When a friend took Amy Williams to her first hot yoga class a couple of years ago, it didn’t take her long to get hooked on the activity.

She liked it so much that she now runs her own business, Get Twisted Yoga on Trade Street in downtown Hope Mills.

A native of Massachusetts, Williams is a U.S. Army veteran who served for five years before leaving the military two years ago.

Hot yoga isn’t just a trendy name for the service Williams provides at Get Twisted Yoga. It’s the actual condition of the room where workouts are held.

“The room temperature is about 94 to 100 degrees,’’ she said. The reason for the heat is to help detox the skin during the workout process, Williams said.

The heat also has other benefits. “It’s meant to help people with joint issues and arthritis, things like that,’’ Williams said.

Because of the heat involved, there are some advisories for participants.

The minimum age for those taking part is 16, and that still requires parental consent. They must work out while a parent or legal guardian is present.

As for the elderly, Williams said they are welcome to participate in hot yoga but should check with their family physician first to make sure they can tolerate the combination of physical activity and heat.

Get Twisted Yoga is open seven days a week, except for major holidays. There are morning classes as early as 9 a.m., but Williams said the most popular classes are in the evening, starting around 6 or 7 p.m.

Drop-in rates are $12, but various session packages are available. To view them, create an account and reserve a workout time, visit the website at gettwisted.vpweb.com. Both group and private sessions are available.

Discounts are available to the military, first responders and educators.

Williams said hot yoga can help people deal with a variety of mental and physical issues. It can be helpful for those trying to cope with post-traumatic stress disorder or other emotional problems.

She added that she’s recovering from a recent surgical procedure and yoga has helped her with that.

For some, Williams said, yoga can provide an alternative to verbal counseling. “Sometimes they come to yoga to find their center, their peace.’’

For those into physical fitness, it’s an alternative to traditional gym workouts. “It definitely helps with core strengthening,’’ she said. “When you go work out at the gym, it focuses on major muscles. Yoga focuses on a lot of the muscles we tend to neglect, which is a lot of the reason for most people having so many injuries these days.’’

If hot yoga is not your cup of tea, you can also try other kinds of classes at Get Twisted Yoga. “We offer multiple types of classes – restorative, Zen and so on,” Williams said. She added she wants to look into starting a Friday evening family yoga session and perhaps a daytime Sunday session.

We need good leaders more than ever.

In our local schools and businesses and churches. We need them in responsible government positions in our state and at the highest national level.

So, what is good leadership? How do you find it? How do you develop it? And how do you deal with the consequences of bad leadership?

I was thinking of these questions the other day when I stumbled into a meeting sponsored by Chapel Hill’s Friends of Downtown organization that had invited Dr. Gerald Bell to make a presentation.

Bell may be best known among North Carolina basketball fans as the author of a popular book about Coach Dean Smith’s leadership lessons.

But in the rest of the world, especially the international business community, he is known for his organization, Bell Leadership, which develops leaders, coaches and teachers at the highest level. Its mission is “to help people develop their personal effectiveness and leadership skills to contribute to humankind.”

In existence since 1972, the organization based in Chapel Hill has trained over 500,000 leaders in almost 5,000 organizations in over 30 countries.

As part of its training, it has developed a detailed personality profile to help its students evaluate their leadership styles, potentials, strengths and weaknesses.

For the Friends of Downtown group, Bell summarized six characteristics of the most effective leaders.

1. Achievement. From childhood, Bell says, there is a drive to accomplish. Watch the joy of a child when he or she finally succeeds in learning to walk. The drive to succeed, to create new things and to start projects is a healthy attribute of a positive and optimistic leader.

2. Self-worth. The feeling that “I am somebody” is a positive trait. Parents who encourage children’s courage and dignity in dealing with others promote this value. The best leaders treat others with dignity.

3. Control. The need for control can be seen in 2-year olds and teenagers asserting independence. Gaining self-control through discipline, structure and clarity can signal someone who is a producer, who hates to waste time.

4. Pleasure. Contentment and happiness can be positive traits. Parents who teach that it is okay to fail and how to recover from it are giving their children a platform for positive happiness.

5. Love. We need it. Bell said, “There is a genetic code need for love.” He said you can measure how others feel about you by a ”seek-me-out-index.” How many people seek you out for advice and help when they have a problem? He says that good listening skills draw people to you.

6. Play. Enjoying play is a trait of a good leader. In fact, good strategic planning is playing with ideas.

What about the bad leadership characterization?

1. Performer. They show off, selfpromote and go on overdrive.

2. Attacker. They are hostile, critical and focus on getting even and are only happy when they’re in a fight. They never apologize.

3. Rigidity. An “unbender.” It is all black or white for rigid people. They order people to do things rather than working with them. Underneath, they dislike people. They command and destroy.

4. Avoider. They are unwilling to take risks.

5. Pleaser. They are too focused on being nice. They do not communicate directly and reflect a low degree of competitiveness.

6. Drifter. Like those, Bell says, who live in Volkswagen vans, they crave freedom but avoid responsibility.

Bell asks his students to what degree they possess the six “best leader” behavior patterns and/ or the six “worst leader’ patterns? Are they “more of an entrepreneur (best leader) or a performer (worst leader)? A team builder or a pleaser? A producer or a commander?”

When his presentation was over, I found myself wishing that Bell could take his leadership program to the Congress and the White House.

Photo: Dr. Gerald Bell

A million years ago when I was a mother of young children, one of the Precious Jewels found himself in a sudden slugfest with a cousin in our front yard. Both boys were young enough and small enough that I could separate them, which I did. Holding them at arm’s length, I demanded apologies and a handshake to end the fisticuffs. They did so, albeit grudgingly, and as I released them, the cousin – apparently not quite finished – stuck out his foot and tripped the Precious Jewel, who fell splat onto the grass.

I was reminded of this long-ago story when I read a recent New York Times opinion piece written by two Harvard government professors. Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt authored the just-published “How Democracies Die,” and they say Americans have plenty to worry about with our democracy. In their Times column, the professors contend that our real problem is not a president who at best cannot remember what he has said in the past and contradicts himself or at worst exaggerates and lies routinely. The authors conclude that the president is “a weak and inept leader,” but that he is not our main problem.

One of our main problems, the professors say, is our overwhelming lack of tolerance for the views of our fellow citizens – our polarization along party lines.

A vital component of democracy, Levitsky and Ziblatt contend, is respect for others, no matter how much we may disagree with them politically, socially and culturally. They describe this respect as being an understanding that people who think differently than we do love our country just as much as we do, even if they hold different opinions. According to the professors, some polarization is likely healthy if only to expose us to other ideas, but extreme polarization – and some would contend we are already there – can and has killed democracies. Think Chile in the early 1970s and Venezuela more recently.

Levitsky and Ziblatt contend that America is more polarized than any time since the 1800s, when fistfights, canings and the waving around of pistols and knives took place on the floor of Congress during the run up to the Civil War. As evidence, they cite polling data indicating that both Democrats and Republicans say they would not be pleased if their child married someone of the opposite political party and that the other party makes them feel “afraid.”

Another vital component of a healthy democracy, the professors assert, is forbearance, which they define as self-restraint in the exercise of power. In other words, power should not be exercised just because it is there. Sometimes it is better to let something slide than to make an issue of a matter that may well blow over on its own. Most of us know and exercise this in our personal and working lives, but elected leaders on both sides seem to have forgotten how to do so in their public lives.

Both Democrats and Republicans have held up legislation and executive and judicial appointments – not because such delays were positive for our nation, but because they annoyed and possibly damaged the other party – in other words, just because they could.

Just last month Congress allowed the government of the United States to shut down. Our elected leaders played a game of chicken because they did not want to work with the other side – in other words, just because they could. Other rounds of shutdown machinations loom.

This is no way to run a government and no way for Americans to think about each other. The professors conclude their Times piece with this.

“The lessons of history are clear. Extreme polarization can wreck even established democracies. America is no exception. As long as Americans do not overcome their deepening partisan animosities, democracy remains at risk – President Trump or no President Trump.”

