the roads to sit in genetically altered states to preserve the “shelf life.”

    This last summer the N.C. Farm Center donated melons and squash to Second Harvest. I was shocked to learn it was the first time the churches had fresh produce to deliver. Children attending school also had “surprises” (watermelon and cantaloupe) in their school “Buddy Packs.”  This is just an anecdote to get the word out that we still have a ways to go on nutrition.

    So here’s the plan: A family or organization enrolls to receive a box of produce that usually contains a variety of five seasonal fruits and vegetables. The average cost is around $25 — about what I paid for four fresh tomatoes last summer.

    A subscriber is not required to take a box every week and some subscribers (i.e. the local hospital) can often order 18 boxes. If there are more “goodies” than you can use, share it with your family members, neighbors or have a dinner party featuring interesting new recipes (usually provided in your box along with the produce).

    But, we need your opinion — and it is easyto give.

    Go to www.sustainablesandhills.org.

    Click on the Cumberland Co. Food Survey (left hand side of the page).

    I wonder how many of you know that all of that produce is available locally and that those were the growing seasons. It’s interesting and fun.

    Once we compile 500 surveys we can begin to work with the local farmers to set aside acreage to meet those consumer desires. And I promise you we will print the survey results on the top three seasonal favorites and what else you would like to find in your boxes.

    So let’s get to it. Spring is coming! And we are a community that should support All American Home Grown.

  • uac101415001.jpg

    Hope Mills is gearing up for its biggest fundraiser of the year — Ole Mill Days — on Friday, Oct. 16 and Saturday, Oct. 17. It’s a time to celebrate the town’s heritage, make some new memories with friends and family and, for some, to relive some old memories about a time when Hope Mills was not so busy and bustling. A simpler time when the local mills drove not just the economy, but the ebb and flow of life in the area.  

    “Ole Mills Days is a celebration of Hope Mills and our history,” said Dee Callahan, executive director of the Hope Mills Chamber. “It is a time for the families to get together and there are all sorts of events for the kids.” 

    Callahan added that she was born and raised in Hope Mills and looks forward to the annual event.

    There is plenty to see and do — and much to learn, as well. The event begins on Friday with the first street dance at 6 p.m. While the dance lasts till 11 p.m., it is the perfect opportunity to check out historic downtown’s Trade Street.

    On Saturday at 7 a.m. the Run for Pink Race takes place. It’s the third year for the run and it has grown substantially every year. The event organizers are hoping for a turn out of 750 or more. It is a 5K route and walkers are welcome, as well. Proceeds benefit the Cape Fear  Valley Health Foundation Friends of Cancer. Find out more about this organization at www.capefearvalley.com/foundation/index.html. Visit www.active.com to register for the race.

    The opening activities begin at 10 a.m. and include a variety of activities. The tractor pull, is a local favorite and always keeps the crowd riveted. Families won’t want to miss the Kid’s Corner and games. It is the perfect place to relax and let the little ones join the festivities. Car buffs of every stripe will have something to talk about at the car show. Other activities include a haunted house, cheerleading competition, pony rides, bouncy houses, food and craft vendors and demonstrations by dance troupes, karate studios and local musicians.

    The corn hole tournament is a lot of fun, even for those who choose not to play. It’s competitive and lively and all in good fun. Registration for the corn-hole tournament is by noon and the games start at 1 p.m. Prizes will be given for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners. The cost is $25 to participate in the tournament.

    The Ole Mill Days reunion has been a highlight of this event in years past. It’s a place where previous generations gather to share stories and memories about Hope Mills and what it was like as a mill town. It is a chance to reconnect with the town’s past and learn a bit of local history first hand.

    One especially popular event at Ole Mills Days is the Hope Mills Chamber’s Chili Cook Off. For years, local chefs have brought forth offerings of their favorite chili recipes to the delight of the attendees and judges. The chili cook off
     is Oct. 17 and it is sponsored by the Hope Mills Chamber. 

    “We have the chili cook off every year and it is our only fundraiser because the Hope Mills Chamber is a nonprofit,” said Callahan. “We have WKML 95.7 as our sponsor for the chili cook off and a corn-hole tournament that is sponsored by Up & Coming Weekly.” 

    Contestants can enter their chili in the competition for $15. Cash prizes and plaques will be given for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners. Chili can be dropped off at 10 a.m. and the announcement of the winners is at 3:30 p.m. There is a People’s Choice Awards in which the public can purchase small containers of all the chili to sample. They will have the opportunity to vote for the chili that they like the best. A $100 cash prize will be awarded.   

    The evening concludes with a movie night in Municipal Park.  

    Even though it is right around the corner, there is still time for vendors and sponsors
    to participate. 

    “We are selling tents that you can purchase for $250,” said Callahan. “It comes with a sign, one table and eight chairs.” Callahan added that you can advertise your business underneath the tent and give away items but you are not allowed to sell anything under your tent.   

    Admission is free. For more information, call 424-4555. If you are interested in performing at the street dance, call 426-4109.


  •     After more than 20 years reporting on, studying and writing about North Carolina government, I’ve commented on hundreds of separate news stories, political campaigns and policy issues. But if I had to summarize my overall “take” on our state and local governments, it would be that North Carolinians don’t get a good rate of return on the (excessive) tax dollars they pay.
        In our private lives, we all constantly shop for bargains. That’s not to say that we always choose the lowest-priced good. We look for the best value for the dollar. Sometimes that may indeed mean buying the least-expensive product. But other times, we’re willing to pay more to obtain a more valuable outcome.
        {mosimage}Lots of North Carolina politicians use this line of reasoning to justify their favorite new programs and, when it comes time to pay the bill, new taxes or fees. But to assert that a new educational program will improve student performance, a new health care program will save lives, or a new transportation bill will increase public safety or mobility is not to make it so. Perhaps the program has been tried elsewhere and found wanting. Perhaps there are good theoretical reasons to doubt that it targets the right problem. And after the fact, you have data with which to compare the predictions of politicians to actual experience.
        One of my John Locke Foundation colleagues, Joe Coletti, has just completed a study subjecting my “take” to empirical analysis. It consists of two parts: 1) how North Carolina compares to other states in the cost of government, and 2) how North Carolina compares in recent economic, educational, social, and other trends. If our costs were relatively low and our outcomes were relatively high, that might well constitute evidence that North Carolina’s state and local governments were making good use of our money.
        You know where I’m going with this, don’t you? Unfortunately for taxpayers, Coletti found precisely the opposite. North Carolina imposes a relatively high tax burden but has lagged, not led, the region and nation in most outcome categories. Some key findings:
        • North Carolinians pay twice as much in state and local taxes, adjusted for inflation, as they did in 1983. As a percentage of income, North Carolina’s tax burden now exceeds the national average and is one of the highest in the South.
        • While North Carolina experienced better-than-average performance in some economic and social indicators during the 1980s and early 1990s, more recent trends aren’t as favorable. After Jim Hunt and the General Assembly created major new initiatives in the mid- to late 1990s, and Mike Easley and lawmakers raised taxes to finance them a few years later, the state’s progress actually stalled.
        • Since 2000, North Carolina students lost ground in reading and underperformed other states in math. More than half the states posted more improvement in crime rates than North Carolina did. For much of the decade, our road system deteriorated in quality and congestion compared with regional rivals such as Florida and Texas. Economically, North Carolina experienced rapid population growth, but job creation and income growth lagged the regional and national averages, sometimes badly.
        None of this is to say that North Carolina is a bad place to live and work. Governments matter, but their performance isn’t necessarily decisive. While taxes are too high and the return on tax dollars is too low, our state has many other attractive amenities. At least until recently, North Carolina’s land, energy and labor costs have been comparatively low. These are tremendously important variables that both households and businesses consider when deciding where to move or expand. In addition, and in tacit recognition of the fact that North Carolina’s overall governmental costs are out of line, state and local officials have become increasingly willing to offer targeted tax breaks and generous subsidies to big businesses, largely exempting many from the excessive tax burden that smaller businesses and households must shoulder.
    What Coletti’s study shows is that progress in North Carolina has increasingly come despite rather than because of the policy choices of our politicians. Considering both governmental costs and outcomes, he came up with a letter-grade ranking of the rate of return that each state’s residents derive from the taxes they pay. Among the A states were Florida, Texas, and Tennessee. Virginia and South Carolina earned Bs.
    And North Carolina? We got a D. There are states where taxpayers get an even-worse deal than North Carolinians do, but not many.
    The good news is that our policymakers have plenty they can learn about government reform from the successes of other states — if they are willing.
  •     Dear EarthTalk: What’s the story with LED light bulbs that are reputed to be even more energy-efficient than compact fluorescents?                        — Toby Eskridge, Little Rock, AR

        Perhaps the ultimate “alternative to the alternative,” the LED (light-emitting diode) light bulb may well dethrone the compact fluorescent (CFL) as king of the green lighting choices. But it has a way to go yet in terms of both affordability and brightness.
        {mosimage}LEDs have been used widely for decades in other applications — forming the numbers on digital clocks, lighting up watches and cell phones and, when used in clusters, illuminating traffic lights and forming the images on large outdoor television screens.
        Until recently LED lighting has been impractical to use for most other everyday applications because it is built around costly semiconductor technology. But the price of semiconductor materials has dropped in recent years, opening the door for some exciting changes in energy-efficient, green friendly lighting options.
    According to HowStuffWorks.com, LED bulbs are lit solely by the movement of electrons. Unlike incandescents, they have no filament that will burn out; and unlike CFLs, they contain no mercury or other toxic substances. Proponents say LEDs can last some 60 times longer than incandescents and 10 times longer than CFLs. And unlike incandescents, which generate a lot of waste heat, LEDs don’t get especially hot and use a much higher percentage of electricity for directly generating light.
        But as with early CFLs, LED bulbs are not known for their brightness. According to a January 2008 article in Science Daily, “Because of their structure and material, much of the light in standard LEDs becomes trapped, reducing the brightness of the light and making them unsuitable as the main lighting source in the home.” LED makers get around this problem in some applications by clustering many small LED bulbs together in a single casing to concentrate the light emitted. But such LED “bulbs” still don’t generate light much brighter than a 35-watt incandescent, much too little light for reading or other focused tasks.
    If LEDs are going to replace incandescents and CFLs, manufacturers will have to make them brighter. EarthLED is lighting the way with its EvoLux and ZetaLux bulbs, which use multiple LEDs in a single casing to generate light. The EvoLux delivers light equal to that of a 100-watt incandescent, the company says. But the $80/bulb price tag may be tough to swallow. The ZetaLux, which retails for $49.99, delivers light equivalent to a 50- or 60-watt incandescent, will last 50,000 hours and costs only $2/yearly to run.
        Other bulb makers are working on similar designs for high-powered LED bulbs, hoping that an increase in availability will help spur demand, which will in turn lower prices across the board. Until then, consumers can find LED bulbs suitable for secondary and mood lighting purposes in many hardware and big box stores. C. Crane’s 1.3-watt LED bulb, for example, generates as much light as a 15-watt incandescent bulb. Check your local hardware store for other options, as well as online vendors such as Best Home LED Lighting, Bulbster, SuperBrightLEDs.com and We Love LEDs.
        CONTACTS: How Stuff Works, www.howstuffworks.com/led.htm; EarthLED, www.earthled.com; Best Home LED Lighting,  Hwww.besthomeledlighting.com; Bulbster,  www.bulbster.com; SuperBrightLEDs.com,  www.superbrightleds.com; We Love LEDs,  www.weloveleds.com.
        GOT AN ENVIRONMENTAL QUESTION? Send it to: EarthTalk, c/o E/The Environmental Magazine, P.O. Box 5098, Westport, CT 06881; submit it at:  www.emagazine.com/earthtalk/thisweek/, or e-mail: earthtalk@emagazine.com. Read past columns at: www.emagazine.com.earthtalk/archives.php.
  • margaret.jpg

    I have been a warm if not avid Carolina basketball fan since high school when one of Fayetteville’s shining sports lights, Franklin Clark — then Rusty and one of my childhood friends — was a star on a Carolina team that went all the way to the NCAA finals.

    But I also realized through a humiliating experience that I was not and probably never would be a true sports aficionado. That reality slammed home to me when I was part of a group of college students watching — or in my case, pretending to watch — a football game on TV. Most of the group were boys, visiting the Clarks for Thanksgiving. Someone walked into the room and asked who was playing and trying to be the coolest girl in the room, I blurted, “Alabama and Atlanta.” 

    The hoots cut me to the quick even though I had no idea why people were laughing.

    I have since recovered and gone on to live a reasonably productive life. I have even discovered the difference between college and professional sports.

    All of that being water over the dam now, it is true that certain sports figures command our attention and affection, even if their sport does not. Michael Jackson has not played basketball in years, but we love him anyway. Another of those for me was Yogi Berra who played catcher for the New York Yankees, whose World Series games the students of Haymount Elementary School, I among them, were herded into the school auditorium to watch on black and white televisions. This was odd to me even then, but I think the principal, Mrs. McArthur was a baseball fan. 

    Unless you have been visiting somewhere lacking CNN coverage, you know that Yogi Berra died late last month at 90. He is mourned by many both for his skill, endurance and understanding of baseball and for his renderings of the English language. Some say he butchered proper English, but who is to say that Yogi was just having a little fun with the rest of us.

    Here are some of Yogi’s most famous quotes, which have come to be called Yogi-isms. You do not have to be a Yankee’s fan, a baseball fan, or any fan at all to appreciate what he is saying.

    “Never answer an anonymous letter.”

    “I usually take a two-hour nap from 1 to 4.”

    “You can observe a lot by watching.”

    “The future ain’t what it used to be.”

    “If the people don’t want to come to the ballpark, nobody’s going to stop them.”

    “Baseball is 90 percent mental. The other half is physical.”

    “Nobody goes there anymore. It’s too crowded.”

    “I always thought that record would stand until it was broken.”

    “I am not going to buy my kids an encyclopedia. Let them walk to school the way I did.”

    “It ain’t the heat. It’s
    the humility.”

    “I don’t know (if they were men or women fans running naked across the field). They had bags over their heads.”

    “I never said most of the things I said.”

    “The towels were so thick there I could hardly close my suitcase.”

    “Take it with a grin of salt.”

    “I never blame myself when I’m not hitting. I just blame the bat and if it keeps up, I change bats. After all, if I know it isn’t my fault that I’m not hitting, how can I get mad at myself?”

    “You should always go to other people’s funerals. Otherwise, they won’t come to yours.”

    “When you come to a fork in the road, take it.”

    “It’s déjà vu all over again.”

    “We made too many wrong mistakes.”

    “If you don’t know where you are going, you might wind up
    someplace else.”

    “It gets late early out here.”

