The Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra presents its fifth annual Symphonic Salute to the U. S. Armed Forces on Sunday, May 28, 7:30 p.m. in Festival Park located in downtown Fayetteville.  

“This is our fifth year doing this and it is a concert to honor all of our armed forces that have fought for this country. We want to remember them,” said Julia Atkins, FSO director of artistic operations and marketing. 

“The idea originated from a conversation between the Army Ground Forces Band of Fort Bragg and the Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra, and we thought it would be great to do a collaborative project during the Memorial Day weekend.” Atkins added that this is the first year the symphony is doing this on their own because the band is no longer in existence.

The concert will be conducted by Dr. Timothy Altman. He is UNC Pembroke’s music department chair, a professor of trumpet and Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra’s principal trumpet. 

“The music will be a mix of classical and pop and obviously patriotic music as well,” said Atkins. “We are going to do several marches and we will open the concert with ‘The Star Spangled Banner.’”  

Atkins added that the orchestra will play a few John Williams tunes, patriotic songs and an older tune titled “A Salute to the Big Band” for some of the older veterans. “The Armed Forces Salute” will be played, a song tied to the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines and the Coast Guard. Typically when this song is played everyone who is a part of the armed forces or has a family member in the armed forces will be asked to stand when they hear their service song being played.      

Food trucks will be on site from R. Burgers, Charlie’s Ice and Babann’s Southern Fried Chicken.  “The event continues to be a huge success and it draws in 3,000–4,000 people each year,” said Atkins. “Please arrive early because parking is a challenge.”   

The concert is free and open to the public. Bring your blankets and lawn chairs to sit on. Chairs will not be provided. In the case of inclement weather the concert will be moved indoors to Huff Concert Hall at Methodist University. 

For more information call (910) 433-4690 or visit www.fayettevillesymphony.org.   

The Fayetteville Kiwanis Club presents their 66th annual Talent Night Showcase on Saturday, June 10, 7 p.m. at Cape Fear Regional Theatre. 

“This has always been one of the premiere fundraisers of the Fayetteville Kiwanis Club and it probably has one of the longest traditions,” said Bill Bowman, publisher of Up & Coming Weekly. “To be able to sustain a children’s cultural program for that long is absolutely amazing and something that we cherish.” 

Bowman added that Kiwanis Club opens the event up to all children in Cumberland County in kindergarten through 12th grade. He also said the club feels it is important that children have a venue to showcase their talents because these kids work hard, go to music lessons and train, but they have very few opportunities to really showcase their talents. 

About 20 years ago the Cape Fear Regional Theatre became a partner in the event. Since then, students not only get a chance to perform — they get to do it onstage at the Cape Fear Regional Theater. 

The categories are preschool–2nd grade, 3rd–5th grade, 6th–8th grade and 9th–12th grade.  

Two new classical divisions have been added this year. There will be 1st, 2nd and 3rd place  winners and $2,000 in cash, trophies and scholarships will be awarded. 

The overall winner will receive a trophy and $200. The first place winner in each division will receive a trophy and $100. The second place winner in each division will receive a trophy and $50. The third place winner in each division will receive a trophy and $25. 

Four music scholarships of $150 each will be awarded for voice, strings, piano and band instrument.

The proceeds from ticket sales will be used to support local Kiwanis projects for children. “All the money we raise goes back into this community to help children’s initiatives,” said Bowman.  Some of those initiatives are Terrific Kids, Reading is Fundamental, Every Kid a Swimmer and many more.

“What has been amazing is there have been dozens upon dozens of kids from Fayetteville that perform on the stage in the Kiwanis Talent Night show that have gone on to do great things,” said Bowman. “Those children have been Miss North Carolina, performed in Carnegie Hall, obtained jobs with the Boston Philharmonic, performed on Broadway and other accomplishments.”

To register for the event, visit www.fayettevillekiwanis.org/talent/ or pick up an application at the Up & Coming Weeklybuilding at 208 Rowan St., Wendy’s restaurants or from your music, art or dance instructor. 

Auditions will be on Saturday, June 3 at the Honeycutt Recreation Center. The audition cannot exceed 3 1/2 minutes. You will be contacted about your audition time. The deadline for submitting applications for auditions is June 1. 

Tickets cost $7 and will be available at the door. For more information, contact Bill Bowman at (910) 391-3859.  

There is always something fun to do at 4th Friday. The art openings, historical exhibits, music, shopping,  activities, great dining experiences; what’s not to love? 

On May 26, The Arts Council of Fayetteville/Cumberland County opens one of its most popular exhibits — the “Public Works” exhibition. What makes this exhibit so special is that all of the art in the show is by local artists from Bladen, Cumberland, Harnett, Hoke, Lee, Montgomery, Moore, Richmond, Robeson, Sampson, and Scotland Counties, Fort Bragg or Pope Field.  

The Fayetteville Public Works Commission sponsors the   community-wide exhibit. Attendees are invited to vote for their favorite pieces. The “People’s Choice” winner will receive a gift basket and the winners of the online virtual vote will receive prizes from the Arts Council. Many of the pieces will be available for purchase as well. The exhibit will be on display through July 22. Visit www.theartscouncil.com for more information.

Each month, the Downtown Alliance plans fun, themed activities for 4th Friday. This month, the theme centers around the Field of Honor, which is sponsored by the Alliance and the Airborne  & Special Operations Museum Foundation.  

The Field of Honor, located at ASOM and the NC Veterans Park, is a living display of heroism that flies as a patriotic tribute to the strength and unity of Americans. Find out more at www.ncfieldofhonor.com.

Cape Fear Studios offers another option to view the work of local artists with its 27th Annual Members’ Exhibit. The show includes pottery from visiting artist Ben Owens. There will be a reception from 6-9 p.m. 

At Headquarters Library, enjoy big band music from Second Time Around. Favorites include pieces by Glenn Miller, Les Brown and more. The band will also perform music from the ‘50s, ‘60s and ‘70s from 7 to 9 p.m.

Children will enjoy a visit to Fascinate-U Children’s Museum where they can creats spring flowers and explore the museum from 7-9 p.m. for free.

The Market House opens for 4th Friday with different exhibits throughout the year. This month, the exhibit is all about banking. Take in the exhibit and enjoy the view from  upstairs from  6 to 10 p.m.  The banking exhibit is in addition to the permanent exhibit, “A View from the Square: A History of Downtown Fayetteville.”

Of North Carolina’s six largest cities, only Fayetteville does not offer public transportation service on Sundays.  

Even the smaller cities of Asheville and Wilmington provide bus service on the Sabbath. The Fayetteville Advisory Committee on Transit has recommended that City Council begin limited Sunday service, but City Manager Doug Hewett did not include it in his proposed budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1. Overall, bus ridership has declined over the past year, reversing a growth trend. Charlotte and Greensboro have also seen declines. “We believe our ridership has been impacted by low gasoline prices,” said Transit Director Randy Hume.

In their continuing support of transit service, several City Council members told Hewett they would like to see Sunday service worked into the new budget. Transit Director Hume suggested that initial service on the Sabbath include 10 bus routes. He said the advisory committee considered bus ridership on Saturdays to project likely Sunday use. A study found that 1,241 patrons would likely ride buses on Sunday compared to 3,244 Saturday riders. Average ridership weekdays is 5,816, said Hume.

Sunday service, even in an abbreviated format, would require four-and-a-half months of preparation if approved by City Council. Additional operators, supervisor time and maintenance staff would be required, said Assistant Transit Director Kelly Blazey.  

“We will need time to get through the hiring process, provide training, update our printed materials, hold any necessary public meetings regarding the changes and advertise the changes,” she added. FAST estimates it would cover 34 weeks of service in FY18. On an annualized basis, officials estimate total costs for limited bus service on Sundays would be nearly $336,000 with $152,000 funded by passenger fares and grants. The remaining $183,00 would have to come from the general fund. And, $30,000 could be shifted from operating grants to provide additional support for Sunday service. If approved by City Council, buses would run on the following routes:

Route 3        Cedar Creek Rd.

Route 5        Ramsey St.

Route 6        University Estates / Bragg Blvd. / Cross Creek Mall

Route 7        Savoy Heights / Robeson St. / Raeford Rd.