But back to the Dicksons’ front yard in the early ’90s. Just like Congress in the mid-19th century, there was a fistfight. An authority figure, in this case, Mom, stepped in to bring the combatants to their senses and restore order and civility. Even though one combatant could not quite restrain himself from one more attack, the battle did end; the cousins remained friends, and, one hopes, learned something about human nature and how to conduct themselves appropriately.

I hope and pray the same for our nation.

A typical morning inside Fayetteville Technical Community College’s Assessment and Retention Center, commonly referred to as the ARC, begins with the opportunity to help make a positive contribution to a student’s educational journey. Quite often, students visit the ARC seeking personal, one-on-one assistance.

Students express emotions ranging from excitement about having made the decision to return to school to apprehension about the academic challenges they may face wh ile being in class with younger students. Students at FTCC represent a diverse population, with some students attending immediately after high school graduation and others attending several years later. The return to the classroom experience after many years can understandably cause anxiety for some students. At the ARC, people receive reassurance that they have made a smart choice to study at FTCC, where every student is important and appreciated.

The ARC staff is comprised of part-time employees and some FTCC students who spend a portion of their days working in addition to attending classes.

Students who use the resources at the ARC are quite often seeking assistance with class registration, navigating and understanding Blackboard (an internet platform used for online classes), and utilizing WebAdvisor, a student portal where a great deal of academic information is stored, such as classes completed and grades for completed classes. At the ARC, students also receive technical assistance with student email, resetting passwords and other technical issues.

FTCC recently collaborated with Ellucian to implement a new technology tool that serves to improve the communication between advisors and advisees. Ellucian Advise has the capability to increase student success by giving advisors the ability to view students’ overall “success picture,” based on pre-configured criteria. Ellucian Advise creates alerts when students fall below a specific grade point average or experience class absences or missed assignments. Ellucian Advise is a great technological tool for helping students stay on track to reach their academic goals.

Staff members at the ARC recognize that working with caring faculty and staff is just as important as great technology for student success. With that in mind, the ARC staff reaches out to students who may be struggling. Working with instructors, ARC staff will inform students about available help and resources, such as on-campus free tutoring, counseling and online resources.

Staff members at the ARC feel the opportunity to work with students and a caring staff and faculty at FTCC is very rewarding. As an ARC supervisor, I especially enjoy offering additional encouragement and support to students I see around campus who have visited the ARC. One of the greatest joys is seeing students march across the stage at graduation to begin their new careers or continue their education at four-year colleges.

The ARC is located inside the Tony Rand Student Center at the Fayetteville campus. Visit to learn why over 40,000 students annually make the choice to study at FTCC.

Jackie Warner had been waiting to say these words since she was elected mayor of Hope Mills eight years ago.

“The lake is back,’’ she said a week ago Monday. “It filled last night due to rain. They closed the gate this morning.’’

The news came barely four days after the town of Hope Mills got the word from the state dam safety engineer that the impoundment of water behind the repaired Hope Mills dam could begin.

Mother Nature stepped in and dramatically shortened the expected threeweek time it was expected to take to fill the lake.

Maybe that was a reward for the town’s patience battling back from not one but two failures of the dam dating back to 2003 when heavy Memorial Day weekend rain caused the first breach.

Since she was elected in 2010, Warner said she’s not had answers for people who kept wondering when the lake would return.

“You just knew it was going to happen,’’ she said. “Time kept going by. The process seemed like it was never-ending. Then the delays started happening.’’

Warner said she never ran for mayor on a platform to bring the lake back. But, she added, it became the centerpiece of her job because of its omnipresence.

“I wish Bob Gorman was here,’’ said Warner of the longtime Hope Mills commissioner who died last year. “He and I traveled so much together, going to different legal things.’’

Warner said she attended so many meetings and learned so much about architecture and dam building she felt she could be both an engineer and architect. She praised the town’s board of commissioners for staying focused on the dam rebuilding project and assuring that the people doing the work were held accountable.

“We put more scrutiny into making sure we were on top of things,’’ she said. “We just had to pick the very best team and turn them loose to do what they were supposed to do. We were very fortunate that the design companies we picked were not only good, but they did the checks and balances on each other.’

Jerry Legge has been a Hope Mills commissioner since the late 1990s, serving through both times the dam failed and the lake was gone. He was with Warner at a League of Municipalities meeting when they got the word the dam had finally been approved. “All these years of suffering and worrying, trying to make both ends meet, all the overcharges and stuff like that we’ve had,’’ Legge said.

Now, with the lake back, Legge thinks back to 1982 when he first came to Hope Mills with his wife. “I had an aunt and uncle who lived here,’’ Legge said. “We drove by the lake and my wife said, ‘This is it. This is where I want to live.’

“When people drive through the town and see the lake with the additions we’re doing, I believe they’re going to feel the same way.’’

Legge’s fellow commissioner Pat Edwards is in her fourth term on the town board. She said the town has been growing by leaps and bounds even without the lake and that she anticipates things will accelerate quicker now that it has returned.

“The mayor has plans to have a big lake party later on,’’ Edwards said. “That’s something to look forward to. I think the lake has always been a centerpiece for Hope Mills. We have a lot of plans for the future.’’

Those plans include a museum telling the story of how the mill village that grew from Rockfish Township came to be. There will also be a new park at the lake, along with a large pier for people to fish from.

“When the final plans are done, you can go to the museum, park and trails,’’ Warner said. “You can canoe, kayak or go fishing on a beautiful lake with a large pier for fishing that can accommodate lots of people.’’

With its businesses, festivals and good schools, Hope Mills already has an assortment of things that have made it the fastest-growing municipality in Cumberland County.

“Now you add the lake to it,’’ Warner said. “I think that is going to entice more people to move to this area.’’

From the jump, I don’t like this guy. He’s a pretentious jerk with a genuine chip on his shoulder when it comes to women. He thinks women are stupid and shallow and uncultured. He says, “Most 24-year-olds sound like 6-yearolds on helium.” As a 24-year-old myself, that kind of generalization grinds my gears. And this is just the first 5 minutes of the Gilbert Theater’s production of David Ives’ “Venus in Fur.”

But as the drama unravels, irritation transforms into a ticklish delight for sitting in what is perhaps one of the most feminist plays I’ve ever seen. It’s rough around some production edges, but for a two-person play, the actor and actress truly attempt to rise to the occasion.

The play is a reimagining of the 1870 book by Leopold von Sacher-Masoch, which has all the kinky flourishes of the S&M world, but wrapped up in high-brow Victorian mystique.

The stage adaptation, however, could not be farther away from the perspective of an S&M voyeur. It begins with the aforementioned jerk, a playwright/ director named Thomas, played by Justin Matthew Toyer. He’s bemoaning over the phone how there are no actresses built for his adaptation of this dusty classic.

In walks Vanda Jordan, played by Nicki Hart, with bags of costumes over her shoulder and a ton of excuses. She’s late for her audition as the Victorian dominatrix. That’s of no consequence, though, because she’s game to start now. And by god, does the game begin.

Unlike with Thomas, Vanda is hilariously vulgar and sharp. I think it’s safe to assume the rest of the audience liked her as well I did – especially when she says such relatable stuff as, “Usually I’m real demure and shit.” Hart demonstrates a rare clarity of presence onstage. Meaning she’s there, not just pantomiming to be there.

As they begin to read lines together, the figurative power play of the story turns into a literal one between the two.

Vanda knows just how to bolster Thomas’ ego, offering a few insights here and there, making some jokes at her own expense. When it becomes glaringly obvious that Vanda knows the subtext of the story better than Thomas, the tide starts turning. She starts to direct the director before eventually having him read as and be punished as Vanda himself. It’s a play that can put itself in a woman’s often-compromising position, but then gives her the agency to see herself out of it.

Hart and Toyer in the main roles are to be applauded for their efforts – though one could argue you can’t often feel the sexual tension from their situation. It’s more so a political tension.