    “I am a lucky guy and I’m happy to be with the Yankees. And I want to thank everyone for making this night necessary.”

    “A nickel ain’t worth a dime anymore.”

    “I think Little League is wonderful. It keeps the kids out of the house.”

    You gotta love the fellow who came up with these and others, whether he knew what he was saying or not — and I suspect he did. He wowed us with his athletic prowess and knowledge and his words left us wanting more.

    One of his most famous Yogi’isms was this:

    “It ain’t over till it’s over.”

    He was right, of course, but Yogi Berra will live on for Americans as long as we are able to read and enjoy a good chuckle.

    We should all be so lucky.

  • fallfestival_logo_small(3)(1).jpg

    Downtown Fayetteville is full of exciting opportunities. There is something for every member of the family from art to history to great food. And on 4th Friday, it is all on display. Live performances in the streets keep things interactive. Restaurants, shops and galleries stay open late to offer up their finest selections to the crowds. Enjoy the cool evenings of the coming fall in the cultural epicenter and heart of the city, Downtown Fayetteville. This month, the event falls on Oct. 23. There are plenty of spooktacular events to make the evening unforgettable.

    For families with children, Fascinate-U Children’s Museum is a can’t miss. The museum is specifically designed to teach children about the world through fun and engaging exhibits that mimic real life situations. These exhibits are interactive, designed to be touched and played with making learning a fun and natural process. For 4th Friday’s the museum is open late and admission is free. There is also a free craft for kids to take home. Fascinate-U is located at 116 Green St. and will be open from 7-9 p.m.  For more information, visit www.theartscouncil.com/fourthmain/. 

    The Arts Council’s new exhibit, Recycle: The Art of Transformationopens Oct. 23 during  4th Friday. The exhibit is composed of pieces created by local artists from recycled and reused materials. It highlights the large amounts of waste carelessly produced and demonstrates how, with a little creativity, waste can transform into new and beautiful things. The exhibit runs until Dec. 12. The Arts Council is located at 301 Hay St. and will be open on 4th Friday from 7-9 p.m.  Admission is free. For more information, visit www.theartscoucil.com.

    This 4th Friday, downtown falls in step with the Fayetteville Dogwood Festival’s Fall Festival. From 6:30-10 p.m., Bands and Brews takes place in Festival Park, located at 225 Ray Ave. For $5 a pint, sample the10 craft beers and two domestic beers offered at the event. In addition to the cold beer, don’t miss the live music from performers such as Radio Box and Beat Your Boots.  For more information, visit www.faydogwoodfestival.com. 

    Braver souls will want to check out the annual Lafayette Insane Asylum outdoor haunted maze, which runs from 6:30–11p.m. The haunted maze is located on the back side of Festival Park located at 225 Ray Ave. Tickets are $8 or $7 with a canned good donation to benefit the Dream Center. Proceeds of this maze benefit Fishing to Fight Cancer hosted by Swampboys. The canned goods received will benefit a local food bank. 

    From 6:30–10 p.m., narrated hayrides through downtown Fayetteville and Cross Creek Cemetery offer a peek into Fayetteville’s unique history. Other than the ride through the cemetery the hayride is not intended to be scary. Tickets are $5 and pick up is at Festival Park. Tickets and more information are available at www.faydogwoodfestival. The rest of the weekend will be full of Dogwood Festival activities as well. 

    From 7-9 p.m., Headquarters Library presents: How to Survive a Zombie Apocalypse and Other Disasters featuring The Zombie Squad of Southeast North Carolina. Learn how to survive natural disasters and zombies, too!  Staff will be on hand to help Zombie Walk participants with makeup and costumes. The Zombie Walk is from Headquarters Library to the Rock Shop.

    Fans of Aerial Acrobatics won’t want to miss the Air Born Aerials Zombie Aerial Circus at 8 p.m. at Crossfit 910, 116 E Russell St.

  • guess.png

    Cape Fear Regional Theatre’s second production in the 2015-2016 season, Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, is an adaptation of the well-known movie starring Spencer Tracy, Sidney Poitier and Katharine Hepburn. Set in the late 1960s, a young, white Joanna Drayton (played by Lauren Mae Shafer) brings home her beau, successful, charming and black Dr. John Prentice (played by Dwain A. Perry). Personal beliefs are tested as the play pits long-held family values against a changing culture.

    CFRT’s Artistic Director Tom Quaintance is always looking for ways to engage the community in meaningful conversation. Last season’s The Bluest Eye boldly shone a light on race and the many perspectives and cultural differences that communities, families and neighbors often grapple with. Director Kanisha Foster did such a great job with that production that Quaintance brought her back to direct Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner. 

    Foster brings a keen understanding of racial differences to the table. “My dad is black and my mom is white,” said Foster. “When my dad met my grandmother, she had never seen a black person before. So this is my family’s story. As an artist, so much of what I do is telling multicultural stories in an honest way.”

     In a production with so much complexity, getting the right cast was important. With no shortage of talent in the Fayetteville theatre community, Foster is beyond pleased with the group dynamic and where the play is headed. Casting Perry in the role of Dr. John Prentice was an easy call. Foster worked with him before and knew he would be great for the part. “He is smart tenderhearted and can hold his own ground. We are thrilled to have him,” she said. “It is a bit of a difficult part to cast. There are so many overlapping parts of the personality of this character. It is not just a love story. The character lost his wife and child eight years ago and was set on never loving again. It is hard to find someone who can do that role successfully but Dwain is perfect for it.”

    Lauren Mae Shafer plays the part of Joanna Drayton. Shafer is new to Fayetteville and is quickly finding a home onstage at CFRT. The connection between Joanna’s and her mother Christina Drayton (played by Raleigh native Linda Clark) is palpable and brings just the right intensity to the story. “Lauren and Lynda are perfect in these roles,” said Foster. “That is one of my favorite things to watch in the show — their connection.”

    Steven Minow is cast as Matt Drayton. James Dean plays the part of Monsignor Ryan with Ricardo Morgan as John Prentice Sr. Michelle Walker is Mary Prentice. Matilda Banks plays Sharon McNair and Libby Seymour is Hilary St. George. 

    Backed by a solid cast, Foster is excited to tell this story and hopefully spark meaningful conversation about a topic that is just as relevant today as it was in the 1960s. To Foster this is not a play about horrible people who don’t accept a man into their home. It is more about two families who love their children and really want the best for them and are living in a world where they haven’t experienced anything like this before. “To me it is about change and how it happens,” said Foster. “And how people love their children. It is also about first times — first times meeting people and first times having experiences.”

    Guess Who’s Coming to Dinneropens Oct. 29 and runs through Nov. 15. Information and tickets are available 

    at http://www.cfrt.org.

     

  •     Here is one more thing to watch out for during the time between now and Election Day.
        I want you to give attention to a group of people who hang around political gatherings and rallies. Their eyes shift from person to person, from candidate to candidate, and from table to table — wherever political paraphernalia is being distributed.
        Watch them as they lurk around. They are not perverts. They are not dangerous or evil. But watch for them giving every political person the once over.{mosimage}
        These strange people are button collectors. They want to come away with at least one sample of every button they see. For them, the bounty of times like these are the additions to their collections that hard fought election campaigns, like our current ones, make possible for them.
        Political button collectors are generally shameless in their efforts to secure buttons. If they cannot find freely distributed buttons at a candidate’s table, they will accost the candidate directly, sometimes persuading the candidate to part with his own button. Then, the collector, rather than wearing the button, secures it in his pocket and moves on to find another.
        Now for a confession. I am one of these people. At least I used to be, until about 25 years ago when I became a candidate for office and gave up collecting.
        Most of us, collectors and former collectors, enjoy seeing the collections of others. With every button there is a story. Most of the stories of the buttons bring life to the candidates they represent. Often, they help tell something important or interesting about the campaigns and the political battles in which the buttons were used.
        For instance, take the campaign button for 1972 U.S. Senate candidate Nick Galifianakis, who was running against Jesse Helms. “Helms” fits easily on to a button, but Galifianakis is a “button-full.” Meeting this challenge, the Galifianakis campaign came up with the idea of two buttons: “Galifi” and “anakis.” It was cute, got attention, and helped give a positive and laughing response to the “he is not like us” messages about his opponent that sometimes crept into Helms’s campaigns.
        Those Galifianakis buttons are a proud part of my collection. They are also one small item in a new exhibit of North Carolina-related political memorabilia at the Wilson Library in Chapel Hill. Using examples of political buttons and related items, “Soapboxes and Tree Stumps, Political Campaigning in North Carolina” guides the visitor through more than 100 years of our state’s election campaign history.
        The new exhibit is composed largely of items from the new “Lew Powell Memorabilia Collection.” Powell, an editor at the Charlotte Observer, is a different kind of collector from the ones I have described. He concentrated on earlier rather than current campaigns. As a result, he had to pay, sometimes big bucks, for historic buttons like some special ones in the late 1800s and early 1900s when North Carolina white Democrats were wresting control of the state’s government from a coalition of Republicans, African Americans, and Populists.
        An early badge associated with industrialist and philanthropist Julian Shakespeare Carr (for whom Carrboro was named) says “North Carolina Redeemed,” which refers, according the exhibit, to the effort by Democrats to break the Republican-Populist coalition.
        Among the many great buttons that caught my attention were an “Ah Lahk Ike” from the 1950s, a 2000 button with a photo of Michael Jordan in support of presidential candidate Bill Bradley, and a 2004 John Edwards button with a close up of Edwards’ face and a caption that said “Objects in the mirror are closer than they appear,” which was meant to suggest that Edwards was very close behind John Kerry and catching up fast.
        The exhibit runs through April 15. If you are a button collector, a political junkie or anyone with a passion for North Carolina history, don’t miss it.
  •     Apparently there are no longer any adults in charge of the world. We’re ruled by buccaneers. Like Willie Yeats once wrote, “things fall apart, the center cannot hold.” Stock market crashes, golden parachutes and politicians whistling past graveyards. Oh for the simpler days when all we had to worry about was lipstick on pigs and shooting baby seals from helicopters. To quote the great songwriter Randy Newman “Now it seems like we’re supposed to be afraid/ It’s patriotic in fact and color coded.” We have no warm fuzzy FDR or Ronald Reagan telling us not be afraid. The whole country has fallen into the Salem Witch Project movie. We can roll ourselves up into a ball of fear and hide under the bed or we can try to put the fun back into dysfunctional. When economic catastrophe is inevitable, might as well try to enjoy it.
        {mosimage}The leadership displayed by our political and financial leaders during our current financial crisis calls up the cheerful and yet minty fresh painting by Bruegel the Elder called “The Parable of the Blind Leading the Blind.” The painting shows six blind beggars holding onto each other walking down a path. The leading beggar has fallen in a ditch and the other five are soon to follow. Bruegel painted this in 1568. Who knew he was predicting America’s leadership in 2008? Nostradamus step aside.
        Watching the $700 billion bailout booty fizzle and seeing the stock market drop 800 points during one day can be a bit off putting. Get used to it — your money has gone to Davy Jones’ locker. Your financial future’s been keelhauled. In the Great Depression II, all is not lost. We’ll get to try out new roles in the brave new world in which the Good Ship Deregulation has foundered. Like Gilligan, the Skipper and the landlubbers who were shipwrecked from the Minnow on Gilligan’s Island, our visit to the island of Lost IRAs and ghost banks is going take a lot longer than a three-hour tour.
        We’re going to need new jobs because the old ones won’t exist. Personally, I am going to apply to be a Pirate Spokesman like Suguli Ali. Suguli is the Pirate Spokesman for the Somali pirates who took over the Ukranian freighter M.V. Faina. When captured by pirates off the Somalia coast, the Faina was loaded with guns and Russian T-72 tanks. At first I was mildly surprised that 21st century pirates have a spokesman. How would you go about getting that job? Suguli announced the pirates would release the ship and crew for only $20 million. That’s a lot less than the Wall Street Bailout.
        As I pondered the concept of a world that can generate a Pirate Spokesman, I realized that AIG, Lehman Brothers and Morgan Stanley all have spokesmen. There’ll be no cat o’ nine tails for those gentlemen of fortune executives, just a huge pile of golden doubloon parachutes and a McMansion at Fiddler’s Green for them. Our financial wizards are no better than seagoing pirates. Naturally, the Somali pirates have the right to have a spokesman. Put an eye patch and a parrot on Richard Fuld of the late, great Lehman Brothers and you’ve got a dandy pirate. Pirating is just another form of love.
        The pirates also have K Street Lobbyists. Tucked away into the starboard side of the $700 billion bail out bill for Wall Street was a nifty little earmark for $192 million in excise tax rebates for rum producers in the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. Who benefits from cheaper rum? Pirates of course. The pirates got their earmark. How great is that? Unsurprisingly, pirates get treated better than non-pirates. Sixteen congressmen on a dead individual retirement account’s chest, Yo-Ho-Ho and a bottle of rum!
        It is no coincidence that we just observed International Talk Like a Pirate Day on Sept. 19. The stock market went up 388 points that day to over 11,000 just to fool us into thinking we’d found a safe harbor. Unfortunately, Talk Like a Pirate Day contained a secret message to the Bilge Rats who ran Wall Street to take the money and run. Arrr, me hearties! The scurvy curs grabbed the gold from the hold of the Good Ship America when they scuttled the stock market by making the credit markets walk the Bring down old Glory, Mateys! Hoist the Jolly Roger! Guzzle the grog! Aye! We be under new management.
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    Healthcare is a hot topic of debate around the world. Here in the United States, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention touts the success of The Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, in a report released in August. The National Health Interview Survey, noted that just “9.2 percent of the population, or about 29 million people, had no coverage during the first three months of 2015. That’s down from 11.5 percent in 2014, 14.4 percent in 2013, and 16 percent back in 2010.”

    While Obamacare was directed at ensuring people have health insurance, it also ensured access to care when it is needed. That is probably the most important thing for most of us. If we are sick or one of our family members falls ill, we want to be seen by qualified healthcare providers in a clean, safe environment. That doesn’t seem like a lot to ask. But in North Carolina and in many other states, it is.

    A report released in March by the Association of American Medical Colleges indicates that by 2025, a shortage of as many as 90,000 physicians will impact the United States. That is not good news.

    Currently across the nation, people wait anywhere from seven to 66 days to schedule an appointment with a family physician. In Southern states, the average wait is around two weeks. That’s okay if you are just monitoring your health, but two weeks is a long time when you are sick. These wait times often force people without true emergencies into emergency rooms or quick care clinics that are popping up throughout the nation, including in local drug stores. This is not an ideal means of seeing to your health because there is no follow-up. 

