An upcoming performance titled “1867-2017: A 150-Year Celebration!” by the Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra on Feb. 10 is set to honor black excellence on a number of levels.

For starters, the event is hosted at Fayetteville State University, specifically to celebrate the school’s 150th anniversary of its founding. According to the school’s history webpage, the sesquicentennial marks the moment when seven black Fayetteville citizens purchased two lots on Gillespie Street to “form among themselves a self-perpetuating Board of Trustees to maintain the property for the education of Black youth.”

Just 10 years later, in 1877, the school would be the first public, normal school for North Carolinian African-Americans, as well as the first statesponsored institution in the south for the training of black teachers. As of 2018, FSU offers a doctoral degree, eight master’s degrees and 33 bachelor’s degrees to students.

To parallel this journey, the orchestra’s performance will track African-American influences in music during the same 150-year time period.

According to Stefan Sanders, FSO music director, the performance will include music from African-American composers such as William Grant Still, Florence Price, Samuel Coleridge- Taylor and Scott Joplin. The performance will conclude with Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech set to music by composer Lee Hoiby.

“It’s just going to be this... amazing musical journey that is tracking the incredible history of the last 150 years and celebrating African- American culture,” said Sanders.

Joining the orchestra as a guest artist will be the world-renowned soprano opera vocalist Angela Brown. She has travelled both internationally and across the United States based on the merits of her voice. She has made headlines in major publications from The New York Times to Essence and Oprah magazines.

Brown will be performing a piece from one of Giuseppe Verdi’s operas as well as Gershwin’s song “Summertime” from his opera “Porgy and Bess.”

“It’s not every day that an artist of (Brown’s) prestige is coming to Fayetteville so we’re really excited about collaborating with her on this program,” said Sanders.

Brown is also the producer and creator of the stage show “Opera…from a Sistah’s Point of View.” According to her website, the solo show “dispels the common myths of opera from her own sassy perspective.” Brown will be performing the show while in town for FSU’s 150th celebration. The show is free and takes place at the Arts Council Center Thursday, Feb. 8, at 6 p.m.

“The truth is, I’ve never met a person that doesn’t love music, and, most of the time, when they let themselves experience something new, they end up really enjoying it,” said Sanders. “And that’s the case with this concert performance. We’re going to be playing great music, and Angela is a superstar.”

But it’s not simply about good music in celebration of FSU and Black History Month. FSU’s journey represents hopes and dreams turned into thunderous reality through the tireless effort of the black community, which FSO’s performance will endeavor to embody.

“1867-2017: A 150-Year Celebration” will be at the Seabrook Auditorium at FSU, located at 1200 Murchison Rd., Saturday, Feb. 10, at 7:30 p.m. The pre-concert talk with the FSO “Music Nerd” begins at 6:45 p.m.

For tickets, visit www.fayettevillesymphony.org.

Photo: World-renowned soprano opera vocalist Angela Brown

If you listened carefully, you could almost hear hearts breaking across America last week as young woman after young woman confronted their monster, a medical doctor, who sexually assaulted them repeatedly when they were aspiring young athletes. More than 150 young women, some Olympians, told Dr. Larry Nassar directly how his abuse had derailed their young lives and destroyed their trust in medicine, in athletics, in authority and in some instances, in their parents. The exact number of victims is unknown and probably always will be.

The only heroes in this sad tale are the young women who insisted they had been abused by someone who was an icon in his field and kept saying so until they were finally believed.

The first and greatest betrayals were Nassar’s alone. For whatever tortured reasons, he put his desires ahead of those of his patients, many of them children when the abuse began. It is impossible to know what drove this man, but the carnage left by his actions is obvious to anyone with a TV. Adding to his enduring shame, Nassar asked the sentencing judge to excuse him from the courtroom so that he would not have to confront his victims in person and experience their anger and hurt. To her enduring credit, the judge declined, saying he committed abuse for years and could certainly listen to its aftermath for a few days.

Institutional betrayals are legion as well, with administrators cascading from lofty posts into oblivion. Topping the list is the president of Michigan State University, Nassar’s employer, who inexplicably cleared him of abuse charges, but who also had doubts but did nothing. University administrators below her are falling, too, as are officials of the national gymnastics associations and people in other sporting groups. Organizations that support young athletes promote not only athletic excellence but character values, but in this instance, they did not walk the talk.

Perhaps most tragic are failures and betrayals by the parents of these young athletes, many of whom were present when the abuse occurred. Stunning as this sounds, they were in the room when Nassar performed “medical procedures” on their daughters, though he shielded his actions from their view with his body or with draping. Some of these parents pushed their talented young athletes to perform in their sports. Some of these parents may have ignored what their daughters told them about Nassar and his procedures, some of them were trusting and unobservant of what he was doing, and some of them likely experienced all of the above. Whatever their thoughts at the time, many will go to their graves with deep guilt that they did not protect their daughters from one of the most prolific child predators the sports world has ever encountered.

If there is any saving grace in this grim story of selfish and criminal disregard for other people, it is that Nassar is now the poster boy for child sexual abuse and stars in the latest chapter just behind #MeToo in our nation’s growing intolerance for such behavior.

If #MeToo addresses women standing up for ourselves in the workplace, then the words “Larry Nassar” are code for the importance of adult vigilance, both individually and institutionally, in protecting children, including promising athletes, from perverted adults. As Americans process how we have addressed – or not addressed – what girls and women are telling us about how they are treated in the workplace and beyond, #Me Too and Larry Nassar offer glimmers of hope that Americans will now believe what we say.

Author Malcolm Gladwell wrote “The Tipping Point” in 2000, a best-seller describing how ideas take hold in a culture and then become part of the culture – think the change in Americans’ attitudes toward cigarette smoking over the last decades of the 20th century and, more recently, our acceptance of samesex marriage.

Let us all hope that sexual abuse of both girls and women in the workplace is becoming a shockingly unacceptable act.

Photo: Olympic gold medal-winning gymnast Aly Raisman 

History is not always pretty. But an honest examination of the past can be valuable in educating the generations that follow, ensuring past atrocities never again occur and, for many, offering an avenue for healing and forward motion. The Civil War and Reconstruction History Center seeks to tell the stories of all those involved in and affected by the Civil War: soldiers who fought for both the Union and the Confederacy; enslaved people for whom the invasion by U.S. troops meant liberation; free blacks caught in the middle of warring armies; and the women and children left behind to fend for themselves as their husbands, sons and fathers went to war. These are the people the history center hopes to highlight.

The Civil War is, with good reason, a subject that both skeptics and supporters agree must be treated thoroughly and with an emphasis on education rather than simply memorialization.

Fayetteville Mayor Mitch Colvin, our city’s second African-American mayor, cautiously supports the proposed Civil War and Reconstruction History Center. Colvin agrees with supporters that Fayetteville is ready for another world-class institution like the Army’s Airborne & Special Operations Museum to solidify the city as a tourist destination.

Tisha Waddell, who is black, is the councilwoman who replaced Colvin as the member representing the Murchison Road area’s District 3. She said she sees the History Center as an opportunity that will benefit the community. At a recent council meeting, she said the controversy that still surrounds the subject of the Civil War is precisely why an education center dealing with that period in American history is needed.

“Whenever history is told, all sides must be equally represented,” she said. “If that’s done, it could be powerful.”

Organizers said they will take “an evenhanded approach to the state’s Civil War experience precisely because no one agreed on it then, and no one agrees on it today.”

The Reconstruction period, 1867-77, was an attempt to repair the rift between the North and the South. It did not. However, during that time, life for blacks didn’t change much. President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation of 1863 freed only those slaves held in the Confederate states. Emancipation became universal with the adoption of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, which Congress passed in January 1865, and it became national policy.

Given little guidance from Washington, Southern whites turned to their traditional political leaders for reorganization of their state governments. The results were suspiciously like those of the antebellum period. To be sure, slavery was abolished; but each reconstructed Southern state government adopted a “Black Code,” regulating the rights and privileges of freedmen. The 14th Amendment was designed to provide citizenship and civil liberties to freed slaves.

