As an American citizen, San Francisco 49er quarterback Colin Kaepernick had the right not to stand during the playing of the National Anthem at a recent NFL football game. He was right.  But the NFL … well, it was and is hypocritical.

I didn’t like his antics. I figure someone with a ton of money could choose a different platform to voice his displeasure of a country that enables him to make at least $11.9 million for playing a game … actually sitting on the bench.

I must insert a disclaimer here. I didn’t like Kaepernick in the first place, and it doesn’t have anything to do with him. I’m  a tepid 49ers fan going back to the days of Steve Young and Joe Montana. Then, Coach Jim Harbough disappointed me by replacing Alex Smith with Kaepernick because of an injury. But that’s professional football.

I’m also biased about his actions for another reason. I’m conditioned to stand during the National Anthem. It’s a customary tradition instilled in me while growing up on Army posts.

We stood any time the anthem played: in school assemblies and at ball games. And we stood at the movies. Yes, at the movies.

Every movie started with the playing of the National Anthem. And, if you happened to be walking down the aisle with your bag of popcorn when the anthem started, you stood in place. There was plenty of time to find your seat during the previews. That was my upbringing, and it stuck.

In August 1983, I was a journalist writing about the military at Fort Bragg. There, a Green Beret captain made a remark I’ll always remember. I paraphrase because it’s been 33 years. He said that he might not agree with everything I say, but he would defend with his life my right to say it. I don’t remember his name, but I remember his passion for defending our Constitution. 

So, with bile in my throat, I agree with those who say Kaepernick has the legal right to disrespect his country. But it’s too bad that he did so in a way that fostered more divisiveness than understanding.

He picked a debatable topic; one that paints all police as racist executioners. He also lampooned presidential candidates Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton. I didn’t know where he was going with that.

Kaepernick’s biological father abandoned him and left his mother destitute. It forced her to put him up for adoption and he was raised by a white family. 

Thus, he could champion the positive attributes of two-parent families. Or, he could call for more adoptions of impoverished children. He could use his platform to call for an end to black-on-black violence — especially since this Labor Day weekend’s highest yet gun-related deaths in Chicago.

Instead, he donned those now famous blue socks that depicted pigs in police uniforms. Then wore them during televised football practice. He claims his position of not honoring a nation that oppresses black people and people of color is a political statement. His coach supports him as does the team. Even the NFL stated through its spokesman that players are encouraged but not required to stand during the anthem.

Many fans support Kaepernick’s position. Among them veterans who say they’ve fought for his right to show disrespect to the flag. Since his on-camera actions and later interview, his jersey is the best selling item for the 49ers, according to the team’s website.

But with freedom of speech, especially inflammatory rhetoric, comes consequences. People are burning his jersey on social media, and the Santa Clara police don’t want to provide security for 49er games. Those actions too are covered by the First Amendment.

Yet, I am confused by the NFL’s position on the matter. Earlier, the Dallas Cowboys wanted to honor the five fallen Texas police officers killed in an ambush in July by wearing a decal on their helmets. The NFL said no. Apparently, there’s no freedom of speech and expression for the Cowboys.

The Dicksons spent Labor Day weekend at the beach with the first part of the holiday consumed by what was left of Hurricane Hermine. Winds blew more than a breeze and less than a nor’easter, but there was plenty of water hitting windows and pooling on low beach roads. A friend texted in a panic that her daughter was heading our way in a low-slung sedan and could not get where she was going because of standing water. I texted back that a Precious Jewel was headed to the rescue in a giant pickup, but the daughter had already been rescued by a cousin.

Such is the stuff of storms — hurricanes and otherwise — that strike North Carolina in the fall.

The weekend also brought back memories of Hurricane Fran, which cut a wide swath across the Tar Heel state 20 years ago this month, and which is remembered in our neck of the woods as the storm of a generation. The day before the storm struck, half a million people evacuated North Carolina’s barrier islands, just in the nick of time. Fran came ashore at the mouth of the Cape Fear and ultimately covered about 225 miles in our state, devastating much in her path, including our one-block street in Haymount. More than half of the 15 houses on our street had trees through their roofs, and one next door to us had two — one from the back yard and one from the front. Our neighbors across the street did a neighborly thing and sent a cooler of ice over to the two-tree family, only to realize later that they had dispatched their teenaged son on this errand across live PWC wires brought down by the storm.

The Dicksons were spared a tree through the roof, although we did lose a huge magnolia branch that later had to be chopped up and hauled away. The Precious Jewels’ babysitter, who spent the long night of Fran in our basement praying with her own daughter and several foster children took full credit for our good fortune. In her assessment, the reason the Dicksons escaped a tree through the roof and the neighbors did not was because the babysitter next door — her friend and sometime rival — simply did not pray hard enough!

Our power went out about midnight and was out for six long days in sweltering humidity, but we were luckier than many who were powerless longer. I remember turning onto our street on the sixth day and passing a utility truck from Florida and realizing its crew had restored our electricity. I blew those men kisses in full daylight in front of God and country.

The Dickson family beach house, which had survived Hurricane Hazel —t he 1954 storm of its generation, came through Fran as well, but far from unscathed. The new roof and porch are now 20 years young, and that old house barely noticed Hermine.

Fran took 37 human lives, 24 of them in North Carolina, and causing $11billion in today’s dollars in damages to homes, businesses, infrastructure, crops and timber. At one point in the storm, radar images showed Fran’s winds and rains covering two-thirds of our state. She cut new inlets along the coast and reminded older North Carolinians and taught newer ones that when Mother Nature goes on a tear, there is not much to do but watch and keep our fingers crossed, hopefully from afar. Three years later, Hurricane Floyd flooded much of eastern North Carolina and was deadlier, but Fran remains one of the worst natural disasters to hit our state.

Other storms have come since Fran, of course, but none so destructive. In the intervening twenty years, North Carolina has changed as well. Brunswick County at the mouth of the Cape Fear where Fran rolled in has almost doubled its population since 1996, and about 1 million people now live in the 18 counties along North Carolina’s ocean and coastal waterways. 

Remember, too, that our little tree-struck street was not in a coastal county, proof that hurricanes do not always stay along the coast. That street is in central Fayetteville in Cumberland County. Wake and other Piedmont counties suffered with Fran as well. In 1996, North Carolina’s population was 7.5 million people and today we have more than 10 million residents. Many of those people have never experienced a Hermine, much less a Fran, something that rightfully keeps North Carolina’s emergency responders awake nights. 

No one knows what the 2016 hurricane season will bring post-Hermine, but here is some food for thought. North Carolina has not been hit by a Category 3 or higher storm since Fran, twenty years ago. That does not mean, of course, that a Category 3, 4, or even 5, will arrive this season, but it does mean that statistically, North Carolina has been on a long lucky streak. 

The odds of that streak lasting indefinitely are slim to none.

Wow! No doubt about it, starting today it’s a yearlong celebration of Fayetteville’s best of the best. Good things last and Up & Coming Weekly’s Best of Fayetteville readership survey is a 19-year-old tradition recognizing and honoring the best people, businesses and organizations in the Fayetteville/Cumberland County community. 

These entities have distinguished themselves by defining our community’s personality and contributing to our quality of life. You need to know these people. They are the ones who continue to impact our community. They are the ones that leave a positive and indelible impression of pride on us and future generations of residents, visitors and guests.

Yes, the Up & Coming Weekly Best of Fayetteville edition you are holding in your hands today will serve you well throughout the year. It is a  valuable visitors guide, service directory and cultural and event resource. Every page touts the “best of the best” of what the Fayetteville community has to offer. 

And, why not? The rules, format and guidelines of this sanctioned, time-tested survey have been designed, tested and audited to provide residents, local businesses and organizations the recognition they deserve for their dedication and perseverance in their quest for excellence. Every category winner has achieved the highest level of excellence in what they do. For 19 years, we have successfully told their stories and revealed their secrets without a single regret. 

No ballot stuffing here, no popularity contest or dubious chance to sway the end result. Each winner is distinguished in its own way. There is no faking it when the community consensus selects you as the best in your field. This means you are performing at the highest level of excellence as recognized by your peers. This being the case, why not declare the business or organization the best? After all, in a competitive world and tight economy, only the best survive.

In building a better community, leaders know that success must be built on a sound foundation. Here, that foundation is our community’s best people, businesses and organizations all striving for extreme excellence.

 So, please join me, the staff of Up & Coming Weekly and our Best of Fayetteville event sponsors and local leaders as we begin this year-long celebration. Pick up an extra copy of this special edition of Up & Coming Weekly at any one of our 500 countywide locations, or stop by our corporate offices at 208 Rowan Street. For 24/7, 365-day access to The Best of Fayetteville winners go to www.upandcomingweekly.com. This is a year-round celebration! And, as always, we sincerely thank you for reading Up & Coming Weeklyand making us your only locally owned newspaper.

This year marks the sixth annual Walk to End Alzheimer’s. Last year’s walk was the biggest yet with 800 people participating. The event raised $81,000. Since its inception, the Fayetteville Walk to End Alzheimer’s has raised more than $250,000 to support the Alzheimer’s Association. Event organizers are hoping for an even bigger turnout this year. On Sept. 24, at 9 a.m., join the Walk to End Alzheimer’s at J.P. Riddle Stadium. 

