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        It’s clearly no secret. Gas prices are increasing the sales of motorcycles and scooters across the nation. And while simply making the purchase and moving to a two-wheeled transportation vehicle will change the amount of change in your pocket after leaving the fuel pumps, you can get even more. {mosimage}
    Employing a few of these tips and tricks will enable you to extract even more fuel mileage from your already great fuel mileage machine. This is all with the goal of leaving more money for you and less money for the oil companies.
        •The way you ride . Yes, the way you ride will affect your fuel mileage perhaps more than anything else. The less gears you shift, the less jerking back and forth you do.
        • Try to keep your RPMs within the power band. In different makes and different models this will be slightly different — experiment a bit to find that sweet RPM spot where your bike operates optimally.
        •Cut down on the revving. Yeah, I know, it sounds great. It’s sweet to hear and makes your heart pump a bit faster. This is one of the best ways to save on gas consumption.
        •A clean air filter. It doesn’t take that much extra effort to keep your air filter clean. •Tire pressure. When was the last time you checked the air in your tires? Believe it or not, many people over look this — particularly those who do their own maintenance. Not only is a properly inflated tired a more safe tire, but it also boosts your MPG. So, get out the gauge  and check your tire pressure.
        •Make your bike lighter. How many unneeded accessories do you have on your bike at the moment? Take ‘em off. If they’re something you use on a regular basis, OK — keep ‘em on. But if they’re not essential to the use of your bike or where your going or what you’re doing, take ‘em off and only put them on when they’re needed. The lighter your bike, the less the engine needs to work to propel you and the less fuel you’ll burn.
        •Tighten up. Zip your jacket and if your helmet has a face mask pull it down. Clothes flapping in the wind, or anything for that matter, will increase your air friction and decrease your fuel mileage.
        •Plan your rides. Do your best to avoid traveling when the highways are going to be packed and filled with other traffic. The more obstructions on the road, the less you’ll be able to adhere to other fuel saving tips and the more fuel you’ll be burning.

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    The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (Rated PG-13) 1 Star   

    {mosimage}Godfather 3. Alien 3. Batman Forever. Did Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (112 minutes) manage to equal these famously horrendous missteps? No, primarily because the former three franchises started out totally punk rock. Tomb of the Dragon Emperor is the lackluster final entry in a franchise that wasn’t all that interesting to begin with. What is especially painful about this particular series is all the wasted potential. The mummy is a great villain, and everyone loves a nice Indiana-style adventure. Sadly, director Rob Cohen and the writers manage to hack out even the marginal charm offered in the first two movies. This may be called The Mummy, but the protagonist is actually, (eyeroll) a terra cotta warrior.
        The film begins by ripping off a few Ang Lee movies — and it is very pretty to look at, especially when Zi Juan (Michelle Yeoh) appears. Zi Juan is a witch and the villainous Emperor Han (Jet Li) wants her to make him immortal. He instructs his loyal general, Ming (Russell Wong) that no one is to touch her. The two fall in love (duh) and the Emperor Han takes his revenge just before Zi Juan reveals that she has not made him immortal, she has cursed him and his army.
        Is it over yet? Sadly, no. The film skips ahead to 1947, where retired phallocentric explorer Rick O’Connell (Brendan Fraser) and his vapid eyed, poorly characterized wife Evelyn (Maria Bello) are bored with civilian life, while their son Alex (Luke Ford) is digging up tombs in China. Alex successfully unearths the tomb of the Dragon Emperor, and the British government calls his parents out of retirement to escort a valuable jewel from Britain back to China. After the elder O’Connell’s arrive at the Shanghai nightclub owned by Evelyn’s avaricious brother Jonathan (John Hannah), the family O’Connell head to the museum housing Alex’s finds. There, they discover a General Yang (Anthony Wong Chau-Sang) with his second command Choi (Jessey Meng) engaged in a plot to raise the evil Emperor Han.
        As the insipid, lifeless dreck called a movie enters the third act I am tempted to leave, but I stay despite the growing agony I experience as my brain tries to find sense amidst the jumble of different mythologies thrown together on the screen. And what is that smell? Oh, it’s the climax of the film! Despite the conveniently numerous powers displayed by the Emperor (shape-shifting, elemental control, flight, super strength, regeneration), he is unable to kill the O’Connells. If I had the power to control ice and water, it would take me about five seconds to freeze the blood in their bodies — which would have shaved a good hour off this padded beyond belief movie.
        This joyless (and pointless) exercise in mediocrity cannot even be enjoyed on an ironic so-bad-its-good level. The plot holes are big enough to drive a truck through, the dialogue is moronic, the acting is sophomoric and the plot is convoluted. Bottom line: waste of their time to make it, waste of my time to see it. Where’s the Scorpion King when we need him?

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    Myths and Legends Combines Oprah with The King
       

        On the anniversary of Elvis Presley’s death, TV Land’s Myths and Legends (Saturday, 8 p.m.) delves into the mysteries surrounding his life. But it doesn’t do so with what you’d call journalistic rigor. What of the idea that Elvis and Oprah Winfrey are distant cousins? After suggesting that Oprah’s people “may have been” owned by Elvis’ people pre-Civil War, a reputed authority observes that plantation owners “often” fathered children by their slaves. It’s not exactly an airtight case, but that doesn’t stop TV Land from hauling a former Elvis girlfriend in front of the camera to observe, “Elvis would have been thrilled and honored to be tied to Oprah in any way.” Never mind that he hadn’t heard of Oprah before he died in 1977.
        {mosimage}Then there’s the perennial question of Elvis’ death. Did it really happen? “I still don’t feel him gone,” says a former backup singer. That doesn’t really prove anything, but then author Gail Giorgio drops the bombshell: Elvis’ corpse was really a wax dummy. The famous National Enquirer coffin photograph appeared to show beads of sweat, and Giorgio notes that “wax will bead up in the hot sun.”

    SCARE TACTICS
    Wednesday, 10 p.m. (Sci Fi)
        Sci Fi’s sadistic candid-camera series used to be funny every once in a while. Folks would give the producers permission to scare their unwitting friends with horror-movie scenarios. An alien would appear at a car window, the friend would scream, and everybody would laugh, including the relieved friend.
        But this season, I haven’t been laughing. The setups have crossed the line from cruelly amusing to just plain cruel. A female college student cowers as a homicidal stalker breaks into an office and advances on her. Who thinks up sick stuff like that?
        Wait a minute — what’s that behind you, Scare Tactics? Oh my God, it’s the president of the Sci Fi network, and he’s going to cancel the series! Run! Run!

    OLYMPICS
    Through Aug. 24 (NBC)
        I’ll be waving a little American flag during this week’s basketball, gymnastics and boxing competitions. Let’s hope our steroids are stronger than their steroids.

    10 MOST SHOCKING MENTAL DISORDERS
    Friday, 9 p.m. (E!)
        E! takes a break from counting down the hottest bodies and the hottest billionaire’s daughters to get serious for a minute. “10 Most Shocking Mental Disorders” counts down the hottest celebrity breakdowns, from Mary-Kate Olsen’s eating disorder to Katharine McPhee’s bulimia to Kirsten Dunst’s depression.
        Did you know that the American Psychological Association now recognizes Being Driven Mad by E! Countdowns as an authentic mental disorder?

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        Transplanted Maine recording artist Sarah Hockridge, along with bassist Daniel Coffin, make up local acoustic rock act Ophir Drive.
        Actually, that’s not quite right. According to Hockridge — who works at the Airborne & Special Operations Museum — she performs “rockoustic,” a mixture of rock and acoustic with just a little bit of her own unique style. {mosimage}
        And while the 24-year-old native of Maine has music that’s much more than simply the sum of its acoustic rock parts, she is also much more than just a singer/songwriter who plays the local coffee house scene, performing original songs mixed with covers: She is a classically trained opera singer who excels on the piano and earned her chops in New York’s music clubs, including the legendary CBGBs, the birthing ground for such iconic bands as Blondie, the Talking Heads and the Ramones.
        However, she’s a long, long way from the Big Apple and its big, diverse music scene.
        “Fayetteville’s definitely different from New York,” said Hockridge. “But the people who have come to my shows have been very, very supportive. The tough thing is finding venues that are open to original music.”
    Indeed, Fayetteville’s clubs — long known as bastions of heavy rock and cover bands — can be a tough nut to crack for a female act playing original songs on an acoustic guitar. Hockridge has resorted to performing in intimate settings that suit her style, especially coffee houses such as The Java Bean and The Coffee Scene, though her influences include bands not known as standard bearers of sensitivity.
        “My favorite bands and musicians include Led Zeppelin, Ben Harper, Pink Floyd, Shakira and Sarah McLachlan,” said Hockridge. “I like a pretty eclectic mix of music, though it’s hard to hear those influences in my music.”
        And that’s not to say Hockridge’s music is the stare-at-the-floor-while-you-cry-into-your-beer type of stuff; she says as the word spreads about her shows she’s seeing more of our local hard-as-tacks soldiers at her shows tapping their feet and cheering her rhythmic brand of rockoustic.
        And she’s not strictly acoustic; the self-taught guitarist owns a Gibson ES-175 — an ax used by past and present jazz greats, as well as rockers such as Steve Howe of Yes.
        And like all things worthwhile, finding her dream guitar came at quite a cost.
        “I was in a vintage guitar shop in New York and walked up some stairs and there it was,” said Hockridge. “It was like angels were singing and halos were everywhere and I knew it was mine. It cost so much that I had to eat Ramen noodles for three months afterwards.”
        While Hockridge hasn’t yet shifted her gastric gears from noodles to caviar, she has found critical success with her work. Her song “Write Me Off” made it into Billboard Magazine’s year-end top 10 list, while her newest CD, Harmonic Half Life, is taking off and is available for purchase at the Airborne & Special Operations Museum gift shop.
        As for her long-term goals, Hockridge harbors bigger hopes for the future.
        “I would like to eventually perform for the USO,” said Hockridge. “One of my dreams is to surprise my husband by showing up at place he’s stationed and play. That would be awesome.
        “Of course, ultimately, it would be nice to not have to work and be able to write songs all day,” added Hockridge.
        If you want to catch Hockridge before she begins climbing the charts or boarding a jet for faraway locales such as Iraq and Afghanistan, she is playing a free show at The Coffee Scene on Saturday, Aug. 23, at 9 p.m.
        In addition to original music, she performs such covers as Bob Dylan’s “All Along the Watchtower,” Jeff Buckley’s version of “Hallelujah,” and 4 Non Blondes’ “What’s Up.”
        “I play about a 60/40 mix of originals to covers,: said Hockridge. “And if I make just one person at a live show feel something, then I’ve done my job.”