Hiram Revels, born a free man in Fayetteville, became the first African-American to serve in the U.S. Congress. He was a minister in the Methodist Episcopal Church and was called to be a permanent pastor of a church in Natchez, Mississippi. In 1870, Revels was elected to finish the term of one of Mississippi’s two seats in the U.S. Senate, which had been left vacant since the Civil War. The South had been economically devastated. The Union was preserved and restored, but the cost in physical and moral suffering was incalculable.

This history and much more is what the center is all about. As its founding documents make clear, “The History Center is designed to be a ‘teaching museum’ rather than a ‘collecting museum.’” It would be owned and operated by the state Department of Natural and Cultural Resources. The site chosen for the facility is the location of one of North Carolina’s most important Civil War sites, the Federal Arsenal in Haymount, now often referred to as the Fayetteville Arsenal. History Center Foundation President Mac Healy said this will not be “a museum full of relics, weapons, uniforms and such.” The North Carolina Civil War and Reconstruction History Center will be about lifestyles, teaching an understanding of honor and respect for all the people whose individual contributions and sacrifices, woven together, create the complex tapestry that is our nation’s, our state’s, our community’s history. As stated in the foundation’s literature, “Visitors to the Center should get a sense of stepping into the shoes of these individuals … from a place of compassion and understanding and what it was like to face extreme challenges that are unimaginable today.”

Often overlooked is that life on the homefront was risky business, especially for women, whose purpose in life was often reduced to not much more than bearing babies. An example of what passed for success was provided by a Cumberland County woman – a planter’s wife – who, after 15 live births and a couple of miscarriages finally had a whole decade of freedom from childbearing to enjoy before dying in her mid-50s. Her epitaph was a model of understatement: “She hath done what she could.”

The History Center will, in addition to being a place of education and reflection, serve as a hub for economic development and tourism. Officials estimate the History Center will draw upward of 130,000 visitors to the community annually. Healy said studies indicate that destination tourists stay twice as long and spend twice as much as travelers. Additionally, the History Center will produce more than 150 service industry jobs. It is projected to generate $12 million a year in economic impact for our region.

“Good economic development such as the History Center will grow the tax base rather than be a constant financial drain on the community,” Healy said.

Professors from the University of North Carolina System are compiling research for the center that will also serve as Civil War history curriculum for Tar Heel schoolchildren. The History Center will include a 60,000 square-foot main building. Two other buildings on the site, including the original Arsenal House, will be renovated. The center’s foundation has already raised about $27 million of the $65 million project cost. This includes $5 million from the state, $7.5 million each from Cumberland County and the city of Fayetteville and $7 million in private, mostly local, commitments. The city has agreed to a withdrawal of $250,000 from its fund if the county does the same.

Learn more about the History Center at http://nccivilwarcenter.org.

I appreciate that readers often give feedback regarding my columns that appear in Up & Coming Weekly newspaper and are also distributed by e-newsletter. As I would expect, given my conservative views, feedback from most black readers reflects strong disagreement with what I write. Sometimes feedback from this group is rather harsh. (Yes, there are some white readers who express strong objections to my thinking.)

In view of me being black, but not thinking as some would expect given my blackness, there are times when I feel alone in this struggle to have my thinking heard and seriously considered. I got a reminder today that I am not alone in my thinking regarding many issues of our time. I ran across a video by Candace Owens. What she says in the video, and her clear commitment to speak up in the face of opposition, provided encouragement for me to keep standing.

You may watch the video at www.youtube. com/watch?v=mK8H9qGKkMI.

Photo: Candace Owens

A conversation with our publisher, Bill Bowman, prompted this week’s publisher’s pen. He told me about how he joined a football pool for the big game Feb. 4. Shortly after he bought into the pool, his money was returned. It was canceled due to lack of interest. Really? Lack of interest in the Super Bowl? That’s when he learned several other popular pools were canceled for the same reason – the public has no interest in the NFL and the Super Bowl. People seem to be done with the NFL. Fans are angry and disappointed. It’s time to move on.

For generations, parents have warned their children that actions have consequences. It’s good advice, as is “just because you can doesn’t mean you should.” The craziness that’s been happening in the NFL the past two seasons is a perfect example of how true and relevant these axioms still are.

Who knows what Colin Kaepernick thought would happen when, in August 2016, he chose to sit, and a few games later, kneel, during the national anthem to protest police brutality against minorities? It probably wasn’t this. Watching the last 18 months play out has been both interesting and disheartening.

I grew up in a military home, as have my children. My family is steeped in military service and tradition going back generations. I doubt anyone in my family could sit or kneel for the national anthem if our lives depended on it. So many of my loved ones have served, fought and even died for people to be able to make their own choices – including the choice to not stand for the national anthem.

Sitting or kneeling for the anthem is a right that Americans do have. But when someone chooses to do this, it speaks volumes about them and their feelings toward the people who fought for their right to make that choice. On a personal level, it is hard not to hold it against people who protest in this way. In this case, it makes it easy to choose to stop watching games and buying tickets to support an organization that permits and encourages these actions.

There is no need to rehash the history and details of the kneeling protests, the pushback from fans and the NFL’s refusal to reign in its players. What would be the point? Many of those who strongly oppose the NFL’s stand have already quit watching the games, buying tickets and merchandise and cheering for their favorite teams in football pools. Those still watching may not come back next season.

The NFL’s recent decision to refuse to run an ad by American Veterans, an organization founded in 1944 that’s more than a quarter-million members strong, may be the last straw for fans trying to hang on to a game and tradition they love.

The ad in question shows an American flag with the hashtag #PleaseStand. It includes information about how to support AMVETS financially. AMVETS National Commander Marion Polk replied to the NFL’s refusal to run the ad saying, “Freedom of speech works both ways. We respect the rights of those who choose to protest as these rights are precisely what our members have fought – and in many cases died – for. Please support our mission.”

Was the NFL within its rights to deny the ad? Sure. Will that decision bring consequences? Probably.

It’s disheartening that a great American tradition like football that usually brings people together has become be so divisive.

What will you be doing during the NFL’s Super Bowl Sunday? I’ll be “taking a knee.”

The aging railroad bridge on North Main Street in Hope Mills is scheduled for a long overdue cleanup.

At the most recent meeting of the Hope Mills Board of Commissioners, a budget amendment was approved that will set aside $7,500 for a project to clean the CSX railroad bridge. The bridge is one of the gateways into the town and sits adjacent to the empty Hope Mills Lake that will soon be filled with water.

Town manager Melissa Adams said the late Bob Gorman, longtime town commissioner, was among those who started the push several months ago to do something about the appearance of the aging bridge, which has been a fixture of the town for longer than most people on the current board of commissioners can remember.

In addition to being the victim of the wear and tear of years, the bridge has also been a target of graffiti artists who have left their mark in some places.

Adams stressed that the bridge project is strictly cosmetic, and has nothing to do with any structural issues; the goal is simply to make it look better for both motor traffic and pedestrians.

“It’s in relation to where it is, with the lake coming back, beautification and enhancement of the area,’’ she said. “That’s how a lot of people come into town, especially off I-95. You go right by the lake and hit that big, ugly bridge.’’

The Hope Mills leaders had to go through a lot of red tape in order to make plans for cleaning the bridge, because it’s officially the property of the railroad folks at CSX.

Adams said CSX had to be approached first to seek permission to enter the bridge property and perform the cleaning.

“CSX won’t come and clean it,’’ Adams said. “If we wanted it clean, we had to go through proper channels with them, (getting) releases and that kind of thing.’’

Hector Cruz, director of the Public Works Department for the town of Hope Mills, took the lead in seeking all the proper permission from CSX to come onto the railroad’s property at the bridge and perform the cleaning.

He is currently wrapping up negotiations with a firm to handle the actual job of cleaning the bridge.

Once that’s been finalized, the town will pay a down payment of $1,595, then an additional $5,980 for the pressure washing. There will also be an undetermined fee to acquire lift equipment that will raise the cleaning crew up to the higher levels of the bridge.

Adams said the cleaning project won’t affect railroad schedules as the cleaning crew doesn’t need to actually get on the train tracks atop the bridge to do its job.

In addition to a basic pressure wash, Cruz said the cleaning crew will use chemicals that will help clean the acid and corrosion stains on the surface of the bridge’s concrete. “It’s a very old structure,’’ he said. “We’re shooting to get it as good as it can look.’’