Pat McKee and his wife Julie Russo have been a part of the Fayetteville Walk to End Alzheimer’s since the first one in 2011. “Pat’s dad, Joe Mckee, died from complications related to Alzheimer’s in 2010. So, Pat went to the Alzheimer’s Association and told them we wanted to help make a difference. We hosted the first walk in 2011,” said  Russo adding that there were about  200 people at the first walk.

The event begins at 9 a.m. with registration and activities. All participants are encouraged to register online at http://act.alz.org/site/TR/Walk2016/NC-EasternNorthCarolina?fr_id=9130&pg=entry.After that, the fun begins. “We will have a dance troupe perform right at 9 a.m., so early birds get to see a couple performances. We are going to have “Carolina Selfie Stand,” owned and operated by Jennifer Brooks, there, which we’ve never had before,” said Russo. “It is a really cool photo booth… you can walk away with a picture and/or get it texted or emailed to you when they are done. She is donating her services to us. We are going to have Champion for the Children — another volunteer group that dresses up as princesses and super heroes and does face painting. I was a big hit last year. We will have bounce houses, too.”

One of the most meaningful and poignant parts of the day is the promise garden ceremony. “Once you register, you get a flower affiliated with your connection to Alzheimer’s — whether you have the disease, or lost someone to it or care for someone or if you are an advocate, and you can write something on each petal about who you want to honor.  During the ceremony, each group raises their flower to symbolize all this affected by the disease.” Next, Victoria Huggins, Fayetteville native and reigning Miss Wilmington will sing the National Anthem. She is also the event emcee. “The opening ceremony is at 10 a.m., and the walk starts at 10:30 a.m. We are done walking by 11 or 11:15 a.m.”

While there is indeed a walk, it is a short one at less than a mile. That is because it’s important to Russo that everyone is able to participate. This event is about so much more than the walk, and that is something that Russo says is important to the spirit of the cause. This is about building a community of support and raising money for Alzheimer’s support and research. “Seventy-eight percent of all the money raised goes to care and research. The Alzhiemer’s Association is a national organization, but there is much happening in North Carolina as well as in the Fayetetteville area. “We have a caregiver support group at Carolina Assisted Living. Caregivers can go here and talk to others in the same situation. This group is supported by Peggy Best, LCSW, associate director of programs and outreach, Alzheimer’s Association Eastern North Carolina Chapter. Dr. Ben Barr at UNC Pembroke is an Alzheimer’s researcher, and he is working right here in the area. I am pleased to be working with an organization that both supports us locally, but also has a national presence. Because the Alzheimer’s Association is a national organization, it  brings with it some hefty power. I joined a team of advocates in March of this year and we went to Congress to ask for $400 million to advance research, and in June they appropriated those funds. This experience was life-changing for me.”   

Securing funding for research is vital. The challenge here is twofold according to Russo. “Alzheimer’s is the sixth leading cause of death right now. Scientists working on this say the cure is out there but we only have the funding to research 13 percent of the viable plans that scientist have to search for a cure. Because of the aging population, in the coming years, the government is going to spend a huge amount on care in Medicare and Medicaid. We really need to spend more money on research. What the government spends now on research is a fraction of what we spend on care. By 2050, the number of people age 65 and older with Alzheimer’s disease may nearly triple, from 5.2 million to a projected 13.8 million, barring the development of medical breakthroughs to prevent or cure the disease.”

In the meantime, while fundraising and research continues, Russo maintains that there are many reasons to be hopeful.” We have an opportunity to come together and empower caregivers and people affected. They often feel helpless. When we come together at the Walk to End Alzheimer’s we have 1,000 people in the same space willing to say the ‘A’ word and talk openly about it.”

Educating people about the disease is another component to making progress against Alzheimer’s. “Early diagnosis is so important,” said Russo. “The sooner you get diagnosed, the sooner you can plan out how you want to be cared for. As the disease progresses, one’s ability to make decisions like this diminishes. Early on, you can have a say in what you want to happen.”

There are other ways to make a difference, too. There are clinical trials the Alzheimer’s Association does. “They are always looking for people to participate,” said Russo. ”Go to alz.org to sign up. They also have a hotline that is available 24/7 1.800.272.3900. It is staffed with licensed clinicians, which is a great support to caregivers. You can call at 3 a.m. with an issue and there is someone there to help talk you through it.”

Find out more about Alzheimer’s at:

http://www.alz.org/facts/overview.asp

Find out more about the Fayetteville Walk to End Alzheimer’s at https://www.facebook.com/Fayettevillewalktoendalz/?hc_ref=SEARCH&fref=nf.

 The Museum of the Cape Fear Historical Complex will celebrate Lafayette’s birthday with its annual  Festival of Yesteryear: A Celebration of Early America on Saturday, Sept. 10 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. in Arsenal Park. 

It’s in conjunction with the Lafayette Society’s celebration that starts on Sept. 9 and goes through Saturday Sept. 10. The Festival of Yesteryear is a fun way to get an up close and personal look at what life was like during the Revolutionary War. Adults and children can all learn a thing or two and have a great time in the process.

 “The festival is part of the Lafayette birthday celebration and we celebrate colonial North Carolina,” said Megan Maxwell, education coordinator for the Poe House. “We have re-enactors come and demonstrate all kinds of daily life activities, military demonstrations, musical performances and Mark Schneider will perform as the Marquis de Lafayette.” 

 The event demonstrates various aspects of daily life such as cooking, politics, medicine, music, toys and games, spinning and militia drills. 

“We have several groups that have been coming for years to this event including Camp Flintlock which is a family business,” said Maxwell. “We have the Apprentice Alley activity which is basically a craft station for the kids so they can do hands-on activities and make creative things.” 

Maxwell added that the North Carolina Highland Regiment comes every year and their uniforms are Scottish Highlanders. They will do a Muscat demonstration and drill for the public throughout the day. There will be volunteers from Moore’s Creek National Battlefield that portray colonial militia and there will be cannon firing demonstrations a few times throughout the day. Photos can be taken in the pillory which is a wooden frame with holes for the head and hands that was used as punishment in colonial days. Musical acts include April C. Turner performing African spirituals, the Tryon Palace Fife and Drum Corporation and musical historian Simon Spaulding. 

 “We look forward to everyone coming to our family friendly event,” said Maxwell. 

 The Museum of the Cape Fear Historical Complex is located on the corner of Bradford and Arsenal Avenues. Hours of operation are Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from 1 to 5 p.m. 

 Admission is free. Concessions  will be available for purchase. For more information call 486-1330. 

Cypress Lakes Golf Course celebrates its 50th anniversary in two years. Best known as home of the Floyds, it’s the site of this year’s 48th annual Cumberland County Golf Championship. This is the course where PGA Hall-of-Famer Raymond Floyd learned to play the game from his father, the late teaching pro L.B Floyd. Ray Floyd won 22 PGA tour events including four majors. He played on eight Ryder Cup teams.

Long-time Cypress Lake PGA Professional Robert Wilson says the course is in great shape. 

“I don’t see anything but positives coming from the way we are doing things this year,” said Wilson. 

It’s a feeling that pervades Fayetteville’s amateur golf community. Local golfers are determined to bring the county championship back to the prominence it once enjoyed. “It is great to see the community support and resurgence of this event as it has always been the marquee event in the area,” said Kevin Lavertu, general manager of Gates Four Golf & Country Club. 

Pre-tournament events are at Gates Four. The Cumberland County Championship Pairings Party will be held the evening of Thursday, Sept. 15. It’s the only time the entire field of participants get together. “We will have the main ballroom along with the outdoor patio set for seating,” said Lavertu. Light hors d’oeuvres will be available at various food stations with a cash bar. All players are welcome at no charge. Entry fees include the pairings party this year. “There will be a putting contest as well, so bring your putter,” added Lavertu. Gates Four is hosting next year’s CCC Championship.

Revitalizing the tournament is a goal of Up & Coming Weekly and other sponsors. “If the local TV and print media followed Up & Coming’s leadership and covered the tournament, it would likely raise participation and the stature of the tournament,” said six-time winner Billy West Jr. He would like to see all players in the men’s amateur division compete from the same tees the first two days with the top two flights playing the championship tees on Sunday. West points out “this was the tournament format for 25 years from 1980-2005 and seemed to garner more participation from the players in the 5-15 handicap range.”

Improved participation is the goal of event sponsors including local PGA professionals who’ve rallied to make this year’s events special. Given his many years of experience, West was asked about other amenities that might make the tournament successful again. “Leaderboards on the course made the tournament unique, in that most if not all local amateur tournaments do not have leaderboards,” he noted. They haven’t been used in this event in several years. West notes that from 1980 through 2000 the county championship was played the weekend after Labor Day which tended to attract the most participation. Another idea he offers is the creation of new divisions for junior players and ladies. “This may increase participation and interest as traditionally the junior county championship and the ladies’ championship have not been held in conjunction with the men’s and senior’s championships,” he added.

The 54-hole stroke play event will be staged over three days, Sept. 16-18.

When artists gather together, sometimes magic happens. And that’s what happened on Dec. 4, 1956, when four music icons – Jerry Lee Lewis, Elvis Presley, Sam Perkins and Johnny Cash -  met at Sun Studios in Memphis and decided to jam. That infamous jam session was covered by a reporter from the Memphis Press-Scimitar who titled his article about the event “The Million Dollar Quartet.” Fast forward to today, The Million Dollar Quarter, the musical, is wowing audiences all over the world, and on Sept. 9, the show will open at the Cape Fear Regional Theatre as the opening of the season.