    Here, in Cumberland County, where we have three hospitals and a plethora of physicians of every kind and variety, yet the lack of access to care is very real — particularly for those who are assigned to military clinics on Fort Bragg. With its flagship hospital, Womack Army Medical Center, routine healthcare at Fort Bragg is  provided at family practice clinics that are spread across the post. Active duty personnel and their families are assigned to clinics based on their unit. Retirees and their families are then thrown into the mix.

    During the troop build-up, many retirees who pay for their healthcare through Tricare were forced off the post and into the civilian sector. About two years ago, those folks were brought back into the fold at Fort Bragg as  a cost-reducing measure. Most were satisfied with the change, but that was then.

    As I have noted previously, I have never had anything but stellar care at Womack and its clinics. The care has never been the problem — it has always been getting to the care. TRICARE Standard guarantees certain access standards for care. For urgent care, appointment wait times cannot exceed 24 hours. For routine care, appointment wait times should not exceed seven days. For specialty referrals and wellness care, the standard is no more than four weeks. That puts the access to care in line with that of most in our region.

    That would be great if that were the case. There is a shortage of providers on Fort Bragg. I will use myself as an example. Several weeks ago I was sick; running a fever, congested, throat-on-fire sick. I tried to make an appointment. I couldn’t. Why? Because a large number of providers at my clinic left, and I am an orphan in the system. I am assigned to a clinic but have no provider. So I called to see if I could get a same day appointment. No joy. The nurse I spoke with realized I was very sick and got me referred off post to a local FastMed. This past week, I needed another appointment. I called to book one. Again, because of my orphan status, appointments were not available. I called again. I was told I could not book an appointment until late December. This is October. That’s 12 weeks before I can attempt to make an appointment to be seen. This doesn’t even come close to meeting access to care standards.

    I am not alone. My friends and co-workers face the same problem. In talking with the provider at FastMed, yes, I was referred off post again, I found that the FastMed office is seeing a tidal wave of military families who are in the same boat — even three- and four-week-old infants. Talking with another provider at the drug store, I heard the same thing.

    The healthcare shortage is real in Cumberland County and on Fort Bragg; it is truly a sad state for healthcare and those who need it.

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    Givens Performing Arts Center is a mainstay in quality entertainment bringing international acts as well as regional and local talent to the stage. While GPAC has a strong connection to Fayetteville, that bond just got stronger.  In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and in conjunction with the Visual Arts Alliance, GPAC is proud to sponsor the latest Gallery 208 exhibit, Bras for the Cause: Artful Bras. The exhibit is free and open to the public at 208 Rowan Street. The exhibit speaks to the fierce and tenacious spirit of women who combat breast cancer every day. It celebrates the triumphs of those who fought and won, while honoring the struggle of those who did not.

    The timing of the Bras for the Cause exhibit dovetails perfectly with the timing of the next GPAC performance, which celebrates another uniquely feminine quandary: menopause. This particular show includes three breast cancer survivors.  Menopause the Musical is a tribute to womanhood and all the mysterious hormones that come with it. It is on stage at GPAC on Oct. 9. This humorous interpretation of the trying adventure that is menopause is an exciting, musical and hilarious for everyone. 

    “It is a party, an absolute party. It is such a fun event. Everyone comes over and over — and that’s fun, too. There are women who come to multiple shows and bring their friends and their daughters. We have multiple generations of women come to the show, it is great to share. Some bring their husbands, unsuspecting men. The last show, not four minutes in, we heard a man guffawing. There is no men bashing, it’s just so charming. And they can appreciate it because they experience it, too. Not to give them credit for going through menopause, rather they go through our menopause,” saidJudy Blue who plays the “Soap Star” in the show. 

    This is a musical production. The show features familiar songs from the ‘60s, ‘70s and ‘80s, but rewritten as parodies to fit the struggles of menopause. Blue says that everyone has their own favorite symptom. Sharing these symptoms — like hot flashes or uncontrollable crying —however miserable they me be, serves as a bridge between otherwise radically different people both on and off stage. 

    “We learn to embrace and start to understand each other. We don’t like each other at first, but not two songs in, we start to understand each other with the symptoms that we share,” Blue explains. 

    In addition to candid conversation about menopause, this tour also focuses on how important an honest and supportive discussion about breast cancer is. 

    “This Menopause the Musical Tour is the survivor show. The musical is the same, for those who have seen it before, but we have three breast cancer survivors. So part of the proceeds of the show go to the Susan G. Komen Foundation,” Blue says. 

    Two dollars of every ticket sold will benefit the Susan G. Komen Foundation.

    “It was just a natural fit for us, especially with what we have faced in our pasts. I had a lumpectomy and some radiation, and it was small. I am grateful for that. Another woman in the show had massive amounts of chemotherapy and was in it for the long haul. But she came back strong. We are living full lives. We dance around on stage for hours every night! It’s a hope, too. That’s what we want to share. You can get through it and that’s what we are here to represent.” 

    Blue encourages women to become educated about preventative measures like a healthy diet and exercise and regular mammograms. There is no telling what life may throw at you. But the women of Menopause the Musical take on the challenges of life with passion, hope, understanding and sisterhood. She says that she feels most rewarded when she can share that hopefulness with the audience.

    “We meet people afterwards that say that this is the most they have laughed in months and they go out after the show and keep that upbeat I can conquer anything mood going,” she said.

    Menopause the Musical is on stage at the Givens Performing Arts Center on Oct. 9 at 8 p.m. The Givens Performing Arts Center is located at 1 University Dr. in Pembroke. To purchase tickets. call (910) 521-6361 or visit tickets.com. For more information visit www.uncp.edu/giving/advancement/givens-performing-arts-center. 


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    “The willingness with which our young people are likely to serve in any war, no matter how justified, shall be directly proportional to how they perceive the Veterans of earlier wars were treated and appreciated by their nation.” 

        – General George Washington, 1781

    The Fort Bragg Garrison Command will host its Annual Retiree Appreciation event Oct. 22-24 to celebrate the service and commitment of retired service members and their families.  

    “The three-day event includes the Retiree Golf Tournament, the Retiree Luncheon and the Retiree Appreciation Day at Womack Army Medical Center,” said Donnell Edwards, the Fort Bragg and State of North Carolina Retirement Services Officer. 

    “This is Fort Bragg’s way of communicating back to our retirees thanking them for services rendered over the years, to keep them engaged with current soldiers, and to remind them we consider them Soldiers for Life,” Edwards said echoing the RSO motto of “Soldier for Life.  Once a Soldier, Always a Soldier... A Soldier for Life.”

    The Retiree Golf Tournament is at Stryker Golf Course Oct. 22. The Opening Ceremony begins at 8 a.m. with a shotgun start at 9 a.m.  

    The Retiree Luncheon on Oct. 23 is from 11:30 a.m. until 1:30 p.m. at the Fort Bragg Conference & Catering Center with entertainment provided by the All American Chorus.  

    “We get a lot of positive feedback for the annual event,” Edwards said.  The most popular is the Retiree Appreciation Day at Womack, he said.

    The Appreciation Day at Womack Army Medical Center will kick-off with a welcome in the hospital’s Weaver Auditorium at 8:30 a.m. on Oct. 24. The day will feature numerous medical and dental services, classes and giveaways from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Pre-registration is not required.

    Services offered include assistance preparing wills, living wills and advanced directives; mammography; pharmacy counseling; vision, dental and hearing screenings; flu shots and other vaccines; diabetes information; TRICARE; physical therapy information; mobile blood drive; nutrition information; blood pressure screening; yoga and more. 

    In addition to services, classes will be held throughout the day:

    Time Class Location

               9 and 11 a.m.                          TRICARE Brief                         Weaver Auditorium

    9:30, 11 a.m., 12:30 p.m.           Advance Directives     Family Medicine Conference Room

                     10 a.m.                     Healthy Meals in Minutes            Weaver Auditorium

                     10 a.m.              “Ready to Quit” tobacco info session   Internal Medicine 

       10:30 and 11:30 a.m.                             Yoga                        General Surgery Waiting Room

                     Noon                   Dealing with Life Changing Events    Weaver Auditorium

       12:30 and 1:30 p.m.           Meditation and Relaxation               Internal Medicine

                    1 p.m.                         Healthy Sleep Habits                          Weaver Auditorium

    For more information about medical services or classes offered, call the WAMC Public Affairs Office at 907-7247.

    On Oct. 24, the ID Card Facility will provide services to retirees and family members at the Soldier Support Center from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m.  No appointments needed on this day, but two forms of identification are required to issue new cards. For more information or to make an appointment for a future day, call 396-9339.

    For general information, contact the Fort Bragg Retiree Services Office.  The RSO is located on the first floor of the Soldier Support Center in Building 4-2843 on Normandy Drive, Fort Bragg.  Hours are Monday – Friday from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m.  To make an appointment or get more information about services provided, call 396-5304 or 800-535-6067.    


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    Veterans Day has always had a very special place on the Fayetteville calendar. Fayetteville is intertwined with Fort Bragg and so the military plays a huge role in the community. To honor and thank these valiant community members, friends and family, as well as all vetertans, there is the annual Veteran’s Day Parade. This year it is on Nov. 7 from 10 a.m. until 12 p.m. along Hay Street, kicking off with a C-130 flyover. It is an exciting and lively parade, but more importantly the Chair Kirk deViere noted, “This is an opportunity to honor those who made sacrifices and served our nation over the years.”

    This year the parade will be bigger and better than ever, deViere said. “We will have over 100 participants and we are very excited. It is one of the larger parades. We have a lot of military service organizations like the VFW and high school ROTC units from all over Cumberland County. I believe it is the first time Fayetteville State University has participated in the parade. We will have choruses. The 18th Airborne chorus will be there. We will have vehicles and marching units. The 82nd Airborne band will be there so will USASOC. Of course 440th as near and dear to us as they are, will be participating. Methodist University will have their band and we will also have several high school bands.” Truly, the whole community is coming together to create a fantastic parade this year. 

    DeViere has worked with the Veteran’s Day Parade for three years now, officially taking over this year. Organizing so many moving parts is challenging, but with experience and passion deViere continues to help the program grow each year. “It is our 16th year of doing and it gets bigger every year. The support this community has for military is great. There is always a great opportunity to come support the military,” he said. 

    Each year the parade has a theme. Previously it focused on specific conflicts, but this year the organizers had a different idea. “The theme this year is women in the military. We are focusing on honoring women who have served the military, which we are really excited about it,” deViere said, “We have a lot of women’s auxiliary groups and vets who are participating in the parade. Our Grand Marshall is Maj. Gen. Marcia Anderson. She is the first African American female to get to major general in the Army Reserves. Command Sgt. Maj. Yolanda Tate, the Fort Bragg Garrison Command Sgt. Maj. will host the parade with her.”

    Another exciting addition to this year’s Veterans Day Parade is Air Force participation and official recognition. Every year thousands of people come to see the parade and hundreds participate. This is a huge undertaking, and this year the parade is officially recognized by the Veterans Administration, leading to even further growth. “There are Air Force veterans groups participating this year, which we are very happy to see. There will be a C-130 flyover to start. They only do about six across the nation on Veterans Day and we are one of them. We have been designated as an official VA regional site, which means our parade is the official VA admin regional site. They only do that for a few parades across nation. It is a designation that your parade is important,” deViere explained. 


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    For nearly half a century the Junior League of Fayetteville has hosted the area’s biggest and best holiday shopping experience. A long-time tradition in Fayetteville, the Holly Day Fair marks the beginning of the Christmas season for many. This unique event is the largest holiday gift and craft show in Eastern Carolina with 200 vendors. It’s not unusual for the event to draw 20,000 plus shoppers over the course of its four-day run. This year, the Holly Day Fair is scheduled for Nov. 5-8. 

    One of the many things that makes the Holly Day Fair so special is the one-of-a-kind gifts and many handcrafted items available there. The Fayetteville Junior League works hard every year to find vendors that offer gifts that are hard to find anywhere else. From Christmas decorations to crafts, jewelry, clothes, toys, specialty foods household items and more, this is the place to go for that special gift for the discerning person on your shopping list.

    Jami McLaughlin has worked on the Holly Day Fair committee for the past six years and loves ringing in the holiday season at such a lively event. “There are so many people that have been doing this a lot longer than I have. Once you start it is really hard to stop,” she said. “This is one of the few fundraisers that raises more than a quarter million dollars for kids in our community and it is through the efforts of a four-day festival. It is a lot of fun behind scenes, and all the money goes right back to the community.”

    Jennifer Gasque is the chair of the Holly Day Fair and she is excited about how it is all coming together. “This is so exciting. For the past few years we have been right at the capacity for our venue. The Holly Day Fair just keeps growing. We host more than 20,000 visitors each year. We have close to 200 vendors this year that include some long-time favorites that offer anything from wind-up toys to kids clothes, monogrammed items as well as specialty item including antiques and more. And then we’ve got new local vendors. Blush Bridal will be there as well as Vibra’s. They have opened a location in Fayetteville. 

    Every year guests are treated to something extra special in the Junior League’s area of the Holly Day Fair. There will still be cookies and other goodies but this year, instead of wrapping paper and a wrapping station, visitors can look forward to Fayetteville themed ornaments. “Our theme is Christmas in the city. We had ornaments made that focus on the city of Fayetteville,” said Gasque. We will have ornaments that have photos of the Cameo Art House Theatre, the Market House, the Airborne and Special Operations Museum and more. We have six different pictures that we have of places in the city. We wanted to do something different. We get so much support from the community it just made sense to highlight some of the local landmarks.” 

    Sponsored by the Junior League, the Holly Day Fair offers more than a first rate kick-off to the holiday season. The funds raised from the Holly Day Fair benefit the local population in the form of Junior League of Fayetteville Community Assistance Program grants. The grants go to organizations and programs that support the Junior League of Fayetteville’s childhood mental health initiative. The 2014 Holly Day Fair raised more than $270,000, all of which went back into the community. “This year we have not earmarked any money yet. Our larger grants, the impact grants, are still accepting applications. They are available online at www.jlfay.org,” said Gasque. “If organizations want to visit our site, 100 percent of our funds do go back into the community.”

    The Junior League of Fayetteville is an organization of women committed to promoting volunteerism. The group has more than 400 members and partners with many agencies that focus on child health and welfare. The Junior League of Fayetteville is educational and charitable, teaching its members about volunteering and leadership while helping the community. The organization firmly believes that a strong future for the community means helping local children. 

    By working with organizations like the Boys and Girls Clubs and Operation Inasmuch, the Junior League of Fayetteville touches many lives each year. Additionally, the group awards Community Assistance Program Grants to local organizations in Cumberland, Hoke, Lee, Bladen, Robeson and Sampson Counties that provide services related to the health and welfare of women and children.