Route 8        Southern Ave. / Owen Dr. /CFV Med Ctr.

Route 12      Murchison Rd. / University Estates

Route 14      Downtown / Eutaw / Cross Creek Mall

Route 17      West Fayetteville / Cliffdale Rd.

Route 18      Skibo Rd. / Hollywood Heights

Route 15      Cross Creek Mall / Glensford Dr. / CFV Med Ctr.

Times will vary by half an hour or so from route to route, but would be available from 9 a.m. until 7 p.m. And FASTtrac transit service would be available on all of the above routes. 

New Fayetteville Military Healthcare Facility

The Fayetteville Rehabilitation Clinic is a new joint venture between Womack Army Medical Center and the Fayetteville VA Medical Center. The clinic provides expanded access to physical therapy, speech-language pathology and occupational therapy services for VA and Department of Defense enrollees in the greater Fayetteville area. 

“This clinic is an excellent example of how patients can benefit when we as the VA and DoD consolidate our efforts in support of service members, former service members and their families,” said Col. Lance Raney, commander of Womack Army Medical Center. 

The joint initiative allows the Army and VA to work together to promote efficient and cost-effective resource-sharing ideas, officials said. “One of the constant challenges we face is increasing access to care for a steadily growing patient population,” said VA Medical Center Director Elizabeth Goolsby. The 10,000 square-foot facility offers rehabilitative care and services. Staff includes eight physical therapists, three occupational therapists, one speech-language pathologist and 13 therapy assistants. The Fayetteville Rehabilitation Clinic is located at 4101 Raeford Rd.

The Last Change of Command

The 1st Sustainment Command (1st TSC) hosted a change of command ceremony for its new commander, Maj. Gen. Flem B. Walker Jr., and outgoing commander, Maj. Gen. Paul C. Hurley Jr., at the Fort Bragg Ritz-Epps Physical Fitness Center. 

The ceremony marked the last change of command for the unit. It is being reassigned to Fort Knox, Kentucky, as part of Army restructuring. The 1st TSC provides a critical sustainment support mission to the Army and multinational forces in the U.S. Central Command. Formerly known as COSCOM, the 1st TSC was originally designated to support Fort Bragg’s XVIII Airborne Corps.

Bridge Replacement Near Hope Mills

A 54-year-old bridge north of Hope Mills will be replaced. The Department of Transportation awarded a $729,221 contract to S&C Construction of Wilmington. The bridge is on Crystal Springs Road over Buckhead Creek, and was built to design standards that are now considered obsolete. It also has weight restrictions, which limit the types of vehicles that can use it. The new bridge will not have those restraints. Work on the project will begin next month and is expected to be completed by Dec. 1.

Citizen Survey Underway

Greater Fayetteville United is conducting a county-wide survey this month to measure trust, communication, interest and engagement in politics and national affairs. Group involvement, giving and volunteering, faith-based engagement and quality-of-life indicators are also part of the survey. It’s administered by a nationally-recognized consultant funded by grants from the Cumberland Community Foundation and the City of Fayetteville. 

The consultant is contacting approximately 4,000 randomly selected Cumberland County residents. “This project will provide the data we need to establish a benchmark and empower residents and local agencies as we work to build a stronger community and strengthen bonds,” said Dr. Darl Champion, president of Greater Fayetteville United. The results of the survey will be used to tackle local issues such as poverty, racism, trust, crime, homelessness and lack of civic engagement. GFU will reveal results of the survey at a community forum in the fall. 

No VA Hotline, Yet

Four months into his presidency, The Military Times reported Donald Trump’s White House has not set up a promised hotline for veterans’ complaints that he vowed would speed up reforms at the Department of Veterans Affairs. The idea was part of a 10-point plan unveiled last July. 

The hotline, Trump promised at a July 26 rally, would ensure that “no complaints would fall through the cracks …this could keep me very busy at night, folks.” The 10-point VA plan was recently removed from Trump’s campaign website along with a host of other pledges from last summer and fall. The president also pledged to create a commission “to investigate all the fraud, cover-ups, and wrongdoing that has taken place in the VA.” No such commission has been announced. 

Run for the Legend

The Airborne & Special Operations Museum will hold its 10th annual 5K/10K Run for the Legend on Saturday, June 3, at 8 a.m. All donations and proceeds from the event support the museum’s operational and educational programs and activities. USA Track & Field sanction the Run for the Legend. The certified course begins and ends on the Hay Street side of the museum. The top three men and women in each race receive trophies. 

Registration is available online at www.active.com and at the museum; it costs $20 in advance and $25 the day of the race. Strollers, wagons, and well-behaved, leashed dogs are permitted, but will be asked to start in the rear of the race.

Hit:Congratulations to Fayetteville’s 35th annual Dogwood Festival, possibly the best ever, recognized as among the top outdoor family events in the south.

Miss: Why are three city streets that connect Grove Street with Person Street inaccessible because bridges are out? The Ann Street bridge has gone without repairs for so long that it’s overgrown with a thicket of trees.

Hit:Thank you to the City of Fayetteville’s Budget staff for its comprehensive evaluation and understanding of the $200 million FY18 operating budget. Staff answered virtually every question council members brought up regarding the proposed FY18 budget, all of which helped councilmen and woman to keep the budget in perspective.

Miss:Cumberland County is not taking action on declining local residential property values when the problem was first recognized eight years ago. Now, Fayetteville and Cumberland County comprise the only metropolitan area in North Carolina where property values have gone down.

Hit: Kudos to business developers for building out most of the remaining commercial property along the south side of Skibo Road. Every new business adds to the tax base and takes some heat off
home owners.

Miss:Too many rules and restrictions confuse residents when they dispose of yard debris. Many people have no idea what they’re supposed to do. Pine straw and leaves are being raked to the curb and left there, sometimes for weeks, for the city to pick up. 

Hit:Fayetteville’s Airborne & Special Operations Museum was named one of the top military museums in the country. It’s truly a world-class museum.

Miss:City officials continue to allow a dozen ugly and smelly garbage cans to illegally block downtown Fayetteville’s Old Street and mar the beauty of the historic area.

Miss:Dear drivers in Fayetteville who think an amber traffic light means speed up to get through the intersection before the light turns red: You’re wrong! Green to amber means caution … slow down and prepare to stop.

Hit: Thank you, City of Fayetteville, for repaving streets in the Montclair neighborhood that were literally worn out when they were used as a detour during the years that Glensford Drive was being widened between Raeford and Morganton Roads. 

Last week I posted on social media that our city and county elected servants ought to review their proposed budgets together … in one room, sitting across the table from each other. I’m thinking if they sit down and compare what each is proposing, they can get a better understanding of what their proposed budgets will do to people they represent.

I got a lot of likes from the people — the voters, but nothing from our elected servants. I can understand that. They are a bit skittish about this year’s budget. To be fair, they are in a world of hurt. Reports are that most taxable property values in our county went down about 7 percent. So, each penny of property tax on $100 worth of property yields fewer tax dollars for both our city and county. And while you and I reduce our spending when money gets tight, the government doesn’t operate that way.

So, the county and city plan to raise their respective property tax rate to what government budgetcrats call “revenue neutral.” That means the rate will go up just enough to get the county and city the same amount it would have gotten before property values plummeted: from 74 cents to 78.4 cents for the county, and from 49.95 cents to 52.66 cents for the city. But then the county will add another 3.9 cents to pay for increases in this year’s budget, bringing the total county rate to 82.3 cents for every $100 worth of taxable property.

And don’t forget, the city manager also proposes to raise fees for collecting your garbage, recyclables and yard trash from $44 to $48, and stormwater fees from $45 to $51. Stormwater fees are supposed to be used by the city to alleviate flooding during heavy rains. That’s another subject all together.

But here is the kicker. Not everyone’s residential property value decreased. The revenue neutral hike will increase rates for those who didn’t see a drop in their property values for whatever reason. County commissioners and City Council members need to consider this hiccup in their budget decisions.

For example, let’s take a $150,000 house whose value did not change. The property tax increase that is supposed to be “revenue neutral” will increase the combined city and county property tax by $171.50.