Tom Quaintance, the artistic director of the theatre, is excited about the show, which is a co-production with Theatre Raleigh. Quaintance explained that Theatre Raleigh was closing its season with the show while the CFRT was opening its season. It was a great opportunity for the two theatres to work together and literally move the show – cast and all – from one theatre to the other. 

“The show is a single set show and we were able to get a great group of people to do the show in both places. Here we are, at the CFRT, a week out from the opening, but we have already seen it in Raleigh. It was nice collaboration,” said Quaintance.  

He went on to note that if you liked the theatre’s production of Ring of Fire, you are “going to love The Million Dollar Quartet.” 

“This is a great time at the theatre,” said Quaintance. “It’s not only great music, but it’s also a great story. It is really unbelievable that these guys came together for this great jam session. It is wildly entertaining, while it tells a really cool story that ties all of the music together. We get a glimpse into these characters that we feel like we know. We get a chance to peek behind the curtain and look at what goes into making an artist’s career. This story looks at how they came together and what ties them all together. Sam Phillips, of Sun Records, found, cultivated and developed some of the greatest musicians of the century. This show gives us a peek behind the curtain at what started them on their path.”

As was the case with Ring of Fire, the theatre wasn’t just looking for good actors, it was looking for good musicians as well. The actors/musicians who play the roles of Presley, Cash, Lewis and Perkins will not only sing all of the music, they will also play all of the instruments. And, the music will get the house rocking with hits like “Blue Suede Shoes,” “That’s All Right,” “Sixteen Tons,” “Great Balls of Fire,” “Walk the Line” and more including gospel songs that were very important to each artist. 

Ian Fairlee is Jerry Lee Lewis in the show. “The character of Jerry Lee Lewis really draws me,” said Fairlee. “He was one of the most intense musicians. I’ve played piano for 17 years. Musical theater has always been my first love, but to find something where I can literally destroy a piano is a real treasure. This character especially is kind of different side of who I am as a person. He is very cocky, arrogant – not something I’m used to, but it’s a lot of fun.”

As was the case with each of the actors in the show, Fairlee took the time to read Lewis’ biography. “As crazy as he was, Jerry Lee Lewis was very religious. He had a legitimate fear that his music was causing him to be sent to hell for stirring up rambunctiousness in the community. He struggled with it his entire life,” explained Fairlee.

The same can be said of Johnny Cash. Ted Bushman, who plays Cash in the musical, loved the Americana cowboy that Cash personified. 

“It’s fun to be the John Wayne of rock and roll. Cash is not swaggering, but he has a mysterious, wanderer quality that I think is so exciting to portray,” said Bushman. “I’ve been reading Cash’s biography and he was so spiritual and humble as an older man. I want to portray this timeless Johnny Cash. Johnny’s life became part of people’s consciousness and became a friend to them.” 

“I have enjoyed getting to know who Elvis was before he was the icon,” said Joe Boover. “Of course when I got this role, I was intimidated. But I started reading his bio and getting to know who he was… getting to know his insecurities. One of the things I found was that throughout his life, he always worried that the audience was making fun of him. Those leg movements that he became famous for were really a nervous tick. Sam Phillips gave him confidence and his tie to his family kept him going through all of the craziness – and that’s something I can connect to.”

Michael Kennedy had a bit more studying to do when it came to playing the role of Carl Perkins. He couldn’t find very much about him, which took the pressure off and gave him the freedom to imagine how things may have happened.

“We know he loved to write, play guitars and his family,” explained Kennedy. “One of the most important things he and his wife did was set up a foundation for abused children. He loved the people with whom he played. He loved jamming, recording and making new types of music and being around great people. People looked up to him and he was humbled by that.”

One of the people that looked up to Perkins was Cash. They were very good friends. Perkins would often play backup at Cash’s concerts. “Cash hated that,” said Kennedy. “He always wished that Carl would have been more recognized.”

The show runs Sept. 9 through Oct. 2. For tickets and information, visit ww.crft.org or call the box office at 323-4233.

We live in a time when the word “narrative” is used repeatedly in discussing or analyzing events and conditions in our nation and world. What follows is a warning that citizens of the world, and especially America, must be alert to the thought control that happens by way of narrative manipulation. 

Miami University gives this definition: “A narrative is some kind of retelling, often in words... of something that happened (a story). The narrative is not the story itself but rather the telling of the story... While a story is just a sequence of events, a narrative recounts those events, perhaps leaving some occurrences out because they are from some perspective insignificant, and perhaps emphasizing others.” From this definition, it is clear the elements of a story which will be included in a narrative is driven by the desired result from presenting that narrative. This result-driven process also allows for controlling development of the story so that the resulting narrative accomplishes the desired response among hearers or readers. 

Following is an example of how input to a story is managed so that the follow-on narrative supports a given position. For months, there were reports indicating intelligence regarding ISIS was being adjusted to support President Obama’s claims of success in our fight with that group. In an Aug.15, interview on Fox Cable News’ “The Five,” U.S. Army Brigadier Gen. (Ret.) Anthony Tata revealed information he received relating to this matter. Fox News Insiderstates: “Tata revealed that a source verified to him that he was directed by an individual from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, who conducts the president’s daily briefing, to stop producing “products of record” that did not fit the administration’s narrative of a defeated al-Qaeda and a non-threatening enemy in ISIS.”

“Tata said that the president’s briefer told this individual to call him on a secure line if he had any intelligence that portrayed ISIS in a stronger light than what the president had characterized to the public, which would not leave a paper trail.”

Tata’s reporting shows how input to a story can be adjusted to allow for a narrative that supports a particular position and attracts belief in that position. This manipulation of narratives to control thought is heavily present where strained race relations provide opportunity for manipulation. Consider “Mothers of the Movement” being invited to speak at the 2016 Democratic National Convention. These are eight black mothers who each had a child killed by a police officer, or died in some other highly publicized situation, such as that of Trayvon Martin. The mothers made it clear that they support Hillary Clinton. Doing so is their right and I fully respect their choice. The problem is that they were used by Democrats to fuel a false narrative which says white American society in general, and white police officers in particular, oppress and treat blacks unjustly. Among others, this false narrative comes through in the statement made at the convention by Lucia Bath, mother of Jordan Davis, who was shot and killed by a white man over playing loud music and arguing when asked to turn it down. The quote is from an article by Lucy Clarke-Billings titled “Full Transcript: Grieving Mothers of the Movement Speak at Democratic Convention.” 

“I lived in fear my son would die like this. I even warned him that because he was a young, black man, he would meet people who didn’t value his life. That is a conversation no parent should ever have to have. Hillary Clinton isn’t afraid to say black lives matter. She isn’t afraid to sit at a table with grieving mothers and bear the full force of our anguish. She doesn’t build walls around her heart. Not only did she listen to our problems, she invited us to become part of the solution.”

These mothers were used by Democrats to promote the false narrative, stir the emotions of black Americans along with others who embrace this narrative, then make the claim that Hillary Clinton cares and will work to correct the situation.

Sad, and even dangerous for society, thought control through narrative manipulation is not limited to the realm of government or politics. It is rampant in journalism. Journalists are supposed to find the truth and report it in a fair and balanced fashion. That is, not favoring anybody or a particular position. This kind of reporting is nearly non-existent. A prime example of media bias, failed journalism and narrative manipulation shows in reporting by CNN anchor Carol Costello on the shooting death of Sylville Smith in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Smith, a 23-year-old, black man, was shot by a police officer at a traffic stop. The incident was followed by rioting, burning of businesses and attacks on both cops and white citizens. There was chaos and lawlessness. 

In the midst of this situation, Costello shows a clip of Sylville Smith’s sister, Sherelle Smith, talking to a crowd of protesters. An article at www.cnncommentary.com titled “CNN anchor offers apology for shortening of Milwaukee clip” indicates the report shows Smith saying, ‘“Burning down sh-- ain’t going to help nothing!”’ Ana Cabrera was the on-scene reporter and indicated the sister was calling for peace. When a full tape was made available, it showed, as reflected in the article referenced above, Sherell Smith said the following: ‘“Y’all burning down sh—t we need in our community. Take that sh—to the suburbs. Burn that sh—down! We need our sh—t! We need our weaves. I don’t wear it. But we need it.”’ This was not a call for peace everywhere. 

CNN edited the comments to support a narrative of a grieving black sister calling for peace. Doing so presents a picture of oppressed people simply wanting peace and fairness. The full tape tells a totally different story. Smith is calling for violence in other than black neighborhoods. The edited and unedited clips may be viewed at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ZSif2FRP_8. CNN apologized for this episode.

Narrative manipulation is also accomplished by media simply not reporting stories that contradict their desired narrative. A glaring example of how this happens shows in the very limited attention given by media to a statement by Patrick Smith, father of Sylville Smith who was killed in Milwaukee. Smith expressed support for some form of gun control and the need for blacks to conduct ourselves in a fashion that does not encourage dangerous responses from others. Beyond this, an article by Scott Morefield titled “Father of Milwaukee man whose death started riots takes responsibility: ‘I’d like to apologize to my kids’” quotes Patrick Smith as follows:

“I had to blame myself for a lot of things too because your hero is your dad and I played a very big part in my family’s role model for them. Being on the street, doing things of the street life: Entertaining, drug dealing and pimping and they’re looking at their dad like ‘He’s doing all these things.’ I got out of jail two months ago, but I’ve been going back and forth in jail and they see those things so I’d like to apologize to my kids because this is the role model they look up to. When they see the wrong role model, this is what you get.”