    The Holly Day Fair opens for Super Shopper ticketholders on Thursday, Nov. 5 at 9 a.m. From 9 a.m. to noon, there are no strollers permitted at the Holly Day Fair. Super shopper tickets are $14 and well worth the money for hardcore shoppers looking for the first pick of the merchandise without having to compete with crowded aisles. Regular shopping hours on Sept. 5 run from noon to 8 p.m. Regular tickets cost $9. Nov. 6-7, the Holly Day Fair hours are 9 a.m. – 8 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 8, the hours are 11 a.m. – 5 p.m. Tickets are available on line at www.hollydayfair.com. They will be available at the door at no extra cost.


  •     My parents were both young children during the years of the Great Depression. I am not sure how much they actually remembered about it, but a few things they related still stand out in my mind. Both remembered people coming to their homes, one in Fayetteville and one in Kinston, begging for work. Sometimes men and women with children came begging for food. My grandmothers apparently kept some provisions in their pantries for this purpose. Both my parents remembered their fathers, one a physician and one an attorney, taking produce, chickens and other foodstuffs in payment for their professional services.{mosimage}
        By they time my parents grew up, married and were joined by my sister and me, the Great Depression was long past, and we were a young family of the 1950s and ‘60s. I do not remember anyone ever begging at our door. The Depression, though, clearly marked my parents. My sister and I probably did not understand why at the time, but we did chuckle behind our father’s back when he followed us from room to room in our house turning off the lights if no one was there. Even before there was a hint of an energy shortage, he jealously guarded the thermostat, lest anyone turn the heat up too high or the air conditioning down too low. Our mother had her own ways of economizing. My sister and I were probably teenagers before we realized that not every mother thought of spaghetti sauce as a way to use refrigerator leftovers.
        We thought all families had peas and carrots in their sauce.
        The words “Great Depression” have been tossed around quite a bit in recent weeks, as the world watched the United States recognize and try to come to terms with our financial crisis. It has been an agonizing process as Americans of my generation see our retirements go poof and young people see their dreams postponed. Many of us have some idea about what went wrong - “toxic” mortgages and other debt, frozen credit markets and the like, but almost no one, it seems, has an acceptable fix. No American wants to go any further into debt to foreign nations, but neither do we want to see our nation’s economy grind to a halt, with the inevitable job losses and vanishing resources.
        I do not think we are on the verge of another Great Depression. I think we learned a good bit from the first one and put instruments in place, like the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), to shield us from the worst consequences.
        At the same time, we did not learn enough — or maybe we just forgot — the lessons of human greed.
    Before the stock market crash of 1929, the United States did not have many business regulations. Throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries, people made astonishing fortunes in the largely unregulated business world. After the financial devastation of 1929, our government did take steps to reel in the excesses of some business activities, and over time life slowly settled down.
        Times were good again with the economic growth that followed World War II, and my parents and their contemporaries raised my sister and me and millions of other Baby Boomers in relative prosperity. As we Boomers grew up and started our families, a cry went up for less government regulation of business and industry, and probably rightly so in many instances.
        The fabulous business successes and glittering fortunes made in the late 20th and early 21st centuries were generated in vastly different business arenas, but they have common origins in creativity, entrepreneurship, and little government interference. No one told the captains of industry in 1880 that their employees should work a 40 hour week, and no one told the financial wizards of 2000 that people should be credit worthy and be capable of making a down payment before they got a mortgage.
        So here we are again, stewing in our own economic juices.
    None of us, even those who think they do, really know how all this is going to turn out and certainly not when we are going to feel — and to be — secure again.
        As a Baby Boomer, I hope my Echos are paying attention.
        I hope they are receiving the message that almost nobody deserves salaries in eight or nine or more figures, that few markets should ever be completely “free,” and that there really is no such thing as a free lunch or a free mortgage.
        I hope they are learning to read the fine print of every document they sign and to find out about the things they do not understand.
        I hope they are learning that even the most careful planning and execution can be swept away by forces outside one’s control and that the only safety net in such situations is to pay close attention.
        This is my take for all the Echos whose lives are stretching out before them, but I did not experience the Great Depression firsthand.
        I wonder what my parents would say to all this.

  •     As my father would have said, “I think I have seen it all now.”
        My culturally-observant daughter who informs me about parts of our modern life that I might otherwise miss sent me an article by Sarah Kershaw in the New York Times addressing the nature of human beauty. What makes us find one person beautiful but another one with similar physical attributes — say, blond hair and blue eyes or smooth skin and curly black hair — less attractive? 
        {mosimage}Scientists are studying this, and a group of computer scientists in Israel have come up with a computer program featuring a “beautification engine.” The program has taken more than 200 measurements between facial features — eyes to nose, eyes to mouth, nose to hairline, and the like, to try to determine which configurations people find most attractive when we look at someone else. It then takes ordinary human faces, like yours and mine, and applies these ideal distances through the magic of computer technology. This is not a program that airbrushes fine lines or changes hair color. It is more like plastic surgery by computer, lifting an eyelid here and plumping up a lip there, theoretically making faces more attractive.
        The online version features human faces which have been put through the beautification engine. One woman with a long face looked dramatically different, many of us would say more attractive. She is quoted as saying she preferred her regular old face.
        I could hardly tell the difference in several of the faces, including those of a young Marlon Brando in a military uniform and those of a mature Woody Allen with serious bags under his eyes in both photos. Mid 20th century French sex symbol Brigitte Bardot’s lips got less plump, and while her beautified self looked just fine, I prefer the original bombshell. A note beside several pictures which were not much different after beautification speculated that those faces were already so naturally well proportioned that they did not need realignment.
        There is no question human beings find some of us more beautiful than others, but why. Scientists say attributes of beauty are common even among people of different cultures, races, ethnicities, ages and genders. Apparently, we all agree that symmetry of features, youthfulness, smooth and clear skin, and hair and eyes of a vivid color make people attractive, sometimes even beautiful.    
        There is no question we all want to be beautiful.
        A peek into the cosmetics drawers and bathroom cabinets of women around the globe will demonstrate that. I read magazines in the grocery store checkout line, and a recent perusal told me this is true even in hard times. I read an article on how to give yourself a pedicure when you cannot pay for a professional one.
    My concern is not that we all want to be attractive.
        It is the importance we have attached to it, sometimes at the expense of other qualities which I believe are ultimately more important in human life and certainly more enduring.
        I was astounded several years ago to learn that a perfectly lovely young woman I know had been given breast augmentation surgery by her parents for her high school graduation. The message she and her friends must have received from the gift is that large breasts are important in life and that the body she was born with was not good enough to go forward into adulthood. {mosimage}
        I am equally astounded when I visit local schools and see elementary school girls in what look like quite grownup outfits, sometimes even provocative outfits. In high school, I have seen girls teetering along terrazzo floors in stiletto heels that are not only dangerously high but also damaging to their still developing feet.
        I am also astounded and occasionally embarrassed by the clothing of some young adult women whose desire to be attractive has led them to dress as if less were more.
        Looking at the photos of the people who have been through the “beautification engine,” I realized that most of them, even enhanced by pleasing facial measurements, still look like real people. Some were younger, some looked healthier, some more made up, but each could have been someone we might run into somewhere — well, maybe not Marlon and Brigitte. 
        They look much the way nature made them, which to me, is the point. We all arrive into this world with certain physical attributes, and I am all for playing up the best ones and down the ones we like less.
    The danger, of course, is falling over some ill-defined edge of what is both healthy and attractive into a place where the search for beauty becomes more than the search for what makes a positive and productive human being.
        Nancy Etcoff, psychologist at Harvard Medical School, put it this way to the Times. “Everyone wants to look better. And we keep taking it further and further….There is a whole generation of girls growing up who think it’s normal not to look the way they really look.”
        Yikes!
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    “Someone’s opinion of you does not have to become your reality.” These words changed Les Brown’s life. He failed the fifth grade and was held back again in eighth grade. By that time, he believed what everyone was saying about him. Even the school system had labeled him as “Educable mentally retarded.” This sentence spoken to Brown by a teacher was a turning point. He’s living his dream, and works every day to help others learn how they can live their dream, too. On Oct. 8, Brown will host the WIDU Business Empowerment Breakfast as part of the WIDU Anniversary celebration. 

    The WIDU Anniversary 2015 kicks off Oct. 3 and runs through Oct. 10. It is a week filled with praise, worship, entertainment, empowerment and more. Each year, Wes and Sandy Cookman, owners of WIDU radio station, pull out all of the stops for the radio’s anniversary celebration. The event list includes a Jesus Rocks youth event, We Shall Overcomeon stage, WIDU Carolina’s Best Finale concert, Together as One — a midweek service, a women’s empowerment luncheon, a unity service, a prayer breakfast, Quartet Night, the Festival of Praise and  the WIDU Business Empowerment Breakfast featuring Les Brown. 

    At 70, Brown is no stranger to Fayetteville or the WIDU family. 

    “It is a pleasure to come back,” said Brown. “This will be like a homecoming. I am pleased to share strategies and techniques for what people need to do to take their lives to the next level.”

    While many refer to Brown as a motivational speaker, that isn’t how he sees himself. “I see myself as a person who talks about things people need to do to move their lives from right now to where they want to go. For instance, in less than 10 years, one third of the jobs that exist today will be replaced. That means that the people working those jobs will be replaced by mechanized intelligence. I talk about how you handle that,” he said.

    Brown has distilled his philosophy for success down to three keys to success:

    Mindset – the resilience to handle rapid changes taking place in the world. 

    Expanded skill sets — Brown noted that the skills most people have now will not carry over to the domestic economy and will not help them survive in the global economy. 

    Staying relevant and successful by creating collaborative achievement-driven supportive relationships. 

    “You can’t make it on your own. Seventy-two percent of corporations are striking partnerships,” said Brown. “If you want to make it today, you’ve got to find some people who have some knowledge and resources that you don’t have, to help you begin to move your life forward.”

    Brown’s philosophy dovetails with the work of management consultant, the late Peter Drucker, who believed this era to be characterized by what he called the three Cs: accelerated change, overwhelming complexity and tremendous competition. 

    “A lot of people are outside the job market and don’t know that they can’t even get in because it is an entrepreneur’s era,” said Brown. “At the beginning of the year 2000, 5 million jobs evaporated and there were 3 million permanent part-time jobs with no health benefits or security. People need to shift their thinking and what they are looking for and expand their capacity to navigate this economy.”

    This news could sound dismal to some, but to Brown, it sounds like opportunity. Staying current in your professional field, continuously upgrading your skill set and improving yourself will lead to new opportunities and new experiences. 

    “All of us have the opportunity to create a dynasty, a legacy,” said Brown. “The reason many don’t is because of our entertainment-driven culture. The average immigrant coming to this country has a four times greater chance of becoming a millionaire than the average American because they come from achievement-driven cultures. And when we change our culture from being victims of mass distraction and use our genius and talents in other areas, the possibilities are unlimited as to what we can create.”

    The WIDU Business Empowerment Breakfast is on Thursday, Oct. 8 from 8-10 a.m. at the Crown Expo Center. Tickets cost between $15 and $50. Find out more about the WIDU Anniversary celebration and purchase tickets at www.widuanniversary.com.

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    This week, Publisher Bill Bowman yields this space to 

    Jeff Thompson.

    The people of Cumberland County and North Carolina lost a remarkable public servant with the untimely death this month of retired Fayetteville District Attorney Ed Grannis. I say untimely because by all accounts he should still be with us. As many of us had, Ed had what ordinarily is a routine medical procedure, an angioplasty. But, something happened and infection set in. His kidneys and liver shut down and he contracted pneumonia. 

    Those of us who knew Grannis had high opinions of him. As a journalist, my impression was based not on his prowess as a lawyer, but on his qualities as a public servant. I will not use the word politician to describe him even though he served in elective office for 35 years.  Grannis was an example to others in public life.  He was not politically ambitious. He truly possessed a rare sense of duty.

    Edward W. Grannis Jr. was commissioned a second lieutenant in the Army after successfully completing ROTC at Wake Forest. He served for two years in Vietnam with the 173rd Airborne Brigade, and then at Fort Bragg as a basic training company commander. Upon completion of his service obligation Grannis decided to go to work in the District Attorney’s office. He hadn’t planned on being a prosecutor. He told the State Bar Journal in 2014 that he didn’t go to law school to become an attorney. He said he spent seven years at Wake Forest University to get a good education.

    Grannis was a part of Cumberland County’s modern evolution. He fought for and about the law. He did battle with county commissioners in a fight to get a new and larger jail built to house inmates local lawmen were arresting in a determined fight against crime. He modernized the administration of the local court system. He fought in Raleigh for increased funding for our courts. In his three and a half decades as district attorney of the 12th prosecutorial district, the office grew from a handful of lawyers to one of the largest and most respected in the state with more than two dozen assistant district attorneys, many of whom went on to have distinguished careers as judges and state legislators. 

    I knew Ed from the day he took office but got to know him better during one of the highest profile crimes he prosecuted — that of mass murderer Kenneth French. On Ed’s birthday, August 6, of 1993, the soldier fired a barrage of bullets into Luigi’s Italian Restaurant and then entered the busy eatery continuing to fire. Before he was shot and wounded by police, French shot twelve people, killing four of them including Pete and Ethel Parrous, Luigi’s owners. 

    French’s trial was held six months later in Superior Court in Wilmington. Then-Judge Coy Brewer presided and Grannis took the lead in prosecuting French. I learned then that he was not a zealot, but a pragmatist. He sought the death penalty but after a month of testimony, the jury convicted French and decided on life in prison without parole. North Carolina law provides that the judge must sentence a convicted murderer in accordance with the decision of the jury. Ed said he was disillusioned early in his career that the death penalty is what he called an “inexact system.”  In that interview with the State Bar Journal, Grannis noted that by the 1990s our state had moved beyond capital punishment, although it’s still on the books.

    Theodore Roosevelt said “It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly.”  I’ll bet I speak for many when I extend prayers to Grannis’ family and express the thanks of a grateful community for 

    his service.