One of the biggest challenges of the washing project will be coping with the heavy traffic on N.C. Highway 59 that passes under the bridge.

Cruz said it will be necessary when the cleaning is in progress to block one lane of traffic so the crew can work safely.

“That will require some flagging for traffic,’’ he said.

Cruz said the town will work with the cleaning crew and try to determine the days and hours when the least possible disruption of traffic will be caused by cutting the flow of cars to a single lane.

Once everything is scheduled, Cruz is hopeful that the whole process will take from two to four days, depending on weather and how long the crew can work each day.

With favorable weather, Cruz is optimistic the project can be finished by the end of January.

The owner of Robertson’s Sandwich Shop in Eutaw Village and his young son miraculously escaped serious injury when a sports car plowed into the restaurant. Frank Fernandez and his 8-year-old son Paxon suffered minor cuts and bruises as the Chevrolet Corvette came to rest completely inside the building.

The driver, John Vaughn, 78, of Fayetteville, told police he apparently stepped on the gas pedal instead of the brake while attempting to park his car outside the restaurant. It slammed into and through the plate glass window. The restaurant was closed at the time. Fernandez freed his son, who was momentarily pinned between the car and the sandwich shop’s counter. Police said Vaughn had a minor head injury and was treated at Cape Fear Valley Medical Center and released. He was not charged.

Road closure disrupts FAST Transit service to Hollywood Heights

The city closed Louise Street, off Skibo Road, this month, resulting in a significant change of service for FAST Transit. Residents of the subdivision are also making changes in their commuting. The only other street in and out of the neighborhood is Pritchett Road, which connects to Cliffdale Road. FAST Director Randy Hume said all bus stops in the community will be served, but there may be delays.

The Louise Street Bridge over Beaver Creek in Hollywood Heights had been declared structurally deficient, meaning it has components that are in poor condition because of deterioration and is unsafe for vehicular traffic. It’s been moved up on the city’s Capital Improvement Program. A North Carolina Department of Transportation consultant’s inspection found that the bridge timbers, or pilings, had “advance deterioration beyond which previous inspections had found,” said City Public Services Director Rob Stone.

Pedestrians, including school children, can still use the bridge.

“The bridge has been on the city’s replacement list for several years,” said city spokesman Nathan Walls. Despite that, “this is not a quick process,” said City Manager Doug Hewett, apparently because no pre-planning has been done.

Stone estimates replacing the bridge will cost at least $1.5 million.

All bridges over water in North Carolina are regulated by the state Department of Environmental Quality and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The design process for a replacement bridge will get underway immediately because this is considered an emergency, Stone said.

City Councilman Larry Wright did not respond to Up & Coming Weekly’s inquiry asking for his thoughts on the matter. Hollywood Heights is in his district.

Stone estimates it will take a year or so to replace the bridge once the city funds the project.

TRICARE insurance modifications

Most military TRICARE Prime enrollees are no longer required to have referrals for urgent care visits. And, point-of-service charges no longer apply for urgent care claims. Previously, only the first two urgent care visits were covered. Active duty service members should continue to visit military hospitals and clinics for care.

Soldiers enrolled in TRICARE Prime Remote who do not live near a military hospital or clinic do not need a referral when seeking an urgent care visit.

“We wanted our service members, families and others to have easier access to urgent care,” said Ken Canestrini, acting director, TRICARE Health Plan within the Defense Health Agency. “Beneficiaries can go visit an urgent care center right away any time they have a need.”

Urgent care is defined as care needed for nonemergency illnesses or injuries requiring treatment within 24 hours.

It’s true – K&W is moving

Fayetteville’s popular K&W Cafeteria has been located at 3187 Village Dr. for about 30 years. Rumors have been circulating for weeks that it will be moving.

“We got a new, updated facility. Just a better facility,” said Anthony Molten, the general manager of the restaurant.

A date for the move hasn’t been finalized, Molten said, but he expects to be in their new location in Bordeaux Shopping Center about March 1. That location next to Carlie C’s IGA will give K&W an additional 3,200 square feet of space. Molten said the cafeteria will have 20 additional employees. The cafeteria will be incorporating carry-out and to-go operations.

“I think we’ll do better,” he said. “We’ll have a big parking lot there.”

The company, headquartered in Winston-Salem, is a family-owned business with 33 locations in the Carolinas and Virginias.

Hope Mills athletic development

Hope Mills Mayor Jackie Warner’s Youth Leadership Committee has some ideas for what it would like the town to do with the former Golfview Road golf course.

The property is owned by the town, which had granted various golf course operators long-term leases. But it was closed a couple of years ago and has remained dormant.

The YLC has suggested that the town consider building a sports complex, to include an indoor pool and gymnasium.

They noted the area’s three high school sports teams must travel out of town to facilities that can accommodate their needs. The committee also suggested an artificial turf ballfield with a track and a nine-hole golf course.

Town Manager Mellissa Adams noted the next big capital project for the town is a consolidated public safety center, which will house fire and police departments.

CFRT wins major grant

Cape Fear Regional Theatre has announced receipt of a Cumberland Community Foundation Lilly Endowment Challenge grant. It’s a 1:1 matching grant up to $25,000 made possible by the Ashton W. Lilly Fund for Philanthropy. The funds will be added to the Bo and Herbert Thorp Endowment for the theater.

CFRT was also awarded $10,000 from CCF’s Endowment Operating Support Grant for general operating support. The support committee is only $70,000 short of its goal to raise $1 million in endowment contributions. CFRT endowment funds are managed by CCF to ensure sound financial stewardship.

The Future Farmers of America arboretum at South View High School is about to get a major upgrade and offer a direct benefit to the community.

Erin Yoest, first-year agriculture teacher at South View, landed a $5,000 grant for the school’s arboretum from North Carolina State University.

The money will be used to expand South View’s arboretum and eventually grow vegetables that will be given to the needy in the community.

Yoest, 23, is a graduate of Pennsylvania State University who joined the faculty at South View eight months ago. She has a degree in agriculture and extension education and has been interested in agriculture since she was a youngster.

“We had a few show pigs and we got involved with 4-H as soon as we could,’’ she said. “When I went to high school, I knew I would be part of FFA. My interest in agriculture grew from there.’’

South View offers three courses in agriculture – agriscience applications and Horticulture I and II.

Yoest said the courses cover plant sciences, agricultural engineering and mechanics, and a little animal science and environmental science.

She learned about the grant opportunity from N.C. State last September and had to submit an application that included a project outline, timeline, goals and objectives, and a budget.

She has clear plans for how to spend the $5,000 the school was awarded.

“We’re going to be getting new tables for one of our greenhouses to make it a safer environment to work in,’’ she said. “Now they have wooden tables and they are starting to dry rot.’’

The rest of the money will go to purchase a drip irrigation system for the school’s edible arboretum.

Yoest said drip irrigation is a more efficient way to irrigate the arboretum than using traditional sprinklers. “You’re reaching the soil a lot better,’’ she said. “It’s educational as well as efficient.’’

She’s also hopeful that the school will be able to use the arboretum to raise money for the school’s FFA program. She said there are about 16 4-by-4- foot plots of soil in the arboretum that she would like to rent to the community.

“We’ll start with the staff and faculty at South View High School and Middle School,’’ she said. “We’ll eventually open it to the community to come and rent lots.’’

Yoest plans to start planting tomatoes, peppers, okra and corn, plus a variety of vegetables they already have seeds for.

How fast the various crops grow depends on normal growth rates for each and how cooperative the weather is during the spring and summer.

Some of the vegetables will get a jump-start by being planted in the school greenhouse in February.

“We could have some stuff ready by early summer,’’ Yoest said. “Other things like corn, watermelon and pumpkins will be more toward the end of the summer.’’

A final decision on exactly how the vegetables grown will be distributed to those in need hasn’t been made, Yoest said. One possible idea is to partner with Second Harvest Food Bank, she said. The issue will be settled once the arboretum is closer to producing actual food for distribution.

Photo: Erin Yoe

The team that brought local audiences “The Little Mermaid” last season will bring “Seussical The Musical” to the Cape Fear Regional Theatre Feb. 1-25.

The show brings some of your favorite Dr. Seuss characters to life – to include The Cat in the Hat, Horton the elephant, Gertrude McFuzz, Mayzie La Bird and JoJo – the tiniest resident of Whoville.