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        Dear EarthTalk: How does congestion toll pricing, used in some cities around the world, cut down on vehicle traffic and promote green-friendly public transit?       
                                    — Bill Higley, via e-mail {mosimage}

        Despite increasing green awareness and steadily rising gasoline prices, Americans and other denizens of the developed world — not to mention millions of new Chinese and Indian drivers hitting the road every week — are loath to give up the freedom and privacy of their personal automobiles. But snarled traffic, longer commute times and rising pollution levels have given city transportation planners new ammunition in their efforts to encourage the use of clean, energy-efficient public transit. One of the newest tools in their arsenal is so-called congestion pricing (also called variable toll pricing), whereby cars and trucks are hit with higher tolls if they access central urban areas at traditionally congested times.
        Singapore was the world’s first major city to employ congestion pricing in 1975 when it began charging drivers $3 to bring their vehicles into the city’s central business district. The system has since expanded citywide, with toll rates at several locations changing over the course of a day. Funds generated by the program have allowed Singapore to expand and improve public transit and keep traffic at an optimal flow. Some of the tangible benefits of the program, according to Environmental Defense, include a 45 percent traffic reduction, a 10 miles-per-hour increase in average driving speed, 25 percent fewer accidents, 176,000 fewer pounds of carbon dioxide (CO2) emitted, and a 20 percent increase in public transit usage.
        London implemented a similar plan in 2003 that was so successful it was extended to some outlying parts of the city in 2007. Today, drivers pay $13 to bring their vehicles into certain sections of London during peak traffic hours. According to the Victoria Transport Policy Institute, London’s plan has significantly reduced traffic, improved bus service and generated substantial revenues. Environmental Defense says the plan reduced congestion by 30 percent, increased traffic speed by 37 percent, removed 12 percent of pollutants from the air and cut fuel consumption and CO2 emissions by 20 percent.
        A 2006 congestion pricing experiment in Stockholm produced similar results, shrinking commute times significantly, reducing pollution noticeably and increasing public transit use during a seven-month test. The day after the trial ended, traffic jams reappeared, so Stockholm voters passed a referendum to reinstate the plan. Today the city has one of the most extensive congestion pricing systems in the world.
        Perhaps the next major city to implement congestion pricing will be New York, if Mayor Michael Bloomberg gets his way. In July 2007, the state legislature rejected Bloomberg’s first such proposal — which would have used funds collected to pay for expansions and improvements to the regional public transit system — but ever-increasing congestion and pollution might force lawmakers’ hand in the future.
        “A congestion pricing plan is the most cost-effective way to jump-start transit improvements and reduce traffic congestion,” says Wiley Norvell of Transportation Alternatives, one of a handful of groups working with Bloomberg to craft a version of the plan that will fly with state lawmakers. With two-thirds of New Yorkers opposed, it looks like an uphill battle for now, but advocates say passing such rules is inevitable.

        CONTACTS: Environmental Defense, www.environmentaldefense.org; Transportation Alternatives, www.transalt.org.

        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.

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        In the game of North Carolina politics Democrats have some young star players who are, right now, just sitting on the bench.
        My son got me thinking about how strong that “bench” is when he sent me a link to the blog of Calvin Cunningham, a former state senator, who is now serving as an Army officer in Iraq. ( http://thefocalpoints.blogspot.com/” ).
        {mosimage}Cunningham, who will be 35 in a few days, was on a fast track to statewide and perhaps national office when he won election to the state senate shortly after he graduated from law school. But his career in the state senate ended when his district was “adjusted” to make it almost impossible for a Democrat to win.
    After his first round of elective politics, Cunningham focused on his law practice, his growing family, and service in the Army Reserve. That reserve duty has resulted in multiple tours of duty in Iraq.
        If the time comes again for him to run for public office, his political and military experience would make him a serious contender.
        There are others in my son’s and Cunningham’s generation whose initial forays in elective politics have not been successful. But in gaining the rare experience of running statewide campaigns, each of them showed strong character, attractive talents, and resilience.
        In 2000, a very young lawyer from Rockingham County ran against Beverly Perdue in the Democratic primary for Lt. Governor. Although, Perdue beat him soundly, Ed Wilson gained lots of friends and admirers. Today he is serving as a superior court judge and is also active in the Army Reserve. Perhaps, the judiciary will be his lifetime career. But should he feel the call to run for statewide office again, I would expect to see a very strong candidate.
        J.B. Buxton is another young unsuccessful statewide candidate who would make a strong candidate if he should try again. Buxton finished a strong third in the 2004 Democratic primary for Superintendent of Public Instruction, behind ultimate winner June Atkinson. Buxton remains active in state political and educational matters.
        More recently, Hampton Dellinger lost a hard-fought race to Walter Dalton in the 2008 Democratic primary for Lt. Governor. It might be too soon for him to think about another statewide race. But his campaign this year against a tough opponent proved that he has what it takes to be a winning candidate. Dellinger’s experience working in the offices of the attorney general and the governor give him assets that many aspiring candidate would covet.
        All these current “bench warmers” are about 40 years old.
        In the meantime, we should be thankful that such good people, these and many more, are “in reserve.”
    If they think that one political defeat puts an end to their political potential, they should remember the example of our current governor, Mike Easley. His first statewide run, a race against Harvey Gantt in the 2000 Democratic primary, ended in a loss. But he gained experience, supporters, and respect.
        Sometimes the lessons of defeat are better in the long run than those learned in winning. Dr. Charles Hamner, former president of the North Carolina Biotechnology Center, told me that, when searching for business executives to lead start up biotech businesses, the best candidates were often those whose prior businesses had failed. Why? Because in dealing with the challenges of a struggling, ultimately failing, business, they had shown they could handle they worst situations without breaking or losing their spirits.

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        The proposed Employee Free Choice Act would deprive millions of American workers of their freedom of choice — proving, in case anyone ever doubted it, that there is no truth-in-labeling rule in politics.{mosimage}
        The federal legislation, pushed heavily by labor unions in Washington and the states, has been making waves in North Carolina politics, with state and federal lawmakers choosing up sides, mostly along predicable lines (Democrats in favor, Republicans opposed). The bill would among other things institute a system for union organizing that is innocuously referred to as “card check.” Rather than holding workplace elections by secret ballot, as is the current law, card check would require union organizers simply to collect enough signed cards to establish union representation in a given workplace.
        The unions want to change the rules of American labor law because they’re frustrated. Union membership in the private sector has been declining for decades. To union leaders, the trend proves that the rules must be rewritten.
    If you have young children or have spent much time around them at the playground, you’ve seen this behavior before. While they’re playing a given game, everything’s fine. But then a child loses, gets disappointed, and turns sullen. “That’s not fair!” he’ll scream out petulantly. You can explain that fair rules are meant to ensure that everyone gets a chance, not to ensure a particular result, but you’ll waste your time. Most kids just outgrow the phase.
    Unless, that is, they go to work for a labor union.
        Most Americans have no interest in joining a union, much less in being compelled to pay dues into a union whether they join or not. There’s no corporate conspiracy at work here — public-opinion surveys about unionization pretty much comport with the results of workplace elections, so the latter aren’t systemically flawed.
        Many of the politicians who advocate the card-check bill would be the first to complain if a state or foreign country got rid of secret ballots. They’d properly recognize the move as a precursor to ostracism, intimidation, or corruption. But when it comes to labor elections, they appear to believe that the end justifies the means. What they’ll really get is a voting system reminiscent of Zimbabwe or Turkmenistan.
        As it happens, I think the best policy for the federal government would be utter neutrality about the hows and wheres of labor organizing. Unions would be free to organize themselves in any way they wish, workers would be free to join or not to join them according to the unions’ rules, and employers would be free to recognize a union or disregard it altogether, without any governmental involvement. Workers would be free to withhold their labor if they wish, and employers would be free to terminate them and hire other workers if they wish.
        Unfortunately, that’s not the system we have, nor are we likely to get it anytime soon. Under decades-old labor law, unions can use the power of government to enforce their dictates and supervise their negotiations with employers. So it becomes necessary for policymakers to have a say in setting the rules for workplace elections.
        In North Carolina, Sen. Elizabeth Dole and other Republican lawmakers will speak out against the card-check legislation next month at an event in Hickory. The stakes are significant in our state, which has one of the lowest rates of unionization in the country. According to an analysis earlier this year by the Heritage Foundation, some 3.1 million North Carolina workers could lose their freedom of choice if the so-called Employee Free Choice Act were enacted into law.
        And all to satisfy the personal and political interest of a few.