My property value increased 1.3 percent. I thought it a fluke … an anomaly. I called five friends to check their revaluations. Three of the five had an increase larger than mine. One who had a decrease in his residential property value saw a 28 percent increase in his business property value.

Get this. His commercial property consists of three parcels. Two saw a significant increase in value that resulted in the 28 percent spike. The third parcel, which the state plans to take for a road widening project, decreased in value. That means the state will buy that parcel for a much lower price. I’m sure that was purely coincidental.

We can’t figure out why three of the five people in my social circle had their property values increase when all I’m hearing is about how property values decreased. I’m sure the more people I call, the more will probably say their property values decreased.

But I was curious, and so I headed to the Cumberland County Tax Record website to compare 2016 to 2017 property values in my neighborhood. Here is where it gets weird.

One neighbor’s property value decreased by $1,000. Two other neighbors’ property values increased by 3.1 and 1.4 percent. All the houses are within a stone’s throw of each other, and all were built around the same time.

Here’s the weirdest part: One house that has been in structural and aesthetic decline for several years increased in value by $4,000. The owner abandoned the house earlier this year. It’s an eyesore that guards the entrance into our small community. We reported it to the city, and they slapped a sign on the garage door asking the owner to clean the property. Did I say the owner abandoned the property? Go figure.

I fought the sink, and the sink won. I don’t know what you did on Mother’s Day, but I re-enacted Jules Verne’s “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea” at our kitchen sink. For those of you who came in late, in 1954 Walt Disney made a movie version of“20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.” It’s a great movie, starring James Mason as Captain Nemo, the Nautilus as the world’s first steampunk submarine, and the Kraken as the Giant Squid. 

The plot is intense. Rumors of a sea monster attacking ships cause the U.S. government to send out a ship to discover what is going on. Turns out the sea monster is actually the Nautilus submarine commanded by the semi-crazed Captain Nemo. A bunch of exciting stuff happens in the movie: cannibals, hurricanes, deserted islands, and best of all, an attack by a giant squid. 

Mother’s Day is when the prodigal children come home to assure their Moms that all the excitement they provided during their childhood was worth it. Our house was no different. Both sons came home to see their mother. Moms are not supposed to cook on Mother’s Day, so I was in charge of lunch. After a brief time at the sink doing culinary things, I noticed the sink had decided not to drain. Where there should have been a vortex sucking liquid into who knows where, there was only a calm sea filling up the sink each time the water was turned on. This could not be good.

The logical thing was to turn on the garbage disposal to drain away trouble into the bowels of PWC. Didn’t work. Instead, the water in the sink on the garbage disposal side bubbled up on the smaller side sink. It wasn’t just water. It was water with chunks of loathsome black stuff. Some of the dark flotsam was fine grained. There was something in the pipes. I suspected either a submarine or a giant squid.

Being a husband of many decades, I had to make a quick decision. Who to blame? Ah ha! My wife had made a batch of her excellent deviled eggs recently. The egg shells had fallen into the sink. While she had removed most of the shells, undoubtably some shells had fallen into the drain and clogged it up. Blame wrongly assigned, I could self-righteously begin the process of turning the garbage disposal on and off in the vain hope of eventually breaking up the clog or the sea serpent that was creating the sink tsunamis.This did not work.

I vowed not to be defeated by a mere sink harboring the Clog from the Black Lagoon. Doing the manly thing, I went to Lowes. I bought something called a mini sink plunger that looks like a plastic accordion. For less than four bucks, my problem appeared to be solved. Unfortunately, this tool did not work. I decided to hold a stopper down in the small sink while I turned on the garbage disposal.This seemed to work briefly. The water in the garbage disposal side began to drain. As Borat would say, “Great success.”

Modestly, I felt a kinship to the heroism of Big Bad John as immortalized in Jimmy Dean’s greatest song. I began humming a modified version: “Then came that day at the bottom of the sink/ When the Clog emerged and black goo started flyin’/ Mother’s Day dinner was expected and hearts beat fast/ And everybody thought they had eaten their last/ Except Dad/ Big Bad Dad/ Through the fetid water and wet chunks of this man-made hell walked a giant of a Dad that the family knew well/ Grabbed a metal stopper, gave out with a groan/ And like a giant dumb bell just stood there alone/ Big Dad/ With all of his strength, he gave a mighty shove/ And a son yelled out, ‘There’s a drain being unplugged’/ And three family members scrambled from a watery grave/ Now there’s only one left down there to save, Big Dad/ Then came that rumble way down in the ground/ And water and chunks belched out of that drain/ And everybody knew that Dad’s plumbing efforts were in vain.

It turns out water is not compressible. America’s favorite geyser, Old Faithful, erupted from the small sink, spraying a magnificent stream of filthy chunky water onto me and into the air. Water, water everywhere. And yet the boards do shrink. Tonight, let us praise professional plumbers. 

U.S. Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.) just published a book. Not a diatribe about our paralyzed Congress, our dreadful 2016 election, or Democrats and Republicans duking it out all over our nation, Sasse’s “The Vanishing American Adult: Our Coming-of-Age Crisis and How to Rebuild a Culture of Self-Reliance” suggests something else entirely. 

Sasse writes that perhaps loving but overprotective parents have raised a generation of young adults who are not assuming responsibilities shouldered without question by their parents, grandparents and older forebearers. Perhaps our young folks need to step up to the plate. 

Hello, millennials! Not everyone sees “The Vanishing American Adult” in this context. Some see Sasse’s literary effort as the requisite book written by a politician with higher aspirations. Sniffed Alyssa Rosenberg in a review in The Washington Post titled “To Make America Great Again, Give Your Kid Chores,” Sasse’s book “comes across as an effort to set Sasse up for a larger role on the national stage.” 

Writing for The New York Times, Jennifer Szalai hints at the same motivation, describing the Senator as “a 45-year-old conservative whose political ascent has been remarkably swift.”

Senator Sasse may well be positioning himself for the one office larger than the U.S. Senate, so stay tuned to what the former college-president-now-politician is up to and what he says. 

Meanwhile, Sasse’s newly-published book strives hard to make salient and painful points that have been made before by other authors and thinkers and which gives many American parents considerable pause. Think helicopter parents.

When one of the Precious Jewels, then a pipsqueak, headed into the third grade, I stopped by the school to meet his teacher, new to that elementary school. She confided that she had come from a school in a disadvantaged neighborhood where she never met a parent of any of her students. She had transferred into a school with high achieving parents who expected the same from their children. So many mothers had dropped by to tell the new teacher about their very special “Susie” and “Stevie” that the new teacher felt smothered and doubted her decision to change schools.

More than a little has been written about millennials, who have also been called Echoes of the baby boom, Generation 9/11, Generation Me, Trophy Kids and other terms generally applied to young people in western, developed nations. They have been described, as Sasse suggests, as self-absorbed, sheltered, pressured, confident, entitled and very special. 

They are also seen as seeking a comfortable balance between work and personal life, having a strong social consciousness, collaborative work habits and enviable technology skills.

As a proud and full-throated baby boomer born to parents of Tom Brokaw’s Greatest Generation, it is clear to me that collective life experiences define every generation. My parents’ generation lived through the Great Depression, World War II and the postwar economic boom. They were thrifty,
deliberate and conservative in their work and
personal lives. 

My fellow boomers and I grew up as part of the biggest demographic bump in American history to that point, requiring new schools and services at every stage in our lives, including all sorts of care services as we begin to fade into the sunset. 

We ignited and survived the great social upheaval in our nation during the 1960s and 70s and were also labeled self-absorbed and all about “me.” In our waning years, we also helped elect Donald Trump president of the United States.

So, it is no surprise that millennials have been and continue to be shaped by the world they encounter. They were children and college
students when the trauma of 9/11 forever
changed our nation. 

They are the most diverse and highly educated generation in American history, yet they still face the fallout of the Great Recession. As they establish careers and families, they no doubt have read speculation that they will never achieve the financial stability their parents have enjoyed.

They do not remember a time without computers and increasingly powerful technology that allows access to the entire world Instantaneous communication is their way of life. Their world is unlike those of their parents and grandparents, so it is hardly surprising that they are different
as well.