What Smith says here does not fit with the narrative that all the difficulties plaguing Black Americans are caused by and must be solved by people and entities external to that community. Consequently, very few media outlets reported his comments.

What is described above is only the “tip of the iceberg,” but says all of us must be on careful watch for those who would control another’s thinking through manipulation of narratives. From government, politicians, media or anybody take nothing at face-value. Investigate issues, gather facts and objectively evaluate your findings while being careful of the influence of emotions. 

If you are a decent, God-fearing American, perhaps sitting in church with family and friends listening to a good sermon expounding the importance of obeying and adhering to the golden rule, it really doesn’t matter what religion, race or political affiliation you are: Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Southern Baptist, a Democrat, Republican, black, white, Asian or Hispanic. It is here that American values are nurtured and reinforced and compassion for humanity and things that matter consume your senses. 

This is humanity and the basis from which civilizations are formed. Unfortunately, over the last decade or so, it seems these homegrown values of compassion integrity, decency and honesty have been severely compromised by slick, deceiving, dishonest and manipulative career politicians who, over the years, have learned to use their elected positions for their own personal gain. 

Also, fueling this sad scenario is the feeling of helplessness that results in apathy and fuels the trend of extreme political correctness. Many Americans are scared. Many Americans feel our country is out of control and heading in the wrong direction. Why? Because facts, justice, honesty and truth just don’t seem to matter much anymore. Think about it: 

Black-on-black murders continue to grow at alarming rates. It Just Doesn’t Matter. (IJDM)

The IRS (our government) targets and harasses conservative Americans with impunity. (IJDM)

Innocents are dying. In Chicago, black-on-black murders since 2008 outnumber the total of American lives lost in both Iraqi and Afghanistan wars. (IJDM)

Black Lives Matter organizers refuse to acknowledge inner-city carnage or the plight of the poor. (IJDM)

The NFL advocates, supports and encourages 49er Colin Kaepernick’s anti-America, anti-police behavior. Role model??? (IJDM)

Inner-city poverty, crime and black-on-black homicides are at an all-time high after eight decades of democratic governance. (IJDM)

“Hands Up, Don’t Shoot” is an extreme lie still being legitimized. (IJDM)

“Green Energy” is a $535 million loss of taxpayers’ money on the bogus Solendra solar panel project. No remorse. No apology. (IJDM)

$400 million ransom paid to Iran for hostage release. And, still in denial. (IJDM)

Dozens of sanctuary cities disrespect the U.S. Constitution, ignore federal laws, protect and harbor criminals and murdering illegal immigrants. (IJDM)

VA hospitals are in shambles and veterans’ medical care is despicable with no relief in sight. (IJDM)

Republican presidential candidates take a pledge to support the presidential nominee then totally renege on their oath. (IJDM) 

Barack Obama plays golf as a natural disaster devastates Louisiana and kills residents. (IJDM)

Secretary Hillary Clinton lies to bereaved Gold Star mother of Benghazi victim. (IJDM)

Susan Rice lies to the entire nation (five times) about Benghazi tragedy. No apology. (IJDM)

I could go on and on, but, for what purpose? You get the message. American’s must wake up and start speaking out against these blatant, unpatriotic, un-American, unhealthy trends before apathy, dishonesty and political correctness transform our country into something our grandchildren will not recognize as the democracy of the United States of America. Just one man’s opinion.  

Thank you for reading Up & Coming Weekly.

According to the International Association of Fairs and Expos, we have Elkanah Watson a farmer from New England to thank for county fairs. In fact, he is officially known as the “Father of U.S. Agricultural Fairs.” Watson organized the Berkshire Agricultural Society. In 1811, the society hosted what was billed as a cattle show in Pittsfield, Mass. It wasn’t just a show, though. The event included exhibits, but it was also a competition, complete with prize money for the best ox, cattle, swine and sheep exhibits. Watson dedicated himself to helping other communities organize agricultural societies. Within about eight years, most every county in New England had an agricultural society. By 1900, most states had one or more agricultural fairs. Today, there are more than 3,200 fairs in North America every year. Sept. 9-18, Cumberland County celebrates is agricultural roots along with music, games and rides at the 2016 Cumberland County Fair. 

Global Spectrum is partnering with the fair this year and has some exciting changes in store, including an entire new lineup of rides. 

“This year we toured a lot of different ride providers and we ended up going with Big Rock Amusements. They are amazing,” said Crown Complex Director of Marketing Katie Mikos. “All the rides are upgraded and have LED lights — except the carousel, which intentionally has an authentic look and feel. We will have more rides than we have had in the past, like a double sky wheel. The kids’ rides are also really good.” 

Event organizers are so sure that patrons will love the new set up that entry in to the fair is free on opening night. “You will still need to buy a wrist band to ride the rides, but people will be able to look around and buy some food if they want to,” Mikos added.

Like traditional fairs, the Cumberland County Fair showcases the area’s agricultural roots. The petting farm runs throughout the event and offers an opportunity for the public, especially young children who many not be familiar with farm animals, to get up close and personal with them. There are also a variety of livestock and farm animal shows. “All of our livestock elements are always really good,” said Mikos.  “Cumberland County has really good participants that come out each year.” 

Monday, Sept. 12, at 7 p.m. is the Cumberland County Fair Junior Laying Hen Show featuring hens that are less than 12 months old. There are eight breed classes: American, English, Asiatic, Mediterranean, Continental, Polish, Bantams and No Official Breed Class. There are three Cumberland County Fair Junior Livestock Shows scheduled: Sept. 14 at 7 p.m.; Sept. 15 at 7 p.m.; and Sept. 16 at 7 p.m. The categories include lambs, goats and beef heifers. Sept. 13 is the Cumberland County Fair Youth Livestock Show and Sale. This takes place at 5 p.m.

City slickers can get a peek at the different plants and farm animals that thrive here. Just check out the exhibits. From livestock and poultry to floriculture, agriculture and horticulture, there will be plenty to see.  Other exhibits include baked goods, canned fruits and vegetables as well as jams and jellies. The antique farm equipment exhibit gives fair goers a look at how farming has evolved over time. Area 4-H clubs will have exhibits showing what the participants learned through 4-H.

Another highlight at the fair is the Cumberland County Fair Pageant. This wholesome competition has 12 categories for girls ranging from birth to 40 and up. The boys age groups will depend on the number of entries. The pageant is on Sept. 10. Division I, which includes birth to 6 years starts at 2 p.m. Division II starts at 7 p.m. 

There are several exhibits that run daily through the duration of the fair: local farmers market in the Expo Center; interactive petting farm; Close Encounters of the Exotic Kind Show; Pirates of the Colombian Caribbean Show; Chainsaw Artist Rick Cox; helicopter rides; Up & Coming Weekly Entertainment Stage  featuring continuous local entertainment; Toddler Driving School from 5-8 p.m. weekdays and 3 – 8 p.m. Saturday and Sunday; Farmer For a Day Expo; pony and camel rides; Eurobungy trampoline; home, craft and agricultural exhibits; and “Goodness  Grows in North Carolina” contest.

While the exhibits are enough to keep most anyone busy, there is much more to see and do while the fair is in town. Every day is packed with shows, music and entertainment along with rides, midway games, and of course, food. Stop by the Up & Coming Weekly stage to see local talent ranging from dance, to bands to cheer teams and more.

The fair opens Sept. 9 at 5 p.m. The entertainment includes Close Encounter of the Exotic Kind Show at 6:30 p.m. and Pirates of the Columbian Caribbean at 6 p.m., 7 p.m., 8:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. 

On Saturday, entertainment includes several showings of the Pirates of the Colombian Caribbean Show, the Drew Smith Band, The Fair Queen pageants, racing pigs, Jill Charles and Nobody’s Business and Close Encounter of the Exotic Kind Show.  

Sunday, Sept. 11, the fair opens at 1 p.m. It is military and emergency services appreciation night. Admission is free for all military retired veterans and active duty soldiers and first responders in uniform or with an ID. Regular admission applies for family and friends.  Entertainment includes racing pigs, petting farms, Russ Adair, Close Encounter of the Exotic Kind Show, Pirates of the Colombian Caribbean Show, Rivermist, Born Again Band and Kimberly Simmons. 

Monday, Sept. 12 is Pay One Price Night. $10 includes gate admission and unlimited carnival rides. The fair opens at 5 p.m. 

Students win on Sept. 13 and 14, which are student nights at the fair, which opens at 5 p.m. Students get $2 off admission and $3 off unlimited ride wristbands with a coupon from Kidsville News! 

Make a difference on Sept. 15. Bring three cans of nonperishable items or your 4-H and Future Farmers of America membership card (or wear the T-shirt) and receive $2 off admission. Admission discounts cannot be combined. The canned goods will be donated to Second Harvest Food Bank. The fair opens at 5 p.m. 