  •     What is there left to say about Sarah Palin?
        Since her public debut just before Labor Day, observing the endless cycle of leftist attacks on her and ponderous conservative commentaries on why the left attacks her has become tedious. Yet like many Americans, I am anything but indifferent to the governor and if a 60-minute news show promises a 30-second blurb on her at the end, I will stay tuned.
        But no one has yet to fully answer, why does the left hate Sarah Palin?
        Disclaimer: I am a conservative Republican and I like our VP nominee for her drive, determination, her record of reform in unseating an incumbent Republican governor, her small town, small government philosophy and her stands on certain issues. Her critics, on the other hand, some of whom do voice legitimate concerns, hate her not just because she is supposedly unqualified or because she is Rush Limbaugh in a dress (I forget who said that). We political junkies tend to look at life through the prism of ideology when some answers reflect simple human nature.
        They hate her because she is so darn perfect. No, they will never admit that, but let’s be honest, Sarah Palin flits from one career-topping achievement to the next without ever losing her gosh-darn small-town charm. Her whole life seems to be a seamless, upward trajectory — basketball star, hometown beauty queen, city council member, mayor after defeating a nine-year incumbent and you know the rest.
    High on my resume is that I have learned to lose gracefully. As I write this, though I don’t hate her, I am starting to highly resent her.
        And, of course, she is attractive and is the mother of a beautiful brood who could’ve stepped out of a Sear’s catalog. The oft-played image of the successful governor, holding her newborn to her bosom just after accepting her party’s nomination for VP should have served as an iconic feminist moment, but in some their lesser selves took over and a certain green-eyed monster reared its ugly head.
    Then, of course, there’s Todd — handsome, rugged, manly and supportive of his ambitious wife and the consummate stay-at-home dad. What aging, unmarried heterosexual feminist wouldn’t want a man like Todd waiting for her at home after running the state all day?
       {mosimage} Is it any wonder that an unattractive mess like “comedienne’” Sandra Bernhard of an entertainment industry littered with drugs, alcohol, broken relationships and attention-seeking social misfits, would spout off an obscenity-laden attack on even the very idea of a Sarah Palin? And Sarah Palin will probably never know and will surely never care.
        She is not in the least contentious and there is not an ounce of arrogance or ego about her. She doesn’t even give her critics the opportunity of dropping the b-word on her. It just doesn’t fit her and they know it and they hate her for it.
        Appearances, of course, can be deceiving and no one knows what, if any, private heartbreak she bears. There is always the suspicion and sometimes the hope that the outwardly successful pay for their fortune like some figure out of Greek tragedy. Certainly, a Down Syndrome baby and a pregnant teen daughter present challenges but she seems no worse for the wear.
        Certainly politics and ideology matter. To many she is simply wrong and even some conservatives think she is unqualified. Nonetheless, a media sensation was born when an Alaska reporter remarked that the new governor, clad in leather boots and a skirt, didn’t fit his image of a Republican. In a celebrity-obsessed, media-saturated culture, she will draw attention even if McCain loses — especially with the prospect of a 2012 presidential run. Everyone is vying for fame in this age of blogs and YouTube and Sarah Palin has already exceeded her 15 minutes. For some that is reason enough to hate her.
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    Cape Fear Studios is a haven for local artists. It provides a place for member artists to create and sell their works. It also hosts exhibits that bring works from national and international artists to the area. To support this enclave for the arts in downtown Fayetteville, Cape Fear Studios is set to host the Celebration of the Arts on Oct. 11. 

    “This is our second year hosting the event, so we don’t have a large history to go on, yet. However, last year was tremendously successful even though it was a small start. We’re looking for an even larger turnout this year,” said Ann Griffin, executive director. “No matter what, the people who attend will have a fun time while they’re here and maybe even learn a thing or two as they talk to our artists.” 

    Celebration of the Arts features multiple demonstrations from member artists, activities and games that the whole family can enjoy. There is often a disconnect between appreciation of art and understanding how it is actually created. Understanding the work and expertise required to create these beautiful pieces of art adds another level of appreciation and beauty. Celebrate the Arts offers a fun window into creation. 

    “The whole idea is to give the public a taste of fine art and in many cases to introduce artistic production methods to people who have never experienced some of the procedures. For instance, most people are familiar with pottery, but have little knowledge of certain methods that can go into special pieces such as Raku. The pottery demonstrations is outdoors, while demonstrations of 2-D painting, in various styles, are happening indoors. Demonstrations of jewelry making and stained glass productions are also planned. And, for the children we’ll have finger painting, spoon decorating and several other hands-on activities,” Griffin said. 

    In addition to these demonstrations, a lunch of homemade soup, served in handmade bowls, is planned.

    “Well, the soup is nicknamed stone soup, but stones are about the only thing we don’t put into it. It’s a wonderful combination of vegetables with chicken stock. Delicious!  The handmade bowls are created right here in our studios by our member potters. Each bowl is unique and can be enjoyed as functional dinnerware or as decorative pieces,” Griffin explained. 

    This year Celebration of the Arts, a relatively new tradition, is seamlessly combined with an older, though lesser known Cape Fear Studios tradition, the silent auction. 

    “All of our exhibiting members donate an original piece to the auction, which means we’ll have around 30 pieces. You can go online at www.capefearstudios.com to peruse some of the collection of fine art up for auction, “Griffin said. “This is a great opportunity to purchase fine art.” 

    Celebration of the Arts is both within Cape Fear Studios, located at 148 Maxwell St., and in the surrounding parking lots. It is scheduled for Oct. 11 from noon until 5 p.m. “This is a fun afternoon for the whole family. It’s a combination of hands-on activities, plus many opportunities to watch and learn from our professional artists. Most of all it’s a fun way to help support the arts in Fayetteville and keep our arts organization active and viable.” 

    For more information visit www.capefearstudios.com or call 433-2986. 


     

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    Cumberland County Schools and Communities in Schools puts the spotlight on literacy at the 12th Annual Reading Rocks! Walk-a-thon on Saturday, Oct. 17 at 8:30 a.m. at Festival Park in Downtown Fayetteville.  

    “We hope to have a large turnout like we have in previous years,” said Jody Hawley, chairperson of Reading Rocks. “We need thousands of walkers to join us to celebrate literacy in Cumberland County Schools.”  

    The goal of the event is to raise money for schools to purchase books and other learning resources for the students. 

    “We would like to top last year. Our schools raised more than $240,000,” said Hawley. Our total last year including our in-kind donations for the whole district was more than $257,000.”  

    The walk begins at 9 a.m. and the route winds past historic downtown sites. High school bands are stationed along the route to perform as walkers pass by.  The schools designated as the most improved and the schools raising the most in donations will also receive recognition. The high school band that raised the greatest amount of money will lead the walk with Mayor Nat Robertson and other special guests.  Costume characters are also on site. 

    “This year the spirit award has been revamped in order to get schools more involved while they are walking and showing their school spirit,” said Hawley.  

    All donations are tax deductible. The countywide fund is distributed equitably among all schools to purchase books and learning tools that benefit Cumberland County students. Schools are allowed to continue to raise money through Dec. 4 in the name of Reading Rocks! 

    “We are very excited about the walk this year,” said Hawley. “We know that this is the largest fundraiser for Cumberland County Schools and it is the largest event that gets so much of our community involved.”    

    Sponsorship levels are available. T-shirts are $5 for youth and $10 for adults. Donations should be mailed to CCS Information Technology and Media Services, 2465 Gillespie Street, Fayetteville, N.C. 28306. 

    Gates open at 8 a.m. Pets are not allowed. For more information, call 678-2613


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    Former Cumberland County District Attorney Ed Grannis, who prosecuted people charged with everything from speeding to first-degree murder for nearly four decades, died last week after a brief illness. Many are still reeling from the news. 

    The Grannises and the Dicksons have been friends for all of that and before. I grew up in Fayetteville with both Ed and his wife, Winnie McBryde Grannis, the sister of former Fayetteville Mayor Milo McBryde. In 1976, Ed Grannis hired my then beau and eventual husband, John Dickson, as an assistant DA, and John and Ed prosecuted major felonies together for more than 20 years. The Dickson Precious Jewels and the Grannis’ boys grew up together, and our families had many happy occasions in each other’s company in Fayetteville and along the North Carolina coast. A practical joker, Ed once released two bantam chickens into our front yard at a time when I was home with a newborn baby and had no way to catch those little critters. Our new rooster said howdy from a magnolia tree every morning at dawn, and our neighbors were vocally underemployed, which was the point, of course.

    My family is hardly alone in recognizing the contributions Ed Grannis made not only to our community and our state as a person of intellect, ethics and common sense who sought not conviction above all, but justice in each situation. He did it day-in-and-day-out and is widely recognized as one of North Carolina’s most effective and longest serving district attorneys. Very few of us stay in one job for all our working lives, much less one in the public service sector. Fewer still achieve the long and profound positive impact on our community and our state that Ed Grannis did for several generations of North Carolinians, from 1972 until 2010.

    With that in mind, defense attorney Harold “Butch” Pope of Whiteville and I sat down with Ed last year after he was well into his retirement to talk about his extraordinary career and the meaning and impact of the law. Our interview was published earlier this year in the State Bar Journal, a publication that goes to attorneys throughout North Carolina. It reveals a man who has seen and been part of major legal events of the last quarter century and who has reflected deeply on our criminal justice and judicial systems, how they have evolved and how they affect us today.

    Here are excerpts from what Ed had to say:

    On the positive aspects of elective service.

    Ed Grannis: “I think those of us who have been fortunate enough to have been elected and to serve in some capacity whether it is on the town council or statewide all understand what a challenging experience it is to go through a campaign. No one can understand that unless you are the candidate…when you wake up trying to decide whether or not to spend money on TV, whether you are going have to pay for all this or raise money…I think the honor, the privilege, the responsibility is really one of the neat things in a democracy… it is such a unique part of being an American and part of a democratic society.”

    On the death penalty in North Carolina.

    Ed Grannis: “One of the disillusioning things, when I started in the game of justice, bad cases were supposed to get the death penalty. After a while it becomes very clear that it is a very inexact system. While the death penalty needs to remain and be a viable possibility in the worst of situations, for the most part society has moved way on beyond the death penalty. The fact that last year (2013) there was (only) one in North Carolina tells you all you need to know about it. We as a corporate community no longer really use that tool anymore…the best thing I can do for most of these people is give them life without parole as quickly as I can and avoid these lengthy delays...from the point at which the event occurs until the trial occurs. I think the one thing North Carolina should try to do is figure out how to expedite the process.”

    On the increasing numbers of lawyers in North Carolina.

    Ed Grannis: “There are way too many lawyers out there for the economic opportunities…I’ve had kids who come to me owing more than $100,000, and I am giving them a $40,000 job. There is no way those numbers are going to work. Now it has become a business…We are no longer dealing with ‘Does society need this many lawyers?’ I think it is a recipe for a bad situation.”

    On retiring from his long career and whether he missed it.

    Ed Grannis: “It’s really interesting. You miss people some, but when you are finally able to get away from it, it’s like that old Martin Luther King Jr. line, ‘Free at last, free at last.’ It was something.”

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    A spine-tingling favorite among the area’s haunted trails, the Stoney Point Fire Department’s Trail of Terror is bigger and better than ever this year. Those who think there is nothing more to add to the horror of the haunted trail are in for a surprise with the all new Zombie Rampage. There is still plenty of time to experience the sheer terror of it. The trail runs Oct. 23, 24, 29, 30 and 31. 

    Encompassing three-quarters of an acre and manned by a cast of 81 and a staff of 42, terror reigns. The adventure begins with a stage show. Then, a haunted mansion and trek down a terror-filled wooded trail where monsters, clowns and other terrifying creatures straight from your worst nightmare await. Every year there is something new and different. 

    “We try to add two new scenes every year, and so far we have been successful in doing that,” said Fire Department Captain Brandon Hanzal. “I am amazed and humbled every year by the amount of people who support this — patrons and volunteers alike.”

    A new event this year is the Zombie Rampage — an interactive paint ball experience. 

    “This is in the same location as the Trail of Terror, but it is a separate event,” said Hanzal. “The patrons are the only ones shooting here. This is set up like an old-time shooting gallery. The guns are mounted, so it isn’t like a game of laser tag. Once the guns are hot, the zombies are moving forward attempting to get to the patrons.” 

    The Zombie Rampage costs $10 for 40 rounds. 

    While the Stoney Point Trail of Terror is thrilling and entertaining for the participants, it takes countless hours to set up and run each year.  According to Hanzal, the planning starts in January and gains momentum — after the event planners attend a national Halloween convention. 

    “Halloween is the second biggest money-making holiday in our country, right behind Christmas,” said Hanzal. “It is a huge industry. We get a lot of ideas from other people at the convention and we start the building process between May and June.”

     It is a lot of work, but  worth it because the funds from the event are used to purchase fire fighting and life-saving equipment for the fire department. 

    “We clear about $100,000 every year,” said Hanzal. “The only reason we can do that is because we have such great support from the community. Everyone involved in this is a volunteer.” 

    This year, the money is going to help pay to replace air packs for the firefighters. Replacing this vital equipment will cost $301,000. Air packs consist of a face mask connected to a portable air tank that can be strapped to a firefighter’s back. They are useful in areas that have a lot of smoke, poisonous fumes or intense heat. Because these are dated items, they need to be replaced periodically.

     “This all started when Tera Whitman and Angela Peralt looked around the station one day and said, ‘You know, with some strobe lights in here and some costumes, we could have a successful haunt,’” said Hanzal. “That’s how it all started and we’ve grown every year since then.”

    For Hanzal, seeing the community come together year after year is humbling. From the volunteers that started working the event as high school students and come back year after year to the patrons that come with high expectations for a top-notch thrill, it all adds up to a great time for a worthy cause. 

    “You can see the benefit of this and it is humbling to see everyone pulling together for the community,” he said. “It is huge. Everyone who comes either as a volunteer or as a patron gets something different out of it, but it is a great time and all the money we raise goes right back into keeping the community safe.”

    The trail is open from 8-11 p.m. Admission is $15 per person, or skip the line and purchase a VIP Admission for $25. The trail is located behind the Stoney Point Fire Department, Station #13 at 7221 Stoney Point Road, Fayetteville. For more information,  check out the  website: www.undeadfd.com,  Facebook page (stoney point trail of terror) or  call 424-0694.

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    Jean Stultz has been a pillar in the Fayetteville community for years. As the president and chief executive officer of Bragg Mutual Credit Union she gave a personal caring touch to an increasingly impersonal business. For her, the work at the credit union was much more than spreadsheets and account numbers, it was about helping real people make the best decisions for their future. She has done this work for over 40 years with a welcoming smile on her face. After so many years of tireless service, Stultz has decided to retire and enjoy some time with her family. “I am going to do a little traveling and probably spend some more time in Charlotte with my daughter and granddaughter there,” she said. 

    Stultz started working at Bragg Mutual Credit Union when it had only three employees. When the manager retired, she jumped at the opportunity becoming the President/CEO in 1980. Under her leadership, the credit union has grown tremendously — despite the added challenge of breaking into a male-dominated industry. In an age where women business leaders were hard to find, Stultz stood up to a system designed for good ole boys and climbed the corporate ladder, beating many of them to the top. Stultz attributes her success to her work ethic. “When it comes to being successful, you do a good job — and you become noticed when you are doing a good job. If you are honest with yourself and honest with people you are working with, it helps you get ahead, too,” she said. 