Hart definitely had the tougher task of switching vicariously between the British-Victorian Vanda accent and what can only be described as the New Jersey Vanda accent – all the while standing in nothing except some fabulous lingerie. The ending was a disappointment in this wardrobe regard, though. Let’s just say, in Thomas’ humiliation finale, it would have been only right to strip him down to his bare essentials.

Still, rarely is a story so fascinating to me that I’m forced to imagine motivations of the story before the story. But “Venus in Fur” made me do just that. I couldn’t help but wonder if the script was really dropped on Vanda’s agent’s desk. Was her name ever really Vanda? Is she some kind of feminist vigilante that shows up at auditions to dismantle male writers’ baseless points of view on women?

All of the above I hope are true.

“Venus in Fur” plays at the Gilbert Theater until Feb. 17. Call 910-678-7186 for tickets and for more information.

I am starting this column Jan. 22. This evening, President Donald Trump signed a continuing resolution that ended a partial shutdown of the federal government that lasted three days. The CR allows Congress additional time to agree on funding of the government for the current fiscal year. The events and decisions that produced this shutdown, and the resulting harsh consequences, reflect what happens when political maneuvering lays waste to reason.

In the space allotted, I can only scratch the surface in detailing the negative impacts of this shutdown. The one most often mentioned is that active duty military personnel would not be paid during the shutdown; however, they were required to continue working. Picture the military members deployed to the Middle East, where their lives are in danger every day, around-the-clock. Many of them have families in America who depend on paydays being honored. Add to these the other dedicated Americans who risk their very lives and endure all the tremendous demands of military service. The image is one of dedicated Americans being irresponsibly and unfairly penalized.

Apparently, as is explained later, there are politicians and other Americans who place greater value on illegal immigrants than on these patriots. Anybody in this group should immediately see the movie “12 Strong.”

Beyond military personnel, thousands of civilian federal employees were furloughed without pay. Legislative action will be required for these employees to be paid for any work time missed because of the shutdown. Surprisingly, members of Congress receive their pay during a shutdown.

The negative impact of this shutdown extends far beyond the couple of instances addressed above. Given this tremendous negative impact, the burning question is why anybody would cause a shutdown when doing so seriously adversely affects hundreds of thousands of Americans. The only possible explanation that I can identify is that Democrats believed they could, through a shutdown, gain some political advantage over Republicans. I contend that this was political maneuvering by Democrats and that their actions laid waste to reason.

Granted, it is totally unacceptable that, year after year, Congress fails to complete the budget and appropriations process on time and ends up doing CRs. However, Democratic failure to sufficiently support passage of the CR that would have prevented this latest shutdown does not pass the reason test.

The road to this shutdown started when Democrats insisted on adding provisions to the CR that would allow Deferred Action for Child Arrivals program participants to remain in this country. The estimate is 800,000 participants. An article by Katie Heinrich and Daniel Arkin, titled “What Is DACA? Here’s What You Need to Know About the Program Trump Is Ending,” explains DACA as follows:

“President Barack Obama created DACA through a 2012 executive order. The program has allowed hundreds of thousands of young people who were brought to the United States illegally as children to remain in the country. Applicants cannot have serious criminal histories, and must have arrived in the U.S. before 2007, when they were under the age of 16. DACA recipients can live and work legally in the U.S. for renewable two-year periods.”

On Sept. 5, 2017, Trump’s administration announced the cancellation of the DACA program but gave Congress six months to pass legislation that would provide a permanent fix for the situation addressed by the program. That means Congress has until March 5, 2018, to act. No new DACA applications or renewals were to be taken during the sixmonth period. However, a federal judge in California ruled that the administration must continue accepting renewal applications. That is being done.

The CR in question had to do with funding the government. Addressing DACA is not a funding issue, but Democrats insisted on including DACA provisions in this CR. A similar situation occurred in 2013 and resulted in a 16-day shutdown of the federal government. Ian McCullough, in an article titled “Why Did the U.S. Government Shut Down in October 2013?” summarizes how the 2013 shutdown came about. He writes that after failing to block passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (“Obamacare”) in 2010 and not being able to repeal the legislation during 2010-13, elements of the Republican Party in the House of Representatives tried another approach. McCullough says they first “attached a provision to a spending bill that required eliminating funding for the implementation of the PPACA in order to fund the rest of the U.S. Federal Government.” The Senate rejected this legislation and sent it back to the House. The House then proposed a spending bill version that would delay implementation of “Obamacare” for one year. The Senate tabled the bill, gave it no consideration, and the government shut down.

Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., now Senate minority leader and orchestrator of the 2018 shutdown, took a clear position regarding Republican actions in 2013. Democrats were unyielding in their stand against the Obamacare-related actions of Republicans. The following Schumer quote appears in an article by John Sexton titled “Chuck Schumer in 2013: If Dems Shut down the Government over Immigration That Would Be ‘A Politics of Idiocy:’”

“I believe in immigration reform. What if I persuaded my caucus to say I’m going to shut the government down, I’m going to not pay our bills unless I get my way. It’s a politics of idiocy, of confrontation, of paralysis.”

In bringing on the recent shutdown, Schumer did exactly what he vehemently accused Republicans of doing in 2013. This is a prime example of the destructive hypocrisy that has taken a foothold in our political process. Hypocrisy is a primary factor, a tool, in the manipulation of people.

At least, in 2013, Republicans had legislation prepared that presented what they wanted to do. That statement is no endorsement of what happened, just a statement of fact. Democrats did not have legislation ready to present for consideration in 2018 as they demanded that action on DACA be attached to the CR.

Further, Republicans repeatedly said there was nothing in the pending continuing resolution with which Democrats disagreed. In all of my research and watching news reports that included comments by Democrats was there any indication that the Republican claim was in error.

Schumer and other Democrats, as well as many media personalities, repeatedly used the talking point that since Republicans hold majorities in the House and Senate and the president is a Republican, the shutdown was a “failure to lead.” This is pure misdirection in that Democrats chose to filibuster the CR that would have kept the government open. Ending a filibuster requires 60 votes; there are only 51 Republican senators.

On Jan. 9, Trump led a bipartisan meeting at the White House where discussion of solving the DACA problem was central. A substantial portion of that meeting was televised. The meeting seemed productive in laying a foundation for negotiations. Bipartisan negotiations have continued in spite of the shutdown and other distractions.

In the final analysis, Democrats, profoundly and unfairly, negatively impacted the lives of hundreds of thousands of innocent Americans. This was done when there was ample time remaining to address the DACA issue. The push was made to attach an item to a funding bill when the issue had absolutely nothing to do with funding.

In doing so, the hypocrisy that is a primary tool of manipulation showed its face. With no DACA legislation ready to present, and no Democratic opposition to contents of the CR, the government was still shut down. This, despite the promising and productive Jan. 9 bipartisan White House meeting with follow-on DACA negotiations that continue to this very day. Cap all of this off with the Democratic filibuster of the CR that would have kept the government open and the blaming of Republicans who only have 51 Republican senators when 60 votes are required to end a filibuster.

All this reflects political manipulation with no hint of reason or rational basis for action by Democrats anywhere in sight.

The current CR expires Feb. 8. The promise of Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-K.Y., senate majority leader, as to what happens if there is no legislation to fix DACA by that date is a matter for another column. If that promise must be executed, I expect reason will face another test in a political atmosphere where reason is routinely laid waste, discarded, treated as some unwelcomed alien being.

Photo: Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer

Business North Carolina Magazine is a highly respected statewide business publication that reflects on the elements of North Carolina business and industry. It reports on the economic health and virtues of our state and how these factors affect North Carolina growth, businesses and industry. In the February edition, the magazine profiled and honored the 100 most accomplished, talented and successful business people in North Carolina. All are successful in their own right and have contributed to North Carolina’s economic well-being and residents’ quality of life.

The publication noted that many talented business leaders are concentrated in larger metropolitan areas of our state. However, for this feature, it focused on the smaller communities and regions in search of successful business leaders making significant and dynamic contributions to their communities in economic development, finance, retail and several other industries. The contributions of these accomplished people significantly influenced and changed their communities in a positive way.