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        African dance has a unique beauty in its rhythmic action and is a form of communication that demonstrates emotion, sentiments and beliefs through movements. It can vary from the slowest movement to a movement so rapid that the eye cannot register what is happening. During the days of slavery the African slaves entertained themselves and others with musical and dance forms that contained elements they brought with them from Africa.       
        “My theory is if we understand different cultures we will not have a tendency to fear or be biased,” said Shea-Ra Nichi, instructor of African dance. “It would benefit everyone to have better clarity of other cultures and who they are.”                  
        {mosimage}Nichi is passionate about African dance culture and is launching her own dance technique. She teaches the movements and traditional music found in Haiti, Brazil, Cuba and the Congo, Africa, with live drumming. “It started in 2002 when I went away to Europe, France, Spain and Germany with a Haitian dance company,” said Nichi. “During this tour I learned more about Haitian dance.”
        Nichi added that when she returned people were interested in her teaching a class about different forms of African dance. This led to the development of her company.                       
    Niche’s dance classes will be held on Aug. 16 and Aug. 30 from 1:30-3 p.m. at the   Cumberland Dance Academy. “We will be doing ongoing classes in September,” said Nichi. “The maximum number of students I can have in one class is 32.”                    
        Nichi is an accomplished dancer, director and choreographer who has been performing professionally since age 8. She studied professional theater in New York City and has traveled to Haiti, Europe and Brazil researching and learning all forms of African cultural dance. Nichi has mastered these dance techniques for more than 15 years. Bennett Estaphane, dance partner, plays the drums and is the rhythm to Nichi’s dance technique. “He’s been with me since the very beginning,” said Nichi. 
        Future plans for Nichi include teaching classes at Elite Marshall Arts School located in downtown Fayetteville. She will teach a Brazilian Marshall Arts class and a Pilate’s class.      
        “I have a very strong influence in my natural movement,” said Nichi. “I have been doing it for a while and it is a very natural way for me to move now.”        
        The cost is $15 per class.  People of all ages and levels are invited. Cumberland Dance Academy is located in Hope Mills at 5470 Trade St. For more information call 862-5378 or 474-1134.

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        Year after year the Arts Council of Fayetteville and Cumberland County has looked for ways to help artists flourish and to build a community enhanced by the arts. {mosimage}
        If you’re not personally involved in the local arts community, you may think the council’s exhibit at the 4th Friday gallery crawl is the pinnacle of its interaction with local artists and the community. Not true. Advocacy for artists and an artistic culture in the community is an ongoing process. Creation: the Acquisition Exhibition is a remarkable example of how the Arts Council and a local corporation lead the way in partnerships.
        In short, Creation was a result of a call for art by the Cape Fear Valley Health System to purchase original works for its new patient tower. In partnership with the Arts Council, CFVHS decided to host a competition and an exhibit which resulted in 34 works of original art being purchased by the hospital. The purchase of that many works of art at one time by a corporation is unprecedented in the area and demonstrates the positive changes taking place in our community.
        The action by CFVHS to purchase such a large body of work by artists reflects its commitment to support the diverse and extensive talent we have in our area. They singlehandedly have lead the way as an example of a substantial partnership between business and the arts.
        Something this large in scale does not just happen. First and foremost, a group or an individual has to believe in the talent of local artists and want to support local artistic commerce. William Avenel, vice president and chief information officer for the Cape Fear Valley Health System, was the individual who had the vision to support local artistic commerce. He approached the Arts Council looking at ways to buy work from area artists for the new building.
        Several key elements factor into the equation. Avenel has a background in the arts (a bachelor’s degree in art from the University of New Orleans and a master’s of fine art from the University of Alabama) and understood the importance of purchasing original works. He and CFVHS were ready and committed to monetarily supporting the local artistic community.
        In addition, the Arts Council was poised and prepared to undertake the partnership. Margo Jarvis, director of marketing and development for the Arts Council, said, “They had a budget and architectural plans in hand almost two years ago. After brainstorming ways to create a pool of original works to select from, a call for art and an exhibition was planned.”
        Jarvis also commented on how much the Arts Council “applauds the leadership of CFVHS and hopes other businesses will consider partnering with the Arts Council.”
        She added, “Although it may not seem like it at the time, purchasing just one original work from local and area artists means you are investing in the economic development of your community.”
        Avenal, the CFVHS, and Arts Council now lead the way in a win-win situation. Local artists were supported and the hospital has purchased some excellent work. Not only can the hospital pride itself on its support of the community which supports it, but many of those works will appreciate in value.
        To get the process started, the Arts Council issued a call for art for inclusion in Creation. As a result, nearly 250 pieces of artwork were submitted by 76 artists from 29 cities in North Carolina, with 44 juried into the show. Thirty-four pieces of artwork were selected for purchase and placement in the Valley Pavilion.
    Although representationalism dominated the exhibit, I was still very pleased to see some variety in style. For example, two abstract mixed-media works by Dwight Smith and two abstract paintings by Fayetteville State University art student Michael Romagano were purchased. In addition, a beautiful fabric wall hanging by Martha Sisk was purchased.
        Upon visiting the exhibit, visitors and artists will recognize many of the local artists whose work was selected for purchase.
        Already it seems as if more businesses have finally realized it is good business to support the local arts.     While in the process of reviewing the exhibit, I noticed Calvin Mims (art services coordinator for the arts council) showing the remaining works which were still available for purchase to Dr. Eric Roman and Dr. Clifton Cameron, dentists who are opening a practice in Fayetteville.
        Stephanie Robinson, an arts council board member, had mentioned the CFVHS initiative to the doctors. Both felt purchasing local art was an opportunity to support local artists. They hope to open Dental Works across from the Cross Creek Mall in early August with original local art work on the walls.
        Cameron said he was from Fayetteville and that Roman and he were “open to selecting different styles and media for their new office.” He further commented, “What is important for us as a business is to continue to support the arts and forge a long lasting relationship with the Arts Council.”
        Awareness for local talent doesn’t end with this exhibit. Mims informed me of a newly formed program he is coordinating at the Arts Council called “Art in the Workplace.” Mims stated, “The Creation competition has become a template for the Arts Council. At this time I am creating a library of images and information of local artists for businesses and individuals to view. The image library will be a way for visual artists to show their work on the Art Council’s Web site and sell work, or someone interested in their work can contact the artist directly.”
        {mosimage}For artists in the area, I personally hope you will continue or start to take advantage of the opportunities being made available to you by visiting the Arts Councils Web site, www.theartscouncil.com. The only way for more diversity in the arts to become a reality is for diverse artists to do their part in exhibiting and participating in the opportunities as they present themselves.
        Creation: The Acquisition Exhibition opened during the Fourth Friday activities, July 25 at the Arts Council of Fayetteville/Cumberland County; and will remain open to the public through Aug. 16. As always, the exhibit is free, for more information, visit or call (910) 323-1776.

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        There are many cities across the nation that are known for the blues. Memphis may be king, but Fayetteville musicians also know a lot about the blues, and on Saturday, Aug. 9, they’ll let the smokey notes and soulful blues tunes tell their story at the 4th Annual Local Artist Blues Showcase.
        Held at the Pate Room in the Headquarters Library downtown, the event will dedicate five hours to some of the hottest licks and soulful sounds around. Featuring more than 13 different artist, the show is definitely something you don’t want to miss.
        Organized by Claudia Swartz, the idea for the show first came up in 2005 over Swartz’s morning coffee. Swartz, a musician herself, came to Fayetteville from Germany as a military spouse. She quickly found her niche in the thriving blues community. What she found was the talent, but unfortunately not many venues to showcase it. “After noticing a total disregard for local musicians in the hiring process for the city’s large festivals I made hundreds of trips downtown and talked to everybody including the mayor,” she recalled. “Since no one gave me any viable solutions for this dilemma, I decided to organize the Blues Showcase.”
        {mosimage}The first event came together on Aug. 16, 2005. The library facility was almost overwhelmed as more than 400 people came together to celebrate the blues. “It was filled to overflowing with people from all walks of life, nationalities, age or race,” she said. “They were treated to the finest blues bands in Fayetteville and the showcase tradition was born.”
        This year’s event stays true to its roots spotlighting only local talent. The headliners will include some of Fayetteville’s music veterans Bob Steele, Robbie Reid and Corky Jones, but it will also shine the light on some up and coming acts such as In that Tone, Mighty Blue, Cape Fear River Blues, Dave Brown, John Lyman, Mandy Barnes, Ray King and Cool Hand.
        “Each of these artists will lend their unique talent to this show,” she said. “We love our music passionately and were it taken away it would probably devastate us more than any other tragedy could. Our music is an expression of soul and mind that slumbers within the human psyche. Creativity at its best is the motto.”
        The event begins at 1 p.m. and runs through 6 p.m. It is free and open to the public.