On Friday, Sept. 16, the fair’s Senior Expo opens at 1 p.m. and seniors age 50 and older get in free until 5 p.m. early afternoon events include the Shimmy Mob Dance Troupe, Hope Mills line dancers, pianist Bill Luden, the Red Hat Society, the Felton Moore Choir, Roland’s Dance Studio and the 82nd Airborne Chorus. After 5 p.m. guests can enjoy the petting farms, racing pigs, Pirates of the Colombian Caribbean Show, American Idol winner Trent Harmon, the Junior Beef Heifer Show, and Violet Smoke, along with the rides, games and food. “Trent was the winner of the 2016 American IdolSeason,” said Mikos. “He’ll be headlining on the Up & Coming Weekly Entertainment stage. I’m really excited about his performance.” 

Saturday, Sept. 17, the gates open at 1 p.m. for a full day of fun. The gates close at 9 p.m. On Sunday, Sept. 18, bring a current church bulletin (one per person) at get $2 off admission between 1 and 3 p.m. Gates open at 1 p.m. and close at 9 p.m.

For more information about the fair, visit http://cumberlandcountyfair.org.

 The Crown Coliseum presents The Kings & Queens of Hip Hop on Sunday, Sept. 4 at 7:30 p.m. 

DMX and Bone Thugs-N-Harmony co-headline the concert. Other artists include Trina, Scarface, Ying Yang Twins, Juvenile, 69 Boyz and Dukwon. The concert is hosted by Comedian A-Train with assistance by DJ Michelle Pooch. 

 Juvenile is a rapper, songwriter and actor from New Orleans. He is a former member of the hip hop group, Hot Boys. He began recording at the age of 19 and his first album was, Being Myself, in 1995. His singles, “Back That Thang Up” and “Ha,”put him on the map. In 2003, he returned to Cash Money Records to record Juve the Great, whichincluded the number one single, “Slow Motion.” 

 “I am going to do my thizzle and all I know how to do is have a good time,” said Juvenile. “I love doing music and telling my story.” 

Juvenile was inspired to perform hip hop when he heard Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five’s song “The Message” which includes the lyrics “It’s like a jungle sometimes, it makes me wonder how I keep from going under.” 

 DMX is a hip-hop recording artist and actor from Yonkers, New York. His best-selling album, And Then There Was X, included the hit single “Party Up (Up In Here).” He has been featured in films such as Belly, Romeo Must Die, Exit Wounds, Cradle 2 the Grave and Last Hour. He starred in the reality television series DMX: Soul of a Man and published a book entitled, E. A. R. L.: The Autobiography of DMX. 

 Bone Thugs-N-Harmony is a hip hop group from Cleveland, Ohio. The group consists of Bizzy Bone, Wish Bone, Layzie Bone, Krayzie Bone and Flesh-N-Bone. Rapper Eazy-E signed the group to Ruthless Records and their debut album, EP Creepin on ah Come Up, featured the hit single “Thuggish, Ruggish Bone.” They are the only group that has worked with four deceased artists: Tupac, Notorious B.I.G.,Eazy-E and Big Pun when they were still alive. 

 Tickets are $88, $70, $55 and $33. For more information, visit www.CapeFearTix.com or call 888-257-6208. 

A seventh generation circus performer, 15-year-old contortionist Juliet Monserrat Carabello Cavellini loves traveling and hanging out with her friends. And she loves the water. During the off season, she enjoys being near the water at her family’s Florida home. Lately, though, she gets to enjoy the water in an entirely different way. 

“For my act, I am surrounded by water and a beautiful fountain and lights,” she said. “I think that is pretty cool. It is so pretty and so much fun for the audience, too. It is my first time experiencing something like that. Other circuses are usually in a ring,”

 Cavellini is a part of Cirque Italia, a European-style circus with a twist. There is a tent, but that is where the similarities end. Instead of a ring (or several), the center of this tent has a tank filled with 35,000 gallons of water. In the center of the tank is a stage. And this is where Cavelini and the other performers work their magic entertaining the crowds. It’s not your typical circus, which is why she loves it so. Cirque Italia will be in Raleigh Sept. 2-5 and in Wilmington Sept. 8-11.

“We have everything you would expect to see at a circus except animals,” said Tim Orris, Cirque Italia spokesperson. “And inside the tent, the show feels very up close and personal. There are about 14 rows of stadium-style seating. So you are within 60 feet of everything that is going on at any time.” 

Orris added that this show is perfect for all ages. The beautiful stage and colorful lights appeal to most everyone and the acts are varied. 

“We have a mermaid that comes out of the water and does a trapeze act. We have a dinosaur act. The dinosaur works with a clown from Europe. The kids love it.”

 Other favorites include Cavelini’s contortions. “My best trick is when I go up on one arm and spin. That is my favorite and hardest trick because you have to concentrate. Most people think it is a machine making me turn, but it is my hand,” she said, adding that even though she performs in the circus, she still loves watching the other acts, too. 

“My personal favorite is the dinosaur. I think it brings a lot of excitement to the kids. I see their faces and they are very excited when the dinosaur comes out.”

Orris added that Cavelini’s act is always a crowd pleaser, too. “She does hand balancing and contortions. She can go onstage and stand on a stool, bend over backwards, balance on her hands and pick it up with her feet and put it on her head.”

While laser man bends light beams, and a guy named Gimmi sings in Italian as he stacks chairs and climbs up and balances on top of them, there are more traditional acts as well. “We have Argentinian jugglers. We have two clown acts. They are Spanish clowns, which means little makeup and a lot of humor and mime gestures. One of them uses a trampoline, too,” said Orris. 

Guests can look forward to an aerial hammock and hoop act performed by a former Olympic gymnast from Bulgaria, a straps act, a hand to hand duo, a trampoline act, bubbles and more. If anything, this circus is diverse. With performers hailing from all over the world, Orris sees the many cultures and personalities as one of the biggest strengths because they each bring a unique perspective to the stage. “That is the nice thing about circus people in our show,” he said. “We have 15 languages spoken here.”.

Find out more about Cirque Italia or purchase tickets at https://cirqueitalia.com.

“We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.”
Winston Churchill

Cumberland County Schools is having a “Stuff the Bus” with school supplies on Friday, Sept. 2 at the Walmart Super Center on Skibo Road from 8 a.m. – 4 p.m. 

“Stuff the Bus is a tradition sponsored by Social Work Services of Cumberland County Schools and Cumberland County Transportation to ensure that homeless students, imminently homeless students and others in need have school supplies all year long,” said Pamela Story, social worker coordinator for Cumberland County Schools. “This year we have seen an outpouring of the community giving to students of all socioeconomic backgrounds by churches, civic organizations, businesses, agencies and nonprofits.” Story added that volunteers from the Department of Social Services, Communities in Schools and the Bronco Women of Fayetteville State will be on hand to collect, sort and organize the school supplies on Sept. 2. Two Men and A Truck will help transport the school supplies to the schools. The items will be distributed by the school social workers in a confidential manner. 

The school supplies needed include notebook paper, pens, pencils, erasers, binders, composition books, hand sanitizer, glue sticks, scissors, pencil sharpeners, crayons and rulers. 

“With the emphasis on digital learning, we have an increasing need for earbuds, flash drives, external chargers and phone cards,” said Story. “I maintain a school supply closet at the Central Office and student services staff check out supplies that include book bags, flash drives, basic supplies and uniforms throughout the school year.”   

Last year a group of social workers drove to Dillon, South Carolina, to shop during their tax-free weekend to purchase school supplies for the supply closet since North Carolina discontinued its tax-free weekend. This year Cumberland County Schools decided to bring back Stuff the Bus with Buster the Talking School Bus. 

“I invite the community to come by this year and help us really stuff the bus to the brim,” said Story. “How wonderful to live in a city that cares so much about making sure a child in need has school supplies to start the school year off right.”  

Donations will be accepted at the Central Services office located at 2465 Gillespie Street between 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. all year.  For more information, call 678-2402 or 678-2621.   

The Fayetteville City Council wants the public to know that building a downtown minor league ballpark is the nucleus of a major economic development plan. Projects totaling $100 million are linked to the proposal, which has been in the making for three years. The stadium itself is a $33 million public/private partnership. Funding details are still being worked out. A Durham developer plans to spend $15 million to refurbish the adjoining Prince Charles Hotel building. The same developer has an agreement with the city to spend $60 million to develop 2.5 acres in the same triangle. It’s fairly common for communities to leverage sports stadiums in such a way. 

What if the development goes bad? We don’t know what city council will come up with to fund the stadium, but observers trust the financial plan will shield taxpayers and isolate risk even if the development fails to take off. When the Class AAA Omaha, Nebraska, Storm Chasers were looking for a new home, the town of Papillion, a suburban community south of Omaha, came forward with a ballpark plan with an economic development component. The new ballpark opened in 2011 and has been a big success. But, the ancillary development hasn’t happened. Part of it is location because the ballpark is just outside the main centers of development in the area. There were big plans for an entertainment district, but those plans have not panned out. The Fayetteville/Cumberland Arts Council has high hopes for a downtown entertainment district with the stadium being an important part of it. One idea that may be under consideration locally is creation of a tax increment finance district underwritten by tax-exempt warrants and bonds sold to investors who take the risk, not taxpayers. In North Carolina, the implementing legislation labels this form of financing “project development financing.” Whatever creative funding ideas being considered by a city council stadium committee are unknown. The committee has been meeting privately for weeks and has not yet fully developed a funding plan. 