Reading over the list, the one trait they all have in common is vision. In the case of Ralph and Linda Huff of H&H Homes, you could say “double vision,” since both have contributed so much to our community. Ralph absolutely earned his designation as one of North Carolina’s 100 most influential business leaders by this distinguished publication. He and his wife Linda are two of Fayetteville’s most successful business and economic assets.

They love this community, as witnessed by their generous lifelong contributions of time, talent and finances. This is a huge honor and a big surprise for the Huffs, but it should be no surprise to everyone around them. In fact, we need to pay more attention to local leaders like Ralph and Linda. Not only are they successful, but they also have a vested interest in the success and prosperity of our community. Outsiders do not.

History has shown that our community puts way too much faith in the opinions and guidance of outsiders rather than listening to the common-sense rationale of successful local people and business owners. Case in point: Look how we have struggled with the Unified Development Ordinance over the years. There is no telling how much this community has lost in time, money and business because we refuse to listen to and acknowledge the advice of successful people and local business owners most affected – people who are vested in the community. People like Ralph and Linda Huff, Mac Healy, Jay Wyatt, Mary Lynn Bryan, Don Price, Richard Bryant, Joe Riddle and Sharlene Riddle Williams, and Ron Matthews.

I could list dozens more entrepreneurs and innovators who have invested in this community. We could easily publish our own “100 Top Successful and Influential People in Business” just for Fayetteville and Cumberland County, but would the powers that be use them as a resource?

It has been said many times that “Fayetteville never misses an opportunity to miss an opportunity,” and we have much at stake.

Fayetteville and Cumberland County are at a turning point. Our future looks bright. Fort Bragg is stable and growing. We have tens of millions of dollars in new downtown development promising to generate tens of millions more. We have strong, talented leadership promoting economic development, and, thanks to last year’s $35 million Parks and Recreation bond, our children, seniors and entire community are experiencing more enhanced quality of life venues.

Some questions do remain.

1. Can we get out of our own way to embrace prosperity?

2. Will the city of Fayetteville and Cumberland County leadership commit to serving their taxpaying constituents rather than themselves?

3. Will the city of Fayetteville and Cumberland County leadership curtail their pettiness and limit political posturing long enough to envision the impact a North Carolina Civil War and Reconstruction History Center would have on our entire community and humanity?

We’ll see. Stay tuned.

Ralph Huff recently sent a letter to all the members of city council advocating for the history center and encouraging them to continue their unwavering support. Why? Because he has vision.

Congratulations, Ralph. Your inclusion as one of our state’s most influential citizens is most deserving. You and Linda have again put Fayetteville and Cumberland County in the limelight – and, in a good way!

Visit http://businessnc.com/wpcontent/ uploads/2018/01/power-100_ feb18_lr.pdf to read the February edition of Business North Carolina Magazine.

Thanks for reading Up & Coming Weekly.

Photo: Linda and Ralph Huff

It’s been called one of the deadliest flu seasons by doctors across the country. So far, in North Carolina, upward of 70 people have died from the flu. We’ve been fortunate in Cumberland County thus far.

“We have not seen a large number of absences because of influenza reported to the Health Services Office,” said Cumberland County Schools Health Services Director Shirley Bolden. “Our hope is that none of our students get the flu; however, our Cumberland County schools are being proactive in educating parents, staff and students on ways to reduce their risk.”

Officials say students should go to school so long as they are not sick and do not exhibit any symptoms.

Meanwhile, Cape Fear Valley Medical Center is restricting children under age 12 from visiting the hospital. “Our Emergency Department is limiting visitors to one per patient,” the hospital said in a statement. Cape Fear Valley treated 619 flu cases in January. Doctors are concerned not just by the number, but by the severity of the cases. Physicians say children, the elderly and people with existing health problems are at greatest risk. Doctors say shortness of breath, dizziness and severe localized pain are red flags.

Another fatal fire

A Fayetteville house fire Jan. 28 was the second fatal residential fire this year. Officials said units from Fire Station Four responded to the alarm in the Cumberland Heights neighborhood.

They found smoke billowing from a home in the 900 block of McKimmon Road and dispatched additional units. Neighbors told first responders they feared someone was still in the house. Rescue crews entered the home and located an occupant who was quickly removed and treated by firefighters.

The victim of the fire, identified as Louis Esteban Rivera, 65, was dead on arrival at Cape Fear Valley Medical Center, fire department spokesman Jamie Averitte said.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation. It does not appear suspicious at this time.

Court reviews former inmate records

Cumberland County District Attorney Billy West says one in five people in North Carolina has a criminal record, which often prevents them from getting good jobs. West credits state Rep. Elmer Floyd, D-Cumberland, with championing changes in the law designed to assist individuals who previously were ineligible for relief.

District attorney West and Cumberland County Commissioner Charles Evans briefed faith-based leaders at a breakfast at the Cumberland County Courthouse. West explained the process by which an individual can have his or her record expunged. Evans explained his Project Fresh Start, which is designed to aid individuals who may not qualify for expungements. Legal Aid of North Carolina has agreed to provide free legal services to those individuals who qualify for invitations to attend court clinics.

Cumberland County Animal Shelter repairs

A Cumberland County Animal Control Shelter contractor started resurfacing shelter floors Feb. 5. A spokesman for the Animal Control Shelter, located at 4704 Corporation Dr., said adoptable dogs will be housed in other areas of the facility while the work is underway. Once all those areas are full, as many as 20 overflow dogs will be housed at the Fayetteville Pet Resort, 2102 Strickland Bridge Rd.

Animal Control will share a designated building with a separate entrance and parking lot at Fayetteville Pet Resort. This will allow for public access to the area after the pet resort’s normal operating hours.

“The floors in the shelter area must be sealed with epoxy to prevent the spread of infectious diseases and to maintain their integrity as waterresistant floors,” said shelter manager Jennifer Hutchinson-Tracy.

This is the first time since the shelter opened 12 years ago that the floors have had to be resurfaced. The work is expected to take at least two weeks to complete. Cats at the facility will not be affected by the work.

Operation Inasmuch fundraiser

This month’s Fourth Friday will support the ministry of Fayetteville Area Operation Inasmuch. The 11th annual Bread ‘n Bowls meals will be served Feb. 23 at Hay Street United Methodist Church, 320 Hay St. Chicken corn chowder or chili will be served in the choice of handmade North Carolina pottery bowls or freshly baked bread bowls. A cookie, tea and coffee will also be available. Advance tickets are available online at faoiam.org.

FTCC now has a futuristic website

Fayetteville Technical Community College has launched a new website in conjunction with Walk West, a digital marketing and strategic communications agency based in Raleigh. The new digital web platform, www.faytechcc.edu, is considered more user-friendly than previous sites. It features artificial intelligence technology that recognizes the type of user to match relevant content and improved navigation plus updates based on the specific user.

“Walk West has truly transformed our digital properties and brought an unmatched experience to our educational community,” said FTCC President Dr. J. Larry Keen.

“We have thrown away the old playbook for how to put together a website for higher education and created a radically new platform for growth for Fayetteville Tech,” said Brian Onorio, founder of Walk West.

HIT (Mayor to mayor)

Hope Mills Mayor Jackie Warner told her board of commissioners the other day that Fayetteville Mayor Mitch Colvin had phoned her to establish a working relationship. She said in her six years as mayor of Hope Mills, Colvin was the first Fayetteville mayor to reach out to her.

MISS (Dumb drivers)

A lot of motorists in Fayetteville don’t know what double yellow lines mean. They often think they’re moving into the left turn lane when in fact they’ve crossed a double line into an oncoming lane. Dumb! Turning lanes are marked with broken yellow lines.

HIT (Mother Nature)

She was kind to us during the statewide snowfall this month. Many communities to our north and west got a foot and more of snow. Fayetteville got an inch.