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        Ashley, 15, says she was angry all the time.
        She got into fights at school.
        She was a discipline problem.
        She battled her temper like an angel wrestling with the devil.
        The good news is that in the fight for her soul and future, you can chalk one up for the seraphims. With the help of CommuniCare — a nonprofit agency under the auspices of the United Way of Cumberland County that counsels and mentors at-risk youth —  and the dedicated men and women in its employ, Ashley (her last name withheld by request) is now positively angelic.
        {mosimage}“I’ve been here since February and I feel it’s really helped me handle my emotions in a better way rather than just getting angry,” said Ashley, who parked her halo at the CommuniCare office long enough to talk about the help she’s received at the agency, “like just writing it down or expressing it in a different way.
    “I’ve stayed out of a lot of trouble that I could have gotten into if I wasn’t in this program,” said Ashley. “It gives me something to do with my time.”
        CommuniCare is getting ready to celebrate its 10th anniversary of providing troubled children and their families with guidance and help navigating the stormy years of adolescence. Among it’s many programs, CommuniCare helps the youth of Cumberland County battle the demons of substance abuse, gang activity and behavioral problems.
        John Bain, who works with the agency’s substance abuse program, says his job is bringing the diamond out of the lump of troubled coal that society often unceremoniously dumps at CommuniCare’s doorstep. And he knows he’s dealing with more than just angels with dirty faces.
        “By the time a kid comes to us they weren’t out of Bible study,” said Bain. “They’ve been pretty much run through the wringer. But I believe that 95 percent of our kids are salvageable.
        “And I’m not going to hype it,” added Bain. “I’ll say we have anywhere from a 25 to 40 percent success rate. But the wins make it worthwhile. It can be very rewarding, but you have to have the right frame of mind. If I’ve got seven kids and one of them makes it, that’s a success story. If you look at it any other way than this you’re not going to make it.”
        Formed a decade ago with the help of various county agencies and local political figures and businesses, CommuniCare helps children who might otherwise fall through the cracks of the social-support network, taking up where Smart Start leaves off, said Dr. Robin Jenkins, the non-governmental agency’s executive director.
        “Smart Start cuts off at age 5 — we start at age 6, on up to age 18,” said Jenkins. “A number of kids in middle and junior high school didn’t have a lot of services and didn’t have ways to coordinate those services. I get a feeling that the community really values us. The staff doesn’t turn over much, they seem very happy here. I equate that with us showing measurable differences in the lives of those children.”
    One of those children is Darryl, 16, who says the CommuniCare staff plucked him from a life on the mean streets that had him heading for a dead end.
        “I’ve been here since April,” said Darryl. “I was sent here because of my past. Things I did got me in trouble. Mr. Antonio (Antonio Gardner, the organization’s intensive services network care manager) brought me into the program. It’s helped me with anger and dealing with my peers and certain other things in life, like if I’m in the wrong place I know I can call him.”
        The case managers and employees at the agency become surrogate parents for many of the kids who come through the doors of CommuniCare, providing family support for those most in dire need, said Sarah Hemingway, the community programs director for Communicare.
        “I think one thing Robin has done is create a family atmosphere here,” said Hemingway. “That’s the way we work. We accept that these are kids and they may not always be nice and polite when they first get here, but they’re not going to be if we don’t provide that family-friendly atmosphere.
        “We have some youths that come through here in various programs that they become dependent upon,” said Hemingway. “Some of the kids call him (Robin) daddy. He is that role model with them. He holds them accountable and is pretty firm on those kinds of things but he is also very comforting, and kids really like to talk to adults about what they feel is important.”
        Of course, that closeness to the kids comes at a price.
        “You become attached to them,” said Hemingway. “It’s hard not to. You lose your heart to a lot of them.”
    CommuniCare doesn’t just work with the child, it pulls in the family and prescribes a treatment program involving the entire family unit. Unfortunately, unless court-ordered to do so, family members don’t have to be involved in the treatment of their children — it is a voluntary program.
        According to Richard Allingood, the program manager for the juvenile assessment center, when a youngster comes to or is referred to Communicare, an initial assessment is performed and the parents are also assessed regarding the child’s behavior.
        CommuniCare gets waivers to work with the at-risk children in the schools and once assessments have been scored, someone on the staff is assigned to work with that child. There is a sit-down with the parent(s) and a plan is devised as to where to plug that child in for services. A parent who is worried about a child having a drug problem is automatically assigned as a substance abuse education case. Children with anger management or behavioral problems are assigned to a different part of the agency.
        Allingood says that discipline problems seem to be on the rise.
        “Some of the kids today just fly off the handle so easily,” said Allingood,” so you have to determine if there’s a need for anger management.”
        In its 10-year existence, CommuniCare’s budget has grown from $250,000 to about $1.5 million, receiving funding from Cumberland County Community Development, the United Way, the Governor’s Crime Commission, the Juvenile Crime Prevention Program, the General Assembly, fundraising and grant writing.
    Jenkins says CommuniCare  — which serves about 1,000 families a year — faces constant funding challenges with a budget that always seems stretched thin; however, he says society can pay now for a pre-emptive strike, or pay more later — much more, when untreated children wind up in the already overcrowded prison system.
        “It should not be so hard to do the right thing,” said Jenkins.”It’s hard fundraising. I’m very, very thankful for the money we get; we have extraordinarily good relationships with state government, juvenile justice, county government and the United Way — I’m very thankful for all that and am very appreciative.
        “Money’s tight and sometimes it’s so hard to convince people that if you put money on the front end of the system and you do it comprehensively, you save a whole, whole lot of money on the back end, plus you raise healthier children. What a lot of people see is these are bad kids... you need to give them accountability and if they’ve done something you need to put them in a training camp or a training school. As long as that thinking succeeds, then it’s an uphill battle.”
        CommuniCare will celebrate its 10th anniversary with an open house from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sept. 17. For more information about the open house, call 829-9017.

  • Details

    I believe that water is the only drink for a wise man. 
                                   — Henry David Thoreau

        {mosimage}Slaking your thirst in Cumberland County can be an expensive proposition when you consider well drilling costs that run into the thousands of dollars, a Cumberland County well permit that sets you back $120, and a new state law that went into effect July 1 requiring an inspection for 20 contaminants and which is expected to bump up the cost by several hundred dollars
        Such costs, as well as recently publicized problems concerning contaminated water here in Cumberland, have led many residents to call for a countywide water system — something found in neighboring counties Robeson, Hoke, Bladen and Harnett. However, if these folks are worried about the rising costs of digging a well, they “ain’t seen nothing yet “— cost estimates for a countywide water/sewer system run in excess of $120 million. And that’s based on a 1990 update of a 1969 study.
        “Any solution to the need for clean water throughout the county is going to be expensive,” said Cumberland County Manager James Martin, “and will require the support of citizens.”
        In 1994, voters defeated a bond referendum designed to fund a plan to provide countywide water and sewer. Of course, a bond referendum means higher taxes — something that doesn’t sit well with Andy Sellers, who lives on Chicken Foot Road.
    “I’ve already got a well and a septic tank and my water tastes better than anything that would come out of a county system,” said Sellers as he pumped gas into his Chevy pick-up at a Kangaroo convenience store on the outskirts of Hope Mills. “My taxes are high enough without one for water I don’t need.”
    But then there are folks like Janice Stolt, who lives outside Stedman and is scared not of the monetary costs of well water, but the health costs.
        “You just don’t know what you’re drinking anymore,” said Stolt. “I’ve got grandchildren that drink well water and I worry about what kind of chemicals are going into their bodies.”
        Cumberland County has a long history of water and well contamination issues. For example, in September 2006, water fountains and sinks at J.W. Seabrook Elementary School were turned off after coliform bacteria was found in the school’s well water. The cafeteria was forced to hand out bag lunches and the whole problem ended up costing $350,000 when the Fayetteville Public Works Commission extended a public water line  to the school.
        The contamination conundrum was once again placed on the front burner following a February meeting of the Cumberland County Board of Commissioners in which two county residents, Debra Stewart and James Creager, expressed concerns about well water contaminated with chemicals such as benzene, arsenic and nitrates.
        Contaminated wells have been verified in recent months on Rim Road and Chicken Foot Road.
        Dr. Jeannette Council, vice chairman of the board of commissioners, said she knew there was a problem with contaminated wells, but the Feb. 19 meeting really drove the point home.
        “We have a tremendous challenge in finding what we can do to ensure that our citizens have potable water,” said Council. “I don’t think we realized how many contaminated wells there are in the county.”
        There are more than 100,000 wells in Cumberland County, with approximately 400 new well permits issued each year.
    Martin said he has no idea how many contaiminated wells there are in the county; however, he emphasized there are procedures property owners need to follow to ensure they have potable water.
        “Property owners of new wells should get the required permits, construct the wells to current standards, and have the water sampled,” said Martin. “Existing well owners should be sure the wells are properly constructed to include grout and appropriate well-head protection and that proper setbacks from potential pollutants are maintained. Bacteriological sampling and inorganic chemical sampling are suggested. Water testing can be done by a private lab or by applying for and paying a user’s fee at the county health department’s location at the courthouse.”
        In addition to going through all the official channels to ensure well water is safe to drink, county officials formed a task force on Feb. 27 to identify sites in the county where groundwater has been contaminated, as well as to examine the feasibility of a countywide water/sewer service. The 10-member Safe Water Task Force is made up of public health officials, utilities employees and state officials. 
        The Safe Water Task Force will eventually make recommendations to the board of commissioners, though it will not suggest ways to pay for a water system.
        Surrounding counties, all much poorer than Cumberland County, have utilized state and federal grants to implement a countywide water system — something County Commissioner Diane Wheatley says the county must explore.
    “We need to get grants to help pay for this,” said Wheatley. “It’s a big issue, perhaps the biggest one facing the county.”
    The county has set aside approximately $3 million for the Safe Water Fund.
        County Commissioner Kenneth Edge affirmed that figure is not nearly enough and that the onus of funding a water/sewer system will probably fall into the laps of the county’s taxpayers, saying that Cumberland County’s population density makes it more difficult to get the grants surrounding counties have received.
        Still, he says a new water/sewer system is vital for the growth of the area.
        “This should have been done 20 years ago,” said Edge. “But you can’t look in the rear view... you’ve got to look through the front windshield.
        “A bond referendum would be the quickest way to get it done,” said Edge. “But that would require an increase in taxes.”