With several special events planned for Dr. Seuss fans of all ages, CFRT Artistic Director Mary Catherine Burke said this is an adventure not to be missed.

“The show is the most delightful kaleidoscope you can imagine,” Burke said.

In collaboration with 2 Ring Circus, CFRT is bringing back many cast and crew members who helped make “The Little Mermaid” such a crowd-pleaser last season. Director Melissa Rain Anderson said the audiences will again see creative dance and circus choreography that take the production to another level.

“To our knowledge, this is the first circus treatment of ‘Seussical,’” Burke said.

While audiences can expect to see more aerial arts than in “The Little Mermaid,” the acrobatic elements are purposeful and serve to elevate the show, not overpower the story.

“None of the circus ‘tricks’ are there just to be circus,” said Ally Ivey, who plays JoJo. “Everything is there to forward the story.”

The story is a tale about the powers of friendship, loyalty, family and community. Perhaps, most importantly, the story highlights that diversity of thought is a good thing and respect for that diversity makes communities stronger.

The musical is an amalgamation of several books by Dr. Seuss and introduces us to Horton, an elephant who discovers a speck of dust containing the Whos of Whoville, including little JoJo. JoJo is sent to military school for ‘thinking too many thinks.’ Horton must protect the Whos and an abandoned egg left in his care by Mayzie La Bird.

While the plot points may sound familiar to Dr. Seuss fans, one need not be an avid reader of the books to appreciate “Seussical.”

“You don’t need to have any knowledge of Dr. Seuss to enjoy this experience,” said Dax Valdes, who plays Wickersham. “Some kids will see themselves in JoJo or the bullies, and maybe they can come away changed.”

Adults will enjoy the show, too, Burke said.

“It’s amazing how much adults want to play and be creative and imaginative – they just need permission,” she said.

“Seussical The Musical” runs Feb. 1-25 with special events for families and military, as well as a book drive, a VIP experience and a sensory-friendly performance. Tickets range from $17-$32. For more information, visit www.cfrt.org or call 910-323-4234.

Who’s going to win Super Bowl LII? Here’s how the Cumberland County Schools senior high school football coaches see the game between the Philadelphia Eagles and the defending champion New England Patriots going.

Bill Sochovka, Pine Forest – “I will be supporting the Eagles. I was very impressed with how the defense played against the Vikings, and I have a nephew who works for the Eagles. Have to support the family.’’

Mike Paroli, Douglas Byrd – “I think New England will win. But I will be pulling for the Eagles.’’

Craig Raye, Westover – “Philly over New England. They’re playing good defense.’’

Deron Donald, E.E. Smith – “I really don’t have a pick for this game. It should be competitive, but I’m not a fan of either team.’’

Rodney Brewington, South View - “My selection is the Philadelphia Eagles. They are playing the best defense, and they are able to manufacture first downs.’’

Jake Thomas, Cape Fear – “Although their conference championship performances make me want to pick the Eagles, I don’t think Nick Foles (Eagles quarterback) can come up with backto- back best career performances on this stage. Also, my gut tells me never bet against (Tom) Brady/(Bill) Belichick. When it matters the most, they both have Jedi mind powers. Patriots.’’

Bruce McClelland, Terry Sanford – “New England 28, Philadelphia 17. Dwayne Allen, former Terry Sanford Bulldog standout, gets a ring and a touchdown in this matchup. (Allen is a backup tight end for the Patriots.) Allen helps Brady get yet another ring.’’

Brian Randolph, Jack Britt – “Patriots win by 13. The Patriots are a quality football team that plays well in every phase of the game. They are very wellcoached and always force the opposing team to play ‘left-handed’. I am just hoping for a competitive game.’’

David Lovette, Gray’s Creek – “The New England Patriots will probably win. Brady and Belichick are a great quarterback/coach combo. And to paraphrase Ric Flair, whether you like it or not, you better learn to live with the Patriots because they are the best thing going today.’’

Duran McLaurin, Seventy-First – “I’m going with the Eagles. All that know me know that I’m a big Eagles fan. I just think this is the year. With all the injuries to key players, they’ve managed to continue to gel. Hopefully they’ve saved the best for last.’’

Photo: Terry Sanford graduate Dwayne Allen with the Lamar Hunt trophy after he and the New England Patriots won the AFC championship Sunday.

Activities at Hope Mills Parks and Recreation: 5770 Rockfish Rd.

• 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 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.

• Senior Valentine’s Day Luncheon Wednesday, Feb. 14, 10:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Free, but sign-up required. Only 100 seats available. You must be registered with Hope Mills Parks and Recreation to attend. Main dish, drinks and entertainment will be provided. Please bring a side dish to share with your peers. Call 910-426- 4109 or visit the front reception desk to register. To cancel, call at least two days in advance.

• Social Knitting and Crocheting Fridays, 10 a.m.-noon, Small Activity Room. Those planning to attend must provide their own supplies and projects.

• 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.

• Hope Mills Youth wrestling registration is open until Feb. 2 for ages 6-12. Practices are held at Brower Park. Matches are held at Myers Recreation Center March 3, 10, 17, 24, 31. $30 per child. Proof of address and birth certificate are required to register. Call 910-426-4105 for more information.

Promote yourself

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

Return with us now to those thrilling days of yesteryear, back in the mid-20th century, when a giant picture of the 82nd Airborne Division graced the wall of Sears on Hay Street. The huge mural was on the stairway above the shoe department in Sears. Climb into Mr. Peabody’s Way Back machine and wander through midcentury Fayetteville.

The picture was taken at Fort Bragg of paratroopers falling from the sky above a color guard. The soldier in the middle of the picture wearing the parachute is Colonel Stephen J. Meade. Note the flag with 48 stars. Bill Belche took the picture. Belche owned WIDU radio station and was famous for his catch phrase, “Hey, Lordy Mamma!”

If you are from Fayetteville and calendar-enriched, you will recall this picture, which dominated downtown for decades. The Sears building ultimately morphed into the Department of Social Services and then AIT. The fate of the original mural is lost in time.

To quote our old pal Charles Dickens about Fayetteville in the 1960’s, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” The Donald’s recent “s***hole” comment got me thinking about earlier times. Like the Overlook Hotel in “The Shining,” a lot of things happened in the South, and not all of them were good.

Begin in Sears shoe department’s mechanical rocket ship ride, which for a dime could buy a couple of minutes of child entertainment. Next to the rocket was the foot X-ray machine, where people could Xray their feet for free as many times as they desired. The fun of the machine was to put your feet into a new pair of shoes and wiggle your toes to see if the new shoes fit. Al Bundy would have loved this medical shoe-selling technique.

I X-rayed my feet whenever we were downtown. It is no small wonder that I still have feet. The machine was cool. You stood up and put your feet under the X-ray device and looked into a viewer at the top of the machine. The X-ray image you saw of your bones was purple, as I recall. After 60 years, memory can fade. Fortunately for Sears, the statute of limitations has long since passed. If your feet have rotted away due to amateur radiology, you are on your own.

Santa Claus held forth on the landing above the shoe department each year. The toy department at the back of Sears had an electric train layout that rivaled the real thing. A kid could stand there watching the trains go around while surrounded by a sea of wonderful Christmas toys. Climb to Sears’ second floor on Saturdays, and the appliance department had a ham cooking over a rotisserie grill. The smell was wonderful. Sears’ record department on the second floor had racks of the latest platters, bringing music to the huddled masses yearning to buy Elvis Presley’s latest tunes.

Not all nostalgia is sepia-toned. Next to the X-ray machine stood the water fountains marked “White” and “Colored.” I recall the “White” water fountain was a standard refrigerated model and the “Colored” water fountain was a much simpler non-refrigerated model.

The bathrooms were also segregated by race. Growing up in the South, this seemed quite normal. From the perspective of 2018, it seems quite bizarre. Segregation was not limited to water fountains. The theaters downtown – the Miracle, Colony, Carolina, and Broadway – were segregated. The black people had their own separate entrance that led up to the balcony where they had to sit. The white people went in to the main floor. You learned not to sit under the very edge of the balcony as you might find yourself enjoying a shower of coke or popcorn from on high. Considering the indignity of having to sit upstairs due to your race, the white people down below were lucky heavier objects did not rain down upon us from above.