MISS (Code enforcement)

Fayetteville officials depend on residents to enforce the city’s code of ordinances. Most violations are reported by people using the “FayFixIt” app. That’s a good thing, but city employees should be among those doing the reporting.

MISS (Driver education)

Drivers of large trucks, especially tractor-trailer rigs, should follow the rules of courteous motoring on fourlane and larger streets and highways. They are supposed to keep to the right in outside lanes except when passing, but they don’t. Traffic would be a lot smoother for everyone if the police and state highway patrol would enforce the rule.

HIT (The movie “12 Strong”)

The declassified true story of the first 12 American Special Forces soldiers sent to Afghanistan after the 9/11 terror attacks in the U.S is terrific. The powerful war drama was embellished some but is among the best combat movies depicting military heroism ever.

Photo: Fayetteville Mayor Mitch Colvin

Amey Shook has taken the girls swimming program at Cape Fear a long way in just two seasons – all the way to the Patriot Athletic Conference championship.

Shook, who went to the University of Miami on a swimming scholarship, has been a lover of the sport her whole life.

“I just got back into teaching and coaching recently,’’ she said after taking 12 years off to have a family. That family includes daughters Amelia and Madeline, who are both members of her Cape Fear swim team.

She’s used her daughters to help scour the halls and classrooms at Cape Fear for swimming prospects. “I’m looking for positive kids, trying to find some well-rounded athletes who want to try something new,’’ she said.

The hard part is convincing them to get up at 5 a.m. for 5:30 a.m. practice. “Once they come and see it for a week or two, they get hooked and stick with it,’’ she said. 

The Cape Fear girls team obviously stuck with it, led by the efforts of Amelia and Madeline Shook.

Both girls swam on Cape Fear’s 200 medley relay and 400 free relay teams. Amelia won the 200 free and 400 back while Madeline won the 50 and 500 free.

Coach Shook said Madeline made sacrifices this season for the benefit of the team. “She was willing to swim whatever it took to win the championship,’’ Amey said. “She stepped aside for her sister so she could have an event to win.’’

Madeline said it can be a little challenging when it’s 5 a.m. and time to get up for practice and your mom is the coach – but other than that, she said, swimming is swimming.

“Both of my parents went to the University of Miami,’’ she said. “I’ve always loved swimming and always been on a swim team. My parents have tried to keep us healthy and active.’’

Amelia said her mother talks about swimming a lot and tries to push her and her sister a little harder because she knows what they are capable of.

“She stands in the hallway (at school) and encourages everyone to join the swim team,’’ Amelia said. “We went from having three girls on the team to 14 or 15. She tries to keep a positive attitude all the time and keep them on the team and returning.’’

Coach Shook hopes to encourage athletes from other sports to give swimming a try.

“We’re a tremendous cross-training sport in the winter,’’ she said. “I have soccer players, baseball players, football players and volleyball players on my team. It helps their other sports.

“At Cape Fear, I’m continuing to spread the word.’’

Photo: L-R: Madeline Shook, Amey Shook, Amelia Shook

Photo credit: Carlton Hubbard Photography

How would you like to conduct your own fantasy draft of North Carolina’s best high school basketball talent? For Jack Britt coach Ike Walker Jr. this wasn’t a fantasy, it was reality. He recently helped choose the North Carolina All-Stars for this year’s annual Carolinas All- Star Basketball Classic.

The game is scheduled March 24 in the gym at Wilmington’s Hoggard High School.

Walker will serve as the assistant coach of the North Carolina team that will face a squad of South Carolina’s top seniors. He and North Carolina head coach Lee Reavis of Northwest Guilford recently met in Greensboro at the offices of the North Carolina Coaches Association to select this year’s team.

The state’s public school high school basketball coaches nominate seniors from their teams for selection to the game.

Phil Weaver, games director for the NCCA, forwarded the nominations to Walker and Reavis.

Walker said the nominations include basic information like scoring and rebounding averages along with reasons each coach thinks his player should be picked.

Beyond that, he had to do some homework. At Reavis’ request, Walker did some checking on players from the eastern part of the state while Reavis studied those from the west.

“We talked to some college coaches and some assistants,’’ Walker said. “I talked to some high school coaches in the area where the prospective nominees played. We used every avenue of information- gathering we could.’’

The team has already been selected and will be announced soon. Walker said he’s pleased with the 10 players he and Reavis chose. “We’ve got kids going to ACC schools and being recruited by ACC schools,’’ he said.

Walker has an advantage preparing for the game as he’s been an all-star coach before. He led the East All- Stars to victory in the 2016 North Carolina Coaches Association East-West game in Greensboro.

Walker said the biggest lesson he learned from his first all-star experience was to sell his team on the benefits of playing defense.

“If you play good defense you can enjoy the game even more because you can rebound missed shots and get out and run in transition,’’ he said. “If you just let kids score and don’t take pride in defense, you’re taking the ball out of bounds and playing offense against a set defense.’’

Walker said he’ll tell the players he coaches in Wilmington to respect the game of basketball. “Let’s not do what we see the NBA guys doing, which is just showing up and not necessarily competing,’’ he said. “We want to compete and respect our opponent, respect the game.’’

The gym at Hoggard is named for Fayetteville native Sheila Boles. A Seventy-First graduate, Boles was on the first women’s basketball team at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. She went on to become the first woman in North Carolina to coach a varsity boys basketball team, leading Wilmington Hoggard to the state playoffs eight times. Her record in 11 seasons was 167-121.

She became the first female to be named a high school athletic director in New Hanover County history. She is a member of the Greater Wilmington Sports Hall of Fame.

Photo: Jack Britt coach Ike Walker Jr.

Brant Parker is more familiar than most with the Terry Sanford swim program. He now serves as head coach.

Parker swam for the Bulldogs from 2007-11, first under Mark Patton and then Mandy McMillian. After one year as an assistant coach, he took over as head coach this season and had high expectations for his Bulldog boys and girls teams.

“I never saw a group of young kids coming out of nowhere to meet expectations and actually push themselves,’’ he said.

The Bulldog boys won the recent Patriot Athletic Conference swim meet at Fayetteville State University’s pool while the Bulldog girls took second place.

“The whole team was committed,’’ Parker said. “We wanted to make sure everyone was good to go with their personal lives and with the sport.’’

For the Bulldog boys, junior David Li led the way in the conference meet.

He swam for the winning 200 medley relay team and won the 200 IM and the 100 butterfly.

“He was a big help,’’ Parker said. “He was one of our leaders.’’

Li started swimming recreationally in his family pool, then got serious about the sport about five or six years ago. He’s been swimming at Terry Sanford for the last three years. “It’s been an amazing experience, getting the chance to be involved with the team and getting to know them,’’ he said.

After qualifying for the state swim meet last season, Li said he came into this season with fairly high expectations for himself.

“I was very proud of our 200 medley relay,’’ he said.

The Bulldogs won with a time of 1:57.37, nearly eight seconds lower than their seeding time for the event.

“It was a big drop in time,’’ he said. “I was proud of myself for swimming the other events. There’s room for improvement, but I’m happy with where I am right now.’’

Both Parker and Li echoed the concern of other county swim coaches and swimmers that the key for growing swimming locally is to get access to a public swimming pool. Currently, the local swimmers have to practice and compete at FSU’s Capel Arena pool and are limited by the hours that pool is available.

Li is weary of hearing that a public pool in Fayetteville is just a dream.

“I don’t know why it’s a dream and why it can’t become a reality,’’ he said. “They shouldn’t feel it’s out of reach. It’s a reality we can work with in the very near future.

“Having a pool is necessary to further the swim program in Cumberland County.’’

Photos: L Brant Parker; R David Li

January’s Fourth Friday in downtown Fayetteville played host to the opening reception of the Black History Month exhibit from the Fayetteville Area Transportation and Local History Museum, entitled “It Is Well With My Soul.” The exhibit features the art and history of African-American cemeteries in Cumberland County and is set to run Jan. 26 – Feb. 24 at the Arts Council Gallery on Hay Street.