  • Details
        It’s time for the annual back-to-school essay. This summer we went to Italy to study the effects of the devaluation of the dollar against the Euro. I am distressed to report that the dollar is worth about as much in Italy as a Dennis Kucinich for president button. Paying $4 for a small cup of coffee will wake you up. Excellent table wine is cheaper than Cokes, which run about seven bucks. Italy is even more expensive than Starbucks.
        We began in Venice which is the Blanche DuBois of Italian cities, dependent upon the kindness of strangers to keep her afloat. Venice is floating in dollars supplied by kindly American tourists. Wall-to-wall tourists as far as the eye can see. {mosimage}
        Italy invented the cool hat. Venice used to be run by leaders called doges who wore a hat that looks like Beldar Conehead had mashed his head backwards when entering a low door. I would like to be a doge. It was a pretty sweet gig. In addition to the neat hat, you got a really fancy crib with high gold ceilings and paintings of saints everywhere. As doge, they paint your picture on the walls so that tourists can see you 700 years after you have departed this mortal coil.
        There are no SUVs or pick-up trucks in Venice. In fact, there are no cars in Venice. Everyone has to walk. As a result there appears to be no fat Italians in Venice. Italians are a good looking bunch of people as a result of diet, exercise and lack of constant exposure to Paris Hilton. Not that I would notice, but Italian women tended to wear low-cut tops with short belly shirts exposing flat stomachs. American tourists tended to have large overhanging bellies and carried ice cream cones in their hands.
        In one of life’s mysteries, there are no toilet seats in men’s or women’s public restrooms in Italy. As Elvis would say, “There’s a whole lot o’ hovering going on.” The lack of toilet seats raises a number of existential questions. Where have all the toilet seats gone? Were they at an Italian toilet seat convention in Vegas during the time we were there? Had they been grabbed as a result of extraordinary rendition and sent to Gitmo for further questioning? Experienced American tourists were easily recognizable because they were the ones wearing the Wal-Mart toilet seats around their necks.
        We took a boat out to Murano Island where they make very expensive glass to sell to tourists. Murano resembles what Key West would look like after an apocalypse on the U.S. mainland. The buildings are a bit tired, probably from being hundreds of years old and the tourists are gone. We managed to miss the last direct boat back to Venice and accordingly took the local vaporetto ferry.
        The winding return route took us by San Michele Island which is the cemetery where Venetians finished with their earthly duties go to be buried in above ground crypts like in New Orleans. Famous deceased dudes Igor Stravinsky and Ezra Pound are spending eternity in the Cimitero. Having an island of the dead floating just offshore from the lively teeming streets of Venice is a bit jarring and not necessarily reassuring. As an example of Italian dark humor, there is a sculpture of two large green figures in a gondola floating in the water near the Cimitero. The lead figure is standing up and pointing toward the Cimitero as if telling Venice and its visitors that is where they will all end up. I think the seated figure in the rear of the boat is telling the pointing guy to sit down and return to Venice for a final glass of wine. As Hemingway once said, “It must have been pretty to think so.”
        Next, on to Florence, and not Florence, S.C.

  • Details
        {mosimage}Have you noticed on the Web sites of the big-box retailers there is a link entitled “What’s In The Box?” One click and you get a list of all the items you will get in the box when delivered or purchased at the store. The question is “What’s Not In The Box?” The answer is simple — service.
        After you have selected your item and proceeded to the “checkout,” you then get the service option, at a cost in addition to the purchase price of the item and “What’s In The Box?” A recent check on the Web sites of four different electronics retailers (all in Fayetteville) had service plans for the same item but a different cost on each site. The range was from $22 a year to $50 a year. Some have in-store service departments and others in which you have to call a toll-free number and then it’s “Pay attention as our menu options have changed recently….”
        I recently went to one of these retailers to purchase an item that was in a box about 3’ x 3’ in size, and weighed about 25 lb.. At the checkout counter the clerk asked if I wanted the service plan. As I deliberated, she mentioned “If you don’t buy it, then you will have to return the item to the manufacturer for service.”
    Notice the “you will have to return” part. Better save the box, just in case.
        On another occasion, a TV that I purchased came with a relatively inexpensive service plan (less than those above). When it stopped working properly, I called the toll-free number on the service plan agreement (I actually found it!) and I was told it would be repaired locally at a company I did not know. After two weeks I called to check on the status only to find out, after several attempts, that the repair company had lost their contract with the retailer because of, you guessed, it, poor service.
        Before the advent of the big-box folks, you bought your electronics and appliances from a local merchant who in most cases had grown up in the area, knew you, and if it broke, you took it to them or a repair facility with the same type of ownership and local connections. They either came to your house or made it right in the store, and didn’t extract from you a multi-year service plan for that SERVICE. They knew how to keep customers. When you called, they answered the phone, you were not put on hold, and they called you by name. Some of these folks are still in business and still give that same service because THEY come in the box. When your product doesn’t work, you give them a call and usually within 24 hours someone you know is at your door.
        Granted that the smaller retailers now have a service charge to come to your house, but you don’t pay it until you need it. With the big-box folks, you pay it regardless, and whether it’s on the phone or at the counter, how may times does the first person you talk to know how to resolve your problem? It’s always “You will need to speak to my supervisor.... He/she will be back in a few minutes.”
        The key is what comes in the box — toll-free numbers and long lines or someone you know.

  • Details
        Since the spring of this year, the Dicksons have been attending weddings.                                                                        We have been to one almost every weekend since June, some in Fayetteville and some out of town, some in churches and some in lovely outdoor settings. I even have an outfit I have come to think of as my “wedding dress.” All the brides and bridesmaids are beautiful and all the grooms and groomsmen handsome. Sitting in various pews and folding chairs, I have been pondering this nuptial surge and have realized, yet again, the cyclical nature of life.
        {mosimage}Three decades or so ago, we were doing exactly the same thing.
        Then the brides and grooms were our friends and contemporaries. Now they are the friends and contemporaries of our children, young people we have watched grow up and, in some instances, loved as our own. A lot has occurred in between.
        Shortly after we attended our first round of weddings three decades or so ago, we began receiving fewer of those invitations and more to a different sort of social event — the baby shower. It has been a while, but I remember these occasions as fairly staid and fairly scripted, with the mother-to-be opening presents and exclaiming over various baby items. These tiny things were usually pale yellow or pale green since knowing one’s baby’s gender before she announced herself was unusual. Most of the time, the dads were not present, but if they were, they were generally in another room watching a sporting event. Small green and yellow items were not of much interest.        
        Next came the ubiquitous birthday parties.
        These, of course, were far more energetic affairs, and I remember many of them vividly. We marked such happy occasions at bowling alleys, miniature golf courses, skating rinks and in backyards all over Fayetteville. There were cakes, candles and party-favor bags of candy, pencils and other goodies appealing to young children. The first mobile phone I ever saw arrived at one of these parties. The chatting mother had come to pick up her child, and, much to my amazement, she talked into what seems now like an enormous phone the entire time as she located her son and walked him out the door with a friendly wave but nary a word to me as they departed. Sometimes the birthday boy or girl was simply overwhelmed by the long-awaited occasion and was unable to contain his or her emotions or behavior. My most vivid memory of this occurred in our own yard when our just-turned-5-year-old was overcome by the excitement of having a Fayetteville Police Department K-9 unit visit that he lost it altogether and had to be excused to his room. I can still see a little nose pressed to the window as he watched his guests watching the dog as they ate ice cream cones.
        Think the Berenstain Bears book Too Much Birthday.
        The dreaded sleepover birthday deserves a column by itself.
        Then came graduations of all sorts.
        The first graduation I remember was from a Fayetteville Parks and Recreation summer program in Mazarick Park, and the young grads wore paper plate mortar boards held on by colored yarn on their heads. There were other graduations from pre-school and special programs of all sorts, but the big ones were high school and then college, with one of our precious jewels still working on that one. These are occasions guaranteed to bring tears to a mother’s eyes, along with many laments about how our little ones who once wore little yellow and green things and paper plates on their noggins became so grown up.
    The real question, of course, is how they grew from our arms into independent human beings when nothing happened to us.
        And now we have come full circle.
        The brides and grooms I see now will always, in some ways, be children to me. I changed some of their diapers. I dried some of their tears. I put bandages on some of their scrapes. I drove them in carpools and cooked pancakes for them on Saturday mornings. I knew when they made A’s on their report cards, and I knew when they were in trouble at school or at home. I miss their regular presence in our house, dirty socks on the floor and all.
        Mostly, though, I am shocked and awed at the people they have become.
        These brides and grooms have prepared for and are now executing their life plans. They have had bumps in the road with schools which did not accept them and jobs they did not get, but they are moving on, just as we did. The trappings of their world, mostly in the form of technology and communication, are faster and easier than ours, but the core values of family and community are solidly in place.
        I check my mailbox every day and look forward to an invitation to a baby shower.