Cape Fear Valley Hospital was not immune to Jim Crow, either. The hospital had separate but unequal waiting rooms for “White” and “Colored” people. In retrospect, it seems odd that a hospital would sort out its patients by race, but that is what happened.

The school systems were segregated. My high school, 71st, was not integrated until my junior year in 1967. About 10 black students got dropped into an all-white school. It was not an easy transition for them. I remember Fletcher Williams was one of the first black students. Fletcher was a natural athlete, outgoing and cheerful. He played on the football team and ran on the track team and was accepted. The other black students had a much harder time.

So when pondering The Donald’s preference for Norwegians over black and brown people from “s***hole countries,” consider where we were 60 years ago. Back then, where you could drink, eat, see movies, go to school and get medical attention was determined by the color of your skin. Those were not the good old days for everyone.

Best we keep those days from returning. They did not make America great.

Here are some upcoming events involving local high schools.

• The Gray’s Creek High School baseball team will hold a golf tournament fundraiser Saturday, March 17, at Cypress Lakes Golf Course.

Bear head baseball coach Jeff Nance said the format for the event is four-person captain’s choice.

The entry fee is $65 per person. The shotgun start is at 8:30 a.m.

There will be several events included with the tournament, among them closest to the pin, longest drive, holein- one prizes, food and beverages. Lunch will be catered by Fred Chason’s Grandsons restaurant.

The registration deadline is March 10, and entry fees should be made payable to Gray’s Creek High School, attention: Jeff Nance.

The mailing address is 5301 Celebration Dr., Hope Mills, NC 28348.

All the money raised by the tournament will be used to upgrade and improve the baseball program at Gray’s Creek.

• Terry Sanford High School will hold the fifth annual Bulldog Dash/Bash and Al Munoz Memorial 5K Saturday, March 17, at 8 a.m. at the school.

A portion of the proceeds will go to help cancer patients in the Cumberland County area.

You can register online at Active.com or get an entry form from the school. Mailed forms should be sent to 498 Windwoodon- Skye, Fayetteville, NC 28303 and sent attention: Bulldog Dash/Bash. All checks should be made payable to FTS Booster Club. The entry fee is $25 before March 2 and $30 after. The entry fee is not refundable.

A race packet distribution and late registration will begin the day of the race at 7 a.m.

For further information or to find out about large group registration, call Donna Johnson at 910-728-3702 or email jjohn86100@aol.com.

• The recent string of snow/cold weather days causing school to be closed force some changes in the planned Play4Kay basketball fundraiser games scheduled by some of the Cumberland County Schools.

Following are the revised dates for some of the schools that had to move games.

Please contact each school before attending to make sure this is still a Play4Kay game.

Money raised at the games will be contributed to the Kay Yow Cancer Fund, in memory of the former N.C. State womens’ head coach.

Feb. 2 - Pine Forest at Cape Fear.

Feb. 5 - Pinecrest at Seventy-First.

Feb. 7 - Pine Forest at South View.

Photo: Jeff Nance, Gray’s Creek head baseball coach

Fayetteville State University’s Chancellor’s Speaker Series presents Margot Lee Shetterly, Tuesday, Feb. 6, at 7 p.m. at J. W. Seabrook Auditorium. The speaker series is designed to bring top executives, government officials, academic leaders and nationally known speakers to FSU.

Shetterly is an entrepreneur, writer, researcher and the author of “Hidden Figures: The American Dream and The Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race.” The film adaptation, “Hidden Figures” became the No. 1 movie in America during its run, scoring three Oscar nominations (Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Supporting Actress for Spencer) and two Golden Globes (Best Supporting Actress for Spencer and Best Original Score). It also won the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture.

Up & Coming Weekly spoke with the author about her upcoming appearance.

UCW: What should the audience expect to hear from you Feb. 6?

Shetterly: I’ll be speaking about my book, “Hidden Figures,” and a little bit about the history behind it.

UCW: Please give us a short synopsis of your book.

Shetterly: It is a story about four African-American women who worked as mathematicians at NASA from 1943-1969. It serves as the secondary narrative (to the primary narrative), which is really the history of desegregation of schools in Virginia by extension of the United States.

UCW: What inspired you to write this book?

Shetterly: My father is a NASA scientist, and I grew up knowing these women and grew up living in the same community with them. Their history is my history in a very direct way.

UCW: Why is it important to tell the history of black women?

Shetterly: I think the most important thing is if we wait for other people to tell our story, it won’t get told. I think it is really incumbent upon each of us who know these stories, (who) grew up with these people who are remarkable and may not (have) gotten their full accounting in the history books – we have to learn those stories and tell those stories.

UCW: What is the one thing you want the audience to take from your presentation Feb. 6?

Shetterly: One thing is that all of this is our history. Black history is American history. There is no difference between the two.

UCW: Are you working on any new projects?

Shetterly: I am just in the beginning stages of working on a new project. “Hidden Figures” is still keeping me busy.

UCW: Final thoughts?

Shetterly: I’m really looking forward to the trip. It is very exciting, and I am really grateful to everyone for extending the invitation.

The event is free and open to the public. For more information, call 910-672-1111.

Even when school’s closed, most high school athletes can find a place to practice on their own, either alone or with teammates, to stay sharp and maintain conditioning.

But in one Cumberland County high school sport, swimming, that freedom to practice isn’t a given. There are no local indoor public swimming pools open all year, and the one where local swimmers currently practice and compete at Fayetteville State University was shut tight during the Christmas break.

That meant standout swimmers like Zizhou Lu of Gray’s Creek and Adrienne Stevens of South View had no place to practice. That’s part of the reason the best swimmers from the county have had a problem competing evenly with their counterparts from other parts of the state who have better access to public pools.

“With more access to pools you’d have more swimmers,’’ said Gray’s Creek swimming coach Rick Kaiser. “You can do some weight room stuff as far as pushing off walls and a little upper body work, but for the most part, it’s a different type of exercise. Pool access is huge for developing the swimmer.’’

Despite problems with getting into the pool for enough practice time, both Lu and Stevens have established themselves among the top swimmers from Cumberland County this season.

Lu, a junior, has been swimming for seven years. He got into it mainly for fitness but soon improved and began swimming competitively. “It became like a passion,’’ he said. His favorite events are the 50-, 100- and 200-meter freestyle.

“It’s like it’s its own world,’’ he said of swimming. “You don’t have to worry about other stuff during the time you swim. It’s like stress-free.’

Stevens got into swimming about eight years ago when her grandfather took her for lessons; she quickly became hooked. The 100- meter fly and the 200 individual medley are her favorite events.

“I’ve definitely worked on speed and trying to see how I can go faster and longer distances,’’ Stevens said. “I’m practicing hard every day, being motivated and having the right mindset.’’

John McConnell is in his first season as head coach of the South View team and said Stevens is a better swimmer than he is a coach.

“She swims all the strokes perfectly and is a very strong swimmer,’’ he said.

Lu and Stevens, along with all the other swimmers from Cumberland County, are gearing up for the postseason stretch of competition in swimming.

The final Patriot Athletic Conference meet of the season is scheduled Jan. 25 at the FSU pool.

Following that, for those that qualify, the 3-A and 4-A regional meets will be held at the Greensboro Aquatic Center Feb. 2-3, and the state championships will be the weekend of Feb. 8-10.

The 3-A meet will be Feb. 8, 4-A Feb. 10, both at the Triangle Aquatic Center in Cary.

McConnell agrees with Kaiser that for Cumberland County to have a serious shot at winning individual state titles, better access to swimming facilities is a must.

“We need to get a dedicated aquatic center,’’ he said. “We can’t keep borrowing pools here and there.’’

Photos L to R: Zizhou Lu; Adrienne Stevens

The Department of Veterans Affairs has begun publicizing information about how often its doctors prescribe opioids to help ease patients’ pain. It’s a move led by VA Secretary David Shulkin to increase awareness. Efforts spearheaded by former Fayetteville Mayor Nat Robertson and former Fayetteville VA Medical Center Director Elizabeth Gooslby helped to significantly reduce local VA prescription rates beyond those of the other three VA medical centers in North Carolina.