I suspect the criticism Sasse levels at millennials — and by extension, at their parents — carries both kernels of truth and a shallow understanding of one generation from another. I also suspect Senator Sasse has his eyes on our nation’s biggest political prize.

When my oldest walked across the stage at UNC Chapel Hill this past Mother’s Day to receive her diploma, I could not have been prouder. Big days like this don’t just happen. For more than two decades, countless people have invested in her and the entire class of 2017. 

My daughter is a product of the Cumberland County Schools system. I am thankful for everyone in it who contributed to her success: the teachers who pushed her to do her best; the ones who called her out when she was trying to get away with doing less; the ones who saw her struggle and offered encouragement; the ones who taught her how to be an independent thinker; the ones who taught her to love reading. 

I am thankful to the teachers who sponsored clubs that instilled in her a love of theater, debate, foreign languages, adventure and a sense of civility and love for her fellow man. I am thankful for the administrators who showed compassion when her dad was deployed and our family was struggling. I am thankful for administrators who were always kinds and professional.

My hat is off to the volunteers who spent time in her classrooms, held fundraisers to benefit local students and who helped in other ways I’ll never know. I’m thankful to all of them — and so many more. 

Having good-hearted, solid leaders who care for children at the helm of our education system makes all these things an everyday occurrence in this community. Cumberland County Schools Superintendent Dr. Frank Till Jr. is an excellent example of leadership, and he is serious about helping local students prosper. 

His efforts have not gone unnoticed. Dr. Till recently received the North Carolina PTA Superintendent of the Year Award and the North Carolina Association of School Administrators 2017 Raymond Sarbaugh Leadership Award. They are well-deserved. 

I know mine is not the only heart that is full this time of year. At commencement ceremonies across the country, proud families reflect and students celebrate, some showing their gratitude with messages like “Thanks, mom and dad!” on their mortarboards. That’s not been the experience everywhere, though.

It has been disheartening to watch the news coverage of graduations at some other establishments, including the booing of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos’s commencement speech at Bethune-Cookman University. Eventually, the noise became so disruptive that the school’s president, Edison O. Jackson, interrupted DeVos to tell the students, “If this behavior continues, your degrees will be mailed to you. Choose which way you want to go.” In addition to booing, several of the students had risen to their feet and turned their backs on DeVos.

Similarly, as Vice President Mike Pence took the stage to give a commencement speech this past Sunday at his alma mater, Notre Dame, a crowd of about 150 got up and walked out. While Pence did not acknowledge the walkout, he did note, “This university (Notre Dame) is a vanguard of the freedom of expression and the free exchange of ideas at a time, sadly, when free speech and civility are waning on campuses across America.”

Pride and hard work and all the warm fuzzies of the season aside, as a mom and as an American, it breaks my heart that this is the platform some choose in voicing their views. I am a firm believer in the First Amendment and expect people to stand up for their beliefs. There is also something to be said for having a little class and a sense of occasion. There is a time and place for booing, for protesting, for dissenting. A commencement ceremony is not one of them. 

Are we really turning out a generation of easily-offended, emotionally vulnerable snowflakes? For all our good intentions, has the helicopter parenting, coddling and overpraising backfired? Have we produced a graduating class across this country that is so self-centered and self-absorbed that sitting respectfully through one commencement address is just too much? I hope not. I choose to believe not. 

Although there were clearly some who chose to ruin a day that was decades in the making at Bethune-Cookman University and Notre Dame, I choose to believe that the class of 2017 is going to make the world a much better place. I believe they are up to the task! 

Cape Fear Regional Theatre invites the public to its 15th annual Blues-N-Brews festival on June 3 for a fun-filled Saturday evening at Festival Park. “(This) is going to be hands-down the best way to kick off your summer,” said CFRT Development Director Liz Thompson. “It checks all the boxes for a great time — cold beer, hot blues music, great food, awesome people and it’s all for a good cause!” Blues-N-Brews is CFRT’s big fundraising event each year. 

Three talented groups provide the “Blues” for the event. Mark McKinney & Co. play from 5-6:30 p.m., Tullie Brae from 6:45-8:15p.m., and Elliot and the Untouchables from 8:30-10p.m. 

Mark McKinney & Co. is an acoustic trio of three local musicians based out of Pembroke. Tullie Brae is a multi-instrumentalist  with roots in gospel music. She was a huge hit when she played at Brews-N-Brews two years ago and returns as a part of her current tour. Elliot and the Untouchables specialize in jump and jump-influenced blues, a style of music that combines elements of swing and blues. The band is hugely popular in the southeastern U.S. and last played at this event in 2008.

The “Brews” come from over 40 brewers, including every local brewer our area offers. One $35 ticket gets you a 3-ounce taste-testing glass, which you can use to taste as many of the more than 100 beers available as you want. These include craft beers, ciders and everything in between. 

For the first time, a small selection of the most popular beers will be available for purchase in full-sized quantities, for those who find what they like and want to stick to that. For non-beer lovers, Lu Mil Vineyard will have wine and wine slushies available for purchase. 

There will also be an abundance of dining options to browse through. Thompson said she’s particularly excited for this element. “I love a good food truck, and we’ve got some of the best coming,” she said. “There will be something for everyone — burgers, ribs, BBQ, shrimp, nachos, chicken and waffles, sweets and more.” 

Blues-N-Brews has grown since its inception 15 years ago and plans to maintain its momentum. Thompson said Festival Park has a maximum capacity of 10,000 people, and this year they’re at 3,000 registered to attend. Eventually, she said, CFRT would love to see the whole park filled. But the growth for this event has not only been in numbers. Quality is also increasing each year, as CFRT continues to prove itself to be a treasure our city needs. 

This year, CFRT won the Fayetteville’s Tourism & Development Authority grant. This enabled staff to expand marketing efforts to include the entire region, not just Cumberland County. CFRT also built a new partnership with Beasley radio station, and partnered with the popular new downtown store Pressed – A Creative Space to design this year’s T-shirts. 

This pattern of reaching out and making local connections to the benefit of everyone demonstrates the spirit CFRT carries. “We have 22 people who are part of making this event happen,” said Thompson. “Many of them are just community members who wanted to get involved. SarahMarie (Stewart) was a volunteer last year and was the food vendor chair. This year she’s the co-chair for the whole event!” For those interested in volunteering day-of for two to four-hour shifts, email bnbvolunteers@cfrt.org. 

Gates open at 4 p.m. for those who purchase a $75 VIP ticket. Tullie Brae will treat VIP guests to an extra concert in the VIP tent from 4-5 p.m., where guests can also enjoy local beer and food donated by Mash House Brewing Company. Regular tickets cost $35 each, include the unlimited taste-testing glass and free music, and grant admission at 5 p.m. Tickets for $15 are available for those who want to come in and enjoy the night without drinking. To learn more and purchase tickets, visit www.cfrt.org/BluesNBrews.

The Fayetteville Police Department is back up to full strength. Ten cadets just graduated from the Basic Law Enforcement Training class, pinned on their badges and were issued side arms. Until the graduation, the official count for the department was 427 sworn officers out of 433 authorized positions. Many officials focus on the racial composition of Fayetteville’s public safety services. Interim Police Chief Anthony Kelly is not one of them. Nor is City Manager Doug Hewett. Of those 427 sworn officers, only 80 of them are African-American.

“We’re looking at it in the wrong way,” declared Kelly. “We’ve been trying to recruit a community into a profession that has not been introduced to it as a viable career opportunity,” he said. Kelly added that he never interacted with the police as a youngster. “We almost will have to advance to another generation to start changing the mindset of young people.” Kelly was a recruiter for three years with the police department.

There’s a lot of work to be done among those who believe the FPD should better represent the community it serves. Fayetteville has one of the largest populations of African-Americans in North Carolina, yet the police department’s black composition is 19 percent of the whole. Of approximately 270 uniformed, patrol officers there are only five black sergeants in supervisory positions. Kelly isn’t alarmed about the numbers. “White supervisors could have an advantage in the black community. When I responded in the black community, I caught more flak from the people than elsewhere.” Kelly said in his experience white sergeants get more respect. When asked what that says about policing, he responded, “what does that say about black people … the community I live in must change the way it looks at things.”