The exhibit’s opening and reception were well attended. The Arts Council Gallery saw steady attendance throughout the evening as patrons were able to peruse the exhibit’s six sections: “A Place of Remembrance,” “Historic African American Cemeteries and Churchyards,” “Gone but Not Forgotten,” “Symbolism” and “They Left a Mark.” According to the director of the Fayetteville Area Transportation and Local History Museum, Bruce Daws, the reaction to the gallery has been favorable, and museum staff have received many positive remarks from attendees.

Each of the six sections is composed of photographs by Albert J. Fadel as well as narrative panels providing an overview and historical context for the images. The exhibit features photographs of handcrafted grave markers created locally and without the influence of commercial norms – a practice that resulted in a unique artistic expression. Additionally, due to the heavy influence religion played in the African-American community, there is an exploration of biblical messages and symbols that adorned local grave markers.

“It Is Well With My Soul” emphasizes Fayetteville and Cumberland County’s place in African-American history and seeks to tell the stories of the area’s many important African-American citizens. The exhibit features the history of the second-oldest chartered church in Fayetteville, which was founded by an African-American minister. The exhibit also tells the stories of 19th-century doctors, policemen, firemen and riverboat captains. Additionally, a significant portion of the gallery’s wall-space is dedicated to the military service of those people whose gravesites are features, including several Fayetteville-area African- Americans who fought in the American Revolution.

Visitors to the gallery will also find an installation of art from the Fayetteville-Cumberland Youth Council. According to Daws, “The Youth Council assisted in many areas of the exhibit work and were extremely helpful and professional. With the artwork, they had a free hand working under their supervisor Crystal Glover with Parks and Recreation.”

“It Is Well With My Soul” has been in the works for quite some time, according to museum staff. The decision to host the exhibit at the Arts Council was an easy one as it covers the history of the area through the specific art of gravestone design and engraving. According to Daws, “the next special exhibit in the works for the Transportation and Local History Museum is a commemorative look at the 100th Anniversary of Fort Bragg and what the military installation has meant to the city of Fayetteville and the surrounding areas.

“It Is Well With My Soul” will run in the Arts Council Gallery at 301 Hay St. until Feb. 24. The gallery’s hours are Monday–Thursday from 9 a.m.–5 p.m., Friday from 9 a.m.–12 p.m., and Saturday from 12–4 p.m. The exhibit is free and open to the public. For more information, visit the Arts Council’s website at www.theartscouncil.com or call the gallery at 910-323-1776.

• Hope Mills Youth baseball and indoor soccer registration is open through Feb. 28 and ends at 4:30 p.m. daily. Baseball ages 5-14, instructional soccer ages 5-8, indoor soccer ages 7-12. Eligibility cut-off date for baseball and indoor soccer is May 1. Proof of address and birth certificate are required to register. Call 910-426-4105 for more information.

• Open gym is closed until further notice. • Game room is open Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-8 p.m.; Saturday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.

• Skate park hours through March 31: Monday-Saturday, 9 a.m.-6 p.m.; Sunday, 1 p.m.-6 p.m.

• Oldies music every first and third Friday, 6 p.m., free.

Senior Programs

• Senior programs 55 plus: Various activities for seniors are available Monday through Friday at the recreation center. For specific times and events, go to townofhopemills.com and follow the links to Hope Mills Parks and Recreation. • Brunch and Bingo originally scheduled this month has been postponed due to a space conflict and will hopefully be moved to March.

• A Wellness Workshop focusing on meditation will be held Feb. 21 at 1:15 p.m.

• A Senior Fun Day will be held Feb. 26 from 12-2 p.m. in the gym at Hope Mills Recreation center to promote opportunities for those 50 and older to compete in the Mid-Carolina Senior Games in April. There will be interactive experiences, performances, displays and refreshments.

• Sign-ups for the February Jewelry and Acrylics Workshops, along with the St. Patty’s Bash, are underway at the Recreation Center reception desk.

• Social Knitting and Crocheting Fridays, 10 a.m.-noon, in the small activity room. Those planning to attend must provide their own supplies and projects.

Promote yourself

To have your business, organization or event included in this section, email us: hopemills@upandcomingweekly.com.

Kevin McLaughlin

Cape Fear • Basketball •

Senior

McLaughlin has a 3.75 grade point average. He’s active in the Student Government Association, the Student-Athlete Advisory Council and the Student-Athlete Summer Institute.

Skylar Faircloth

Cape Fear • Basketball/ track •

Senior

Faircloth has a grade point average of 4.0. She’s active in Health Occupations Students of America, Key Club, Student-Athlete Summer Institute and the Student-Athlete Advisory Council.

Charlie Baxley recently announced his intent to run for Cumberland County sheriff. Baxley is a 21- year veteran of the Fayetteville Police Department and a 15-year veteran of the Sheriff’s Office.

The Republican ran for sheriff in 2014. He feels confident based on his strong performance in that election against 20-year incumbent Earl Butler.

“I predicted that Butler might break his promise to stay a full four-year term,” Baxley reminded local voters. “I told folks he would probably make a political deal and parachute somebody else in, and that’s pretty much the way it turned out.”

Baxley has a clear vision of what he wants to do as sheriff.

“If you live out in the county somewhere and you report a burglary or assault, you’re going to wait close to an hour before a deputy gets there – unless it’s election season when they want your vote and hustle more. That’s not right. If the sheriff has an organized patrol plan, a car should never be more than a few minutes away.”

While organization is important to Baxley, so is follow-up.

“If you report a drug house down the street from you, or a drug gang tries to sell drugs to your child and you report it, you need to get a follow-up call from a detective – you deserve to know what they’re doing about it.” That’s not happening very often, Baxley stated. “Except when we’re close to an election,” he added.

He also believes that law enforcement is no place for politics. “Sheriff’s deputies shouldn’t be made to get involved in politics just so they can keep their job or get a promotion,” he said. “Their job is to enforce the law and keep people safe – period.”

Baxley gets disgusted, he said, at credible reports that deputies are expected to contribute time or money to a political campaign. Deputies shouldn’t be asked to distribute campaign signs or provide traffic control for fundraising events. As sheriff, he said, “I won’t use taxpayer money for my personal political gain; I don’t want deputies to have to work behind the scenes for the election or re-election of the sheriff. A trained, experienced officer shouldn’t be made into a political errand boy or errand girl – it’s just that simple.”

He also noted that public safety is important for the county to thrive and grow. Economic development starts with public safety, Baxley insisted.

“It’s just common sense – why would any company relocate here and bring jobs here if the crime situation is bad and their staff and families won’t feel safe?” he asked. “I want to change that.”

Baxley is a Cumberland County native and a graduate of Reid Ross High School. He and his wife Debbie have been married for 30 years. She is a respiratory therapist at Womack Army Hospital on Fort Bragg, and the couple attends Manna Church. They have a son employed at Goodyear, two sons serving in the Fayetteville Police Department and a daughter in college.

Photo: Charlie Baxley, Cumberland County sheriff candidate

A Cat with a hat, and a boy with ideas,

An elephant on a nest – wait, is this for real?

A trio of bird-girls and monkeys, say what?

A typical show at CFRT, this certainly is not.

On adventure with Horton to save a planet of Who’s,

But first we deal with a trial, an egg and a sour kangaroo.

It’s excitement in Haymont not normally seen,

With a Circus of tricks to make even the Grinch green.

JoJo shows us the way with his very first think,

And brings to life this menagerie

– you’d better not blink!

This Cat with striped hat is a treat to behold,

His voices and movements, they never get old.

In the air we find Mayzie, on ropes and on rings,

And her voice is truly a-Mayz-ing when she sings.

Not to be outdone, another bird named Gertrude

Steals our hearts with her devotion to Horton, the elephant dude.

Poor Horton, he’s clueless, but loyal and decent.

He’ll do the right thing, you can bet 100 percent.

Those Wickersham boys are nothing but trouble,

But gifted with stunts and stilts, they might even juggle.