In 2017, for the first time, department officials began publicly listing information on VA disciplinary actions, hospital wait times and leadership travel. Those data were often misleading, according to Fayetteville VA records. This latest move for transparency makes the department the first hospital system in the country to disclose details on opioid use. Nationwide, the abuse of opioids has risen dramatically in recent years and has caused as many as 90 overdose deaths a day.

There is persuasive evidence that the task force headed by Robertson and Goolsby reduced local opioid abuse. Since 2012, when the Veterans Affairs Department instituted its new opioid safety initiative, dispensed prescriptions dropped more than 41 percent systemwide. The Fayetteville VA did far better than that. In 2012, the prescribing rate of opioids dispensed at the Ramsey Street VA hospital was 21 percent. In 2017, it fell to 8 percent – a 65 percent reduction. At the VA Medical Centers in Asheville and Salisbury, the decline was 42 percent; Durham was 39 percent.

In an interview with The Military Times, Shulkin said he hopes the move will provide a clearer picture of VA facilities that are successfully responding to the problem.

“I think VA is among some of the best work in the country on this,” he said. “We also have the responsibility to share what we learned with the rest of the country.”

Late last year, Shulkin invited members of the White House commission on opioids to visit the Cleveland, Ohio, VA Medical Center to discuss their medication management techniques. Shulkin said the hospital now has only 3 percent of its patients using opioids. Shulkin acknowledged, however that prescribing rates remain high at some other VA facilities.

In a statement, Kellyanne Conway, counselor to the president and a lead official on the opioid commission, praised the VA’s move as “an innovative way to raise awareness, increase transparency and mitigate the dangers of overprescribing.”

Shulkin called the department’s new transparency efforts part of a broader cultural change at the department over the last year, a permanent change in how VA physicians approach their responsibilities for years to come.

“When you begin to start disclosing and publicly sharing information, it’s very hard to stop,” he said. “That’s a commitment that’s going to be at VA for a long time. And that’s part of what we need to do to transform this organization to regain the trust of those we serve, our veterans.”

Barely into a new year, we yearn to feel fresh and hopeful, but not all our news is good.

One of the most disturbing reads I have had lately was published last week in The New York Times. Writing on the op-ed page, David Leonhardt addressed racism in America, quoting Steve Bannon as saying, “I want them to talk about racism every day. If the left is focused on race and identity, and we go with economic nationalism, we can crush the Democrats.”

Leonhardt weighs in by saying that racism is alive and well and should be addressed but that emphasizing concerns of middle- and working-class voters is a better way to get their attention. Says Leonhardt, “Race is different. When it’s at the center of the political debate, a large group of voters can become more likely to choose white-nationalist candidates like Trump, as Bannon understood – and exploited – in 2016. You can lament that fact. I certainly do. But don’t make the mistake of denying it.”

Hard to argue with that assessment.

********************

North Carolina is no longer a full democracy, according to the Electoral Integrity Project, an independent research effort with team members at Harvard University and the University of Sydney. Since 2012, the EIP has measured 213 elections in 153 countries, evaluating how fair, free and democratic those elections were. EIP also evaluated North Carolina’s 2016 elections, giving our state electoral integrity a score of 58/100, similar to the scores Cuba, Sierra Leone and Indonesia received. Drilling down, regarding voter registration, North Carolina ranked with Iran and Venezuela, and no nation has ever received as low a score as North Carolina did on unfair districting.

EIP also criticized North Carolina for limiting citizens’ rights based on their born identities in the infamous House Bill 2, sometimes called the bathroom bill.

Writing in The News and Observer, Andrew Reynolds proposed a remedy to how far North Carolina has fallen.

*******************

As the mother of three young American adults, this news obviously caught my eye.

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention said late last year that U.S. life expectancy is no longer rising compared to our world counterparts. A typical American born in 1979 could expect to live to age 73.9, a year and a half longer than people born in other First World, predominantly western nations. By 2015, though, a typical American born that year could expect to live slightly less than 79 years, while people born in our counterpart nations could expect to make it to almost 81 years of age.

The CDC cites several factors underlying the change.

While health care in the United States can be excellent, it is also spotty and out of reach for those who cannot afford health insurance.

Violence and specifically gun violence are factors. Americans are more likely to be murdered than are people in other rich nations, and more than 25-times likelier to be shot to death.

Also, our national safety nets to address issues like smoking, drug abuse, obesity and others are frayed compared to those in our counterpart countries.

********************

On a considerably lighter note, Walmart has released the most popular items sold online last year. Across the board, shoppers bought paper towels and other household items, but the most-bought list is far more interesting by state. Who knew Walmart shoppers’ tastes vary so dramatically just across state lines?

Alabamians bought crayons. Coloradans adore Peanut M&Ms. Hawaiians love the Barbie farmer doll, while Idahoans can’t do without the My Little Pony Mini Collection. Indianans made a run on instant coffee, but Kentuckians took the prize for 4X6 photo prints. Marylanders bought glue sticks, while folks in Michigan made major purchases – refrigerators. Minnesotans love Flamin’ Hot Cheetos, while Nebraskans – presumably women – took the prize for pressed powder makeup purchases. North Dakotans led on the watermelon-flavored gum front, and Pennsylvanians bought the most plastic hangers. Wisconsin residents triumphed on Green Bay Packers bathmats. Our neighbors in South Carolina (coin banks), Tennessee (Disney Infinity Power Discs) and Virginia (coolers) did their own things, too.

So what did North Carolinians buy most often? Mayonnaise, although Walmart did not disclose whether we prefer Duke’s or Hellman’s.

Activities

• Hope Mills Youth baseball and indoor soccer registration is open through Feb. 28, 4:30 p.m. Baseball ages 5-14, instructional soccer ages 5-6, 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.

• Hope Mills Youth wrestling registration is open until Feb. 2 for ages 6-12. Practices are held at Brower Park. Matches are held at Myers Recreation Center. $30 per child. Proof of address and birth certificate are required to register. Call 910-426-4105 for more information.

Meetings

• Jan. 25 The Hope Mills Board of Commissioners will hold a special meeting at the Sheraton Inn, 1 Europa Dr., Chapel Hill, at 6 p.m. to conduct a workshop to discuss and plan upcoming goals for the board.

Volunteer

The Town of Hope Mills is soliciting applications for vacancies on the following committees. If you would like to apply for any of the vacancies, please contact Deborah Holland, interim town clerk, at 910-426-4113, or email dholland@townofhopemills.com for more information.

• Lake Advisory Committee – second Tuesdays at the Hope Mills Recreation Center, 6 p.m. The purpose of the committee is to advise and make recommendations regarding various issues pertaining to the safety and environment of the lake and preserving it as a valuable resource to the town. Three vacancies to expire February 2020.

• Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee – fourth Mondays at Hope Mills Recreation Center, 6:30 p.m. This committee seeks to recommend and plan programs of recreation activities and events. In addition to the regular membership, there are two liaison members who represent the Hope Mills Senior Citizens Club and the Hope Mills Youth Association. One vacancy to expire February 2020.

• Historic Preservation Commission – second Wednesdays at Hope Mills Recreation Center, 5 p.m. The committee advises the governing body on issues related to historic identification and preservation. Two vacancies to expire February 2020.

• Appearance Commission – fourth Tuesdays at Hope Mills Recreation Center, 7 p.m. This committee seeks to enhance and improve the visual quality and aesthetic characteristics of the town. One vacancy to expire February 2020.

• Veterans Affairs Commission – fourth Thursdays at the Hope Mills Recreation Center, 7 p.m. The committee is comprised of town residents who are armed services veterans. Members advise the town on affairs related to its active and retired military citizens. Three vacancies expire in February 2020.

Promote yourself

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

Several months ago, my column titled “Racial diversity in the Fayetteville Fire Department: Rest of the story” addressed the issue of there being very few black firefighters in our city’s fire department. I agreed that where the Fayetteville population is 41 percent black and 45 percent white, it is unacceptable that only 2.7 percent of the department’s employees are black. In another column during the same period, I objected to how this matter was addressed by some members of city council during a meeting where Fire Chief Ben Major did a presentation. That presentation detailed the diversity problem and what was being done to increase black representation in the department. The column title was “Successfully controlling the thoughts and actions of Black Americans.” Both columns are on my website at www.karlmerritt.com/category/articles/.