Officials note that many African-American officers with career promotional opportunities in mind receive terrific training and experience in Fayetteville and then move on to other departments. Typically, municipal fire departments have even worse records of hiring and retaining blacks. Kelly was quick to recall that “being a fireman never crossed my mind when I was young.” He says most young black men and women never interact with firefighters. It’s a foreign career field to them.

City Councilman Chalmers McDougald doesn’t see it that way. He said it’s a matter of the city aggressively recruiting African Americans. He puts the responsibility on the city administration, especially the Office of Human Resources. HR is a core function of business and government. An HR department of an organization oversees various aspects of employment, such as compliance with labor law and employment standards, employee benefits as well as recruitment and dismissal. “HR is supposed to know the law,” said McDougald. “You have to have balance in the employee applicant pool,” he added We emailed City Manager Hewett with some questions about the hiring disparities and then spoke with him in person. “I’ve not reviewed this information and as such, can’t comment at this time,” he said. “That’s a big part of the problem,” Councilman McDougald declared. “I think they’ve tried to hide what they’re not doing, but anything that’s hidden can be dug up.” He concluded. Bi-racial employment issues in the fire department will be discussed by city council in June.

The City of Fayetteville can’t say when the Tokay Senior Fitness Center operated by the Fayetteville-Cumberland Parks & Recreation Department will re-open. The specialty center sustained extensive smoke damage during an electrical fire. It’s been closed since March 27. City spokesman Nathan Walls told Up & Coming Weekly that “there are too many variables to predict a reopening date.” The popular older adult fitness center has work out equipment including treadmills, stationary bikes, elliptical machines and Nautilus equipment. Seniors use the facility for physical rehabilitation and regular fitness regimens often as prescribed by physicians. Group exercise classes are also offered. Those classes are temporarily being held at the Smith Recreation Center, 1520 Slater Avenue. The exercise equipment room at the Smith Center is open for senior citizen patrons at 7 a.m. Monday-Friday.

Talk About a Major Motoring Inconvenience…
Local motorists accustomed to travelling Bragg Boulevard in an approach to downtown Fayetteville are trying to get used to a long detour. Drivers traveling toward downtown on Bragg Boulevard (N.C. 24) should be aware that a roadway closure between West Rowan Street and the Rowan Street bridge is in effect through June 15. DOT is detouring traffic to allow for the installation of a sewer line. The detour is marked, suggesting that inbound motorists turn left onto the Martin Luther King Jr. Freeway, to Ramsey Street. Then take a right to downtown. There are alternate routes as well. Inbound downtown drivers may want to use Fort Bragg Road, or they can turn right onto the MLK Jr. Freeway over to Hay Street and on into downtown.

Blackwell Seeks Superior Court Clerk’s Office
Cindy Blackwell, a former Chief Assistant Clerk of Cumberland County Superior Court, announces she will seek the Democratic nomination for the Clerk’s position. “The Clerk of Court serves an important role for our citizens and our court system,” she said in making her announcement. “Every day thousands of citizens access our courts, whether it’s to pay a seat-belt ticket, make a child-support payment or to execute a departed loved-one’s estate,” she added. Blackwell left the office in early 2014 when Senior Resident Superior Court Judge Jim Ammons passed over Blackwell and appointed District Court Judge Kim Tucker to succeed retired Clerk Linda Priest. Blackwell then accepted a position with the North Carolina Administrative Office of the Courts in Raleigh. “I have the background, the experience and understanding to serve you,” Blackwell said in news release announcing her candidacy.

Gander Mountain in Fayetteville Likely to Stay Open
Gander Mountain, a chain of hunting and outdoor stores, is not shutting down after being bought in a bankruptcy sale, according to the new owner, Marcus Lemonis of Camping World. He said reports that all the stores are closing are untrue and that at least 70 Gander Mountain locations will remain open. In North Carolina, Gander Mountain stores in Fayetteville and Winston-Salem will stay open. The others, including Raleigh, are still up in the air. Camping World has until Oct. 6 to determine which Gander Mountain locations it would like to keep. Lemonis is best known as host of CNBC’s reality series “The Profit.”

Lawyers for the Man Convicted of Killing Shaniya Davis Want a New Trial
Mario McNeill’s claim that he is entitled to a new trial for raping and murdering 5-year-old Shaniya Davis in 2009 “is bogus.” That’s the opinion of North Carolina Assistant Attorney General Anne M. Middleton. In oral arguments for a new trial before the North Carolina Supreme Court, Middleton recounted that McNeill told his attorneys, Allen Rogers and Coy Brewer, that he wanted to provide police information helpful to them. In so doing, she said, McNeill waived his attorney-client privilege. Brewer and Rogers then told authorities where they could find Shaniya Davis’s body, hoping the death penalty would be taken off the table. District Attorney Billy West offered McNeill a chance to plead guilty to avoid the death sentence, Middleton said, but he chose not to accept it. He went to trial in 2013 and was subsequently convicted and sentenced to death. Shaniya’s mother had sold her to McNeill in repayment of a $200 drug debt. Appellate lawyer Andrew DeSimone told the court that Rogers and Brewer were obliged to keep the information McNeill provided them by their client secret. The justices will review the oral arguments and written briefs, and decide whether McNeill should get a new trial.

Crisis Intervention Resources
Residents wishing to apply for Crisis Intervention Fund assistance should go to the Salvation Army Community Center at 220 E. Russell Street. The Salvation Army Center at 1047 Southern Ave. is temporarily closed because of recent flooding. The program is administered by the Cumberland County Department of Social Services for individuals and families experiencing a heating or cooling-related crisis. The CIP program is in effect until all funds are exhausted, or June 30. Money is paid directly to utility providers on behalf of approved applicants. Applications are accepted Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Detailed information is available from the Salvation Army at 910-483-8119.

As a citizen of Fayetteville, it is a frustrating and disappointing experience watching the negotiation process that intends to determine how future sales tax receipts will be divided among Cumberland County, Fayetteville and other municipalities in the county. I suggest residents of Fayetteville get informed and thoughtfully watch this process. Closely investigating what is happening guarantees an eye-opening moment that will, hopefully, result in Fayetteville citizens speaking up and demanding fairness.

Given that annexations reduce the amount of sales tax distributed to the county and municipalities, a 2003 agreement was reached that called for Fayetteville and towns to reimburse the county, or one another, half the sales tax distribution gained because of annexations. The initial agreement was for 10 years but was extended in 2013 for three more years. It was extended again in 2016 for three additional years with the understanding that in January 2017, the county and municipalities would commence negotiations regarding division of sales tax receipts. Those negotiations started on April 12 in a meeting where the county and municipalities were represented.

The distribution can be done one of two ways. One is as it is currently done, by per capita distribution, where the total of the county-wide population (in incorporated and unincorporated areas) and the populations of each municipality are used to calculate a proportional per capita distribution. The other is ad valorem distribution, where the sum of ad valorem (property) taxes levied by the county and each municipality, in the immediately preceding fiscal year, are used to calculate a proportional share of sales tax proceeds.

The crux of the matter is that the county and municipalities, except for Fayetteville, are in agreement to extend the current arrangement until 2023. Mayor Nat Robertson has been quoted in several reports as saying the city was giving up $2.1 million when the agreement was first reached. The city is now losing $6.7 million. Among other places, this statement was reported in an article titled, “Cumberland County, Fayetteville and town leaders debate sale tax funds” by Steve DeVane. In the end, Fayetteville is facing payouts that have no limit. The question for all involved, especially for residents of Fayetteville, is whether this is fair to those who live in and financially support the city.

I live in Fayetteville, and my answer is that the sales tax distribution arrangement in place, and being pushed for extension by the county and other municipalities, is horrendously unfair to residents of Fayetteville. What follows are some considerations that lead me to this conclusion.

As mentioned above, the annual amount paid is steadily increasing. Without doubt, these increasing payment amounts result from improved sales tax collections. Therein is a major point of unfairness. The bulk of sales tax receipts is generated in Fayetteville. Following is what I wrote during February 2016 in a column titled, “Cumberland County’s Sales Tax Distribution Squabble: An Example of What’s Wrong in America:”

Fayetteville’s Mayor, Nat Robertson, and City Manager, Ted Voorhees, led an information meeting on 13 January 2016 that was open to the public. One slide in the prepared presentation read: “Taxable sales within Fayetteville accounted for 82.6 percent of the county-wide total sales for FY2009 (the last year for which data is available). Under the state distribution methods, for FY2015 Fayetteville could only receive approximately 25 percent to 36 percent of the sales tax distributions.” It would appear reasonable that this be a point for consideration in determining fair distribution.