    While breaking through the glass ceiling Stultz also kept her priorities in line having a tremendous positive influence through community service. With a heart for the community, and love for people, it was just natural for her to reach out to the causes she holds dear. And she brought her passion for helping people and making change to every corner of the community. Her magnanimous personality and incredible drive make Stultz a boon to any organization. She’s served on countless boards, organized events and supported many causes over the years. Some of the organizations she is most passionate about are the Professional Women of Fayetteville, the Cumberland County Business Network, which she helped found and the Association of the United States Army. Despite her decision to retire, she has no intention of slowing down. “I intend to stay on some of the boards I am serving on because I enjoy that and I look forward to continuing my activity in the community as much as possible,” she explained. 

    Perhaps one of the most important lessons to take away from Stultz’s fantastic career and admirable contributions to the community is the importance of passion in every day life. Looking at her list of accomplishments, it seems impossible that a single person could do so much for the community, but when fueled by passion it all hardly seems like work, “You must love what you are doing. You are being unfair to yourself if you aren’t doing what you love, said Stultz. I love the Credit Union and I love people. I had the opportunity to meet all kinds of people from all walks of life and I loved that. And I got to help people and I loved that, too.”

    Jean Stultz plays such an important role in the community. Through her tireless work both at the credit union and in her various positions in community organizations she has positively touched the lives of many. It is exciting to see her transition into her next adventure and to speculate about the next great impact she will make. She shows no signs of slowing down, “I have enjoyed every phase of my career from working at the Credit Union to working with the community and I am looking forward to retirement but don’t intend to stop doing things in community,” Stultz said. And while no one would blame her after everything she has given, why would we want her to? Stultz is the epitome of the very best in 

    this community.


  •     North Carolina is home to some of the most-exciting political races of the 2008 election season. So why is voter registration in North Carolina growing so slowly?
        Before I go on, let me pause to allow all those infuriated readers whose hair just caught on fire to extinguish the flames. Safety first.
        Now, I know that you’ve been told something entirely different. I know that throughout much of the year, news organizations have reported historic, earth-shattering surges in North Carolina voter rolls. Just a few days ago, political correspondent Jim Morrill of The Charlotte Observer reported that more than 600,000 new voters have registered since the beginning of the year, a trend that is “smashing records.”
        Furthermore, I know that the Barack Obama campaign, the Democratic Party and various local and nonprofit allies have many hundreds of staffers and volunteers registering voters around the state. My argument is not that these are phantom efforts just producing a bunch of falsified registrations. In fact, I’m not denying at all that Democratic candidates (with the important exception of Beverly Perdue, still trailing Pat McCrory in the gubernatorial race) are reaping benefits from an “enthusiasm gap” and from the fact that new voters are more likely to be Democratic, and far less likely to be Republican, than the existing electorate is.{mosimage}
        All I’m saying is that, as I predicted in a column several months ago, voter registration in North Carolina is not growing at a record rate. In fact, the 9 percent growth in registered voters so far in this presidential-election cycle (from the end of 2004 to now) is on track to be a little over the 2000-2004 trend (8 percent) but below the 12 percent average registration growth over presidential cycles since 1980. The truly record surges were those leading up to the 2000 and 1984 elections. The voter rolls grew by about 18 percent in both cases.
        Voter-registration trends are driven by a number of factors. The “motor-voter” laws in the 1990s boosted the registration rate — the share of voting-aged North Carolinians who are registered. So have periodic registration drives, like the ones underway this year by all the parties and campaigns (the Democrats are obviously having more success with it). Another key factor is the growth in the denominator of the rate, the population itself. North Carolina has imported millions of new voters over the past two decades. It just so happens that our electorate, while continuing to grow this year, used to be growing at an even-faster rate.
        OK, well, if the overall increase in registration isn’t all that shocking by historical standards, then doesn’t the Democratic skew of the new registrants this year still auger well for Democratic candidates in November?
        Yes, but the effect isn’t as large as the hoopla might lead you to believe. Democrats now make up 45 percent of registered voters, while 33 percent are Republicans and 22 percent are unaffiliated. At the end of 2007, Democrats made up 45 percent, Republicans 34 percent and unaffiliated 21 percent. On Election Day 2004, the statewide percentages were 47 percent Democrats, 34 percent Republicans and 19 percent unaffiliated. In 2000, the statewide percentages were 50 percent Democrats, 34 percent Republicans and 16 percent unaffiliated.
        After counting the impact of the new registrants, the North Carolina electorate is still less Democratic in registration now than it was in 2000 or 2004. The Republican share is down, too, but only slightly. The real story is an explosion in unaffiliated voters.
        Again, I’m not saying that Democratic candidates for federal office aren’t running a lot better this year than John Kerry and Erskine Bowles did four years ago. I’m saying that the primary reason isn’t a change in the composition of the electorate. It’s the fact that swing voters, new and old, are swinging more Democratic this year.
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    I wrote my first column about the popularity of tattoos more than a decade ago after I found myself touring the Airborne and Special Operations Museum downtown with a woman of my vintage who sported a bright yellow Tweety Bird tattoo on the outside of her calf. 

    Flabbergasted as I was, I noticed that Tweety — he of “I taught I saw a puddy tat” fame — looked a bit startled to find himself permanently perched on someone’s leg. Since then, of course, I have observed thousands of other tattoos, mostly on younger people, including a recently spotted one splayed across the collar bones of young mother doing her grocery shopping. In very curly script the word “Beloved” I am still trying to figure out whether she is beloved of someone else or whether she is especially fond of herself.

    In the years since I first realized the United States is in the grip of tattoo mania, I have visited two tattoo parlors where a “self-medicating” soldier was having a $1,000-plus multi colored Asian dragon inked around his left calf and where the proprietors of another establishment actually asked for more regulation from the state since they were sticking needles into folks. A country musician who asked what my “problem” is with tattoos has called me out from the stage. Two of the Precious Jewels got tattoos reading “Mom.” Blessedly, they were henna and are now long gone. I have also written about tattoo removal, a bit of a growth industry, which can be both expensive and painful and which does not always work.

    After my visit to the first tattoo parlor, I asked Up & Coming Weeklyreaders whether you have tattoos and, if so, where and why. You responded in spades, starting with a good friend. She confided that she has three tattoos, each associated with a man, none of whom play
    any role in her life today. She is also sorry she tattoos and tries to
    cover them in certain circumstances, sometimes using strategically placed bandages.

    On reader described all four of her tattoos, each of which has enduring meaning to her, even though she says she will not be tattooed again after experiencing a religious revelation.

    “1) My name and a star on each side…(not the brightest idea I’ve ever had…but at least it’s not someone else’s name!)

    2) Since I wasn’t satisfied with the way it looked I had some clouds and a hummingbird added around it.

    3) On my ankle I have an emblem of wings, designed by myself and the tattoo artist, in honor of my brother-in-law (now deceased), because he was paralyzed after being hit head on by a drunk driver….

    4) The one closest to my heart is a purple, filled in, tear drop under my eye. I lost a child years ago, no children since. It expresses my continual sorrow over that loss, which I am still here in the flesh, til I am with my precious child again.

    Personally, I like certain tattoos (obviously) as a form of self-expression. But God’s word plainly speaks against it so no more for me.”

    A 46-year-old librarian shared that she has two Mandarin tattoos and is at peace with them. She is also thoughtful about her decision. “…the reasons why people get tattoos are as varied and personal as the type of toothpaste they select... I thought about what it would mean to me and what it would signify to those who had their own opiniona... I think with anything considered permanent and outside the norm of society, one must think long and hard and know that just as you can’t change any part of painting by one of the master painters, you can’t frivolously decide to have your body tattooed, it’s a life altering act and should be viewed
    as such.”

    The tattoo rationale that makes the most sense to me came from a diabetic woman who was badly injured and unconscious. Hospital personnel treated her with glucose that nearly killed her. She has since had “I am a diabetic” tattooed on her forearm, although she does note that it does not look great “with dress up clothes.” It occurred to me that “If found, please return to…” might be helpful for wandering
    senior citizens.

    I have long since sworn off writing about tattoos at the behests of a friend and the Precious Jewels, but another friend tipped me back over the edge by his observation after he saw a photograph of me wearing an ornate and detailed Venetian mask.

    Said friend wondered whether I had submitted to an extensive
    facial tattoo.

    That’ll be the day!

    Ten years after those first tattoo columns and millions of tatts later, I would love to know what you are thinking now. Do you have any tattoos? Do you still love them? Have you had any removed? Why? Why? And why?

    My inbox is open.


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    The Child Advocacy Center’s Pinwheel Masquerade Ball and Auction is set for Saturday, Oct. 17. Don your best party mask and come ready to have some fun. The evening includes mask contests, a deejay, dance demonstrations, a live auction, refreshments and more. 

    Emily Cross is doing a lot of the planning and she is excited about the auction items this year. 

    “This year the packages are bigger and we added a lot of  travel packages,” she said. “We have trips to Costa Rica, Hawaii, New York and we even have a Sonoma Wine Tour package. We already have a group of eight coming just to bid on the trip to Costa Rica. We’ve invited Fayetteville’s best chefs to participate so the food will be fantastic, too.”

    Funds from the Pinwheel Masquerade Ball and Auction benefit the Child Advocacy Center, which works to alleviate the trauma children experience once a disclosure of sexual abuse or serious physical abuse occurs by creating a community of collaborating advocates. The organization’s vision is a community where children live in a safe and nurturing environment free from sexual and physical abuse. By working with partners throughout the community, the CAC provides a safe and child-friendly center that supports the prevention, investigation and prosecution of child abuse.

    Last year the Pinwheel Masquerade Ball brought in $29,600. This year, the planning committee is hoping for $40,000. 

    “There are so many expenses that grants don’t cover for nonprofits,” said Tim Edwards, chairman of the CAC Board. “You have to pay the staff and the rent and things like that. We are also working hard to increase education in the community because that helps stop and prevent abuse. Last year, more than 2,500 people received training in abuse prevention for children through CAC. We are trying to decrease the number of cases of abuse. Last year 661 children received services at CAC. We would love to see that go down, but that was an increase of 50 from the year before. That should not be happening.”

    Founded in 1993, the CAC is instrumental in creating an environment where kids feel safe. Having one location where professionals from 19 community agencies work to interview, investigate and provide support for abused children and their families helps make an already complicated situation less frightening. It means fewer interviews, which means that victims don’t have to keep retelling their traumatic story to different people. Having all the information and resources in one place means that professionals can share information and details that help determine what is in the best interest of the children and families that come through the CAC. These agencies include law enforcement, medical care, mental health, military family services, social work, child protective services, the Cumberland County District Attorney’s office, victim advocates, education and Guardian ad Litem. This not only helps victims heal and gives advocates critical information and tools, it saves the community roughly $500,000 a year. 

    “Before the Child Advocacy Center was established, children would have to go from agency to agency and retell their story every time. They were revictimized  every time they had to retell their experiences,” said Edwards. “These kids go through so much … things we can’t even fathom. If we can help them at all, we should and that is what we are trying to do here.”

    The event takes place at the Metropolitan Room in Downtown Fayetteville. Tickets and tables are on sale at the Child Advocacy Center’s website, www.childadvocacycenter.com, or by calling the center at (910) 486-9700. 


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    Fayetteville State University presents the Baltimore Consort Nov. 1 at 2 p.m. in the Pate Room at the Headquarters Library in downtown Fayetteville.  

    “The Baltimore Consort is an early music group that specializes in music of the 16th century and before,” said Dr. Earnest Lamb, chair of the Department of Performing and Fine Arts at Fayetteville State University. “This particular program features music from Shakespeare’s time.”     

    Fayetteville State University has a partnership with the library in which they bring chamber music to the community. This particular performance dovetails perfectly with the upcoming production at FSU. 

    “I was interested in bringing the Baltimore Consort here because Fayetteville State University is doing a production of Shakespeare’s Hamletlater on this month on campus,” said Lamb. “I thought this would be a good way to publicize our event on campus but give people an opportunity to hear music from these early instruments that they played during this period of time.” 

    Lamb added that some of the actors from Fayetteville State University will perform scenes or monologues from Shakespeare. 

    The Baltimore Consort’s arrangement of early music from England, Scotland, France, Italy and Spain speaks to the heart as well as the mind. The group has recorded 14 CDs that have earned them a place on Billboard Magazine’sTop Ten List. The Consort tours all regions of the U.S. Now in its 34th season, the group garners rave reviews across the globe.

    FSU offers a Bachelor of Arts in music with a teaching and non-teaching option. The university also has the FSU University Concert Choir that sings all types of music.  

    “We do more than just sing spirituals,” said Lamb.  “We have an upcoming concert in December and the choir will sing a piece by Bach in German.” 

    Lamb added that their fine arts series is the only comprehensive performing and fine arts program in the city. The fine art series art events, gallery events, national dance artists and nationally acclaimed musical events.     

    The goal of the event is to give people an opportunity to hear music from Shakespeare’s time. 

    “The library is an intimate space and a good way to extend our fine arts series that we have mainly on campus at Seabrook Auditorium and to bring it out into the community,” said Lamb. “We want people to experience different types of music, make the arts more accessible to people and to learn about what is happening at Fayetteville State University.”    

     The event is free and open to the public. Seating is limited so arrive early. For more information call 672-2143.   