Thinking the matter was being successfully addressed, I moved on to other topics. Then an article by Jeff Thompson in the Jan. 10-16, 2018, issue of Up & Coming Weekly grabbed my attention. The headline was “Dealing with lack of diversity.” Thompson reported on a Jan. 2 work session of the Fayetteville City Council where Fire Chief Ben Major provided an update regarding efforts to improve diversity in the department. Given that there had been no noticeable increase in the number of blacks in the department, the discussion turned to causes and possible solutions. Thompson’s article included two quotes that prompted me to follow up. Councilman Jim Arp was quoted as saying to Major, “‘You need to open the tool box.’” Mayor Mitch Colvin was quoted as saying, “‘You’re the professionals, so figure it out.’”

I contacted both men to further discuss their comments. Arp explained that he was encouraging the examination of a wide range of actions that might increase black representation in the department. He mentioned one tool that he raised in the meeting and that Thompson reported: “allowing certified firefighters from other communities to be hired.” Adding to this tool, Arp suggested hiring individuals based on their potential for, through training, gaining the skills not currently possessed that are required to qualify for hiring; recruiting at gatherings of firefighters, such as conventions; and outreach to students approaching high school. Other tools were discussed, and I left that conversation better understanding Arp’s “tool box” comment and appreciating his overall point.

The discussion with Colvin was, in my estimation, equally productive by way of better understanding his comment of “‘You’re the professionals, so figure it out.’” Colvin explained that he sees the role of council to be one of setting policy. In the case of fire department diversity, that means providing a framework within which the department is able to successfully address the issue. In line with this thinking, the following is from his email to me after our conversation:

“As I mentioned, I am equally concerned with the department’s employee diversity. Our department’s 2.7 percent, compared to our municipal peers who have nearly 5xs the number of minorities.

I am hopeful that we can maintain our high qualification standards and never compromise on the physical and academic requirements. However, it is fair to ask the question why the interview process accounts for 60 percent of the scoring matrix. The interview carries more weight than the applicant’s physical and academic combined (score). This may be our problem.

Monica Vendituoli, Fayetteville Observer staff writer, summarized the Jan. 2 discussion appropriately in an article headlined “Lateral hiring, interview discussed to improve firefighter diversity.” In it, she said, “Lateral hiring, a consultant, a symposium and changing how interviews are handled were all suggestions on how to diversify the Fayetteville Fire Department that the City Council discussed during a work session Tuesday night.”

I do not doubt for a moment that there is a sincere effort underway to increase the number of black firefighters in Fayetteville. What troubles me about this effort, and so many others across our nation and around the world, is the seeming unwillingness to confront and address the core causes of, and effective solutions to, the problems that plague us. Rev. Robby Gallaty shared an experience that illustrates this point. It appears in the Sunday school book “Bible Studies for Life: Winter 2017-2018.” Gallaty wrote, “When I came home from work one day, I discovered a pipe had burst in the bathroom and the room was filled with water. I attacked the leak with towels and a mop as quickly as I could. I would haul out a bucket full of water and return to mopping up more water. I did this repeatedly. I never made any progress because as I hauled water out of the bathroom, more water replaced it by the time I got back.

“The problem? I wasn’t fixing the source of the trouble, only masking it. I wasn’t able to solve the problem of water in the bathroom until I got to the root of it and fixed the burst pipe.”

What was outlined in that working session, if pursued, will likely increase the number of black firefighters for a while but will not lead to maintenance of acceptable levels over the long term. These actions are like mopping but not stopping the leak. Here is what I mean. The following is from my column titled “Successfully controlling the thoughts and actions of black Americans,” published in June 2017. Referring to a chart presented to council by Major showing statistics from the then most recent round of hiring, I wrote, “The chart showed the following regarding black males: Total applicants, 130; eliminated at review, 20; failed to schedule exam, 40; no show at exam, 17; withdrew after exam, 1; failed exam, 25; did not schedule PAT, 1; did not show at PAT, 3; failed PAT, 2; successfully completed these steps, 21 (out of 163 eligible at this stage).

Then, I wrote, “Honest examination of facts would require drilling down to determine why the black male numbers at every critical step in the hiring process reflect far less than acceptable or reasonably expected performance. For instance, why would 31 percent of black male applicants fail to self-schedule for the written exam? How is it 48 percent of black males who took it failed an exam written on a 10th-grade level? Against this backdrop, consider the following from a 2011 Policy Notes report. The report comes under the heading “Addressing Achievement Gaps: Positioning Young Black Boys for Educational Success” and can be found at https://files. eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED528986.pdf: “Average black male achievement falls far below that of white and Asian boys. Only 12 percent of black fourth grade boys are proficient in reading, compared to 38 percent of white boys. Only 12 percent of black eighth grade boys are proficient in math, compared to 44 percent of white boys. By fourth grade, black students may be three full years behind their peers.”

This statement of fact regarding the proficiency of black boys in reading and math points to what is probably the most impactful factor in poor test performance by black males applying to become Fayetteville firefighters. Nowhere in the discussion of the problem have I heard this consideration raised. Like stopping bathroom flooding, attention must be given to causes. That gets into really treacherous territory because one must look at parenting performance, cultural influences, societal norms, individual attitudes and several other factors. Giving attention to any of these factors is now contrary to political correctness and very high-risk for politicians.

I suggest that Colvin and members of council meet with Major and appropriate personnel to, in a civil manner, define the problem, forthrightly assess causes, brainstorm solutions, and develop a plan for resolving the issue. Keys to success of such an effort are civility and forthrightness.

My wife asked me what I was writing about in this column. When I said, “lack of diversity in the fire department,” knowing that I had written on this topic before, she asked if there would be anything new. My response was, “Probably not, but there are times when repetition is needed.”

The high school wrestling season is getting close to the finish line, and three Cumberland County wrestlers are currently ranked at the top of the heap in their respective classes.

The most recent rankings at NCMat.com showed two Cape Fear wrestlers, 170- pound Mike Vernagallo and 285-pound Josh Jones, at the No. 1 position. Joining them at No. 1 is Pine Forest’s Daniel Peede at 152 pounds. Vernagallo and Jones are in the 3-A classification while Peede competes at the 4-A level.

Of the three, Vernagallo is the only one still unbeaten for the season through Jan. 17. Jones and Peede both have losses they picked up over the Christmas break, Jones in the Holy Angels tournament in Charlotte and Peede in the WRAL tournament in Raleigh.

Records posted on ncprepsports.net as of Jan. 15 had Peede 29-1, Jones 26-1 and Vernagallo 29-0.

Vernagallo is chasing his second state wrestling title, having won for the first time last season, while Jones and Peede will both be looking for higher finishes as they attempt to again qualify for the state tournament this season.

Cape Fear coach Heath Wilson said Vernagallo and Jones both provide leadership for his Colt team, which is among the best in the state this year.

“Mikey is a dominant force, a freak of nature,’’ Wilson said. “Josh is one heck of a man when he gets on the mat. It’s tough to deal with his strength and size, but he’s also teachable, which is probably the biggest asset with Josh. You teach him something and he grabs hold.’’

Pine Forest coach Charles Daniels said he has no problem motivating Peede. “He’s an independent guy,’’ Daniels said. “He takes it on himself to go to club wrestling. He’s like a second coach. He knows what to do and makes it happen.’’

Peede said being top-ranked with only one loss doesn’t put any pressure on him. “Last season, I was ranked pretty high, so I’m used to it,’’ he said. “If there’s a target on my back and everybody is coming for me, I welcome it. It’s not going to change the way we do things.’’

Like Peede, both Vernagallo and Jones are looking ahead to the major competitions waiting at the end of the season: conference tournament, regionals and state finals.

Vernagallo’s main goal has been to get a more solid physique and stay healthy. “Last year, I was a small 170,’’ he said. “I just lifted, and my diet got better, more meats and carbs.’’

Jones has been focusing on consistency and taking one match at a time. “Right now, I’m focusing on staying healthy and making sure by body is in tip-top shape,’’ he said.

Cape Fear also has a shot at a state team title, and Jones said the whole team has one goal in the matches remaining.