Given that the normal state distribution method yields a relatively low sales tax return for Fayetteville while a substantial portion of those taxes are generated in the city, it seems unfair that we suffer further under the modified distribution procedure. This unfair condition is compounded by allowing the amount transferred to the county and other municipalities to increase without limit.

The primary reason for increased sales tax revenue that is being distributed to the county and municipalities other than Fayetteville requires attention. I contend it is, by and far, due to actions undertaken by the City of Fayetteville. In 2004, Fayetteville annexed areas of Cumberland County that added some 43,000 residents to the City. The “Big Bang” annexation was a tense time in our city and county, but it took us above the 200,000 population level that major businesses desire before considering locating in a city. After attaining that population level, national companies that I never expected to choose Fayetteville started arriving.
Further, the city has taken, and is taking, other actions that feed the economic growth of this area. Fayetteville took the lead in winning a Hope VI grant that allowed for demolition of public housing in the Old Wilmington Road area that did not provide the appearance that contributes to attracting businesses. More importantly, citizens were living in less than adequate housing. The result was beautiful units that provide better than adequate housing and enhances that portion of the city.

There is a promising effort underway to build a North Carolina Civil War History Center in Fayetteville. The city stepped up to financially support that project. It will be another asset that produces economic growth. The new transportation center located downtown is beautiful, functional and rivals similar facilities anywhere.

The recently passed $35 million Parks and Recreation bond issue will bring much-needed recreation facilities to the city. On the heels of this step came the decision to build a baseball stadium downtown. It will be home to Fayetteville’s minor league team.

On Sunday, April 30, after church my wife and I sat in the shade on Hay Street and enjoyed jazz by three different groups. This was part of the annual Dogwood Festival attended this year by some 275,000 over the weekend. It could happen in a superbly accommodating space because the city built Festival Park, and, over time, transformed the downtown from a “party central” to a beautiful area that is inviting and simply a very pleasant place to spend time. As I sat there on Hay Street enjoying the afternoon, three thoughts hit me: I am starting to feel good, again, about Fayetteville; in the future, the Dogwood Festival will likely expand to the baseball stadium; all those festival vendors collect and deposit sales tax.

What has been presented - and more - shows Fayetteville to be, among the county and other municipalities, the economic engine of this area. To see this as fact, one only has to compare Fayetteville economic expansion actions with those of Cumberland County. What has the county done to spur economic growth? On Hope VI, county commissioners had to be pushed for a minimal investment; given the county’s track record, City Council made Fayetteville’s financial support of the North Carolina Civil War History Center contingent on the county matching that contribution. The bottom line question is: what of consequence is the County doing, or done, to attract jobs, have people spend money in the area and simply make this a great place to live? I think not much.

County leaders argue that they have mandated services that must be provided and sales tax revenue is needed to help meet those requirements. I drive by the county’s Health Department several times a week. What I see is a huge sign flashing all kinds of free stuff…” free mammograms, free condoms, free smoking cessation classes.” I suggest the county do a thorough review of what is mandated and challenge some mandates. They might also take actions that lessen or negate the need for those mandated services.

Fayetteville is transferring sales tax revenue, in increasing amounts, to other entities with no limit in place or insight; generating the bulk of sales tax revenue and is the economic engine of the county. I encourage citizens of

Fayetteville to follow this sales tax distribution issue very closely and insist on fairness. This is not a matter that should be left for elected officials to resolve without thoughtful stand-taking by those of us out here feeding these government tills with hard-earned dollars. I hold that extending the current agreement is absolutely unfair to the citizens of Fayetteville.

David Phillips and Ricky Lopes have been friends for years. So, when Ricky’s 21-year-old son, Justin, died unexpectedly the in the summer of 2104, Phillips wanted to do something to honor Justin. The youngest of three, Justin loved cooking with his mom and was enrolled at the University of South Carolina. He planned to pursue a career in accounting. Andrea Phillips, David’s wife described his family as close-knit. “Justin’s death came out of nowhere and was unexpected,” said Andrea. “He was very involved in the community. He played soccer and baseball. He was in the key club and the National Honor Society. His family attends Lafayette Baptist Church, and he was very involved there as well.”

As a fellow athlete, David, a runner, spent some time talking with his wife, Andrea, about what they could do to make a difference. The result was the Derby Run 5k. This year marks the second annual Derby Run. It takes place May 20 at Terry Sanford High School, Justin’s alma mater.

“Our family has always been very close. We loved Justin so much and continue to miss him everyday. We are incredibly grateful that friends and family are coming together to raise money to benefit children within the community in his memory. Justin loved sports and loved to compete, so the Derby Run is an event we feel certain he would enjoy, ” said the Lopes Family (Donna and Ricky Lopes, Rebecca Lopes Aul and Emily Lopes Townsend).

The course runs through scenic Haymount, including the Fayetteville Technical Community College campus, and finishes at Terry Sanford High School. “It’s easy, fun and flat!” said Andrea. “The entire event is a lot of fun. It is a party feeling. Last year we had a lot of friends of the family participate. There was a lot of reminiscing and hugging. We had about 200 runners. We would be thrilled if we had 300 this year.”

She added that there will be a local radio station at Terry Sanford, and attendees are invited to wear their best Derby hat and/or costume. There will be prizes for various categories. Each runner will receive a commemorative T-shirt and a bag. T-shirts are also available for purchase. Dogs are welcome, but must be on a leash.
In celebrating Justin’s life, it made sense to turn the run into something that would help others. Last year, the Derby Run benefited St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital. This year, the family decided to keep it local and is giving the proceeds from the race to the Child Advocacy Center in Fayetteville, Cy’s World Foundation, and the Justin Richard Lopes Memorial Scholarship of Cumberland Community Foundation. Andrea added that they are also accepting gently worn athletic shoes for Water Step, a charitable organization for healthy drinking water in needed areas of the world.

The child Advocacy Center works with partners in the community, including law enforcement and medical practitioners to offer children a safe place that supports the prevention, investigation and prosecution of child abuse. CAC not only offers a safe place to interview children, it also offers prevention education for parents, professionals and agencies in our community. During FY 2016, our center served 773 children and their families and, by our coordinating efforts, saved the community more than $500,000.

Founded in 201 in honor of Edgar Clyde Garber IV, who died at the age of 17, Cy’s World Foundation seeks to promote a love of the outdoors. The goal of the organization is to offer grants that focus on teaching, introducing, and compelling youth to enjoy outdoors safely, with conservation of natural resources and sustainable practices to insure these activities are here for others to enjoy for many generations. Cy’s World has partnered with YMCA’s Camp thunderbird, Cumberland County’s Ducks Unlimited, Hunter’s Helping Kids and First Tee of the Triad, Winston-Salem on various events aimed at getting kids up and moving.

The Justin Richard Lopes Memorial Scholarship of Cumberland Community Foundation supports Cumberland County high school students who will attend the University of South Carolina.
Water Step is a nonprofit organization that provides safe water to communities in developing countries. Based on simple tools and effective training, organization trains people how to use safe water solutions: water purification, health education and well repair, empowering communities to take care of their own water needs for years.

To register for the Derby Run, go to active.com and type Derby Run into the search bar. Registration is $25. Late registration opens at 7 a.m. at Terry Sanford on May 20. The race starts at 8 a.m. Find out more at https://www.facebook.com/groups/1651810641752739.

It took the best athletic year in school history to make it happen, but Cape Fear High School is finally the owner of the Maxwell and Wells Fargo Cups.
The Maxwell is for the best overall athletic program in Cumberland County while the Wells Fargo is for the best program in the Mid-South 4-A Conference.
Both are based on points presented for order of finish in official conference sports.