Little infrastructure work is needed in the downtown area where the ballpark would be built. In Omaha, a public/private partnership spent $29 million to build the Class AAA stadium. That’s less than what Fayetteville proposes to spend on a Class A ballpark. How the city proposes to pay off the debt is also a mystery. The new stadium in suburban Omaha itself is doing very well. “Our revenues are coming in even without any development at the ballpark,” said Brian Hanson, the county’s fiscal administrator. “They’re coming in and covering our debt payments.”  The lesson learned in the Omaha project is that the ballpark deal was structured to pay for the facility, create an environment for future success while protecting taxpayers in the event the economic development didn’t work out.  

News of Fayetteville Police Chief Harold Medlock’s retirement spread like wildfire hours before the formal announcement last week. 

He told news reporters he is having surgery to repair a damaged rotator cuff tendon. Those tendons are tough pieces of connective tissue that control the motion of the shoulder joint where the upper arm bone, shoulder blade and collarbone meet. Surgery can help restore pain-free range
of motion and full function in a damaged shoulder joint.

Medlock says he is retiring from law enforcement at the end of the year and has no other plans. He will take leave Sept. 1. 

The chief fought back tears as he thanked God and “his long-suffering wife, Gloria.” He recited the department’s accomplishments over the three-and-a-half years he served. They include being among the first departments in the state to equip police cars with dash cameras and officers with body cams. He said more than 100 surveillance cameras have been installed around the city. They feed real time video signals to a crime information center at police headquarters. Medlock emphasized his faith in the 600 men and women of the Fayetteville Police Department and pointed to his command staff as the best in North Carolina. Medlock came to Fayetteville from Charlotte where he served most recently as a deputy chief. 

“It’s a completely different time, a different culture,” Mayor Nat Robertson said of Medlock’s tenure. Senior Assistant Chief Katherine Bryant agreed saying “He’s a good guy to work for. We’ve changed the police culture.” 

Bryant served with four police chiefs and is wrapping up a 30-year career with the FPD. “I was supposed to leave before him,” she said. Bryant retires in March. 

Moments after Medlock’s retirement, City Councilman Larry Wright told Up & Coming Weeklythat Council members have the responsibility of making sure the chief’s legacy of community policing is continued. At a community meeting several hours after Medlock made his announcement, retired Cumberland County School Superintendent Dr. John Griffin called out to him “Don’t leave us like this, hang in there a little while longer.” Mayor Pro Tem Mitch Colvin hosted the meeting.

 “The chief has meant a lot in bringing this community together, following the rough patch we had a few years ago,” he said. His reference was to allegations of racial profiling by city police under a former chief. “He has closed the gap and African-American leadership is obliged to make sure his legacy is untarnished,” Colvin added. When asked whether Chief Medlock realized the impact he has had in Fayetteville, two members of his command staff said “probably not,” in unison.  

Interim City Manager Doug Hewitt said he will name an acting chief of police in a couple of weeks. He was reminded of Dallas, Texas, Deputy Chief Malik Aziz’s interest in the job here three years ago. He and Medlock were the two finalists for the post. Aziz is still with the Dallas Police Department. 

Fayetteville Regional Airport has implemented an expedited TSA screening process for active-duty military personnel. Service members with valid ID cards can now move through the line much quicker. This expedited process will speed up the process for service members who represent a sizeable airport clientele. Additional information is available at flyfay.com. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Builder Recommended for PWC Post                      

Fayetteville car dealer Mike Lallier, who has guided the Public Works Commission through thick and thin over the last 12 years, is about to be replaced on the board. He must give up his seat next month in compliance with membership rules. Lallier will likely be replaced by Fayetteville real estate developer Ralph Huff. City Council’s appointments committee is recommending Huff’s appointment.  He was chosen from a list of nine applicants who had indicated interest in serving. The full council must confirm the recommendation.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

New FTCC Leadership             

The Board of Trustees of Fayetteville Technical Community College has welcomed two new members. Charlie Harrell and Christopher Haywood took office this month. Harrell was appointed by the Cumberland County Board of Commissioners. Haywood is the 2016-17 Student Government Association President, serving as an ex-officio member. Current Board Member Dr. Dallas Freeman was reappointed for an additional term. Freeman was reappointed by the Cumberland County Board of Education. The FTCC Board of Trustees re-elected Charles E. Koonce Chairman of the Board. Ronald C. Crosby is Vice Chair, and Hilton T. Hutchens is Secretary. Their terms begin immediately. Fayetteville Technical Community College was established in 1961 and serves over 42,000 students providing over 200 occupational, technical, general education, college transfer and continuing education programs. 

 

 

 

 

 

Confederate Flag Banned             

The Department of Veterans Affairs will no longer allow the Confederate battle flag to be flown at national cemeteries on Memorial Day or Confederate Memorial Day. The policy change follows debate in the House of Representatives earlier this year. It further reduces the number of flag images that can be displayed on federal land after the National Park Service made similar policy changes last year. The VA decision comes after an amendment barring the display of flag imagery in VA cemeteries was added to the House’s fiscal 2017 VA spending bill, but later removed from the conference report behind closed doors. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cancer Spreads                           

Cancer is overtaking heart disease as the leading cause of death in North Carolina and 21 other states as of 2014, and that’s not entirely bad news. According to a report released Wednesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics, deaths due to heart disease have been declining ever since they peaked in 1985, while deaths due to cancer have been on the rise. Worldwide, heart disease has long been the leading cause of death. But in the United States, the number of deaths for both heart disease and cancer have been on the rise since the 1950s, which the NCHS attributes in large part to the fact that people were living longer. But heart disease deaths in the U.S. began to fall in the 1990s, and researchers believe cancer first became a leading cause of death somewhere in the early 2010s.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

Big Time Foosball            

The Airborne & Special Operations Museum will host Fayetteville’s first Human Foosball tournament on Saturday, Oct. 1, beginning at 9 a.m. Twenty-four teams of six players per team will participate. in this round robin tournament. Registration is now open. According to Paul Galloway, Executive Director of the Airborne & Special Operations Museum Foundation, everyone is encouraged to participate. “Companies, families, friends organizations and military units,” said Galloway. “We hope to see a lot of good-natured rivalry throughout the entire day.” Each team member will receive a tee shirt. Cash prizes of $600, $300 and $150 will be awarded to the top three teams. Beer and concessions will also be available. Registration is limited so call 643-2773 or 643-2778 today or go to www.asomf.org to register. The Airborne & Special Operations Museum is part of the U.S. Army Museum System and tells the story of Army airborne and special operations units from 1940 to the present.

I have often joked over the years that my faithful station wagon — Number Seven I think this one is — could make it to Raleigh or to the beach even if I were not in it. We have been together for so long and driven those roads so many times, this almost seems true, though, of course, it is not. Vehicles still require human pilots — at least for now.

Tesla, the plug-in electric car, Ford, Google, Volvo and probably others still holding on to their privacy are also working on their versions of driverless cars. Now, Uber, that wildly convenient and successful challenger to the conventional taxi cab business, says it will have its own fleet of driverless Volvos on the streets of Pittsburgh within the next few weeks — not years! Even more, Uber has acquired a startup company, Otto, with a goal of driverless commercial semis. Interstate driving will never be
the same.

Now, I am a great Uber fan. The Precious Jewels introduced me to Uber several years ago, and my first Uber ride was in a shiny black SUV from Union Station in Washington, D.C., to a hotel near DuPont Circle carrying seven passengers and lots of luggage. One of the Jewels sprang for the ride on her credit card — no cash involved with Uber —and it was just over $19, a real deal in my book for such a crowd. My next Uber ride occurred when one of the Jewels tucked me into an old Toyota sedan driven by a jovial retiree. Said the Jewel to the driver, “You take good care of my mama!” and the Uber driver did.

That being said, I am not sure — were I suddenly transmitted to Pittsburgh — that I would put my big toe inside Uber’s new driverless Volvos, safety ratings notwithstanding.

Not that my own driving record is perfect. I have had my share of fender-benders, including a rear-end collision or two, which is always the fault of the driver who rear-ended. I sideswiped a pole in a grocery store parking lot a year or so ago, a vehicular booboo that set me back $1,400. Years earlier, with a barely-verbal toddler in his car seat, I backed into another parking lot pole in station wagon Number One, which earned only a tiny dent I thought no one would notice. Unfortunately, when we got home, that toddler in the back seat turned into Chatty Cathy and informed our entire household, “Mommy had a wreck today.” So much for discretion. 

We all see news stories about drivers who make fatal mistakes, who drive while impaired by substances or fatigue, or who are too young, old or inexperienced to be behind the wheel. Too many of us have suffered in terrible ways because of human drivers who failed somehow. Obviously, some of us are probably not as capable a driver as an automated vehicle might be.

A quick search regarding driverless vehicle safety turns up plenty of information, most of it scientific papers and engineering formulae not readily digestible by a layperson, or at least by this layperson. Scientists are taking safety challenges of driverless vehicles seriously, and I have no doubt that they are in our future. After all, station wagon Number Seven does have a system whereby a light comes on if I get too close to a car on either side, and it beeps when I get too close to something in front or behind me, a feature that can be very handy in parking lots with poles. 