  • Details

    County’s Safe Water Task Force Makes Progress

    (Editor’s Note: James Martin is the county manager for Cumberland County.)
        The Fayetteville Observer, in recent editorial columns, has charged Cumberland County staff with being both “secretive” and “barely adequate” in their response to the challenge of providing potable water throughout the county, especially those areas with contaminated wells. These charges are inaccurate and perhaps even mean-spirited. The Observer fails to acknowledge the ongoing and unrelenting work being devoted to solving this problem. Public servants are often fairly and unfairly maligned, but the newspaper should not demean the very good beginning that has been made.  {mosimage}
        The Safe Water Task Force was formed immediately after the problem of well-water contamination became known at a public hearing on a zoning matter on Feb. 19. The task force brought together professionals with expertise and responsibility about water issues, and set to work right away on defining the challenge, determining the tasks needing to be accomplished to move forward, and in building a record of the task force’s findings. (The Fayetteville Observer has been provided minutes of the task force meetings, a public record, when they have requested them.) To date, the task force has met four times and made an initial and a subsequent interim report at public, televised meetings of the board of commissioners. To say the task force is “secretive” is unfair — these were legal meetings of state and county staff members. The task force meetings are no more “secretive” than the Observer’s internal consideration of how to deal with the letter from a possible murder suspect in the tragic Touma case.
        The board of commissioners has appropriated $2.25 million this fiscal year to address critical water contamination issues and begin preparing engineering design requirements to extend water in the county. Also, the county has signed a contract with an engineer to design a water line to the Southpoint neighborhood.
        The county has met with the Town of Hope Mills and PWC staff to begin a project to bring a water line to the Brooklyn Circle neighborhood.
        Preliminary engineering design work is under way to bring sewer to the Overhills Park community for which federal grant funding has been authorized, though not yet appropriated.
        In a parallel effort, the Eastover Sanitary District is undertaking a project to extend its water lines east to the Sampson County line.
        County staff has begun creating a countywide integrated digital database for water lines and water contamination problems. 
        County staff has held productive discussions with water providers in the region including PWC, Eastover Sanitary District, Harnett County, Robeson County and Bladen County, about potential cooperative efforts to extend water lines.
    Communication between state and local agencies is being addressed and has improved.
        The board of commissioners adopted a policy requiring testing of wells in new subdivisions that are within 1,000 feet of contaminated ground water sites.
        In short, there is a lot going on. A fair-minded view of all this activity shows that the board of commissioners and county staff are giving water issues their top priority and utmost efforts.
        But the Observer has chosen to focus not on progress but on maligning the county for not inviting a reporter to a task force meeting of staff members. It is both legal and the customary practice of local governments in North Carolina to exclude the media from internal staff meetings. The newspaper even goes so far as to suggest that there should have been a reporter present at my recent meeting with the public health director about communication between the health department and state agencies, even though I had released to a reporter prior to this meeting both my memorandum to the public health director on this topic and the public health director’s response.
        {mosimage}The challenge of providing clean water will take time and money — and citizen support — as every commissioner has publicly recognized. It will be an expensive challenge, one that voters must support in a future bond vote in order to pay for clean water. We all remember that voters rejected a water and sewer bond referendum in 1994. The Observer has recently reported that there are still homeowners in Cumberland County who do not want to pay for having clean water piped into their neighborhoods.
        The county’s staff is wrestling with ways to address this priority for the county’s citizens. Private meetings are not necessarily “secret” meetings, and works in progress are not necessarily “bungled efforts.” Our progress will not be accelerated by mean-spirited criticism from our local newspaper. The first, necessary steps toward solutions are well underway.

  • Details

        When you think about the world’s most important resource your mind obviously jumps to oil. Wrong answer. Scientists tell us the world’s most important resource is water — clean, potable drinking water.
        For those of us living in the United States, that seems like an absurd idea. Everybody has water — but does everybody have clean water? The answer in Cumberland County is a resounding “NO.”
        Contamination of ground water is an issue that our county is going to have to face sooner, rather than later. Already, contaminated wells are cropping up throughout the county. For those affected, there are no easy answers. And for those who live in the vicinity, I would think that sleep would not come easy either.
        Like cancer, contaminated ground water tends to seep. It doesn’t remain in just one place, it moves, and the contamination grows. So, while today there may only be a handful of wells that are affected, what will that count be in six weeks, six months or six years? {mosimage}
        Cumberland County leaders do not have time to sit and wait to find out that answer. In fact, the county as a whole has waited too long. The county first began kicking around the idea of a countywide water system in 1969. Almost 40 years later, we’re back at the drawing board — kicking around the idea.
        Cumberland County’s biggest failure over the past century has been its inability to plan for the future. Instead, we sit back and wait for it to happen, and when a problem rears its head, like the issue of clean water, we’re left standing with our pants down. It doesn’t have to be this way.
        The Cumberland County Board of Commissioners exercised responsible government when they formed the Safe Water Task Force in February. The task force will, at some point in the near future, report back to the board on what it is has found and make recommendations for the best way Cumberland County can ensure that all of its citizens have clean water.
        At that point, the board must show their political will to do the right thing for the citizens of the county, but to a grea extent it falls into the laps of the citizens of Cumberland County. The commissioners can pursue grants and they can put a bond referendum forward to help fund the estimated $120 million it will take to pay for a countywide water system. But that’s all they can do.
        Then it will be in the hands of the voters who will have to decide what is more important — is it money or their very health? Each individual is going to have to answer some hard questions. What is it worth to you to know that the water you’re drinking is clean? What is it worth to you to know that you are not unknowingly poisoning your children? What is your neighbor’s life worth?
    Think about it.

  • Details
        I last wrote you upon learning my wife had three previous husbands, not two. After enduring her lies and spending issues, plus having her deny me sex for seven years (starting with a sharp elbow in my chest when I tried to spoon), I’m out. I’m thrilled it’s over, but terrified to start a relationship and possibly repeat the horror.
           —Some Encouragement, Please

        On seven separate occasions, Bank of America’s tellers handed out a total of $12,000 of my money to thieves, including a woman with missing teeth and a fake driver’s license in my name with the wrong expiration date. Meanwhile, their spokeslady, Betty Riess, brags to the media that they have “multiple layers of security.” Uh, such as...asking a thief whether she’d like my money in $10s, $20s or $100s? You probably have a similar method for vetting women — pretty much just hoping they are who they claim to be.     The good news is, finding an honest woman isn’t a crap shoot. Just be vigilant. Listen, observe, analyze. Take your time. Most people can’t entirely hide who they are unless you help by closing your eyes and crossing your fingers — behavior that can lead to dangerous unprotected sex; in your case, spooning without a hockey goalie chest guard.

    The Course of True Love
        I work at a big supermarket. I’m 21, and have a hot co-worker who’s 42. (I love older women!) I want to tell her I’m looking for a little bit of a girlfriend and sex, and see if she’s into it. I know I should show confidence without being cocky, and be direct, but what else?
                                —Very Interested

        By all means, be direct: Perhaps mention that she’s getting on in years, but you’re kinda into the older meat. And then, just get to it: “I’m looking for a little bit of a girlfriend and sex.” Surely, she’ll take it in stride: “Oh, that’s in aisle four, next to the hot cereals.” Of course, there’s another direct approach -- ask her out for a beer. Even if she senses what you’re after, as long as it isn’t spoken, you can both pretend you’re just thirsty and wondering whether she is, too. Depending on how drinks go, either give her a friendly hug goodnight or try to kiss her in the parking lot. Whatever happens, make it your policy never to blurt out exactly what you want from a woman -- that is, unless you’re trying to see whether you can afford her services.