Cape Fear narrowly edged perennial cup winner Jack Britt 102-101 in the final tally. The Colts had a strong spring led by a co-championship in baseball and outright titles in softball and boys’ tennis. The softball team has been nationally-ranked most of this season, getting as high as No. 3 in the country in the USA Today poll.
Highlights earlier in the year were an unbeaten regular season in football and the school’s first conference title, and Cape Fear’s first boys’ Holiday Classic basketball championship.
Some of Cape Fear’s top athletes will quickly tell you attitudes around the school and community have changed toward the school’s sports program.

Softball star Haley Cashwell said knowing you have the tools and qualities to make athletics successful makes it more fun. She doesn’t think
the tradition will die out when this year’s seniors depart.

“More people know about it and how successful we are becoming,’’ she said. “People want to carry on. They don’t want it to die.’’
A.J. Baldwin was a standout in basketball and football. He gives a lot of credit to Cape Fear principal Lee Spruill who frequently uses the phrase, “Colt pride never stops.”
“Mr. Spruill is giving us school spirit,’’ he said. “It puts a smile on everybody’s face. Plus we’ve got support from the community and coaches telling us to work hard.’’
Jackson Parker, a baseball and football player, said school pride is on the rise. “At all our games, you see the stands filled up,’’ he said. “More people get involved, more people take it seriously. That’s been a big part of the success.’’

Football standout Justice Galloway-Velazquez agrees with Parker that community is a huge part of the school’s success. “The community got behind us and stuck with us,’’ he said.
“We had personal relationships with them. The teachers started believing in us.

“Everywhere I go now it’s all about Cape Fear. You see guys that don’t even go to our school wearing Cape Fear stuff. I tell them it’s all about our fans in the community.’’
Galloway-Velazquez returns for his senior year this fall and he’s aware of what it will take to keep Cape Fear on top.

“We’ve got to stay strong in the classroom,’’ he said. “If the coaches stay on us, we should have another fun time of it.’’

South View High School was recently honored by the N.C. High School Athletic Association with the Commissioner’s Cup at the organization’s annual meeting in Chapel Hill. But South View principal Brian Edkins got an even bigger prize when he went to the Tiger prom later the same week.
Attending the prom was South View student Lea Jordan, who graduated early in January but learned less than a month later she was suffering from leukemia. She’s been in and out of the hospital at Duke since then getting treatments.
Before she left, Jordan vowed to attend her prom in May. Edkins said if they had to, they’d carry her across the stage. They didn’t. Jordan made it under her own steam.
What made her appearance special was Jordan was one of the recipients this year of a donation made possible by South View’s Kicking for Cancer soccer fundraiser. It was an idea started nearly 20 years ago by Edkins when he was the school’s soccer coach as a tribute to his dad, who was a victim of cancer.
The charity event, conducted in the soccer preseason each year, has raised close to $100,000 in its history. It is why South View was one of eight schools in the state to receive this year’s Commissioner’s Cup, which is presented to member schools of the NCHSAA for charitable
or other outreach programs to their
local communities.
Initially, all money from Kicking for Cancer was given to the American Cancer Society.
In recent years, donations have also been given to individuals battling the disease.
This year, Jordan became the first South View student to receive a gift of $500 to help with her struggle with cancer.
Edkins said the goal of Kicking for Cancer becomes clearer when you start to put actual faces on the people the money goes to. “When I saw her there she was absolutely glowing,’’ he said. “It made me so happy. You get to see where your hard work is going to.’’
Jordan said the week of prom she didn’t have to undergo a chemotherapy treatment, so her energy level was good. She found a dress in Durham the Tuesday before prom and got out of the hospital the next day.
“It meant a lot,’’ Jordan said. “My last day of classes (at South View) was Jan. 27. I was thrown into a world of being in and out of the hospital and don’t get to see people my age and my friends
that much.
“To be able to see them and spend time with them made me feel like a normal teenager.’’
The chemotherapy has caused Jordan to lose her hair, but she said she never considered wearing a wig to the prom. “It’s me and who I am now,’’ she said. “It’s something I had to deal with. It’s not something I’m ashamed of.’’

South View High School was recently honored by the N.C. High School Athletic Association with the Commissioner’s Cup at the organization’s annual meeting in Chapel Hill. But South View principal Brian Edkins got an even bigger prize when he went to the Tiger prom later the same week.
Attending the prom was South View student Lea Jordan, who graduated early in January but learned less than a month later she was suffering from leukemia. She’s been in and out of the hospital at Duke since then getting treatments.
Before she left, Jordan vowed to attend her prom in May. Edkins said if they had to, they’d carry her across the stage. They didn’t. Jordan made it under her own steam.
What made her appearance special was Jordan was one of the recipients this year of a donation made possible by South View’s Kicking for Cancer soccer fundraiser. It was an idea started nearly 20 years ago by Edkins when he was the school’s soccer coach as a tribute to his dad, who was a victim of cancer.
The charity event, conducted in the soccer preseason each year, has raised close to $100,000 in its history. It is why South View was one of eight schools in the state to receive this year’s Commissioner’s Cup, which is presented to member schools of the NCHSAA for charitable
or other outreach programs to their
local communities.
Initially, all money from Kicking for Cancer was given to the American Cancer Society.
In recent years, donations have also been given to individuals battling the disease.
This year, Jordan became the first South View student to receive a gift of $500 to help with her struggle with cancer.
Edkins said the goal of Kicking for Cancer becomes clearer when you start to put actual faces on the people the money goes to. “When I saw her there she was absolutely glowing,’’ he said. “It made me so happy. You get to see where your hard work is going to.’’
Jordan said the week of prom she didn’t have to undergo a chemotherapy treatment, so her energy level was good. She found a dress in Durham the Tuesday before prom and got out of the hospital the next day.
“It meant a lot,’’ Jordan said. “My last day of classes (at South View) was Jan. 27. I was thrown into a world of being in and out of the hospital and don’t get to see people my age and my friends
that much.
“To be able to see them and spend time with them made me feel like a normal teenager.’’
The chemotherapy has caused Jordan to lose her hair, but she said she never considered wearing a wig to the prom. “It’s me and who I am now,’’ she said. “It’s something I had to deal with. It’s not something I’m ashamed of.’’

Before he retired, longtime N.C. High School Athletic Association Executive Director Charlie Adams dreamed of an exhibit hall adjacent to the association’s offices where displays of memorabilia from great high school teams, coaches and athletes could be housed for the public to come view.

That was one dream Adams wasn’t able to accomplish, but it doesn’t mean the various sports items he collected aren’t on display today.

When the NCHSAA remodeled its offices a few years ago, plans were included for display cases and shelves around the building to show off some of the wide assortment of items that have been donated over the years. Now visitors to the offices can see a shirt worn by longtime South View softball coach Eddie Dees, or a cap that adorned the head of Cape Fear softball coaching legend Doris Howard.

Que Tucker, the current commissioner of the NCHSAA, said when the building remodel took place, they wanted a way to try and keep at least part of Adams’ 

dream alive. “We added shelving in the building and more wall space where we could hang jerseys,’’ she said.

The main problem is that Adams and the NCHSAA staff did such a great job getting things donated, there is no room to display all of it at one time.

That’s where Pepper Hines of the current NCHSAA staff and retired associate commissioner Carolyn Shannonhouse come in.

The memorabilia currently not on display is kept in storage. Hines and Shannonhouse are responsible for rotating items on a regular basis, so different things are on display at different times.

In addition to the collection of helmets, jerseys and various kinds of balls, there are also a host of pictures of great coaches and athletes from throughout the NCHSAA’s history.

With the continuing advance of technology, Tucker hopes for a day when the NCHSAA can display all of its memorabilia like some museums do, with touch screens that would allow visitors to punch in the name of a great coach or athlete, then see that person’s picture with a biography of his or her accomplishments.

Aaron Beavers
Gray’s Creek • Tennis • Junior
As a member of the Bears’ tennis team, Beavers compiled a grade point average
of 4.33

Anna Suggs
Terry Sanford • Softball • Sophomore
Suggs, who is part of the Global Studies program at Terry Sanford, has a grade point average of 4.33. She is active in numerous clubs at Terry Sanford, as well as youth activities at Snyder Memorial Baptist Church.

Payton Short

Seventy-First • Softball • Sophomore

Short has compiled a 4.17 grade point average for the Falcons.