I am also the proud owner and great fan of a robotic vacuum cleaner which devours dust balls when I am not at home. One day soon, I also expect an online purchase to be delivered by a drone, which I hope does not hit me on
the head. 

The obvious advantage of driverless cars is reduction of human error and its sometimes-dreadful consequences. People would have more free time if we were not driving so much, traffic could flow more efficiently, less road signage would be required, as well as less parking space since all driverless cars would know how to park in tight spaces. What’s more, your car could pick up the children from school and scoot by the grocery to retrieve your pre-bagged goods.

On the other hand, it will take time and lots of money to transform millions of vehicles into self-drivers, and there are all sorts of liability and regulatory issues. People who drive for a living will lose jobs, and our current road infrastructure may need revamping to accommodate self-drivers. And, bottom line, some of us human beings are just not going to want to give up driving our own vehicles.

Whenever my young self got eager to embrace the latest of the latest trend, my mother quoted the 18th century satirist, social commentator, and champion of the heroic couplet, Alexander Pope. “Be not the first by whom the new is tried, nor yet the last to lay the old aside.”  

Pope had to be thinking about the driverless car.

We are lucky to have so many quality  entertainment options in Fayetteville. On Sept. 13, we will celebrate many of them at our 19th Annual Best of Fayetteville Awards Party “American Bandstand.” Rock and Roll ‘50s style.  

Speaking of rock and roll we (Up & Coming Weekly) attended the final Fayetteville After Five event in Festival Park last Friday. It was awesome. The band, Firehouse, closed the summer season playing to an energetic and appreciative crowd. Nice event on a beautiful 4th Fridayevening. 

We are a  proud founding sponsor of Fayetteville After Five and have enjoyed watching Carrie King and the Dogwood Festival committee take it to a new high in entertainment excellence. 

Fortunately, or perhaps unfortunately, there were as many people enjoying the amenities of Downtown Fayetteville during the same 4th Fridayevening. Along Hay and Person Streets hundreds of couples, children and families could be seen enjoying the shops, music, arts, street entertainers and local restaurants all orchestrated by the Downtown Alliance and the Arts Council of Cumberland County. 

For more than a decade Downtown Fayetteville’s 4th Fridayevent has been a great way to showcase and show off our downtown community while nurturing and encouraging much needed economic activity. So, it stands to reason the more events we have downtown, and the more people we invite and introduce to downtown, the sooner we will establish a vibrant and flourishing city center. 

This being the case, next year it would be nice if the Dogwood Festival and Fayetteville After Five committee would consider moving the summer music series to Saturday night or back to Thursday evenings where it originated. This way it would not conflict with the activities of 4th Friday, and local residents and visitors would not have to choose between the two events. Downtown Fayetteville and the merchants would benefit  from the draw of two entertaining community events. More people, more business, more fun. Win, win, win! 

Combining these two grassroots events on the same evening  only dilutes and marginalizes their brand, effectiveness and uniqueness.

We need more quality venues downtown. Not less. Separate the two and you: Double your pleasure, Double your fun!!! It’s worth the consideration. 

Thanks for reading Up & Coming Weekly.

The name may have changed, but the fun is still the same. What used to be the North Carolina Turkey Festival is back but as the North Carolina Fall Festival, and it kicks off with a 9/11 Remembrance Ceremony on Saturday, Sept. 10. The ceremony is at the P.K. Airport Ralph Pandure VFW Post 10 building. 

“Veterans will literally fall into the Airport to start the ceremony by bringing the American Flag through the spacious skies to land, reminding us all that our country is still free and that we are all kept safe, thanks to those who have stood and stand against evil daily, our military,  law enforcement, firemen and emergency medical personnel, all of whom will be remembered at this ceremony so please mark your calendars to come out that morning and say thank you to those who serve and protect us every day, in ways we don’t even know and to remember those who gave their lives that day as they ran into the Twin Towers putting others first in spite of their own safety,”  said Melissa Pittman, the North Caorlina Fall Festival coordinator. 

“There are many things going on at the airport this day and more information will be shared closer to the festival so keep watching and listening for what’s happening at the festival,” she added. 

The celebration runs through Sept. 17. 

Some of the new events include fireworks on Sept. 10, beginning at dark, at P.K. Airport to kick off the festival. There is a “selfie” booth on Saturday, Sept. 17. Guests can purchase photos and the proceeds help a local missionary team raise money.  Two new entertainment stages are on tap as well. 

There are plenty of familiar favorites at the festival for guests to enjoy, such as the card tournament, Senior Day, a parade (with a new route) and, of course, the Turkey Bowl will continue as it has over the past 31 years including the corn hole tournament, wine and music, a gospel concert, a motorcycle show and a step team competition “The dog show is at a new location and the car show has also relocated back to the end of Main Street starting at Prospect. T-shirts, golf shirts, sweat shirts and hooded zipper jackets are for sale again prior to and the day of the festival on the street,” said Pittman. “There are various craft, informational and commercial vendors all up and down Main Street and so many various types of food vendors that no one should complain they can’t find anything to eat on the 17th. After the activities and entertainment on Main Street, the annual concert is at Armory Park with music by Country on the Outskirts of Town and Rivermist.”  

The concert is 8 p.m. to midnight. Tickets are just $10 for two great bands. “Yes, you are still allowed to bring your coolers, (no glass), food, blankets, chairs into the park for a night of fun.”

Pittman added that attendees should also look for vendors of all types, handmade crafts, food and information booths. 

While maintaining well-loved traditions of the Turkey Festival, Pittman knew that she had to keep some of the elements from the beloved event when she made a new logo to take its place. “Last year, the board of directors held a “Design the logo” between local schools. Cultural Arts Director Teresa Burke sent letters to every school inviting them to compete for a cash prize for the winning schools’ art department by designing the new logo,” said Pittman. “Almost every school participated... It was a hard decision to choose the winning logo, but after a blind display of the entries the winner was chosen … Our grand ole lady bird will continue to be represented, along with her husband who is free falling in jump boots to the Festival, and other things that children from Don D. Steed came up with that meant ‘Fall Festival’ to them. Those who designed the logo include: Ian Gill, Kindergarten; Kadyn Tyler, first grade; Yoshua Wallace, second grade; Joseph Baker, third grade; Mimi Matthews, fourth grade and Leslie Helm, fifth grade.” Each child will receive a free T-shirt from the Festival and the school received $200 for the art department.

Look for details about the N.C. Fall Festival on Facebook, or call the office at 904-2424.

Just a few short months ago, summer beckoned. Trips to the beach, the mountains, the mall and visits to family filled the calendar. Now it’s back-to-school shopping and the fast pace of fall that demand attention. Don’t let go just yet. There is still time for one more concert under the stars before bidding summer adieu. On Friday, August 26, Fayetteville After 5 brings Firehouse to Festival Park.

The Charlotte-based band Firehouse headlines this concert. Glam metal at its finest, Firehouse rocked the charts in the 1990s with a series of singles:  “Don’t Treat Me Bad” and “All She Wrote,” as well as their signature ballads “I Live My Life for You,” “Love of a Lifetime” and “When I Look Into Your Eyes.” In 1992 the band was named Favorite Heavy Metal/Hard Rock Band/Hard Rock New Artist at the American Music Awards, beating out Nirvana and Alice in Chains. Selling more than  6 million albums, the band tours internationally and plays in the U.S. as well.

In its quest to bring great entertainment to Fayetteville, Fayetteville After 5 is one venue that area artists can count on when it comes to providing opportunities for local musicians to share their talents. Hailing from the Pembroke/Lumberton area, Breathe New Life opens the concert.  The alternative/metal band is made up of performers from former locally well-known bands such as Lucid, When Words Fail, Mis2Mia, Driven and Tribal Conflict. Comprised of Mark McKinney performing lead vocals, Chris Locklear on guitar, James Hunt playing guitar and singing, Shay Jones on drums and Brandon Hall playing bass and piano and singing, all of the members are Native American.

Also in the lineup, Brad Benson’s music career started when he was 5. He played the piano. He picked up the guitar as a teen. His albums include Eternal Life, Smoke and Mirrorsand Attitude. Benson hales from Kinston, N.C.

This season, Fayetteville After 5 added a new component to the concerts: food trucks. Everyone is sure to find something to tickle their taste buds and to wet their whistle. While fall is coming, it’s still really hot, so make sure you plan on purchasing lots of water or yummy lemonade to keep you hydrated while you dance the night away. Come hungry because there are 12-16 trucks slated to attend the concert. Sponsor Bud Light will have beer and refreshments for purchase as well. 

Come ready to sing, ready to dance, to eat, to drink. The gates open around 5 p.m. and the music lasts till 10:30 p.m. or so. Bring chairs or a blanket and enjoy the show. The concert falls on 4th Friday, which means an entire evening of culture. Enjoy the galleries, shops and businesses in downtown Fayetteville before the show. 

For more information about Fayetteville After 5, visit the website at www.faydogwoodfestival.com.

The Cape Fear River was once this city’s lifeblood. In the 1700s, settlers built the towns of Campbellton and Cross Creek along her banks because the river was the only navigable waterway in the colony. Later, the two towns joined together to become Fayetteville, and the Cape Fear River still flows through the city. Only now, most residents don’t give the river much thought. We aren’t familiar with the history that has played out along its 202 miles of river banks. We have no knowledge of the changing ecology along the river and what it means for the many species that call it home. We have no idea about the toll that mismanagement and misuse have taken. The potentially crushing changes that the impending water basin transfer plan could inflict on the area is yet another mystery surrounding the Cape Fear for most of us. It doesn’t have to be that way, though. On Aug. 27, Sustainable Saturdays brings the River Run: Down the Cape Fear to the Cameo Art House Theatre.