    Got a problem? Write Amy Alkon, 171 Pier Ave, #280, Santa Monica, CA  90405, or e-mail AdviceAmy@aol.com (www.advicegoddess.com)

  • Details
        The European Union allows fruits and vegetables to be sold only in prescribed sizes and colors (such as its 35 pages of regulations governing 250 varieties of the apple, or rules that cucumbers must be straight and bananas curved). In June, British marketer Tim Down complained that he was forced to discard 5,000 kiwi fruit because they were 1 millimeter in diameter too small and one-fourth ounce too light. (It is illegal even to give them away, as that would undermine the market price.) “Improvements” in the EU system continue, according to a July Washington Post dispatch from Brussels: Despite 10 pages of standards on the onion and 19 amendments, the Dutch Ministry of Agriculture recently issued a report urging further refinements, using 29 pages and 43 photographs.

    GREAT ART!
        Artist Michael Fernandes’ exhibit in Halifax, Nova Scotia, in June caused a commotion because it was merely a banana on a gallery’s window sill, and Fernandes had it priced at $2,500 (Cdn) (down from his original thought, $15,000). Actually, Fernandes changed bananas every day (eating the old one), placing progressively greener ones out to demonstrate the banana’s transitoriness. “We (humans) are also temporal, but we live as if we are not,” he wrote. Despite the steep price, two collectors placed holds on the “work,” requiring the gallery’s co-owner, Victoria Page, to get assurance from callers. “It’s a banana; you understand that it’s a banana?”

    GOVERNMENT IN ACTION
        In May, the school board in Barrie, Ontario, notified Children’s Aid Society to intervene with mother Colleen Leduc and her daughter Victoria, 11, because of suspected sexual abuse, angering the conscientious Leduc, who until that point had taken extraordinary measures to protect the girl, who is autistic. Upon investigation, it was revealed that the suspicion came from a teaching assistant who said her psychic had told her that a girl with a “V” in her name was being abused by a man aged 23 to 26. Leduc now refuses to trust Victoria to public schools because “they might want to take out a Ouija board or hold a seance.”


    PRISONER POWER
        The June transfer of a prisoner from lockup to Britain’s Northampton Crown Court, just across the street, required summoning the closest prison van (57 miles away) to come give him a ride. The prisoner (accused thief Mark Bailey) could not simply be walked across the street because officials feared that public, custodial exposure (a “perp walk”) would embarrass him, in violation of his “human rights.”

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        Summer is going by quickly and fall will be coming soon. This is prime time to enjoy the state by riding and camping. To help you prepare for a camping trip I’ll give you some tips on your packing list.{mosimage}
    First, you need to make sure you have bags for your bike or some way to transport the camping equipment. It does not take long to fill up a bike. Space quickly becomes prime real estate. Next, create a packing list. Write it out and make additions and deletions as needed. Here is a list of items you will want to take:  air mattress, camp saw, candles, collapsible chair, compass, cord, ground cloth, hatchet, Swiss Army knife or Leatherman, lantern, matches/lighter, sacks and/or bags, sleeping bag, sleeping pad, stakes/rope, tent and toilet paper.
        For cooking: camp stove and fuel, can opener, coffee making stuff, condiments, cooking pots/pans, corkscrew, cup(s), dish soap and pad, dish towel, drinks, food, garbage/trash bags, knife/fork/spoons, water bottle(s), coffee, salt and pepper and sugar and creamer.
        Bike items: bike cover, saddlebags, boots and socks, scarf, bungee cords, spare bulbs, cargo net, spare fuses, chain oil/wax, spare key(s), earplugs, tank bag, gloves, tire patch kit, helmet, tool kit, jackets, totes, windshield cleaner, Leatherman tool, lock/security stuff, oil, rain gear and rain gloves.
    Personal stuff: medications, brush, shampoo, casual clothes, shaving kit, chapstick, soap, comb, sunglasses, contact lenses and cleaner, toothbrush and toothpaste, dental floss, towel, waterless hand cleaner, Wet Ones, deodorant, towel/washcloth, fanny pack, backpack, Kotex/tampons and reading glasses.
        Clothing items: sports bras, sweatshirt(s), cycling shorts, swimsuit, hat/sun visor, T-shirts, jeans, tennis shoes/sandals, polypro underwear, underwear, shirts, shorts, socks, sweater(s).
        Information items: binoculars, palmtop computer, book(s), paper & pencil/pen, camera & accessories, passport/ID, cell phone & charger, phone list, cellular modem, radar detector, diary, registrations papers, drivers, license, mp3 player, GPS, tickets/passes, Insurance, travel guide(s), Intercom, laptop computer, maps, membership cards. Remember to take hard copies of your itinerary in the event you can’t get computer connections or something happens to your electronic equipment.
        Miscellaneous items: ear plugs, travel pillow, bug repellent, sewing kit, cable ties, snake-bite kit, cash/travelers check/ATM card, credit card(s), quarters, space blanket, stamps for postcards, duct tape, sunscreen, extra batteries, Super Glue, first aid kit, flashlight, freezer bags (for packing/waterproofing), Ibuprofen/Tylenol, rubber bands and poncho to cover your equipment.
        If there is a topic that you would like to discuss please send your comments and suggestions to motorcycle4fun@aol.com. RIDE SAFE!

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    X-Files: I Want To Believe (Rated PG-13)

        Chris Carter made a bad choice. I Want to Believe (100 minutes) might have worked as a one-hour episode in the middle of a season. It does not work as a stand alone feature-length film released the weekend after Dark Knight. It is truly painful only because all the elements of the beloved series are present…. Scully’s (Gillian Anderson) hardcore skepticism mixed in with her strong religious faith, Mulder’s (David Duchovny) brilliant intuitive leaps combined with an openness to extra-normal explanations, the creepy camera work and spot on musical cues are just as they should be. The chemistry between the two leads is marvelous to behold, and rediscovering the characters is worth watching the film. Worth watching, that is, until the last 20 minutes or so, when the passable up until that point plot disintegrates into the kind of absurdity normally reserved for low budget B-movies.
        {mosimage}Six years after Mulder (Duchovny) and Scully (Anderson) left the FBI, she is working at a Catholic hospital and he clips newspaper stories about strange events. While wrestling with the moral issues inherent to treating a terminally ill child with an unproved and painful remedy, Scully is contacted by an FBI agent who wants Mulder’s assistance on an abduction case involving Father Joseph Crissman (Billy Connolly), a psychic with an unexplained connection to the case. At first, Mulder is reluctant to work with Agent Whitney (Amanda Peet) and Agent Drummy (Xzibit), but he soon becomes obsessed with the mystery and is drawn deeper and deeper into the case while Scully tries to distance herself from the violent case and focus on her medical career. As tempting as it is to offer more plot detail, if only to mock the disappointing finale, there is a substantial amount of suspense generated from the film’s early promise. If you are able to refrain from leaving the theater in disgust as soon as the credits role, than there is a post-credit scene to look forward to (which I missed).
        There are some nice secondary roles, including Battlestar Galactica’s Callum Keith Rennie and, reprising his role as Walter Skinner, Mitch Pileggi.
        References to the original series are sprinkled throughout the film, including a reference to William, Mulder and Scully’s little boy, pencils in the ceiling, and a heaping dish of sunflower seeds. Some of the less successful elements of the series are left out (i.e. alien conspiracy and Agent Moronica); even so, Scully manages to name check Mulder’s long lost sister early in the film.
        The characters have aged, no doubt about it. Mulder seems a shadow of his former self, and bits of his Californication persona show through the seams. Luckily, he is still hot, as is Gillian Anderson, who, impossible as it seems, has actually grown even more attractive since the series end.
        I Want to Believe is not an example of bad film, and in fact, it almost works despite the somewhat ridiculous premise. However, perhaps because it is based on a series with a strong mythology and truly memorable characters, it is a film that fails to distinguish itself.

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    Inspector Lynley crumbles on his way out the door

        Mystery! just ended Foyle’s War with a yawn. The Inspector Lynley series also ends this summer, but what a difference. This week’s episode, the second-to-last (Sunday, 9 p.m., PBS), is almost unbearably tense and tragic.
        When Inspector Lynley began in 2001, Detective Thomas Lynley (Nathaniel Parker) was a cool customer. Handsome, reserved, upper-crust — he was born on top of the world and seemed destined to stay there. But cracks slowly appeared in his façade, and by now it has completely crumbled. Lynley’s wife was murdered right in front of him, and he starts this season a wreck. He’s on leave from the force, drinking himself to death and seeing a psychologist. “She asked me to draw my grief,” he tells his loyal partner, Detective Havers (Sharon Small).
        Clearly, it will take more than drawing to pull Lynley out of his pit. It will take the discovery of a corpse — that of a little boy who disappeared 12 years ago. Lynley is a friend of the boy’s parents, and he throws himself into this cold case. It soon heats up again, spectacularly so, and Lynley himself gets burned. Before he knows it, a woman mysteriously dies and he’s accused of her murder.
        No, our hero will not be allowed to make a graceful exit. Fasten your seatbelts; the series finale is Aug. 17.