Sidney Gronowski

Cape Fear • Softball •Junior

Through May 2, Gronowski was batting .418 for the state playoff-bound Cape Fear softball team. She has a grade point average of 3.95 and is a member of the Student Government Association at Cape Fear.

CHAPEL HILL – As expected, the N.C. High School Athletic Association pared down its state playoff field in response to a major change in the classification of its schools. The action was taken at last week’s spring meeting of the NCHSAA Board of Directors.

Beginning this fall, 20 percent of the association’s schools will be in the 4-A class and another 20 percent in 1-A. Both 3-A and 2-A will have 30 percent each.

Since there are fewer teams in the top and bottom classes, it made sense to reduce the number of teams in the playoffs. There will now be 48 each in 4-A and 1-A, with 64 each in 3-A and 2-A.

In football, the NCHSAA will still split classes and offer eight state titles. The new playoff numbers are for baseball, basketball, football, soccer, softball
and volleyball.

One controversial point was that MaxPreps state rankings will be used to seed the teams on a one-year experiment. Some members of the NCHSAA Board of Directors, including Patty Evers of East Bladen, oppose that idea.

“I’m not for a ranking system in high school,’’ Evers said. “How do you know who’s good and who’s not? You just don’t know and who’s going to do all
that research?”

Que Tucker, commissioner of the NCHSAA, said the board got a lot of input from athletic directors at their recent conference in Wilmington, along with recommendations from an ad hoc committee on the playoffs. “I think what the board did was good and we’ll see how it works,’’ she said.

One important issue the board took no action on was the future of home school athletes playing for NCHSAA member schools. It has been a hot topic in other states and Evers said the NCHSAA knows the subject is coming to North Carolina. “We are ready to move forward with it,’’ she said. “There are still some things going on with the legislature we don’t
know about.’’

Tucker said the NCHSAA doesn’t want to have a knee jerk reaction to the issue and just blindly put a policy in place. “We’ll continue to monitor it and what our strategies will be as we move forward,’’ she said.

Other news from the meeting:

• Dual team wrestling, the last sport to still hold its state championship in a high school gym, will be moved to a neutral championship site.

• The NCHSAA will look into developing a separate championship for
girls’ wrestling.

• Accepting money or an illegal award will cause an NCHSAA athlete to lose eligibility for the semester it was accepted and the semester to follow.

• Cheerleading coaches and tennis coaches, girls and boys, must attend the annual rules clinic for their sport.

• Cumberland County will get
its own officials’ association
for lacrosse.

• The NCHSAA can require host schools for the playoffs to get a venue suitable to the expected crowd that is of sufficient quality.

• In-season dead periods were cut from six to three weeks. The May dead period was eliminated for girls’ sports and for boys at schools without football. A 10-day dead period was added at the end of the school year.

• Guidelines were set to have mandatory breaks during a game when wet bulb thermometer readings are at 90 or above.

Jack Britt baseball coach Dr. Christopher Dague teaches history at the school, so it was only appropriate that his Buccaneer team make a little of it this season.

For the first time since Britt opened its doors in 2000, Jack Britt owns a piece of a conference baseball title. The Bucs split regular-season honors with perennial Mid-South 4-A Conference power Cape Fear and are ready to begin competition in this week’s state 4-A baseball playoffs.

Dague said he began talking with his players before the season started about the need to exceed expectations this season. “This is the hardest-working team I’ve had,’’ he said. “It’s been incredible to watch them work.’’

He said the squad was so committed they were unhappy when he gave them time off, like the Saturday after their big conference win over Cape Fear.

“They get along well with each other,’’ Dague said, “but winning cures a lot of that too.’’

So does senior leadership, and Dague said he was blessed with that this season. 

Two of those seniors are Zachary Knapp and Gavin Wheeler. Knapp has 67 strikeouts in 37.1 innings through April 29 and a .350 batting average with 20 RBIs.

Wheeler is hitting .375 with eight RBIs.

Knapp said making history means a lot to this year’s Britt team. “You’ve earned something special,’’ he said. “I feel we have no egos on the team. Everyone gets along pretty well. The main goal of all the players is to win.’’

Knapp has successfully battled back from knee surgery twice but is still waiting for colleges to show interest in him. “If I go out and give my all, the scouts will come,’’ he said.

Wheeler agreed with Knapp that egos are not a problem on this Britt team and that the focus hasn’t been on personal glory. “You hear some guys on other teams worried about numbers and how they are doing,’’ Wheeler said. “To win the conference championship is more important.

“That’s what we’ve been after, W’s, not our numbers.’’

Britt hit a bump in the road at the end of the regular season, losing a pitching duel against Cape Fear star Gavin Williams, then getting battered by Cape Fear Valley 3-A Conference regular-season champion Terry Sanford.

Dague said the team’s mantra all season is that at 3:45 p.m., the start of practice, whatever happened the previous day is history.

He’s optimistic about this year’s playoff chances. “Last year we beat Southern Alamance, who was a No. 8 seed,’’ he said. “We had a 14-12 record. We’re 15-7 now (before the Mid-South tournament).

“If we execute what we know how to do, we’ll be fine,” Dague added.

There were questions at the start of the season for both the Cape Fear baseball and softball teams.

For baseball, they came from an early season knee injury to star pitcher Gavin Williams. For softball, it was the graduation of star pitcher Aubrey Reep and no experience waiting in the wings to replace her.

To say both questions have been answered is an understatement. Williams returned to the mound on his surgically repaired knee in April and has been mowing down the competition. Cape Fear’s softball team rallied around young pitcher MacKenzie Peters by mounting the best offense the Colts have seen during their recent run of state 4-A playoff success.

The result is baseball shared the Mid-South 4-A title with Jack Britt, and softball took a 20-0 record into the Mid-South tournament. Both teams are optimistic and poised to begin pursuit of N.C. High School Athletic Association titles as state playoffs in both sports open this week.

After a scrimmage with Midway in February, Cape Fear baseball coach Wendell Smith was shocked to find Williams collapsed on the ground near the team bus.

“He had said something to me about his knee locking up in P.E., but I didn’t think much about it,’’ Smith said. The diagnosis was a torn meniscus in his Williams’ left knee. He underwent surgery on March 1st, but the prognosis was good, and after 30 days of rehabbing he returned to play.

“I thought it would affect my pitching, but it hasn’t done any of that,’’ Williams said. That could be because he’s been getting up as early as 5:30 a.m. to do strength work focusing on his legs and back.

“What the doctor told him to do after the operation he did to strengthen it,’’ Smith said. “That’s self-discipline.’’

Williams began drawing attention with his improved velocity last summer. This spring he’s been tracked by more radar guns at his games than a speeding car on Interstate 95.

Entering last week’s Mid-South tournament, Smith was 3-0 with 48 strikeouts in 23.2 innings. He had yet to allow an earned run this season.

“I changed my mechanics from last year,’’ he said, “where I stood on the mound, release point, balance point, stuff like that.’’

Smith said the Colts don’t have to rely solely on Williams in the playoffs. “Our philosophy is if we’ve got good enough pitching and throw strikes, we’ve got a chance to win,’’ he said. “We can find a way to score runs.’’

Runs have been a big feature of this year’s Cape Fear softball team, and Bri Bryant is one of the reasons. Through May 1st she leads Cumberland County both in batting and RBIs with a .667 average and 47 runs driven in.

“This year she’s been totally a power hitter,’’ said Cape Fear co-coach Jeff McPhail. “She stepped up her game, bat-wise.’’

Bryant said that was her goal in the offseason. “My past three years I felt I tried too hard,’’ she said. “I tried to see it and hit it wherever the pitch is pitched.’’

She praised Peters for stepping in at pitcher as a 13-year-old with no varsity experience. “We’ve tried to have her back, pitching and defense-wise,’’ Bryant said. “A lot of people didn’t see us being in the position we’re in. We’ve tried to blow everybody’s mind.’’McPhail hopes the team got some good experience for the playoffs when Cape Fear added games late this year with strong opponents Marlboro Academy and Whiteville.

“When you get to the playoffs you’ve got to have luck on your side,’’ he said. “We’re hitting the ball better than we have in the last two or three years, and that’s going to be our key.’’