“To pin and not get pinned,’’ he said. “That’s basically all we’ve got to do.’’

Photos L to R : Mike Vernagallo; Josh Jones; Daniel Peede

The town of Hope Mills is heading into the new year enjoying a continuing pattern of growth. Melissa Adams says the challenge of the year ahead is growth management. Adams is Hope Mills’ new town manager. She’s a native of neighboring Moore County and has 27 years of experience in municipal administration.

Adams came to Hope Mills from Carthage as town clerk in 2011. A year ago, she became Hope Mills’ interim manager, succeeding John Ellis, who resigned. In March of 2017, she was promoted to town manager by the board of commissioners and was salaried at $92,000 a year. It’s her first job as a municipal manager, responsible for a town government of 150 employees and a population on the verge of 17,000 residents.

Given her experience, Adams was well aware that the average term of service of small-town administrators is about three years. She said it was a concern when she considered whether to accept the job offer, but, “I felt like I was ready for more.”

She added that she feels she’s more than proven herself since becoming town manager.

Perhaps her greatest achievement thus far is helping to fix what she called “the broken relationship between the town and chamber of commerce.” Adams believes both agencies are now working in harmony for the good of the community.

The town’s centerpiece, Hope Mills Lake, is ready to be impounded now that the dam has been rebuilt. The 121-acre lake is fed by natural streams and contained by the new $9.6 million dam. Adams said she hopes the lake can be opened to the public this summer. A new ordinance will allow swimming and “no wake boating.” Water skiing and speed boating won’t be allowed. Town officials are excited about developing a lakeside boardwalk, a new dock and a pier. Adams said regulatory procedures are the final hurdle and that town government is trying to clarify and pay various fees that are still pending so the state will issue a final permit.

Adams believes growth management will be the key to better government in the new year. “I’m excited about the year ahead,” she said. She intends to continue holding citizens academies twice a year to better educate the people on the operation of local government. She said she is dedicated to transparency in government.

“We have definitely reduced the number of closed sessions,” she said. Adams said she wants to develop closer working relationships with the city of Fayetteville and the Public Works Commission. Town government is collaborating with the local economic development corporation to determine the kinds of growth needed in Hope Mills.

She hopes to address how the town will develop the former golf course on Golfview Drive, which is owned by the town. Other projects include a museum on Trade Street, and traffic congestion must be dealt with.

Adams said the main streets in town are designated state roads, which means they are governed and maintained by the North Carolina Department of Transportation. Adams was quick to point out that the new traffic median along Main Street was DOT’s doing, not the town’s. The state has been constructing roadway medians on major arteries across Cumberland County, insisting that they reduce accidents. Adams said congestion management is the state’s responsibility and that DOT must work with the town to relieve gridlock. It’s at its worst when school buses clog the streets and during rush hours.

The Hope Mills Board of Commissioners holds its 2018 planning retreat Saturday, March 2, at Camp Rockfish.

Photo: Melissa Adams, Hope Mills town manager

Sometimes, fiction is a better teacher than history books or newspaper columns. A powerful new novel set in Pinewood, North Carolina, a fictional modern foothills town, proves the point. 

“No One Is Coming to Save Us” by North Carolina native and Lehigh University associate professor Stephanie Powell Watts has been cast as a reimagining of “The Great Gatsby” in a new setting. But its great strength is a rich portrayal of an extended African- American family.

Family members deal with the town’s economic decline as its furniture manufacturing base fades away. The legacy of segregation and racism complicates and enriches their efforts to find places in life.

JJ Ferguson, the book’s Gatsby figure, returns to his hometown with lots of money and to build a mansion on a hill overlooking the modest place where he grew up.

His real purpose, it turns out, is to reconnect with his high school girlfriend, Ava.

But Ava is married to Henry and has an established white-collar professional job. More than anything, she wants to have a child. Her every effort has been a disappointment.

Ava’s mother, Sylvia, was like a mother to JJ when he was growing up. When he comes to visit, he teases Sylvia when she tells him she has not had time or money to put pictures on the wall of her small apartment.

He says, “You’re going to have to get your black woman card revoked if you don’t get Barack on the wall.”

She responds, “You mean my old black woman card, don’t you?”

She continues, “Do you remember when all the barbershops used to have Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr. pictures up? Is Barack up there with them now? He should be, I figure.”

Sylvia clearly loves JJ, more so because her own son has been a disappointment. Also, her husband, Don, while charming, is another disappointment.

Meanwhile, unknown to Ava, Henry has developed a relationship with a white woman, and they have a child named Zeke. When Ava sees Zeke for the first time, he looks just like Henry. Crushed by Henry’s disloyalty and by her inability to have Henry’s child, she is vulnerable to JJ’s efforts to reconnect.

She goes with JJ to his new house. Watts writes that as Ava undresses, “She felt slightly erotic, slightly disgusted like she stuck her finger in the muddy soil of a potted plant. She had never cheated on Henry, not once.”

She would have told JJ that fact, “but she didn’t want to ruin the moment by mentioning Henry’s name.”

Watts continues, “She knew for a fact that her marriage was over. She was not sad for the fact, but for the knowledge of the fact.”

Ava brings back the memory of making love with JJ years before and remembers thinking, as Watts writes, “She’d wanted a life, her life, but she’d had a small palpable, unreasonable hope that she would get pregnant and the hard work of planning and focusing would be taken from her, out of her hands, and bound up in a baby with this sad sweet boy.”

There is no completely happy ending, but as The New York Times’ reviewer Jade Chang explains, “The novel’s intricately plotted relationships pay off satisfyingly in its final chapters. When Gatsby didn’t get what he wanted, the story could only end with his death, but Watts’s characters are people who have seen generations of dreams stymied and thwarted – for their kin, their community and themselves. Rather than giving up if the game doesn’t go their way, they do what they’ve always done: Forget the rules, shake up the players and turn Gatsby’s green dock light gold.”

Some argue the craziest people in all of sports are ice-hockey goaltenders, who seek out a tiny chunk of rubber whizzing toward them at nearly 100 miles per hour. Sure, they wear padding and have special equipment to protect them, but to defy human nature and willingly take a hit from a puck – well, that would take a mad man, or a mad dog, in the case of Marksmen netminder Peter Di Salvo.

“When I was about 4 or 5 years old, I was on a baseball team called the Mad Dogs,” Di Salvo said. “During and after games, I was a typical kid, always excited; (I) loved being on the team. Since we were the Mad Dogs, I would get all hyped up like a dog regularly. My parents would call me Mad Dog as a joke to cater (to) me.”

The Mad Dog moniker stuck for Di Salvo, who at an early age knew he would be between the pipes every time he stepped onto the ice.

“When I was 6, I got my first goalie mask, and my parents decided to put “The Mad Dog” on my mask,” he said. “My team was the Oakville Rangers, so my parents got my mask painted to resemble Mike Richter’s (New York Rangers) helmet. The main difference was instead of the Statue of Liberty on the top of the mask, there was a bulldog, and the nickname has stuck ever since.”

Twenty-one years after receiving that mask, Di Salvo hasn’t slowed down. The veteran netminder appeared in his 100th Southern Professional Hockey League game December 1, 2017, in a game against the Peoria Rivermen.

He’s also found a second home during the summer months where he can continue to play the sport he loves in an unconventional place: Australia.

“Once the season is finished here in Fayetteville, I will be heading straight back to Canada ASAP for a few days and then head to Australia from there,” said Di Salvo, who will join the Perth Thunder for a second straight season this summer. “While I am there, we only play on weekends and only practice twice a week. During my spare time there, I work to earn money, do my own workouts and explore different parts of Australia.”

As for any differences between North American and Australian hockey, the most notable come off the ice, according to Di Salvo.

“There are a lot of differences between Australian and (North American) hockey. The main difference is the hockey family. Every team has their fans, and every team’s fans have so much respect for every other team, other teams’ players, owners, coaches, etc. … (there is) no negativity or tension between the teams and their fan bases.”

But before he can start thinking about his time in the land Down Under, he knows he has a job to do in Fayetteville.

“We just need to build off our success and consistently play smart hockey,” he said. “We need to create our own steady ride instead of being on a roller coaster with all the ups and downs. As long as we stick together and play for each other, we can have more success.”

Photo: Peter Di Salvo