    CRISS ANGEL MINDFREAK{mosimage}
    Wednesday, 10 p.m. (A&E)
        Magician Criss Angel places an ad seeking people who are skeptical of his supposed supernatural abilities. He invites the skeptics to lead him to four elevator doors. Behind three of them are regular elevators, while the other one hides an empty shaft. Blindfolded, Criss must decide which of the three elevators are safe to enter.
        If he chooses wrong, he dies. If he chooses right, the skeptics must admit that he has magical powers. And that Santa Claus is real, too.

    OLYMPICS OPENING CEREMONY
    Friday, 8 p.m. (NBC)
        Once again, the Olympics sets up shop in a repressive country. The choice of China for the summer games has sparked worldwide outrage, and the touchy Chinese authorities may not be able to keep a lid on dissent as the international community floods into Beijing. Some of the fastest times all week may be clocked by protesters fleeing government goons.

    TRUE CONFESSIONS OF A HOLLYWOOD MADAM
    Saturday, 9 p.m. (Lifetime)
        Joanne “JoJo” Levesque walks, talks and acts like Lindsay Lohan in a TV movie about a teen actress who parties till she drops — literally, face first on the red carpet. Morgan is rushed to rehab, then to Indiana to live incognito with her regular-gal aunt (Valerie Bertinelli). You can connect the dots from there. Morgan begins her Midwestern adventure snobby and cynical, but slowly warms to normal life. The Indiana dreamboat arrives right on cue.
       

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        The Crown Coliseum has had very few sold-out shows in recent years. Coliseum officials can always count on wrestling to fill seats, and last fall they learned that country music can also pack the stands. {mosimage}
    I happened to be at both of those packed country shows last year — the CMT Tour featuring Sugarland, and again, when Reba and Kelly brought the house down. Both shows were great, but I have to say the Sugarland concert was my favorite.
        Sugarland, the Atlanta duo formed by Jennifer Nettles and Kristian Bush, put on one heck of a show. Their energy level was through the roof and their connection to the audience was genuine. That probably comes from the years they were playing in small bars and honky tonks throughout the South. On top of all that, they were just plain fun — everything from Nettles’ over-the-top southern drawl to Bush’s crazed guitar. So, with that in mind, I was only too happy to check out their latest offering Love On the Inside. Released July 22, the new CD comes in two forms — a regular release and a deluxe fan edition. I opted for the fan edition, which has five extra songs (some of which were recorded during last year’s tour.)
        So before I give you my spin, let me be straight up and tell you that the CD has already hit the number two spot on Billboard’s Top Current Album list and has become the number one debut country album of the year. So that tells you about sales.
        Let me tell you about the album.
        Love On the Inside is a compilation of songs written by Bush and Nettles along with some of their friends. It’s a hard album to peg because the songs are so different — you have everything from the opening number “All I Want To Do,” which is really a pretty rollicking pop song, to the dyed-in-the-wool traditional country of “The Last Country Song,” to the romantic “Fall Into Me.” Having said that, I have to say that there will be songs on this offering that you will either love or hate. If you are a hardcore country fan, you’re going to think the band has sold-out with “All I Want to Do.” If you are more of a crossover country fan, then you aren’t going to like some of the mandolin-laced tunes. But you are going to find something you like.
        If I had not seen the band in action, I would probably have been turned off by “All I Want to Do.” But,  having seen their quirky, funny side, it comes across as the two just having a little fun. So I’m okay with it. I do not like it at 4 a.m. It’s way too perky.
        “The Very Last Country Song” pays tribute to the idea that if life were perfect, we wouldn’t need country music. It talks about change, loss and love – things that are pretty constant in our world. That’s probably why country music has been a constant.
        “Take Me as I Am,” a song about a hotel maid who wants to be loved just for who she is, allows Nettles’ voice to soar. Nettles’ voice is an instrument all by itself. She can hit some smokey low notes, but when she opens it up it truly fills an arena — or in my case, my Honda as I’m driving down the road. There’s a purity to her voice. It speaks of home, heartbreak and salvation.
        My favorite track on the record is “Fall Into Me.” The song is a love song, but it’s about the kind of love that makes you want to crawl into your lover’s skin and stay there until you know them from the inside out. (Not the crazy kind of take their skin off and wear it, but become so close you feel like you’re inside each other.) It talks about wanting to be the person to fill the void in the other, to be the person who you reach for first. It talks about forever and that can’t be too long.
        The other really cool part of the fan pack is the inclusion of albums recorded during last year’s tour. One song in particular (a remake of an ‘80s hit)  “Life in a Northern Town,” features all of the performers at the concert — Sugarland, Little Big Town and the new country heartthrob, Jake Owen. This track is totally out of keeping with the rest of the CD, but it’s a really, really good track. Check it out.

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    {mosimage}Dear EarthTalk: What’s going on in the music industry with all the CDs and plastic CD holders undoubtedly generating a lot of plastic waste?       
                                       — John S., via e-mail

        According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), CDs and DVDs are typically manufactured by combining various mined metals (aluminum, gold, silver and nickel) with petroleum-derived plastics, lacquers and dyes. Given what complicated beasts CDs and DVDs are — products with thin layers of different materials mixed together are nearly impossible to recycle — most municipal recycling programs won’t accept them, leaving consumers to fend for themselves in figuring out how to dispose of them. As a result, most discarded discs end up in the trash.
        These difficult-to-recycle materials can pollute groundwater and, in turn, contribute to a whole host of human health problems. But the low cost of producing such top-selling consumer items means that replacing them with something greener is not likely anytime soon.
        Research has shown that polylactic acid (PLA), a biodegradable plastic-substitute derived from corn and other agricultural wastes, could replace plastic polycarbonate as a disc’s main substrate, but the present high cost of using such a material makes it unlikely to catch on any time soon with those paying to produce mass volumes of CDs and DVDs.
        As for jewel cases, most are made out of Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC), an inexpensive petrochemical-based plastic that is notoriously difficult to recycle and has been linked to elevated cancer rates among workers and neighbors where it’s manufactured. Furthermore, when PVC is thrown in with regular recyclables it can contaminate entire batches, ruin equipment and cause human health problems. While cardboard and paper jewel cases may be all the rage among a few record labels — Warner Music Group’s U.S. division, for example, has been using 30 percent post-recycled paper for the packaging in all of its CDs and DVDs since 2005 — the high cost and low durability of such alternatives have kept them largely out of the mainstream.
    So what’s a conscientious consumer to do? Those willing to pay a small processing fee can send old CDs and DVDs to one of a handful of private companies (such as Washington-based GreenDisk) set up to recycle them into high-quality plastics used in auto parts, office equipment, alarm panels, street lights, electrical cable insulation, jewel cases and other specialized items.
        A shift in consumer preferences already underway may be just the thing that will make everyone’s personal collections of music and movies greener. Consumers are already able to download some six million individual digital songs via the 500 or so legal online music services now up and running on the Internet. According to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, digital sales now account for some 30 percent of all U.S. music sales and 15 percent globally. And most consumer analysts expect these percentages to grow steadily in the coming years, which is good news for the environment.
        CONTACTS: EPA’s “Lifecycle of a CD or DVD,” www.epa.gov/osw/students/finalposter.pdf; GreenDisk, www.greendisk.com; International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, www.ifpi.org.
        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.

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        I’ve been asked how to fit a healthy fitness lifestyle into an already busy and hectic schedule. Especially now that kids are running to camps and we’re on vacation. Remember, an active lifestyle is more than visiting the gym for an hour or jumping around in the living room to an aerobics tape. If you get creative, you will find ways to incorporate movement into almost everything you do. Here are some suggestions to get you started and help you boost your activity level. If you make a conscious effort to add more activity into your daily life, it will become second nature. Give some of these suggestions a try:
        Walk as much as possible by parking the car a few blocks away from where you’re headed or walk to an appointment from your office instead of driving. Whenever you’re walking try to focus on long PURPOSEFUL strides that are quicker than normal pace. This gets the heart rate going a bit faster than just meandering along.
        {mosimage}Take the stairs instead of the elevator. Walk up the stairs as quickly as you can. For a little variation, try slowing down and taking two stairs at a time to further strengthen your legs.
        During breaks at work, walk the stairs, walk around the building or walk down the halls. Find any type of activity that keeps you moving during your break — you can sit at your desk and relax after the break!
    Whenever you’re walking somewhere, take the “long way around.” Use this technique to get anywhere you’re going from shopping at the mall to getting a drink at the water cooler.
        At the supermarket, if you don’t have too many bags, carry your own groceries out to the car without the shopping cart. And remember, park the car in a spot furthest from the store entrance but at night make sure it is in a well lit area.
        Work in a garden or the yard during the summer. Gardening will take your body through a whole range of movements.
        If you have children, or grandchildren, spend some quality time playing with them. Few things can jump-start your heart as quickly as trying to keep up with a child. Play catch, jump rope, play on the monkey bars, push them on the swing or have a foot race.
        Take lessons to learn how to play tennis, racquetball, golf or any other activity you think you might enjoy.
    Designate an area of your vehicle as “the locker room.” In that area (or box) put a pair of tennis shoes, clean socks, clean towel, Frisbee, tennis rackets, softball and gloves or any other items that strike your fancy. Whenever you’re out and about with a little extra time you can spontaneously stop off at a park to play catch, a tennis court for a game of tennis, or a walking path that’s calling you to explore it.
    Now stop reading this article and get out there and PLAY!

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