The costumes are fit for dance and for flight,

With designs of feathers and colors to delight.

Cast and crew are talented, even gifted I’d say,

You’d better get your ticket – do not delay!

The word will spread ’round the ‘Ville soon enough,

This show is a sensation – that’s not even a bluff.

The Director pulled together a fantastic display,

The theater “Rained” down with applause as they say.

About Dr. Seuss, really, nothing you need know,

Before going to catch this magnificent show.

Suitable for all ages and colors and creeds,

This joyous tale is just what we need.

Cape Fear Regional Theatre presents “Seussical The Musical” in collaboration with 2 Ring Circus. The show is directed by Melissa Rain Anderson with music by Stephen Flaherty, lyrics by Lynn Ahrens. The show stars Ben Franklin, Ally Ivey, Lani Corson, Paul Urriola and Tess Deflyer.

The show runs through Feb. 25 at CFRT with special events for families, military, a VIP experience and a sensory-friendly performance. For more information, visit cfrt.org or call 910-323-4234.

Since the revelation a few months ago that the Cape Fear River has GenX in it, there’s been a lot of activity from state environmental and health officials to determine whether the chemical byproduct is a threat to human health. GenX is the trade name of a chemical ingredient used in recent years to make Teflon, which DuPont invented for nonstick cookware 45 years ago. Before GenX, Perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, including PFOA, also known as C-8, was a large group of synthetic chemicals known as PFAS that were widely used in industry since the 1950s.

C-8 was used for more than 60 years, which has some wondering why it’s an issue now. There were no public complaints in all that time. DuPont discontinued its use and introduced GenX in 2009. It is believed to be significantly safer. GenX is described by the company as a patented, more sustainable technology that enables Chemours to manufacture high-performance fluoropolymers without the use of PFOA.

C-8 has, however, has been in the news for years elsewhere. It seeped into local drinking water at the DuPont plant in Parkersburg, West Virginia. The contamination – and the fact that DuPont executives knew about it and concealed it – set off a class-action lawsuit that DuPont settled for $671 million.

C-8 was never detected in North Carolina drinking water. But, in 2016, GenX was found in the Cape Fear River below Cumberland County. New Hanover County health officials wondered if the river water might be contaminated. Below Elizabethtown, the Lower Cape Fear River is joined by the Black River approximately 10 miles northwest of Wilmington, where it receives the Northeast Cape Fear River and Brunswick River. Cape Fear River water provides the water supply for Brunswick County Public Utilities, Cape Fear Public Utility Authority in Wilmington and Pender County Utilities. Combined they serve 250,000 people.

There is no known process for filtering GenX out of the water, whichs explains why Chemours announced last year in a news release that it “would capture, remove and safely dispose of wastewater that contains the byproduct GenX” generated at its manufacturing plant near Fayetteville.

GenX is not regulated by state or federal environmental or health agencies. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency had established health advisories for the older C-8 chemicals. The EPA has no such recommendations for GenX.

Chemours maintains that emissions from its Fayetteville facility have not affected the safety of drinking water, and there is no substantive evidence that it has. Trace amounts in the Cape Fear River since mid-June of last year have been well below the health screening level announced by the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services at that time. That has done little to relieve the fears of Cape Fear River water users in Brunswick, New Hanover and Pender Counties.

Last month, the North Carolina House of Representatives unanimously passed a bill that would have provided $2.3 million in state funds, largely for equipment and personnel, to address emerging contaminants such as GenX.

“The state Legislature should play a decisive leadership role in controlling any chemical spills into the Cape Fear River,” Rep. Marvin Lucas, D-Cumberland, said. “Our drinking water should never be exposed to dangerous spills.”

The state Senate declined to take up the funding. The bill “leaves North Carolina taxpayers holding the bag for expenditures that should be paid for by the company responsible for the pollution,” said state Sen. President pro tem Phil Berger, R-Rockingham.

“Regardless of party affiliation, as legislators, we all have one primary job: to develop policies and pass laws that protect our community,” said Sen. Ben Brown, DHoke, Cumberland. “To date, Republicans have failed to do their jobs. The discovery of GenX in drinking water in Cumberland County, Bladen County, and as far west as Wake County is not an isolated incident.”

The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has not gotten involved in Cape Fear River contamination allegations.

There is an old saying, “You can’t always believe what you read.” These days, news frequently becomes gospel as inaccurate information sometimes overtakes valid facts. Some believe the confusion is the result of information overload. President Trump calls it “fake.”

Army Staff Sgt. Joshua Stokes’ military career is not only fake; it’s a sham. Stokes had been a squad leader in the 82nd Airborne Division for about a year when, according to Army Times, a fellow noncommissioned officer pointed out that something was wrong with one of his records.

That NCO for Company A, 2nd Battalion, 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment had seen hundreds of Airborne School graduation certificates when he noticed something was wrong with Stokes’ certificate. His name wasn’t printed in all caps as is usual. An investigation that followed unraveled a history of falsified documents and unearned distinctions in Stokes’ service record.

The official investigation report was obtained by Army Times, which contacted the Airborne School at Fort Benning, Georgia, to see if Stokes had graduated Aug. 12, 2000, as his certificate stated. A clerk there confirmed Stokes was not a member of that class. “She (said) that (Stokes’) name and Social Security number were not on any of the manifests of jumps on record at the Airborne School,” the investigator wrote. Stokes did not respond to newspaper inquiries. The probe also found that Stokes sent false documents to the Electronic Military Personnel Office, awarding himself a Purple Heart and Good Conduct Medal. But the timing was off.

Six days into the investigation, Stokes was brought in for an interview where he answered some basic questions. Unsatisfied, the investigator called him in for a second interview with more detailed inquiries.

“He answered almost half of the questions on the sworn statement before deciding to stop the interview and requested (sic) an attorney,” according to the report. In his sworn statement, Stokes denied lying about anything. He claimed he had gone to jump school in 2002, not 2000, as the suspicious certificate stated.

But there were numerous false reports in his parachute jump log, several from 2003, a time when Stokes was stationed with the 10th Mountain Division at Fort Drum, New York. It is not an airborne unit even though it’s a subordinate command of XVIII Airborne Corps. One thing was for sure: He did jump with the 82nd.

“Based on the final jump manifest from 28 Aug. 2014, real records show that he actually jumped out of an aircraft,” the investigator wrote in his report, “even though he was not airborne certified.”

“Airborne operations are inherently dangerous, and it is critical that all paratroopers on airborne status have received the basic airborne training,” 82nd spokesman Lt. Col. Joe Buccino told Army Times. Not only was Stokes’ airborne graduation certificate bogus, but it also didn’t make sense. He changed his last name from Asche in 2002, yet Stokes’ name was on his certificate dated 2000. His Army Enlisted Records Brief (an enlisted person’s personnel record) said he graduated in 2005. His jump log listed 20 jumps, but in his sworn statement, he said he had eight. He never received jump pay. He was not airborne and never had been.

In the end, the investigator recommended further Uniform Code of Military Justice action for Stokes. What remains is unexplained by the Army, including how it was that the soldier’s often contradictory records went undetected by the Army for so long. A spokeswoman for Human Resources Command confirmed to Army Times that Stokes had been separated from the Army but would not confirm what kind of discharge he received, citing privacy concerns.

“This appears to be a case in which the command identified misconduct and took appropriate action,” Buccino said.

The city of Fayetteville and its Public Works Commission have won an important public water rights victory. Superior Court Judge Richard Doughton approved an agreement Jan. 17 that settled an ongoing inter-river-basin water transfer dispute that had its origin in 2001. It came to a head in 2015 when the towns of Cary, Apex, Morrisville and Research Triangle Park, along with the southern portion of Wake County, were granted a revised interbasin transfer certificate from the North Carolina Environmental Management Commission.