The 1994 PBS documentary is still the most comprehensive film about the river according to Denise Bruce, Sustainable Sandhills spokesperson “This film goes into detail about the Cape Fear River, the municipalites, the geography and geology of it and its history.” 

She added that, “This film did what it was meant to do — this was a game changer in how North Carolina viewed its rivers. It is also relevant because a lot of things that affected the river 22 years ago are still things we deal with today.”

After all this time, the Cape Fear River is still at risk for over development, mismanagement and pollution among other things. One especially pressing issue for Fayetteville and other towns and cities downriver is the changes that the Cape Fear River interbasin water transfer plan could bring. The plan would allow the cities in the triangle to take 9 million gallons of water from the Cape Fear River. Every day. And not put it back. What would Fayetteville look like with 9 million fewer gallons of water in the river every day? This is, after all, the same river that provides drinking water to the city? PWC, the City of Fayetteville and other communities that depend on the Cape Fear have fouought the state’s decision to allow the interbasin transfer. “The case was heard in June,” said PWC spokeswoman Carolyn Justice-Hinson-Hinson. “We expect a decision in September.”  

“Here, up stream communities are getting water rights before we are even considered,” said Bruce. “That is why we are showing this film… the more awareness we can bring the better. Even though the water basin plan was approved, we can still help people understand.” 

If anything, Sustainable Sandhills is about education and raising awareness. That’s why after every Sustainable Saturday film there are speakers on hand to talk in detail about the films and answer questions. One of the speakers after the film is Tom Hoban from the Cape Fear River Assembly. The Cape Fear River Assembly “represents the views of diverse stakeholders from the entire Cape Fear River watershed.”

The film starts at 11 a.m. For more information, visit the website at
www.sustainablesandhills.org.

Better Health is a local nonprofit organization that aims to improve the quality of life for Cumberland County residents. It was founded in 1958 to help fill the gap in health careservices for underserved and low-income residents of the area. The organization offers educational classes and services like diabetes monitoring clinics and prescription assistance just to name a few. The services provided aid in the prevention and management of  illness with education and medical assistance. In order to support its programs, Better Health hosts annual fundraisers. One such fundraiser is the Diabetes…Dodge it! Tournament. The tournament takes place on Aug. 27.

“Proceeds from the Diabetes... Dodge it! Tournament go to Better Health and our four core programs: emergency direct aid, diabetes management, childhood obesity prevention and medical equipment loans. The funds will help us purchase emergency medications and dental care for clients in need, supplies for our diabetic patients, healthy snacks for children learning about nutrition, and maintenance of our medical equipment,” Amy Navejas, the executive director of Better Health, explained. There are 32 teams of six to nine players registered to participate this year, which is hugely successful. 

This success is due in part to the fact that the tournament offers both opportunities for fun and for supporting great work within the community. For many dodge ball brings back fond childhood memories. “I often get the response ‘Dodgeball? I used to love to play that in school!’ Most people add that they were good at it in their ‘younger years,’ but some are less confident in their skills now,” Navejas said. “The great thing about this tournament is that it’s all about getting active and having fun for a great cause. You don’t have to be a team MVP like in your childhood to participate. We hope that this event reminds people that there is physical activity for everyone, whether yours is dodgeball, running or chair yoga, there is always an activity at your level.”

With so much involvement from the community, there is a limit to the number of teams that participate in the tournament this year. So much participation is a great problem to have, but it is important to remember that playing is not the only way to join in the fun. “Spectators are welcome. This tournament doesn’t disappoint. I tell people that they will laugh until they cry. For those who don’t want to play, please come out to watch and cheer on the teams,” Navejas said, “ You can also come volunteer with us at our office at 1422 Bragg Boulevard. We are always looking for volunteers at our diabetes clinic and also at our upcoming Red Apple Run in November. Anyone interested can go to www.betterhealthcc.org to learn more about volunteering.”

The overwhelming outpouring of support for the dodgeball tournament from the community has been invigorating for many involved with Better Health. The hope is that the community involvement will continue with the other events they host during the year. “Also, keep an eye out for our Red Apple Run for Diabetes on November 19. This year’s run will include a 1-mile Haymount Hill Climb, a 5K and a new 10K route! Not to be outdone, the 2017 Evening at the Theater fundraiser on March 4 will be our 20th anniversary of the event! The committee has begun planning for a very special night at the casino! We are really excited about these events and having a chance to share a little bit about what we do for our clients in the community, and raise funds to continue providing much-needed services!” Navejas said. 

For more information about the organization and upcoming events, visit the website at www.betterhealthcc.org.

Fayetteville City Council’s decision last week to build a $33 million minor league baseball stadium and enter into a 30-year agreement with the Houston Astros has its genesis more than three years ago. Soon after being hired in March of 2013, Deputy City Manager Rochelle Small-Toney was given a task by the new City Manager, Ted Voorhees. “He asked me to come up with a plan to spur economic development,” Small-Toney said. “How about minor league baseball?” she responded. She had some experience because she had proposed a ball club in Savannah, Georgia, before coming to Fayetteville. But voters turned down a proposal to build a new stadium and the team considered for Savannah ended up in Columbia, South Carolina. 

Small-Toney, Voorhees and Recreation Director Michael Gibson went to Nashville to meet with Pat O’Conner, president and chief executive officer of Minor League Baseball, to feel him out on Fayetteville. Soon thereafter, O’Conner came to Fayetteville and met with community leaders. Small-Toney told Up & Coming Weekly that his visit was positive, and he shared with the city that the Houston Astros were interested in locating a Class A team here. 

By the summer of 2014, local officials were talking about building a baseball stadium in one of two suggested locations. The top spot was the vicinity of Rowan Street and Murchison Road near what would be a new railroad overpass and realignment of city streets. Astros Owner Jim Crane was in Fayetteville in April of 2015, and the next month, sports writer Kevin Richards was writing in Baseball Digest that “Fayetteville has changed a lot in recent years: downtown has been cleaned up and there’s been a growth of the economy independent of military spending. If a team becomes available, you can bet that talk accelerates.” 

It did, and last week Fayetteville City Council voted unanimously to ink a deal with the Houston Astros for a High-A Carolina League team, with a 2019 opening. The vote is nonbinding, but it commits the city to further talks with the Astros and a plan that allows for the move of two California League teams to North Carolina for the 2017 season. The goal is to have a new ballpark deal, including the 30-year lease with Houston by the end of this year. The location for the new stadium had shifted to the city center and city-owned property behind the former Prince Charles Hotel on Hay Street. But the stadium won’t be ready until the 2019 season. In the meantime, the team will play elsewhere, perhaps at Campbell University. City officials are keying on a larger redevelopment that includes an overhaul of the historic hotel. It has an executed memorandum of understanding with private investors granting them exclusive development rights to property surrounding the hotel and stadium. It’s a combined investment of nearly $100 million.

Cracker Barrel’s Operation Homefront is making its famous rockers available to lucky military families for free. The promotion began over the July 4th weekend and continues through Labor Day. Cracker Barrel Old Country Store calls the project an effort to build “strong, stable and secure military families.” Operation Rocker is a promotion whereby folks go online and purchase rocking chairs (http://shop.crackerbarrel.com/collections/holidays/operation-rocker). For each one that’s sold, the company donates a chair to Operation Homefront. It’s part of the organization’s broader Homes on the Homefront program that helps military families by placing deserving veterans in mortgage-free homes. “Cracker Barrel is proud to serve the families of the men and women who serve our country,” said company executive Beverly Carmichael. 

Families live in their houses rent-free for up to two years while Operation Homefront helps them understand how to be effective homeowners by building their savings and making timely payments as they contribute to a small equity fund that goes back into their house. The program also assists with home repairs and helps families navigate through the sometimes cumbersome Veterans Affairs system. More than 550 houses have been donated through Homes on the Homefront, according to Margi Kirst, chief development officer. Operation Homefront has made 21 homes available in North Carolina, seven of them in the Fayetteville/Fort Bragg area. The company has committed to donate $100,000 through contributions over the next year, and the Cracker Barrel Old Country Store Foundation has pledged another $100,000, said Kirst.

Fayetteville is one of the few military communities with two Cracker Barrel restaurants. The original is at I-95 Exit 49. More recently a second store was opened on Skibo Road. “We get a lot of traffic from military families who are traveling to and from Fort Bragg,” said Tony Ciamillo, General Manager of the Cracker Barrel on Jim Johnson Road, off Cedar Creek Road. Of military patrons “Skibo likely gets more than I do,” he added. He said the iconic rocking chairs sell very well in this community. They range in price from $129 when on special, to $199 for customized military versions. 

For a Cracker Barrel patron who is not interested in buying a rocker but would still like to contribute, donations of $5 can be made by texting SALUTE to 27722. 

Cracker Barrel is a natural for the military because of the home-away-from home concept in its stores and restaurants. The company says it is recognized for superior performance by independent charity oversight groups; that 92 percent of Operation Homefront’s expenditures go directly to programs that provide support for military families.