     

  •     What words of wisdom and inspiration will were heard in Chapel Hill?
        On Oct. 12 each year, the community gathers to celebrate University Day, the anniversary of the founding of the University of North Carolina. More precisely, it marks the day in 1793 when the cornerstone was laid for the first campus building, Old East.
        Why celebrate that day rather than an earlier day in 1789 when the state legislature granted the university its charter? If the charter day is recognized as the official beginning date, then the University of North Carolina loses its claim to be the oldest state university. The University of Georgia was chartered in 1785.
    But UNC began its building program much earlier than Georgia or any other state university. It also enrolled its first student and graduated its first class well before Georgia or any other state university.
        {mosimage}Traditionally, University Day is an occasion for public reflection and speeches that consider the historical contributions of the university and challenges in the days ahead.
        When University Day coincides with the installation of a new chancellor, the new leader’s remarks can be doubly important. These spoken words may lay down markers of the perspectives and commitments that will guide the chancellor in the years to come.  
        This Sunday will mark the installation of a relatively young new chancellor, Holden Thorp (44). Since he has the potential to lead the university for many years, his words and the values embodied in them could be of extraordinary importance to the campus and to the entire state it serves.
        In preparation for his remarks, Chancellor Thorp will doubtlessly study the words of his predecessors and other important university leaders. In their times and special circumstances they sought to articulate the core values that would undergird their platform for leading the university.
        Coincidentally, a collection of speeches, letters and remarks about the university was just published, thanks to efforts of Daniel Barefoot, who is the editor of Hark the Sound of Tar Heel Voices: 200 Years of UNC History.
        Hark the Sounddemonstrates that from the earliest times the university’s friends and leaders had high aspirations for it. For instance, hear this from Willie Jones, who spoke at the first graduation in 1796: “…the rays of knowledge, with virtue attendant, diverging from Chapel Hill, shall likewise illumine not only the state of North Carolina, but the utmost limits of the United States.”
        At University Day in 1976, President William Friday, explaining why alumni are so loyal, said in his speech, “…this University reached out and embraced us. Its great teachers and scholars opened new worlds and guided us in self-realization.”
        More recently, another young chancellor laid out his vision in his installation remarks. Here is Michael Hooker on University Day in 1995. Speaking of UNC-Chapel Hill, he said, “…we should deceive ourselves if we thought such an institution could have its effect only within this state. We are in fact an institution of national and international significance and meaning….Its faculty and its graduates moderate life, not only in North Carolina, but around the globe. Its destiny is to be free, to follow truth, and to shed light.”
        Thorp can find important guidance from his immediate predecessor, James Moeser, speaking in Washington in 2002: “The only way we’ll find answers to the really big issues facing our state, our nation, and our world is to create an environment of unfettered inquiry in which our students learn to think critically, ask tough questions and come to their own conclusions….”
        On Sunday, perhaps we will hear echoes of some of these words selected from Hark the Sound. But we will be listening most to what Chancellor Thorp has to add to them.
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    HEADLINES: 

    Providence, Rhode Island: “Dunkin’ Donuts Employee Writes ‘Black Lives Matter’ on Cop’s Cup”

    Hartford, Connecticut: “Dunkin’ Donuts CEO apologizes over incident involving West Hartford Cop”

    Dade County, Florida:  “Arby’s Fires Manager After Alleged Refusal to Serve Police Officer”

    Newton, Kansas: “Taco Bell Worker Writes ‘Pig’ on Cop’s Order”

    Lewisville, Texas:“Whataburger Employee Fired for Refusing Service to Texas Cops”

    See a pattern here? Well, I see several–and in only a few short months. The most concerning is the bold and growing national trend of disrespect toward police and law enforcement officers. We also see a scary proliferation of national absentee owner franchise stores that appear to serve as a breeding ground for such hostile, outrageous and un-American behavior toward law enforcement.  

    Let’s look at the latest incident that made national news in Providence, Rhode Island, when a Dunkin’ Donuts employee wrote “Black Lives Matter” on a police officer’s coffee cup. This hostile act came on the heels of another similar and pathetic incident of  hate in West Hartford, Connecticut, when a munchkin-minded employee shouted at a uniformed West Hartford police officer, “We don’t serve cops here!” in front of a store full of customers. Really?

    This prompted Dunkin’ Donuts Chairman and CEO Nigel Travis of Dunkin’ Brands to apologize for the incident  with a letter to the editor in the local newspaper. He cited poor judgement on behalf of the  young crew member. Again, really?

    Nationally, there is a pattern beginning to develop. Maybe, just maybe, instead of honoring and respecting the law-enforcement community and projecting a common sense commitment to treating all customers with dignity and respect as Travis proclaims, Dunkin’ Donuts may be vying to become the lead despot in a conspiracy to spark a franchise revolution for anarchy in America. 

    No? Well, there are literally tens of thousands of fast food franchises in America (many foreign-owned) employing hundreds of thousands of young, mostly poor, uneducated, impressionable people surviving on minimum wage. This makes them the perfect conduit to spew such hatred, hostility and disrespect for law enforcement and humanity under the guise of familiar and respected community brands such as Dunkin’ Donuts, Arby’s, Whataburger and Taco Bell.  

    Here is another thought and coincidence: All these outrageous incidents have taken place in franchise chains that are listed in the top 50 in the nation. Three, Dunkin’ Donuts, Arby’s and Taco Bell, are in the top 18. Whataburger is 40th.  It is much too easy for CEOs and local franchise owners to brush these off as isolated instances by wayward employees – especially when the safety and security of our towns, cities and nation are at stake. We are a country of laws. We must enforce them and abide by them. Lawlessness results in anarchy.  

    My  message to Dunkin’ Donuts (and others) is keep your free coffee and donuts and invest that money in training your employees so they can start serving up courtesy, respect and love of country. Otherwise, get comfortable in making negative national headlines. 

    Here’s another thought: In the Florida Arby’s incident, John Rivera, Dade County President of the Police Benevolent Association, called for a nationwide boycott of Arby’s unless corrective action was taken against the  perpetrators of the incident. Boycotts of a franchised restaurant are a viable option for all communities that feel their laws and law-enforcement officers are being abused or under assault. And, no offense to  Arby’s CEO Paul Brown but, giving our police officers and first responders a free Happy Meal combo is of no real consequence.

    As a result of this rash of incidents, a line of pro-police billboards reading “Blue Lives Matter” are springing up all over the country.  Lamar Billboard Advertising is fostering the theme by donating 150 billboards around the country to the campaign.  They’ll run through the end of the month. I hope several are scheduled for Fayetteville. 

    According to an online source, the signs sport the hashtag #thankublu. It is also the name of an Instagram account that features several photos of the signs. The bio reads: “Our only purpose is to thank and support the men and women in law enforcement who put their lives on the line for our safety every day.” 

    Hey, that’s another great point! Police officers put their lives on the line for citizens’ safety every day. Compare that to these franchise restaurants that have a policy where they can refuse service to anyone. Well, law enforcement and first responders do not have that option.

    I’ll close with this: Every person in America has a responsibility to conduct themselves in a humane, civilized and responsible manner. In America, a land of laws, everyone is obliged to comply or accept the consequences of his or her actions.  If this is not done there is absolutely no pretense, justification or absolution that will undo such consequences. Yes, black lives matter, blue lives matter and yes, yes, yes, all lives matter. And, that is what matters most. Thank you for reading Up & Coming Weekly

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    Well, you can talk until you are blue in the face about escalating Fayetteville and Cumberland County’s image and quality of life by increasing local amenities like parks, swimming pools, a river walk, a downtown performing arts center and baseball stadiums; however, the reality is that the absence of honest, local leadership coupled with an overabundance of political shenanigans, seems to be imbedded in Cumberland County. 

    While local politicians (note politicians, not leaders) remain silent, local residents scratch their heads and shout out loud, “Are you kidding me?” Such was the reaction of residents last week as our local county commissioners clandestinely agreed to enlist our local legislative delegation in a plot to hijack the $5.6 million hotel occupancy tax, which is collected annually. Currently, the money is split between the Arts Council, Crown Coliseum and the Fayetteville Area Convention and Visitor Bureau. No more, if the county commissions get their way. Why? They won’t say. No transparency and even less explanation. 

    The commissioners, without explanation, except to say they are not pleased with the way the money is being spent, want to take the money away from the Tourism Development Authority, a board appointed by the commissioners. Hmmmm? That’s interesting. They are not pleased with the board that they appointed and are unable to deal with the situation to the point that they enlisted the legislature to change the law. That kind of judgment raises eyebrows and fosters distrust in our political leadership. It’s the near perfect example of the self-serving, backdoor politics that has stymied development in Fayetteville for decades in both our county and city. 

     Fayetteville activist Sharon Valentine wrote a great opinion piece in last Sunday’s Fayetteville Observer. She expressed her displeasure over the way the Fayetteville City Council disrespected her friend, Councilman Bobby Hurst. Hurst serves as the chair of the appointment committee, whose task was to screen applicants and make a recommendation to the city council on someone to fill the expired PWC term of businesswoman Lynne Greene. I’m not sure what the qualifications are to oversee PWC’s $500+ million annual budget, but Hurst wanted to appoint Juanita Gonzalez, who many perceive as Hurst’s unqualified plant to undermine and dilute PWC’s authority. An action, I might add, that the disputed 100-year PWC Charter was designed to prevent.  However, in a brilliant and unprecedented maneuver by the majority of city council members, local resident Evelyn Shaw was nominated for the position from the floor. Checkmate! Consequently, Shaw was voted in, Gonzalez out and Hurst was outraged.

    Why?  Because the process was violated? No. Because his misuse and abuse of his political office was trumped by his political peers. He was outmaneuvered. Yet, in life two wrongs do not make a right. Nonetheless, this is bad news for the “good guys” or in this case, a community, like ours, with awesome potential and a desperate need for 21st century leadership. 

    It’s not at all surprising that the three 2016 Presidential front runners are Trump, Carson and Fiorina–all notable Washington outsiders. Why? Because career politicians are more and more being perceived by the American electorate as untrustworthy, self-serving, unreliable and unaccountable. The old saying all politics are local, leaves us hoping that the citizens of Fayetteville and Cumberland County will pay attention to these recent abuses of trust and authority and encourage good people to seek leadership positions. This is the only way we can restore faith and trust in government and successfully move our community forward. Stay tuned and thank you for reading Up & Coming Weekly.

  • mayor.png

    Fayetteville Mayor Nat Robertson

    Mayoral Candidate


    It was just over 27 years ago that I served as an intern for our late Mayor, J.L. Dawkins. I watched him transform his love and commitment to Fayetteville into public service for our community. I soon discovered that my interest and love for Fayetteville were deeper than just a summer internship.

    Soon after graduating from Elon with a degree in public administration, I tested my skills in public policy, and my desire to serve our community, by running for a seat on the Fayetteville City Council. I was humbled at the support I received to become the youngest ever elected to a council seat.

    My interest in government stems from my interest in policy, not politics. I am motivated by a desire to do the right things for the right reasons. I believe that all of our residents deserve to be heard and have a place at the table. That is how I governed before, and that is the way I will continue to govern as Mayor.

    I am a proven leader with integrity and a track record that backs it up. I tell it like it is and have nothing to hide. I don’t owe any political favors, and I don’t play politics with special interests or taxpayer dollars.

    That kind of leadership is not traditional; in fact it’s rare anymore. Over the past two years, we have been able to accomplish so many positive things because my leadership style allows everyone to have ownership of the issues. Under my leadership as Mayor, we have broken a decade-long trend of rising crime statistics. We have given Chief Medlock the tools and resources he needs to reduce the crime rate by double digits for two years in a row. We have dedicated the first swimming pool this community has seen since 1948. We have embraced technology like never before and brought real changes to several departments in City Hall. And, we continue to sharpen our customer service skills when dealing with our residents. Under my leadership, we are moving Fayetteville forward and making our city more competitive with other larger North Carolina cities.

    My passion is to help others succeed. I want our city to be recognized by other communities in NC as a safe, progressive city with fascinating people from all walks of life, who contribute to our success.

    J.L. used to say that our Mayor and City Council have a more direct impact on our daily lives than any other government body. He was right, and we as residents should give great consideration to whom we elect to lead our city government. Saying that, I am truly honored that you have chosen me to represent Fayetteville as your Mayor!

    I respectfully ask for your vote again on November 3rd. Thank you in advance for your consideration, and don’t forget to visit my website, natrobertson.com, to learn more about our campaign and plans. My contact information is listed there, and I welcome hearing from you.

    Nat Robertson is the incumbent Mayor of the City of Fayetteville.



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    Len Brown

    District 2 Candidate


    The recent passage of The Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement is the final nail in the coffin for the American worker in manufacturing, intellectual property and copyright regulation. The NAFTA and GATT agreements were devastating enough in transferring jobs overseas but this policy will set the stage for America’s rapid decline. In the next “little while” the American dollar will not be the only reserve currency. The Chinese Yuan will be the new alternative. It is much stronger and more reliable, given America’s huge debt ratio.

    So, what does that have to do with Fayetteville, North Carolina? You are not in competition with adjoining counties or states but, with the whole world. The internet and the computer have reduced distance and space. Fayetteville will have to step up its game, simply to survive. Short-sighted politicians and uninformed leaders are a luxury we can no longer afford. Those who major in minors must be dumped and replaced with intelligent statesmen and practical visionaries. The controversy with PWC should be quickly resolved by negotiation. Then we can focus on relevant problems like economic and public safety issues.

    I bring a special skill-set to the table and at the risk of appearing immodest, I am best able to guide District 2 through the maze we will soon encounter. Our future lies in production of wealth through manufacture not in service-oriented industries. Where computer assisted design is used, production capacity is greatly enhanced. Fayetteville State University, Fayetteville Technical Community College and Methodist University will have to step up their game as well. They will need to get on the cutting edge of technology and strive to stay ahead of the pack. Antiquated skills and poorly prepared students will be frustrated by the lack of opportunity and be burdened by student loan debt. The future belongs to the prepared exclusively.

    As your Council Representative I will diligently work to bring quality jobs to Fayetteville and District 2, work with the Council, Mayor and Police Dept. to reduce crime and the underlying economic and social reasons for it. Be assured that every child will have access to a quality education. Rebranding is not needed for a competent leadership team and a well prepared enthusiastic work force. People exiting the armed forces here at Fort Bragg will be delighted to find the environment already in place to speed their transition into financially rewarding civilian jobs.

    I am Len Brown, and let me Thank You in advance for your vote on Nov. 3.









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    Kirk deViere

    District 2 Candidate


    The upcoming municipal election is about Fayetteville’s future. This election is about electing leaders who want the same things that you want for our City like a stronger economy with job opportunities, peaceful and revitalized neighborhoods and a place where our children and grandchildren come home to stay. 

    I believe in Fayetteville’s future and will take responsibility to help make our city stronger and more peaceful. Ten years in the Army taught me the values and leadership that I will bring to our City Council. My perspective as a small business owner provides me the foundation for economic development and a unique perspective as to how we can create job opportunities. Growing up in a low-income household with parents who worked in a textile factory, I learned the value of hard work that has kept me grounded and acts as a constant reminder that I will always serve as a voice of the people. My wife, Jenny Beaver deViere, and our families inspire me daily to create a better tomorrow for future generations, a future that will encourage our children to stay here and raise their families. Over the last 15 years, I have worked alongside many of you to make our city better and this shared service provides me the optimism that we all really want the same things for Fayetteville.

    Our biggest asset is the people of our city – people who are willing to work together to strengthen our neighborhoods, care for those who are less fortunate, and get involved in changing our city for the better. 

    District 2 can lead the transformation our city needs. We have several unique opportunities within our district: higher than average unemployment; the need for development along our riverfront, Murchison Road and across the river in Cedar Creek; better solutions for our homeless; improving recreational centers for our youth and seniors; investment in revitalizing our neighborhoods; and most importantly, prioritizing resources to make our neighborhoods and business districts safer. 