The certificate allows them to transfer up to 31 million gallons of water a day from the Haw River Basin to the Neuse River Basin and 2 million gallons of water per day from the Cape Fear River Basin to the Neuse. The 2015 decision was a significant modification of the 17-year-old certificate of understanding issued to the same municipalities. The late state Sen. Lura S. Talley, D-Cumberland, helped craft the 2001 agreement requiring the return of water to the Cape Fear and Haw River Basins. The 2015 state certificate authorized an increase in the amount of water the municipalities could take from the Cape Fear and Haw Rivers, but it did not require the towns to return the water as the original agreement had.

To ensure Fayetteville and other downriver users would have adequate water supply to meet the needs of their citizens, PWC and the city of Fayetteville filed suit in May 2015, challenging the decision by the EMC to issue the 2015 certificate without a required return flow condition. The Lower Cape Fear Water and Sewer Authority and the town of Eastover later joined the suit as co-plaintiffs.

“One of the Commission’s most important roles is ensuring a safe and plentiful water supply for our customers and the citizens of our community,” said PWC Chairman Wade Fowler.

A year ago, the court ruled that the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resource and the North Carolina EMC substantially deprived downriver users and exceeded their authority or jurisdiction, acted erroneously, failed to use proper procedure, acted arbitrarily and capriciously and failed to act as required by law or rule upon issuing the 2015 inter-basin transfer certificate. Fayetteville PWC, led by chief operating officer Mick Noland, and other municipalities along the Cape Fear River Basin, overwhelmingly prevailed. The losing parties appealed the court’s decision to Cumberland County Superior Court March 9, 2017.

Since then, representatives of the involved parties were able to successfully negotiate the approved agreement, which settled the case. This month, the plaintiffs reached an accord with the towns of Cary and Apex, along with the North Carolina EMC and the state Department of Environmental Quality. The EMC now mandates a return flow requirement in the revised inter-basin transfer contract.

“I’m proud PWC could help secure our region’s future water supply,” said District Court Judge Lou Olivera, a former PWC commissioner.

The towns of Cary and Apex are required to submit compliance and monitoring plans to the Division of Water Resources to ensure the required amount of water is being returned.

“I would like to commend PWC, the city of Fayetteville and the other plaintiffs for their commitment to the protection of our most important asset – clean drinking water,” said Fayetteville Mayor Mitch Colvin.

If anyone was worried about transition issues when Trinity Christian School basketball star Alex Scruggs transferred to the E.E. Smith’s girls basketball team this year, Scruggs has quickly put them to rest.

Coming out of an unexpected break in the schedule caused by the recent snow and ice, Scruggs has quickly moved to the top of the heap in the individual statistics for Cumberland County Schools’ girls basketball.

Through the most recent update of Jan. 19 at ncprepsports.net, Scruggs leads the county in both scoring and rebounding with 28.4 points and 11.3 rebounds per game.

She’s also tops in 3-point baskets with 28 and second in free-throw percentage at 73.0, hitting 120 of 164 from the line.

None of this is a surprise to veteran Smith head coach Dee Hardy.

“We’ve been knowing her family from when she was young,’’ Hardy said. “I knew from when she was younger she had ability that was going to take off. I just didn’t know how far.’’

Her numbers so far this season indicate she’s met and maybe exceeded Hardy’s expectations from days gone by.

Hardy didn’t expect Scruggs to have any problems transitioning from Trinity to Smith, and she hasn’t.

“My biggest concern was just her being in the school building, the specifics of that, our guidelines, rules and regulations versus what she was accustomed to coming from a private school,’’ Hardy said.

She knew her team would quickly welcome Scruggs. “Our girls are pretty open,’’ Hardy said. “We’ve never had a difficult time with anyone transitioning into the team as well as the building. Our kids are normally the ones that meet the new kids and show them around to welcome them.’’

Scruggs said her only concern coming to Smith was that’s she’s shy by nature and was a little worried about developing on-court chemistry with her new teammates.

“I’ve been working hard to make sure I can do the best I can making the transition,’’ Scruggs said.

Her biggest surprise in moving from private school to public school play is the aggressive play, especially on defense. “It’s faster paced,’’ she said.

One thing that hasn’t changed for Scruggs is her on-court play. She thrives on driving to the basket, drawing fouls and rebounding.

Hardy agrees. “She loves to attack the basket and she’s been pretty successful with that,’’ Hardy said. As for rebounding, Hardy said Scruggs just has a knack for finding a way to be in the lane at the right place to pull them down.

At 5-foot-9 1/2-inches tall, Scruggs can be plugged in at multiple positions on the court, and Hardy has taken advantage of that.

“She’s a guard, shooting guard and power forward,’’ Hardy said. She thinks Scruggs’ college future will be on the perimeter but that she could play either guard position or a forward.

Which college she’ll be attending is something Scruggs has yet to decide. She won’t make that decision until the time comes closer, she said.

“I’m looking for a school with a family-type environment, looking for coaches to bond with,’’ she said. She’s leaning toward a major in sports medicine but hasn’t made a final decision on that either.

Whoever gets her will be getting a special talent, Hardy said.

“She’s a really nice young lady,’’ Hardy said, “just her demeanor and personality. She’s a very smart student.”

Now that the snow break appears to be over and Smith can finally get back on the basketball court, Hardy said the goal moving forward is the same for Scruggs and the rest of the team.

“We want to keep our focus and make sure we haven’t had a brain dump on things we worked on before the days out,’’ she said. “Keeping our intensity and conditioning, that’s very key for us.’’

Photo: Alex Scruggs

Jaylen Hudson

Cape Fear • Junior •

Basketball/football

Hudson has a 4.0 grade point average while playing both basketball and football for the Colts.

Sarah Gallagher

Cape Fear • Senior •

Swimming Gallagher has a 4.5 grade point average. In addition to swimming, she’s active in the Beta Club, the Key Club and the Student Government Association.

Methodist University is set to host the Play4Kay Women’s Basketball Event Saturday, Feb. 10, at 2 p.m. at the March F. Riddle Center on the campus of MU. The event is in remembrance and honor of Coach Kay Yow, who died Jan. 24, 2009, when she lost her fight with breast cancer.

“Play4Kay is a fundraising initiative that was started by the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association about 12 years ago, and now it is partnered with the Kay Yow Cancer Fund,” said DeeDee Jarman, deputy director of athletics at MU. “This was something that Coach Yow wanted to start before she died because she wanted to bring awareness to breast cancer.”

Jarman added that the initiative has transformed into an event to raise awareness for all women’s cancers. The money that is donated to their organization is given back to organizations such as research firms that are trying to find a cure for cancer. Half of the funds are used locally for underprivileged women to receive mammograms.

There will be a silent auction and special recognition for cancer patients and survivors during halftime and a reception after the game.

“The silent auction is our biggest fundraiser, and we have items that are donated,” said Jarman. “Some of the items we have this year include a Kay Yow pin flag signed by Arnold Palmer, tennis shoes designed for the Kay Yow sports line (and) an autographed Carolina Hurricanes Jersey.”

Several restaurants and businesses will have spirit nights and will donate a percentage of their sales to the Kay Yow Cancer Fund. Chipotle’s is Feb. 20; Buffalo Wild Wings’ is Feb. 2 and 8; and Scrub Oaks’ is Feb. 9. TLC Auto Wash on Ramsey Street will donate $1 for every car wash from Feb. 4-11. Local high schools have also joined in to help raise funds. The morning of the game, there will be a 5K walk/run at 9 a.m. The entrance fee is $25. All participants will receive a T-shirt and a medal.

Yow was the women’s basketball coach at North Carolina State University for 28 years. She battled with cancer three different times.

“I worked her camp for 13 years, and that is how I got to know her,” said Jarman. “If you had the opportunity to ever meet her, you would know she was a very caring person and always put others before herself; and if you had any relationship with her, you would want to try to continue what she started.”

“This has become a real big event across the nation,” said Jarman. “We want to continue to recognize and keep Coach Yow’s memory going strong.”

If you would like to participate in the basketball game, email djarman@methodist.edu or call 910-630-7283. For more information on the 5K, call 910-630-7615. Merchandise will be available for sale.