    We need people on City Council that can lead this transformation by working alongside the other elected officials and building bridges with key stakeholders in the community who share our vision. We need leaders who will roll up our sleeves, work hard and stand committed to changing the future of Fayetteville. Your decision to support a local candidate shouldn’t be based on your political party affiliation, what neighborhood you live in, or the color of your skin. Your decision should come down to electing the best person that can best serve you and shares your vision for a stronger city. 

    As your councilman, no one will work harder than I to earn and keep your trust and lead the transformation of our city. I will not fail you. I ask for your prayers, your support and your vote for me, Kirk deViere, Candidate for District 2 City Council. 

     


  •     Unexpected troubles like a lay off, illness or death in the family can make it hard to keep up with mortgage payments, and homeowners may find themselves facing foreclosure. Sometimes, loan rates are set up to adjust to higher and higher rates, catching unsuspecting consumers off guard.
        Foreclosures hurt families, communities and our entire economy. It’s in all of our interest to help homeowners find a way out of foreclosure when possible.{mosimage}
        If you face foreclosure, keep the following tips in mind to avoid scams and frauds:
        • Beware of so-called foreclosure assistance or rescue companies that require payment up front before they “help” you. It’s illegal to charge an upfront fee for foreclosure assistance services in North Carolina.
        • Steer clear of foreclosure assistance or rescue companies that want you to make your mortgage payment to them, or who tell you not to talk to your mortgage company or to an attorney.
        • Watch out for so-called real estate investors, who promise to pay off your mortgage if you sign over the deed to your property, but not the mortgage. The investor then rents your home back to you or to a tenant but doesn’t make mortgage payments and the bank forecloses. Remember, just signing over your deed doesn’t get you out of the responsibility for paying your mortgage.
        • Other scam tip offs: the schemer refuses to put his or her promises in writing, pressures you to sign paperwork you haven’t had a chance to read thoroughly, or offers to fill out the paperwork for you.
        For free help dealing with foreclosure, call the HOPE hotline at 888-995-HOPE. You can call the hotline toll-free 24 hours a day, seven days a week for free counseling on options to avoid unnecessary foreclosure. The hotline can help connect you with non-profit housing and credit counselors in your local community.
        To report a foreclosure scam, contact Attorney General Roy Cooper’s Consumer Protection Division free within North Carolina at 1-877-5-NO-SCAM.
  • trails-&-mazes.jpg

    When it comes to fall fun, there is no shortage of corn mazes, haunted trails and pumpkin patches. As this season gets underway, here are several must-do activities!

    Anyone looking for a frightful adventure won’t want to miss the Stoney Point Trail of Terror. Not for the faint of heart, this Halloween tradition features a stage show followed by a trek through a haunted mansion and a spooky wooded trail. Monsters, clowns, creepy creatures and more greet visitors in animated and 3-D scenes. This year, don’t miss the newest addition to the event — a chance to hunt the undead in the Zombie Rampage interactive paintball experience. The Trail of Terror is a fundraiser for the Stoney Point Fire Department. Funds are used to purchase firefighting and lifesaving equipment.

    The trail runs Oct.9, 10, 16, 17, 23, 24, 29, 30, 31 and due to bad weather is extened into November. Trail hours are 8 until 11 p.m. Admission is $15 per person (adults and children). Special VIP admissions are available for $25. The Trail is located behind the Stoney Point Fire Department, Station #13 at 7221 Stoney Point Road. For more information, please check out the website: www.undeadfd.com, our Facebook page (stoney point trail of terror), or give call at  424-0694.

    Hubb’s Farm located in Clinton, hosts eastern Carolina’s largest fall festival. This year there are three mazes from which to choose: a shorter game maze for beginners and two longer mazes for the more experienced navigator. If a maze doesn’t suit you, check out the haunted trail that leads through the woods and into a sorghum field. Other activities at Hubb’s Farm include outdoor laser tag, human foosball, a pumpkin patch, a play house, a game area, a train, a sandbox, toddler town, fire pits, hay rides, concessions and more. Find out more at www.hubbscornmaze.com.

    Just outside of Sanford, Gross Farms hosts 15-acres of corn mazes. There are three puzzles that include more than five miles of pathways. Each puzzle has checkpoints. Hayrides around the farm add a great twist to the outdoor adventure, as do the play area and concessions. Starting the second week in October, Gross Farms hosts a pumpkin patch where guests can pick and purchase their own pumpkins. Check out www.grossfarms.com for more information.

    West Produce is located in Spring Lake. A visit to this establishment includes fresh fruits and vegetables for sale as well as hayrides and pumpkin picking. Call 497-7443 for more information.

    A visit to Gillis Hill Farm features an educational corn maze where kids can learn a thing or two while having a great time. Wagon rides, pumpkins and more. Find out more about them at www.gillishillfarm.com. Fans of the Gillis Hill Farms Field of Screams will be pleased to know that this event is back, but at a different location. This year it is at the Hoke County Wagon Train (1239 Alex Baker Road, in Raeford). Message the Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/Fieldofscreams13/posts/911372942276697 to find out more.

    Canady Farm Corn Maze and Wagon Ride offers a maze, an educational nature trail as well as hayrides. Don’t miss the opportunity to visit the farm animals and shop the fresh produce. Call  624-2959 for more information.

    The Gallberry Corn Maze features a maze, duck races, a train ride, bouncy houses and many more fun activities. Call at  309-7582 for hours of operation and information.

    The Fayetteville Dogwood Festival hosts the Dogwood Fall Festival featuring three days of events. Historic Hauntings includes hayrides through downtown Fayetteville exploring the spookier side of Fayetteville’s history. The Haunted Asylum includes an outdoor haunted maze that promises to leave even the bravest thrill seekers shaking with fear. The Boo and Brew Beer Garden includes domestic and craft beers sold by the pint. Don’t miss the Food Truck Festival featuring a variety of food trucks offering up everything from familiar comfort food to one-of-a-kind sensations. Find out more at www.faydogwoodfestival.com/events.

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    That whooshing sound you may have heard recently was your columnist checking a big item off her bucket list. I have now been down the Cape Fear River from Fayetteville to Wilmington, all 125 miles of flowing water. If seeing the Cape Fear up close and personal is on your bucket list, the trip was wonderful!

    Our little band, organized by the North Carolina Civil War History Center Foundation, met on a cool Friday before 8 a.m. at Campbellton Landing in downtown Fayetteville to begin our roughly 11-hour journey. What appealed to me about this trip was Philip Gerard, a professor at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington who has not only traveled on the Cape Fear himself but has written an excellent book about his river adventures, Down the Wild Cape Fear. Philip is not only knowledgeable about the river but is a historian to boot. His series about the Civil War in North Carolina published over four years in Our Statemagazine focused on issues and individuals involved in our nation’s deadliest conflict, highlighted the diversity of opinion about the war within our state at the time, and reminded North Carolinians that many of the issues involved in the conflict are still issues in 2015. He also wrote the narrative that undergirds the proposed Civil War History Center.

    In other words, Philip was a two-fer.

    Our captain was Freddie Mims, a Fayetteville character who takes interested folks down the Cape Fear for two or four hour (and longer) cruises. Three or four times a year he goes all the way to Wilmington as we did on his large, comfy pontoon boat. Freddie is a wealth of information about the river and the history of who, what and which boats travelled it during its heyday as a commercial waterway. He also knows a thing or two about the more colorful aspects of the Cape Fear, such as sandy beach areas known as Sugar Loaf, where, Freddie declares, just as much fun has been had as at the long-gone Fox Drive-In Theater.

    So off we shoved into the calm Cape Fear at Fayetteville, below two bridges and a railroad trestle crossing the water and where the banks are steep, wooded cliffs. Mist floated above the water, and I was not alone in wishing I had worn a heavier coat even though I had dressed in layers. The air warmed as the sun rose, and by the time we floated into Bladen County, we were more comfortable and a few snacks appeared. Apparently, not everyone had breakfast. 

    I and most others had never been through a lock, so when the first one, the William O. Huske Lock and Dam just inside Bladen County, came into view, it got our attention. Phil Edge, the longtime lockmaster who once taught me about the difficulties of fish trying to swim upstream when there is a dam, appeared to turn the wheels that operate the lock. No complicated electronics here. Basically, a lock operates like an elevator. A boat enters at one water level, gates close behind it, and Phil lets water out at the opposite end, dropping the water level to what it is below the dam, about an eight-foot drop. This is not as fast as an elevator, but it is not slow either, and we were soon back in the middle of the Cape Fear and on our way again.

    Phil, who is just weeks away from retirement, met us at locks 2 and 1, in that order. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which operates the locks, has cut resources significantly since commercial traffic ended on the Cape Fear in the late 1980s. As we continued toward Wilmington, the landscape changed. Gone were the cliffs at Fayetteville. The rivers banks are flatter, though still wooded, and the river widens as it became clear that we were in North Carolina’s flat coastal plain, with all traces of the hillier piedmont far behind. Remarkably, outside the lock rest areas — yes, they have clean bathrooms, my travelling buddy and I saw only one other human during our daylong journey. A teenaged boy rested his arms on the porch railing of a house. We suspect he might have been skipping school, or perhaps he is a cousin of the terrifying hillbillies in Deliverance. Our Cape Fear has its wild and woolly aspects for sure.

    By the time we reached Wilmington we had all slathered on sunscreen and were down to our shirtsleeves in the waning of a perfect October day. 

    If this opportunity knocks on your door, go. Philip and Freddie enriched our trip immeasurably, but it is a great ride under any circumstances. And we had one last surprise---a poet in our midst and we did not even know it! Here is her rendition of our day.

    “We left from the dock in Campbellton / 10 hours (125 miles) later arrived in Wilmington / Sugar Loaf and Spanish moss / Rockfish Creek — can’t get lost / Bathing turtles on cypress trees / River locks — they came in threes / Thick rich mud for beauty masks / Could make an old gator — a young lass / UNC-W professor told interesting lore / But wait — I can tell you more / A two-car ferry run by a cable / We must try it when we are able / Water, herons, sky — all blue / But oh my goodness who knew / A cruise so exotic could occur / Down the Cape Fear River

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    We want to welcome our newest contributing writer, Karl Merritt, to our community newspaper. His conservative and inspirational insights adds another enjoyable and intriguing dimension to our community newspaper. In the weeks to come you will see even more changes in the Up & Coming Weekly as we strive to stay relevant and influential in a dynamic community struggling to take ownership of its own identity. As electronic social media conveniently connects us to the world the unintended consequence is that it strips away a community’s personality, uniqueness and charm while masking its local amenities.  Thank you for allowing us to fill this void. Enjoy.

    Bill Bowman


    Dr. Ben Carson, How Dare you Escape

    the Plantation?

    There is surely a large group of Americans wondering how it can be that Dr. Ben Carson escaped the 21st century plantation. This is not supposed to happen.

    For many years I have held that there is an ongoing effort to perpetuate among black Americans a condition similar to that experienced by slaves on the plantations of this country. That condition is one where people do not think for themselves and are so dependent on their masters that they dare not free themselves from the plantation. The following statement in an article on the Public Broadcasting Service website under The Slave Experience: Education, Arts, & Culture regarding preventing slaves from learning to read and write speaks to this process of controlling slaves:

    “Fearing that black literacy would prove a threat to the slave system — which relied on slaves’ dependence on masters — whites in many colonies instituted laws forbidding slaves to learn to read or write and making it a crime for others to teach them.”

    Although the tactics have changed, efforts to control black Americans with regard to thinking for ourselves and being free of exploitation continue without serious opposition. The tactics have shifted from beatings and lynching to suppressive entitlement programs, condoning violence by black Americans when in response to alleged discrimination, promising government sponsored “goodies” while doing little or nothing to provide real opportunity for individual responsibility and allowing tremendous black-on-black crime to go unchecked and barely noticed. The listing seems endless. The tactic that is proving extremely effective is for the controllers to, through character assassination, destroy anybody who threatens to disrupt this winning strategy. In our time, the aim has nothing to do with keeping crops profitable. It is all about controlling the black vote. All that is described above explains the overwhelming, and otherwise inexplicable, faithfulness of so many black Americans to the Democrat Party.

    The sad fact of life is that black citizens who recognize this control strategy and leave the plantation, refusing to be controlled, do so at great cost. It is not simply a matter of safely and without opposition starting to think for one’s self and expounding positions that threaten the plantation arrangement. No, leaving the plantation requires escape with all the attendant threats, pain and other unbridled costs.

    So, it is against this backdrop, in this context, that Carson chose to escape the plantation. He did not recently escape. Carson figured the current plantation system out a long time ago. His whole life reflects early escape. Second child of a mother who could not read, he grew up in poverty without a father in the home, but went on to become a world-renowned pediatric neurosurgeon. Not until his 2013 National Prayer Breakfast speech in which he spoke clearly and powerfully opposing several policies of President Barack Obama did his escape from the plantation show itself on the world-stage. He followed that event by choosing to seek the presidency of the United States of America. His total escape from the plantation is reflected in Carson running as a Republican who stands unflinching by conservative values.

    In his presidential campaign, Carson is demonstrating that he stands a strong chance of winning. Consider that in national polling he is on the heels of Donald Trump, the front-runner for the Republican nomination, and ahead of Hillary Clinton for the general election. In the latest reporting period, Carson raised $20 million,  which was highest among all Republican candidates. His level of trust among Americans is in the 80 percent range, which is much higher than all other candidates, Republican or Democrat. Add to this Carson’s non-politician approach which shows through in his answering questions honestly and directly. This is a man who threatens the 21st century American plantation strategy and is now in the fire that comes with that status.

    To see that fire, one only has to look at what mainstream media is throwing at Carson. From twisting and misrepresenting his statements on opposing a Muslim president faithful to Sharia Law to if Jews owned guns the Holocaust would have been different to how he would respond if confronted by a mass shooter, mainstream media is obviously committed to discrediting Carson and driving him from the race. They are even pointing to the seven malpractice suits filed against him over the course of a 35-year career. This is a man who performed over 15,000 surgeries. He averaged some 400 surgeries per year until near retirement. He took on many cases that were extremely complex. In each of the two lengthy articles I read regarding the malpractice matter, both admitted Carson’s malpractice suit situation is not out of the ordinary. This from an article titled “Uh-Oh: Presidential Hopeful Ben Carson Accused of Medical Malpractice” by Royce Christyn. I wonder how many people will look at the headline and read to this statement:

    “That is a high caseload for neurosurgeons, experts say, but the seven known malpractice claims against Carson in Maryland – an average of one every five years throughout his 35-year career at Johns Hopkins — are consistent with a 2011 study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, which found roughly 20 percent of neurosurgeons face a malpractice claim annually.”

    My research shows that every charge against Carson by media is rebutted by reason and the facts. Consequently, we are watching yet another case of a plantation escapee being put through the flames intended to totally discredit him and scare potential escapees into continued submission.

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